By Bridget Wingert, Executive Editor
At last we have left 2021 behind. It was a year of fires and floods, tornadoes in unexpected places, political upheaval and protests, around the country, and surprisingly in local school districts.
It was a year when journalism, which has always prided itself in dissemination of truth, was under attack from misinformation that proliferated across the internet, newspapers, radio and television.
The year opened with a promise that COVID-19 vaccines would bring our lives back to normal – now we can hardly remember what normal was.
The pandemic eased but it’s back in a new strain that’s highly transmissable. Offices that expected to open with workers on site have had to rethink remote working and schools are coping again with the idea, if not the reality, of remote learning.
Travel plans have been upended, airlines have canceled flights, restaurants are demanding proof of vaccination, and mask-wearing is in fashion again. Being fully vaccinated has meant getting a booster shot.
A bright spot exists this year in the hope that the omicron virus will peak soon and rapidly wane.
In 2022, we expect at least to bring back most rites of passage for students. We will have weddings, plays, concerts, parades and parties, and yes, funerals, with people attending. We hope public transportation will be restored and hospitals will be able to operate with full staffs. We hope severely overworked medical and emergency service workers get the relief they need.
So here’s to 2022, a year of promise!
By Mike Guarino
A Warminster man faces multiple homicide charges after shooting an 18-year-old man at Nockamixon State Park in October 2020. Kenneth Troy Heller, 52, surrendered to police Dec. 29, 2020, after a months-long investigation identified him as the only suspect. He was offered a plea deal of involuntary manslaughter (the lowest level of homicide).
Sen. Steve Santarsiero announces an $8.7 million project at Washington Crossing Historic Park. The project rehabilitates 11 historic homes and other structures throughout the park. It’s expected to be completed in spring 2022.
The Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) gives final approval to a new liquified natural gas export terminal in Gibbstown, N.J, with a 4-0 vote on Dec. 9, 2020. Penn Environment, a statewide environmental advocacy organization, objected to the vote.
Bucks County Commissioner Gene DiGirolamo issues an open letter to Pennsylvanians following the Capitol insurrection on Jan. 6. He found it “disgusting,” “disgraceful” and “painful to watch” – especially as a lifelong Republican. DiGirolamo laid the blame for the invasion that resulted in five deaths squarely on the shoulders of President Donald Trump.
Parents and staff rally to stop the possible closure of Quakertown Elementary School.
U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick and colleagues introduce a concurrent resolution to censure President Trump for attempting to unlawfully overturn the 2020 presidential election and for violating his oath of office on Jan. 6.
After a month’s delay becuse of COVID-19, the high school winter sports season gets underway in Bucks County.
State police charge a man who was living in the woods in Durham Township with threatening violence and death to President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, Gov. Tom Wolf, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, and their supporters.
Doylestown Borough considers relaxing penalties for possession of small amounts of marijuana. If adopted, the resolution would be the first such measure in Bucks County.
Bucks County says it expects all employees at its Neshaminy Manor nursing home in Warrington to be inoculated with the COVID-19 vaccine by the end of March.
The Veterans Administration Medical Center in Philadelphia offers free COVID-19 vaccinations to veterans age 75 and older and to veterans under 75 with chronic health conditions on Jan. 23. Over 2,000 veterans are vaccinated that at the mass clinic.
Upper Makefield Board of Supervisors approves a measure that increases the pay-out a resident can receive for planting a tree.
Pennsylvania Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar resigns over her agency’s failure to advertise a proposed constitutional amendment that would extend the time frame during which survivors of sexual abuse can sue the perpetrators.
Solebury Township supervisors ensure that proposed renovations in historic districts don’t take forever by proposing 180-day limits on certificates of appropriateness and building permits.
The U.S. Supreme Court announces it will take up the PennEast Pipeline Co. v. New Jersey case.
Sen. Steve Santarsiero (D-10) hosts a panel of experts to discuss COVID-19 vaccines. Each expert agreed there isn’t enough COVID-19 vaccine available to meet the enormous need across Bucks County.
