Nearby: Rep Marcell Announces Re-Election Bid for to Keep House Seat

The date and time is set for the 2026 St. Patrick’s Day Parade celebrating Irish culture in Levittown scheduled to take place Saturday March 14 beginning at 10:30 a.m.

The parade kicks on from Conwell Egan Catholic High School and ends at New Falls Road in Levittown.

The 2026 Bucks County St. Patrick’s Day Parade Committee has selected Jeff Sproehnle as Grand Marshal for this years parade. Sproehnle is a  39-year veteran of the Middletown Township Police Department. Prior to his retirement in 2011, he rose to the rank of Detective and managed many notable cases serving residents of Middletown Township and Bucks County.

Credit: Submitted

A long-time member of the Ancient Order of Hibernians (AOH), Sproehnle served as Division 1 President for eight years, stepping down in 2025. He has been instrumental in supporting fundraising efforts such as the Hibernian Hunger Project and initiatives benefiting veterans in need.

A report from the Pennsylvania Capital-Star published under creative commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.  and written by Whitney Downard 

The Shapiro administration stepped up its opposition to two proposed immigrant detention centers in Berks and Schuylkill counties Thursday, issuing administrative orders claiming that housing anyone at either location would violate state water regulations.

Five administrative orders sent through the state Department of Environmental Protection on Thursday assert that water and sewage cannot be supplied to the two warehouses, meaning the buildings can’t be occupied until the U.S. Department of Homeland Security finds a way to comply.

“Based on what the department has learned about DHS’s plans to convert two commercial warehouses into detention centers for 9,000 people, there are serious concerns about the environmental impacts of these actions. The conversion of warehouses to detention facilities risks harming the communities in and around Tremont and Upper Bern townships, overwhelming their sewage facilities and exceeding the available drinking water supply,” said DEP Secretary Jessica Shirley in a release.

ICE purchased the buildings in January with plans to open as early as November 30, 2026 — but the state said the federal agency hasn’t yet filed any permits to “significantly modify” existing water and wastewater infrastructure.

“Doubling the populations of these areas could drain drinking water sources and lead to polluted waterways from overwhelmed sewage facilities leaking raw waste into our streets and rivers. Just like anyone else, DHS needs to demonstrate its facilities comply with environmental standards,” Shirley added.

DEP: Water, sewage systems can’t handle the additional capacity

Last week, Gov. Josh Shapiro vowed to fight the facilities, located in Upper Bern Township in Berks County and Tremont Township in Schuylkill County. Initial plans from Immigration and Customs Enforcement indicate that the two warehouses will house 1,500 and 7,500 immigrants, respectively.

But the water and sewage systems in each location can’t accommodate those populations, the Shapiro administration claims.

In Upper Bern, the warehouse water system is designed for roughly 350 employees each using 35 gallons of water a day, for a maximum of 12,240 gallons per day.

Prisons and detention center water systems “should be designed” to provide two gallons of water per minute with a peak daily demand of 120 gallons per day per person, according to the state administrative orders.

In Upper Bern, this would require up to 180,000 gallons of water per day and produce between 112,500 and 225,000 gallons of sewage per day — more than maximum monthly flow under the entire township’s 2024 wastewater treatment plan, an amount that “will overwhelm” existing infrastructure.

The state said it has issued five emergency permits to the Schuylkill County Municipal Authority, which oversees Tremont’s water and sewage systems, since December 2025 to allow “bulk hauling of drinking water … created by the emergency drought conditions” in the area.

ICE’s detention plans would require up to 900,000 gallons of water per day, “or 90% of all available stored water in the Tremont Water System,” which would prevent it “from serving its current customers and providing water for fire protection.”

The state concludes that DHS must outline its plans to provide drinking water and sewage service within 20 days, noting that hauling water, tapping into wells or installing storage tanks also require permits. Last week, Shapiro warned that trucking in supplies could wear down local roads, many of which have only two lanes.

Orders to locals in Upper Bern, Tremont and the Schuylkill County Municipal Authority say that townships would need to redesign their sewage treatment plants and the authority cannot provide sewage service with portable toilets without permitting.

Which Bucks County high school student will have the honor of their artwork being displayed in the Cannon Tunnel of the U.S. Capitol for a year?

Bucks County Community College (BCCC)  invites the public to the 31^st Annual High School Art Exhibition March 18 – April 5 in the Hicks Art Center Gallery, including an awards ceremony and reception on Sunday, March 29.

High school art teachers have selected their students’ best work for the exhibition, and for submission to the Congressional Art Competition, held in every congressional district each spring. The first-place winning artwork will be sent to Washington, D.C., to be displayed in the corridors of the Cannon Tunnel of the U.S. Capitol for a year, representing Pennsylvania’s 1st Congressional District.

Clifford Eberly, the College’s senior manager of galleries and exhibitions, says the show is an opportunity to see youthful ingenuity flourish.

“Now in my fifth year of working with high school instructors and their students for this annual exhibition, I have seen the breadth of astounding creativity from the county’s young artists, and it is truly inspiring,” said Eberly. “It is important for us to foster art and culture in our region while promoting the legacy of Bucks as a vital source of creative education.”

Submitted: BCCC

Isabel Steiner from Council Rock High School North won the 2025 1^st Congressional District High School Art Competition for “The Attic” (graphite on paper, 2024), which has been displayed in the Cannon Tunnel of the U.S. Capitol for the past year.

This year, the 31^st Annual High School Art Exhibition and Congressional Art Competition takes place from March 18 – April 5 at BCCC’s Hicks Art Center Gallery. A reception and ceremony will be held on March 29 from 12:30-3p p.m. in room 100, featuring an awards ceremony at 1 p.m. presented by Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick (R-01), who will announce the winning entry. The reception features free refreshments and an opportunity to meet the young artists and their instructors.

The Hicks Art Center Gallery is located on the campus at 275 Swamp Road in Newtown. Gallery hours are 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, and noon – 4 p.m. Saturday. The gallery is also open Sunday, March 29, from 12:30 – 3 p.m. for the reception and awards ceremony.

All events are free and open to the public. To learn more, email gallery@bucks.edu, call 215-968-8432 or click here to view online.

A visitor snaps a picture of a painting at last year’s High School Art Exhibition in the Hicks Art Center Gallery at BCCC.  PHOTO CREDIT: Mel Evans