Judge Daniel J. Maisano died peacefully and without pain on Dec. 10 in the arms of his beloved wife. Ultimately, Dan was another victim of COVID.
Daniel J. Maisano
Dan served Chester County as a magisterial district judge for more than two decades, serving until his passing as a senior judge. He served on the board of various charitable organizations through the years and at the time of his passing was serving as the president of the Board of Governors of the University and Whist Club of Delaware. The Whist Club was a passion of Dan’s and felt it was his second home.
Along with his wife of 30 years, Chester County Treasurer Dr. Patricia Maisano, Dan is also survived by his four sons: Scott Maisano Corneliussen ( and Jennifer) of Kennett Square, Dan Maisano II of Washington DC, Peter Eversley ( and Katrina) of Texas, and Adam Maisano of Philadelphia. Dan adored his two granddaughters, Remi Grace Corneliussen and Lily Grace Eversley.
He is also survived by his father Sam Castorani, his sisters Petrece Podlesney (Jim), Stephanie Johnston (Dean), and Lalette Cotrelle, and JoAnn Miller. His brothers Sam Castorani (Sara), Joseph Lesniak (Toni). Dan is also survived by his brother in life and in business Paul Lesniak (Mariana); and more nieces and nephews, cousins, aunts, and uncles too important to forget.
In lieu of flowers please make a donation in Dan’s honor to The United Way of Southern Chester County (www.unitedwayscc.org) 106 West State St., Kennett Square PA 19348. These funds will be specifically used to make Christmas bright for kids in need and for families devastated by COVID.
Kennett Township supervisors are expected to vote on the 2021 budget Wednesday.
If approved, township residents will not face a real estate tax increase in 2021, although there will likely be one in the future, according to township staff.
The meeting will be held over the Zoom app beginning at 7 p.m. Instructions to join can be found at Kennett.pa.us.
In a special meeting on Dec. 7, the supervisors approved a $52 annual local service tax for anyone working in Kennett Township, effective Jan. 1, 2021. It would impact about 566 township residents who also work in the township, according to township Finance Director Amy Heinrich.
The local service tax is expected to raise $200,000 toward the $5.2 million in tax revenue expected in 2021.
The proposed revenue budget also includes $2.87 million in earned income tax, $480,000 in real estate transfer taxes, $25,000 in delinquent taxes, and $1.64 million in real estate taxes. There is also another $865,986 in revenue from grants, interest, fines, and things like use and occupancy and zoning and building fees.
Monica Thompson Fragale is a freelance reporter who spent her life dreaming of being in the newspaper business. That dream came true after college when she started working at The Kennett Paper and, years later The Reporter newspaper in Lansdale and other dailies.
She turned to non-profit work after her first daughter was born and spent the next 13 years in that field.
But while you can take the girl out of journalism, you can’t take journalism out of the girl. Offers to freelance sparked the writing bug again started her fingers happily tapping away on the keyboard.
Monica lives with her husband and two children in Kennett Square.
My name is Fred Barakat. I’m 71 years old. I’ve lived in Pennsylvania all my life and in Chester County since 1980. There’s no question that this opinion is motivated by self-interest, but I firmly believe it is the correct view.
The current vaccine distribution plan puts senior citizens in the third priority of distribution. According to the CDC numbers, this is pretty much a death sentence for far too many people, and placing seniors first in line should be considered for the correct priority.
According to the CDC, 269,000 people died of COVID in the U.S. as of Dec. 9, (30,000 more since). Of those 269,000 people, 208,000 were senior citizens and 108,000 were in nursing homes and other senior facilities. With all due respect to our brave young men and women on the front lines, they are not the people dying of this disease, we are. Even the front-line deaths have likely been mainly among senior citizens. Worse, the seniors dying outside of nursing homes, in my opinion, were likely infected in many cases by asymptomatic family members unaware that they had spread the disease to their loved ones. I seldom see my grandchildren. If I contract this disease I likely will die alone and will never see them again. All of us want to return to normal life, but in my opinion, those at highest risk, seniors, should be placed first in line, along with front line workers
Darlington Arts Center takes its mission of building community seriously. Since 1978 when Diana Sophocles Hemmenway founded the center, it has been providing “every art for everyone” meaning four genres of art under one roof: music, visual, dance and drama. This stimulating multi-disciplinary approach was the first of its kind for a community arts center in Pennsylvania, and it continues today. Another first for the center was offering its multi-disciplinary programming to preschoolers. How wonderful for little ones to be exposed to a multitude of art so early in life. Summer camps for school age kids followed suit. It may have seemed a daunting task but it worked so well that by 1996, the center went from having just 35 students to having 500 students. It was time for a move. What began in a historic farmhouse sitting on a William Penn land grant in Wawa, PA became an impressive state-of-the-art facility situated on five acres on Shavertown Road in Garnet Valley.
