News, Entertainment, Enlightenment
Springfield Road Curb Cuts — The curb cuts installed on Springfield Road in Springfield, Pa. back in the early ’90s to assist those in wheelchairs in accordance with the American With Disabilities Act are now (April 2012) being ripped up at much expense and disruption so “tactile detectable warning” tiles can be added for blind people using canes.
This isn’t going to make it easier for those in wheelchairs and one suspects that the vast majority of blind people — like the vast majority of Americans — would rather our budget deficits be address rather than create expensive feel-good, make-work projects.
Jootz is having an open house April 21-22, April 25 and April 28-29 at 14 Windsor Circle, Springfield Pa. 19064
Russell (Rusty) L. Carter was welcomed home this afternoon, April 14, with a police escort that included cars from just about every jurisdiction in Delaware County, fire engines, Mummers, dozens of motorcyclists from Warriors’ Watch Riders and a crowd of hundreds that lined his small block on Orchard Road between Leamy and Woodland avenues in Springfield Pa.
The procession proceeded through an arch made from ladder trucks from the Springfield and Clifton Heights volunteer fire companies from which hung an enormous American flag.
Rusty served as a member of the 101st Airborne Division and was deployed to Afghanistan. In July 2010, he came under hostile fire and suffered a concussion. A month after being treated from his wounds he returned to his unit.
On Jan. 2, 2011 while returning from a night mission, Rusty was in the turret of his Humvee that experienced mechanical problems and went over the side of an unprotected bridge, crashing into a ravine and coming to rest in the river bed 50 feet below. While the five other soldiers on board sustained recoverable injuries, Rusty suffered several broken bones, severe lacerations to his face and skull and a complete C 4 separation of the spine.
Rusty has lost all motor function; he is paralyzed from the chest down and has no feeling from the elbows down. He also suffers from minor traumatic brain injury. The prognosis is that he is permanently disabled, will never walk again and no longer has use of his hands.
The event was organized by Warriors’ Watch Riders, an organization of motorcyclists dedicated to honoring those who served pictured below turning onto Orchard Road from Leamy Avenue.
Orchard Road in Springfield Pa. will be closed at about 12:30 p.m., today, April 14, for a big welcome home for Army Specialist Russell (Rusty) L. Carter to his home on the street.
Rusty served as a member of the 101st Airborne Division and was deployed to Afghanistan In July of 2010. He came under hostile fire and ultimately suffering a concussion. A month after being treated from his wounds he returned to his unit. On Jan. 2, 2011 while returning from a night mission, Rusty was in the turret of his Humvee when, after experiencing mechanical problems, it went over the side of an unprotected bridge, crashing into a ravine and coming to rest in the river bed 50 feet below. While the five other soldiers on board sustained recoverable injuries, Rusty suffered several broken bones, severe lacerations to his face and skull and a complete C 4 separation of the spine.
While he has undergone spinal and neck surgeries, he is paralyzed from the elbows down.
Rusty will be escorted home by Springfield Police and The Warriors Watch Riders, along with members of the community.
Please join Jerry in welcoming home a severely injured young soldier from Springfield, PA (See the above link regarding our hero, Army Specialist Russell Carter).
The escort is expected to arrive at 1 p.m.
God Bless Our Troops, God Bless America and God Bless Rusty Carter.
Hat tip Cathy Craddock.
Aslo today, at 6:30 p.m., the World War II vets participating in the Inaugural Trip of Honor Flight Philadelphia will be returning to Anthony’s Restaurant, 4990 State Road in Drexel Hill from their day in Washington D. C.
The public is encouraged to greet them.
Honor Flight is a national non-profit organization founded in 2005 to give aging or terminally ill veterans a day of honor in Washington D.C.
There is no cost to the veterans. Thousands of them have participated in the last six years.
The Philadelphia hub was started and is managed by Springfield resident Andrew Schiavello.
A decades-long tradition for dog owners in Springfield, Pa. has been to let their pets roam free at certain times of the day in Walsh Park which takes up 19.4 acres between Brookside and Scenic roads.
Springfield, Pa.’s Saint Patrick’s Day Parade is certainly thriving.
A fallen tree at 101 N. Rolling Road knocked the lights out on Windsor Circle, Springfield, Pa. at 1:46 p.m., today, Feb. 29.
Driving west on Baltimore Pike through Springfield, Delaware County, Pa, one will reach a stoplight flanked by Springfield Square North and South.
A few dozen yards behind will be an exit from Springfield Square North which could but rarely disgorges traffic back onto the Pike. Why would it be used? It only allows right turns hence it merely puts a motorist in line for a light they would likely miss if he just used the main exit.
Now, if that driveway were an entrance on the other hand it would be used probably by more than half of those entering the center cutting down the snarl at the main entrance and bringing relief to those drivers who just want to pass on by.
A few hundred yards beyond Springfield Square is a small strip center across from the termini of North Chester and Riverview roads. It has a Starbucks, Talbots dress shop, an AT&T store and an absolutely bizarre traffic flow. The first driveway, counter-intuitively, is the exit. This means the customers unfamiliar with the site use it as an entrance.
Drivers entering as they should often find themselves face to face on the narrow traffic way with cars leaving the back parking spaces for the exit.
This small center is abuts the larger Olde Sproul Shopping Village which has several entrances and exits with a light at the main one.
A small concrete barrier prevents cars from entering the Village from the Starbucks’ center and getting onto the Pike using the traffic light.
Why? Both centers are private property. It is possible the absentee landlords are not aware of the issue. It is possible they don’t care about the issue.
Regardless, the lives of the community could be improved with just a small bit of effort.
This yard on North Rolling Road, Springfield, Pa. is not the blazing carpet of purple that it was last March 15, but it’s only Feb. 7 and the crocuses are popping up.
Maybe there is something to this global warming. It’s actually kind of pleasant. Pump out that CO2.
OK, if that last sentence really upsets you, and you are totally convinced that this warm winter is really a harbinger of the doom of our species here is a plan for you:
The United States has 104 operating nuclear reactors that produce about 20 percent of our electricity. Most of them were built between 1970 and 1986. They produce zilch in the way of greenhouse gas.
The U.S. has 1,460 coal-powered generators. They produce half of our electricity, along with lots and lots and lots of greenhouse gas.
So if you are serious about saving the world from greenhouse gases you will immediately begin crusading to replace our coal-powered plants with nuclear ones. It will require about 300 new ones. If we put our mind to it we can do it within a decade.
And here is something for all right-thinking — sorry, correct-thinking –progressives to mull on: if the production of greenhouse gases is as catastrophic as you insist it is, it will turn out to be Jane Fonda who has destroyed the world.