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 Dec. 23 through Dec. 29. Motorists are urged to allow extra time if they are traveling through one of the construction zones.
• Station Road, between Concord Road and Conchester Highway, in Concord Township, is closed through Oct. 20, 2018, for road construction. Detours are posted.
• Periodic lane restrictions continue through Oct. 20, 2018, on Conchester Highway, between Route 1and Foulk Road, in Concord Township.
• Utility installation will cause lane closures on Wawaset Road, between Grace Way and Spring House Way in East Marlborough Township, through Jan. 16, 2018.
• Curb and sidewalk installation will cause lane closures on West Baltimore Pike between Penns Manor Road and Mill Street in Kennett Township from 8 a.m. – 4 p.m. through the end of the year.
• Curb and sidewalk installation will cause lane closures on West Cypress Street Between Scarlett Road and Mill Street in Kennett Township through the end of the year.
• Curb and sidewalk installation will also cause lane closures on Rosedale Road between Walnut Street and MacFarlan Road through the end of the year.
• Barrier installation continues to cause indefinite lane closures on Brandywine Creek Road, between Green Valley and Powell roads, in Newlin Township.
• There will be lane closures on New Street in West Chester, between West Market and West Gay streets through Jan. 7, 2018, for utility installation.
Lorenzo Zavala Bedolla, 58, of West Grove, died Thursday, Dec. 21, at the Pocopson Home, West Chester. He was the husband of Josefina Nino Villagomez, with whom he shared 38 years of marriage.
Lorenzo Zavala Bedolla
Born in Las Penas, Moroleon, GTO, Mexico, he was the son of Lorenzo Zavala Lara of Mexico and the late Eliazar Bedolla.
Lorenzo owned the El Ranchero Mexican Restaurant in Kennett Square.
He was a member of St. Rocco Catholic Church.
Lorenzo was a great dancer and he enjoyed soccer, especially Las Chivas team, working, watching Netflix, and being with his family and friends. He was a very nice person, and a loving husband, father, grandfather.
In addition to his wife and father, he is survived by one son, Jaime Zavala Nino and his wife Lindsey of West Grove; three daughters, Lorena Zavala Nino and her husband Ruben , Esmeralda Zavala Nino and her husband Antonio, and Diana Zavala Nino and her husband Luis, all of West Grove; five brothers, Rogelio Zavala Bedolla of Kennett Square, Jaime Zavala Bedolla of Mexico, Marcello Zavala Bedolla of Parkesburg, Luis Zavala Bedolla of Parkesburg, and Gustavo Zavala Bedolla of Kennett Square; four sisters, Gloria Zavala Bedolla of Mexico, Rosalina Zavala Bedolla of Oxford, Eliazar Zavala Bedolla and Milagros Zavala Bedolla, both of Mexico, and 10 grandchildren, Eric Bedolla, Claide Leon, Jason Aguilar, Edwin Leon, Hailey Leon, Samara Aguilar, Lorenzo Avila, Ulises Aguilar, Neymor Avila and Thiago Avila.
You are invited to visit with Lorenzo’s family and friends from 4 to 7 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 28, at St. Rocco Catholic Church, 313 Sunny Dell Road, Avondale, PA His funeral mass will follow at 7. Burial will be in Mexico.
To view his online tribute and to share a memory with his family, please visit www.griecocares.com
Sara Ann Arrell, 79, of Lincoln University, died Tuesday, Dec. 19, at her residence. She was the wife of John A. Arrell, with whom she shares 57 years of marriage.
Sara Ann Arrell
Born in Abington, she was the daughter of the late David Montgomery and the late Kathryn McCabe Montgomery.
Sara had worked in the office for 15 years at Agway, Inc.
She attended the Christian Life Center in New London.
She enjoyed shopping, going to Disney World, Starbucks, Fig Vodka, eating steamed clams and being with her family, especially her grandchildren.
In addition to her husband, Sara is survived by, two sons, John A. Arrell, Jr. and his wife Patrice of New London, and Robert Arrell of New London; one daughter, Amy Coppock and her husband Lawrence of New London; one sister, Margaret Barder of Ardsley; nine grandchildren, John III, Ashley, Justin, Katie, Sean, Brandi, Taylor, Courtney and Ryan; two great-granddaughters, Victoria and Riley.
