There's a ridiculous letter from Phil Heron making the rounds. Mr. Heron is the Editor of the Daily Times. He is echoing the woes of locals who protest development over open space. He talks about the wide open views in Kansas. What the hell? In Kansas all that open space is PRIVATELY OWNED and used to make profit. We don't do much farming around here, the very close suburbs of a major metropolitan and World Heritage city. Our privately owned spaces will also be used to make profit, just like Kansas. Development is the only way that open space makes profit around here. If the townsfolk with their pitchforks and loud voices want some space to stay "open," let them pool their gold pieces and buy it. Or be downright evil and abuse eminent domain by condemning the property, THEN buy it. Whatever. The owners of that land don't have to be charitable just because you want them to be. This crap is ridiculous. Here's the article, making rounds on Facebook yesterday: _______________________________________ Letter From the Editor: Open-space dilemma hits home hard in Delco PHIL HERON Residents protesting the development of Beaver Valley let their sentiments be known at a recent meeting at Garnet Valley Middle School in Concord. DIGITAL FIRST MEDIA FILE PHOTO Every time I hear another hue and cry about how we are losing open space, I think about I-70 in Kansas. Have you ever driven across Kansas? I have, several times. I will never look at our diminishing open space the same way again. Let me ask you this: If we got into the car right now, how many states do you think we could get to in an hour or so? Three, maybe four? Driving from one end of Kansas to the other is one day. When they say it’s flat, they are not joking. You can almost look out at the horizon and see where you are going to be tomorrow. Almost 40 years later, one scene still stands out in my mind. I was headed back east on a blazing hot summer day, when I found myself … [Read more...]
Townie has no regrets from Anthem of the Seas cruise
Perhaps the Royal Caribbean ship “Anthem of the Seas” should be called “Anathema the Seas”**. The ship is turning around for the 2nd time in almost as many weeks. Do you remember the Super Bowl Sunday storm that tossed the 6,000 capacity cruise ship up, down, and all around off the coast of North Carolina? Yeah. That's the one. A skittish crew and new company policies since that first cursed tour has them turning tail at the thought of a repeat trip. LOCAL CONNECTION 2nd Ward Townie Bruce Woodruff and his wife Deborah were aboard the Anthem of the Seas on the first ill-fated trip, where passengers reported lists up to 45-degree angles in the choppy waves. “It wasn’t that bad,” Bruce said. Here's an ABC report with passenger footage: Bruce and Deborah were cruising with friends who are experienced boaters and cruisers. Together, they used phone apps to measure the worst toss at about a 21-degree angle, with most of the leans averaging between 6 and 8 degrees. “I’m not gonna lie,” Bruce said. “It was bad. But it wasn’t nearly as bad as was reported.” The Captain asked everyone to remain in their cabins while they navigated the rough. To pass the time, Bruce and Deborah watched a bit of the Super Bowl in their friends’ suite. The ship’s constant leaning eventually pushed every loose item onto the floor (except, Bruce noted, a magically anchored bottle of wine). When the couple eventually headed back to their own cabin, they employed a walking strategy that proved successful. “You can feel when the ship is about to list,” Bruce told Havertownies. “You just walk to the opposite wall.” Watching the rest of the Super Bowl in their room also required some creative countermeasures. Bruce and Deborah fortified themselves in their bed alcove, forming a t-shape with their bodies and bracing their arms and legs against the floor and walls. “Not the most romantic position,” he admitted. But, they were able to watch the game (we … [Read more...]
Townie woman pleads guilty in DuBois, PA
From GANT/CNN: Posted on Monday, February 22, 2016 by Julie Rae Rickard DUBOIS – A Havertown woman has pleaded guilty to theft for trying to con money from a local church. Michele Thompson, 47, 26 Colfax Rd., Havertown was charged by DuBois City police with theft by deception and receiving stolen property, both misdemeanors of the first degree for her actions on Nov. 23 when she lied to representatives of St. Catherine’s Church to get financial assistance. Thompson pleaded guilty Friday during Centralized Court to a lesser charge of theft by deception, a misdemeanor of the third degree. The other charge was withdrawn. She must pay fines and costs totaling $472.50. According to the affidavit of probable cause, police were called to the S&T Bank on Liberty Boulevard because someone was trying to cash a stolen check. When police arrived, they met with Mary Rossi, who is the office manager at St. Catherine’s Church. She told them that a woman had contacted her earlier that day requesting financial assistance. The woman identified herself as Michele Thompson of Brockway and claimed to own a property in DuBois. Thompson stated that her tenant, Jennifer Douglas, was behind in rent and needed assistance from the church. Thompson claimed to be calling on behalf of Douglas as an alternative to starting the eviction process. She said Douglas was behind nearly $1,000 in her rent. Rossi said she agreed to help and transferred Thompson to Monsignor Richard Siefer. Thompson was issued a check for $200 and two $25 Martin’s Grocery gift cards. She arrived at the church in an old brown coupe and collected the donations, identifying herself as Douglas. Moments after this Rossi received a phone call from S&T Bank requesting permission to cash the check for Thompson. At this point, Rossi realized Thompson had deceived the church. Rossi immediately contacted police and went to the bank. Upon arriving Rossi recognized the brown car in the … [Read more...]
H-Town Priest going away for child porn & sexual abuse
Do you know this creep? We're sorry if you do. Patch put up an article yesterday about this derelict lowlife & how he'll spend his next 2 decades. Let's see his litany of crimes: *using the Internet to entice a minor to engage in sexual conduct *transfer of obscene material to a minor *distribution of child pornography *possession of child pornography *destruction or concealment of evidence Disgusting. We're guessing the plea was preferable to a long investigation and rounding up of sexual abuse victims. Let's hope this vile creature's pedophilia was contained to the depraved child pornography images and horrific chat room luring, and no child in the township was physically touched by this creep. (Doubtful, of course, but the charges sending him away fro 20 years to rot in hell-on-earth don't list rape or sexual assault). If you were abused or suspect someone is a victim of abuse, please contact the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence. No-one is above the law. … [Read more...]
