Chester CountyPRESS
www.chestercounty.com
Covering Avon Grove, Chadds Ford, Kennett Square, Oxford, & Unionville Areas
Volume 155, No. 4
INSIDE
Wednesday, January 27, 2021
$1.00
Fire hits Victory Brewing, adjoining apartments in Kennett Square Explosion jolts 600 block of West Cypress Street Monday evening By Chris Barber Contributing writer
2021 Health & Medical Guide
Local artist named National Wildlife Federation featured artist...1B
Residents throughout Kennett Square reported hearing and feeling the jarring explosion that proceeded a fire at a brewery and apartments in the 600 block of West Cypress Street on Monday evening. The blaze at Victory Brewing Company and the apartments above the brewery was first reported at around 6:28 p.m., and soon emergency responders from throughout the area were on hand to assist the Kennett Fire Company in battling the blaze. The brewery was not open at the time of the incident
and residents from the apartments that are located above the first floor of the building were evacuated, as were neighbors in the nearby homes. As of 8 p.m. on Monday, no injuries had been reported and it did not appear that any EMS units were actively rescuing people. Firefighters at the scene were warning onlookers to avoid areas where there were gas lines underneath the road surface. As long as an hour after the first call, there was still smoke billowing from the Photo by Chris Barber building and flames coming The Kennett Fire Company was assisted by emergency responders from three out a second story window. counties as they battled a blaze at Victory Brewing Company and its adjoining A fire company report apartments in Kennett Square Monday evening. The cause of the fire and explosion Continued on page 3A
was still being investigated.
Unionville-Chadds New Garden moving Ford School Board forward with two ideas for approves Longhorns St. Anthony in the Hills as new high school mascot Outdoor pool, outdoor movie theater
By Monica Thompson Fragale Contributing Writer Fiorillo elected president of Chester County Bar Association...3A
INDEX Opinion.......................5A Obituaries..............2B-3B Classifieds..................4B
Courtesy photo
New Garden Township has entered into an agreement with Splash, LLC, the owners of the Splash Swim Club, a private member swim club in Marple Township (seen in photo), to renovate and operate the long-dormant pool at St. Anthony in the Hills.
To Subscribe Call 610.869.5553
By Richard L. Gaw Staff Writer Over the last several years, New Garden Township and its Board of Supervisors have spearheaded efforts that have positioned the town-
County Regional Police Department and the preservation of additional township land. Another one of the achievements -- their $1.5 million purchase of the 137.5-acre St. Anthony Continued on page 2A
Continued on page 3A
New Garden announces distribution of proceeds from sewer sale By Richard L. Gaw Staff Writer Even before the proceeds from the nearly $30 million sale of its sewage system were forwarded into New Garden Township’s account in late December, specula-
tion ran rampant as to how the township would distribute portions of that big pay day, and to whom. At their Jan. 19 online meeting, the Board of Supervisors sliced up a bit of those proceeds in the form of major contributions and necessary
payments. At the time of the transaction’s closing on Dec. 21, 2020, the final agreement of sale came to $29,756,567.05, which was wired into the township’s account, and also stipulated that the $3.58 million remaining in the township’s Sewer
Authority account would be placed in the township’s capital fund. From that dollar amount, the township plans to funnel $21,774,761 back into the township’s investment portfolio, for possible use over the next decade to 20 years. The sum is expect-
ed to draw an annual one percent return in interest – about $210,000 a year. The township will then allocate $2,307,871 toward expenditures, which will include $250,000 for St. Anthony in the Hills; $238,000 Continued on page 4A
KAPA plans improvements for soccer fields in the park By Steven Hoffman Staff Writer
© 2007 The Chester County Press
ship as a true game changer in the world of local government – high point moments that have included the recent sale of its outdated wastewater system for $29.5 million, the construction of the new home for the Southern Chester
The Unionville-Chadds Ford School Board unanimously adopted the Longhorns as the new high school mascot at Monday’s board meeting. A committee of students, staff, alumni, and community members helped narrow more than 500 suggestions for a new mascot down to two – the Longhorns and the Stampede, according to U-CF School Board President Jeff Hellrung. Students at the high school, as well as eighth graders at Patton Middle School, were also asked about their preferences, and almost 70 percent of them favored the Longhorns moniker, according to a story by high school students Jenna Ahert
and Olivia Kenyon that was read at the school board meeting. “An intricate aspect of selecting the Longhorn was acknowledging and honoring the community’s history,” Kenyon said. The article that both students wrote now appears on the district’s webpage and will be published by the Unionville Post, the high school’s student-run newspaper, in February. The Longhorn name evokes memories of the King Ranch, for many years a working cattle ranch between Unionville and Coatesville whose spring roundup would draw locals to watch the wrangling, Kenyon explained. “Each April from 1946 to 1974, cattle arrived in Chester County by train and
A presentation by the Kennett Area Park Authority (KAPA) topped the agenda for Kennett Square Borough Council during the meeting on Jan. 19. Richard Lyon, the chair of KAPA, explained that the conditions of the soccer fields in the Anson B.
Nixon Park have declined to the point where the Southern Chester County Soccer Association has moved on to other fields in the area. When the Southern Chester County Soccer Association wasn’t using the fields, they were usually open to the community. There has been noticeable settlement of the fields which has led to the decline
in quality. Last year, Lyon explained, KAPA members met with officials from the Southern Chester County Soccer Association, the Southeastern Chester County Refuse Authority (SECCRA), and Kennett Township manager Eden Ratliff to try and come up with a solution for the declining condition of the fields. The site was previously a landfill. Total
remediation for the soccer fields is estimated to be more than $250,000. Anson B. Nixon Park is owned and operated by KAPA. When the Southern Chester County Soccer Association found other venues to use, KAPA lost a significant source of revenues. Lyon was joined by KAPA board members John Gaadt, Mark
McGreevy, and Nancy Ayllon-Ramirez, all of whom talked about how the KAPA board believes there is a strong need for recreational soccer fields in the community, and they outlined some options on how KAPA can proceed. Lyon explained that the KAPA board has approved a preliminary redesign that would have them develop Continued on page 2A