Prison Again Before Delco Council — Delaware County (Pa.) Council, Feb.21, approved a three-year contract with BSI Construction LLC for construction management services at the George W. Hill Correctional Facility.
The amount is not to exceed $1,265,000.
Prison maintenance was an issue at the Feb. 7 council meeting. A large contingent of prison personnel — many in uniform — said there were thousands of OSHA violations at the facility. They described a jail where locks didn’t work and prisoners was tasked to fix them. Did they? Apparently not. They did use the materials they were given to make shivs, though, council was told.
At this meeting, former corrections officer Christine Weiss of Glen Mills told council that she was forced to resign after she followed prescribed policy against the wishes of her superiors.
She wanted answers as to why this was allowed to happen. Ms. Weiss said that she emailed Councilman Kevin M. Madden, who chair’s the Jail Oversight Board, but did not get a response.
Kimberly Brown of Colwyn also spoke out about perceived attempts to silence her regarding prison matters. She said that Madden refused to read her email at the previous meeting of the Oversight Board which was held via Zoom due to snow. The reason for the refusal was because she did not include her exact address.
She noted that speakers at the council meeting are not required to state their exact address.
Ms. Brown played a recording of comments Madden made at the meeting. She said she was very mad at him because she had supported him in his election due to his promise of prison oversight.
She said she now thinks he is “protecting certain people at the prison.”
Madden said he doesn’t respond to queries about personnel matters and that those commenting before the Jail Oversight Board are required to give their full address.
Register Of Wills Pick Gets Delco Council Blasted — Delaware County (Pa) Council was blasted, last night, Feb. 21, for its Jan. 2 appointment of Vincent A. Rongione as Register of Wills.
Rongione was sworn in Jan. 26 for a term which will end December 2025.
He replaces Rachel Ezzell Berry who won election in November for judge on county Common Pleas Court.
Joy Schwartz, of Upper Darby, who ran for County Council in November, pointed out to council that Rongione copped a plea deal in 2015 for violations of the election code relating to his unsuccessful 2014 bid to represent the 163rd District in the State House.
Rongione did not live in the district despite claiming otherwise. He pleaded guilty to unlawful voting, and making false statements and signatures on nominating petitions.
Rongione became Upper Darby’s chief administrative office in 2020 but quit in January 2023 in the midst of a firestorm that occurred when the township treasurer told township council that the balance of some bank accounts were lower than they should have been. One of these housed the funds the township received from the federal American Rescue Plan Act, or ARPA.
No charges were filed this time but one can’t call the controversy a resume enhancer.
So why was Rongione picked?
Democrats do get rewarded for loyalty it seems regardless as to how that translates to good governance.
Wonder what Rongione thinks about all the election “conspiracy theories” relating to Delaware County.
Delco Council Concedes Problems With CYS; Stymied How To Solve Them — Delaware County (Pa) Council, last night, Feb. 21, in a break from its routine had a long back-and-forth with the citizens.
Possibly it was productive but we won’t hold our breaths.
The county’s Children and Youth Services department was the big topic.
Rael LaPenta of Upper Chichester questioned the hiring of CAI, a billion-dollar consulting firm, to review and draft new policies for CYS and to provide training.
Ms. LaPenta was among the parents who appeared before council two weeks ago to tell horror stories of taken children and lost jobs due to unfounded actions by CYS.
Last night, she pointed out that among the consultants CAI plans to unleash on Delco is Paula Griffin who will be among those tasked to conduct candidate searches, and complete screening and employment interviews for candidates.
Ms. Griffin directed Lehigh County’s Children and Youth Services until her retirement in October.
That was when a scandal broke alleging CYS was taking children from parents based on false claims of child abuse. The children were given to Lehigh Valley Health Network (LVHN). They were put in extended, unsupervised emergency room stays. The families said the hospital would get state agencies to remove custody.
LVHN is being sued.
Ms. LaPenta also took issue with the council’s standard statement that the members are available for questions via email. She said that she had contacted them all without hearing back.
Councilwoman Christine A. Reuther, in a break from protocol, interrupted Ms. LaPenta. She had been in contact — it was in a phone call, Feb. 20 — and Ms. Griffin was among the issues discussed.
She said Ms.Griffin was the one from Lehigh County, but that the lawsuit doesn’t disqualify her and that she passed a background check.
It looks like she’s coming to Delco.
