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Residents pack into City Hall
Residents packed into City Hall Monday night to express frustrations and concerns to City Council in light of last week’s vehicle crash that left a 13-year-old male juvenile dead.
The crash unfolded about 9:20 p.m. May 5 at Sixth Avenue and Olive Street in the city. The driver, Rasheem Butcher, was pronounced dead at the scene. Butcher had reportedly been driving a stolen vehicle at the time of the crash, police said.
The residents said there needs to be more activities for the city's youth.
City officials, however, highlighted programs that are available for the city's youth. Officials said parents need to be responsible for their children.
Do you think there is a lack of programs for the youth?
The crash unfolded about 9:20 p.m. May 5 at Sixth Avenue and Olive Street in the city. The driver, Rasheem Butcher, was pronounced dead at the scene. Butcher had reportedly been driving a stolen vehicle at the time of the crash, police said.
The residents said there needs to be more activities for the city's youth.
City officials, however, highlighted programs that are available for the city's youth. Officials said parents need to be responsible for their children.
Do you think there is a lack of programs for the youth?
posted by Danielle Lynch at
8:58 PM
21 Comments:
I continue to be amazed that whenever a youth gets in any trouble, there are groups that immediately want to blame everyone and everything else except putting the blame where it really belongs... on the parents! It is extremely sad whenever a young life is taken, but do not lose sight of the fact that, in this case, he was involved in a crime. I highly doubt that any "activity" or lack thereof may have kept this youth from stealing a car. But, I do believe that if any blame is placed, it needs to be on the household to which he was being reared. Can parents always prevent their child from getting involved in crime? No, but to lessen the chances, parents MUST stay aware and involved with their children. Don't blame society or feel that it is others responsibility to teach our children because it is not....it is we the parents who are responsibile first and foremost.
I agree with Anon that no amount of tax money, programs or activities would have prevented this tragedy. A young man makes a decision to steal something that doesn't belong to him, drives it in the dark without headlights, and because he's not seatbelted in, is ejected and crushed.
At age 13, I'm even hard-pressed to lay all of this at the feet of the parents because the young man was at an accountable age and his moral compass is pretty much wired at this point. His parents may or may not have given him a moral foundation.
No amount of grievance-mongering will bring the young man back, or prevent others from following in his footsteps. What will change future outcomes is a community that instills concrete values and a sense of rectitude into its rising generations. The opposite to this are situational ethics and relativism, which will only open the door for a repeat of this tragedy.
Coatesville Expat
Coatesville Exparite raises some very good points; however, the core of moral and ethical behavior should come from within the family unit. Children (and 13 is still a child) do not have the ability to think as an adult, I would agree, but, with a solid, strong foundation built by strong family influence will help to avoid impulse behavior. It is our responsibility to monitor our children to be as certain as we can that they do not act on impulse. If they do, the results can be tragic as was in this case.
No one else should be held accountable for the behavior of our children. The bottom line is that as parents we MUST closely watch our children's choices and the level of their decision-making ability.
Coatesville should be ashamed to say that there are activities for these children to do. The parks are ran down with old playground equipment, there is no boys and girls club,community center,movies or places like Chucky Cheese, Boomers, Arnolds, YMCA in walking distance and the cops harrass them when they are at the park not doing anything. Alot of these children come from indigent homes with one parent and multiple children. Yes the parents are to blame but no parent that I have met can be with their child 24 hours a day unless you are pregnant. We all know that children act one way in front of their parents and another in the streets or with friends. To everyone who blames it on the parents did you do everything your parents told you to do? If not then you are like the rest of us who were curious and experimented. Everybody has all these opinions but how many of you are mentors or take time out of your day to be a part of the village we all say we are apart of. Please remember opinions are like ass holes so everybody has one.
What Shawnee offers as opinion is typical of someone who wants to place the responsibility of our kids on everyone except on their own families. When I was a kid we didn't have a lot of community stuff to keep us busy and out of trouble. We had to make our own selves busy and you better be damn sure that if we got in trouble, we had our parents to answer to. Kids today either are not afraid of their parents or they have parents who don't care what trouble their kids get into. Did we do things behind their backs? Sure we did, but we also feared the consequences if we were caught. Children today don't fear or respond to any level of authority.....that's the difference.
part of the problem of lack of activities for the youth is that it basically takes private investors to open business's that entertain. A miniature golf place would be great but who wants to invest their money in coatesville?? Moonbounce is a great place too... but again who will make the investment?? It's a rock and a hard place - but again - it doesn't fall in the hands of the city to entertain.
I agree that we can't look for any type of business to open a recreational facility in Coatesville. What investor in their right mind would take a chance in a city with the reputation Coatesville has. Summer is almost here, and the youth will be "running the streets" again. There is no easy answer to solve this problem except that families need to get serious about doing their part in taking responsibiity of rearing children seriously. Be proactive instead of reactive to the whereabouts of your kids.
that's all great.. and certainly parents should be solely responsibile for their children's well being and where abouts.... but the problem I have is these ignorant people marching the streets making coatesville look like a bunch of "takers" and lazy good for nothing who just sit back and demand... these people are uneducated-- they need to know that the city does not own movie theaters or rec centers. They don't own fun spots and chuck e cheeses. Those establishments are owned by individuals or groups of individuals... not the city. I have never seen the city turn away a potential investor who wants to open up something good and productive. These people only make coatesville look really stupid to potential investors with their marches and pointless speeches- and any smart business man knows that people like that are not going to be patronizing his investment. It's a social mess as well as a political mess in coatesville.. and I wish there was someone who would step up and shine the big light to bring these 2 groups of people together. Maby if the people understood that private investors were the one's responsible for opening a business- they would understand that the politicians are the one's in control of selling land and making deals for renovating buildings et.-making investors interested- MABY - JUST MABY - they would get out and vote!!!!
