Letters to the Editor: May 2, 2012

Firefighter Daniel Sweeney: 9-18-86 to 4-9-12
The entire Sweeney family wishes to express our heartfelt thanks to all who reached out to us since the death of Dan and his supervisor, Lt. Robert Neary. The tremendous outpouring of support has helped us in these troubling times. David and Marian Sweeney sincerely appreciate your prayers and generous acts.
Contributions in Dan’s name may be made to The Daniel Sweeney Memorial Scholarship Fund, accepted at any Police and Fire Credit Union or simply mailed to PFFCU (c/o the fund), 901 Arch St., Philadelphia, PA 19107 or Local 22 Philadelphia Firefighters union, 415 N. Fifth St., Philadelphia, PA 19123.
The fund is set up for deserving children who wish to attend Bishop McDevitt High School (Dan’s alma mater) and any other school.

Shame on city officials for pretending to care
To the families of fallen firefighters Bob Neary and Dan Sweeney, my deepest condolences. This city has lost two true HEROES!
To all the hypocrite politicians who paraded themselves into the funeral services of these men, with your sad faces on, you should hang your heads in shame! What a disgrace. Every one of you has stood by and watched while the mayor closed seven companies and now rolling brownouts. And for what? To save the city $3 million?
This city’s firefighters have been working without a contract for close to three years. This is not a money issue, it is a dignity issue.
Police and firefighters have always stood side by side, yet the city deems it OK to denigrate firefighters and treat them as second-class civil servants. Despite these drastic cuts, the city still has appealed what was supposed to be a “binding agreement.”
How dare you show your faces at these services and act like you care. When you all get home from your posh city offices in your city taxpayer-provided cars, be sure to take a good, long, hard look in the mirror.
And when you lay yourselves down to sleep, be sure to get down on your knees and thank God there are still dedicated firefighters and paramedics waiting to respond to an emergency at your house. That is, if they’re not browned out.
Francis M. Palmer
Somerton

Thanks for helping me out
On Thursday morning, April 19, I was involved in a car accident at the intersection of Torresdale Avenue and Levick Street.
Before the person who hit my van decided to leave the scene, he approached me and punched me in the face as I was getting out of my van.
I want to extend my sincere gratitude to the neighbors, the employees and customers of the Wawa store, the men in the Superior Moving truck, as well as the Philadelphia Police and Fire departments for their assistance. I was bleeding from my forehead and my hand, and these wonderful people mentioned above came to my aid with towels, bandages and moral support. I was taken by surprise by the man’s assault, but the support I received that day means so much to me.
Thank you, all, for extending your care to me that morning. I will always remember your kindness.
Joseph Keenan
Parkwood

Mayfair is a force to be reckoned with
This letter is to invite you to a stockholder’s meeting. What’s that you say? You don’t own any stock? I beg to differ. You live in Mayfair, correct? Work here? You own or rent a home? Your children go to school here? They play sports here? Then you own stock in the neighborhood of Mayfair.
Granted, it’s not as fancy as Apple stock or Berkshire Hathaway shares, but it’s yours. You decided to invest in a community neighborhood the minute you set down roots here.
Like many Wall Street companies, investors in this neighborhood have seen volatility and change in recent years. Many opted to leave. But I’m here to tell you there is a core group of individuals working to make sure that our shares remain solid. Perhaps you heard us at some point yelling about something? We have a tendency to be a little vocal and repetitive, but that’s because we are hoping that you are listening and would like to help.
We don’t live here to be in the “trendy” neighborhoods. We live here because many of our families are here — our parents, and in some cases, our grandparents. We live here because most of us want a small yard and a parking space to call our own. We live here because the houses are nice and roomy enough for several kids (if that is our choice) and if not, those extra rooms come in handy for visitors, hobbies and home offices. We live here because we are not defined by our ZIP code.
We are, some say, 20 minutes from Center City. I say it’s more like 10 (I can get to the airport in 20 minutes with no traffic, slowpokes!). Mayfair is so close to nationally renowned restaurants, entertainment, culture and world-class art, but far enough removed that if you want to get away from the hustle and bustle for a while, you can.
Some of you have left for whatever reasons, and that’s fine with us. You made the best decision for you and your family. However, you don’t need to continue to vent your far-removed frustrations by telling us that we are trapped, stupid for not leaving, and that the neighborhood is going down. That may be your perception; it isn’t necessarily ours. You made your choices. We make ours.
We at the Mayfair CDC, the Mayfair Civic Association, the Mayfair Business Association and the Mayfair Town Watch are committed to this neighborhood and the surrounding neighborhoods of Tacony, Holmesburg and Wissinoming. We are organized and constantly on the move with new ideas. We are a force to be reckoned with, we are prepared to fight for this neighborhood, and we are LOUD. There are GREAT things going on. You just have to WANT to see them.
Mia Hylan
Assistant secretary
Mayfair Civic Association

