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cubesmart application causes east whiteland zoning officer to doze off?

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cube smart

The above photo is old.  Can’t find recent photos I snapped of CubeSmart’s giant box being built on the edge of Malvern overlooking Route 30.

It is a BIG, UGLY box.  I hate when areas are de-forested so Tyvec boxes can be built, don’t you?  And this is now your landmark when going to the General Warren Inne, which is a place I know and love.  I have seconded a wedding photographer there as well as having just been there as a dinner guest over the years. I also fully admit that I do not understand the lack of planning and general mish-mosh of conflicting zoning throughout Chester County.  You have residential often quite close to the most awful commercial zoning.  To me this is another one of those situations.

So CubeSmart, another fine project brought to you by Eli Kahn who to me seems to want to take over Chester County, has been a contentious project by comments I have seen on Malvern Patch every time it comes up. I think part of what is the problem is that this particular Malvern project, which is located in East Whiteland is not only due to what the project it (in essence a big box with more self-storage and then offices), but because it seems like East Whiteland doesn’t do much putting it out there as far as notification except to the letter of what they are supposed to do and do they have a public access channel for televised meetings or not?

So a zoning notice went up on the CubeSmart property like late last week regarding their application in East Whiteland. The notice said:

Appeal No. 13-15 Application of Old Lancaster Venture, LP, c/o CubeSmart for a special exception pursuant to Section 200-89 of the Township Zoning Ordinance, which authorizes exceptions to the otherwise applicable signage regulations under special circumstances, in order to permit the Applicant to install two wall signs and three free-standing signs having a total collective square footage of 223.5 square feet on its property located at 5 Old Lancaster Road (UPI 42-4-338) in an R-3 Residential Zoning District, in conjunction with the construction of an 86,400 square foot office building.

That got posted on one of those neighborhood bulletin board things on Malvern Patch (and not as a regular media coverage, either – some of the media coverage seems in flux to be polite since Pete Kennedy left the editorial spot there – he was very on top of things and diligent.)

Immediately the comments started.  Residents with immediate standing to this project seem VERY upset.  With good reason – the hearing on GIANT, yes GIANT billboard-y signage was scheduled in the middle of a July heat wave – you know when people are either dying from the heat or on summer vacation? Apparently East Whiteland doesn’t have a billboard policy? Or good signage policy? I don’t know so someone else will have to fill in that question via a comment. I would have thought they would because I noticed at the bottom of the notice posted on Pennsylvania Public Notices that Fronefield Crawford, Jr was listed as the Zoning Hearing Board Solicitor and well he made a stink at Radnor Township a few years ago in 2009 about their billboard and signage policies, but maybe that was because his church might have been affected – Wayne Presbyterian.  (Interestingly his name also surfaced in a literal “turf war” in Radnor too.)

Now no joke, off premises signs and billboards are big problem I think throughout Chester County and Chester County has a ton of the ugliest billboards from municipality to municipality.  I don’t like billboards and billboard-like signs.

Anyway, from what it sounds like a bunch of folks from the “General Warren Village” neighborhoods in Malvern/Frazer showed up at this meeting.

cube3I hear there were fireworks.  A resident named Jim rolled up on Malvern Patch today and left a stunning comment:

Jim McVeigh                July 23, 2013 at 10:36 am
         Well, sparks flew at the Zoning Ordinace meeting last night. During the first presentation myself and other residents witnessed Jeffery Freeman , a member of the Board, first dozing off and on, then shortly he was out fast asleep. I interrupted the presentation to bring it to the other members of the boards attention. I was responded to by Mr. freeman with the comment B**lS**T. I guess he does not like being interrupted during his nap time. For bringing this to the boards’ attention I was chastised for speaking out of order, even though I asked the audience if they had witnessed Freeman napping and 7- 8 residents raised thier hand. Of course nothing was said publicly to Freeman. If you are not aware of exactly the members of the boards duties include, I have included information from thier website. **************** Zoning Hearing Board **************  The Zoning Hearing Board is a five-member appeals board appointed by the Board of Supervisors for staggered, five-year terms. The Zoning Hearing Board hears applications for: special exceptions;  nonconforming uses;  variance requests.  It also hears appeals of decisions made by the zoning officer. The Board gathers facts by taking testimony and by reviewing evidence from affected parties at public hearings. It is charged with the legal responsibility of approving or denying applications and appeals.  In rendering a decision, the Board considers all testimony, presented under oath at public hearings, and evaluates an application’s impact on the community. When necessary, the Board can require special stipulations in allowing special exceptions and variances. The Board interprets, but does not set, the zoning ordinance. The zoning ordinance and any revisions are prepared by the Planning Commission and adopted by the Board of Supervisors following a public hearing. The zoning ordinance was last adopted in February 2007. ************************************************

cube2

Wow. I have attended a lot of zoning hearing board meetings in various municipalities in my day, but I have *NEVER* heard of a Zoning Hearing Board Member dozing off have you?  Does East Whiteland have any comment? Any media following up on this?

