All ready for the first day of school
Public meeting on Artesian well expected to draw continued opposition
To be held Sept. 8 at Avondale Fire Company
By Richard L. Gaw Staff Writer
Before its upcoming ruling, one that may determine the future of water distribution in New Garden Township and beyond, the Delaware River Basin Commission will soon be giving local residents an opportunity to voice their opinion on one of the hottest topics in recent township memory.
On Sept. 8 at the Avondale Fire Company, the Commission (DRBC) will hold a public input meeting at 7 p.m., to hear from residents in the New Garden area regarding Artesian Water Company’s application to withdraw water from the Broad Run
Camp Dreamcatcher: Twenty years of changing lives
By Steven Hoffman Staff Writer
During its 20-year history, Camp Dreamcatcher has provided free therapeutic and educational programs to nearly 5,000 youngsters whose lives have been adversely affected by HIV or AIDS. Patty Hillkirk, the founder and executive director of the camp, has a personal friendship with most, if not all, of the children who have sought the care, comfort, and companionship that the camp’s staff provides. Hillkirk will tell anyone who asks that she considers the children not just friends, but part of her extended, loving family.
No matter how well they know each other, family members will still surprise each other from time to time. One discussion during this year’s camp took Hillkirk by surprise, even though she has facilitated thousands, if not tens of thousands, of discussions with children through the
years. A group of about fourteen 10- and 11-year-olds from two different cabins were brought together for a discussion about how HIV or AIDS was impacting their lives. No sooner was this group of children in the same room together when one youngster started discussing very openly and honestly some of the issues that he was facing at home. The other youngsters listened without judgment and were soon trying to help the first boy by sharing their own experiences. No facilitator was needed for this talk. The children were going to lead it themselves.
“It was one of those moments,” Hillkirk explained, “when you say, ‘That’s why we’re here.’”
When Hillkirk makes this comment, she is wearing a t-shirt and lanyard from the first camp 20 years ago. This year’s camp, which took place from Aug. 23 to Aug. 29 at Camp Saginaw in Oxford, is the start of a year of special activities to
mark its 20th anniversary. As the Kennett Square-based organization reaches a major milestone in its history, it is a natural time to think about how far Camp Dreamcatcher has come since the first one was held at Camp Sunset Hill in Chadds Ford. There were 53 children and 28 counselors at that first camp, compared to approximately 130 campers this year.
“It’s been a year of a lot of reflection for our counselors and campers,” Hillkirk explained. “We’ve taken this as an opportunity to reflect on where we’ve been and where we’re going.”
Hillkirk founded Camp Dreamcatcher in the mid-1990s to help children who were either HIV-positive themselves or who had close family members who were HIV-positive. She started the camp because she saw that children who were dealing with these challenges lived lives of secrecy and unnecessary shame. These children needed professional counseling; they needed
Township mulls support of mushroom-to-energy initiative
By Richard L. Gaw Staff Writer
The New Garden Township Board of Supervisors is considering lending their support to federal and private grant applications that a local company wants to file, in order to acquire and use technology to make better environmental use of mushroom substrate.
Tom Cahue from the Oxfordbased E & H Conveyors, a company that cleans out mushroom houses in southern Chester County, asked the supervisors at their Aug. 31 meeting to lend the township’s name to federal and private grants they would like to submit, in the hopes that they will be able to purchase one or more fuel-efficient incinerators to turn mushroom
substrate into renewable fuel.
Cahue said that the company processes a quarter million tons of substrate a year.
“We have more mushroom substrate than we know what to do with,” Cahue told the supervisors. “In trying to research a solution for this problem, we discovered that there is a process that would allow us to convert compost substrate into fuel for creating energy, which would be sold back to mushroom growers, in order to run their machines to grow mushrooms again.”
The incinerator is approximately the size of a shipping container, Cahue said.
“This technology would allow us to get rid of the compost in an environmentally friendly way and create renewable ener-
gy for an entire subset of the cleaning process,” Cahue said. “We want to do something that would be very beneficial to the area. This is a way to make the best use of substrate. The substrate becomes energy, and the energy will go right back to the farmers.”
To apply for these grants, the company would need the support of either a non-profit organization, a municipality, or a township. Cahue said that the township is the first municipality that they have approached about the use of the machinery, and that if they secure the rights to operate the incinerator, E & H Conveyors would use the technology exclusively in New Garden Township – specifically
well in Landenberg. The topic is already well known to many in the township: Artesian Water Pennsylvania, Inc. is seeking approval to withdraw as much as 288,000 gallons of water per day -- at a rate of 200 gallons per minute and over 100 million gallons a year -- from a well it owns at the corner of Broad Run and Newark roads, on property they purchased from the Wilkinson family several years ago.
Currently, Artesian serves 38 homes in the New Garden area, but in its application, it requests expanding its service territory to include service to additional property slated for development.
Artesian states than an estimated
Artesian’s proposed plans for water distribution extend from New Garden up to the Delaware state line, a plan that has raised concern that the Delaware-based company is positioning itself to eventually pump the water from the Broad Run well over the state line, in order to serve tens of thousands of Delawareans. The objections don’t end there: Several residents and local officials continue to hammer home -- through letter-writing campaigns, meetings and appeals to agencies -- that the number of homes Artesian currently serves and the number of gallons it is requesting to use with the well -- simply don’t add up.
important part of their lives.
adults in their lives that they could trust; they needed various forms of therapy; and they needed a safe environment where they can just be children.
“We focus on HIV and AIDS, but the issues that we deal with are so much wider than that.
Many of our kids face issues of community violence or drug abuse,” Hillkirk explained, adding that many of the youngsters
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are also from families that struggle financially. In an effort to address those wider issues, the Camp Dreamcatcher team presents therapeutic and counseling sessions that focus on real-world issues that many of the youngsters are facing: bullying, community violence, the need for proper nutrition and health,
liberal in over his head
By Uncle Irvin
If you look at the makeup of Congress, or the Pennsylvania General Assembly, you will be able to identify many Tea Party conservatives, as well as liberals.
Pocopson and Birmingham townships, perhaps the very wealthiest in Chester County? Many homes exceed $1 million, household income is over $250,000, etc., so what are the chances of electing a social liberal to the school board?
I don’t know, but I do know that one of the wackiest liberal highbrows you can run into is Dr. Michael Rock, an elected member of the Unionville-Chadds Ford School Board from the Pocopson, Newlin and Birmingham district.
To make a long story short, the School Board and the teachers’ union are fighting for either one of two proposals for increasing teacher compensation, starting with the 2016 school year. The U-CF teachers’ union is the greediest and the most strident in southern Chester County. The union’s compensation demands are 4.9 percent per year for three consecutive years -- a compounded
Photo by John Chambless
At Pocopson Elementary School (above) and Unionville High School, it wasn’t just the first day for students on Aug. 31. Both schools got new principals as well. See story on Page 1B.
Photo by Steven Hoffman
Katrina Miller and Mahaybe Crowder said that the camp is an
Artesian meeting...
Continued from Page 1A
210 customers are expected to live in the area, but no homes are under construction and no building permits have been submitted to the township. By establishing a presence in New Garden Township, Artesian would be able to expand its public water service to several properties on Buttonwood, Broad Run and Newark roads in Landenberg, as well as nine other properties that have been projected for future development. In order to get the green light to begin pumping, Artesian
must receive a water withdraw permit from the DRBC as well as obtain franchise approval from the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) to expand its service area.
The DRBC, a regional body governed by five commissioners, each representing Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, New York and the federal government, has already delayed approval of Artesian’s permit twice, but is expected to vote on the well at its public hearing and business meeting on September 15 and 16.
Although the final ruling is
Still Time to Register
expected to be handed down this month, there is no guarantee that it will even be addressed at the DRBC’s upcoming meeting. David Kovach, a DRBC geologist and project review section supervisor, told the Chester County Press earlier this year that given a backlog of other applications that he and the DRBC commissioners are scheduled to review at the Commission’s September meeting, a final decision may not be reached until it meets again in December.
The decision to hold the Sept. 8 meeting came at the request of State Sen. Andrew Dinniman, who has been the leading publicly-elected advocate in raising concerns about the project’s potential impact on well water levels and the local environment.
“I want to thank the DRBC for holding this meeting and for coming to our area to hear directly from those potentially impacted by this important project,” Dinniman said. “If you live in New Garden, Franklin, Landenberg, London Britain or the surrounding area, or have a business there that relies on well water, I encourage you to learn about Artesian’s plans and to make your voice heard on September 8.”
On the heels of the DRBC decision, the PUC is currently reviewing the letters and reports of the more than 100 individuals and groups -- classified as
“intervener” or “party of record” -- who submitted their protests about Artesian’s interests, earlier in the year. During that time, Artesian’s attorneys filed objections to their standing, but on March 13, PUC Administrative Law Judges Cynthia Williams Fordham and Darlene Heep approved the standing of some individuals as part of the official record.
PUC commissioners have assured Dinniman that they also plan to hold a public input hearing in the New Garden area before giving their final ruling.
“This issue is connected to the larger question of development in southern Chester County,” Dinniman said. “The area remains one of the last rural and agricultural bastions of open space in our county and there is a real desire to keep it that way.
“When it comes to matters of protecting our natural resources, I have a constitutional duty and a moral responsibility to represent my constituents and defend their interests. And I cannot think of a more important natural resource than the very water we drink.”
While Sen. Dinniman has argued his case from the legislative side, the Save Our Water Committee has done the same from a grass-roots approach, receiving the support of over 2,000 residents who have signed on in opposition to Artesian’s presence in southern Chester County. As the Committee prepares its comments for the Sept. 8 meeting, spokesperson David Yake said that it will reinforce the same themes it has repeated over the past several months.
Yake said that the Committee also objects to the establishment of a commercial well for the purpose of transporting more than 100 million gallons per year off the property where the well is located, a clear violation of local zoning ordinances, he said.
“Third, we are very concerned that the pumping of water is going to be done without a rigorous monitoring program, and one that will be transparent and made available to the general public,” Yake added.
The Committee’s viewpoints echo the remarks Yake made in an address to the New Garden Board of Supervisors on Aug.
“First, we believe that Artesian should have to adhere to strict standards, by applying for approvals and complying with state and local regulatory requirements,” Yake said. “If the decision comes down that they are not required to comply with these requirements, that sets a very dangerous precedent.”
10. Yake told the supervisors that if Artesian is granted permission to activate the well, the Committee wants input into the regulatory process of the well; specifically, to place production limitations with on-going adjustments, if needed; a full and regular disclosure of water distribution records to be supplied to New Garden Township by Artesian; and “trigger” points that can enforce these limitations.
“Do we belive that we can convince the DRBC and the DEP not to approve the well? Probably not,” Yake said. “We do, however, believe that we can raise some elements in our ojection that protect the community in a way that places shackles on Artesian, that limits their ability to pump hundreds of thousands of water from that well, every day. We believe that the restrictions that could be placed on them may cause Artesian to feel that all of this is just not worth it.”
“We’ve heard the word ‘Compromise,’” said Save Our Water Committee co-founder Marion Waggoner. “The compromise that we can live with is something that gives added protection to local wells and streams. If those controls are in place, that’s a reasonable solution, if we can be assured that the water could go out of here without causing any serious damage. But, the only way that’s going to happen is if a strict monitoring program with public oversight is accepted, and that’s what we’re fighting for.”
To contact Staff Writer Richard L. Gaw, e-mail rgaw@chestercounty.com.
Photo by Richard L. Gaw
Marion Waggoner of the Save Our Water Committee addressed the New Garden Board of Supervisors on Aug. 31.
at two mushroom growing companies, one on Newark Road just south of Route 1, and the other on Lyme Road.
Cahue said that purchasing the incinerator would be of no cost to the taxpayers in the township. The supervisors expressed interest in the technology, but did so with hesitancy.
“If we go down the grant process and you’re still not sure about the technology used to do this project, are we going to be stuck with something we’re not quite sure about?” supervisor Pat Little asked Cahue. “We won’t have anything to protect us at the township.”
Everything would be monitored through research prior to the grant approval, Cahue responded, and that all questions about the technology would be answered during the application process.
The board agreed that it still had many questions about the technology, and will do additional research and have further
discussion before its Sept. 28 meeting, when it expects to approve or disapprove the company’s request to lend the township's name to the initiative.
In other township business, Shane Lewis, a 12-year resident of Kennett Square, told the supervisors that he is in the process of leasing a 500-squarefoot property in the New Garden Shopping Center, to establish a carry-out, drive-through and delivery Italian kitchen facility at the site of the former Citizens Bank branch. Restaurants are permitted in the district, and an application is expected to be filed shortly.
“I want to produce good, healthy meals on the go,” Lewis told the supervisors. “There are a lot of fast food options in the area, and many of them aren’t very healthy. This will be something that is quick, healthy and good, with whole wheat pasta and extensive vegetarian options. There will be options for everyone.”
Lewis said that the general business model for his kitchen is based on a concept current-
Repaving projects announced for Route 1 and Route 10
Construction is set to begin this week on a PennDOT project to repair deteriorated pavement on two state highways in southern Chester County, State Sen. Andy Dinniman said on Aug. 26. Crews will be working in September to resurface more than ten miles of Route 1 between Hopewell Road and Route 896 (Newark Road) in East Nottingham, Lower Oxford, Upper Oxford and Oxford. That project is expected to be completed in about four weeks.
In addition, crews are scheduled to resurface just over seven miles of Route 10 (Limestone Road/Church Street/Octorara Trail) between Route 41 (Gap Newport Pike) and Route 30 (Lincoln Highway) in West Fallowfield, Highland, Sadsbury and Parkesburg. That project is slated to begin in the spring of 2016 and be completed by next June.
These two projects were part of a more than $5.2 million contract awarded to Allan Myers, LP of Worcester, and Montgomery County to improve conditions on 21 miles of state highways in Chester County. It also included the milling and repaving of three miles of Waterloo Avenue between Sugartown Road and Route 30 (Lancaster Avenue) in Easttown. The work on that project was completed in July. “Daily wear and tear, and severe weather can take a significant toll on our roadways and, in turn, our vehicles,” Dinniman said. “These resurfacing projects can go a long
way in improving our roads and highways, while making for a smoother and safer ride for motorists and commuters.”
Funding for the project comes through Act 89 of 2013, Pennsylvania’s Comprehensive Transportation Funding Plan, For more information contact Sen. Dinniman’s district office at 610-692-2112, or email acirucci@pasenate.com.
ly being used by Fazoli’s, a national chain of take-out Italian kitchens, with more than 200 franchises across the United States. According to its website, there are no Fazoli’s franchises in Pennsylvania. The board unanimously approved a conditional use application filed by Thomas Von Koch, a local glassblower, to establish a cultural facility on 1259 Newark Road – adjacent to the New Garden Flying Field – with certain conditions. These conditions were recommended by the township’s Planning Commission, and among them were that the attached garage on the property will be used as an art glass studio and to house art glass instruction classes, and that classes be held between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. The application was later unanimously approved – with additional conditions –in preparation for review by the township’s Zoning Hearing Board.
