Fire in Frankford

News reports today of a fire in the 4700 block of Worth Street. A father and son burned critically. A firefighter and another passerby suffered smoke inhalation.

From CBS3.com:

A firefighter is recovering after he rushed into a burning home in the Frankford section of Philadelphia in order to rescue a father and his young son.

The fire on the 4700 block of Worth Street started on the kitchen stove after something that was cooking caught fire officials said. The flames spread quickly throughout the home, trapping a 3-year-old boy and his 43-year-old father inside.

Philadelphia fireman James Babst, 41, was on his way to work around 4:45 p.m. Sunday when he passed the burning home. He stopped his truck and joined neighbors, who were breaking windows of the home.

Read the entire story here. We wish them all a swift recovery.

Frankford residents arrested

From the News Gleaner:

Around 4 p.m. Sunday, police were flagged down on the 2300 block of Cottman Avenue and were told three men in a white minivan had just broken into a red Saturn in the Roosevelt Mall vehicle. Police saw the van exit the mall and gave chase up Bustleton Avenue. Several officers joined the pursuit, which only ended after the van crashed into a car on the 6000 block of Alma Street, police said.

Police said the men punched and kicked at officers. Arrested were Angel Guzman, 19, of the 3500 block of North 8th Street; Jonathan NegronVelez, 21, of the 4600 block of Horrocks Street; and Ramon Seijo, 28, also of the 4600 block of Horrocks Street.

Read the entire story here.

Help

I wasn't expecting to meet anybody on my trip out to get an updated picture of the Twins at PowderMill but as I was going down Leiper Street I noticed two men diligently working on the stone wall that surrounds the little park on the corner of Leiper and Orthodox.



I stopped to ask them what brought them out on the first day of spring and they said that the wall was in dire need of some repairs. Not as serious as the I-95 debacle but still in need of work.

I have always been masonry challenged. It looks like it should be easy. You get sand, water, cement and some bricks or stones and put them together. Based on my experience, I can tell you it is not easy. These guys were master masons. No, not the guys who march in the parades, guys who actually can build something.

Now I would like to remember what is the name of that little park.

Thanks to a helpful reader:

"Overington Park? I used to play football there. "

Frankford Garden Club

We welcome the Frankford Garden Club to the community calendar. They meet at the Frankford Group ministry generally on the 4th Tuesday of the month but there are exceptions, so check the calendar for exact dates and times.

A Frankford family grieves

From Philly.com today:

Adrienne Kaplan and Theodore Thomas today will bury their 22-year-old son, the victim of a hit-and-run accident in Center City.

They are coping, as well as they can, with the question of why he had to go at such a young age.

Police have questions also. They want to know who was driving the car that struck Theodore Thomas Jr. in the early evening of Feb. 22 near the Gallery as he crossed Market Street to meet a friend.

Read the entire story here.

Emergency meeting of Frankford Civic

FKD Civic Association

EMERGENCY Meeting

Thursday, March 13th 7:30 PM
Frankford Hospital4900 Frankford Avenue
2nd Floor Conference Room


Important Zoning Issues: Another Rehab!
4243-47 Frankford Avenue
How much will FKD stand for? How many more Rehabs can our community handle? We must come together to let it be known that the PEOPLE WHO LIVE HERE will not tolerate another REHAB! Please come and let your voice be heard. All are welcome.
For more information or questions email FKD Civic frankfordcivic@gmail.com

Frankford hit run victim dies

From kyw1060.com:

The victim of a center city Philadelphia hit-and-run has died. Police are still hunting for the car that struck him.

Twenty-two-year-old Theodore Thomas, from the Frankford neighborhood, died on Tuesday from injuries suffered when he was hit by a car on the evening of February 22nd, while he was crossing the street at Ninth and Market Streets in Philadelphia.

Read the entire story here.

Crime - not in Frankford

nbc10.com reported on their web site that a shooting in the 5900 block of Horrocks was in Frankford. Wherever you might call it, it's not Frankford.

This is the original report, I asked them to make the correction. We'll see how that goes.

ARAMARK Corporation comes to Frankford

From Foxbusiness.com:

As part of the partnership kickoff, this week in Philadelphia, ARAMARK's global headquarters, over 100 ARAMARK employees will work with City Year Corps members to enhance the physical environment of the Frankford Group Ministries, a community based organization that provides human services to residents of Frankford, a neighborhood in northeast Philadelphia. Together they will update kitchens, build shelves, paint murals and sort clothing for donations to local families.

Read the entire story here.

