Call it the two faces of Chester.
Last night I was honored to be included among a group attending a networking reception held by the office of the Community Liaison in Chester.
I sat in a room with about 45 other business, civic and education leaders and saw the beginnings of a new Chester.
A lot of this is due to the dedicated work of people like Fred Green, Nicole Cogdell and Jonathan Abdur-Rahim King. They wanted to get a group of community leaders together in one room to mix, mingle and - most importantly - start talking to each other.
I had a chance to have a conversation with Gregory Shannon, the superintendent of the Chester Upland School District, and heard him speak glowingly about the progress the district is making, including an all-important uptick in reading levels at the elementary level.
I heard about the truly inspirational work of the Chester Children's Chorus.
I heard from David Clark, who runs the Chester Community Charter School, who talked about competition and how he wanted his school to be the best in the city.
I saw my friend Maj. Ervin McCoy, who runs the Salvation Army.
And of course I had a chance to chat once again with my friend Mayor John Linder.
In each conversation, I asked them how their summer was going, and remarked that it certainly seemed like the increased police presence brought on by Operation City Surge seemed to be having a positive effect on the city.
I might have spoken too soon.
This morning as I arrived back at the office, I was greeted by the same old story.
Gunfire on the streets of Chester.
There were two shootings last night.
It appears one of them may have been fatal. We're still waiting on the details.
I don't know exactly what the solution is for the violence that continues to plague Chester.
But I do know this. One crucial part of it will be the people I met last night. It's amazing what happens when you just sit down and talk to people.
I tip my hat to the community liaisons working so hard to turn things around in the city.
And I want them to know I'm here to help in any way I can.
It's that important.
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