Marion Waggoner of the Save Our Water Committee filled the supervisors in on the meeting the Delaware River Basin Authority will hold on Sept. 8, beginning at 7 p.m. at the Avondale Fire Company. The purpose of the meeting will be to hear public comment about Artesian Water, Pennsylvania, Inc.’s request to activate the Broad Run Well it owns in Landenberg. The protocol for the meeting, Waggoner said, will be that public comments will be held to one or two minutes.
Waggoner also brought the supervisors up to date on the committee’s official stance on their objection to Artesian’s presence in Chester County.
Township Manager Tony Scheivert said that longtime township employee Jeff Stewart has been appointed to the position of township road master, which was unanimously approved by the board.
New Garden Township Police Chief Gerald Simpson updated the supervisors on the status of the regional policing concept, which has been discussed over the past year by several townships and municipalities.
As of now, Simpson said that two municipalities – Kennett Township and Kennett Borough – have dropped out of consideration to be a part of the concept. However, discussions to form a modified version of a regional police force remain active.
Simpson said that he and Scheivert met on Aug. 10 with four representatives from West Grove Borough, including West Grove Borough Police Chief Michael King, Mayor Stephen Black and Manager Sharon Nesbitt, to discuss joining police units between the township and the borough.
Simpson said that the meeting focused on staffing issues, public safety options and a budget forecast that measures first-year costs and subsequent-year costs.
Once these guidelines are sharpened, Simpson said that he will unveil a more complete outline of costs and personnel, as well as a to-do list of establishing a regional unit, for the New Garden Board of Supervisors to ultimately vote on.
To contact Staff Writer Richard L. Gaw, e-mail rgaw@ chestercounty.com.
Uncle Irvin...
Continued from Page 1A
income of over 17 percent for three years, or over 5 percent per year.
The School Board is split on how to fund this demand.
A small majority of the board wants a more reasonable package. Dr. Rock is part of the minority that wants to pay the teachers even more than they would be willing to accept in a showdown.
Rock, a professor of economics at Bryn Mawr College, bases his case for higher pay on his experiences over the last 40 years of Southeast Asia. Southeast Asia consists of Vietnam and Cambodia, not Willowdale, Dilworthtown and Radley Run!
Obviously, the voters of Newlin, Pocopson and Birmingham were sleeping on the job to select Dr. Rock
to pick their pockets based on his study of a culture so far removed from our western culture.
I am a liberal arts major from an Ivy League college, and I know absolutely nothing about Southeast Asia. And I would never even venture an opinion on the subject.
Obviously, Dr. Rock feels that being an expert on Southeast Asia makes him an expert in the proper compensation levels for U-CF teachers. He advocates giving teachers what they ask for, not what they are worth.
If Dr. Rock claims to be a scholar, he is embarrassing himself and his constituents.
(Uncle Irvin’s column is his opinion only, and is not a news story.)
and the importance of making good life choices. As the needs of youngsters have evolved, Camp Dreamcatcher has responded by adding new programs throughout the year, including weekend retreats and leadership-in-training seminars, an adopt-a-family program at Christmastime, and a mentoring program that pairs younger children with an older camper or counselor. All these programs are free to participants. The week-long camp in the summer is still the focal point, drawing children from Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, and Virginia, and it is enormously popular with the youngsters, many of whom come back year after year.
Some of the children have been coming to camp for 19 out of the 20 years. Because so many children come back year after year, they form friendships with each other and look forward to the time together at camp, which blends typical summer camp activities like swimming or riding Go-Karts with a variety of therapeutic programs that are aimed at helping youngsters cope with the challenges that they face on a daily basis.
The fact that many of Camp Dreamcatcher’s staff, therapists and volunteers also return year after year is vital because the children coming to camp are greeted by friendly, familiar faces.
Volunteers like John Farley are very important to Camp Dreamcatcher’s success. Farley serves as a village chief and works closely with the children and counselors during the week-long camp. He has been volunteering for more than 12 years, ever since his fraternity at West Chester University held a fundraiser for the camp.
“We couldn’t ask for better
volunteers,” Hillkirk said. “We have a core group of people who have been here for 15 to 20 years. They keep coming back every year, and many of them plan their vacations around the camp.”
As a result of its good work, the camp has also earned consistent contributions from a network of supporters who provide the financial help the camp needs to expand programs and meet the needs of youngsters.
According to Hillkirk, the need for the programs provided by Camp Dreamcatcher is greater than it ever has been.
There were 45 new children in this year’s camp, most of them between the ages of five and eleven. Many are HIV-positive and are in the early stages of learning to deal with the ailment.
“I’m surprised at the number of new kids, and the number of HIV-positive new kids,” Hillkirk explained.
In some very important ways, the lives of youngsters diagnosed with AIDS are much better than they were 20 years ago, when the the life expectancy of an HIV-positive youngster didn’t extend much beyond the teenage years. There have been significant advancements in treatments and medications, and a child who leads a healthy lifestyle and takes all the necessary medications can now expect to grow up and lead a productive life.
However, many of the same challenges that were present 20 years ago still exist, which is evident when the children talk about the things that they struggle with—bullying, for example, or feelings of isolation.
There is an alarming trend of increasing HIV rates in small pockets of the country. There are a number of factors that contribute to spikes in HIV cases, including the use of intravenous needles by drug users, mothers who have HIV and fail to take their medications as prescribed,
and a large percentage of people—approximately 20 percent—who have HIV or AIDS and don’t know that they have it. Hillkirk explained that AIDS doesn’t receive nearly the amount of attention that it received at one time, and consequently many people don’t think it’s an important issue.
That just makes the opportunity to come together for camp even more important for the youngsters. The children who attend the camp often say that Camp Dreamcatcher is a safe place where they can share their concerns and fears with people who understand them.
At Camp Dreamcatcher, 15-year-olds are like seniors in high school because it is the last year that they attend the camp as regular campers before advancing to the leadership-in-training program. Also, like seniors in a high school, they are often looked up to by the other children. Once the teens join the leadership-in-training program, they accept more responsibilities by working with the campers who are younger than they are.
Brandon Selby has been attending Camp Dreamcatcher for four years, and is now one of the 15-year-olds poised to enter the leadership-in-training program.
“I would like to take what I’ve learned, take what I’ve experienced, and share it with the kids,” explained Selby, who lives in the Philadelphia area.
“Overall, it’s a very good experience here at camp. It’s great to see the counselors and the campers every year. It’s a place to have fun and relax. I get to see old and new faces.”
“I like all the different activities and the friends that I make here,” explained Taylor Heard, who was attending the camp for the third time.
Tyson Taylor, 15, from the Baltimore area, also said that he is looking forward to joining the
leadership-in-training program next year. He wants to return to camp because it is so different from his daily life.
Mahaybe Crowder, who lives in the Philadelphia area, attended the camp for the first time in 2014. This year, she made some new friends and really enjoyed her time at the camp. She said that if she were to offer advice to someone attending camp for the first time, she would tell them to be patient and stick it out.
“It’s just like the first day of school,” Crowder said.
The variety of activities at the camp make it an enjoyable experience for everyone—which is an important balance to the therapeutic sessions, which can be emotional for everyone involved.
While the arrival of the campers is very exciting, and the last day has some sadness to it because camp is over, the emotional apex of Camp Dreamcatcher is always the wish-log ceremony, where children can share their thoughts, feelings, and concerns. They can dedicate their wishes to a loved one who is suffering, or wish for better health for themselves.
“It’s the time when you can say what you want and how you feel,” explained James Hall, 15, who has been coming to camp for 11 years.
The children at Camp Dreamcatcher say that they are glad that this camp is available to them, and many can’t imagine life without it.
“It’s a big part of my life,” said Katrina Miller, a 15-yearold who has been coming to camp since she was five. “I’m coming back next year. I feel like it would be a big part of me that would go away if I didn’t come back to camp.”
Selby echoed that sentiment.
“This camp is one of the best things that you can have in your life,” Selby said. “There are going to be sad moments, there are going to be heavy moments, and then there are going to be those fun moments. You have to take the time and look around and say that I am thankful for being here.”
For information about how to volunteer or help, email campdreamcatcher@kennett.net or visit www.campdreamcatcher. org.
Raynetta Adams, a Camp Dreamcatcher volunteer, with Shaniya Boyd.
Photos (3) by Steven Hoffman
Executive director Patty Hillkirk with program director Emmalee Bierly at Camp Dreamcatcher on Aug. 27.
Brandon Selby and Tyson Taylor talked about how they like coming to Camp Dreamcatcher each year.
Chester County Press Local News
CAMP DREAMCATCHER:
‘We want to make sure that we’re creating a safe and supportive environment’
By Steven Hoffman Staff writer
For children like Katrina Miller and Tyson Taylor and Brandon Selby, the favorite part about Camp Dreamcatcher is the summer camp aspect of it—the swimming, the volleyball, the games, the visits with friends.
But the therapeutic aspect of the camp is just as important because that’s what will help them throughout the year.
John Farley is a village chief at Camp Dreamcatcher, and he works closely with the counselors to make sure that the children have the best experience possible when they are at camp.
This year, Farley said, the staff provided additional diversity training to the counselors to make sure that everyone is working toward making Camp Dreamcatcher completely inclusive.
“We want to make sure that we’re creating a safe and supportive environment for the children,” explained Farley. “We want the kids to be in an environment where they can be who they are.”
As part of the effort to help the children identify themselves in a positive light, the camp counselors established four themes—warrior, hero, friend, and leader—and children who exhibited these qualities are recognized by the counselors. Farley first became involved
with Camp Dreamcatcher after his fraternity at West Chester University held a fundraiser for the organization. He looks forward to the week-long summer camp each year, and, like so many of the counselors at Camp Dreamcatcher, has an easy rapport with many of the children at Camp Dreamcatcher.
James Hall, one of the 15-yearolds at this year’s camp, said that Farley helps him a lot, even after the camp is over.
While Camp Dreamcatcher started as a one-week camp program for children between the ages of 5 and 14, there have been many new programs added to meet the changing needs of the children. These include weekend retreats, a mentoring program, and leadership-in-training seminars that take place throughout the year.
Camp Dreamcatcher officials are always looking for new programs that will be beneficial to youngsters. At this year’s camp Jordan Burnham, a mental health advocate and public speaker for Ardmore, Pa.-based Minding Your Mind, made a presentation to the youngsters. He discussed how he survived a suicide attempt during his senior year in high school, and how he has fought depression to find recovery.
Burnham said that youngsters face many challenges today and situations like breaking up with a boyfriend or girlfriend, hav-
ing a difficult time in school, or dealing with parents who are in poor health can all cause mental health issues.
Even youngsters who are fortunate enough to avoid some of these major causes of mental health issues can still find themselves at risk because of academic pressures or sleep deprivation.
“All mental health issues need to be dealt with in the best way possible,” Burnham said.
When Burnham talks to youngsters—and he usually has between seven and ten public speaking engagements a month—he encourages anyone who is struggling to be open and honest about what they are feeling. As a rule, youngsters in the U.S. are not apt to be open with their feelings.
“This isn’t a culture of talking about feelings and emotions,” Burnham explained. “No one wants to show that they are struggling.”
Camp Dreamcatcher executive director Patty Hillkirk said that Burnham’s talk really made an impact on the youngsters, many of whom find it difficult to be open about their feelings.
“I think many of the kids can relate to his experiences,” Hillkirk said.
Hillkirk added that Camp Dreamcatcher is always looking for ways to provide addition services and programs to the youngsters.
“Our dream is to have our own site—a camp and a retreat center,” Hillkirk said, explaining that a permanent home would allow Camp Dreamcatcher to offer several week-long camps a year and have more weekend retreats and mentoring opportunities for the children.
“Our mission,” said Hillkirk, “is always serving the kids. We always want to take care of all the kids. We want to provide as many programs throughout the year as we can for them. For now, our goal is to keep expanding those programs in a thoughtful way.”
To contact Staff Writer Steven Hoffman, email editor@chestercounty.com.
James Hall and Taylor Heard were among the group of 15-yearolds who were at camp this year and worked on a video project that was shown at the end of the talent show. Carol MatthewsNicoli served as the counselor for the senior art project, and oversaw the work that the children did while making the video. Because this was the 20th camp, there was a Back to the Future theme, with an element of time travel, for the video. “This project,” Matthews-Nicoli explained, “is a way to give back to the camp.”
Like many of the volunteers, John Farley returns year after year to help out at Camp Dreamcatcher. He first started volunteering 12 years ago.
Photos (3) by Steven Hoffman
Patty Hillkirk with a camper at a presentation by Paws & Claws.
Articulating your opposition
On the evening of Dec. 1, 2014, at about 6:30 p.m., the first of what would become a coalition of more than 200 people began to file into the Avondale Fire Company. At first, there seemed to be enough seating to accompany what most thought would be a sizable audience, who gathered to hear Artesian senior vice president of operations John M. Thaeder discuss Artesian’s plans to activate a well it owns on the corner of Broad Run and Newark roads in Landenberg.
Just before the clock struck seven, however, a second wave of people arrived, sending fire company officials scurrying around the fire hall to find seats for everyone. For 90 minutes, Thaeder provided a broad sweep of statistics and data that seemed to show the activation of the Broad Run well would have no environmental impact on those property owners whose homes – and wells – border the Broad Run pump. He was polite and factual, and after providing Artesian’s side of the story, Thaeder was promptly pummeled by an avalanche of information and opinion, as many in the audience came prepared to funnel their emotions into facts that disputed many of Artesian’s claims.
Inspired by the work of State Sen. Andy Dinniman, and called to action by the then newly formed Save Our Water Committee, area residents were joined by environmental activists and local leaders in a united cause, the likes of which has not been seen in the community since a grassroots organization known as the Friends of New Garden gathered the signatures and objections of hundreds of their neighbors to fight the plan of the Philadelphia Real Estate Investment Trust to develop White Clay Point along Route 41, three years ago.
To paraphrase Yogi Berra, it’s about to be deja-vu all over again.
On Sept. 8, these same citizens are invited to come back to the Avondale Fire Company for a town hall meeting coordinated by the Delaware River Basin Authority, commonly referred to as the DRBC. The meeting will allow the public to comment on the Broad Run well, prior to the DRBC’s meetings on Sept. 15 and 16 in Trenton, N.J., when they are expected to rule on Artesian’s request to activate the well.
