The wrong man. In the wrong place. At the right time.

Writing your first entry on a blog is a lot harder than people realize.  Yes, I am a writer (which is what probably led me into this mess in the first place… me and that darn pen of mine wanting to research a few character backgrounds *sigh*).  Regardless, here I am.

The other day I saw a poster for the old movie “Good Morning, Vietnam” and on it was the tag-line The wrong man. In the wrong place. At the right time.  Yep, that pretty much sums it up.  If you’re new to Patch, I will give you a Cliff Notes bio that was not approved by my publicist.  (Hey, I’m on a budget and gas prices are robbing me of that luxury.)

I’ve lived in a whole lot of places.  I currently reside in Spring City (Chester County), PA.  I have a bunch of kids.  (Four.)  I am a foodie…  Okay, I love food.  I’m not a food snob like other “foodies,” just a food eater and I like to cook (which will explain the curves and swerves).  If you checked my handbag to get a better reading on me, you will find my empty wallet (writers are always broke), no cell phone (because it’s usually in my hand), a pen – actually a nice pen with fluid writing because that’s a pet peeve, and a book.  No, I don’t carry my own books around (which by the way are available online and at a bookstore near you), just anything that catches my eye or mind at the time.  Oh and the latest detail about me, which has been featured prominently on the home page for Patch, I am the Spring City whistle-blower of sorts.  This event prompted me to becoming a very active advocate and voice to wake up Spring City so we as a borough can move toward a bigger and better future.  (Cue promotional sign with neon lights for facebook.com/WakeUpSpringCityPA)

Speaking of the home page… a few of individuals have asked me that in light of recent events, how do I feel about Deidre Sherman resigning from her position as police chief?

I commend Sherman as a fighter against everything she has been put up against in her life and career in a male-driven field.  I always have had respect for her on that level and still do.  Yet despite all the writing on the wall in the past and in recent months, and even as what former Spring City officer Jamal Lewis pointed out to borough council Monday evening, he got a true "good riddance" regardless of his service to the community, yet she was given an opportunity to bow out gracefully.  (Which I am sure someone will point out that it has not been confirmed nor denied that her retirement has anything to do with recent events.  Although the leak of her previous rescinded resignation was made public on April 13th and this resignation letter was dated for April 15.)

I wish Deidre Sherman the best in her future endeavors and it's unfortunate when anyone leaves a job for whatever reason.  As it was expressed in her previous letter of resignation, she had a lot of hopeful possibilities that she wanted to pursue and I pray she finds joy when she pursues them.  I wish that as a woman who had no problem talking to me prior to all of this she would have simply looked me in the eye and explained why she did what she did to me and to someone who has grown on me like a brother. 

Currently, the public is divided and arguing for the respect she deserves based on her years of service and others voicing the error in her ways.  Please tell me, why are we pussyfooting around the fact that what was done is wrong and has yet to be corrected.  Why nitpick over retirement vs. resignation in a headline when an injustice that was done is asinine to me.  Can we argue over fact vs. opinion in a more productive way that repairs the damage in Spring City?

I should have never had to come out with any of this because it should not have happened in the first place.  Now that it did, it could have been fixed from day one and ignorance prevented that.  I do not find joy in standing up before borough council airing out a storyline that would have kept All My Children on the air, but I did it because lives are being messed with.  What kills me is that each and every one of the naysayers and tsk tsk’ers could be in my shoes or very well may already have been but just don’t know it yet.  By chance I found out that my name was thrown into a termination and used to hurt someone else.  Some of you sit down at these meetings or have visited borough hall, are you comfortable knowing that in all of that clutter your world is safe?

There are countless people in history that gave years and years of devoted service only for their final days to show the corruption that lay underneath their accolades.  I hope that in days to come before retiring, Deidre Sherman gives us all answers so we can close this chapter and focus solely on the years of service instead as anyone retiring deserves. 

I wish Deidre Sherman all the best in her future endeavors and it’s unfortunate that this whole matter came into all of our lives at this time.  I am still very adamant on seeing change come to Spring City because all that I endured opened my eyes up to the dire state our borough is in.  I believe that Spring City hiring one of the few female police chiefs in the state and possibly the country is a very good step towards change.  We also saw change with an African-American police officer that we all know has been virtually unheard of for Spring City.  For her being a part of that significance as a female chief and later hiring additional minorities in other capacities, let’s ensure that we continue to move forward with more progressive things to help our borough grow.  Now that Deidre Sherman is retiring and passing on her torch, it is up to us to see that we continue to progress and use this as an opportunity to build our police department into one that can better service our community.

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