October 3, 2012 - ChaddsFordLive.com

First Fall Fair held at CF Elementary

hayride — First Fall Fair held at CF Elementary

The Chadds Ford Elementary School PTO launched its first ever Fall Fair last week in an attempt to raise an additional $4,000 so the group can buy about a dozen iPads and an iPad cart for the school.

Event co-coordinator Luci McClure said the school district had already purchased a dozen of the tablets for the school, but the PTO wants 12 more plus the cart to provide for an entire classroom.

She added that the new fall fund-raiser augments, not replaces, the traditional May Fair. According to McClure, there are too many things going on as the end of the school year approaches, making it more difficult to get parents to volunteer for things.

While the final tally is not yet in, McClure said the event was a definite success. There will be a debriefing later to see how things will play out in the future.

During the fair, students had a chance to dunk a teacher in the dunk tank, throw a football through hanging tires, get their faces painted and engage in some spin art. And, yes, there was food.

Photo above: Students get ready for a hayride at Chadds Ford Elementary School. (Photos by Rich Schwartzman)

spin-art — Second-grader Devin Callahan makes some spin art

dunk-tank — Fourth-grade teacher Curt Barr splashes down in the dunk tank.

football-toss — Kevin Liao, a fifth-grader, throws a football through a tire.

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.

First Fall Fair held at CF Elementary Read More »

Liberty Tree Outfitters not just for ‘tin hat crazies’

Business

Jim Tillilie spent 20 years in the construction industry and is now seeking to celebrate all things Americana with Liberty Tree Outfitters, a new retail business in Chadds Ford Township.

Liberty Tree Outfitters is located behind the old Wawa at 1 Station Way Road —previously the site of a tack shop, frame shop and, most recently, a women’s consignment shop. Now, it’s the location of what started out as a store dedicated to “home preparation for the crazy tin hat people who think there’s an economic collapse coming,” he said.

Tillilie, who includes himself among those who think an economic collapse truly is coming, said the “tin hat” comment refers to people who, others believe, wear tin foil on their heads to protect themselves from solar flares and Martians.

As he developed the idea for the store, the concept changed to that of “an old time general store that celebrates all things Americana,” he said.

Merchandise ranges from freeze dried food to camping equipment with bows and arrows to solar powered lights. In addition to the “prepper” (for preparation) items, the store also sells toys, candy, beer kits, Bill of Rights t-shirts and wine. Knives and ammunition are also available, but not firearms.

While the store is geared toward survivalists, it’s more family-oriented and he sees it as a way to nudge kids toward becoming more independent.

“We’re not hardcore, ‘go out and live in the middle of the forest for the rest of your life’ people,” he said. “It’s is more like a family outing sort of thing.”

The t-shirts each have one of the first 10 amendments to the U.S. Constitution, while the beer kits contain premeasured ingredients for the home brewer.

Selling wine made for some bureaucratic hoop jumping. The wine comes from Auburn Road, a winery in New Jersey. Tillilie, from Upper Providence, can’t make a commission on the wine sales. With a boutique license, he can only make money on the wine by renting space to the winery.

Tillilie chose Chadds Ford for his business because he likes the historical feel to the area.

“If we want to sell all things Americana, being only about a quarter-mile from the battlefield park is nice.”

Tillilie is still in the construction business, but wants to try out retail, thinking it will be “more fun,” he said. He wants to do something where people are actually happy to do business.

“Going to work in construction can be like a fist fight…I want to put a smile on somebody’s face as opposed to the inherent fight that needs to go in construction sometimes.”

Liberty Tree Outfitters’ hours are only three days per week right now. The shop is open noon to 5 p.m. on Fridays, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturdays and noon to 5 p.m. Sundays. The hours will expand to six days per week later on.

Also planned is a grand opening — the date of which has not yet been decided — and some Saturday “meet-ups” with classes on a variety of subjects including beer-making, self defense and how to set up a generator in a thunderstorm.

Photo caption: Jim Tillilie says Liberty Tree Outfitters is focused on family outings. (Photo by Rich Schwartzman)

About Rich Schwartzman

Liberty Tree Outfitters not just for ‘tin hat crazies’ Read More »

New digs for Chester County Conference and Visitors Bureau

Business

Tourism plays a major role in Chester County’s economy. According to County Commissioner Terrance Farrell, tourism brings $877 million into the county each year, and provides $260 million in salaries to the 10,000 people employed in the industry.

