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We the excessive people
I did not know Mrs. Anna Forbes Werner, nor am I of her persuasion, but it seems to me that the article Money Bag Lady (Aug. 14 edition) might have had another emphasis, namely, Mrs. Werner’s disdain for self-adornment and her achievement — benefiting her community beyond her lifetime.
She accomplished a great deal by her thrift, and we can certainly take note and examine our own excesses.
Molly Goldberg
Rhawnhurst
Bad attitude in Frankford
The opening of the new Frankford Transportation Center is an important first step in the revitalization of Frankford. However, the next step is up to residents and businesses. They must properly maintain their properties and keep them presentable, clean and litter-free.
The lots in the 5200 block of Darrah St., as well as the Wachovia Bank parking lot and area around the Thriftway supermarket, are an eyesore and disgrace with all the trash and litter.
I urge individuals to report problem properties by submitting a complaint at http://www.ppdonline.org/ ppd3_sanitation.htm.
It’s time for an attitude and culture change in Frankford. Only then will we have a new and improved Frankford.
Nikola Sizgorich
Bensalem
A key point about Gola
State Rep. Mark B. Cohen’s Aug. 14 letter to the editor about Tom Gola was well deserved, but his memory failed him on “two points for Gola.” Dave Zinkoff’s expression was always the same — “Gola goal!”
Joe Maher
Fox Chase
Age is not the only
menace in driving
The Aug. 14 edition of the Northeast Times included Julian Walker’s article, Are older drivers a road hazard?
Responsible driving is, unfortunately, up to the individual behind the wheel of a car. It is impossible for the police to control so many foolish drivers.
The manufacturer, apparently by public demand, chose to make the car simple to operate at tremendous speeds. The weight of any object is a major point. A bullet (approximately 1/8 of an ounce) can be made to travel at a high speed by putting it in a gun. A car (a minimum of 2,000 pounds), on the other hand, can travel as fast as the operator chooses.
The debate as to the age of which driver is the cause of more accidents is ridiculous considering the numbers were similar in Julian Walker’s report.
A monkey can make a car go fast. The difference is, can a monkey avoid accidents? Insurance companies are aware of the tendencies of all drivers and set their rates accordingly.
The manufacturer produces ads touting 0 to 60 in so many seconds to appeal to the speed-conscious and crash-test results and conveniences for those who are more interested in those aspects.
In any case, the article only covers about half of the statistical results of accidents. The other half of accidents (those ages in-between) are not addressed in the article.
Being drunk behind the wheel, talking on the cell phone, eating, applying makeup, speeding, tailgating, reading, poor decisions in judgment, etc., probably accounts for the other half.
Driving is an exhilarating experience (at any age). Even though it is quite simple, it is also quite dangerous. The faster you make the car travel the less time you have to react, your stopping distance is lengthened and the unaware passengers in your car or the other car are at extreme risk.
Fran O’Connor
Somerton
• • •
It is true that some older people shouldn’t be driving and they should take the responsibility of quitting. But seniors are far from being a major hazard on the road. The biggest problem: those who drink and drive.
I am so sick of hearing every day of accidents and deaths caused by those who insist on driving after they’ve been drinking. There is nothing that can be done about those menaces. Alcohol is readily available to them and they take every advantage of that, and then they get behind the wheel. Nothing can stop that.
In the same issue of your paper there was an article about Sunday sales seeming to be a hit at liquor stores.
Sure, as a moneymaker it makes alcohol available to drinkers any time. They don’t have to skip a beat. Drunken driving is an extremely serious problem and we are all at risk. We can be the most careful kind of driver and yet have our lives cut short by someone driving while under the influence.
So, what can be done about this to make our roads safer? Nothing, which is scary, to say the least.
Seniors are expected to stop driving when they no longer really can, but nothing stops drunken drivers when they shouldn’t be on the road, and they come in all ages.
Carol L. Holmes
Lawndale
• • •
Staff writer Julian Walker scorched a most tender nerve in his article.
Most old drivers who have pondered the thought of giving up their driver’s license (which in their mind is equivalent to losing their independence) are not facing reality.
As we all age, we inadvertently diminish our ability to cope with sudden changes in and on the road by other drivers, road rage, etc. In all older people, the aging process has already established itself in creeping heart, vision and muscle impairment — all unavoidable.
It takes much more than an emotional apology to justify 10 people being killed and many more injured in a crowded food market in California.
Solution: All drivers in every state should be required by law to undergo a rigid driver’s test from age 70 and up. No excuses. Those who fail must forfeit their licenses. No work-related or independence excuses, etc. and final!
It’s up to family members to step up to the plate and give a helping hand to the oldsters period!
When the 86-year-old man who inadvertently killed 10 people says, “I’m sorry” to the gravesites and continues to drive on, it’s small comfort to the dead and their surviving family. Dwell on it.
