Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2026

Smithfield Township supervisors meet tonight, Wednesday, Oct. 28, at 6 p.m. at J.T. Lambert Intermediate School, 2000 Milford Road, to open the Gateway data center hearing. Tonight only settles who gets party status, the formal role that lets someone question witnesses and present evidence. The agenda packet is posted at smithfieldtownship.com. We will report the outcome once there is video or a named reporter's account.

The Mayor's post on the Stroudsburg Borough Facebook page lists trick-or-treat from 5 to 9 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 31. Earlier borough listings had 5 to 6 p.m. for small children and 6 to 8 p.m. for everyone else, so confirm the hours with the borough at 570-421-5444. Stroud Township is 6 to 8 p.m.

Nighttime lane restrictions continue in both directions between Exits 302 and 304 for several weeks, and PennDOT has not published the overnight hours. Rep. Tarah Probst's office says it is "very disappointed" and notes the project's permits are under appeal at the Environmental Hearing Board, per WFMZ. Tarah gave it a good shot…eagles nests…historic preservation…but given construction started Monday, best of luck.

Smithfield Township's calendar lists fall leaf pick-up at 7 a.m. Wednesday, Oct. 28 and Thursday, Oct. 29 (call 570-223-5082 for the full schedule). All Eastern Monroe Public Library branches are closed Thursday, Nov. 5 for a staff day. If you can’t leaf through a book, pick up a leaf or two.

The Monroe County Sheriff’s Office is hiring. The deadline to apply for testing is Dec. 11, 2026, and previous experience is not required. The starting pay is good, it comes with benefits, and God knows we need good people in that office. Questions go to Corporal Nunez at 570-517-3312.

If you have picked up a costume at Frazetta's on South Courtland Street in East Stroudsburg, you have shopped at a business with a Hollywood-sized family story behind it. The shop belongs to Bill Frazetta, son of Frank Frazetta, the painter behind the muscle-bound Conan the Barbarian covers. The family's museum sits beside the family home on their 67-acre estate, at 141 Museum Road off Milford Road.

The theft. After the death of their mother in 2009, the four children started fighting over who controlled the art. On Wednesday, Dec. 9, 2009, state police say Frank Jr., 52, of Marshalls Creek, and two other men used a backhoe to break through the museum door. About 90 paintings, insured for $20 million, were being loaded into a truck when troopers arrived. Frank Jr. reportedly said he had permission to get in "by any means," while his father, who was in Florida, said he had not authorized it. Frank Jr. was charged with burglary, theft by unlawful taking and criminal trespass, and held on $500,000 bail. A charge is not a conviction.

The aftermath. In April 2010 the siblings announced that all litigation was resolved and said they no longer wanted to press charges. Family representatives told the Pocono Record that prosecutors would not pursue the case without Frank Sr.'s testimony. He died May 10, 2010, at 82, five months after the break-in. That December, Frank Jr. sued his three siblings, saying they had broken the settlement. He kept the estate museum, reopened it in 2013, and in September 2025 Frazetta's "Conan (Man Ape)" sold at auction for $13.5 million.

So if you stop by the costume shop before Halloween, relax: nobody needs heavy equipment to get in.

The Stroudsburg Fire Department holds its 25th annual Spaghetti Dinner on Monday, Nov. 2, from 5:30 to 8 p.m. in the Stroudsburg High School cafeteria. Twenty-five years of marinara, served by people who run toward things for a living.