Menu Guide, page 25
s o u t h p h i l l y r ev i ew.c o m
Vo l . 6 5 N O. 2
An unscripted existence
JANUARY 12, 2012
Igniting the fight
A Bella Vista native has taken her battle against cancer to the airwaves with a weekly talk show.
M
adison Grubb, a fourth-grade student at St. Richard, joined about 100 of her fellow supporters Monday night on the church steps, 3010 S. 18th St. The group held a candlelight vigil in response to last week’s announcement that its school will become part of a yet-to-be named regional site at 814 Bigler St.
By Joseph Myers R e v i e w s ta f f w r i t e r
A
t age 46, Kim Cirucci has likely spoken millions of words, yet none have given her as much unexpected courage as “I have cancer.” That short sentence, normally a fearful utterance, has guided the former resident of 10th and Carpenter streets for more than two years, with the last month letting her preach positivity to fellow fighters. With the help of childhood friend Denise Ciliberti-Sosalski, Cirucci hosts “Let’s Talk Cancer,” a 30-minute radio program through which she relates her experiences with bile duct cancer and rallies her audience to be resilient.
For a complete breakdown of local schools affected by the Blue Ribbon Commission Report, see page 10. S ta f f P h o t o b y G r e g B e z a n i s
Short division
See TALKING CANCER page 8
Sports
A Passyunk Square school will merge with its East Passyunk Crossing neighbor to form a regional parochial institution. By Joseph Myers R e v i e w s ta f f w r i t e r
Paradox city The top defender for an East Passyunk Crossing school’s football team will receive a diminutively-titled honor.
By Joseph Myers.............Page 45
This is the first in a three-part series covering the Blue Ribbon Commission Report on changes affecting local schools.
F
riday marked the Feast of the Epiphany, the celebration through which Christians honor the visitation of the Magi to baby Jesus, an event through which the infant gained new companions. Nearly 24,000 students at 45 elementary and four high schools learned that day they soon will join the lauded child in add-
ing friends, as the Blue Ribbon Commission, an Archdiocese of Philadelphia-appointed entity, released its report on parochial institutions’ future that announced closings and mergers of nine of South Philly’s 10 elementary sites. Annunciation B.V.M., 1148 Wharton St., guides 225 students — an increase of 55 students since 2005 — but it has demonstrated a pattern of financial deficits. Its subsidy for ’09-’10 — the last year for which the report
included figures — reached $32,332, while the parish deficit stood at $207,268. “It is an overwhelming report,” Principal Regina Tanghe said after Monday’s dismissal. The official word came after her charges had left for the weekend Friday, so Tanghe needed to address the matter with them, a task that like the commission’s decision to have her site merge with St. Nicholas of Tolentine School, 913 Pierce St., tugged on heartstrings. Standing in the first-floor hallway of a See CATHOLIC SCHOOLS page 10