So, it’s no surprise that the Chester County Conference and Visitors Bureau wanted a headquarters commensurate with such activity. That’s what happened Oct. 3 when the bureau cut the ribbon on its newly renovated space in Longwood after years in West Chester. The new location holds both the visitors’ center and the bureau’s offices.

The building is in front of Longwood Gardens and behind the Longwood Fire Co.

It had been the historic Longwood Progressive Meeting House where many members of the founding families in the region — such as the Mendenhalls and Pennocks — and others who hid runaway slaves met. Freed slave Frederick Douglas also spoke there.

Nina Kelly, communications director for the bureau, said the move is significant.

“It’s a no-brainer to be here, outside the gates of Longwood where there’s more than a million visitors per year,” Kelly said.

She said those visitors can leave the gardens, come to the visitors bureau and get all kinds of information on other tourist sites in the county and Brandywine Valley.

“Visitors will find personal service, so it’s always manned 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. seven days per week. We’ve made lots of hotel and restaurant reservations from this building. We have plenty of brochures and information as well as our visitors’ guide and things like that,” she said.

Blair Mahoney, the bureau’s executive director, said the historic nature of the building is significant because of the Underground Railroad and the Quaker influence in the county. The history, he said, is present in the building.

He added that visitors would be helped because there’s much to see and do in Chester County and having some human contact in learning where to go is far better than just relying on the Internet.

Blair Mahoney, second from left, along with Chester County Commissioners (from left) Ryan Costello, Terrence Farrell and Kathi Cozzone, cut the ribbon for the new Chester County Conference and Visitors Bureau.

About Rich Schwartzman

New digs for Chester County Conference and Visitors Bureau Read More »

Concord residents balk at Woodlawn plan

Local News

Scores of residents packed the Concord Township municipal building to hear about a proposed plan that would rezone and develop 324 acres of land. More than 40 members of the standing room only crowd asked for party status to oppose the proposal.

The area is owned by Woodlawn Trustees. As previously reported, Woodlawn wants to sell off some of the land so that it can continue to provide affordable housing in Wilmington.

Concord Township supervisors began — and continued — two hearings on the matter Oct. 2. One hearing was on the proposed zoning change; the other hearing was for land development. Both were continued to 7 p.m., Oct. 30.

The area in question runs along the west side of Route 202 from the Delaware state line north to Smithbridge Road. The western boundary is along the border with Chadds Ford Township.

There are three zoning districts in the area, but Woodlawn wants to rezone it into a new single district, R-PRD-4, that will require more open space, but allow for both residential and commercial use. The commercial area is in the southeast part of the property abutting Route 202.

While many residents in the mostly pastoral area of Concord complained about the possibility of losing their current country feel and open space, space where there are horse farms, Brandywine Summit Camp Ground and the Penns Wood Winery, security was the concern for residents who will wind up bordering the commercial area.

As one resident said, he could wind up living 50 feet away from a big-box store.

“Is that enough to keep my 7-year-old daughter from being abducted,” he asked.

Supervisors’ Chairman Dominic Pileggi told all the residents that they had valid concerns that would be taken into consideration.

Marc Kaplan, the attorney representing Woodlawn, echoed Pileggi, adding that Woodlawn would do what it can “to make this work.”

As currently zoned, developers could put up 209 apartments, 249 townhouses, develop 20,000 square feet of commercial space, but provide only 15-20 acres of dedicated open space.

Under the proposed zoning, there would be 314 townhomes, 120 age-restricted units, 195,000 square feet of commercial property and 209 acres of permanently preserved open space.

Unless supervisors deny the plan early, approval is estimated to take a year or longer, according to several sources on the board.

About Rich Schwartzman

Concord residents balk at Woodlawn plan Read More »

Police log Oct. 4

Police

Pennsbury Twp Home Invasion — Police log Oct. 4

• Pennsylvania State Police from Troop J, Avondale barracks, have released a sketch of one of the suspects in the Fred Barakat shooting. Barakat, a bankruptcy attorney, was shot in his Pennsbury Township residence on Sept. 24. Police continue to investigate the incident, calling it a home invasion, but one that was not random. There are three suspects, two who wore masks and another man — depicted in the police artist sketch — is described as white, 30-40 years old, approximately 6 feet tall with short blond hair.

• As part an ongoing investigation into a number of shootings of businesses, vehicles and signs in several townships — including Concord Township — state police from Troop K, Media barracks, have linked David Frederick Saddler, 57, of Wilmington, to a shooting in Middletown Township. Delaware State Police arrested Saddler and the results of a search warrant led to his connection with the Middletown shooting, Pennsylvania State Police said. The police report said Saddler was charged with Aggravated Assault, Simple Assault, several weapons offenses and other violations. The other shootings remain under investigation.

