The Chester County Health Department will conduct a mosquito control treatment spray in portions of Thornbury and Birmingham townships on, Sept. 13 from 7:30 to 11 p.m. The rain date for this event is Wednesday, Sept. 14, also from 7:30 to 11.
The Health Department conducts mosquito control treatment in areas with high levels of mosquito activity and where multiple mosquito samples have tested positive for West Nile virus. After exhausting all other available mosquito control strategies, spraying is conducted to reduce residents’ risk of WNV infection. Anyone living in an area where mosquitoes are infected with WNV is at risk, but the risk of infection is highest for people who work outside or participate in outdoor activities. Less than 1 percent of people infected will develop serious illness. While serious illness can occur in people of any age, people over 60 years of age, people who have received organ transplants, and people with certain medical conditions such as cancer, diabetes, hypertension, and kidney disease are at the greatest risk for serious illness.
The Department uses a truck-mounted sprayer to apply 1.5 ounces of U.S. Environmental Protection Agency-approved product (Permanone or DeltaGard) per acre of land. Sprays are conducted after sunset, when mosquitoes are most active and bees have returned to their hives. Sprayers are turned off near bodies of water and apiaries to protect aquatic life and bees. The county also notifies beekeepers and residents who are listed as hypersensitive in a designated spray area prior to conducting a spray. People who are concerned about exposure to mosquito control products can reduce their potential for exposure by staying indoors with children and pets when their neighborhood is being sprayed. Because the mosquito control spray becomes inactive in just a few hours or with sunshine, it is not necessary to wash off outdoor furniture or playground equipment before use.
Although spraying helps to reduce mosquito populations, the department encourages residents to “Make You and Your Home a Bite-Free Zone” mosquito-borne diseases. Because mosquito-borne diseases are spread through the bite of an infected mosquito, residents can reduce their risk by using insect repellent and other personal protection and getting rid of standing water on their property.
PennDOT has announced the following road projects, which are weather-dependent and could affect residents in the greater Chadds Ford area during the week of Sept. 10 through Sept. 17. Motorists are urged to allow extra time if they are traveling through one of the construction zones.
Drivers on Route 202 in Birmingham Township will experience lane restrictions in both directions between Brinton’s Bridge Road and Route 322. Crews are scheduled to work from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 12, and Tuesday, Sept. 13, on sweeping and cleaning islands and shoulders.
Also on Route 202, southbound drivers in Westtown Township will find lane restrictions between Garden Circle and Ridge Road from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 14, through Friday, Sept. 16. Crews will be working on utility installation.
Fiber optic cable installation will result in overnight lane closures on southbound Route 202 in East Whiteland Township. Crews are scheduled on Friday, Sept. 9, and Saturday, Sept. 10, from 8 p.m. to 10 a.m. Lane restrictions will be needed near the Route 252 interchange on Saturday, Sept. 10, from 5 to 10 a.m., from 5 to 9 a.m. on Sunday, Sept. 11; and on Saturday, Sept. 17, from 5 to 9 a.m.
Motorists on Route 1 in Kennett and East Marlborough townships will continue to experience overnight delays between Baltimore Pike and Greenwood Road on Sunday, Sept. 11, through Thursday, Sept. 15. Crews will be milling and paving from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m.
Route 322 in both directions in Concord, Bethel and Upper Chichester townships will be the site of lane closures for patching. Crews will be working between I-95 and Route 1 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 14.
Patching will result in intermittent lane closures on I-95 between the Delaware state line and Philadelphia County. The work is scheduled from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 13, on the northbound side, and on Thursday, Sept. 15, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. for southbound motorists.
Work will continue on the Speakman Covered Bridge in East Fallowfield and West Marlborough townships. Frog Hollow Road between Concord Bridge and Strasburg roads will be closed and detoured until the estimated completion date of Sept. 20.
Green Valley Road in Newlin Township is closed and detoured between Powell and Brandywine Creek roads due to structural deficiencies at the Green Valley Road Bridge. No repair date has been scheduled.
