Chester CountyPRESS
www.chestercounty.com
Covering Avon Grove, Chadds Ford, Kennett Square, Oxford, & Unionville Areas
Volume 152, No. 5
INSIDE
Wednesday, January 31, 2018
60 Cents
Avon Grove School Board set to Acts of begin deliberating facilities options heroism in Avon More Than 81% of Listening Post Participants Surveyed Support the Facilities Input Group Recommendation Grove By Steven Hoffman Staff Writer
Committee addresses future of Somerset Lake...5A
Area photographer to join expedition to Mongolia...1B
Avon Grove School District officials have spent the last several months 8.8% holding nearly two dozen 4.9% “listening post” sessions as a way to gather community Strongly Support input as the district pre4.9% pares to make a decision about how to address its Somewhat Support long-term facilities needs. Now that the listening Need More Information posts have been completed and valuable information and feedback from stakeSomewhat Oppose holders has been gathered, it’s time for the school 15.7% Strongly Oppose board to start deliberating facilities options. Superintendent Dr. Christopher Marchese 65.7% said following the Jan. 25 *This graphic was created using data from the Avon Grove School District’s most recent facilities newsletter. school board meeting that he hopes residents and stakeholders will remain phase and the school board ensure that the buildings seven facilities planning fully engaged in the pro- begins to discuss the vari- meet the academic needs of work sessions are planned cess as it enters a new ous facilities options to students. A series of at least Continued on Page 2A
Three Avon Grove High School students acted quickly to help save one man’s life in November. Then, in January, two of the school’s nurses helped to save another man’s life
Photo by Steven Hoffman
Nurses Colleen Munger and Karen Flad provided life-saving assistance to a person who suffered a cardiac event.
Congressional map ‘clearly, plainly, and palpably’ violates state constitution, court says
The Brandywine looks back at Weymouth’s artistic legacy...3B
INDEX Opinion........................7A Obituaries...................2B Calendar of Events.....3B
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Classifieds..................5B
© 2007 The Chester County Press
Pa. Supreme Court calls for redrawing of state’s district boundaries By Richard L. Gaw Staff Writer Declaring it unconstitutional, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court reached a 4-3 decision last week that called for the boundaries of the state’s 18 congressional districts to be redrawn, in what many lawmakers and experts predict will rattle up the future of state politics. In its order, the court declared that the state’s congressional map “clearly, plainly, and palpably” vio-
Courtesy photo
Students Long Tran, Shaun Kushnerock and Josh Prosser helped save a life at the Jennersville YMCA two months ago.
By Steven Hoffman Staff Writer
lates the state constitution, and that future districting shall consist of congressional districts composed of compact and contiguous territory; as nearly equal in population as practicable; and which do not divide any county, city, incorporated town, borough, township, or ward, except where necessary to ensure equality of population. The court order, Courtesy art issued Jan. 22, gives the The recent decision by the Pennsylvania Supreme R e p u b l i c a n - c o n t r o l l e d Court that calls for a redrawing of the state’s conLegislature until Feb. 9 gressional map is expected to streamline the peculiar Continued on Page 3A
boundaries of the 7th District.
Blaze hits Oxford Sunoco
Photos by Oxford Union Fire Company No. 1
A fire ripped through the Oxford Sunoco during the overnight hours on Tuesday, Jan. 30. The Oxford Union Fire Company No. 1 responded to the blaze. Assistance on the scene was provided by the West Grove, Cochranville, Rising Sun, and Quarryville fire companies. Oxford Sunoco is one of Oxford’s most enduring businesses. It first opened in June of 1940 as Moroney’s Nu-Blu Sunoco Station.
Growing green at Patton Middle School Students get Tower Garden units that will grow food year-round By John Chambless Staff Writer Right now, in the depth of winter, vegetables are green and growing at Patton Middle School, thanks to some brand-new Tower Garden units that were set up last week. On Friday morning, eighthgrade students at the school learned about the science of aeroponics and built three of
the seven-foot growing towers in a classroom shared by teachers Betsy Ballard and Kimberly Hisler. Duane McCarthy, a representative of of the Tower Garden company, was on hand to explain how the units work and give tips about their assembly and maintenance. The towers are a conPhotos by John Chambless tinuation of Patton’s FCS Duane McCarthy, a representative of the Tower Garden Garden Initiative, which company, speaks to students at Patton Middle School Continued on Page 2A last week.
There are some true heroes walking the crowded hallways of Avon Grove High School. Two school nurses and three students helped to save lives during two separate incidents in the last few months. At the Jan. 25 school board meeting, superintendent Dr. Christopher Marchese recognized the heroics of nurses Colleen Munger and Karen Flad. They acted quickly when a driver who was at the high school to transport one of the school’s students experienced a cardiac event while in the main office of the building. Munger and Flad responded to the situation quickly and they were able to keep the person alive until the paramedics arrived. Marchese explained that he is a big Philadelphia Eagles fan, and at the start of each home game the team recognizes what they refer to as “hometown heroes.” The superintendent said that he was pleased to be able to recognize a few heroes in the Avon Grove community who put their experience and training to very good use. The superintendent also recognized the recent heroics of three students, Shaun Krushnerock, Josh Prosser, and Long Tran. They were all at the YMCA in Jennersville one day in late November when an elderly gentleman suffered a cardiac event while exercising. The quick-acting students joined an off-duty Pennsylvania State Trooper who performed CPR and together they were able to provide the necessary assistance to the man. Marchese said that he was speaking on behalf of the school board and the administration when he offered a heartfelt thank you to all five of the heroes. “We feel very proud of what these students and nurses were able to do for a community member,” Marchese said. To contact Staff Writer Steven Hoffman, email editor@chestercounty.com.