Chester CountyPRESS
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Covering Avon Grove, Chadds Ford, Kennett Square, Oxford, & Unionville Areas
Volume 153, No. 38
Wednesday, September 18, 2019
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Oxford mayor involved in collision in Rising Sun Compiled by Chester County Press Staff Writers Oxford mayor Lorraine Durnan Bell was involved in a collision on Sept. 12 that left a Maryland woman and her mother injured. Lt. Michael Holmes of the Cecil County Sheriff’s Office read from a police report on Sept. 16 that Bell was driving a 2008 Chrysler Sebring north on Stevens Road in Rising Sun, Md., at about 5:25 p.m. Her vehicle crossed the center line and struck a 2019 Jeep Cherokee being driven south by Melissa Maccari, 31, of North East, Md. In Maccari’s car were her mother, Bernice Fogle, 55, and her 14-month-old daughter, who was in a child safety seat. The impact was “nearly head-on,” Holmes said. The report reads that the responding officer at the scene, Corporal Brian Shockey, “detected a strong odor of alcoholic beverag-
INSIDE
es” on Bell. She was taken by ambulance to Christiana Hospital in Newark, Del., where a blood sample was taken. Results of that blood test have not been announced. The extent of her injuries was not disclosed. Maccari told the Chester County Press during a phone call on Sept. 16 that she suffered a broken wrist and is scheduled for surgery at Union Hospital in Elkton, Md., this week. Her mother fractured her L-2 vertebrae and her daughter sustained minor bruising, she said. Any formal charges against Bell will be announced after the results of the blood-alcohol test are known, a process which can take several weeks, Holmes said. In addition to her duties as Oxford Borough mayor, Bell is a third-grade teacher at the Rising Sun Elementary School in Rising Sun. She has worked there since 2001. School principal Alan Loman
could not be reached for comment. A message was left by the Chester County Press on Bell’s voice mail at the
Mayor’s office, but no response has been received as of Sept. 17. Bell became the mayor of Oxford Borough after
her Election Day victory on Nov. 7, 2018. A former member of the Oxford School Board, she received Continued on Page 8A
I believe that we will win!
Photo by Richard L. Gaw
A very large, loud and supportive cheering section made up of Kennett High School students served as the Blue Demons’ 12th man during Kennett’s 27-13 victory over crosstown rival Unionville on Sept. 13. The win gives Kennett a 4-0 start and puts them atop the Ches-Mont American football standings. For a complete story, see Page 6B.
Route 1 lane widening plans presented by PennDOT By Chris Barber Staff Writer Chesco Dance Center marks 10 years...4A
‘Spaces & Faces’ Kennett Square...1B
in
East Marlborough Township residents viewed and heard a report at the Sept. 9 Board of Supervisors meeting about the latest plans for widening Route 1. Frank Eels of the Gannett Fleming engineering firm displayed a large map of the highway showing upcoming work from the intersection with Baltimore
Pike near Walmart at the west end and its continuation in the east by Longwood Gardens. The changes have been in the works and approved since the early Walmart hearings more than a decade ago. Eels, whose company represents the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, said the roadway will be widened to three lanes in each direction, with construction starting early in 2020. He
added that despite the work being carried on in each direction, drivers will still be able on get by on the two remaining lanes in both directions. He also indicated that a sidewalk will be installed on the north, just off the highway, from the Onix Drive area to the entrance near Wendy’s. Additionally, drivers going east on Route 1 would still not be able to turn left onto Schoolhouse Road to access Walmart,
Avon Grove holds Act 34 Hearing for new high school project
By J.P. Phillips Correspondent
By Steven Hoffman Staff Writer The Avon Grove School District held the Act 34 Hearing for the new high school project on Sept. 12. Run to help La Communidad Hispana A large crowd turned out to listen to a presentation ...1B about the scope of the project, including the costs and designs for the new school Courtesy image on the Sunnyside Road, Two spacious, but safe courtyards are planned for the
Opinion.......................7A Obituaries...................2B
Continued on Page 2A
Continued on Page 8A
new high school.
The Unionville-Chadds Ford School District overhauled its discipline policy last year. Major changes included flexibility in meting out student punishments so reprimands better suit infractions; mandatory education and counseling for smoking, alcohol, and drug offenses; and a chance for the rescission of a single
suspension from student records. Initially, rescission was deemed important because district policy stated that suspensions must be reported on college applications. At the Sept. 16 school board meeting, directors voted to change policy 216 so that Unionville High School will no longer report any disciplinary actions on student college applications. Continued on Page 3A
Area businesses collaborating on EmpowHER Fitness Retreat in Kennett Square on Oct. 20
A sisterhood of wellness
Classifieds..................4B Calendar of Events......8B
By Richard L. Gaw Staff Writer © 2007 The Chester County Press
that it was in the initial plans more than a decade ago, Lacy persisted in asking that the current board have the privilege of providing their input. Supervisor Bruce Jameson said that if the matter was beyond the responsibility of the board and just in the hands of PennDOT, it would not be useful to continue the dialogue. Early in the meeting, during public comment,
U-CF will no longer report student discipline issues on college applications
More than three dozen residents express their support for the project
INDEX
but would have to travel farther to access the left turn. Eels said that a lighted sign is included in the plans in the Wendy’s area. It will provide updated information to drivers in both directions, such as whether congestion or accidents are ahead. This feature raised the ire of supervisor Julia Lacy, who asked Eels several times when it had been approved. When he replied
The life of Sarah Nurry of Avondale is an almost perfect mirrored reflection of the lives being lived by millions of women. She is the married mother of four school-age children.
She is the co-founder of the successful Mushroom Cap 13.1 Half Marathon in Kennett Square, which will celebrate its fourth year this November. She and her business partner Karen DiMascola are the founders of Run2Shine, the fundraising wing of the Mushroom
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Cap run. A gloss overview of her calendar reveals a dizzying array of obligations and places to be, and her commitments are often in the service of her family and her friends, the schools that her children attend and the community she lives in. Somewhere in between,
Nurry meticulously carves out small pockets of time for herself – usually early in the morning or late at night – and it is in those precious hours that she dons her running shoes and crushes the quiet streets and neighborhoods near her home. In the summer of 2017,
Nurry attended an event sponsored by City Fit Girls in Philadelphia, an inclusive fitness community for women that began in 2013, whose goal is to make physical activity more accessible for all women. She was floored by the group’s Continued on Page 8A
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