If projection is 20/20 – or even close to it – the audience at the Avondale Fire Company on Sept. 8 – both in its numbers and in its collective voice – could make the Dec. 1, 2014 gathering there look like an Eloise tea party at the Plaza Hotel.
Yet, whether there are 200 there, or 400 who will ultimately file into the fire hall on Sept. 8, those who attend will gather no victories through sheer volume of voices. It will not be the time for shouting down the moderators, nor spouting off mere emotions. The DRBC did not schedule this meeting to just hear yelling. The only way that meeting will be won by those who oppose Artesian’s plans in southern Chester County is through the introduction of salient and powerful facts, spoken one after the other.
If it is your intention to attempt to influence DRBC officials to deny Artesian their wish to activate the Broad Run well – for whatever reason or reasons you have – leave your emotions at home, and instead, do your homework prior to reaching the podium.
Chester County Press
It’s way past time to act on gun violence
By State Rep. Mike O’Brien
As America reflects on yet another tragedy involving gun violence, I want to remind Pennsylvanians what a large, albeit minority, number of lawmakers have been trying to do to curb the incidence of gun violence in the state.
First, I urge readers to not fall for the line that we do not need to talk about gun policy because this one specific tragedy in Roanoke could not have been prevented by sensible gun laws.
Big-moneyed interests like the NRA continue to be successful in keeping Pennsylvania’s General Assembly and legislatures across the nation from enacting sensible safety measures, such as reporting
lost or stolen firearms or universal background checks, because they spend an exorbitant amount of money making people believe that the gut-wrenching tragedies we see in the news do not apply. They want people to believe that any sensible action we can take would only infringe on constitutional rights and not curb gun violence. This simply is not true. For more years than I care to count, I and others have advocated and introduced legislation that would rein in the proliferation of illegal guns on our streets, and better address mental illness and gun ownership. None of the measures we’ve tried to advance infringe on law-abiding citizens’ ability to buy, own and use guns for hunting, self-protection or
legal recreational purposes. We have legislation ready that would require owners to file a police report when their guns are lost or stolen, to better address straw purchases and illegal guns on the streets (H.B. 1020). There’s also legislation that would close Pennsylvania’s remaining loophole on background checks for long guns (H.B. 1010).
Another bill (H.B. 1498) would require the Pennsylvania State Police to send all existing mental health data within 90 days to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) and require ongoing submissions to the national database within 72 hours of the state police receiving mental health data. We could pass legislation (H.B.
1030) to provide a mechanism for families, friends and others to petition the court for a firearm restraining order when there is good cause to believe an individual poses an immediate threat to the safety of a family, household member or other person by possessing or having a firearm, other weapon, or ammunition in his or her control. It’s way past time for our state and our nation to take some real action on gun violence – action that could prevent the tragedies that happen every day, whether you see them on the national news or not. I urge Pennsylvanians and all Americans to let their lawmakers know that enough is enough. Rep. Mike O’Brien, www. pahouse.com/OBrien, represents the 175th District in Philadelphia.
Learning about the emergency responder and veteran communities
By Rep. Steve Barrar (R-Chester/Delaware)
I spend a lot of my time learning about the needs of the Commonwealth’s emergency responders, veterans and their families. By always remaining informed, I can best represent these groups as the Veterans Affairs and Emergency Preparedness Committee majority chairman. Maintaining a close working relationship allows me to serve both groups of individuals when I complete the many tasks of a state representative. Connecting with people in their own environment, where they can show me the needs they’re experiencing and the successes they’re having, is particularly helpful. That approach provides the fullest understanding of how the committee and I can help.
I recently toured the Pennsylvania State Fire Academy in Lewistown. In addition to providing training onsite,
the academy offers offsite training. To mitigate the hardship of traveling and enable more people to become firefighter-certified, the instructors take the academy on the road to fire companies across the state.
This year, the academy is celebrating its 60th anniversary. While it is well maintained, it does have financial needs— especially related to equipment maintenance. For recruiting and retention purposes, cutting the costs borne by our firefighters for training where possible is a great help. To assist in this regard and provide the training opportunities for our firefighters, the academy is looking to expand. The academy is exploring ways to add dormitories near the academy so people who are being trained can stay on campus rather than having to rent a hotel room.
In addition to the fire academy tour, the committee joined me when I met with Penn State President Dr. Eric Barron and
other representatives from the university. In addition to the typical programs that many colleges and universities have for veterans and service members, Penn State has a wonderful initiative to serve the needs of those who have served and continue to serve our country.
Penn State’s initiative includes a veterans and service members legal clinic that seeks to influence and develop state and federal legislation which affects veterans and service members including policies addressing military voting issues, creation of Veterans’ Courts, issues arising under the Uniform Deployed Parents Custody and Visitation Act and regulations to improve the lives of those sexually assaulted during military service.
With the university promoting such forward-thinking veteran and service member-related programs, it’s no surprise that Barron is also a proponent of Act 11, which is the law I drafted
to provide out-of-state tuition rates at Pennsylvania colleges and universities to all veterans, regardless of their residency status. The law both protects and enhances our veterans’ GI Bill education benefits. In fact, Dr. Barron championed similar pro-veteran initiatives during his tenure as president at Florida State University. Barron recognizes not only how important education benefits are to veterans, service members and their families, but also the tremendous asset these individuals are to our higher education system; he is an incredible ally. As I continue to advocate for our veterans, service members and their families, it is reassuring to know that there are people like Dr. Barron also fighting for them. To have the greatest and most lasting impact, we must collaborate. Then the veterans of the Commonwealth and our nation will receive the benefits they have earned.
We need sensible budget compromises that make good policy
By Mark Price, Ph.D.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Aug. 20 that Pennsylvania created 66,500 jobs in the last 12 months. At 1.1 percent, that’s the fastest yearover-year job growth reported in any July since 2005. Relative to the 50 states, that’s the 34th fastest pace in the country, and the best Pennsylvania has ranked since July 2011 when it was in 26th place.
July 2011 is of note because former Gov. Corbett’s first budget was signed shortly before the stroke of midnight on June 30, 2011. While on time, the budget was even more remarkable because it cut $1 billion from education funding and set off a wave of school district layoffs that, as of the end of the last school year, totaled 33,000 jobs. Not surprisingly, layoffs on that scale delivered a body blow to a state economy still recovering from the worst recession since the Great Depression. The body blow dropped Pennsylvania’s job growth ranking within a year to 44th and by July 2013 to 48th.
So what we learned this Aug. 20 is that job growth in the commonwealth is finally back to normal. Pennsylvania has ranked, on average, 35th for job growth since 1990. The future of the Pennsylvania labor market, however, is cloudier than it should
be thanks to deadlock over this year’s state budget.
Gov. Wolf unveiled in March a budget plan that addressed the state’s structural deficit and included the increased education funding for which Pennsylvania voters indicated strong support last November.
Nearly four months after Gov. Wolf released his budget, legislative leaders invited the governor’s veto by passing a budget proposal of their own which ignored the ideas advanced earlier by the governor. This budget only allotted a net $8 million in new funding for schools while growing Pennsylvania’s budget deficit in the years ahead.
After Gov. Wolf’s veto of the Republican budget, Harrisburg became something of a ghost town. Now, in the second half of August, Republican leaders have submitted a “take it or leave it” offer that promises to give Gov. Wolf the education spending he requested in March, but without specifying a revenue source.
Another catch is that Republicans demand that the governor sign a new version of their pension proposal, Senate Bill 1. This proposal would not substantially reduce taxpayer pension costs but would cut pension benefits for new teachers by as much as 70 percent. SB 1 achieves this undesirable combination by switching future workers to individual retirement
sense
savings accounts with high costs and low investment returns. Why is this a good idea? It’s not –unless you work for one of the financial firms that manages those individual accounts.
The Republican pension proposal would also cripple the capacity of the commonwealth to recruit and retain good employees.
Currently, Pennsylvania nurses and other public servants accept lower salaries than comparable private sector workers because they receive good pensions.
The Republican counterproposal makes no sense as policy, but it does attempt to bridge a divide within the Republican caucus. SB 1 satisfies the right wing by, in the words of New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, punching teachers in the face with a cut in pension benefits.
Embracing Gov. Wolf’s school spending target provides aid to Republican moderates feeling the August heat in their districts for not supporting meaningful increases in education funding.
Pennsylvania doesn’t need a budget based on the internal politics of the Republican caucus. It needs a budget that reflects the priorities and preferences of Pennsylvanians. A budget like that would include a severance tax on gas drillers and increased education funding. It should also include property tax relief – which many Republicans have championed in the past. And yes, it could
include public pension changes that draw from a combination of Republican and Wolf administration ideas – but please not something as demonstrably a dud as SB 1.
A sensible budget compromise needs to come quickly. Every week that passes without one raises the risk that the budget standoff could set back the state’s economy yet again. All Pennsylvania schools receive a portion of their operating budget from the state. Without a state budget, schools will have to dip into their cash reserves to meet payroll and pay vendors. When those funds run out, furloughs will follow. Therein lies the risk to all Pennsylvanians – another round of layoffs and reduced consumer spending that injures an already bruised economy that has yet to produce meaningful wage or income gains for the bottom 99 percent of families.
Mark Price, Ph.D. is an economist and interim research director of the Keystone Research Center and Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center in Harrisburg. PBPC is a nonpartisan, statewide policy research project of KRC that provides independent, credible analysis on state tax, budget, and related policy matters, with attention to the impact of current or proposed policies on working families.
RAY D. STIKE, SR.
Ray D. Stike, Sr., 95, of Rising Sun, Md., passed away at his residence on Aug. 20. He was the husband of Helen Talley Stike, with whom he shared 73 years of marriage. Born in Nella, N.C., he was the son of the late James Bartlett Stike and Margaret Roselle Stuart Stike. Ray was a mushroom grower for 25 years, retiring in 1984. He served his country in the U.S. Army during World War II. He was in the Medical Corps, and helped transport wounded soldiers and prisoners of war from the South Pacific to California. He crossed the equator 10 times. He was a member of the Porters Grove Baptist Church and the American Legion Post No. 194 in Rising Sun, Md. He enjoyed gardening, activities at the church, and being with his family and friends.
In addition to his wife, he is survived by one son, Ray D. Stike, Jr., of Elkton, Md.; one sister, Gladys Porter of Wauchula, Fla.; one grandson, Joe Stike; and two great-grandsons, Tyler Stike and Dylan Stike. He was predeceased by two sisters, Virgie Lee Hamm and Helen Mae Stike; four brothers, Stuart Stike, G. Howard Stike, Ernest Stike and his twin brother, Paul Stike.
A funeral was held Aug. 26. Burial was in the Nottingham Missionary Baptist Church Cemetery in Nottingham. In lieu of flowers, a contribution may be made to the Porters Grove Baptist Church, 478 Connelly Road, Rising Sun, MD 21911. Online condolences may be made by visiting www.griecocares.com.
KAREN M. BLACKBURN DUGGER
Karen M. Blackburn Dugger passed away on Aug. 15. She was the beloved wife of James “Eddie” Dugger. Born in West Chester, she was the daughter of James and Edith Hampton Blackburn. Karen enjoyed babysitting, and helping with children and other people. Donations in Karen’s memory can be made to The Family of Karen Dugger, c/o Ruffenach Family Funeral Home, 224 Penn Ave., Oxford, PA 19363. Online condolences may be made at www.ruffenachfuneralhome.com.
DANIEL L. MELRATH, SR.
Daniel LeRoy Melrath, Sr., 66, of Colora, Md., formerly of Oxford, passed away on Aug. 24 at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Md. He was the husband of Bernadette Ignatowski Melrath. Born in West Grove, he was the son of Harry Melrath of Oxford and the late Melba Bise Melrath. Daniel was a member of the American Legion Mason Dixon Post No.194 in Rising Sun, Md., Fraternal Order of Eagles Aerie No. 2666 in Oxford, and the Terrace Athletic Club in New Castle, Del. He enjoyed gardening, going crabbing, working on cars and taking care of his beloved Babee.
He is survived by his wife; father; two sons, Daniel L. Melrath, Jr., of Oxford, and Travis Melrath (Missy) of Colora, Md.; four daughters, Erin Melrath of Colora, Md., Kristie Ganley (Ted) of Bryn Mawr, Lisa Sanchez (Miguel) of Atglen, and Tara Carrigan (Jeff) of Quarryville; 13 grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren; brother, Dennis Melrath (Dana) of Nottingham; and two sisters, Dawn Zunino (Joe) of Toughkenamon, and Dena Bedolla (Robbie) of Oxford.
A funeral was held Aug. 28. Interment was in West Nottingham Presbyterian Cemetery. He was preceded in death by his mother; and daughter, Kathleen Gehron Melrath. In lieu of flowers, donations in his memory may be made to Heart and Vascular Institute, 600 N. Wolfe St., Suite 524, Blalock No. 536, Baltimore, MD 21287. Online condolences may be made at www.elcollinsfuneralhome.com.
CATHERINE CAREY RUOSS
Catherine Carey Ruoss, 85, of Kennett Square, died on Aug. 23 at Neighborhood Hospice in West Chester.
She was the wife of the late Vernon C. Ruoss, who died in 1988, and with whom she shared 40 years of marriage. Born in West Chester, she was the daughter of the late Richard C. and the late Rebecca (Gibson) Carey. Catherine was a longtime member of the Episcopal Church of the Advent in Kennett Square. She and her husband were once members of the Kennett Optimist Club. She loved traveling in their RV and going to Sea Isle City, N.J. She worked at Tommy’s Sub Shop for several years while her girls were attending high school. Survivors include three daughters, Kathleen Borrell (Thomas) of Cochranville, Karen Ruoss of West Chester, and Frances Scholl (William) of Kennett Square; two sons, Richard V. Ruoss (Linda) of Kennett Square, and Michael Ruoss (Cheryl) of Kennett Square; 15 grandchildren; and six great-grandchildren. She was predeceased by a son, Glen; and her brother Richard. A funeral was held Aug. 27. Interment was in Longwood Cemetery. Contributions in her memory may be made to Church of the Advent, 201 Crestline Drive, Kennett Square, PA 19348; or to Neighborhood Hospice, 795 E. Marshall St. Suite 204, West Chester PA 19380. To view her online tribute and to share a memory with her family, visit www.griecocares.com.
ROBERT A. THOMAS
Rev. Robert Allen Thomas was born Jan. 31, 1934 in Norridgewock Maine. He was a loving father and husband and a devoted man of God. He committed his life early on to serving God and his fellow man. His ministry began in 1955 in his beloved state of Maine, where he was a pastor for 10 years. Reverend Thomas attended Bob Jones University, where he met his wife, Carolyn. He later attended Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary. He then moved on to pastor in other states, finally settling in southern Chester County. During these years he also made time to coach little league and basketball and start a prison ministry, praying with countless prisoners and helping them after their release. In 1980, his 11-year-old son died suddenly, redefining the course of his ministry.