More than 24 inches of snow fall between Feb. 1 and 10, leading to emergency rescues and lots of snowed-in people.
Central Bucks School District eliminates the hybrid option for middle and high school students. Students in grades seven through 12 chose between in-person or virtual classes all week.
A routine traffic stop in Bedminster Township leads to a drug investigation that takes nearly $4 million worth of cocaine, heroin and fentanyl of the streets.
Avon Road Partners LP hopes to purchase the Stockton Inn, a 300-year-old icon in the Borough of Stockton, N.J.
Pennsylvania health officials announce changes to the allocation of the first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. Bucks County interim emergency management director says campuses of the county’s three community colleges will host appointment-only clinics for those allowed in the state’s 1A phase. As of Feb. 12, 356,108 people are fully vaccinated in Pennsylvania.
The Riegelsville Community Fire Company and the Ottsville Volunteer Fire Company consolidate into a single entity. Ottsville’s Fire Chief Bill Shick says both companies had voted to consolidate.
A groundbreaking ceremony celebrates the start of renovations for the new Frenchtown Bookshop and Cafe in the former Book Garden building, an 1860s Victorian mansion in Frenchtown, N.J.
Local residents raise money to repair the car of Jared Della Ratta, a cook in Peddler’s Village, so he wouldn’t need to walk 10 miles to work.
Springfield Township digs deep into its savings following more than 10 winter events, all coming since January. The winter weather costs taxpayers nearly $120,000 for material and labor costs.
The Delaware River Basin Commission rules against hydrofracking in the Delaware River Basin.
PennEnvironment Research & Policy Center conducts a study of 53 waterways in Pennsylvania. Microplastic contamination was found in every spot, including the Delaware River and multiple Bucks County streams.
The reopening of the bridge at Tinicum’s Headquarters Road and Sheep Hole Road faces controversy as residents disagree on PennDOT’s proposal. One group hopes to rehab the existing bridge on grounds of environmental protection, historic preservation, and traffic safety. Other residents argue that travel inconvenience and increased emergency response times may result as a consequence of a one-lane bridge.
Despite people driving far fewer miles in 2020 due to COVID-19, deaths from vehicle crashes rose 24% from 2019, according to The National Safety Council.
New Hope Borough presses ahead with plans to build a new parking garage on borough-owned land just north of the Union Square shop and office complex. Design and construction contracts will need to be awarded before the end of June to secure $1.75 million in state grant funds.
The Scudder Falls Bridge Replacement Project along I-295 in New Jersey and Pennsylvania reaches the 90% complete mark. A major construction milestone was reached on March 16, when the last of 98 steel support girders for the second parallel span was lifted and secured into place.
Doylestown’s County Theater nears completion of its multimillion dollar expansion and renovation project. A number of factors will influence the reopening date.
Delaware Valley University President Maria Gallo announces that she is leaving her position at the end of the spring semester.
Gov. Tom Wolf tours the Bucks County Intermediate Unit vaccination site. The vaccination clinic at the Bucks IU in Doylestown is part of a commonwealth-wide effort to vaccinate educators, staff and contractors and get students back in classrooms.
Nockamixon Township supervisors unanimously grant preliminary/final approval and a zoning waiver request for a new Dollar General store in Ottsville, on Durham Road (Route 412) across from St. John’s Church’s Regina Academy.
Doylestown Borough reintroduces pedestrian zones on some of its downtown streets to allow room for outdoor dining and shopping. The zones rotate and road closures are set for specific times.
Lambertville City Council votes 4-1 to move forward in purchasing the Closson property, a 9-acre area used recreationally by city residents for generations. The vote featured robust debate and emotional public comment.
William Henry Deppenschmidt III, the jazz drummer and teacher, passes away peacefully in Doylestown. Known as Buddy, he helped change the course of jazz history by sparking the bossa nova craze.
