Hometown Heroes
Honoring the veterans, first responders, and community servants who make the Lehigh Valley a better place.
Hometown Heroes
Detective James Stanko: The Allentown Officer Who Gave Everything to the Kids Who Needed Him Most
When Detective James Stanko passed away in January 2022, Allentown lost more than an officer. The PAL program, the Boys and Girls Club, and an entire generation of young people lost the mentor who showed up for them every single day.
Hometown Heroes
Healthcare Where It Is Needed Most: The Neighborhood Health Centers of the Lehigh Valley
Since 2004, the Neighborhood Health Centers of the Lehigh Valley have provided healthcare to nearly 7,500 patients a year across Allentown, Bethlehem, and Easton, serving communities that the traditional healthcare system often leaves behind.
Hometown Heroes
Henry Cochran: Allentown's Firefighter of the Year and the Mentor Every Probie Needs
Henry Cochran was named Allentown Fire Department's 2024 Firefighter of the Year not for a single dramatic rescue, but for something harder to measure: being the dependable, steady presence that every fire company needs and every junior firefighter deserves.
Hometown Heroes
A Mini ER on Wheels: St. Luke's EMS Physician Response Team
St. Luke's University Health Network launched the first EMS Physician Response Team in the Lehigh Valley, putting an emergency physician in a specially equipped vehicle that brings the emergency room to the patient.
Hometown Heroes
Leading The Way: How LVHN Nurses Led the Lehigh Valley Through COVID
When COVID hit the Lehigh Valley, LVHN nurses were on the front lines. These are the stories of the nurses who held the line.
Hometown Heroes
Into the River: The Allentown Officers Who Dove into the Lehigh to Save a Drowning Man
When a man fell into the Lehigh River near Adams Island, Allentown police officers Kayla Balatgek and Andrew Gehringer did not wait for a rescue team. They stripped off their gear and jumped in. Fire Lieutenant Vincent Kidd followed them.
Hometown Heroes
St. Luke's Nurses Honor Guard: The Lehigh Valley's Most Moving Tribute to Fallen Nurses
Founded by nurse Denise Snyder, the St. Luke's Nurses Honor Guard has honored more than 120 former nurses with Nightingale Ceremonies since its creation, becoming the first of its kind in the Lehigh Valley.
Sponsored
Explore the Lehigh Valley
Stories, events, and more from across the region.
Archive
Hometown Heroes
Off Duty, On Instinct: The Palmer Township Firefighters Who Pulled Two People from a Burning Car
Palmer Township firefighters Andy Carr and Matt Fredericks were off duty when they came upon a fiery crash on Route 248. With no gear and no backup, they pulled two people from the wreckage. Ten more seconds and it would have been too late.
Hometown Heroes
The Nurses Who Hold the Valley Together: LVHN's Friends of Nursing Awards
Every year during National Nurses Week, Lehigh Valley Health Network honors its most extraordinary nurses at a ceremony that has become one of the most meaningful celebrations in the region's healthcare community.
Hometown Heroes
Two Troopers, One Burning Building, Fifty Lives Saved: The Whitehall Apartment Fire Rescue
When an apartment complex caught fire in Whitehall Township on October 25, 2024, Pennsylvania State Police Troopers Philip Buccigrossi and Justin Yozsa were first on scene. They entered the smoke filled building and helped evacuate more than 50 people and several pets. No lives were lost.
Hometown Heroes
National Night Out: How the Lehigh Valley Turns One Summer Evening into a Celebration of Community and Safety
Every first Tuesday in August, 18 or more Lehigh Valley communities host National Night Out events where neighbors meet first responders, kids climb on fire trucks, and the line between police and community disappears for one beautiful evening.
Hometown Heroes
Detective Emily Falko: Bethlehem's Police Officer of the Year and the Cases That Define Her
Detective Emily Falko of the Bethlehem Police Department was named Police Officer of the Year for her investigative work on homicide cases and online predator investigations. Her story shows what modern policing looks like when it is done right.
Hometown Heroes
The Volunteer Fire Company Crisis: How the Lehigh Valley Is Fighting to Save a Tradition
Pennsylvania's volunteer firefighter ranks have dropped from 60,000 to 38,000 since 2000. In the Lehigh Valley, fire companies are getting creative to keep the tradition alive, from tax breaks to paid stipends to fastnacht fundraisers.
Sponsored
Explore the Lehigh Valley
Stories, events, and more from across the region.
Hometown Heroes
Hooves on Patrol: The Return of Bethlehem's Mounted Police Unit
After a 63 year absence, Bethlehem brought back its mounted police unit in 2009. Funded entirely by donors and staffed by dedicated officers, the unit has become one of the most visible and beloved arms of the department.
Hometown Heroes
Bobby Lewullis and the Brotherhood: How 30 Fire Departments Rallied for One of Their Own
When Wilson Borough firefighter Bobby Lewullis fell from a ladder fighting a three alarm blaze in downtown Easton, the response from the fire service stretched from Brooklyn to Washington, D.C. That is what brotherhood looks like.
Hometown Heroes
From Eight Volunteers to 41,000 Calls: The Cetronia Ambulance Corps Story
What started in 1955 with eight volunteers from the tiny village of Cetronia has grown into one of the largest ambulance providers in eastern Pennsylvania, answering over 41,000 calls for service every year.
Hometown Heroes
Chief Charles Roca: Allentown's First Latino Police Chief and the Kid Who Grew Up in PAL
Charles Roca went from being a kid in the Allentown Police Athletic League to becoming the city's first Latino police chief. His story is the Lehigh Valley's story: hard work, community roots, and showing up for the people who raised you.
Hometown Heroes
K9 Bean and the Bethlehem Police: How a Dog from the Netherlands Became the City's Most Beloved Officer
K9 Bean, a German Shorthaired Pointer from the Netherlands, joined the Bethlehem Police Department in 2021 and has since become one of the most recognized faces in the city, both on patrol and in local classrooms.
Hometown Heroes
Fallen but Not Forgotten: The New Tripoli Firefighters Who Gave Everything
On December 7, 2022, firefighters Marvin Gruber and Zachary Paris of the Community Fire Company of New Tripoli entered a burning house to search for a trapped occupant. They never came out. Their sacrifice united a region.
