Poor Ebenezer. Historically significant as quite literally perhaps the second oldest AME site in the country, except for Mother Bethel AME in Philadelphia. And I believe Mother Bethel’s current Pastor Mark Kelly Tyler knows this as he was in West Chester prior to Philadelphia.
Everything the engineer told me a few years ago now that I passed along to East Whiteland Township and East Whitehead Historical Commission is sadly happening. The walls have never been shored up, and the development going along around it is taking a toll. Time, weather, and circumstances are not friends to this site.
This is so sad. Quite literally an important historical asset, including as part of black history in Chester County. This was part of Bacton Hill. I have been told Bacton Hill was one of the early black settlements and well, most of the history has been bulldozed away, hasn’t it?
Black History Month starts when? February 1st? I would say maybe this February 1st someone will care about the history of Ebenezer and Bacton Hill, but really does it ever happen enough to make a difference? Sadly, no. So all I can ever do is point out further deterioration and prior posts over the years.
Before COVID hit, there was a lady from the National Trust for Historic Places I had connected with who seemed interested. Her name was Lawana Holland-Moore. I have tried following up since, but nothing, not even a reply. (Sigh.) Who knows? Maybe she will see this post and renew her former interest. There are so many historic places and structures at risk, but I just wish this place would matter for more than just an occasional minute.
I also hope that someday the East Whiteland Historical Commission really gets a fire lit under them. I have kind of given up there, I find little point in trying to connect with them at this point. Their chair is very nice, but they have never really been comfortable with me or interested in what I have to say.
At one point I had wanted to volunteer for the commission, but political road blocks came up and COVID happened. I’m not welcome there, and why should I keep trying? At one point I even offered to donate my time to help them photograph historic assets and I helped the former members who updated the History of East Whiteland Book, but they cycled off the commission. Hell, when I contacted a member of the commission last June looking for an update on Ebenezer I never even got a reply from them or anyone so I can take a hint.
But, I still need to remind people that #ThisPlaceMatters . Ebenezer and Bacton Hill are disappearing.
Well it really and truly IS a bring the popcorn week in Chester County, PA. Yesterday a friend texted me and said they just saw a teaser on 6 ABC about am interior design firm in East Whiteland. I though to myself, “could it be?” and sure enough it was! M. Kaplan Interiors right on Lancaster Ave in Frazer. They call it Malvern, but it’s Frazer.
MALVERN, Pennsylvania (WPVI) — Criminal charges have been filed against the owner of an interior design and furniture company on the Main Line.
This comes after an Action News Troubleshooters investigation led by our Nydia Han who talked to consumers and East Whiteland Township police.
The Troubleshooters began investigating after multiple consumers reached out to us about M. Kaplan Interiors, a husband and wife team with a storefront on Lancaster Avenue in Malvern, Chester County.
On Thursday, Matt Kaplan was charged with crimes that include theft by deception as well as fraudulent business practices, and a warrant was issued for his arrest….The criminal complaint filed Thursday is on behalf of Kerr and three other customers whose allegations are very similar.
The East Whiteland Township police detective wrote in the arrest warrant, “Matthew Kaplan knew he was unable to honor the sales agreements he entered into with the above four victims yet he took their money.”
Remember it is best to pay for big purchases with a credit card and not to pay in full, upfront.
I went in there ONCE. It was to look for a sofa for our then new house. The woman inside was rude. I left. I found an antique sofa at then Resellers which I liked better and they were nice enough to do a local delivery. I found out later that was wife of husband and wife who run the joint. I reupholstered the sofa and it sits in my living room today.
I am not an interior designer or interior design showroom person by nature. Occasionally I have visited these places over the years, but except for Sheffield right in Malvern Borough, I have never found the people who work in these places well particularly friendly. Friendly at furniture stores, but showrooms? Meh.
A couple of years ago, a friend had a bad experience. She had to persist and persist and finally visit with her spouse to get a refund. Other friends had similar tales of no credit cards, only cash or check and husband was pleasant, wife who is the “designer” not so much.
I had actually wondered if they were actually still open recently. Every time I drove by there were no cars except for the occasional car parked crookedly that I figured belonged to an employee or owner.
I went and perused reviews today:
I also perused court dockets. It makes you wonder how they have stayed open so long? Here is the current docket mentioned on the news:
Thursday was also a bad day for Matt Kaplan, owner of M. Kaplan Interiors, a furniture store and interior design company in Malvern. The 15-second version is that the store took thousands of dollars from customers for pricey furniture that never materialized. According to 6ABC investigative reporter Nydia Han, Kaplan claims he didn’t do anything wrong and blamed the whole thing on supply chain issues. The Chester County District Attorney’s office would seem to disagree, since the office charged Kaplan on Thursday with 16 felony counts of theft, receiving stolen property, and deceptive business practices.
Oh, I also think they go by a second business name or it is related somehow? See screen shots below.
If you are someone who had unpleasant dealings with this company and they owe you goods/services/money, please contact East Whiteland Township Police Department. Email is pdoyle@eastwhitelandpd.org or call 610-897-4262. This is an active criminal investigation.
Sorry folks, it has been a busy day. Received official word from East Whiteland regarding the data center of it all. After that I will share the article that prompted this:
In response to recent articles in the Philadelphia Inquirer and Daily Local News, where the Township was asked to provide comments and a status update regarding recent data center proposals, below is a statement from East Whiteland Township:
To date, no land development application has been received by the Township and there have been no revisions to the previously approved Zoning Hearing Board application to permit the data center usage at the properties located along the south side of Swedesford Road near the border with West Whiteland Township.
