Yeadon — At the borough’s final quarterly mayor’s forum on Dec. 4, the mayor installed Pastor Noel Cherry as the town’s new police chaplain, honored detectives for an investigation into the alleged theft of an elderly resident’s credit card, and took repeated resident questions about what to do when emails to elected officials are not returned.

The mayor opened the meeting by describing the forum’s purpose as a quarterly town-hall-style check on local leadership and introduced council members in attendance, including Councilor Jesse Petes, Council President Antoinette Trueheart and Councilor Nicole Beatty. After a brief invocation from Bishop Karen Dixon and the Pledge of Allegiance, Yeadon’s police chief gave a public-safety update, saying crime “has been going down” and announcing the department’s final accreditation visit scheduled for Jan. 22, which he said can help with transparency and with insurance and grant competitiveness.

Council President Toni Trueheart framed the chaplaincy as a support service for officers and the community: “Our officers see and experience so much more than you could possibly understand,” she said, describing chaplains’ roles as grief counseling, on-call support and neighborhood outreach. Trueheart and chaplains also discussed alerts and community-notification tools such as Delco Alert and direct calls for emergencies.

During a ceremonial moment, Pastor Noel Cherry placed a hand on a Bible and recited the chaplain’s oath, pledging to “render aid, comfort and counsel” to officers and public servants. The mayor pronounced a benediction and asked the crowd to join in congratulating the new chaplain.

The mayor read a mayoral citation dated Dec. 4, 2025, honoring Detective Leah Cesnik and Officer William McCollum for their work on an investigation into alleged credit-card theft targeting a vulnerable nursing-home resident at Providence Rehabilitation Center on Wickombe Avenue. The citation states that the investigation produced evidence, led to the assailant’s arrest and that the suspect was charged with theft, receiving stolen property and access-device fraud. The citation described the investigation as the result of “painstaking investigative work.”

Chief remarks and the mayor’s citation highlighted the department’s focus on quality-of-life crimes and on partnership with county and state officials; the chief said accreditation and professional standards are ongoing and not a one-time designation.

Residents used the forum’s public-comment portion to raise procedural concerns. One attendee asked: “If we don't receive an answer even after a follow-up, what is the protocol with regards to that so that we can assure that the issues that we have are actually being addressed?” Council leaders advised escalating through the chain of command, pursuing in-person follow-up and, if necessary, taking the matter to the council president or borough manager. Trueheart and other councilors cautioned that personnel matters cannot be discussed publicly by law, but encouraged residents to seek mediation or direct contact to resolve outstanding issues.

The mayor also presented a citation recognizing Monique Curry Mims as Missus Delaware County 2025 and highlighted her education, business (Civic Capital Consulting) and local volunteer activities; Mims said, “Thank you,” after being honored.

Councilor Nicole Beatty promoted upcoming community events including next Friday’s tree-lighting (7 p.m.), an ugly-sweater contest and a Dec. 29 Kwanzaa event at the Yeadon Library. The forum concluded with a community raffle for gift cards (several $10 Wawa/Walmart cards, two $25 Visa cards and a $50 Visa grand prize), holiday greetings and refreshments.

What happens next: the police department’s accreditation final-leg visit is scheduled for Jan. 22; council leaders encouraged residents with unresolved constituent-service issues to follow up in person or with the borough manager when email responses are not forthcoming.

Sources: Meeting transcript of the Dec. 4, 2025 Yeadon mayor’s forum, including remarks by the mayor, Bishop Karen Dixon, Council President Antoinette Trueheart and the police chief. Direct quotations and factual claims in this article are taken from the forum transcript.