November 12, 2014 - ChaddsFordLive.com

No word on townhomes yet

Chadds Ford Planning Commission members are gearing up for a December decision on a zoning change that could allow for townhouses on Brandywine Drive.

They may also be discussing updating noise and firearms ordinances in the township next month. Both topics were on the Nov. 12 agenda, but were tabled because there wasn’t enough material to review, according to commission Chairman Craig Huffman.

When draft ordinances are available, they’ll be put on the township Web site on the Friday before the meeting, said township manager Amanda Serock.

The bulk of the meeting was spent reviewing details of the proposed map change and text amendment by K. Hovnanian Homes that would, if approved allow for the development of 104 townhouses on Brandywine Drive between Hannum’s Harley Davidson and Painters Crossing shopping center.

The lot is zoned PBC for a planned business center. As such, it can’t be used residentially. Planning Commission members declined to give their recommendation earlier in the year when the applicant wanted the parcel rezoned as RM, residential multi-family use.

Hovnanian reworked the request, asking now for the 20-acre lot to become PBC-1 where residential use would be allowed after conditional use hearing.

At issue before the commission at this point was wording about parking requirements and whether or not basements could be used as bedrooms in some of the homes.

The applicant agreed to having two-and-a-half parking spaces per unit, not including the required two-car garage, but dropped a request to have the ordinance allow for a percentage of the units to have basement bedrooms.

Huffman told attorney John Jaros to rewrite the text amendment so the commission can vote on the matter in December. Commissioners would vote yea or nay on whether to recommend the change to supervisors. If supervisors agreed, there would be a hearing before the changes went into effect.

An actual plan would then have to go through the conditional use hearing and get land development approval before the homes could be built.

Several residents spoke out against the idea. Among them was Eric Gartner, of Harvey Lane, who used a slide presentation showing how his property is affected by stormwater now. He said a one-inch rainfall causes islands to form on his property and said the new development would make matters worse.

Gartner requested a moratorium on development in the area of routes 1 and 202 until there’s a review to make sure zoning in the area is in accord with the state’s Municipal Planning Code.

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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Photo of the Week: Autumn Leaves

Photo of the Week

Clean air and bold colors along the Brandywine Creek.

About Rich Schwartzman

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Adopt-a-Pet: Chunk

Home and Leisure

Hi, they call me Chunk. Yes, I’m a big boy. I’m an all-around great guy. I love attention, am very social, and I get along with other cats. I have the most beautiful, shiny coat, too, and I love getting brushed. The volunteers here at the shelter say that I like to eat. Well, yeah. I really do enjoy my meals, and my snacks. I’m a very handsome boy, all black with just a few white hairs on my chest. I am a 5-year-old neutered male. Please consider making me your forever! I am at the Chester County SPCA located at 1212 Phoenixville Pike in West Goshen. The phone number is 610-692-6113 and the web site is www.ccspca.org.

About CFLive Staff

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Police Log Nov. 13: Attempted vehicle theft in Chadds Ford

Police

• According to a police report, someone caused an estimated $200-$300 worth of damage trying to steal a vehicle parked on Coopershawk Lane in Chadds Ford Township. The incident happened between 9 p.m. and midnight on Nov. 8. A report said the damage was caused when the vehicle rolled down the hill into a light post and bushes.

• A Chadds Ford resident is the apparent victim of access device fraud. Pennsylvania State Police from Troop K, Media barracks, said someone used the unidentified victim’s credit card information at a Giant grocery store in Spring Township, Pa. on Nov. 1. Almost $260 was stolen from the account, according to the police report.

• Police reported an act of criminal mischief happened on Heyburn Road in Chadds Ford Township on Nov. 8. No details were released regarding what was damaged, but the report said the estimated value of the damage was $150. The incident happened between 11 p.m. and midnight, police said.

• Kennett Square Police arrested Eugene Boddy, 38, of Kennett Square, for DUI following the report of an erratic driver in the 300 block of East State Street on Sunday, Oct. 26, at 2:43 p.m. Boddy was stopped after allegedly slamming on his brakes, reversing toward oncoming traffic and then accelerating fast, police said. He was released at his residence pending a summons from district court.

