Tag Archives: chester county pa
lincoln court shopping center in frazer
They say photos are worth a thousand words.
Nothing like a shopping center slum lord in the snow, right? Has anyone else been to Lincoln Court Shopping Center recently as in during or after any of the recent weather???
That lot is challenging on a good day with clear weather, now it is so bad that personal injury lawyers should just hang out in the parking lot every day.
Yes I know it is a challenge to keep anything clean in this weather, but these commercial property owners are supposed to try to make it safe for business owners and their employees and their customers, aren’t they? And here even the handicap spots aren’t even properly cleared and aren’t they supposed to be by law?
And someone told me this is the same property owner that owns over where Frazer Post Office and Peppridge Farm is too?
Most municipalities do have rules that commercial properties must abide by so does East Whiteland ever look into stuff like this? Anyway, be careful especially in Lincoln Court.
I know many people who own chunks of commercial properties in the Northeast as well as small businesses struggling in this weather, and I know they are all having issues of clearing snow and finding places to put it. But can’t this Lincoln Court property owner get snow hauled off and say ask other property owners that own large stretches of field near there if they can pay them to put the extra snow there? Or ask East Whiteland if they have any places extra snow can go? There has to be a solution, right? Or is it this commercial property owner only cares about collecting the rents?
This winter has been brutal, God knows but people should be able to navigate safely in this lot and right now they can’t. Businesses need business from customers to pay the rent. But if customers and employees can’t navigate safely how the heck are all these businesses supposed to generate the income to pay the rent?
And is it true that according to East Whitelnd’s own code this center should have nearly 900 spaces? Someone told me that as per property management site (which I have not seen because I don’t know who it is…yet) there are approximately 592 parking spaces? (Except some City Feet listing I found says 771 parking spaces?) This is probably all grand-fathered, right? But aren’t all lots with 60 or more spaces supposed to have a pedestrian path or walkway from one side to the other?
Whatever, I am totally confused as to how many spaces a shopping center of this size should have. That is for East Whiteland to figure out. All I know is the parking lot conditions could be considered hazardous to the average citizen, and well it is the site of our local Drivers License Center, grocery store, QVC outlet and so on. It is always busy except for now because it is ridiculous. SO why isn’t it cleaned up better???
East Whiteland is a municipality where there is a LOT of commercial property compared to residential and the news that does eeek out from the non-televised and non-recorded meetings indicate they are always courting more commercial projects, so why not have the older shopping centers like this look better, feel better and be better too? Mind you, I am not blaming East Whiteland for this parking lot debacle in the sense of it is not really cleaned up safely or properly, that is all on the property owner whomever they are, right? Just food for thought as more commercial sites grow, right?
a very cool lunch bunch
I discovered this great thing today: Latino Luncheon which began 12 years ago in West Chester with just a handful of people. What a remarkable and nice bunch of people.
They are this Latino based networking/community group with their finger on the pulse of Chester County. It is not just Latinos, but it is also truly multi-cultural. Latino Luncheon is as per one member “open to all Latinos and those who love them.”
I have had many Latino friends over the years and met some fabulous Latina community activists when part of Save Ardmore Coalition and we were fighting eminent domain for private gain in Ardmore and elsewhere. Mary Cortes of Cramer Hill Camden and the late Rosemary Cubas of Philadelphia come to mind in particular. (I also have a Cuban Uncle, although I do not recall ever seeing much of his Latino side save for his fondness for Café Bustelo.)
Anyway, this collective holds a monthly luncheon at Iron Hill in West Chester and you can sign up via their Meet Up page. They raise awareness for issues affecting the community and even give out some scholarships – in other words they do good deeds and enjoy each other’s company. I can’t tell you how nice it was to be in a room of positive people who celebrate each other.
State Representative Duane Milne and State Senator Andy Dinniman attended along with a lot of lawyers and school board and judicial candidates. (Well it is election season, after all.)
I was introduced to the group by Maureen Martinez. Maureen is on the Planning Commission in East Whiteland and running for Supervisor. Maureen’s 
husband is Cuban, so she is very keen on the issues facing Latinos in Chester County and elsewhere.
Andy Dinniman presented a proclamation and remarked that the Latino community is becoming a force to be reckoned with in Chester County.
Dinniman also discussed a version of American Dream Act is coming to PA and both political parties support it. Bi-Partisan – anyone graduating from a PA high school will be eligible for in state tuition costs.
Everyone went around table introducing themselves. We heard from amazing men and women, and even found out that one of the Main Line Today Power Women of 2013 was a founding member of this group – Nelly Jiménez-Arévalo.
And they presented a scholarship check to an amazing young woman named Elenie Gonzalez.
