Chester County Press 03-31-2021 Edition

Avon Grove plans for end-of-year activities

By Steven Hoffman Staff Writer

Avon Grove School District Superintendent

Dr. Christopher Marchese outlined plans for the remainder of the school year during the March 25 school board meeting, expressing his optimism that students will be able to enjoy some of the momentous events as the 2020-2021 school year draws to a close.

Marchese said that plans are being developed for the prom to take place on Thursday, June 10, with the graduation ceremony for the Class of 2021 set for 7 p.m. on Friday, June 11. It remains to be seen

whether the graduation ceremony will take place, as it normally does, at the Bob Carpenter Center in Newark, Del., or whether it will be held outside at the Avon Grove sports stadium. The district will adhere to the state, county, and local guidelines regarding large gatherings when making the decision.

“We are still undecided about where the location will be,” Marchese said, explaining that the administration has been communicating with parents since January about preparations for important events like the prom and graduation.

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Spring cleanup

School board candidates file for Primary Election

By Steven Hoffman Staff Writer

When the Pennsylvania Primary Election takes place on Tuesday, May 18, voters will decide which school board candidates move on to the General Election in November. School board members serve four-year terms. In the Avon Grove School District, there are four seats up for election this year—

two in Region I, one in Region II, and one in Region III. Four people—Bruce Belcher, Ruchira Singh, Lynn Weber, and Mike Wooden—cross-filed in Region I. In Pennsylvania, school board candidates are permitted to simultaneously seek the nominations of both the Republican and Democratic parties. In Region II, Christina Manolescu has cross-filed

Vaccine clinic this Saturday in Kennett Square

Kennett Square Borough and Kennett Township residents who are 65 and over and who have not received their COVID-19 vaccinations yet can now register for a special vaccine clinic that is being planned for this Saturday, April 3.

Kennett Square Mayor Matt Fetick announced that the Kennett fire and EMS will have a COVID vaccine clinic from 9 a.m. to noon for borough and township residents.

Fetick is coordinating the event with State Rep. Craig Williams. Rep. Williams office is handling the registration and eligibility, while Fetick is handling the clinic itself and staffing it with volunteers.

The goal of the clinic is to reach seniors 65 and over and anyone else eligible in group 1A who have not yet gotten the vaccine. There will be 200 doses available.

Fetick said that they are pleased to be able to help more local residents get vaccinated as quickly as possible. The clinic is an all-volunteer effort, and the hope is that there will be an opportunity to hold another vaccination clinic if all goes well.

Everyone must pre-register by calling Rep. Williams’ office at 610-358-5925.

Additionally, Fetick said, volunteers are still needed to staff the clinic. This includes anyone who can help with registration and current or retired medical professionals to administer the vaccination and observe people after the shot.

Anyone who wants to volunteer should contact Fetick at mayorfetick@kennettsquarepolice.org.

for a seat on the school board. In Region III, incumbent Bill Wood is seeking another term, while Michael Bruecks is looking to join the board for the first time. Both have cross-filed.

There are four seats on the Kennett School Board up for election in this cycle—one in Region A, one in Region B, and two in Region C. Ethan Cramer is seeking the Democratic nomination in Region A. He currently

serves on Kennett Square Borough Council. In Region B, current school board member Jeff McVey has cross-filed in a bid to win a four-year term. Dina Marie Vanover is seeking the Republican nomination in Region B. Vicki Gehrt, the current board vice president, has cross-filed in Region C, while Mark Bowden is seeking the nomination on the Democratic side. There is one at-large seat

and one seat in Region 1, Region 2, and Region 3 up for election in this cycle in the Oxford Area School District.

Jennifer Kehs has cross-filed and Sherri MatisMitchell is seeking the Democratic nomination for the at-large seat.

Kristen Dean, who currently occupies an at-large seat on the board, is seeking a position in Region 1.

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Racial achievement gap affecting Chester County schools, report says

New report calls for building an educational system that levels the playing field for Black and Hispanic students

By Richard L. Gaw Staff Writer

Of the 363,500 students who attend public school in the 61 school districts in the four suburban counties south of Philadelphia, 23 percent are Black or Hispanic.

According to a recently released report, most of this population -- if not all – continues to be the victims of an unfair educational system that perpetuates discriminatory policies, indifference and racial bias, the results of which are having a crippling effect on minority students in Chester, Bucks, Delaware and Montgomery counties.

At an online presentation on March 25, Public Citizens for Children and

Tomás Hanna, superintendent of the Coatesville Area School District, was a guest speaker at the online presentation.

Youth (PCCY) shared the specifics and findings of its “No More Dreams Deferred: Building an Education System That Works for Black and Hispanic Students,” that provided in-depth evidence that the public school

education of Black and Hispanic students in southeastern Pennsyvania has reached a crisis point.

The report was introduced by PCCY executive director Donna Cooper, and featured commentary by

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In eye of COVID-19 storm, Center for Change offers calm solutions

By Richard L. Gaw Staff Writer

As divorce rates continue to rise during the pandemic, mediation is proving to be a quieter method of transition the new year, and at the top of that list was written the words, “Fine Tune.”

As her professional calendar was about to flip to 2020, Winden Rowe, the director of The Center for Change at Kennett Square, did what she always does at that time of year.

She wrote a list of goals for the Center to achieve in

The exercise had become Rowe’s annual take-abreath, sketchpad moment, and one that would allow her to diagram the collaborative talents of her like-minded providers in ways that would strengthen and condense its counseling,

mediation and wellnessbased services.

Within a week, “Fine Tune” became “Rebuild.”

On Jan. 3, 2020, the Center’s office in the Willowdale Shopping Center was leveled by a severe fire, forcing its team to quickly occupy another building in the complex. Just as they settled into their

new space, the COVID-19 pandemic swept through Chester County.

With very little fanfare and no clear path forward for exactly how she and her colleagues would soldier on through the shutdown, Rowe promptly ripped up her list of goals, because what was about to happen at The Center for Change at

Kennett Square could never be easily contained on a tick-off sheet of to-dos and aspirations. Rather, Rowe and her staff were bracing for what would become a perfect storm, whose power and velocity would create an epidemiological and psychological crisis, much of which would land at their

school administrators and educational specialists in the region.

“Many people in America have had a conversation for years about why Black and Hispanic students have typically not performed on parallel with their White peers, and in addition they have mostly seen that as a challenge of urban school districts,” Cooper said.

“Today, the data that we are releasing really shows that the conditions in school districts, whether they are urban or suburban, are what are causing Black and Hispanic students to not be able to hit the same achievement rates as their White peers.”

State ranks near bottom in narrowing student racial disparity

The key factors contributing to the widening gap, the PCCY report said, are disproportion and a lack of opportunities. While these suburban school districts are becoming more and more diverse, their educational paradigms have not kept up with the changing face of their student demographic.

The results of the study said that while Pennsylvania ranks 15th in the nation in providing overall access to educational opportunities for students, it ranks 47th in the country in gaps both between White and Black students and White and Hispanic students because the disparity between opportunities for White and Black and Hispanic students is so large.

Academically, the problem is a glaring one, and it is being seen in nearly every classroom in all four counties. The report showed that the achievement gap among the suburban districts in reading is 16 percentage points higher for White students than Hispanic students, and 22 points higher than Black students.

In 92 percent of the suburban districts, fewer Black and Hispanic students are enrolled in AP classes than one would expect given the proportion of minority students in each county, and fewer Black and Hispanic students are being given access to career and technical education programs. As a consequence, minority students in these counties are in a constant uphill climb to achieve outcomes that are comparable to their White peers and failing, due to a system that too often focuses on their performance as an indicator of their ability, rather than as part of a system that should be doing more to inspire and teach.

‘With less funding comes less resources’

The systemic disparities don’t end at the classroom.

The report found that most Black and Hispanic students are likely to live in working and lower income families, reside in neighborhoods with higher concentrations of students of color, and attend economically and racially segregated schools. There, they become victims of school systems that are chronically underfunded or are not allocated equitably among schools.

“With less funding comes less resources,” said Tomea Sippio-Smith, PCCY’s K-12 education policy director. “Even before the pandemic struck, in the Philadelphia suburbs, at least 13,000 Black and Hispanic students lacked digital access, putting them at a great disadvantage.

“We know that when students have access to funding and adequate resources, they do better. When we look at the school districts that have more money to spend on students, we see that the [reading and math] scores improve.”

Another major discrepancy between White students and students of color is found in the area of discipline. It is inequitable and

arbitrary, the report claimed; minorities are far more likely to be harshly disciplined in school than their White peers, and Black students are three-and-a-half times more likely to be suspended or referred to law enforcement than White students.

Throughout the four counties, Black students lose 95 days of instruction due to suspensions compared to 15 days for their White peers. Further, despite the fact that Black students make up about 13 percent of the population in these districts, they received nearly half of the 13,347 out-of-school suspensions recorded in the four counties.

For instance, in Delaware County, 68 percent of suspensions were for Black students – almost 2.5 times the expected rate given that they comprise only 28 percent of the student population.

In Chester County, Black students fared significantly worse. Although they make up only six percent of the student population, they account for 32 percent of suspensions, and are more than five times more likely than their White peers to receive out-of-school suspensions.

Four key strategies toward racial equity

To effectively build an education system that works for Black and Hispanic students, schools and districts, the report called upon state leaders to adopt a system that embraces four key strategies:

1) Create an accountability system at the state level that measures progress on equity

2) Implement proven and effective processes that improve school climate to close racial disparity gaps

3) Require schools to demonstrate equitable access to high quality academic options; and

4) Ensure that schools serving Black and Hispanic students are adequately funded, and that funding follows student need

The recommendations provided by PCCY are an across-the-board examination of current policies, Sippio-Smith said.

“Our proposal is to reform school climate policies so that young people can go to school and focus on achievement, and that means that there are school counselors available for them,” she said. “If there are

inequities in suspensions and law enforcement gaps, to not only address them but implement research-based programs to address student behavior and discipline.

“Additionally, have teachers and administrators attend implicit bias and racism training. Moreover, change the rules of the school officers. Retrain them so that they are actually providing support instead of discipline.

“Ensure that [minority] students are not only acknowledged for their performance, but steered to attend high-quality and high-rigor courses. We know that kids of color are under-enrolled in these courses, and we want to make sure that school officials recognize them early and put them on the path to high-quality coursework and opportunities.”

One of the best ways to get the report’s initiatives off the page and into the schools is to acknowledge that parents, community members and groups all have shared and common goals, Sippio-Smith added.

“We’ve had conversations across the region with a number of parents and students who have shared stories with us, but just did not have the data to support the experiences they had,” she said. “With the school districts, what we

have found is that there is alignment in what school districts are willing to do and what parents and community members want.

“One of the first steps we can take to get it from dream to reality is to build those partnerships and not let everyone exist in a silo.”

The largest impact on leveling the educational playing field for minority students may soon be coming from Pennsylvania itself. On Feb. 4, Gov. Tom Wolf introduced a proposal that would make a $1.3 billion investment in public schools and create fairness in education funding, while at the same time cut taxes for working families and businesses.

“Growing districts in urban, suburban and rural communities will finally get their fair share and shrinking districts are protected,” said Gov. Wolf, “because no matter where you live, every student deserves an opportunity to succeed.

That’s what parents want for their children, and what Pennsylvania needs for our future.”

“That funding goes out to school districts with the highest share of children in poverty, and sadly that aligns in the Philadelphia suburbs with the highest share of Black and Hispanic students,” Cooper said. “If that budget is enacted, it would begin to remedy the

financial barriers to Black and Hispanic achievement.”

