WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2024
CHESTER COUNTY PRESS
5A
Chester County Press
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Editorial
A mayor’s milestone, a mayor’s legacy In 2022, the Chester County Community Foundation established a visionary award to recognize individuals whose civic engagement, community service and charitable philanthropy light the way and inspire others. Its recipients are bridge builders, door openers, public servants and visionaries, creating futures that up to the point of their contribution had been only imagined ones. A powerful leader, the Foundation wrote, “empowers others to be the change they wish to see in the world.” To the surprise of no one, the Foundation gave the recognition an official name: the Honorable Dr. Clifford E. DeBaptiste Visionary Award. For DeBaptiste, who will celebrate his 100th birthday on May 19, translating the phrase “uplifting life through service” has served not just as a personal motto but as an active sense of responsibility. In 1954, after serving in the U.S. Army and graduating from mortuary school, DeBaptiste and his wife Inez made West Chester their home, where they raised a family and operated the successful DeBaptiste Funeral Homes. But that was not enough for DeBaptiste; he was also a tireless elected official and a community advocate, dedicating thousands of hours in the service of the town he loved, imagining West Chester as a better place – a revitalized and safer borough. Beginning in 1994, he campaigned for – and was elected to – two terms as West Chester’s first African American mayor. While in office, he championed the need to strengthen the police department through promotions and new hires and saw it grow by nearly 50 percent during his tenure. At a time when West Chester was seeing the mass exodus of commercial businesses to the outer suburbs, DeBaptiste and others helped to encourage new businesses to come to the borough, leading to a rebirth of the downtown district that now reverberates with a vibrancy of stores and restaurants. In honor of Black History Month and the soon-to-be occasion his 100th birthday, Rep. Chrissy Houlahan honored DeBaptiste with a speech last week on the U.S. House floor in Washington, D.C. She praised him for his 70 years of selfless service to the community and called hm “a beloved figure in the community.” “His work revitalized West Chester’s downtown and led to incredible growth for local businesses, with the number of restaurants in the borough rising from 15 to 57 during his term,” Houlahan said. “Since his retirement, he has remained active in our local community, and we are so grateful for his contributions and those of his daughter, Lillian, who followed in his footsteps and is the current Mayor of West Chester.” To our credit – and perhaps to our detriment -- our nation is drawn to those who hold us spellbound with the execution of their talents, the amplification of their accomplishments and the magnitude of their resilience. And yet, most of our nation’s grandest work has been achieved by those who are blessed to be in a position of influence and perform quietly, in the enclaves of small towns, with no self-aggrandizing fanfare. They are inspired to do nothing but draw back the curtain and open the door and reveal the possibility of the change they wish to see in the world and ask others to follow them. In the weeks leading up to what will be his 100th birthday, let us acknowledge and praise the ongoing legacy of Dr. DeBaptiste in the hopes that it will be magnified and eventually duplicated.
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Opinion Chester County Commissioners demonstrate hands-only CPR, recognizing American Heart Month When a Valentine’s Day public meeting includes the recognition of American Heart Month, what better way to highlight both than to demonstrate a heart-saving, potentially life-saving technique? At the Feb. 14 public meeting, Chester County Commissioners Josh Maxwell, Marian Moskowitz, and Eric Roe proclaimed the county’s recognition of American Heart Month and practiced hands-only CPR on three adult-size Manikins, guided by members of the Chester County Department of Emergency Services. Support from the county’s emergency medical services (EMS) professionals included playing the Bee Gee’s 1977 classic “Stayin’ Alive,” used in CPR training because it is the perfect song for hitting the 100 to 120 beats per minute that is ideal for chest compressions. According to the American Red Cross, hands-only CPR involves two crucial steps for helping a person suffering a cardiac arrest. Step one - call 9-1-1, and step two – perform chest compressions at a rate of 100 to 120 beats per minute, which, as noted, is more
Courtesy photo
Chester County Commissioners Eric Roe, Chair Josh Maxwell and Marian Moskowitz demonstrate hands-only CPR under the instruction of Chester County EMS Operations coordinator Larry Smythe (right) at the Feb. 14 public meeting. At the meeting, the County Commissioners proclaimed February as American Heart Month.
