def __removeEmptyForward(items, startIndex, length):
    """Removes empty lines at the beginning"""
    toRemove = []
    for index in range(startIndex, length):
        if not items[index].strip():
            toRemove.append(index)
    for index in range(len(toRemove)):
        items.pop(toRemove[-(index + 1)])
    return items