Burnt Mill Road in Kennett Township remains closed and detoured between Norway and Spring Mill roads while advance work continues
Work is continuing on the Birmingham Road Bridge in Birmingham Township, which was closed in September 2015 due to structural damage. Posted 24-hour detours will be in effect between Lambourne Road and Stoney Run Drive through Friday, Sept. 16.
Utility installation on West Miner Street in West Chester Borough will require lane restrictions at South Bradford Avenue. The work is scheduled from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 12, and Tuesday, Sept. 13.
If you want to report potholes and other roadway maintenance concerns on state roads, call 610-566-0972 in Delaware County or 484-340-3200 in Chester County, or visit www.dot.state.pa.us and click on “submit feedback.”
Residents of Kennett Square and Kennett Township got their first glimpse of an economic study that could change the landscape of both municipalities.
The Kennett Region Economic Development Study, conducted by the RBA Group, is being finalized, but residents had the chance to hear some of the recommendations during a public meeting at the American Legion Hall in the borough on Thursday night.
Once the study is finalized, it will be posted on Historic Kennett Square’s website, according to Mary Hutchins, executive director of Historic Kennett Square. She is hoping to have it posted in seven to 10 days.
However, some of the highlights were revealed during Thursday night’s meeting.
The study looked at seven areas, which were then dropped to six when two areas — Mill Road and the former NVF site — were combined in the study. Other areas include Birch Street, Miller’s Hill, Ways Lane, State Street and Cypress Street.
The report includes visions, goals and a “who, when and what” consideration, according to Todd Poole of RBA.
While there are no concrete recommendations — those will be up to the borough and township — there were general recommendations.
Architect Mark Keener, of RBA, presents the Kennett Economic Development Study during a public meeting in Kennett Square Thursday evening.
Millers Hill, the one-mile long downward slope leading into the borough from Route 1, is viewed as a potential “beautiful signature landscaped gateway,” according to the report.
Among the goals for the hill is the introduction of landscaped and well-lit sidewalks or walking trails to create a sense of welcome.
Housing and infrastructure development is envisioned for the Ways Lane area of Kennett Township.
According to Mark Keener, an architect with RBA, the thought is to create a village atmosphere, a new village east of the borough.
“One of the things we wanted to make a place for was affordable and accessible housing, looking at the tiny house movement and a place for a lower price point. That’s been looked at and welcomed in other places for just this type of landscape,” Keener said.
Housing is also being looked at for the Mill Road and NVF site, though part of the NVF property is unsuited for residential use because of contamination.
Pop-up businesses are considered for Birch Street, a former industrial area of the borough where The Creamery opened this summer. The Creamery is a pop-up beer garden on the site of an old creamery.
Citing The Creamery, Poole said that stretch of Birch Street is an excellent area for adaptive re-use.
He called the pop-up culture “organic” and suggested that those temporary ideas can become permanent. One way to make that happen is to think of creating “pink zones,” where municipal governments “dilute the red tape” to make it easier for local entrepreneurs to get businesses going.
Recommendations for Cypress and State streets include improving walkability and the ability to bicycle through the borough, increasing parking as well as improving the appearance of streets and shops with the use of landscaping and additional horticulture.
The study — which began in the spring — was funded through a group comprising Kennett Square, Kennett Township, Genesis Healthcare, Longwood Gardens, and Chester County. It identifies how and what type of revitalization should continue in Kennett Square, while preserving the natural, historic, and cultural assets of both the borough and the township.
Factored into the recommendations were socio-economic trends such as a rising incidence of poverty, a demand for rental properties and an increase in smaller households as well as trends in labor and industry: growth in lower wage industries, a shrinking labor force and a desire to attract young professionals — millennials. Real-estate trends were also considered.
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.
Chester County Detective Harold 'Butch' Dutter stands next to an appropriate painting in the detectives' conference room as he prepares to set sail figuratively into retirement after 43 years in law enforcement.
