5 Candidates Want to Be Easton's Next District Judge

Two lawyers, a constable, a code inspector and the city controller all running for vacant court seat.

Five different candidates—all from different parts of Easton, all with deep roots in the community—want to be the city's next district judge. In the weeks leading up to the May 21 primary election, we asked all of them to fill out a questionnaire about themselves and their candidacy. Click on their names to see how they responded: Of the five candidates, three—Koorie, Grifo and Bassil—are cross-filed so that they'll appear on the Democratic and Republican ballots. The seat—which covers downtown Easton, College Hill and part of the West Ward—was left open last year upon the sudden death of Judge Gay Elwell. There's a chance the state could approve a county redistricting plan for its courts, which would move the section of the West Ward …

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Block Watch Remembers Gay Elwell

Easton Block Watch will set up scholarship in memory of late district judge.

The Easton Block Watch has set up a scholarship award in memory of Gay Elwell, the city district judge and an advocate for the block watch. The $500 award—announced at last week's block watch meeting—will go each year to a high school senior interested in a legal or criminal justice career. Elwell, who died last year, was a supporter of the block watch, working with it on a program called "court watch," in which block watch members would provide moral support to victims in criminal cases. The block watch says it will provide more details about the Annual Honorable Gay Elwell Memorial Scholarship Award at its June meeting.

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Candidates Line Up For District Judge Seat

At least two candidates plan to run for District Judge Gay Elwell's post, while an Easton attorney could announce her candidacy on Monday.

The race to fill Easton's vacant district judge seat could be a crowded one. Last week, city code enforcement officer Sharbel Koorie announced his candidacy for the position left open by the death of Judge Gay Elwell.  On Friday, Lance Wheeler, a constable and former lead court officer in Northampton County, said he'll make his announcement January 15. And they could be facing a third opponent: Easton attorney Antonia Grifo has scheduled a news conference for Monday to "discuss the Magisterial District Judge position."  Elwell, 54, died in December of natural causes. The county's retired district judges have been filling in until a new judge is elected or appointed.

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5 Things to Do in Easton This Weekend

Art shows for Gay Elwell and the Center for Animal Health and Welfare, and more...

Good morning everyone. It's Friday, and that means it's time to look ahead to what's happening this weekend in Easton. 1. Can't Fill These Shoes, an art show in honor of the late Easton District Judge Gay Elwell, opens at 1 p.m. Saturday at the Easton Yoga building. (Use the Pine Street entrance.) 2. The Center for Animal Health and Welfare celebrates 100 years of caring for local strays with an art exhibit detailing its history Saturday from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. at ConneXions Gallery. 3.  The Philadelphia Funk Authority plays tonight at 8 at Rivals Sports Bar, followed by DJ Jax at 11 p.m. 4. Also on the life music front, Porters Pub has two shows this weekend: Jeff Bellfly and Kevin Soffera tonight, and DJ Discreet on Saturday. Both shows …

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Art Show to Pay Tribute to Gay Elwell

'Can't Fill These Shoes' invites people to create art from shoes to honor the late district judge.

When Easton District Judge Gay Elwell died last month, mourners at her funeral spoke of her connection to her family and friends, her fairness in the courtroom, and her love of art. There were also more than a few mentions of her shoes. The judge's trademark stilettos are the inspiration for Can't Fill These Shoes, an art show happening this weekend in her honor. Local artists have turned donated heels into works of art that are scheduled to go on display Saturday at 1 p.m. at the Easton Yoga building. Proceeds from the sale of the decorated stilettos will go to one of Elwell's favorite charities. You can also purchase one of the shoes Friday at ConneXions from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m.

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Easton Patch's Most-Read Stories of 2012

Crime, Hurricane Sandy and the presidential election were among our most popular stories of the year.

Coverage of crime, Hurricane Sandy and the presidential election were among the most popular stories of the year. And that was the case here in Easton, where our readers were drawn to stories about local homicides and other crime, the hurricane's effect on the city, and the Obama/Romney race. Easton saw five homicides in 2012:  The most high profile crime story of the year actually took place outside of the city limits, in Williams Township. That's where Mark Werkheiser, a 38-year-old father of four, was shot and killed in his home March 15.  Elizabeth Collazo, the mother of Werkheiser's children, is scheduled to plead guilty to his murder Monday morning. Williams Township was also the home of another suspicious death. Michael Muretta, 47…

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Hundreds Gather to Remember Gay Elwell

Funeral for Easton district judge draws family, friends, colleagues and even some former defendants.

If you wanted a sense of how many lives Gay Elwell touched during her 54 years, all you needed to do was see who spoke at her funeral Sunday. College professors and recovering addicts. Journalists and lawyers. Family members and longtime friends, as well as people who'd encountered her only a handful of times.  They all lined up to remember Elwell, who died last Monday of natural causes.  "Easton is a lesser place," Pastor Tom Robinson of Calvary United Methodist Church told a standing room only audience at the Bank Street Annex. "But also Easton is a much better place because she was here. The ripples of what she has done have changed this community for the better." And that change meant different things to different people.  Speakers …

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Coroner: Judge Elwell Died of Natural Causes

Funeral service for Easton district judge scheduled for this weekend.

Easton District Judge Gay Elwell died of natural causes, according to Northampton County Coroner Zach Lysek. Speaking to the Express-Times Lysek wouldn't specify a cause of death, but said the judge died of natural causes. Elwell, 54, was found dead at her College Hill home Monday. Funeral services for Elwell, who had served as downtown Easton's district judge for 16 years, have been scheduled for Sunday at 1 p.m. at the Bank Street Annex. A viewing is scheduled for Saturday at the Ashton Funeral Home from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.

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Gay Elwell Funeral Services Set For Weekend

Viewing for deceased Easton district judge scheduled for Saturday. Funeral service Sunday.

Funeral services for Easton District Judge Gay Elwell have been set for this weekend. The Ashton Funeral Home, at 1337 Northampton St. in Easton, will hold a viewing for Elwell -- who died Monday at 54 -- Saturday from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. A funeral service is scheduled for 1 p.m. Sunday at the Bank Street Annex, 316 Northampton St. Burial will be private at the Easton Cemetery. According to the funeral home's website, memorial contributions can be sent to the following Easton organizations: Elwell is survived by her mother, two sisters and two brothers, nieces and nephews, as well as her husband Karl Stirner, whom she'd been with for 30 years., and his children and grandchildren. Her brother, Jonathan, died earlier this year. On a related …

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From the Editor's Desk

Easton Remembers Gay Elwell

City residents pay tribute to deceased district judge.

I've been doing news reporting in Easton for nearly 11 years now, but I'd only really gotten to know District Judge Gay Elwell in the last two.  We'd both worked for The Morning Call as reporters in its Easton bureau, although she'd already been on the bench for five years by the time I came to town. I'd stop by her court during my newspaper days, but it was never with any consistency. Once I got this job, that changed, and her downtown Easton offices (first in Centre Square, then, oddly enough, inside the former Morning Call offices) became part of my normal routine.  On Monday, when my friend Joe Frinzi called to give me the news that Elwell had been found dead, I had to pull my car over, mostly out of confusion. It seemed like a …

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Joanne

1:41 am on Monday, December 10, 2012

I'm thinking that I'll take Nardo.610-428-8764.   more ›