I also met a woman named Joyce Chester who is president of a non-profit called Chester County OIC. From their website what this non-profit does is:
Chester County OIC is a non-profit organization with offices in West Chester and Phoenixville dedicated to providing FREE adult basic literacy education and life skills programs that prepare individuals for employment leading to economic self-sufficiency. In operation since 1979, CCOIC helps over 800 adult learners per year.
Joyce is part of the slate of candidates running for West Chester Area School Board called Better Direction for West Chester. I totally enjoyed meeting her and well, West Chester Area School Board would be lucky to get someone like her. Any school board would, so here is hoping voters check her out.
I had never met PA State Representative Duane Milne before and thoroughly enjoyed it. I always enjoy seeing PA State Senator Andy Dinniman and we chatted Chester County SPCA and other things.
But I have to tell you I was nervous going to a luncheon where I only knew a couple of people and now I look forward to going to another one. It has been a very long time since I met such a caring and welcoming bunch of people who had some amazing careers and were completely without pretense or artifice. They care because it is simply the right thing to do. We could all take a page out of their book.
For more information on Latino Luncheon, check out their Meet Up, Facebook Latino Luncheon – Chester County PA , and Twitter
Next time I will bring a grown-up camera to get some really great shots for these nice people!
Also a shout out is in order to Iron Hill Brewery – I love that they host these community endeavors so graciously and nicely!
do you live in zip code 19355? read this.
Ahh yes, another post about Malvern Borough. I could post more photos of the tiny small town that it is, but I will stick with a photo of the town mural and a couple of photos containing well worded graffiti on overpasses from elsewhere in Chester County.
Malvern Borough is a small town. It is surrounded, by rural, industrial, commercial and residential in the genre of exubrbia. Malvern is not and never will be the Main Line. Malvern shouldn’t want to be the Main Line, either. If Malvern wants to be like anyone, how about St. Peter’s Village or Narberth? Those are cute places who aren’t afraid to be the little home towns that they are.
Malvern historically has always had an identity crisis. Settled originally by Welsh immigrants in the 17th century, it was the site of the Paoli Massacre in 1777, it was a tiny little area that never had a name until 1873 and wasn’t even incorporated as a borough until 1889. It has always been small with King as the main road off the beaten path.
Malvern should be fine with who it is, but it seems part of the history of Malvern is a history of government issues. You might say it is one of Malvern’s long-standing traditions.
Malvern said yes to a relationship with Eli Kahn and gave birth to the yet unoccupied behemoth of a mixed use building. You know, because Malvern needs to be so urban. That building is perched unattractively right on the road with no care or thought to human scale let alone a design compatible to the SMALL TOWN surroundings. You can’t unring the bell on that project.
But Malvern and people around Malvern need to wake up to what is coming down the pike if they are not careful. T.O.D. or transit oriented development. Clever speak for cram those units in developers!
I have written about T.O.D. twice in 2013:
the emperor may have no clothes on when it comes to t.o.d. in Malvern
if septa is considering cutting service past paoli, why does malvern need T.O.D.?
T.O.D. is no joke and at the most simplest of explanations won’t fit in Malvern Borough. We’re talking at least 600 residential units. I used to say that T.O.D. stood for Total Of Dumbasses. I still do. If Malvern Borough, as in the Mayor and Borough council are not stopped, it is not just the residents of the borough who will be impacted. Any other municipality that has borders will be impacted. I think East Whiteland will be impacted the most. And her residents will have no choice in the matter as this is Malvern Borough’s proposed stupidity.
What has provoked me to write again about this? Henry Brigg’s brilliant and ever so sad column in Main Line Media news today. It should be required reading it is that good.
He mentions a lady named Betty Burke who staged an uprising via a sit in on Christmas Eve in the 1970s to get rid of a corrupt local government. Well that fascinated me so I did a little research. Betty Burke died in 2011. I just read two things about her and it brought tears to my eyes. Now there was a woman I would have liked to have known.
Here, refresh your memories:
Remembering Betty Burke By Henry Briggs
Published: Wednesday, March 09, 2011
M. Elizabeth Burke, 91, a Malvern activist
By Sally A. Downey, Inquirer Staff Writer
Burke Park is named for Betty and her husband Sam. A lot of what has made Malvern a cool place in the past 3 or 4 decades is because of this woman’s persistence.
So are there enough people who knew Betty and her husband Sam still around that they might stop and think about what is lurking for Malvern “is this what Betty would have wanted?” Or would Betty have told people to toss the elected officials out again?
Again, I never knew Betty. But wow, what I have read about her is amazing so I think she would be very sad for Malvern right now if she was alive.
Of course it is not too late if people wake up now. And don’t depend on local media to keep you abreast of things. Residents are going to have to do it the old-fashioned/old school way: pay attention and go to meetings. Use your power of the vote and change the faces of who govern you.
