January 12, 2006 Issue                                               

©2005 The Chestnut Hill Local

News

For the record … the truth
From the President and Vice President of CHCA operations

Having read false statements and baseless accusations in the Local for several months, we feel it is our turn to speak. We have been reluctant to enter the fray in the belief that the outrageous statements of an angry few were transparently false and that they would, in time, fade. Some board members were reluctant to say anything for fear of fueling the acrimony. We regret that many of the biggest lies refuse to die, so we intend here, at the beginning of this new year, to set the record straight — and move on.

Reviewing a rough 2005
Continued from last week.

Chris Kemezis reads a statement at a former CHCA board meeting.

October 13, 2005

SUNDAY NIGHTS ARE GENERALLY QUIET AT BREDENBECK’S BAKERY, but in the early evening hours of Oct. 9, the popular Chestnut Hill ice cream parlor was the scene of a brutal crime as a group of four men beat and robbed a 17-year-old employee waiting for a ride outside the store at 8126 Germantown Ave.

Houston School gets new principal for a day

“The fate of empires depends on the education of youth” – Aristotle

A new face was recently seen in the principal’s office at the Henry H. Houston School. However, he wasn’t there to see the principal. Rather, he was there to be the principal. Participating in Greater Philadelphia Cares’ annual “Principal for a Day” program, Charlie Silla, senior vice president of recruiting & staffing for ACE INA, stepped in to serve as the school’s principal.

Senior Center sponsors trips

Members and non-members alike are invited to enjoy trips planned by the Chestnut Hill Senior Services Center. On Saturday Jan. 21, join us to visit the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Center City. As well as the permanent collection, which includes the work of Charles Wilson Peale, Thomas Eakins, Mary Cassatt, Maxfield Parrish and others, there is an exhibition of photography by Nan Goldin, a Faculty Exhibition, and a special exhibition entitled In Private Hands covering 200 years of American Painting.

Not so fast, Eddie
By JIM FOSTER

There are different opinions regarding the recent announcement of the candidacy of Lynn Swann, former Pittsburgh Steeler, as a contender for the Republican Party primary in the upcoming election for governor. John Baer of the Daily News follows him through a Harrisburg farm show and sees him enthusiastically glad-handing with folks from rural Pennsylvania (that would be that section of our state that Democrat operative James Carville likened to Arkansas) with attention that took the limelight from Gov. Rendell, who attended the same show. They probably don’t get much more traditional and conservative than many of those in attendance at that event, but I would not for one minute think they are not informed.

A friend in need … is a donor
by RUTH ROVNER

Donna Thain, of Weichert Realtors, doesn’t think of herself as a heroine, just a very good friend. But others feel she has done something unusual — even extraordinary — in the name of friendship. Last June, she had elective surgery to remove one of her kidneys. It was a healthy kidney that she chose to donate to a close friend, Deborah Hartwell of Lower Gwynedd, who had kidney disease.