Also, it is important to note to our residents and businesses that the Board of Supervisors of East Whiteland Township has no interest in entertaining a proposal for a hydrogen power plant within our Township. We are aware of the zoning activities in our neighboring Township and will continue to monitor the situation.
Scott Lambert, Chair of East Whiteland Township Supervisors
A Chester County developer is planning to build a data center approaching the size of the retail space at King of Prussia Mall that could consume more power in one location than any other Peco customer.
Charles Lyddane said he hopes to begin construction this year on the two million-square-foot facility on 65 acres of a remediated Superfund sitehe owns in East Whiteland Township.
“This will be a major economic engine for Chester County and for Pennsylvania,” said Lyddane, whose company Green Fig Land LLC is partnering with Fifteen Forty Seven Critical Systems Realty of Matawan, N.J., to develop the East Whiteland site…..East Whiteland approved zoning variances that Lyddane requested for the project in 2021, and he plans to submit a land development plan to the township this spring. If the plan is approved, construction would begin within six to 12 months and be finished by the end of 2024.
Lyddane said strong demand for new data center capacity is expected to continue despite current economic uncertainties.
Nevertheless, he has “put on hold” a proposal to build a 100,000-square-foot data center along with a power-generating facility on 25 acres he owns in West Whiteland Township that are contiguous with his East Whiteland property.
“Our only plan at this time is to build two data center buildings … in East Whiteland Township,” Lyddane said Tuesday….But Loudoun County, Va., home of what’s widely regarded as the greatest concentration of data centers on the planet, last year approved guidelines to limit their growth. Andthe East and West Whiteland proposals have sparked concerns among environmentalists and some residents in northeastern Chester County, where rolling hills, winding roads, and quaint stone buildings belie the sometimes toxic legacy of mining, steelmaking, and other heavy industries that once dotted the landscape……Sometimes called server farms or carrier hotels, data centers are nothing new. But what’s proposed for East Whiteland would be significantly bigger than most….The proposed East Whiteland data center location once was home to a limestone mining and later, lithium ore-processing business called the Foote Mineral Co., which closed in 1991. A Superfund cleanup project there was substantially completed in 2010, although monitoring of several locations on the property is continuing…..In West Whiteland, nearly 250 people have joined a “Protect Exton Park from Power Plant/Data Center Hub” page on Facebook since it was established earlier in this month. The popular recreation area is close to where Lyddane has explored building a second data center and a power plant.
A 700-acre expanse of woodlands, ponds, and open space, Exton Park was established 30 years ago after local residents fought fiercely to prevent construction of a large housing development, said Ginny Marcille-Kerslake, the administrator of the Facebook page.
“The zoning amendment Charlie requested is very open-ended and would open the door to [development of] hyper-scaled data centers in West Whiteland,” said Marcille-Kerslake….As for the future of the West Whitelandproperty, which includes a storm-water management area that would serve the East Whiteland data center, the developer said: “We don’t have a plan yet. We’re not sure if we’re going to do anything there.”
EAST WHITELAND — A 2-million-square-foot data center, at a cost of approximately $6 billion, is planned for the 100-acre former Foote Mineral site. Seventy-five acres sit in East Whiteland and 25 acres are located in West Whiteland Township.
Fifteenfortyseven Critical Systems Realty partnered with Green Fig Land to obtain East Whiteland zoning variance changes that would allow for two separate million-square-foot, two-story structures and microwave towers, near the intersection of Valley Creek Boulevard and Swedesford Road.
Charlie Lyddane, who works with partner Greg Walters, of Green Fig Land, said on Monday that he wants eventually to also build on the adjacent 25-acre property in West Whiteland Township.
The site abuts the heavily used Chester Valley Trail and Exton Park for what Lyddane said would be an “ancillary” use.
Data centers house equipment such as servers, and air conditioning and cooling equipment for storage of large amounts of data. Data centers run the systems that cell phones are connected to and it’s part of the internet. A data center is the building that houses all of that equipment.
Residents rallied to fight some of the uses after West Whiteland had set a January 25 date for a hearing on zoning changes in the existing office/lab district. Those changes would allow for the data center and a power generating facility to help run the data center. PECO has already agreed to supply a large amount of power. Lyddane said it was enough to fully run the East Whiteland facility as planned.
Lyddane pulled the request for a township hearing which was to appear on the agenda of the Jan. 25 meeting.
“There is no plan for a power plant,” Lyddane said, although a zoning ordinance change for such was requested. “There are a number of options for things to do there.
“We want to see what happens with the data centers. Nothing is definite. We don’t have a plan. We are looking at options.
“The only plan at this time is to build two data centers and that’s it. We are nearly through the approval process in East Whiteland.”
Lyddane also said that more than half of the 25-acre West Whiteland tract is being left as open space because it includes existing wetlands.
Any zoning changes would allow for additional data center construction on more than 100 nearby acres in the township that Lyddane said he doesn’t own and is not for sale. Lyddane said it would be possible to operate a green power plant at that location.
West Whiteland resident Ginny Kerslake is strongly opposed to the project that might include a power plant, as was requested and written with the new zoning variance language.
“Power plants, whether gas or hydrogen from methane, emit the greenhouse gases carbon dioxide, and methane,” she said.” In addition to this, there are methane emissions all along the route from fracking to the power plants, and impacts to public health and safety, water resources and the environment. No matter how you try to greenwash it, gray or blue hydrogen is not sustainable energy. It’s a false climate solution being pushed by the fossil fuel industry.”
