Happy Birthday Cruiser Olympia! Wednesday

February 5 | 10 a.m. – 3 p.m.

It\’s been a big year for birthdays for our ships. We celebrated Submarine

Becuna

\’s 75th birthday last May, and now we\’re celebrating Cruiser

Olympia

\’s 125th this week and all spring long!

Join us on Wednesday, February 5 from 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. to kick off the celebration with free admission in the Museum and aboard the ships, hourly guided tours starting at 11 a.m., a special bell ringing aboard

Olympia

at 1:25 p.m. (you can even have a chance to ring the bell!), and much more on board and in the Museum.

More information on upcoming events celebrating the 125th can be found below!

Cruiser

Olympia

has been docked in Philadelphia for nearly 100 years and served in various capacities, starting with exhibiting as part of the Philadelphia Navy Yard’s annual public Navy Day events, officiating the construction celebrations of the Delaware River Bridge (later renamed the Benjamin Franklin Bridge), and most notably as a Museum ship starting in 1957.

Over her years in the city,

Olympia

has welcomed visitors of all ages, from school students who marvel at her sheer size, adults who want to see a part of history, and even descendants tracing the steps of a family member’s service on-board. We are excited to celebrate her commissioning in the city she’s called home for so many years!

FAQs for the Crew:

What are we celebrating?

Cruiser

Olympia

’s 125th commissioning anniversary! It’s basically a ship’s birthday.

What is a commissioning?

A ship’s

commissioning

is the act or ceremony of placing a ship in active service. A commissioning is different from a launch, which is when a ship is named and placed in the water.

Olympia

, the oldest steel warship afloat in the world, was launched in 1892 and commissioned for service in 1895.

What did

Olympia

do?

In addition to serving as the flagship of the Battle of Manila Bay during the Spanish- American War under the direction of Admiral George Dewey,

Olympia

has played a pivotal role in several major historical events. Her final mission was transporting the Unknown Soldier of World War I from Le Havre, France to the United States where he is now entombed at Arlington National Cemetery. Learn more about

Olympia

’s history and significance

here

How are we celebrating?

So glad you asked! February 5 is

Olympia

’s actual commissioning date, so we are marking the occasion with plenty of fun activities (scroll down for a full list). Can’t make it to celebrate on February 5? We hope you can join us but we get it, it’s a Wednesday in February. Don’t worry, we are having a bigger birthday bash on Saturday, May 9!

Be sure to tag us in your photos and use #Olympia125

Schedule of Events:

Olympia

’s Commissioning Celebration

Wednesday, February 5 | 10 a.m. – 3 p.m.

Celebrate

Olympia

’s commissioning anniversary with

free admission

Olympia

as well as Submarine

Becuna

and the Museum. Climb aboard for guided tours every hour starting at 11 a.m. plus have a chance to ring

Olympia

’s bell at 1:25 p.m. Warm up with free hot chocolate (while supplies last). Imagine the life of a sailor by testing your knot-tying skills, lie in a hammock similar to those the crew slept in, and try to fit all of your belongings in a ditty box while you’re aboard.

Free RSVP here.

Inside the Museum, be sure to explore

Olympia

\’s role in World War I in our

exhibit

World War I: USS Olympia

and check out the Curatorial Corner in the lobby with rotating thematic displays of artifacts and photos through the ship\’s history.

Youth and Opportunities in Society: 1890s to Today

Saturday, February 15 | 1 p.m.

Explore the challenges and opportunities facing youth today with guest speakers Juwan Z. Bennett of Temple University and Dr. Uade Da Silva, Lieutenant, USN, Retired. Bennett will discuss the challenges of equal opportunity for youth in today\’s workforce, while Da Silva will speak about contemporary race relations in the Navy. Explore the different opportunities and roles open to seamen during Cruiser

Olympia

\’s service time in the 1890s.

20th Century to Present: The Changing Role of Women in the Navy

Saturday, March 14

Join the Cruiser

Olympia

Living History Crew to explore the roles of women on board ships and in the Navy during

Olympia

’s time period.

