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Focus on Frankford: Unique Davis

We caught up with Unique Davis at Wissinoming Park one day last week as he coached some young boys  on the Wissinoming Cardinals football team for boys 9 to 15.

He came up on our radar because he is a Frankford resident and has been nominated by the Big Brothers/Big Sisters Association of SE PA to receive the 2013 Union League Good Citizenship Award on October 3rd.  Unique is starting his senior year at Frankford High school in September and is looking forward to the football season as well as the final year in high school.

IMG_3670 webHe is an outstanding athlete playing on the offensive line for the Frankford Pioneers.   He also enjoys wrestling although at 6’2” and 275 pounds I don’t know who would be willing to take him on.  He is a soft spoken young man somewhat reticent to talk about himself and his achievements.

He is proud of his work in the Peer Group Connection program at Frankford.   Peer Group Connection is a program that trains adolescents to be leaders amongst their peers. These teen leaders facilitate discussions concerning peer issues, blending sensitivity and responsibility.   His focus in this effort has been in working with the incoming students from Middle school who are new to Frankford.   The first year for these kids is crucial if they are going to get off to a good start.  Unique has been an honor roll student and intends to go to college.

When you ask him who has influenced him the most, he talks about Dominic Doyle, assistant coach at Frankford.

He credits the influence of his mentor through the Big Brothers/Big Sisters organization, Judge Charles Rainey, Chief Administrative Law Judge for the PA Public Utility Commission, for helping and advising him to see the opportunities that lay before him whether they are in football or another field after College.

He also credits his grand mom, Evelyn with being an inspiration to him.  Her work ethic and dedication to education has been an example as she has graduated with an associates degree and is now working on a bachelors degree program.

Congratulations to Unique and his family for the honor of being nominated for this award.  It looks to have been well earned.

 

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Northwood Civic Association Meeting Update

The Northwood Civic Association met on Tuesday July 16th with about 15 people attending.  There were no active zoning cases to discuss but the Board has taken action on an old issue concerning 5260 Castor Avenue.  The owner applied for a variance for a beauty salon.  The civic had previously voted to oppose that use.  The owner made a presentation at a board meeting which included detailed plans and also signed petitions from local residents and businesses in support of the change.  The Board then voted to send a letter on non opposition since it was clear the zoning board would approve the variance.

In other matters:

  • The owner of the property at Dyre and Leiper is applying for a variance to use the property as a church.  The owners are expected to present details at the next civic meeting.
  • Simpson playground pool did open this year using porta potties and so far there have been no problems.  Attempts to contact the city agency to get a timeline on permanent repairs lead to no answers.  They claim there is no money to fix the problem.
  • The neighborhood Security Patrol has discontinued operation. The civic will explore other options.
  • Bandit signs are back all over Northwood.

The next meeting of the Northwood Civic Association will be on August 20th at 7PM at St. James Lutheran Church at Castor Ave. and Pratt St.

 

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NAC Meeting Update

The Frankford Neighborhood Advisory Community Zoning Meeting was held on August 8th at 2nd Baptist Church.

  • There was a zoning procedures review covering the code of conduct and catchment areas
  • Property applicants for 3959 Frankford Avenue had 3 votes yes.   1167 Bridge Street had 1 vote yes. 1950 Bridge street had no votes one way or the other and therefore there is no opposition.  5010 Cottage Street did not present so there were no votes.
  • There was a discussion of the Homestead Exemption program from the Office of Property Assessment.  Property owners should apply for the exemption by September 13th.
  • Simone Smith made a presentation on how to purchase city property.

John Loftus of the Northeast Times has a report on the details of the meeting at this link.

The next NAC meeting will be held at 2nd Baptist Church at 1801 Meadow Street on September 12th at 7PM.

 

Frankford Neighborhood Advisory Community Zoning Meeting

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It Was a Fine Day for Frankford

deni webSaturday, August 17th, was a busy day for Frankford.  It started off at 9AM with a cleanup at Deni Playground, at Adams and Church, sponsored by Ray of Hope and PhillyRising.  I met Ray Gant, Many Citron, Rep. Clay and Tim Savage as well as Jason Dawkins over there.  Following the cleanup came the community day with information tables from various city agencies, refreshments, music, face painting and moon bounce for the kids.

Next up was Jam 2013 skateboard competition at Noon at the Whitehall Skatepark at Carmella Recreation Center at Torresdale and john valentin 2 webWakeling.  This was sponsored by the Department of Recreation, the Franklin’s Paine Skatepark Fund, and Vitamin Water.  The results of that competition are posted on the Franklin’s Paine web site.

Over at the Baptist Worship at 2PM was a community health fair sponsored by Health Partners.  Following the fair was the Crazy Praise Dance Showcase and a performance by the Grammy award winning gospel duo Mary Mary.  Attendance for this event was in the thousands.

baptist worship webThe Old Heads softball came and community gathering was going on all day at Gambrel recreation center at Wakeling and Ditman Sts.  It was Woodstock in Frankford with hundreds of groups and families getting together for cookouts, music and fun.  FKD 4 Life could be seen on many T shirts.  Credit goes to Kathy and Ike Hardy for once again pulling this together.  It is the highlight of the summer in East Frankford which brings back many people to Frankford as well as bringing together the entire community.

It certainly was a fine day in Frankford.fkd 4 life web