Volunteers including Bucks County Treasurer Kris Ballerini and members of the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat commission helped to stock the Delaware Canal ahead of trout season.
Work begins on a two-story groundwater treatment plant in Doylestown Borough. Residents and officials waited years for the contaminated groundwater at the Chem-Fab Superfund Site to be treated and removed.
Former Warminster Township Police Officer James Carey is charged with sexually abusing four teenage boys while he worked as a D.A.R.E. officer two decades ago.
Quakertown Borough hosts a ceremonial groundbreaking for their new $1 million playground. QuiNBy’s Playground at Memorial Park is expected to open to the public later this fall.
Palisades School District announces two pandemic-adjusted, in-person events for high school seniors. Prom is scheduled for late May and graduation for early June.
A 14 year-old is charged with five counts each of terroristic threats, false reports to law enforcement authorities, disorderly conduct and false reports to the Safe2Say program. The threats referred to explosives, staff, police and individuals at two Quakertown schools.
Neil King, a former journalist at the Wall Street Journal, stops at Moravian Pottery & Tile Works in Doylestown during his 300-mile walk to explore the legacies of American originalists.
Upper Makefield Township supervisors vote unanimously to reject Toll Brothers’ proposal to build 45 single family homes on some 66 acres of Stoopville Road. The residential development has been at the center of legal challenges and controversy for nearly 15 years.
Barbara Bluejay Michalski helps plant an Eastern red cedar in Aquetong Spring Park. The cedar and a sugar maple were special additions to the park to fulfill a request by the Lenape Nation of Pennsylvania for use in tribal ceremonial practices.
New Hope Borough Council issues RFPs for the design of a parking garage within the borough. Community members express reservation about the plan at public council meetings.
Memorial Park in Lower Makeield Township, which houses the official state memorial to victims of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, is set for major upgrades.
Bucks County commissioners announce that The Tile Works of Bucks County, founded by Katia McGuirk, will become the new operating partner of The Moravian Pottery and Tile Works. Bucks County retains ownership of the historic Henry Mercer property.
Warrington Township Police Department promotes Jessica Bloomingdale to sergeant. She is the first female officer to be promoted to sergeant in the 50-year history of the department.
Lower Makeield Township sells its sewer system to Aqua Pennsylvania for $53 million. The township expects to pay debt, fix roads and ensure lower taxes with the money.
Frenchtown Borough Council passes a resolution calling for a pause in NJDOT’s rockfall mitigation project at the Devil’s Tea Table and along Routes 29 and I-78 in Hunterdon County.
Two people sustain minor injuries when a car crashes into the front of the Dublin Hardware store at the intersection of Route 313 and Maple Avenue.
Gov. Tom Wolf increases the capacity limits for both indoor and outdoor events. Businesses are permitted to have 50% of their capacity indoors and 75% for outdoor events.
U.S. News & World Report ranks Palisades High School as among the top 2,500 in the country, and also as the highest ranked high school in Upper Bucks.
Fully-vaccinated people are no longer required to wear a mask in most county buildings. According to data from the Bucks County Health Department, the number of new COVID-19 cases continues to fall and is at the lowest level since early November 2020.
Durham Township receives $112,017 from the American Rescue Plan but the board of supervisors does not make any immediate decision on how to spend the funds.
Bucks County Herald writers, photographers and designers win Keystone Awards in the annual Pensylvania NewsMedia Association statewide competition. The awards include first and second place and honorable mention for work published in 2020.
Winning candidates of the May 18 Primary Election are announced. There were 1,848 candidates for local positions.
Heritage Conservancy president Jeffrey L. Marshall is set to retire after four decades with the land conservation and historic preservation organization.
In remembrance of the death of George Floyd, the NAACP Bucks County hosts the George Floyd Memorial Vigil and Call to Action at the Bucks County Courthouse Lawn in Doylestown. Floyd was killed in May 2020 by former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin.
Doylestown Borough officials reverse their decision to cancel the popular Memorial Day Parade after Gov. Wolf announces all COVID-19 restrictions except masking will be lifted at the end of May.