Stop the craziness in Malvern. Read Henry Briggs column:
Main Line Suburban Life > Opinion
Henry Briggs: Say goodbye to Malvern, RFD
Published: Wednesday, October 02, 2013
This is a story about a storybook small town, one that could exist anywhere in the country, one that is being left open to attack by the very people who should be defending it.
It is 1.3 square miles with tree-lined streets…..lying between bucolic expanses of gentleman horse farms in Willistown and the corporate parks and exurban sprawl of East Whiteland.
Originally, when the whole area was working farm land, Malvern was a commercial hub, a place to buy supplies and sell the fruit of their labors…….Malvern has one traffic light, three little league fields, five churches, and, until a couple of years ago, one bar. The administrative office and police department are in the repurposed school house…..Traditionally, residents of small towns are quick to defend them.
When the town council turned corrupt in the early ’70s, Betty Burke, a nurse, mother, and political novice, led a bunch of other mothers in a Christmas Eve sit-in and coup that threw the bums out. Frank Capra would have loved it.
Traditionally, residents of small towns understand and cherish their unique qualities…..Malvern is at the bottom of a hefty political pyramid.
In recent years, special interests from that pyramid – with cooperation from leaders of the Malvern Council – decided that Malvern is just too small for the 21st century. They have been joined by developers who, like hawks in a summer sky, spot vulnerabilities that those on the ground never suspect.
Henry Briggs has written many a column that was like a love letter to Malvern. This is one of those letters. Except it is so achingly sad because it is like he is saying good-bye to an old, dear friend.
Malvern Borough residents old and new, will you save your town? Please?
Post Script: Thanks to local columnist and former Malvern Borough Council President Henry Briggs, I have two more columns about Betty and Sam Burke to share…in the hopes that remembering these simple people who worked so hard will inspire Malvern residents to shake off the cobwebs and save their small town before it becomes another Eagle or some plastic coated Toll Brothers-esque mess wrapped in Tyvec.
justice for argus & fiona: pilotti trial day 1
I now understand why reporters say sometimes what they see in a court room haunts them. I will be haunted a long time by the crime scene photos which were shown of the slain Bernese Mountain Dog puppies Argus & Fiona.
The scene photos (I am not a police officer so I don’t know what to call them), were not intentionally gruesome, they were what they were. (We saw a photo of the shotgun too. It was not one that repeats, either, which means the buck shot had to deliberately reloaded, correct?) There seemed to be some sort of quiet sidebar conversation as in jury and audience could not hear) before the audience, judge, and jury saw the photos. I am thinking it had to do with the photos – but I don’t know for sure.
The photos – Argus lay there on the ground like he was shot in mid-flight. He seemed to be facing away from us. Then there was the photo of the female puppy Fiona. This photo made me cry (several things made me tear up this afternoon- so much was so hard to hear) it was so heart and gut wrenchingly awful. Fiona was curled in a semi fetal position staring at the camera with lifeless eyes. That is the photo I will see in my head for a long time it is so awful.
But back to the beginning. Three papers were there: Philadelphia Inquirer, Daily Local and Brandywine News Media. There were Argus and Fiona friends and family and supporters on one side and Gabe Pilotti had a mish mosh of people on his side. I never saw the man in person before today so I have no way of knowing who was family and who might have been church folk. I will note that whomever they are had minor children with them, who were in the room when the photos of the shot up dogs were displayed. Not to judge, but would you have wanted your children to see that? The smiling Pilotti from the mug shot was not present today.
Ramsey, Pilotti’s attorney referred to a “media campaign” over this issue. He seemed to make a lot of referrals to the Justice for Argus and Fiona Facebook Page and obliquely this blog (or in my opinion that is what it was) like we were all bad people for talking about this. Judge Nagle seemed to shut this commentary down on several occasions as being somewhat irrelevant to the case at hand.
Pilotti’s attorney was somewhat brutal with the Bocks. But that is a defense attorney doing their job I suppose. I do think the defense attorney was unnecessarily hard on Mary Bock in particular – asked her something like did she have remorse over the whole incident. My personal opinion was that asking something like that was gratuitously nasty. She was practically in tears having to relive parts of that awful day as it was.
Pilotti’s attorney seemed to make a big deal out of these neighbors of Pilotti’s that the Bocks used to be friendly with – people named Dallas and Kelley Definbaugh. I wonder, are those the people holding Pilotti’s gun? Anyway, it is not like it is some dirty secret. The couples used to be friendly, more from the wives knowing each other and kids being in same sections of classes at school. But that changed. The kids moved on into different groups and classes at school and the wives don’t hang out any more. So what? Do you keep in close contact with people with whom you no longer share any meaningful commonality? I don’t. 
