chesteryes.com ::

News July 16, 2010 Community takes stand against violence on streets of Chester By ROSE QUINN rquinn@delcotimes.com CHESTER — As the city’s state of emergency comes to a close a week from today, Mayor Wendell N. Butler Jr. said Thursday he will never stop his push against violence — or asking for help to prevent it. “Whether I’m the mayor or not, I’m going to be here with you,” the city-bred, police-officer-turned-politician told a crowd of about 200 gathered for the Mayor’s Anti-Violence Night Out. “We’re continuing our path just to bring a message to the people out there that we care about you,” Butler said. “I told (city) council we have to get off our butts and go out to the areas where there are issues.” There were tots to teens to seniors. There were highway workers, chaplains and mothers of victims of fatal shootings. The mingling of such a diverse group is what Butler said the summer-long initiative is all about — an opportunity to share ideas and forge trust. “Anything that can help to open the lines of communication between the community and the police is a good thing,” said Magisterial District Judge Robert Blythe, who served on the police force for 32 years before joining the bench five years ago. The event at 11th and Upland streets resembled a block party, a stark contrast to June 29 when at least 100 officers converged on the neighborhood following a gunfight that left 16-year-old Andre Morales dead, 16-year-old Shaquille Byrd charged with second-degree murder and a veteran law officer, Luis Rodriguez, hospitalized with a bullet in his shoulder. While the shooting remains under investigation, authorities have confirmed that Morales was shot and killed by a police officer. Edward Nelson described himself as a community mentor and a fixture at the corner of Potter and Rose streets. While he doesn’t know what happened that afternoon, he said he did know both teens and, in his opinion, neither one would fit the description of a street thug. “What happened here keeps me up at night. I knew those kids and that is not what they are about. Good kids make bad decisions all the time,” Nelson said. Nelson, a passionate speaker who took a break from the sidelines of a pickup game at the basketball court at 11th and Upland to join his cousin and evening emcee, Cory Long, at center stage, said he’s tired of negative publicity about the East Side of Chester. “I live here. Maybe I’m just blind, but I see a lot of good kids, a lot of respectful kids,” the 40-year-old city man said. But Nelson also sees a lot of teens who are hurt and who have little to no trust in adults. “The hurt are hurting,” he said. To those who want to help, Nelson offered: “You just got to be real.” The event opened with prayer and many of speakers kept a spiritual tone. Walter Tomlinson, a member of Black Men in Motion headquartered at Third and Yarnall streets, encouraged black males to become role models. “Step up, be a big brother, a father, be a good example,” Tomlinson said. Tomlinson grew up in North Philadelphia, lives in Delaware and works at Boeing. He became involved in the city in 1995, after participating in the national Million Man March. “It doesn’t make any difference where you are to do good things,” Tomlinson said. Julian Mayfield lives in Brookhaven, but grew up in Chester. Employed by the Chester Education Foundation, he said the advantages he had are not available to today’s youth. Citing one city pool and one Boy’s Club, Mayfield said Chester children and teens do not have enough to do. Pointing to the basketball courts, he said, “This is all the young boys do. “This leads to the streets,” he said. Offered an alternative, Mayfield said the basketball courts would not be the breeding ground for drugs and other illicit behaviors, that he thinks they have become. Mayfield would like to see more crime prevention, targeting children between the ages of 11 and 13. He also said the state of emergency did little but compound an already negative impression on the city. “I don’t think the state of emergency is making a difference,” he said. Given the opportunity, Butler said he would have told Mayfield he had little choice. “It should never have come to that,” Butler said, referring to the spate of violence, including the shooting death of 2-year-old Terrance Webster, that forced his hand. Earlier at the microphone, Butler said city government would leave no stone unturned to help the youth. “We come with a listening ear,” he said. At one point, Butler directly addressed the group of young men playing basketball at the nearby court. “We just plain out and out care about you,” Butler said, speaking to the youth. “You are part of us. But you have a responsibility, too. We just ask you to stop the violence. And then we can work from there.” When some in the group were asked later if they heard the mayor speak, they were oblivious. According to Nelson, city males between the ages of 7 and 17 feel frustrated, that no one really cares about them. “They hear the marches and the rallies, but what then?” he said. Long, the city’s anti-violence coordinator since January, kept the crowd pumped for three hours. “We are not going to become a product of our environment. We are going to make our environment a product of us,” he said. Valerie Myers, Andre Morales’ mother, attended the event but sat at a distance, surrounded by friends. She is angry because the person being portrayed by authorities is not the son she raised. And it was why she had to come back Thursday night to where he died. “I’m here to defend my son, my son’s name. He was not a hardened criminal,” she said, her voice trembling with emotion. “All I know is how I raised my child and my child has a stack of college offers. I’m a registered nurse. We live in a nice house. He was never on welfare. My son was a good boy, he planned to go to Villanova and major in communications. That was my son.” Myers said her mother worked at a recreational center in the area and Andre was always in the neighborhood. “I don’t know what happened ... I just know my son,” she said.

