Visit us today and tomorrow at the Expo

Come out and join the Berks-Mont Newspapers staff today and tomorrow 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. for the Redner's Family Expo. You'll have a chance to:
--Meet Tippy the Crayon (pictured above)
--Compete in the GameStop Guitar Hero tournament
--Get a photo of youself or a member of your family taken for a front page of one of our newspapers.
For directions to the event at the Greater Reading Expo Center see this page for further directions. See you there!

Hamburg tradition postponed

For the first time in 15 years, the King Frost Parade has been called for bad weather--rain in this case expected all day Saturday.

The decisions by parade officials is disappointing. I was hoping to bring my 10-year-old son Noah along for the ride Saturday with the hopes of either riding on the float (our company's first ever) or marching in the parade.

Fortunately, the traditional Hamburg event has NOT been cancelled. Organizers say the eventg will be rescheduled for 7 p.m. Nov. 1 instead. Hamburg Area Item editor Joshua Sophy has more...

Photo credit: Berks-Mont File Photo

Rhoades dies after Friday crash

A state senator representing much of northern Berks County as well as Schuylkill and portions of Carbon and Monroe since 1981 died today from injuries sustained in a Friday evening car crash.

Sen. James J. Rhoades, R-29, age 66, represented Albany, Windsor, Perry, Tilden and Heidelberg townships locally and was seeking re-election in a three way senatorial contest on Nov. 4.

State and local leaders reacted to his death Saturday by reflection on a legacy of leadership especially in education.

"Jim's passing is a tremendous loss for Pennsylvania. He was a great person and a tremendous fighter for school children in the commonwealth. No one cared more about advancing education in Pennsylvania than Jim. He will be missed,” said Gov. Ed Rendell in a statement issued Saturday.

For more on this breaking story read Hamburg Area Item editor Joshua Sophy’s report at www.berksmontnews.com and this week’s edition of The Hamburg Area Item from Berks-Mont Newspapers…

Man sought in Berks homicide

By Shawn A. Hessinger
Managing Editor Berks-Mont Newspapers

A Lebanon County man is still on the loose after police allege he strangled a mother of six and the sister of a former girlfriend.

Police have obtained a warrant for the arrest of Julio Angel Lastra, 32, charging him with first, second, and third degree murder, burglary, aggravated assault and criminal tresspass in the death of Marisol Rivera, 45, 585 Frystown Rd., Bethel Township.

According to a police affidavit filed with District Justice Andrea Book, Straustown, PA, the victim was heard saying in Spanish “Who is this?” as she was taken from her bed and strangled by Lastra late Sept. 24 or early Sept 25.

Lastra had been in a longterm relationship with Rivera’s sister Mari Reyes since 2001, but had a Protection from Abuse Order filed against him Sept. 22 after Reyes claimed Lastra had tried to kill her on two occasions.

The affadavit states the crime was witnessed by Rivera’s daughter Gianna, 8, who was sleeping with her mother at the time.

Police say Lastra’s sister testified she drove him to a location very close to Rivera’s residence on Frystown Rd. late Sept. 23, but did not know at the time of the significance of the location.

Police say another witness, Sylma Perez, told police she received a phone call from a distraught Gianna Rivera at 1 p.m. Sept. 25, who told her about the attack.

Gianna Rivera later told police she had been asleep in her mother’s bed when she heard Rivera scream and awoke to see a man choking her mother and pulling her to the floor.

See you at the Oley Fair

I’ll be manning the newspaper’s booth at this historic event in the Oley Valley today and tomorrow from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.

For those who would like a bit more historical info on the six decade tradition, check this link.

Stop by the booth and say hello. Maybe we can take some photos to include in an upcoming edition of The Boyertown Area Times, The Oley Valley Sentinel or this blog.

If you’ve got some Oley Fair photos you would like to share with the community send them to us here. Info. on the fair and related events can be placed in the comment section of this blog and will be posted once approved.

See you there.

Find out more about buying/selling/trading your car

Want to know whether you got a good deal on that new car purchase or how to avoid getting taken for a ride?

A local car dealer can help put you in the driver’s seat when it comes to wheeling and dealing for a new or used automobile.

Be sure to read the Cory’s Car Questions blog at www.berksmontnews.com.

You can read the free advice offered and even participate with your own questions.

Just post your question in any of the comment areas on the blog, and your question and Cory’s answer will be posted and included in an upcoming print addition in all of our Berks-Mont Newspapers.

Be sure to look for the print addition of Cory’s Car Questions in the classified section of one of our newspapers available at newsstands including: The Boyertown Area Times, The Southern Berks News, The Kutztown Area Patriot, The Hamburg Area Item, The Westside Weekly available at local newsstands.

The column also runs regularly in The Free Press (Quakertown) and The Saucon News and The Community Connection serving the Pottsgrove and Pottstown School Districts.

Boyertown fire claims life

A local woman was confirmed dead Tuesday after an afternoon fire at the Boyertown Community Library that closed down a portion of East Philadelphia Avenue and evacuated staff.

Boyertown police Chief Barry Leatherman said he had established verbal contact with an elderly woman in the second floor apartment at 31 E. Philadelphia Ave. after arriving at the scene.

“I heard the lady hollering for help near the rear window and I told her to stay near the window where she could be rescued,” said Leatherman.

“But then at some point she became unresponsive,” he added.

Linda Famous, a member of the library board of directors, said there are a total of three apartments above the library which is actually two joined structures.

Famous said the fire occurred in the single apartment located above the children’s reading section of the library.

Two more apartments above an adjacent building, which is also part of the library complex, were apparently unaffected by the blaze.

Famous said one is vacant while the other is occupied by library director Ed Goyda.

“The library was closed at the time, so only our staff was in there thank god,” Famous said.

Goyda, who was in the library at the time, said the staff had just finished up with a morning children’s program which runs from 10 to 11:30 a.m. when they noticed smoke filling the children’s section of the library. (More)

Staff Photo: Harold Hoch