• Two Echo chainsaws, a Wacker jumping jack, and Echo weed wacker and a Mitsubishi concrete saw were stolen from a trailer on Dansfield Lane in Chadds Ford sometime between 6:30 p.m. on Sept. 26 and 8 a.m., Sept. 27. Police said someone cut the lock off the trailer before stealing the items that have an estimated valued of $6,000.

• Lt. Tony Sivo, commander of the Media barracks for Troop K, Pennsylvania State Police, reminded residents attending Concord and Chadds Ford Township supervisors’ meetings to keep their doors locked, house, garage and car doors. He added that people should also not leave valuables visible in their cars. Sivo said heroin use is on the rise in Delaware County and that addicts are looking for things to steal so they can pay for their habit.

About CFLive Staff

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

Police log Oct. 4 Read More »

Around Town Oct. 4

Along the Ford, Local News

• Explore the Picturing Poe exhibition and sample wines of Spain at an event “inspired” by Edgar Allan Poe’s short story, “The Cask of Amontillado.” The evening, Oct. 10, 6-8 p.m., is hosted by the Young Friends of the Brandywine Conservancy and sponsored by Brandywine Fine Properties Sotheby’s International Realty. The Museum’s galleries will be open, there will be light refreshments, and full glasses of wine will be available at cash beer and wine bar. Cost is $25 for members, $35 for nonmember adults. Go to www.brandywinemuseumshop.org to purchase tickets.

• Concord Township presents its seventh annual Senior Citizens Expo on Thursday, Oct 11, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the BYC Gymnasium, 41 Thornton Road. Exhibitors from state agencies and local organizations will be on hand to provide information on services available to seniors. For more information, call the township office at 610-459-8911, ext. 100.

• Local nonprofit Yes U Can USA will hold its Gift of Movement celebration dinner and silent auction on Thursday, Oct. 11, at the University and Whist Club. Speakers include Delaware First Lady Carla Markell and Paralympian Amanda McGrory, a gold, silver, and bronze Olympic medalist and current world record holder in the women’s marathon. Tickets for the Gift of Movement are $125 per person or $225 per couple. Register online at yesucanusa.org/dinner.

• The Chadds Ford Gallery presents Robert R. Stack’s, “Defining Light,” an exhibit of new and recent works of original art, opening Friday, Oct. 12, 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.; the exhibit continues thru Oct. 28. Located at Chadds Ford Village and Barn Shops, 1609 Baltimore Pike, Building 400, Chadds Ford, the gallery is open Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sunday from to 5 p.m. For more information, please call toll free, 877-993-8425 or visit www.awyethgallery.com

• State Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi, R-9, of Chester, is hosting a Kids’ Fun Fair in West Grove on Saturday, Oct. 13, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. The free event will be held rain or shine at Avon Grove Intermediate School, 395 S. Jennersville Road. Parents and grandparents are encouraged to attend with their children and grandchildren. For additional information about the Kids’ Fun Fair, contact Senator Pileggi’s district office at 610-358-5183 or email Leslie Lobb at llobb@pasen.gov.

• St. Michael Lutheran Church, on East Doe Run Road, presents Principally Harps on Sunday, Oct. 14, at 3 p.m. Principally Harps offers audiences a unique opportunity to see and hear concert grand harps on center stage. Janet Witman and Mindy Cutcher are masters of their instruments, showcasing their harps with exciting repertoire and demonstrating the uniqueness of pedal harps with the varied sound effects that can be produced from them. Their programs are accessible to young and old, both experienced and casual concert-goers. Suggested donation is $5 per adult and $2 per child under age 12.

• Chadds Ford native Tara Keefe, now living in California, is having an exhibit of her original art, “Mood and Emotion,” at the Stuart Kingston Galleries, 2010 Pennsylvania Avenue in Wilmington. The opening reception is 5:30-8:30 p.m., Friday, Oct. 19.

• The Chester County Historical Society, in partnership with the Cheshire Hunt Conservancy, is holding a special program by David Shields, Associate Director of the Brandywine Conservancy’s Environmental Management Center. Shields, co-author of Catalyst for Conservation, will explore the story of 5,400-acre King Ranch property in Chester County. The ranch once raised 5,000 steer annually to feed consumers across the eastern seaboard. The event is set for Tuesday, Oct. 23, 6 p.m., at The Whip Tavern in Coatesville. This 30-minute program will be followed by discussion, a Q & A session and good conversation. And of course, there will be lots of great beer, and good food available for purchase. History on Tap brings history to you in the casual atmosphere of your favorite local bar or restaurant. The program is free, but an RSVP is required by Oct. 18 as space is limited to 75 attendees, available on a first come first served basis! RSVP to rsvp@chestercohistorical.org.

