Chester CountyPRESS
www.chestercounty.com
Covering Avon Grove, Chadds Ford, Kennett Square, Oxford, & Unionville Areas
Volume 152, No. 30
INSIDE
Township being pressed to extend its solicitation curfew
By Richard L. Gaw Staff Writer Kennett Township is currently embroiled in a conflict with a nationally-known pest control company, which is attemptGet ready for first- ing to force the township to class cycling in West strip down its ordinances Chester...1B to keep door-to-door sales calls in the township to what the township feels are reasonable hours. After a presentation and subsequent request by township solicitor David Sander at the Board of Supervisors meeting on July 18, supervisors Dr. Richard Leff and Whitney Hoffman both voted to not enforce its current law – which permits door-to-door sales from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays – as Obama and Biden solve well as authorize Sander to the case...5A draft a new ordinance that allows solicitors to conduct business until a half-hour after sunset on those days. (Board chairman Scudder Stevens was not in atten-
dance at the meeting.) The company is challenging the township, calling the 6 p.m. curfew “unconstitutional.” Sander said that the township recently received a letter from the company, which uses door-to-door solicitations as the primary means of how it contracts services for its clients. They referred to a case law that supported their argument, which led Sander to study the cases, and concluded that the company’s argument is correct. “There is a Supreme Court decision and a Third Circuit Court decision that both say that a curfew before 9 p.m. is unconstitutional, because it is not closely tailored to serving an important public purpose, which is how they look at this type of ordinance, because it is commercial speech, and it is a First Amendment protected right,” Sander told the board. “The courts have done the analysis and many
courts have agreed that 9 p.m. is the magic number. “That’s what the law says.” Sander said that township manager Lisa Moore recently contacted the township’s insurance carrier, which has assigned counsel, that they will cover the township if the township is sued by the company. However, the insurance carrier will not cover the township if the township does not make a reasonable effort to come into compliance with the law. After Sander told representatives from the company that a 9 p.m. curfew would not be acceptable to the township, the representatives countered with a request that the township agree to suspend enforcement of its current ordinance to allow solicitation in the township from 9 a.m. to 30 minutes after sunset, Monday through Saturday. Continued on Page 3A
Landenberg Store celebrates grand re-opening Studio Blush finds new home in Oxford...8A
INDEX Opinion........................7A Obituaries...................2B Classifieds..................4B Calendar of Events.......6B
Photo by Richard L. Gaw
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Part of the team at the Landenberg Store (from left), Laura Ryan, Tori Walker, Greg Powell, Mark Spena and Lesley Spena, celebrated the re-opening of the historic landmark on July 21.
© 2007 The Chester County Press
By Richard L. Gaw Staff Writer On Saturday, July 21, at seven-thirty in the morning, the heart of Landenberg began beating again. After a three-year wait, the historic Landenberg Store welcomed old friends, neighbors and first-time visitors to the unveiling of
60 Cents
Wednesday, July 25, 2018
its newest incarnation, an Italian-infused delicatessen that also gives a deferential nod to the store that has served as the social outpost for this town since it first opened in 1872. Between greetings and handshakes, new proprietor Mark Spena and sous chef Greg Powell displayed the store’s most prominent
identity, seen in the display case of gourmet take-away entrees, meats and side dishes. In the days leading to the store’s opening, Spena said he got very little sleep and was buried in an avalanche of notes he made to himself, and as the morning turned into the afternoon Continued on Page 4A
Abandoned home worries neighbors in Kemblesville
Photo by John Chambless
An abandoned home at 3327 Appleton Road in Kemblesville has been a longtime concern for neighbors.
By John Chambless Staff Writer A dilapidated home in the historic district of Kemblesville is an eyesore for anyone driving through the village, but it’s especially frustrating for Franklin Township Board of Supervisors chairman John Auerbach. The brick home, at 3327 Appleton Road, sits at the heavily traveled intersection of Appleton Road and Route 896. In an email to the Chester County Press last week, Auerbach wrote, “In March of 2018, the front porch roof collapsed and the roof and debris remain in place. No effort by the owner has been initiated to remove the debris and replace the porch roof. The exterior and interior are in very poor condition. The property owner is a local resident and has used the property as rental unit. Currently, the property is vacant, with the last tenants leaving sometime in 2017. “The supervisors and the Historic Architectural Review Board are very
concerned about the condition of the property,” Auerbach wrote. “There are concerns about public safety, as the State Police have recently determined that access to the interior is unsecured. The township is developing a plan to secure doors and windows to avoid squatters and nefarious activity.” At the July 18 meeting of the supervisors, Paul Lagasse, the chairman of the township’s Historic Commission, also raised concerns about the building, and noted that neighbors are concerned that it will attract vandals or arsonists. In his note, Auerbach added that “the township has made many attempts to contact the owner, without success.” The owner has been served with legal papers, and a hearing has been scheduled on Aug. 9 in Kennett Square to try to come to some resolution regarding the property. The board also discussed solicitation in the township, a topic that had been raised at last month’s meeting. The township office Continued on Page 4A
Searching for common ground in the effort to prevent gun violence By Steven Hoffman Staff Writer The statistics are horrific. More than 35,000 people are killed each year in the U.S. during incidents that involve guns. Another 80,000 people are injured during incidents where guns are used. A mass shooting—defined as an incident where four or more people are wounded or killed by a gun—takes place somewhere in the U.S. each day. And if it didn’t happen today, it will happen twice tomorrow. The senseless gun violence has to stop. That was just one of the messages during a July 19 presentation by Gun Sense Chester County at the West
Grove Friends Meeting on East Harmony Road in West Grove. Another message that was delivered by Ann Colby-Cummings, the chairperson of Gun Sense Chester County, is that we all need to work together and find common ground on the issue so that sensible gun laws can be enacted. The hour-long presentation focused on existing gun regulations, both at the federal and state level, and the exploration for common ground between gun rights advocates and people who want stricter gun regulations. Gun violence affects everyone, ColbyCummings explained, so everyone needs to be a part of the discussion about solutions.
“Everyone has a right to be heard,” Colby-Cummings said. “The presence of guns in our society affects us all.” To illustrate the point that we’re all affected by the presence of guns, ColbyCummings asked how many people in attendance knew of someone who had been impacted by gun violence. About half the people raised their hands. Gun Sense Chester County was formed in March of 2017 as an offshoot of a similar Chester County group. Its purpose is to help educate citizens about existing gun regulations and to promote thoughtful discussion to identify common ground. The discussion part is
essential. Colby-Cummings explained that arguing about gun regulations doesn’t help. Taking up entrenched positions doesn’t, either. Neither side of the argument listens to the other, and if that continues, nothing will be accomplished. Colby-Cummings explained that the focus should be on those areas where people can agree on measures that would help reduce gun violence without restricting the gun rights of law-abiding citizens. Advocating for actions to be taken to prevent gun violence is another part of Gun Sense Chester County’s mission, so they are in frequent contact with lawmakers to urge them to support legislation
that might improve the situation. What are some examples of the common ground where there seems to be agreement? Statistics show that people are in favor of having a background check required before gun purchases. There is also broad support for restricting gun ownership for felons or people who are seriously mentally ill and pose a threat to themselves and others. There is wide agreement that anyone who is included on the federal “no fly” terrorist watch list shouldn’t be allowed to buy a gun. Another area of general agreement is that anyone who wants to conceal carry Continued on Page 3A