Sara was predeceased by one son, Steven Arrell, one sister, Kathryn Finlay, and one brother, David Montgomery.
You are invited to visit with her family and friends from 6 to 8 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 27, and again from 10 to 11 a.m. on Thursday, Dec. 28, at the Foulk & Grieco Funeral Home, 200 Rose Hill Road, West Grove. Her funeral service will follow at 11. Burial will in the New London Presbyterian Church Cemetery, Route 896, New London.
Robert F. Shappell, 66, of West Grove, lost his courageous battle with cancer, Sunday, Dec. 17, at Heartland Hospice House. He was the beloved husband of Kathleen Buffington Shappell, with whom he shared 45 years of marriage.
Robert F. Shappell
Born in Drexel Hill, he was a son of the late Robert Shappell and the late Margaret (Cone) Messina. Bob graduated from Upper Darby High School in 1969 and received his engineering degree at Pennsylvania Institute of Technology.
He retired from Southco, Inc. in Concordville, in 2008 as a production supervisor after 32 years.
Since 1971, Bob has served the community as a volunteer, and later as a board member and past president of Kennett Area Community Service.
He was a member of Kennett Grange #19 where he held many offices including past president.
Bob enjoyed his years coaching KAU Little League including the year his team won Pennsylvania District Champions.
He was past Scout Master of Kennett Troop 53.
Bob proudly served our country in the Army National Guard for six years. Bob was an avid Philadelphia sports fan. He loved cruising and attending oldies concerts.
In addition to his wife, Bob is survived by one daughter, Amy Vandercapellen, her husband Butch and their son, Erik of Long Neck, Del., and one son, Brian Shappell and his children Molly and Liam of Parkesburg; one brother, Richard Shappell and his wife, Regina and their children, and two stepbrothers Robert Messina and Stephen Messina.
You are invited to visit with Bob’s family and friends from 9-11 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 6, at the Kuzo & Grieco Funeral Home Inc (610-444-4116) 250 W. State St. Kennett Square, PA 19348. A service celebrating his life will follow at 11 am.
In lieu of flowers contributions in his memory may be made to Kennett Area Community Service (KACS) PO Box 1025, Kennett Square, PA 19348. To view his online tribute and to share a memory with his family, please visit www.griecocares.com
Another Paint the Folly event is scheduled for Aug. 22 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Registration is $25.
Chadds Ford Township supervisors are looking to spend some of the money in the open space fund and have entered into an agreement of sale with George and Helen Sipala to buy Painters Folly on Route 1 for $625,000. Exactly how the township would use Painters Folly — adjacent to the Brandywine Battlefield Park— is undetermined.
Supervisors’ Chairman Frank Murphy said during the last township meeting that the idea is to preserve the property as open space and to keep it from being developed.
Supervisor Noelle Barbone said during a recent interview the township would likely make settlement for the 200-year-old, 4-acre property by the end of March. The house was once the home of Howard Pyle, the illustrator who taught N.C. Wyeth across the street at Turner’s Mill, the current township building. Because of the historic nature of the home, the Sipala’s agreed to leave some of the furnishings, Barbone said.
Barbone said there’s nothing firm on how Painters Folly would be used, but said one idea is to possibly partner with the Brandywine Conservancy, Sanderson Museum or Chadds Ford Historical Society to memorialize some of the lesser known township residents who had a hand in creating Chadds Ford history.
“I want to preface my ideas by saying nothing has been written in stone. We haven’t made a final decision yet, but here is my vision. Because I’m in real estate, residents have asked me to look at their homes. In doing so, I discovered that, while Chadds Ford was put on the map by the Wyeths and the Kuerners and Frolic Weymouth, there is so much more to this township and its history.”
She didn’t mention names but went on to say there are many people who interacted with the Wyeths and Kuerners who had an impact on Chadds Ford history, and they remember it when it was a sleepy rural village just coming of age.
“It’s sort of like this other side of Chadds Ford…like a network or web of relationships, like a well-kept secret of the township,” she said. Her idea is “to preserve the history of the township residents who helped to shape Chadds Ford… The people who weren’t on the cover of Time magazine.”
