chesteryes.com ::

News July 23, 2010 Chester officials to announce plans for a safer Chester Friday, July 23, 2010 By JOHN KOPP Jkopp@delcotimes.com CHESTER — Before becoming a central figure in the Civil Rights movement, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. spent several years studying at Crozer Theological Seminary. While there, the nonviolence advocate worshipped at Calvary Baptist Church. With Chester’s state of emergency expiring today, the historic church is a fitting venue for Mayor Wendell N. Butler Jr. to reveal his initiatives for moving the city forward and curbing its violence. “You know Dr. King — anti-violence,” Butler said at Crosby Square Apartments, Thursday’s site for his weekly anti-violence campaign. “All about peace and equality. I don’t think you could select a better backdrop.” The press conference is scheduled for 10:30 this morning. A number of elected and police officials and religious representatives are expected to attend, including Chester Fire Chief Floyd Lewis, Deputy Chief Darren Alston and District Attorney G. Michael Green. Butler said he wanted to wait until today to announce the specifics of his initiatives, but he revealed that he has instituted a gun buy-back program. The radio commercial for that program began running Thursday, he said. “We’ve already set the date (for the event),” Butler said. “We’re going to have three radio stations from Philly set up camp in our town. We’re going to use the fire houses and we’re going to ask people to bring in guns. “They’re going to get a $100 voucher, which is redeemable at the ShopRite in Eddystone. Again, my goal is to collect many, many, many guns. They’re better in our care than out on the streets where somebody could use it to commit a crime.” Butler declined to discuss the level of police presence the city could expect with the curfew repealed, saying that will be answered today. Asked whether he thought the state of emergency was a success, Butler said, “Anytime you get weapons off the street, then I call it a success.” Lewis also deemed the state of emergency successful, saying that the longer it lasted, the fewer curfew citations police issued. Though he didn’t have exact figures in front of him, he said police had pulled “at least 13 or 14” weapons off the streets. As the city moves forward, Lewis stressed that it must remain united against violence. “We need all of us to work together — the police department, the community,” Lewis said. “That’s important. The police department just can’t do it without the help of the citizens of the city. We’re starting to work together. We need to continue. “Hopefully, what has happened in the last 30 days or more will continue, with people able to sit on their porches and walk in their neighborhoods and enjoy the quality of life. To me, that’s important. Everybody wants to be able to do all those little things. A lot of people have been able to do it this last month.” As Lewis talked, music was pumping through loudspeakers and people cooled off with water ice. It was the sixth event in the Mayor’s Night Out anti-violence series, but the final one before state of emergency expired. “It was well worth it,” Earnest Williams said. “All the violence, it just stopped.” After Chester suffered four homicides in eight days in June, Butler declared a five-day state of emergency June 19. City council unanimously extended it 30 days at its June 23 meeting. After entering the state of emergency, which forced a curfew in five sections of the city deemed hotspots for crime, Chester went eight days without gun violence. The peace was snapped June 26 as the city incurred the first of two homicides during the state of emergency. In the second homicide, a man was shot by police during an attempted burglary June 30. In regard to fatal shootings, the city has been silent since. “Hopefully, it doesn’t go back to the killings,” Talia Spence said. “Hopefully, it will be better.” Dee Dee Starkee suggested the city penalize parents with citations when their children get in trouble. In doing so, she said, parents would take a greater interest in knowing where their kids are. She also hoped the city would be stringent about its minors’ curfew, which city council amended at its July 14 meeting to begin at an earlier hour during the summer months. “I really want them to push curfew and stay heavy on it, enforce it” Starkee said. Walter Jay, a talk show host known as “Master Blaster” on WDNR 89.5 FM, has brought representatives from various community activist groups onto his show to discuss the issues Chester faces. From on-air discussions, Jay said he got the vibe that the community was ready for the state of emergency to end, and that people are not fearful of the streets being overtaken by criminals. Like many residents, Jay called upon the community, particularly the men, to become more involved. “The men need to step up in the city,” Jay said. “It’s mostly women stepping out. Kids need mentors and people to talk to, to show them some love. That’s what is going on — broken families. They don’t have fathers in their lives.” In addressing the crowd at the Crosby Square Apartments, Butler also pleaded for the community to stay involved. “I think I bear the burdens of the city on me,” Butler said afterward. “I guess every time I come out, whether people view it as being earnest or not, that part I don’t know. I’ve been doing this for a long time. If I could to do anything just to stop the violence, it would make me feel a lot, lot, lot better."