A parade of boats commemorates the life of Jason Kutt, an 18-year-old Sellersville resident fatally shot at Lake Nockamixon in October 2020.
The founding director of Doylestown’s County Theater aims to reopen in June after a multimillion dollar expansion and renovation project.
Delaware Valley University celebrates the Classes of 2020 and 2021 at in-person commencement ceremonies.
PennDOT says it is ready to proceed with its two-lane bridge replacement proposal for the Headquarters Road crossing of Tinicum Creek at Sheep Hole Road. PennDOT closed the present one-lane bridge in 2011, and controversy has raged since at Tinicum Township meetings.
Mary Kate Huff becomes the first woman to hold the rank of sergeant with the Upper Makefield Township Police Department.
Perkasie Borough Council unanimously passes a resolution declaring the month of June as LGBTQ+ Pride Month, and declared June 26 as Pride Day.
After last year’s ceremonies were canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic, high schools across the region celebrate the Class of 2021 during graduation ceremonies.
Former Warminster Township police officer James Carey is charged with sexually assaulting a fifth teenage boy while working as a DA.R.E. officer more than two decades ago. Carey, 52, of Cape May Court House, N.J., was arrested on April 7 following a lengthy investigation.
Yardley Borough recognizes the LGBTQ+ community during their first in-person council meeting in 15 months. Council members and police helped raise the Progress Pride flag on the pole outside Borough Hall.
A Central Bucks East student dies of injuries suffered in a crash in the Poconos hours after attending the school’s prom, and a second student sustained what Principal Dr. Chad M. Watters called “life-threatening injuries.”
The Palisades School District community mourns the loss of one of its teachers and two of its alumni over the weekend. The crash involving the two alumni also took the life of a woman and seriously injured another man.
A 17-year-old girl from Quakertown is killed in a motor vehicle crash on John Fries Highway. One passenger in the other involved vehicle suffers a minor injury.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers from Washington Dulles International Airport seize 240 blank firing pistols that could easily be converted into handguns. The seized pistols, which arrived in air cargo from Turkey, were appraised at more than $19,000 and addressed to a location in Bensalem.
According to legal action filed in federal court, the Central Bucks School District fails to credit female teachers for their education and experience when calculating their pay scale in the same way they do for male teachers. Philadelphia attorney Edward Mazurek says theat CBSD violated the Equal Pay Act.
Kassie Mundhenk, 19, of Kintnersville, plays the role of Moira Ross in the HBO megahit, “Mare of Eastown.”
Solebury Township aims to reduce its deer population to prevent environmental degradation. Dr. Jay Kelly of Raritan Valley Community College finds 2,054 deer in the 27-square-mile township. Kelly recommends intensification of deer management across 90% or more of the township.
The pilot of a small red plane that crashed into a wooded area of The Ridings of Buckingham neighborhood in a late morning accident is pronounced dead at the scene. Authorities believe the plane was headed to Doylestown airport.
Avon Road Partners, the developer seeking to acquire the Stockton Inn, withdraws its plan to develop the 300-year-old inn and its surrounding area.
Two brothers from Somerset, N.J. are arrested for the murder of a 27-year-old New Jersey man in Richland Township. Anthony and Joshua Gamble are accused of killing Kevin Rosero with a large knife and leaving his body in a wooded area near East Pumping Station and Heller roads.
A pair of Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court decisions restore the rights of neighbors to the Adelphia Gateway Pipeline compressor station and its host municipality to receive a full hearing on their challenges to the facility’s air permit.
Juneteenth (June 19) becomes a federal holiday when President Joe Biden signs the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act.
A strawberry moon shines in late June. The full moon is the last “supermoon” of the year, as it comes within at least 90% of its closest approach to Earth in its elliptical orbit (about 226,000 miles from Earth, known as the perigee).
The U.S. Supreme Court rules that the state of New Jersey cannot block construction of the PennEast natural gas pipeline on state lands.
