April 10, 2013 - ChaddsFordLive.com

Money talks at school board session

Funding for a stormwater project and for a new stadium scoreboard was the topic of conversation during the April 8 Unionville-Chadds Ford School Board work session. Those issues are scheduled for a vote during the April 15 regular school board meeting at Hillendale Elementary School.

The stormwater management project at Hillendale, as previously reported, is designed to correct an existing problem in which storm runoff from school property causes flooding at Hickory Hill and Craigs Mill roads, damaging private property and creating a silt problem in Craigs Mill Run.

School board members will vote on whether to award the project to Gessler Construction of Media. According to Rick Hostetler, director of building and grounds for the school district, Gessler came in with the lowest bid of $97,700, $20,000 less than the next lowest bid. Bids ranged from Gessler’s low up to $137,000.

He said the disparity necessitates further scrutiny, but that Gessler looks good so far, getting positive references.

“If nothing changes, it will come back as a recommendation,” Hostetler said.

The bid is also less than the $130,000 that was budgeted for the project. The district has applied for a series of grants that could offset the entire cost of a project that includes installing a storm basin, establishing rain gardens and reforestation.

Also bringing the cost down is that volunteers will be used for some of the work and that Pennsbury Township and the Brandywine Conservancy have contributed design work. That work amounts to about $20,000 in value. The project will also be part of Hillendale’s science curriculum.

Not all board members are 100 percent behind the district taking responsibility for the project. The problem, said board Director Jeff Leiser, existed before the district bought the property.

“It doesn’t feel right to me,” Leiser said.

Fellow Director Vic Dupuis countered by saying, “It’s our property and we have to fix it. We can’t go back to the previous. It’s our property and we have to fix it.”

Directors Kathy Do, Jeff Hellrung and Holly Manzone echoed Dupuis’ position with Manzone adding that it’s important to take care of the situation now before the problem gets worse.

Pennsbury Township supervisor Aaron McIntyre attended the session and said there is a “bubble of enthusiasm” in the township and that enthusiasm translates into money. The bubble could burst if the project is delayed.

“The township thinks it is the districts responsibility,” he added.

Board members will also vote on a new scoreboard at the high school stadium. The low bid is $20,182, but selling naming rights could offset the cost.

The current design has a slot for a sponsor name just below the school name at the top of the scoreboard and another name slot may be added to the bottom.

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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You can’t shake hands with an Iphone

Business

Deb-1 — You can’t shake hands with an Iphone

Thursday April 4, Members of the Chadds Ford Business Association met at Crozer Medical Plaza to hear about the new health initiatives that are now available locally at the Brinton Lake complex in Concord Township. The emphasis was on the human connection that makes all of the state of the art technology most effective for patient treatment and recovery.

The first clue that there was something unique about the facility was the glow coming from the fireplace in the patient waiting room. The chairs were comfortable, and it would be easy to imagine the setting as a living room in a home.

Another effort to humanize the ever-increasing technology in medicine is the use of a navigator/coordinator. Trained nurse, Maria Malloy helps cancer patients throughout their course of treatment that might involve several different specialties. In response to patients’ requests, she is forming a support group for survivors.

“Our medical services are provided with the emphasis on keeping patients out of the hospital,” said Rick Hassold, assistant vice president of real estate services. The Brinton Lake complex houses 35 specialties plus a Colonoscopy Center, Imaging Services and multi-specialty Surgery Center. “This freestanding ambulatory care site has more specialists in one place than any other on the tri-state area,” said Hassold.

It may not take an advanced degree to know you can’t shake hands with an Iphone, but Dr. Blane A. Sessions knows that and a lot of other interesting information about his specialty, hands.

Sessions’ practice sees a lot of injuries from excessive use of technology, specifically tendonitis from texting with thumbs. Keyboard typing has been exonerated as a cause for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome according to the latest research.

Sessions said that the human touch is even more important now that people spend so much time with social media and texting one another. Nothing replaces a handshake and direct eye contact for developing a relationship. “Social media may bring patients to the office, but the relationship with the doctor makes them want to stay for treatment.”

Sessions ended his presentation with a little humor illustrating the important of hands. “Whether you are heavy-handed or high-handed, engage in sleight of hand to avoid a hand-to-mouth existence, you might have to show your hand to gain the upper hand. Don’t get caught red-handed, or try to wash your hands of a mistake, because if you bite the hand that feeds you, things could get out of hand.”

The audience gave the speakers a warm hand of applause.

Photo: Deborah Love, director of marketing for burns and behavioral health, stands in front of the hearth that represents home. “We are bringing our tertiary care services that Crozer is known for to your closer to home,” Love said.