Data centers in New York, Oregon, Hawaii, Wyoming, Wisconsin and two in Illinois are operated by 1547 Critical Systems….. A $50 million cleanup of the Foote Mineral site is completed, according to Lyddane, who said he spent $2 million on sewer improvements and $500,000 for the cleanup of the township sewer treatment plant.
The proposed West Whiteland zoning changes also call for a 60-foot height limit rather than the current limit of 35 feet.
“We are looking for flexibility,” Lyddane said.
The developer said that each of the two floors might measure 20 feet high, with equipment on the roof. He said that the facility would create 50 permanent “very good paying jobs” onsite and about 3,000 jobs during the construction period.
West Whiteland Supervisor Brian Dunn talked about the zoning changes that might lead to a data center and power plant in the township.
“I’m always skeptical about amending zoning ordinances,” Dunn said. “I’ve found through my experience that whenever a zoning ordinance is amended it’s not always what was proposed.
“A lot of times it opens up a can of worms for something worse.”
West Whiteland Supervisor Rajesh Kumbhardare said he wants to see the facts while noting that the site sits far from residences.
“I don’t see any issue with the zoning changes,” he said. “There is no power plant on the books.
.Kerslake argued that the zoning changes suggested for the canceled Jan. 25 meeting clearly stated such.
“Let’s consult the experts,” Kumbhardare said. “Let’s not put the cart before the horse.”
West Whiteland Supervisor Theresa Santalucia preferred to not comment when reached by phone.
Libby Madarasz is running for the seat occupied by Santalucia on the West Whiteland board of supervisors.
“I’ve spent hours this past long weekend speaking with residents in their neighborhoods and out enjoying Exton Park and the Chester Valley Trail,” she said. “There was a resounding objection to these (proposed) changes in the zoning ordinances which would have such an impact to these treasured spaces.
“The prospect of a fracked gas/hydrogen power plant was especially offensive. I truly hope our township supervisors listen to the people and honor their duty to put the desires of the residents first.”
Kerslake: “The developer’s withdrawal of his zoning ordinance amendment is a victory for all those speaking up against this bad plan and a testament to the power of community. The requested change, oddly submitted without plans and impact assessments, was a trojan horse that would have opened the door for a fracked gas power plant in close proximity to neighborhoods and our treasured Exton Park and Chester Valley Trail.
So to West Whiteland Supervisor Raj Kumbhardare, is a bit of a puzzle here. Supervisor Raj should have more to say more than his evasiveness in The Daily Local News about carts and horse, right? Supervisor Raj as a day job is in database administration so is there anything in this for him? Not being mean but does he care about all of his constituency equally? After all this issue is bigger than computer and database type professionals being excited that the data center is coming, right? And then there is the wondering if he really understands the zoning and how zoning doesn’t exist in a little bubble or vacuum and these changes could potentially have far-reaching changes for the township he is supposed to serve equally to his best efforts so??? I am not saying he’s not a good guy I am asking reasonable questions. I am also wondering how is feeling about carts and horse right now?
And my favorite angry lame duck supervisor is mums the word on this? Why? Rather odd considering….she’s always so pithy, yes?
Anyway, East Whiteland is not being shy about how they seem to be feeling, do they?
Also do not forget this hopeful piece from September, 2022:
With the passage of new tax incentives for data centers in Pennsylvania, developers have announced plans for a hyperscale campus outside Philadelphia that could create 2 million square feet of data center space.
The project is a big bet that Pennsylvania can become a destination for cloud campuses for huge Internet companies. The incentives are also being welcomed by existing data center providers, primarily enterprise colocation and interconnection specialists.
Last year, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf signed a package of data center incentives that includes a sales and use tax exemption for the purchase of computer equipment….
Last month data center operator fifteenfortyseven Critical Systems Realty (1547) said it will partner with real estate developer Green Fig Land Company (GFLC), to acquire 100 acres of land in Chester County, Pa. to build a data center campus with 150 megawatts of capacity. The site plans call for a pair of two-story data centers, each sized at 1 million square feet of space.
“We at Green Fig have spent three years working with the legislature to enact a bill to eliminate the sales tax on data center equipment in Pennsylvania,” said Charles Lyddane, Managing Partner of GFLC. “With access to Tier 1 carriers like Arelion, Lumen, and Windstream, Pennsylvania is the ideal location for an additional data center cluster sitting between markets like NJ/NY and Ashburn.”…If the project succeeds, the Chester County site could be expanded with to support an additional 149 megawatts of power, and up to 5 million SF of space. Green Fig said it is also working on a dedicated, sustainable power generating facility on site.
Tonight class we re-learned a valuable lesson or two:
(1) Sometimes the peasants revolt.
(2) Carts and horses are funny things.
(3) Sometimes municipalities want the public to have actual clarity.
A victory for East and West Whiteland residents. However, a caveat: FOR NOW.
In my humble opinion this is far from over. This meeting is still a regular public meeting and it would behoove concerned residents to go and still express their opinions on this.
And as I was driving on Swedesford Road today near Malvern Hunt, I am still very curious as to how the approved data center in East Whiteland is not going to bother the development dwellers there and even possibly a little further up where the townhouse development is, that’s new.
I will also note that a certain stupidvisor in West Whiteland who is now a lame duck with a bad attitude dodged comment when asked by a reporter from the Daily Local about this. I wonder why she is being silent? Is it pure ignorance on the topic, or did someone tell her not to say anything? I think when it comes to these projects, there’s always more than meets the eye, and it’s not just local involvement, is it?