News
July 23, 2010

Chester officials to announce plans for a safer Chester
Friday, July 23, 2010

By JOHN KOPP
Jkopp@delcotimes.com

CHESTER — Before becoming a central figure in the Civil Rights movement, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. spent several years studying at Crozer Theological Seminary.

While there, the nonviolence advocate worshipped at Calvary Baptist Church.

With Chester’s state of emergency expiring today, the historic church is a fitting venue for Mayor Wendell N. Butler Jr. to reveal his initiatives for moving the city forward and curbing its violence.

“You know Dr. King — anti-violence,” Butler said at Crosby Square Apartments, Thursday’s site for his weekly anti-violence campaign. “All about peace and equality. I don’t think you could select a better backdrop.”

The press conference is scheduled for 10:30 this morning. A number of elected and police officials and religious representatives are expected to attend, including Chester Fire Chief Floyd Lewis, Deputy Chief Darren Alston and District Attorney G. Michael Green.

Butler said he wanted to wait until today to announce the specifics of his initiatives, but he revealed that he has instituted a gun buy-back program. The radio commercial for that program began running Thursday, he said.

“We’ve already set the date (for the event),” Butler said. “We’re going to have three radio stations from Philly set up camp in our town. We’re going to use the fire houses and we’re going to ask people to bring in guns.

“They’re going to get a $100 voucher, which is redeemable at the ShopRite in Eddystone. Again, my goal is to collect many, many, many guns. They’re better in our care than out on the streets where somebody could use it to commit a crime.”

Butler declined to discuss the level of police presence the city could expect with the curfew repealed, saying that will be answered today.

Asked whether he thought the state of emergency was a success, Butler said, “Anytime you get weapons off the street, then I call it a success.”

Lewis also deemed the state of emergency successful, saying that the longer it lasted, the fewer curfew citations police issued. Though he didn’t have exact figures in front of him, he said police had pulled “at least 13 or 14” weapons off the streets.

As the city moves forward, Lewis stressed that it must remain united against violence.

“We need all of us to work together — the police department, the community,” Lewis said. “That’s important. The police department just can’t do it without the help of the citizens of the city. We’re starting to work together. We need to continue.

“Hopefully, what has happened in the last 30 days or more will continue, with people able to sit on their porches and walk in their neighborhoods and enjoy the quality of life. To me, that’s important. Everybody wants to be able to do all those little things. A lot of people have been able to do it this last month.”

As Lewis talked, music was pumping through loudspeakers and people cooled off with water ice. It was the sixth event in the Mayor’s Night Out anti-violence series, but the final one before state of emergency expired.

“It was well worth it,” Earnest Williams said. “All the violence, it just stopped.”

After Chester suffered four homicides in eight days in June, Butler declared a five-day state of emergency June 19. City council unanimously extended it 30 days at its June 23 meeting.

After entering the state of emergency, which forced a curfew in five sections of the city deemed hotspots for crime, Chester went eight days without gun violence.

The peace was snapped June 26 as the city incurred the first of two homicides during the state of emergency. In the second homicide, a man was shot by police during an attempted burglary June 30. In regard to fatal shootings, the city has been silent since.

“Hopefully, it doesn’t go back to the killings,” Talia Spence said. “Hopefully, it will be better.”

Dee Dee Starkee suggested the city penalize parents with citations when their children get in trouble.

In doing so, she said, parents would take a greater interest in knowing where their kids are.

She also hoped the city would be stringent about its minors’ curfew, which city council amended at its July 14 meeting to begin at an earlier hour during the summer months.

“I really want them to push curfew and stay heavy on it, enforce it” Starkee said.

Walter Jay, a talk show host known as “Master Blaster” on WDNR 89.5 FM, has brought representatives from various community activist groups onto his show to discuss the issues Chester faces.

From on-air discussions, Jay said he got the vibe that the community was ready for the state of emergency to end, and that people are not fearful of the streets being overtaken by criminals.

Like many residents, Jay called upon the community, particularly the men, to become more involved.

“The men need to step up in the city,” Jay said. “It’s mostly women stepping out. Kids need mentors and people to talk to, to show them some love. That’s what is going on — broken families. They don’t have fathers in their lives.”

In addressing the crowd at the Crosby Square Apartments, Butler also pleaded for the community to stay involved.

“I think I bear the burdens of the city on me,” Butler said afterward. “I guess every time I come out, whether people view it as being earnest or not, that part I don’t know. I’ve been doing this for a long time. If I could to do anything just to stop the violence, it would make me feel a lot, lot, lot better."