Coatesville Side Bar

New home for Coatsville blog

2008-02-20T10:23:00.000-08:00

Coatesville Sidebar has been retooled and relocated to a page within the Daily Local's site. I hope all of its loyal readers -- and especially the commentators -- will follow it to its new spot.

Follow the link above to get there, and make sure to bookmark it because the URL (http://www3.allaroundphilly.com/blogs/dailylocal/coatesville/blog.html) is rather cumbersome.

RDA

2008-02-02T11:21:00.000-08:00

What do you think about Paul Givler's exit from the Redevelopment Authority board and the recent appointment of Harry Colon?

Rip Makes All-Star Team Again

2008-02-02T10:49:00.000-08:00

Richard "Rip" Hamilton, a Coatesville native who plays for the Detroit Pistons, has made the NBA All-Star team for the third year in a row.

Public Safety

2008-02-02T10:47:00.001-08:00

Is the city doing enough to tackle violent crime in the city? Should the city do more? Or have you seen positive changes?

Also, see Sunday's edition of the Daily Local News for an overview on the state of the Coatesville Police Department.

City Power Plant

2008-02-02T10:44:00.000-08:00

Should Coatesville put a power plant on the Flats? Why or Why not?

Kareem Johnson on Camera

2007-10-23T10:56:00.001-07:00

City Councilman Kareem Johnson gave his take on the Coatesville Police Department in a September video. The key issue, he says, is race. Find the video here.

City Surplus

2007-09-11T14:12:00.001-07:00

If you missed the City Council meeting last night, City Manager Harry Walker said the city has a $700,000 surplus. See Wednesday's Daily Local News for more details.

Another Police Officer Leaves

2007-09-10T15:21:00.000-07:00

Another officer has left the Coatesville Police Department. This is the second police officer to go to another department in recent weeks. According to sources, many Coatesville officers have been looking for other jobs since the administration kicked around a cop layoff plan earlier this year. Now the administration is considering downsizing the department through attrition. Another officer quit not long ago. At that time, I asked City Manager Harry Walker and Police Chief William Matthews if they were looking to fill the position. They both said the administration wouldn't make any efforts to fill the slot until a recently appointed "right sizing" committee determined the "appropriate" size of the police department. The department is down to 33 officers -- that includes the chief. -- JM

Matthews on his required certification

2007-09-03T14:34:00.000-07:00

Police Chief William Matthews said Friday he still plans on obtaining state certification (Act 120) as required by his contract. However, he also said the certification is not his top priority at the moment. Instead, his top priorities are crime and the internal aspect of the police department.

Earlier this year, Matthews said he would work on certification at the end of the summer.

“It’s still on my agenda. I’m still working on the aspects of it,” Matthews said. “That’s an important thing that I have to pay attention to when I have time.”

According to the state, a police chief coming from out of state must be certified in Pennsylvania in order to be able to make arrests. If the chief attended a police academy that is comparable to Pennsylvania’s, then the chief only has to take criminal code exams, and not attend the police academy. Matthews, who was a police officer in Washington, D.C., may only have to take the written exam.

While the chief said he is still moving forward with his contract requirements, he also downplayed the importance of becoming certified. A police chief is not required by law to be certified and there are chiefs in Pennsylvania that are not certified and are strictly administrative, according to the state.

Matthews pointed out that the administration could remove the Act 120 requirement from his contract, but said he has not asked them to do so.

“They can change it if they want to,” he said.

Matthews went on to say, “I’ve been here for four months and we’re dealing with the agency, the proper size of the agency, the issues that are out there in terms of juveniles, formation of gangs, which is something we have to deal with right now.”

Before interviewing candidates, the police chief selection committee – put together by City Manager Harry Walker and City Council – drafted candidate requirements for the Coatesville Police Department’s top position. The requirements included that the next chief obtain state certification (Act 120) within six months of hiring.

However, the chief’s contract allows up to one year for him to obtain certification. While Matthews was appointed in April, his contract was not signed until May 22. -- JM

Hollywood coming to Coatesville area

2007-08-30T09:44:00.000-07:00

A movie based on the book, "The Lovely Bones," will be partly filmed in Chester County. The schedule, as of now, includes filming at the South Brandywine Middle School on summer days as well as Nov. 10, 12, and 13. The school board approved the filming Tuesday. The film cast includes Susan Surandan, Rachel Weisz, and Ryan Gossling. -- JM

Newish blog

2007-08-29T13:12:00.000-07:00

This blog looks a little different than it used to, and that's because I'm trying to transition it over to Jon Tuleya, who will be the Coatesville reporter starting next week. There are technical issues right now, but hopefully I can get it to look a little better before I take off for the courthouse.

While this blog is under the same link, it has been turned over to Jon, who will be the administrator. The transition forced me to delete the previous blog. So anything on my version no longer exists. So Jon gets to start fresh.

Thanks to everyone who has complimented the blog and found it useful. I'm going to miss covering Coatesville. -- Jennifer Miller

CASD -- PSSAs

2007-08-29T10:55:00.000-07:00

For the first time the Coatesville Area School District, as a whole, has made AYP (adequate yearly progress) in statewide assessments. See Thursday's Daily Local News to see how individual schools ranked.