Chester County Press 06-12-2019 Edition

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Chester CountyPRESS

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Covering Avon Grove, Chadds Ford, Kennett Square, Oxford, & Unionville Areas

Volume 153, No. 24

Wednesday, June 12, 2019

Possible violations may have begun 10 years ago

DA’s office in ‘final stages’ of securing records in township bank fraud case By Richard L. Gaw Staff Writer In an effort to keep its residents informed and bring calm to a rising windstorm, the Kennett Township Board of Supervisors provided an update at their June 5 meeting that said the Chester County District Attorney’s Office

and a forensic accounting firm are in the final stages of securing records and documents related to the investigation of suspicious transactions discovered in its bank accounts, which was first reported by the banks’ fraud department on April 25. During the meeting, board

East Marlborough and Royal Farms reps spar INSIDE over conditions By Chris Barber Correspondent

Unionville High School’s Class of 2019...1B

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The East Marlborough Township Board of Supervisors approved a conditional use order for a convenience store along Route 1 at their June 3 meeting, but not without considerable discussion and frustration on the part of the applicants. Attorney John Jaros represented Royal Farms, a convenience store which is planned as part of a complex that includes a gas station, medical office and bank on land that was formerly a gas station. A list of conditions was placed on the application by the supervisors. Adherence to the conditions is necessary for the approval to

proceed. The Royal Farms store is planned to be across Route 1 from the Schoolhouse Road outlet from Walmart. It will be very close to the merging point of traffic traveling north and east of Baltimore Pike out of Kennett Square and Route 1. The essence of the disputes came when the supervisors tried to work out what the applicants were going to do about the increased traffic and who was going to pay for it. In the original list of conditions, number 24 imposed an impact fee of $257,472 on the applicants – an amount that was supposed to cover road repairs and construction. But the Continued on Page 3A

chairman Scudder Stevens confirmed that the investigation is exploring the township’s bank transactions as far back as a decade. “We are looking at this very closely now, and have already put into effect changes in policy to understand what’s happening, and make sure that nothing occurs in

the future,” he said. “Take that as understanding that this investigation is crucial for understanding the problem, and that’s the reason why we want a forensic auditor, who is going to look at every transaction for the last ten years, to find out what has happened.” In an opening statement

read before about 30 residents, Stevens said that all township employees have been asked by the District Attorney not to discuss the specifics of the case, in order to avoid sharing details that would jeopardize the case. He did, however, share that Police Chief Lydell Nolt Continued on Page 2A

Service to borough begins July 1

Regional police say ‘Hello’ to Avondale

Photo by Richard L. Gaw

The Southern Chester County Regional Police Department held a town hall meeting on June 4 that introduced officers and staff to residents of the Avondale Borough, whom the department will begin providing coverage for on July 1. Pictured from left to right are Officer Stephen Madonna, Lieutenant Joseph Greenwalt, Deputy Chief Michael King and administrator Sandy Lutz.

By Richard L. Gaw Staff Writer On April 23, the Southern Chester County Regional Police Department (SCCRPD) Public Safety Commissioners and the Avondale Borough Council agreed to an 18-month, $90,000 contract with the regional police to provide

24/7 coverage to the borough’s 1,400 residents beginning on July 1. On June 4, several members of the regional police welcomes members of their new constituency to a town hall meeting at the Avondale Fire Company, to introduce themselves to their new neighbors. Police Chief Gerald

Simpson and several officers gave the 40 residents in attendance a one-hour overview of all police operations, and how the coverage of the borough will meld with the department’s policing of its existing “sectors” – New Garden Township with its 12,000 residents over 16.3 square miles, and West Continued on Page 3A

Oxford Area High School’s 139th annual commencement Summertime art in the spotlight...6B

Diplomas are awarded to 317 graduates of the Class of 2019 By Steven Hoffman Staff Writer

At 6:30 p.m. on Friday, June 7, the 317 members of Oxford Area High School’s Class of 2019 walked—together—into the gymnasium as “Pomp and Circumstance No. 1” Photo by Steven Hoffman played. The gymnasium The 317 students in Oxford Area High School’s Class of was already filled with Octoraro Hotel & Tavern 2019 were greeted with cheers during the processional. proud parents and granddonate to American Cancer Society...4A

INDEX Opinion.......................7A Obituaries...................2B

thoughts and emotions of his classmates: “We finally made it!” Winand welcomed Oxford Area High School’s Class of 2019, as well as their families and friends who had gathered, to the 139th annual commencement. “It was only four short years ago that we entered the halls of OAHS,” Winand Continued on Page 8A

Pomp and Circumstance on the green at Kennett’s outdoor commencement By Chris Barber Correspondent

When Pierre S. Du Pont funded the building of Classifieds.................8B Kennett High School in 1924 and chose William Martin as architect, it’s possible that he © 2007 The Chester County Press had in mind the image of an elegant commencement procession down its front steps. On Friday night, with temperatures in the 70s and a blazing red sunset emerging in the west, Kennett’s class Calendar of Events.....3B

parents, extended family and friends, as well as the school district’s staff—all of whom had helped the students reach this milestone moment in their young lives. At 6:50 p.m., class president Luke Winand stepped to the microphone, looked out at the large crowd, and uttered four magical words that summed up the

of 2019 processed down those steps, arm-in-arm in twos, onto their seats on the green. On this, superintendent Dr. Barry Tomasetti’s last graduation before his retirement, he told the class, “Find something that fills you with passion and joy … Show the world what Kennett graduates are made of.” School Board presiPhoto by Chris Barber dent Joseph Meola praised The senior class members recite the Pledge of Allegiance, led by Nancy Avalos Continued on Page 10A

Rodriguez.


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