EAST WHITELAND — A 2-million-square-foot data center, at a cost of approximately $6 billion, is planned for the 100-acre former Foote Mineral site. Seventy-five acres sit in East Whiteland and 25 acres are located in West Whiteland Township.
Fifteenfortyseven Critical Systems Realty partnered with Green Fig Land to obtain East Whiteland zoning variance changes that would allow for two separate million-square-foot, two-story structures and microwave towers, near the intersection of Valley Creek Boulevard and Swedesford Road.
Charlie Lyddane, who works with partner Greg Walters, of Green Fig Land, said on Monday that he wants eventually to also build on the adjacent 25-acre property in West Whiteland Township….The site abuts the heavily used Chester Valley Trail and Exton Park for what Lyddane said would be an “ancillary” use.
Data centers house equipment such as servers, and air conditioning and cooling equipment for storage of large amounts of data. Data centers run the systems that cell phones are connected to and it’s part of the internet. A data center is the building that houses all of that equipment.
Residents rallied to fight some of the uses after West Whiteland had set a January 25 date for a hearing on zoning changes in the existing office/lab district. Those changes would allow for the data center and a power generating facility to help run the data center. PECO has already agreed to supply a large amount of power. Lyddane said it was enough to fully run the East Whiteland facility as planned….The proposed West Whiteland zoning changes also call for a 60-foot height limit rather than the current limit of 35 feet.
“We are looking for flexibility,” Lyddane said.
The developer said that each of the two floors might measure 20 feet high, with equipment on the roof. He said that the facility would create 50 permanent “very good paying jobs” onsite and about 3,000 jobs during the construction period.
West Whiteland Supervisor Brian Dunn talked about the zoning changes that might lead to a data center and power plant in the township.
“I’m always skeptical about amending zoning ordinances,” Dunn said. “I’ve found through my experience that whenever a zoning ordinance is amended it’s not always what was proposed.
“A lot of times it opens up a can of worms for something worse.”
West Whiteland Supervisor Rajesh Kumbhardare said he wants to see the facts while noting that the site sits far from residences.
“I don’t see any issue with the zoning changes,” he said. “There is no power plant on the books….
West Whiteland Supervisor Theresa Santalucia preferred to not comment when reached by phone.
Libby Madarasz is running for the seat occupied by Santalucia on the West Whiteland board of supervisors.
“I’ve spent hours this past long weekend speaking with residents in their neighborhoods and out enjoying Exton Park and the Chester Valley Trail,” she said. “There was a resounding objection to these (proposed) changes in the zoning ordinances which would have such an impact to these treasured spaces.
It’s a very big article in the Daily Local and it’s worth reading.
Residents take a victory lap, but don’t get complacent. Please. And why am I saying that? Because at the end of the day this also has a lot to do with politics. This is a battle won, not the war.
Ashbridge House/Indian Run Farm Exton at Main Street Bozzuto Photo
I had someone reach out to me very recently, who was a descendent of the Newlin family who once lived at Ashbridge house on Indian Run Farm in Exton/West Whiteland. His name is Nick Schade and he has shared some photos that I will share at the bottom of what this used to be but now a few words about what it has become.
This was one of the broken down old beautiful Chester County farm houses I have been obsessed with over the past few years. This was the one that when you went into Main Street, looked like it was shrink wrapped in plastic so it could be shipped somewhere like a package I don’t know how else to describe it. I have been writing about this place for a few years, the last time in 2020.
Ashbridge House at Indian Run Farm circa 2017-2020
I will be completely honest, and I never thought that this would ever be restored. But it has been. This next photo is another one from Bozzuto who was the developer.
Bozzuto photo
Now I am not going to be a hypocrite, and change my tune and say I love the development around the farmhouse, because I most assuredly do not. First of all, I think there are too many apartment complexes being built out here and we don’t want to be at King of Prussia in Chester County. But it sure seems like that is the direction that everything is going, isn’t it? But I will say that I am honestly grateful that the rehab actually occurred.
It is so important for municipalities to see that adaptive reuse of old structures can occur. Like what finally happened here would be ideal for the Lloyd Farm House in Caln. Or the 18th century farmhouse on the property of the boat dealership that was Clews and Strawbridge in Frazer. Or what about the old farmhouse in Exton – you know 105 S. Whitford Road in Exton? Was part of Oaklands Estate originally and a familial/childhood home of a now retired and popular former Chester County State Representative?
I am also going to say that in spite of the insane amount of development in West Whiteland, it is also a municipality that has some mighty fine adaptive reuse and restoration of historic structures if they survive.
Back to Ashbridge House/Indian Run Farm. So the farmhouse is part of the development, and the old barn is World of Beer. The photos you will be seeing are from the Newlin family.
I am always grateful when these family members send me photos of these places I write about. Because when I see them as they were in my minds eye, and I imagine, it’s always so wonderful when I see actual photos if they exist to see that I wasn’t wrong in my imagining. It’s also cool since a lot of these families don’t have a lot of descendants left, or they don’t have descendants that know of once came from this area and lived in these great places.
The photos I am about to post start in the late 19th century and run through to the 1970s.
Thank you so much Nick for the photos and the prompt to post an update.
The Frazer Diner on Route 30 in Frazer has closed. I am honestly concerned about this site, which has been written about a slew of times and is actually in a book about diners.