Third graders go to college

From the Daily News:

The pupils who used to attend teacher Kristin Palmer's third-grade class at a charter school in Frankford would go to Room 118.

Not anymore.

Now they go into Room Temple.

It's the same room at the First Philadelphia Charter School for Literacy, at Tacony and Church streets, only the name has been changed as part of a program to instill in the 8-and-9-year-olds the concept of college.

"Many of the students live in poverty, and I believe if young children are exposed to college, even at the conceptual level, there's more of a chance that they'll attend college when they're finished high school," Palmer said.

"It puts the idea on their radar: They know that college comes after 12th grade and after college, a good job."

Read the entire story by TOM SCHMIDT here.

ex-offenders

“We either have to get comfortable with ex-offenders in the workplace, or you'll meet some of these folks in an alley, somewhere. You decide.”

You have to love that quote but there is truth to it. It has nothing to do with being a bleeding heart and everything to do with cold, hard reality.

The point is that we don't want Frankford to be a dumping ground for repeat criminals or the permanent home of chronically indigent drug users. Thanks but we'll pass on that.

But we do support helping those folks who get out of jail and want to go straight, to get jobs and keep out of trouble. It just makes so much sense.

Read the rest of the story at kyw1060.com by following this link.

Emine Hajredinaj

Emine Hajredinaj was murdered on Griscom Street on January 31st.

The man accused of killing a pregnant woman whose baby survived the shooting last month has been arrested, police announced yesterday.

Tyree Bass, 23, of the 1500 block of Adams Avenue, turned himself over to officers Wednesday. He was accompanied by his attorney.

Her alleged killer turned himself in and this is a link to the entire story in the Inquirer.

Emine Hajredinaj and her family came to Lansdale from war-torn Kosovo in 1999

While following up on this story I stumbled over this other nice story in TheReporteronline.com about who Emine Hajredinaj was and how she found her way to Frankford. Read it here.

Frankford resident critically unjured in hit and run in center city

From 6abc.com:

CENTER CITY - February 23, 2008 (WPVI) -- Police have identified the man injured in a hit and run crash Friday night in Center City.

22-year-old Theodore Thomas of Unity Street in Frankford was struck at about 6:30 p.m. during heavy rain, at the intersection of 9th and Market Streets.

Thomas remains in very critical condition at Jefferson University Hospital tonight.

The driver has not been caught.

Go here for the full report.

Who is Andrew Altman and why should Frankford care?

Ed Bacon (Keven Bacon's father to you young folks) inspired Andrew Altman to become a city planner. The Philadelphia native has landed back in Philadelphia to become mayor Nutter's deputy mayor and commerce director.

What is city planning? It is what good cities do to plan for their growth. That is something we haven't seen in Philadelphia in, well a long time.

Altman's credentials are being touted as evidence that Nutter is serious about making planning important again, and ending years of seat-of-the-pants deal-making that marginalized the city's professional staff.

This means that we are going in a new direction. There will be plans for the entire city.

Nutter has also talked about the riverfront as a "huge opportunity," Altman said. "He told me about all the failed plans and said now is the time to get it done." But, he said, he also expects to focus on neighborhoods bypassed by the recent development boom.

It would be an understatement to say we have been bypassed. Yes folks it's time to get serious. Read the entire story from the Inquirer here.

Despite low profile, Dougherty's White highly regarded by Temple

Congratulations to Quinten White, a 6-3, 195-pound outside linebacker from Cardinal Dougherty.

White and a Dougherty teammate, Keith Dockery, attended a 1-day combine that happened to be held at Temple. Working with the defensive backs, White performed well. Owls assistant Curtis Bray pulled him aside and suggested he attend coach Al Golden's camp. He did.

"Up to then I'd only been hearing from Bloomsburg and Shippensburg," said White, who lives near Frankford and Church (map), in Frankford, and intends to become a fitness trainer. "But to go to coach Golden's camp and then be told, 'We're looking at you,' that really got my attention. I was pretty excited. On the way home on the bus, I was calling my friends. 'Guess what happened today! . . . ' "

Read the entire story on philly.com

Free GED classes

Our new mayor has embraced focussed on the need to raise the educational level of the citizens of Philadelphia. New companies looking to relocate here look for an educated labor pool as one of the requirements for filling new jobs if the settle in this region. Philadelphia lags far behind other areas in that department and it is good to see someone actually decide to do something about it.

The school district has already taken some steps in that direction with the Parent Leadership Academy. With that in mind we offer this announcement of the classes that will begin on Tuesday January 29th. It's a great opportunity to get a new start. Spread the word.