I am asking for input here because my curiosity on this development leads me to the following question: can a fair and equitable zoning decision be reached when member of the board are seen dozing off in the middle of the hearing?  And the public, the residents with standing who had the courage to speak up and point this out were chastised for being out of order? REALLY?  What if this were a capital murder trial and the judge dozed off? I realize that using a murder trial is an extreme parallel of sorts but aren’t Zoning hearings mini legal proceedings?  Did a court stenographer catch all this?

Seems to me residents may deserve a little TLC here.

Again, thoughts on zoning naptime at the oasis?

(Update I am told East Whiteland doesn’t televise meetings – there seem to be a lot of Chester County municipalities that do *not* televise or videotape their meetings which I find *odd* since I know they all have access to public access TV if they want it, right?)

loch aerie in frazer 2013

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Here is beautiful and marooned Loch Aerie.  It’s 2013 and she is still hanging on.  Wouldn’t it be nice if the Tabas family cared as much about this mansion’s preservation and future as the airplanes in their front yard they feel the need to get media for?

DSC_0082

every parent’s nightmare (updated)

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missingWhen I heard this news break I was in the car this afternoon, and I immediately thought well there it is:every parent’s nightmare, a missing child.  And that is exactly what is unfolding in Radnor Township.

A missing teen.  Now I have just heard Radnor might be calling another press conference for 9 pm, so I hope it is good news and the girl is found.  She’s young – 13.

And this is some guy who is 20, and who appears to have multiple Facebook pages, along with Twitter and god knows what else.

This is the stuff that makes your heart sink like a stone to your stomach.   I guess there were creepy people out there when I was 13, but maybe because there was no Internet and I had parents who were actively involved in my life (sometimes much to my chagrin), the seemy side of life didn’t touch me. Thank God.

Being a teen can’t be easy today, even if the technology is zippy.  And young teens like this 13 year old missing girl want to be treated like grown-ups but they are still children.

It’s hard to figure out as parents where you draw the line isn’t it?  You want them to be safe, yet you can’t wrap them up and keep the world at bay. And they don’t want to be babied even if they are your babies.

But given the age of this missing girl I am sorry, but I think it is important to keep an eye on the kids, who they are Facebooking, Face timing, tweeting at, texting.  I think part of that has to be limits when it comes to the smart phones and computers.  I think computers should be in a common area.

Talk to your kids.  They might not want to talk to you all of the time, but better to know what is up.  Yes I know, everyone wants to be a friend to their children, but sometimes you just have to parent.

Savanna Marie MacMullett is the name of the missing girl.  I pray she gets home safely.

Makes you wonder what caused her to reach out to someone as screwy as they are saying she ran away with doesn’t it?

As of 9 pm There is a rumor running around she has been found in DC alive and the guy is in jail but I have no formal confirmation.  I hope so.

Police: Radnor Girl Missing

Savanna Marie Macmullett, 13, disappeared from her Radnor home Monday.

BySam Strike  Email the author  2:27 pm

Radnor Teen Goes Missing After Meeting Man Online

Police say Savanna MacMullett, 13, of Radnor participated in online chats with Ashley Hareford, a 20-year-old man from Grottoes, Virginia.

By  David Chang|  Tuesday, Dec 4, 2012  |  Updated 6:10 PM EST

Police are searching for a missing teen girl as well as the man who they believe took her after they met on the Internet.

Police say they spotted Ashley Hareford, 20, of Grottoes, Virginia standing outside the Radnor Township home of 13-year-old Savanna MacMullett on Sunday. Police say he looked suspicious and they stopped him while he was on foot to question him. However, after he was questioned, they let him go because they could not find a reason to hold him in custody.

On Monday police say MacMullet left her home around 4 p.m. and has been missing since then. MacMullet’s father told police his daughter met Hareford online and had conversations with him. Police believe MacMullet is with him.

9:15 PM : my source was correct – Savanna has been found in Washington DC:

Missing Radnor Girl Found in D.C.

