Delaware County Court of Common Pleas Judge Anthony D. Scanlon sentenced Dr. Lawrence Wean, 61, 10 to 20 years in a state correctional facility for illegally prescribing narcotics and filing false insurance claims. Wean was convicted by a jury on Oct. 2, of 99 counts of unlawful prescribing of controlled substance and all counts of insurance fraud, for examinations of patients that were never performed. Wean, referred to as the “Pill Mill” doctor, was a doctor for 27 years at his medical practice located in Nether Providence Township. Wean was arrested Dec. 17, following a three-month investigation by undercover Detectives Steven Bannar and John Newell with the Delaware County Criminal Investigation Division Narcotics Task Force and Insurance Fraud Unit, the federal Drug Enforcement Agency and investigators with Independence Blue Cross.
Deputy District Attorney Sharon McKenna prosecuted the case. Sentencing was Dec. 9.
Emily Anne Poole, 88, beloved wife, mother and grandmother, died on Monday, Dec. 7. She was the daughter of the late Louis Emil and Sarah Purdy Smith of Darby.
Emily Anne Poole
She graduated from Ursinus College in 1949, where she met her future husband, Robert Poole, M.D. They married on Dec. 23, 1949. Anne worked as a science and health teacher and coached girl’s field hockey at the Manoa Elementary School in the Havertown School District.
After moving to Doylestown during her husband’s medical school residency, she taught at Buckingham Friends School in Lahaska. While living in Doylestown as a young bride, Anne became involved with the League of Women Voters, and was instrumental in establishing the Department of Health in Bucks County, which at that time was only the third County Health Department in the state of Pennsylvania.
In 1955, when her husband graduated from Jefferson Medical College and was ready to begin his practice of medicine, Anne and Bob settled in West Chester. Anne was active in the 49-ers, the YWCA, the Girl Scouts, the Westminster Presbyterian Church, Meals on Wheels, the West Chester Senior Center, and, along with others in the community, helped to establish the Day Care Center in West Chester.
Anne and her husband worked alongside other friends in the community to establish the 38-year tradition of Brian’s Run, a race that over the years has attracted international runners and has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for those with disabilities. She was also a member of the Chester County Hiking Club, and was an avid bird watcher.
Her first priority was always her family. She and Bob raised four daughters: Pamela (Tom) Parkinson of Mount Laurel, N.J., Cynthia Poole of West Chester, Kristina (Jerry) Duffy of Warminster, and Melissa (Dick) Eppleman of Chester Springs.
She is also survived by her sister, Sally Lou Bergeman of Maris Grove, and five grandchildren: Rachel Duffy Sliwka, Emily Duffy, Rebecca Eppleman MacFeeters, Robert Poole Eppleman, and Richard Benjamin Eppleman.
Anne attended countless sporting events, musical programs, and art shows in support of her daughters’ and grandchildren’s’ interests. She taught by example the lessons of respect for others, wholesome values, and the importance of family.
The family would like to extend special tthanks to Chester County Hospital, Neighborhood Hospice of West Chester, and the staff at Whitehorse Village for the compassionate care that she received throughout her illness.
A Celebration of Life Service will be held at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 9, at Westminster Presbyterian Church, 10 W. Pleasant Grove Rd., West Chester.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the following organizations where Anne volunteered: West Chester Area Day Care Center, 501 E. Nields St., West Chester, 19382; The West Chester Area Senior Center, 530 E. Union Street, West Chester, 19382; Meals on Wheels of Chester County, Inc., 404 Willowbrook Lane, West Chester, 19382-5570.
In my first term as a township supervisor, I was happy to push forward the opening of the northwest leg of the loop road with the aid of then township engineer Jim Kelly and building inspector Rich Jensen.
This was followed by meetings with the then board of Painter’s Crossing Condominiums, Henderson Developers and other landowners adjacent to what would be the southwest leg of the loop road. At a financial cost to the township, plans were delivered, meeting the sound and traffic control requests of residents. This would complete a future-thinking venture that has its origins from the 1970s from PennDOT and the township leadership of the time.
A failed campaign promise of my second term was to complete the last section of the loop.
This failure was due, again, to a vocal minority who chose to react to a new loop as a detriment to our bucolic town.
