February 24, 2010 - ChaddsFordLive.com

Armed robbery at Naaman’s Creek Wawa

Pennsylvania State Police are looking for two black men who robbed the Naaman’s Creek Road Wawa store and two customers at gunpoint shortly before 1:30 a.m. on Feb 24.

According to a police report, the two men entered the store from the Naaman’s Creek Road side and forced a customer to the floor, taking his wallet, cell phone and cigarettes. The armed gunman then forced the night manager to give him all the money in the registers and safe.

A second customer entered the store and was robbed of $8, a watch, wallet and multiple credit cards.

The perpetrators took $2,440 from the store along with five to six cartons of Newport cigarettes, 80-100 loose packs of Newports and three boxes of Dutch Master blunts.

The pair fled north on Route 202 toward Chester County at a high rate of speed in, what was described as, a grey Acura TL Sedan with a spoiler. A witness followed the getaway car north on Route 202 as far as Smithbridge Road before turning off. No license plate number was obtained.

Both men were described in the police report as black, between 6 feet and 6 feet 2 inches and weighing 180 to 200 pounds. One was wearing a grey hooded sweatshirt, black gloves, light blue jeans and a facemask. The second suspect was wearing a black hooded sweatshirt, dark jeans, a black facemask, black gloves and carrying a silvered colored semi-automatic pistol, the report said.

About CFLive Staff

See Contributors Page https://chaddsfordlive.com/writers/

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DMNH has fun with bloodsuckers

Local News

bloodsuckers leffler — DMNH has fun with bloodsuckers

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Leeches, ticks, mosquitoes and other bloodsucking parasites
are the toast of the town at the Delaware Museum of Natural History through May
16 in an exhibit called “Attack of the Bloodsuckers.”

Featured in the exhibit are live leeches sucking on blood,
hatching mosquito larvae, a chance to get hugged by a giant inflatable tick and
a variation of the game Twister, called TwITCHer.

Visitors can see head lice, fleas, bed bugs and deer ticks
under a microscope and measure the carbon dioxide in one’s breath, one of the
ways mosquitoes find their food.

Maureen Leffler, of Wilmington, brought her three youngsters
to a members-only preview of the exhibit. She said the kids called it, “Neat
but disturbing.”

According to Teresa Messmore, the public relations director
of the museum, the exhibit is designed for kids 2-12 years old and will show
why mosquitoes bite people and how animals live off blood.

“This is something that happens in the natural world and
there’s a lot of protein in blood which makes it a very good food,” Messmore
said. “There are a lot of interesting critters that use it as their life
source.”

She said this exhibit differs from others the museum has had
about insects in that it’s the first time an exhibit that focuses specifically
on bloodsuckers.

“It’s definitely new territory for us,” she said. “We
thought it would be truly intriguing to our visitors.”

Some sanguinivores, creatures that feed on blood, are
beneficial to man. Leeches, for example, once used, then ridiculed as a means
of healing, are now registered as medical devices by the federal Food and Drug
Administration and are used to improve circulation following limb reattachment
surgery.

There is a preserved sea lamprey, a kissing bug and a
vampire bat. Also on display are live vampire fish that are clear and about an
inch-and-a-half long. They are members of a parasitic catfish family.

There is also a chance for kids to play mosquito by inserting
a probe into the outline of a human arm and poking around to find a vein.
Messmore said real mosquitoes actually poke around about 20 times before
finding a vein from which to suck their meal.

While many businesses in the area have been feeling the pain
of the recession, DMNH Executive Director Halsey Spruance said there are many
“bright lights” for the museum to hold on to.

Spruance said attendance is up 20 percent over last year and
that PNC Bank came through with a large grant for the museum to expand its
education programs.

“That’s big in a tough economy,” Spruance said. “So, while
everyone is trying just to keep afloat, we were actually able to expand what
we’re doing.”

He admitted that he was concerned that sponsorship for
exhibits would dry up, but is pleased that didn’t happen.

“So far we’ve been able to
hold on to our exhibition sponsorships, and add to it a bit so that we can
still offer these exciting and awesome traveling exhibits for everybody,” he
said.

