As usual, it is the photo that grabs you by the throat.
And twists that knot in your stomach.
The photo that graces today's front page is of a beaming Zenas Powell. It captures the 14-year-old decked out in his finest last Friday night as he headed off to his eighth-grade formal. He's wearing a dapper blue shirt, dark vest and smart bow tie, along with a 1,000-watt smile.
Just 24 hours later, the teen was dead, the latest victim of the senseless gun violence that continues to grip Chester in its deadly tentacles.
While his family searches for answers, the police are searching for suspects.
On our editorial page today, we again take up the issue of violence in Chester, as well as any number of other Delaware County towns.
I don't expect everyone to agree with the opinion stated there.
It seems pretty simple. There are too many guns on our streets, in the hands of too many people who should not have them.
The answer to gun violence is not going to be found in Harrisburg, nor in Washington, D.C.
It's going to be found on the streets of Chester, Upper Darby, Darby Borough and every other town that battles this problem.
It's almost beyond belief that the smiling countenance of Zenas Powell the jumps off that front page today could be so easily and quickly snuffed out.
Maybe the first step is to simply talk about it.
Nothing else seems to be working.
Why do I say that. Police in Chester are investigating another fatal shooting in Chester that took place Monday night. That's right, another life lost just about 48 hours after Powell was gunned down.
Maybe someone smarter than me has a solution for this.
I know this. I'm getting tired of seeing great young faces like that of Zenas Powell snuffed out in an instant.
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