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By Sandbagger
#331867
The Final Word
Published: Tuesday, September 28, 2010


Three years ago, Penn-Delco School District was mired in a criminal investigation conducted by the county district attorney's office. Its focus was the relationship between the district and a company that provided popular before/after-school programs.

It would eventually result in the shocking felony convictions of the former school board president and district superintendent, in addition to the company itself.

In mid-July, 2007, Penn-Delco's longtime solicitor Mark Sereni asked for a private meeting with Phil Heron, editor of the Delco Times. He agreed. They talked in the Delco Times office for almost four hours.

At the beginning of July 2007, Sereni had sent a confidential e-mail to the school board recommending that it hire a special independent counsel, of its own choosing, to investigate questions about alleged unlawful conduct by certain district officials. These questions had been raised in confidence by a handful of school board members, as well as Sereni himself, after Sereni had helped to conduct a preliminary internal investigation in the district.

The special independent counsel would be responsible for conducting a full investigation and either appropriately charging any officials with misconduct or, on the other hand, clearing them from any suggestion of wrongdoing as warranted by the evidence. If the special independent counsel charged any district employee with misconduct, that employee would be entitled to a fair due process hearing and the right to appeal to a higher court.

Because Sereni had participated in the preliminary investigation and identified issues to be investigated by the special independent counsel, Sereni would properly refrain from further participating in the process. And because an objective of the special independent counsel's investigation would be to appropriately hold district officials accountable in an employment context - while the district attorney's investigation involved the criminal arena - the special independent counsel investigation would complement - not interfere with - the district attorney's. Sereni recommended this special independent counsel investigation confidentially to the school board.

During the meeting, Sereni indicated that he had discovered a disturbing

fact: an unidentified school board member had violated the law and betrayed Penn-Delco's trust by revealing - without school board authorization - Sereni's confidential recommendation to outsiders, and then twisting Sereni's recommendation into something else. And at this meeting, Sereni also warned that any district official who was secretly feeding the newspaper any derogatory information about him was actually feeding the newspaper lies and gross distortions, all calculated to discredit him as solicitor and damage his reputation and, worse yet, to maintain a cover-up in Penn-Delco by destroying his recommendation to expose and hold accountable all those who should be held accountable.

When Sereni stood his ground on his recommendation, the attack against him went public, culminating in a petition to oust him as Penn-Delco solicitor after 17 years. This alleged "grass-roots" campaign originated not with any concerned member of the public who eventually fronted it, but, some witnesses say, with an individual closely allied with the very wrongdoers in Penn-Delco who apparently feared that Sereni's recommendation would expose their wrongdoing and trigger their accountability.

Despite Sereni's paying a terrible price for fighting for what's right, his efforts to expose and combat corruption and other improper conduct in Penn-Delco ultimately bore much fruit. In addition to the former school board president and district superintendent, a third Penn-Delco official was convicted of a felony and barred from ever again serving in public office. A fourth Penn-Delco official resigned in the face of an extensive operations review conducted by an independent forensic firm.

In addition, both were found to have committed serious ethics violations by the state Ethics Commission. And the new board leadership of Penn-Delco, comprising the board members who had supported Sereni's push for accountability during his tenure, is continuing to steer the district on the right path.

Three years ago, our newspaper referred to Sereni's then 3-year-old son in one of our pieces. We did this after Sereni had shared with the Penn-Delco public - during a very human moment - that his fervent desire to make his son proud of his dad helped drive his objective to do right by Penn-Delco. Three years later, Sereni is now blessed with three young sons. All share his last name. And all very much deserve to be truly proud of their dad, who lawfully and ethically did right by his client Penn-Delco with great intelligence, skill, courage and - most importantly - integrity.
By 50 plus
#331868
I kind of thought that was strange when I read it this morning. What is the point? Did Heron write it? And at the end when the writer says he now has 3 young sons, why the comment "they all share his last name"? Odd.
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By Sandbagger
#331869
Report: Glen Mills woman stole more than $4,000 from booster club
Published: Wednesday, September 29, 2010


According to a report, a Glen Mills woman is alleged to have stolen $4,128.58 from the Bayard Rustin High School Boys Basketball Booster Club.

The report says Alicia Marie Derry, 40, was president of the club and used the club's debit card to pay her utility bills, food, hairstyling and other person expenses said the Westtown-East Goshen Regional Police Department.

