Chester County Press 11-29-2017 Edition

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

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Oxford athletes sign...5A

Miniature art for gift-giving in Chadds Ford...3C

Volume 151, No. 48

Wednesday, November 29, 2017

New Garden easement deal may face end-ofyear deadline By Richard L. Gaw Staff Writer From the time the deal was first made on Feb. 23, 2015 to enter New Garden Township into negotiations to purchase the 178-acre Green Valley Farm in the township for $2.3 million and place a conservation easement on it, supervisor Pat Little has been its staunchest opponent. For nearly three years, the negotiations between the township, members of the Reynolds family who own the property and their attorneys have been a onestep-up, two-steps-back confluence of delays, and just moments after the board voted at its Nov. 20 meeting to approve payment for the initial $858,449 installment for the property, Little was heard from again. Little introduced a motion to approve advertising for

a discussion at the board’s Dec. 18 meeting – and subsequently a vote – declaring that if the Green Valley Farm conservation easement is not fully reached by the end of 2017, the township would rescind the entire deal. The motion was approved by all five supervisors. “We’re going into our third year on this, and I don’t know whose side I’m working on,” Little told the board. Little first suggested a motion to back out of the deal at the board’s meetings on Dec. 21, 2015, Jan. 19, 2016 and May 16, 2016, but at each stretch, he and the board were given reasons for the delay. At one meeting, Tom Johnson, one of the attorneys representing the Reynolds family, called the negotiation for the easement “a complicated process,” due mainly to the fact that the property is owned by

60 Cents

Champions!

Photo by Richard L. Gaw

The Unionville High School football team beat top-seeded and previously undefeated Springfield, 35-25, on Nov. 24 to win the District One, 5A championship for the first time since 1994. Now 13-1 on the season, Unionville will advance to play Archbishop Wood on Dec. 1 at 7 p.m. for the 5A Eastern Pennsylvania championship at Northeast High School in Philadelphia. The winner will earn a trip to Hershey to play for the 5A state championship on Dec. 8. For a complete story and more photos, see Page 1C.

Reynolds, a guardianship for his brother, and by two trusts, with different beneficiaries. Reaching a final deal on the property has been further complicated by Warren Reynolds currently serving a state prison sentence for the possession of more than

500 images of child pornography. In addition, his brother is incapacitated and not able to actively be a part of discussions related to the sale of the property, which has prompted the negotiations to be entered into the Philadelphia Orphans Court

Division, one of the three divisions of the Court of Common Pleas that serves to protect the personal and property rights of all persons and entities who are otherwise incapable of managing their own affairs. Continued on Page 2A

Oxford Country Oxford Borough Christmas takes place secures additional grant funding this Friday By Steven Hoffman Staff Writer

By Steven Hoffman Staff Writer

Strolling carolers, carriage rides, children’s activities, the lighting of the town’s Christmas tree, and, of course, the arrival of Santa Claus are all highlights of Oxford’s Country Christmas celebration that will take place this Friday from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. “It’s a nice kickoff to the holidays,” said Brian Wenzka, the new executive director of Oxford Mainstreet, Inc. (OMI) who is planning his first Oxford Country Christmas event. “The shops and restaurants will be open. I think we have a good variety of activities. It’s going to be a great event.”

Oxford Borough has secured another significant grant that will help with the effort to build a parking garage in the business district. Officials recently learned that the borough will be receiving $ 285,000 in funding through a Department of Community and Economic Development grant. According to borough manager Brian Hoover, the funds will be utilized to repave 2nd Street in the areas from Mt. Vernon to Locust Street, and to do some reconstruction work on Octoraro Alley. The improvements will make the area around the parking garage more pedestrian-friendly once the project is completed. This is the most recent grant that the borough has received in the ongoing effort to secure funding for a project that proponents say will boost economic development in the downtown. So far, the borough has secured more than $3 million in grant funding to construct the parking garage. Steve Krug of Krug Architects and Pauline Garcia-Allen of Econ Partners have been facilitating the process of obtaining grants for the parking garage. Construction of the parking garage could begin in 2018. To contact Staff Writer Steven Hoffman, email editor@chestercounty.com.

Continued on Page 4A

To be held Dec. 2, 3, 9 and 10 at the Creamery

Longwood welcomes Christmas with a French flair...1D

INDEX Opinion.......................7A Obituaries...................2C Calendar of Events.....3C Classifieds................6C

© 2007 The Chester County Press

Holiday Village returns to Kennett Square By Richard L. Gaw Staff Writer Last year, Kennett Township Supervisor Whitney Hoffman introduced an idea representatives from the township, Historic Kennett Square and Kennett Square Borough to create a holiday festival in the community that was similar to the one she had seen on a recent trip to Europe. Thus, the first Kennett Square Holiday Village Market, held Dec. 3-4, 2016, was born, and over

its two days, the event drew more than 4,000 visitors, who flocked to the Creamery on Birch Street for a weekend of shopping, frolic and holiday spirit. There were more than 20 artisans there, as well as musicians, food trucks and a continuous, humming vibe that seemed to tell its organizers, ‘Do this again. Turn this experience into an annual local tradition.’ As Fall becomes the holidays in Kennett Square, that’s just what the event’s organizers have done, only this year, a two-day event

is not enough. The second Kennett Square Holiday Village Market will be held for two consecutive weekends, on Dec. 2-3 and Dec. 9-10 at the Creamery, and will feature 73 vendors, more than 13 live musical acts and a host of activities for shoppers, and those who simply want to be a part of the spectacle. “It was so successful last year, that Kennett Township, Kennett Square Photo by Kelly G Borough and Historic The Kennett Square Holiday Village Market will be held Kennett Square all came up at the Creamery on Dec. 2, 3, 9 and 10, and will feature to us and said, ‘This needs local artisans, music and beverages, food and events Continued on Page 4A

for the entire family.


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