Ms. LaPenta conceded that they talked but noted that she had not heard from the others. She had been trying to reach all for some time.
In the second round of public comments, Ms. LaPenta said she did not mean to be antagonistic. She said, though, she followed the appropriate routes and her life remains in turmoil.
“What is the appropriate amount of time for a person who has lost her children to stop being upset,” she said.
She said that many in her group feared retaliation by CYS.
“It is your responsibility not just as council members but as human beings to act,” she said.
Ms. Reuther said that she believes a lot of what Ms. LaPenta told her.
She said CYS has been given “awesome powers” by the state, and that a bill has just passed the state senate which would give CYS agencies even more.
She agreed that a review of the department was necessary but that she was afraid to intervene in specific cases because she lacked expertise.
Ms. Reuther said there is local state agency at which complaints can be filed regarding CYS, albeit Ms. LaPenta had long been aware of it.
Council Chairwoman Dr. Monica Taylor said that Ms. LaPenta had not received responses because it had been assumed that Ms. Reuther was handling the matter.
Two months ago, we reviewedThe Dirty Secrets of Divorce or What Your Lawyer Won’t Tell You by Renee Mazer. The book details horror stories from Chester County concerning her divorce and her involvement with that county’s family courts process. She says collusion between judges, social workers and lawyers was shameless and profitable for them.
She lost access to her son for a very long time.
We suggest that Ms. Reuther not sell herself short. She has the power and expertise to resolve this. Start by considering the incidents where a parent lost lawful custody due to a claim of abuse solely on the word of an angry ex, as opposed to hospital workers or school officials.
Are there commonalities? The same judge? Same lawyers? Could there be money changing hands?
Further, Ms. Reuther can call in those running CYS. She can tell them to make things right with Ms. LaPenta, as well as with Ashley Green of Ridley Park and Sharon Poole of Glenn Mills, who had similar experiences.
She can give directions that special care be made when dealing with accusations involving exes.
It’s your time to shine, Christine. So there you are.
Silence In Delco About CYS And Prison Horrors — Capricious cruelty and general incompetence regarding Delaware County, Pa. agencies were revealed to County Council, Feb. 7, and as of, today, Feb. 16, the response has been crickets.
One of the victims of Delco’s Children and Youth Services has let us know she reached out to Delco twice since without a response.
The county would be doing the outreach if those running things actually cared.
A puzzle is the apparent lack of interest from the opposition party.
Where are you Frank Agovino? Dave Galluch? Dave White? Any Republican in party leadership?
We suspect most of those speaking out about the prison and CYS were apolitical if not Democrat, but the job of the opposition is to hold to account those running things.
The Delco GOP doesn’t seem to be doing this.
Good government requires competition.
Where is the outreach to Harriet Burgess of Drexel Hill, who was a sergeant at the prison and says she was fired because she refused to falsify documents?
Or to Rael LaPenta of Upper Chichester who lost custody of her children due to a complaint from a vengeful ex?
Or to Ashley Green of Ridley Park who lost nine months of her child’s life and her teaching certificate because CYS accepted false allegations of abuse from the child’s father?
Where are the public expressions of outrage?
There is nothing stopping you Frank Agovino, Dave Galluch and Dave White.
Imagine what the Democrats would be doing if the shoe was on the other foot.
Election Concerns Again Expressed In Delco Pa — Election concerns were again expressed In Delaware County, Pa. and County Councilwoman Christine A. Reuther again, last night, Feb. 7, angrily dismissed them.
Joy Schwartz of Drexel Hill said it is impossible for ballots to be certified at the central counting center at the Wharf in a trustworthy way. The counting center is where the mail-in ballots are processed.
Mrs. Schwartz implored these ballots be returned to precincts where the counting can be observed by poll watchers and the election workers are familiar with residents.
It is not widely known but poll watchers do not have the same rights and powers at counting centers as they do at precincts.
Mrs. noted that our security for our elections have been practically outsourced to the corporations that make voting machines and writer their softeare.
She demanded that the counting center be closed and the counting of mail in ballots be returned to precinct
Also expressing concerns about our elections was Barb Lewis of Radner specifically regarding the SURE system which is how Pennsylvania tracks registered voters.
Ms. Reuther said it was unfortunate that people still spread doubts about elections in Delaware County.