Derry was charged with theft by unlawful taking, receiving stolen property and bad checks. She was arraigned before District Judge William Kraut. She is now in Chester County Prison after failing to post $10,000 cash bail. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Oct. 7 at 9 a.m., police said.
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By Sandbagger
#331870
In the Community: Aston A.A. has 50 years to celebrate
Published: Monday, October 04, 2010
By HARRY CHAYKUN, hchaykun@delcotimes.com


In 1960, manager Danny Murtaugh’s Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Yankees to win the World Series.

A few months later, Radnor High All-Delco Ted Dean scored the winning touchdown as the Eagles beat the Green Bay Packers in the NFL Championship Game at Franklin Field.

Several years ago, a book about the NFL included the story of a youth football coach and his son, the team’s quarterback, who didn’t have a ticket to the game but managed to find a way to get into the stadium.

That coach, Butch Ryan, had just completed his first season as head of the Aston A.A. senior team. The quarterback, Bo Ryan, played football at Chester High but got his name in the paper more often for his exploits on the basketball court.

Aston A.A. football made its debut in the Delco Boys League with two teams. Aston has 10 football teams competing this fall. In addition, there are 10 cheerleading squads, meaning that 500 young men and ladies are representing the A.A. on local football fields.

Saturday, Aston A.A. will celebrate its 50 years of football with a reunion of the 1960 teams. The special guest for the ceremony will be that first senior quarterback, Bo Ryan, the men’s basketball coach at the University of Wisconsin and former coach of NCAA Division III championship teams at Wisconsin-Platteville.

The ceremonies will begin at noon at the Aston Community Center on Concord Road. Ryan will say a few words about the good old days when the Aston program began as well as help get the 2010 Aston teams ready for their games at Claymont that day.

The officers of the Aston A.A. are hoping to have as many men who played in 1960 return to share their memories with their former teammates.

More information can be obtained from Aston A.A. president Gene Johnson at (484) 557-6933.
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By JuneCarter
#331871
Editorial: Firefighters come through again in clutch
Published: Thursday, October 07, 2010
www.delcotimes.com


When it rains, it pours. And when it rains in Delaware County, it usually pours into Darby Borough.

That’s because Darby Creek runs smack through the middle of the borough. After torrential rains from Hurricane Floyd left the tiny town submerged back in 1999, the long-delayed project to replace the bridge that spans the creek was finally put on the front burner. Too often debris in the rising water would smack up against the structure, providing a natural dam that sent water cascading into the town.

The new bridge seemed to be working. Until last Friday.

That’s when the skies opened once again in the Great Flood of 2010. After a scorching summer that set records for the most days over 90 degrees in which we went weeks between even as much as a sprinkle, Mother Nature decided to even the score in 24 hours.

In some locations in the county, as much as 6 to 8 inches of rain fell.

As usual, Darby Borough was no match for Mother Nature. But it was not alone. A school bus depot in Havertown was cut off by water. Chester Creek once again roared over its banks, causing damage in Chester city and township. Much of Upland was under water. The same held true in Brookhaven.

In Chester Township, the toll of damaged homes in the Toby Farms section went over 60.

Friday’s conditions proved once again that our aging infrastructure is no match for Mother Nature’s wrath.

But the often horrific conditions also proved something else. They served to remind all of us of one of our greatest natural resources.

As usual in these instances, while most people were trying desperately to get our of harm’s way, a small band of dedicated citizens were trying to do just the opposite.

Local firefighters and first responders once again literally waded into the fray.

In Darby Borough, the entire region watched as firefighters used their ladder trucks to span the raging torrent of Darby Creek and rescue people from their homes.

In Chester city, police and firefighters launched a fire boat on Kerlin Street to reach stranded residents. Marcus Hook firefighters snatched a few people clinging to the tops of their submerged cars on Ninth Street.

Perhaps no one can testify better to the bravery and efforts of these volunteers than Christine Pekala.

The young woman was driving home in the early-morning darkness Friday in Bethel Township when her car was washed away by the raging floodwaters.

Her ride home soon became a life-and-death struggle. Pekala found herself trapped in a submerged car. An attempt to open the driver’s side door was blocked by a tree. Holding her breath in the submerged vehicle, she managed to get out the passenger’s side window and cling to a nearby tree.