I wouldn’t know the Definbaugh people if I fell on them, and am just getting to know the Bocks, so I can only go with my gut. I like the Bocks. They are honorable people who experienced something so horrible. And when you see the photos of those dead puppies from that day and hear about how they were moved in a front end loader or a tractor or something to the township building the day they were shot, well let me tell you, you get a much more clear picture of how these people have suffered.
Remember this news report?
I also did not get why Pilotti’s attorney kept bringing up a letter that Mary Bock wrote to her neighbors after her dogs were shot. I mean get real, there are tons of kids out there and tons of people with dogs. If she wanted to tell her neighbors is that so wrong?
And Pilotti’s attorney wants to make a big deal out of this blog? I did not drive his client to shoot those dogs. And I am not condoning violence against his client, only like hundreds of others out there hoping for justice and a strengthening of Pennsylvania dog laws.
Today we heard from Officer Russell from West Vincent Police Department. He was the first on the scene and apparently present later when Pilotti was interviewed by police. He seems like a totally honorable and stand up guy. He also seems to be some sort of authority on fire arms and he spoke with some intelligence about the gun used – a 20 gauge single shot non repeating shot-gun with 9 pellet buck shot if I have it correctly.
Officer Russell recounted that fateful February day calmly with some degree of detail. He remarked that at the time (as in day of shooting) he found Pilotti’s answers “vague”. (his verbiage) . He reported that on the day of the shooting in front of the Police Chief he asked Pilotti for a written statement to assist in the investigation. He stated that Pilotti in his opinion seemed hesitant to do so, but eventually went back to his garage and sat down and compiled a “list”. Officer Russell also described seeing the dogs. He reported that Argus took a fairly direct hit to the head and the dog’s head was “kind of blown apart.” He described Fiona’s position (that I saw in the photos) and the blood coming out of her mouth and I believe he said on her paws. I will admit the photo of her so disturbed me that I could not get past the quasi fetal position and lifeless eyes staring at the camera.
District Attorney Tom Hogan appeared in court to watch for a while at approximately 3:45 p.m. That made people sit up and take notice – he is a busy guy so you know he can’t audit every court proceeding. I was thankful for his presence.
I stayed until just before the defense was going to cross-examine Officer Russell. People in the court room said that got out of hand. I remember before I left Officer Russell stating that they wanted to talk to Pilotti again because “something did not seem right.”
Pilotti’s attorney at one point referred to when Pilotti had shot dogs before, but West Vincent locals told me that those dogs were shot on a neighbors property because the neighbor’s animals were being mauled and is that not the truth? So that was something different from when Argus and Fiona were shot, huh?
And I have to ask (bearing in mind my limited knowledge of buck shot) but if Argus and Fiona were actually pursuing sheep why is it the audience and jury didn’t hear about injured sheep? Or see photos of bloodied sheep or dead sheep? I ask because as buck shot was explained today to everyone in that courtroom it sort of spreads or sprays out, right?
Watching the face of the jury all afternoon was quite interesting. That is all I will say on that.
Court continues tomorrow at the Criminal Justice Center in Downtown West Chester, PA. I strongly urge dog lovers to attend if possible. The Bock family and the memory of these puppies deserve our support in a peaceful way as an extended community. It is a public proceeding and the courtroom is open, not closed. You can go to all or part of tomorrow. Parking is not expensive in the new garage, either. You just park, go through the court screening and ask to be directed to Judge Nagle’s court (7th floor room 8 off the top of my head)
Today was deeply disturbing and very emotional. But I am glad I went. It makes me even more resolute than ever that dog laws need to change.
And here is some of the media coverage:
Trial begins for 73-year-old accused of killing neighbor’s dogs
Mari A. Schaefer, Inquirer Staff Writer
Posted: Monday, September 9, 2013, 4:54 PM
In a case that outraged animal-rights activists and generated national attention, a trial began Monday for a Chester County man charged with killing his neighbor’s dogs because he believed they posed a threat to his sheep.
Gabriel Pilotti, 73, of Chester Springs, was charged with cruelty to animals for shooting the two Bernese mountain dogs — 2-year-old Angus and 1-year-old Fiona — after they had escaped the fenced yard of their owners, Mary and William Bock….In his opening statement, Kevin Pierce, assistant district attorney said Pilotti willfully and maliciously killed the two dogs in cold blood and then left a voice message for a neighbor bragging about the incident……Argus was shot in the head as he trotted up toward Pilotti and that Fiona was shot as she ran away. Pilotti did not try to yell at the dogs or chase them away with a broom, he said.
“He choose to go to the most extreme measure first,” said Pierce.
