MONROE UNFILTERED: THE DAILY BUZZ | August 26
ESU's Real-Life "Weeds" Story and a Sweet Corner of Stroudsburg
Wednesday, August 26, 2026
DAILY WEATHER
If you (or your kids, or your grandkids) are still off, great news today because the weather will be great. Today is mostly sunny with patchy morning fog burning off by 9 a.m., a high near 82°F, a low around 61°F tonight, and only a 9 percent chance of rain.
Thursday is still the one to watch: a high near 82°F but an 80 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, so keep the rain gear handy for the back half of the week. Friday eases back to a 50 percent shot at showers with a high near 83°F, and the weekend looks mostly dry and sunny in the low-to-mid 80s.
HISTORY WITH A TWIST: ESU'S REAL-LIFE "WEEDS"
If you ever watched Showtime's "Weeds," you remember the setup: a buttoned-up suburbanite nobody suspects turns out to be running a drug operation on the side. Northeast Pennsylvania had its own version a decade ago, and one of the supporting characters was a temporary East Stroudsburg University sociology instructor.
Tara E. Bealer, then 41, had taught sociology courses, including Introduction to Sociology and Marriage and Family, at ESU and Northampton Community College for close to a decade. Off campus, she worked separately as an addiction counselor and therapist who had counseled recovering addicts in New Jersey. On Jan. 20, 2016, Nazareth Borough Police arrested her at her East Chestnut Street home in Nazareth, alleging she had been selling heroin out of it.
The case traced back to a fatal heroin overdose inside Bealer's home on Nov. 21, 2015. Then-Northampton County District Attorney John Morganelli said the victim was 26. Police found heroin packaging at the scene at the time but did not have grounds to charge her. A tip that January alleged she was moving up to 50 bags of heroin a day from the house. When police searched it, they recovered cash, 68 used bags of heroin, and straws for inhaling the drug.
She was charged with 84 counts total, including four felony counts of possession with intent to deliver and one felony count of endangering the welfare of a child, since a child was reportedly in the home at the time. A spokesperson for ESU confirmed at the time that Bealer was a temporary, adjunct employee and was not employed there that academic year.
Here is where the trail runs cold. The case was still active as of a September 2016 pretrial conference, with suppression motions pending. I could not find any public record of how the case was ultimately resolved, whether by plea, trial, or dismissal. If you know how it ended, or you were around ESU at the time, we would like to hear from you! As with anyone facing charges, Bealer is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.
THE DAILY RUNDOWN
YMCA's Big Renovation Gets a Demolition Date. The Pocono Family YMCA's $21 million renovation, which we told you about back in August when it broke ground, has its next milestone locked in. The old Dunkin' next door comes down at 7 a.m. on Thursday, Sept. 3, with a public demolition event followed by refreshments at the Y, 809 Main St., Stroudsburg. Phase 1, including a new six-lane pool, lobby, and fitness center, is still targeted for completion by December 2027, with the full project wrapping in early 2028.
Chestnuthill Man Sentenced on CSAM Charges. Marcus Marsteller, 35, of Chestnuthill Township, was sentenced Monday to 2 years, 3 months to 14 years in prison by Monroe County Court of Common Pleas Judge Janet Jackson, with 257 days' credit for time served. Marsteller pleaded guilty in April to two second-degree felonies involving child sexual abuse material and will be required to register as a Tier II sex offender for 25 years. The case originated from a tip to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
MONROE MARKET MOVERS: A SWEET CORNER OF STROUDSBURG
Two sweets destinations are now sitting right down the street from each other on North 9th Street, and both are worth a stop this week.
Moo Moo Creamery is in soft opening at 837 Monroe St., the old Greek Islands X-Press corner, and already drawing lines according to the local page. I'll personally vouch for them. It was a mob scene this weekend. I'll be there next week (Lactaid in hand).
Sonia's Sweet Inspirations, meanwhile, isn't new to the neighborhood, just newly relocated. The established bakery moved from 927 N 9th St. to a bigger storefront at 110 N 9th St. back in June, taking over the space the old 9th Street Asian Market vacated. Open Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.