This reaction caused the demise of a town home development on the northwest corner, a YMCA on the southwest corner as well as traffic controls for the community in which we all live.
As a supervisor, I fought to keep unnecessary traffic off of Heyburn, Longview and Summit roads with the Toll Brothers development. Heyburn, as well as Ring and Ridge roads, have become the alternative to a shorter, more efficient loop road. The impact, besides traffic on our local residential areas, is the cost to maintain the legs of those roads versus a shorter loop at the intersection.
Is the vocal minority so unhappy with any type of business in the township that it is acceptable that anyone working or using a business on Dickinson and Christie drives have major back-ups to get onto Route 1, even to head north? I guess the answer is to go out onto Route 202. Well that doesn’t fair well for an already overburdened road to go north, with an absent fourth loop in Chadds Ford Township.
A response I know will be coming is, “Well all those townships around us have too much commerce.” A more open-minded thought is we are a crossroads to many attractions — residents who work in one state but live in the other, the tourists wanting to see the beautiful Brandywine Valley, the path from I-95 to all tourist, residential, and professional attractions in our state as well as the local commerce. This is what happens in the corner of a tri-state area. With this open mindedness, I hope the completion of the last loop is soon to happen. If you are a resident of, or business owner in, Chadds Ford Township, speak out to your township supervisors to get this job done. If you support this road, make sure your voice gets heard, for too long the minority has been louder.
Deborah F. Love
Chadds Ford Township
Deborah F. Love was a Chadds Ford Township
supervisor from January 2002 through December 2013
If you’re facing drug charges, it helps to have an accomplice in the court system – at least that’s what a 25-year-old defendant apparently thought.
Kenneth ‘War’ Wylie
Now Kenneth “War” Wylie and his girlfriend, Chanel Turner, 23, a receptionist for the Chester County Juvenile Probation Department, are both accused of felony witness intimidation, said Chester County District Attorney Tom Hogan in a press release.
Working together, Wylie and Turner, both from Coatesville, allegedly tracked down a witness at the Chester County Justice Center in West Chester in the drug case against Wylie, and attempted to intimidate the witness into not testifying against Wylie, the release said.
A preliminary hearing for Turner occurred on Tuesday, Dec. 8. She was held for court on witness intimidation and conspiracy charges, according to court records. Turner, who has been suspended without pay from her job, remains free on $7,500 unsecured bail. Wylie remains on the lam, Hogan said.
“This incident, located within the Chester County Justice Center and involving a county employee, is a particularly brazen attempt to obstruct justice,” Hogan said in the release. “We will not allow criminals to undermine justice in Chester County.”
Chanel Turner
According to the criminal complaint, the victim, a prosecution witness against Wylie, was seated in Courtroom 12 of the Chester County Justice Center on Oct. 20, the day before Wylie’s scheduled preliminary hearing in the drug case. Turner told detectives she received a text from Wylie instructing her to leave her post at the Juvenile Probation Department during her break and approach the victim.
Turner told the victim, “Hey, don’t show up in court tomorrow.” The victim questioned Turner, who stated, “War said don’t come to court tomorrow.” The victim said that he did not have court and asked why “War” was going to be in court. Turner stated, “War had some sales or something, and your name came up,” the complaint said.
A short time later, the victim told detectives that Wylie, who was not listed for any official business in the Justice Center that day, approached the victim, and said, “Long time no see.” Wylie then followed the victim into an office and lingered, staring at the victim, the complaint said.
The victim also told investigators that he had received multiple electronic messages in the days prior to Oct. 20 involving Wylie’s attempt to reach him directly or through other people, the complaint said.
“Wylie just made a bad situation for himself even worse,” said Hogan in the release. “We will track him down. He has added to the criminal charges he faces and amount of time in jail he will serve. He convinced his girlfriend to join this criminal scheme, which will result in her picking up a criminal record and already has caused her to lose her job.”
Hogan said he hoped the case would offer “a strong lesson and warning to anybody else who is considering trying to intimidate witnesses in Chester County.”
Anybody with any further information is asked contact Chester County Detective Joseph Nangle at 610-344-6866.
