Home Care In Media, PA

DELAWARE COUNTY, PA — With temperatures starting to dip below freezing, Delaware County is reminding residents of its cold weather plan to help residents stay safe during frigid temps.

Various county agencies offer support and resources to the homeless, elderly, and vulnerable residents when harsh cold, snow, and freezing conditions take place during winter.

When weather conditions pose a threat to individuals who are homeless, elderly, or medically fragile, a network of agencies works to help residents obtain shelter, food, and assistance.

Several county agencies are prepared to help residents cope with extreme weather conditions, from sheltering the homeless to reaching out to the elderly. Council reminds residents about these services should they need assistance or if they know of someone who needs help.

The following Delaware County agencies assist people year-round and also during extreme weather conditions:

The Delaware County Department of Human Services, Adult and Family Services

This department partners with various agencies to offer additional services through the Homeless Services Coalition of Delaware County, a group of 90 individuals and organizations dedicated to providing services to the homeless. They also publish the Resource Guide to Homeless Services which details a variety of services including shelters, housing, meals, treatment programs, and government services.

Human Services website Human Services phone: 610-713-2365

The County Office of Services for the Aging (COSA)

COSA extends outreach to senior citizens, including having case managers check on seniors who may be vulnerable. Tips on how to stay warm and safe during the winter are available on informational COSA Weatherline at 610-872-1558.

COSAS website COSA phone: 610-490-1300

Community Action Agency of Delaware County

CAADC is the county’s anti-poverty agency and can assist residents with obtaining shelter and meals.

CAADC website CAADC phone: 610-874-8451

The Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) / PECO

LIHEAP helps low-income families pay their heating bills. PECO also offers programs for people experiencing hardship, a low-income usage reduction program, and discounted rates for low-income families.

LIHEAP website LIHEAP phone: 1-866-857-7095 If hearing impaired call 711 PECO website PECO phone: 1-800-494-4000

During cold weather, outreach teams and local authorities can take homeless adults to emergency shelter programs, which are operated by the Salvation Army (Chester Corps), Breaking Bread Community, and the Life Center of Eastern Delaware County.

Salvation Army, Chester Corps: 151 W. 15th St., Chester, 610-874-0423

Life Center of Eastern Delaware County: 6310 Market St., Upper Darby, 610-734-5770

Breaking Bread Community: 107 Long Lane, Upper Darby, 484-462-0135

Outreach Team: 267-671-4357

Residents are encouraged to register for the Delco Alert notification system which alerts residents of weather emergencies such as road closures, power outages, and other extreme weather situations. Register for Delco Alert online here.

How Local Government Works is a series that focuses on issues and trends in Pennsylvania local governments and provides tools for readers to hold their local officials accountable.

A recent court decision raised the bar for when a government official’s personal social media posts are public records, and will likely make it more burdensome and costly for Pennsylvanians to get their hands on this information.

In an April opinion, Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court established a three-factor test to judge when social media posts made on public officials’ personal accounts should be accessible under the Right-to-Know Law.

Government agencies, the Office of Open Records, and the courts have the power to decide what records should be provided to the public. The test guides them to first examine the social media account in question, including its private or public status, its appearance or purpose, and any actual or apparent duty for public officials to operate it.

The court said agencies that receive open-records requests also should consider the contents of the account, if they “prove, support, or evidence a transaction or activity of an agency.”

The third factor to weigh is whether the person operating the account is acting in what the court calls their “official capacity.” Commonwealth Court cited a previous opinion that found a York Township commissioner’s emails on a personal computer weren’t public records because the township didn’t ratify, adopt, or confirm what the emails discussed.

“This is such a significant opinion because it is, in my opinion, a change of the law as it’s been developing,” Josh Bonn, an attorney practicing in open records and municipal law, told Spotlight PA.

A generally accepted interpretation prior to the April decision was that anytime a public official communicates about public business, “that’s presumed to be a public record.” Bonn said he felt the weight given to the official capacity factor in the court’s newly minted test was a departure from that rule of thumb.

The Office of Open Records — an independent agency that handles disputes over public record requests — had previously ruled that the contents of a social media account decide if they should be public records, and whether a government agency authorizes or controls those accounts was “immaterial” to the question.

All three factors should be assessed in a nonexclusive manner, the opinion said, meaning the agency or court tasked with deciding a record request can determine on a case-by-case basis how much weight each of the elements should carry. Legal experts said that leaves a lot of room for argument, and more litigation on this issue is likely on the horizon.

“There can be a lot of different permutations of how these accounts can be used, and this test allows those different permutations to be reviewed,” Bonn said. He added that Commonwealth Court performed a detailed analysis of relevant case laws in its opinion, and the matter is far from settled.