Cruiser

Olympia

Hard Hat Tours

Bi-monthly, starting March 28

Hard Hat Tours return this spring for

Olympia

’s 125th! Explore more than 12 areas of the warship normally only reserved for staff. Learn about

Olympia

\’s technical details (did you know she was one of the first ships to have a radio communications system installed?), what life was like aboard for her crew, and more! Ticket information available soon.

Philadelphia Science Festival: Citywide Star Party

Friday, April 17 | 7 p.m.

Climb aboard and learn all about the stars from astronomers as part of the

Philadelphia Science Festival

Battle of Manila Bay Commemoration

Saturday, May 2

Step on board with the

Olympia

Living History Crew (pictured right) as they explore the history of the American Navy and highlight society at the height of the Victorian age. Visitors will experience what life was like aboard the vessel in 1898 through demonstrations of ship-to-ship signaling, artillery drills, and more.

Olympia

’s Waterfront Splash!

Saturday, May 9

Join us for

Olympia

’s official 125th birthday party! A special ceremony featuring guest speakers and the unveiling of a gift for

Olympia

will take place in the morning. Stay tuned for more information.

Join the Living History Crew for activities aboard the ship and learn more about what life was like for her crew. Stick around for the season opening of

Admiral’s Tavern

, our pop-up beer garden on

Olympia

’s fantail open all summer long! Sign a birthday card for

Olympia

and of course, enjoy some cake.

2020 Waterfront Gala

Saturday, May 9

Join us for a delightful evening as we celebrate the 125th anniversary of Cruiser Olympia’s commissioning and honor Burchenal Green, President and Executive Director of the National Maritime Historical Society, who will receive the 2020 Independence Seaport Museum Award for Maritime Preservation in honor of her commitment to protecting America’s historic ships and promoting our maritime heritage. Tickets and more information about the gala available

here

Interested in volunteering to help out with any of the above events? Contact Greg Williams, Submarine Becuna Manager, Shipboard Educator, and Volunteer Coordinator, at

gwilliams@phillyseaport.org

or 215-413-8679.

This celebration would not be possible without the generous support of our community! Interested in making a gift in support of Cruiser Olympia? Click

here

How to Prepare a Car for Sale

Gloucestercitynews.net (February 4, 2020)–Every driver has at least once experienced the necessity to sell his/her means of transport. When this happens, the price at which it will be sold is crucially important. There is the possibility to refer to an agency and let an experienced vendor sell it. However, in this case, the amount of money one will get is considerably lower than in the event of selling on one’s own.

Hence, if you are looking for ways to sell your automobile and get as much money as possible, it makes sense to fulfill this by oneself. There are several hints that may help you out with this process.

The first step one should make is to carry out his/her Toyota or

Lexus VIN check

so that to make sure that the info available on VIN lookup services is true. In general, a car report contains valuable information on servicing, maintenance, repairs, accidents, etc. However, it may happen that something is missing, like important maintenance that has been carried out on time. In such a case, it is necessary to find corresponding documentation that may confirm this.

Tips for Getting Ready to Sell

Let your automobile look attractive. In other words, let it shine like a new coin – wash it inside and outside and clean seats, ceiling, and floors. If necessary, you can also polish it. Besides, it is necessary to check if there are any corroded parts. It is better to get rid of this and repaint these parts. The cost of this work is lower than the discount you will have to make when a potential purchaser finds this corroded element.

Take good pictures to post them with the announcement on the sale. Check the web and see which pictures are uploaded on such platforms. To increase the chances that a potential buyer will want to acquire your vehicle, it is recommended to upload as many pics as possible. In such a way, people will be able to decide if they like an automobile or not before seeing it. You will at least save time instead of meeting those who won’t purchase it.

Remember about a reasonable margin. Undoubtedly, a purchaser will bargain. Make sure that you can provide a discount. However, it is essential to remember that the price cannot be overestimated so that not to frighten potential buyers.

Be honest and answer all the questions. People who acquire pre-owned vehicles understand that the condition cannot be perfect. If there is a defect or trouble, it is better to honestly reply to this question. The truth will be revealed, and this deal will not happen.