Savanna Marie MacMullet went missing Monday afternoon.

BySam Strike Email the author

9:08 pm

13-year-old Garrett Hill resident Savanna Marie MacMullet, who went missing Monday afternoon, was found by U.S. Marshals in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday.

With her was Ashley Ryan Hareford, 20, who Radnor Police said met MacMullet online and traveled to Pennsylvania from Virginia.

Radnor Township received an anonymous tip that the pair were arriving on a Mega Bus in Washington, D.C. around 7 p.m. Tuesday. Hareford was taken into custody without incident, said Lt. Christopher Flanagan.

MacMullet is being evaluated by medical staff and will be interviewed by police. She may return home tonight.

Hug your kids, people.  That is all I have to say.

UPDATE DECEMBER 5th 2012

I have decided to update this post yet again.  Why?  Because of something I read in Main Line Media News where the father of this girl named Thomas MacMullett is quoted.  I find it all disturbing.

First of all, the father apparently ALSO spoke to this kid outside his home.  Did he know the creepster was there for his kid?  If he did, why didn’t he call the police THEN?

But what really got to me was reading where the father remarks that Savanna’s older sister took off with a 28-year-old guy when she was 14? I am sorry, but does that make the proverbial  hair on the back anyone else’s neck go up ?  Am I missing something where 13 and 14 year old girls routinely take off with 20 and 28-year-old guys respectively or is this a GIANT red flag that something might be wrong at home?

I am glad this girl is home safely.  It could have ended quite differently.  But does the story end there with that guy being arrested or was this really a girl running away with the wrong person because something isn’t right at home?

I am trying not to be all judgey here, but you read the article and decide for yourselves:

UPDATE: Radnor girl found by U.S. Marshals in Washington, D.C.

Published: Wednesday, December 05, 2012

By ROSE QUINN
rquinn@journalregister.com
@rquinndelco

RADNOR — A missing 13-year-old township girl was found in Washington, D.C., traveling on an inexpensive Megabus with a Virginia man authorities believe she met online, possibly Facebook.

Shortly before 8 p.m. Tuesday, a team of township and county detectives were on their way to escort Savanna MacMullett back to Delaware County.

well john dibuonaventuro & tredyffrin, guess that other shoe just dropped, huh?

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It ain’t over and I do not blame Pattye Benson one little bit.  She is RIGHT, John DiBuonaventuro and those Tredyffrin Supervisors (who in my opinion are complacent and accepting of his unacceptable behavior by their silence and lack of action), need to be held accountable for what they did. It will be interesting to see what new mananger and Radnor ex-officio Bill Martin will do.  It will interesting to see if he leads in the right direction on this, won’t it?

It has long been whispered that the political culture in Tredyffrin has not been healthy for decades.  After what happened to Pattye, I don’t even want to patronize businesses in the township. I want to avoid the township.  After all, I am a blogger, and who says they won’t try to intimidate more bloggers and residents?  A Septa official I had contacted about my input on the Paoli  Transit Project wanted me to go to the recent public meeting in Tredyffrin.  I told them it was not possible and why.

The culture in Tredyffrin politically and governmentally has to change.  I don’t view it as either safe or sustainable.  And John DiBuonaventuro needs to realize it’s not the wild, wild west and he can’t just do as he pleases at the expense of others.  He was elected to do a job, hold a position, not pick on residents, correct? I mean the First Amendment isn’t subjective is it? It is what it is, is it not? And since when should elected officials tell us how to think?  Correct me if I am wrong, the plurality as a collective are their bosses, right?

So Pattye has apparently retained Sam Stretton.  Sam Stretton is probably one of the few lawyers in Chester County not afraid on some level of bully governments.

Sam wrote a letter:

Here is Pattye in her own words:

It has been 8+  weeks, since Tredyffrin Township Supervisor John DiBuonaventuro wrote and posted his September 5, 2012 letter to the citizens on the township website. (click here to read the letter). Over the last 2 months, I continue to receive phone calls, emails and have had many discussions with residents that are troubled and concerned about DiBuonaventuro’s letter and use of government letterhead, government website and government resources for his personal attack of traditional news sources as well a private citizen, who dare to question our government. Subsequent to September 5th, we have learned that DiBuonaventuro’s personal letter and use of government resources, was apparently sanctioned and approved by former township manager Mimi Gleason, township solicitor Vince Donahue and the other six members of the Tredyffrin Township’s Board of Supervisors.

