National Hi-Q Title Taken By Penncrest

Kudos to Charlie Frindt, Raman Ishwar, Abigail Pearse and Schafer Hudson Ortyn and the rest of the Penncrest Hi-Q team for winning the 2015 National Hi-Q Competition on April 16. National Hi-Q Title Taken By Penncrest

Hi-Q is an academic quiz competition for high school students that was founded in Delaware County in 1948 by the Scott Paper Co.

National Hi-Q Title Taken By Penncrest

Kids’ Expo Is May 16

A Kids’ Expo sponsored by state Sen. Tom McGarrigle (R-26) will be 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., Saturday, May 16 at the Gauntlett Center, 120 Media Line Road, Newtown Square, Pa. 19073. Kids' Expo Is May 16

Along with informational tables featuring representatives from state and county agencies and local organizations, there will be free refreshments, face paintings, games and a moon bounce.

Hat tip Delaware County Patriots

Kids’ Expo Is May 16

OWS Police Captain Warns Of ‘John Wayne’ Cops

OWS Police Captain Warns Of 'John Wayne' Cops
Ray Lewis, in his Philadelphia Police captain’s uniform, describes problems in policing.

A retired Philadelphia police captain with a reputation for controversy and the mayor of Chester, Pa. were among those who described police realities and potential reforms to a crowd of about 20, yesterday, April 12, at a symposium on community policing sponsored by Democracy Unplugged.

The event was held at Swarthmore Borough Hall on a beautiful, sunny Sunday spring afternoon.

The captain, Ray Lewis,  made international headlines with his association with Occupy Wall Street. He said those who run police departments suffer from a “John Wayne syndrome” which affects  hiring decisions. This leads to officers not inclined to maintain good community relations.

He said police applicants are screened with the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory which tests for, among other things, sensitivity and empathy.

Lewis said if the applicant scores high on sensitivity and empathy he is not hired.

He also said training is poorly prioritized with almost all of it directed towards  physical fitness, firearms and unarmed combat.

“Police work is 95 percent social work,” he said.

He  stressed the importance of good training officers and said that  dispute mediation and stress management should be emphasized. Lewis, who served 19 of his 26 years in inner city Philadelphia, said that his training officer was a womanizing, brutal, drunken thief. He said that just the nature of the job hardens one.

Lewis encouraged video recording police encounters by passersby.

“Good cops will love being recorded,” he said albeit he said praise has to accompany such recordings.

Lewis said that he believed that unlike in the United Kingdom, American police need to carry firearms.

He said his support for Occupy Wall Street came from his suspicion that most billionaires are lawless sociopaths.

Lewis was wearing his captain’s uniform which got him so much grief during the OWS demonstrations.

Chester Mayor John Linder said 533 guns have been confiscated from criminals in his crime-ridden city since he took office in 2012.

“People are solving problems with guns,” he said.

OWS Police Captain Warns Of 'John Wayne' Cops
Chester Mayor John Linder

Linder also took issue with certain shibboleths regarding diversity. He said that 24 of the 100 officers that serve his predominantly black city are African-Americans with five being Hispanic and the rest being white.

“My goal is to get police officers, good police officers,” he said. “My view is if we get people who reflect the hue, fine, but quality comes first.”

He thought the racial turmoil over recent incidents is overblown.

“I hear this all the time ‘what about Ferguson?’ I say what about Chester?”

Linder who as a young man took part in civil rights era protests expressed the opinion that these outcries are cyclical.

“How do you get rid of Fergusons? Get responsible police.”

He noted the Chester Police Department has had very few allegations of using excessive force.

“If you are professional, I’ll back you 100 percent,” he said. If you are not professional I’m going to deal with you 100 percent.”

Linder said that the urban environment is not as stable as it used to be.

“Calls come in too quick,” he said. “There is no time to sit down and make a friend.”

Swarthmore Police Chief Brian Craig spoke regarding policing in the suburbs.

Craig, a former Philadelphia police officer, said what he found to be a shocking difference was parking meters.

“In my first six months, 50 percent of my time was dealing with parking meters,” he said.