House fire on Strathmore. UPDATE: 1 Fatality
Michael Glenn of the Haverford Police Department has released a statement that said the resident of the house on Strathmore was pronounced dead on arrival at the Emergency Department of Lankenau Hospital. Please: If you know the identity and/or address of this homeowner, please keep it off social media. Next of kin are still being located. Here is the official police statement from Brookline Fire Chief/Haverford Police Chief John Viola: Press Release-Strathmore Rd Fatal Fire HAVERFORD TOWNSHIP POLICE DEPARTMENT 1010 Darby Road Havertown, Pennsylvania 19083 Official Press Release House Fire (Fatal) On Monday February 15th at approximately 1012 hours, the Haverford Township Police Department received a report of smoke coming from a home in the 500 block of Strathmore Rd. Fire Apparatus from Brookline, Llanerch, Oakmont, Manoa and Bon Air Fire Companies were dispatched to the scene along with units from Penn Medicine Paramedics, and the Haverford Township Police Department. The assistance of Narberth Ambulance was also requested due to the severe weather conditions. Upon arrival on scene police observed heavy smoke and fire visible in the rear of the home. The first officers on scene attempted to enter the home to check for occupants but were driven back by heavy smoke conditions. Fire personnel gained entry into the residence and located an elderly male on the first floor. The male was removed from the home and transported to Lankenau Hospital, where he was pronounced deceased upon arrival. The identity of the victim is being withheld at this time. The home sustained heavy damage and was demolished prior to the fire companies leaving the scene. The cause of the fire has not been determined at this time. The investigation is being conducted by the Haverford Township Police Department with the assistance of both the Delaware County Detectives and the PA State Fire Marshall Office. The Haverford Township Police Department wishes to … [Read more...]
Lonely Planet Loves Philly
We're #1. Lonely Planet names Philly #1 place to check out in 2016. (Probably has a lot to do with our World Heritage designation... first city in the US. We're like, Paris, yo.) … [Read more...]
Find the black dog – photos from today’s walk
We went for a little walk today along Pennsy Trail to see the snow before it melts. Shout out to the other dogs we met along the way, including new resident puppy Frank and his sweet mom and dad who know the former Miss Sandowich-now-Coffey (coffee n a sammich, anyone? Can't make this stuff up) who teaches Español at the High School. Welcome to H-Town, A&K and Frank! You are now Townies! Just like the rest of us. Good luck. (#kiddingnotkidding) Pennsy Trail and Veterans park may have "no dogs" sign but once we're on the paved path, you can't see us anyway. :) … [Read more...]
Millennials would love H-Town, if they could afford it
A bit of information is coming out about Millennials and where they'd like to settle down. Turns out, it's the 'burbs. Great! H-Town's a 'burb. And we have all the things here these younguns are lookin' fer: "It appears that what many Millennials want when picking out a place to raise a family isn’t a city per se, but rather the perks that are traditionally associated with living in a city: restaurants, shops, and grocery stores within walking distance, easy access to public transportation. In other words, they might want suburbs that are more city-like than the ones they grew up in." Here at HavertowniesHQ, we get it. We searched for a town with good schools, a single family dwelling we could afford and good "walking-around" streets. We've been lucky to be here, within walking distance to the schools, a Wawa, the library and a few pizza places (and more) for 15 years. We're the lucky ones, apparently, because this article reports many Millennials are stuck in cities they can't afford to leave (median house price here is $301,500). We personally haven't met too many Millennials in Philly who want to flock to the 'burbs (and we meet quite a few, being techies and all), but surely there are those who have the same reasons we did for wanting to move out of Center City and into the suburbs. Of course, not many of us Havertownies can do much about these stuck-Millennials plight. But: We can encourage businesses and residents to keep up our eclectic mix of hometown charm and upscale living. Despite all the nail salons (jeez, people, don't any of you do your own nails?!), our dining scene just keeps getting better, and our Walkability score is crazy great (so stop complaining about parking. There is NEVER GOING TO BE ENOUGH PARKING. Walk.) We can also encourage a bit more diversity. Haverford Township's 92% whiteness is just... over. Wanna know where we got our stats? From the guvvermint: http://www.census.gov/quickfacts/table/RHI125214/4204533144,00 … [Read more...]
Fog on Karakung Drive
Here is a slideshow of a creepy bit of fog rolling over Karakung drive yesterday. … [Read more...]
Whooping cough in HHS again. Babies Beware.
The Haverford High School nurse has sent through a warning letter containing information from the CDC about Whooping Cough. If you have a pre-vaccinated infant, take special precautions. If you are around infants, get a booster shot. Lots of adults contract whooping cough but it goes undiagnosed because adults don't always get the "whoop" cough from which Pertussis gets its nickname. If you have a persistent cough, go to the doctor ASAP. Please. Here's what you are helping to spread if you don't vaccinate your kids, or yourself. Watch. This is on you. Babies and immune compromised people (like kids with cancer) can and do die of this. Or watch this god-awful video of a baby's last days, who died of this disease. FOR NO REASON. IT IS PREVENTABLE. PARENTS SHARE BABY'S LAST VIDEO BEFORE BABY DIED OF PERTUSSIS Here's the letter from the HHS nurse. Link is to download the pdf. Click on the pic to read. nurse_scan Whooping Couch 2016 … [Read more...]
