Tales from the Crypt

Oh my goodness, Spring City! I had no idea they were still filming Tales from the Crypt and they brought the production here.

Yes, the old HBO series is now shooting here and the shooting location is evidently at 6 S. Church St. From what I heard, it stars some of our beloved borough officials as the cast and crew. Apparently, these guys are working diligently to hide some pretty ugly bodies this season and we all know that can’t be an easy task!

In fact, burying bones must be such a hard job to deal with, because Chester County evidently opened up a satellite office for the coroner here in Spring City, too! (Okay… I guess I should enter a disclaimer somewhere in this blog post because some nut will show up at Borough Hall with last year’s Halloween mask on trying to be an extra… How does this work? This blog is based on some true events; however, has been fictionalized and all persons appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real people, living or dead, is entirely coincidental… *proud grin*).

According to an article printed in The Mercury on June 21, 2011 (“Requests to view new Spring City police policy met with excuses”), the newspaper claims it has been trying to get copies of a policy approved by borough council at its June 6 meeting, only to be denied several times by borough manager Dennis Rittenhouse. The excuse Rittenhouse provided reporter Phil Ellingsworth is that the policy needed to be cleaned up.

Even the Pennsylvania Newspaper Association’s media law counsel, Melissa Melewsky, responded to the shadiness of this situation.

In the Mercury article, Melewsky stated, "It's problematic that it's not in its final form… I don't see why there's a delay. There should be no question about its public nature."

Why is it a problem releasing this policy?  It has nothing to do with cleaning it up as the article states. The borough does not want it released to the public because it’s a part of their band-aid efforts to patch up a mess created by their own. And the less we know the easier it is for them to do their dirt.

At the May borough council meeting, this policy was actually brought up but put on hold. I’m pretty sure it had something to do with Jamal Lewis speaking out at that meeting and this policy was an item they wanted to back door in to clean up their mess. I mean why would they advertise that they are trying to enact a rule to counter any legal drama heading their way?  (Unfortunately, the borough is a public entity and sometimes they think like they are a private corporation shutting out the people who need to know and are affected by all decisions.)

All this secret squirrel stuff was kind of hard to do at the time when they had the key component questioning them and media sitting right there ready to take notes. So, the policy was put on hold and when it was brought up again, it still wasn’t quite ready… but hey why not approve it anyway? But let’s not just approve it. Let’s keep it from the media and public… The policy was approved because the borough is trying to get all their ducks in order because somebody screwed up and for them it’s easier to bury a body than admitting a wrong to make it right.

This way of running things is nothing new and sadly is the way business is handled here in the borough. I’ve been denied the right to see documents I am entitled to see, but showing them… actually admitting you can’t show them because they don’t exist… would be too much like right. It would be normal. And the good Lord knows normal is not an occupant at borough hall. But since I am accused quite often of living in a fantasyland by commenters here, let’s imagine what that fantasy of Spring City admitting they were wrong would be like, because we know the people running the show here will never in our wildest dreams admit a wrong. It would probably go something like this: “Hey you know what Ms. Mennefee, one of our employees made a mistake and we are sorry.” Instead what they are doing is like hiding an elephant behind a string bean and saying it’s not there. The routine is so pathetic that it’s actually getting comical, but then I have to remember that the way our local government is being run should not be a laughing matter.

Anyway, back to the latest tales from the crypt. Denying The Mercury and any other inquiries is a stall tactic until this situation goes away and is forgotten. However, in the meantime it is a slap in the face to the residents of Spring City because these officials are basically telling you, the resident, that you are not smart enough or care enough to exercise your rights and to call them on their crap. (If this blog was under my control I probably would have typed an expletive).

I used to feel sorry for the residents because through this experience I thought we all have been hoodwinked and bamboozled. Now I feel sorry for people like Rittenhouse who must stamp his name on every body he buries under 6 S. Church St. in order to collect a paycheck from the borough. I feel sorry for police chief Dee Sherman (yes I said I feel sorry for her) because in this same article, she was thrown under the bus as the only party that knows the whereabouts to the existing policy, but it’s not available because she is on vacation until her retirement… Really people? We don’t have copy machines or hard drives to check for these things? (Shaking my head…).

Umm, wait a minute… I have a question… why the heck do we even have a mayor? Isn’t he supposed to be the one who oversees the police department? Shouldn’t he have a copy, too?  Yes, that was a stupid question. It’s not like if he had a copy he’d enforce it anyway. The most we can probably expect is a “no comment” and quick escape out the back door when asked about it. Le sigh. This dramedy skit reenactment of Who’s on First featuring our borough officials is getting old. Sad to say this will not be the last time we will see nonsense at its best.  Tomorrow it will be the same script, different cast as long as we allow the same crew to direct the show.

Either way, as much as I would love to star in a series, I do not want to be yet another bone Spring City has its crypt keeper burying for it. 

So, on that note… Dear Spring City officials, your actions cheat the public of a true governing body that looks out for the needs of those you serve. I promise this November I will vote your power out of office in order to preserve the resident’s rights, making sure my children don’t grow up in a town that is littered with dirty politics and shady backroom dealings. 

As the saying goes “it ain’t over ‘til the fat lady sings.” And guess what?  My size 16 behind can’t sing a note to save my life… So, don’t expect me to belt out any Celine Dion tunes any time soon. Now, where is my shovel? It’s about time I go dig up a few more buried bodies…

Keisha Mennefee (www.keishamennefee.com) resides in Spring City, PA.  She is an author and part of the awareness campaign "Wake Up Spring City" (www.facebook.com/WakeUpSpringCityPA) encouraging change in Spring City.