September 12, 2012 - ChaddsFordLive.com

Around Town Sept. 13

• Chadds Ford remembered the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, along with the Sept. 11, 1777, Battle of Brandywine with a ceremony at Brandywine Battlefield Park on Sept. 11. Speakers included State Rep. Stephen Barrar and Carl Closs, as Gen. George Washington. The ceremony included the ringing of Remembrance Bells. Shown ringing one of the bells are Sarah Liberace and her son Tristan of Pennsbury Township. (Photo by Rich Schwartzman)

• Rep. Stephen E. Barrar, R-160, of Boothwyn, is inviting area residents to his free annual Fall Health and Safety Fair on Saturday, Sept. 22, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. The event will take place at Endo Pharmaceuticals, located at 100 Endo Boulevard in Chadds Ford. Highlights of the event will include health screenings, a K-9 demonstration, face painting, National Guard and Army Humvees and representatives from state, local and nonprofit service agencies. More information about the event is available at SteveBarrar.com.

• Birmingham Township resident Lora Englehart won a framed copy of High Flier, a Richard Schwartzman photo, in a drawing held during Chadds Ford Days. The Chadds Ford Business Association conducted the drawing.

• Wine & Dinosaurs presented by M&T Bank celebrates its sixth anniversary at the Delaware Museum of Natural History on Sunday, Sept. 23, from 12-4 p.m., featuring fine wine and beer, live jazz, hors d’oeuvres, and a silent auction. Advance tickets are $50 for the general public and $45 for museum members. Admission will be $60 at the door. Wine & Dinosaurs was started in 2007 to celebrate the ten-year anniversary of the Delaware Museum of Natural History’s dinosaur display. The fundraiser has evolved into a signature event, raising thousands of dollars to fund operations and programming while supporting the museum’s mission to excite and inform people about the natural world through exploration and discovery. To purchase tickets or for more information, visit www.delmnh.org or call 302-658-9111. Must be 21 or older to attend.

• CCArts, Center for the Creative Arts in Yorklyn, announced hiring two new teaching artists to their talented faculty. Olga Nielsen will teach various figure drawing classes and Ellen Schwarzkopf will teach two jewelry-making classes focused on wire wrapping. Their talents expand the depth and breadth of creative opportunities available to CCArts students, a press release said. Olga Nielsen is a graduate of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and studied fine art at the Moscow School of Fine Arts and Textile Institute. Ellen Schwartzkopf and her husband Don joined the Tuscarora Lapidary Society in 1999. There she learned her love of making jewelry and has been teaching wire wrap locally for 10 years.

• On Oct. 7, Families are invited to make a bird craft and find images of birds in the Brandywine River Museum‘s paintings. Experts from Tri-State Bird Rescue & Research will present an overview of their lifesaving work on behalf of wildlife with a focus on the challenges of rehabilitating crows and jays. Craft and gallery activities begin at 1 p.m.; Tri-State Bird Rescue & Research presentation begins at 2 p.m.

About CFLive Staff

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

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Costco plans Nov. 10 opening

Local News

Costco plans to open its new Concord Township store on Nov. 10. That’s the word from Howard Randolph, the warehouse manager for the store on Evergreen Drive in the Brinton Lake shopping area.

Concord Township officials gave the final approval for the plan last summer and construction began in the fall.

Randolph said there would be nothing out of the ordinary at the new store. It would be like other Costco stores, so people will know how to navigate the aisles to get what they want.

“We try to make it consistent so that when members go from building to building they’ll know where to find things,” Randolph said.

Unlike the store near the Christiana Mall, however, the Brinton lake store will also have a gas station. Randolph sees the gas station as a “great service” to members.

Randolph said there are two membership levels. Basic membership is $55 per year, while the executive membership is $110 per year. Executive level members get 2 percent of their purchase price back at the end of the year. There are also other services available to executive members that are not available to the basic members.