It is not so easy to sell an automobile unless you are a professional vendor. However, selling own vehicle provides a great advantage as buyers are more prone to trust owners than vendors. Having this benefit, it is crucial to present your machine in the best possible way so that to increase the chances to sell it at the desired rate.

Different Instagram Apps To Grow Your Followers:

Gloucestercitynews.net (February 4, 2020)–Instagram has become one of the best-known platforms in history, so it is also said, which is one of the most extraordinary applications today.

Taking into account that the numbers never fail, this social network has reached more than 700 million active users. A study conducted by Social Media Marketing says that Instagram is the second most used network.

image unsplash.com

Also, it is called as a network where you get more customers since Instagram works with interactions and with the audience.

This does not mean that you can upload anything, if you want to stand out in the middle of the entire audience, you must generate quality content. Now We have created a list of the best apps to get more followers on Instagram.

Real Followers:

This application is not found in the Play Store since it is an APK (a package for the Android operating system). It is beneficial to gain followers on Instagram, extremely important.

Real Followers offers the option of “follow me and I follow you”, it also gives you input to see the posts that other people publish and that they can also see yours and finally, likerforlike you can like the publications of users and that they like you back.

Do not think that followers are bots, this is an app to get more followers on Instagram, and they are totally real.

In order to get real followers you need to post content consistently. You can post viral videos, photos and stories of other instagram influencers and give them credits. In this way you can give benefit to your account as well as the other influencers. You can easily

download videos

and photos of any instagram profile by simple using

instadownloaderpro

for absolutely free.

Instafollowfor Instagram:

This is also one of the apps to get followers on Instagram, it is one of the most used applications, since she shows you who are the people who have stopped following you or the followers you have obtained.

In order for you to have followers, you must hire the paid version (Premium) and know who has blocked you on this network.

It is very effective at the time of interacting and to show multimedia content, making these videos more viewed and win more likes.

GetFollowersBoost:

It is very simple and you can find it in the Play Store, it is very effective for creating hashtags and you can publish videos and photos on Instagram very easily and quickly.

Its only function is to position labels to generate likes and followers.

Later:

It is one of the many ways to generate followers and makes you known on Instagram through the original content publications, while the publications are constant, the more attraction you generate to users.

This application was called Latergramme, but today it is known as Later, the best completely free tool that allows you to always be connected with followers and also gain new ones.

With Later you can plan when you want to publish your posts, photos and videos, you can also manage several accounts, this application will also present you with a report with all the most outstanding searches.

Royal Likes for Instagram:

Royal is also one of the apps to get more followers on Instagram, what happens is that, if they fulfill what they promise but in one way, this means that they help to gain followers but those followers are not real.

Although not all people want followers to be bots or followers with fake names, or would you like it to be so? If your answer is Yes, then you are not clear what social networks are used for.

The idea of all this is that people are influences and can gain Followers, that they are people who really want to be part of what you publish.

But, if you don\’t mind if your followers are bots we present this application that is free. This application also shows you which are the fake accounts or followers.

The application is available in Play Store especially for Android versions from 4.1 onwards, you can start earning followers from now on.

OFFICER DOWN: Liberty County Deputy Sheriff Richard Whitten Succumbs to Injuries from Gunshot

Deputy Sheriff Richard Whitten

Liberty County Sheriff\’s Office, Texas

End of Watch

Monday, February 3, 2020

Liberty County, Texas (February 4, 2020)

–Deputy Sheriff Richard Whitten succumbed to complications of a gunshot wound sustained on May 29th, 2019, while responding to a shots fired call

in Cleveland, Texas.

He was en route to a training class and had just driven past the scene of the double-murder when the shooting was dispatched over the radio. As he responded back to the scene and encountered the suspect fleeing in a vehicle. Deputy Whitten and a member of the Cleveland Independent School District Police Department pursued the subject onto CR 2243, where the man immediately pulled into the parking lot of a veterinary office.