At the September 17, 2012 Board of Supervisors meeting, I read a personal statement (click here for Community Matters post and links to BOS meeting and statement) which addressed DiBuonaventuro’s letter and subsequent email and joint phone call from the township manager and police chief on this topic.

When the framers of our Constitution insisted on Freedom of Speech rights, one of their aims was so that all Americans – no matter their social class or position in our society – could vigorously examine and criticize our government. These rights have throughout our history nurtured our democracy and made us a beacon to the whole world. However, as history has played out, the battle for these rights has proven at times to be hard-won rights that we have to continually fight for and renew.  First Amendment rights are a cornerstone to this nation’s government and citizens have a right to discuss issues that are of importance.  The freedom is speech is in place for all of us – including the citizens of Tredyffrin Township.  Further, freedom of speech includes ‘me’ as a citizen and Community Matters.

 

Brava Pattye!  Brava!  I know this must be incredibly hard to do.  I suggest everyone take the time to read Pattye’s entire post. And next time any of these supervisors in Tredyffrin come up for re-election vote ’em out of office.

Pattye does a lot for Tredyffrin.  She is also a business owner and resident who pays taxes.  She is a thoughtful, intelligent, and caring woman.  She is also a friend, and nothing cheeses me off more when good people are upset by idiots.

 

tredyffrin has blogging *issues*

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UPDATE 9:31 a.m.  At 8:22 a.m. on 9/7/12  the letter posted on Tredyffrin’s official government website was taken down.  At 9:24 a.m. the letter is back up.

So unfortunately for all concerned who tried to do good, it is somewhat disturbing to think a local government website paid for with Tredyffrin taxpayer monies is being used somehow like a private website for personal gain?

The uncomfortable question must be asked: are people to assume that this is now officially an official letter?  Sanctioned by Tredyffrin Government and every elected and  appointed official and township employee? What happens the next time a resident questions something?  Another letter from another supervisor on official letterhead? Or something worse?
 
This municipality has  part of Valley Forge in their borders, correct?   Are the freedoms our founding fathers so long ago that they are forgotten and ironically this whole scenario is in essence a modern version of  what the people who founded the United States fought to escape in Europe in the first place?
I am hardly the only one questioning this.  Please see the article written by Tredyffrin Patch Editor Bob Byrne (and I quote):

The Vice Chairman of the Tredyffrin Township Board of Supervisors is on the warpath and he’s launched a savage political attack on the media and a private citizen on Tredyffrin Township’s official, taxpayer funded, website.

In a page-and-a-half screed that reads like a vicious political campaign hit piece, Republican Tredyffrin Township Board of Supervisors Vice Chairman John “JD” DiBuonaventuro offers his explanation of his romantic involvement with a township Zoning Hearing Board member who is at the center of a “drunk and disorderly conduct” criminal case….The letter then turns blatantly political as DiBuonaventuro launches an attack on Main Line Media News which ran the original story (Patch linked to the story on the MLM website) and goes after Community Matters Blogger Pattye Benson, who also posts many of of her blogs here on TE Patch.

 

(Prior part of post continues below)
************************************************************************************

I had no idea until a little while ago that the letter that this Tredyffrin  Supervisor John DiBuonaventuro wrote was on the Tredyffrin official government website.

Truthfully, I am somewhat scandalized by that.  Because in addition to everything else, for someone who did not like this entire topic, they just blew the topic larger than life in a more tawdry manner than any blog post and attacked a resident in Tredyffrin who happens yes, to blog on her blog at Community Matters, but who also happens to give hours and hours of herself to the residents with items involving historic preservation and fun things like the Paoli Blues Festival.  This woman doesn’t just talk the talk, she walks the walk.

Her name is Pattye Benson, and she is a magnificent human being.  I am sticking up for her here because I know her and she has integrity and personal values.  She is kind and pleasant and will always lend a helping hand.  She is also a rather thoughtful blogger and I know for a fact she mulled over posting the latest Tredyffrin tackiness for a while because she just did not know what to think.  Now apparently in Tredyffrin over this issue, you are damned if you don’t and damned if you do anyway?

She wrote another post this evening called Community Matters Closes the Chapter on Police Investigation but Tredyffrin Supervisor Opens a New Chapter . Read it.

She ends her post thusly:

I hope that all who read the above narrative, come away with a positive feeling about these four individuals (Tom Hogan, Michelle Kichline, Tom Tartaglio and Tony Giaimo) and the parts of our local government that they represent – I believe that these individuals respect the citizens of Tredyffrin and are trying to do ‘what’s right’ by us.