Courts and government officials nationwide are trying to determine the boundaries between official and personal speech on social media. Commonwealth Court Judge Lori Dumas acknowledged in the opinion that it’s an evolving legal issue, writing “this Court’s precedents are in apparent tension.”

“It will be important for agencies to remember that when in doubt, they should err on the side of openness because the [Right-to-Know] law favors access,” said Melissa Melewsky, media law counsel for the Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association, of which Spotlight PA is a member.

“Social media often provides an unfiltered window into public officials’ stance on important issues, and the public has a right to know where their elected officials stand,” she said.

Have a question about your local government? Email Min Xian at [email protected].

SUPPORT THIS JOURNALISM and help us reinvigorate local news in north-central Pennsylvania at spotlightpa.org/statecollege. Spotlight PA is funded by foundations and readers like you who are committed to accountability and public-service journalism that gets results.

SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. — Beginning Wednesday, there will be different accents and cultures packing the stands of the Little League World Series, and yet one that may stick out the most had just a three-hour journey.

“Delco is like its own little world. I don’t think they’re ready for this accent,” Media Little League manager Tom Bradley told the Associated Press after Media’s 2-0 win over Northeast Washington, D.C., on Friday in the Mid-Atlantic Regional championship.

Bradley’s team will embark on its quest for the Little League World Series title Wednesday at 7 p.m. against the Southwest Regional winner, Needville Little League out of Texas.

Here’s what to know:

This year is the 76th installment of the Little League World Series. Founded by Carl E. Stoz, an oil company clerk, Little League was born in 1939, with the first Baseball World Series taking place in 1947 at Original Field at Memorial Park in South Williamsport, Pa.

The tournament originally was for teams in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, but as the sport grew, it began to include teams from around the country. International teams weren’t allowed to compete in the tournament until 1957.

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Two years later in 1959, the World Series was moved to its current home of Howard J. Lamade Stadium. The tournament expanded from eight teams to 16 in 2001 when Volunteer Stadium was built.

There have been 20 girls who have played in the Little League Baseball World Series, including Philadelphia native and former Taney Dragons pitcher Mo’ne Davis.

» READ MORE: Mo’ne Davis is on an internship with the Dodgers, continuing to inspire baseball fans across the country

For the second straight year, the Little League World Series will be a 20-team, 38-game tournament that features 10 U.S regional champions and 10 international region champions.

The tournament is a double-elimination format, featuring 10- to 12-year-olds. Hawaii won the World Series last season as it beat Curaçao, 13-3, in four innings.

The 20-team tournament is held in South Williamsport and will run from Aug. 16-27. International bracket games are played at Volunteer Stadium while the United States bracket is played at Lamade Stadium, both of which are on the Little League International Complex.

Lamade Stadium, which was named by Sports Illustrated as one of the top 20 places to see a sports event in the world in 1999, can hold 45,000 if you include the two hillsides in the outfield.

ESPN will telecast every game on its family of networks — ESPN and ESPN2, along with ABC.

Not until championship weekend. According to the Little League website, admission is free to get onto the grounds and seating in Lamade and Volunteer Stadiums and is on a first-come, first-served basis, except in Section 1 behind home plate.

Tickets are not made available to access Lamade Stadium for all championship games. However, no ticket is required to get onto the hillside in the outfield. More ticket information can be found here.

The Delaware County team, which went 3-0 in its Mid-Atlantic Regional in Bristol, Conn., last week, defeated Northwest Washington, D.C., 2-0, in the regional championship on Friday.

Media’s Trevor Skowronek played the hero in the bottom of the seventh when he punched his team’s ticket to Williamsport with a two-run, walk-off home run that he lifted over the right-center field fence. It was the first hit of the game for the Delco team and Skowronek’s second home run in the tournament.

Right-hander Austin Crowley was stellar on the mound, tossing five scoreless innings while striking out 13. There was one point in the game when Crowley fired off seven consecutive strikeouts.

Left fielder Cole Carroll made a game-saving catch in the seventh inning.

Media’s first game is set for Wednesday at 7 p.m. against Needville Little League of Texas, the Southwest Regional champion.

Here’s some information on Needville:

If Media wins its first game, it will play Friday at 7 p.m. against the Midwest Regional champion, Fargo (N.D.) Little League.

If it loses, Media will drop to the elimination bracket and play on Saturday at 2 p.m. against the loser of Northwest and New England. Both games would be featured on ESPN.

Click here for a full schedule of the World Series.

It is close to a three-hour drive.

Little League suggests all visitors park in the South Williamsport Sports Complex, which is located behind the Little League complex. The address for the lot is 617 E. Mountain Ave., South Williamsport Pa., 17702.

