The fifth meeting of the Carbon County Mayor's Association was held at the Inn at Jim Thorpe. One of the things mentioned was that a countywide Crime Watch unit is being organized.

Present were Jim Thorpe Mayor Michael Sofranko, Lehighton Mayor Donald Rehrig, Nesquehoning Mayor Tony Walck, Summit Hill Mayor Paul McArdle, Palmerton Mayor Chris Olivia and guest speaker Sen. John Yudichak."I think that the Mayor's Association is a great idea," said Yudichak, who was invited by Walck."The mayors and their communities face many of the same problems and challenges and have come together collectively in the form of the association to tackle these problems. We're here to help them by bringing them an update on the budget in Harrisburg, the transportation issues, the liquor privatization, some of the hot-button issues," said Yudichak."Probably most importantly, the decision today by the State Supreme Court that there will be new districts for the House and Senate members and the 14th Senatorial District will now include all of Carbon County," he said.Jim Thorpe Mayor Sofranko responded, "We're happy that the senator could be here. He's going to hear some of our concerns and we've heard what he's trying to do for the Carbon County area."In expressing the feelings of those gathered, Palmerton Mayor Olivia noted "as with all of the mayors, we'd like to thank the senator for having the Community Safety Day, which was a great success and was enjoyed by several hundred children and adults and was a great day for everyone."Summit Hill Mayor McArdle brought up his Community Watch Group and said that he will be the go-to person for the Carbon County Community Watch Group, which is being set up for the near future.Lehighton Mayor Rehrig discussed state Rep. Doyle Heffley's Drug & Alcohol Expo, held recently at Lehighton Area High School and attended by over 400 people noting that "it was a great success!"The Carbon County Mayor's Association plans to meet again sometime in September.