After this tragedy, he felt called to the people of Haiti, and doors opened for him to build a ministry there. In 1983, Reve. Thomas founded a school for pastors, where he was tenderly known as Poppa Abraham. Over the course of 35 years, his ministry has expanded to include an orphanage and elementary school that continue to operate today. He shared his love for Haiti with his children and grandchildren who have visited and will carry on his legacy there. Even into his retirement, he continued to be a pastor of pastors and was involved in the ministry by serving as deacon at his local Baptist Church.
Reverend Robert Thomas was called home to Jesus on Aug. 27. He died at home, surrounded by his devoted family. He leaves behind his wife of 61 years, Carolyn; his brothers, Edward Thomas and Kenneth Thomas; and his sister, Marcia (Thomas) Curtis; as well as his children Rebecca A. Conolly, Robert A. Thomas, and Raymond A. Thomas. He was predeceased by his son, Steven C. Thomas, who passed away in 1980. He is also survived by seven grandchildren, who affectionately called him G-Pop, and 10 great-grandchildren.
A visitation will be held with family and friends from 6 to 8 p.m. Sept. 4 at the Kuzo & Grieco Funeral Home Inc. (250 W. State St., Kennett Square), and from 10 to 11 a.m. Sept. 5 at First Baptist Church of Kennett Square (415 W. State St., Kennett Square). A funeral ceremony celebrating his life will follow at 11 a.m. Interment will be in London Grove Friends Cemetery. Contributions in his memory may be made to First Baptist Church at the aforementioned address to support the Haiti Mission Fund. To view his online tribute and to share a memory with his family, visit www.griecocares.com.
JOHN G. TAYLOR
John G. Taylor, 56, of Conowingo, Md., passed away on Aug. 26 at Baltimore Washington Medical Center in Glen Burnie, Md. Born in Elkton, Md., he was the son of Lois J. MacInnes of Rising Sun, Md., and the late Everett C. Taylor. He is survived by his mother; niece, Amber MacKeprang (James) of North East, Md.; nephew, Josh Taylor (Tiffany) of Perryville, Md.; and half-brother, Scott MacInnes of Florida. He was preceded in death by his father, stepfather James MacInnes and brother Walter Clayton (Jack) Taylor. Services will be held at the convenience of the family. Online condolences may be made at www.elcollinsfuneralhome.com.
ALMA M. YOUNG
Alma Mink Young, 99, of Oxford, passed away on Aug. 23 at Ware Presbyterian Village in Oxford, where she resided the last years of her life.
So do not fear, for I am with
She was the wife of the late James C. Young. Upon their marriage in 1938, they moved to Pennsylvania and lived there the rest of their lives. Born in Grayson County, Va., Alma was one of 11 children, and the daughter of the late Stephen and Cynthia Pugh Mink. She is survived by two daughters, Marjory Moran (Frank) and Sandra Paisley (Arnold); two grandsons, Michael Moran (Cathy) and Joel Paisley (Kristin); four great-grandchildren, Chastity Moran, Michael Moran, Madison Paisley and Cameron Paisley; and one sister, Edith Cavell Young. She was preceded in death by nine siblings.
Funeral services and interment were private. Online condolences may be made at www.elcollinsfuneralhome.com.
STEVEN L. TINGLEY
Steven L. Tingley, 50, of Chatham, passed away on Aug. 17 at home. He was the son of Edward W. and Thelma W. Tingley of Chatham. Steve was born in 1965 in Chester County. He grew up in West Grove and Chatham, and graduated from Avon Grove High School, class of 1983. Steve spent many years working in the mushroom business, and more recently in construction.
Surviving him, in addition to his parents, are his three sisters, Stephanie Swan of Huntingdon and her children Nadine R. and Michael C. Swan, Joy Tingley of Landenberg, and April Kellett or Nottingham and her husband Randolph W. Kellett Sr. and their two sons, Chase A. and Austin L. Kellett. He was proceeded in death by his maternal grandparents, Chester and Alma Weidner; and his paternal grandparents, Worrell and Verna Tingley.
Steve’s casket was hand-crafted by his lifelong friend Rick Bartholomew from the ash and cherry trees growing on his Vermont family farm, a place Steve loved to visit. Steve was an avid outdoorsman who loved to hunt, fish, and explore, especially in upstate and central Pennsylvania and Vermont. The joy of his life was spending time with his niece and nephews. Steven had a lifelong love of dogs, and for several years Steve, and his beloved sidekick Pete, were inseparable, and a common sight in the area. Steve was outgoing and made friends everywhere he went. He was charismatic and entertaining, and could find humor in any situation. He was a foodie in the truest sense of the word, always eager to try new things. Friends will remember his many memorable dinners and parties. The world is a little less bright without him in it.
A funeral was held Aug. 26. Interment was at the Union Hill Cemetery in Kennett Square. In his memory, contributions may be made to the Chatham United Methodist Church, or the Huntingdon County Humane Society, 11371 School House Hollow Rd, Huntingdon, PA 16652 (814-643-7387). Online condolences may be made by visiting www. griecocares.com.
WAVE MILLER
Wave Miller, 80, went home to be with her Lord on Aug. 23 at the Ware Presbyterian Village in Oxford. She was the wife of Vance Miller, with whom she shared 61 years of marriage. Born in Troutdale, Va., she was the daughter of the late Clarence and Fay Duvall Miles. She was a homemaker. She enjoyed reading her Bible, gardening, walking, and being with her family and friends. She attended the Nottingham Missionary Baptist Church. In addition to her husband, she is survived by three sons, Rodger Miller and his wife Terry of Oxford, Paul Miller and his wife Patsy of North East, Md., and Walter Miller of Oxford; four sisters, Ethel Weaver of Quarryville, Edna Paisley of Gennessee, Reba McLimans of Oxford, and Blanche Newhauser of Onley, Va.; nine grandchildren; and seven great-grandchildren. She was predeceased by two brothers, Dale Miles and Glen Miles. A funeral was held Aug. 27. Burial was in Union Hill Cemetery in Kennett Square. In lieu of flowers, a contribution may be made to the WMU of the Nottingham Missionary Baptist Church, 303 W. Christine Road, Nottingham, PA 19362. Online condolences may be made by visiting www.griecocares.com.
HELEN K. SHELTON
Helen K. Shelton, 71, of Oxford, passed away on Aug. 30 at Jenners Pond in West Grove.
She was the wife of the late Charles David Shelton, who passed away in 2010. Born in Sylmar, Md., she was the daughter of the late John P. and Zillah P. Grace Kennedy. Helen was a graduate of Oxford Area High School, class of 1962. She owned and operated Shelton’s Pallet Company with her son and late husband. She enjoyed quilting, gardening, and spending time with her grandchildren. She is survived by her son, Charles David Shelton, Jr. (“Chuck”) and his wife, Lisa M. of Oxford; two grandchildren, Charles Aaron Shelton and Chloe Alissa Shelton; and sister, Linda K. Weaver of Oxford. She was preceded in death by a brother, Gerald Kennedy. Visitation will be held at Edward L. Collins Funeral Home (86 Pine St., Oxford) on Sept. 3 from 6 to 8 p.m. Funeral Services will be held on Sept. 4, with visitation from 10 to 11 a.m. Service to follow at 11 a.m. Interment will be in Oxford Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, donations in her memory may be made to the Lighthouse Youth Center, 245 Commerce St., Oxford, PA 19363. Online condolences may be made at www.elcollinsfuneralhome.com.
Sept. 12
Food tasting
Shiloh Presbyterian Church hosts its fourth annual food tasting event on Sept. 12 from 2:30 to 5 p.m. at the Oxford Area High School cafeteria (705 Waterway Rd., Oxford). Doors open at 1:30 p.m. There will be food, crafters, vendors and live music. Call 610-932-9256 for information.
Barbecue and yard sale
St. Christopher’s Episcopal Church (just south of Route 1 on Route 472, Oxford) is holding a chicken barbecue and yard sale on Sept. 12. The yard sale is from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. The chicken barbecue will be from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Yard sale spots are available for $10. Call 610-932-9559 to reserve a spot.
Sept. 13
‘Living Generously’ The Oxford United Methodist
THEODORE J. HAZLETT
Theodore Jay Hazlett, Sr., 92, of Wilmington, Del., formerly of Kennett Square, died on Aug. 29.
He was the husband of the late Catherine Lynch Hazlett, who died in 1980; and the late Sallie Burke Hazlett, who died in 1996. Born in Kennett Square, he was a son of the late C. Gilbert and the late Sylvia (Moore) Hazlett. He was a graduate of Kennett High School, attended Washington College and Goldey-Beacom College, and was a graduate of the Pennsylvania Maritime Academy. Ted served during World War II in the Navy/U.S. Merchant Marines. In earlier years, he operated and was part owner of Hamorton Fuel Oil Company. He was director of the Chester County Juvenile Detention Center, retiring in 1987. He was a life member of the
TRUCK ROLLOVER
New Garden Township Police reported that a pickup truck being driven by Desiree Karl of Landenberg ran up an embankment on Newark Road on Aug. 24 and rolled over several times, ejecting Karl from the vehicle. Witnesses and video surveillance footage from a nearby business showed the truck apparently speeding southbound down Newark Road just before the accident. Karl, who was the only occupant, was taken to Christiana Hospital with serious, but not lifethreatening, injuries, according to police. Police said several traffic offenses will be filed against Karl.
DRUG CHARGES
Kennett Square Police arrested Karen Slaymaker-Bingham, 48, of West Grove, for three counts of driving under the influence of a controlled substance, 36 counts
of possession of an adulterated or misbranded substance, 12 counts of possession of a controlled substance, and four counts of possession of drug paraphernalia after a traffic stop in the 100 block of West Cedar Street on Aug. 3. She was taken to Chester County Prison on an outstanding violation of parole warrant.
Kennett Square Police arrested Cristian Padilla, 21, of Kennett Square, for possession of marijuana and paraphernalia after a traffic stop on Aug. 13 at 2:05 a.m. in the 700 block of West State Street. He was released at his home pending a summons from District Court.
RETAIL THEFT
New Garden Township Police charged John Daniels, 46, of Coatesville, with retail theft after police resonded to a business in the 300 block of Scarlett Road on Aug. 19. Employees said they saw Daniels take merchandise and leave without paying. During the investigation, Daniels was found to be a former employee of the business. His appearance
Church (18 Addison St., Oxford) begins a five-week discussion of “Living Generously: Experiencing the Life That is Truly Life” on Sept. 13. The discussion will be featured in the 8:30 (casual) and 10:55 (traditional) services, as well as in small groups that will be meeting on Mondays starting Sept. 14 at 1:30 and 7 p.m., and Sundays starting on Sept. 20 at 9:45 a.m. To reserve materials for the small group sessions, call the church office at 610-932-9698 or email oumcsecretary@gmail.com. To submit items to the Church Calendar, e-mail jchambless@ chestercounty.com. There is no charge. Information should be received at least two weeks before the event. Not every submission can be included. Please include the address and contact information for the church in your submission.
Project Liberty Ship in Baltimore, Md., the American Legion post 491 in Kennett Square, and the Christian Sanderson Museum in Chadds Ford. He was a 50-year member of the Pennsylvania School Ship Association in Philadelphia.
Survivors include two daughters, Nancy J. Doyle of Landenberg, and Cindi Strengari of Kennett Square; one son, Theodore Jay Hazlett, Jr., of Wilmington, Del.; five grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren. He was predeceased by one sister, Mary Bob Macrum; and one brother, Gilbert “Bud” Hazlett.
A visitation with family and friends will be held from 10 to 11 a.m. Sept. 3 at the Kuzo & Grieco Funeral Home Inc. (250 W. State St., Kennett Square). A funeral celebrating his life will follow at 11 a.m. Interment will be in St. Patrick Cemetery. Contributions in his memory may be made to Project Liberty Ship, PO Box 25846, Highland Station, Baltimore, MD 21224-0546. To view his online tribute and to share a memory with his family, visit www. griecocares.com.
in District Court is pending.
UNDERAGE DRINKING
Kennett Square Police cited a 15-year-old boy from Bear, Del., and Justin Plyler, 20, of Kennett Square, for underage drinking on July 31 at 11 p.m. in the 500 block of South Union Street. The boy was released to his grandmother and Plyler was released at his home. Police also arrested Jose GutierrezQuintino, 21, of Kennett Square, for possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia, and public drunkenness. He was released at his home pending a summons from District Court.
PHONE SCAM
On Aug. 17, a resident of the 800 block of Wayne Avenue in Kennett Square told police that they had gotten a phone call from someone who said they were a relative and had been hurt in an accident. The resident had another family member call the supposedly injured person and found out they were fine. The caller then called back and said the relative was being held hostage and wanted a ransom. The resident hung up and did not answer repeated calls.
On Aug. 3, a resident of the 500 block of Las Rosas Drive in Kennett Square told police that they had gotten a call from someone who said they were a relative and needed $500 because they had been in an accident. The resident sent the money but then had second thoughts and tried to cancel the money wire, but was told that the money had already been picked up.
Police advise that both of these calls were scams.
BIKE STOLEN
A silver mountain bike was stolen from the porch of a residence in the 300 block of East State Street in Kennett Square between 2 and 5:15 p.m. on Aug. 2, according to Kennett Square Police. DUI Kennett Square Police arrested Fernando EsparzaAguayo, 41, of Kennett Square, for DUI after a traffic stop on Aug. 13 at 10:14 p.m. in the 100 block of Race Street. He was released pending a summons from District Court.
First day of school was a first for principals, too
By John Chambless Staff Writer
With crisp new backpacks, shiny new shoes, and sometimes tightly gripping mom or dad’s hand, students across Chester County started classes on Monday morning.
At Pocopson Elementary School, parents clutching phones and cameras documented their child’s first walk up to the school doors, waving goodbye and turning a page in their lives.
At the door, Clif Beaver was having a bit of a moment, as well.
“I am a bit nervous,” he said with a smile. “I didn’t sleep a lot last night. I think we all have the pre-school jitters. But what an exciting day.”
Aug. 31 was Beaver’s first day as the principal of Pocopson Elementary School, after serving as the principal at Unionville Elementary School for the past several years. It’s a bigger building and more students, he said, “but I’m learning my way around.”
that level of success.”
With 625 students entering the building on Monday, Beaver thought about his own first day of school. “I do remember my first day of first grade,” he said, smiling. “It was at King’s Highway Elementary School in Coatesville. I was going in to meet Miss Childs, my firstgrade teacher. What a good name for a teacher, right?”
