April 10, 2009

Ross Causey is fed up and frustrated over the current economic and political condition in the country. And to vent that frustration Causey is planning a protest of sorts, rooted in America’s history.

He’s planning a “ Tea Party”  – the name taken from the famous 1773 Boston Tea Party — for tax day, April 15 between 4:30 and 6 p.m. at State and Union streets in Kennett Square.

“They started it,” Causey said of the 1773 group that threw tea into Boston Harbor, “and we’re going to continue the tradition.”

Causey, a 51-year-old landscaper from Kennett Square, has no idea how many people will attend the event, but added it’s not affiliated with any political party, philosophy, or movement.

He describes himself as someone who votes, but is otherwise, apolitical. Causey was emphatic when asked whether the Tea Party was affiliated with any political party or philosophy.

“No, none whatsoever. … This is very grassroots. I’ve never done anything like this before. I’ve never been politically very active. I pay attention to [politics] and I voted in every election I’ve been able to, but this is not affiliated with any political party, and I blame much of what’s been going on to the two primary political parties, both the Republicans and Democrats.”

Causey said it might be time for one of the lesser parties to get some deserved recognition, but is uncertain of how well a third party might do come election time.

“I don’t know if a third party can get much traction right now in terms of votes,”  he said.

Though the event is scheduled for the tax-filing deadline, the tea party is not just about taxes, he said.

“It’s all about economics and the political situation in our country, but yes, some of this is tax oriented. Primarily it’s about the mortgaging of our children’s future,” said Causey. “There are generations yet to be born that are going to be paying for the trillions and trillions of dollars that are being committed today. And in my opinion, I feel that if we don’t stand up and say, ‘This is wrong, stop the madness,’ then our grandchildren will be complaining, ‘Why didn’t you do anything at the time?’ It’s literally a millstone around our neck now. We have to stand up. We have to wake up the rest of the community that may not be aware of what’s going on in Washington as to the literal mortgaging of our futures.”

What he hopes to accomplish is to vent some frustration, but also to get other people aware of the implications of government actions. He said he questions whether three quarters of the population understands what’s going on.

He blames the news media for much of that lack of understanding.

“I know that when I pay attention to the media, whether it is TV, newspaper, or magazine the news seems to get reported in a very slanted way that doesn’t appear to be the truth.”

That slant, he said, has nothing to do with a liberal or conservative bias. He said he heard a phrase, “In 2008, journalism died.” And he believes that statement.

He doesn’t expect many people to turn out for the tea party and admits it may come down to only he and his wife. But, he has contacted many people, family, friends and colleagues and said the response has been remarkable.

“ Everyone has been very receptive to it.”

State Rep. Stephen Barrar said he’s upset with the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission for not contacting him about the possibility of PHMC relinquishing responsibility for the Brandywine Battlefield Park in Chadds Ford.

It was reported in March that a state study suggests PHMC stop administering the park and turn it over to the township. PHMC is scheduled to vote on the recommendation in June. Several other historic facilities are also in jeopardy because of $1.8 million in proposed state budget cuts.

Barrar, R-160, of Boothwyn said he learned about the situation after reading about it in the Philadelphia Inquirer.

“I was very angry with the commission for not notifying the representatives of the districts where they’re [planning] to shut down a battlefield. … I was really furious,” Barrar said during a town hall meeting he held in Chadds Ford April 2.

Not only are Chadds Ford and the park within the 160th legislative district, but Barrar is the Republican chairman of the Tourism and Recreational Development Commission.

He said that his Democratic Party counterpart, state Rep. Thaddeus Kirkland, D-159 of Chester was also left out of the loop.

Tourism is one of the three largest industries in the commonwealth along with agriculture and manufacturing.

Barrar said he and Kirkland have “a vested interest in what happens,” and that they would do everything to try to reinstate the money to keep Brandywine Battlefield Park and others from closing.

“If tourism is your biggest industry in the commonwealth, the biggest money maker, why would you shut down tourist attractions? You wonder, has lunacy taken over state government,” Barrar said.

He added, though, that he thinks it’s a game played by all governors, even Republican Gov. Tom Ridge when he was in office.

Barrar explained that all governors negotiate back and forth with the legislature at budget time.

“The game that the governor plays with the budget is that he will zero out a line item in the budget that he knows the legislators will fight to get back in. And then his argument will be that if we go back and say we want the $1.8 million reinstated for the battlefield and other attractions, then the governor will say ‘I’ll agree to put the money back in for the legislator, but I’ll need to get another $1.8 million someplace else,’” Barrar said.

He repeated that all governors do the same thing, including Gov. Ridge but that, “The only difference was that when Gov. Ridge was here we were having $900 million surpluses, not deficits that we’re having today.

Barrar said the goal would be to keep the park a state facility, and that one of the advantages is that the park is in the district of the second most powerful state senator, Dominic Pileggi, R-9, of Chester.

Prior to the meeting Barrar said, “Sen. Pileggi and I are not going to let the park close.”

According to Leslie Lobb Fredericks of Pileggi’s staff, the senator would not be making any public comment on the situation until after a May 7 public hearing.

That hearing, she said, will be held at Turners’ Mill, Chadds Ford’s township building on Ring Road at Route 1, right across the street from the battlefield park. The hearing scheduled to run from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. May7 is a Thursday.

Some stories begin with the line, “ A funny thing happened…” But, for Jim and Lula Mae Sears, the word funny should probably be replaced with the word lucky.

A lucky thing happened April 4 while Jim Sears was walking to his garage. A tree fell onto the couple’s Pennsbury Township house. What’s good for the Sears is that there were no injuries, just some damage to the roof.

Lula Mae Sears was not home at the time, and she says that was good since she could have easily been cross stitching in the bedroom near the sliding glass doors to the deck, one of the areas where the tree hit.

“ You’d have to pick me off the ceiling had I been there,” she said.

Jim Sears said he was walking to the garage when he heard a noise.

“ Living here, you know the sound of a tree when it’s about to fall,” he said.

He turned in time to see the big tree snapping near its base and come crashing down onto the home on Pocopson Road.

With no one hurt and the home structurally sound, all that Jim Sears had to do was call the tree service and his insurance agent. He said the insurance agent gave him a claim number right away.

While there was wind that day, the wind was only partly responsible, Jim Sears said. The tree trunk broke along a diseased area, an area they normally don’t see.