17th Police District Officers Honored for Bravery, Courage
OFFICERS from 17th Police Dist. were honored by PDAC with Blue Ribbon Awards at JNA Institute of Culinary Arts. Among those attending ceremony were State Reps. Kenyatta Johnson, left, and Babette Josephs, front; LaVale Anderson, Board of Directors, GGFE homeowner’s association; Blue Ribbon award recipient Officer Charles Wells; and PDAC Chairperson Sylvia Wilkins.
by Nicholas DePace, Jr. Police officers from the 17th Dist. were recognized last week for their immense bravery and countless courageous acts throughout the past year. The 17th Dist. Police Department Advisory Council honored individual officers at its annual “Blue Ribbon” Awards on Wednesday, Jan. 20. The ceremony was held at JNA Institute of Culinary Arts, located at 1212 S. Broad Street in South Philadelphia. The PDAC honored its officers from within the 17th Dist. by presenting some of them with Blue Ribbon
awards at the event. One award was given to a different officer for each month of the 2009 calendar year. The criteria for these prestigious honors were determined based on the courage and initiative an officer showed through his or her actions while on duty for a particular month. One such award recipient, recognized for his heroic achievements, was Officer Charles Wells. Also among those in attendance at the Blue Ribbon Awards ceremony were State Reps. Babette Josephs and Kenyatta Johnson; PDAC Chairperson Sylvia (Cont. Page 10)
THE ONLY UNION NEWSPAPER REPORTING SOUTH PHILADELPHIA AS IT DESERVES
Vol. IV No. 4 (Issue 121)
“Reporting South Philadelphia the way it deserves”
Value 50¢
January 28, 2010
Saving Money on Your Utility Bills Verna Host Winter Weatherization Class by R. George Linton With the winter heating bills taking a bite out of South Philadelphians’ pockets, Council President Anne Verna moved to help residents cope with the increasing costs. Verna and State Rep. Kenyatta Johnson invited members of the 1st Dist. to a “Winter Weatherization Workshop” at Prep CS auditorium, 24th and McKean Street. Over 50 people turned out to the two-hour
School Hearing The Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations is holding public hearings to hear from students, parents, faculty, police, community members and youthservice organizations about violence in Philadelphia’s public schools tonight. The hearings, will take place at Guerin Recreation Center, 2201 S. 16th Street, from 4-7 p.m. The hearings will focus on issues highlighted at Southern HS recently on violence motivated by race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, disability, sex, gender identity and sexual orientation. For (Cont. Page 2)
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Thyroid Cancer Explosion May Slow Nuclear Plants COUNCILWOMAN ANNA C. VERNA welcomed constituents to Winter Weatherization Workshop at Prep CS.
Mike Fera Public Servant Of The Year 2010 Come celebrate with us our Public Servant of the Year 2010. We will be honoring Cement Masons Local 592 President/Business Manager MIKE FERA. A Celebratory Supplement and dinner will be Feb. 4, 2010. For more information call John David:
(215) -755-2000 or John@PhillyRecord.com
by Tony West Will the region’s nuclear power industry, which is eyeing a new era of expansion, collide with a wall in the form of a fear of spreading cancer? PSEG has begun public rollout of its plan to build a fourth reactor at its Salem/Hope Creek complex in South Jersey. If it is approved and built, perhaps by the year 2022, it will be the 14th reactor within a 100-mile radius and the first to come online since 1989. Thyroid cancer has also been (Cont. Page 24)
ALTHOUGH she survived thyroid cancer, Suzanne Litzenberger still worries about environmental risks in her home in Lehigh Co., which has highest rate of that disease of any county in the USA.
Ron Panepinto Jewelers 700 Sansom St. 215-923-1980
www.PanepintoJewelers.com We Buy Gold & Diamonds
Cleaning With A Heavy Heart I’m getting my kitchen remodeled - finally! I live in a house which was built in 1923 and I believe that was the last time any work was done in the room. It still has an in-wall ironing board, the kind of unit with which cartoon cats usually get bopped over the head. The finish on the cabinets is peeling back to original Remington green paint. There is also a drawer which when you open it, has a sliding metal top with decorative holes. I think you’re supposed to keep bread in there, but honestly, who the heck keeps bread in a drawer? It’s where I store my good tea-towels. There’s a pull-out cutting board right above it, but I never use it because I don’t want the crumbs to draw bugs to the area. The walls are covered in black and white tiles which remind me of the Fairmount stop in the subway. Angelo Bucci, my contractor, dropped off a load of empty boxes the other day. My assignment was to get all the cupboards emptied. The “Groom and Gloom” left lots of his stuff here when we parted ways but most of the useless items are mine. As I stuck my head in the under-sink cabinet, I got struck with a wave of wistfulness for my mother. She lived through a war-torn Europe and had a (Cont. Page 10)
Jim Stevenson 9371 ROOSEVELT BLVD. PHILADELPHIA, PA 19114 215-698-7000 JStevenson@ChapmanAutoGroup.com