May 17, 2023 - ChaddsFordLive.com

Mildred Johnson Loughhead of Oxford

Mildred Johnson Loughhead, 98, of Oxford, formerly of Kennett Square, died Friday, April 28, at Ware Presbyterian Village in Oxford. She was the wife of the late Harold O. Loughhead who died in 2008 and with whom she shared nearly 57 years of marriage. Born in Galax, Va., she was the daughter of the late Claude S. Johnson and the late Mary Matthews Johnson.

Mildred graduated from Mary Washington College with a bachelor of science degree in chemistry. She worked for Wyeth Pharmaceuticals for several years before taking a hiatus to raise her children. She ﬁnished her career at Greenwood Laboratories.

“Millie”, also known as “Mimi”, enjoyed music. She sang, played the piano and handbells, and hand chimes. She and her husband were in the choirs of both Kennett and Oxford Presbyterian Churches. Together they also enjoyed square dancing, camping, playing bridge, and bowling as well as traveling in the states and abroad. They also volunteered at Longwood Gardens.

She volunteered at Chester County Hospital and after moving to Ware Presbyterian Village she volunteered in the New to You Shop and delivered mail. At Ware she was a member of the Red Hat Society, the Grovely Grannies singing group, as well as a member of the Hand Chimes Choir. She spent years as Secretary of the Ware Presbyterian Village Auxiliary. Her greatest joy was her family. She always looked on the brighter side of life with her southern wit and sayings.

Survivors include two sons, Jack Loughhead and his wife Ann of St. Peters, Pa., Bob Loughhead and his wife Laurie of Denver, Colo.; one daughter, Marilee Calabrese and her husband Phil of Kennett Square; seven grandchildren, Melinda Ganz (Andrew), Tigh Loughhead (Caitlyn), Carissa Loughhead, Guenevere Finley (Josh), Becca Calabrese (Rick Limburg), Kaelin Mast (Justin), Chel Loughhead; and eight great-grandchildren, West, Zula, Jackson, Charlie, Mira, Silvan, Maxwell, and Macsen. Also included are three step-grandchildren, Laura Duﬀ (Tim), Paul Frank (Kristen), and Rachel Geiger (Alex); and eight step-great-grandchildren, Keira, Aaron, Brock, Miles, Crew, Sam, and Fletcher. She was predeceased by her brother, Eugene Johnson.

You are invited to Mildred’s Memorial Service at 1:30 p.m., on Saturday, July 8, at Kennett Friends Meeting House, 125 W. Sickle Street, Kennett Square, PA 19348. There will be a short time to meet with the family in the library of the meeting house before the service. The family invites all to a reception following the service downstairs. Interment will be held privately.

Memorials may be made to the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation https://www.brpfoundation.org/donate or the charity of your choice. Arrangements are by Matthew Grieco of Grieco Funeral Home & Crematory, Inc. (484-734-8100). To view Millie’s online obituary, please visit www.griecofunerals.com

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Richard M. Chambers of West Grove

Obituaries

Richard M. Chambers, “Dick,” 90, of West Grove, died Friday, May 12, at his home surrounded by his loving family. He was the husband of Mildred Speakman Chambers, with whom he shared 66 years of marriage. Born in West Grove, he was the son of the late Evan Chambers and the late Ethyl McCue Chambers.

Richard graduated from Avon Grove High School in 1950. He then served our country in the Army.

He was a longtime dedicated member of the West Grove-Avondale Rotary Club where he held many roles including president of the club for two years and had perfect attendance for 60 years. He was a life member of the West Grove Fire Co. for more than 70 years and a life member of the Avondale Fire Co. For one year he was president of the Avon Grove Little League.

He was a general contractor and foreman of ET Chambers Construction Company for many years until the company was dissolved. He continued to work for many years as a contractor. For many years, Dick and his son John handled the cemetery grave openings with their Kubota tractor for over six cemeteries in the southern Chester County area. He took great pride in helping local families inter their loved ones with dignity and respect.

In addition to his wife Mildred, he is survived by his son, John Chambers and his wife Cindy of West Grove; grandchildren, John and his wife Jamie, and Kaite Moran and her husband Ben who are expecting Dick’s great-grandchild in September; great-grandchildren, Noah and Olivia and his best friend Calvin Pickel. He was predeceased by a brother, Lawrence Chambers.