One of my favorite local sculptors is Jill Beech, and she will be having her annual studio sale this Saturday December 12th 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Even though she is still not planning to create a website, Jill has a large loyal following of collectors, including me, who wait for her studio sale announcement every year.
I already bought 6 of her pieces last weekend, but she has plenty of gorgeous art left for this weekend! Her studio is about 25 minutes from Kennett Square, at 6 Park Avenue in East Fallowfield PA. Weaving artist Eva Stossel will be showing at the Beech studio as well. I stopped by to interview her and to get a sneak peak of what she will be selling at her show.
Sculptor Jill Beech in her Fallowfield studio
Born in Kent England, and raised in Panama, Jill Beech always knew that she wanted to be a veterinarian. The art bug came later. Though few universities in the 1960s and 1970s would accept female veterinary students, Jill graduated from The University of Pennsylvania with a degree in veterinary medicine and was a Professor of Medicine at New Bolton until she retired in 2011. When not working with horses, she worked independently and also enrolled in art classes, primarily at the famous Penland School of Crafts in North Carolina, to learn various aspects of ceramics, enameling, metal work, blacksmithing, and paper sculpture.
For decades, Jill Beech has travelled the world and found natural and aesthetic inspiration for her creative works in the stone carving and the stone formations in Baffin Island, wild life and wood carvings in Tanzania, frescoes in many European countries, aboriginal art including cave paintings in isolated caves in the Grampian mountains of Australia, the shrines and colors of Bali, the rock carvings, caves and statuary in India to name only a small sample of her creative journeys.
Jill Beech’s work is very organic, and resembles forms in nature. She is inspired to evoke the spirit of a natural form or animal “the spirit of something as opposed to making a copy. I have no desire to make a perfect horse but to evoke the feeling of the animal, that would be the ideal” she states.
She is intrigued by the mystery and layers of natural forms, “the shadows” of the thing. The abstraction of a natural resemblance is what “holds” her while she creates. And, with the enormous number of hours that each artwork takes, she needs to be held in that point of inspiration for a very long time. Her recent coral-like sculptural forms in stoneware and porcelain are heavy, large forms that seem almost ethereal with their thousands of small hand carved holes and curves. Each work of art takes many weeks to create. After completing a piece and firing it for the first time to about 1800O F, she then sandblasts it prior to the final higher temperature firing which takes away the sharpness and creates a weathered, nature-worn effect that is just exquisite.
Her most recent series is of paper-like pods, some of which, rather incredibly, she creates from the Kozo plant. She cooks the Kozo in soda ash, layers it and hammers it into very fine sheets, which she then rips into small bits, carefully burns each edge, and then applies to large wire frames. As Jill humbly reports, this is all “pretty labor intensive!”
Jill Beech’s personal aesthetic is driven by her curiosity, wonder and admiration for the primordial natural world. Her art works are fascinatingly contemporary, monochrome in pallet, but portray a rich, ancient echo. The forms tap in to a palpable connection with the natural world. Whether it is the hard work that it takes to produce them, the worldly journeys that inspire them, or simply the passion of the artist that creates them, there is something transcendent about each of her works.
Do not kid yourself into thinking that you will buy anything here for gifts, because you will want to keep them all! Come visit her studio in the last weekend of her open studio… and walk into the mesmerizing otherworld of Jill Beech.
The Church Street Gallery in West Chester has its opening reception this Friday December 11 from 5:00 to 8 p.m. for the artist, and gallery co-owner, John Suplee. Openings at Church Street are always lively events, packed with art lovers and artists, chatting, connecting and wrestling for works on the walls. This Friday, there should be quite a lot of wrestling, as John Supplee is a well-known, well-liked artist in the community who will be displaying a broad array of his artwork that have not been seen before. Next week’s Art Watch will have an interview with this fascinating artist, so stay tuned, and in the meantime, check out the opening on Friday!
At Galer Estate Winery, in Kennett Square, paintings by Torrey Kist and Abigail Patterson as well as artisanal crafts by jewelry artist Susan Heaver, wood turned bowls by Paul Koch, and ceramics by Deanna Haldeman, will be for sale Sunday December 13th from 1 to 7 p.m.