The Delaware Riverkeeper Network files a legal challenge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania against the National Park Service’s decision to allow demolition of the Headquarters Road Bridge in Tinicum Township.
The Bucks County Board of Elections agrees to add seven ballot drop boxes, bringing the total number to 11. Ballot drop boxes will be placed in public libraries from Upper Bucks to Bensalem.
A Doylestown man dies while swimming in the Delaware River near Bull’s Island Recreation Area after being pulled underwater by the river’s current.
The 2021 Walk for Our Grandchildren takes place June 20 to 28, covering ground from Scranton to Wilmington. One stop along the route is Tinicum Park. Frontline organizers fighting against fossil fuels were a vital part of the walk.
Bucks County Commissioners call on Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-1) and Senators Pat Toomey and Bob Casey to have Postmaster General Louis DeJoy address ongoing defects in the Postal Service.
A test that can measure a person’s antibodies to COVID-19 launches at the Bucks County Biotechnology Center in Buckingham. VaxEffect, developed by Flow- Metric Inc., can determine and track an individual’s immune response to any of the COVID-19 vaccines.
Solebury Township supervisors continue to seek solutions for their growing deer problem. Supervisors agree to advertise for sharpshooters, which causes controversy among residents.
Lambertville introduces an ordinance to allow four marijuana retail shops to open within its borders. More than 80% of city voters approved a statewide referendum on marijuana legalization in November 2020.
County, state and local officials assess damage in Lower Bucks County after lingering storms lead to flash flooding. Residences in Bristol Township, Bristol Borough and Bensalem Township were evacuated and others condemned. Hardest hit was Lafayette Gardens, a complex of condominiums in Bensalem.
New Hope-Solebury School District adopts Diwali as an official school holiday. Five to 10% of the student population observes the Hindu holiday.
The Bucks County hunter who killed 18-year-old Jason Kutt at Nockamixon State Park in October 2020 pleads guilty and is sentenced to seven to 20 years in state prison.
The Newtown Township Police Department assists numerous federal agents serving search warrants at each of the KVK-Tech facilities located within Newtown Township. KVK-Tech and two executives from the generic drug manufacturer, Murty Vepuri and Ashvin Panchal, were charged by indictment in June with conspiracy to defraud the FDA.
Parts of Bucks County are targeted by tornadoes with winds that reach 140 mph in some areas. The hardest hit is the Trevose section of Bensalem Township.
“Behind the Walls,” a first-time job fair for prisoners at the Bucks County Correctional Facility, helps inmates meet with potential employers from 11 area businesses.
The Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development honors Richland Township’s request for $160,000 to establish connections between the Upper Bucks Rail Trail, the Saucon Rail Trail and the Bethlehem Trail.
In an effort to honor Jackie Hansen, owner and operator of Promised Land Natural Farm, Delaware Valley University students harvest nearly 1,000 pounds of produce with her husband, Paul Hansen.
The Bucks County District Attorney’s Office Drug Strike Force arrests correctional officer Anthony Louis Miller on charges of smuggling suboxone strips into the Bucks County Correctional Facility.
Everett Wick finds a 1931 edition of the Chalfont News in “excellent condition” in his Chalfont home’s basement.
The Delta variant has “upped the game” according to Dr. Randall N. Hyer, senior vice president of Moderna Therapeutics. The pharmaceutical executive advocates for indoor masking and elevated caution.
Amazon opens a high-tech grocery store (Amazon Fresh) in Warrington. It’s the company’s first store in Pennsylvania.
Kaushal Patel, owner of Kass Management & Consulting and several Bucks County pharmacies, and one of his employees, Mark Zulewski, will pay a $250,000 fine to settle allegations the employee improperly managed pharmacies and filled prescriptions.
Durham Township cancels its annual Community Day because of complications of the COVID-19 pandemic. The event began as a village party in 1953.
Falls Township restaurant goers may continue dining al fresco indefinitely after supervisors vote unanimously to permit outdoor dining on a permanent basis.
