The Philadelphia Inquirer from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania • Page 92

Wednesday, October 25, 1995 N6 THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER Cuban team visits schools A- J) -'if" 1 4 CUBA from N1 city. With a student body that is 76 percent Latino and 19 percent African American, in which 55 percent come from families on welfare and absenteeism on any day averages nearly 50 percent, Edison High provided a stark contrast to the eight suburban Friends schools where the Cubans spent the majority of their visit. Dominech wished he had had a chance to visit the outskirts of the city "a barrio, to see how the people live." Ramirez wanted to spend more time in Philadelphia, "a very beautiful city," he added. Accompanied by two coaches and a translator, the group of 15 players has spent a day at different schools, attending classes, meeting with students and playing soccer matches. After their last match this afternoon against Germantown Friends School, the group will board a flight back to Havana.

"We use whatever means available to get interaction among the kids," said Fran Bradley, associate head of the George School, who organized the Cuban team's visit. The visit from the soccer players is only the latest in a continuing series of exchanges between the George School and Cuba dating back to 1982. Next MaTch a boys' soccer team from the George School will be bound for Cuba, and, school officials hope, a girls' field hockey team will make the trip next fall "if we can raise the money," Bradley said. Bradley said that, besides the sports teams, the school has a longstanding relationship with the 300 to 400 Quakers in Cuba, sponsoring regular reciprocal visits. To circumvent the U.S.

Treasury Department ban that prohibits Americans from spending money in Cuba, the visitors are completely taken care of by their hosts once they arrive in Cuba, he said. Bradley said he deliberately selected the soccer team for this exchange because soccer was not as strong a sport in Cuba as is baseball, the national pastime, and the Friends soccer league is good. But these elite athletes, selected from all over Cuba, have been cleaning up their American competition. As Dominech diplomatically explained, "We have to take a different QQ3H) HBO 050 For The Inquirer JOHN SLAVIN Lester More (left) of Cuba and Quinn Kerrigan of the George School battle for control of the ball during a soccer match in Newtown. eron acting as translator for the Cubans, said he had been taken to visit a poor neighborhood in North Philadelphia.

"Waaah! It was he said, shaking his head. "People in Cuba are poor, but they don't live like this houses destroyed, no heating in winter, garbage in the streets. He paused to reflect. "In Havana, we have garbage in the streets, too, but that is because we have no gas, no spare parts for the trucks. But here, what excuse? This is a rich country," he said in quiet amazement.

As for what he found strangest about America, Rodriguez replied, "Fifteen-year-olds driving cars! Too young!" view. We're part of the national team in Cuba Soccer aside, the exchange has been a learning experience for visitors and hosts alike. Dominech said many American students did not know much about Cuba. The questions they have been asked about Cuba have been pretty consistent: Do they like Fidel Castro? What do they do for fun in Cuba? What music do they like? "But when we tell them about free education, free health, social security, they'are very impressed," said Although the visitors said they knew the United States was a rich country, there were still some surprises. Jose Antonio Pedroso, a chap D.A.

cut deal with spree suspect person struck during the shooting spree, police said, although a 9-year-old Bensalem boy experienced a close call when a bullet ripped through the wall of a Middletown Township home he was visiting and missed his head by inches. Kim was northbound on Wood-bourne Road, near the Maple Point School in Middletown Township, at about 9 p.m. when he heard a loud noise and then felt pain in his leg. He gave police a description of a vehicle that had passed his in the opposite direction but the information, police said, led nowhere. beyond repair." Fink said he was "very concerned" about the five-year mandatory sentence and feels that now "justice can be done by a judge instead of by an act of the legislature." In the videotaped confession, Rubenstein said, the youth, who has no criminal record, admitted he had "drank to excess" at a Levittown party the night of the shootings.

He said he left and began riding around and firing shots without any specific targets or reason. A Newtown Township man, 47-year-old James Kim, was the only DEAL from N1 $300,000 bail. Additional charges were lodged Oct. 19 involving the Newtown Township shootings and his bail was increased to $350,000. He remains in prison.