Unfortunately, as I was completing this exhaustive summary, I was told of an open letter to the citizens, penned by BOS supervisor John DiBuonaventuro.  Apparently, DiBuonaventuro does not support Main Line Media News, Community Matters or the civil rights of citizens to express their opinions on this topic.  Below is the last paragraph of DiBuonaventuro’s letter, click here for the full text. The tag line for Community Matters is “Your Voice Matters, Join the Conversation” and I stand behind it … we, as the community do matter and your voice does count!

Pattye has style.  Now the whole world knows that a sitting elected official did date a current appointed official in Tredyffrin.  This is by this elected official’s own hand, and very Ed Rendell of him.  Me thinketh the supervisor doth protesteth too much???

However his attack on a private citizen named Pattye Benson that was in a sense condoned (supported? I mean what adjective does one use?)  by ALL in Tredyffrin Township because this was published on seemingly  letterhead   on the official Tredyffrin Township Website is a sad state of affairs.  It sends a message to the citizenry that you are o.k. as long as you do not question your government, let alone criticize anything. Does it also imply the First Amendment doesn’t matter when it comes to politics?  It is also very revisionist history because people concerned about this issue, who have commented on this issue, who have reported on this issue did not ever create this issue.

So congratulations, Tredyffrin Township, you have created a pickle of a new mess, indeed.

And while we are talking about this, someone whom I guess must be a supporter of this Supervisor DiBuonaventuro wrote a comment.  I imagine he also wrote Pattye’s blog, but I have not checked yet.  Here is this guy and what he had to say:

Brian Holton Bholton5@aol.com 108.2.10.144

Wow indeed. JDB is right on the money. These blogs are a haven for cowards, namely the anonymous posters and you bloggers who allow the postings without any verification.The National Enquirer has higher standards than chester county ramblings or community matters.

I am sorry that this dear man feels this way about two female bloggers.  We’re just regular gals.  And my goodness he is all in a lather.  Truly he can kiss my grits on this one.   I am entitled to my perspective and allowed his opinion to post. I am not hiding who I am, and I am also a writer. If he or anyone else does not like this blog then don’t read it.  He takes a jab at anonymous bloggers, and Pattye and I aren’t so anonymous.  But some do blog anonymously for any number of reasons.

A pen name, nom de plume, is as old a tradition as the United States itself. Ben Franklin and Thomas Paine and John Adams all wrote with pen names.  And in their time, they were heroes.

Ironically, I wrote an editorial in 2009 about blogging for Main Line Media News. Here is part of what I said then:

So let’s talk about being a blogger, or “citizen journalist.” Sometimes we write about what we had for dinner, and sometimes we write about who that politician had dinner with. Sometimes we are just giggling over political shenanigans and a political-blog lampoon is born.

Do politicians like blogs and bloggers? Heck no. Ending up on a blog is like being caught outside in your underwear. Politicians are all about the image, and when the emperor has no clothes, the image can get tarnished, can’t it? I think blogging is a way for the common man to level the playing field. I like to think bloggers can make a difference. After all, look at what blogging has done for the billboard issue in Haverford. Look at eminent domain in Ardmore.

Politicians, despite protestations to the contrary, know that blogs can be good for them. Sometimes they will release a statement or will even create a blog during an election cycle. Simply put: they like it when they can control the output; they don’t like it when they can’t….Why is blogging on the Main Line such a big deal? Is being a blogger like having chronic halitosis? Or do people who complain about blogs complain about them because they have not figured a way to use them to their own advantage yet?

OK, I will admit I have a lot of opinions and am as politically inconvenient as the next local blogger. But so what? …I am amused by the festering Petri dish that is Main Line politics and other local issues….Bloggers blog under catchy “handles,” as well as under their own names with or without a fun handle. People love to make a big hairy deal out of blogger anonymity. But pen names are definitely as American a tradition as apple pie.

Thomas Paine, Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton and James Madison were among our founding fathers who wrote under aliases. If alive today I bet they would embrace blogging as a communicative medium….To wind this up I think blogging is here to stay, and people should just get used to it. Blogging is another way for people to have a voice in what matters to them.  Much like this editorial page, I don’t see anything wrong with that.

At the end of the day, am I really surprised this guy Brian above left a nasty comment? Nope. Is it the first nasty comment I have received as a regular writer or a blogger? Nope and it won’t be the last.

