All in To The Editor
Last Saturday was a perfect day for the annual Chester Ridley Crum (CRC) Watersheds Association Streams Cleanup Day at Little Crum Creek Park, with cool weather and a beautiful blue sky. We always appreciate meeting new friends and seeing our regular Park Pals. Thanks to all for a great day!
Is our state leadership deliberately trying to prolong the pandemic? Or are they simply inept?
If the Covanta incinerator is shut down, the immediate effect would be to increase solid waste, not decrease it. There would be more trucks rumbling through Chester and speeding up and down the Blue Route, going to and from the landfills upstate. It seems to me that, if the problem is dirty air, then what you need to do is clean up the smokestack to remove the pollutants that are coming out.
After a long period of this district brushing racist incidents under the rug, it’s nice to see Black history and people being made a priority. However, this event was very poorly orchestrated, which speaks volumes.
Notices in the Swarthmorean soliciting reflections from graduating high school seniors have made me look forward to the graduation issue. I was disappointed not to see an invitation to share future plans included among the suggested questions that graduates might address in their profiles.
Many of us senior citizens are focused on one question: How and when can we get our coronavirus vaccination? Of course, the question pertains to the entire community, not just seniors.
I voted for you twice, Mr. Governor, and I am a lifelong Democrat, but I am deeply disappointed in your lack of leadership. Tom Wolf: It is time for you to step up and seize the moment. You are failing us in this crisis.
On March 8, Swarthmore Borough Council made a decision that could dramatically change the way our community handles its waste. Resolution 2021-04 requests Delaware County Council to ensure that the Delaware County Solid Waste Authority not extend its contract with the Covanta waste incinerator in Chester.
Today, as a bone marrow recipient, I am calling on Congress to continue to live up to this most important promise by passing the TRANSPLANT Act.
I would like to thank Swarthmore College, and professors John Caskey and Hansjakob Werlen in particular, for inviting the Making A Change Group to contribute to the college’s current Lifelong Learning series, “Towards an Economy of Distributive Justice.” The classes in this free, online series focus on different forces that perpetuate economic disparities, especially along racial and ethnic lines. The series also offers resources for participants interested in activism and volunteerism.
In her article about Kyle McCarthy’s book, “Everyone Knows How Much I Love You” (Swarthmorean, 2/26), editor Rachel Pastan quotes from the novel: “... everywhere we went [in Swarthmore], we knew where we were.” In addition to the psychology of the family of one’s origin and the nature of one’s tribal culture, the geography, landmarks, and memorialized events of one’s childhood are influential. I look forward to recommending Kyle McCarthy’s book to my children, who grew up here.
Despite all the costs incurred by abuses of personal freedoms, our Western culture still prizes the individual, and individual freedom, over the welfare of the group. Restraint and discipline and self-sacrifice are being overlooked in favor of an insistence on a superficial concept of untrammeled individual freedom.
As we are all looking for safe outdoor spaces during the pandemic, many people have been enjoying Swarthmore’s local gem, Little Crum Creek Park. Although you surely have been appreciating its tranquility and beauty, you may not be aware of its interesting history.
A couple of weeks ago, I was on a walk and took a nasty fall. Never once was I afraid.
As president of the Friends of the Swarthmore Public Library, I want to thank the donors whose kind generosity made our recent Briggs Auction fundraiser possible.
I am humbled and honored to have received the endorsement of Swarthmore’s Democratic elected officials and precinct committee-persons during their caucus meeting last week. My decision to run for borough council is rooted in a deep sense of duty and a desire to serve my community. Now, more than ever, we long to feel a sense of connection to each other and to our community.
On January 29, the Swarthmorean ran a story as part of its “Helpers” feature that covered a situation that should be at the forefront of our minds. The article described a program, Community Learning Hubs in Sacred Places, that provides internet access and proctor supervision to Delaware County students (grades K - 6) who do not have these needs met at home. It is based in two local churches, but it is in jeopardy of having to shut down due to lack of funding. That means these children may not be able to continue school during the pandemic. I want to encourage everyone to look into this program and consider donating something if you are able to.
There is one thing I would like for my birthday: for everyone to please stop calling each other names, and to please stop calling their political opponents names.
I know that many of us in Swarthmore are concerned about the issue of climate change and hope the new administration and Congress will address this problem. Recently, I’ve had the exciting opportunity to participate in the Delaware County chapter of the Citizens’ Climate Lobby.
I was shocked to see that the much-treasured newspaper of my beloved Swarthmore would splash the washing of dirty linen, namely a personal dispute between two council members, on its front page.