Carl P. Fasciocco
Mayfair
Four cheers for America’s labor unions
In response to Patrick Nilson’s letter to the editor, Union bullies are a disgrace (Aug. 14 edition):
In reference to anti-American: Since Mr. Nilson singled out the carpenters union, of which I am a 45-year member and proud of it, I would suggest that Mr. Nilson better inform himself regarding who is and who is not anti-American.
Edward Coryell, business manager of the carpenters union, has just received a certificate of commendation for his honorable military service in Vietnam.
The union has many members who are veterans, including myself, and we all served our country with duty and respect for the rights that a democratic society stands for.
Foremost among these rights is the right to fair wages, benefits and a safe working area for every person. That is the precise message of our government, the carpenters union and every other building trades union.
In reference to unions having destroyed various United States industries by extorting money from honest companies: Enron/WorldCom/Tenet, etc. have destroyed the dreams and futures of their loyal employees by plundering the pensions/401k plans of their hard-working, dedicated employees.
With union representation, they would have stood a much better chance of fulfilling those retirement dreams with dignity and respect, instead of retirement doldrums.
Francis M. McGovern Sr.
Winchester Park
• • •
In his letter, the writer took every opportunity to slander and insult union workers and a large number of Northeast residents. This letter was filled with so many lies about unions and union workers that I wonder if the writer was in fact who he said he was.
It almost sounded to me that the writer was the pizza man himself, or maybe from the Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC). The ABC is dedicated to the destruction of the American worker, either union or non-union. The pizza man had a flier from this organization in his window.
While everyone is entitled to an opinion, they are not entitled to lie or slander. The unions have helped build America and set the standard that workers in other countries only dream of.
The only reason companies set up in foreign countries is corporate greed. They want cheap labor and couldn’t care less if the workers have a pension, health care or a decent place to live. This is the same attitude the ABC and the pizza man have.
The lack of good paying jobs is the main reason our neighborhoods are on the decline. The pizza man and the ABC don’t care or are too greedy to care. They only want their profits, and if they kill a community to get them, so what?
Raymond Della Vella
Lexington Park
• • •
Mr. Nilson’s rant about union pickets at Santucci’s Pizza is as full of fury as it is empty any factual knowledge of the exact nature of the issues at Santucci’s.
The men on the picket line at Santucci’s are exercising their legal right to protest against substandard wages and benefits.
If it were not for unions fighting for fair wages and benefits, the standard of living in this country would be in the toilet.
Nilson says the union protesters are a disgrace to “every legitimate American worker who just wants an honest day’s pay for an honest day’s work.”
What he means is Santucci should be able to hire illegal immigrants who will work for $5 per hour with no benefits. I’d like to know where Mr. Nilson works and what his pay and benefits look like.
Nilson exposes his idiocy when calling the union workers un-American and calling non-union workers “legitimate”. To Nilson and anyone else who doesn’t believe in unions, I say, you would believe in unions if they didn’t exist!
Nilson’s letter is a rant; it does not begin to rise to the level of a legitimate argument against unions.
His statements are the usual illogical, uninformed, and morally bankrupt reasoning associated with neo-Nazism and other sociopath fringe cult groups.
The first thing Hitler did in Germany was to get rid of the unions. Unions raise the standard of living for everyone, not just union members.
Jim Huston
Modena Park
• • •
If Santucci’s pizza were an honorable business, why would they knowingly understate the cost of the construction on their permit? The union members handbilling at Santucci’s are there for one reason: they are fighting to maintain area wages, benefits and standards. If union workers don’t fight to maintain fair wages, then it is their families and this community that would suffer.
The writer of the anti-union letter exposes his ignorance in stating that union workers are “lazy, overpaid, and un-American.” It is an indisputable fact that union construction workers are the most productive and safest workers in the world.
The commitment to family and to community that unions instill in their members is evident in the role those members play in churches and little leagues across the Northeast.
Take away the union’s involvement in say, the Fox-Rok athletic program or the Rhawnhurst Raiders and it would be very doubtful that these programs would survive.
When Mr. Nilson insults the unions he insults a large portion of the very customer base Santucci will be relying on to survive.
I am a representative of IBEW Local 98 and I lived my entire life in Northeast Philadelphia. I am raising my kids here and I spend my money here. I live in a wonderful neighborhood precisely because of the fair wages I make as a union electrician.
I am proud to protest a place like Santucci’s, who has lied and misrepresented the facts about the construction of his business.
Mike Hnatkowsky
Assistant Business Manager, IBEW Local 98
First things first: Build the
Woodhaven Road Extension
What happened to the promise made by civic leaders in Somerton when they stated there would be no more development at Byberry until a) the Woodhaven Road Extension project was completed and b) traffic studies would have to be done.
To my knowledge Woodhaven Road has not been completed and may never be completed; and no traffic studies of the impact of the development on Southampton Road have been done.
Ask any Somerton resident what the number one problem is in this area and you will be told: traffic congestion. The Byberry Road project will dump at least 6,200 vehicles onto Southampton Road. If you have ever tried to use this two-lane road to get to, or cross over, Roosevelt Boulevard at rush hour traffic, then you know that the line can be a half-mile long, from the Boulevard all the way back to the Somerton Youth Organization building. I have seen it backed up to Worthington Road, close to a mile from the Boulevard.