Yo, taxman — it works both ways
Failure to pay current taxes when due shall be considered a default of this agreement!!
What is it called if there is a failure to mail the bill to pay the taxes? This is the second month I have not received a bill to pay taxes that started with an amnesty that the city failed to count in the payoff.
When I called they say it was mailed on the 17th of the month and it is not their fault I did not receive it. So whose fault is it if I don’t pay it? My default!
Fran Kaminsky
Castor Gardens

Failure to educate, or a desire to hit the jackpot?
Once upon a time, long ago in a faraway land, there existed such a thing as parental responsibility. It was this that enabled children to learn to be responsible and one day become responsible adults.
But like the dinosaurs, 8-track tapes and soon to be incandescent light bulb, parental responsibility is becoming extinct.
There is no finer an example of this than a recent suit filed by a mother against the School District of Philadelphia and an honest, hard-working, middle school teacher. The suit filed against the teacher and district was failure to educate her child.
The story goes like this:  The child cut class more than 50 times during the school year. During this time, phone calls were made by the district to the child’s house to inquire about the absences. The calls went unanswered. Truant officers were sent to the house. The door went unanswered. But now this pseudo-parent is claiming that the Philadelphia School District did not do enough to ensure the education of her child. Now maybe I’m hallucinating here, but long ago and far away I remember parents had the responsibility to get their children out the door to school.
So at a time when city officials are contemplating the reassessment of property values in order to raise more money for the school district, what does this claim of “failure to educate” mean to the taxpayers in Philadelphia?
How about an out-of-court settlement by the district of $130,000 to the parent of the future public-assistance recipient?
And don’t forget approximately $120,000 to the attorney who was said to be smiling from ear to ear as he exited the building with his beautiful young assistant. Did I mention that they exited into a cab that was paid for by the school district and was parked outside the building during the whole four-hour meeting?
It seems that now, in addition to providing breakfast, dinner and weekend meal programs, the school district, not the parents, is responsible for making sure kids go to school when they leave the house in the morning.
Maybe soon the taxpayers in Philadelphia will foot the bill to have people sent by the school district to breast-feed babies in the city to ensure they have an early advantage when they get to school.
By the way, a second lawsuit of the same nature as the one above is in the works. Apparently, another mother has seen the lottery jackpot and wants to play the same ticket.
Peter L. DiGiuseppe
Rhawnhurst

Plan to close the public schools earns a big fat F
I know there have not been many articles written yet, but word is there are going to be approximately 40 public school closures at the end of this year. Why? Lack of funding. Where will these students go? Probably to already overcrowded classrooms.
Do you know what the school district would like to do? They want to eliminate the boundaries that are in place so that a student anywhere in the city can go anywhere they would like to. Now, they are supposed to give “preference” to neighborhood children. Obviously, that is not going to happen unilaterally.
My problem is this: If you live in a nice neighborhood and pay a much higher property tax rate, how is that fair? It’s not. If that happens, I would urge anyone that lives in the nicer neighborhoods to seriously consider talking to their City Council member to convince the city to lower property taxes.
The school district is so messed up with trying to turn everything into charter schools (which do not work) that it is forgetting the point of school. It is not about agendas, it’s about educating.
Overcrowded classrooms, non-supportive administration and allowing certain parents to work the system are big causes of the failures in the classrooms. Also, where are all of these teachers going to go? And could this just be another ploy by the school district to try to scare teachers? It may be.
Jerry Glanzmann
Castor Gardens

Pick a kitty this weekend
This weekend, Forgotten Cats is having its Second Chance For Love, in the adoption center of the PetSmart at 901 Old York Road in Abington.
There will be adorable adoptable cats and many kittens! The kitties are vetted, neutered and ready for a family of their own to take them home.
What better way to express love than to adopt a little one that truly needs you? Please come and visit this weekend. Someone is waiting for you!
Gina DeNofa
Normandy

Speak your mind  . . .
The Northeast Times welcomes letters to the editor. They should be 300 words or less. Short letters have a better chance of getting published. All letters are subject to editing and MUST include the writer’s full name along with daytime and evening phone numbers for verification purposes. Anonymous letters will NOT be published. Mail to: Letters to the Editor, Northeast Times, 2512 Metropolitan Drive, Trevose, PA 19053. Fax: 215-355-4857. E-mail: pronews@bsmphilly.com