Also noteworthy? The Chester County SPCA which is currently under fire in Chester County and beyond did NOT bother to show up today. I found that extraordinarily cowardly. They should have put the other stuff aside and shown up for the dogs. Good thing no one was depending on them for anything.
Here is the Daily Local:
Daily Local: Motives differ as trial starts in dog shooting case
- By MICHAEL P. RELLAHAN mrellahan@dailylocal.com
WEST CHESTER – Gabriel Pilotti, the 73-year-old West Vincent resident on trial for shooting two dogs that wandered onto his property, was portrayed in two different lights Monday as his case opened in the Chester County Justice Center.
To the prosecutor, Pilotti was a trigger happy man who shot first and asked no questions – taking the matter of dogs in his pasture to the “most extreme measure” by killing the two dogs without provocation.
“This is a simple case of a cold blooded killing of two family pets,” Assistant District Attorney Kevin Pierce told the nine women and three men on the jury in Senior Judge Ronald Nagle’s courtroom. He said the defendant “mowed down” one of the dogs as he “moseyed” toward him, and then reloaded his shotgun and shot and killed the second, younger dog as it ran from the yard.
malvern getting art gallery with an edge to its voice….
bridge in Chester County by Averil Smith Barone
So… There is a gallery to open in Malvern…They are touting being sandwiched between those East Side Flats buildings under construction. I think East Side Flats are way too big for Malvern which like it or not is a village smaller than even Narberth and the development is seriously lacking human scale and style, but will be glad to see an art gallery. Art is good for a community.
“Remains of the Day”
However, I do not like the almost negative commentary about Chester County barns and covered bridges- as a photographer they are not only among my favorite things to photograph, they are part and parcel of what makes Chester County so special. I know that this particular commentary shouldn’t be sourced to the writer of the article in the paper as originating this PR spin, so I would caution the new gallery owners, who themselves are artists to have a care about what I feel are borderline pejorative comments about the art historically and dare I say traditionally known in Chester County.
One of my own Chester County inspired still lives taken at a Goshenville Historic Day in East Goshen. I reproduced the photo on canvas, framed it, and ironically it sold out of a Main Line gallery and now sits on someone’s wall.
Long before I moved to Chester County I frequented art shows like the fabulous annual affair in Historic Yellow Springs. I also have a friend named Averil (an artist herself) whose late mother was a Chester County artist named Valerie Lamb Smith. I will never forget visiting Averil’s parents’ house for the first time (smack in the middle of Chester County horse country way before it was trendy) and seeing her mother’s art hanging in a farmhouse outbuilding that served as an art studio. Averil’s mom had work strung on lines and they were wafting in a breeze. It was such a thing of beauty I remember it still in my mind’s eye to this day. It was her mother’s work that truly made me begin to love and appreciate the Chester County school as an adult.
The Chester County “school” of art and artists is a very real and beautiful thing, so if these gallery owners want to open something edgy and different that is their right, but they should refrain from knocking a style of art a lot of us old and new to Chester County love. And to quip that modern art looks good in Main Line homes makes them sound like interior decorators not artists or art curators. And maybe it is just me, but I hate people who refer to Philadelphia as “Philly” . Philly is a cheesesteak, Philadelphia is the city. As to who will live in the behemoth of Malvern known as East Side Flats, only time will tell.
Another one of my barn photos- it is no great secret that in addition to the beauty of Chester County itself as inspiration, the plein air and traditional styles of the Chester County school has inspired my own photography- the magic of ordinary days
Do I believe that homes should have a mix of art? Absolutely. But to give an interview that is pretentious and by interpretation knocks the art Chester County is know for is just bad form. Loving particular forms of art is entirely subjective and beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I have photographed a lot of art over the past few years for First Friday Main Line as well as publicized it as part of the publicity for this non-profit’s events. But never in a million years would I ever dream of publicizing one kind of art or artist or art discipline at the expense of the other. It is a big world and there is room for many different styles and forms of art. So JAM Gallery, welcome and best of luck as new kid on the proverbial Chester County block, but please, show a little respect for the plein air and other styles that have made Chester County their home before you. Also interested to hear that Malvern still has First Fridays- hadn’t heard about that in a LONG time.
