EAGLES-Ville

Over the past two weeks, since the Philadelphia Eagles captured the NFC Championship and the chance to compete for the Lombardi Trophy in Super Bowl LII (which we all now know that, against incredible odds, they actually WON), LP residents, along with the entire greater Philadelphia area and surrounding suburbs, understandably went all in for the boys in green.

[I’m proud to say that I was the only person at the Super Bowl party I attended who brought a bottle of champagne. While I'm certainly one of millions of long-suffering Philly sports fans who has come to expect being disappointed again and again by our teams, somehow I had a feeling that, for once, it was going to be our year!]

Everyone got involved somehow or another. Eagles merchandise flew off the shelves and pop-up gas-station vendors sprouted everywhere. Women got their nails done in green and silver. All manner of Eagles garden flags and wreaths went up.  Eagles decals and car magnets got slapped on vehicles. Local businesses got in on the act and made an undoubted killing selling Super Bowl party food, including local business Collegeville Italian Bakery, who entered into a friendly bet with a Boston-area business, Montilio’s Baking Company.

Photo courtesy of C.I.B.

“It [the Eagles being in the Super Bowl] did wonders for every single mom and pop business,” said co-owner Steve Carcarey of the Collegeville Italian Bakery. Montilio’s wagered one of their famous butter-cream specialty sheet cakes – with a big Eagles logo - against Collegeville’s famous Eagles tomato pies which would have featured a Patriot’s logo had the Eagles lost. Another part of the bet was Montilio’s making a $500 donation to the Philadelphia School District in the event of an Eagles win.  Carcarey even changed the sign temporarily on his business to read ‘Eagleville Italian Bakery”. [this story appeared in the Times Herald the day after I made this blog post]

LP Township issued a proclamation on January 31, 2018 declaring it “Eagles Day” encouraging the celebration of the team’s success and support for them as they took the field in the Super Bowl. Eagleville Elementary held one of many pep rallies in the area; theirs was featured on the ABC6 news broadcast that day [link].  ABC6 also did a spot featuring the Valley Forge Chorale, who rehearses at Lower Providence Presbyterian Church (LPPC) in Eagleville singing the Eagles fight song.

Even my church’s pastor at LPPC presented a sermon entitled “We Will Soar on Wings Like Eagles”. It was rooted in scripture (Isaiah 40:21-31) but also meant to support the team as pastor wore a vestment featuring the Eagles logo in a pattern, and he led the congregation in an Eagles chant at the end of the service.

It was wonderful to see something that united everyone in the community and was a distraction from everyday problems. That’s a ‘win’ right there.

As for the parade, I wasn’t going to miss it. It was a long day – our group of 10 left Eagleville at 4:30 AM, bundled up in layers, determined that we were going to savor this victory. It truly was something not to be missed. We had a good entry, parking and exit strategy and it worked out pretty well. We enjoyed beer and a very happy clientele while hanging out at the Urban Saloon on Fairmount waiting for the parade to make its way to the Art Museum, and made lots of new friends in green. People were, for the most part, well behaved and it was a glorious event where we heard the Eagles fight song more times than we could count.  (And yes, it is true, Eagles fans WILL CLIMB JUST ABOUT ANYTHING!). 

Still, it’s hard to believe it really happened. My boyfriend (and others I know) have re-watched the game several times. We Philly sports fans are so used to inevitable disappointment, of defeat snatched from the jaws of victory, that many of us can’t quite believe the other shoe isn’t going to drop.

Now, if we could just get those Philadelphia Flyers to bring the Stanley Cup home for a trip down Broad Street….

Driver's Ed

Driver’s Ed, Part I. Is it just me, or is crashing cars into buildings a trendy new thing? It’s been quite a while since I first took the test to get my driver’s license, but I’m pretty sure back in the 80’s the DMV didn’t feel obligated to point out explicitly that one should avoid running into buildings with one’s car. Maybe they should start including that as a test question, though, because over several weeks this past summer, and then again in December, LP has been home to four such crashes, and I’ve seen a few more on the local news around the wider area.