Beaver, who stood at a side door and greeted students as they arrived, said he’s far from being the scary principal we might remember from our own school days. “I’m just the opposite,” he said, “Every now and then, you’ve got to put on the game face, though.”
The first day of school is a critical time. “I do appreciate the students’ excitement, and their nerves,” he said.
“But as soon as they see their teachers, they’re going to be fine. We talked with the teachers last week about how the start of school defines our April and our May. We set the tone now, and it’s positive and energetic, with
Beaver and the staff had been well prepped by the time the school opened its doors, and families got a chance to tour the building the previous week to see where everything is located.
“Mr. McLaughlin left some great traditions here,” Beaver said of the school’s previous principal, who retired at the end of last year. “I am eager to continue that, and maintain
clear expectations, and that sets the tone for a great school year.”
The parents, on the other hand, might need a few minutes to collect themselves, so the school was holding a PTO-sponsored “Boo Hoo Coffee” for moms and dads of kindergarteners in an upstairs room.
Over at Unionville High School in Kennett Square,
principal Jim Conley had finished greeting incoming students by 9 a.m. on Monday, and had a minute to talk about his first day as principal at the school.
“Oh I’m always nervous the night before school starts,” he said, smiling. “I think, as a teacher, you’re always nervous because it’s the first time you’re with the kids, the kids are nervous – we’re all nervous. But you know that there’s great work about to happen. It’s nervous energy, but in a positive way.”
While serving as assistant principal under Paula Massanari, who retired at the end of last year, Conley said he was nervous about stepping into the leadership role. But in an email he sent to the parents and 1,339 students at Unionville on the first day of school, Conley said, “You’re going into a whole new world. Don’t be nervous. It’ll be great. You’ll have people here who care about you and are going to look out for you.”
Conley said his first day of high school, at St. Joe’s Prep, meant wearing a coat and tie
to school and learning the way around the huge building, so he can relate to incoming freshmen at Unionville.
“That was in 1988-89, and I was in a school that had boys from all over the area that I didn’t know,” he said. “But there are people who welcome you the first day, and I remember the upperclassmen and adults who welcomed us in.”
There’s ample opportunity for students making the transition from middle school to high school to see where their classes are located and learn their way around before school starts, Conley said. “We’ve had the new student orientation night, we’ve had the tour of the building, we had had the Students Helping Other Children here – they’re our leadership group that meets with the kids. They gave a tour and I spoke to the parents. For some of the parents, it’s their first experience in a high school since they were in high school themselves.”
As the father of three boys – ages 11, 7 and 3 1/2 –Conley wasn’t able to see the
two older ones off in person for their first day of school on Monday, but his wife had sent photos and texts, and all went well.
“This morning I met with the ninth to twelfth grades and went over the nuts and bolts,” he said. “We talked about some changes in the building, but there were also also some friendly reminders. The message for us is to say to them, ‘We trust you to do
the right thing.’ Instead of talking about negatives, we talk about positive things. It’s going to be a great year, and we’re excited. We have great kids here. They’re going to make mistakes, but if they do, that’s OK. That’s how they grow, and we support them.”
To contact Staff Writer John Chambless, email jchambless@chestercounty. com.
Photo by John Chambless Teachers greet students as they get off the school bus at Pocopson Elementary on Monday morning.
Photo by John Chambless
Buses line up to drop off students.
Photo by John Chambless Pocopson Elementary principal Clif Beaver greets an arriving student.
Photo by John Chambless Parents take last-minute photos of their children as they enter the school doors for the first time.
Photo by John Chambless Families take time for a hug goodbye before school starts.
Photo by John Chambless
Clif Beaver’s first day as principal of Pocopson Elementary School was Aug. 31.
Photo by John Chambless Jim Conley’s first day as principal of Unionville High School was Aug. 31.
Sept. 8
Goldenagers meeting
The Goldenagers Club of Cochranville will meet on Sept. 8 at 1 p.m. at the Cochranville United Methodist Church social room. The program will be about senior Medicaid fraud, presented by Juanita Thiel from CARIE (Center for Advocacy for the Rights and Interests of the Elderly). All are welcome to the free program. A time of fellowship will follow. For more information, call 484-678-1289.
Sept. 11 to 13
Carriage driving event
The Glen Willow Combined Driving Event will be held Sept. 11 to 13 in Avondale. Admission is free. The event features three days of driving, including dressage (Friday), cross country marathon (Saturday), and cones obstacles (Sunday). Equestrian and food vendors will also be on site. Bring a chair. The event will be at 685 Woodview Rd., Avondale. For more information, visit www.glenwillowcde.com.
Sept. 11
Gift card Bingo
The Fred S. Engle Middle School PTO is hosting Gift Card Bingo on Friday, Sept 11, at the school. Doors open at 6, games begin at 7. Bingo games feature gift cards as prizes and have a minimum $50 prize value. Plus, there will also be a 50-50 game, amazing raffle baskets and door prizes. Join us for refreshments, including pizza and soft pretzels to make it a fun
night out. Remember space is limited and children under 18 must be accompanied by an adult. The school address is 107 School House Road, West Grove.
Sept. 12
Oktoberfest orchestra celebration
The Chester County Pops Orchestra will hold an Oktoberfest themed celebration of the orchestra’s 10th Anniversary on Sept. 12 from 7 to 10 p.m. at the High Point at St. Peter’s (2475 St. Peters Rd., Malvern). There will be an Oktoberfest buffet, wine tastings hosted by Moore Brothers; an open bar of craft beers hosted by Victory Brewing Company and Sly Fox Brewing Company; musical interludes performed by a number of Chesco Pops players; a “Wine Pull,” and a silent auction. Proceeds will enable the Chesco Pops to expand its music outreach. Registration is $75. Visit www.chescopops. org/gala to register, or contact Al Doering for more information: chescopops@ gmail.com or 484-301-2276.
Sept. 12
Mattress sale fundraiser
A mattress sale fundraiser benefiting the Avon Grove High School football program will take place on Sept. 12 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the Avon Grove High School Cafeteria. Mattresses are guaranteed, and will be delivered to your home by the mattress company.
Sept. 13
Record Collectors Expo
The Keystone Record Collectors Music Expo will
be held Sept. 13 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Continental Inn (2285 Lincoln Highway, Route 30, Lancaster). Dealers and collectors will be selling and buying records, CDs, DVDs and music memorabilia of all eras. Admission is free. Call 610-932-7852 or visit www. recordcollectors.org.
Sept. 16
Genealogy class
The Oxford Area Senior Center is offering a free genealogical workshop on Sept. 16 at 7 p.m. Participants will learn how to get started with genealogical research and how to organize findings. The workshop will cover the basics of genealogy, research tips and tricks, and strategies to help satisfy your curiosity about where you come from.
The Oxford Area Senior Center is at 12 E. Locust St., Oxford. Make reservations by Sept. 11 by calling 610-932-5244 or emailing oxsrctr@zoominternet.net.
Sept. 19
Oxford School reunion
The Manor Presbyterian Church on Route 926 will host a reunion of people who attended the Upper Oxford One-Room School on Sept. 19 at noon. Bring a covered dish to share, and any memorabilia of the schoolhouse. Call 610-8699718 for reservations.
To submit items to the Calendar of Events, e-mail jchambless@chestercounty. com. There is no charge. Not every submission can be included. Items should be submitted at least two weeks before the event.
Car show cruises into Oxford on Sept. 4
By Steven Hoffman Staff Writer
When Oxford Mainstreet, Inc. officials planned the first car show in September of 2014, the results were spectacular as the owners of more than 140 classic and antique cars, representing some of the finest sets of wheels to ever roll off the assembly lines in Detroit, brought their beloved vehicles to the showcase. The event attracted an enormous crowd to downtown Oxford.
According to Oxford Mainstreet, Inc. executive director Donna Hosler, officials are optimistic that the second annual car show on Sept. 4 will be even better—and bigger.
“The streets are going to be packed,” said Lisa Burns, who serves on the Oxford Mainstreet, Inc. committee planning the event. “We have great food vendors lined up. We have 60 cars signed up already. Our expectations are very high.”
The vintage cars and sports cars will obviously be the focal point of the event, but there will be food, music, and fun throughout the downtown. Hosler said that a band will likely be performing on the porch of the Oxford Hotel, and the winner of last year’s top prize will be showcased in a reserved area.
Burns said that they hope to have between 160 and
180 cars, or more, entered into this year’s show. All registrants receive a magnetic dash plaque and are eligible for the Best of Show and Fan Favorite trophies that will be awarded during the car show. Additionally, those who enter the car show are eligible for a raffle for a mechanic’s toolbox with some tools from NAPA Auto Parts.
Plaques will also be awarded to the first, second, and third place finishers in six different categories: antique (cars built before 1950, both foreign and domestic); classic cars (cars built between 1950 and 1979, both foreign and domestic); hot-rods (obvious performance and body modifications); muscle cars (American cars built between 1965 and 1989); modern cars (1980 to present, both foreign and domestic); and sport compact/tuner (1980 to present, both foreign and domestic).
The first car show attracted car enthusiasts like Pete Hill, who entered his 1953 Chevy 210, which is a variant of the Chevrolet Belair, a car that he had when he was a teenager.
The event was popular with Oxford business owners, too.
Jerome Rodio, the proprietor of J & K Slightly Touched, watched the cars roll in to town. He said at the time that seeing the stylish cars made him want to get behind
the wheel of some of his favorites.
Burns said that anyone interested in entering the car show should do so as early as possible because it will ensure a prime location. The registration fee was $10 for anyone who signs up before Aug. 25 and $15 for registrations after that. Car owners can register on the day of the event, and organizers are planning to accommodate all those late entries.
“We will not turn anyone away,” Burns explained.
The car show runs from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.
This year’s event has a raindate of Sept. 11. Burns explained that a raindate was added at the request of numerous car owners because most won’t take their cars out for a show if there’s a chance of rain.
To register for the car show or for more information, email events@ oxfordmainstreet.com or visit the Oxford Mainstreet, Inc. Facebook or website.
To contact Staff Writer Steven Hoffman, email editor@chestercounty.com.
Through Sept. 11
Members Show
The Oxford Arts Alliance (38 S. Third St., Oxford) presents its Members Show, with original paintings and jewelry by regional artists, through Sept. 11. Call 610467-0301 or visit www. oxfordart.org.
Sept. 4 to 30
Wildlife art
Hardcastle Gallery (5714 Kennett Pike, Centreville, Del.) presents wildlife art in several media by Michael Brock, Jonathan Shaw, Steve Oliver, Shawn Faust, Charles Allmond, Lorre Evans, Barbara Neville, Carrie Quade and David Nibouar from Sept. 4 to 30. There will be an opening reception with the artists on Sept. 4 from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Call 302-655-5230 or visit www. hardcastlegallery.com.
Sept. 8 to 26
Terry Anderson and George Martz
The Station Gallery (3922 Kennett Pike, Greenville, Del.) presents new paintings by Terry Anderson and George Martz from Sept. 8 to 26. Anderson focuses on close-up views of trees, often looking up; while Martz offers serene landscapes with massive skies. Meet the artists at a wine and cheese opening reception on Sept. 11 from 5 to 8 p.m. Call 302-654-8638 or visit www. stationgallery.net.
is part of the
Through Nov. 15
‘Things Beyond Resemblance’
The Brandywine River Museum of Art (Route 1, Chadds Ford) hosts “Things Beyond Resemblance: James Welling Photographs” through Nov. 15. The selection of 47 photos by the Los Angeles photographer is inspired by the life and work of Andrew Wyeth. There will also be photo-based sculptures placed around the museum’s grounds, including Wyeth’s studio. For more information, visit www.brandywinemuseum. org. To submit items to the Art Spot, email jchambless@ chestercounty.com. There is no charge. Not every submission can be included. Items should be submitted at least two weeks before the event.
Courtesy photo
‘Bisole in Gold,’ by Jim Harrison,
Members Show at the Arts Alliance in Oxford through Sept. 11.
Courtesy photo This was one of the entries in the 2014 car show.
Upland Country Day Adopts Harkness Teaching Method
Upland is the second school in the nation to integrate student-centered learning method at the middle
As a new school year gets underway, Upland Country Day School is the second middle school in the nation to incorporate the Harkness teaching method and Harkness tables at the middle school level across all core courses. The Harkness tables have long been a centerpiece at some of the most prestigious preparatory high schools in the country, including Phillips Exeter Academy, The Lawrenceville School, and St. Andrew’s School. However, only the Stevenson School in Pebble Beach (CA) and now Upland offer Harkness teaching at the middle school level. The Harkness method is a timetested form of collaborative learning that doesn’t involve lectures. Instead, it is a unique way of learning centered around a seminar table with the idea being that no one is left in the back row. Each student has a seat at the table and a voice. Teachers and students come to class prepared to discuss, share, make connections and discover relevant classroom content with one another.
“With the Harkness method, students own the learning that takes place at the table,” said Upland Head of School Tom Reid. “They can’t just sit there and be passive. They have to do the homework, think the questions through
and be ready to participate in an active discussion. The teacher is not the focus of the class or a mere spoonfeeder of information to memorize. There is a great sense of student ownership in the learning and also a great sense of responsibility because the method works when everyone comes to class prepared and having done the work. That’s the goal.”
The Harkness philosophy incorporates a large oval table as the centerpiece of a classroom to encourage discussions rather than a traditional lecture format. The oval design allows everyone to see the faces of those seated at the table, meaning no student is left out of the discussion or in competition with one other. Upland began adopting the Harkness method in the spring, when teachers traveled to The Lawrenceville School in New Jersey to observe Harkness high school classes in action and talk with teachers there.
“The oval table is a symbol of a teaching approach,” Reid said. “But to anyone who visits our campus, it is also an identifier of what we as a school consider important. It represents the way we go about teaching children and the way we get them to own the learning that takes place. We chose to adopt the Harkness method because it is
very close to how our faculty already teaches. Students from the earliest grades have a sense of responsibility in their education. Harkness is a natural fit for our Upper School. The outcome -- we expect and hope that this will help our students develop their own voice, a greater ability to enter into serious discourse and a confidence to express themselves and their opinions that will carry with them throughout their lives.
This summer, Eric Bergofsky, math teacher and Harkness Philosophy trainer from Phillips Exeter Academy spent two days at Upland working with faculty introducing the Harkness method ofteaching. The Harkness Method was first introduced at Exeter and has been a cornerstone of the prestigious high school’s academic program since 1930. During the summer, Bergofsky travels the country conducting workshops and developing learning programs for both public and private schools.
With the faculty at Upland, Bergofsky’s prepared the Upper School teachers to best implement Harkness teaching in their classrooms and share with them the best practices for incorporatingHarkness’ student centered teaching across disciplines from history and English to math
school level
and science. The Exeter workshop included discussion of essays on Harkness teaching, written by Exeter faculty from all disciplines, observing trainer Burgofsky model the teaching with a group of Upland students and watching and discussing Upland teachers incorporate the method in sample lessons.