• An 88-year-old man from West Chester was reportedly injured in a two-vehicle accident on Route 202, but he refused EMS transport, police said. According to police, the accident, at 1:18 p.m. on Nov. 7, happened when Kevin P. Squire, 23, of Wilmington, crossed over Route 202 from the parking lot at Targetmaster and struck the right rear of a Lexus heading north on 202. The Lexus spun 180 degrees and stopped facing south, the report said. There was no mention of either driver being cited.

• Claymont resident Solomon Njoroge, 49, was arrested for DUI on Route 202 at Ridge Road on Nov. 10, a police report said. He was stopped at 11:34 p.m. for various traffic violations, according to the report.

• Police stopped a motorist for erratic driving on Route 1 at Hoffman’s Mill shortly after 4 a.m. on Nov. 9 and arrested the driver, Brittany Lynne Sobieski, 28, of Hockessin, for DUI, a report said.

• Anthony DiIenno, 29, of Glen Mills was arrested for DUI, according to a police report. Police said the accused was stopped after he was observed running a red light at Brinton Lake Road and Route 1 at 2:35 a.m. on Nov. 7.

About CFLive Staff

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Around Town Nov. 13

Along the Ford

rotifer — Rotifer showing the mouth interior and heart shaped corona (magnified 40x). By Rogelio Moreno

• The Nov. 17 meeting of the Concord Township Planning Commission has been canceled. The meeting was to have included a decision on the Vineyard Commons plan that would have developed part of the Woodlawn Trustees property. The applicant has granted the township an extension for review until February, according to an e-mail from Concord Township.

• The Delaware Museum of Natural History will be the first stop on a national tour of winning photographs from the 40th annual Nikon Small World Photomicrography Competition. On view from Nov. 17 through Jan. 4, the exhibit features 20 images of unusual, magnified subjects including the eye of a jumping spider, a caterpillar leg, a cow’s artery, brine shrimp appendages, a mouse brain, and more. This year’s winner is Rogelio Moreno of Panama for capturing a rarely seen image of a rotifer’s open mouth interior and heart-shaped corona. See photo above. [A rotifer is a minute multicellular aquatic animal.] Admission is $9 for adults. $7 for children, $8 for seniors and is free for children under 2 and for museum members.

"Subjects Matter" opens Nov. 21 at The Chadds Ford Gallery. — “Subjects Matter” opens Nov. 21 at The Chadds Ford Gallery.

• “Subjects Matter” is the name of a new exhibit featuring the works of Bill Ewing at the Chadds Ford Gallery beginning Nov. 21, running through Nov. 30. The opening begins at 5 p.m.

• The Kennett Area Senior Center sponsors an afternoon Sunday Dinner with Friends on Sunday, Nov. 23 from 1 to 3 p.m. The theme is “Our Thanksgiving Dinner.” Dinner will be from 1-2 p.m., with music and dancing from 2 – 3 p.m. The cost is $10 per person. Everyone is welcome, regardless of age. Please contact the KASC at 610-444-4819 a week in advance for reservations.

“Enchanted Castles and Noble Knights” at the Brandywine River Museum of Art begins Nov. 28.

• “Enchanted Castles and Noble Knights,” an exhibition of iconic paintings and drawings that bring to life the romantic and daring stories of King Arthur, the Knights of the Round Table and other tales of quests and chivalry opens Nov. 28 at the Brandywine River Museum of Art. It runs through Jan. 4.

• Also at the museum, beginning Nov. 29, regional artisans will display their crafts and wares at the Holiday Shops in the museum’s courtyard. Courtyard shopping runs on weekends from Nov. 29 to Dec. 21 and daily from Dec. 26 through Dec. 30.

• New license plates recognizing veterans are now available from Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. The new series of military-themed plates recognizes the sacrifices of our service members and veterans for their preparation for and service in combat. Specialty plates depicting the Combat Action Ribbon, the Combat Action Medal, the Combat Infantry Badge, the Combat Action Badge and the Combat Medical Badge are now available for qualifying service members and veterans. PennDOT currently offers 34 different types of registration plates recognizing our veterans.

About CFLive Staff

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Living History: Historic tavern celebrates season of light

Along the Ford

Photo-32--Martins-Tavern — Living History: Historic tavern celebrates season of light

When Colonel John Hannum, Commander of the First Battalion of Chester County militia and his friend Thomas “Squire” Cheyney left Martin’s Tavern in Marshallton, Pa. on the morning of Sept. 11, 1777, they didn’t know they’d be witnesses to a pivotal episode in American history.