That’s when a small band of volunteer firefighters came to her rescue. Boothwyn firefighters Dan Castagna, Jason Smith and Jim Hallman were among those who responded to the scene, as was Ogden Deputy Chief Chad Smalls. Without a thought to their own safety, they extended a ladder in order to reach Pekala’s car. Once there, they threw the woman a life vest and a rope before pulling her from the tree back to the roof of her now-submerged car.

When her ordeal was finally over, Pekala says she realized just how close she had come to not making it out of that creek alive.

Then she did something else. She called this newspaper. Not to draw attention to herself. But to make sure these firefighters’ efforts were recognized.

It’s something the rest of us would do wise to mimic.

The next time that could be us in that creek, or badly injured in an accident, or desperately trying to escape a burning home.

Too often we simply take these men and women for granted, content in the knowledge that when we call they will respond.

Their numbers have been dwindling in recent years, hurt by changing demographics, the need for two-income households, and the general harried pace of society today.

We should never underestimate just how valuable these people are, nor how essential the service they provide.

Well done, folks.
User avatar
By JuneCarter
#331872
To the Times:

I felt the need to respond to the letter written by Lt. Scott Willoughby of the Ridley Township Police Department regarding Officer Decker and the coverage in the Daily Times.

I was appalled to read about Officer Decker and his behavior and agreed 100 percent with the punishment he received.

I also agree with the majority of Lt. Willoughby’s letter regarding the police force — the “extreme” difficulty of their job, the unfortunate occasion when they are viewed as the bad guy (usually this view “is” from the bad guy), the challenges they are faced with daily and the manner in which they handle themselves as a representative of the very core of each community.

I live in Aston and I can tell you that our police force is incredible. I have raised children in this town, and have never had a moment when I felt unsafe or unprotected.

My niece worked at a local store (same name as the one that Officer Decker visited) and encountered our officers on a regular basis — her own words for our officers are: “They are the greatest guys, and I feel safe working here because of them.”


I also had a father who was a part-time police officer when I was growing up. I lived in a house that had to wait patiently every time he left for the job to see that he returned to us safely.

I do not think the Daily Times was trying to make police in general look bad at all. I “do” think they were trying to show what happens when a police officer forgets what that job stands for.

It certainly does not give police officers the authority to be above the law they represent, and in the case of Officer Decker, this is what appears to have happened.

Yes, it is true he and his family will have to suffer for his actions, but in the long run, I think because of “one out of control” officer, other great officers will suffer, too.

I respect each and every police officer who wears a uniform proudly. Unfortunately, for Lt. Willoughby to call the incident anything other than assault on this employee — for whatever reason I believe his words were a “tit for tat” game over a can of chewing tobacco — this happens to be the choice Officer Decker made when he decided his exemplary position of being a police officer had less worth than the actions he chose to take.

As far as having to live with this for the rest of his life, well I guess that suits me better than having him make things look bad for the officers who take their jobs seriously and would never jeopardize it for something trivial like he did.

SHARON VONBERGEN

Aston
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By Sandbagger
#331873
County officers prep for worst with security drill at courthouse
Published: Sunday, October 17, 2010
By KATHLEEN E. CAREY
kcarey@delcotimes.com


MEDIA — The yellow “Crime Scene — Do Not Enter” tape was strewn about the interior plaza of the Delaware County Courthouse and Government Center complex Saturday as evidence of the various scenarios unfolding inside.

In fact, there were three rounds of scenarios that involved some 200 police and emergency responders as a homeland security drill to test the effectiveness of these agencies in situations with shootings and hostages.

“We can’t just take it for granted,” Delaware County Council Chairman John J. Whelan said of the county’s resources. “They have to be prepared and understand the interaction. We have to be prepared.”

Lt. Paul Gustaitis of the Pennsylvania State Police Media barracks explained that having a variety of different emergency responders from the Delaware County Sheriff’s Department and Park Police to the Upper Darby Police Swat Team to state police to U.S. Department of Homeland Security assists in coordination prior to an actual event.

“These are invaluable,” he said. “Just getting people to work together who haven’t worked together in a while is huge.”

William A. Lovejoy Jr., director of the county’s Department of Public Relations, said the incident unfolding was inside a courtroom during a high-profile trial.

“It involves shots, shootings,” he said. “There’s somebody inside with a gun. You have the shots fired and casualties.”

Delaware County Criminal Investigative Division detective Joseph Hackett said the scenarios were fluid beyond that, allowing for a myriad of circumstances to take place.