About Rich Schwartzman

Rich Schwartzman has been reporting on events in the greater Chadds Ford area since September 2001 when he became the founding editor of The Chadds Ford Post. In April 2009 he became managing editor of ChaddsFordLive. He is also an award-winning photographer.

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Adopt-a-Pet

Local News

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Elanor
is a juvenile spayed female domestic short hair cat that is available for adoption through the
Chester County SPCA. She came to the shelter with her friend Lucy on May 10. Lucy was
adopted recently and now it is Elanor’s turn. When she came to the shelter she
and Lucy were both pregnant. Elanor raised her kittens and then raised a litter
of foster kittens as well. She has been in our care longer than any other cat
currently at the shelter. Elanor is a very sweet but shy little girl who is
looking forward to a quiet household to grow up in. She is looking for a responsible care giver who will give her the love and
attention she deserves. If you are able to provide that home, visit the Chester
County SPCA at 1212 Phoenixville Pike in West Goshen or call 610-692-6113. Elanor’s
registration number is 96794570. To look at some of the other animals available
for adoption, visit the shelter or log onto www.ccspca.org.

About CFLive Staff

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Tax reform? Not likely

Opinion

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U.S. Sens. Judd Gregg, R-N.H. and Ron Wyden, D-Ore.,
may be looking in the right direction even if they’re stepping the wrong way.
And they sure won’t allow things to go the necessary distance.

The two senators, earlier this week, unveiled
a bipartisan plan that they say will streamline the IRS tax code, raising the
minimum tax bracket from 10 to 15 percent, but bringing about an overall tax
break, they say, for the middle class.

Streamlining the IRS tax code is a
good thing. Indeed, even IRS Chairman Douglas
Shulman said a month ago that he has to get his taxes done by a professional
because the code is too complex for him to do his taxes himself.

Now granted, Mr. Shulman’s income is likely based on more than what
might show on his government issued W-2. But if the tax code is too complicated
for him, it must be even more frustrating for the average person who has a
small business, or even just a regular job with a number of exemptions.

It’s being reported that the number of tax brackets would be reduced to
three under the proposed plan—15, 25 and 35 percent—and would, according to a
Wall Street Journal story by Patrick Yoest, “alleviate the
headache the tax code causes individuals and businesses trying to sort through
its minutiae.”

The report
also said, “Messrs. Gregg and Wyden assert that the average individual or family
earning less than $200,000 would do ‘as well or better’ under their plan than
current tax law, in large part because the plan would nearly triple the
standard deduction.

“’Many taxpayers who currently itemize will find it more
advantageous to switch to the standard deduction which will both reduce their
tax bills and eliminate the burden of maintaining records and receipts needed
to document itemized deductions,’ the plan states. Most taxpayers would be able
to use a one-page form to submit their taxes, according to Messrs. Wyden and
Gregg.”

Such may or may not be the final result of the bill. The other members
of Congress have yet to get their hands on it and twist it out of shape, as
they are wont to do.

And such a goal may not be as lofty an idea as many might think. The
easier it is for a person to file and pay taxes, the easier it is for
government to get our hard-earned dollars. And this is a nation that’s trillions
of dollars in debt, with no agreed upon plan to get out of debt. Some members
of Congress don’t even think there should be any rush to get out of that debt.

We agree with U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas. The income tax itself should
be repealed and replaced by nothing. Mr. Paul recently said that the income tax
accounts for 45 percent of the federal government’s income, yet to cut the size
and cost of government by 45 percent would mean only that the size would be the
same as under the Clinton administration.

While we would like to see the elimination of both the income tax and
the debt, we don’t suggest anyone hold their breath. For that matter, don’t
hold your breath for the Gregg/ Wyden measure either.

About CFLive Staff

See Contributors Page https://chaddsfordlive.com/writers/

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Police log Feb. 25

Police

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A Dell laptop computer and two leather CD cases with
approximately 100 music CDs were reported stolen from a truck parked in the
Painter’s Crossing shopping center parking lot, according to a police report.
The value of the amount stolen was reported to be $1,640. The report said the
perpetrator disabled the passenger side keyhole of the 2002 Dodge 4×4. Police
said the incident happened between 3:10 and 6:15 p.m. on Feb. 20.

