Racial Conflict not new to area
Panther Valley gathering provides open, honest dialogue

Times News, Allentown PA.

Calling the event a “launching point for the future of the Panther Valley Community,” Superintendent of Schools J. Christopher West on Monday welcomed a cultural diversity expert to a town hall meeting, held in the high school auditorium.

As West opened the meeting, which was attended by approximately 100 district residents, he said that during the past three months there have been several racial incidents, including a fight that broke out during a football game. “We’ve had our difficulties; we’ve had our struggles,” West told the audience. “We have reached far and wide and our search led us to Colorado.”

West then introduced Peter Vogel, founder and managing director of Safe to Relate, an organization that deals in diversity and cross-cultural issues.