For people not familiar with Costco, Randolph said the store is volume driven, which gives the store greater purchasing power. Costco also sells ahead of a season rather than during the season, he said.

“By doing so, we get in and out quick so we can bring new items in faster than our customers,” said Randolph.

The store will be adding jobs to the community. Randolph said about 140 people would be hired to staff the new location.

Costco sells food, clothing, furniture, electronics and a variety of other consumer related merchandise.

Store hours are 10 a.m. to 8:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday.

Photo caption: The Costco store in Concord Township is nearing completion. (Photo by Rich Schwartzman)

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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Chadds Ford Days: Days for everyone

Local News

Slide-cropped — Chadds Ford Days: Days for everyone

The annual Chadds Ford Days went off without a hitch despite the threat of some nasty weather. Saturday and Sunday were sun-drenched with activities for the whole family.

Chadds Ford Days began in the 1950s to celebrate the Sept. 11, 1777, Battle of the Brandywine, but has since become a colonial fair and is one of the major fund-raisers for the Chadds Ford Historical Society. Money raised goes toward maintaining the John Chad House, the Barns-Brinton House and funds various CFHS programs.(Photos by Rich Schwartzman and Emily Myers)

Brandywine-Creek-Boys — The Brandywine Creek Boys with Miss Maggie provide some of the live entertainment during the two-day event.

Marie-teaches — Marie Stotler teaches Nina Vanella, of Clifton Heights, how to weave with rye straw.

Cow-and-Calf — Prada, a 5-year-old Jersey cow, and her 3-day-old calf, Pretzel, from Baily’s Dairy of Pocopson Meadow farm, attract a crowd.

George-Washington — Carl Closs, as Gen. George Washington, strikes an anachronistic pose as he holds a popsicle while standing in front of a mobile ATM machine.

About CFLive Staff

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School district to save money

Local News

School District taxpayers will enjoy hearing that more than $175,000 in savings are on the horizon.

At the Sept. 10 school board work session finance meeting, Unionville-Chadds Ford School District Director of Business and Operations Robert Cochran said the district has “an opportunity to refinance some outstanding debt which will generate about $100,000 in interest savings spread over the current budget and next year as interest rates are favorably low.”

Cochran also reviewed a minor employee restructuring of the district’s Bus Transportation and Food Service departments that will save district taxpayers another $75,000 per year.

Marie Wickersham will serve as the supervisor of both departments that effectively eliminated one supervisory position. The restructuring will become effective in October when the current bus transportation supervisor retires. There are also a couple of changes in administrative support personnel and their workday schedules as a result of the restructuring.

Aside from the financial news, the audience at Monday night’s work session was treated to a laugh by Keith Knauss, chairman of the finance committee. Knauss was attentively listening to his colleague Jeff Hellrung’s comments about hosting Kennett Consolidated School District staff and potentially some students at an upcoming Bullying Coalition program. There was a minor concern Kennett would not be charged a fee by our school district. Hellrung said. “When I invite company to my home for dinner, I don’t charge my guests a fee.”

Knauss, who pays meticulous attention to financial matters, loudly interjected “I always charge my guests for their dinner”. Knauss’ remark was met with spontaneous laughter by everyone present.

Other business

Superintendent John Sanville reported on the recent Bullying Coalition work session that provided a forum for Unionville and Kennett district students, faculty and parents to discuss bullying policies. Sanville also announced the coalition will sponsor the Oct. 24 showing of the movie “Bullying” at the Painters Crossroads AMC Theater located in Chadds Ford.

“A Kennett benefactor has offered to pay the entire cost of Kennett school district staff and student participation in this joint school district event,” Sanville said. “We will buy the entire theater for one showing which will provide us with 350 seats. If there is additional interest we can arrange a second and third showing on October 24. We also plan to buy a DVD copy of the “Bullying” movie which we can show in our high school auditorium at a future date, perhaps as soon as December. However the date of the DVD release could be delayed depending on the success of the film in the movie theaters.”