The parents should be responsible for their children. I have children and i know where they are at all times. If they do soemthing they are not supposed to they are held accountable for their actions. They can sit in side and watch the others play if they are in trouble. I am the one responsible to make sure my kids have things to do not the City or any other community. I AM THE PARENT. I have watched parents drop their children off at the pools and other events at the City (for babysitter time) they leave them for others to watch but god forbid something happens it is always blamed on someone else that should have been watching them. If we have children and are big enough to go out and sleep in the bed than we are big enough to fullfill the responsibilities that come with it. Be an adult and be a parent and take responsibility
How can a developer even be interested in coming into a City that whenever they even propose a plan, the negativity starts. No matter who has tried to come into the City and make it a better place has been broadsided by the majority of the community.
the investors have to see the potential to make money both with the people patronizing their business- and with the value of the purchased property going up. Supply and demand. Coatesville is in such shambles it doesn't happen
see it for what it is... 50% of the county's section 8 housing sits in coatesville... do you think chuck e cheese see's the potential to make money???? Think not.... that's the city's fault for allowing so much low income housing to dwell within such a small area......
obviously if you are ignorant enough to march down the streets yelling at city hall for not supplying enough for the kids to do-- I think even a preacher was one of them... then you missed your fifth grade education. I thought most people knew that the town you live in doesn't own the local movie theater....... DUH!!!
here's a novel idea....let the City allow a student election that would put in place an "appointed by their peers" youth council. These appointed individuals could have a place in the council room at City Hall to present ideas, presentations, solutions to problems, etc. This would allow input from the youth of the community to express their thoughts. Council could give the first half hour of the council meeting on the agenda to this initiative. It might be a way to show the youth they have a voice in the community. People may be surprised to find out just how much the kids have to offer when we adults are readying to listen. Who better to know the issues facing our youth then the youth themselves.
here's a better idea.. have the city of coatesville educate it's people of the legistics of business. Have the city explain that it's not their job to own business's like resturaunts and shopping. Have the city hold educational meetings for the people so that they are not left in the dark anymore..have an open meeting this summer educating the people on our system of how local government works and the potential it has for you- not at a hall but in the park where you can't miss what is being said and the kids can play while the parents listen... or is there a reason they are left in the dark?? Coatesville knows the amount of ignorance in the city when it comes to politics... that's why nobody votes.
There is a community center also there is the art studio, and there is big brothers big sisters. parents have to reach out and find what is good for their kids.
This was a sad case and yes we as parents was given a job to love protect and cherish our children and to teach and guide them in the right direction..We do that but if the community would stop turning their heads sayin "thats not my child" or that is not my business..See if we love others children as we love our own things would be different i am not rich nor do i have any money but the city does to put cameras to stop crime what about the children they need us as a community to help them be productive members in society...
The concept of teaching how to be productive individuals ALWAYS starts in the home by the parents. If children grow up in a household where parents don't work, where parents' expectations are that the "government will pay" my way, then it is highly liekly children will NOT know what being a productive adult means. Again, it starts with the parents, not with the community or the government. Get off this soap box and stop persisting that we are all responsibile for one another for teaching our children. If children grow up without the correct foundation first introduced by the parents, it is highly likely their kids will not be productive adults.
its not coatesville's problem to keep kids busy and out of trouble its the parnets job so if the father is in jailon drugs charges and mom is out party than the kids are left on there own and thats is what happen here the boy raised his self and now everybody wants to blame coatesville STOP look around its midnight and there are still young kids on the streets of coatesville ok where are the partnets or the one responable of the kid hello parnets raise your kids the way your grandparnets raised there kids this is so sad damn drug dealers and partying parnets grow the hell up
There are plenty of free things for the kids to do.
http://www.thebridgeacademy.org/
But it is the parents that REALLY need to be reached.
I left Coatesville as soon as humanly possible, and couldn't be happier.. No matter who's to blame the fact is.. These kids are out of control nowadays.. can it be the fact that many of the miscreants are products of a teenage love affair gone wrong, where the parents were perhaps to young and dumb to to raise a baby when themselves were still growing up..or the female thought.. he'll stay with me forever if I give him a baby...Seems as though Coatesville's full of a bunch of donors and not daddys and then when mamas doin it alone.. she wants to be BFF's instead of mama. These kids are then getting older and then we want to try to reign them in.. uhh TOO LATE. We've done this to our kids... so yeah I guess it does start with the parents.. we gave them everything they asked for.. then when we can't, they wanna go take it from someone else.. as far as things to do...I wouldn't bring a business to Coatesville simply because of what I know personally and what I continue to hear. I have family there still and wish they'd all leave. It's a cesspool.
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