April 22, 2020 - ChaddsFordLive.com

Art Live: At home!

Gene Baretta for BRM — Gene Baretta demonstrates doodling for for Brandywine River Museum

If you are looking for a unique and fun activity to do with the kids or grandkids, be sure to check out children’s book author/illustrator Gene Barretta’s Live Facebook event on the Brandywine River Museum of Art’s (BRM) page on Thursday, April 23^rdbeginning at 11:30 a.m. Gene Barretta wants to doodle so get your paper and pencils ready.

Barretta is an award winning author, illustrator and animator whose books for young readers include biographies of Muhammed Ali, Benjamin Franklin, Abraham Lincoln and John F. Kennedy. His illustration and animation work has also appeared on Sesame Street, Between the Lions, and he has even designed characters for the Jim Henson Company. Barretta, who lives outside of Philadelphia and not too far from Chadds Ford, also has a passion for the life and art of Andrew Wyeth. For details, visit https://www.facebook.com/events/903146960126281/. If you can’t make it this Thursday, two more sessions are being planned for May.

More art now can be experienced from home. See virtual tours at BRM including a beautiful tribute video to Betsy James Wyeth, wife of Andrew Wyeth and many more. Visit Facebook link In Memorium

At Chester County Art Association (CCAA), you can visit the current exhibitions “Unconventional Materials: Dansko” and Anna Bellenger’s solo show virtually. Walk through the gallery and view each piece, through an informal iPhone video. To view, click here and scroll down to exhibitions for March 2020. https://www.chestercountyarts.org/exhibitions.html

CCAA also has new art projects on its homepage that can be done at home. Visit https://www.chestercountyarts.org/ and scroll down to “Art Projects for Creative Inspiration”.

Roses in Progress by Marybeth Kong – Gallery 222 Virtual Table Talks

Gallery 222 in Malvern is hosting live Virtual Table Talks on Facebook every Wednesday from 2:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. Next week’s talk will be with Marybeth Kong, a portrait and still life painter who is capturing wonderful details in her lush florals. For details visit: https://www.facebook.com/events/218524342743278/ and for all the talks visit: https://gallery222malvern.com/virtual-table-talks

Artist Randall Graham is doing live painting demos on Facebook weekdays between 2:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. They are a great way to gain insight into his work and to view how he teaches. It’s a fun way to spend an hour during the day. If you miss the live feed, you can find all the videos here: https://www.facebook.com/randall.graham2?ref=bookmarks. For more information about Graham’s studio visit: https://www.randallgraham.com/studio-classes/

The Delaware Art Museum (DAM) is celebrating two pioneering artists, Margo Allman and Helen Mason, with a virtual screening of the documentaries created for each artist to compliment the exhibition, “Layered Abstraction: Margo Allman and Helen Mason”. Curator of Contemporary Art, Margaret Winslow, will be on hand to answer questions and chat during the screenings. There are two opportunities to watch and chat on April 29^th at 12:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.

The documentaries are 30 minutes in length and will play consecutively with a brief intermission in between. Following the 6:30 p.m. screening, a recording of the event will remain available for viewing for 24-hours on DAM’s Facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/events/2586357998282779/.

Universe Possibilities by Margo Allman at DAM

This exhibition celebrates two women who have dedicated their artistic careers to exploring the infinite possibilities of abstract art and challenging traditional expectations for contemporary art in the greater Brandywine Valley. For more info visit: https://www.delart.org/exhibits/layered-abstraction/

Other events worth checking out:

InLiquid artists Hanna Vogel and Brian David Dennis will be talking about their work in the current exhibition at Park Towne Place via Zoom. The presentations will be open to the public on Thursday, April 23rd from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. For more information and to register in advance visit artists live streaming.

Whatever you do this week, support the arts!! And, stay safe!!

About Constance McBride

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.

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After the Bell going strong online

School & Education

The leadership of the After-The-Bell program is pleased to announce that with the help of incredible community partners and the support of many local individuals, After-The-Bell will be running a robust and fun virtual program for any interested students this spring. Following Gov. Tom Wolf’s order that schools remain closed through the end of the current school year, the decision was made to move After-The-Bell activities online and to make them available to all interested students.

Founded in 1998, After-The-Bell has provided more than 6,000 middle school students in the Kennett Consolidated School District with safe and meaningful after-school activities. During the current crisis, virtual activities will be hosted on the After-The-Bell website, www.afterthebell.org beginning tomorrow, April 22. Any interested students, including elementary and high school students as well as students who reside in other school districts, are welcome to visit our website and participate in the activities to be offered.

After-The-Bell Executive Director Dawn Doherty Kohl also announced that the Kennett After-School Association Board of Directors, the governing body for After-The-Bell, has also voted to ensure that all ATB hourly employees who will not be working in the onsite program this spring will continue to get paid. In addition, the Board directed that $1,000 that had been set aside to cover activity fees for the spring program will now be donated to Kennett Area Community Services in support of the Kennett Food Cupboard.

“After-The-Bell is a proud member of the Kennett area not-for-profit community and we are committed to continue providing an important service to the children of this region,” Mrs. Doherty Kohl said. “We have been deeply touched by the extraordinary number of organizations and individuals that have stepped up to help us offer our students unique and engaging experiences during this challenging and uncertain time. Our goal is to help bring some normalcy and joy to students’ lives through participation in these virtual activities.”

One of the organizations that will be partnering with After-The-Bell is The Garage Community and Youth Center in Kennett Square. The leadership of both programs have joined together to connect students with tutors and other caring individuals who can help them to keep up with their online school classes and homework. “In our eyes, our teachers are heroes, and, working with parents, they are ensuring that the educational progress of our students will continue unabated,” Mrs. Doherty Kohl said. “Together with The Garage and their amazing Director Kristin Proto, we are honored to be able to support our teachers and parents in this effort.”