Ten Gallon Hat Winery in Chadds Ford is doing a Pop up Holiday Gift Show this Sunday 1-4 p.m. featuring the work of 10 local artists, including Bob Deane ceramics, Marinella’s Jewelry, Mommacat Creations and Bridge Street Chocolates.Yum.
Wilson Winery will be showcasing the beautiful paintings by Sally Wilson. Chadds Ford Winery, Ten Gallon Hat Winery, Flickerwood Winery, Kreutz Creek Winery, Grace Winery and Penns Woods Winery all have artisan shows and sales throughout the December Month. Check out the Brandywine Artisan Wine Trail web site for the best information on winery art shows in December.
Art Show at the Gables of Chadds Ford
At The Gables restaurant in Chadds Ford, Sunday December 13th, six Chester County artists have a Holiday Art Sale from 11:30am-5:30pm, including wood carver John Rush, glass artist Patsy Keller, and artworks from Daphne Longo-Okcuoglu, Jack Marshall, Lauren Mulhern and Philice Ray. The Gables is always so generous to local non-profits with the use of their large open space. The venue is a perfect place for artists to show, and for customers to shop, eat and enjoy.
The Delaware Art Museum is having a Winter Arts Festival Friday December 11 from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. and Saturday December 12 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. with sixteen regional artists selling their art wares, to the accompaniment of local choirs, surrounded by floral displays by local flower arrangement artisans, and even special Winter treats to eat at the Museum’s Café. Sounds like a terrific experience for all the family, for all the senses.
Chester County Art Association, in West Chester, is having an Artisan Holiday Market from 3-7 p.m. on Friday December 11th. Visit the Galleries at CCAA to see beautiful art and a collection of handmade gifts and jewelry perfect for the gift giving season. Enjoy a festive atmosphere with music, mulled wine and cookies in the spirit of an Austrian Chriskindlmarkt..and think about giving a CCAA Membership as a gift!
Lele Galer is an artist who has chaired numerous art shows, taught art history and studio art, public art and has chaired, written and taught the Art in Action Art Appreciation series for the UCFD schools for the past 12 years. She worked at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and wrote for the Associated Press in Rome. She has been dedicated to Art History and art education for most of her adult life. Lele and her husband Brad own Galer Estate Winery in Kennett Square.
Concord Township supervisors are holding the line on taxes. Supervisors’ Chairman Dominic Pileggi said during a Dec. 8 preliminary budget meeting that the proposed budget for 2016 has no tax increase.
This is the sixth consecutive year without a tax hike, he said.
The budget, scheduled for adoption during a Dec. 15 meeting, is balanced with revenue and expenses expected to be $4.38 million.
Unless there’s an unexpected change, township property taxes will, again, be 0.944 mills. That rate, according to figures provided by township Finance Director JoAnne Demnicki, is a total of all township specific taxes: general purpose, open space, fire protection, fire hydrant and library taxes.
With a mill being a tax of $1 for every $1,000 of assessed property value, a homeowner with a property assessed at $100,000 would pay the township $94.40. For a property valued at $400,000, the owner would owe $377.60.
Concord property owners will also pay county taxes and school taxes. Those tax rates are 5.6040 mills from Delaware County and 30.3091 mills from the Garnet Valley School District.
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.
• State police are investigating a burglary on William Beardsley Road in Concord Township on Dec. 4. A report said someone forced his or her way into the residence sometime between 11:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. and stole jewelry, guitars and an entertainment system.
• State police cited Victor S. Bethea II, 29, of Sharon Hill, after he lost control of his Honda Accord and struck a utility pole on Creek Road in Chadds Ford Township. A police report said Bethea was driving northbound, approaching Bullock Road, when he failed to slow down before the road curved. After hitting the pole, the car hit a tree. No injuries were reported. The accident happened at 10:47 a.m. on Nov. 29.
• Someone smashed the driver’s side window of a car parked on Dickinson Drive in Chadds Ford and stole a purse that was on the car’s floor. The purse contained a wallet with the victim’s driver’s license and three credit cards.
• Police said someone broke into a home on Concord Road in Concord Township, but failed to take anything. The report said the unknown suspect or suspects “scattered” some crossbows in the living room. The break-in happened sometime between Nov. 20 and 23.