Truthfully, dear readers and blog followers when I wrote my original post on this sorry arsed topic I had truthfully no idea it would mushroom into “As The Tredyffrin Turns.”  Didn’t know this woman.  Did not know this Supervisor.  Did not know any of it.  I merely read an article I found profoundly disturbing on the Main Line Media News website written by a reporter.

And now, here we are.  And isn’t it sad.

really, tredyffrin?

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Is this letter at bottom of post  a threat?

Here are the mainstream media reports that made people talk :

Tredyffrin zoning hearing board member not guilty after police are a no-show at her trial

Published: Sunday, August 26, 2012

Charges in Chesco dropped when officer fails to appear

Philadelphia Inquirer August 30, 2012

By Richard Ilgenfritz rilgenfritz@mainlinemedianews.com

Here are the posts which were probably the impetus of this letter below:

Police Department Provides Press Release re Clerical Error of Police Officers

addiction.

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Addiction is an ugly word.  How many of us reach a certain age without knowing someone with drugs or alcohol issues?  To many this post might seem harsh, and in advance, I am sorry for that.  But I feel very strongly about this and decided to write a little bit about it.

If you lived in or around  Lower Merion Township at all over the past few decades you were used to it being home to many sports “celebrities”.  O.k., while nice, they still have to get up every day like the rest of us.  A lot of the sporting celebrities who have lived on the Main Line did it with quiet dignity and not much fanfare.  They were part of the community.  Some were irritating.

Alan Iverson for example.   His drama caused upheaval every time it occurred.  Quiet cul-de-sac roads in Gladwyne became thoroughfares for the curiosity seekers. He left such a bad taste in people’s mouths that when another basketball player went to move in, people sent around anonymous flyers. That was Aaron McKie.  As a matter of fact every time some top name sports anything moves to the Main Line, it is absolutely nauseating the way real estate agents and personal injury lawyers talk it up. (19035 is just a zip code, yo.)

USA Today did an outline of the Andy Reid family drama dating back to 2007.  It periodically made where Reid lives in Villanova off Conshohocken State Road a zoo.  I know that for a fact because for a decade I drove past Reid’s street . (It’s no secret where he lives.) Here is part of what USA Today outlined (and it is just 2007 and a sampling of all that occurred):

Jan. 30, 2007: Any Reid’s two oldest sons, Garrett, 23 at the time, and Britt, 21, are involved in separate incidents. Garrett tells police he used heroin before running a red light in a Philadelphia suburb and striking a car driven by a 55-year-old woman, police say. Britt, meanwhile, in a road-rage incident, points a handgun at another driver, according to police. Investigators recover a shotgun, ammunition, and possible drug residue from the vehicle Britt had been driving, and a handgun from the Villanova, Pa., home where he lives with his parents. Andy Reid and his wife are on vacation.

•Feb. 8: Police say Garrett tested positive for heroin after the Jan. 30 accident.

•Feb. 15: Garrett is charged with more than a dozen offenses, including assault, drug possession and driving under the influence of a controlled substance. He is released on $25,000 bail, but must complete a drug-treatment program.

July 26:Garrett pleads guilty to recklessly endangering another motorist, driving while under the influence and possession of drug paraphernalia. He is released on bail.

He tells a judge: “I liked being a drug dealer. (But) I don’t want to die doing drugs. I don’t want to be that kid who was the son of the head coach of the Eagles, who was spoiled and on drugs and OD’d and just faded into oblivion.”

Andy Reid took a six-week leave of absence in 2007 to (I guess) deal with this. In 2008 he and his wife Tammy did an interview with Philadelphia Magazine.  Full on Mormons, and they had a child who was an addict dating back to 2002.  I won’t comment further on the article, but suffice it to say I alway felt it had more to do with the parents and their image then troubled kids.

When the news broke Sunday that Garrett Reid was dead, I felt sorry for his parents.  Figured it had something to do with his addictions and that was pretty much what Andy Reid said in his statement the other day.

And yesterday, they buried him out of the Church of Latter Day Saints in Broomall.

The funeral was a who’s who of sports and the NFL.  Emotional by all accounts, yet one day after burying his first-born, the Washington Post reports Andy Reid was back with his football team.  I don’t mean to be rude or disrespectful or tell someone how to grieve, but I am somewhat shocked he did not take a little more time to be with his wife and family. Or to give his own head a chance to decompress.

And maybe that is where I wonder about how this all played out over the years.  What if Andy Reid had been dad first and NFL coach second? You see, I have known parents who have dealt with teen and adult addict children and some won the battle and others lost the battle.  But in all cases, I remember darn well the time they took and it was family first. I get that his team is an extension of his family, and call me old-fashioned, but I think he should be at home.

