Free Press –
Scott McElree Part Two, Thomas Osman, Breast Cancer Month
Dear Friends,
Good
morning. Last week, I wrote about Scott McElree’s talk at the Quakertown Rotary
Club. Quakertown’s Police Chief and Borough Manager was a big hit. I know that
because normally, the closing bell silences a speaker at
Before I complete my report about him, I had a visit with Mary Smithson, the Clerk of Bucks County’s courts. She urged me to remind my readers that October is Breast Cancer Awareness month and sent this email:
“Charlie,” she began, “as we discussed, the month of October is Breast Cancer awareness. Our Aunt Bess was diagnosed with breast cancer in June. Her mastectomy at age 89 went very well.
“Cancer can happen to anyone regardless of age,” Mary continued. “Self exams are so important for everyone. We cherish our Aunt Bess who loves to knit and play scrabble.
“It’s amazing how much strength and courage she has and I’m very proud to be a small part of her life. As we see the color pink, it’s a strong reminder of how precious life is. Please speak to this topic in your column. Thanks, Mary [Smithson].”
I’m reminded about Breast Cancer Awareness month every day when I row at Boathouse Row. All the lights, which silhouette the boathouses, are pink.
Before we get to Scott McElree, Arlington Lewis told me of his friend’s death and sent me a copy of the obituary. Thomas Osman, Jr. spent his life at sea as a merchant mariner, participated in the invasion of Italy in 1943, and sailed on more than 25 ships. He and Arlington graduated from Quakertown High School in 1940. Osman passed at 84 and must have lived a charmed life.
“Tom was a great guy to know,” Arlington wrote. “He attended every class reunion until a couple of weeks ago. He was a great sailor and loved the sea.”
Here are several excerpts from the obituary:
“We went to Europe in a 40- ship convoy,” the obit began. “The sea was rough. Waves washed two of our lifeboats away. The U-boats were busy. The Germans hit our convoy and sunk three or four ships…
“He recalled the adverse wartime conditions his shipmates labored under trying to unload the ship. The Germans were still occupying most of Italy, so they were bombing all around us. It took ten days to unload…
“He was in the Pacific Ocean aboard a tanker when the war ended. Osman worked as a chief engineer for the United States Lines from 1946 to 1960. He worked for the next decade as a port engineer at Bethlehem Steel’s Key Highway shipyard in Maryland before shipping out again in 1970…
“From 1971 to 1975, Mr. Osman made three or four voyages a year to Vietnam aboard ships that had been chartered by the military to deliver war materiel. He spent the next 16 years aboard the Liberty ship in various engineering roles.
“…It was characteristic of him to always be willing to pitch in, give advice, and use his expertise in solving problems. He was unflappable. During his maritime career, he never lost a ship and never lost his love of them.”
Thanks, Arlington for sharing Tom Osman’s story. He must have been a remarkable fellow and a good friend.
And now, back to Scott McElree.
The first part of his talk involved his role as Quakertown’s Police Chief. Scott believes that adding a canine to the force would be very beneficial. “Dogs can be trained to sniff for drugs or explosives,” he said. “The [U.S.] Supreme Court ruled that police departments can obtain search warrants if a dog makes a positive identification.”
Scott plans to ask borough council for the OK to add a canine. He told the Rotarians that a local veterinarian has promised to care and provide food for the animal for life. The only expense will be the dog and officer training, expecting to be no more than $15,000.
Quakertown has a drug problem, he continued. The department made 67 arrests for selling narcotics last year. There were three deaths caused by drug over doses and 11 arrests involving heroin.
He observed that obtaining a search warrant takes too long. “In Bucks County, it sometimes takes six hours for the District Attorney and Judge to act,” he said. “Montgomery County is much faster. A police department can get a search warrant there in five minutes.”
Finally, Scott predicts that Quakertown will hire its first female officer shortly.
Turning to his role as Borough Manager, he told the Rotarians that he was sorry to see the former manager, Dave Woglom, leave the post. “He was a great boss,” Scott noted.
Will Scott continue to occupy both positions? “I’ll do both jobs,” he responded. “Hiring a fiscal officer made the assignment much easier.
“We must pull the trigger on economic development,” he continued. “We need to attract businesses, especially in the downtown.” Scott believes that the borough council will change the zoning laws to make the business district friendlier.
And he was quick to mention that council wants to replace the senior citizen center, expecting to cost $1.2 million.
In the question and answer session, Scott told his audience that speed bumps and four-way stop intersections work. “And ‘Slow Down’ signs remind drivers to check their speedometers,” he said. Scott hopes that Penn Dot approves a four way stop at the Hellertown and Mill intersection.
Mighty Betsy and I live at Second and Juniper Streets. Juniper Street often becomes a raceway. If I had my way, there’d be speed bumps all over town. How likely is that, I asked?
“Do we want to turn Quakertown into a giant parking lot,” Scott replied with a smile?
The Rotarians were clearly impressed with their speaker. They liked the earnestness of the Chief/Borough Manager. And they appreciated the fact that Scott is combining administrative tasks rather than hiring additional personnel.
“We’ll do more with less,” he concluded.
Sincerely,
Charles Meredith