April 23, 2026 - ChaddsFordLive.com

Prison staff gets FBI training

Chester County Prison Staff Recently Completed FBI-LEEDA Training — Chester County Prison staff who recently completed FBI-LEEDA training include Deputy Warden Roberts, Captain Ham, Lieutenant DiOrio, Sergeant Carroll, Counselor Supervisor Lennon, Counselor Supervisor Vazquez, Counselor Roark, and Counselor Zubler.

Several members of the command staff at Chester County Prison recently completed a leadership training program offered through the FBI’s Law Enforcement Executive Development Association, prison officials said.

The program, known as the FBI-LEEDA Trilogy, includes three courses: the Supervisor Leadership Institute, the Command Leadership Institute, and the Executive Leadership Institute.

Training in the series covers topics including ethical decision-making, organizational leadership, communication, and strategies for addressing public safety challenges, officials said.

“This accomplishment reflects our leadership team’s dedication to growth and to leading with integrity,” Acting Warden Brian Sheller said in a statement.

“Investing in professional development ensures that we remain responsive, forward-thinking, and prepared to meet the needs of those in our care and the community we serve,” Sheller said.

Prison officials said additional supervisors are expected to complete the program. By the end of 2026, the prison expects more than 25 corporals, sergeants, lieutenants, and other supervisors to graduate from the FBI-LEEDA program.

Chester County Prison officials said the training is part of ongoing efforts to develop leaders and support staff while maintaining public trust.

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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Supervisors advertise road program, zoning change

Local News, Local News Chadds Ford

Turners-Mill — Supervisors advertise road program, zoning change

Chadds Ford Township supervisors voted to authorize the advertising of two items during their April 22 workshop. They voted to advertise the 2026 Road program and on a proposed map and text change in the zoning code.

For the road program, work is planned for Ridings Way with a mill base repair and overlay from the cul-de-sac to the intersection with the loop. Work will also include inlet repair. Ridings Way Loop will get mill-base repair and overlay from intersection to intersection. Bullock Road will get a mill base repair overlay, double yellow striping, a stop bar, and a speed hump from Ring Road to Carriage Path.

There is also a possible add-on option contingent based on the results of the bid: Mountain View Trail, mill base repair, and overlay from Wilderness Way to the cul-de-sac.

Township engineer Mike Schneider said he wants to get this out for bid quickly because of fluctuation in costs.

“I really want to get this out for bid sooner rather than later. I’m seeing some really variable prices on paving and other road programs I’ve bid already. Most notably, oil prices, which really affect paving prices, and they’ve been very high.

The vote to approve advertising was 3-0.

Also unanimous was a vote to advertise a text amendment and map change to the zoning code. The proposed change would add “banks and similar financial institutions without drive-through lanes as a permitted use in the POC Zoning District,” meaning by-right, and add “banks and similar financial institutions with drive-through lanes” as a conditional use in the POC zoning district.

The action stems from a proposal by the 1720 Wilmington Pike Group, which wants to raze the now vacant Bill Bunch Auction House property and construct a veterinary office and a bank. The site is along Hillman Drive and Route 202 and is split-zoned LI and POC. The proposed change would make the entire property POC.

Solicitor Mike Maddren added that the change would also “eliminate loading requirements that are subject to our engineer’s review pursuant to a small tweak in the section and reduce the parking requirements for banks” because in-person banking is not as prevalent as it once was.

Schneider also commented on the loading requirement, saying, “Our ordinance says you have to provide loading space for your needs, based on the particular use. Then we had a section that required a 50-foot by 12-foot loading space. But loading is not a one-size-fits-all, so that always got us into a little bit of an issue,” he said, because that could lead to the applicant needing to get zoning variances.

“I will work with [applicants] to determine what the needs are to make sure that loading for each facility is adequate for their needs,” Schneider said.

He noted that banks need very little loading, while a veterinary hospital might need more, and a car dealership would need even more room for loading, since car carriers need more space than the 50×12 space.