News
July 16, 2010

Community takes stand against violence on streets of Chester
By ROSE QUINN
rquinn@delcotimes.com

CHESTER — As the city’s state of emergency comes to a close a week from today, Mayor Wendell N. Butler Jr. said Thursday he will never stop his push against violence — or asking for help to prevent it.

“Whether I’m the mayor or not, I’m going to be here with you,” the city-bred, police-officer-turned-politician told a crowd of about 200 gathered for the Mayor’s Anti-Violence Night Out.

“We’re continuing our path just to bring a message to the people out there that we care about you,” Butler said. “I told (city) council we have to get off our butts and go out to the areas where there are issues.”

There were tots to teens to seniors. There were highway workers, chaplains and mothers of victims of fatal shootings. The mingling of such a diverse group is what Butler said the summer-long initiative is all about — an opportunity to share ideas and forge trust.

“Anything that can help to open the lines of communication between the community and the police is a good thing,” said Magisterial District Judge Robert Blythe, who served on the police force for 32 years before joining the bench five years ago.

The event at 11th and Upland streets resembled a block party, a stark contrast to June 29 when at least 100 officers converged on the neighborhood following a gunfight that left 16-year-old Andre Morales dead, 16-year-old Shaquille Byrd charged with second-degree murder and a veteran law officer, Luis Rodriguez, hospitalized with a bullet in his shoulder.

While the shooting remains under investigation, authorities have confirmed that Morales was shot and killed by a police officer.

Edward Nelson described himself as a community mentor and a fixture at the corner of Potter and Rose streets. While he doesn’t know what happened that afternoon, he said he did know both teens and, in his opinion, neither one would fit the description of a street thug.

“What happened here keeps me up at night. I knew those kids and that is not what they are about. Good kids make bad decisions all the time,” Nelson said.

Nelson, a passionate speaker who took a break from the sidelines of a pickup game at the basketball court at 11th and Upland to join his cousin and evening emcee, Cory Long, at center stage, said he’s tired of negative publicity about the East Side of Chester.

“I live here. Maybe I’m just blind, but I see a lot of good kids, a lot of respectful kids,” the 40-year-old city man said.

But Nelson also sees a lot of teens who are hurt and who have little to no trust in adults.

“The hurt are hurting,” he said.

To those who want to help, Nelson offered: “You just got to be real.”

The event opened with prayer and many of speakers kept a spiritual tone.

Walter Tomlinson, a member of Black Men in Motion headquartered at Third and Yarnall streets, encouraged black males to become role models.

“Step up, be a big brother, a father, be a good example,” Tomlinson said.

Tomlinson grew up in North Philadelphia, lives in Delaware and works at Boeing. He became involved in the city in 1995, after participating in the national Million Man March.

“It doesn’t make any difference where you are to do good things,” Tomlinson said.

Julian Mayfield lives in Brookhaven, but grew up in Chester. Employed by the Chester Education Foundation, he said the advantages he had are not available to today’s youth.

Citing one city pool and one Boy’s Club, Mayfield said Chester children and teens do not have enough to do. Pointing to the basketball courts, he said, “This is all the young boys do.

“This leads to the streets,” he said.

Offered an alternative, Mayfield said the basketball courts would not be the breeding ground for drugs and other illicit behaviors, that he thinks they have become.

Mayfield would like to see more crime prevention, targeting children between the ages of 11 and 13. He also said the state of emergency did little but compound an already negative impression on the city.

“I don’t think the state of emergency is making a difference,” he said.

Given the opportunity, Butler said he would have told Mayfield he had little choice.

“It should never have come to that,” Butler said, referring to the spate of violence, including the shooting death of 2-year-old Terrance Webster, that forced his hand.

Earlier at the microphone, Butler said city government would leave no stone unturned to help the youth.

“We come with a listening ear,” he said.

At one point, Butler directly addressed the group of young men playing basketball at the nearby court.

“We just plain out and out care about you,” Butler said, speaking to the youth. “You are part of us. But you have a responsibility, too. We just ask you to stop the violence. And then we can work from there.”

When some in the group were asked later if they heard the mayor speak, they were oblivious.

According to Nelson, city males between the ages of 7 and 17 feel frustrated, that no one really cares about them.

“They hear the marches and the rallies, but what then?” he said.

Long, the city’s anti-violence coordinator since January, kept the crowd pumped for three hours.

“We are not going to become a product of our environment. We are going to make our environment a product of us,” he said.

Valerie Myers, Andre Morales’ mother, attended the event but sat at a distance, surrounded by friends. She is angry because the person being portrayed by authorities is not the son she raised. And it was why she had to come back Thursday night to where he died.

“I’m here to defend my son, my son’s name. He was not a hardened criminal,” she said, her voice trembling with emotion. “All I know is how I raised my child and my child has a stack of college offers. I’m a registered nurse. We live in a nice house. He was never on welfare. My son was a good boy, he planned to go to Villanova and major in communications. That was my son.”

Myers said her mother worked at a recreational center in the area and Andre was always in the neighborhood.

“I don’t know what happened ... I just know my son,” she said.