Local News

                An Upper Hanover Township woman died Sunday after the motorcycle she and her husband were riding was involved in a collision in Columbia County.

                According to Locust Township Police, Thomas Latshaw, 53, and his wife, Beverly Latshaw, 51, both of the 1000 block of Mill Hill Road in Upper Hanover, were northbound on Route 487 at the intersection of Knoebels Parkway in Franklin Township on a 2005 Harley David-son motorcycle when they collided with a 2005 Mazda 2 driven by 19-year-old Elise Pure of Bloomsburg.

                Investigating officer Sgt. Paul Allen said Pure’s vehicle was southbound on Route 487 and was turning left onto Knoebels Parkway when she failed to yield to the motorcycle, which had the right of way.  Both vehicles had a green light at the time of the crash.

                Police said both Thomas and Beverly were thrown from the motorcycle at impact. 

                Beverly was pronounced dead at the scene shortly after 1 p.m. by Colombia County Deputy Coroner Ron Taylor.  She died from blunt force trauma to the head and lower trunk, authorities said.

                Thomas was flown to Geisinger Medical Center in Danville by Life Flight medical helicopter.  Police said he underwent surgery Sunday night for extensive injuries to his lower extremities.  He was upgraded from critical to serious condition Tuesday.

                Police said neither of the Latshaws was wearing a helmet at the time of the crash.

                Route 487 was closed for several hours for the crash investigation.  Pure was reportedly uninjured.  No charges have been filed to date.

                Beverly Latshaw is survived by her husband, two daughters, her mother and several other family members.  A 1977 graduate of Upper Perkiomen High School, she worked at Knoll’s in Upper Hanover Township as a custom product developer for 30 years.

                Arrangements are being handled by Mann-Slonaker Funeral Home, 222 Washington Street, East Greenville.  They were not finalized as of press time Wednesday.

Close to five gallons of hydraulic fluid spilled in Red Hill Borough last week made for treacherous conditions on several borough streets as the borough council met July 14.

The fluid, spewed by a malfunctioning hydraulic pump used by contractors working on the Upper Montgomery Joint Authority’s (UMJA) sewer relining project, covered parts of Sixth and Adams streets.  It was spread further by traveling vehicles up to Main and then from Adams to Fifth Street.

John Lehr, borough fire marshal and Red Hill Fire Company chief, notified council of the spill at the meeting. 

He said conditions were “like a skating rink” due to the slippery liquid that had leaked all over the street.  Contractors at the site attempted to clean up the mess, but the clean-up was reportedly inadequate.

Council members became very concerned that the spill could cause accidents, and Mayor Dave Schiffgens placed a call to UMJA to ask them whether they wanted to get the contractor to return to the site, or have Red Hill Fire Department take care of the clean up.

The expense of the clean up would need to be directed to UMJA’s contractor.

When it was determined that decreasing daylight would hinder the operation, council voted to dispatch Lehr and his fire crew to the scene immediately. 

Lehr called Council President Tom Paul at 8 p.m. during the course of the meeting and informed him that the situation was a “real hazmat spill” and that the fluid was running down the Sixth Street gutter.                                                                The fire company spent more than three hours at the site and cleaned up the remainder of the spill to the best of their ability, Lehr said Wednesday.  UMJA will be billed an amount estimated between $1,000 and $1,500 for materials and services.  

Also at the meeting Lehr, a resident of Sixth Street, brought other problems with the work to council’s attention.  He said the authority had only given notice of its work on the street after it had already begun on July 12. 

His notice reportedly came in the form of a letter placed in his mailbox.  The notices were supposed to be distributed July 7.

As a result, residents did not know that they were not supposed to be using their water including refraining from flushing toilets.  Lehr reported that the odor coming into the houses was “atrocious.” 

In other borough business, Solicitor Marjorie Brown, standing in for Mark Hosterman, presented council with an amendment to the borough’s zoning ordinance intended to regulate adult entertainment in the municipality. Brown stated that the proposed amendment would prohibit all adult uses in all zoning areas in Red Hill.  Adult uses include adult bookstores, theatres, nightclubs and cabarets. 

Also included in the amendment is the definition of a massage parlor and what is permitted in the borough, including chiropractors, doctors, and beauty salons/spas.

The amendment is permitted for Red Hill zoning because adult uses are permitted in Upper Hanover Township, which therefore satisfies the needs of all the communities involved in the Upper Perkiomen Regional Planning Commission.

The amendment will need to be approved by the Montgomery County Planning Commission and is subject to a public hearing in Red Hill.

The council voted to approve advertising of the public hearing, which is set for September 8 during the council’s regular meeting.

Brown also reported that the July 9 settlement meeting with the Lexon Insurance Company, regarding funds held as security for T.H. Properties for completion of the Preston Court development, was rescheduled for July 22. 

In revitalization news, committee chair Doris Decker reported that a public input meeting was scheduled for September 9 at a yet to be determined location in Red Hill.  The committee, with Montgomery County Planner Darlene Wynn, will discuss the vision for revitalization and show a virtual walking tour, along with the much-hoped-for public comment period.  The committee will be creating flyers for the meeting to apprise the community of the date, time and location in the coming weeks.

Decker noted that the committee was working on a logo and had created a theme, “Red Hill Revitalization:  Our Community, Our Responsibility.”

Mayor Schiffgens reported that he had a conversation with the state police and wants residents and visitors to be aware that if they park on the sidewalks on Main Street or on Sixth Street - where this kind of parking has been a nuisance – the cars will be ticketed.  The state police will be on the lookout.  

Additionally, if anyone is caught stealing newspapers from individuals’ homes in the borough, he or she will be arrested.

Decker, in her capacity as code review chair, asked for a review of properties in the borough that were known to be problematic and what progress had been made with them.

Tom Paul noted he had taken a tour of the problematic properties, and that “some of these people just needed a little push” to get the needed work done on their properties. 

He stated that a week later issues had started to be resolved. 

In order to take an economical approach to keeping up potential problem properties, the council decided that council members should check on potential violations and report to the code enforcement officer to save costs of him doing inspections.