Hunterdon County voters gain the ability to vote early starting Oct. 23 and to experience new voter sign-in technology at the polls. Both measures were mandated by the state.
The Pennsylvania Departments of Education and Health welcome students across the commonwealth back to school. Many school districts plan on bringing students back into classrooms full-time.
By a 5-3 vote, the board of school directors for the Palisades School District implements a mask mandate for the coming academic year.
In a 7-0 vote, the New Hope-Solebury District Board of School Directors approves its Health and Safety Plan requiring masking for all staff and students through the first marking period.
Yardley Borough Police Chief Joseph D. Kelly III recovers and plans a return to work after being wounded in a shooting incident at Yardley Commons condominiums. The police chief was allegedly shot by a young man through the door of his unit.
Lambertville passes a landscape ordinance that requires a minimum 75% of plant cover be native species in new, expanded or renovated projects that change greater than 50% of a building or lot.
The Falls Township Board of Supervisors votes unanimously to advance the next phase of the massive NorthPoint development project at the former U.S. Steel site. The developer will begin constructing a 1 million-square-foot warehouse at the Keystone Trade Center as part of its first phase.
In honor of Harrison Willing, a 14-year-old boy who died in 2018 due to cancer, the Borough of Quakertown officially designates September as Childhood Cancer Awareness month.
The Central Bucks School Board votes to pass a Health and Safety plan 5 to 4 that institutes universal masking in school. At the board meeting where voting took place, one school director resigns after death threats to him and his family. The meeting featured a contentious and controversial public comment section attended by many district residents.
Members of Doylestown’s Albert R. Atkinson Jr. American Legion Post 210 honor the fallen soldiers of the Kabul suicide bombing in a memorial service.
Fourteen months after it debuted during a global pandemic, the socially-distanced, original song “Lehigh Valley Be Free” is nominated for a regional Emmy award.
Large areas of the northeast United States experience destructive flooding due to the remnants of Hurricane Ida. Homes and business across several Pennsylvania and New Jersey counties are victims to a number of creeks and the Delaware River. Some cities receive 3 to 4 inches of rain per hour for a number of hours. Homes must be evacuated due to the severity of the flooding, with many families displaced. Dozens are killed as a result of the flooding and extreme weather.
A preliminary estimate of the financial cost to Bucks County’s infrastructure from the remains of Hurricane Ida suggests it could reach $9.4 million, based on county data.
People across the country commemorate the 20th anniversary of 9/11. Many local municipalities host remembrance events.
Parents and the school board president blast Quakertown School District’s aggressive measures to ensure compliance with Gov. Tom Wolf’s statewide mask mandate.
Palisades, Central Bucks and other local school districts face public backlash over their revised Health and Safety plans.
An increasing number of children age 4 and under test positive for COVID-19 in Bucks County at the start of September. One hundred and thiry one children between ages 5 and 18 test positive in the same time period.
President Joe Biden grants Pennsylvania’s request for a major disaster declaration. Critical federal aid is now available for those affected by the remnants of Hurricane Ida.
Richard Meleski pleads guilty to charges of lying about his military service and stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars pretending to be a veteran. The Chalfont man will serve more than 3 years in prison.
A Bucks County-based group distributes fliers at a Central Bucks School Board meeting inviting the community to a mask mandate protest. group.
U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona recognizes 325 schools as National Blue Ribbon Schools for 2021, including three from Bucks County.
The Doylestown Art Festival returns to downtown streets for the first time in two years, drawing about 12,000 attendees.
Solebury Township hosts a ribbon-cutting ceremony to mark the official opening of its new 48-acre Aquetong Spring Park.
The companies advancing the PennEast pipeline project announce that the pipeline has been canceled. PennEast did not receive certain required permits, including a water quality certification and other wetlands permits in New Jersey.
The House State Government Committee authorizes a referendum on a constitutional amendment that would require “valid identification” for every voter. The Republican-controlled committee proposed significant changes in several other key areas of the state’s election law. Gov. Wolf has promised to veto any bill that surpresses voting rights.
