Chester CountyPRESS
www.chestercounty.com
Covering Avon Grove, Chadds Ford, Kennett Square, Oxford, & Unionville Areas
Volume 154, No. 48
Wednesday, December 9, 2020
$1.00
INSIDE Kennett Township votes to delay decision
on single-service EMS provider
Board calls for collaborative proposal by Longwood and Kennett fire companies by Jan. 20, 2021. If it’s not acceptable, they’ll award exclusive ambulance and EMS provider rights to Longwood, beginning on March 1, 2021 By Richard L. Gaw Staff Writer
Greenville & Hockessin Life
Santa Claus is coming to town...1B
At the conclusion of an often heated four-hour discussion between them, the Kennett Township Board of Supervisors voted 2-1 at their Dec. 2 online meeting to delay a proposal that would enter the township into exclusively using the Longwood Fire Company as its single-source emergency medical services (EMS) provider next year. By a vote of 2-1, the board back-stepped on an original proposal that would make Longwood the exclusive EMS provider to the township beginning on Jan. 1,
2021, and eliminate the EMS services of the Kennett Fire Company to the township. At 11:10 p.m., board chairman Richard Leff and supervisor Whitney Hoffman voted in favor of extending all EMS services for the township to Longwood beginning on March 1, 2021, and in the interim allow both Longwood and Kennett to submit a collaborative proposal for proving ambulance service to the township by Jan. 20, 2021. The board would then consider the proposal and reach Photo by Richard L. Gaw a decision by Feb. 3, 2021, Kennett Township is proposing to streamline its future EMS and ambulance service and if it does not accept the to its residents by using the exclusive services of the Longwood Fire Company Continued on Page 4A
Pandemic won’t stop Wreaths Across America
beginning in 2021.
Avondale Fire Company supporters press London Grove supervisors on onesource provider decision By Chris Barber Contributing Writer
Updates for Chester Program...7A
Restore County
INDEX Opinion.......................7A Obituaries...................2B Classifieds..................4B
Courtesy photo
Left to right holding flags are veterans John Mosley, Jim May, Spence Andress and Robert Stuart.
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By Betsy Brewer Brantner Contributing Writer
© 2007 The Chester County Press
Oxford is proud of and dedicated to its veterans. That is obvious by the banners honoring veterans hanging along the borough’s streets. So during this pandemic, the community will continue to honor veterans through the annual tradition of Wreaths Across America. Clarissa Sherrow, the Wreaths Across America coordinator for the Oxford Cemetery said, “Things are very different
this year, but we will still be honoring the veterans by laying wreaths in the Oxford Cemetery. We had everything mapped out and the program set, but rising COVID-19 numbers changed all that. There will be no public ceremony this year in an effort to keep everyone safe.” Instead, Sherrow invited everyone to follow them on Facebook and the website. Last year, Sherrow was interviewed for an article in AARP. This year, they Continued on Page 2A
Supporters and members of the Avondale Fire Company spoke up at the Dec. 2 London Grove Township Board of Supervisors meeting, some of them asking questions about and voicing their frustration with the Nov. 17 decision by the board to contract with West Grove Fire Company as its ambulance and fire provider. Speakers at the meeting took advantage of the public comment period to delve into the reasons for the change. The decision was made, according to minutes of the Nov. 17 budget meeting, as a cost-cutting measure which would save about $75,000. According to the document, the recommendation was made by Fire Marshal Robert Weer. At that meeting, the supervisors approved the motion with the dissent of supervisor Steve Zurl. At the onset of the Dec. 2 meeting, former Avondale Fire Chief and current West Grove Fire Company mem-
ber Glenn Hallman spoke up with a list of questions for the supervisors. He said he was representing neither the Avondale or West Grove fire company, but rather was seeking information about the decision moving to one provider. He asked if the decision to exclude Avondale was the best one for taxpayers who live close to the Avondale station. “Is it best for families if they live closer to Avondale? Can you defend [the decision] if you have to wait?” he asked. He also asked if the supervisors could defend the possible increased response time and referred to the West Grove’s more distant New London station, which would respond even if the emergency were much closer geographically to the Avondale station Additionally, he asked if the supervisors realized if a result of their decision to contract with one provider resulted in litigation, that each of them would be responsible and the financial costs would be a burden to London Grove taxpayers.
London Grove resident Zach Knox said he was concerned that even the most minute delay in response time caused by single source could be devastating to people whose family members are in life-threatening situations or whose houses are burning down. He added that the issue had not been widely publicized and needed more public input. Reminding his audience that there would be more time for comment later in the meeting, David Connors, the chairman of the board of supervisors, said the board had been discussing the matter since July. Addressing the safety issue, he said West Grove has proposed placing an ambulance in Avondale and having a roving unit. He reiterated that he and the supervisors would not make a change to one provider for cost alone, and they would not have made the decision if they thought it would jeopardize their citizens. During the public comment time at the end of Continued on Page 4A
United Way of Southern Chester County celebrates 75 years and over $20 million given to local nonprofits A newly opened grocery store in Dublin, Ireland recently made headlines for its section of glass flooring which allows shoppers to see the eleventh-century Irish-Viking home on which the present structure is built. People tend not to give much thought to foundations—whether they’re made of brick and mortar or of the leaders, wise decisions, and generosity that build a strong community. Times of crisis and significant anniversaries, however, have a way of calling us to pause and
take stock. As a second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic sweeps across the globe, United Way of Southern Chester County (UWSCC) is celebrating its 75th anniversary by doing exactly what it has always done—raising funds to help those in need in the community. Today, that means supporting local nonprofit agencies responding to ongoing needs in addition to the unprecedented and ever-shifting needs brought on by the pandemic. Over the past few months, CEO Carrie Freeman has been digging into the
UWSCC annals to find 75 facts about the organization’s history. She hasn’t been surprised to find lots of information about community leaders who made forward-looking decisions to lay a solid foundation for UWSCC. Their model of local support has been shaping the character and caring ethos of the community it has served for three-quarters of a century. “Over the last 30 years alone,” Freeman said, “we have given out over $20 million to help those in need in our community. It’s hard to imagine what Southern
Chester County would look like today had it not been for UWSCC.” In addition to giving significant ongoing support to existing agencies like Tick Tock Early Learning Center and Kennett Area Senior Center, UWSCC has
also provided critical initial support, or “seed money,” over the years to help start nonprofits to fill particular needs in the community. These include the Kennett Food Cupboard, then a satellite of KACS (1998); the Continued on Page 3A