Chester CountyPRESS
www.chestercounty.com
Covering Avon Grove, Chadds Ford, Kennett Square, Oxford, & Unionville Areas
Volume 154, No. 18
INSIDE
Wednesday, May 6, 2020
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Township files civil action against former manager By Richard L. Gaw Staff Writer
From the time a press release from the Chester County District Attorney’s was first circulated on Dec. 10, 2019 detailing the results of the office’s eight-month investigation Talula’s Table deliv- that led to the arrest former ers meals to essential Kennett Township Manager workers...5A Lisa Moore for allegedly embezzling $3,249,453 from taxpayers, the township has been on a quest to recover as much of the stolen money as possible. Last week, the township formally initiated a civil action against Moore and her boyfriend, Brian Gore,
who allegedly received full medical benefits from the township by pretending to be married to Moore, which cost the township $50,000. “In terms of recovery, the township is exploring all options to recover as much money as possible,” said Richard Leff, chairman of the township’s Board of Supervisors. “However, the first stop remains the former manager. This civil action puts [Moore and Gore] on notice that there may be a lawsuit coming with regard to claims that the township may have, in regard to money that needs to be paid back.” The civil litigation against
Moore and Gore is one component of the recovery efforts being made by the township, which is working with former Assistant U.S. Attorney Joe Poluka, a recovery specialist, and his team at Blank Rome LLP. Moore, who was hired by the township in 1997 and promoted to township manager in 2010, had allegedly engaged in several long-time, multi-pronged schemes to steal money from the township. She is alleged to have created her own personal parlor game of trickery with township funds beginning in 2013 that had been intended to be used for employee ben-
efits, the township’s police department, land preservation and several other township operations. As stated in the DA’s report, she allegedly used the stolen money to pay for extravagant personal expenses, travel to countries like Italy and France, and to Las Vegas and spent township money at clothing boutiques such as Michael Kors, Gucci and Chanel. In April 2019, however, the intricate system that she had created over the past six years began to unravel, when Leff received a phone call from the Capital One Fraud Department
Lincoln receives grant...1B
Opinion.......................7A Obituaries...........2B & 4B Classifieds..................6B
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scheduled for May 16, has been canceled.
Chester County Commissioners establish Main Street Preservation grant program
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Businesses can seek up to $25,000 in funding to help mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 shutdown. A webinar to explain grant eligibility and the application process is set for May 7
© 2007 The Chester County Press
By Steven Hoffman Staff Writer A new lifeline will soon be available to Chester County businesses that have been hurt during the economic shutdown that was prompted by the coronavirus pandemic. A grant program created at the request of the Chester
County Commissioners provides funding for small businesses and agricultural enterprises in the county that were unable to take advantage of any federal and commonwealth COVID19 response programs. Grants of up to $25,000 will be available to all eligible businesses through the Chester County Main Street
Preservation program. The county has set aside $5 million for the program. “Our reason for this program – its purpose – is right there in the name,” explained Chester County Commissioners’ chair Marian Moskowitz. “Preservation of Chester County’s main street businesses is a crucial part of
our economic recovery and we are determined to do all that we can to make sure they survive the impact of COVID-19.” The application and award process for the competitive grant program will be administered by the Chester County Economic Development Council Continued on Page 2A
During shutdown, Garage youth center is helping students and the community By Richard L. Gaw Staff Writer On normal days throughout the year, the Garage Community & Youth Centers in West Grove and in Kennett Square are bustling with the sound of young people at work, in the company of Garage staff and small armies of volunteers and mentors. This is not a normal time to be living through, however, and although the coronavirus shutdown of most of Pennsylvania has closed the Garage’s doors to its usual activities, the centers are still moving at a furious pace, with initiatives intended to keep its
programs and mission alive. Through online community donations, the Garage has raised nearly $10,000 – including a $5,000 grant from the United Way of Chester County -- for its COVID-19 Response Fund to support staff who are committed to supporting the students and communities they reach. The funding has helped give the Garage’s students access to “The Virtual Garage,” that allows virtual students to conduct schoolwork checks and academic assistance, as well as mental and emotional support – through Zoom meetings with staff and volunteers. Working with the Garage’s
Courtesy photo
The Garage’s Kennett Square location has been converted into a temporary distribution center for area families to pick up essential household items.
graduate coordinator and volunteer coordinators, students benefit from virtual student tutoring, SAT preparation, Career Compass summer employment opportunities, and assistance with college and
By Frank Lobb
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By Richard L. Gaw Staff Writer
For the past several decades, the Borough of Kennett Square has been a town of open air festivals and celebrations, none of which has taken up more square footage than the annual Kennett Run, that has for the past 30 years sent hundreds of runners through its main streets and back roads on one Saturday morning in May every year. Yet, like the Mushroom University Festival, the Cinco de preservation Mayo Festival and the Memorial Day parade, all it took was the arrival of Photo by Richard L. Gaw a huge pandemic to wipe Out of safety concerns related to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 Kennett Run,
INDEX
“Their Two Definitions for Covered Services”
financial aid applications. The Garage’s staff is also picking up school work from the Kennett Consolidated School District office and delivering it to students who do not have internet access.
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Thanks to local sponsors, however, Kennett Run Charities, Inc. will still distribute $40,000 to food, housing and emergency services efforts in community
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What You Need to Know About Health Insurance
As much as the insurance industry would like us to believe that the “covered services” for our healthcare plan are the services our insurer will approve and pay for, they are not. In fact, covered services are simply services that may be available, if our plan agrees to approve and pay for them in a particular instance. And, while this might seem a trivial point, I assure you it is not. It’s a misunderstanding that distorts the entire process of accessing the care we need and expect from our plan. Worse yet, it’s a misunderstanding that is actively promoted by the healthcare insurance industry, i.e., one set of Covered Services when we get our plan, another when it comes to paying for the care we need. In an earlier article we stressed the importance of understanding that our health insurance is really nothing more than a membership in a “plan” that subcontracts the delivery of healthcare for a monthly fee. Because, if we actually had health “insurance,” the covered services would be contractually defined in a signed and legally enforceable policy. However, because our healthcare plan provides such no signed policy, there literally can’t be any contractually defined and guaranteed Covered Services. Consequently, what we are led to view as the care we are owed from our plan is nothing more than what the plan “might” approve and pay for. Probably the best way to understand this deliberate misrepresentation of covered services is to ask yourself what your plan would say if asked whether a replacement knee is a covered Service. I trust we can all agree the plan would reply with a resounding, “Yes.” However, should you actually need a replacement knee and your plan refuse to approve and pay for it, you will most certainly be told the plan is “Denying Coverage,” i.e., it’s not a Covered Service. It’s pretty much like having your house burn down and being told your fire insurance doesn’t cover fire damage. Which leads to the question of how can a healthcare plan insist that a replacement knee is a Covered Service and then turn around and deny coverage for that very operation when it comes to paying for it. The truth is they couldn’t if your plan actually qualified as insurance. However, because what we are asked to view as health insurance is insurance in name only, our healthcare plan sees itself free to overrule our doctor and change the definition of Covered Services essentially at will.
Kennett Run 2020 canceled Oxford teacher receives award...1B
Part 3 in a series