At last week’s Fox Chase Town Watch and Civic Association meeting, longtime Town Watch president Steve Phillips discussed the Sept. 13 shooting at Fox Chase Recreation Center.
A girl who attends Archbishop Ryan was shot in the leg, and medics responded quickly to treat her. The suspect, who allegedly was there to engage in a fight, has not yet been arrested.
Phillips said it’s up to parents to address the large number of teenagers – many of whom he believes are from outside the neighborhood – who often gather at Fox Chase Rec for underage drinking parties. He said phone technology exists for parents to know where their children are.
“Parents need to be parents,” he said.
Phillips said most of the teens who gather at the rec attend local Catholic high schools, and he’s asked principals to write letters to parents and students discouraging them from continuing to hang out there.
Phillips wants better lighting at the center and believes the best way for police to address the issue is to return to community policing, including the use of dirt bikes.
“We need to get back to that,” he said.
In other news from the Oct. 8 meeting:
• The police department was represented by Lt. Edwin Perez, of the 2nd Police District, and community relations officers Mark Mroz and Al Fiorentino, of the 2nd and 7th districts.
Mroz and Fiorentino were wearing the department’s new midnight blue shirts.
Mroz said details have not been finalized, but police districts are expected to distribute steering wheel locks on Nov. 6, 7 and 8.
Mroz spoke of the recent targeted home invasion that took place on the 2100 block of Princeton Ave., beginning when a resident returned home about 1 a.m. A male resident was abducted and driven to the home of his brother, who was also abducted. The two men were found safe in the Kensington area after police saw the vehicle wanted in the abduction. An officer fired at the suspects, but they escaped.
Mroz also spoke of an incident on the evening of Oct. 5, when officers responded to a report of a person with a gun near Bleigh and Whitaker avenues. Upon arrival, officers found a 29-year-old man with facial injuries and a gunshot wound to his left leg. Preliminary information indicates that the victim was exchanging custody of his son with his ex-girlfriend when an argument broke out with her current boyfriend. The suspect struck the victim multiple times in the face with a handgun before shooting him in the leg. The suspect then fled the scene with the ex-girlfriend.
In a question-and-answer period, a woman complained that marauding teenagers from Lawncrest are terrorizing Fox Chase teens near the Dollar General, McDonald’s and Wawa on Oxford Avenue.
• Fox Chase Farm, 8500 Pine Road, will present Discover the Magic of Bat on Saturday, Oct. 25, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. There will be bat education stations, with a chance to build your own bat house. Kids are invited to wear their Halloween costumes. A food truck will be on site.
Meanwhile, Fox Chase Farm is looking for adult volunteers. Opportunities include weekend community programs and events, garden and greenhouse support, animal care support, administrative duties during events, general grounds care, weekly and monthly highlights newsletters and farm educational ambassadors. For more information, contact Angela at 215-400-3310, Option 3 or [email protected]
• City Councilman Brian O’Neill will sponsor two upcoming events, both on Saturdays from 9-11 a.m. Recycling buckets will be given away on Oct. 18 at FOP Lodge 5, 11630 Caroline Road. Shredding is scheduled for Oct. 25 at American Heritage Credit Union, 432 Rhawn St.
Meanwhile, O’Neill secured a $2,000 Philadelphia Activities Fund grant for the Town Watch and civic association.
• American Legion Loudenslager Post 366, 7976 Oxford Ave., will host an Oktoberfest on Saturday, Oct. 18, from 4-8 p.m. Tickets are $40 and include German food and beer, along with wine and soda.
The Kazakh National String Quartet will be in concert at Fox Chase United Methodist Church, Fillmore and Loney streets, on Wednesday, Nov. 5, at 7 p.m. Members of the quartet are Aidar Toktaliyev, first violin; Alexey Lebedev, second violin; Bekzat Sailaubaiuty, viola; and Vernar Myntayev, cello. On the program will be Mozart’s String Quartet in G Major, K 387 and Brahms Piano Quintet with pianist Timor Mustakimov. The concert will be in the sanctuary of the church. No tickets are needed but a free will offering will be received.
• Doc Quinlan, a member of American Legion Loudenslager Post 366, where the meeting was held, asked the group to start meetings with the Pledge of Allegiance, and the group agreed. ••