“That’s how scenarios work — you have to be prepared for anything,” he said.

A command center was established in the Fronefield Building, where an aerial map of the courthouse complex was splayed out next to a case of Nestle water bottles.

Information came over the radio: “Victim in rear of courthouse until further notice or instructions.”

A few moments later came another directive.

“The two individuals going out of the windows were tactical officers,” it said.

At 11:20 a.m., two rounds of a starter pistol sounded off on the second floor of the courthouse.

With red guns drawn, sheriff’s deputies lined the marble steps and cautiously made their way upstairs.

Meanwhile, another incident was occurring in Courtroom 9 on the first floor and officers donned in gray camouflage and black helmets worked their way to the location with weapons ready.

At 11:22 a.m., a message could be heard over the walkie-talkies, “Lockdown of the building.”

Hackett looked over to a group gathered to watch the event. “It’s escalating,” he said.

More shots were fired.

“Hey!” came a yell from down the hall, followed by, “Get out! Get out! Get out!”

By 11:30 a.m., the hallways were clear, as all of the emergency personnel had made their way to the scenes of action.

Two minutes later, a victim was being carried off the elevator.

At 11:35 a.m., civilians walked out of Courtroom 9 and were instructed to sit on the chairs outside the jury room.

By 11:41 a.m., the exercise was finished.

One officer walking down the steps joked about his imaginary injury during the drill.

“I was shot,” he said touching his torso, “but I healed pretty well.”

Nearby, CID bomb squad detective William Gordon stood by the ICOR explosive ordnance disposal robot.

“We used it in every scenario,” he said of the wheeled device. “It has six cameras, two can switch to infrared automatically. It did wonderful.”

Evaluators graded the responders performance during each of the scenarios to determine what worked and where improvements could be made.

“The purpose of a drill is to learn,” Lovejoy said.

Hackett and Delaware County Sheriff Joseph F. McGinn explained that no live ammunition was used during the drill as the sheriff said each participant was required to check their gun at least five times to make certain it was clear.

And, all of the officials reiterated the exercise’s importance in strengthening the responders’ preparedness.

Whelan said during an actual event, he would be working in conjunction with the county District Attorney G. Michael Green on coordination and response.

“All of our county resources would be committed at that time,” he said.
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By Sandbagger
#331874
Bullying: Law enforcement, school officials, former victims all addressing problem
Published: Sunday, October 17, 2010
By PAUL LUCE
pluce@delcotimes.com


During a recent teen-mental health and anti-bullying assembly at a local high school, speaker Francesca Pileggi said she was shocked to see the very issue she was speaking out against take place in front of her eyes.

Founder of the ME Project, a Chadds Ford-based teen mental health advocacy and awareness group, Pileggi, 23, said a student sitting at a table only feet from her leaned over and pointed to two of his classmates when Pileggi announced one in four teens will have a mental health issue during high school.

“He got up and he pointed at the kids,” said Pileggi, 23. “He said, ‘It’s going to be you and you.’”

Pileggi said she called the student out on what she deemed as inappropriate behavior. Nevertheless, the incident “me so angry, it made my blood boil,” she said.

In the wake of several high profile suicides by bullying victims across the nation in the past two months, teachers, administrators and even lawmakers are taking notice of a phenomenon that, while perhaps always in existence, has grown new legs thanks to new technology.

IDENTIFYING THE PROBLEM

“It’s a nuanced problem that effects every grade level,” Delaware County District Attorney G. Michael Green said. “It really runs the gamut. It’s not just little kids in the school yard, with one littler than the other and the bigger child threatening the smaller child.”

Though instances of what psychologists dub “traditional” bullying seem to remain constant, Green said his office has seen an explosion of cyber bullying. Defined by the National Crime Prevention Council as use of the Internet, cell phones or other devices are used to send or post text or images intended to hurt or embarrass another person, the incident is growing particularly among young women and girls, Green said.

“Because the Internet is impersonal, the normal restraints one person would have (when) meeting directly face-to-face with another are eliminated,” said Green. “Suddenly things are said online that one would never do to another person in a one-on-one personal conversation. The result of that is incredible injury to the victim.”

Among young women and girls, it’s often not one-against-one, but rather several youth targeting one victim.

Among young men and boys, the bullying usually revolves around perceived issues of a youth’s sexual orientation, said Green.