Piano Lessons at Darlington Art Center
Fast forward to today and the center is still going strong. A whole host of classes and private instruction are offered to all ages. Soundproof music studios, a dance/performance space, two art studios and a gallery are well positioned throughout the building. Art exhibitions are mounted regularly spotlighting local and regional artists and the coffee house concert series is a lively way to spend an evening. On top of all of that, Darlington has invested significantly in its outreach programming bringing art to nearby Chester County and Delaware County elementary schools where it may not be offered otherwise. Programs include Literacy through the Arts, The Chester Theater Arts Program, Suzuki Violin classes and its most recent offering, Art instruction at the Garage Youth Center in Kennett Square and West Grove, PA where drama and hip hop dance classes are offered along with ceramics and more.
Artwork made during Arts All Day School Holiday Workshop at Darlington Arts Center
Executive Director Eric Thompson put it this way, “Our instructional programs, concerts, art galleries, and, in the wake of the pandemic, online programs offer an opportunity for the entire community to learn, create, and connect through the arts. It’s difficult to highlight just one of our programs since we feature so many options for the community.” When asked about managing through a pandemic, Thompson said, “We developed strong health and safety protocols to comply with state mandates and to ensure the wellbeing of our onsite students and staff. We continue to provide quality programming both onsite and online, and continue to monitor our protocols as the pandemic dangers keep changing.
Art Classes at Darlington Art Center
Much like other organizations, Darlington had to immediately transition to online content. Our teaching artists and staff quickly trained on using online programs like Zoom and Facebook live to provide quality instruction. Our marketing team worked to provide short video tutorials to keep our community engaged with the arts while on a stay-at-home order. Through the support of our community and the hard work of our staff and faculty, our center maintained through the statewide closures. We will continue to provide instruction, outreach programs, and performances in Music, Art, Dance and Drama. Some may be online, some may be onsite, but Darlington will continue to be here for the community as we have been for the past 42 years.”
Registration is now open for the Winter/Spring 2021 session of classes and the full list can be found here under the Programs tab. Students will save 5% if registering on or before January 8th. Between December 28th and 30th, Arts All Day workshops are available for students who are off during school holidays. For more information about that, visit here.
‘Morning Glory’ by Bill Dodds
Up next in the gallery will be a collection of landscapes and scenes highlighting the Amish life by artist Bill Dodds. A pointillist, Dodds uses his Faber Castell “S” pen to create “one ink dot at a time”, intricate images with just a hint of color via watercolor or chalk pastel. “A drawing can take as much as 180 hours to complete based on the size and composition. Most of the composition will consist of a main object from a photo with the remaining composition developed by me. I begin with a light pencil sketch with some detail. It is exciting to see detail develop as dots are applied.” It is fascinating work and begs to be seen in person. The show opens on January 9, 2021. For up to date information on gallery events visit here and on the Coffee House Concert Series visit here.
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.
Both AccuWeather and the National Weather Service are calling for the possibility of a major Nor’easter that could drop a foot of snow in areas of eastern Pennsylvania.
According to AccuWeather, the storm could “unload more snow in one day in some places than every winter storm from last winter combined.”
The National Weather Service office in Mount Holly, N.J. said, “The Nor’easter will affect the region … bringing what will likely be the most impactful winter weather in several years.”
According to the weather service and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, a 24-hour winter storm warning will be in effect beginning at 10 a.m. Wednesday to 10 a.m., with a storm watch in effect from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesday.
The forecast, as of now, calls for more than 12 inches of snow, with a light ice glaze, and winds gusting to 35 mph.
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.
