Robert (Bob) LeRoy Keefe Jr., beloved husband and father, died Oct. 13, in California at the age of 92.
Born in Springfield, Mass., Bob attended the University of Massachusetts, where he received a B.S. in Chemistry. He enlisted in the Army during WWII. During this time he met his wife, Christina, an Army nurse, in Newport News, Va. He continued his military career in the Army Reserves, ultimately attaining the rank of full colonel. He received a diploma from the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College in 1963, and a diploma from the US Army War College in 1972. He received a Certificate of Commendation for Meritorious and Outstanding Service in 1945 and the Army Commendation Medal in 1968. He was appointed Commanding Officer of the 1175th US Army Terminal, Pedricktown Support Facility, Pedricktown, NJ in 1969. Bob retired in 1983 as Commanding Officer, 79th ARCOM.
Bob resided in Chadds Ford, with his wife and three children in the home he and Tina built. In 1961, he was appointed by the governor of Pennsylvania as the director of civil defense, Birmingham Township, Delaware County. He also served on the Unionville Chadds Ford School Board from 1995 to 1999.
Robert is preceded in death by his parents Robert LeRoy Keefe Sr. and Helen Rebecca (Driscoll) Keefe of Springfield, Mass, his wife Christina H. Keefe of Chadds Ford, , and son Robert Kevin Keefe of Denver, Colo. and Chadds Ford. He is survived by his daughter Tara Ellen Keefe and her wife Dr. Deborah Ann Banskter of Benicia, Calif.; his daughter Rebecca Keefe Brown and her husband Duane Brown of Middletown, Del.; their children Matthew Timothy Brown, and Michael Christopher Brown of Middletown, and Megan Melissa Brown and his great-grandchildren, Cameron Joseph Brown, Brynnleigh Mae Martz and Cassidy Madison Martz of Wilmington.
Bob’s easy smile and quick wit will be terribly missed by his family and his many friends.
Friends may call on the family Friday, Oct. 30, from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Chandler Funeral Home, 2506 Concord Pike, Wilmington, DE 19803. Services will be held at Christ Church Christiana Hundred in Greenville, on Saturday, Oct. 31, at 11 a.m.. Interment will follow at Birmingham Lafayette Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that contributions be made to the Alzheimer’s Association , 2306 Kirkwood Highway, Wilmington, DE, 19805.
While every election is an important event, an opportunity to renew our individual commitment to our individual and community values, this election in Kennett Township is especially so. This is a year where the electorate nationwide is confused and frustrated. Outsiders with bombastic promises and outlandish charges promise unrealistic and inappropriate change. This approach at the state and federal levels is foolish and dangerous; it is equally so at the township level, where the choice is between vision and empty charge.
Beginning four years ago, and particularly during the last two years, responsive and open government re-emerged in Kennett Township. Let me mention four of many examples. I campaigned on the concern that township finances needed to be addressed. You will recall the nonsense of the non-audit. Since that time, this situation turned around. Transparency and openness are the rule, professional support and guidance the practice. A “real” audit occurred for each of the past four years, and the recommendations of that auditor, and of the Business Advisory Committee (also a new innovation), were implemented. That included setting up and following a true reserve system to define and fund for the future infrastructure needs of the township. As a consequence, the unstructured and uncommitted pool of cash is substantially gone, left with a significantly reduced but adequate surplus reserve for unanticipated needs.
While Whitney Hoffman supports this fiscal prudence, Ted Moxon irresponsibly riles township residents, telling them that we hold $20 million in cash, which, of course, we do not.
The current board instituted a plan for open space and conservation easements. It defined what the priorities of the township were and began the implementation of this vision. It included sidewalks and trails, a necessity for a well-managed community. As a consequence, a significant easement purchase occurred that supports the vision of a “green” township, open to the use of the community, a vision of a connected regional system. Additional purchases are planned. The reality of that vision can be experienced by walking or biking along Chandler Mill Road and contemplating the forthcoming re-opening of Chandler Mill Bridge.
Whitney Hoffman shares this vision of open space, conservation, and sidewalks and trails. Ted Moxon opposes this vision and interferes in the ordered process mandated by law.
Your current supervisors have committed to a plan for sensible development in the township, one that includes both thoughtful managed residential growth, but also economic and commercial growth. Ways Lane needs to be addressed, and new businesses encouraged. But that growth should not overburden the infrastructure, and should not unreasonably tax the school system. This plan is designed to increase the tax base but not increase the tax burden.