Several classrooms at Upland have been completely renovated to incorporate the large tables which can seat up to 22 students. In the math classrooms, the program will incorporate floor to ceiling white boards around the classroom for students to work through math problems.
Kathryn Koontz, a Harkness method history teacher at Stevenson School in Pebble
Beach, CA describes how effective the Harkness method has been in her classroom.
“With the Harknessmethod, middle schoolers have to learn to talk about big ideas and sometimes it’s tough for them at first because they don’t realize that they can have an opinion about things. They are not used to thinking about lessons that way. They have been spoonfed information for so long and rote memorization was the goal. With Harkness, children are brought to quality ideas and consider things they haven’t before and become able to make connections. I don’t think there is anything more important than having a voice in this world and that is not something that is taught.
The students are not blank slates that we are writing on. It is much more like being a gardener. It’s a challenge and much more exciting and rewarding than traditional teaching. “
“Students engaged in the Harkness method are fully present in the classroom,” Reid added. “This teaching method results in students who are self-reliant and confident, articulate advocates for their own educational experience, accountable to peers, engaged in effective problem solving, and able to persevere without trepidation. The earlier they develop these skills in their academic careers, the more successful they will be in their future education and beyond.”
Courtesy photo
Upper School English teacher Andy Morris teaches class around one of the first Harkness tables at Upland.
Victory Brewing sponsors a river clean-up event on Sept. 12
By John Chambless Staff Writer
Everyone loves a clean environment, and plenty of people love beer, so on Sept. 12, you can combine the two passions during the Victory for the Headwaters River Clean-Up.
Victory Brewing Company’s Parkesburg brewpub will be the starting point at 11:30 a.m., and participants will be bussed to a spot on the Brandywine River. During a canoe trip down the river, participants will stop and collect trash along the stream bank and in the water. After the cleanup, participants will be bussed back to the brewpub for food, beverages and fun from 4 to 8 p.m.
As a fundraiser for the Headwaters Grant, Victory for the Headwaters will bring together craft beer fans, concerned citizens and environmental organizations to raise awareness and funds to protect local watersheds. Victory will unveil the new packaging for Headwaters Ale, and make an announcement reinforcing the brewery’s commitment to environmental stewardship.
Tickets are available for the Headwaters Clean up for $10, and include transportation to and from the Parkesburg brewery to the Brandywine River sites, Clean Up Crew T-shirt, one beer (or root beer) at the Victory for the Headwaters fundraiser, as well as one food item.
Special packages for the event are: River Rescuer is $40 and includes a Headwaters pint glass, two beverages and one food item; Water Warrior is $75 entitles fans to a Headwaters pint glass, coaster signed by Victory founders Bill Covelski and Ron Barchet, T-shirt, two beverages and one food item; Headwaters Hero is $200 includes a group tour of the Parkesburg production floor with either Bill
Covaleski or Ron Barchet, tasting of a soon-to-be released brew, T-shirt, Headwaters pint glass, two beverages and one food item.
Participants should bring a change of clothes if they are going to stay for the party afterwards. This will be a zero-waste event, so participants are asked to bring reusable water bottles, not disposable containers.
The event is open to anyone over 12. Those under 18 must be accompanied by an adult, who must sign a waiver. The clean-up will be held rain or shine.
Since the brewery was opened in February 1996, it has emphasized environmental responsibility. The brewery was located less than 14 miles from the headwaters of the Brandywine Creek. Because of the important role water plays in the production of beer, Victory started The Headwaters Grant as a way to give back to the groups working to protect the natural resource.
Headwaters Pale Ale is a vehicle for Victory’s charity. A portion of every bottle sold is collected and distributed to environmental advocacy groups through the Headwaters Grant.
The Victory Brewing Company’s Parkesburg Brewery is at 3127 Lower Valley Rd., Parkesburg. Visit www.victorybeer.com for more information and registration.
To contact Staff Writer John Chambless, email jchambless@ chestercounty.com.
Keeping the Mushroom Festival running smoothly
By Steven Hoffman Staff Writer
In mid-July, the Mushroom Festival was still nearly two months away, but Rhonda Sarver was already hard at work solving one of a thousand details that will need to be addressed in order for the Mushroom Festival to run like the world-class food festival that it is.
Sarver is the vendor chairperson for the festival, and after handling this job for the last eight years, she has the duties down to a science. She sums up her job as vendor chairperson very simply—“I make sure our vendors are happy”-- but it takes a great deal of intelligent planning and thoughtful diplomacy to organize the enormously popular Street Fair portion of the Mushroom Festival.
If you’ve ever found it difficult to plan a meal for one family so that everyone is happy, try figuring out how to please 100,000 people. Sarver is charged with not only selecting which vendors will participate in the festival, she also has to map out where they are stationed.
By all accounts, she does a very good job of keeping the vendors happy.
“She is a very important to the festival,” said Kathi Lafferty, the Mushroom Festival coordinator who oversees the entire festival. “We wouldn’t have a festival without the vendor chairperson. Rhonda is great at what she does. She works well with all the vendors.”
“It’s one of the toughest jobs for the Mushroom Festival,” explained Jan Chadwick, a festival volunteer who previously served as a vendor chairperson. “It takes months and months to do it.”
Sarver, a resident of Smyrna, Del., first got involved with the
Mushroom Festival in 1992, when she was a vendor selling hand-painted glassware. She had some very specific ideas about where she needed to be placed along the Street Fair in order to be successful. She also knew how vendors should be grouped together so that the crowd could keep moving through the Street Fair in an orderly fashion without getting tied up in a bottleneck.
Mushroom Festival organizers talked to Sarver about taking over as the vendor chairperson. She eventually agreed.
“I just didn’t know how much sleep I wouldn’t get doing the job,” Sarver joked.
Vendors start applying to be a part of the Mushroom Festival more than seven months advance, and as the event draws closer, the challenges that the vendor chairperson faces multiply.
Sarver explained that her first priority is to bring in the best possible vendors for the festival, because that makes it more likely that attendees will have an overall positive experience.
“We are a food festival first and foremost, and I want to make sure that we have quality food,” Sarver explained. “We
want to have good food for the attendees. We don’t want to take away from our restaurants, which are all completely amazing.”
Much of the focus, of course, is on mushrooms, and as anyone who has attended the Mushroom Festival will attest, there are plenty of opportunities to enjoy the area’s top crop in a variety of dishes, ranging from mushroom soup to fried mushrooms to sandwiches that
include mushrooms.
It’s also important to have food for everyone, including youngsters who typically prefer hot dogs or chicken nuggets over more sophisticated foods, so Sarver has to strategically decide which food vendors will best fit the Street Fair. Last year, Sarver brought in a vendor that sold pierogies, and that was a great addition.
“It’s amazing the quality of food that we have,” Sarver explained.
One of the most important jobs of the vendor chairperson is mapping out where all the vendors will be placed during the festival. You don’t want an ice cream vendor next to an ice cream vendor, and if you end up with one too many ice cream vendors overall, then none of them are happy.
“We have about 245 spaces,” Sarver explained. “Some of the spaces are for the sponsors and we get between 175 and 225 vendors from all over the area.”
The Mushroom Festival has grown tremendously over its 30-year history. Sarver recalled that when she first came to the festival as a vendor, the street festival only extended a few blocks.
“Every time we’ve come up on an anniversary, it just gets extended further and further,” she explained.
The Mushroom Festival has grown in stature as a top food festival—to the point where some vendors come from as far away as Ohio and Wisconsin, which is a good thing, but no one wants to travel that far and not have a successful weekend.
During the Mushroom Festival, Sarver is very busy
attending to the needs of the vendors. In fact, she usually enlists the help of her children, Sierra, Rebecca, and Brendin.
“If you need help, you can contact me or my children,” she explained. “We will help out with anything that anybody needs.”
Sarver does everything that she can to ensure that all the vendors are happy with the event. One illustration that the Mushroom Festival organization works hard to make sure that vendors and attendees have a good time is the fact that so many vendors return year after year.
“We get a lot of repeat vendors—about 80 percent of them come back from one year to the next.”
It’s no small diplomatic feat to keep all the vendors happy with their placement. Some spots along the Street Fair are obviously in high demand. Sarver said that by now all the vendors know that she will be fair with them, and they also know that if they have any concerns, they can let her know and she will be responsive to them.
Occasionally, she’ll suggest that a vendor move from one location to another for strategic purposes—because she thinks it will improve the visibility for a product or make the flow of the crowd easier.
“Every time I’ve moved a vendor, it has worked out pretty well,” Sarver explained. “All the vendors know that I will work with them. Besides, I don’t think there’s a bad spot on that street during the Mushroom Festival. And we’re always shifting things or making a change here or there to keep it all fresh.”
To contact Staff Writer Steven Hoffman, email editor@ chestercounty.com.
The 2015 Mushroom Festival activities take place from Sept. 11 to 13. For information, visit www.mushroomfestival.org.
Courtesy photo Participants at last year’s event made the Brandywine cleaner during a day of paddling and fun.
Community Garden at Goddard Park: Raising beds and consciousness
By Richard L. Gaw Staff Writer
Gifted -- and many would say, inspired -- by the generous donation of 40 acres by Steven and Marna Goddard, the 125acre Goddard Park in London Grove Township is a vast and intricate manifestation of realized ideas.
There are walking paths that wind through thickets of trees and open fields. Every day, small and happy hands and feet poke out in all directions at the playground; and the dog park, to no one’s surprise, has become one of West Grove’s most popular nightly social gathering spots.
Tucked into one corner of this vast area – and included in the park’s second phase of construction – is a small patch of earth known as the Goddard Park Community Garden. Since it was opened in May, the garden has flourished as a quiet spot where township residents can plant, cultivate and harvest their own produce. There is another purpose going on there as well -- a bed-by-bed dedication of local scout groups and other organizations to grow crops that will ultimately be given to local food centers like the Chester County Food Bank and the Bridge Food Pantry.
Recently, scouts from Boy Scout Troop 191 and Cub Scout Pack 54 planted broccoli, cabbage, dill, cilantro and basil which, after harvesting, will be donated to The Bridge Food Pantry for distribution to hungry families in Chester County. In September, the scouts will plant lettuce and turnips. Volunteers from the Garage Community and Youth Center in West Grove are also cultivating a bed, for eventual distribution to the pantry.
Although London Grove Township administrator Suzanne Smith said she’s content that the first year of the project has already yielded interest from local organizations, there are a lot more garden beds that she would like to see cultivated.
“If we already have four organizations tending to four beds in order to donate to the Food Bank this year,
just imagine what we can do next year,” Smith said. “Giving boxes of cereal is a vital component of donating food items, but growing fresh produce can also do so many things for people.”
The mission of the Community Garden doesn’t end when produce finds its way to local food centers. There is an educational component as well
that links gardening experts with backyard gardeners.
Last Wednesday evening, Lisa Goodale-Brinton of the Chester County Food Bank gave a tutorial that walked residents through the basics of fall gardening. For more than an hour, she reviewed how to prepare beds for planting; proper selection of which crops to grow; and the best times for
planting and harvest.
“From education to our dedicated planting, we’ve come a long way thus far,” Smith said. “We must continue to give back to the Food Bank and the people in our community. I’m confident that what we have now will draw the attention of more scout groups and more organizations. I see the momentum already happening.”
To learn more about the Goddard Park Community Garden, and to inquire about having your organization become involved in raising produce for donation, contact Suzanne Smith at 610-3450100, or by email: ssmith@ londongrove.org.
To contact Staff Writer Richard L. Gaw, e-mail rgaw@ chestercounty.com.
Photo by Richard L. Gaw
The Chester County Food Bank’s Lisa Goodale-Brinton instructs a group of local residents about the essentials of fall planting at the Goddard Park Community Garden.
Q&A with Jennifer Singer of Blown Away
Q: Jennifer, your new business, Blown Away, brings something new to the Kennett Square community. Can you explain the concept of a Blow Dry Bar and Salon?
A: Blow Dry Bars are very popular in big cities and in the South. The Blow Dry bar offers the utmost in pampering at an affordable price. It is the same thing a lot of our mothers did when we were kids when they went to the salon once a week for a shampoo, roller set, and style, and it lasted until the following week. It’s the same idea except instead of rollers we use round brushes and blow dryers to achieve the look the client wants. The Blow Dry will last 3-5 days depending on activity level and product usage. Not to worry though, we sell a wide variety of UNITE products to keep your Blow dry fresh for days. We offer our clients five choices of Blow Drys. You get a shampoo, scalp massage, blow dry, style, and beverage. We also offer a separate men’s room where boys and men have their own space to get their hair cut. We also offer a full salon with color, cutting, perms, and all the other amenities of a hair salon.
Q: What can clients expect when they visit Blown Away?
A: Our goal is a comfortable, relaxing salon that gives you top-notch services at a price that won’t break the bank! You can be sure there will be fresh baked cookies, fresh brewed coffee, and other luxurious amenities! We are using products that no one in the area is using. From our UNITE products at the Blow Dry Bar and men’s room, to the INOA hair Color to the Cezanne Keratin Smoothing System, which is formaldehyde-free, our goal is to keep on top of the latest and greatest trends.
Q: Can you talk about what being a full-service L’Oreal Professional Salon means for your clients?
A: We will be using L’Oreal INOA as our color line. INOA is a revolutionary oil-based, ammonia-free permanent hair color with no odor, which is so important in a salon setting. If it is highlights and lowlights you want, or all over color, we have you covered! We will have a wide variety of L’Oreal shampoo, conditioner, and styling products for sale to keep your hair color looking fresh and fabulous.
Q: What other products do you utilize?
A: We will be using Unite products for our Blow Dry Bar, and we will be using GO 24/7 for our men’s line which is also from UNITE. UNITE is an award-winning brand being used on all the red carpets and by celebrities. We will have the essentials to keep your hair looking great for days. We will also carry Cezanne Keratin Smoothing Treatment. If you want frizz-
different feel. We are also using top-notch products. Our color line is ammonia free. Our keratin smoothing treatment is formaldehyde free. And our UNITE products are not tested on animals. We will also be participating in Girls Night Out in Kennett Square with Ashley Austin, Chantilly Blue, No. 109 and Houpette. Another fun thing we will offer are fun nights out! Our first one will be a Yoga class at the salon on
“The European blow dry technique is a fabulous way to style hair providing the longest lasting, most beautiful and quickest blow outs you can get in a hair salon.”
-- European blow dry technique creator Denise Rossi
free hair for 12 weeks without Formaldehyde, then you must set up your appointment to get this amazing treatment.
