A spate of daytime residential break-ins affecting a wide swath of homes in Chester and Delaware counties prompted the formation of a police task that caught two men burglarizing a Pocopson Township home on Wednesday, Dec. 9, police said. Daniel S. Freas, 29, of Birmingham Township, and David J. Lee, 36, of Oxford, were taken into custody after a member of the Westtown-East Goshen Regional…
While the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania still doesn’t have a budget for fiscal year 2015-2016, the Unionville-Chadds Ford School District is already in the planning stages for a 2016-2017 school year budget. And newly re-appointed School Board President Vic Dupuis doesn’t like that situation. “I’m personally appalled that our state representatives can’t pass a budget for this past year, yet by law, they require us to…
Enough is enough. That was the sentiment of the Chester County Commissioners when they announced at their meeting on Thursday, Dec. 3, that they will immediately cease remitting funds collected by county row offices on behalf of the state for the duration of the state budget impasse – a sum that averages $4 million a month. In a prepared statement signed by all three commissioners,…
Many area nonprofits depend on donations to survive, a fiscal precariousness that has been exacerbated this year by ripple effects from the state budget impasse. As a result, institutions that typically benefit from state grants, either directly or indirectly, are hoping that the public will help fill the gap this year on Tuesday, Dec. 1, also known as #GivingTuesday. Designed as a prelude to the…
A trio of fourth-graders from Pocopson Elementary got multiple rounds of applause for their presentation at the Pocopson Township Board of Supervisors’ meeting on Monday, Nov. 23. Josiah Hoopman, Bridget Hoban, and Chi Xu, members of Team AHA Moment from First Lego League Robotics, expressed their concern about the tubes used to protect saplings throughout the area from rodents and deer. Tree-planting initiatives have become…
In an ongoing effort to keep students safe, the Unionville-Chadds Ford School District held a community conversation last week on school security. The meeting included what the district has accomplished in securing buildings, what policies are in place, updates from the Chester County District Attorney's Office, and exchanges among the participants. The school district has reviewed the input that was gathered from the community and…
The Chester County Department of Emergency Services (DES), Fire Services Division, held graduation for the Spring 2015 Firefighter I class. Twenty-six graduates were given their certification at a ceremony that was held at the Wagontown Fire Company on Thursday, Nov. 19, a county press release said. Family, friends and fire company officials were on hand to witness the graduation and certification recognition. Chaplain Jerry Schwartz,…
Friends and family are mourning the death of Joseph “Joe” L. Stumpo, who lost a long battle with cancer on Tuesday, Nov. 17, at the age of 81. Joe Stumpo was well-known to Pocopson Township residents for his presence at numerous township meetings and functions, where his sense of humor often entertained those around him. His wife of 35 years, Ricki Stumpo, serves as a…
A special work session of the Pocopson Township Board of Supervisors on Monday, Nov. 16, paved the way for a vote to approve the bid package for Phase II of the Barnard House, which will cover the building’s interior renovations. For months, the Phase I work on the exterior of the historic residence, which is being repurposed for use as a Pocopson Township administration building…
When it comes to criminal activity, Pocopson Township qualifies as quiet and even experienced a decrease in total police calls during the past year. That number dropped from 110 to 100 in 2015, said Pennsylvania State Police Cpl. Kelly Cruz during a brief presentation at Monday night’s Pocopson Township supervisors’ meeting. But that doesn’t mean the township should get complacent, Cruz said. “Historically, the township…
For more than six months, critics of the plan to renovate the historic Barnard House into a Pocopson Township administration building and a home for the Kennett Underground Railroad Center have increased in numbers and intensity. Having cited cost overruns, shoddy workmanship, conflicts of interest, and an unsuitable floor plan for township employees, a group of residents – including a present supervisor and two incoming…