You are invited to visit with Richard’s family and friends from 1-3 p.m., Friday, May 19, at West Grove United Methodist Church, 300 N. Geurnsey Road, West Grove, PA 19390. His funeral service will follow at 3:00 PM. Interment will be in New Garden Friends Cemetery. Contributions in his memory may be made to West Grove Fire Company, PO Box 201, West Grove, PA 19390 or online at https://www.wgfc.org/content/donations/

Arrangements are by Matthew Grieco of Grieco Funeral Home & Crematory, Inc. of Kennett Square (484-459-6217). To view his online obituary,

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Turnout light for primary

Along the Ford

_1JF3737-turnout — Turnout light for primary

Voter turnout is usually light during off-year elections, especially for the primary election. Yesterday was no exception. It was one of those elections where at any given time, the campaign signs in front of polling places outnumbered voters inside.

To quote one poll worker in Chadds Ford Township, turnout in the morning was “minimal.” At the Concord Township building polling place at 7:55 a.m., workers were hoping to get 10 voters by 8 a.m. And. by 9:15 a.m., only 17 people had voted at the Pennsbury Township building.

Turnout did pick up somewhat throughout the day. Chester County reported a 20.95 percent voter turnout. Delaware County is reporting a 24.5 percent turnout.

But even in an off-year primary, it’s the number of votes that count. And for some, not many votes were needed.

Timotha Trigg ran unopposed for the Chadds Ford Republican Party nomination for supervisor. And there were no Democrats running for supervisor on that party’s ballot. The same with Wendell Fenton in Pennsbury Township.

Fenton has been on Pennsbury’s Board of Supervisors since 2006. While this would be Trigg’s first time on the Chadds Ford board, she’s a current member of the Planning Commission and is a former school board director and school board president.

Chadds Ford and Pennsbury are also linked in being the two townships that comprise Region C of the Unionville-Chadds Ford School District, and there was a school board election, too.

Voters had the choice of voting for three of the five candidates for school board. All five were cross-filed to be on both the Republican and Democratic Party ballots.

Erin Talbert, an incumbent is running for another term. The Democratic Party endorsed Talbert along with Jody Allen and Brian Schartz. The other two candidates are Brian Lamb and Madelaine Werner who were endorsed by the Chadds Ford Republican Party.

All five candidates will be on the November ballot since the endorsed Democrats won in their primary while the endorsed Republicans won their primary.

Other races

Dan Hill, an incumbent supervisor in Birmingham Township, is in the same situation as Trigg in Chadds Ford and Fenton in Pennsbury, being unopposed in his party’s primary while there was no Democrat running for a nomination.

In Pocopson Township, incumbent Supervisor Ricki Stumpo ran unopposed in the Democratic Party primary for reelection. She’ll face Andrea Gosselin, a Republican, in November.

Robert Pearson, an incumbent Republican supervisor in Newlin Township, won his party’s nomination for reelection. No Democrat ran in the primary.

In Concord Township, three incumbent council members — Larry Mutschler II, John Crossan, and Vinita Deshmukh — each a Republican, won their party’s nomination while the Democrats didn’t field any candidates for the seats.

Election results are not official until certified by voter services in each of the counties.

About Rich Schwartzman

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.

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Police Log May 17: Sobriety checkpoint, thefts

Police

Pennsylvania State Police

Media Barracks

• State police from the Media barracks will conduct a sobriety checkpoint during the Memorial Day weekend, May 26-29. The location is not disclosed.

• Police are investigating a report of a student at Garnet Valley High School being harassed. A report said a 15-year-old girl was slapped in the face by a 16-year-old male student. The incident happened on April 9.

• A 52-year-old Philadelphia man was arrested for DUI on Route 1 in Concord Township on April 17. Police identified the driver as Chad Avery. According to the report, police stopped Avery after observing vehicle violations.

• State police said they arrested Asia Harvey, 34, of Philadelphia, for shoplifting at Wegmans in Concord Township on April 12. The report said Harvey tried stealing almost $450 worth of merchandise from the store.

• Stanley Allen, 44, of Wilmington, was arrested on shoplifting charges, police said. According to the police report, Allen stole almost $300 worth laundry soap and food items from Wegmans.