‘Messy work’

If there is another side of the struggle to close the large gap in educational equality in these schools, it is to explore the tough question of whether the origin of this radical divide is found in overt racism, or if it is simply the entrenched inability of educators to acknowledge that the problem exists.

“There is a part of me that believes that it is a little bit of both,” said Tomás Hanna, superintendent of the Coatesville Area School District. “There is a new phenomenon coming into our districts that requires a new set of skills that are needed by our educators that have been missing for years, which have failed to address the issues. That said, I don’t think that gives any of us a pass. I think we’ve seen this over many years.”

Hanna said that the deep dive into racial healing and closing the educational gap is “messy work.”

“When you start to engage in this work, you are going to press some buttons,” he said. “The courage that this work takes and to do well -- and to make it so that it’s not about pointing fingers -has to do with creating safe spaces. It is being given

the opportunity not to be judged and vilified, but to bring ourselves and who we are to the work, so that we can begin to engage in a deep conversation.”

Hanna said the Coatesville district has partnered with the Mid-Atlantic Equity Consortium and with the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s office to empower leaders at all of its schools to lead monthly conversations about equity with community members.

Part of the district’s engagement to change its culture has been rewriting its educational curriculum, Hanna said.

“That’s being done by teachers within the district,” he said. “We have identified an equity coordinator who will be supporting the work of our curriculum writers to be sure that we’re looking closely that what we’re creating, to ensure that it is culturally responsive curriculum for our students.”

Founded in 1980, PCCY seeks to improve the lives of children by ensuring that they have the basic building blocks they need for success, including a quality education beginning in the infant-toddler years, reliable health care, and a dependable support network.

To learn more about Public Citizens for Children and Youth and to read “No More Dreams Deferred: Building an Education System That Works for Black and Hispanic Students,” visit www.pccy.org.

To contact Staff Writer Richard L. Gaw, email rgaw@chestercounty.com.

Continued from Page 1A

feet and call upon them to clean it all up.

“We had a lot of conversations about the fact that while we are mental health professionals, we are going through the same historical event that everyone else is at the same time, so we decided to take care of our needs as well as those of our clients,” Rowe said.

“As a society, we are now going through an experience where our lives have been reduced down to our most limited space and distance, and it’s bringing up a lot.

“I think the first wave of the pandemic hitting us brought up a lot of people’s individual trauma, in a way that I have never seen before, and over the past year, they have not been able to avoid what they have easily been able to avoid in the past.”

The stories that have emerged since the start of the pandemic last March, backed up with percentages and statistics, tell the tale of a society whose lives have been altered or effectively broken from a pandemic that shows only the first glimpses of its retreat.

Over the past year, research related to the impact of COVID-19 on or general population has reported an upward trend in mental health consequences that have resulted in stress, depression, anxiety, panic, loneliness, struggles with suicidal ideation and behavior, insomnia, emotional exhaustion, grief, as well as

the retriggered feelings of past trauma.

Pandemic’s impact on divorce rates

While The Center’s personal counseling offices have properly pivoted to meet the increased needs for its clients, its mediators – Regina DeAngelis, Jane Murphy Donze and Gary Katz – are responding to another crisis that has skyrocketed over the past year.

In the year since the pandemic began, divorce rates have spiked in the U.S.

According to data compiled by Legal Templates, the number of people seeking divorces was 34 percent higher from March through June in 2020 compared to that same period in 2019, and in its survey on the impact of how COVID-19 is affecting relationships, 31 percent of couples said that lockdown had caused irreparable damage to their relationship.

Legal Templates’ findings uncovered an even harsher reality: Newlyweds were hit hardest by a wide margin. The rate of divorcing couples with children increased in 2020 from the previous year, and the number of life insurance policies and payouts require in divorce settlements soared over the past year.

Even worse, attorneys across the nation are predicting record numbers of divorce filings once quarantine restrictions are lifted.

“All of this quality time we have been spending over the course of the last year has been stressful, particularly for people with addictions,

with anxiety issues and with depression,” said Christine Jones, a counselor at The Center who often coordinates mediation sessions with DeAngelis, Donze and Katz. “One of the main issues in marriages breaking up is through finance, and too often, it is the magnifying glass that peers over the reality of the marriage.

“The whole idea behind mediation is to salvage the integrity of the best of your personality -- to ensure that you are true to the person you were when you entered into this agreement. Our mediation sessions allow someone to still realize this, even through this pandemic.”

At a time when ‘Divorce’ has become synonymous with “Win” and “Lose,” mediation has become a quieter alternative to the traditional “lawyered up” litigation process that is often painted in films and on television as being vindictive, cutthroat and insensitive.

“It’s so important for people to understand that divorce does not need to be this destructive, toxic process,”

said DeAngelis, a former family law attorney who now focuses exclusively on mediation. “Couples are beginning to learn that there is an alternative way to transition your family. They are learning that mediation is a path that will leave every individual actually healthier and set up to be their best selves afterward, which is the complete opposite of what a divorce is generally thought of as being.”

Mediation: Done with the family in mind

Mediation has been used as an alternative dispute resolution process since Ancient Greece nearly 1,500 years ago as a means to settle disagreements between villagers, and while the practice has advanced, its core foundation still employs a third party whose role is to move both parties towards consensus, agreement and resolution.

In counseling centers and law offices, mediation is rapidly becoming the changing face of the divorce and

custody process for transitioning couples and their families. Understanding the emotional strain that a divorce places on a family, a divorce mediator guides couples through the transition process by resolving conflict; determining equitable financial solutions for assets and liabilities; recommending ways a couple can communicate with their children; navigating them through the court system; and helping them transition into life after a divorce. The mediation work being done by DeAngelis, Donze, Jones and Katz at The Center for Change at Kennett Square has also become a more cost- and time-effective solution for couples wishing to transition. On average, the cost of divorce litigation in Chester County is $30,000, and the length of time it takes to reach a divorce agreement is between one and two years. In comparison, the average cost of mediation in Chester County is in the $5,000 range, and its average process takes between

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The most state-of-the-art operating rooms in Chester County. Today, we’re performing more surgeries than ever before in our 15 new state-of-the-art operating suites, including a leading-edge hybrid OR where image-guided technology allows multiple teams from different disciplines to work together when performing highly complex procedures. And our new orthopaedics pod provides a separate space specifically for ortho-related procedures. With more spaces promoting seamless teamwork, robotic assistance and real-time imaging, Chester County Hospital continues to change the game. And during these trying times, it’s one more reason why your life is worth Penn Medicine.

Chester County

Local News

Avon Grove...

Continued from Page 1A

This week, full-time, inperson instruction resumed for Avon Grove students in the secondary schools, and the hope is that the conclusion of the school year will be a much more normal experience for students.

“We are really looking forward to ending the school year on a positive note,” Marchese said. The superintendent also

Divorce mediation

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three and four months. *

On April 12 beginning at 5 p.m., the mediation team from The Center will host “How to Navigate Divorce in a Gentle, Sustainable Way,” an online webinar that will discuss the advantages of choosing mediation during a divorce settlement, and how mediation can help families better cope with the impact of a divorce.

At The Center for Change at Kennett Square, mediation places much of its focus on an often underserved audience in a divorce proceeding: the children.

talked about the schedule for standardized tests. The school district is required to administer PSSA and Keystone tests under federal and state law, but because of the pandemic, some flexibility has been offered to school districts to administer these exams either later in the 20202021 school year or early in the 2021-2022 school year.

Marchese said that Avon Grove will be conducting

“I feel like we as a culture are ready to stop being cutthroat during a divorce proceeding,” Jones said.

“We are realizing that when we speak of divorce in terms of ‘winning’ and ‘losing’ our children wear those bruises. There are no winners in a divorce. You might get more assets and you might get the children, but you’re not really winning anything because everyone is so .broken, and you will spend the rest of your life digging out of a hole that you have made.

“We help provide a healthier alternative.”

For Donze, a practicing attorney with more than 25 years in family law, mediation during COVID-19 has

the state testing during the current school year, including PSSA testing for grades 3 to 8 in a window from May 17 to May 28 and Keystone exams for algebra, literature, and biology during a window from May 17 to June 4.

Additional information about the exams will be discussed at an April 6 Curriculum Committee meeting.

A Committee of the Whole planning and con-

placed new perspectives on divorce, not to mention the fact that her sessions are now being conducted virtually.

“This is a whole new world, and from my perspective, we’ve all been changed by this virus, and we’re all learning what is really important in life,” she said. “Couples who do not want to remain together have learned that there is a smarter way to do this, and that is by coming to some sort of agreement that moves them toward their future.

“I think the world is getting smaller. It used to be so big before the pandemic, but in a way, COVID-19 has brought us down to a small-

Avon Grove’s Sophia Omar named

She

and stepdad Mike Kelisek of Landenberg. Sophia’s list

of school activities includes lacrosse, orchestra, National Honor Society, Tri-M, and Our Minds Matter. Sophia has done community service by volunteering for “Night to Shine,” and Respite Night. She served as summer camp counselor, youth

lacrosse referee, Middle School youth group leader, High School youth group leader, and she is a regular blood donor.

Sophia’s awards include Most Improved Player for field hockey (10th grade and 11th grade), and the Orchestra

struction meeting will take place at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 8.

On April 13, a Facilities, Finance Committee of the Whole meeting to discuss the budget will begin at 6 p.m.

The school board will hold its next meeting on Thursday, April 22, starting at 6:30 p.m.

To contact Staff Writer Steven Hoffman, email editor@chestercounty.com.

er version of ourselves, and it has allowed us to better understand the impact we have on each other.”

* Data provided by The Center for Change at Kennett Square

To learn more about mediation services at The Center for Change at Kennett Square, or to register to attend the online webinar, “How to Navigate Divorce in a Gentle, Sustainable Way” on April 12 at 5:00 p.m., visit www. thecenterksq.com, or call 484-730-1133.

To contact Staff Writer Richard L. Gaw, email rgaw@chestercounty.com.

School board candidates

Continued from Page 1A

She has cross-filed. Also in Region 1, incumbent Dr. Eric Owens is seeking the Democratic nomination. In Region II, William Kloss has cross-filed and Amy Jones is seeking the Democratic nomination in a bid to win an open seat on the board. Jenifer Warren and Mike Blessington have both cross-filed in Region 3.

In the Unionville-Chadds Ford School District, there are two seats in Region A and two seats in Region B that are up for election. Jeff Hellrung and Elise Anderson, both incumbents, have cross-filed in Region A. Three people—incumbent Steven Simonson, Ken Kumar, and Mabel Yu— have cross-filed in Region B.

To contact Staff Writer Steven Hoffman, email editor@chestercounty.com.

Student of the Month

Award (9th grade and 11th grade). Academically, she has achieved High Honors and Distinguished Honors throughout High School.

Sophia plans to attend The Ohio State University to study political science with a minor in Arabic. She is

hoping one day to work for the CIA. Teachers she has been influenced by are Ms. Cahill, Mr. Kowalski, Mrs. Mercer, Mrs. Penn, Mr. Wimer and Mrs. Umile.

Herr Foods’ Thomas receives Distinguished Service Award from YMCA of Greater Brandywine

The YMCA of Greater Brandywine (YGBW) presented two of its highest honors during its board meeting on March 24.

Daryl Thomas of Herr Foods received the 2020 Distinguished Service Award, which recognizes the effort and achievement of the YMCA’s most special friends and emphasizes the need for community service by all citizens.