Substance abuse is a wicked thing.  Well over a decade ago I lost a childhood friend to an overdose.  I was sad but not surprised when my friend died.  I remember seeing him with another friend the week before he died and after we got a good look at him we knew he was using again.  I can tell you exactly what I said to him and so can my other friend – I told him I was afraid given his condition he would be dead the next time I saw him, and he was. I remember when another mutual friend told me our friend was gone a couple of days later.  It was so sad, it was so hard, yet at the same time in a weird way it was a relief.  I mean this kid had had issues dating back to junior high.   And his parents and siblings put in the time year, after year.  I have no idea all of what they put on hold over the years to deal with this guy’s addiction.

You also reach a point in life where you know a lot of alcoholics.  I know a lot of people “in the program” so to speak.  Some sober long amounts of time, some lesser amounts of time.  I know what they went through, what they put their families through, and I know how much work they have done to stay sober.  Mind you, I know a couple of people who also have degrees of issues that they have not come to terms with yet.  I have found it interesting that a lot of these people in the end are also diagnosed some of the time with depression, bi-polar disorders and other issues – the alcohol in part was self-medication.

The people I know in the program work at staying sober every hour of every day.  You want to talk about inner strength? These people have it.  Yet they will tell you every now and again there is an itch they have to fight tooth and nail not to scratch.  So I can’t help but wonder if Garrett Reid had been kept out of the world of professional football, even as the coach’s son, would this outcome have been different?  The reason I say that is everyone I know who has had drug or alcohol issues over the years has had to change their lives fairly substantially.  They had to do it to eradicate triggers.

Now there is also the question of treatment.  Garrett had some of the finest money could buy.  His parents could afford it.  But a lot can’t afford Rolls Royce treatments.  I know a lot of people over the years have had very negative things to say about Malvern Institute on King in Malvern, for example.  Yikes, just read some of the reviews and your skin crawls.

This death of Garrett Reid has provoked a discussion on addictions again, which isn’t a bad thing.   And at the end of the day, what happened to Andy and Tammy Reid is every parents’ nightmare.  And it can happen to anyone.  Addiction doesn’t discriminate.

Here are a few articles to read:

The Garrett Reid tragedy: A parent’s perspective

Garrett Reid’s death sparks renewed look at substance abuse/Metro Philadelphia City Desk by SOLOMON D. LEACH          

Published: August 06, 2012 4:08 p.m.
Last modified: August 07, 2012 12:35 p.m.

calling all helicopter parents

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I am not a regular reader of The Philly Post, but this particular post which I will share  caught my eye.  In essence it is on continued helicopter parenting.  The term refers to parents who so manage their kids lives they are literally like hovering helicopters.  They parent to such a degree that they literally strive to solve every issue or problem a kid might encounter –  even fairly innocuous and regular things we all dealt with growing up.

These parents are creating legions of future mammoni except male and female.  Kids unable to truly cope on their own and problem solve and reason effectively.

I have heard stories for years and seen parents that if I was their  kid they would have driven me cuckoo because they so did everything.  The problem is these kids don’t know anything different, so they have never learned how to reason out issues in some cases, or problem solve.  I think although done out of love, it does kids a disservice.  Some kids rely on it so they can work their parents – I have seen that too.

Any problems at school, parents wade in.

Any social problems outside school, parents wade in.

They go to college, parents still wade in.

The past couple of years in particular I have heard stories of friends in human resource jobs and who just work for companies where parents have weighed in with their now adult children – and it is not like their golf buddy or their friend from The Junior League owns the company.

Granted, there are situations where any parent should weigh in, but as hard as it is, we were all kids once, and there is some truth that kids will not learn some stuff unless they experience it.  And then after a point they need to learn to be responsible and accountable for their actions. And face it, the kids want to be.

The helicoptering I see a lot of has to do with kids not actually doing their own homework, or if a teacher suggests a child might say behave better in school, the parent go all postal on a school and a teacher.  (Remember the infamous story a few short years ago about the teacher at Baldwin?)

The author here mentions a book with an absurd premise called The Case Against Homework. According to these authors what is wrong with kids today is homework. Homework causes obesity and probably cancer too according to them.  Who knew?   (My eyes are rolling on THAT one.)

Anyway, vroom, vroom.  Read this:

Philly Post: Today’s Overprotected Kids Are Tomorrow’s Nightmare Employees

Maybe they’ll be able to take their parents to work.