ANNOUNCEMENT

THE PARENT LEADERSHIP ACADEMY IS OFFERING FREE GED CLASSES EVERY

TUESDAY & THURSDAY 6PM – 8PM

@

LINDDONFIELD HOMES

8800 JACKSON STREET (SENIOR BLDG.)

PHILADELPHIA, PA 19136

FOR MORE INFORMATION CALL: 215-335-5339

Frankford man murdered in West Philly

From today's Daily News:

After visiting with relatives in West Philadelphia Christmas night, Shawn McKnight, 35, went to the Intocable Food Mart on 60th Street near Haverford Avenue to get a Mountain Dew.

He never made it home. He was shot to death outside the store.

"He was the victim of an apparent robbery," said Homicide Lt. Philip Riehl.

McKnight, of Edmund Street near Margaret in Northeast Philadelphia, was shot at about 7:30 p.m. outside the corner store where he had stopped to make the purchase.

Police found him lying on the ground and took him to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, where he was pronounced dead at about 8:10 p.m.

Riehl said detectives were still trying last night to get a description of the killer.

It was reported that McKnight was survived by his fiancee, a 3-year-old son, a 4-year-old daughter and an 8-year-old stepdaughter.

Read the entire article here.

"Welcome to Frankford"

From Councilman Dan Savage:

Philadelphia - December 27, 2007 at 10:00 AM on the 4800 Block of Frankford Avenue, Councilman Daniel J. Savage will unveil the new "Welcome to Frankford" and "Historic Frankford” Banners for the Frankford Avenue Business Corridor.

The new banners are part of Councilman Savage’s plan for streetscape improvements for the Frankford Avenue Business Corridor. Councilman Savage said, "Revitalizing business corridors is key to revitalizing our neighborhoods. These banners will add a touch of warmth and class to the Frankford Avenue Business Corridor.”

Lorenzo Compton

From the New York Times:

PHILADELPHIA — Lorenzo Compton did not have a promising start. His parents kicked him out at 17 for refusing to obey, he dropped out of the 12th grade when he got a girl pregnant, he served almost two years for drug dealing and he carries a bullet in his thigh.

At 43, Mr. Compton is again a force in the Frankford section of northeast Philadelphia — but this time as a one-man block patrol, as a mentor to countless young men, and as keeper of the keys to the fancy new football field that helps bring a ragged neighborhood together.

Read the New York Times entire story here.

Read in the HeraldTribune.com here.

Frankford resident in the news

Thanks to a tip from a reader it's a pleasure to highlight Barbara Kellam. Read the entire story on phillycom here.

Harmonizing

Twenty amateur singers have been holed up at Mount Airy Presbyterian Church many nights as they rehearse for the NBC reality series Clash of the Choirs.

Premise: Five celebs - Patti LaBelle in Philly, Kelly Rowland in Houston, Michael Bolton in New Haven, Conn., Nick Lachey in Cincinnati, and Blake Shelton in Oklahoma City - choose and train 20-member choirs in their hometowns to sing on the four-night live series, starting Dec. 17 in New York.

"This is not your father's choir," says executive producer Jason Raff, immediately apologizing for the cliche. "They won't be in robes holding song sheets." The music and contestants are diverse. R&B star Rowland's crew is rehearsing Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody."

Winners will fund a local charity; LaBelle's is With Our Voices, a health-outreach program.

Juniata's Tim Bolognone, 30, a Frankford High and Bob Jones U grad, apprentice in the cabinetmakers' union, and worship leader at Grace Bible Church in Northeast Philly, has had some stage experience with a barbershop quartet, "but not in front of 11 million people."

Frankford's Barbara Kellam, an airline customer-service rep at Philadelphia International Airport, calls it "surreal" to have been chosen by LaBelle to represent Philly. "I'm seeing myself in commercials, and then I go to work," marvels Kellam, daughter and granddaughter of singers. This is "my breakthrough year," she says. "I was 315 pounds, had gastric-bypass surgery and lost 140 pounds. I also turned 30. I'm on fire!"

Rounding out LaBelle's choir are Amanda Gordon and Liimu McGill of Glenside; Christina Blue of Trenton; Frank DiCristo of Media; Joshua Womer of Mount Pleasant Mills, Pa.; Lucas Lasagna of Allentown; Katie Romano of Norristown; and Philadelphians Arlyn Wolters, Danielle Baker, Darian Moore, Jessie Reed-Benton, J'onett DeVeaubray, Mary McClinnaham, Niesha Cherry, Rachael Sutliff, Robbie Cunningham, Sharon Gary-Dixon, and Shonse Hawkins.