• Someone stole the tailgate from a Dodge ram pickup truck
that was parked at the Home Depot parking lot between 5 and 7 p.m. on Feb. 13.
The tailgate is described as blue in color from a newer model with the words
“Ram Tough” written on it.

• An employee of the Naaman’s Creek Road Wawa had her wallet
stolen while at work on Feb. 17 about 9 p.m.. The suspect, described as a black
male, between 30 and 40 years of age, was wearing a black hat, black jacket and
blue pants. He entered the store’s rear area and took the wallet from the
employee’s locker, according to a police report. . He then went into the
manager’s office and tried opening the safe, the report said. The suspect was
seen as a passenger in a white Jeep Cherokee where there were two other black
men. The report said those others did not appear to be engaged in any illicit
activity. Anyone with information is asked to phone the Pennsylvania State
Police at 484-840-1000.

About CFLive Staff

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Blogging Along the Brandywine

Along the Ford

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Monday evening, I stopped by the Sanderson Museum on my way
home from work to see what I could learn about historic snowstorms. I found several old photos, even from
the “Blizzard of 1914.”

I found notes by Chris such as “A rare sight–never remember
such an early snow storm”, and diary entries from his mother Hanna like, “A
bitter cold day. My heart ached a lot when I looked out and saw that my
beautiful flowers were all frozen… Have just discovered that we are having
quite a snowstorm.”

But after collecting my research and creating the story
outline, I ended up with a much different story, one that has been growing in
my heart for quite some time.

For while the museum on Creek Road is named for Chris, the
more I read Hanna’s (1856-1943) diaries, the more I am intrigued by this dear
lady who was much beloved in the village.

Hanna, was the rock and abiding strength behind her son; the
one who got him off to his morning teaching assignments; the one who got him
off to his evening lectures or dance band dates; the one who worried until he
came home, sometimes in the wee hours of the morning; the one who cooked his
meals. And yes, perhaps even the reason for some of his quirky habits.

She once wrote about a day, April 15, 1865, when she was
lying on her living room sofa with, some “childish ailment.”

“ …[M]y father on returning from the village post office
excitedly told my mother something which caused her to cry out in distress many
times. I called to her to know what it all meant. She came into the room, tears
flowing down her face as she said ‘Lincoln was shot last night and is dead
now.’”

But what was even more noteworthy about this event was that
until her last year of life Hanna would lie on her sofa every April 15
commemorating that day.

One of the first people her son Chris called when she died
in his arms on Dec. 25, 1943, was his young friend Andy Wyeth, who came up to
their house in the village and sketched the scene. It would later become the
painting “Death on Christmas Morning” prominently featured at Wyeth’s 2006
retrospective “Memory and Magic” at the Philadelphia Art Museum.

While Hanna lived, Chris was a collector of historic
artifacts.

But after she died at the age of 87, leaving him a lost and
lonely 61-year old bachelor, his collecting turned into compulsive hoarding, so
much so that when he died in 1966 there remained only a path through waist-high
stacks of papers in his house. He could barely sleep on his bed with all the
other items competing for space.

Yes, I stopped by the Sanderson Museum on Monday ostensibly
to see what I might find about Chadds Ford snowstorms. But while there I
realized something much more important…

I really admired this woman behind the man, Hanna Carmack
Sanderson.

And if this snow ever melts, the once weedy
and austere yard of the Sanderson Museum will continue its transformation into
a Victorian garden of beauty, peace and delight as well as flowers—The Hanna
Sanderson Memorial Garden.