By Alexandria Barbadoro   7/17/2012 

was it extreme heat or malfunction today at limerick nuclear plant?

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UPDATE – my friends at PECO connected me to the Limerick Generating Station  because apparently since deregulation PECO has not owned generating facilities – including Limerick.  The facilities are owned and operated by Exelon
Nuclear.  Here is the press release from their media person:

This morning I learned via Phoenixville Patch (they really do try to keep abreast of news and having dealt with interim editor Tom Sunnergren I know he has a nose for news) that Limerick Patch was reporting a shut down at the nuclear plant in Limerick. (and yes that is my photo from a friend’s deck outside Pottstown.) The cause, as per Patch and other Philadelphia media like 6 ABC is an electrical fault.

The very ODD thing is that the Morning Call via Reuters  seemed as if they were implying the shut down was part of a multi state shut down at other nuclear plants due to heat.

Seriously check it out:

Limerick among four nuclear power reactors shut down Wednesday

By Scott DiSavino, Reuters11:35 a.m. EDT, July 18, 2012

Several nuclear plants on the U.S. East Coast, including Exelon’s Limerick nuclear plant, were shut down early Wednesday and New York’s Consolidated Edison power company reduced the voltage in parts of Manhattan as the obsessive heat wave stressed the region’s power system….A unit at Exelon’s Limerick nuclear plant in Pennsylvania shut early Wednesday, according to power traders. Officials at the company and the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission could not confirm the Limerick shutdown.

So which is it? Or is it both?

Here is Limerick Patch, and unfortunately if you live in PA, you hear about this and no matter what the reason, you think about Three Mile Island.  I was in high school when Three Mile Island news broke.  As a matter of fact I was outside of PA in  Washington, DC visiting friends and researching a term paper at The Library of Congress (it was an obscure topic and as good excuse as any to explore The Library of Congress which is really, REALLY cool! )  I remember when the news cut in and they flashed up shots of the reactors at Three Mile Island and reported the accident at first – it was very scary to hear about at the time.

Government, Business

Unscheduled Shutdown at Limerick Nuclear Plant

NRC: Electrical fault in transformer was impetus for manual shutdown.

By David Powell Email the author 10:37 am

The Unit 1 nuclear reactor at Exelon’s Limerick Generating Station was shut down at 8:15 Wednesday morning following an electrical fault in a transformer, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission said in a statement sent to area media outlets.

The reactor was manually shut down from the power station’s control room following the fault, according to the NRC.

“The NRC is closely monitoring the shutdown, with our Resident Inspectors assigned to the plant gathering information from the control room and sharing it with NRC staff. There do not appear to be any complications at this point. We will want to know more about Exelon’s root cause evaluation ….” NRC spokesperson Neil Sheehan said.

….Exelon company spokespersons did not immediately return calls seeking comment Wednesday morning.

Hmmm, I have a couple PECO contacts, so I wonder what is going on?  Maybe in the end it is nothing, but being perceived as secretive or furtive is not the card to play I think.

former district attorney wants to help coatesville

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It was a relatively small blip in The Daily Local and worth a conversation.  Former District Attorney Joseph Carroll, now of “Of Counsel” at Obermayer, Rebmann, Maxwell & Hippel  has announced that he is interested in helping Coatesville.

COATESVILLE — A former Chester County district attorney has applied with the city to become both a temporary city manager and temporary public safety coordinator for less pay than the last city manager was making.

Former District Attorney Joseph Carroll said Monday during a City Council meeting that he handed his application into the city earlier that day. He said a public safety coordinator would have the same responsibilities as a police chief but would be a civilian.
“I have a lot of fond memories of the way Coatesville was,” Carroll said after the meeting. “The people here now are just as good as the people were when this city was very successful. I would like to help council make that happen again, and I think it’s possible.”
Coatesville to an outsider looking in, has seemed so lost for years.  It has also been a victim of bad municipal management, failed bids for eminent domain for private gain, crime, and so on.
It is home to a lot of people, and is this something to be considered?  Look at what Jean Krack and Paul Jannsen did and didn’t do before they moved on to wreak havoc in other municipalities, so why not look at someone who actually has a brain and a spine?
Any thoughts out there on this?
Coatesville deserves better than it has gotten for decades, so is Joseph Carroll the man to get the ball rolling?
Another thing, look at what he is willing to do it for.  He has the knowledge base, and would be willing to do this at a reduced rate of pay so isn’t this a good thing to consider?
Now if there was only someone willing to do this for Phoenixville.