Remember the true meaning of the holiday

A look at the week that was, the issues and people who made headlines, and a few darts and laurels for those who deserve them.

LAUREL: To all those who made the ultimate sacrifice in service to your country. We salute you. Happy Memorial Day. Bring on summer.

DART: Yes, it is the “unofficial” start of summer, the first big three-day holiday of the summer season. But it is so much more than that. It’s not just about barbecues, or car sales. Never forget.

DART: To Mother Nature. She apparently didn’t get the memo. Today looks like the best day of the weekend. Sunday and Monday are back to the showers that seemingly have been around for months. God help the first forecaster who even suggests we’re looking at drought conditions.

DART: To former Upper Darby Township tax office employee Jessica Smith McCusker. This week she was charged with pilfering more than $216,000 in cash tax payments made by citizens. What, did you not think anyone was ever going to catch on? This caper started modestly in 2012 with officials saying a little more than $2,000 being missing. But it escalated quickly from there, with serious chunks of change - $24,000, $34,000, $44,000 and finally nearly $70,000. This was a simple scam. Authorities say residents would make tax payments in cash, McCusker would issue them a receipt but not post the payment in the system, then pocket the cash. LAUREL: To Upper Darby Township, which now indicates they are halting the practice of accepting cash tax payments at the township offices. But you have to wonder how this managed to go on this long?

DART: Rack up another victim for the region’s opioid epidemic. Officials say McCusker used some of the money to support her prescription pill habit, in addition to paying off credit card debt.

DART: To Delaware County Council. They appeared to be on track to give the fierce opponents of the Mariner East 2 pipeline at least one thing they wanted - an independent risk assessment of the project. But that hope evaporated when council deadlocked 2-2 on the matter this week. Council Chairman John McBlain abstained because his law firm has done work for Sunoco. Let’s hope they can get this back on the front burner. The residents deserve to have their concerns addressed.

LAUREL: To Tina Fey. The ‘Saturday Night Live’ star has never forgotten where she came from and her roots. She was back hanging with kids at her alma mater, Upper Darby High School, this week while shooting a video for her ‘Mean Girls: The Musical’ production. Delco Proud!

LAUREL: To Folcroft Officer Chris Dorman. For the second time in two years, the cop found himself staring down the barrel of a gun. Thankfully, this time he did not get shot. Dorman and his partner

were making a car stop of a vehicle believed linked to a homicide in Chester. Two suspects fled on foot, and one of them pointed a gun at Dorman. That’s when the officer fired two shots. Two years ago Dorman took seven bullets in a confrontation with a drug suspect. Be careful out there, officer.

LAUREL: To outgoing Radnor Police Superintendent William Colarulo. He’s hanging up his badge. All the best, chief.

LAUREL: To “Within a Square Mile: Lansdowne at 125.” The new visual exhibit is helping the borough celebrate its 125th birthday. Well done.

DART: To that drumbeat that is getting louder concerning a possible sale of at least part of the Chester Water Authority. Econsult Solutions, which is working with the city of Chester, suggests the city sell its share of the company to raise revenue needed to help Chester escape Act 47 Distressed City Status. The state slapped the “distressed” label on Chester back in 1995. The city faces a deadline at the end of the month to at least show progress toward exiting state control.

DART: To Lower Merion School District. The school board had a large, very angry crowd on its hands this week, with most of them there to express their distaste for the district’s plan to possibly use eminent domain to acquire the Stoneleigh Garden tract on the old Haas homestead in Villanova. We concur. Losing such a gem would be an outrage.

DART: To another open space battle once again rearing its head in Marple Township. We refer to the fight over the future

of the Don Guanella tract. A new developer has come forward with a new plan that would preserve a big chunk of the land as open space. Local advocates are not satisfied. They still fear an increase in traffic and the possibility that the developer could change the plans once they win approval. They should be careful – they just might get their wish. Unfortunately, that would mean developers going forward with a “by-right” plan that would see most of the open space developed.

LAUREL: To the Marple Board of Commissioners. They once again will find themselves straddling a very dicey position in this open space battle. They already turned down a plan, known as Cardinal Crossing, which would have been a massive development. This new plan by Sproul Road Developers appears to be a good compromise, but local advocates remain opposed.

DART: To the sounds of silence – and the loss of another local small business icon. The Mad Platter, a mainstay on Gay Street in West Chester for decades, will close its doors forever in a few weeks. Ironically, at a time when vinyl is making a huge comeback, we’re losing one of the premier outposts to buy records.

LAUREL: To Patrick Parr. His new book, “The Seminarian,” chronicles the time spent here in Delaware County by the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The civil rights icon spent several years in Chester while he attended Crozer Theological Seminary.

LAUREL: To a move in Harrisburg to make it easier to report school threats. There has been lots of talk about what can be done to prevent mass school shootings. This certainly qualifies.

LAUREL: To a push by some Pa. representatives to clear a path for Independent and unaffiliated voters to cast ballots in Primary Elections. Good idea. Especially since almost no one among registered voters bothered to show up for this latest Primary.

LAUREL: To Harry and Meghan. The son of Princess Diana and his American actress bridge Meghan Markle put on a thoroughly modern, delightfully diverse wedding as millions watched last weekend. Jolly Good Show.

LAUREL: To the Phillies. They continue to get strong starting pitching and continue to push toward the top of the National League East.

DART: To all those empty blue seats at Citizens Bank Park. Remember when the Phils sold out 257 straight games? That seems like a long time ago. During the week the Phils are lucky if they break 20,000 at their comfy little bandbox of a park. All those empty seats stand out like a sore thumb. LAUREL: To the Eagles. They returned to the practice field this week as defending Super Bowl Champions. How good does that sound!