He said police work has gotten more dangerous than it was when he started in 1971. He cited drugs, the 9/11 attacks and the Columbine High School massacre.

He noted that the local police followed procedure regarding the 1999 school massacre setting up a perimeter as they were trained. The procedure, however, failed to account for the killings still occurring inside. Craig said the procedure has now been changed.

Craig emphasized the importance of community relations. He said that on the 25th anniversary of Philadelphia Columbia Avenue race riots, one of the local TV news stations appeared to be trying to stir the pot for an encore. He said, however, community outreach stopped it.

Regarding budget matters, Craig noted that school districts get their requests in first and overwhelmingly get the bigger piece of the pie.

William Taylor Reil, a constitutional scholar, warned of  widespread ignorance of the Constitution among law enforcement. He said, for instance, that the Pennsylvania constitution made the sheriff the highest law enforcement officer in the county, a  circumstance that is routinely ignored. He noted that county sheriff is an elected office unlike most police officials.

Reil also took issue with the term “law enforcement officer” having replaced “peace officer.”

“Law enforcement means don’t question just do what it says,” he said.

Libertarian activist Darren Wolfe spoke on community policing. He said privately run police departments could save money and be more effective. He cited as examples mall security guards and security companies hired by gated communities.

The moderator was David Easlea and the introduction was made by Bob Small.

 OWS Police Captain Warns Of ‘John Wayne’ Cops

Final Mass Saints Peter And Paul

Archbishop Stefan Soroka presents parishioner Lillian Pecko with a Final Mass Saints Peter And Paulcertificate of service at the final Mass, tonight, April 11, at Saints Peter and Paul Byzantine Rite Catholic Church in Clifton Heights.

The 103-year-old parish is closing and merging with Holy Ghost Parish of Chester to form Holy Myrrh-Bearers Church which will worship at the site of the former Leiper Presbyterian Church, 900 Fairview Rd, Swarthmore, PA 19081 (Ridley Township)

Holy Ghost’s final service is 9 a.m., tomorrow, April 12.

Archbishop Stefan celebrated the Mass with Father John Ciurpita, the pastor.

A dedication ceremony will be held 1 p.m., Saturday, April 18 at Holy Myrrh-Bearers. The first Mass will be held 11 a.m., Sunday, April 19.

Final Mass Saints Peter And Paul

21st Century Policing Is Topic

DemocracyUnplugged will host Sunday a symposium on 21st century policing. 21st Century Policing Is Topic

On the panel are Swarthmore Police Chief Brian Craig; Chester Mayor John Linder; Ray Lewis, a retired Philadelphia Police captain; William Taylor Reil of Chester County Sheriff’s Brigade; and Darren Wolfe of Community Policing.

It starts 2 p.m. at Swarthmore Borough Hall, 121 Park Ave., Swarthmore, Pa. 19081. There will be a question and answer session.

Hat tip Delaware County Patriots.

21st Century Policing Is Topic

Final Basket Blessing

Final Basket BlessingFatherJohn Ciurpita performs the final basket blessing, yesterday morning, Easter 2015, at Saints Peter and Paul Church in Clifton Heights.

The church will be joining Holy Ghost Church in Chester to form a new parish at Holy Myrrh-Bearers in Ridley Township with the first service at the new church, 900 Fairview Road, Swarthmore, Pa. 19081, at 11 a.m., April 19.

Holy Myrrh-Bearers will be consecrated 1 p.m., April 18.

The church had been the site of historic Leiper Presbyterian Church.

The last service at Saints Peter and Paul will be 5 p.m., April 11.

Final Basket Blessing at Saints Peter and Paul Church

Holy Cross Church Beautiful Music

We have a tradition in which we visit three churches on Holy Thursday. The last one is Holy Cross Church in Springfield, Pa. with the visit happening well after 10 p.m.  Holy Cross Church Beautiful Music

The last few years the upper church has been closed at the time so we went to the lower one where a Korean celebration has been taking place and when we arrive it is near the end.

And that is about the time  for a choir performance that is among the most beautiful music that we have ever heard.

