Chester County Press 03-31-2021 Edition

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Chester CountyPRESS

www.chestercounty.com

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

Volume 155, No. 13

Wednesday, March 31, 2021

INSIDE Avon Grove plans

for end-of-year activities By Steven Hoffman Staff Writer

SCCCC Connections

Herr Foods’ Thomas receives Distinguished Service Award...5A

Avon Grove School District Superintendent Dr. Christopher Marchese outlined plans for the remainder of the school year during the March 25 school board meeting, expressing his optimism that students will be able to enjoy some of the momentous events as the 2020-2021 school year draws to a close. Marchese said that plans are being developed for the prom to take place on Thursday, June 10, with the graduation ceremony for the Class of 2021 set for 7 p.m. on Friday, June 11. It remains to be seen

INDEX Opinion.......................7A Obituaries..............2B-3B

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Classifieds.............4B-5B

When the Pennsylvania Primary Election takes place on Tuesday, May 18, voters will decide which school board candidates move on to the General Election in November. School board members serve four-year terms. In the Avon Grove School District, there are four seats up for election this year—

Photo by Chris Barber

The Brandywine Red Clay Alliance organized its annual cleanup effort on March 27. Approximately 250 volunteers worked to clean up trash in waterways and adjacent roadways spanning from Kennett Square’s Anson B. Nixon Park to Ashland Nature Center in Hockessin, Del., to Chandler Mill and Wollaston roads to Route 52. Pictured are volunteers Kate Richardson, Dan Showers, Ben Richardson, Jack Showers and Mickey Gordon as they hoist bags of trash they collected in Nixon Park in Kennett Square. For the complete story, see Page 1B.

two in Region I, one in Region II, and one in Region III. Four people—Bruce Belcher, Ruchira Singh, Lynn Weber, and Mike Wooden—cross-filed in Region I. In Pennsylvania, school board candidates are permitted to simultaneously seek the nominations of both the Republican and Democratic parties. In Region II, Christina Manolescu has cross-filed

for a seat on the school board. In Region III, incumbent Bill Wood is seeking another term, while Michael Bruecks is looking to join the board for the first time. Both have cross-filed. There are four seats on the Kennett School Board up for election in this cycle—one in Region A, one in Region B, and two in Region C. Ethan Cramer is seeking the Democratic nomination in Region A. He currently

serves on Kennett Square Borough Council. In Region B, current school board member Jeff McVey has cross-filed in a bid to win a four-year term. Dina Marie Vanover is seeking the Republican nomination in Region B. Vicki Gehrt, the current board vice president, has cross-filed in Region C, while Mark Bowden is seeking the nomination on the Democratic side. There is one at-large seat

and one seat in Region 1, Region 2, and Region 3 up for election in this cycle in the Oxford Area School District. Jennifer Kehs has cross-filed and Sherri MatisMitchell is seeking the Democratic nomination for the at-large seat. Kristen Dean, who currently occupies an at-large seat on the board, is seeking a position in Region 1. Continued on page 4A

Vaccine clinic this Saturday in Kennett Square

Racial achievement gap affecting Chester County schools, report says

Kennett Square Borough and Kennett Township residents who are 65 and over and who have not received their COVID-19 vaccinations yet can now register for a special vaccine clinic that is being planned for this Saturday, April 3. Kennett Square Mayor Matt Fetick announced that the Kennett fire and EMS will have a COVID vaccine clinic from 9 a.m. to noon for borough and township residents. Fetick is coordinating the event with State Rep. Craig Williams. Rep. Williams office is handling the registration and eligibility, while Fetick is handling the clinic itself and staffing it with volunteers. The goal of the clinic is to reach seniors 65 and over and anyone else eligible in group 1A who have not yet gotten the vaccine. There will be 200 doses available. Fetick said that they are pleased to be able to help more local residents get vaccinated as quickly as possible. The clinic is an all-volunteer effort, and the hope is that there will be an opportunity to hold another vaccination clinic if all goes well. Everyone must pre-register by calling Rep. Williams’ office at 610-358-5925. Additionally, Fetick said, volunteers are still needed to staff the clinic. This includes anyone who can help with registration and current or retired medical professionals to administer the vaccination and observe people after the shot. Anyone who wants to volunteer should contact Fetick at mayorfetick@kennettsquarepolice.org.

New report calls for building an educational system that levels the playing field for Black and Hispanic students By Richard L. Gaw Staff Writer Of the 363,500 students who attend public school in the 61 school districts in the four suburban counties south of Philadelphia, 23 percent are Black or Hispanic. According to a recently released report, most of this population -- if not all – continues to be the victims of an unfair educational system that perpetuates discriminatory policies, indifference and racial bias, the results of which are having a crippling effect on minority students in Chester, Bucks, Delaware and Montgomery counties. At an online presentation on March 25, Public Citizens for Children and

Courtesy photo

Tomás Hanna, superintendent of the Coatesville Area School District, was a guest speaker at the online presentation.

Youth (PCCY) shared the specifics and findings of its “No More Dreams Deferred: Building an Education System That Works for Black and Hispanic Students,” that provided in-depth evidence that the public school

education of Black and Hispanic students in southeastern Pennsyvania has reached a crisis point. The report was introduced by PCCY executive director Donna Cooper, and featured commentary by Continued on page 2A

In eye of COVID-19 storm, Center for Change offers calm solutions As divorce rates continue to rise during the pandemic, mediation is proving to be a quieter method of transition By Richard L. Gaw Staff Writer

© 2007 The Chester County Press

Continued on page 4A

Spring cleanup

School board candidates file for Primary Election By Steven Hoffman Staff Writer

New business in downtown Oxford...6A

whether the graduation ceremony will take place, as it normally does, at the Bob Carpenter Center in Newark, Del., or whether it will be held outside at the Avon Grove sports stadium. The district will adhere to the state, county, and local guidelines regarding large gatherings when making the decision. “We are still undecided about where the location will be,” Marchese said, explaining that the administration has been communicating with parents since January about preparations for important events like the prom and graduation.

$1.00

As her professional calendar was about to flip to 2020, Winden Rowe, the director of The Center for Change at Kennett Square, did what she always does at that time of year. She wrote a list of goals for the Center to achieve in

the new year, and at the top of that list was written the words, “Fine Tune.” The exercise had become Rowe’s annual take-abreath, sketchpad moment, and one that would allow her to diagram the collaborative talents of her like-minded providers in ways that would strengthen and condense its counseling,

mediation and wellnessbased services. Within a week, “Fine Tune” became “Rebuild.” On Jan. 3, 2020, the Center’s office in the Willowdale Shopping Center was leveled by a severe fire, forcing its team to quickly occupy another building in the complex. Just as they settled into their

new space, the COVID-19 pandemic swept through Chester County. With very little fanfare and no clear path forward for exactly how she and her colleagues would soldier on through the shutdown, Rowe promptly ripped up her list of goals, because what was about to happen at The Center for Change at

Kennett Square could never be easily contained on a tick-off sheet of to-dos and aspirations. Rather, Rowe and her staff were bracing for what would become a perfect storm, whose power and velocity would create an epidemiological and psychological crisis, much of which would land at their Continued on page 3A


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