While much cyber bullying is committed by juveniles, and would therefore be handled Delaware County Juvenile Court System, Green said officials look for a psychological evaluation of the offender to help predict behavior and prevent future victims.

“What we look for as part of the solution of that case is a psychological evaluation of our juvenile offender, to make sure we know what is going on,” Green said. “It’s obviously an early indication of more serious crimes going to take place, maybe against the same victim. We want to stop that in its tracks.”

His office is planning the county’s third Safe Schools Summit for Oct. 26 at the Drexelbrook Corporate Event Center. Portions of the summit will be dedicated to the serious dangers of bullying and the importance of teen mental health awareness.

“Because the person who is perpetrating these acts doesn’t have to confront the victim in person, when that’s eliminated, it can become extremely vicious, as we’ve seen with victims committing suicide,” Green said. “It can just be devastating, really.”

Green was referring to the suicides of William Lucas, 15, of Greensburg Ind.; Tyler Clementi, 18, of New York City; Asher Brown, 13, of Houston; and Seth Walsh who were brutally bullied on Facebook and in school for being perceived as gay.

FROM PAIN COME OTHERS’ GAIN

Melissa Hopely, a 23-year-old Haverford resident, said she’s gone from contemplating suicide due to bullying to having a Facebook page plastered with phrases thanking her for life-changing inspiration.

A Cardinal O’Hara High School graduate, Hopely said she had the unfortunate combination of obsessive-compulsive disorder, anxiety disorder and fellow student who would persistently berate her for her mental health issues.

“When I was a sophomore … there was one day I needed to get a ride home from (a classmate) and 10 people surrounded the car. And he just gave me the finger,” said Hopely.

Though she did eventually get a ride home from the bully, Hopely said she walked into her house, climbed the stairs to her room, and prepared to jump out of the window.

“I figured if I didn’t kill myself, I would get hurt,” she said. “Even if I didn’t end my life going out the window, I would have a cast, and people would feel bad because they could see the cast, (though) they couldn’t see the cast around my brain.”

If it wasn’t for her friend and neighbor Mary Beth Vogel walking into her house and into her room at that moment to.
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By Sandbagger
#331875
‘Chesterites’ gather to recall city’s olden days
Published: Sunday, October 17, 2010
By LORETTA RODGERS
Times Correspondent


CHESTER — It was a walk down memory lane for more than 100 “Chesterites” who gathered Saturday afternoon for the 10th annual Old Chester Pa. reunion, held at the Delaware County Historical Society and Museum.

Hosted by the Chester Historic Preservation Society Committee in conjunction with the website oldchesterpa.com, the event featured a host of exhibitions, photographs, memorabilia and displays of historic items — all related to the City of Chester.

“This certainly brings back a lot of old memories,” said lifelong Chester resident Linda Smith. “They were such good times back then. I wish sometimes that we could return to those days.”

Chester Historic Preservation Society vice chair Carol Fireng said OldChesterPa.com webmaster John Bullock, the originator of the annual reunion, has been unable to make the trip to Chester from his home in North Carolina for the past few years.

“We wanted to continue John’s work and believe it’s so important for both current and former residents of Chester to get together and reminisce,” said Fireng. “Preserving the history of this city is really vital.”

Aston resident Mary Anne Varacalli, who was raised in Chester and graduated from the former St. Robert’s Catholic School and Notre Dame High School, was accompanied to the reunion by friends Dave and Ann Wilson and John Sheridan.

The group spent the better part of an hour looking at old photographs and perusing exhibitions.

“I’ve been coming to this reunion for the past several years and I really love it,” said Varacalli. “I often drive by my old house on 22nd Street and so many old memories come flooding back. Chester was a great place to live and grow up.”

In addition to exhibitors such as the Chester Cub of The National Association of Negro Business and Professional Women’s Clubs, Inc., Chester YWCA, Scott Paper Co., and Chester Blazers, Bear. Del resident Thomas Roy Smith was on-hand portraying William Penn.

“Chester is where Penn landed,” said Smith. “It is very important for people to remember the historical significance of this city.

Also on-hand for the reunion was former Chester High School Principal Jesse Powell, who retired in 1991, former Chester High School Vocational building secretary Teresa Vaul Boden, and several members of the Chester High School Class of 1961 who used the event as part of their planned reunion events.

“This is just a beautiful event,” said Powell. “This is great for our community.”
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