Chester CountyPRESS
www.chestercounty.com
Covering Avon Grove, Chadds Ford, Kennett Square, Oxford, & Unionville Areas
Volume 157, No. 38
Wednesday, September 20, 2023
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Oxford community rallies to support fire victims A massive blaze burned historic buildings, destroyed businesses, and displaced approximately 90 people By Betsy Brewer Brantner Contributing Writer Nothing says more about the resiliency of a community than how the residents react during and after a disastrous fire. Late on Wednesday, Sept. 13, a massive fire spread through Oxford’s business district on South Third Street, destroying businesses and displacing 90 people. The Oxford community responded with tremendous love,
INSIDE
heroism, and a flood of donations of food, clothing, and money for the families and businesses that lost everything as a result of the blaze. The fire caused significant damage in the heart of Oxford’s business district, but no injuries were reported. The hard work and heroism of the police officers and firefighters on the scene helped keep everyone safe. A letter from Oxford Mayor Phillip Harris specifically commended two police officers, Scott Richards and
Karlianna Eller, after they responded to a fire alarm on South Third Street at 11:31 p.m. on Sept. 13. Officers arrived on location within two minutes and observed large flames from the roof area of multiple buildings. Officers Eller and Richards quickly went door-to-door evacuating the residents in the apartments. Officer Richards shot a video from his body camera taken inside the building where the fire started. That clip shows Richards direct-
ing a mother who was holding her child to the rear of the building. Richards then worked his way past flames in the windows while yelling for other residents to go out toward the front of the building, away from the flames. Continued on Page 2A
Firefighters were still fighting the fire in the business district of Oxford Borough last Thursday, Sept. 14. Nearly 90 people were displaced by the fire.
‘Our nightmare is finally over, and the good guys won’ Danelo Cavalcante’s Sept. 13 capture may have ended a two-week manhunt for the convicted killer, but his escape and its subsequent search now must answer to public criticism By Richard L. Gaw Staff Writer
One of the most compelling and dramatic chapters Work of iconic designer in Chester County histoon view at Winterthur...1B ry came to an end on the morning of Sept. 13, when escaped fugitive and convicted murderer Danelo Cavalcante was apprehended without incident by about two dozen fully armored members of a U.S. Customs Border Control Tactical Unit from El Paso,
Tx. and the Pennsylvania State Police, as well as the assistance of a search canine, shortly after 8:00 a.m. Cavalcante was arraigned on a felony escape charge and denied bail and is now being held in a Pennsylvania maximum security prison where he will serve a life sentence. He is scheduled to next appear in court on Sept. 27 for a preliminary hearing. “Today is a great day here
in Chester County,” said Chester County Attorney Deb Ryan at a press conference held at the Po-Mar-Lin Fire Company two hours after Cavalcante’s capture. “Our nightmare is finally Continued on Page 4A
Photo by Richard L. Gaw
Pennsylvania State Police Lt. Col. George Bivens – who led the investigation that found escaped convict Danelo Cavalcante on Sept. 13 after a two-week search – leads members of the State Police out of Unionville Community Park after receiving praise from Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro.
FROM OUR LENS
Avon Grove falls in ChesMont contest...3B
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Thanks, Tom
Photo by Richard L. Gaw
Nearly 200 friends and local stakeholders in conservation gathered at the Bucktoe Creek Preserve on Sept. 15 to celebrate the life and legacy of Tom Brokaw, a longtime conservationist who, along with his wife, Margaretta dedicated nearly 300 acres in Kennett Township that helped establish the preserve. Brokaw, who died on June 4, 2023, worked tirelessly with environmental organizations and land trusts to develop trail systems and environmental education opportunities.
At New Garden Hills, it’s trails for now By Richard L. Gaw Staff Writer In September of 2020, New Garden Township held a joint open house with the architectural firm YSM that saw 200 area residents provide a wish list vision for the future of Saint Anthony’s in the Hills, a 137-acre property that the township had purchased for $1.5 million in 2018. Their choices were many and, in some cases, elaborate. Together, they imagined a park filled with a refurbished miniature golf course, a state-of-the-art playground, a dog park, a reimagined 2,000-seat amphitheater, spaces for festivals and special events, a picnic area and fields for active recreation. It was, in their eyes, going to be an experiential paradise right in their back yard. When the initial plans for the development of the property now known as New Garden Hills were first introduced in 2021, YSM estimated that the estimated price tag was $18 million. In a presentation before the New Garden Township Board of Supervisors on July 17, 2023 however, township Manager Christopher Himes and Parks Superintendent Mike Buck said that the original estimate failed to include the price of demolition; the rehabilitation of buildings; the construction of new buildings; water, sanitary and electrical service; parking and other vital components of the park’s development. Continued on Page 3A
Kennett School Board sets guidelines for directors’ protocol By Chris Barber Contributing Writer
© 2007 The Chester County Press
Higher priorities shared at town hall meeting
At its Sept. 11 meeting, the Kennett Consolidated School District board unanimously approved a resolution that maps a path for responding to public questions or issues. Labelled “protocols to
guide Board members’ interactions with each other,” it was presented without comment, recitation or explanation. Board President Vicki Gehrt said it had been developed at the board’s annual summer retreat. The 10-point list stipulates, among other things,
that board members must notify the superintendent before making an “official visit.” The board members must also avoid words that give a negative impression of an individual, the board or the district. When someone from the public presents a topic for
question, the board president or superintendent may indicate that the speaker’s issue will be researched and/or a response will be made by the superintendent. And if a board member has a new topic, it must be presented at a committee meeting for review and, only then, if approved by
that committee, will it be moved to the full board. Gehrt said if the public wants to read the details, the resolution is available on the board’s website as part of the Sept. 11 agenda. During his report on the progress of the construction of the two new elementary Continued on Page 3A