Business Spearheads Cleanup At 10th & South

Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Berks County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Editor’s note:  Two Roy’s Rants thumbs up for Penny Dutch Apparel and private sector involvement!

Vanessa Velez and her mother, Karen, worked in tandem as they shoveled leaves, dirt and debris into orange bags at Reading’s 10th & South Playground.

“We’re just trying to help out, and give the kids a nice place to play,” said Karen Velez of Ephrata.

The mother-daughter pair were among about a dozen volunteers who helped clean up the playground Saturday.

The cleanup was organized by Penny Dutch Apparel of Mountville, Lancaster County, with support from the nonprofit Reading Beautification Inc.

Read more:  http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=478864

Driver Killed In Reading Crash

A city man was killed Thursday when he drove through a red light on Schuylkill Avenue at Buttonwood Street while talking on a cellphone and his car was hit broadside by a work van, authorities said.

Jose E. DeJesus Garcia, 53, who investigators said lived in the northwestern area of the city not far from the crash site, was pulled from the car by a nearby resident as the vehicle caught fire following the 8:25 a.m. accident.  He died before police arrived.

Within minutes, police vehicles, firetrucks and ambulances filled a one-block area that was strewn with mangled vehicle parts.  Firefighters quickly put out the burning car.

City detectives and evidence technicians responded along with patrol officers.  The intersection was closed nearly four hours, slowing commuter traffic on other routes.

Read more: http://readingeagle.com/Article.aspx?id=432081