‘THOUGHTFUL EDUCATOR:' DCNR remembers fallen park ranger
Alec Campbell, a resource ranger at Tyler State Park in Bucks County, was found dead Sunday after authorities said he went missing in the Neshaminy Creek on Friday.
DCNR posted a tribute to Campbell Thursday to Facebook, describing him as 'a thoughtful educator, drawing on his background in psychology and his experience as a devoted father to make meaningful connections with park visitors, volunteers, and students.'
'With an intense passion for life and an incredible ability to connect with people, Alec brought warmth, humor, and dedication to everything he did,' DCNR said. 'He was an avid disc golfer, hiker, and paddler who loved planting native species and spent countless hours restoring natural areas by removing invasives.'
'He guided many Eagle Scout and youth projects at Tyler and always found a way to engage his audience,' the agency added. 'He once was even described by a middle school group as 'super chill and funny,' which might just be the highest praise anyone could hope for.'
Governor Josh Shapiro had ordered flags to fly at half-staff in Pennsylvania on Tuesday in Campbell's honor. Flags were already ordered to half-staff Monday for Memorial Day.
'Lori and I are praying for the family and friends of Alec Campbell,' Shapiro said in a statement Sunday. 'As I told his wife Rena, we are eternally grateful for Alec's service to his Commonwealth. May his memory be a blessing.'
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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Los Angeles Times
5 days ago
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Los Angeles Times
6 days ago
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She and her cohort have more than once spotted agents in the area and alerted day laborers. About half have scattered, she said, and half have held firm despite the risk. When I asked what motivated Campbell, she said: 'Inhumane, illegal kidnappings. Lack of due process. Actions taken without anyone being held accountable. Seeing people's lives ripped apart. Seeing families being destroyed in the blink of an eye.' Anywhere from a handful to a dozen volunteers show up daily to to hand out literature, patrol the parking lot and check in on day laborers, sometimes bringing them food. Once a week, Nicholls helps organize a rally that includes a march through the parking lot and into the store, where the protesters present a letter asking Home Depot management to 'say no to ICE in their parking lot and in their store.' Nicholls is an LAUSD teacher-librarian, and when she asks for support each week, working and retired teachers answer the call. 'I'm yelling my lungs out,' said retired teacher Mary Rose O'Leary, who joined in the chants of 'ICE out of Home Depot' and 'No hate, no fear, immigrants are welcome here.' 'Immigrants are what make this city what it is … and the path to legal immigration is closed to everybody who doesn't have what, $5 million or something?' O'Leary said, adding that she was motivated by 'the Christian ideal of welcoming the stranger.' Retired teacher Dan Murphy speaks Spanish and regularly checks in with day laborers. 'One guy said to me, 'We're just here to work.' Some of the guys were like, 'We're not criminals … we're just here … to make money and get by,'' Murphy said. He called the raids a flexing of 'the violent arm of what autocracy can bring,' and he resents Trump's focus on Southern California. 'I take it personally. I'm white, but these are my people. California is my people. And it bothers me what might happen in this country if people don't stand firm … I just said, 'I gotta do something.' I'm doing this now so I don't hate myself later.' Nicholls told me she was an activist many years ago, and then turned her focus to work and raising a family. But the combination of wildfires, the cleanup and rebuilding, and the raids, brought her out of activism retirement. 'The first people to come out after the firefighters—the second-responders—were day laborers cleaning the streets,' Nicholls said. 'You'd see them in orange shirts all over the city, cleaning up.' The East Pasadena Home Depot is 'an important store,' because it's a supply center for the rebuilding of Altadena, 'and we're going out there to show our love and solidarity for our neighbors,' Nicholls said. To strike the fear of deportation in the hearts of workers, she said, is 'inhumane, and to me, it's morally wrong.' Nicholls had a quick response when I asked what she thinks of those who say illegal is illegal, so what's left to discuss? 'That blocks the complexity of the conversation,' she said, and doesn't take into account the hunger and violence that drive migration. Her husband, she said, left El Salvador 35 years ago during a war funded in part by the U.S. They have family members with legal status and some who are undocumented and afraid to leave their homes, Nicholls said. I mentioned that I had written about Pasadena Mayor Victor Gordo, who was undocumented as a child, and has kept his passport handy since the raids began. In that column, I quoted Gordo's friend, immigrant-rights leader Pablo Alvarado, director of the National Day Laborer Organizing Network. 'Full disclosure,' Nicholls said, '[Alvarado] is my husband.' It was news to me. When the raids began, Nicholls said, she told her husband, 'I have the summer off, sweetie, but I want to help, and I'm going to call my friends.' On Wednesday, after Nicholls welcomed demonstrators, Alvarado showed up for a pep talk. 'I have lived in this country since 1990 ... and I love it as much as I love the small village where I came from in El Salvador,' Alvarado said. 'Some people may say that we are going into fascism, into authoritarianism, and I would say that we are already there.' He offered details of a raid that morning at a Home Depot in Westlake and said the question is not whether the Pasadena store will be raided, but when. This country readily accepts the labor of immigrants but it does not respect their humanity, Alvarado said. 'When humble people are attacked,' he said, 'we are here to bear witness.' Nicholls led demonstrators through the parking lot and into the store, where she read aloud the letter asking Home Depot to take a stand against raids. Outside, where it was hot and steamy by mid-morning, several sun-blasted day laborers said they appreciated the support. But they were still fearful, and desperate for work. Jorge, just shy of 70, practically begged me to take his phone number. Whatever work I might have, he said, please call.