Once you park, you will need to walk to the stadiums and go through security checkpoints. Handicap shuttles will be made available from designated points near the parking lot.

In addition, if you are staying or parking in downtown Williamsport, there will be public transportation made available through River Valley Transit’s South Side Route.

Tickets cost $10, which provide unlimited rides throughout the tournament, and can be purchased at the RVT Trade & Transit Centre information office or from any of the RVT Little League/South Side Bus Operators.

Buses will depart from the RVT’s Trade & Transit Centre (Bay 12) in downtown Williamsport every 30 minutes on the hour and half hour each day of the tournament. RVT will provide service along its Super Nightline routes on Sundays. Return service will be every 30 minutes.

If you chose to use ride share services, use the address for the South Williamsport Sports Complex: 617 E. Mountain Ave South Williamsport, Pa., 17702.

Yes. The most recent one to make it to Williamsport is Upper Providence Little League from Oaks in 2021. Taney Dragons Little League out of Philadelphia made it in 2014.

» READ MORE: Scott Bandura is now a pro ballplayer, but he’s OK with being remembered as a Taney Dragon

There have been two additional Delco teams that have made it to the Little League World Series in the 12U division as well: Exchange Club Little League in Upper Darby in 1957; and Newtown Edgmont Little League finished third in the then eight-team tournament in 1967.

Yes, two. Levittown Little League was the last to win it all in 1960 when it defeated North East Optimist Club Little League of Fort Worth, Texas. Joseph Mormello Jr. threw a no-hitter in the 5-0 championship win, striking out 16.

The other team was Morrisville Little League in 1955.

Yes. The first to do it was Hammonton, N.J., Little League in 1949. Then Morrisville and Levittown followed before Lakewood, N.J., Little League won it in 1975.

The last team to do it was the Toms River Little League team out of New Jersey in 1998, which featured former Major League third baseman Todd Frazier. Frazier was inducted into the Little League Hall of Excellence last summer.

The Phillies and Washington Nationals.

Both teams will travel to Williamsport on Sunday 20 to spend the day with players from each of the Little League teams before playing at night at Muncy Bank Ballpark at Historic Bowman Field.

Muncy Bank Ballpark at Historic Bowman Field is home to the Williamsport Crosscutters, the former Phillies affiliate in the short-season Class A New York-Penn League before it cut its ties in 2020. The Crosscutters now compete in the MLB Draft League.

This is the sixth season that MLB and its players association will host the MLB Little League Classic after launching it in 2017 when the Pittsburgh Pirates took on the St. Louis Cardinals.

The game will serve as a home game for the Nationals and can be watched on ESPN as part of Sunday Night Baseball. It is the second time the Phillies are playing in the MLB Little League Classic. The last time they took part was in 2018 against the New York Mets.

Media Little League manager Tom Bradley knows how to keep his team poised in tough situations. A glimpse of his calm demeanor was showcased on ESPN last week when he gathered the infielders on the mound in the Mid-Atlantic Regional Tournament.

He asked the Delaware County team, “Did I ever tell you the time my dog ate the rosin bag?”

“I saw the rosin bag as I’m walking to the mound on the ground and I just remembered the story that [when] my dog was a puppy, she got into my son’s bat bag, and he had a rosin bag in there,” said Bradley, who has been involved in the youth baseball and softball coaching scene for 25 years. “Luna pulled it out and was trying to get to an A2000 glove to chew on the leather straps. She did not swallow it or anything like that. No dogs were harmed.

“I like to take them out of the moment. I tell all kinds of stories. The look on their face when I walk out to the mound is promising. They want to know what’s going to come out of my mouth. I seriously don’t know until I actually walk out.

Bradley’s team, which went 3-0 in the tournament in Bristol, Conn., is now in its first Little League World Series after defeating Northwest Washington, D.C., 2-0, in the regional final.

Media will face Southwest Regional winner Needville (Texas) at 7 p.m. Wednesday (ESPN), and, while the team hopes to bring home a title, Bradley has reminded the squad that it’s all about soaking up the experience.

“We’re out there to have fun,” Bradley said. “They got a lot of work to practice. We’ve done a lot of work together. We’ve been together for almost three months now. It’s been great hanging out with them. Sometimes they like it. Sometimes they don’t. But we told them if you put the work in, you’re going to get a reward for it. And it looks really good right now.”

He then asked the players, who stood around him on the phone, “How did you guys feel?” after punching their ticket to Williamsport.

“It was really cool. It only happens, like, not a lot or at all,” right fielder Christian Nunez said.

“It was pretty fun, pretty cool,” added first baseman Trevor Skowronek, who hit a walk-off two-run home run in the regional championship. “Hopefully that happens again.”