Advantage Building Services, LLC received the 2020 Community Partner Award, which recognizes an organization or group that has demonstrated a commitment to the YMCA’s mission and values and has partnered with or supported the Y Legislation sponsored by Rep. John Lawrence (R-Chester/Lancaster) to expedite Pennsylvania’s COVID-19 vaccine rollout passed the state House with broad bipartisan support last week.

in outreach initiatives that strengthen the foundations of our community.

“We are grateful to both honorees for their commitment to the Y’s mission, which has become even more critical during the pandemic,” said Denise Day, president and CEO of YGBW. “Their dedication and talent have helped us support our community in countless ways.”

Thomas, an advisor to the CEO and senior vice president of strategic opportunities at Herr Foods, has been involved with the YMCA of Greater Brandywine for more than two decades.

As a member of YGBW’s board of directors, his insight and expertise have

been critical to ensuring YGBW’s longevity and sustainability.

Thomas said, “I love the Y mission, the whole mission, and want to support youth through mentoring programs and by giving them a safe, fun place to grow and thrive.”

Even when Daryl learned that he was being honored with the Distinguished Service Award, he responded selflessly: “I am honored to represent the great spirit of service and dedication typical of so many YMCA staff and volunteers. I accept this honor on behalf of all of us.”

For many years, Advantage Building & Facility Services, LLC, a

successful and forwardthinking real estate firm, has embraced the YMCA’s cause of strengthening all in Chester County in both words and deeds.

With a unique understanding of commercial property management and maintenance, Trish Faidiga, owner of Advantage Building & Facility Services, LLC, is an indispensable advisor who serves on the YMCA of Greater Brandywine’s board of directors. Trish and members of her team also often assist in the planning of many YGBW fundraising events.

In 2020, as the pandemic caused temporary closures and financial uncertainty for the Y, Advantage

stepped up once again, providing unrestricted operating support to YGBW.

“The support and exper-

and truly enables us to be here for good,” said Day.

Lawrence bill to expedite COVID vaccine

effort passes house with bipartisan support

ty health departments, which have spent decades planning for this kind of emergency, will oversee mass vaccination efforts for our community.”

canceled appointments, and the general inability to get a vaccine, Lawrence authored House Bill 63 to reorganize the state’s COVID-19 vaccination effort.

“This bill accelerates Pennsylvania’s COVID19 vaccine distribution effort and brings us into compliance with federal vaccination guidelines,” said Lawrence. “It also ensures that our coun-

Frustrated by the Pennsylvania Health Department’s troubled rollout of the vaccine program that shortchanged residents of several counties in southeast Pennsylvania, and after receiving hundreds of calls from constituents concerned about waiting lists,

As amended, House Bill 63 directs the Department of Health to engage county health departments and directly provide them with increased supplies of vaccines. The bill also provides county health departments, not state bureaucrats, with oversight over mass-vacci-

•

Virtual Open House

nation sites. The bill further provides additional medical professionals authority to administer COVID-19 vaccinations in line with recent federal guidance, and requires the state to implement transparency, reporting, and accountability measures regarding how federally provided vaccines are distributed by the state.

Recent press reports, including coverage from 6ABC Action News and the

Philadelphia Inquirer, show Bucks, Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery counties received far fewer doses on a per-capita basis then the rest of the state. With that in mind, House Bill 63 also requires state officials to identify why counties in southeastern Pennsylvania received dispropo rtionally fewer vaccines than other parts of the state, and identify how the state will make up the difference.

“I’m grateful to my col-

leagues for their bipartisan support of House Bill 63,” said Lawrence. “This legislation provides a roadmap to rapidly scale-up the vaccination effort in Chester County and across the state. We need to get this done as soon as possible; folks have waited long enough.”

House Bill 63 passed the House by a 135-66 vetoproof majority. It now goes to the Senate for consideration.

With sprinkles and cupcakes surrounding the red ribbon, Sweet Cakes Supplies, LLC owners Vanessa Ross and Ashley Webster realized their dream of a brick-andmortar business. Located at 59 South Third Street in Oxford, the owners of Vanessa Ross Cakes and Simply Sweet, created a space to provide cake, cupcake and cookie decorating tools, instruction and equipment to the public as well as a storefront from which to sell their baked goods. Additionally, Tiers of Joy Gluten Free Bakery has items for those requiring gluten-free options.

The Oxford Area Chamber of Commerce, Oxford Mainstreet and Southern Chester County Chamber of Commerce provided the stage with Oxford Mayor Phil Harris and State Representative John Lawrence adding their well wishes.

Downtown Oxford welcomes Sweet Cakes Supplies, LLC

Vanessa and Ashely cut the ribbon with their families holding the ribbon ends and customers cheering for them.

“We are so thrilled that Vanessa and Ashley decided to make downtown Oxford their home,” said Christine Grove, executive director of the Oxford Area Chamber of Commerce. “I have seen them here late nights getting this space ready and it is inspiring. There is a bit of girl power happening in downtown Oxford!”

Earlier in the week, Vanessa and Ashley hosted a “soft” opening fundraiser for the Eli Seth Matthews Foundation. Over 250 6-packs of cupcakes were sold with 50 percent of the proceeds being donated to the Eli Seth Matthews Foundation. On the chilly Monday morning, Paul Matthews, the founder of the organization named in memory of his son, was the first customer. By 6 p.m.,

all the 6-packs were sold and Sweet Cakes Supplies presented Paul with a gen-

erous check for $1,800. Cupcake and cake decorating classes are being scheduled. Check out their website and social media for additional information at www.sweetcakessupplies.com or facebook.com/ sweetcakessupplies.

Community CA$H Mob comes to Oxford

Join in on April 10 as the Oxford community supports local businesses with a CA$H mob.

What exactly is a Cash Mob?

“It is a way to support our small businesses,” said Christine Grove, the executive director of the Oxford Area Chamber of Commerce. “Come to Oxford on April 10, spend $20 at any one of our local businesses or restaurants, and be part of making a difference. Cash Mobs are used throughout the U.S. as an economic stimulus for a particular business or area. We decided to expand the scope to all our businesses.”

Think Small Business Saturday, Love Local and a Flash Mob all rolled together. Bring your “bubble” of family and friends and make a difference.

Safe shopping and dining measures are in place. Please wear a mask and socially distance.

For information the Community Ca$h mob can be found at OxfordPA.org/ community-cash-mob.

Guest column

The growing seeds of a one-acre idea

On the overcast afternoon of March 22, a oneacre plot of earth at the Spar Hill Farm in Kennett Township revealed its future self for the first time, in freshly tilled rows of rich soil that will soon welcome seeds that will soon become vegetables, that will eventually get to the tables of those in our community who need them the most.

The new garden, tilted slightly at an angle that will best expose it to the spring rains and the summer sun, seemed poised like a blank canvas, waiting for the artistry of the many volunteers who are about to undertake its purpose.

The garden is the recent gift of Kennett Township to the Emergent Abundance Farming Collective (EAFC) to use for growing, cultivating and distributing what is expected to be hundreds of pounds of fresh food later this summer to Kennett Area Community Service (KACS) and other food banks that support community members who are facing food insecurity.

The Spar Hill property will be the latest journey for the EAFC, whose mission is to create an abundance of food and ecological habitat and to share food, knowledge, skill, and access to land with the local community. In 2020, they began to grow vegetables, berries, herbs and medicinals on a private property of the same one-acre size, which led to weekly donations to the Kennett Food Cupboard at KACS, Food For All in Wilmington and to food bank recipients in Philadelphia.

As food resource centers like KACS continue their uphill fight to provide food to the underserved populations in the communities they serve, the impact of the EAFCs efforts at the Spar Hill property will be both magnificent and plentiful. The spirit of giving, melded with the tactile sensation of growing food in the soil, should not only serve as the guiding light for the EAFC and its volunteers, but become an incubator for additional one-acre farms to take root in southern Chester County.

Across the horizon, the amount of open spaces purchased and preserved has been the end result of what our boroughs, municipalities and conservation groups have done to promise that the future of Chester County will be dotted with the same untarnished terrain our forefathers knew.

And within each of these spaces, one-acre patches are available for grass-roots agricultural organizations like the EAFC to grow similar gardens, from which food can be harvested and donated to KACS and other resources.

We ask the stakeholders of every township and municipality to open up the great maps of their landpreservation achievements, point to the tiniest of spaces located within the fields and streams and forests and say, “We will put our one-acre garden here.” They needn’t worry about the logistics of beginning such a concept, because those who participate will soon arrive with rakes and shovels and a groundswell of ideas, and quickly follow them up with the ingenuity needed to receive grants and funding.

There are as of now no seeds yet in the ground of what will become the EAFC’s newest garden, but we already know the people whose lives their work will help. In a way, that is all we are asking of our local leaders for now: Find the out-of-the-way places in your township, imagine a garden growing there, gain the support of your communities, and then plant the seeds.

Voting rights attacks are happening nationwide – and are coming to Pennsylvania

By State Rep. Ryan Bizzarro

The least partisan thing we can imagine is the fundamental right to vote. When we talk with Republicans and Democrats—people, not politicians—there is little debate. Anyone who is lawfully registered should be able to vote, securely and conveniently. What we saw happen in Georgia this week, and what is proposed here in Pennsylvania, is the opposite of that.

A Black woman was hauled off in handcuffs in Georgia for protesting a law passed by a Republican majority and signed into law by a Republican governor – a law with one purpose: to make it harder for people to vote. It’s a law that restricts early voting, takes away drop boxes and makes it a crime to hand a bottle of water to someone waiting in a long line to vote. You might be thinking, “What a terrible reminder of our shameful past. When did this happen? 1955? 1875?”

This was Thursday, March 25, 2021 and the Black woman hauled away in handcuffs was an elected state representative from Atlanta trying to get into the governor’s office, where the governor was signing this bill into law. He signed it not at his desk, but at a table underneath a photo of one of the

most notorious plantations in the South where enslaved people were literally worked to death.

You might be thinking, “That’s terrible, but surely it’s an isolated incident and could never happen here.”

Right now, there are more than 500 proposed laws nationwide to limit access to voting, and more than 30 right here in Pennsylvania, all proposed by the same people who signed a letter demanding the people’s vote be overturned and Donald Trump installed after he lost the presidential election.

Despite record voter turnout and the most secure election in history in November 2020, these bills are packaged as “election integrity,” but are simply looking to make it harder for you to vote.

A big part of the record turnout came thanks to the Republican Vote-by-Mail bill passed in 2019. This serendipitous law allowed more than 2.6 million people to vote safely and securely during a global pandemic. Beyond avoiding a deadly disease, it allowed shift workers, people with mobility or transportation problems, and people with unpredictable schedules to vote when it was convenient for them. Since the Republican law delivered the White House to Joe Biden, ending Vote-by-Mail is now at the top of the Republican

voter suppresion to-do list.

We won’t let them take away Vote-by-Mail or use any other state’s bad example to take away your rights.

We have a plan to defend democracy. American democracy was born in Pennsylvania and we will protect it from authoritarian attacks. We need to make it easier and more convenient for people to be heard. Our plan includes:

• Same-day voter registration.

• Automatic voter registration during interaction with state agencies unless the voter chooses to opt out.

• Extension of vote-by-mail ballot deadlines – especially since Donald Trump’s hatchet man is still trying to destroy the U.S. Postal Service.

• More time for local election officials to process vote-by-mail ballots – something election officials from BOTH parties demand and we want to help.