As Deputy Whitten challenged the subject the man produced a handgun and opened fire, striking him in the neck and paralyzing him. The other officer returned fire as the subject fled. The man later committed suicide after being located by other officers.

Deputy Whitten was flown to Memorial Hermann Hospital, in Houston, in critical condition. On February 3rd, 2020, he suffered a complication while undergoing physical therapy and passed away.

Deputy Whitten had served with the Liberty County Sheriff\’s Office for four years.

Via

Officer Down Memorial page

CNB Crime

Blue Line

CNBNews Tips and Snippets

CNBNews Point of View

BREAKING NEWS

published Gloucestercitynews.net | February 4, 2020

Stealing California from Bernie — again?

by Greg Palast

My dear Californians, I know you filled out that registration form at the DMV. Well, you know what? I’ll bet you that your name is not going to be there because there’s a 45% chance in California when you sign up to register to vote on a piece of paper, your name is never entered on the voter rolls. Guess what? California has one of the worst voting systems in the entire nation.

I checked out my own registration. I took my own advice. I went to the office of the Secretary of State. I typed in “Greg Palast” and it said “no such voter”. So I reregistered online. There’s a simple cure for all this stuff — but you have to know you’ve been purged or never had your name properly entered. Go check and then reregister online. People are afraid to do things online, but in California you get an instant receipt that says you’re now a voter, here’s your voter card on the screen. Take that screenshot. I’m telling everyone to do this because California is just awful.

And we have a March 3rd primary. The California presidential primary’s now been moved up. I saw

what happened to Bernie Sanders

in 2016. People were improperly registered, not registered. There were three quarters of a million, and I want to repeat that,

three quarters of a million ballots

which were cast provisionally or on the wrong ballot, which were thrown out. Alex Padilla, the Secretary of State of California, a little Katherine Harris, he threw out three quarters of a million ballots. They were mostly Bernie voters. We know that from the Roper Poll of the demographic. Bernie Sanders won California in June, 2016, if you counted all the votes…

If you want to vote in the Democratic primary, go online to the Secretary of State’s office. Make sure you’re registered — and make sure you are registered as a Democrat. I’m not saying you should

a Democrat. I’m just saying if you want to vote in the Democratic primary, forget the urban myth that you can vote in the Democratic primary if you’re not registered as a Democrat. Yes, there’s a way to do it. But it’s so difficult and in some cases it’s impossible because the nice lady behind the desk doesn’t know the procedure and could mess it up.

For those who want to know the procedure, it’s really awful. In California, almost everyone gets a mail in ballot. That is, they send you a ballot. Now, if you’re registered, some people call it Independent, but if you’re registered as No Party Preference, which is what they call it in California, if you’re No Party Preference, you’ll get a ballot but it won’t have the presidential candidates. There were literally a million people who were like, where’s Bernie Sanders on the ballot? The answer is, if you’re not registered as a Democrat, you don’t get one of those ballots.

So what do you do? You can mail your No Party Preference ballot, which only has a couple of races cause they can’t give you the partisan races with the NPP ballot, you have to mail it back to the state in time. You have to sign it in the corner where it says, I want this ballot replaced by — and you’ve got to get these words exactly: “Democratic party crossover ballot”. It has to say “crossover” because literally hundreds of thousands of Californians — hundreds of thousands — went in with their No Party Preference ballots, walked into the voting station, said, give me a Democratic party ballot.

Now different things happen, but in many counties, including Los Angeles, a lot of these people behind the desk said, oh yeah, here’s the Democratic party ballot. Well, guess what? That gets disqualified because you are not a Democrat. You have to have a “crossover ballot”. In Los Angeles alone, 66,000 people voted in the Democratic primary in 2016 who are No Party Preference voters, Independents, they got Democratic party ballots and every one of those 66,000 ballots — that’s just LA — was about to be disqualified and thrown out. But you have a fairly good county elections supervisor here, county clerk in Los Angeles, who said, you know what? That’s just throwing away legitimate votes.