• Buckley’s Tavern on Route 52 in Centereville is scheduled to reopen this month, according to proprietor Tom Hannum. He said the first Sunday brunch is scheduled for Oct. 21. Hannum added that the menu would be much the same as it had been, including favorites like the Buckley burger and Thai noodle soup.

About CFLive Staff

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

Around Town Oct. 4 Read More »

Adopt-a-Pet: Barney

Along the Ford

Barney is a sweet and gentle cat in need of a new home. Barney came to the shelter in March as a stray, and since then has become a favorite amongst the staff and volunteers of CCSPCA due to his laidback, yet playful, demeanor. He’s got what it takes to make a great family pet, as we feel he would take to children very well. Barney has been at the shelter entirely too long, and because of this has become depressed and unhappy with his life in a cage. Oct. 5 through 8 is Chester County SPCA’s “Fall in Love” adoption promotion, in which all cat adoption fees have been reduced to $20.00. What better a time to welcome Barney or one of his feline friends into your home? If you are able to provide Barney 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. Barney’s registration number is 96807592. 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.

About CFLive Staff

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

Adopt-a-Pet: Barney Read More »

Photo of the Week: Anticipation

Photo of the Week

anticipation-copy — Photo of the Week: Anticipation

–

About Rich Schwartzman

Photo of the Week: Anticipation Read More »

Get Real: A glance at green benefits

Home and Leisure

The U.S. Green Business Council recently reported that single-family homes are responsible for approximately 20 percent of the country’s greenhouse gas emissions. By living in a green home, people can help reduce the causes of climate change. Studies show that more homebuyers are looking to purchase homes that have eco-friendly features.

“We put out a homebuyer and seller survey annually and studies show people are more interested in buying green improved homes,” said Michelle Wardlaw, public affairs associate for the National Association of Realtors. “NAR research has consistently shown that there is a considerable growing market for green homes. Many of the consumers today, we find, want homes that are sensitive to the environment.”

Although many who think about going green envision solar panels, that may not be the best investment for everyone. With solar panels, a home must be in an area with sufficient sunshine and it must be in a location that is eco-friendly minded.

Matthew E. Kahn, Professor at UCLA Institute of the Environment in the Department of Economics, noted that in California, all things being equal, homes with solar panels sell for a 6% higher price. Realtors in the Brandywine Valley real estate market believe that solar panels send the message that the owner has been willing to invest in other quality upgrades to the home.

While solar panels are clearly visible to a potential homebuyer, they are just the tip of the iceberg in determining whether a home can offer energy efficient savings.

“While a potential buyer will notice whether the home has a swimming pool or a great kitchen, the home’s energy efficiency and ‘greenness’ is harder to see,” said Kahn. “The seller who owns such a home should recognize this point and make his home’s green features well known.”

Justin Barnes, a policy analyst for the Database of State Incentives for Renewables & Efficiency, funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, said the easiest green fixes deal with appliance replacements. “Other measures are cost effective and advisable as well, such as replacing windows and doors and finding ways to insulate the home more effectively.”

Some upgrades have more appeal and return on investment than others. Energy-efficient appliances can reduce monthly utility bills. Tankless water heaters mean less time and water wasted waiting for water to warm up, and replacing old furnaces can lower a heating bill.

These eco-friendly upgrades may not be a top priority for most buyers, but when pointing it out, you can pique their interest.

“In terms of resale price maximization, the best green initiatives to help sell hinges on whether potential buyers value energy efficiency and are aware of the home’s energy efficiency,” Kahn said. If the seller believes that his home is highly energy efficient based on green investments he has made to the home, then he should produce 12 months of past electricity bills to signal to potential buyers that the home has this added bonus. Work with your local realtor on other ways to promote the greenness of the home in your marketing plan.

Remember, anytime you need to replace something in your home, it’s an opportunity to make an eco-friendly choice, which can help in the resale value later on.

* Jim DeFrank and Beth Alois can be reached at 610-388-3700. Prudential Fox & Roach is an independently owned and operated broker member of BRER Affiliates Inc. Equal Housing Opportunity.

About Beth Alois

Get Real: A glance at green benefits Read More »

Mind Matters: Why we cry

Health

Have you ever wanted to cry and couldn’t? Or didn’t know what “to do” when a loved one bursts into tears? Why do we cry anyway?