• True early voting at specific county-operated locations.

• Improved access to ballot drop boxes at secure locations – in Colorado 80 percent of ballots are submitted via safe, secure, camera-monitored drop boxes.

• An end to prison gerrymandering.

• Disclosure of tax returns of anyone running for gover-

nor or president.

• Removing “dark money” from politics, because you have the right to know who your elected officials owe a favor.

That’s just a small example. You can see the entire plan at pahouse.com/policy/ defendingdemocracy.

Shouldn’t we be making it easier for people to be heard? Shouldn’t we accept that an Election Day chosen so farmers could get their goods to market and travel to town by wagon to vote is a bit obsolete when we all hold a supercomputer with the combined weight of human knowledge in our hands?

Shouldn’t we do everything we can for the nurse, the police officer, the factory worker and the grocery clerk working an off shift?

You can help. Please contact your local lawmaker. Tell them a democracy is only healthy and free when every citizen has the ability to vote. Tell them that wanting to stop people from voting is anti-American. Tell them you want them to do their job and defend democracy.

The choice is simple: you’re for American democracy or you’re not. What side are you on?

Ryan Bizzarro (D-Erie) is the House Democratic Policy Chairman. He represents the 3rd District in Erie County.

Rep. Boyle introduces minimum wage legislation, repealing wage preemption in Pa.

The journey toward important minimum wage changes took a step forward this week when State Rep. Kevin Boyle introduced HB 923 in support of ending state preemption of the minimum wage.

Rep. Boyle joins Wage Local and a number of municipalities, communities, and small business

owners advocating for the repeal of wage preemption in Pennsylvania. If passed by the state legislature, a law ending preemption in Pennsylvania would allow townships in Pennsylvania to set their own minimum wage. Allowing townships to set their own minimum wage allows them to respond to the specific

EPA recognizes Chester County among nation’s leading green power users

The Chester County Commissioners announced the county’s acceptance by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as a Green Power Partner. In its confirmation of the County of Chester as a Green Power Partner, the EPA noted the county’s purchase of 20,460,000 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of green power annually, which is enough green power to meet 100 percent of the county’s own electricity use.

“By choosing green power, Chester County is helping advance the voluntary market for green power and development of those sources,” noted the EPA in its confirmation.

“Being recognized as a Green Power Partner by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is a great honor,” said Chester County Commissioners’ Chair Marian Moskowitz.

“Using green power helps us to reduce air pollution

and lower our emissions footprint, and this acknowledgment will, we hope, encourage other local governments, businesses and organizations in the region to do the same.” By moving the needle in the voluntary green power market, Chester County government and other Green Power Partners are helping to reduce the negative health impacts of air emissions, including those related to ozone, fine particles, acid rain, and regional haze.

Chester County Commissioner Josh Maxwell said, “One of the first actions we took as a new Board of Commissioners last year was to appoint

members to the County’s Environmental and Energy Advisory Board. Soon after that we signed a renewable electric supply purchase agreement to offset 100 percent of our electricity supply.

“Actions such as this have helped us to achieve the Green Power Partnership with the EPA.”

Earlier this month, Chester County presented the first draft of its Climate Action Plan which provides a current greenhouse gas emissions inventory, and sets out actions for reducing emissions and improving energy efficiency throughout the county.

The Climate Action Plan establishes a blueprint for

how the county, municipalities, businesses and other stakeholders can reduce their carbon footprint, and it expands on the County’s original 2010 Greenhouse Gas Reduction Report.

“Our Climate Action Plan will help guide us and all of our communities in Chester County as we work together to reduce our carbon footprint,” said Chester County Commissioner Michelle Kichline. “But we know that we must lead by example, which is why the environmental and energy actions that we have taken and will continue to take, and the confirmation that we have received by the EPA as a Green Power Partner, are so important.”

needs of the community. Efforts to repeal preemption laws are being spearheaded by a coalition that includes The Partnership for Working Families, Pennsylvania United, POWER, and others.

“Supporting the repeal of harmful wage preemption laws in Pennsylvania is a step toward giving communities back the power,”

Kate Esposito of POWER Interfaith said. Esposito added, “Communities should be able to give a living wage to their constituents.”

POWER, The Partnership for Working Families, Pennsylvania United, and other supporting organizations are members of the grassroots coalition Wage

Local PA, a group advocating for repealing wage preemption laws and letting municipalities make determinations on how employment requirements, such as minimum wage and paid sick leave, are determined. Sherimane Johnson of Night Owl Vegan, who pays all of her employees above minimum wage, said, “In order for the country to thrive all its citizens must be able to live a life that provides them with access to food, safety, shelter, and upward mobility. Raising the minimum wage provides that access. Without it, this country will collapse from the weight and the injustice of the inequity.” The minimum wage in Pennsylvania has remained stagnant for over a decade and currently sits at the federal minimum of $7.25. Keeping the minimum wage depressed has hurt workers, families, and communities. Repealing wage preemption laws give local governments the ability to go above and beyond the state wage minimum to enact local solutions that work best for local residents.

Volunteers make Red Clay cleanup a success

By Chris Barber Contributing Writer

For 27 years, the volunteers and supporters of the Red Clay Valley Association, now merged into the Brandywine Red Clay Alliance (BRCA), have joined to pick up trash throughout the watershed during a weekend in mid-March. This year, following months of worldwide setbacks and cancellations due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the leaders of this organization made the bold decision to move ahead with yet another cleanup on March 27.

“We feel a commitment to do it. It’s the reason we’re here,” BRCA executive director Jim Jordan said.

Still, it took a lot of planning and adjustments to conform to federal, state and local safety recommendations – and even exceed them. Jordan said he was up to the task.

Essentially, the planning involved keeping spaces between people, developing a non-contact way to distribute equipment and communicating instructions safely online ahead of time.

The spacing was a matter of numbers.

Jordan said there is usually a turnout of about 800 volunteers to gather up all those droppings along the stream and roadways. They come together in an almost festive atmosphere early on a March morning in several assembling locations to get their equipment bags, eat doughnuts and sip coffee.

This year, to maintain social distancing, there was no big, early-morning get-together, nor were there doughnuts and coffee. In fact, Jordan said, he lowered the registration limit to about 250 people, and those sign-ins, during which volunteers would pick up equipment and instructions, were spaced out to two parking lot locations.

He imposed rules for the pickup teams as well, insisting that the groups had to be 10 people or less, and they had to be family groups or usual acquaintances that gathered together frequently, like scout troops. They were assigned separate

half-mile stretches to pick up trash, safely away from other groups.

During the pick-up period, with other volunteers so far away as to be out of sight, one woman joked that she hoped she was not infringing on someone else’s trash.

Even the trucks that different businesses donated to pick up the haul afterwards had to be operated by safely related drivers.

The second challenge was to maintain the sanitation of the equipment.

Each volunteer was given a bag that included an event T-shirt, gloves, a bright safety vest, identification tape for recycling and instructions. All items had to be clean.

Event leaders worked hard to make this a safe reality, stuffing individualized paper bags with the needed equipment. The volunteers were instructed to drive to one of two parking lot pick-up points (Nixon Park in Kennett Square or Ashland Nature Center in Hockessin), roll down their car windows and reach out to receive the bag. No one was permitted to get out of the car. The pickup times were even staggered to minimize the number of cars in one place at any one time.

As they gathered trash along the way, the volunteers put it in bags coded either for recycling (aluminum cans) or disposal.

Then they placed the filled bags by the side of the road for truck pick-up later.

Getting instructions out to volunteers by email turned out to be a challenge.

Jordan sent out email letters to each participant ahead of time. Those emails included their service area, the rules of the game, their bag pickup time and the parking lot designated for them to obtain the bag.

Jordan said the process was tedious and took a long time preceding the weekend.

“On Thursday night, I didn’t go to bed at all,” he said.

And yet, by the time Saturday morning arrived, the bags were safely arranged with names and instructions stapled to the top and brimming inside with everything they need-

ed to collect all that trash.

The Brandywine Valley Association was founded in 1945 as a conservation organization dedicated to clean water and ecological education. The Red Clay Valley Association followed shortly thereafter in 1952. Each association is dedicated to serving the watersheds of that particular creek.

In 2015, the two associations merged, inasmuch as they were governed out of the same facility and leadership at the Myrick Center on Route 842 in Pocopson and provided similar services for the two bodies of water that are closely connected.

The Brandywine Red Clay Alliance provides conservation projects, camps, concerts and education as well as a yearly point-to-point equine event.

In 1993, the Red Clay Valley Association started the yearly trash pickup project. Longtime RCVA board member Dave Myers said he recalls when they organized a collection of old newspapers piled up at Pennock Field in Kennett Township.

The cleanup this year covered 95 miles of waterways and adjacent roadways, spanning lands from Kennett Square’s Nixon Park on the north to Ashland Nature Center in Hockessin, Del., in the south, and from Chandler

Mill and Wollaston roads on the West to Route 52 on the east. That included a substantial length of Route 82 in both Pennsylvania and Delaware.

Each volunteer pickup group was assigned a half mile stretch for their work.

In previous years, Jordan said they have accumulated about three dumpsters full of trash. Given the lower numbers of people involved, it was less this year. He said that without an exact count, it looked as if they had gathered enough trash to fill about

a Dumpster-and-a-half.

Asked if there were any unusual items picked up, Jordan said there was a large television, a toy plastic gun and plenty of discarded tires – some of them gigantic.

“It used to be we’d even find old washing machines and refrigerators,” he said. However, he added that in recent times there have been advances in recycling that relieve people of the desire to throw away old appliances in open forests or parks.

Commenting addition-

ally on the diminished collection this year, Jordan said that 2020 had a lot of rain and flooding, and some refuse that often stays in the vegetation has been swooped downstream into rivers and the ocean.

After the event, he praised the volunteers – their work and their enthusiasm, and especially their adherence to the new rules for this unusual year.

“I’m humbled by the volunteers,” he said. “They did a bang-up job.”

SYBIL HILLMAN PIKE

store was her life.

Sybil Hillman Pike, of Kennett Square, passed away on March 9 at the Crosslands Retirement Community. She was 91. Born in Atlantic City, N.J., she was the daughter of the late Julian Hillman and the late Madeleine Krauskopf Hillman.

Sybil was a retired research librarian at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. for over 15 years.

She, along with her partner Doris Grumbach, owned and operated Wayward Books, a very well known and respected book store in Washington, D.C.

She was an avid reader, an avid gardener and enjoyed being with her family and friends. Her book-

Sybil is survived by one son, Christopher A. Pike and his wife Denise of Medina, Ohio; daughters, Susan M. Pike and her husband Robert Kopecky of Cathedral City, Ca., Carol Ann Pike Kostecki and her husband Robert of Hudson, N.H., Mary E. Pike Azam of Three Bridges, N.J.; eight grandchildren; nine greatgrandchildren, nieces, nephews, and her partner, Doris Grumbach.

She was predeceased by one sister, Susan Hillman Becker and two brothers, James Hillman and Joel Hillman.

A Memorial service at Crosslands Retirement Community will be held at a later date.

To view her online tribute and to share a memory with her family, please visit www.kuzoandfoulkfh.com.

ANN MARIE MUNIZ

Ann Marie Muniz passed away peacefully on March 10 at her home in Oxford after a courageous battle with cancer. She was born in Arizona on Oct. 23, 1960 to James (Jim) and Namie Davenport. Throughout her life, Ann changed the lives of everyone around her. She was a caregiver and role model for many, known for her generosity and compassion.