For more than four decades, a Chester County detective has enjoyed a successful law-enforcement career that might never have happened in today’s world.
Chester County Det. Harold ‘Butch’ Dutter stands outside the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge No. 11 in West Chester, where a memorial honors the nine Chester County officers who died in the line of duty.
Det. Harold “Butch” Dutter, who will retire on Friday, Sept. 9, after 43 years as a police officer, acknowledged that his path to law enforcement didn’t follow a standard route. It was neither a childhood quest nor a family tradition.
“I was the first member of my family to pursue law enforcement,” he recalled during a recent interview. “I was working as a police dispatcher for the county, and I really started getting the bug.”
Area residents have benefitted from his choice, longtime associates have said. Career criminals would likely have a different view. A handful are sitting in prison after receiving life sentences for murder, outcomes that Dutter counts among his proudest accomplishments.
“Detective Butch Dutter has helped to protect the citizens of Chester County for decades, first with the Tredyffrin Township Police Department and then with the Chester County Detectives,” said Chester County District Attorney Tom Hogan. “Butch was always a team player and a calm voice of reason in trying circumstances. In addition, his role as president of the Fraternal Order of Police has demonstrated his leadership capabilities for the over 800 law enforcement officers in Chester County. Butch will be greatly missed.”
Dutter, who attended Great Valley High School, said numerous members of his family were affiliated with the Malvern Fire Company, but when Dutter started working as a dispatcher, he got pulled in a different direction.
“I would get done my 3 to 11 shift, and then I rode around with some of the officers I knew,” he said.
When he got a request from former Malvern Police Chief Bill Cockerham to stop by the station, Dutter said he was a bit nervous. “I wondered if I did anything wrong,” he said.
Instead, Cockerham had an opening for a part-time police officer and wanted to know if Dutter had interest. “I’m not even 21 yet,” Dutter recalled responding. At the time, applicants only needed to be 18, and Dutter was given a uniform and put on the street. “I had to carry my own handgun,” he said.
That position led to another part-time police job in East Brandywine Township as well as an eight-hour weekly stint as a security officer for the Exton Mall. The latter helped expedite his purchase of a coveted 1974 Pontiac LeMans. “I still remember that car,” he said wistfully.
Such resolve would eventually play a role in his chosen career. His determination to gain full-time employment as a police officer prompted him to take a three-month leave to attend the police academy. He then worked for a year in Doylestown Township before a job opened up in Tredyffrin Township.
Chester County Det. Harold ‘Butch’ Dutter has served 35 years in the local FOP in a variety of leadership roles, including its president.
Dutter said he enjoyed working in Bucks County, but his heart – and his family – remained in Chester County. “I was thrilled to be able to come back,” he said.
He continued to pursue his education, becoming a certified polygraph examiner, taking an FBI course in fingerprinting, and pursuing training in electronics and child-abuse investigations. After four years in Tredyffrin, he was promoted to detective.
Magisterial District Judge John Bailey has countless fond memories of working with Dutter. Bailey said he joined the Tredyffrin Township Police Department shortly after Dutter and was assigned to his squad. He later joined Dutter in the detectives’ division.
“We were partners for nearly 20 years,” he said. “Butch was the best partner anyone could ever ask for … I learned a lot from him.”
Bailey said Dutter earned a reputation for his resolve, dependability and compassion. “If he said he was going to do something, it got done,” Bailey said. “And just because a case was closed didn’t mean that he was done with it.”
Long before the advent of social media, Dutter would periodically pick up the phone and check in with crime victims to make sure they were doing well, Bailey said.
That practice quickly came to the attention of Peggy Gusz, who was co-founding what is now the Crime Victims’ Center of Chester County at the same time Dutter became a full-time officer.
“I can’t say enough good things about him,” said Gusz. “He became our vital, go-to guy. If we needed to reach out to the law-enforcement community to spread the word about a particular issue or training opportunity, Butch always helped us do that.”