I love old school diners. Sorry not sorry, it’s scrapple and eggs for me, or a diner burger and a fountain coke. Remember the diner days of years gone by where you would see the lemon meringue pies with their high hats of meringue in the cases with other desserts? I remember that from the original Minella’s in Wayne and this cool old diner in North Jersey
Anyway, the Frazer Diner is a truly cool example of an amazingly intact diner. And now they have closed. Research indicates the Cavalati family still owns it, the owners live in Mechanicsburg, PA. So they are far removed from this now, will they sell? Find a new tenant?
Why am I concerned? We hear the continued whispers of developers sniffing around East Whiteland and the Route 30/Lancaster Ave corridor. West Whiteland is a hotbed of bad development and neighboring Easttown is not much better along Lancaster Avenue is it? Just look at that new construction gargantuan and hideous apartments or whatever dwarfing the Berwyn Pub.
Originally manufactured in 1935[2](though some sites reference 1929), it was purchased by Frances and Sylvester Cavalati in 1957 and moved to its present location at 189 Lancaster Avenue, Frazer, Pennsylvania in East Whiteland Township. In 1972, while retaining ownership, they leased it to others to operate and the name was changed to the Frazer Diner.[3]
Around 1983, the diner was leased to Tam Nguyen and his wife Hao (law school graduate and nurse, respectively) who had fled communism in Vietnam and moved to the Main Line in 1980. They operated it as the Linh Diner, specializing in Vietnamese-Chinese food, and it became a regular lunch stop for nearby high-tech companies in the Great Valley. After five years building a successful business, they were running out of space and looking to move to a new location that was to be built as part of a new shopping center nearby. Before that happened, the Cavalati’s served the Nguyens an eviction notice, and noted there was a buyer who wanted to move the diner to Hollywood.[4]
The Nguyens did eventually open the Linh Restaurant nearby, but the diner was not moved to California, and eventually re-opened, once again as the Frazer Diner.
Diners have a place in our hearts and communities. It doesn’t have to be haute cuisine. It’s a community gathering place historically, and some diners were just breakfast and lunch, some did 3 meals, some were open 24 hours.
I find today especially out here in Chester County, we lack a distinct variety from the most humble through to fine dining. We are a lot of formula food, fast food, sushi, brew pubs, quasi steak houses. The only good BBQ is Farm Boy, and they are a gem (hope they re-open soon!)
There always were historically good diners in Chester County. And one by one they are biting the dust. DK still holds court in West Chester. The West Chester Diner used to be pretty good, but the last couple of years it has sadly gone downhill. But West Chester Diner was always too big. Frazer like DK had that little joint feel, which I think is part of the whole diner experience.
The funny thing about the Frazer Diner is how often it has been written up in diner articles. I am putting into this post what I have discovered. I am putting this out there in the hopes someone saves it, or in the hopes that anyone is interested at all.
We need fewer crappy apartment and townhouse developments. How about adaptive reuse of literally a historic diner? Thanks for stopping by.
So it’s almost Christmas and good ol’ Fenicia is still on her crusade to protect her child from bad things. Is it true her “child” is a teenager? Like 16 or something? Does he want mom to protect him? Has anyone ever asked this poor kid how he feels about his mom’s performances at school board meetings and in Federal Court?
It is her right to do this to be sure, but what has she gained? How much has she cost the taxpayers in the Great Valley School District and in East Whiteland Township since she is also trying to sue our law enforcement personnel for doing their jobs, essentially?
She still has a Go Fund Me up. Here are most of her donors for it:
So do you know any of these people? Make sure you tell them thank you, right? This costs ALL of us money. And for what?
Redman was granted a delay to find an attorney – that expired on Nov 28 and she admitted she still didn’t have an attorney, BUT then she requested and was granted another 30-day extension to submit amendments. Her GoFundMe page lays out the details from her point of view.
Once she amended her original complaint the judge dismissed the defendants’ motions to dismiss as moot (they had said she had no standing based on what she originally filed).
My opinion is this is bullshit. And is she doing her own filings or is some attorney helping her on the side?
WEST CHESTER — In his ruling last week dismissing the demand for a recount of the results of the Nov. 8 election in 11 Chester County precincts, Judge Jeffrey Sommer not only called into question the legal basis for the petitioners’ claims but suggested that four of them had been at the least disingenuous and at most dishonest.
“Were you lying then or are you lying now?” the judge asked rhetorically in his decision last week.
The quartet — voters from Birmingham, West Pikeland and Willistown — each served as a poll worker during the past election, as a Judge of Elections, a Majority Inspector, and two clerks — had alleged in their petitions requesting to have the ballot boxes in their home precincts opened and the votes there recounted by hand that un-detailed instances of fraud or error in the counting of votes for governor and the lieutenant governor had occurred…. In his 18-page opinion and order, Sommer noted that the four had sworn an oath to uphold the Election Code, and at the end of the day had signed a verification to that effect — that as poll workers they had “followed all of the procedures proscribed by law.”
How could there then have been fraud under their watch if they said nothing illegal had been done at the time, Sommer asked.
“The four petitioners who conducted the election in their precincts and who swore that they would uphold the law, who counted and reconciled the votes, and who then swore that they followed all procedures proscribed by law, now claim there was fraud in their precinct,” the judge noted incredulously. “In short, they now claim they themselves acted fraudulently or in error,” he wrote. “Aside from the obvious question, ‘Were you lying then or are you lying now?’ it reinvigorates one of the seminal inquires (in the case): Do you have specific claims of fraud?”