She loved arts and crafts and music of all genres, but spending time with her family was what brought her the most joy. As a woman of many skills and vast wisdom, Ann was a mother figure for more than just her three children. She had a very warm, kindhearted personality and was very sociable. It seemed that she knew someone no matter where she went.

Ann did a lot of hard work as a paralegal and held leadership positions in her community. She passionately stood up and fought for the rights of others and the environment. She won an award for her contributions in getting clean water for her community in Downers Grove, Ill.

She also regularly volunteered for many organizations and was a Girl Scout leader for both of her daughters’ troops.

Ann was loved and respected by many and she lives on through the impact she made on all those who knew her.

She is survived by her husband, Ed; one son, Aaron; and two daughters, Emily and Alicia.

Arrangements are being handled by the Edward L. Collins, Jr. Funeral Home, Inc. in Oxford. Online condolences may be made at www.elcollinsfuneralhome.com.

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GRACE GORCHINSKY

Grace (Mease) Gorchinsky, 99, passed away on Feb. 24, just two months shy of her 100th birthday. She was born to Jacob and Matilda Mease on April 29, 1921 in Springfield Township, Pa. Grace was one of 13 siblings. She was the wife of the late John Gorchinsky. They were married for 66 years.

Grace was a member of Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church. Prior to her retirement, Grace worked as a seamstress for Ship n Shore Blouse Factory in Richlandtown.

Her great joy after retiring was mowing her lawn on her John Deere tractor, which she did until she sold her home and moved into the Village at Lifequest at the age of 98.

Grace became a loved member at the Village of Lifequest, and she loved them the same.

Surviving Grace is her sister, Alma Slotter; her son, Fred (Linda); daughter, Pat (Lou, deceased), grandsons, Eric, Mark (Sadie), and Douglas (Terri); and great-grandchildren, Holly, Daniel, Aaron, Ryan, and Nico.

Grace will be missed by all who knew her and loved her.

Services will be private.

WILLIAM J. MORROW, JR.

William J. Morrow, Jr., a resident of Little Egg Harbor, N.J., passed away on March 20 at his home. He was 78.

Born in Upper Darby, Pa., he was the son of the late William J., Sr. and Margaret J. Dougherty Morrow.

William graduated from St. Laurence Grade School in Upper Darby, Monsignor Bonner Catholic High School in Drexel Hill and St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia.

He was employed with the New Jersey Casino Control Commission as an inspector.

He was a member of St. Elizabeth’s Church in Little Egg Harbor Township, N.J.

Bill enjoyed living at the shore going for rides, antiquing and purchasing new gadgets that came out—his nickname in the family was “Mr. Gadgets.”

He is survived by numerous cousins.

A Mass of Christian Burial took place on March 27 at Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church in West Grove.

Interment will be in Valley Forge Memorial Gardens in King of Prussia.

In lieu of flowers, donations in his memory may be made to St Theresa’s Food Pantry, 450 Radio Rd., Little Egg Harbor, N.J. 08087.

Arrangements are being handled by the Edward L. Collins, Jr. Funeral Home, Inc. in Oxford.

Online condolences may be made at www.elcollinsfuneralhome.com.

DONALD WALLEIGH

Donald Walleigh, a loving husband, father, and friend, entered into eternal rest on March 11.

Don was good man—a friendly, hardworking man that loved his family. He had a kind soul and a gentle spirit.

Don had an infectious smile that could light up a room and make everyone around him feel welcomed. Although born in Chester County, Don attended Milton Hershey School in Hershey, Pa.

After graduation, he enlisted in the U.S. Army. Don had many passions and hobbies throughout his life, but he loved a good project: building and fixing is what he did. He loved it. He was good at it and he always did it his way, the “Walleigh way.” When he wasn’t working on projects, Don loved golf, classic cars, spending time with his dogs and watching Philly sports. While Don had many passions in life, nothing held more value to him than his late wife Karen Walleigh. Don and Karen had a special bond, a relationship like none other. He loved her more than life itself. Don Walleigh left an incredible legacy, one that will be carried on by those who loved him. He will be missed and never forgotten.

Don is survived by his children, Bonnie Nelson, Donald Walleigh, Kenny Walleigh, Lee Walleigh, Randy Willis, Keith Willis, and Deanna McCallister and his 13 grandchildren, Melissa Bishop, Brandon Walleigh, Kasandra Walleigh, Elizabeth Walleigh, Logan Walliegh, Becky Walleigh, Sarah Walleigh, Heidi Walleigh, Matthew Willis, Kayla Willis, Shale Ruckle, Ashley Lubrano Di Caruozzo, and Eric Edwards.

He is also survived by his six great-grandchildren. He is preceded in death by his wife Karen Walleigh, his sisters Jane Keith, Nancy Lane, and Shirley Gurtizen; his great-grandson Randall Willis; and his son-in-law, Jerry Nelson.

Services are private.

Arrangements are being handled by the Edward L. Collins, Jr. Funeral Home, Inc. in Oxford. Online condolences may be made at www.elcollinsfuneralhome.com.

GEORGE WILLIAM VAN BUSKIRK

George William Van Buskirk, 60, of Nottingham, passed away on March 17. He was the husband of Bonnie A. Zubris Van Buskirk.

Born in Coatesville, he was the son of the late William O. and Margaret A. Beaver Van Buskirk.

George retired in 2020 as an industrial arts teacher for the Coatesville School District after 36 years of service.

He enjoyed the outdoors, woodworking, landscaping and grilling.

He is survived by his wife; two daughters, Nicole Ann Van Buskirk of Thorndale and Briana Marie Van Buskirk of San Jose, Ca.; three sisters, Noreen McLucas of Morgantown, Margaret Showalter of Gap and Dolly Anderson of Orangeville, Pa.; and one brother, Ernest Van Buskirk of HI.

Services and interment will be private.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Wounded Warrior Project, P.O. Box 758516, Topeka, Kansas 66675-8516.

Arrangements are being handled by the Edward L. Collins, Jr. Funeral Home, Inc. in Oxford.

Online condolences may be made at www.elcollinsfuneralhome.com.

TERESA MARIE WALLER

Teresa Marie Waller (nee Zunino) passed away at Reading Hospital on March 14. She was 81 years old. Born in Avondale, Teresa was the daughter of the late Augusto and Alfonsina Zunino. Teresa was a lifelong Catholic and member of St. Gabriel of the Sorrowful Mother Church in Avondale. She enjoyed attending Mass and participating in the various events of the parish.

She was a stay-at-home mother when her daughters were young, and as they entered school she was a frequent lunchroom mom and chaperoned many field trips.

Teresa worked part-time as a bank teller for Wells Fargo and enjoyed talking to the customers. She made many friends throughout her years at the bank.

Teresa graduated from Kennett High School in 1957. She met her future husband, Pat Waller, at the gas station he owned in 1961. The two were married in 1963 and shared 57 years of marriage until Pat passed away in January of this year.

Teresa loved hosting parties at her home over the years and between birthday parties, sacraments, bridal and baby showers, hosted well over 100. She always loved being around her family and enjoyed cooking dinner, especially for her children and grandchildren.

In addition to her parents, Teresa was preceded in death by her husband of 57 years, Clarence “Pat” Waller, their daughter, Christina Waller and siblings, Joseph L. Zunino, Lena D. Lovisa and Anna M. Marrone.

Teresa is survived by daughters, Patrice Leonard of Avondale and Cathy Tornari (Larry) of Kennett Square; grandchildren, Mazzie and Joshua Miller; brothers, Harry Zunino (Eddie) of Avondale and Anthony Zunino (Kay) of West Grove; and many nieces and nephews.

Her viewing and Funeral Mass was on March 19 at St. Gabriel of the Sorrowful Mother Catholic Church. Burial followed in St. Patrick Cemetery in Kennett Square.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a memorial donation in Teresa’s name to St. Gabriel of the Sorrowful Mother Catholic Church, P.O. Box 709, Avondale, Pa. 19311 or www.stgabrielavondalepa.org/give/.

Condolences can be offered at www.longwoodfuneralhome.com.

JERRY T. ROTEN

Jerry T. Roten, 64, of New London, passed away on March 24 at Riddle Hospital in Media, Pa. Born in West Grove, he was the son of the late Don and Ina Bell Brooks Roten.

Jerry recently moved into Fair Acres Nursing Home in Media. He was employed by PennDOT as a worker with the road crew for many years, and he later worked at Tipton Trucking in Oxford as a payroll clerk. He enjoyed reading, guitars, cooking and trivia.

He is survived by one brother, Joseph Roten of Landenberg; two sisters, Wilma Tipton (Milt Sherman) of Oxford and Velma Gilles (James) of Manheim; and eight nieces and nephews, Michael Roten (Stephanie) of Landenberg, Sara Capinski (Tim) of Coatesville, Leona Slauch (Don) of Oxford, Frank Tipton, Jr. (Jennifer) of Oxford, Stacey Tipton of Oxford, James Gilles, III (Carrie) of Lebanon, Kelly Economos (Pete) of Nottingham, and Timmy Gilles (Shelly) of Lincoln University. Services and interment are private. Arrangements are being handled by the Edward L. Collins, Jr. Funeral Home, Inc. in Oxford. Online condolences may be made at www.elcollinsfuneralhome.com.

IONA MARTHA MARIA FARKAS

Iona Martha Maria Farkas passed away on March 17 at Ware Presbyterian Village in Oxford. She was 85. She was the wife of the late Stephen A. Farkas, with whom she shared 59 years of marriage. Born in Uppsala, Sweden, she was the daughter of the late Paul and Marthe Lindquist Wolters.

Iona loved traveling, gardening, swimming, skiing, baking, chocolate and taking walks.

She is survived by her one daughter, Madeleine M. Henry (Leslie) of Oxford; two sons, Stephen P. Farkas (Jaime) of San Diego, Ca. and Paul A. Farkas (Keisha Bramwell) of Gyor, Hungary; seven grandchildren, Blake Farkas, Rowan Farkas, Dylan Howe, Amanda Howe, Stevie Farkas, Andor Farkas and Erik Farkas; one brother, Emile Wolters (Katti) of Uppsala, Sweden; one sister, Lolo Sylvan (Ulf) of Stockholm, Sweden; and many nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by one sister, Madeleine Norell.

A virtual memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. on Sunday, April 25 at the Edward L. Collins, Jr. Funeral Home, Inc. in Oxford. The livestream video can be found on the tribute wall.

In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to Willow Tree Hospice, 100 Sycamore Dr., West Grove, Pa. 19390 or Alzheimer’s Association, 399 Market St., Suite 102, Philadelphia, Pa. 19106-2117. Arrangements are being handled by the Edward L. Collins, Jr. Funeral Home, Inc., (www.elcollinsfuneralhome.com) in Oxford.

CHARLES R. STANDIFER

Charles Standifer passed away on March 25 at his residence in Landenberg. He was 85. He was the husband and partner for 33 year of Julie A. Madonna. His first wife of 30 years, Emily Lorena Flannery Standifer, passed away in 1988. Born in Leesburg, Va., he was the son of the late Edward Standifer and the late Kitty Goins Standifer.

He was a maintenance worker at Hewlett-Packard/ Agilent in Wilmington, Del., retiring in 1996 with over 25 years of service.

Charles was a member of the Hockessin VFW and the Kennett Square American Legion.

He enjoyed fishing, bowling, cooking at the Agilent parties, playing cards, going to the beach and being with his family and friends.