But LA is the only place in California that didn’t throw away your votes. If you voted in San Francisco and Berkeley, and you’re a No Party Preference voter and you voted with a Democratic ballot, your ballot did not count. You did not count, unless it specifically said “crossover” at the top…

So to make your life easy, if you want to vote in the Democratic primary, sign up as Democrat. You can change it the next day. And in California, since 2012 — and most people don’t realize this — we have same day registration. So if you do show up and your name is not on the voter rolls, please bring ID with you, a driver’s license, whatever photo ID you can find, anything, including something with your address on it like a cell phone bill. Cause if your name is missing, you can reregister on the actual voting day. Now, they made it very difficult to do that, and it’s still not easy, but they made it easier this time. You can say, well, if I’m not there, I want to register today. But why go through that? Register right now or check your registration right now.

GREG PALAST

is America’s wittiest (and wickedest) muckraker. An award-winning

Guardian

investigative journalist, he is causing crooked election officials all over the country to shiver in their shoes as they wait for a knock on their door from the FBI – thanks to his explosive book and feature film (

“The Best Democracy Money Can Buy”

), which identifies these campaign cockroaches by name and exposes their illicit tampering with the 2016 election.

Andy A. Domanick, Heavy Equipment Operator for Holt Logistics

Confidence is the measure of the honesty of your selfishness. Andy A. Domanick was stone hearted, funny and very organized. Unfortunately, he was a Dallas Cowboys fan. He took life for granted until Wednesday January 29th, 2020 when it came to an end after 58 years.

Andrew was born in Woodbury and had spent many of his early years in center city Mantua. He graduated from Clearview High School, class of 1980 and had contributed to the manpower of our great nation upholding the ideals of our American freedoms, in the United States Navy. He worked as a heavy equipment operator for Holt Logistics at the Gloucester City Marine Terminal and had been a member of the Gloucester City VFW Post 3620. At home, Andy enjoyed professional wrestling and collecting baseball cards. He spent his time on the Delaware river bank fishing and walking with his metal detector.

Andy is the widower of the late Ann M. (nee Watson) Domanick, and was predeceased by his doggy companion \”Diddy\”. He is the son of Gloria (nee Pote) & the late Thomas \”Buddy\” Domanick, Sr. Andy is the brother of Tom and his wife Marie, Joseph Domanick, Matthew & his wife Lorraine and Valerie & her husband Wes Russell. He is also survived and will be sadly missed by his nieces and nephews, Ashton, Tommy, Jamie, Sean, Kayla, Brandy, Samantha, Matthew and great nephews, Kelle, Holden and Finley.

The time honored tradition of reuniting those we love with nature was held privately under the guidance of Creran Celebration Etherington & Creran Funeral Homes 700 Powell St. Gloucester City. To share a heartfelt memory, please visit

www.crerancelebration.com

#crerancelebration #heartfelt Etherington-Creran Funeral Home 700 Powell St. Gloucester City, NJ 08030 856-456-0599

Corrections Officers in Pennsylvania File Lawsuit Over Allegations of Theft by Officials

By Dave Lemery |

The Center Square

The SCI-Huntingdon prison in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania.

Photo courtesy of the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections

HUNTINGTON PENNSYLVANIA (JANUARY 2020)–Three Pennsylvania corrections officers are suing their union over allegations that tens of thousands of dollars in union funds were misspent by officials.

The lawsuit

was filed on behalf of the three Huntingdon-area workers by The Fairness Center, a legal advocacy group that has pursued a number of high-profile cases by public sector workers claiming they were harmed by their unions’ practices or by state laws relating to public sector unions.

The three workers – Cory Yedlosky, William Weyandt and Chris Taylor – allege in the lawsuit that the former treasurer of the State Correctional Institution-Huntingdon Local of the Pennsylvania State Corrections Officers Association wrote himself and the local’s secretary checks amounting to about $20,000 that were not approved expenses.

\”[T]he Local’s treasurer wrote nearly fifteen thousand dollars in checks to himself from the Local’s account, for which there appears no legitimate union business has been established, including purported charitable donations that seem to have never been made, and another nearly six thousand dollars in checks to himself or to the Local’s secretary for purported cell phone reimbursements to which neither was entitled,\” the lawsuit says.