“Being in this position is like every other championship,” said Austin Crowley, who collected 13 strikeouts in five innings in the regional final. “Just a little more on the line, but I don’t really get nervous. I know it’s going to come down to whether we can get our at-bats going or not.”

Behind Bradley leading the charge is his son, Tommy, a graduate of Bonner-Prendergast. Tommy, a former catcher, is a baseball instructor and coach at On Deck Training Center in Newtown Square. He also has served as an assistant coach with Bonner-Prendergast.

The elder Bradley initially got involved in the Little League scene when his son started playing baseball about 12 years ago. He stopped coaching once Tommy went to high school so he could attend his games.

Tom Bradley started offering the Media Little League a hand after his son graduated high school in 2020. Bradley was approached about managing his current group as 10-year-olds. The league sought out a coach who didn’t have a player on the team who could stay objective and hopefully get the squad to this point.

“Me and my son Tommy coached them as 10-year-olds,” Bradley said. “We lost the district championship. Came back as 11-year-olds, we lost the district championship again to Aston, both times. This year, we finally beat Aston. They were the Mid-Atlantic champs last year. They won the state as 10-year-olds. Our districts have really strong teams.”

Throughout his stint as a Little League coach, Bradley has learned valuable lessons. He wants to help develop the players’ skills, but sometimes, like when a player is upset, he takes a calm approach to regain their focus and jokes around to keep the team loose.

He recalled the first time he used that tactic while coaching a softball game. The pitcher was crying because she couldn’t throw a strike with her team up one run in a bases-loaded situation. He went up to the circle and asked, “What did you have for breakfast?”

With a confused look, she told Bradley that it might have been cereal — Cap’n Crunch to be exact. He responded, “OK Cap’n Crunch, let’s throw some strikes” and walked away. She went on to record three strikeouts.

“I really go out there and I have fun,” Bradley said. “My wife will tell you, she said that I’m happier when I’m coaching because I’m having fun. I’m literally having fun with these kids. I hang out with them. It keeps me out of the bars. I’m a better person for coaching. It made me better.”

Besides the team enjoying the opportunity of representing the borough, the Media community has rallied together to celebrate the accomplishment. Fans held watch parties, outdoor festivities, and even showed up in Connecticut to cheer the Little Leaguers on.

Bradley anticipates a similar turnout in Williamsport.

“Media is awesome — we were lucky enough to have [the state tournament] 10 minutes from our field,” Bradley said. “We were able to get our fans in there, and it turned out there were a couple thousand people there at our championship game, which was really cool to see

“It’s a great community, and even the rest of our district has reached out to me, so teams we played against, they want to see us do good.”

The last time a local team won it all was Levittown Little League in 1960, when it defeated a team from Fort Worth, Texas. While Media hopes to make history by capturing the LLWS title, Bradley said his players are taking it day by day, one game at a time.

“I’ve never been here or sniffed this place, coaching-wise,” Bradley said. “It’s definitely a new experience. We just put the kids to work, and we stay day-to-day with our plan. We’re going to get busy and get ready to play Wednesday.”

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Every year, young baseball players from around the globe travel to Williamsport, Pa., to take part in the Little League World Series in August.

It's an experience the Little Leaguers will never forget and on Sunday the Phillies played a role in the festivities nearly 200 miles away from their home in Philly.

The Phillies, who will face the Washington Nationals in the 2023 MLB Little League Classic at 7 p.m., landed in Williamsport at around noon on Sunday and watched Media, Pa.'s Little League squad play Rhode Island in the elimination bracket.

It seemed like the Phillies brought the Delco squad some luck. Shortly after their arrival, Media tied the game, 2-2, in the bottom of the fifth inning and several Phillies players, including Bryce Harper, Trea Turner and Kyle Schwarber were on the broadcast celebrating.

But, unfortunately, things unraveled for Media in the sixth inning, which led to a 7-2 loss, ending their run in Williamsport.

The Phillies gave the hometown team a shoutout on social media following the game.

"Huge congratulations to the Media Little League team on an outstanding run. SO proud to watch and support you today," the Phillies wrote on social media.

Numerous Phillies players were spotted signing autographs for Little Leaguers and fans in Williamsport.

Harper signed an autograph for Stella Weaver, a Little Leaguer playing for Tennessee who became the 22nd female in the tournament's history. She's the fourth female to play in the tournament since Philadelphia's Mo'ne Davis did with the Taney Dragons in 2014.

Phillies backup catcher Garret Stubbs was seen not only signing autographs but also letting Little Leaguers sign his jersey.

Sunday marks the second time the Phillies will play in the MLB Little League Classic. They played the Mets in 2018.

The Phillies rallied to beat the Nationals on Saturday, 12-3.