We say look in the mirror. We say it is pretty weird to fight open record requests regarding business correspondence especially when the state arbiters rule against you.
Also Carris Kocher of Concord pointed out that oaths of office are required by law at the prothonotary office. She said she looked for those of several Delaware County officials but was unable to find them.
Laws being ignored about small things is a sign that laws are being ignored about big ones.
Could MLK’s Upland Dorm Room Become Public Place? — Delaware County (Pa) Council, yesterday, Feb. 7 approved a $10,000 American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) grant to study turning the Old Main building on the Crozer Chester Medical Center campus in Upland into the MLK Center for Peace and Justice.
The Old Main was part of the Crozer Theological Seminary where Martin Luther King Jr. studied. His dorm room was in the Old Main.
Janet Lloyd Murphy of Middletown, whose idea the center is, gave a short presentation about the seminary before the vote.
Mrs. Murphy said the facility began as a teachers college but became a hospital during the Civil War. Union and Confederate soldiers were treated there and a Confederate soldier was actually housed in the room Rev. King would come to use.
Many of those treated had fought at Gettysburg.
Rev. King’s room is now apparently as storage space.
Mrs. Murphy has an excellent idea.
The building and surroundings are now owned by Prospect Medical Holdings, Inc. which desperately wants to get rid of them.
In other business, Council passed resolutions amending and restating the establishment of the Delaware County Heritage Commission. Council members described this as a routine bookkeeping matter.
Council also recognized February as Black History Month and American Heart Month.
Locks Don’t Work At Delco Prison And Inmates Are Making Shivs — Delaware County Council, last night, Feb. 7, faced a contingent of correction officers from George Hill Prison who told them the locks on the cell doors don’t work and the prisoners are tasked with fixing them.
Which they don’t seem to be doing albeit they are making shivs from the materials they are given as per Officer Al Johnson of Morton.
Johnson, a 14-year veteran, said he has never seen it this bad. He blistered Councilman Kevin M. Madden who is on the county’s prison oversight board and has made comments to the media that conditions there were peachy.
He said suicides have increased as have assaults on staff and other prisoners
He said sexual abuse is heaped on the staff by the prisoners and the complaints are ignored by Warden Laura Williams.
Frank Kwaning, president of the Delaware County (Pa) Prison Employees Independent Union, reinforced Johnson. He also said Madden’s claims that everything was fine were false.
He said the facility is not safe for officers. When the staff makes complaints the warden retaliates against them.
He said he wants council to visit the prison and meet with staff without administrators present
Harriet Burgess of Drexel Hill said she was one of the victims of retaliation.
She had been a sergeant at the prison and was fired because she wouldn’t falsify documents, she said.
Ms. Burgess blasted Madden saying he was unfit to serve on either the oversight board or council. She also Warden Williams was not fit to serve, and that officers fear entering the cell blocks because the doors are not fixed.
She said there are thousands of OSHA violations at the prison.
When it came time for council comments, Elaine Paul Schaefer blithely thanked the correction officers for coming in but said they were wrong about conditions at the facility.
She said she knew because she used “data points”.
She then talked about the county trail system and how wonderful it was.
Madden, who was attending virtually, attempted to defend himself.
He accused Kwaning of making the claims as a union bargaining ploy. He said the prison wouldn’t let him tour without senior staff present.
One of the speakers claimed that Delco hired Warden Williams despite her being fired from Allegheny County Prison.
Madden defended her saying she had not been fired.
Madden said the prison is much improved since the county took over from GEO Group on April 6, 2022 in response to some of the speakers pointedly saying otherwise.
The only councilmember that seemed to give a fig was Vice Chairman Richard R. Womack.
Womack said he was not going to take the correction officers at their word but that he will investigate. He said it was inexcusable for someone to be fired in retaliation for making a complaint. He said would visit the prison.
While he did not expect to be able to tour it without administration present, he would request that a union member accompany him, and that he would speak to the officers outside of the hearing of senior staff.
The officers in attendance gave him loud applause.
The growing crisis regarding the prison have been reported for more than year. The incompetence and indifference that led to the agonizing death of paraplegic inmate Mustafa Jackson did not get near the publicity it deserved.
Speakers say they expect a guard will eventually be killed.
For a story on the single moms and other parents who, last night, described abuse committed by the county’s Children and Youth Services visit here.