Full disclosure: Crozer and the Chadds Ford Business Association are advertisers on ChaddsFordLive.com

About Emily Myers

Emily Myers has lived and worked in Chadds Ford for over thirty five years. She founded the parent company of Chadds Ford Live, Decision Design Research, Inc., in 1982. ChaddsFordLive.com represents the confluence of Myers' long time, deep involvement in technology and community. Myers was a founding member of the Chadds Ford Business Association and currently serves on its board of directors. Her hobbies include bridge, golf, photography and Tai Chi. She lives with her husband, Jim Lebedda, in Chadds Ford Township.

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Land trust presents first student award

Local News

The Pennsbury Land Trust presented its first ever Student Environmental Stewardship Award to Birmingham Township resident Megan Shea.

Shea, a senior at Unionville High School, was one of 40 students nationwide invited to the White House as a finalist in the Intel Science Talent Search. Her project involved using natural materials, seeds from the Moringa oleifera plant, sand and other locally available material as a water filter for areas of the world that don’t have access to modern resources. The materials are native to areas where there is a potable water problem.

“I was trying to make something totally out of household items,” she said prior to the land trust’s annual meeting at the township building on April 10. “So, if you’re in an area that doesn’t have another type of filter, you can make something with what you already have.”

She said only four inches of material can eliminate 99 percent of E. coli that cause serious, and sometimes fatal infections.

Shea will graduate from high school this June and plans to major in a combination of biology and environmental engineering, but she doesn’t yet know where she’ll be going to college. She’s still weighing her options.

“May first is the big decision day.”

In presenting the award to Shea, Holly Manzone, president of the land trust, said she hopes there will be enough students for the award to be an annual event.

Manzone, a Pocopson Township resident, has been the president for the past year. While the goal of the trust is land preservation through easements, Manzone said stream watch is also important and a stream watch team has been set up.

That team goes out and monitors several streams, testing the water chemistry and the presence of organisms.

“The real telling test is the macro invertebrate testing. This is a biological test. You can measure all the chemistry you want, but the bottom line is a healthy stream will support life,” she said. “A healthy stream will support diversity.”

Manzone wants to continue the stream watch as well as outreach and education along with land preservation through easements.

The award given to Shea is part of the outreach goal, Manzone said.

“We realize that we really need to get young people involved,” she said.

Photo: Unionville High School senior Megan Shea explains her water filtration project to members of the Pennsbury Land Trust.

About Rich Schwartzman

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Around Town April 11

Along the Ford

• Photo: State Rep. Stephen Barrar held an open house at his new office in Concord Township on April 6. The new regional office is on the northwest corner of Route 202 and Naaman’s Creek Road. More than 100 people came by for the meet and greet.

• Flower Power is the theme for the spring membership event for the Unionville-Chadds Ford Education Foundation, April 12 at Galer Estate Winery, 400 Folly Hill Road, Kennett Square. The casual event is an opportunity to learn how the Education Foundation enhances the educational experience for Unionville-Chadds Ford students. There will be free appetizers, a chance to become a member if you haven’t joined already, fun conversation and a cash bar, with 10 percent of proceeds going toward the Education Foundation.

• Noted architect John Milner will be talking about historic homes in the Brandywine Valley on April 17 at the Brandywine River Museum. This lecture is a preview event for the 42nd annual Brandywine River Museum Antiques Show, which takes place May 25-27.

• The annual U-CF/United Way Pasta Dinner is scheduled for Saturday, April 20, from 5-9 p.m. at Unionville High School’s cafeteria.

• The Young Friends of the Brandywine Conservancy, and other volunteers, will be cleaning the Brandywine Creek on April 20, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. To volunteer for this family-friendly event or for more information, please contact Kathy Freney Smith at 610-388-8315 or ksmith@brandywine.org

• Chadds Ford Township Recycling and Community Day is Saturday, April 27 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. There will be paper shredding and recycling of electronics, “everything with a plug.” Cell phone and batteries may also be recycled. The Civic Association will also hold its annual road cleanup with volunteers meeting at the township building at 8 a.m. The association will also be collecting non-perishable food items.

• Darlington Arts Center invites the community to celebrate 35 years of music, art, dance and theater at its annual fundraiser, Arts Salute to Spring, a live and silent auction with cocktail reception and special performances, on Sunday, April 28 from 3-6 p.m. at Penn Oaks Golf Club in West Chester. Attending this community event helps raise important funds for the center and its outreach programs. Tickets are $40 per person, $75 per pair, or $100 each for sponsorship tickets. For information on the event, performers, and auction items, and to purchase tickets, please visit www.darlingtonarts.org/asts or call 610-358-3632.

