Chester CountyPRESS
www.chestercounty.com
Covering Avon Grove, Chadds Ford, Kennett Square, Oxford, & Unionville Areas
Volume 158, No. 45
Wednesday, November 13, 2024
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Houlahan, Kane, Lawrence, Sappey, Williams reelected
Trump wins Pennsylvania, presidential election By Richard L. Gaw Staff Writer Supported in part by his securing Pennsylvania’s crucial 19 electoral votes in a tight presidential race that was determined on Nov. 5, former President Donald Trump defeated Vice President Kamala Harris to become the 47th President of the United States. Trump out-tallied Harris in the commonwealth by a vote of 3,445,783 to 3,290,357
with a little more than 50 percent of the vote, in a state that political experts deemed was the most important battleground state in the 2024 presidential election. Trump won 61 of Pennsylvania’s counties, scoring well in all corners of the state except for the southeastern “blue wall” that includes Montogomery, Delaware and Chester counties and the City of Philadelphia. Reflective of the 2020 presidential election – when voters chose
Joe Biden over Trump by a margin of 57.7 percent to 40.7 percent – 56 percent of Chester County voters supported Harris, who outpolled Trump 175,686 to 133,497. Voter turnout for this year’s elections in Chester County was strong, as 79 percent of the county’s registered voters – 300,949 in total – turned out at the polls. In contrast, the 2020 election saw 83.2 percent of the county’s registered voters cast their ballots. The Nov. 5 election turned
out to be a political bloodbath for Democrats on the federal level, as Republicans won control of the Senate, flipping seats in West Virginia, Montana and Ohio. With 379 of the 435 races now called, the U.S. House of Representatives has seen the number of Democratic seats topple from 214 in 2020 to 181, as of now. Pennsylvania Republicans also won the state attorney general race, with York County District Attorney
INSIDE
Dave Sunday, a Republican, beating former Auditor General Eugene DePasquale to become Pennsylvania’s top prosecutor by a vote of 3,284,107 to 2,981,360. Chester County went for DePasquale by a vote of 162,732 to 146,087. In other important races impacting Pennsylvanians, Republican challenger Dave McCormick narrowly defeated Democrat and incumbent Bob Casey to win election as Pennsylvania’s newest U.S.
senator. McCormick tallied 3,310,599 votes – 49.1 percent – to Casey’s 3,260,763 votes – 48.4 percent. In Chester County, Casey outperformed McCormick, earning 54.6 percent of the county’s votes. In the race for the U.S. House of Representatives 6th District seat, Democratic incumbent Chrissy Houlahan earned reelection to a fourth term by defeating Republican challenger Neil Young by an Continued on Page 2A
FROM OUR LENS World class sports facility coming to Coatesville Photo by Richard L. Gaw
Local photographer curating new exhibit…1B
A Nov. 7 presentation introduced plans for the development of the NVF site in Kennett Square Borough that proposes the construction of 294 “for rent” and “for sale” residential units along West Mulberry Street.
Developers provide update of planned NVF residential site The 294 units projected to be built along West Mulberry Street in Kennett Square Borough would include affordable housing options By Richard L. Gaw Staff Writer
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County park ranger earns prestigious appointment……5B
© 2007 The Chester County Press
Members of ten architectural, engineering, legal, traffic and development agencies involved in the proposed residential complex at the former site of the National Vulcanized Fibre Company (NVF) in Kennett Square Borough brought the public up to date about the proposed development at the Kennett Library on Nov. 7. In a one-hour presentation, the public was introduced to the plans for the 22-acre site
along West Mulberry Street to build 294 “for rent” and “for sale” residential units. The complex will include 246 single-family townhomes: 38 singlefamily townhomes and 104 stacked townhomes (with two units per townhome), as well as a projected total of 492 parking spaces for residents and visitors. They are projected to be priced between the upper $300,000s for a 1,200square-foot residence to the low-to-mid $500,000s for a 2,220-square-foot Continued on Page 4A
Election night bomb threat causes Kennett Area Democrats to evacuate
At least 32 counties received bomb threats across Pennsylvania By Gabbie Burton Contributing Writer Chester County Voter Services received an emailed bomb threat targeting the Chester County Government Services Center in West Chester shortly before polls closed on election night, Tuesday, Nov. 5. The two polling locations located in the building were moved to nearby polling locations and voting hours were extending to 10 p.m., while the building was promptly cleared by authorities. The FBI is currently investigating the incident; however, the Chester County District Attorney’s office shared that the threat mirrored bomb threats were sent to other counties in the state and across the country. In Pennsylvania alone, it was reported that at least 32 counties received bomb threats. The FBI issued a press
release on election night that read, “The FBI is aware of bomb threats to polling locations in several states, many of which appear to originate from Russian email domains. None of the threats have been determined to be credible thus far.” At a press conference that night, Chester County District Attorney Christopher de BarrenaSarobe said that the threats were part of “a persistent, coordinated attempt” to disrupt the election in Continued on Page 2A
Courtesy image
IDG Development recently announced that it has purchased a 24-acre parcel from the City of Coatesville to construct the National Sports & Events Center, a state-of-the-art multi-purpose arena and special events center featuring a world-class velodrome. The 3,000-seat arena will feature the east coast’s first world-class indoor velodrome and second in the United States and will replicate the renowned World Cycling Center Velodrome in Aigle, Switzerland.
