Two firefighters and two residents were taken to the hospital after a weekend fire in Northampton County. The fire happened around 1 o'clock Sunday afternoon at a home on Heritage Lane in Walnutport. "We arrived and found the front half of the house well-involved and we had two victims taken to the hospital," says Brian Krische, who is the Assistant Fire Chief of the Lehigh Township Fire Department. He says the two firefighters were treated for injuries at the hospital and released. There's no word yet on the conditions of the two residents who were hospitalized.
The Trinity Episcopal Church in Bethlehem remains closed, nearly a full month after a water main break. The church, on East Market Street, has been closed since the water main break that flooded the church's lower floors and damaged the upper floors the day after Christmas. Since then, Trinity Episcopal's congregation has worshipped at nearby Christ Church UCC.
Accu-Weather's Matt Benz says we won't have to worry about any snow this week, but that doesn't mean we're free and clear of winter weather this week. "We kind of in this transition period where we're going from really cold that we've seen over the last week to really warm later this week and as that warm, moist air pushes into the region, we're going to have some tricky issues tomorrow morning. Maybe a little freezing drizzle or even some freezing rain to start the day tomorrow," Benz says. He says it's all about the timing. If precipitation arrives early enough and before temperatures go above freezing, then that precipitation will cause some slick conditions.
State students may soon be allowed to take mental health days. The Education Committee in the state House has voted to send a bill on to the full chamber that would help students who've dealt with emotional issues made worse by the COVID-19 pandemic. The bill, if passed, would allow students to take up to three mental health days during the school year without a doctor's excuse.
It now costs a bit more to send letters in the mail. Over the weekend, the United States Postal Service increased the cost of a first-class forever U.S. postage stamp from the current 66 cents to 68 cents. The price of domestic postcard stamps also rose from 51 cents to 53 cents and stamps for international postcards are now up a nickel to $1.55.