Jay Efran and Mitchell Greene, both with doctorate degrees, have some answers. They note that tears are a manifestation of an individual’s physiological system shifting rapidly from sympathetic to parasympathetic activity. That is, the person swiftly goes “from a state of high tension to a period of recalibration and recovery.” The transition from arousal to recovery is usually initiated by a “psychologically meaningful event.”

It is not in the crisis that we cry; it is actually when we feel safe enough “to go off duty.” For example, a child generally doesn’t cry when temporarily lost and separated from the parent. He or she instead goes into search mode—hyper-vigilance—first. Then, when the child spots the parent, or someone deemed as a safe helper, the tears flow. Efran and Greene explain that tears occur in the second phase of a two-stage biological cycle. First is the high tension followed by the recovery.

What is necessary is being able to move into the second stage to recalibrate our physiology and for that—our crying—we need safety. Ever notice how both children and adults may respond to a friendly face or sympathetic gesture with tears? Hardly ever do we cry, assert Efran and Greene, in the middle of a crisis, in the presence of enemies, or in bouts of unremitting sadness.

But we may also feel safe enough to cry when we surrender to some unsolvable situation. Perhaps there is something in our life that we just can’t change and we open up to our tears. Often this gets dubbed a “breakdown.” Efran and Greene nicely reframe this, instead, as a breakthrough. Or, as Carl Jung, would say, “We don’t solve our problems, we outgrow them.” Here tears become a sign of growth.

Because crying is natural and adaptive, we need to let ourselves and others experience them. Tears are nothing to fear. In fact, they are outward signs of a physiological shift from arousal to recovery. And they are neutral: sometimes we cry when we are happy; sometimes when we are sad. Context defines them. Yet, in either case, the physiology is about a movement from transition to recalibration.

Most importantly, we need to allow our tears and the tears of our loved ones to flow. Tears signal safety: nothing to solve, or stop, or fix. Just be.

* Kayta Curzie Gajdos holds a doctorate in counseling psychology and is in private practice in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania. She welcomes comments at MindMatters@DrGajdos.com or 610-388-2888. Past columns are posted to www.drgajdos.com.

About Kayta Gajdos

Dr. Kathleen Curzie Gajdos ("Kayta") is a licensed psychologist (Pennsylvania and Delaware) who has worked with individuals, couples, and families with a spectrum of problems. She has experience and training in the fields of alcohol and drug addictions, hypnosis, family therapy, Jungian theory, Gestalt therapy, EMDR, and bereavement. Dr. Gajdos developed a private practice in the Pittsburgh area, and was affiliated with the Family Therapy Institute of Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, having written numerous articles for the Family Therapy Newsletter there. She has published in the American Psychological Association Bulletin, the Family Psychologist, and in the Swedenborgian publications, Chrysalis and The Messenger. Dr. Gajdos has taught at the college level, most recently for West Chester University and Wilmington College, and has served as field faculty for Vermont College of Norwich University the Union Institute's Center for Distance Learning, Cincinnati, Ohio. She has also served as consulting psychologist to the Irene Stacy Community MH/MR Center in Western Pennsylvania where she supervised psychologists in training. Currently active in disaster relief, Dr. Gajdos serves with the American Red Cross and participated in Hurricane Katrina relief efforts as a member of teams from the Department of Health and Human Services' Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.Now living in Chadds Ford, in the Brandywine Valley of eastern Pennsylvania, Dr. Gajdos combines her private practice working with individuals, couples and families, with leading workshops on such topics as grief and healing, the impact of multigenerational grief and trauma shame, the shadow and self, Women Who Run with the Wolves, motherless daughters, and mediation and relaxation. Each year at Temenos Retreat Center in West Chester, PA she leads a griefs of birthing ritual for those who have suffered losses of procreation (abortions, miscarriages, infertility, etc.); she also holds yearly A Day of Re-Collection at Temenos.Dr. Gajdos holds Master's degrees in both philosophy and clinical psychology and received her Ph.D. in counseling at the University of Pittsburgh. Among her professional affiliations, she includes having been a founding member and board member of the C.G. Jung Educational Center of Pittsburgh, as well as being listed in Who's Who of American Women. Currently, she is a member of the American Psychological Association, The Pennsylvania Psychological Association, the Delaware Psychological Association, the American Family Therapy Academy, The Association for Death Education and Counseling, and the Delaware County Mental Health and Mental Retardation Board. Woven into her professional career are Dr. Gajdos' pursuits of dancing, singing, and writing poetry.

Mind Matters: Why we cry Read More »