That morning as they rode toward Chadds Ford to join the rest of the local militia, “they discovered coming down the hills opposite a very numerous body of soldiers, evidently British…” This account from the Hannum family records noted for posterity the momentous events, which occurred leading up to the Battle of the Brandywine, where Gen. George Washington’s Army was defeated, but survived to fight another day.

Originally known as the Centre House due to its location near the geographic midpoint of Chester County, the property where Martin’s Tavern now stands has roots going back more than three centuries. Local historian Thomas McGuire wrote a detailed narrative of the tavern and states that it was constructed as a “Publick House” on a 2½-acre lot that was part of a 1,250-acre land grant from William Penn to Mary Penington in 1681. McGuire mentions that the original grant was subdivided and later passed to several owners, including Joseph Martin of West Bradford. Martin became the first business owner on the property.

As Colonial settlers were moving to the region and business was thriving, Martin’s application for a license in 1764 said:

“That there is a Necessity for a Publick house for the Entertainment of Travellers in said Township, there being many Large roads Much used by Travellers and no house of Entertainment upon any of them for Several Miles Distant…”

Colonial taverns were important places of social gathering, where people came to pick up messages, discuss farming, business conditions and politics as well as enjoy good food and drink. They were also incubators of the American Revolution, as the country became disenchanted with the overbearing policies of England’s King George III and people planned strategies to gain independence. These gatherings fueled fervent debate, even among peace-loving Quakers, some of whom supported the struggle against Great Britain. Although the tavern property changed hands in subsequent decades, the Pennsylvania Gazette mentions that it continued to serve as a critical place of political discourse regarding upcoming elections and the direction of our young republic.

The village of Marshallton holds many links to our past, including the Bradford Friends Meetinghouse built around the same time as the tavern. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1971. The nearby cemetery has an interesting link to our 16^th chief executive.

Nathan Simms was a slave boy living in Washington, D.C. during the Civil War. On the night of April 14, 1865, he was unwittingly persuaded to hold the horses’ reins for John Wilkes Booth, who quietly walked into Ford’s Theatre and shocked the nation as he shot President Abraham Lincoln. Simms’ gravestone lies in the cemetery, the inscription noting that the boy later redeemed himself by helping to capture the notorious assassin.

Walking the streets, visitors sense the rich heritage of the area. The Friends of Martin’s Tavern formed in 2003 to preserve the remains of the historic structure, but the tavern isn’t the only focus of their work. The nearby Blacksmith Shop in Marshallton still stands as a beautiful, rustic reminder of our traditions and serves as a meeting place for the group, which maintains archives and relics from the period. This year is the 250^th anniversary of Martin’s Tavern. On Saturday Dec. 6, from 4-6 p.m. the friends’ group will continue their tradition of celebrating a season of light, with a Christmas tree lighting and carolers from West Chester University singing songs. There will even be a special appearance by Santa Claus himself as he prepares for the holidays; light refreshments will be served. Visitors can enjoy the merriment and keep history alive at the corner of Clayton and Northbrook Roads in Marshallton. For more information, visit the FOMT website at www.martinstavern.org.

Gene Pisasale is an author and lecturer based in Kennett Square, Pa. His eight books and lecture series focus on local and regional history. Gene’s latest book is “American Revolution to Fine Art- Brandywine Valley Reflections” which highlights Martin’s Tavern and dozens of other sites in an historic “walking tour” of the region. Gene can be reached at Gene@GenePisasale.com or through his website at www.GenePisasale.com.

About Gene Pisasale

Gene Pisasale is an historian, author and lecturer based in Kennett Square, Pa. His eight books and historic lecture series focus on the history of the mid-Atlantic region. Gene’s latest book is Alexander Hamilton: Architect of the American Financial System, which delves into the life and many accomplishments of this important Founding Father who almost single-handedly transformed our nation from a bankrupt entity into the most successful country in the history of mankind. Gene’s books are available on www.Amazon.com. His website is www.GenePisasale.com; he can be reached at Gene@GenePisasale.com.

