Chester CountyPRESS
www.chestercounty.com
Covering Avon Grove, Chadds Ford, Kennett Square, Oxford, & Unionville Areas Volume 149, No. 16
INSIDE
60 Cents
Wednesday, April 22, 2015
Albert J. McCarthy placed on administrative leave Kennett Township Chief of Police in vehicular accident By Richard L. Gaw Staff Writer
Hannafin and Basciani team up for dual show at Chadds Ford Gallery..................1B
Kennett Township Police Chief Albert J. McCarthy was involved in a two-vehicle accident on April 13 in Kennett Township that resulted from his colliding with a vehicle in front of him while operating a police vehicle on duty. A public information release report issued by State Police Avondale said that McCarthy, 64, was traveling east on Hillendale Road in Kennett Township in a police vehicle -- a 2015 Ford Taurus -- at approximately 12:00 p.m. The report said that McCarthy was following the vehicle ahead of him too closely, and at a rate of speed
that led to McCarthy’s vehicle colliding with the rear portion of a 2006 Honda Accord driven by Michael S. Hammon, 51, of Kennett Square. Both vehicles proceeded to the intersection of Hidden Pond Drive and East Hillendale Road, before they both stopped. Hammon sustained a minor injury but did not require EMS transportation. McCarthy was uninjured in the accident. Both vehicles were removed from the scene by Blittersdorf Towing. Although McCarthy was not charged in the accident, the primary violation was identified as “VC 3310(A) Following Too Closely.” Kennett Township Manager
Lisa Moore told the Chester County Press that the extent of the damage to the police vehicle is not known, and that the township is currently waiting for cost estimates from its insurance provider. It was announced at the April 15 Kennett Township Board of Supervisors meeting that McCarthy was placed on administrative leave from his duties. The board also voted 3-0 to appoint Kennett Township officer Lydell Holt as the acting interim police chief for the township. The township will also hire two part-time police officers. McCarthy’s administrative leave was identified as “nondisciplinary,” Moore said at the
‘...This is an army coming our way’ Landenberg teen publishes poems and photos in local magazine...............8A
The Neighborhood Services Center marks its anniversary......5A
INDEX Calendar of Events..........7B Opinion..........................8A Obituaries.......................9A Police Blotter.................1A Classified.....................10B
April 15 meeting. She later told the Press that the township does not know the timeline for Chief McCarthy’s leave. “It was important to the township report to the residents that there had been an accident, that it involved the chief, and the fact that it is having an impact on the police services that are provided,” said Scudder Stevens, Board Chairman, at the April 15 meeting. “We have passed a resolution to take care of the needs of the township, from an emergency and police perspective, to put us back into relatively the same position we were before this happened 24 hours ago.” Although the full extent of the details surrounding
Photo by Richard L. Gaw
Kennett Township Police Chief Albert McCarthy.
Chief McCarthy’s April 13 accident are not known, they are reminiscent of a rear-end Continued on Page 2A
New head coach talks about his vision for Oxford football program
Kennett Township at risk for ‘At Oxford, we’re going Emerald Ash Borer infestation to do it the right way’ By Richard L. Gaw Staff Writer
Within a short period of time, all indicators point to the inevitability that an army numbered in the billions will invade Chester County. In a fact-filled presentation before the Kennett Township Board of Supervisors on April 15, two members of the township’s Environmental Advisory Council [EAC] said that Chester County is at a severe risk to lose its entire population of ash trees, due to the presence of an invasive beetle population that has already destroyed more than 40 million ash trees in the United States since first being detected 14 years ago. At the request of the board, Matt Sabo and David Lewis of the EAC disclosed how the presence of the invasive insect known as the Emerald Ash Borer [EAB] could potentially and permanently destroy thousands of ash trees in the township, including more than 100 that are located in Anson Nixon Park in Kennett Square. Typically, the EAB comes
By Steven Hoffman Staff Writer
Photo by Richard L. Gaw
Lewis of the Kennett Township’s Environmental Advisory Council gave a presentation at the township building on April 15 about the encroaching appearance of the Emerald Ash Borer.
out in April-May and in JuneJuly, the insect bores into the ash tree and makes deposits of eggs that morph into larval form, which then circumnavigate the ash tree and cuts off any nutrients that extend to the upper branches. It takes the insect about three years to entirely kill an ash tree. “This insect is fatal to ash trees,” Lewis said. “Ninetynine percent of the time, it will kill every ash tree. This is like preparing for an invasion from an army, and this is an army coming our way.” Sabo said that the EAC originally thought that the
Maestro concerto
© 2007 The Chester County Press Photo by Richard L. Gaw
Philadelphia Orchestra Concertmaster David Kim performed a benefit concert last Friday night for The Garage Community and Youth Center, before an appreciative audience at Kennett High School. For a complete story, turn to Page 7A.
Courtesy photo
The Emerald Ash Borer was originally detected in the United States in 2001, and since then, has been responsible for killing more than 40 million ash trees in the country.
presence of the EAB in the township would be a “modest problem,” but after tabulating the results of a local report, “we learned that it actually is going to be a significant problem in terms of quantitative size,” he said. “There are many thousands of ash trees in our township, many of which are along public roadways or in public lands.” Extensive ash tree decline was first noted in the greater Detroit metropolitan area as early as the summer of 2001, when the EAB was found on ash wood shipped from China. In response, the Michigan Department of Agriculture imposed a state quarantine in 2002 to regulate movement of ash nursery trees, logs, and related products from infested counties. USDA-approved eradication activities began in 2003, but Continued on Page 3A
On April 14, the night that Mike Means confidently strode to the podium at Oxford Area High School and introduced himself to the Oxford community, there were 142 days until the first game of the 2015 football season. Means mentioned the season opener against Solanco several times during his 60-minute presentation, but his focus wasn’t on what happens during four quarters of a Friday night game that is still more than four months away. His focus, instead, is on right now. What can he, as the coach, be doing right now to create the right culture for the players? What should the players be doing right now to prepare themselves for training camp in August and the games in September and October? “Winning is the culmination of reaching a lot of other goals,”
Photo by Steven Hoffman
Oxford officially introduced Mike Means as its new high school football coach at an event on April 14.
Means said. “Wins and losses are at the end of the process.” The coach explained that his priority will always be to help the players become good young men who contribute to the community and are of the highest character.
What happened to ham & oyster dinners? By Uncle Irvin There used to be four ham and oyster dinner fundraisers in Oxford each year. Uncle Irvin and spouse went to all of them! Two were fundraisers for the Oxford Lions Club, and two for the Oxford Fire Company. There were two in the fall and two in the spring all at the Oxford Fire House, and all were all-you-can-eat. Every one was well attended, as far as I could tell. The price of the dinner was raised two years ago from $18 to $20, which is very reasonable for the big, juicy Chesapeake Bay oysters that were fried crispy brown and served right from the fryer. Last fall there were none, and it appears this spring there will be none. The suppers were all put on by volunteer members, and a Boy Scout troop helped out. I don’t know what happened that caused these affairs to become extinct. I don’t think it was the price of the dinner, because at $20, it was irreplaceable anywhere. The dinners were put on at least since 1970, when I came to Oxford. I wish they would resume soon, because my wife and I -- and many others -- surely miss them.
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