January 4, 2016

At approximately 3:30 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 4, the safety of Chester County residents improved dramatically, according to a group of first-responders and county officials.

Slightly more than 24 hours after their swearing-in ceremony, the county commissioners gathered with a group of about 20 stakeholders to perform their first official act of 2016: initiating the shift to a $42.1 million radio system that boasts improved coverage as well as clarity.

The new Harris Corporation voice radio system, which is now being used by Chester County’s 5,000-plus first responders, was applauded by a host of officials. They all expressed gratitude to the commissioners for their continued commitment to public safety.

Chester County Commissioners’ Chairman Terence Farrell said the previous system, installed in the late 1990s, has been plagued by coverage problems and is now technologically obsolete. He said the commissioners appreciated the “hundreds of hours” that emergency responders volunteered in a team effort to ensure that the replacement system would be exceptional.

Commissioner Kathi Cozzone noted that the switchover represented a day “that’s been long-awaited by everyone present” as the commissioners continue to prove that public safety remains a top priority. She said the consultants and vendors on the project, including ACD Telecom, Fox Rothschild, and Harris Corporation and its many subcontractors, also played a pivotal role in the project’s success.

Cozzone’s sentiments were echoed by Commissioner Michelle Kichline, who said the county matched its dedication to safety with smart fiscal management. She said the original estimates for the system came in at $90 million. The $42.1 million pricetag followed “a year and a half of intense negotiations.” She said the county also spared municipalities from some of the costs by providing first-responders with almost $13 million in radio equipment.

Robert Kagel, director of the county’s Department of Emergency Services, explained that three years have elapsed since the commissioners signed the contract with Harris – a period that saw design, installation, testing, more testing, and implementation. Among the new benefits: high audio quality; encryption for select law-enforcement, such as detectives; and 99.8 percent portable on-street coverage.

Kagel said the county had hoped to achieve 97 percent coverage, which is two percent above the industry standard. Being able to increase that to 99.8 percent was a bonus, Kagel said. To accomplish that, the county constructed a 300-foot lattice tower in Upper Uwchlan Township, a 100-foot monopole tower at the Public Safety Training Campus in South Coatesville, a 190-foot lattice tower at Bucktown in South Coventry Township, and a 180-foot tower at the Pennsylvania State Police Embreeville barracks in West Bradford Township.

He added that in the very rare instances when a call doesn’t go through, by moving slightly, the caller will be able to connect. To demonstrate the system’s clarity, Kagel handed Farrell a handset so they could communicate within earshot of onlookers. “It’s really like standing next to someone and having a conversation,” Kagel said.

Kagel said the county purchased 1,221 vehicle-mounted radios, 2,750 hand-held radios, and 132 control stations for emergency responder station applications. Kagel said more work remains.

All of the vehicle-mounted radios need to be installed by April 21, the day that the former system will be decommissioned, Kagel said. Plus, “we still have a lot of work to do on interoperability planning with our surrounding counties,” he added.

In addition to Kagel and the county commissioners, the speakers at Monday’s event included Tredyffrin Township Police Superintendent Anthony Giaimo, who heads the Chester County Police Chiefs Association; Leo Scaccia, representing the Chester County EMS Council; Ernie Holling, president of the Chester County Association of Township Officials; Butch Dutter, president of the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge No. 11; and Ron Miller, who heads the county’s Fire Police Association.

 

A passel of Chester County officials, including all three commissioners, recited the oath of office on Sunday, Jan. 3 on West Chester University’s campus.

The approximately 45-minute ceremony, emceed by Valentino Giorgio III, the county’s Republican Committee chairman, was held at the Emilie K. Asplundh Concert Hall in Philips Memorial Building. It began with powerful a cappella version of “The Star-Spangled Banner” by Chester County Deputy Sheriff Wayne Johnson.

DiGiorgio noted that Republicans have led the county for 150 years, a tenure that has resulted in a host of accolades. In addition to being one of only three counties in the nation to hold three AAA bond ratings, Chester County repeatedly shows up in the top 10 on lists touting the best places to live and work. It has also preserved 26 percent of its land, DiGiorgio added.

He said he had no doubt that the new officials would “continue on with that legacy.” The GOP chair introduced Republican Commissioners Terence Farrell and Michelle Kichline, both of whom were sworn in by newly-elected Chester County Court Judge Allison Bell Royer.

Farrell, a native of southern Chester County who was elected 2011 Citizen of the Year by the Southern Chester County Chamber of Commerce, is beginning his third term as commissioner. Kichline, whose parents immigrated to the U.S. from Hungary in 1956, was appointed in 2015 to fill the unexpired term of U.S. Rep. Ryan Costello, R-Pa.; she was elected to a four-year term in November.

Chester County Democratic Party Chairman Brian McGinnis introduced Democratic Commissioner Kathi Cozzone, referencing her distinguished service since 2008. As an example, he spotlighted her efforts to establish the county’s Pipeline Notification Protocol, a communications conduit for operators and municipalities. Her work in the county led to her appointment to the state Pipeline Infrastructure Task Force, McGinnis said.