Rubenstein yesterday identified Richard Fink, a Levittown lawyer, as the person who brokered Stadler's surrender, which included a videotaped confession and surrender of the weapon. Fink, when contacted, said he acted because Stadler "felt very bad about what he had done and his parents were distraught and almost Developers eye riverfront gaming site Try Autoline, the free service that lets you use your phone to search for a new or used car any time of the day or night. Now you can do five days of looking in five minutes no matter where you are, no matter what you're Try it and get cooking. ever, said the borough should leave the door open to all kinds of development. The redevelopment plan was drawn up by the council when it entered a $12 million agreement last year with Borough Development a joint operation of Hollywood Sands Casino and local developer Pat Deon.

Borough Development planned to bring riverboat gaming to the borough if it were legalized by the state. That agreement fell apart in September, after several failed attempts by the corporation to renegotiate the payment schedule to buy the property. The corporation wanted to scale back the $12 million payment schedule while the future of riverboat gaming is uncertain in the state council members decided to market the land nationwide using a professional marketing firm. A firm has not been selected yet. The council also voted, 5-3, to ask the Bucks County Commissioners to approve a redevelopment plan for mixed use of the land, opening it up to hotels, conference centers, museums, parking, amusement parks and casinos.

Borough Councilman Donald Mc-Closkey, who recently came out against bringing gaming to the borough, voted to stop the plan because it opens the land up for more gaming speculation. "The last thing we want is for some developer to sit on it waiting for gaming and have nothing happen on it," he said. Councilman Charles Caucci, how RIVERFRONT fron N1 Thomas Holt, owner of Holt Cargo System of Philadelphia, also has expressed interest in the land, Snyder said. Holt's plans include a catering hall and some residential development, Snyder said. Similar plans were presented to the borough by Holt in 1993, before the borough decided to develop the parcel for riverboat gaming.

Holt could not be reached for comment. The two proposals are the first of what Borough Council members hope will be many different ideas for the property. The council appears to be ready to consider everything and anything for development at this point, including gaming. During a meeting Monday night, '') I I i New zoning aims for a greener Abington ABINGTON from N1 matic dial and panic alarms. Not everyone is happy with the new zoning.

Carl Hanzelik, who lives near the State University Pennsylvania fears the changes Ogontz campus. will ruin the residential character of service areas, could become a problem for residents in the future by limiting their ability to influence the use of existing institutional properties. "One institution would be permitted to sell to lanother institution of a different type, and neither the township nor the residents would be able to prevent the change of use," Hanzelik said. Currently the areas are zoned residential and any institutional use requires a variance from the zoning board. percentage of their land.

The regulations also allow for an increase in the permissible height. "There's no question that if this new proposal is enacted, it allows expansion of these institutions as a right, and that, unquestionably, will negatively impact if not destroy the character of these surrounding communities," Hanzelik said. Lahaza said that be did not think that would happen. Hanzelik also said that the new zoning plan, by delineating a number of allowed uses in community his neighborhood, the zoning of which has been changed from residential to community service. Hanzelik said the new regulations for community service allowed owners of properties not fronting Old York Road to build or pave a greater jy.

Bucks board to vote on a parkland purchase that area," Mitchell said. "Our biggest need for open space is in the southern part of the county." "When you look at all the subdivisions around it, it's packed. Everything on the other side of the canal is half acres," he sai4 about the hundreds of homes built on small plots. "It's really scary when you look at a development map." ick S. Groshens added.

The cost of these two purchases represents a sizable portion of the $2 million allocated in the 1995 bond issue for parkland acquisition. Groshens estimated that by the time an additional 60 acres were bought, half of the bond money wouli-have been spent on this one park. "It's the last large parcel of land in PARK from N1 River, has sewer connections and is approved for development, officials said. "Ever buy a house along the river?" asked Commissioner Charles H. Martin, when questioned about thefhigh cost.

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