The Chester County District Attorney’s office issued a press release saying that an East Marlborough Township resident defrauded two condominium associations out of almost $1 million. The suspect is identified as William C. Huyler III, 40.
William C. Huyler III
According to the release, Huyler is alleged to have stolen $982,923 from the Kings Mill at Kings Grant Condominium Association in Marlton, N.J. and the Goshen Valley III Condominium Association in East Goshen Township.
“This defendant betrayed the trust of these victims for his own benefit,” said First Assistant District Attorney Michael Noone. “This is another reminder for businesses to be vigilant and make sure the necessary financial safeguards are in place.”
The release said Huyler used “multiple methods of deception” in his position as principal of East Hill Property Management to steal the money. Those methods included false and misleading emails, laundering money through multiple bank accounts, making false entries on memo lines of checks and producing and distributing forged documents. The actions took place between Jan. 30, 2017 and Nov. 29, 2018. An Affidavit of Probable Cause references 21 counts of theft, fraud and forgery.
As part of an attempt to cover up the thefts from Kings Mill, the release said, Huyler stole from an account owned by Crooked Lane Crossing of Montgomery County and is awaiting trial for that.
Bail was set at $250,000 unsecured. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Dec. 9.
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.
I had the great fortune to visit with artist Rob Sigafoos at his studio in Brandywine on Sunday. A sculptor and fine craftsman, he makes pieces comprised of metal, wood and stone. Sigafoos lives with his wife and two dogs on the campus of Penn Vet’s New Bolton Center in Kennett Square.
Staircase at home/studio of Rob Sigafoos Photo Credit: John Griggs
Just getting to his home and studio is a treat for the senses. It is tucked back a bit from the road and is surrounded by woods. Before heading to the studio, he gave me a tour of his home which acts as a gallery to feature his work. Almost everything in it was made by him. When I entered the kitchen area, I was immediately reminded of Wharton Esherick’s work. Although it isn’t aesthetically the same, Sigafoos built a spiral staircase worthy of the comparison. Sigafoos’ work is more ornate; it consists of wood planks for the stairs and a winding steel tree banister that seemingly took root under the floor below and grew tall enough to touch the ceiling on the ground floor. I had read somewhere that Esherick’s staircase is reminiscent of something out of Seuss’s “Oh the Places You’ll Go”; organic yes, but with a cleaner, more modern line to it.
The Sigafoos kitchen itself brought Esherick to mind too. Sigafoos built all of the cabinets, including facade doors for the refrigerator out of reclaimed wood. He built his counters, the dining table and the sconces used for lighting. The room itself is a work of art. In fact most of his home includes his functional and sculptural pieces. His wife, a woodworker, also has pieces scattered throughout their home. He told me their goal is to eventually furnish their entire house with pieces they have made. It truly embodies the nature surrounding it.
He started making sculpture as a metal artist 35 years ago. His entry into blacksmithing was as a farrier; a craftsman who trims and shoes horses’ hooves. He moved here from Virginia in 1983 to work at Penn Vet’s New Bolton Center, where, among other things, he invented a safer way to apply shoes to horses’ hoofs with glue. His no nail horseshoes are used widely today.
“Kennett Squared” sculpture by Rob Sigafoos Photo Credit: John Griggs
In 2006 he retired to focus his attention on his art full time. Since then, he has been steadily garnering more attention for it. He said he gets advice and support from other artist friends, but he is mostly influenced by his natural surroundings. By combining materials like copper or steel with sycamore or walnut wood and sometimes naturally curved bittersweet vines, his pieces become very graceful, even sensual to look at and beg to be touched. In other works, he may use a plumbing pipe but he manipulates it by either forging or chasing it into something that may look familiar but that can’t quite be identified. If you aren’t familiar with the terms, forging means to hammer or press the metal into shape and chasing means to refine the surface of the metal by depressing, raising or pushing the metal into a desired decorative form.
“Never Again” sculpture at Holocaust Memorial Photo Credit: John Griggs
While he enjoys making works for galleries and private commissions, making public art is what he enjoys doing most. Successful commissions include a piece for the Genesis Walkway in downtown Kennett, titled “Kennett Squared” and an installation of a Holocaust Memorial at Synagogue Or Hadash. Installed in 2018, it’s comprised of a steel tree splitting rocks of oppression and reaching towards the sky. The name of the sculpture is לעולם לא ע, translated as “Never Again.” I noticed the number of leaves on the piece and asked Sigafoos about the relevance of that. He told me many things in Judaism are done in multiples of 18 (contributions, donations, days, etc.). “The piece has 10 leaves on one branch, and eight on the other. The number 18 is very significant in Judaism. The 8th and the 10th letters of the Hebrew alphabet spell the word ‘life’.” It’s a majestic piece.
His next project, a piece commissioned by West Chester University, will be installed on the campus in 2020. A sculpture of a large ram, it will be made in part using demolished materials from an on-site boiler plant. For more information about upcoming events and more on Sigafoos, visit http://www.vinewoodsforge.com/
Another event worth checking out: In Chadds Ford, Barbara Moore Fine Art Gallery is hosting “The Nearby Wild – Impressionistic” featuring recent works by Signe Sundberg-Hall and Carol Mangano. A reception will be held on Wednesday October 23rd and the show runs through November 5th. Visit https://www.barbaramoorefineart.com for details.
A native of Philadelphia, Constance McBride lived in Arizona for 16 years, where desert observations made a transformative impact on her work as a research based visual artist. Passionate about contemporary art, she was actively engaged in the local arts community. She served as a board member for several art organizations, managed an artist collective/gallery space, curated and juried several exhibitions and wrote for two arts publications in Phoenix. She taught ceramics at Shemer Art Center and Museum and exhibited her work both locally and nationally. McBride returned to Pennsylvania in 2018 and resides in Chester Springs with her husband and two dogs. In West Chester, she serves as a board member at The Art Trust Gallery at Meridian Bank and teaches ceramics at Chester County Art Association. She also teaches at Clay on Main in Oley, PA. She is a member of American Craft Council, Philadelphia Sculptors, and Women’s Caucus for Art, Philadelphia Chapter.
Unionville-Chadds Ford School Board directors are scheduled to vote next month on whether to have Brandywine Virtual Academy become the district’s online cyber option. BVA is managed and operated by the Chester County Intermediate Unit but credits earned are aligned with the student’s designated school.
According to school board Director Vic Dupuis, contracting with BVA allows for competitive pricing for cyber instruction and allows the district to have “more direct engagement in the academic rigor of the cyber charter program and allows students to receive a Unionville diploma.”
He called that a “win-win for the district and the student,” during the board’s Oct. 21 meeting.
According to BVA’s website, the academy offers “a wide range of computer-based courses that students take over the internet. Students may complete their courses from a school-based classroom, computer lab, home or other location with internet access,” and all courses are taught by state-certified teachers.
The site also includes a quote from Shannon Brown, U-CF’s supervisor of secondary special education:
“As the supervisor of secondary special education, I am always looking for alternative programs that provide a quality education while meeting the special needs of our individual students. BVA offers a variety of academic programs taught by highly-qualified teachers that allow our students to stay on track with their education when circumstances prevent them from physically attending our schools. I appreciate that BVA offers various levels of academic instruction including honors, AP and accelerated courses. I am grateful for the experience BVA provides the students of Unionville-Chadds Ford 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.
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.