• Crozer-Keystone Health System presents, Think Pink, a special event that pairs mammography screenings with free gifts. The event is held throughout the months of April and May at various Crozer-Keystone Health System locations and offers refreshments to participants. Dates for Crozer Medical Plaza at Brinton Lake are Monday, April 15 from 4:15 to 7:30 p.m., Sunday, May 5 from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., and Thursday, May 16 from 4:15 to 7:30 p.m. To register for the “Think Pink” event, call 1-866-5-CK-X-RAY (1-866-525-9729) or visit http://ckimaging.crozerkeystone.org/

• The Chester-Ridley-Crum Watersheds Association/Concord Township is looking for volunteers for the 16th annual CRC Streams Cleanup scheduled for May 4. Volunteers will meet at the parking lot across from Il Granaio Restaurant at 711 Concord Road. The cleanup will begin on the road side and bridge area; the group will then proceed down Concord Creek onto Newlin Grist Mill property. Any resident interested in volunteering, should contact Kristin Civitella at 610-812-3164 or kcivitella@gfnet.com Volunteers are invited to a free picnic at Pavilion 8, Ridley Creek State Park from 11:45 a.m. to 1 p.m.

• The Chadds Ford Business Association’s annual baseball benefit for the Brandywine Battlefield Park is scheduled for Friday, July 12 at 7:05 p.m. The Wilmington Blue Rocks will be playing the Lynchburg Hillcats. Cost is $20 per person. Net proceeds go to the Friends of Brandywine Battlefield. For tickets, go to staging.chaddsfordlive.com/shop by June 15.

About CFLive Staff

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Adopt-a-Pet: Zinnia

Along the Ford

Zinnia is a sweet and gentle young adult cat that was a lost cat in December. She was brought to CCSPCA in the hopes of finding a new home, and has been waiting patiently ever since. Zinnia is best suited for a quieter home where she can take the time she needs to become comfortable in her new surroundings. Zinnia is other cat-friendly, and currently lives with three other cats in the shelter’s cat community room. If you are able to provide Zinnia 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. Zinnia’s registration number is 96812300. 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 – Kitten season is around the corner and CCSPCA needs fosters to raise kittens and mother cats. Additional information and applications are available online or at the shelter.

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Photo of the Week: A Place for a Stroll

Photo of the Week

Sunny-Trail — Photo of the Week: A Place for a Stroll

No leaves on the trees yet, but the trail along Birmingham Hill looks inviting.

About Rich Schwartzman

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Police log April 1: Burglaries, accidents, DUIs

Police

• State police are investigating a burglary in the 1300 block of Hickory Hill Road in Pennsbury Township. According to a report, someone entered the victim’s barn and stole various items. The incident happened sometime between March 8 and April 8, the report said.

• A motorcyclist from Lansdowne was cited following an accident on Ridge Road in Chadds Ford Township. According to police, Lawrence Boylan, 25, was riding his Kawasaki 250 northbound on Ridge Road near High Ridge when he ran off the road. In an attempt to correct, police said, he over compensated. The bike spun counterclockwise and struck an oncoming car twice, once in the side and again in the rear. No injuries were reported.

• State police said someone stole a push mower and an eight-gallon gas tank from the Taylor Services at Route 1 and Fairville Road in Pennsbury Township. A report said the incident happened sometime between 6 p.m. on April 4 and 3 p.m. on April 5.

• A 17-year-old youth from Newark was arrested for DUI after a traffic stop at Cossart and Stockford roads in Pennsbury Township on April 6. A police report said the arrest was made 9:36 p.m.

• Samantha Michele Ozeri, 18, of New Castle, was arrested for DUI following a traffic stop at Cossart and Stockford roads in Pennsbury Township. A police report said the stop was made 11:33 p.m. on March 27.

• A Collingdale man faces charges of theft by deception for writing bad checks. Police said Alan Thomas Alexander, 62, wrote two checks for $1,529 to Brandywine View Antiques in early March. The accused did not have the funds in the account to cover the checks, police said.

• Police are investigating the theft of a 42-inch Hitachi plasma television from Premier Properties on Baltimore Pike in Concord Township. A report said the theft took place sometime between March 24 and 31.

About CFLive Staff

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$45K for Chadds Ford traffic signal upgrade

Local News

Chadds Ford Township is about to get $45,000 from the state to upgrade the traffic signal at Route 1 and Ring Road. According to Gene Blaum, of the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, the money for the project comes from the multi-million dollar Automated Red Light Enforcement funding.

Blaum said fines from infractions at 21 intersections in Philadelphia supply the grant funding. Municipalities submitted more than 260 applications, 17 of which will be distributed to municipalities in PennDOT’s Region 6, including Chadds Ford Township.