Pennsylvania Republican lawmakers’ attempt to gain access to 9 million state residents’ personal and voting information prompts Attorney General Josh Shapiro to file a lawsuit to block the effort.
Shaken by a car crash on Mountain View Road (Route 563) that claimed three young lives and threatened a fourth, Haycock Township residents ask state officials to consider safety measures in the vicinity of the site, near the entrance to Nockamixon State Park.
A bench from Ferry Landing Park in New Hope is swept into the Delaware River by the remnants of Hurricane Ida. It survives the 30-mile voyage south to Neshaminy State Park and is returned.
The nationwide bus driver shortage affects several local school districts.
Three Bucks county residents plead guilty to misdemeanor charges associated with their roles in the Jan. 6 storming of the U.S. Capitol.
Perkasie Borough amends an ordinance to restrict and define the use of all terrain vehicles (ATVs) and other off road vehicles.
Tinicum Township restores its force to four officers, including Chief Nicole Madden. Staffing was reduced to three in 2021 when the former chief left.
New Hope-Solebury School District finishes its new track and turf field installation project. The facility will host physical education courses, athletic team conditioning, practices and competitions.
Doylestown Borough Hall sells to the highest bidder – Larry Thompson, a borough resident and owner of several key Doylestown properties, buys it for $2.3 million.
Solebury Township hires professional sharpshooters to deal with its ever-increasing deer population. The board of supervisors votes unanimously to approve a $199,000 contract for the USDA to manage the culling of 1,000 deer in the township. An additional $85,000 to $90,000 will be paid to process the deer meat and distribute it to those in need.
Two lawsuits against Central Bucks School District move forward, both of which concern mask exemptions for students.
C.F. Martin and Co. hits a high note in its nearly 200-year guitar-manufacturing history with the grand opening of a new warehouse just outside Easton.
The Central Bucks Regional Police Department receives a $159,037, two-year federal grant to train officers to “reduce the intensity” of police encounters.
St. Luke’s plans to double the size of its Upper Bucks Campus hospital at the intersection of Route 663 and Portzer Road in two years with the completion of a three-story tower.
Lower Makefield plans a 3,400-foot addition to the township’s extensive bike trail system along Woodside Road.
New Hope Borough Council chooses Professional Landscape Services Inc. to restore Ferry Landing Park, which was damaged by the remnants of Hurricane Ida.
Yardley Borough Police Chief Joseph D. Kelly III earns three awards at a borough council meeting, all commending him for his courage and bravery during an Aug. 18 shooting incident in which he was injured.
Dr. Bridget O’Connell, superintendent of the Palisades School District, is named the 2022 Pennsylvania Superintendent of the Year by the Pennsylvania Association of School Administrators (PASA).
Morrisville Borough Council meets Nov. 15 to consider a revitalization plan for the Williamson Park area.
The Bridgeton-Nockamixon-Tinicum Groundwater Management Committee (BNTGMC), an Upper Bucks group of volunteer scientists, establish a weather station for Palisades School District.
Across the country, school boards are besieged by parents concerned about adult books stocked in their elementary school libraries. New Hope Solebury School District discusses the issue at their meeting.
Raritan Valley Community College students plant over 1,000 trees in Sourland Region public parks and preserves.
Gov. Tom Wolf announces the intention to return the commonwealth’s K-12 school mask requirement to local leaders on Jan. 17. Upon the expiration of the statewide mandate, local school officials will again implement mitigation efforts at the local level.
A Central Bucks School Board meeting becomes chaotic as two speakers disparage the Jewish community and transgender women.
Warrington police and the Bucks County District Attorney’s office arrest a male juvenile in connection with threats of an explosive device and a weapon made to Central Bucks High School South.
A Philadelphia man is convicted by a Bucks County jury of two counts of first-degree murder for killing two men in October 2019 at a campground in West Rockhill Township.