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The Rabbi’s Study: Recognizing the good

Religion Today

There is an old story about two very competitive classmates at an Ivy League college. For four years they jockey with each other to see who can get better grades, lead more organizations and collect more invitations to various parties and societies.

As often happens, even though so much of their college careers are defined by their relationship to each other, soon after graduation they lose touch. That is until, many years later, when one of the students, who became a well-known and respected community leader, takes his family to the circus.

Sitting in the front row, right next to the center ring, the scion of society is shocked to realize that between the lion tamer and the trapeze artists and right after the conga line of trained elephants, he sees his old comrade, dressed in coveralls and sweeping up after the performing pachyderms.

Completely caught by surprise, he is unable to look away when their eyes meet. Excitedly, the circus worker bounds towards the side of the ring and they catch up on everything that has happened since graduation. The gentleman who is visiting the circus is able to tell stories about graduate school and professional success and world travel. His friend is equally excited about telling about his life cleaning up after the circus animals as they also travel from city to city.

Finally, unable to control himself, the community leader asks his odoriferous friend, “Haven’t you ever thought about getting another job?” To which his former foil replies, “What, and leave show business?”

Which seems like a good way to start a discussion about gratitude. After all, I would guess that each of our lives have certain elements that look like that of the respected and successful community leader, and other features that more closely resemble sweeping up after circus animals. The question is always: how do we choose to see our situation?

In the Jewish tradition, there is a practice called Hakarat HaTov, or recognizing the good. And to engage in Hakarat HaTov, it has to be seen as a practice and not just an idea or a concept. It often requires concerted and intentional effort to turn our attention towards the gifts in our lives and to see the challenges as secondary. Nevertheless, turning towards gratitude is a shockingly powerful tool to improve our quality of life.

There is a Hassidic teaching from a work called “Divre Shaul,” written by Rabbi Yoseph Shaul Natansohn in 19^th century Poland which points out that in the Book of Genesis, when the Egyptian handmaiden, Hagar, despairs in the wilderness, God opens her eyes and she realizes that there was water nearby the entire time.

Similarly, in the Book of Exodus, after the Israelites cross the Sea of Reeds, they panic because they don’t know how to find fresh water to drink. In response, God shows Moses a piece of wood lying close at hand that can be used to sweeten the brackish water around them. The Divre Shaul’s point is that, so often, when we are faced with a challenge, if we are able to turn our attention towards the gifts that surround us, we are able to find a solution within easy reach.

Every day presents us with an array of decisions, opportunities and challenges. Engaging in Hakarat HaTov, or turning towards gratitude helps us to recognize the resources in our lives that provide us with support, strength, satisfaction and the ability to choose wisely when problems arise.

It is my hope that the holiday of Thanksgiving will be a refresher course for each of us as we surround ourselves with friends and family and we remind ourselves of everything that we have to celebrate, even though there are still probably parts of each of our lives that feel a little like cleaning up after the elephants in the circus. May it be a wonderful time for all of us.

About Rabbi Eric M. Rosin

Rabbi Eric Rosin began his professional career as an attorney in Los Angeles serving the entertainment industry, but discovered he needed to be doing something he was passionate about. He left the practice of law and began studying for ordination at the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies in Los Angeles. After ordination, Rabbi Rosin served for two years as the assistant rabbi of Temple Beth-El in Richmond, Va., then assumed the pulpit at Kesher Israel Congregation in West Chester, Pa. in 2004.

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The Empowered Parent: Can schools vaccinate your child?

School & Education

Few topics get people so hot under the collar as vaccines. It’s easy to find a rabid opinion on the topic, but is the issue really as polarized as it is portrayed? Is it really a never-ending debate between the “anti-vaxxers” and the rest of the general public, where one side is absolutely right and the other dead wrong?

As an Empowered Parent, you know most decisions we make for our kids aren’t black and white. There are many considerations, especially when health and safety are on the line. Whether certain vaccinations are right for your child, and in what setting, are very nuanced and serious questions.

So let’s talk about vaccinations in school. Your child is under your care while he or she is a minor. They count on you for their protection. Just about anything a school does beyond assigning homework and giving out Band-Aids requires permission from a parent. How many permission slips have you signed in your time?

There’s a mother in Idaho right now fuming because the school gave her daughter a flu vaccine without permission. The school claims there was an administrative error that caused a “misidentification.” This Empowered Mom wanted her daughter vaccinated at the doctor’s office in case of any reaction. Luckily, there was none.