Introducing JAM Gallery, where contemporary art meets Victorian Malvern By Caroline O’Halloran
Poised to open this fall, Malvern’s mammoth Eastside Flats has long been the talk of the town…. JAM Gallery will open Saturday, Aug. 10, and, like its towering neighbors still under construction, it’s a decidedly 21st-century addition to the quaint Victorian borough. You won’t find the usual Chester County barns or covered bridges displayed on JAM’s walls. Instead, look for paintings and sculpture that are edgy and imaginative, some even avant-garde by Main Line standards…….The backyard is adjacent to the outdoor area that Eastside Flats plans to use for “Second Saturday” gatherings showcasing local merchants. JAM is a three-way family venture, with Melanie overseeing the art, her husband Jerry, a retired pharmaceutical executive and eager oenophile and cook, bartending and making hors d’oeuvres for gallery parties, and son Adam handling the books. Co-curator with Fisher will be Lynnette Shelley, an artist of similar stylized bent, who moonlights as the lead singer in the experimental “avant rock” band, Red Masque, she founded with her husband….In the walk-to-train apartment-retail complex Eastside Flats, the two see an opportunity. “It’s short-sighted to think, ‘This is the Malvern, you can only have plein air landscapes on your living-room wall,’” says Shelley…..Modern art, she adds, looks fantastic in traditional Main Line homes.
My tip to people looking to add life to their homes with art? It doesn’t have to be expensive, it doesn’t have to be pretentious. It should be something that moves you – something you enjoy . It can be as simple as a flea market or barn picking find. Or something found at Resellers Consignment in Frazer, or something from your childhood home or grandmother’s attic or from Clover Market in Ardmore (they have had some great artists affordable to buy from since the market’s inception).
Buy the art that you love. Leave the need to impress to others.
I still think this gallery is worth checking out. JAM Gallery will be opening at 321 E. King Street, Malvern. 484-433-3571. Find them on the web at http://www.jamgallerymalvern.com. The public is invited to attend the opening reception, 5 p.m. – 7 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 10 as per Main Line Media News.
a little barn love…
Image
it’s not easy being green….
It’s not easy being green…poor, poor West Vincent Township. So much darn odd stuff happens within the township boundaries, you just can’t make it up.
The latest is a gargantuan pot bust. Yes marijuana is apparently the new crop in that part of Chester County. I can’t see it from my window and that is good.
Before I post the article I would mention that West Vincent residents have an AWESOME and not connected to the current regime candidate for supervisor – John Jacobs. Given the odd things that happen to West Vincent residents have an interest in cleaning up local government, can it be said this man puts himself at great risk to run? Well of he can do that, you all should be able to vote for him. West Vincent residents all say they want change, well the only way to get that is to break the death grip the current network has with a new supervisor.
You want change, people? Vote the old out and vote in the new. John Jacobs has a website. Here is a link to other endorsed candidates if you are interested. Yes it is GOP and I would put up the Democratic info if I could find it. But the truth is who is representative of them in West Vincent? Clare Quinn? Lordy that isn’t something to brag about and are you all still paying her benefits? Also worth noting? Another fabulous upstanding and honest person that I think would be marvy is running for West Vincent Township Auditor – Maria Holderness. Seriously people, it is time for change in your neck of the woods. After all what does it hurt to consider people whose hands AREN’T in some cookie jar somewhere?
Here is the article and yes, it’s not easy being green:
DA: major West Vincent pot grow operation busted
Posted: Thursday, 05/09/13 01:24 pm Updated: Thursday, 05/09/13 07:14 pm
WEST VINCENT — Over 180 marijuana plants were seized and one man was arrested Tuesday after police discovered a “sophisticated” grow operation at a home in the 1200 block of Jaine Lane in Spring City.
“Chester County District Attorney Tom Hogan announced the arrest of Christian Titone of Spring City Thursday for allegedly running what police said was a sophisticated hydroponic grow operation and that housed over 180 live marijuana plants .”;
According to the Chester County District Attorney’s Office, 53-year-old Christian Titone was arrested after police executed a search warrant at his home. Officials said the home was located in a secluded area of the township.“Chester County District Attorney Tom Hogan announced the arrest of Christian Titone of Spring City Thursday for allegedly running what police said was a sophisticated hydroponic grow operation and that housed over 180 live marijuana plants .”;
“The defendant thought he could outsmart the police trying to grow marijuana in a secluded section of Chester County. He was wrong,” said District Attorney Tom Hogan. “We have confiscated his drugs arrested him, and now will move to forfeit everything associated with his drug dealing.”photo courtesy of The Daily Local News via Chester County DAs Office
“A large number of grow lights removed from the West Vincent home of Christian Titone, who is charged with a large-scale marijuana growing operation.
Police said investigators executed a search warrant at Titone’s home during Tuesday’s early morning hours. Inside, they found a sophisticated hydroponic grow operation…also found processed marijuana ready for sale…Titone’s home also had a “state of the art” surveillance system…After the search, executed by the Chester County Detectives and the county’s High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Strike Force, members of the state police’s Clandestine Laboratory Team removed the marijuana and all of the growing equipment, officials said.
I notice the Daily Local lists a rather long list of law enforcement involved. Basically everyone except West Vincent’s own police department and why? Was West Vincent’s Chief out collecting Gabe Pilotti’s gun or something? Pilotti is the one who shot the dogs in cold blood, remember? One would have thought that the West Vincent police would have confiscated the weapon pending the outcome of the court case, right? But we’re not here to discuss dog killers today.