Because attorney Joseph D. DiGuglielmo of Wallace, who represented the plaintiffs, assured the judge during a hearing that there indeed was evidence of fraud, although he declined to specify what, “the court wonders if perhaps it is because his own petitioners may have acted fraudulently and could be subject to investigations by the District Attorney.”Sommer did not identify the four who worked the polls in his opinion. However, they were named in separate memorandums filed by the Chester County Solicitors Office ahead of the Dec. 5 hearing. They are Birmingham voters Marc Altman, who worked as Judge of Election in Precinct 2, and Kathleen Perri Dobson, who worked as a clerk there; Shannon Grady of West Pikeland, who served as Majority Inspector; and Deirdre “Dee” Miller, who worked as a clerk in Willistown’s N-1 precinct.
Attempts to reach Altman, Grady and Miller for comment were unsuccessful. Messages were left for the trio at phone numbers for them listed publicly but were not returned…Contacted on Wednesday, Dobson refused to comment.
“I will not talk to a reporter,” Dobson said in a brief telephone conversation. “You guys distort everything. Until you guys get some integrity — if you even understand the word — don’t call me again. I don’t trust you.”…“Petitioners cannot ‘lay by and gamble upon receiving a favorable decision of the electorate and then upon losing, seek to undo those ballot results in court actions,” he said, quoting a 1973 federal election case. “By first swearing and attesting that the election results were legal and valid, these petitioners must now be (barred) from asserting unspecified fraud in the votes tally they certified.”
In his withering 17-page decision, Judge Jeffrey Sommer turned aside the contentions by the 33 voters that they should get access to the ballots to prove that there had been some sort of skulduggery in the election, evidence of which DiGuglielmo said existed but which he would not produce.
Sommer filed his order denying the request “with prejudice,” meaning the litigants are legally prohibited from re-filing their demands in Common Pleas Court…. The petitions were filed by more than 30 voters in 11 precincts across the county — in Birmingham, East Bradford, Kennett, Tredyffrin, West Goshen, West Pikeland, Willistown, Upper Uwchlan and Uwchlan. Filed in boilerplate style with spaces left for voters to fill in the blanks, the petitions sought a hand recount of ballots because of unspecified “fraud or error” in the election…. An effort that appears to be at least partially coordinated among conservatives has inundated counties with ballot recount requests even though no races are close enough to require a recount and there has been no evidence of any potential problems.
The attempt to delay certification could foreshadow a potential strategy for the 2024 presidential election if the results don’t go the way disaffected voters want in one of the nation’s most closely contested states.
Never fear readers, I am sure these lovelies will be back at school board meetings wearing gas masks soon enough.
So Raffi Terzian and Chesco GOP are y’all still hitching your proverbial wagons to these crooked stars, aka extremist groups and school board terrorists?
Well that’s it. Just sharing the information that is out there. And I am still asking why we have to keep paying for the phobias of others like this? These people have no interest in the rights of everyone, this is about their comfort level. Whatever happened to not making every single god damn person on the planet pay for what one person or a small group of people are not comfortable with? In this case, does she pay court costs when this is all over?
And here are some of the recent docket filings to read:
Well I was talking to a very dear friend today. She lives in the New Garden area. She is one of the most diligent and practical people I know. Literally have known her since I was like maybe 12 or 13. Our parents were friends. And she quietly says to me today something about have I seen what is going on in New Garden Township about their AQUA issues. I said yes, a bit and I thought gosh I didn’t even send her my post on the extra special interim manager, but anyway….
Then my jaw hit the floor. My friend said her water bill under AQUA ownership went from $250 each billing cycle to $900!
That news made me go watch the recent New Garden meeting recordings that my friend and friend to all communities Ginny Kerslake had posted on Facebook.
So now I am wondering (aloud) if municipalities selling to AQUA is a mistake?
I don’t think we can un-ring the bell on inked deals, and things are still in court that would potentially stop the sales in East Whiteland and Willistown, although I find that unlikely, but who knows?
These municipalities can’t afford their sewer systems any longer, and I do believe that is true, BUT now I am wondering what part utility companies have in that?
And something else I am now wondering about might sound crazy BUT is there ANY way that AQUA could force those of us on septic and wells to hook up to them?
Oh and I think AQUA, or I should say I know AQUA watches this blog. But as a consumer and a resident where one of these sales is pending, I am actually allowed to have questions. Even now. And WHY do I have questions? Watching that whole crazy recent meeting that was held in New Garden. That and having a friend today tell me how much their bill increased (with kids in college and not there all of the time, no less.)
I also keep coming back to those lovely laws in Harrisburg that allow AQUA to increase their rates. So now I wonder aloud what so many others wonder: is AQUA just getting what they paid back via these increases so is that a good thing for consumers in the end?
Above is a link to a press release by State Rep Christina Sappey from this September. This is what jumped out:
Recently, rate increases for water and wastewater services provided by Aqua Pennsylvania Inc. (Aqua) went into effect for over 400,000 customers in 32 counties across the commonwealth. Many residents, including seniors on fixed incomes, have been surprised and frustrated to receive bills that have nearly doubled.
The current rules regarding rate regulations and water utility sales are not in the consumer’s best interest. It is imperative that reform is considered in Harrisburg to prevent future prioritization of corporate profits over residents’ access to a basic necessity, such as water.
I share the frustration of Aqua customers going through this current increase. The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission is the regulatory authority in Pennsylvania for utility rates. Utilities wishing to increase rates must submit a request to the commission for approval. The PUC is currently comprised of three commissioners, each appointed by the governor on a five-year term and confirmed by the State Senate.
