I have to admit, I thought we might have made it through with very little damage in Frankford until I took the tour this afternoon.  I first had a look at the water level of the Frankford Creek where it crosses Wingohocking Street.  At 1 PM it was certainly higher than usual but not near flood stage.

Then I took a tour around the area.  There was a tree down at Wingohocking and Castor on the corner of the golf course.  There is another on Large at Adams in the parking lot of the pharmaceutical company.  It crushed the fence when it fell.

The was another fairly small tree down at Kinsey and Hedge Streets.  One of the homeowners said it fell at the beginning of the storm yesterday.

The big tree on the corner of Dyre and Frankford on the hospital property is down and blocking Frankford Avenue.

Another big tree on Oxford Avenue between Dyre and Oakland fell back against the big single home that it has been guarding all these years.

Finally in the 4700 block of Oakland a tall tree fell and landed on one car while damaging another.  Traffic is blocked there also.

This morning Joe Menkevich sent me these pictures of the home at the corner of Arrott and Horrocks.

I guess it could have been much worse.  You can see some of the pictures below.  Click on the image to see it full size.

I received a flyer from the Free Library of Philadelphia about their summer reading programs. I remember, oh so well, my own participation in these programs as a young child. Such memories are lasting! The Free Library has reading programs for ALL ages! The theme for this year’s summer reading program is Discover the World @ Your Library. This link will tell you all about it. Check out the Frankford Branch website of the Free Library located at 4634 Frankford Avenue. When I did, I found out that the Philadelphia Zoo will be presenting a “Zoo on Wheels” Workshop about animals “Born in the USA” on Monday, June 20 at 4 P.M.

Tonight, Mayor Nutter addressed the citizens of Philadelphia regarding the $645 million deficit in the School District’s budget for the 2011-2012 school year. Listen to his address here. Because you are reading this, we know you are concerned, too! What do you think?

Here at the Frankford Gazette, we applaud all those who choose to teach! Dedicated teachers are inspiring dreams and shaping the future! We would like to especially congratulate Mr. Linwood Stevens, a Math Teacher at Frankford High School, who was one of the recipients of the Christian R. and Mary F. Lindback Award for Distinguished Teaching.

The Lindbacks wanted to promote teaching excellence so they established a foundation which awards distinguished teachers in our area. Mr. Stevens received his award on May 10, 2011. Perhaps some of our readers are familiar with Mr. Stevens. We would love to hear from you!

If you are a loyal reader, you are knowledgeable about Frankford and current events. Across the country, funding for schools is decreasing dramatically. The School District of Philadelphia has released its budget for the 2011-2012 School Year. You can read the Budget in Brief. This budget reflects a loss of $600 million or, roughly, 20% of the School District’s budget. Here is an article about the first budget hearing at Meredith School. To be fair, we at the Frankford Gazette will give you both sides of an issue. Just as school districts are preparing bare bones budgets throughout the commonwealth, PA Department of Revenue has projected an April surplus of $506 million in its collections, more than 6 times what was projected. This may help to ease some of the drastic cuts.

However, parents need to demand a top-rate education for their children and they need to express their desires at one of the upcoming community budget meetings – see the flyers below! We have encouraged all parents to get involved in their child’s school and to ensure that their child gets the education they are deserving of – it’s the greatest, greatest gift you can give your child! Education enables and empowers us to reach our potential and fulfill our dreams! Isn’t this our greatest wish for our children? Plan to attend a meeting – take your friends!