Gusz said that Dutter’s concern for victims was evident early on and that he would routinely respond to her requests for assistance with “whatever you need.” She said Dutter often reached out to his many connections. “If he didn’t know the answer or couldn’t get something done, he knew someone who could,” she said.
Dutter, who joined the Chester County Detectives in 2001, served on the executive board of the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge No. 11 for three decades. He is currently serving his second term as its president.
Steve Plaugher, a retired lieutenant with the Downingtown Police Department and a past local FOP president, said Dutter represented “the ultimate law-enforcement professional.” Plaugher said the two served on the FOP for more than 30 years.
“His dedication to his fellow police officers while moving up through the ranks of the FOP to his present position as president is unparalleled,” Plaugher said. “Butch has completed a very distinguished law enforcement career and I wish him well in retirement. “
As he prepared to exit the Chester County Justice Center for the final time as a county detective, Dutter acknowledged that he would miss many aspects of the job, including the many longtime relationships he’s forged.
However, bidding farewell to one component will be easy. “I’m not going to miss getting called [to a crime scene] in the middle of the night,” he said, adding that those calls typically turned into long days of nonstop investigating.
In addition to spending time with his family, Dutter said he envisioned more fishing trips and opportunities to improve his golf game. And he won’t make a clean break from police work. He said he would continue his FOP duties and plans to take a part-time, law-enforcement job.
The Southern Chester County's Women in Business group launched The Giving Back Program
on September 7, by volunteering for Project C.U.R.E. in West Grove, Pa.
This week, the Southern Chester County Chamber of Commerce’s Women in Business group launched The Giving Back Program, a new community service initiative aimed at helping to make the community a better place. The program kicked off the initiative by helping to sort medical supplies with community member Project C.U.R.E. at the Chamber’s new headquarters in West Grove.
“We are thrilled to see The Giving Back Program launch this week with the help of Project C.U.R.E.” said Cheryl Kuhn, President and CEO of the SCCCC. “Our hope for this initiative is to continue to organize volunteer opportunities that will benefit our non-profit members, and the Southern Chester County as a whole.”
About 15 participants took part in the program, sorting and packaging medical supplies that will be sent to under served areas around the world.
“We are grateful for the volunteer service from the Southern Chester County Chamber of Commerce,” said Kathy Hrenko, Operations Director for Project C.U.R.E. “After a brief Project C.U.R.E. orientation, they were able to sort and pack valuable donated medical supplies that will reach resource-limited communities around the globe.”
The Giving Back Program is run through the Women in Business group which is a longstanding networking and education program of the Chamber that is comprised of female, and male, professionals who meet monthly at various locations around Southern Chester County.
For information on upcoming events, or to learn more about the Southern Chester County Chamber of Commerce, visit www.scccc.com.
About Project C.U.R.E.
Project C.U.R.E. is the world’s largest distributor of donated medical supplies to resource-limited communities across the globe—touching the lives of patients, families & children in more than 130 countries. Each week, three semi-truck sized containers leave our warehouses with life-saving aid to under served areas. At the heart of Project C.U.R.E. are our volunteers. They represent numerous backgrounds, including nurses, doctors, students, young professionals and retirees, among others. From sorting donations of medical supplies and testing biomedical equipment to administrative tasks and lending professional expertise to our various departments, volunteers provide valuable support to Project C.U.R.E. and are utilized according to their strengths and interests. Our volunteers help us meet a world of need. For more information, visit www.projectcure.org.
About Southern Chester County Chamber of Commerce
The Southern Chester County Chamber of Commerce, the region’s leading pro-business member organization, is dedicated to the growth and development of its members and the business community by providing opportunities to connect businesses and support sustainable economic development. Founded in 1929 in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, the Chamber’s nearly 500 member businesses consist of influential business leaders and professionals, not-for-profits, institutions, legislative leaders, and more. The Chamber hosts more than 70 events and programs each year in the Southern Chester County region. To join or learn more about the Chamber, visit www.scccc.com.