First, on June 21, a car crashed into the side of the Sunoco/Mini Mart at 3201 West Ridge Pike (at the intersection with Mt. Kirk). Reports indicate that the driver was parking their car, when their dog jumped into the front seat, hit the gear shift lever into ‘drive’ and then the driver, attempting to stop the car, hit the gas instead of the brakes.

Second, around 5:30 pm on June 26, 2017 a truck crashed into the home of the Wheelers on Woodland Avenue. The home, at the juncture of the ‘T’ intersection of Clearfield and Woodland, sustained some damage although it was still habitable. In that incident, officials still aren’t sure what the cause was, although mechanical issues and careless driving have been ruled out. The cause is potentially medical, but confirmation of that may never be received. 

Third, on July 9, someone crashed into the Dunkin’ Donuts at the intersection of Trooper Road and Egypt Road shortly after midnight. I’m told it was the result of a domestic argument. The facility was repaired and reopened in September.

Then, to finish out the year, on December 22, 2017, the Friday just before Christmas a car crashed into the Collegeville Italian Bakery on Ridge Pike, practically turning it into a drive-through at the busiest time of year.  The building sustained significant damage to the pizzeria section of the restaurant, but no one was hurt and they were able to have it repaired within a month later and reopened as of January 21.

Let's be careful out there, folks! So far, no serious injuries or fatalities, but it's only a matter of time until something tragic happens. 

Driver’s Ed, Part II

In the Déjà vu Department (there was a similar incident with a prior school board member a few years ago), back on September 30, 2017, a Methacton school board director, identified in court records as Michael Ryan of Audubon, was arrested and charged with ‘public drunkenness’ stemming from an incident that occurred outside the Audubon Ale House.

Reportedly Ryan, elected in 2015 as a member of the CARE team of candidates (Community Advocates for Responsible Education), was allegedly found asleep, intoxicated, inside his car and identified himself as being on the Methacton school board to the arresting officer. He was charged with public drunkenness in violation of 18 Pa.C.S.A. § 5505, which prohibits a person from being in any "public place manifestly under the influence of alcohol or a controlled substance ... to the degree that he may endanger himself or other persons or property, or annoy persons in his vicinity."

Ryan had a hearing in district court on January 10 (continued from a November date) and reportedly was ordered to perform 24 hours’ worth of community service. Another hearing is scheduled for March 28, at which time I understand his charges may be dismissed if he completes said community service. It’s not clear whether or not he actually wound up pleading guilty to anything, although some reports of comments Ryan has made on the record at school board meetings would seem to indicate that he in fact considered himself guilty despite an initial ‘not guilty’ plea. In reaching out to the district court office for clarification of the docket details, I was referred to the arresting officer, who has yet to return my call.

According to people in the courtroom at the time, Ryan was told by the judge that he 'might want to drink less' or 'call an Uber' next time. 

At least Ryan didn’t try to claim it never happened, and blame anonymous internet bad guys for completely inventing the story (as did the former school board director who found herself in a similar situation, albeit in another state). At the end of the day, she resigned; as in that instance, Ryan should probably also consider resigning from the school board. Those responsible for educating our kids and  elected to be in charge of an annual budget exceeding $100,000  are supposed to be serving as good examples to them, and should be held to a higher standard and demonstrate that they can exercise better judgment while in office.

I’ve heard some people ask why, if he was found in his car, he wasn’t charged with DUI instead of public drunkenness  -  that’s a question for the arresting officer. We don’t know the entirety of the fact pattern, and clearly, the arresting officer has discretion at the scene to determine how they want to handle a given incident.  There are numerous pieces of criteria that go into determining whether a driver has ‘control’ of the vehicle and intent to drive and thus whether it rises to the level of DUI. 

By most accounts Ryan is a hard worker on the Board, and I'm sure the pressure of being a school director is substantial, but let's hope this is the last time a Methacton school director finds him/herself in the crosshairs of the law.