When asked if the home would be a museum, Barbone said she didn’t know, that so far, it’s just an idea that hasn’t been fleshed out. She said it might be possible to dedicate rooms in the house to these, as yet, undisclosed families.
There are other questions that still need to be answered, such as who would maintain the property and how would that maintenance be paid for. Barbone is uncertain at this point, saying that the board still needs to address those issues.
According to Barbone, there’s more than $1 million in the Open Space Fund, and the current board felt it was time to start using that money for its intended purpose. One day while she was driving along Route 1, she noticed the For-Sale sign at the home. She had seen it before, but this time it registered as something the township could use.
“I fell in love with this house,” Barbone said. “It’s beautiful. To Mr. and Mrs. Sipala’s credit, they’ve maintained it very well.”
The home had been for sale for a while, and the asking price was dropping, she said. After discussing the situation with the owners and other supervisors, the board put in the bid and entered into the agreement of sale.
While Barbone is a realtor, state law prevents her or her company from profiting from the sale, she said, so Chadds Ford resident and lawyer Don Weiss is handling the deal.
(UPDATE: According to Township Manager Matt DiFilippo, the township has more than $1.7 million in the Open space Fund.)
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.
Members of the Chester County Retirement Board sign a resolution that establishes Venture Chesco, a partnership with Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Southeastern Pennsylvania to invest $4 million in emerging and growing companies located in, or willing to locate to Chester County. Seated left to right: Chester County Commissioner Terence Farrell; Chester County Commissioners’ Chair Michelle Kichline; Chester County Treasurer Ann Duke. Standing, left to right: Chester County Controller Norman MacQueen and Chester County Commissioner Kathi Cozzone.
The Chester County Retirement Board voted at this week’s Retirement Board Meeting to enter into a partnership with Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Southeastern Pennsylvania to invest $4 million in emerging and growing companies located in, or willing to locate to Chester County.
The partnership, Venture Chesco, will see $2 million in county funds matched by $2 million in BFTP funds that will be used to invest in new technology companies and existing companies looking to apply new technologies to their business operations.
Chester County Commissioners’ Chair Michelle Kichline, one of the five members of the Chester County Retirement Board commented: “Chester County has a long and positive history of supporting young companies that become major employers and significant contributors to the tax base of our County. But the competition to attract these young companies has become intense, so we must find innovative ways to support the companies that are here, and those who are looking to be here.
“We are pleased and excited that we have reached an agreement with BFTP which will double the impact of our County funds and allow us to invest even more in growing Chester County companies.”
The Chester County Retirement Board’s decision to enter into this partnership with Ben Franklin is led by the goals of the County’s 10-year economic development strategy, VISTA 2025, specifically to “Improve access to capital for start-ups and early-stage business ventures.” The funds allocated by Chester County represent a small percentage of the overall pension fund, valued at $420 million in October 2017 – an investment deemed worthwhile to all members of the Retirement Board.
“An entrepreneurial ecosystem is typically considered to have three elements: a physical place for young companies to locate; access to mentorship and technical assistance; and access to capital,” said Chester County Commissioner and Retirement Board member Kathi Cozzone. “Chester County has a number of locations within incubator/accelerator settings and we have many options for technical assistance, but access to capital for young, start-up companies continues to be a real challenge. Venture Chesco will help respond to this challenge.”
Terence Farrell, Chester County Commissioner and Retirement Board Member, noted: “The use of a small percentage of the County’s pension fund for investment in Chester County companies that have a chance for significant growth gives us an ‘alternative investment’ asset class for our pension fund. Venture Chesco combines potential return on investment with helping to grow the next generation of strong local companies.”
Under the terms of the partnership agreement, Ben Franklin will use its proven experience to help identify companies and technologies suitable and appropriate for funding and will manage the process of assessing the companies and the technologies for possible investment from the Venture Chesco fund.
Speaking on behalf of Ben Franklin, President and CEO RoseAnn Rosenthal stated: “Ben Franklin is all about building partnerships and we are very pleased to join with Chester County on this new fund. Venture Chesco will fill a critical early-stage funding gap in the growth cycle of Chester County’s young companies and companies looking to apply technology to improve business performance – which will help add to the growing innovation culture in the county.”
• Station Road, between Concord Road and Conchester Highway, in Concord Township, is closed through Oct. 20, 2018, for road construction. Detours are posted.