A new collaborative effort between police departments in Falls and Middletown townships, in conjunction with Bucks County, brings a specially-trained social worker to police calls involving mental health issues and domestic disputes.
Final results of the Nov. 2 election in Bucks County take days to tally, leaving the outcome of some close races uncertain for more than a week. Bucks County Commissioner Vice Chairman Bob Harvie cites Pennsylvania law that prevents the counting of votes until the polls close as a primary reason for the delay, and says they need the ability to precanvas.
Over 20 community members call for the resignation of Supervisor Nancy Santacecilia at the Doylestown Township Board of Supervisors meeting. Santacecilia was identified as a person dropping of flyers that contained racist and homophobic rhetoric.
The powers, duties, and functions of Washington Crossing Historic Park are transferred to the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources from the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission.
The Falls Township Board of Supervisors paves the way for the second phase of NorthPoint Development’s massive redevelopment at the former U.S. Steel site.
Many local municipalities release proposed budgets for 2022. The budgets reflect tax increases and decreases and other changes.
Jewish families across the region celebrate the start of Hanukkah by making potato latkes and building a towering Menorah from Legos.
Bucks County and Hunterdon County YMCAs open their doors and invite the community to try the Y for free as part of a community iniative.
Dawn Byers, the “matriarch” of Kids Castle in Doylestown Township, passes away following a four-year battle with ovarian cancer.
Bucks County’s outdoor attractions and robust marketing campaigns plus the increased travel demand and record number of weddings drives some of the county’s strongest ever lodging figures, according to Visit Bucks County.
Dozens of citizens stand in the pouring rain to rebuke antisemitic and transphobic comments at a previous Central Bucks School Board meeting. A CB South senior calls out the school board for its silence on the issue.
Quakertown School Board President Jonathan Kern accuses Harrisburg bureaucrats of “poisoning the waters” in Quakertown and other districts across the commonwealth by pitting the school board against the administration over COVID-19 mandates. Kern claimed administrators’ jobs were threatened if they didn’t toe the line.
Christopher G. Gillie, of Lackawanna County, is accused of setting the Buckingham home of his girlfriend’s elderly parents on fire, trapping the stepfather who died inside and forcing his wife to flee to the neighbors in the middle of the night. Gillie is held without bail.
A group of Lambertville residents gathers at a city council meeting with signs protesting moving the Lambertville Police Station. The key point in the discussion was the sale of the property to developer Kalian Management, who will redevelop it with 27 residential units, including five affordable housing units.
Doylestown Health holds a groundbreaking ceremony for a new Children’s Village. The day care facility was damaged beyond repair in August 2020, when a tornado touched down in Doylestown.
A controversial residential development in Upper Makefield again takes center stage as the township board votes to reject Fort Washington-headquartered Toll Brothers’ plan to build 77 new homes on roughly 99 acres on Stoopville Road near the Washington Crossing National Cemetery.
Falls and Middletown townships join the effort to pair social workers with their police departments. They are the latest municipalities to add social workers who can be called on to support police officers.
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court strikes down the Wolf administration’s school masking mandate, saying that state officials “lacked the authority to set the blanket requirement for students across the state.” Seven local school districts move to optional masking plans.
The Bucks County District Attorney’s office calls on the public to help locate Michael Allen Stark, 47, and Matthew James Branning, 50, who have been missing since Oct. 15.
A 26-year-old New York man faces homicide charges in a two-car crash that killed three people near Nockamixon State Park in June. He is arraigned on three counts of homicide by vehicle, three counts each of involuntary manslaughter and recklessly endangering another person.
Tullytown Borough Police Officer Nate Aldsworth performs CPR on a 4- to 5-day old baby boy who had stopped breathing, saving the infant’s life.
The Mercer Museum receives a late-18th century English flintlock boarding pistol that was stolen from its collection nearly 50 years ago.
Amid a rise in COVID-19 cases and the Omicron varient nationwide, families gather for the holiday season.
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