About Sally Denk Hoey

Sally Denk Hoey, is a Gemini - one part music and one part history. She holds a masters degree cum laude from the School of Music at West Chester University. She taught 14 years in both public and private school. Her CD "Bard of the Brandywine" was critically received during her almost 30 years as a folk singer. She currently cantors masses at St Agnes Church in West Chester where she also performs with the select Motet Choir. A recognized historian, Sally serves as a judge-captain for the south-east Pennsylvania regionals of the National History Day Competition. She has served as president of the Brandywine Battlefield Park Associates as well as the Sanderson Museum in Chadds Ford where she now curates the violin collection. Sally re-enacted with the 43rd Regiment of Foot and the 2nd Pennsylvania Regiment for 19 years where she interpreted the role of a campfollower at encampments in Valley Forge, Williamsburg, Va., Monmouth, N.J. and Lexington and Concord, Mass. Sally is married to her college classmate, Thomas Hoey, otherwise known as "Mr. Sousa.”

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The Garden Path

Home and Leisure

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It took a coating of snow,
pockmarked with telltale hoof prints, to remind me that whether I see them or
not, deer are a nearly constant presence in my neighborhood. I tend to get complacent this time of
year, when I’m not locked in a daily battle to protect vibrant swaths of
coneflowers, frothy clumps of phlox, and perky beds of daylilies from these
insatiable plant plunderers. But I
know that time is coming, which is why a large box just arrived that contains a
paycheck’s worth of deer repellent.

Early spring is when deer
can be particularly troublesome.
Hungry from the long winter, they eagerly vacuum up emerging shoots,
neatly nip off buds, and happily prune shrubs into shapes not pictured in any
topiary manual.

Deer browsing and antler
rubbing can cause tremendous damage to gardens, wooded areas, and
fruit/vegetable growing areas.
Absent a community-wide deer management program (don’t get me started),
it’s up to individual homeowners to fight the battle if we are to grow anything
other than Astroturf.

Here are some strategies
Penn State Cooperative Extension recommends for reducing deer damage:

Fencing

If money is not a concern,
surround your property with 8-foot deer fencing and it’s mission
accomplished. A cheaper option is
to fence specific areas, such as a vegetable garden. There are those who resort to electric fences, but a more
child-friendly choice is 6-foot solid fencing (deer usually won’t jump into an
area they can’t see).

Deer-resistant plants

A plant considered
deer-resistant in one part of the country can be deer candy in another, so use
recommendations from local sources.
What deer eat is affected by their nutritional needs, what they’ve eaten
in the past, what is currently available, weather conditions, geography, and
other factors. Often, it comes
down to how desperate they are.
Someone once explained this in clear terms to my husband by asking him
what food he hates. When he
answered “liver,” the person responded: “If you were hungry enough, would you
eat liver?” Well, deer are often
hungry enough to eat their version of liver.

That said, deer generally
dislike plants that are hairy, spiny, or aromatic. A list of plants considered
deer resistant in Pennsylvania can be found here:
http://consumerhorticulture.psu.edu/files/Ornamentals%20and%20Deer.pdf.

Deer repellents

The key to success in
using repellents is to consistently make your garden unpleasant for deer, thus
sending them on to greener pastures.
Deer repellents generally use scents such as rotten eggs, garlic, or
predator urine; tastes such as hot pepper; or physical threats such as motion,
sound, or water sprays. The deer
in our area are accustomed to living in neighborhoods, so human scent
(deodorant soap is often suggested), motion, sound, and water repellents are
effective temporarily, if at all.
A dog can be a good deterrent, but only when the dog is actually
present.

In my experience, varying
scent and taste repellents (particularly along the property’s perimeter and on
key plants), combined with using deer resistant plants, can be quite effective.

If all else fails, you can
always take comfort by making a nice venison casserole, a dish known as
“Gardener’s Revenge.”

Have a gardening question? Ask a Master Gardener! Call the
Master Gardener Hotline: 610-696-3500 or email ChesterMG@psu.edu.

Visit Chester County Master Gardeners on Facebook.

• Nancy Sakaduski is the Chester County Master Gardener
Coordinator. Master Gardeners are
trained volunteers who educate the public on gardening and horticultural
issues. In Chester County, they
operate through the Penn State Cooperative Extension office in West Chester. Nancy lives in Pennsbury Township. She can be reached at nds13@psu.edu.

About Nancy Sakaduski

Nancy Sakaduski is a Master Gardiner with Penn State Extension of Chester County.

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