"Victims of blaze vow not to return"

Many of us realize that after the arsonist is captured the bullets will still fly in Coatesville. John Pawlowski does not talk about it much but a bullet went through his garage door. RDA Chair Joseph Discullio has dug bullets from his home and business in Coatesville’s West End. A teller in a bank that I frequent told me her husband’s vehicle was totaled by bullet holes when a man was shot in front of her home. AK47 shell casings were found in the streets. There are hundreds of stories like this in Coatesville.
Because of what might be called a “gag order” on Coatesville Police by City Manager Harry Walker, lesser reported crimes like armed robbery and muggings require reporters to dig through Magisterial Court Records. Many crimes go unreported in the news.
Jim

"The Daily Local (dailylocal.com), Serving Chester County, PA
Victims of blaze vow not to return
'I don't want to put my family through this again,' says one from Fleetwood St.
Sunday, February 1, 2009 9:13 AM EST
By DAN KRISTIE Staff Writer


”Karen Engle, a victim of a Nov. 12 arson on Madison Street in Coatesville, has been staying with relatives in Honey Brook after her home was destroyed. Like Bowman, she said there is no way she will return to the city.

"We're not going back," she said.

Prior to the fire, Engle said she had been traumatized by the city's rampant gun violence. Bullets have hit the front of her house, and she awoke one morning to find the windows of her truck shot out.

"I was scared to go outside," she said. "I was petrified to be there."

Two months after her home was destroyed by fire, Engle said she's entered a period of grieving.

"It's almost like losing a life," she said. "Twenty-eight years we lived in that house."

She still hasn't been back to survey the damage. On the night of the fire, she was in the hospital and was unable to join other family members at her home.

"The hardest thing for me is, you know, you keep thinking of things you've lost," she said. "After my daughter went over, she told me, 'Mom, I don't think you're ready. I thought I was, but I wasn't.'"

More at:
http://www.dailylocal.com/articles/2009/02/01/news/srv0000004612235.txt


The Guardian Angels meeting was very well attended last night. The Guardian Angels said that they are not here to catch the arsonist. They would get in the way of police if they patrolled in Coatesville now. The Angels are here to develop and train a new chapter in Coatesville. There were at least 50 people there. Scott Gallagher, the organization's Philadelphia Chapter commander, told us the Guardian’s reach out to all similar groups in the area. They will work with the PA State Troopers that are organizing the Coatesville Town Watch. The “Coatesville Men United” appears to be on board with the Guardian Angeles.
Jim Pitcherella

Every politician and law enforcement officer in Pennsylvania should read:
“POLICE, POLITICS. CORRUPTION ‘The mixture dangerous to freedom and justice” By Colonel Frank McKetta, Retired Pennsylvania State Police Commissioner