In addition to his wife, he is survived by one daughter, Sharon Robison and her husband Norman of Wilmington, Del.; one stepson, Dean Madonna of Colorado Springs, Colo.; one sister, Nancy Freeman of Dryden, Va.; one granddaughter, Heather Franklin and her husband William and one grandson Shawn Robison, and five great-grandchildren.

He was predeceased by four brothers, Harold Standifer, Buster Standifer, Earl Standifer and Raymond Standifer, and one sister, Bulah Orick.

You are invited to visit with his family and friends from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Thursday, April 1 at the Kuzo Funeral Home, 250 West State Street in Kennett Square.

The funeral service will follow at 1 p.m. His burial will be held privately.

In lieu of flowers, a contribution may be made to the Avondale Fire Company, Ambulance Division, 23 Firehouse Way, Avondale, Pa. 19311.

To view his online tribute and to share a memory with his family, please visit www.kuzoandfoulkfh.com.

The Chester County Press publishes obituaries free of charge for funeral homes with active advertising accounts only. Others with a connection to southern Chester County are charged a modest fee. Obituaries appear on the Wednesday after they are received with a Monday 5pm deadline. They are also posted on www. chestercounty.com. Photos should be sent as .jpeg attachments to the obituary text. To submit an obituary to the Chester County Press or for a rate quote, email the information to editor@chestercounty.com.

Brookhaven, PA 19015 3p-17-3t

ESTATE NOTICE

ESTATE OF WINCENTY CWIETNIEWICZ, DECEASED. Late of New London Township, Chester County, PA, LETTERS TESTAMENTARY on the above Estate have been granted to the undersigned, who request all persons having claims or demands against the estate of the decedent to make known the same and all persons indebted to the decedent to make payment without delay to VINCENT J. CWIETNIEWICZ, EXECUTOR, c/o Kristen R. Matthews, Esq., 17 W. Miner St., West Chester, PA 19382, Or to his Attorney: KRISTEN R. MATTHEWS, MacELREE HARVEY, LTD., 17 W. Miner St., West Chester, PA 19382

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ESTATE NOTICE

Estate of Robert Henry Johns aka Bob Johns, Johns, Robert Henry aka Johns, Bob late of Phoenixville, PA , Chester County, Deceased. Letters Testamentary on the estate of the above named Robert Johns having been granted to the undersigned, all persons having

claims or demands against the estate of the said decedent are requested to make known the same and all persons indebted to the said decedent to make payment without delay to: Karalene Conner, 100 Russell Rd., Phoenixville, PA 19460, Executrix. Or her Attorney: Charles A. Rick, Esq., Rick Stock Law, 933 N. Charlotte St., Suite 3B, Pottstown, PA 19464

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INVITATION TO BID

Project: BRIDGE REPLACEMENT EGYPT RUN ROAD: Project generally comprises demolition of a bridge and its replacement with a precast concrete culvert and wingwalls, reconstruction of roadway, installation of guiderails and restoration to areas disturbed by construction operations. Owner will furnish precast concrete culvert, wingwall, endwall and footing components for installation by Contractor. The Work will be performed under one Contracts as follows: General Construction. Owner: NEW GARDEN TOWNSHIP 299 Starr Road Landenberg, PA 19350, Engineer: ARRO CONSULTING, INC. 108 West Airport Road Lititz, PA 17543 Bids will be received online via the PennBid Program until 10:00 A.M., prevailing time, on May 10, 2021, at which time they will be publicly opened. After bid opening the results will be available for viewing at the PennBid website. Successful bidder will be selected by Owner at a later date.

A pre-bid meeting will be held at 10:00 AM, prevailing time, April 27, 2021 at the municipal office of the Owner. Attendance at the pre-bid meeting is not mandatory, but it is recommended. Questions will be accepted until 4:00 P.M., prevailing time, on April 30, 2021. Bidding Documents and solicitation details are available online, without charge, at pennbid.procureware.com.,

Reproduction of the Bidding Documents, or their placement on web sites other than PennBid, is not permitted. Bids may be modified or withdrawn at any time prior to the opening of Bids. After the Bid opening, Bids may be withdrawn only by complying with Commonwealth of Pennsylvania laws and regulations. Results of the bidding may be reviewed by Bidders on the PennBid website. The apparent low bidder and the next two lowest bidders must submit, to the Engineer, originals of the Bidding Documents within two (2) business days from the date of the bid opening. Bids shall remain open for a period of 60 days from the date of Bid opening unless award is delayed by a required approval from a governmental agency, the sale of bonds, or the award of a grant or grants, in which event the Bids shall remain open for a period of 120 days from the date of Bid opening. See Instructions to Bidders for other provisions on the time available for acceptance of Bids. The Contract will be subject to the Prevailing Minimum Wage Determination established by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Department of Labor and Industry. It is a requirement of this Contract that at least 50% of the Work be performed by prime Bidder’s own work force, not by subcontractor(s). It is a requirement of this Contract that Bidder shall have (5) year, (10) project minimum documented experience in installation of bridges of the type required by this Project. Bidders, subcontractors, their workers and any persons providing labor and products to the Project shall be persons lawfully permitted to work in the United States and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As a precondition of being awarded a Contract, Successful Bidder, and its subcontractor(s) are required to provide confirmation of compliance with Act 127 of 2012, the “Public Works Employment Verification Act”. NEW GARDEN TOWNSHIP hereby reserves the right, which is understood and agreed to by all Bidders, to reject any or all Bids and to waive any omissions, errors, or irregularities in any Bid. NEW GARDEN TOWNSHIP, RAMSEY REINER, TOWNSHIP MANAGER 3p-31-2t

ESTATE NOTICE

ESTATE OF LINDA S. PIERCE, DECEASED. Late of Upper Oxford Township, Chester County, PA,LETTERS TESTAMENTARY on the above Estate have been granted to the undersigned, who request all persons having claims or demands against the estate of the

decedent to make known the same and all persons indebted to the decedent to make payment without delay to THERESA P. WEAVER, EXECUTRIX, 1055 Little Elk Creek Rd., Oxford, PA 19363, Or to her Attorney: ANITA M. D’AMICO, D’AMICO LAW, P.C., 65 S. Third St., Oxford, PA 19363 3p-31-3t

ESTATE NOTICE

ESTATE OF SHIRLEY G. TRAUTMAN, DECEASED. Late of Franklin Township, Chester County, PA, LETTERS of ADMINISTRATION on the above Estate have been granted to the undersigned, who request all persons having claims or demands against the estate of the decedent to make known the same and all persons indebted to the decedent to make payment without delay to MIKE TRAUTMAN, ADMINISTRATOR, 237 Deepdale Dr., Kennett Square, PA 19348, Or to his Attorney: ANITA M. D’AMICO, D’AMICO LAW, P.C., 65 S. Third St., Oxford, PA 19363 3p-31-3t

NOTICE

NOTICE OF SPECIAL PUBLIC MEETING

The Penn Supervisors will hold a public work session on Wednesday, April 14, 2021 at 4:00 p.m. in the Penn Township Municipal Building, Finnen Community Room, 260 Lewis Road, West Grove, PA for the purpose of township business. Please refer any questions or requests for special accommodation to Caitlin Ianni, Township Secretary at 610-869-9620.

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INCORPORATION

NOTICE

DiORIO THERAPY, LTD. has been incorporated under the provisions of the Pennsylvania Business Corporation Law of 1988.

DiOrio & Sereni, L.L.P., 21 West Front Street, P.O. Box 1789, Media, PA 19063

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ESTATE NOTICE

Estate of Frank Selagy, Late of East Marlborough Township, Letters Testamentary on the above Estate having been granted to the undesigned, all persons indebted to the said Estate are requested to make immediate payment and those having legal claims shall present the same without delay to: F. Randall Selagy, Esquire, , 150 Beverly Drive, Kennett Square, PA 19348-1625, 610-444-6880

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ESTATE NOTICE

ESTATE OF ELIZABETH DANIELS ANTON, DECEASED. Late of Kennett Township, Chester County, PA, LETTERS TESTAMENTARY on the above Estate have been granted to the undersigned, who request all persons having claims or demands against the estate of the decedent to make known the same and all persons indebted to the decedent to make payment without delay to FREDERICK W. ANTON, IV, EXECUTOR, c/o Nora E. Pomerantz, Esq., 30 S. 17th St., 5th Fl., Philadelphia, PA 19103, Or to his Attorney: NORA E. POMERANTZ, DUANE MORRIS LLP, 30 S. 17th St., 5th Fl., Philadelphia, PA 19103

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Sheriff Sale of Real Estate

By virtue of the within mentioned writs directed to Sheriff Fredda L. Maddox, the herein-described real estate will

be sold at public sale in the Chester County Justice Center at 201 W Market Street, 3rd Floor, Room 3300, West Chester, Pennsylvania, as announced on Thursday, April 15th, 2021 at 11AM. Notice is given to all parties in interest and claimants that the Sheriff will file with the Prothonotary and in the Sheriff’s Office, both located in the Chester County Justice Center, 201 W Market Street, West Chester, Pennsylvania, Schedules of Distribution on Monday, May 17th, 2021. Distribution will be made in accordance with the Schedules unless exceptions are filed in the Sheriff’s Office within ten (10) days thereafter.

Sale N0. 21-4-37 Writ of Execution No. 2018-12076 DEBT $211,042.57

ALL THAT CERTAIN lots or pieces of ground

SITUATE in Penn Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania bounded and described according to a 5 Lot subdivision for Fred Ham, made by Concord Land Planners & Surveyors, Inc. P.O. Box 378 Oxford, Pennsylvania 19363 (610) 932-5119, dated 10/23/2001 and

921, and Instrument No. 10328448, granted and conveyed unto Warren Lapham and Constance L. Lapham, Husband and wife.

Tax Parcel ID No. 58-4-93.2B

PLAINTIFF: Specialized Loan Servicing LLC VS DEFENDANT: Constance L. Lapham & Warren Lapham

SALE ADDRESS: 25 Dutton Farms Lane, West Grove, PA 19390

PLAINTIFF ATTORNEY: SHAPIRO & DeNARDO, LLC 610-278-6800

N.B. Ten percent (10%) of the

Chester County Health Department introduces new COVID-19 vaccine registration system

The Chester County Health Department has launched a new vaccine registration system for its COVID-19 vaccine program. The new system helps everyone who has already registered with the department to easily book a vaccine appointment, and ensures appointments are allocated specifically to the individuals who are being contacted.

An email sent to all Phase 1A individuals currently registered with the Chester County Health Department explained the new registration system and invited them to set a password and schedule an appointment for the COVID-19 vaccine.

The new system helps everyone who has already registered with the county health department to book a vaccine appointment provide an opportunity for everyone in Phase 1A to be given an appointment date by the end of March, Chester County is opening up appointments for all of our Phase 1A individuals,” said Jeanne Franklin, director of the Chester County Health Department. “Based on the current amount of vaccine that we are receiving from the state, we have opened up 12 weeks’ worth of appointments in the system to allow more than 88,000 people to schedule an appointment.

“Per the directive from the PA Department of Health to

IMPROVEMENTS thereon: Residential Dwelling

PLAINTIFF: M&T Bank VS DEFENDANT: Rudy D. Arnold a/k/a Rudy Arnold

SALE ADDRESS: 1833 New London Road, Landenberg, PA 19350

PLAINTIFF ATTORNEY: KML LAW

GROUP, P.C., 215-627-1322

N.B. Ten percent (10%) of the purchase money must be paid at the time and place of sale. Payment must be paid in cash, certified check, or money order made payable to the purchaser or “Sheriff of Chester County”. The balance must be made payable to “Sheriff of Chester County” within twenty-one (21) days from the date of sale by 4PM.

