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Sharon, this is your neighbor L telling you that you have gone too far. After bowing out of politics and letting others handle the Borough during the most tumultuous time of our entire lives - with a pandemic, riots, and Trump as a president - you decide to show up after your vacation and nit-pick how that time was handled? You talked about a recreation center for years without making it happen. Now you’re claiming we could have had one for only $387,000 rather than a $1,000,000 or more? It’s bad enough that you believe the residents are that gullible. Saying it to a reporter makes you look even worse, scheming and manipulative. Your true agenda, whatever that may be, is not good for Yeadon. While you were president of the council before, you ignored the things it was your responsibility to address. You ignored the window-rattling late night church parties that brought people to get stoned in my hedges. St. Michael’s Church introduced my son to marijuana and he didn’t even have to leave his room. You live closer and knew where the noise was coming from before I figured it out. Why did you do nothing? Are you a parishioner? Is that why you were giving them special treatment? I had to call the police so I could sleep at night. Why did you ignore the auto repair shop being operated in a residential district by LL (Address Removed) directly across the street from you? Why did I have to step up and help AC (Address Removed) and YF (Address Removed) with that problem when you had been council president? A voted for you and you wouldn’t even go to bat for her. Y was terminally ill with cancer and had to spend her last days with the noise and smells of an auto business. I had to call the police so they could sleep at night. After you ignore problems that you should have addressed as council president, let alone as a neighbor, you have the audacity to complain about police budget? Who do you think picks up the slack when the council and the code department are either inept or simply refuse to do their jobs? It’s the police department. The police department picks up your slack. The police department have been my only recourse for addressing pervasive problems in this community for years. Chief Paparo is the only person who consistently responds to citizens’ concerns. 2/3 Because you conveniently ignore your surroundings - which is our neighborhood - I’m confident you have no clue how often people park alongside my house to do drugs or have sex in their cars. I have lost track of how often I have had to call the police about people partying or passing out in vehicles. So please let me know if your son intends to sleep there in his car - like a vagrant - again this summer. Perhaps he could sleep in the car that is illegally parked on your back lawn instead. Since you are budget minded, consider cleaning the tires and other trash from behind your garage. You might not need to pay a company to spray your yard for mosquitoes if you weren’t breeding them in tires. You can buy a basketball net for the recreation center with the savings. You need to reverse the decision to terminate Chief Paparo before we tax payers lose even more. He has put his heart and soul into this community for four years while we are still waiting for you to do the same. The money we tax payers will lose in a lawsuit for his wrongful termination will be the least of our losses. We saw what Trump did to divide our country and now we are seeing you do it to Yeadon. You need to resign your position on council for the greater good of the community. 

Sincerely, L

This is an open letter to members of Yeadon Borough Council. My husband and I have been residents of Yeadon for 30+ years. The events of the past month have disappointed, scared, and angered us. Our police chief, Anthony “Chachi” Paparo, is about to be terminated, despite the will and desire of hundreds of constituents in the borough. Yeadon’s crime rate has decreased each year that the chief has been in office. He communicates regularly with the residents, responds quickly to any question or inquiry, makes personal visits to residents’ homes, and set up many new programs in Yeadon that celebrate our diversity, including the Love Garden in our community park, Yeadon Chaplain program, Operation House Call; public security camera registration, 1/3 “Good Morning Yeadon” talk show (now held in the evenings); active shooter training for schools; anti- theft program “#missionlockitup”; created the first Yeadon Citizen’s Academy and Yeadon Youth Police Academy; acquired a mobile camera system through a grant, and so on. I will not list all of his contributions here, as it would take too much space. Suffice it to say, residents are distressed at the idea that the chief will be terminated for his position by four members of Yeadon’s Borough Council who want him replaced for selfish and self-serving reasons. His relationship with the community (he calls “my peeps”), his ethics, professionalism, kindness and compassion are like nothing my husband and I have witnessed in our 30 years in Yeadon. There have been many rumors, lots of drama, and some misinformation that has been spread around. What I and my neighbors know, and supported at Monday night’s Borough Caucus Meeting is that Chachi is the best thing to happen to Yeadon in years. Crime is down and especially low compared to our surrounding towns in Delco and SW Philly. People feel safe. Is Yeadon perfect? No. But the quality of life improvements made by Chief Paparo over the past four years have had a tremendous and positive impact on the residents and community. 1,000 people signed a Change.org petition for him to stay. Residents (including myself) have pleaded to the council’s four members for them to keep the chief. I’ve sent three emails and pleaded at council meetings for a response, but none of the four responded to me. Yeadon’s Mayor Hepkins, who the chief works under, is a proud strong supporter of the chief. The community has even done several zoom calls to discuss how we can work to keep the chief. It meant nothing to the council members who want to get rid of him, again for their own self-serving reasons. I fear that the programs set in place will be demolished, discontinued, and Yeadon will be set back years. Crime will increase. Our hearts hurt that we may lose this man through no action of his own. Yeadon Borough Council – do the right thing – keep the chief and work for your constituents, we you were elected to do, not for yourselves, your personal businesses, your own agenda.