Putting another 6,200 trucks and cars onto an already burdened Southampton Road will definitely cause gridlock. It will be insanity for those already on Southampton Road or those trying to get on it. If you think Byberry Road is bad now, wait until you see Southampton Road.
I realize that the Byberry tract will have to be dealt with eventually, but serious traffic studies must be done (as promised) before any planning or development work is done. Additionally, Woodhaven Road must be extended prior to any construction. We must rely on our civic leaders to keep their promises.
To solve the problem of what should be allowed at the Byberry tract (commercial/industrial/office buildings are not an option) I offer the following: first choice is green space, a park. Second choice would be quality single homes. Third would be a mix of single homes and a 55+ community with no high-rise buildings.
We have been told by our civic and elected officials that this project will not be done without our support (after all, it is state-owned land — we own it). Why would anyone support gridlock? What would Somerton residents get out of this project? I can’t think of one positive thing, but I can think of more negatives.
Wake up, Somerton residents and drivers on Southampton Road, and other small streets in our community, before it’s too late. Call Councilman Brian O’Neill and state Rep. George Kenney and ask them not to support any commercial or industrial development on the Byberry tract.
T. Sweeney
Somerton
Mixed views on Jennings
I found the profile of Pastor Gino Jennings (Aug. 7 edition) a little more than curious.
The reporter states that the pastor does not seek controversy, then proceeds to detail how (during a televised sermon) Pastor Gino hoisted a hammer and laid waste to a statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
More striking is that nowhere in the lengthy article is God’s love mentioned. This man is nothing new, simply a fearmonger preaching his interpretation is the right one. He does teach us one thing — all bigoted fanatics are not followers of Islam. I doubt sincerely Pastor Jennings would know Jesus, even if he met him today. He calls his church the First Church of OUR Lord Jesus Christ. More fitting would be the First Church of MY Lord Jesus Christ, because HIS Jesus Christ is most certainly not MY Jesus Christ.
Daniel Bowman
Burholme
• • •
Gino Jennings, your practice has put your soul in jeopardy. Your desire to establish your own way and name is jeopardizing the souls who choose to blindly follow you. God’s way is not extreme, it’s just true.
Pastor Jennings, please understand if you claim to be in the church of Jesus Christ, then you are not alone, neither can you stand alone. You are not an outsider. You are held accountable to me as a man of God and I unto you. You must give an answer to the hope you have. The Scripture means what it says when it states that until we all come into the unity of the faith.
You say you’ve changed to avoid denominational labels. You don’t have the right to change God’s word. Jesus did not change! You have gone to another level and denied the faith.
Gino Jennings smashed a clay statue of Mary Mother of Jesus. There are two images that should have been destroyed, and one of them was Pastor Apostate Jennings.
You said you decided to remove Apostolic from the church. It is not your church. The part of the title you have left says Church of Our Lord Jesus Christ.
Elder Warren R. Palmer Sr.
Pastor, True Vine Holiness Church of Jesus Christ of the Apostles’ Faith, Rocky Mount, N.C.
• • •
I applaud you for this story. Although I don’t agree with everything he stands for, I am glad to get another religious point of view. I hope in the future you will bring other religious leaders to our attention.
Charles Quay
Pennypack
• • •
Thank you for the two-page article on the Christian ministry of the First Church of Our Lord Jesus Christ led by Pastor Gino Jennings.
I thought you did a wonderful and reverent job of describing the biblical teaching of his church. In this politically correct world, the news media tend to ridicule or ignore anyone who adheres to the strict word-for-word teachings of Holy Scripture. I pray the God of the Bible whose son is Jesus Christ will bless your ministry as a reporter of the truth.
Theresa Schrenk
Tacony
The lifeguards are just fine
Regarding the letter to the editor about lack of supervision at the Vogt swimming pool: I visit the pool a couple times a week for open swim between 1 and 4 p.m. with my small children. I trust every lifeguard supervising the pool. Sitting in a chair in the hot sun is not a picnic. Their eyes are focused directly on the pool. I remember trying to talk to a lifeguard once. I thought she was being rude for not looking at me while I spoke, but now I realize she was doing her job. Her eyes didn’t leave the pool.
There are two very dedicated lifeguards there — I would trust them with my children any day — but they are only lifeguards, not babysitters. They only have one set of eyes and there are only a handful of parents accompanying their children to the pool. I could never send my son to the pool by himself. Yes, he is a very good swimmer, and yes, I trust the guards. But the pool does get crowded. If anything, it should be fully opened, not half blocked off.
The problem is not with the lifeguards they do have, it’s the ones they don’t have. The lifeguards are very much an asset and should be commended for jobs well done. They really look out for the kids’ safety. They don’t tolerate any running or horseplay and make them leave if they don’t follow the rules. The kids seem to respect them.
M. Szydlowski
Mayfair