[naviga:h3]911 center workers lose jobs after sharing NYE toast[/naviga:h3]

ALLENTOWN— Three 911 supervisors were fired and seven operators resigned after sharing an alcohol-spiked drink while working on New Year’s Eve, officials said.

The employees violated longstanding county policy when they drank eggnog spiked with alcohol to ring in the new year, Lehigh County General Services Director Rick Mochany said.

The Lehigh County Communication Center is budgeted for 53 operators and 10 supervisors, Molchany told The (Allentown) Morning Call.

“Losing these 10 people affects our morale,” he said. “We’re working diligently to hire and train new people and coordinate with our county’s police and fire chiefs” to minimize the impact until the new hires start their jobs.

Lehigh County Commissioner Dan Hartzell said the toast sounded innocuous to him, but he respected the decision by the administration.

“It was a clear violation of county policy,” Hartzell said. “It was determined we cannot let this become a slippery slope.”

The 911 center handles emergency calls for Allentown and surrounding municipalities.

[naviga:h3]Former lawmaker pleads guilty to stealing from charity[/naviga:h3]

PHILADELPHIA — A former state representative faces three months in the Philadelphia jail after pleading guilty Thursday to charges she took money from a charity she established for the needy and spent it on vacations, clothing and other personal needs.

Former Rep. Movita Johnson-Harrell entered the pleas in Philadelphia, more than a month after she resigned in the wake of charges from the state attorney general’s office.

Johnson-Harrell, 53, was also sentenced to 8 1/2 months of house arrest and must repay the nonprofit. She will turn over real estate that will be sold to help pay the restitution.

The organization, Motivations Education and Consultation Associates, aims to help the homeless, seniors, children and people with mental health or substance abuse challenges, among others.

Johnson-Harrell, a west Philadelphia Democrat, won a special election last year for the House seat that had become vacant when her predecessor, Vanessa Lowery Brown, was sentenced to probation on a bribery conviction.