Oxford officials discuss water meters, park improvements By Betsy Brewer Brantner Contributing Writer Oxford Borough has been taking steps to improve its water operations over the last several years. The borough sources its water from a combination of local wells that it owns and operates and the supply of water that it purchases from the Chester Water Authority. The borough also owns a water treatment plant and a transmission, production, storage, and distribution water system that serves its residents. Borough officials and local residents alike are concerned about the potential sale of Chester Water Authority to Aqua, a large company that will likely raise the rates the borough pays for the water it needs. Oxford is currently pursuing new wells which would diversify the borough’s water sources. Because of that, Oxford has conducted a water rate study and a capital needs assessment. In December of last year, Oxford was awarded a $600,000 grant through the PA H2O Program to support an upgrade to the borough water meters. In the coming months, the borough will replace outdated Positive Displacement Meters with Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) meters and software. After a public bidding process, Oxford Borough Council awarded the meter contract to Rio Supply, Inc., a vendor for
Neptune Automated meters, at the regularly scheduled meeting on June 3. For residents and property owners, this upgrade will save money over time, enhance the delivery services and improve the customer experience. The borough will be able to alert water customers to sudden spikes in water use that may indicate a water leak, affording the customer an opportunity to fix it before incurring hefty water and sewer bills. At a recent council meeting, Oxford Borough Manager Pauline Garcia-Allen said the water meter changing project letters were recently sent out to residents. This was the first letter to notify residents about the changes. Borough officials expect to complete the project by February of 2025. Software will be changed by the end of the year, and officials want to educate residents about the new water billing program. David Busch, a consultant with Keystone Alliance Consulting, is working with the borough on evaluating the water operations, and he has looked at different rate models to ensure that Oxford has enough money to pay for the operation of the water department. Gannett Fleming Consultants has also worked on a study to initiate a capital water plan. In other business at the same meeting, Oxford Borough Police Department Sgt. Chris Coverly offered council the department’s monthly report for September. The police involvements totaled 481 for
the month, and Coverly commended Det. Weaver for his work on a recent incident at the Oxford Mall. “Weaver spent numerous hours trying to identify the suspect, and finally did,” Coverly said “Three years ago, I came to you regarding digital evidence requests. This involved CDs, cell phones, media, etc. We had 244 requests for this year. That will continue to grow.” Coverly also reminded the public to call 911 if they need the police. If they don’t feel comfortable calling 911, then residents can call 610-268-3171. “It is really the same place, but calling 911 is quicker. 911 knows where all the police officers are and can handle the issue quickly,” Coverly explained. Stacey Fuller, the borough’s solicitor, updated council on her work over the last month. She noted that Sycamore Crossing has been a pressing issue recently, so that work took up a considerable amount of time. Garcia-Allen said that the initial work on the Eighth Street project is now complete, but some improvements will need to be made. “We are not happy with the work the contractor did, and we are working through a punch list,” she said. The borough manager also said that Oxford will be making improvements to the Oxford Memorial Park. The borough received a $25,000 grant from parks and trails. One item that will be Continued on Page 2A