Q: How does Blown Away differentiate itself from other salons?
A: The goal of Blown Away is to be the “Cheers” of Salons! A place where “everyone knows your Name!” We will be going above and beyond to make everyone that comes into our salon have the best experience possible. Whether you are 5 or 105, we want to pamper you and give you a
Friday, Sept. 18, from 6-7 p.m. with Lululemon, which we are beyond excited about. Space is limited for this event so you can email blowdryks@ gmail.com to reserve your space! There will also be trunk shows, bachelorette packages, wedding packages, little girls’ birthday parties, the list goes on and on. Exceptional customer service and satisfaction is our main goal.
Q: Can you tell us about the staff that you’ve assembled?
A: The Blown Away staff is a team of extremely talented stylists. Two of our stylists, Megan Carpenter and Kaleigh Szulkowski, have been behind the chair for years cutting and coloring, and we have a very energetic assistant, Jen Murray, who will be working the Blow Dry bar and helping the full-time stylists as she builds her book. I have been a stylist for many years, and will be behind the chair as well, but will be focusing on the Blow Dry Bar and making sure every customer who leaves Blown Away is 110 percent satisfied.
Q: Tell us about the services and the amenities that you offer to men.
A: Our Blown Away men’s room will offer men ultimate relaxation while getting their haircut! While sitting in their own room, they can enjoy a beverage, watch TV, or play
Xbox. We will be selling a variety of men’s grooming and styling products. Men can choose from an express cut, a signature cut, and also choose to have a 10-minute scalp massage.
Q: How can someone make an appointment with Blown Away?
A: Blown Away has a website, BlownAwayKS. com, where you can book your appointments online or you can call 484-291-1090. Be sure to follow us on our FaceBook page Blown Away Blow Dry Bar and Salon and Instagram Blownawayks where we will list specials and promotions.
Courtesy photo
Kennett High School teacher attends Air Force summer program
Kennett High School teacher Daniel Folmar was one of 28 teachers and mentors from around the country who were selected to attend the Air Force Recruiting Service’s fourth annual FIRST Leadership Program from July 12 to 15.
Hosted at Schriever Air Force Base and the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado, For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology Robotics Competition (FRC) and FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) teachers and mentors met with senior Air Force leaders as part of Air Force recruiting outreach efforts in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.
Folmar was selected for this program after a competitive application process in which applicants had to submit a short essay describing how they get their students excited about science and technology, as well as highlighting any innovative techniques they use to help kids learn and stay motivated.
“I actually considered applying to the Air Force Academy back in high school,” Folmar said.
“I’ve always wanted to visit the facility but never had the opportunity. So I was looking forward to both the tour as well as the leadership training.
“Three things in particular that impressed me about the Air Force Academy and set it apart from
KHS teacher Dan Folmar in Colorado in July. other engineering schools I’ve visited were their commitment to the physical development of each cadet, the hands-on approach to learning – especially in the engineering department -- and the focus on ethics that underlies all of their programs, something that is sadly lacking in many college programs,” Folmar said.
“I feel fortunate that FIRST and the Air Force have teamed up to offer this experience to STEM teachers like me.”
The leadership program consisted of character and leadership development seminars, lectures, and team-building exercises to provide insight on how the Air Force develops leaders, how Airmen execute their missions as it relates to STEM, and STEM
career opportunities available in the Air Force.
“STEM is an inherent part of the Air Force mission,” said Major Jacob Chisolm, Air Force Recruiting Service National Events Branch Chief. “By showing our capabilities and instilling the pillars of leadership, with this outstanding group of teachers and mentors we are able to demonstrate the connection between their FIRST efforts and our leadership development efforts.
“We want them to return back to their schools armed with a greater appreciation for the impact leaders can have and having first-hand knowledge of future opportunities for their students,” he added.
Oxford Area School District welcomes new teachers
Oxford Area School District welcomed new teachers for the 2015-16 year with two days of orientation activities. The new teachers met the administrative staff as well as their mentors, veteran teachers who will guide them during a two-year induction program. In addition to several training sessions, the new teachers participated in a picnic and a bus tour of the school district conducted by Vernon Ringler, and Oxford Mainstreet Inc. treated the new teachers to a luncheon hosted by the Lighthouse Youth Center. The first day of classes in the Oxford Area School District was Monday, August 31. Pictured front from left are Superintendent of Schools David Woods; Jordan Bank Elementary School kindergarten teachers Matt Nelms and Emily Landers; school district speech and language pathologist Francine Gulino and Assistant Superintendent Dr. Margaret Billings-Jones; second row from left are Nottingham Elementary
School fourth grade teacher Aileen Lane and librarian Gwen Fancy; and Elk Ridge Elementary School teachers Christina McConnell, first grade; Courtney Smith, English as a Second Language; Colleen Keenan, reading specialist; and Jenna Lininger, first grade; third row from left are Hopewell Elementary School teachers Alyssa Robinson, special education; Allison Hutchinson and Katie Hano, fifth grade; Courtney Shahadi, sixth grade learning support; Alicia Shoop, special education; and Beth Hanna, learning support; and Hopewell Elementary School Principal Dr. Nicole Addis, induction program coordinator; fourth row from left are Penn’s Grove Middle School teachers Meghan Meyer, seventh grade language arts; Lisa Martinez, English as a Second Language; and Lauren Laufer,
autistic support; fifth row from left are Oxford Area High School teachers Jennifer Quattlebaum, special education; Kara Emig, family and consumer science; Michele Brooks, science; Brenda Moran, mentor; Carol Mulrine, special education; and Katie Gotwolds, Spanish; top row from left are Oxford Area High School teachers Ryan Musser, math; Edward Heckman, Spanish; Jason McLead, business education; Trevor Haney, technology education; and Michael Means, social studies.
Local author cited
By Uncle Irvin
Many know Frank Lobb as a gentleman farmer in West Nottingham Township and as co-owner of Cameron’s Hardware in Oxford.
But few know about Frank’s 10-year struggle with health insurance companies repeatedly denying him the right to pay for his first wife’s health care that resulted in her death.
The self-financed legal battle resulted in a book published in 2012 called “The Great Health Care Fraud or Too Big to be Legal – Your Mandated Health Insurance.”
The book just received a coveted favorable review by Kirkus Reviews, as follows: Since its inception, the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare, as it’s often called) has been a lightning rod for Republican and conservative anger. However, it would be incorrect to dismiss Lobb’s book as another in a long line of right-wing screeds about how the health care law is going to destroy the republic. Instead, Lobb describes the entire American health care system, takes both parties to task for how they have failed the American people, and postulates that the advent of the Affordable Care Act could bring the whole health care house of cards tumbling down.
The author begins with a bit of history, showing how American health care evolved into today’s managed care system. He quickly gets to his main point, which is that the law’s individual mandate combines the private managed care system with the federal government. In doing so, he says private managed care has let the bear (i.e., the federal courts) into the room and opened the door for the entire managed care model to be declared unconstitutional because its individual mandate is a federal requirement attached to state-regulated insurance–a shotgun marriage of state and federal authorities, which the Constitution says should be kept separate. Lobb assails the managed care industry for its deceptive tactics, including how it promises everything but then uses the small print to take things away. Despite some head-spinning subjects, as with an explanation of the “enrollee hold harmless” clause, which effectively severs an enrollee’s doctor-patient relationship, most of the book is written in easy-to-understand language–a notable feat for such a complex topic.
A mostly straightforward prescription for healing the managed health care system.
Mr. Lobb’s book is available on amazon.com.
Oxford grad D’ Antonio earns James R. Hoffa Memorial Scholarship
By Steven Hoffman Staff Writer
Jason D’ Antonio, the class president of the Class of 2015 when he graduated from Oxford Area High School in June, was recently awarded a James R. Hoffa Memorial Scholarship, and received $10,000 to pursue a college degree.
District superintendent David Woods announced at the Aug. 18 school board meeting that D’Antonio had been named as a recipient of the scholarship. In addition to being the president of his class, D’Antonio was also the student representative to the school board.
D’ Antonio is attending St. Joseph’s University and majoring in Political Science.
Also at the meeting, Dr. Margaret Billings-Jones, the district’s assistant superintendent, offered an update on PSSA testing for grades 3-8. Billings-Jones explained that the 2014-2015 school year represented the first time that the
PSSA tests were fully aligned to Pennsylvania core standards.
During her report to the school board, Billings-Jones also talked about professional development initiatives in a number of areas, including math, literature, social studies, and health and physical education. Additionally, the guidance counselors in the district will also have professional development opportunities. The new teacher induction program was set to take place over two days during the week before school started for students for the 2015-2016 school year.
The assistant superintendent also announced that the district will be holding a “Parent University” session on Sept. 14. This program will inform parents about the new Math in Focus program that teachers are going to be utilizing in the classroom. There will be two more of these “Parent University” sessions throughout the school year to keep parents updated on instruction-
Courtesy photo
Oxford Area High School graduate Jason D’Antonio, the son of Janet and Matthew D’Antonio, was selected as a recipient of the $10,000 James R. Hoffa Memorial Scholarship, which was presented to him by Teamsters Local Union 384. Pictured (from left) are high school principal Christopher Dormer; superintendent David Woods; Michael Bonaduce, the president of Teamsters Local 384; Jason D’Antonio; Janet D’Antonio, Tina Anderson, Teamsters Local 384 office manager; Steve
Legals
1103 Design
dards of the Penn Township Zoning Ordinance. The proposed amendment is as follows:
AMENDMENT TO THE PENN TOWNSHIP ZONING ORDINANCE OF 1968, AS FURTHER AMENDED, TO AMEND THE PROVISIONS OF ARTICLE II DEFINITIONS, SECTION 200 DEFINITIONS; ARTICLE XI C-2 SPECIAL LIMITED BUSINESS DISTRICT, SECTION 1101 USE REGULATIONS, SUBSECTION 1101(B) CONDITIONAL USES; AND ARTICLE XI C-2 SPECIAL LIMITED BUSINESS DISTRICT, SECTION 1103 DESIGN STANDARDS The Board of Supervisors of Penn Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania, hereby ENACTS AND ORDAINS the following amendments to the Penn Township Zoning Ordinance of 1968, as further amended: Section 1. Article II Defini-
tions, Section 200 Definitions, is hereby amended by adding the following definition: FLEX SPACE: A mixed use of building space designed and occupied in accordance with Section 1103(D) of this chapter, where the permitted principal use occupies at least 20% of the flex space building and the permitted subordinate uses occupies no more than 80% of the flex space building. Section 2. Article XI C-2 Special Limited Business District, Section 1101 Use Regulation, Subsection 1101(B) Conditional Uses, is hereby amended by adding the following Subsection: §1101(B)(15) Flex Space Section 3. Article XI C-2 Special Limited Business District, Section 1103 Design Standards, is hereby amended by adding the following Subsection: §1103(D)
building.
al programs that the district is using.
During public comment, Michelle Sapp expressed her concerns about some overgrown bushes that are obstructing the sight lines for motorists who are traveling on Wickersham Road. According to Sapp, the bushes prevent drivers who are at the crest of the hill from seeing students near a trail that leads to the school campus. Sapp explained that the poor sight lines are a particular concern because speeding is also an issue on that stretch of the road. District officials have been working with Sapp to address the safety issues.
The school board will meet again on Tuesday, Sept. 8 for a work session at 7 p.m. in the Administration Building. The regular meeting in September is slated for Tuesday, Sept. 15.
To contact Staff Writer Steven Hoffman, email editor@chestercounty.com.
Township Solicitor 9p-2-1t
NOTICE
R Samuel McMichael, Esquire Solicitor for Penn Township 9p-2-1t
PUBLIC NOTICE
Notice is here by given that the Board of Supervisors of Penn Township will hold a public hearing on Wednesday, September 16, 2015 at 5:45 p.m. To consider the Person -to- Person and Place -to- Place Transfer of Liquor License R-9474 from 120 East State Inc. to Jennersville 2SP, LLC with respect to 49 Jenners Village Center, West Grove, PA 19390. All communications relative to this meeting should be addressed to the Penn Township Municipal Office at 610-869-9620 if special services or facilities for the handicapped are required. R. Samuel McMichael, Esq.
(b) The subordinate uses may include assembly, warehousing and/or distribution or any other use permitted in the C-2 Special Limited Business District provided that the total gross floor area occupies (with more than one user, in the aggregate) no more than 80% of the flex space building. (c)Buildings containing in excess of 50,000 square feet may have multiple flex space users provided that there is no more than one employee for every 2,000 square feet of the flex space building and 1.10 parking spaces for each employee. Section 4. If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase or word of this Ordinance is for any reason held invalid or unconstitutional by any courts of competent jurisdiction, such portion shall be deemed a separate, distinct and independent provision, and such holding shall not render this Ordinance invalid. Section 5. All purposes of the Zoning Ordinance or parts of any other Township Ordinance inconsistent herewith are hereby superseded to the extent of any inconsistency therewith. Section 6. This Ordinance shall be effective five (5) days after its enactment. All communications relative to this hearing are to be addressed to Penn Township Municipal Office at the above address. Contact Penn Township at 610-869-9620 if special services or facilities for the handicapped are required.
Notice is hereby given that the London Grove Open Space Committee meeting scheduled for Thursday, September 10, 2015 at 5 p.m. has been rescheduled for Monday September 21, 2015 at 7:00 p.m. The meeting will be held in the London Grove Township Building, 372 Rose Hill Rd., West Grove, PA. The public is invited. 9p-2-1t
Sheriff Sale of Real Estate By virtue of the within mentioned writ directed to Carolyn B. Welsh, Sheriff will be sold at public sale, in the Chester County Justice Center, 201 West Market Street, West Chester, Pennsylvania, announced Thursday, September 17, 2015 at 11AM prevailing time the hereindescribed real estate. Notice is given
Gallagher, Local 384 business agent; assistant superintendent Dr. Margaret Billings-Jones and Mary Boohar, chief steward for Local 384 in the Oxford Area School District.
