Letters Extraordinary service Jacob Ruth Funeral Home provided an extraordinary service last September, which, I feel, should be known and applauded by the community. Joe Thomas (of the funeral home) drove hundreds of miles to Petersham, Mass. so that the coffin of Giancarlo Nicoletti could be beside his mother, Denise Nicoletti. Giancarlo was a crib death infant of three months when he was placed by his grandfather’s grave at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery. His unexpected death meant the family plot was the best place, despite his parents’ living in Massachusetts. But then in the summer of 2002, after kissing her daughter Celeste goodbye, Denise Nicoletti (Giancarlo’s mother) got into her van with her twin boys. Moments later, a truck driver (asleep at the wheel) crushed the van. The boys survived; the mother did not. Joe Thomas assisted me (the uncle) in getting the Archdiocese of Philadelphia (owners of Holy Sepulchre) and the State of Pennsylvania in to allow the disinterment of the infant. In late September 2004, on Denise’s birthday, her boy was placed beside her. Observing with bittersweet feelings was the father, Richard Nicoletti, and assisting was Joe Thomas. Hats off to the Jacob Ruth Funeral Home for service to their community. Geoffrey Nicoletti Keep the energy flowing As the new board of the Chestnut Hill Community Association takes office, it is my fondest hope that we can work together in the spirit that is contained in this excerpt from a book of essays and other writings titled Long Life, by Mary Oliver: “There is a tradition on the Cape, and in my town especially, of patience, and openness to change. There is plenty of attachment to the past, and voices can flare over the destruction of an old building or the reorientation of roads, or the cutting down of trees, but at the end there appears a willingness to go forward, to accept the differences that must be, without collision.” An enormous amount of good work has been done over the past years to enhance the life and lives of Chestnut Hill. Let’s keep the good, positive momentum on track. Jane M. Piotrowski Balanced slate needed It was a surprise to read the Nominating Committee’s slate for the officers of the newly elected board of directors of CHCA. As all the avid readers of the Local know, a group of us have not been satisfied with some of the things that the present administration has done, or has not done. (See the May 5, 2005 Local, page 5, for details.) We submitted a slate of nominees for membership on the board in order to get our ideas brought to the level of final decisions in the community, i.e. the board. We won handily. In fact, Lou Aiello and I received the largest number of votes. And we got more votes than any other current members of the board who were running. Three of the four top places were members of our group and five of the 12 who won a three-year term were, too. The membership of the CHCA express their wishes through their votes but the slate presented by the present administration seems not to have taken those votes into consideration. Three of the five members of the nominating committee are candidates for the at-large executive committee members. But none of the high vote-getters are included on their slate at all. A more balanced slate, with all opinions represented, would have given us the opportunity to discuss issues together, to share responsibility and to try to work out compromises between us rather than continue what has sometimes become acrimonious and disruptive in our conflicts. A few of us have submitted our names as nominees for at-large members of the executive committee and should we be elected it still would be my intention to encourage listening to one another and seeking solutions together. So, I hope that the board members will give careful consideration to our candidacy for these offices at the organizational board meeting this Thursday, June 23. Mary-Anna Ross Cowper
While reading Andrew Lazor's article, "Friends of Wissahickon told forests are imperiled" (Local, June 16), I couldn't help thinking that it was like bringing coals to Newcastle on a busman's holiday. The Friends have been supporting the shooting of deer in the Wissahickon for years. Why would they need the ex-head of deer management at the PA Game Commission — a group run by and for hunters — to tell them the horrific news that they already knew: namely, that eco-terrorist deer are threatening our very survival. Fact is, deer populations regulated themselves just fine for tens of thousands of years before human encroachment and game management completely skewed their place in nature. I don't agree with Mr. Alt that the Wissahickon is a "microcosm of a state-wide problem." The Valley is unique in both structure and status. As a sacred place in our history, it requires and deserves the use of humane alternatives to bullets and blood. I have lived in this neighborhood all my life, and I think my park and my Quaker City can do much better. Animals are not "resources," but rather sentient individuals worthy of respect. Jim Harris
Thank you and Marie Fowler for the lovely article about the City Hall exhibit (Local, June 2). The layout is wonderful, the article conveys the importance of childhood art, and the students, the parents, my principal and I couldn't be happier. It's posted on our proud board. We all impact the world. How we impact the world is the question. It's a source of pride and pleasure when a local newspaper makes an effort to publish the positive contributions our youth are making instead of focusing solely on the negative. You built both a sense of community and a sense of accomplishment in our students with that article. Keep up the good work. True confession: due to end-of-year chaos classes, I myopically turned to the Local’s article on my kids, gave each of my budding artists a copy, hung one copy on the front board, cut it out for my scrapbook and set the rest of the paper aside. Today, I made the time to read the paper. It's a treasure trove. Good things come from good things. Lillies grow from mud. This has been a rough year for some of my students. Sometimes the best I can do for them is to keep plugging up the holes of despair in their lives. You've given me a new source to find plugs. Valerie Van Pham |
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