FREDDA L. MADDOX, SHERIFF 3p-24-3t

Sheriff Sale of Real Estate By virtue of the within mentioned writs directed to Sheriff Fredda L. Maddox, the herein-described real estate will be sold at public sale in the Chester County Justice Center at 201 W Market Street, 3rd Floor, Room 3300, West Chester, Pennsylvania, as announced on Thursday, April 15th, 2021 at 11AM. Notice is given to all parties in interest and claimants that the Sheriff will file with the Prothonotary and in the Sheriff’s Office, both located in the Chester County Justice Center, 201 W Market Street, West Chester, Pennsylvania, Schedules of Distribution on Monday, May 17th, 2021. Distribution will be made in accordance with the Schedules unless exceptions are filed in the Sheriff’s Office within ten (10) days thereafter.

SALE NO. 21-4-43 Writ of Execution No. 2020-02567 DEBT $146,019.43

ALL THAT CERTAIN lot or parcel of land situated in the Township of Sadsbury, County of Chester, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, being more fully described in Deed dated May 31, 1994 and recorded in the Office of the Chester County Recorder of Deeds on September 7, 1994, in Deed Book Volume 3805 at Page 1786.

Tax Parcel No. 28-07-0005

PLAINTIFF: CSMC 2018-RPL2 Trust VS DEFENDANT: Thomas E. Deatrick, Sr., a/k/a Thomas E. Deatrick & Carol A. Deatrick

SALE ADDRESS: 100 Summit Ridge Road, Parkesburg, PA 16365 f/k/a 104 Summit Ridge, Gap, PA 17527 and 102 Summit Ridge Road, Parkesburg, PA 19365

PLAINTIFF ATTORNEY: HLADIK, ONORATO & FEDERMAN,

“Should we receive an increase in doses from the state – which we apply for every week – we are fully prepared to increase our weekly vaccine clinic capacity and ‘speed up’ the appointment process.”

Information on every person who has registered with the Chester County Health Department has been moved over to the new registration system, with each person’s “place in line” preserved. And all individuals who registered using the same email address will be able to manage members of their family through a “manage household” feature in the system.

Importantly, the new vaccine scheduling system also allows anyone who has already received the COVID-19 vaccine to remove their name from the Health Department’s waiting list with the click of a button.

“As we notify everyone about this new system, we

also provide instructions on how someone can take their name off the registration list if they have received the vaccine elsewhere, which helps us to keep an accurate record of exactly how many people are still waiting to be vaccinated,” added Franklin. Later this week, email notification of the new vaccine scheduling system will be sent to all individuals in Phases 1B, 1C and 2 who have registered for the COVID-19 vaccine with the Chester County Health Department. This email will include instructions to create a password that will keep their account – and therefore their future invitation to book a vaccine appointment – personal to them. Vaccine

TO WIT:

104 Elizabeth Way, Elk Township, Oxford, PA 19363 UPI No. 71-2-21.4

IMPROVEMENTS thereon: Residential Dwelling

PLAINTIFF: Community Loan Servicing, LLC f/k/a, Bayview Loan Servicing, LLC VS

DEFENDANT: Brian J. Schafer & Randi J. Schafer

SALE ADDRESS: 104 Elizabeth Way, Elk Township, Oxford, PA 19363

PLAINTIFF ATTORNEY: STERN & EISENBERG 215-572-8111

N.B. Ten percent (10%) of the purchase money must be paid at the time and place of sale. Payment must be paid in cash, certified check, or money order made payable to the purchaser or “Sheriff of Chester County”. The balance must be made payable to “Sheriff of Chester County” within twenty-one (21) days from the date of sale by 4PM. FREDDA L. MADDOX, SHERIFF 3p-24-3t

Sheriff Sale of Real Estate By virtue of the within mentioned writs directed to Sheriff Fredda L. Maddox, the herein-described real estate will be sold at public sale in the Chester County Justice Center at 201 W Market Street, 3rd Floor, Room 3300, West Chester, Pennsylvania, as announced on Thursday, April 15th, 2021 at 11AM. Notice is given to all parties in interest and claimants that the Sheriff will file with the Prothonotary and in the Sheriff’s Office, both located in the Chester County Justice Center, 201 W Market Street, West Chester, Pennsylvania, Schedules of Distribution on Monday, May 17th, 2021. Distribution will be made in accordance with the Schedules unless exceptions are filed in the Sheriff’s Office within ten (10) days thereafter.

SALE NO. 21-4-47

Writ of Execution No. 2015-11436 DEBT $197,214.98

ALL THAT CERTAIN lot of land, Situate in Kennett Heights in the Borough of Kennett Square, Chester County, Pennsylvania, bounded and described according to a Plan of Lots known as Kennett Heights, dated 6/22/1959 by George E. Regester & Sons, and recorded in Plan Book 9 page 24, as follows:

BEGINNING at a point on the Northerly side of Hazel Road, said point being the Southeasterly corner of Lot NO. 7, on said Plan, and the Southwesterly corner of the about to be described lot; thence from said point of beginning, and extending along said Lot No. 7 in a Northerly direction, 198.00 feet to a point n line of lands now or late of John Winters; thence extending along said land of Winters, North 75 degrees 38 minutes East, 101.00 feet to a point set on the Westerly side of a 12 feet wide right of way; thence extending along said right of way, South 02 degrees 51 minutes East, 198.00 feet to a point on the aforementioned side of Hazel Road; thence extending along the side of Hazel Road, South 71 degrees 29 minutes West, 78.00 feet to the first mentioned point and place of beginning.

BEING Lot No. 6 on said Plan.

TOGETHER with an easement for the placement of water and sewer lines across a 4 feet wide strip of the adjoining property, being a portion of Lot 7 as shown on said Plan, and specifically described as follows:

BEGINNING at a point, set of the Northerly side of Hazel Road or Avenue (45 feet wide), said point marking the Southeasterly corner of this about to be described tract and the Southwesterly corner of Lot 6 on said Plan, conveyed herein; thence leaving said point of beginning along said Hazel Road or

Avenue, South 71 degrees 29 minutes 00 seconds West, 75.00 feet to a point marking the Southwesterly corner of this tract and the Southeasterly corner of Lot No.8 on the said Plan; thence leaving said Hazel Road or Avenue and along said Lot 8, North 11 degrees 51 minutes 53 seconds West, 4.0 feet to a point in lines of Lot No. 8 and Lot No. 7; thence leaving said line, North 71 degrees 29 minutes 00 seconds East, 75.58 feet, be it the same, more or less, to a point in the lines of Lot 7 and Lot 6, conveyed herein; thence along said line, South 03 degrees 22mintues 09 seconds East, 4.0 feet, be it the same, more or less, to the first mentioned point and place of beginning.

It being the intention of the Grantor herein to grant an easement across a strip approximately 4 feet wide along the Southerly side of Lot 7 as shown on the said Plan, abutting and adjoining the premises, Lot 6, conveyed herein.

BEING THE SAME PREMISES which Grant W. Carlson and Nancy J. Carlson, be Deed dated December 19, 2003 in the Office of the Recorder of Deeds in and for Chester County in Deed Book 6015, Page 2256, granted and conveyed unto JASON J. NICHOLS and ALICIA NICHOLS, husband and wife and David O. Barlow and Edna M. Barlow, husband and wife be deed each with an undivided ½ interest as tenants by the entirety, as Joint Tenants with right of survivorship and not as tenants in common.

Tax Parcel No. 3-1-7

IMPROVEMENTS thereon: Residential Property PLAINTIFF: Wilmington Savings Fund Society, FSB, d/b/a Christiana Trust, not individually but as trustee for Pretium Mortgage Acquisition Trust VS DEFENDANT: Jason J. Nichols & Alicia Nichols

SALE ADDRESS: 563 Hazel Avenue, Kennett Square, PA 19348

PLAINTIFF ATTORNEY: POWERS KIRN, LLC 215-942-2090

N.B. Ten percent (10%) of the purchase money must be paid at the time and place of sale. Payment must be paid in cash, certified check, or money order made payable to the purchaser or “Sheriff of Chester County”. The balance must be made payable to “Sheriff of Chester County” within twenty-one (21) days from the date of sale by 4PM.

FREDDA L. MADDOX, SHERIFF 3p-24-3t

Sheriff Sale of Real Estate

By virtue of the within mentioned writs directed to Sheriff Fredda L. Maddox, the herein-described real estate will be sold at public sale in the Chester County Justice Center at 201 W Market Street, 3rd Floor, Room 3300, West Chester, Pennsylvania, as announced on Thursday, April 15th, 2021 at 11AM. Notice is given to all parties in interest and claimants that the Sheriff will file with the Prothonotary and in the Sheriff’s Office, both located in the Chester County Justice Center, 201 W Market Street, West Chester, Pennsylvania, Schedules of Distribution on Monday, May 17th, 2021. Distribution will be made in accordance with the Schedules unless exceptions are filed in the Sheriff’s Office within ten (10) days thereafter.

SALE NO. 19-1563 Writ of Execution No. 2019-04671 DEBT $140,166.56

ALL THAT CERTAIN LOT OR PIECE OF GROUND WITH THE BUILDINGS AND IMPROVEMENTS THEREON ERECTED, SITUATE IN THE TOWNSHIP OF NEW GARDEN, COUNTY OF CHESTER AND COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA, BOUNDED AND DESCRIBED ACCORDING TO A FINAL SUBDIVISION PLAN OF PALMERS RUN, MADE FOR LEWIS L. AND FRANCES P. PALMER, BY GEORGE E. REGESTER, JR. & SONS, INC., REGISTERED LAND SURVEYORS, KENNETT SQUARE, PA, DATED 10/19/1982 LAST REVISED 2/2/1983 AND RECORDED AS CHESTER COUNTY PLAN #4275, AS FOLLOWS,

appointments are not yet being opened for individuals in these phases.

The County Health Department noted that, while the new system for scheduling a COVID-19 vaccine appointment online is very simple, the option to book an appointment via the Health Department’s call center is also an option, once someone receives the invitation to book. The call center can currently schedule an appointment over the phone for anyone in Phase 1A who does not have access to a computer or who is uncomfortable using the new system. That number is 610-344-6225. The Chester County Health Department cur-

rently has vaccine clinics at the county’s Government Services Center, West Chester University’s Sturzebecker Health Sciences Center, Kennett Square Fire Company’s Red Clay Room, Kimberton Fire Company, and senior centers in Phoenixville, Coatesville and Oxford. Starting on March 30, a clinic was open at the Brandywine YMCA in Coatesville. All Chester County Health Department COVID19 vaccine clinics are by appointment only. If you have not yet registered your interest in receiving the vaccine from the Chester County Health Department, go to www.chesco.org/ covidvaccine.