When Aqua submitted this request in 2021, I urged the PUC to hold in-person hearings for residents to voice concerns. When that request was denied, State Rep. John Lawrence and I hosted a telephonic public hearing and I joined many of you in testifying against the then-proposed additional charges. Despite these efforts, the PUC commissioners voted unanimously to approve the rate increase in May of 2022.
Recently, I wrote to the PUC providing examples of the negative impact the approved rates have had and requesting a review of current charges to ensure they align with the commission-approved rates. I encourage anyone who feels their bill does not properly reflect their usage or the approved rate to file a complaint with the PUC.
Today’s state laws allow for inflated valuations of financially solvent public water and wastewater utilities by private companies, enticing local municipalities and authorities to sell for a large return in the short term, only for those costs to be recouped through the ratepayer’s wallet. These processes are done with little transparency or direct input from those that it impacts most, ratepayers.
~ STATE REP CHRISTINA SAPPEY 9/30/22
I want to be abundantly clear here: I still do NOT approve the way Willistown residents have been treating Bob Lange and Bill Shoemaker. There is a THIRD supervisor, and there was the THIRD supervisor who was all for the sale and then resigned before she had been a supervisor very long, correct? What was her name? Oh yes, Barbara Handelin, right?
My other issue with this in Willistown is the inability for some residents to realize this is NOT a Democrat vs. Republican issue, it is a COMMUNITY issue that affects EVERYONE, i.e. it is non-partisan. I have NOT been a fan of the shenanigans to date and every meeting it is essentially the SAME people repeating themselves. Surely there are OTHER residents affected, yes? Well people, be polite and either zoom a meeting and comment or go in person. But the same people speaking pretty much every time? Umm, people tune that out after a while, even if they believe in the issue. And where were all of you while Willistown was deciding to sell or not? Why is it in Willistown it feels like people wake up only AFTER the horse has left the proverbial barn?
So yes, I am indeed wondering aloud in the final month of 2022 about this. It doesn’t mean I have been “won over”, it means for the first time I am articulating concerns I have always had. It’s like now that the 3 ring circus in Willistown has quieted some I have had time to think.
And when one of your more long term friends tells you HOW MUCH their bill jumped, well, it HAS to make you think. And of course how it all went down in New Garden also has to make you think. All those supervisors singing the chorus of hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil etc etc, right? Quid est veritas? What is truth?
I do know that Willistown and East Whiteland BOTH notified residents, held meetings, etc. COVID or not, meetings were zoomed if not in person and well, a lot of people did nothing. I even kept putting it out there. But New Garden? That place is rather odd, isn’t it?
And I also really want to know if those of us on wells and septic will be allowed to stay as we are? I have never heard that questioned answered. I also wonder aloud if AQUA could try to be more community minded? What if they supported measures in Harrisburg that might put the brakes on their rate jumping seemingly willy nilly?
It’s a recession. In my humble opinion we have been playing kick the can down the road with recession since circa 2008. Maybe it’s time to just stop and think on this a little longer?
Sign me, thinking out loud. Happy December, y’all.
For more than four hours at the New Garden Elementary School auditorium on Nov. 21, three factions sorted through the smoldering mass of information that lay at the creation of an agreement of sale that has been on the front burner of controversy in the township for the past several years.
In one corner of the room, the New Garden Township Board of Supervisors sat a table facing another table occupied by three executives from Aqua Pennsylvania (Aqua), including its president Marc Lucca. The most dominant presence at the meeting, however, were the more than 200 township residents who sat and stood in protest of the reason that drew them there: the massive increase they are seeing in their wastewater bills from Aqua – as much as a 140 percent increase over the past year – that are arriving in their mailboxes as part of the residue from the township’s sale of its wastewater system to the Big Water giant for $29.5 million in 2020….
Nearly from the start, the patience of those in the audience to sit through the complicated alphabet soup of agencies and legal and legislative delays was paper thin, particularly during an hour-long presentation by former township official and director of planning and projects Spence Andress, who painstakingly sifted through a two-inch high stack of documents that described the minutia of what led to the eventual sale of the township’s system.
He said that a major factor leading to the decision by the Board of Supervisors and the township’s Sewer Authority to sell off the system was influenced by the cost of mitigating the infrastructure problems of the township’s vastly outdated wastewater system, which would cost the township an estimated $1.5 million a year, as well as an additional $1.5 million for debt service.
‘Allow us to speak!’
Halfway through Andress’ presentation, Peter Mrosinski and Margo Woodacre, two of the most prominent voices of opposition, shared their argument that the nature of the meeting was designed to shut down the residents. Their argument reflected the contents of a flyer that was circulated by KWA before the meeting that said that a former agreement with board chairman Steve Allaband would allow the group to lead the discussion, but that the idea was rejected earlier that afternoon by the supervisors. “Unfortunately, our supervisors once again appear to be covering their tracks and doing the bidding of Aqua to silence any meaningful discussion,” the flyer read.
I have not written about the ruin of Ebeneezer AME Church on Bacton Hill Road in East Whiteland for a couple of years now. It’s not my party any longer, and truthfully there are members of East Whiteland’s Historical Commission whom I am sure would prefer I not have an interest in this site. I guess it doesn’t matter that I did a lot of work for this site, some of my friends did a lot of work for this site, and years ago when no one was paying attention I did the placement for the media coverage which was local and regional.
Ebenezer prior to 2022 but after 2012
But I do have an interest in this site. It spoke to me years ago, and today I listened again. In 2016 a structural engineer reviewed this historic site and warned about not addressing the bowing of the longer north and south facing walls. There were also warnings of the use of heavy equipment on and close to site. Well today I got a couple of photos from the road because of what I saw a couple of weeks ago that disturbed me.