President Judge Jacqueline C. Cody recited the oaths for District Attorney Thomas P. Hogan, Sheriff Carolyn “Bunny” Welsh, and three of the county’s 17 magisterial district judges. Hogan, who labels himself a “hard and scary man” from the perspective of criminals, according to DiGiorgio, is beginning his second term as the county’s top law-enforcement officer.

Welsh, one of only 39 female sheriffs in the country, has enjoyed a history of hurdling gender barriers, including leadership positions in the National Sheriffs’ Association, DiGiorgio said. She was reelected to her fourth term in November. Cody added that in addition to Welsh’s superior performance on the job, “she makes us smile all the time.”

Magisterial District Judges Gregory Hines and Grover E. Koons, who both won reelection to six-year terms and serve areas of Valley Township and Coatesville respectively, were joined by newcomer Marian Thayer Vito, who will preside in West Chester.

Royer swore in Prothonotary Matt Holliday and Register of Wills Terri Clark while Judge David F. Bortner handled the ceremony for Recorder of Deeds Rick Loughery.

DiGiorgio concluded the program by extending thanks to the many family members whose support makes the officials’ public service possible and inviting the audience of several hundred to an informal reception in the concert hall.

“We sometimes forget the sacrifices that those people have to make,” DiGiorgio said, citing the demands that sometimes interrupt holidays and family outings.

(Top photo: Chester County District Attorney Tom Hogan, (from left) Register of Wills Terri Clark, Prothonotary Matt Holliday, Magisterial District Judge Marian Thayer Vito, Magisterial District Judge Grover E. Koon, Commissioner Kathi Cozzone, Commissioner Michelle Kichline, Magisterial District Judge Gregory Hines, Commissioner Terence Farrell, Sheriff Carolyn ‘Bunny’ Welsh,  and Recorder of Deeds Rick Loughery pose after the swearing-in ceremonies.)

 

After nearly 15 hours on a bus — the culmination of a winning, whirlwind trip to Jacksonville, Fla. — the members of the Unionville High Marching Band had earned the right to catch some shut-eye.

But at 9:40 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 3, those who had drifted off to sleep got an abrupt wake-up call. The sound of sirens and the glare of flashing lights greeted the Unionville musicians as their two buses pulled onto Route 82 from Route 1.

Steve Jennings, one of the parent chaperones and a music teacher at Pocopson Elementary, said he had to make a quick announcement over the loudspeaker to assure the students that there was no need for alarm: The emergency vehicles had arrived to give the band a rousing, memorable welcome home.

Jennings, who was joined on the trip by his wife, Eileen, said they had received advance word that some of the parents were going to try to orchestrate a reception befitting the band’s trophy-worthy performances at the TaxSlayer GatorBowl. Jennings said when he heard the first siren wail, he knew the parents had accomplished their goal – and then some.

The two buses and the band’s equipment trailer pulled into the high school parking lot escorted by half a dozen fire trucks and emergency vehicles from the Longwood and Po-Mar-Lin companies. Waiting excitedly were dozens of parents and relatives, who had formed an impromptu band that included a couple musical instruments, pots, and assorted makeshift noisemakers.

Oblivious to the cold — or perhaps to ward it off — the welcome-home committee raised the decibel level and wildly waved flowers, hands, balloons, signs and cellphones as the students got closer. Minutes later, hugs were plentiful as families reunited. Then shortly after the luggage was unloaded, the students hoisted trophies into the air as Band Director Scott Litzenberg held the school’s ceremonial check for $10,000.

Litzenberg said he couldn’t have been prouder. With only 69 players, the band was the smallest competitor at the Gator Bowl, and it came out on top in Class A. It also swept its division awards, winning high percussion, high color guard, high drum major, high music, high visual, and high effect. In addition, it snagged first overall in a field of seven bands, the honor that resulted in the $10,000 check for the school and enabled the band to perform solo in a pregame show (it also participated in a group half-time presentation).

When the 2015-2016 band assembled for the first time this past summer for a week of drills, Litzenberg said he had no idea it would end the season on such a triumphant note. “They exceeded my expectations,” he said. “They really stepped up.”

Bob Fortunato, whose son Jordan is the trumpet section leader, agreed, which prompted him to recall another notable achievement by a group of area young people. When the Kennett Kings — the Eastern Regional Senior League Baseball champs comprised of students from Kennett and Unionville high schools — returned home after a second-place finish in the World Series in August 2013, they were met by an entourage of first responders.

“I thought the band deserved something special as well,” said Fortunato, whose wife, Marsha, served as the band’s nursing chaperone. So he made phone calls to both fire companies, who arranged to provide a celebratory escort.

Steve and Eileen Jennings enjoyed the perspective from inside one of the buses. They have two daughters in the band — Casey, a sophomore who plays mellophone, and Abby, a seventh-grader baritone player. Eileen Jennings said her younger daughter filled in during band camp and ended up getting a permanent spot with the high school group.

Chaperoning the trip was a pleasure, the Jennings said.

“The kids worked very hard, but they also had a lot of fun,” said Eileen Jennings. “They really represented the school and the community well.”

To view the band’s pregame show, click here.