An eight-member committee selected the projects based on criteria such as project benefits and effectiveness, cost, local and regional impact, and cost sharing, according to PennDOT.

About Rich Schwartzman

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“Silver Linings” in State of the County

Along the Ford

Delaware County Council Chairman Tom McGarrigle highlighted economic success stories and presented an update on the Local Economic Development strategy for the future when he presented the 2013 State of the County address Tuesday, April 9, at a Delaware County Chamber of Commerce luncheon at the Towne House Restaurant, Media.

Borrowing from the Academy Award-winning movie filmed in Delaware County, Chairman McGarrigle listed many economic “Silver Linings” in Delaware County including redevelopment of the refineries, new retail stores in Upper Darby, the Quarry Development in Haverford, new hotels coming to Springfield, Tinicum and Ridley, and the U.S. Open coming to Merion Golf Club in Haverford.

“I’ll be the first to admit that 2012 was a tough year for all of us. We were dealt a tough blow when our two major refineries closed. We were soaked by Hurricane Sandy. And we were all nervous about hurtling over the ‘fiscal cliff,’” Chairman McGarrigle said. “Well I stand here before you today more confident than ever before. I believe the future of Delaware County is bright, we’ve tackled and turned around some major challenges, and the State of our County is resilient, robust and positioned for success.”

McGarrigle detailed how Monroe Energy took over the shuttered ConocoPhillips refinery and is now producing jet fuel for Delta Airlines. Adam Gattuso, director of government affairs for Monroe Energy, attended the State of the County event.

McGarrigle also talked about Braskem America and its use of the Marcus Hook refinery to produce polypropylene which is used in plastic products, and how the Mariner East Project is expected to bring Marcellus Shale natural gas to Marcus Hook.

The business representatives saw a video on the county’s development of a 10-year Local Economic Development (LED) strategy that provides a blueprint for business and job growth. The final LED is expected to be presented to County Council in June.

The Council Chairman gave highlights of new development across the county including the Quarry Development in Haverford, Burlington Coat Factory opening in Upper Darby, the new FedEx facility in Tinicum, continued production of helicopters at Boeing Company, and expansion at many of our educational institutions.

He also said that PPL Park continues to draw crowds to the soccer stadium in Chester, four new hotels are being built in the county and Haverford Township will welcome the U.S. Open in June.

In addition to “Silver Linings Playbook” being filmed in Delaware County, two new feature films were produced at the Sun Center Studios in Chester Township. They are “After Earth,” a sci-fi adventure starring Will Smith, and “Paranoia,” a thriller starring Harrison Ford.

McGarrigle invited businesses to sign up for the County’s e-newsletter that updates all residents on county government news.

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Scholarship opportunity for male dancers

Arts & Entertainment

Brandywine Ballet Company is offering qualified male dancers a unique opportunity to advance their dance training by offering full scholarships to the dance program.

The competitive scholarships will include a full training scholarship for the 2013-2014 Brandywine Ballet Season, a full scholarship to the four-week 2014 Summer Intensive Program, and a possible monthly stipend based on need for male students ages 14 to 20. There are four scholarships available. These scholarships may be renewed yearly based on training progress as determined by the artistic staff.

“The Brandywine Ballet has always been known for its strong pas de deux choreography and been fortunate to have a number of talented male dancers over the past 33 years,” said Donna Muzio, Founder and Artistic Director of the Brandywine Ballet Company. “We felt, however, that we could do more to promote male dance training in the region. As one of the very few ballet organizations in the Chester County area to offer pas de deux choreography and quality performance venues for males, these scholarships are an excellent opportunity for male dancers to train and improve their art.”

Male dancers are provided a comprehensive program encompassing technique, partnering, strength and fitness training. Instructors include Brandywine Ballet male dance professionals such as Tim Early and former Pennsylvania Ballet member Meredith Rainey.

To be considered for one of these competitive scholarships, applicants must audition at the Brandywine Ballet Company by July 19. The scholarships will be awarded Aug. 2. Applicants should contact the Brandywine Ballet Company offices at 610-692-6402 or email info@brandywineballet.org to arrange an audition or if they have questions. Video submissions may also be accepted if travel presents a problem. Please call for details.

“This exciting scholarship is in keeping with a key component of our mission; to provide exceptional, professional training opportunities for dancers,” added Logan Sossman, Executive Director of the Brandywine Ballet Company. “We’ve taken the financial factor out of the equation, so four qualified male dancers can receive excellent training and five performance opportunities ranging from classic works to innovative contemporary ballet. It’s quite a deal.”

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