The walls are coming down. No, no one is taking them down, the years and years of neglect leave no other option for old walls.
November 13, 2022
I think this is tragic and really upsetting. But it’s not within my power to change it. It is still within the power of the AME Church, unless they have suddenly transferred the property to another entity. I also think East Whiteland Township could try to do a little more.
I asked someone for an update on the site in June and never heard a peep. OK fine, they aren’t interested in conversing with me, but now I am saying I told you so. If they want to preserve any part of the ruling of that church, they need to move a little more quickly. They also need to preserve the graves that are in the graveyard.
Ebenezer represents a heck of a lot of history and there are freed slaves, black Civil War Soldiers, and ancestors of people who still live in the area today. This site deserves respect. Respect just isn’t a historical marker, respect is a better degree of historic preservation. You can read about my coverage of Ebenezer by doing a search on this site or CLICK HERE.
Yes, TCE infected/polluted land and not just the Bishop Tube site. We’re all still talking about these sites. I always wonder why there seems to be so much still to clean up? I mean I get way back when none of us knew the environmental hazards people would face but is it just me or do others feel like these topics are discussed, but then not enough is ever cleaned up?
Watch this – so interesting
So I put up a post recently about the notice coming out about Bishop Tube clean-up.
It still remains a hot topic. WHYY (embedded below) and Philadelphia Inquirer (excerpt below):
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection plans an $8 million cleanup of the contaminated Bishop Tube site in Chester County — a focus of controversy for 10 years when a company controlled by developer Brian J. O’Neill purchased it to build housing.
Constitution Driver Partners LP, O’Neill’s company, did not cause the pollution, and the property was already on the DEP’s list of brownfields approved for reuse as long as they are cleaned to state standards.
Still, residents and environmental groups have opposed building on the vacant industrial site where a number of contaminants are present in the soil, water and air inside the old buildings. The main contaminant of concern is trichloroethylene (TCE), a colorless liquid that can cause headaches, dizziness, and sleepiness in moderate amounts, and coma and death in large amounts. It is also linked to heart, liver, and kidney problems as well as cancer.
TCE has been found in excess of state allowable levels and was widely used in the process of making steel tubing at the 13.7-acre site in Frazer, East Whiteland Township, starting in the 1950s.
But why I am writing this post is I find it interesting that ANOTHER toxic site in East Whiteland also containing TCE from the OTHER side of the township is becoming a hot topic. Maybe I have been living under a rock, but I forgot this existed. It started with my seeing this on the East Whiteland website:
EPA has opened the public comment period regarding a proposed cleanup plan for the Malvern TCE Superfund Site. Community members and interested parties are encouraged to share comments between September 29 and October 28, 2022. More information on how to comment and about the proposed cleanup plan can be found below.
The Malvern Trichloroethene (TCE) Superfund Site, located in East Whiteland Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania, operated as a solvent reclamation facility from 1952 to 1992. The site is in a wooded area surrounded by residential and undeveloped areas bordering the property to the west, north and east. The site consists of a main plant area connected to a former disposal area by a narrow meadow corridor, and sources of contamination at the site are tied to these two areas.
A portion of the site is owned and operated by Chemclene Corporation that, until a fire in 1999, sold hydrogen peroxide and industrial cleaning solvents. These solvents were used by local industries for degreasing metal parts and for other cleaning purposes. Chemclene used a distillation process to remove impurities from the previously used solvents, which were then returned to customers for reuse or held in bulk storage for resale.
Prior to 1976, sludge from the distillation process was disposed in the wooded area, also known as the former disposal area. The former processing, chemical storage, and waste management practices at the property contaminated the soil and groundwater. Following the detection of soil and groundwater contamination in 1980, Chemclene took several measures to clean up the site from 1982 to 1987 with the oversight of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection. The site was added to EPA’s National Priorities List in September 1983.
As an operating hazardous waste facility, Chemclene signed a Corrective Action Order with EPA in 1989 to continue the cleanup. When the company failed to carry out the Order, the site was referred back to EPA’s Superfund program in November 1993. Since then, EPA has been overseeing the cleanup of the site.
SO….learn to take ahold of opportunities and attend the October 13th meeting. Especially if you live on that side of the township where it is located.
The EPA 30-Day Public Comment Period has officially begun for the “Malvern TCE Proposed Cleanup Plan.”
The EPA published a newspaper ad in the Daily Local News and also mailed out fact sheets with details about the plan and the upcoming public meeting. (Mind you I do not know who received said fact sheet, I have yet to see a mailed copy.) A digital copy of the fact sheet and full Proposed Cleanup Plan document can be found on the front page of the Site’s EPA Profile Page: https://www.epa.gov/superfund/malvern.
EPA will be hosting the public meeting on October 13, 2022 at 6:00 P.M. at the East Whiteland Township Building. I will note this seems to be the old ChemClene site. But people have an opportunity to speak up. They should take it. That site is actually pretty close to Great Valley High School among other things. I do not know that the meeting is being recorded, although it should be.
Again, This meeting I discovered is October 13, at the East Whiteland Township. As in this Thursday. 6 PM.
In closing, every time I hear about one of these things I ask the same question: how many toxic sites exist in Chester County? How toxic are parts of Chester County, really and do we want to know? How will the EPA treat parts of Chester County based on their recent “forever chemicals” coverage in the media? Will the PA DEP follow the EPA?