easily measured by relating to the tempo of “Stayin’ Alive.” Each year, more than 350,000 EMS-assisted outof-hospital cardiac arrests occur in the United States, and when a person has a cardiac arrest, survival depends on immediately receiving CPR from someone nearby. Harry Moore, the Chester County deputy director for EMS, said, “Thanks to many EMS agencies and
non-profits throughout the county, there are opportunities year-round for residents of all ages to learn HandsOnly CPR. “The more people we train, the greater the possibility of saving the life of someone who has gone into cardiac arrest, and as more than 70 precent of out-ofhospital cardiac arrests happen in homes, learning hands-only CPR could help save the life of someone you love – a child, a spouse,
a parent, or friend.” The following EMS agencies in Chester County provide Hands-Only CPR training: Good Fellowship Ambulance & EMS Training Institute (https:// www.goodfellowship.com/ training/community-education), Uwchlan Ambulance Corps & Training Institute (https://station87.com/education), and Emergency Training Academy (https:// www.emergencytraining. pro).
Pa. House Republicans launch initiatives to help state’s small businesses, entrepreneurs Recognizing governmental burdens should never deter Pennsylvanians from pursuing their own path to prosperity, House Republicans are pushing the Legislature to act on the “Main Street Entrepreneurship Initiative.” The package of bills, led by House Commerce Committee Republican Chair Rep. Joe Emrick (R-Northampton), would make the dream of owning one’s own business, and growing it here in Pennsylvania, more accessible for every person in the Commonwealth. “Entrepreneurs and small business owners are the backbone of our communities,” Emrick said. “They are the ones investing in our Main Streets, hiring our friends and neighbors, and making our communities great places to live. We owe it to every Pennsylvanian to make it as simple as possible to chase their dream and grow their business.” According to a national
study of new businesses and start-ups, Pennsylvania’s rate of entrepreneurship is nearly 50 percent lower than the national average and has been stagnant below the national average for more than 25 years. To address this growing concern, and in recognition of National Entrepreneurship Week, House Republicans introduced the following legislation: • Business Filing Fee Waiver (Rep. Joe D’Orsie, R-York): Would waive the filing fees for first-time entrepreneurs during the business formation process through the Department of State. • Stay in PA Business Grants and Loans Fee Waiver (Rep. Donna Scheuren, R-Montgomery): Would require businesses receiving grants and loans through the Commonwealth to maintain operations and employees within the Commonwealth. • Commonwealth Pro-
curement Possibilities for New Entrepreneurs (Rep. Mike Armanini, R-Clearfield/Elk): Would establish a “set-aside” within the existing program to target small and disadvantaged businesses established within the prior three years. • New Business Ombudsman (Emrick): Would establish a start-up ombudsman in the One-Stop Shop Office within the Department of Community and Economic Development to assist startup businesses with securing the necessary documents and accounts needed to operate in Pennsylvania. • Spearheading Entrepreneurship Education (Rep. Marla Brown, R-Lawrence): Would establish a statewide program to fund entrepreneurship education at community colleges, the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education and colleges that provide technical training. • Fair Protections for Entrepreneurs (Scheuren): Would modernize the bankruptcy exemption statute to provide fair protections for entrepreneurs’ assets, including primary residences and other necessities of life. “For the vast majority of Pennsylvanians, the path to prosperity is found on Main Street, not Wall Street,” Emrick said. “These are common sense steps to ensure job creators who want to improve opportunities here can do so, and not continue to cross state lines to places where it is easi-
er to turn your ideas into businesses that can have a multi-generational impact.” House Republicans have an extensive track record of working to reduce the burden on job creators, leading to large-scale investment across multiple sectors of our economy. This package of legislation proves small business owners and entrepreneurs will continue to be a top priority for the caucus. “As someone with nearly 30 years of business experience in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, I know how important and how valuable entrepreneurs are to our state’s model for success,” said Scheuren. “That’s why within this package of bills, I’ve proposed two pieces of legislation that protect entrepreneurs and businesses in Pennsylvania. My first piece of legislation would require businesses receiving loans and grants from the Commonwealth, to commit to staying here. “My second proposed bill would modernize Pennsylvania’s bankruptcy exemption statute to provide fair protections for entrepreneurs’ assets, including primary residences and other necessities of life. Entrepreneurs are one of Pennsylvania’s greatest assets and their existence is vital to our state’s ability to grow and evolve for the better. “Therefore, I sincerely hope this legislative package will keep both in Pennsylvania and help to open even more doors to economic prosperity.”