It is one of Delaware County’s hidden treasures.

Holy Cross Church Beautiful Music

Labor Backs Delco GOP Slate

Pete Peterson has informed us that the GOP Delaware County Council ticket has been endorsed by The Delaware County Committee of the Philadelphia Building and Construction Trades Council.Labor Backs Delco GOP Slate

That’s probably not going to increase its standing among my readers.

The ticket is all incumbent: Colleen Morrone of Concord, John McBlain of Aldan, and Mike Culp of Springfield, who is serving out the remainder of new state Sen. Tom McGarrigle’s term.

Union endorsement aside, I’m going to have no problem hitting the button for them this November. Complain all you can about the state and federal Republicans but Delco is one of the better run Pennsylvania counties.

Pete points out that Delaware County has an unemployment rate lower than the national average and is experiencing job growth. The county Republicans deserve undeniable credit for this as it was the policies of the other party that almost sent it into the tank.

I’ve actually worked with McBlain on an issue and found him to be serious, decent and dedicated.

The ticket is unopposed in the May 19 primary and may very well be unopposed in the General Election on Nov. 3. For the record, the Dems should be allowed on the ballot.

Labor Backs Delco GOP Slate

 

 

Free Stuff At Holy Myrrh-Bearers Church

Renovations continue as  historic Leiper Presbyterian Church becomes Catholic, Byzantine-rite Holy Myrrh-Bearers Church, 900 Fairview Road, Swarthmore, PA 19081 (Ridley Township).  Free Stuff Holy Myrrh-Bearers Church

There are some useable items being discarded. They are free and available by the dumpster

Free Stuff At Holy Myrrh-Bearers Church

Delco Disenfranchised Dems Removed

Delco Disenfranchised Dems Removed
Bob Guzzardi, whose case was cited by Delaware County Common Pleas Court Judge James Proud in removing three Democrats from the Delaware County Council Primary ballot.

Jack Evans of Norwood, Richard Womack of Darby Township, and Christine Reuther of Wallingford were removed from the Delaware County Council (Pa) Democrat primary ballot for failing to file the proper report with the proper bureaucrat.

The three filed statements of financial disclosure with the Board of Elections but failed to provide a copy to the County Clerk.

Common Pleas Court Judge James Proud said because of that “no ballot for you”.

Proud cited the infamous Bob Guzzardi ruling handed down May 20 in which the state Supreme Court ruled that Guzzardi  could not appear on last spring’s Republican gubernatorial primary ballot because his paperwork was not perfect.

What the Democrats did was a technical mistake. As they are accused of neither acquiring enough signatures nor presenting false ones, it is obvious that enough people want them on the ballot for there to be an election.

As they filed statements of financial interest publicly, they obviously were not trying to avoid scrutiny.

The proper recourse would have been for Proud to tell Evans et al to file the documents correctly and in the case of Evans to sign it and get it notarized. The only deadline that should be immutable is the presentation of signatures. Technical stuff should always take a backseat to democracy.

Delaware County Daily Times editor Phil Heron, however, notes that only 250 write-in signatures are needed for them to get on the ballot. You don’t think there are 250 Democrats in this county willing to do that? You don’t think this is going to make the Democrats more motivated and not less, and  nominal Republicans more suspicious of those now holding power hence sympathetic to the Dems.

Don’t assume party loyalty is the force it once was. See Scott Wagner.

The people really are getting sick of sneakiness.

Bob Guzzardi did not have a prayer of beating Tom Corbett last spring. Because Corbett played dirty, though, he burned all his bridges with the anti-corruption activists supporting Guzzardi and went from having a tiny, smidgen of a chance to win the general to none.

Vote fraud is bad and must be punished severely. Technical errors are not vote fraud. It’s sickly ironic that the Pennsylvania Supreme Court which shot down a sensible photo voter ID law upholds these banana republic  games.

For the record, County Democratic Party Chairman David Landau has vowed to appeal to the higher courts.

The Democrats were represented by J. Manly Parks, of Duane & Morris

 Delco Disenfranchised Dems Removed