I am concerned with the process used by the Borough Council to relieve Police Chief Anthony Paparo of his job, in a humiliating public fiasco spread over 5 meetings. There were mixed motives: (1) the cost of overtime for part-time policemen and (2) potentially, rumored reverse racism. I want to speak to the budget issues. The Chief went over his budget to pay for part-time officers as he needed to keep our town safe during the rampage of the pandemic with its illnesses and absences among the police force. He consulted with the Mayor who told him to do what he must to keep the town safe. He was fired for overspending over $300,000. That is a lot. However, there was a lack of oversight in dealing with the town's needs, and the Chief did not write the checks to draw the funds. Questions need to be asked about why the Council President and others trusted him to keep Yeadon safe for the last two years, and suddenly, now, question his use of more than the designated budget. Every township in Pennsylvania and around the country has dealt with sickness, substitution and, therefore, rising costs and broken budgets during the pandemic. Comparisons might even show that our Chief saved the town money. He took no extra money for himself. I believe that the Council President used this issue to cover up other motives for firing him. She should have supported his work and consulted with him about how to stay within the budget in the future. He should be given another chance. Further, she and three members of the Council have been out of line in asking other policemen if they would be interested in Paparo's job--several weeks before manipulating the public vote to fire him. We in the town have asked the Council President to step down, and we have petitioned the same. We would like our Chief of Police to be reinstated. Personally, I would like to see a special election to repopulate the entire council, as this episode has left me feeling undercurrents of corruption in actions of the Borough Government. Can you help us restore our Yeadon borough Government after this travesty of justice?

Chief Anthony “Chachi” Paparo!   We thank you for all that you have done for the students of Yeadon.   Your presence to meet and greet them or the first day of school, stopping by to chat, supporting them in the drive by promotion days and just checking on them to say hi in the midst of the pandemic!   You’re truly genuine and exemplify star quality skills.  Demonstrating what community policing really means.    #ReinstateChiefChachi! 

 -Ms.D

I am extremely disappointed in the the ouster of our beloved Chief of Police. The Chief always made himself available to members of the Yeadon community. Apparently, those that voted to dismiss him doesn't care about the safety of Yeadon's citizens.  The Chief explained why he had to use part-time police officers and the reason he provided additional training to new officers.  I'm sure the voting age members of this community will show those council members the same love that they showed our Chief on election day. 

To the President of Council,  you and the Vice President,  Jones Waters, and the owner of Carlette's, should remove yourselves from the borough executive rolls, as y'all individuals do not represent the community.  You all are operating on your own agenda.   The majority of the community wanted to keep Chief Paparo for the safety and unity that he brings to our community. To blatantly,  disregard his civil rights and the community rights and safety is deplorable.   How can you as President,  fire a person for something during the period you were not in the seat. If the chief was given permission by the Mayor for the training,  part time employees and it was signed off by others, if you say this isn't personal than you are lying to yourself and the community you are suppose to be representing.   As a black female,  you are an embarrassment. The whole group of you will make it hard for another black women to be taken serious. The old adage where they say, black women in charge can't lead without their emotions,  proves to be true with this Council administration.   For the community,  recuse yourselves from Council and let competency in, to govern the borough.  KEEP CHIEF PAPARO, let him continue to keep Yeadon safe. 

The Borough Council was given Power to serve the people of Yeadon, not Power to ignore the people of Yeadon and put in place their personal agenda!