AccuWeather is calling for a blast of arctic air to hit the region later today and issued a winter weather advisory until 6 p.m. tonight. A wind chill advisory is in effect from 6 tonight until 10 a.m. Saturday.
A strong cold front is moving from west to east bringing rain showers that can shift to snow as the temperatures fall. Snow accumulation is expected to be light, but winds could gust up to 50 mph. The wind chill could hit 15 below zero.
Sara H. Blanton, 77, of Chadds Ford, died Monday, Dec. 19.
Sara H. Blanton
She was the beloved wife of M. Stuart Blanton. Born in Shelby, N.C. in 1945, she was the daughter of Sarah and Harold Hamrick and grew up with her three brothers after her father passed during her youth. She graduated from Shelby High School in 1963 and Peace College in 1965, where she earned an associate’s degree and met her husband, Stuart, who was attending NC State.
After Stuart and Sara’s marriage, they moved to Greenville, N.C. where they had their first son, Kevin S. Blanton. Sara’s second son, W. Brendan Blanton, was born four years later in Kinston, N.C. The family moved frequently and had residences in Wilmington, Del., Kinston, N.C., WilmingtoN.C., Unionville, Kingwood, Texas, and Chadds Ford.
Sara was a devoted mother and wife always taking delight in helping her sons with projects, family dinners, and attending her sons’ activities. She had many hobbies including quilting, cross-stitching, fishing, and painting. She was very creative and always had a talent for making beautiful paintings, quilts, and works of art. She also enjoyed spending time with the many friends that she met through these hobbies. She looked forward to yearly vacations at the Outer Banks of North Carolina where she met many friends and loved spending time relaxing by the ocean.
Nothing brought her more joy than spending time with family. She was happiest catching up with her family and visiting with her grandchildren. In addition to her family, Sara always took joy in caring for and spoiling her three dogs (Pfeffer, Marley, and Maisy). Her warmth, kindness, and loving care will be missed by all who had the pleasure of knowing Sara.
She is survived by her husband, M. Stuart Blanton of Chadds Ford, PA; her brother, Larry Hamrick Sr. of Kings Mountain, NC; her son & his wife, Kevin S. & Mellissa Blanton of Collingswood, NJ; her son, W. Brendan Blanton of Wilmington, DE; and five grandchildren, Natalie, Erik, Meghan, Zane and Cassidy Blanton.
Her services will be held privately at a later date.
In her later years, Sara had ongoing struggles with several major illnesses. Her courageous battles with mental health and cancer were truly an inspiration for many. In lieu of flowers, please consider a contribution to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), PO Box 49104, Baltimore, MD 21297. https://www.nami.org/About-NAMI/Donate-to-NAMI
To view her online tribute and to share a memory with her family, please visit www.kuzoandfoulkfh.com
With high winds and frigid temperatures expected, Unionville-Chadds Ford School District will have a Flexible Instruction Day. Students will be assigned asynchronous work to do at home today, Dec. 23. Teachers will communicate with students through email. See FID Quick Guide for more details.
Kennett schools are already closed for the holiday week.
Chester County government offices, facilities, and courts are closed today because of the weather.
PennDOT has announced the following road projects, which are weather-dependent and could affect drivers in the greater Chadds Ford area during the week of Dec. 24 through Dec. 30. Motorists are urged to allow extra time if traveling through one of the construction zones. Work schedules are subject to change.
•And so it continues. Line painting, sign installation, and utility operations continue to cause daytime lane closures on Route 1 between Creek and Pole Cat roads from Tuesday, Dec. 27 through Thursday, Dec. 29.
•Bridge repair work will cause daytime lane closure on Route 82 (Doe Run Road) in West Marlborough Township from Monday, Dec. 5 through Friday, Dec. 9. The work is to repair damage from Hurricane Ida on the bridge over Black Run.
•Motorists should expect lane closures on Embreeville Road in both Newlin and East Marlborough townships for vegetation management through Dec. 30.
•Utility work is expected to continue causing daytime lane shifts on Harvey Road in Chadds Ford Township through Jan. 31
•Through the end of December, utility renewal will continue causing daytime lane restrictions on Route 52 between Fairville Road and Wedgewood Drive in Pennsbury.
•Motorists should expect lane restrictions with a detour for trucks on Route 162 at its intersection with Route 82 in Newlin Township because of bridge repair. There is currently no date for completion.
•The Embreeville Road Bridge over the West Branch over the Brandywine Creek in Newlin Township remains closed because of last year’s Sept. 1 flooding from Hurricane Ida. The closure remains listed as indefinite.
Kennett Township supervisors approved the 2023 budgets Wednesday night, with a half-mill tax increase to help pay for increasing emergency and police service costs.
The 0.5-mill increase will mean the average taxpayer in Kennett, with a property worth $624,000 and assessed at $246,871, would pay an extra $123 each year in township taxes, according to Kennett Finance Director Amy Heinrich. (A mill is $1 for every $1,000 of assessed value.)
Total taxes for 2023 would be 3 mills, which also includes the 0.2-mill library tax.
The township’s general fund budget has estimated revenue of $7.7 million (not including money recovered from the former township manager’s embezzlement) and expenses of $6.815 million.
The increase in general fund operating expenses is “primarily driven by a 30 percent increase in the contribution required to the (Kennett Area) Fire and EMS Commission and higher salaries associated with a new police contract, with some offsetting improved policies to control overtime,” Heinrich said at previous budget meetings.
The township police department is also starting a new collective bargaining agreement in 2023, Heinrich said.
The supervisors also approved budgets for open space, sewer, liquid fuels, and capital improvements.
“We won’t be able to do everything we want to do, but we put together what we think is the best package,” Heinrich explained.
Supervisor Geoff Gamble said the township has “very little choice as a practical matter” when deciding on the tax increase. “I have worked with these two (supervisors), and I sincerely believe that they’ve done everything possible, along with our township manager and Amy (Heinrich) … to keep spending under control.”
Supervisors’ Vice Chairman Scudder Stevens said the board and township staff have spent a lot of time planning the budget.
“There has been a great deal of discussion on the budget, and the costs and consequences of those determinations have received a great deal of detail,” he said.
More information on the budgets can be found online at Kennett.pa.us.
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.