However, a New York family was not as lucky in 2009 when a school nurse accidentally gave a swine flu vaccine to a child with epilepsy, landing the child in the hospital. In recent years there have been reports across the country of parents finding out after the fact that HPV vaccine was administered to their sons or daughters, with some serious complications.

Let’s pause for a moment: I’m not advocating that you don’t vaccinate your child. I’m not a doctor. I’m a lawyer. I won’t tell you what’s right for your family, but I will tell you what your family’s rights are.

So here’s info to consider if your little one brings home another permission slip and it comes with a vaccine info sheet: Vaccine administration is the practice of medicine. If someone other than a doctor is doing it, there are laws or regulations in place to authorize a nurse, or “health department official,” or pharmacists to step in, and to dictate in which circumstances they are authorized. Getting a vaccine is not like grabbing your bottle of aspirin and taking a couple when needed. Vaccines need special care in transport and storage. Proper handling and disposal need to be followed. Certain protocols need to be followed to prep them for use, like inspection for damages or maybe even reconstitution.

Further, your child has special considerations and needs. He or she could have a reaction, and that reaction could be serious. Maybe your child already got that specific vaccine; maybe your child is afraid of needles or the health care process and you want to be with them to soothe their anxiety; maybe your child had a bad reaction after another vaccine or has a serious medical consideration. Or maybe you, as a parent, hold a firm belief that is contrary to the administration of one or more vaccines.

So to answer the question: Yes, a school can vaccinate your child if you give them permission. Whether you give that permission is up to you. Refusing permission for a specific vaccination, or a proper vaccine legal exemption can protect your rights and your child, but unfortunately mistakes do happen. Stay up to date on what’s going on in the school and of any initiatives your school may have.

Vaccination rights lie at the heart of being an Empowered Parent. Nothing less than your child’s health is on the line. Be a truly Empowered Parent-Don’t let the dog eat your homework when it comes to whether, where, and when your child is vaccinated.

About Valerie Borek

Valerie Borek, Esq. is a Delaware County native with a passion for empowering people. She believes a strong family is a building block to strong communities. She founded her law firm to serve families with a focus on parenting and family rights. As a mother herself, she knows that parents face tough choices and need support. Valerie is grateful to be in a profession where she can guide people through life’s circumstance so they can focus on the things in life that matter most. Valerie finds her greatest motivation in helping families strengthen their health and wealth. These two foundational areas of life resonate through the day-to-day and when we feel comfortable and secure in these spheres, we are free and enabled to create and nurture the lives we desire. Visit her at www.vboreklaw.com

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Mind Matters: Altruism versus fear

Health

In my previous column, I wrote about calm versus fear, and how we need to, simplistically put, calm fear with facts.

However, the fear mongers continue their drum roll and that’s too bad because lies can seem so loud in comparison to truth spoken reasonably. Instead of listening to the scientists and healthcare professionals who are working either in the research of infectious diseases or the trenches of caring for the patients who have contracted them, our attention gets deflected to the prattling of media celebrities with fake news and politicians posing for photo ops.

Kudos to the nurse from Maine, Kaci Hickox, who spoke out for her rights based on science and knowledge against the punitive quarantine foisted on her by Gov. Chris Christie. Do we need to worry about the Ebola crisis? Of course, we should be concerned. But our concern is misplaced. Our fear has trumped our altruism—our compassion.

The best way to contain Ebola and finally to eradicate it from West Africa, and thereby ultimately reduce the threat to “us” is to help “them.” In other words, we need to do everything we can to support the health worker willing to take the risk to care for those infected. However, instead of commending the compassionate professionals, we condemn them to unwarranted quarantines or, worse, criminalize them.

This is the antithesis of altruism — pure selfishness founded in fiction rather than fact.

The focus must change — so that we respond to the people who are dying and suffering, and who need financial and physical aid. The focus must change so that we become cheerleaders rather than act like a lynch mob to the selfless healthcare professionals willing to endure the hardships of their assignments to West Africa.

Ironic how we are the same people who can pooh-pooh vaccinations and forget to wash our hands. We are the same people who cut funding from scientific and medical research. We need to reinvent ourselves, don’t you think?

* 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.

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