The three plaintiffs say they uncovered the wrongdoing after former treasurer Bryan Peroni and former secretary Douglas Clark had left those roles.

According to the lawsuit, Peroni used his own name and home address on bank accounts for the local, and he wrote checks without the oversight of any other union officer. Among those checks were cellphone reimbursements for himself and Clark, the lawsuit states, even though union rules only allow such reimbursements for the local’s president and vice president.

The lawsuit also claims that Peroni wrote $11,400 in checks to himself that were supposedly reimbursements for donations to local charities, but the organizations in question don’t have any records of such donations.

“Public-sector unions have a legal duty to fairly represent members’ interests, but in this case union leaders were asleep at the wheel,” the Fairness Center’s Nathan McGrath said in a news release. “State union officials did not enforce their own financial rules, and when our clients submitted evidence of irregularities it seems nothing was done to correct that. They have no choice but to sue their unions to find out what happened to nearly $20,000 in members’ dues.”

published here by Gloucestercitynews.net with permission

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BREAKING NEWS

*Dance Theatre of Harlem in residence at Kutztown University

KUTZTOWN, PA — KU Presents! welcomes the Dance Theatre of Harlem, a singular presence in the ballet world celebrating its 50th anniversary season, for a multi-day residency at Kutztown University.

Dance Theatre of Harlem will take the stage at 7:30 p.m., Wednesday, Feb. 5, in Schaeffer Auditorium on the Kutztown University campus.

Tickets are $42; $38 for students and seniors and can be purchased at

www.KutztownPresents.org

, or by calling the KU Presents! Box Office 11 a.m.-4 p.m., Tuesday-Friday, at 610-683-4092.

In addition to the public performance, the Dance Theatre of Harlem will be offering a lecture/demonstration for K-12 schools at 10 a.m., Wednesday, Feb. 5. In this assembly performance, the company will speak about their history, how they started as a revolutionary, multi-ethnic dance company and perform excerpts of their new works that highlight female choreographers, women of color and African American themes. The KU Arts Society is offering grants to cover bussing to and from KU for this free educational event. Interested teachers or school administrators, should contact Elaine Bonfitto at

bonfitto@kutztown.edu

or 610-683-1523.

Founded in 1969 by Arthur Mitchell and Karel Shook, the company tours internationally presenting a powerful vision for ballet in the 21st century. The 18-member, multi-ethnic company performs a forward-thinking repertoire that includes treasured classics, neoclassical works by George Balanchine and resident choreographer Robert Garland, as well as innovative contemporary works that use the language of ballet to celebrate African American culture. Through performances, community engagement and arts education, the company carries forward Dance Theatre of Harlem\’s message of empowerment through the arts for all.

Established to be the center of cultural life at Kutztown University, KU Presents! serves the campus and community by bringing world-class live arts that entertain, educate and enrich.

The KU Presents! season will continue Feb. 25, with Grammy Award-winning baroque chamber orchestra Apollo\’s Fire under the baton of Jeannette Sorrell. Ireland\’s most exciting young tenor, Celtic Thunder\’s Emmet Cahill, will be joined by the all-female Emerald String Quartet March 18. As part of the Berks Jazz Fest, The Fabulous Equinox Orchestra will bring their New Orleans big band style April 2. The season comes to a close April 15, with Tony Award-winner, Laura Benanti bringing her Tales from Soprano Isle to the Schaeffer stage. Benanti replaces the previously-announced Lea Salonga.

Tickets and other event information for KU Presents! is available at

www.KutztownPresents.org

View Online:

http://kutztown.meritpages.com/news/Dance-Theatre-of-Harlem-in-residence-at-Kutztown-University/13414

Robert T. Coyle of Florida, formerly of Gloucester City

Robert T. Coyle

On January 30, 2020. Age 89. Of Haines City, FL. Formerly of Gloucester City. Loving husband of 61 years to Margaret M. Coyle (née Cunning). Beloved father of Thomas Coyle (Ann), Margaret Knezich (Stephen), Ellen Tomasco (Charlie), Patricia Blake (Andrew), Robert Coyle (Tara), Joann Lay (Mark), Barbara Madiraca (Vincent) and Mary Louise Kwasizur (Mitchell). Devoted grandfather to Michael, Melanie, Amanda, Lisa, Kelly, Andrew, Julie, Mark, Danny, Sarah, Colleen, John, David, Chris, Sammy, Liz, Shane and Cooper. Great Grandfather to Kayla, Tommy, Logan, Nora, and two more on the way.