The matter had already been recommended by the Planning Commission.

Supervisors’ Chairman Timotha Trigg stressed that the move is only to advertise the change, not to approve it.

About Rich Schwartzman

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Around Town April 23

Around Town

• It’s a Mother’s Day Special when the Chester County History Center presents a walking tour, Fierce: Women of West Chester, on Saturday and Sunday, May 9 and 10, from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Women make up half the population, yet their stories have often been neglected, excluded, or marginalized in public memory. West Chester, long the center of battles for equality and civil rights, was home to several trailblazing women who left an indelible mark on the history of law, abolition, suffrage, education, politics, and science. This 1.5-hour walking tour will visit the homes and businesses of the women who shaped West Chester from colonial times to the present. This special edition of the tour features a stop highlighting West Chester’s special connection to the Mother’s Day holiday. Tickets are $16 and are available here.

• Experience an exhilarating musical tribute to America’s artistic spirit as the Delaware County Symphony presents a program honoring the nation’s 250th anniversary on Sunday, May 3, at 3 p.m. The concert opens with Leonard Bernstein’s sparkling Overture to Candide. The spotlight then turns to the winner of the Youth Concerto Competition, Julie Chen, with a rare performance of the technically demanding Cello Concerto in A minor; Op 22 by Samuel Barber. The Celebrating America 250 Symphony Concert will be presented in Neumann University’s Meagher Theatre. Tickets for the concert may be purchased at dcsmusic.org/tickets

• Learn how to incorporate resilient native species into your garden. Discuss the merits of native plants and how they have adapted to their local habitats, including soil type, sun and shade patterns, moisture levels, and more. By planting the right plant in the right place, it should thrive with little extra care. This class includes a tour with instructor Nancy Bell through the Mt. Cuba gardens, noting sun and shade patterns and discussing insights and advice for selecting resilient native species to incorporate into your space. Class is rain or shine. This program takes place in-person at Mt. Cuba Center on Friday, May 1, from 10 a.m. to noon. The cost is $39 with tickets available here.

Learn about plant propagation at Longwood Gardens on Saturday, May 19.

• Anybody up for some plant propagation? Get ready to dig into the fascinating world of plant propagation in this fun, hands‑on workshop designed just for youth (ages 9-14) at Longwood Gardens on Saturday, May 19, from noon to 1:30 p.m. Explore how to create brand‑new plants from ones that already exist and try out several techniques used by real gardeners and plant enthusiasts. Make your own seeded containers, take stem cuttings to grow in propagation tubes, and divide and pot plants you can take home and keep growing. By the end, you’ll not only understand the science behind how plants reproduce, but you’ll also have the skills and confidence to keep experimenting and growing your own collection. All materials included — just bring your curiosity and get ready to grow something amazing.

On May 9, Science Saturday at Hagley, learn about the world of the tiny.

• Dig into the world of the tiny in Finding Nano on the May 9, Science Saturday at Hagley. There is a whole world of things we can’t see with our eyes at the nanoscale. Get a glimpse of this tiny world and its unique properties. Visitors of all ages are invited to discover solutions to science and engineering challenges. This is a drop-in activity; feel free to join the fun at any time. Activities are included in admission and are free for Hagley members.

John Sloan’s Fifth Avenue Critics, 1905.

• One of the exhibits at the Brandywine Museum of Art, John Sloan’s Street Theater, is coming to a close on May 17. In the early twentieth century, John Sloan emerged as a key figure of the Ashcan School, a group of artists focused on portraying the unvarnished realities of modern life in New York City. A painter and printmaker, Sloan worked in oil and etching to depict the urban environment around him, adopting both the loose brushwork of his fellow modernists in his paintings and a more intricate style to capture intimate studies of everyday life in his prints. Selected from a collection of over 500 prints donated to the Brandywine Museum of Art by the late Paul Preston Davis, the more than 50 works in John Sloan’s Street Theater survey the American artist’s output in this medium.

About Rich Schwartzman

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