Cochran reported the student population has decreased almost 2 percent from last school year. Last year, on the third school day, the district had a student population of 4,109. This year student population was 4,036.

According to Sanville, the district “noticed a significant drop in the number of kindergarten student enrollment. We attribute the student reduction population to the economy… Basically there are fewer young families in the District than this time last year.”

The next school board meeting will be Tuesday, Sept. 18 at Unionville High School at 7:30 p.m.

About Jim Phreaner

After 41 years of auditing large NYSE global corporations, former IRS Agent Jim Phreaner was looking for a project in retirement with fewer regulations and more people. He joined the staff at Chadds Ford Live more than a year ago. James Edward “Jim” Phreaner, 64, died suddenly in his Birmingham Township home on Dec.17, 2012. Jim was a devoted husband, son, father, friend, and neighbor.

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Developer has plans for Vietnam monument

Local News

The developer of a planned shopping center in Concord Township wants to include the 46-year-old Vietnam monument in its Chadds Ford Township entrance area.

Carlino Commercial Development is the developer of the property that will have a Wegman’s food store as its anchor in Concord. There is a planned entrance from Chadds Ford along Route 202 across from Hillman Drive.

Peter S. Miller, president of Carlino, said it’s his company that’s planning to include the monument, not the Wegman’s company.

“We’re happy to move the monument to give it a respectful place within our public space of our development. I think it will be a perfect gathering spot,” Miller said.

He added that while Wegman’s is not financially involved with moving the monument, the company is showing its support by approving the overall plan.

The monument is currently on an adjacent parcel that is planned as part of a deceleration lane for the southeast portion of the loop road that will connect routes 1 and 202. It was dedicated Nov. 11, 1966, in honor of the Delaware County men who fought in Vietnam and is thought by some to be the first Vietnam memorial in the country.

Beyond the memorial’s dedication date listed on the plaque, no one seems to know anything about its history. Searches of three different historical societies and two newspapers have revealed no information. Part of the monument’s stone base is deteriorating from weather, neglect and, possibly, vandalism.

“We’re going to create a public green space,” Miller said. “The monument will be a focal point of that green space area.”

Steve Quigley, of Concord Towing, brought the status of the monument to public attention. He’s glad to see some action is planned, but remains cautious.

“We need to see the details of the builder’s plans,” he said in an e-mail. “Our main concern is that it stay in the township and that it be taken care of, not neglected as it has been in the past. The monument still needs to be rebuilt.”

Quigley said he thinks there’s a better location.

“Our hope is that we be able to relocate it to the township building. The monument needs to be seen by the public, it needs to be in a public area where visitors can stop by, have a place to park their vehicles and pay their respects. That’s always been the goal.”

Miller will be taking some of the plans to the Chadds Ford Zoning Hearing Board on Sept. 19, seeking a variance to allow for parking in the area zoned as Light Industrial.

Photo caption: Vietnam veterans have been tending to the long-neglected monument since learning of its existence in early August. The vets have policed the immediate area by pulling weeds and planting U.S. military service flags. (Photo by Rich Schwartzman)

About Rich Schwartzman

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Light turnout for vets’ job fair

Local News

Less than a handful of U.S. military veterans showed up for the morning session of a daylong job fair held at Radley Run Country Club. There were more businesses on hand than job seekers during the Sept. 6 event.

Among the 18 organizations that signed up to collect resumés and talk with men and women who served the country was Krapf Bus Co.

Cindy Fisher, of Krapf, said job fairs such as this one are about “finding a diamond in the rough. We can find a lot of great employees that you wouldn’t necessarily expect to find or don’t come to you from the general public because they don’t know that you’re hiring…We’re always looking to help out the veterans as much as we can.”

Also on hand was Alex Archawski, a former U.S. Navy diver, who is now the founder and director of the Greater Philadelphia Veterans Network. He said GPVN is a nonprofit organization that helps veterans make the transition from military to civilian life. One way to help that transition is to help vets learn how to get a job.