Anyway just chalk it up to more unpleasant spotlights shining down on West Vincent.
Also found coverage in the Philadelphia Inquirer:
POSTED: Thursday, May 9, 2013, 4:07 PM
Aubrey Whelan Philadelphia Inquirer
Chester County detectives have arrested a West Vincent man who, they say, was running “a major marijuana grow operation” in his house.
On Tuesday evening, detectives entered the home of Christian Titone, 54, on a search warrant. Inside, they found 188 marijuana plants — part of what Chester County prosecutors called a “sophisticated hydroponic grow operation” that included lights, ventilation and an irrigation system, according to court documents.
Kudos to the Kennett Times for a catchy article title that cracked me up.
The Kennett Times: Plethora of pot plants lead to drug bust
W. Vincent resident accused of marijuana-growing operation
By Kathleen Brady Shea, Managing Editor, The Times
Authorities said an alleged marijuana grower thought his remote location and sophisticated surveillance system would protect him from police….“A high-tech, high-end drug operation like this would be providing drugs to suppliers from Phoenixville to Kennett Square and points beyond,” said Hogan….Titone has been charged with several drug-dealing offenses, including possession with the intent to distribute controlled substances and possession of drug paraphernalia, the criminal complaint said. Hogan said Titone was released after “promptly” paying $100,000 cash bail. He said a preliminary hearing would be scheduled in the near future.
stupid human tricks
For months I have wanted to write about this. Even before what happened to Argus & Fiona. But friends of mine asked me not to, they wanted to pursue this through proper channels in the legal system. They were afraid they would not see justice for what happened to them and one of their dogs. So they did things the “right” way and basically got screwed by the legal system in my humble opinion. It is my opinion if the laws were different, maybe the outcome would have been as well.
This, therefore is a cautionary tale and since April is prevention of cruelty to animals month, I am also posting.
So there was this couple. They fell in love and bought this crazy gorgeous house in Mt. Joy in Lancaster County. I was at their wedding. I photographed their wedding. Not so long after they tied the knot in December 2011 they rescued a puppy. They named him Porter.
I know everyone says all puppies are adorable and cute and sweet, but Porter seemed to have all that going on and more. Just a nice dog. He survived a horrible bout of Parvo after being rescued. As he recovered, he settled into his new family and started to grow up.
Everything was going along swimmingly until mid-January. My friend was in her kitchen accepting a delivery from a local farm called Breakaway Farms (and they deliver clear down to Washington, DC and you can bet I will never patronize them after this or knowingly patronize a business that buys from them, and I am entitled to that opinion aren’t I?)
So I will let my friend tell it in her own words:
….so here we are in the kitchen with all this gorgeous chicken and lamb freshly delivered. And there was the deliveryman. Without getting into too much detail, it was perhaps the strangest thing I’ve seen in many years. And since it was happening in my own kitchen, it was quite surreal.
Within a flash of a second, this man had our Porter pinned the kitchen floor, hands on his neck, full weight of his body on top of the 49lb dog. Porter screamed out for help,
lost complete bowel control yet still did not bite this man (although he would have been welcome to at that point). The man picked Porter up, opened our back door – and threw him out. Porter stood quivering in the backyard, curled into a protective ball, tail tucked between his legs. He was covered in his own urine and feces.In my rare stroke of good luck, I was able to be calm with the man. Did I want to gut him like a fish? Oh hell yes. But being able to maintain some calm in an otherwise insane scene, I knew what I had to do was be calm and get him out
before he hurt Porter more, or turned on me…. I made a quick call to one of the business owners. I’ve done business with these folks before and I liked them. I expected nothing other than a very reasonable response.After that, we waited to hear from the other half of the ownership, and waited, and waited. We watched Porter’s demeanor and could clearly see the effects of the assault. He was afraid to even go into his own kitchen. It was clear we needed to contact the police….A call to the police doesn’t always “pack the same” punch (no pun intended) of
going Walking Tall on someone. But it was the right thing to do. People who so easily do things like this to an animal are capable of just as easily doing this to a human being. And animal abuse isn’t something to glaze by “just because
it’s an animal.” No. Not in this house, and not in yours either we’re guessing. Hoping. This guy needs to be prosecuted.We live in Mount Joy Borough, PA. I’m not sure how big, or maybe I should say how small this place is. It’s tiny.