Robert was born on April 23, 1930 in Sharon Hill, PA to the late Thomas J. and Una Margaret (nee Convery) Coyle. Robert proudly served his country in the U.S. Army during the Korean War. He worked for many years as a bookkeeper for Lasermation in Philadelphia and then retiring from CraftBuilt Manufacturing in PA.

Relatives and friends are invited to his visitation on Tuesday, February 4th from 9:30 to 10:30 AM at St. Mary’s Church, 426 Monmouth St., Gloucester City. Mass of Christian Burial will follow at 10:30 AM. Interment in Holy Cross Cemetery, Yeadon, PA.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Knights of Gloucester City Columbus Council #674, 605 Monmouth Street, Gloucester City, NJ 08030. Please write Robert Coyle in the memo.

Condolences and Memories may be shared at www.mccannhealey.com under the obituary of Robert T. Coyle. Funeral Arrangements and Inquiries through: McCANN-HEALEY FUNERAL HOME, Gloucester City Ph: 856-456-1142

Police Departments in Pennsylvania Getting New Radio System

By Kim Jarrett |

The Center Square

Capt. Sean Georgia, acting director of Radio and Information Services Division of the Pennsylvania State Police, speaks January 30, 2020, alongside Auditor General Eugene DePasquale inside the Capitol Media Center in Harrisburg.

Photo courtesy of Commonwealth Media Services

HARRISBURG, PA (January 2020)-Pennsylvania’s former public safety radio system was not only costly, but a hindrance for troopers who often turned to their own cellphones to communicate, Auditor General Eugene DePasquale said in announcing audit results on the purchasing process for a new radio system.

State officials decided to move to the P-25 public safety radio system after cost and performance problems with the former system, Open Sky. During a news conference Thursday, DePasquale said an audit of the purchase of the new system shows it is on budget.

Open Sky was estimated to cost about $179 million, but the actual costs were about $850 million over the last 20 years, according to the audit.

“The largest of the contracts for that system was awarded to Amp, Inc. and was later taken over by Harris,” DePasquale said. “The Office of Inspector General is currently looking deeper into the original contract for the system, and it is my understanding and the understanding of our department that the investigation is ongoing.”

Despite the high costs, the system was unreliable for public safety personnel.

“Its technical failures hampered numerous investigations, including the manhunt for convicted killer Eric Frein,” DePasquale said. Frein was convicted of the 2014 attack on the Pennsylvania State Police barracks in Blooming Grove that killed one trooper and wounded another.

The new system is already being used by troopers in 45 counties. Twenty-two state police departments, the Legislature, federal, county, and municipal government agencies as well as public transit and utility companies will have access to the system by the summer of 2021.

A few issues have been encountered during the implementation of the radio system but so far all of them all have been fixed, said Capt. Sean Georgia, acting director of the radio and information services division for the Pennsylvania State Police.

“My team found that the State Police and Office of Administration followed all applicable procedures in the latest radio system upgrade, which had a price tag of $44.5 million,” DePasquale said. “Importantly, the new system will use some of the existing infrastructure such as towers and microwave relays, so taxpayers did not have to buy those items all over again.”

Ten recommendations were made in the 74-page audit report. The State Police and the Office of Administration agreed to the recommendations. One recommended better documentation of the final operational tests for the new system, according to a statement from DePasquale.

“Given the history of problems involving the old system, I believe State Police should go above and beyond to document that the new system is working as designed,” DePasquale added. “Our emergency responders and the residents they protect deserve nothing less.”

published Gloucestercitynews.net with permission