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Chester CountyPRESS

www.chestercounty.com

Covering Avon Grove, Chadds Ford, Kennett Square, Oxford, & Unionville Areas

Volume 158, No. 27

Wednesday, July 10, 2024

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Oxford Borough Council supports Pa. Commission for semi-quincentennial The big celebration is scheduled for July 4, 2026 By Betsy Brewer Brantner Contributing Writer Oxford Borough Council unanimously approved Resolution #1386-2024 supporting the Pennsylvania Commission for the United States Semi-Quincentennial (America250PA), which will take place on July 4, 2026. In 2026, America celebrates the 250th anniversary of the founding of the nation. Chester County is asking for everyone to

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join in the celebration as they move toward 2026. With the national goal of making this the largest, most inclusive celebration in U.S. history, 250 Commissions are active at the national, state and county levels. Chester County is asking for volunteers to help to enhance and showcase Chester County when they encourage municipalities, institutions, businesses, nonprofits, neighborhoods and residents to join in the year-long commemoration and celebration of

the 250th anniversary of the nation’s Declaration of Independence on July 4, 2026. Chester County had been operating for nearly a century when the Declaration of Independence was adopted in Philadelphia on July 4, 1776. In fact, it was one of the three original counties of Pennsylvania, established by William Penn in 1682. So, it stands to reason this county’s current residents would be eager to get a head start on planning the region’s celebration of

the nation’s 250th birthday in 2026 by establishing the America250PA Chester County Commission. “We have so much to be proud of in Chester County, including the contributions we’ve made and continue to make to America’s history,” said Chester County Commissioner Chair Marian Moskowitz, adding that the county is seeking 10 to 30 “America and Pennsylvania Proud” residents, of all ages and from all areas of the county, who want to help plan these

festivities. Commission members will serve for up to three years. Chester County representatives will coordinate activities with the statewide group, America250PA. “In the short term, the commission will determine where Chester County wants to plant a liberty tree in May, part of Pennsylvania’s Liberty Tree program. Similarly, they will chart their approach to the Bells Across PA program. Those are more symbolic activities. The commission

will then have input into a historic heritage tourism plan,” said former Chester County Commissioner Michelle Kichline, who represents the county on the America250PA County Advisory Committee, and who is a board member of the Chester County History Center. America250PA is focusing on 14 areas around which to create celebratory activities. One of them is agriculture, with Pennsylvania having 59,000 Continued on Page 3A

Two Chester County Futures students receive Elizabethtown-Rigg Scholarship Oxford Area High School graduates Daniela P. Ayllon and Emely Rodriguez are headed to Elizabethtown College this fall By Richard L. Gaw Staff Writer

For many first-generation students who graduate from high school, the thought of their attending college appears far on the horizon, a distant but unlikely dream of ivory towers and higher education. When Oxford Area High School seniors Daniela P. Ayllon and Emely Rodriguez stepped off the podium at the school’s commencement on May 31, they graduated with that dream firmly in their future. Ayllon and Rodriguez will Juan Tafolla reports on be attending Elizabethtown Mexican excursion...1B College in Lancaster, Pa. as the 2024 recipients of the Rigg Family Chester County Futures Scholarship, which will provide them with full room, board, and tuition for up to eight semesters. Established in 2018, the scholarship is funded by Elizabethtown alumni Robert Rigg and his wife, Karen to provide financial assistance to underrepresented or first-generation students from the Chester County Futures “Passport to College” program to attend the College every year. In 2021, the Riggs gave the

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College the largest gift toward an endowed scholarship by a living donor in the College’s history. “Chester County Futures and the Riggs have granted me the opportunity to pursue my goal of expanding my learning without me worrying about how I will get through,” said Ayllon, who intends to major in accounting. “Not only have they given me a great support system, they have also given me a lifetime experience that I will cherish forever.” “This scholarship will help me achieve my goals, the first of which is getting a college education and not having to worry about my financial security,” said Rodriguez, who plans to major in psychology. “I will be able to have access to resources like an internship that will help me in my future career. I sincerely thank the Riggs for this wonderful opportunity and scholarship.” Once they arrive on campus in the fall, Ayllon and Rodriguez will participate in Elizabethtown College’s Momentum Program, which introduces incoming

FROM OUR LENS A celebration of the bikes

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A bike stunt demonstration will be among the many highlights at this Saturday’s Kennett Bike Fest at Pennock Park, a collaboration between Bike Kennett, Square Roots Collective and the Kennett Trails Alliance. The event, which will begin at 1 p.m., will also include bike and helmet giveaways, guided rides, a bike parade and the grand-opening celebration for the new Kennett Bike Park. Pennock Park is located at 650 West South Street in Kennett Square.

Continued on Page 2A

Part three in a three-part series

The immigrant workforce By Betsy Brewer Brantner Contributing Writer There are many names for immigrants in the work force. But, a little advice here, don’t say “illegal aliens” in front of Sister Jane Hauptman. She will quickly correct you. “I hate when I hear that. It makes them sound like they are from outer space and illegal,” she said. “They have not committed crimes and they are not from outer space.” Hauptman who worked many years with undocumented workers in Chester County, and in other U.S. states, has insight into

immigrant workers that many people don’t have. She has cared for that population in migrant camps, and she actually spoken in front of elected officials on the subject. The immigrants she worked with were from all parts of the world. As a nun from the order of the Daughters of the Holy Spirit, Hauptman took a vow of poverty and never looked back. She worked in migrant camps along the eastern shore as a nurse and nun, healing the body and the soul. She worked as a nurse in South American countries and wherever else she was needed. She also worked with the immigrant population in Chester

County for many years as they were trying to obtain legal status in this country. Truth be known, she still champions the under-served immigrant population. Hauptman said, “One thing that might surprise some of the U.S. citizens is that immigrants come here because they are brought here to work jobs that people in this country don’t want to work, and they have been brought here for years.” One person that worked in the farming industry for years, who wishes to remain anonymous, said, “During my travels through farms all over this country, I saw many immigrants working in the

farming industry. The farmers depended upon them. It was a generational thing, where immigrants would come back every season. Eventually, the farm would change to the next generation and then the immigrant would do the same. “Farmers would see the next generation of farm workers. We couldn’t have done it by ourselves. We’ve known these immigrant families and depended upon them for years.” A recent bus accident in Florida backs up the continued and widespread use of migrant farm workers. PBS and many news agencies reported about an accident in May, where

eight migrant workers died, and at least 40 were injured after a pickup collided with a farmworker bus in central Florida. The converted school bus was transporting 53 farmworkers at about 6:40 a.m. when it collided with a 2001 Ford Ranger in Marion County, about 80 miles north of Orlando, the Florida Highway Patrol said. The workers had been headed to Cannon Farms in Dunellon, which were harvesting watermelons. The Florida Highway Patrol arrested the driver of a pickup truck that crashed into the farmworker bus on charges of driving under the influence-manslaughter. Continued on Page 2A