BEGINNING AT AN IRON PIN ON THE TITLE LINE IN THE BED OF PUBLIC ROAD (T-390) KNOWN AS WALNUT RUN ROAD AT THE NORTHWESTERLY CORNER OF THIS ABOUT TO BE DESCRIBED LOT AT THE SOUTHWESTERLY CORNER OF LAND NOW OR LATE OF FRANK S. RZUCIDCO; THENCE EXTENDING ALONG THE SAME CROSSING THE EASTERLY SIDE OF SAID ROAD NORTH 84 DEGREES 52 MINUTES 00 SECONDS EAST, 730.50 FEET TO A POINT AT THE NORTHWESTERLY CORNER OF TRACT #3, AS SHOWN ON SAID PLAN; THENCE EXTENDING ALONG THE SAME SOUTH 05 DEGREES 04 MINUTES 30 SECONDS EAST, 200.00 FEET TO A POINT AT THE NORTHEASTERLY CORNER OF LOT #2, AS SHOWN ON SAID PLAN; THENCE EXTENDING ALONG THE SAME SOUTH 84 DEGREES 52 MINUTES 00 SECONDS WEST, CROSSING THE EASTERLY SIDE OF SAID PUBLIC ROAD T-390, KNOWN AS WALNUT RUN ROAD 730.50 FEET TO A POINT ON THE TITLE LINE IN THE BED OF THE SAME; THENCE EXTENDING ALONG THE SAME NORTH 05 DEGREES 04 MINUTES 30 SECONDS WEST, 200.00 FEET TO THE FIRST MENTIONED POINT AND PLACE OF BEGINNING.

TAX PARCEL NO. 60-5-96.4

PLANTIFF: NATIONSTAR MORTGAGE LLC D/B/A MR. COOPER VS DEFENDANT: JEFFREY E. HOOPES & TINA M. HOOPES A/K/A TINA HOOPES; UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

SALE ADDRESS: 150 Walnut Run Road, Landenberg, PA 19350

PLANTIFF ATTORNEY: RAS CITRON, LLC 855-225-6906

N.B. Ten percent (10%) of the purchase money must be paid at the time and place of sale. Payment must be paid in cash, certified check, or money order made payable to the purchaser or “Sheriff of Chester County”. The bal-

ance must be made payable to “Sheriff of Chester County” within twenty-one (21) days from the date of sale by 4PM. FREDDA L. MADDOX, SHERIFF 3p-24-3t

Sheriff Sale of Real Estate

By virtue of the within mentioned writs directed to Sheriff Fredda L. Maddox, the herein-described real estate will be sold at public sale in the Chester County Justice Center at 201 W Market Street, 3rd Floor, Room 3300, West Chester, Pennsylvania, as announced on Thursday, April 15th, 2021 at 11AM. Notice is given to all parties in interest and claimants that the Sheriff will file with the Prothonotary and in the Sheriff’s Office, both located in the Chester County Justice Center, 201 W Market Street, West Chester, Pennsylvania, Schedules of Distribution on Monday, May 17th, 2021. Distribution will be made in accordance with the Schedules unless exceptions are filed in the Sheriff’s Office within ten (10) days thereafter.

SALE NO. 20-1-10

Writ of Execution No. 2019-06502 DEBT $237,737.04

ALL THAT CERTAIN tract of land situate in West Nottingham Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania, bounded and described according to a final subdivision plan thereof prepared by Kenneth G. Crossan, Professional Land Surveyor, dated 05/26/1986, revised 07/28/1986 and recorded as Plan no. 6929

‘Kennett Blooms’

In the wake of a long winter, a new placemaking project by Historic

While Kennett Square is famous for being the mushroom capital of the world, the area was first known for its flowers. Nineteenthcentury Quakers who were growing carnations, roses, and chrysanthemums in local greenhouses began growing mushrooms to put the dark, warm, and unused space under greenhouse benches to good use.

William Swayne built the first greenhouse in Kennett Square, on Marshall Street, in 1881. Soon, more of these “glass houses” began popping up all over the borough and township. At the turn of the twentieth century, Southern Chester County was known as the “Carnation Belt.” By 1928, greenhouses covered over 300,000 square feet of land in the Borough, and by the Borough centennial in 1955, coverage exceeded one million square feet. All of these flowers were being grown just a field or two away from an arboretum called Peirce’s Park, which Pierre S. du Pont purchased in 1906 and which would become a centerpiece of

Kennett Square brings Kennett back to its roots

Longwood Gardens, one of the world’s premier botanical gardens.

It’s particularly appropriate, then, that as Kennett Square prepares to welcome this long-anticipated spring season, Historic Kennett Square is launching a new project called “Kennett Blooms.”

“We had such great feedback in response to Christmas in Kennett— from shop and restaurant owners as well as from residents and visitors—that we wanted to do something similar to further elevate the town and show everyone that Kennett Square is an even more beautiful, safe, and welcoming place to shop, dine, live, work, and play this spring,” said Historic Kennett Square executive director Bo Wright.

Historic Kennett Square’s Christmas in Kennett décor, with anchor sponsorship from Longwood Gardens, included expanded tree lighting, festive signage, professionally designed planters, a selfie station, and a giant snow globe designed

by Casa Guanajuato artists. “Kennett Blooms” will focus on three main elements, Wright said: the installation of several placemaking projects, including the parklet; coordinating outdoor dining and street closures; and adding plantings throughout town to complement and augment the hanging baskets and the planters designed by Bill Reynolds of Pratt’s Greenhouse in Avondale, in partnership with the Kennett Beautification Committee.

Bringing back the popular West State Street parklet will be a key part of the “Kennett Blooms” initiative, and HKS also hopes to build another parklet outside Square Pear Gallery. In addition, there will be new wayfinding signage for visitors—“and a few surprises,” said Wright. “We have such a rich horticultural heritage here in this area, and ‘Kennett Blooms’ gives us an opportunity to celebrate that and again, as we did with Christmas

in Kennett, to help make the connection for visitors between Longwood Gardens and the town.

‘Kennett Blooms’ is also about celebrating Kennett’s strong sense of place as the community rediscovers the joy and beauty of outside spaces after a long winter.”

Historic Kennett Square is looking forward to working with local craftsmen, artists, and horticultural designers to bring Kennett Square even more alive with color and texture this year.

Local business owners are excited about “Kennett Blooms,” too.

“We really appreciate all of the efforts of HKS and other local organizations that have been so supportive of the retail community in Kennett Square,” said Sandra Morris and Brett Hulbert, owners of Portabellos. “Just like the tree lights and Christmas in Kennett, with spring approaching ‘Kennett Blooms’ will make it more enjoyable for people to walk

around and shop and dine.

Elements like the parklets also create a sense of community because people can gather safely to socialize.”

“This season more than ever, it will be important to provide safe options for families and friends wanting to gather outside safely,” Wright said. “We have lots of ideas for activating some of our public spaces in fun and playful ways as part of ‘Kennett Blooms’, and the more support we have from individuals and local businesses, the more we can do.”

The past year has highlighted how important it is to have public spaces that are walkable, safe, and attractive. Kennett Square residents and visitors alike embraced initiatives like the street closures and the parklet in 2020 because they offered pleasant, welcoming, and safe spaces to gather. “Colorful and well-designed plantings, in

addition to simple placemaking solutions like the parklet, are some of the most efficient and costeffective ways of improving the beauty and perception of public spaces,” said Wright. “When you’ve been in a place that’s beautiful and pedestrianfriendly, you feel good about the experience and want to return—and that’s how we want people to feel about Kennett Square.” Wright says HKS is now accepting donations towards “Kennett Blooms” and will be rolling out elements of the project over the next several months as the weather continues to improve. Tax-deductible donations to Kennett Blooms can be made here, and businesses interested in reaching a large, engaged audience through sponsorship opportunities can find more information at KennettBlooms.com or by contacting Wright.

Easter egg hunt this Saturday

Oxford Interact and Earlyact clubs welcome new members

The Oxford Area High School chapter of Interact and the EarlyAct chapters at Penn’s Grove and Hopewell Elementary schools recently came together virtually to hold ceremonies to induct new members and install officers.

Interact and EarlyAct are sponsored by local Rotary Clubs through Rotary International and welcome students at all grade levels who are interested in serving their school and

community. Each school year, members of Interact and EarlyAct plan and organize three projects to benefit their school, local and global communities.

During the ceremony, EarlyAct and Interact members outlined their chapter’s three projects. Hopewell EarlyAct member Abigail Coe said that by the end of the school year, the chapter will have organized a peanut butter and jelly sandwich drive for dona-

tion to the Divine Sent Food Cupboard in Oxford; sewed face masks which will be sold and the proceeds donated to charity; and beautified the school’s butterfly garden with new plants, painting and general cleanup.

Penn’s Grove EarlyAct members Emma Kilroy and Savannah Van Wagner said the chapter will hold a Rock Your Socks fundraiser where students will give a small donation which will allow them to attend

Sarkissian honored as Senior Student of the Month

Elena Sarkissian was recently honored by the Avon Grove Lions Club as Senior Student of the Month for February. She is a senior at Avon Grove Charter School.

Throughout high school, Elena has participated in many community service events outside of school and at Avon Grove Charter School. Elena is a part of the worship team for her church’s youth group, and she volunteers in Vacation Bible School at Christian Life Center every summer.

In addition, she helped move furniture out of apartments for Family Promise, volunteered at Orphan Grain Train, and she has been dancing for Longwood Performing Arts for four years. At Avon Grove Charter School, Elena was

nominated and attended a Rotary Youth Leadership Awards Camp during her sophomore year. She has been dancing for the school since 8th grade and is a member of the volleyball team for the school since freshman year. After high school, Elena plans to go to a four-year college and possibly study music therapy or child life.

classes in their socks, with proceeds donated to a global charity; perform spring cleaning on the school grounds; and invite veterans from the community to visit the school for a Memorial Day recognition ceremony. Interact member Makenzie Lane said the chapter joined the school’s honor societies for a holiday toy drive with donations going to the Christmas Room at Oxford Neighborhood Services; made and signed Valentine’s Day cards for area veterans; packed and sent care packages to active duty troops and first responders; and will volunteer at the next Chester County Special Olympics event.

EarlyAct and Interact members are selected on the basis of essays describing their interest in joining the club and commitment to community service. Officers are elected after delivering speeches.

New inductees to the Hopewell EarlyAct chapter include Riley Buck, Brianna Bulfaro, Natalia Gentile, Grace Howell, Seleina James, Savannah Jones, Abigail Livingston, Olivia Manis, Melany Salinas, Avery Soule and Atziri Torres-Estrada. Returning members include Alexis Badolato, Abigail Coe, Delaney Cowan, Bella Harris, Yaretzi Torres Lopez, Jazzel Ochoa, Emileigh Rodriguez, Cristal Mary Quinones Santiago, Abigail Whelan and Evan Yacka.

New inductees to the Penn’s Grove EarlyAct chapter include Nicholas Itoney,

Emma Kilroy, Savannah Larry, Owen Oliver and Madison Ricco-Hummel.

Returning members include Kendal Marie BulfaroBoyd, Evan Lester, Abigail Fraundorfer, David Hanna, Claire Livingston and Emily Murillo-Vazquez.

New inductees to the Oxford Area High School Interact chapter include Juliana Beckson, Virginia Bresler, Abigail Bulfaro, treasurer; Abigail Byers, Mia Gerrard, Gina Martinelli, president; Alexa McCormick and Seth Pearson. Returning members include Ashley Andrikanich, Marissa Berg, Megan Berg, Miranda Berg, Elizabeth EvansRalston, secretary; Victoria Koechert, Makenzie Lane, Nicholas Marker, Cade Pearson and Greg Rubbo, vice president. Oxford’s Interact and EarlyAct chapters are sponsored locally by the Oxford Rotary Club. With the college-level Rotaract club at Lincoln University, Oxford Rotary sponsors chapters of all three youth community service clubs of Rotary International.