About Press Release

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Michael Richmond Walker

Obituaries

Michael Richmond Walker, husband of Kathy Schaeffer Walker, and son of the late William Kirk Walker and Dr. Dorothy Jeane Walker died on Saturday, April 18, at the age of 71 after a decade long battle with Frontotemporal Dementia.

A native of Auburn, New York, he was born on June 8, 1948. He graduated from Mount Carmel High School in Auburn, New York and received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Accounting from Franklin and Marshall College in 1970. While attending Franklin and Marshall College, he played varsity football and was a member of the Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity. He went on to earn a Master of Business Administration from Temple University in 1980.

He began his professional career as a staff accountant with American International Developers, Inc. in Rosemont, Pennsylvania in 1971. He helped start a nursing home company called Health Group Care Centers in Chadds Ford, in early 1982 where he eventually became the president of the corporation. In 1985, he established Genesis Health Ventures in his adopted hometown of Kennett Square. Over the next 13 years, Genesis grew from a small portfolio of nine skilled nursing centers, into a two billion dollar publicly-traded company with 40,000 employees nationwide through the acquisition of nursing homes, rehabilitation therapy, diagnostic testing, respiratory therapy, and pharmacy. In 1995, he was awarded the Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award for Health Care in the Greater Philadelphia region. He was also awarded the Wall Street Transcript Chief Executive Officer award in 1995 and 1996 in recognition of outstanding achievement as a CEO.

Since moving to Kennett Square in the early 1980s, he routinely looked for ways to give back to his local community. When Genesis outgrew its current offices, he created a plan with local business leaders to keep Genesis in Kennett Square and build a new corporate headquarters. In doing so, he was able to keep more than 400 jobs in Kennett Square. He was dedicated to other community-based endeavors such as the creation of Main Street District (the predecessor to the current entity, Historic Kennett Square) and was the first Chairman of the Kennett Main Street Committee that was dedicated to community revitalization. He was a board member of the YMCA of the Brandywine Valley and during his time on the board he served as the Chairman of the Corporate Capital Campaign. He was also instrumental in developing the Exelon site which brought an additional 700 jobs to Kennett Square. In recognition of his civic commitments, he was awarded the Southern Chester County Chamber of Commerce Citizen of the Year award in 2010.

From 1998-2002, he became keenly interested in public policy and strongly believed that robust advocacy at the Federal level and coordinated political action was critical to helping the nursing home industry survive Medicare cuts. He was essential in the creation of The Alliance for Quality Nursing Home Care, a multi-facility trade organization focused on advocacy and political involvement. Beginning in 1999, he assumed the leadership position within the Alliance and was able to submit appropriate legislative language in several bills which sought to rectify funding cuts to the nursing home industry, two of which were signed into law by the President. Drawing on the success of the Alliance, he was approached by the long term care pharmacy sector to help organize the Alliance for Long Term Care Pharmacy. The Pharmacy Alliance was actively involved in drafting the Medicare Prescription Drug Improvement Act of 2003. In addition to his lobbying activities, he served on the Board of Trustees for Franklin and Marshall College, was a member of the board for the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine and served as a Vestry member at the Episcopal Church of the Advent.

Above all, Michael was a loving husband, father and grandfather and was devoted to every aspect of his family’s life. He is survived by his wife, Kathy Schaeffer Walker, his son Forrest Sean Walker and his wife Wendy, his daughter Cortney Walker Rohr and her husband Alex, four grandchildren, Whitney Schaeffer Walker, Carolyn Grace Walker, William Alex Rohr, and Charles Walker Rohr, and by his siblings William Kirk Walker, Jr., Patrick Charles Walker, Kelly Anne Bartholf and several nieces and nephews.

Our family extends a special thanks and our eternal gratitude to Terrell Dorsey for the loving and diligent care he gave Michael over the years. We also thank Genesis HealthCare and the staff at Brandywine Hall.

Due to the current circumstances, a memorial service will be held later.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Genesis Employee Foundation, 101 E. State Street, Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, 19348.

For online condolences, please visit kuzoandfoulkfh.com

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Police Log April. 22: Assaults, vehicle theft

Police

Pennsylvania State Police Avondale Barracks

State troopers from the Avondale barracks investigated a claim of assault on March. 18. No names were given in the report, but both parties were to be charged. No weapon was involved. The incident happened on Conservatory Road/Longwood Road on March 18 at 4:53 p.m.

Kennett Township Police Department

The Kennett Township Police Department has an active arrest warrant for Eligio Cintron, 52 of Delaware, according to a press release. Cintron has ties to the Spring Street area of Wilmington as well as Briarcliff Drive in New Castle. Anyone with information about his whereabouts should contact the Kennett Township Police. On Nov. 2, the Kennett Township police responded to the Mendenhall Inn, located in the 300 block of Kennett Pike. An employee, finishing her shift for the day, discovered that her vehicle had been stolen from the parking lot. Through video surveillance and investigative efforts, the KTPD identified Eligio Cintron. The victim’s vehicle has since been recovered by PSP Troop K.

Southern Chester County Regional Police

Gary D. Bozinko, 65, of Avondale, was arrested and charged with simple assault following a physical altercation, according to a police report. The incident occurred on Monday, Apr. 6, at 11:09 p.m., in the 100 block of Fernwood Drive, in New Garden Township. The victim was found lying in front of the house with dried blood on her mouth. The victim told police that Bozinko punched her in the mouth and pushed her to the ground. He then dragged her from the house to the sidewalk, where officers found her. Bozinko was taken into custody and transported to Chester County Prison, where he was processed and held for arraignment. He was released on bail. The case is pending a preliminary hearing.

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