When we all learned what happened to their dog, we wanted to shout it from the roof 
tops. But our friends said they wanted to play it safe in a small town in Lancaster County and let Lady Justice deal with it. Well apparently, Lady Justice isn’t a dog person, because this is what happened next again in my friend’s own words:
…..there was the underlying stress of this morning’s court date against our beautiful dog Porter’s attacker, Dale Burns. Until today, we had not released his name wanting to give the judicial system its fair shake first. I was not
actually feeling stressed about the event, more looking forward to staring this beast in the eye and listening to his account of that day’s events. The details of that day are still exceptionally fresh in my mind.Closing my eyes, or looking into Porter’s, I can see the brutally of what was probably only just a few minutes, and still hear his screams. I’ve been clear about the facts of the story, consistent. And exceptionally clear that Porter in
no way provoked this man into grabbing him by the neck and slamming him to the floor…..In court, we saw the “cleaned up” version of Dale. Maybe there were a few less inches of beard. There was some sort of button-down shirt, button at the top and bottom only, with the grungy farm garb clearly visible underneath. But there we finally were, face to face. There was his “attorney,” equally disheveled in an attempt to clean up and present for the day. And there was our “prosecutor.” In this tiny town, your reporting police officer is often your prosecutor….I told my side of the story. Clear, concise and factual. He told his story,
which at points read more like a fairytale. Officer Cook asked his questions. Dale’s “lawyer” asked his, hinting at how absurd the entire story sounded – a deliveryman coming into my home and playing with one dog, then mentally snapping and slamming another to the ground. The judge, a local Mount Joy attorney, took it all in before calling Officer Cook and the lawyer back into his quarters.
When they returned, the judge explained how all four charges were being dismissed. He first explained that the animal cruelty charge was being dismissed because according to PA state statutes, Dale had to have a “duty to care” for Porter, which he did not. I heard next something about the disorderly conduct charge being dropped, my elderly neighbor not being there to testify about the
screaming she heard from Porter that day. And then I just didn’t hear anymore. We had lost. For the second time, I had failed to protect my dog. There was no justice for Porter in that court…..
And so people do not think this is made up, here are the court dockets: MDJReport 1,MDJReport 2,MDJReport 3,MDJReport 4
I am still sick to my stomach every time I hear about this. There are way too many cruel humans around. And this illustrates yet again why dog laws and animal cruelty laws need to be improved, need to change, and additional laws need to be created.
And the irony that this incident occured and was kicked to the curb in Lancaster County. After all Lancaster County is known as what? Puppy Mill Capital of PA, right? All that glorious farm land, scenery, and antiquing hides the dark underbelly of something doesn’t it? A place where dogs are no more valuable than an ear of corn, and twice as disposable.
The horse is out of the barn, and now my friend has a young dog forever tainted by the brush of violence. It is like this dog has post traumatic stress syndrome. Seriously, read on (again in my friend’s own words):
For the last two plus months since Porter was attacked inside our our home by a deliveryman, many of you have been kind enough to continue asking how he is recovering. Every day,every encounter with someone outside the immediate family, has been a test for Porter. One month ago, there was a ray of hope when someone came to the door and he suddenly ran right up to him. A few nights later, he was back to cowering in a corner and shaking, despite efforts to get him to come over to get his head scratched or belly rubbed…..Nearly three months after being attacked, we’d have to say that it looks like our boy is changed forever. Porter is no ordinary dog. In fact, he’s more human than dog. Porter, a gorgeous red aussie shepherd, is extremely smart and sensitive…..The downside of Porter’s intelligence in light of this attack is that he has
learned not to trust everyone as he used to do. He now knows humans can be capable of some very ugly behavior. He knows this first hand. Porter was a rescue dog. He was part of a litter dumped on the side of the road in North
Carolina. We adopted him hours after his arrival in Philly after he was saved by some pretty incredible people, only to find out the next day he had parvo virus and a host of other potentially lethal bugs. He has cheated death twice already
– and certainly deserves to live a life of nothing but happiness at this point.
The Porters and Arguses and Fionas and Zoes and Izzys of this world deserve better from humans. I am not a lawmaker, but maybe all of us, together, peacably, can make a difference. This is why it is important you contact your lawmakers and ask them to change more laws and protect Pennsylvania’s dogs. Useless people like Congresswoman Allyson Schwartz are already doing the coy dance for governor, so let us make this an issue in Pennsylvania every election until this is done.
Our dogs are part of our families. I have had rescues who were badly abused, abandoned, even one that was in a horrible house fire and then abandoned before I rescued him.
My heart is heavy because this is so unfair, so unjust. What if this happens again in Mt. Joy or some area serviced by this farm? Then what?
Say a prayer to St. Francis and hug your dogs and keep them safe. You just never know what will happen. Look what happened to Porter. In his own home, in front of his humans. And why? For what? He was just a puppy.
woman’s lib barn january 2013
My favorite barn doesn’t like the weather….sigh…
