January 1, 2020

_1JF4227-The-Drop — This year's Mushroom Drop will be hybrid, with the drop carried on Facebook.

• It was Midnight in the Square as Kennett Square brought in the New Year with the seventh annual Mushroom Drop Tuesday Night. The intersection of State and Union streets in Kennett Square was surrounded by celebrants who were treated to live music, a laser light display and an occasional Eagles’ chant.

• The Garnet Valley High School Environmental Club is working on a project and is asking residents for assistance. The club is using recycled holiday trees to make wood chips for local trails. To recycle trees for the project, take them to the high school parking lot on Saturday, Jan. 4, from noon to 3 p.m. Tree recycling is free. Donations are appreciated.

• All townships will hold their state-required re-organization meetings on Monday, Jan. 6. Concord and Pennsbury Townships will begin their meetings at 7 p.m., while Chadds Ford will begin its meeting at 6 p.m. All three will hold their regular meeting right after the re-organization.

• The Chester County Art Association is inviting the public to come Thursday, Jan. 9, from 5 to 7 p.m. for the opening of the association’s January exhibits. Printmaking: Thinking in Reverse, an invitational exhibit showing the process and results of various approaches to printmaking, is in the Allinson Gallery, and the non-juried group show, All Things in Motion, is in the Huston Gallery. Awards will be handed out promptly at 6 p.m. This is a free event. The CCAA is located at 100 North Bradford Avenue in West Chester.

• Concord Township has new office hours this year. Beginning Jan. 2, office hours will be 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday.

• A discussion on two books — “The Story of Kennett” by Bayard Taylor, and “Harriet Tubman Conductor on the Underground Railroad” by Ann Petry — will take place at the Chester County Historical Society on Thursday, Jan. 9, from 10 to 11:30 a.m. “The Story of Kennett” is a fictional narrative of Kennett Square and the surrounding area that is based on Taylor’s knowledge and recollection of the people in this unique part of Chester County. “Harriet Tubman Conductor on the Underground Railroad,” written for young adults, is a biography. Snow date: January 16. CCHS is at 225 N. High Street in West Chester.

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Police Log Jan. 1: Crashes, DUIs, theft

Local News

Pennsylvania State Police

• Inattentive driving led to a driver being cited following a four-vehicle rear-ender domino crash on Route 202. No names were given in the report but the cited driver said he had glanced at his cell phone before striking the vehicle in front of him. The incident happened at 4:12 p.m. on Dec. 4 on Route 202 just south of Spring Hill Road.

• Someone stole a package containing white air pods from a mailroom on Ellis Drive in Concord Township on Dec. 12. Police are investigating.

• State police from the Media barracks are investigating a reported burglary that happened at the Log Town Fence Co. on Route 202. Reported stolen were two chainsaws and an unknown amount of currency. The owner discovered the theft when he opened at 8 a.m. on Dec. 2.

• Police said a 38-year-old woman from Woodland Hills, Calif. — unidentified in the report — was arrested for DUI on Nov. 30 in Chadds Ford Township at 12:06 p.m. The report said the driver was swerving in and out of traffic.

• A police report said Carly Raftovich, 25, of Upper Chichester, was arrested for DUI following a domestic security check at the Wawa parking lot on Naaman’s Creek Road on Nov. 30. According to the report, troopers saw her slumped behind the wheel of a running vehicle and determined her to be “heavily intoxicated and under the influence of controlled substances.”

• State police from the Avondale barracks are investigating a reported shoplifting incident at the East Marlborough Township Walmart. A report said an unidentified male — no description given — put an undetermined number of items in a shopping cart and left the store without paying. The theft occurred Dec. 19 at 6:10 p.m.

• A 17-year-old male from Wilmington was arrested on drug charges in Pennsbury Township on Dec. 27. The police report said troopers made a traffic stop for a vehicle code violation on Cossart Road at Stockford Road at 12:28 a.m. The report went on to say that there was a strong odor of marijuana coming from the vehicle. A “probable cause” search resulted in finding a “small amount: of marijuana and paraphernalia. The operator was arrested and charged with DUI and drug possession.

• Police cited one of the motorists involved in the Dec. 23 accident in Pennsbury Township. Neal A. Bender, 71, of Chadds Ford, was cited for turning without properly signaling the turn. Bender was westbound on Route 1 and tried to turn left onto the entranceway to the Pennsbury Township property at Independence Way. His vehicle collided with an eastbound vehicle. The other driver, a 72-year-old woman from West Chester was taken to Chester County Hospital for treatment of unspecified injuries.

• An unidentified 23-year-old male from Wilmington was charged with drug possession following a traffic stop in East Marlborough Township on Dec. 17. A report said the motorist was observed making multiple traffic violations. Police said they found marijuana and paraphernalia in the car after they made the stop at 11:03 a.m. on Dec. 17.

• Police said they arrested Travis Everett, 42, of Lehighton, for drug possession in Kennett Township on Nov. 6. According to the report, police made the traffic stop in the 1100 block of Baltimore Pike and discovered an outstanding warrant and that Everett had a marijuana pipe.

• Travis J. Anderson, 22, of Landenberg, was cited for speeding following a rear-ender accident on Wawaset Road in East Marlborough Township on Dec. 10, according to police. A report said Anderson was driving north on Wawaset behind another vehicle that was attempting to turn left when the collision happened. No injuries were reported.

• A one-vehicle crash led to a West Chester man being cited in Pocopson Township on Dec. 1. Police said Christopher Sperber, 72, was driving west on Rodney Drive at 10 p.m. when his vehicle left the road and struck a mailbox. The car then came off the grass on East Lafayette Street heading south. The car left the road again and struck a stop sign.

• State police said troopers responded to a report of erratic driving and wound up arresting a 47-year-old man from Kennett Square for DUI on Dec. 1. They made the traffic stop at Manor Drive and Great Oak Lane in East Marlborough Township at 6:18 p.m. The unnamed driver displayed multiple signs of impairment, police said, and was arrested.