Whitney Hoffman supports managed growth in the township and offered a well-reasoned and documented approach for high-speed Internet availability to support the township plan. Ted Moxon offers nothing.
At the outcry of the residents of the township against unregulated shooting, this board of supervisors investigated the concern and enacted an ordinance for the safe use of firearms. While it grew out of the expressed concern of the township residents for a reasonable standard for gun use safety, it also followed the example of other thoughtful Pennsylvania municipalities, which also faced a need to address unfettered gun use in a non-rural and populated community. That “expressed concern” grew out of numerous public discussions.
Whitney Hoffman was one of the many residents who supported enacting a reasonable safety standard. Ted Moxon, one of three or four opposed to any standard, consistently espoused the NRA mantra, blindly ignoring resident safety.
Much has happened in the past four years in Kennett Township, but much remains to be addressed. This continuing progress will depend on who is elected as supervisor this November. I write to endorse Whitney Hoffman. I believe she is the most capable of the two candidates. I believe she has the most heart and commitment to serve. I believe she has the vision and understanding to embrace the challenge. She is the person I want to sit with me as Supervisor of Kennett Township.
Scudder G. Stevens, Chairman Kennett Township Board of Supervisors
The transition of the historic Barnard House, once a stop on the Underground Railroad, into a township administration building and the home of the Kennett Underground Railroad Center, continues to spark dissent.
For more than six months, critics of the plan to renovate the historic Barnard House into a Pocopson Township administration building and a home for the Kennett Underground Railroad Center have increased in numbers and intensity.
The repurposing of Pocopson Township’s Barnard House continues to generate controversy.
Having cited cost overruns, shoddy workmanship, conflicts of interest, and an unsuitable floor plan for township employees, a group of residents – including a present supervisor and two incoming supervisors – have advocated a slowdown. They have suggested that easing the throttle of what is starting to resemble a runaway train would protect the township from risks such as excessive debt and unusable workspace.
Although both sides have expressed unequivocal support for preserving an early 1800s building that once served as a stop on the Underground Railroad, a number of residents have raised questions and concerns about the process of achieving that goal. The negative feedback has angered members of the Barnard House Steering Committee, who have pointed out that they have worked tirelessly on the project for years.
Committee members maintain that the opportunity to preserve a significant historic structure and transform it into a signature building that will engender community pride represents a win for everyone. And at a committee meeting last week the group made its intentions clear: full steam ahead.
Details such as built-in cabinets and intricately crafted fireplace surrounds are among the notable features of the Barnard House.
Supervisor Georgia Brutscher, a member of the Steering Committee, said she and Supervisors’ Chairman Barney Leonard would start the loan application, regardless of the status of the bid package, and would call a “special meeting” if it were necessary to expedite either the loan or the bidding process.
“Time is of the essence,” said committee member Jean Conary. Brutscher agreed, cautioning her colleagues that they only have until the end of December to advance the project.
During the meeting, committee members demonstrated how contentious the Barnard House has become, periodically taking swipes at critics. Seated at the same table as Supervisor Ricki Stumpo, also a member of the Steering Committee, Conary called Brutscher the only “functioning supervisor” present.
During an update on the project for the committee, Richard Jensen, the township’s zoning-code enforcement officer, said he was tired of the township’s hostile environment. “I’ve had enough tomfoolery from Pocopson Township,” he said, promising to quit as soon as his role in the Barnard House was completed. “Then I’m going to say goodbye to Pocopson Township, not just the Barnard House,” he said.
In July, Jensen was removed from his role as project manager after resident Sean Rafferty questioned Jensen’s dual role as project manager and code enforcement officer. Rafferty noted that Jensen had issued a building permit for the Barnard House about three weeks after Keystone Municipal Services, the township’s building inspector, recommended denying it unless specific conditions were met.
Rafferty’s concerns prompted a review from the State Ethics Commission that was deemed confusing and inconclusive. With Stumpo dissenting, Brutscher and Leonard reinstated Jensen as project manager last month, stating that he would no longer conduct inspections but was needed to sign off on work that had already been done.
Residents on both sides of the Barnard House divide agree that Pocopson Township has outgrown its current administration building, a former garage.
In an email, Leonard declined to comment on whether efforts to fast-track the Barnard House project serve the best interests of township residents, explaining that he didn’t believe it was “appropriate for me to make comments involving the business of our municipality or the decisions the Board of Supervisors may or may not make other than in a public meeting.”