• Police are investigating the theft of more than $3,000 worth of tools, lamps, and other equipment, plus a Bank of America Master Card taken from a home on Ivy Mills Road in Concord Township on April 10.

• A May 1 traffic stop on Ridge Road at Pheasant Lane in Chadds Ford led to the arrest of an Elkton, Md. man. Police identified the driver as John Blake, 27. The stop was made after police observed traffic violations, but the report said they found that there were active arrest warrants out on Blake. The report also said police found marijuana in Blake’s possession. He was taken to the George Hill Correctional Facility pending extradition to Maryland.

• A Concord Township couple reported to police that someone stole a $550 money order from their mailbox on Park Lane. The theft reportedly happened on April 8.

• Police are investigating the theft of $75 worth of Dove Liquid soap from Walgreens on Route 202 in Concord Township. Three unknown suspects are reported to have taken the soap on May 11.

• A 45-year-old man from Chadds Ford was arrested for reportedly strangling a 42-year-old woman on Namans Creek Road on May 10. The incident happened at 6:16 p.m.; no other details were released.

• Ameera J. Hofmann, 23, of Wilmington, was charged after a one-car crash on Beaver Dam Road in Chadds Ford Township on April 27, a police report said. According to the report, Hofmann was traveling south on Beaver Dam Road when she said, she saw an animal in the roadway. She attempted to swerve around the animal causing her to veer off the roadway, striking a large boulder on the right side of the roadway. No injuries were reported.

• Police said they’re investigating the theft of $1,200 and a cell phone the victim said was taken from his car parked on Hillman Drive in March. The report said an unknown person or persons broke the rear passenger window of the vehicle and stole a black Michael Kors bag, $1200.00 in cash, an iPhone 14, one check made out to the victim, and a Visa Debit card. The incident happened on March 7.

Avondale Barracks

• State police from the Avondale barracks are investigating a report of a stolen car. National Car Rental is the victim. The police report said a 2021 black Chrysler sedan was stolen while parked in a lot on Baltimore Pike sometime between 10:30 p.m. on May 9 and 7:45 a.m. on May 10.

• A one-car crash in Pennsbury Township led to the arrest of a Wilmington man for DUI. The police report identified the driver as Gustavo Alameda, 60, and said his car overturned after striking an embankment in the vicinity of Hickory Hill Road and Jacobs Way.

• Police said they arrested a 46-year-old woman from Kennett Square for DUI. The report said police made a traffic stop at the intersection of N. Mill Road and W. Sickle Street at 10:55 p.m. on May 6. No reason for the stop was given in the report, but it did say troopers smelled a strong odor of alcohol emanating from the driver, and field sobriety tests indicated impairment.

• Ryan R. Janiszewski, 22, of Wilmington, was found to be driving at an unsafe speed following a one-car crash on Brandywine Creek Road near Strasburg Road in Newlin Township on May 4, according to a police report. The report said Janiszewski was traveling south on Brandywine Creek Road, when he took a turn too fast, while another vehicle was heading north. The car, a 2016 Volkswagen Jetta, left the roadway then left its lane l and veered into an embankment and overturned. The driver wasn’t hurt, police said.

• Police said Nicholas A. Wright, 30, of West Chester, was cited for excessive speed following a two-car crash on S. Creek Road near Cossart Road in Pennsbury Township on May 13. According to the report, Wright was driving north on S. Creek at a speed too fast for the conditions, lost control, and struck a southbound vehicle at its 9 o’clock position. Both vehicles needed to be towed but neither driver nor the passenger in the second vehicle were injured.

• A 21-year-old woman from West Chester was arrested on DUI charges in Pocopson Township on May 12. The woman was not named in the report, but police said they stopped the vehicle on Lenape Road at Red Bridge Lane for traffic violations.

• Police said they arrested a 45-year-old woman from Nottingham for shoplifting at Walmart in East Marlborough Township on May 11. The suspect was not identified in the report and no details were given.

Kennett Square Police Department

• Officers from the Kennett Square Police Department received a report of a male exposing his genitals and touching them. Borough police said they arrested Jose Aviles-Aguilar, 67, of West Grove for indecent exposure, public lewdness, and disorderly conduct after he was masturbating in a car outside a business on S. Washington Street. The incident happened at approximately 4:19 p.m. on Thursday, May 5.

About CFLive Staff

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