PLAINTIFF:
DEFENDANT: NEIL D. MACKENZIE and SARAH MACKENZIE
SALE ADDRESS: 494 Cygnet Drive, Atglen, PA 19310-1741
PLAINTIFF ATTORNEY: PHELAN HALLINAN DIAMOND & JONES, LLP
N.B. Ten percent (10%) of the purchase money must be paid at the time and place of the sale. 10% payment must be paid in cash,certified check or money order made payable to the purchaser or Sheriff of Chester Co. and the balance made payable to Sheriff of Chester Co. thereof, within twenty-one (21) days from the date of sale by 2pm. 8p-26-3t
Sheriff Sale of Real Estate
By virtue of the within mentioned writ directed to Carolyn B. Welsh, Sheriff will be sold at public sale, in the Chester County Justice Center, 201 West Market Street, West Chester, Pennsylvania, announced Thursday, September 17, 2015 at 11AM prevailing time the hereindescribed real estate. Notice is given to all parties in interest and claimants that the Sheriff will file in her office located in the Chester County Justice Center, Sheriff's Office, 201 West Market Street, Suite 201, West Chester, Pennsylvania a schedule of distribution on Monday October 19, 2015. Distribution will be made in accordance with the Schedule unless exceptions are filed hereto within ten (10) days thereafter
SALE NO. 15-9-704
Writ of Execution No. 2012-09196 DEBT $422,409.53
PROPERTY situate in East Nottingham Township, Ches-
ter County, Pennsylvania BLR# 69-3-161
IMPROVEMENTS thereon: residential dwelling
PLAINTIFF: Bank of America, N.A. Successor by Merger to BAC Home Loans Servicing, L.P. f/k/a Countrywide Home Loans Servicing, L.P.
VS
DEFENDANT: MATTHEW J. GIBSON
SALE ADDRESS: 329 Heron Drive, Lincoln University, PA 19352-1729
PLAINTIFF ATTORNEY: PHELAN HALLINAN DIAMOND & JONES, LLP, 215563-7000
N.B. Ten percent (10%) of the purchase money must be paid at the time and place of the sale. 10% payment must be paid in cash,certified check or money order made payable to the purchaser or Sheriff of Chester Co. and the balance made payable to Sheriff of Chester Co. thereof, within twenty-one (21) days from the date of sale by 2pm. 8p-26-3t
Sheriff Sale of Real Estate
By virtue of the within mentioned writ directed to Carolyn B. Welsh, Sheriff will be sold at public sale, in the Chester County Justice Center, 201 West Market Street, West Chester, Pennsylvania, announced Thursday, September 17, 2015 at 11AM prevailing time the hereindescribed real estate. Notice is given to all parties in interest and claimants that the Sheriff will file in her office located in the Chester County Justice Center, Sheriff's Office, 201 West Market Street, Suite 201, West Chester, Pennsylvania a schedule of distribution on Monday October 19, 2015. Distribution will be made in accordance with the Schedule unless exceptions are filed hereto within ten (10) days thereafter
SALE NO. 15-9-687 Writ of Execution No. 2010-02298 DEBT $324,227.55
PROPERTY situate in East Nottingham Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania BLR# 69-6-466.14 I IMPROVEMENTS thereon: residential dwelling
PLAINTIFF: The Bank of New York Mellon Trust Company, National Association fka The Bank of New York Trust Company, N.A. as Successor to JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., as Trustee for Residential Asset Mortgage Products, Inc., Mortgage Asset-Backed Pass-Through Certificates, Series 2006Rs3 VS
DEFENDANT: MAUREEN A. GUSS and MICHAEL G. GUSS
SALE ADDRESS: 207 Sheffield Lane, Oxford, PA 19363-2413
PLAINTIFF ATTORNEY: PHELAN HALLINAN DIAMOND & JONES, LLP, 215563-7000
N.B. Ten percent (10%) of the purchase money must be paid at the time and place of the sale. 10% payment must be paid in cash,certified check or money order made payable to the purchaser or Sheriff of Chester Co. and the balance made payable to Sheriff of Chester Co. thereof, within twenty-one (21) days from the date of sale by 2pm.
8p-26-3t
Sheriff Sale of Real Estate By virtue of the within mentioned writ directed to Carolyn B. Welsh, Sheriff will be sold at public sale, in the Chester County Justice Center, 201 West Market Street, West Chester, Pennsylvania, announced Thursday, September 17, 2015 at 11AM prevailing time the hereindescribed real estate. Notice is given to all parties in interest and claimants
that the Sheriff will file in her office located in the Chester County Justice Center, Sheriff's Office, 201 West Market Street, Suite 201, West Chester, Pennsylvania a schedule of distribution on Monday October 19, 2015. Distribution will be made in accordance with the Schedule unless exceptions are filed hereto within ten (10) days thereafter
SALE NO. 15-9-728 Writ of Execution No. 2012-04711 DEBT $340,255.59
PROPERTY situate in the Township of East Nottingham, Chester County, Pennsylvania
BLR# 69-06-0472.030
IMPROVEMENTS thereon: residential dwelling
PLAINTIFF: The Bank of New York Mellon fka The Bank of New York, as Trustee (Cwbs 2005-Bc4) VS DEFENDANT: JAMES M. SALVE and SUSANNE R. SALVE
SALE ADDRESS: 349 Yorklyn Road, Oxford, PA 19363-2426
PLAINTIFF ATTORNEY: PHELAN HALLINAN DIAMOND & JONES, LLP, 215563-7000
N.B. Ten percent (10%) of the purchase money must be paid at the time and place of the sale. 10% payment must be paid in cash,certified check or money order made payable to the purchaser or Sheriff of Chester Co. and the balance made payable to Sheriff of Chester Co. thereof, within twenty-one (21) days from the date of sale by 2pm. 8p-26-3t
Sheriff Sale of Real Estate By virtue of the within mentioned writ directed to Carolyn B. Welsh, Sheriff will be sold at public sale, in the Chester County Justice Cen-
ter, 201 West Market Street, West Chester, Pennsylvania, announced Thursday, September 17, 2015 at 11AM prevailing time the hereindescribed real estate. Notice is given to all parties in interest and claimants that the Sheriff will file in her office located in the Chester County Justice Center, Sheriff's Office, 201 West Market Street, Suite 201, West Chester, Pennsylvania a schedule of distribution on Monday October 19, 2015. Distribution will be made in accordance with the Schedule unless exceptions are filed hereto within ten (10) days thereafter
SALE NO. 15-9-725 Writ of Execution No. 2015-02784 DEBT $165,185.77
TAX Parcel No.: UPI 3-3-247
PLAINTIFF: Ocwen Loan Servicing, LLC VS DEFENDANT: JOY A.
tingham, County of Chester, State of Pennsylvania, described by a plan made for Elwood Barker by Edgar Laub, Surveyor, dated September 16, 1977, as follows, to wit:
BEGINNING at a point (a spike) on the title line in the bed of Public Road T-366, said point being at a corner of lands of Vance Mitchell, Jr; thence extending along aforesaid lands, crossing the easterly side of saidT-366, south 87 degrees, 47 minutes east, 339.63 feet to an iron peg in a white oak stump, a corner of lands of Frank R. Campbell, Jr., thence extending along aforesaid lands, south 28 degrees 20 minutes 50 seconds west, 213.63 feet to a point, a corner of Parcel “A” on said plan; thence along said Parcel “A” the 2 following courses and distances: (1) north 61 degrees 39 minutes 10 seconds west 90.00 feet to a point; (2) south 63 degrees 09 minutes west, 188.17 feet (having recrossed the easterly side of said T-366) to a spike on the title line in the bed of said Public Road T-366; thence extending along said T-366, the 3 following courses and distances: (1) north 10 degrees 27 minutes 20 seconds west, 107.96 feet to a spike; (2) north 05 degrees 02 minutes east, 75.00 feet to a spike; (3) north 19 degrees, 35 minutes east, 66.29 feet to the first mentioned point and place of beginning.
CONTAINING 1.36 acres.
BEING known as Parcel “B” on said Plan.
BEING tax parcel No. 68-020014.020 (UPI# 68-2-14.2)
BEING the same premises which Patricia C. Phillips (now known as Patricia C. Patterson) by her Deed dated July 18, 2005, and recorded August 10, 2005, in the Recorder of Deeds Office of Chester County, Pennsylvania, in Book 6580, Page 1138, granted and conveyed unto Patricia C. Patterson.
PLAINTIFF: National Penn Bank VS DEFENDANT: PATRICIA C. PATTERSON
SALE ADDRESS: 224 Glen Roy Rod, West Nottingham Township, Nottingham, Chester County, PA 19362 (Parcel No. 68-020014.0200)
PLAINTIFF ATTORNEY: RICHARD BRENT SOMACH, ESQ., 610-391-1800
N.B. Ten percent (10%) of the purchase money must be paid at the time and place of the sale. 10% payment must be paid in cash,certified check or money order made payable to the purchaser or Sheriff of Chester Co. and the balance made payable to Sheriff of Chester Co. thereof, within twenty-one (21) days from the date of sale by 2pm. 8p-26-3t
Sheriff Sale of Real Estate
By virtue of the within mentioned writ directed to Carolyn B. Welsh, Sheriff will be sold at public sale, in the Chester County Justice Center, 201 West Market Street, West Chester, Pennsylvania, announced Thursday,September 17, 2015 at 11AM prevailing time the herein-described real estate. Notice is given to all parties in interest and claimants that the Sheriff will file in her office located in the Chester County Justice Center, Sheriff's Office, 201 West Market Street, Suite 201, West Chester, Pennsylvania a schedule of distribution on Monday October 19, 2015. Distribution will be made in accordance with the Schedule unless exceptions are filed hereto within ten (10) days thereafter
SALE NO. 15-9-732 Writ of Execution No. 2013-10206 DEBT $897,103.77
PROPERTY situate in the Kennett Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania BLR# 62-7-50.3
IMPROVEMENTS thereon: residential dwelling
PLAINTIFF: Bank of America, National Association VS
DEFENDANT: BENJAMIN J. LEDYARD a/k/a BENJAMIN JOHN LEDYARD and CAROLYN LEDYARD
SALE ADDRESS: 296 Old Kennett Road, Kennett Square, PA 19348-2725
PLAINTIFF ATTORNEY: PHELAN HALLINAN DIAMOND & JONES, LLP, 215563-7000
N.B. Ten percent (10%) of the purchase money must be paid at the time and place of the sale. 10% payment must be paid in cash,certified check or money order made payable to the purchaser or Sheriff of Chester Co. and the balance made payable to Sheriff of Chester Co. thereof, within twenty-one (21) days from the date of sale by 2pm.
8p-26-3t
Sheriff Sale of Real Estate
By virtue of the within mentioned writ directed to Carolyn B. Welsh, Sheriff will be sold at public sale, in the Chester County Justice Center, 201 West Market Street, West Chester, Pennsylvania, announced Thursday, September 17, 2015 at 11AM prevailing time the hereindescribed real estate. Notice is given to all parties in interest and claimants that the Sheriff will file in her office located in the Chester County Justice Center, Sheriff's Office, 201 West Market Street, Suite 201, West Chester, Pennsylvania a schedule of distribution on Monday October 19, 2015. Distribution will be made in accordance with the Schedule unless exceptions are filed hereto within ten (10) days thereafter
SALE NO. 15-9-706 Writ of Execution No. 2014-0762
ALL THAT CERTAIN lot, piece or parcel of land situated in the Borough of Oxford, County of Chester and State of Pennsylvania,
bounded and described as follows, to wit:
BEGINNING at a stake in the middle of Park Street, the line of the curb of the east side of Third Street (formerly known as the Limestone Road) and running thence along the middle of said Park Street, south 80 degrees east, 150 feet to a stake; thence leaving said street and running along the middle of a 10 feet wide alley, south 10 degrees west, 72 feet and 6 inches to a stake; thence by land now or formerly of Robert Bruce, north 80 degrees west, 150 feet to a stake in the curb line on the east side of Third Street, aforesaid; and thence along said curb line, north 10 degrees east, 72 feet and 6 inches to the place of beginning.
EXCEPTING thereout and therefrom, premises conveyed by T. Eugene Conner and Malinda W. Conner, his wife, to Leora C. Purcell, by Deed dated April 5, 1924, and recorded at West Chester, Pennsylvania in Deed Book M-16, Page 450, as follows:
ALL THAT CERTAIN messuage or tenement and tract of land situated on North Third Street, in the Borough of Oxford, County of Chester and State of Pennsylvania, bounded and described as follows, to wit:
BEGINNING at a point in the middle of Park Street, and in line of the curb on the east side of Third Street (formerly known as the Limestone Road) and running thence along the middle of the said Park Street, south 80 degrees east, 150 feet to a stake; thence leaving said street and along the middle of an alley 10 feet wide, south 10 degrees west, 47 1/2 feet to a point; thence by other land now or formerly of T. Eugene Conner and passing over an iron pin set in the west side of said alley and through the partition in the center of the double frame
PLAINTIFF: U.S. Bank
PLAINTIFF ATTORNEY:
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1965
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:
MagnatracMH8000MiniTrackMachine3orig.hrs.,likenew,neverused,incl.48" DirtBucketw/Teeth;MagnatracMH7000256orig.hrs.,likenew,w/48"DirtBucketw/ Teeth;54"QuickAttachDozerBlade;48"SingleCylinderGrappleBucketQuickAttach;32" RipperBackhoeAttach.;3ptPTO\Attach.forMagnatrac;3pt\PTOAttach.forMagnatrac;31" StumpBucketQuickAttach;48"QuickAttachLoaderBucket;QuickAttach3ptAttach.46" Bracket;38"3pt5ToothRipper;24"BackhoeBucketw/Teeth;15"BackhoeBucketw/Teeth; 24"BackhoeBucketw/Teeth,new,neverused;19"Ripperw/BackhoeAttachment;54" DozerBladew/Hydr.AngleonQuickAttachBracket;SmithyGranite1340 Lathe/MultipurposeMachinew/48"Table;CoatsRC–15ARimClampTireChanging Machine;RangerDST2420TireBalancer;32"SelfPropelledRoller;EnglishWheelSheet MetalMachine;(3)25DRPowerWagonw/Briggs&Stratton8.25Engine&32x42"Dump; HoelscherSheepsfoot,brandnew,neverused,64"Wide3ptAttachment;BigTex18' BeavertailSkidLoaderTrailer7000GVW;77"CurtisSnowBladew/SkidLoaderQuick Attach;QualityTrailerCo.23'14,000GVWTiltingEquip.Trailer;GradeAll534–9Shooting BoomTelehandler,22,900lb.capacity;60"SingleCylinderGrappleBucketw/QuickAttach Bracket;92"BackhoeBucketfitsD9;82"QuickAttachSkidLoaderBucket;WestAerialLift w/PalletForkAttach.,4CylinderGasEng.;JD51BroomAttachment;Haal75–275"Rock Bucket;500gal.DieselTankw/Elect.Pump;TripleCrown12"DumpTrailer;JD1010 Crawler,notrunning,9700hrsonodometer
ExtensiveSel.Sm.HandTools;TigerGR–80Tamper,likenew; ChicagoTileSaw;CraftsmanReciprocatingMiterSaw;DrillPresses;HobartIronman230 MigWelder;PowerThreader;StihlMS660Chainsaw;CementMixer;Elect.Jackhammer; DREquip.Self-PropelledStumpGrinder;HugeSpecialtyMechanicsTools;
andmuch,