Stumpo said she believed her votes and statements at numerous meetings have clearly identified her position. “This is a difficult time, and we need to get more residents’ thoughts,” not just a small group of people, she said. “Let’s put the brakes on until we hear from more residents.”
The incoming supervisors – Elaine DiMonte and Alice Balsama – both voiced discomfort with the project’s current direction.
DiMonte said she has been attending meetings on the Barnard House since February in an effort to gather information so she could make informed decisions on how to proceed, a quest that was hampered by the project’s lack of transparency.
“As an incoming supervisor, at minimum, I need to understand the financial impact to the township regarding the funding for the Barnard House,” she said. “It really is time for the emotion and drama to be set aside so that key decisions can be taken with regards to next steps. Rushing the bid packet, bid responses, selection process, contract negotiation and loan application is unprofessional and irresponsible.”
Balsama applauded the willingness of volunteers to dedicate their time to a project like the Barnard House, but she expressed disappointment with the way the board majority and the Steering Committee have failed to respond to residents’ inquiries.
“The variety and frequency of actions taken contrary to solicited, paid professional evaluations has directly contributed to this project coming under additional scrutiny by township residents,” Balsama said.
She called the possibility of using special meetings to advance a $750,000 loan package when the bid package hasn’t been evaluated unacceptable.
“Let’s stop acting like the house is on fire,” Balsama said. “Let’s agree that a solid, complete plan with a beginning and an end, which includes the preservation of the Underground Railway, the effective use of the remainder of the Barnard House, and an acceptable location to warehouse Pocopson municipal office operations and meeting space does not exist today, and is needed.
“We need to set aside precipitous decisions like committing the township to a $750,000 loan burden without a plan adoptable in all fronts,” Balsama continued. “We need to work together and try to be a community; we are all volunteers.”
Sarah Mims, a member of the township’s Historical Committee, also said she was troubled by recent developments.
“The current actions of the two departing supervisors with regard to pushing Phase Two of the Barnard House project prior to the end of the year may or may not be illegal, but it is certainly unethical,” she said. “Supervisors have an ethical responsibility to represent taxpayers’ wishes.
“That is currently not happening in Pocopson Township,” Mims added. “I find it surprising that both of these supervisors want these unethical actions to be their legacy.”
The supervisors’ next meeting is scheduled for Monday, Oct. 26, at 7:30 p.m. The agenda includes several actions related to the Barnard House.
After striking a pedestrian near the West Chester University campus a little after midnight on Sunday, Oct. 25, a driver fled but surrendered with his attorney later the same day, said West Goshen Township Police.
West Goshen Township Police say the driver of this minivan was involved in a pedestrian hit-and-run on South High Street in West Chester.
Police responded at 12:29 a.m. to the crash, which occurred on South High Street near Norfolk and Rosedale Avenues. The pedestrian, identified as Sayid Murphy, 21, of Philadelphia, was found in the center turn lane of South High Street and taken to Paoli Hospital Trauma Center with serious injuries, a police press release said.
The striking vehicle, a green Dodge Caravan minivan, was seen leaving the scene, headed south on South High Street toward Route 202, with damage to the driver’s side and a missing driver’s side mirror, the release said. Police said they now have the vehicle in their garage for inspection, and an interview with the driver, whose name has not been released, is pending.
Anyone with information related to this ongoing investigation is asked to contact police at 610-696-7400.
Inspired by the elaborate, intricate squash artistry on display at the Great Pumpkin Carve in Chadds Ford over the past few days? Want to try your hand at creating a similar object of awe? The Chester County Art Association (CCAA) is ready to help you sharpen your carving skills.
The Chester County Art Association is hosting Art Carve on Wednesday, Oct. 28.
The association is offering Art Carve, a night of cider, cookies, carving and creativity on Wednesday, Oct. 28, from 5 to 7 p.m.
Bring your own tools and imagination, and CCAA will provide the atmosphere, aforementioned refreshments, pumpkins, face painting and a drawing contest with prizes. Participants will also get a peek at “Show Us Your Dark Side,” an exhibit that opens on Thursday, Oct. 29.
The cost is $10 per person or $7 each for groups of five or more. Pumpkins are limited to one per person and must be ordered by Monday, Oct. 26. To reserve a spot, visit http://www.chestercountyarts.org/events.html.
