Chester CountyPRESS
www.chestercounty.com
Covering Avon Grove, Chadds Ford, Kennett Square, Oxford, & Unionville Areas
Volume 158, No. 1
Wednesday, January 3, 2024
$1.50
Juarez-Lara, Jr. sworn in for four-year term on Oxford Borough Council By Betsy Brewer Brantner Contributing Writer It wasn’t the night before Christmas, but it was the last Oxford Borough Council meeting of the year, which created its own excitement as one of the borough’s younger constituents looked on quietly from her father’s lap. Raul Juarez-Lara, Jr., who previously replaced a coun-
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cil member who chose to resign, was sworn in for four more years beginning on Jan. 2, 2024. The first Latino on this council, and the youngest council member to be sworn in to office, he has stepped up to represent his constituents in the borough. All of this was the perfect ending of a busy and eventful year for Oxford Borough Council, which saw many firsts. By the end
of the year, council meetings were held in front of residents that showed up in great numbers, asked tough questions, and made their opinions known. Hopefully, this will be the new normal in the coming year. The good news for Oxford Borough continued as Rob Malone, the director of programs for the Housing Partnership of Chester County, presented his own gift to the
Borough of Oxford. Malone will be working with the borough to introduce them to the HPCC’s First Time Home Buyer Program. The program is intended to assist low-moderate income individuals and families interested in purchasing a first home in Chester County. The program provides prepurchase home ownership counseling and a loan for down payment and closing
Warren and Vendrick selected to lead Oxford School Board
newly elected members— Jenifer Warren, Debbie Vendrick, Tenile Dewees, Kaitlin Bell and Mark The Oxford School Board Patterson. welcomed its recently electThey then joined the ed members and selected a returning school board Change a life: A journey new leadership team during to the Himalayas...1B members—William Kloss, Kristen Dean, Michael Blessington, Jennifer Kehs—at the table (Patterson, a longtime member of the school board, took part in the meeting remotely). Dean was selected to serve as the temporary president so that the full board could then elect a new leadership team. Kloss nominated Warren for board president, while Photo by Steven Hoffman Kehs nominated herself, Economic Development District Judge Scott Massey swore in the newly elect- and then nominated both Council highlights ed members of the Oxford School Board at the begin- Dean and Patterson. Dean By Steven Hoffman Staff Writer
county’s economic milestones...5B
costs to first-time buyers. The program is aimed at rehabilitating blighted properties with health and safety hazards and turning them into first homes. Oxford Borough Manager Pauline Garcia-Allen saw this as a win-win for the
borough. “We have abandoned properties in the borough and we could use this program as a tool to help the borough and to provide a first home for an eligible buyer,” she said. Continued on Page 2A
FROM OUR LENS Hiking into the new year
the reorganization meeting held at the district’s Administration Building on Dec. 5. The meeting began with District Judge Scott Massey officially swearing in the
ning of the reorganization meeting.
Photo by Richard L. Gaw
Christopher Penna and his son Jeremy Penna of Newark began 2024 with a nature walk along the Pennell Trail at the White Clay Creek Preserve in Landenberg on Jan. 1. Those looking to escape to any one of several parks and preserves in Chester County this weekend may be accompanied by a forecast of snowfall.
Continued on Page 3A
Snow sworn in as Penn Township's newest supervisor
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Long-time resident was elected to the board in November
© 2007 The Chester County Press
By Marcella Peyre-Ferry Contributing Writer Carlton Snow has been elected to fill the seat of longtime township supervisor Curtis Mason, who did not run for re-election after 21 years of service on the board of supervisors.
Snow, a republican, has been a resident of Penn Township for 32 years. “I thought it was time to give back,” he said. “Curtis, among other people in the township, asked me (to run). I thought about it for a while. It’s not something I jumped into because it’s a
six-year commitment.” In spite of the commitment involved, Snow also had the support of his wife Stacie and son Justin. During his campaign he knocked on over 1,400 doors and met many township residents. “I want to thank all the supervisors and Curtis for
supporting me. That is very much appreciated,” he said. Snow, age 60, is a working foreman for Dewson Construction out of Wilmington, Del. He has been a builder for 30 years and is very familiar with building codes. “I’m still working, I’m still able to
do it,” he said. “I feel good for my age. I don’t let grass grow under my feet.” Life is not all about work and Snow enjoys camping and traveling in the family’s RV. “I enjoy fishing and camping and being with family. Continued on Page 3A
Randy Lieberman, publisher, community leader, passes at 62 By Richard L. Gaw Staff Writer Randall Stone “Randy” Lieberman, 62, the longtime publisher of the Chester County Press and several regional magazines, passed away on Dec. 26 at Christiana Hospital in Newark, Del., surrounded by his wife and children. He was the spouse of Amy Jo McDowell Lieberman, with whom he shared 33 years of marriage. Born in Bryn Mawr, Pa., he was the son of the late Irvin Lieberman and Judy (Hartle) Lieberman, and was a proud graduate of Unionville High School, as well as Susquehanna University and Franklin College in Switzerland.
For the past four decades, Randy was the architect of the Chester County Press, where under his vision and leadership, the newspaper has increased circulation, expanded its editorial content and broadened its online readership, and continues to provide thousands of area residents with often exclusive reporting on local politics, schools and school districts, arts and entertainment, business and commerce and profiles of local leaders and stakeholders. Through his leadership, the company produces twice-a-year editions of several magazines that are circulated throughout Chester County, Delaware and Maryland; as well as
partners with several business chamber groups in creating their publications. For 32 years, he and Amy raised their children Avery and Stone at the historic “Misty Hollow” property in Landenberg, where in addition to his commitment as a husband, father and a business owner, Lieberman’s decades-long service to the southern Chester County community saw him shine in several initiatives. Together with his friends in the mushroom industry, Lieberman was a key member of the Mushroom Festival; as a life-long conservationist, he was a past president of the New Garden Township Open Space Review Board and he Continued on Page 3A
Photo by Richard L. Gaw
Randy Lieberman