He said a lot of veterans who are now getting out are not sure of their career objective and that many jobs in the civilian world don’t exist in the military.

“They don’t understand what sales does,” he said. “They don’t know what marketing does. What we do is help them, guide them to the career objectives that they’re looking for by matching them with veterans who are already working professionally.”

Archawski said it is the networking that helps younger vets get through the tough transition.

Linda Mathiason is the membership director at the country club. She explained the reason for the event saying, “Radley Run likes to open its doors to the community several times each year for charitable events…We decided we wanted to do something for the veterans. We had a tribute to the WWII veterans and now we wanted to extend the service to younger veterans.”

About Rich Schwartzman

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New state law regarding closed roads

Local News

A new state law imposing stiff penalties on motorists who ignore “road closed” or other safety warning signs and devices is now in effect, according to a Pennsylvania Department of Transportation press release.

Act 114, signed on July 5 by Gov. Tom Corbett, reinforces the critical need for all drivers to obey traffic control signs. The law aims to increase safety for motorists and emergency responders in areas where flooding or other hazardous conditions exist.

“Too often, motorists decide their immediate needs outweigh the safety warning signs and they ignore them, which increases hazards for them and emergency responders,” said PennDOT Secretary Barry J. Schoch. “This law underscores that we take safety seriously. When motorists are confronted with emergency road closures, we urge them to use common sense and obey the signs that are placed to keep them safe.”

Under the law, motorists who drive around or through signs or traffic control devices closing a road or highway due to hazardous conditions will have two points added to their driving records and be fined up to $250.

If the violation results in a need for emergency responders to be called, the fine is increased to between $250 and $500. In addition, violators will be held liable for repaying the costs of staging the emergency response.

About Press Release

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Police log Sept. 13

Police

• Pennsylvania State Police from Troop K, Media barracks, are investigating a series of daylight burglaries and attempted burglaries along Smithbridge Road in Concord Township on Sept. 5. Unknown suspects illegally entered — or attempted to enter — four homes. Police said the illegal entry failed at two homes, but were successful at two others. Thieves stole jewelry from one home and removed a 50-inch plasma TV, a Mac laptop computer and a Playstation 3 from another. All incidents were reported to have happened between 7 a.m. and 6 p.m.

• A 22-year-old woman from Wilmington had her purse stolen from her car while it was parked near Friendly’s Restaurant in Painters Crossing shopping center. Sometime between noon and 8 p.m. on Sept. 9, someone broke into the car and stole the purse containing a wallet with driver’s license, Social Security and credit cards.

• Police are also looking for whoever attempted to break into Five Guys, Primo Hoagies and Sardella Eye Associates on Aug. 24. All three businesses had front door locks broken and removed, police said. The suspect is reported to be a white man about 40 years old.

• Troopers will be conducting a child safety seat installation and safety check on Tuesday, Sept. 18, from 3-6 p.m., at the Rocky Run YMCA. No appointments are necessary.

About CFLive Staff

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Adopt-a-Pet Sept. 13

Along the Ford

Gretchen is a sweet and sassy shepherd mix who was brought to the shelter as a stray in early August. While she still looks and acts like a puppy, Gretchen is estimated to be one to two years of age. She will need an active family and some additional training, but those outstanding ears prove to be great listening tools as she has come a long way already. Gretchen is very people-friendly and has gotten along with other dogs she has met at the shelter, but will need a home without cats. If you are able to provide Gretchen or any of our other animals here at the shelter a home, visit the Chester County SPCA at 1212 Phoenixville Pike in West Goshen or call 610-692-6113. Gretchen’s registration number is 96810200. To meet some of our other adoptable animals, visit the shelter or log onto www.ccspca.org. Not quite ready to adopt? Consider becoming a CCSPCA foster parent! Additional information and applications are available online or at the shelter.