• David Steven Lawler, of Oxford, was arrested by state police from Avondale for DUI following a Nov. 26 traffic stop at 12:27 a.m. on Route 1 at Bayard Road in East Marlborough Township.
• State police from Troop J, Avondale barracks, cited Marie Fleury, 67, of Rydal, in connection with an accident on Route 1 at Old Baltimore Pike in Pennsbury Township on Nov. 27 at 5:13 p.m. A report said Fleury struck another vehicle after she turned left from Old Baltimore Pike onto the southbound lane of Route 1. The driver of the second vehicle reported wrist pain, the report said, but there was no transport.
• Marshall Lane, 22, of Chadds Ford, was arrested for DUI by state police from the Avondale barracks on Nov. 26, according to a police report. That report said Lane was stopped by police on Route 52, south of Hillendale Road, at 12:27 a.m.
• Police said Timothy C. Crampton, 52, of Kennett Square, was cited for his involvement in an accident on West Creek Road at Lenape Road in Pocopson Township. According to the state police report, the Nov. 24 accident happened at 1:08 p.m. when Crampton failed to stop in time before hitting another vehicle from behind as that other vehicle was stopped at a stop sign.
• On Friday, Nov. 27, at 5:40 p.m., New Garden Township Police responded to the area of Scarlett Road, south of West Cypress Street, for a complaint of an erratic driver who sideswiped another vehicle in the 300 block of Scarlett Road and then fled the scene into a nearby parking lot. Police said they located the vehicle and its driver, Javier Lopez, 32, of Kennett Square. After exhibiting signs of impairment and failing field sobriety tests, police said they arrested Lopez for DUI.
• Kennett Square Police are investigating vandalism that reportedly occurred sometime between Saturday, Nov. 7, at 12 p.m. and Sunday, Nov. 8, at 1:59 p.m. Police said a metal milk-can planter was thrown through the front window of a business located in the 400 block of East State Street, causing approximately $1,300 worth of damage to merchandise inside.
• Another ongoing investigation by Kennett Square Police involves a theft reported on Nov. 10. Police said a resident of the 100 block of North Willow Street checked on the whereabouts of a $750 iPhone 6S that had not been delivered and learned that the package had been left at their mailbox area on Wednesday, Oct. 15, at 11:50 a.m.
• On Tuesday, Nov. 17, at 3:45 p.m., Kennett Square Police received a report of an attempted theft from a business located in the 300 block of West State Street. The business owner reported receiving a phone call from a subject stating he was with PECO and wanted money for an unpaid electric bill, which the business needed to pay with a MoneyGram. The business owner had just paid PECO and recognized that this was a scam. Police advised other residents to be wary of such requests.
• Kennett Square Police received an identity theft report on Tuesday, Nov. 17, at 6 p.m. A resident of the 100 block of East State Street noticed a fraudulent charge of $196.03 from walmart.com on a debit card in the victim’s possession and was advised by walmart.com that the merchandise ordered had been delivered to another Kennett Square address. Police said an investigation is continuing.
• On Thursday, Nov. 19, at 5:08 pm., Linda Clark, 66, of Kennett Square, was arrested for DUI following a multi-vehicle accident at North Union and Fairthorne Streets, Kennett Square Police said. Clark was released to medical personnel due to her level of intoxication, police said.
• On Thursday, Nov. 19, at 8:46 p.m., Kennett Square Police said they arrested Stephen Phillips, 24, of Newark, for DUI following a traffic stop South Union Street and School House Lane.
• State police from the Avondale barracks cited Ismael A. Pina, 28, of Kennett Square, for driving at an unsafe speed on Bayard Road, north of Sills Mill Road in Kennett Township. Police said Pina failed to negotiate a curve at 4:37 p.m. on Nov. 19 and drove up an embankment off the roadway, which caused his 2003 Ford to roll over. Pina was taken to Jennersville Regional Hospital with minor injuries, police said.
• Sometime between April 1, 2014, and Nov. 30, someone removed 20 batteries owned by Sprint Wireless from a cell tower on Pocopson Road in Pocopson Township, according to state police from the Avondale barracks. An investigation is continuing, and anyone with information is asked to call police at 610-268-2022.
