July 22, 2007

Hookers and Johns – Beware

Many readers know about Craig's List.

How about a John's List?

The worlds oldest profession is disturbing the quality of life of several of our neighborhoods.

Such activity used to be restricted to corners around 7th and Penn (the railroad station), and there was reputed to be activity at a motel with a large blue cone on top in West Reading that overlooked the city.

But that is gone now (thanks to Berks County); however…plans for another hotel on the site have brought some opposition from West Reading residents thinking the same thing could happen.

In the city, we have a new spot that seems to be attracting prostitutes and their customers.

That is the area near the library at 5th and Franklin St.

In particular we get complaints from neighbors and business owners about blatant soliciting at all hours of the day and night.

I propose to publish on this blog a new feature, called "John's List" in which I will list the names, ages, addresses etc of those folks cited for soliciting prostitutes in the city of Reading.

So consider this is a friendly warning to those who want to support the oldest profession: we are going to crack down hard and if you are a customer, you might be embarrassed to have your name appear here in my blog or on the city web site.

Officers in plain clothes and decoys have been used recently and will be used more in the future to arrest prostitutes, "johns" and procurement personnel.

Even if you are circling the area several time just "checking out the scene", license plates are being run through the system and some folks are now being surprised with sent to their home from the Reading Police Department suggesting that "their car was seen,,, etc"

Rumor has it that the cars of some prominent people in the community have been seen as well.

Some people may not be comfortable having such letters opened by a spouse.

So now an early warning: some of our new cameras will be monitoring the area and the evidence will be quite clear and pretty hard to deny.

Stay tuned for the initial publication of "John's List"

Posted by Tom McMahon at July 22, 2007 10:36 AM

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July 1, 2007

For example… there are some great people in Reading

When my cell phone rings in the middle of the night, it us usually not good news.

More often than not I hear the words:

“This is the city of Reading fire dispatcher calling to tell you that there is a 2nd alarm fire at **** street”

I learned something a few years ago from the long time mayor of Harrisburg. Mayor Reed goes to the fires to check on the safety of residents, to encourage the firefighters and be there to handle media if necessary.

He is a great public servant and sets a good example for other mayors.

I thought of Mayor Reed a couple of weeks ago at a fire on Weiser Street in the middle of the night.

I usually get to the fire scene when the blaze is under control. Our fire fighters are there in an instant, the trucks are spread out, the hydrants are connected, hoses are run, police are there to close off streets, and the familiar wagon with water and soda, with “Mom Cass” in the drivers seat is there to help the men and women of the fire service stay hydrated.

The routine is the same. I find Chief Rehr (or another chief if he is not available – which is a rare occurrence. Chief Rehr is almost always there). He stands directly in front of the fire scene and calmly speaks orders into the radio, often helping direct forces to more than one fire scene at a time. He is a master of it and does not lose his cool. His men and women are climbing ladders, punching holes in roofs, putting streams on the fire, and the chief explains to me, in between radio messages, how he thinks the fire started and how it progressed, and all about the construction of the buildings.

He is a great fire chief and sets a good example for other firefighters.

A couple of weeks ago, I got a call in the middle of the night.

A fire on Weiser Street in Reading had spread from one house to another until nine homes were affected. I arrived and spoke to chief Rehr who told me to talk to Sarge about some young men from the neighborhood who assisted their neighbors.

“Sarge” aka Keith Eshelman, a long time Reading firefighter, approached me and told me that three young men helped get the people out.

They were standing together on the street observing the actions of the firefighters. I approached them and asked their names; Dante Brandon; his cousin Jose Carabello, and a friend Matthew Figueroa. Dante was getting ready to take his grandmother to work and spotted the fire. Soon he and his friends had gotten help from other neighbors, and together they alerted people sleeping in the homes and got them out safely.

A disaster was averted by the quick action of these three young men.

They could have waited for the fire apparatus to get there, but by then it may have been too late for some residents. So they did what they needed to do.

These three young men set a good example for other young people. Get involved, take action and help each other.

Last thing I heard was Sarge encouraging the young men to think about becoming firefighters for the city of Reading, and that would a good thing.

Sarge was setting a good example as well. To encourage young people to pursue a career of service.

I hope others will follow Sarge’s example and encourage and mentor young people. We need them.