Locks Don’t Work At Delco Prison And Inmates Are Making Shivs
CYS Horrors Revealed To Delco Council — Correctional officers appeared en masse, last night, Feb. 7 to berate Delaware County (Pa) Council, about conditions at George W. Hill Prison
And numerous parents — including several single moms — gave them horror stories about the county’s Children and Youth Services (CYS)
If the CYS stories are even half true, council should resign en masse.
Actually, the same holds true for the prison. See other story.
Regarding CYS, Rael LaPenta of Upper Chichester described the nightmare she was put through when her ex-husband sicced the agency on her.
She had custody of the children but says her ex cooked up a complaint and the county people took her son from her ignoring established protocols.
Ms LaPenta fought and was able to get him back but the removals happened twice again. Again, she fought and regained custody but the legal battles continued. She began reaching out to public officials for help including Councilwoman Christine A. Reuther. After months of trying, she finally met with her in December. Ms. LaPenta said she has since ignored her.
She asked council to intervene as they had direct oversight of the agency.
Ms. LaPenta had more to say but speakers are allowed just three minutes.
Ashley Green of Ridley Park followed her. Ms. Green is a teacher. She said she lost nine months of her child’s life along with her teaching certificate because CYS accepted allegations of abuse from the child’s father.
They placed the child in the custody of someone who was the father’s choice before she managed to get him back after nine months.
She said she had an active protection of abuse order against the father when the agency took her child.
Sharon Poole of Glenn Mills cried whe she told her story. Ms. Poole is a registered nurse. She said CYS took her son after accepting unfounded allegations from the father. While in the father’s custody they made the boy wear a dress and the father’s girlfriend abused him including penetrating his anus with her finger, Ms. Poole said.
Ms. Poole also asked the county to impose direct oversight and create a clear policy as to when children may be removed. The policy should provide detailed formal explanations to parents as to why it is happening, and what their recourses are.
“How many kids not safe in this country?” she said. “When will this change?”
Bill Ruane of Springfield said that while living Westbrook Park in Clifton Heights he called CYS when he saw a child lying on a bare bed frame amidst vomit.
He said he was told an investigator would not be able to appear for several days despite the apparent danger to the child. Apparently CYS did contact the family but nothing was done.
Anyway he and his wife had a child just before a recent Christmas and they received a surprise visit from CYS agents. They explained that they were following an anonymous report that the couple was using meth and heroin.
The Ruanes let the agents tour and consented to a swab of their mouths to test for drug residue.
They hadn’t heard back for a period and that after New Year’s the checked back and were told that the wife had tested positive for meth.
It was a false positive but obviously the claim by a government agency is terrifying.
In the Ruanes’ case, they never lost custody.
Anthony Mix (sp) of Chester told council the CYS was wrongfully taking kids
The only council member to show any sincere concern was Vice Chairman Richard R. Womack.
Nana’s Attic Has Moved To Drexel Hill; Will Be Renamed — Delaware County Council, yesterday, Feb. 7, hear an update regarding the Domestic Abuse Project from its executive director, Michelle Brown.
Ms. Brown noted that the Project’s thrift shop Nana’s Attic has moved from Lawrence Park in Marple to Drexel Hill where it will be called Thrift and Thrive.
Council approved a $25,000 grant for the Project.
Council unanimously approved 20 consent items. These included:
Buying 300 gross 12-by-16-inch American flags for Memorial Day for $35,856
Amending an agreement with Johnson, Mirmiran & Thompson for construction inspection services for County Bridge #7 on New Road in Aston. The value of the contract will increase from $393,243.47 to $602,150.56.
Advertising a request for proposal for a temporary emergency shelter
A contract with Eastern Highway Specialist Inc. for rehabilitation of County Bridge 72 on Maple Avenue over Darby Creek connecting Clifton Heights and Upper Darby
A Memorandum of Understanding with Villanova University to submit their Covid-19 for housing for Covid-19 affected students to the Federal Emergency Management Agency for reimbursement.
Nicholas Penza of Aston during public comments question the agenda items regarding Villanova the Aston bridge and the emergency shelter.
He was told the university needed a government agency to make the request by federal law and the county obliged. Regarding the others, he was told the county couldn’t do a question and answer at the meeting but members could be contacted afterwards via email or by phone.
He, along with a woman who also had questions, were told the could also watch yesterday’s work session on video where the items were discussed in detail.
