Tag Archives: oxford

carol’s story

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Happy horses grazing somewhere in Chester County

Happy horses grazing somewhere in Chester County

So way back in late October and early November when a friend saw these kooky Craig’s List ads and then I started looking on my own and asking questions about horse rescue, I have said it before, but it is the truth: I had no clue the craziness that would ensue.

Day after day, week after week things just swirled about Off The Track Thoroughbred Rescue in Glenmoore (Oxford too?) and Parx Racing’s Turning for home.  I did not seek it out.  I even got comments from people as far away as Oklahoma. On and on, and drama swirled.   Facebook kamikaze to odd things happening at people’s homes. (Unless you think the state police showing up in full Ninja turtle gear is normal for Chester County mornings?). People getting followed, people feeling generally bothered, and lots of finger-pointing, and how nutty was all of it?  Even I received comments and such that could be interpreted as threatening or menacing, and wow, what did I do?  Ask questions? Care about animals in rescue?

When would it stop?

No one seemed to know.  And all it was to begin with was worry over horses entering rescue and how they were being cared for and where was LAPs in all of this?

Now from my perspective can it be said that Barbara Luna who is with Parx Racing’s non-profit Turning for Home among others has a lot of questions she should be answering versus dodging?  After all isn’t it Barbara Luna who helps shift these racehorses who have outlived their track usefulness off the track around here and into local rescue?  Still to this day, where is this woman’s accountability?  How did these horses end up across state lines without proper paperwork in some cases? And did some end up in that awful New Holland place in line to become god knows what?

Anyway, last week it was noticed that Off The Track Thoroughbred Rescue of Fairview Road in Glenmoore (and elsewhere?) was offline.  As in the Facebook page and website suddenly went dark. It had be active in both cases as of March 11, because they were advertising a yard sale to raise money for the rescue sometime this month, so why?  Why is the only thing left (probably until this post gets published) a tumblr page? Are they closing their doors or merging with another horse rescue?  If either occurs, what happens to the horses in this rescue?  And where are they?

So many unanswered questions.  But today, I have been asked by someone who says they were duped by Off The Track Thoroughbred Rescue to publish something.  It is her story.  She wants to go public because she is tired of being painted as a villain in a multi-act play.

Her name is Carol.  Below is what she wrote verbatim.  She owns her words and takes responsibility for them.  If Off  The Track Thoroughbred Rescue is indeed done, then perhaps Barbara Luna of Turning for Home can address this? Even  apologize?

Click on hyperlink for Carol’s Story.  carols story

A lot of this centers around Carol’s special needs daughter.  And anyone who knows horses or has worked with say Thorncroft or other horse therapy programs knows the power horses have for good in these situations.

Here is the text (there are photos and other things the author embedded in the document above):

In Jan of 1999 God blessed our family with a beautiful baby girl. Her birthmother loved her so much she actually came to our home with a weapon and ripped her from my arms.

My baby was lost to me for 3 months before authorities were able to bring her home. She came home very lethargic. I had my baby back but, she didn’t laugh, she didn’t coo, she didn’t even cry all that much. She simply laid there, a human baby with no light in her eyes. It was like holding a doll.

Doctors said she’d outgrow it…experts said that severely neglected infants become very withdrawn but love would heal that. I couldn’t just sit by and hope. I quit my job and devoted every minute of my life to bringing her back. She never left my sight during those first nine months. We bonded and slowly I began to see a spark in her eyes.

At 4, we learned she was on the autism spectrum. I watched my child struggle to fit in, to make friends, to be good at something/anything for years. The pain was incredible. Then in 2010 at the age of 11 she discovered horses and her whole world changed. She started taking lessons, she learned to ride and she found her voice. Finally she had friends, she was good at something and she liked her world. For months she saved every penny of her allowance, her birthday money and Christmas money. Her goal was to own a horse of her own.

Day after day she spent hours on dream horse trying to find a horse she could afford until the day she saw an ad placed by Jessica Troxell Basciano. Of course we took her to see the horse. Of course we let her buy him. What parent could say no to a child’s dream?

Never did we think anyone, much less a mother, would take advantage of a handicapped child but that is exactly what Jessica Troxell Basciano did. She said the horse was perfect for my daughter. She said the horse was sound and well trained. Jessica Troxell Basciano stood next to me, watched the tears rolling down my face as my only child lived out her dream on the back of that horse…and she lied.

Instead of a sound, well trained, suitable for a child, horse Jessica Troxell Basciano sold my baby a horse that had only been off the track for three weeks, had been recently gelded and had severe stifle issues.

We returned the horse to Jessica Troxell Basciano within 24 hours of purchase. Two years later we are still fighting to have my daughter’s money returned to her.

mooseThis is “Moose’.  In the background is my car and the tent we slept in next to Moose because my child refused to leave him that night. Below is Jessica’s response. We did not leave the horse alone at all actually. He never fell during the night and he didn’t have a soft tissue injury anywhere on his body.  He was not injured while we had him.

words

As for the vet bill:

  1. My husband is a well respected, highly intelligent engineer. To suggest he would offer to pay anything more to her is just insulting.
  2. What vet charges $300 to come look at a horse? No x-rays were taken. The vet came at 3:00 pm and Jessica started texting me to say the horse was perfectly fine at 3:05.
  3. She claims to have a bill and a letter. We have yet to see anything of the sort.

Jessica Troxell Basciano “re-homed’ ‘Moose’ to a young woman named Jenn Messner. Jenn is one of many young women who work for Jessica in exchange for free horses. Below is Jenn’s response:

words1

Please note that she says she wouldn’t have put my child on that horse but Jessica did. Also note she says he has stifle issues.

All I want is my daughters money back and for Jessica Troxell Basciano not to be able to do this to any other family. Yes, it IS about the horses but sometimes it’s also about the people who love them.

Carol Linares

back to the horses

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wildcat lakeLest we forget out here in Chester County, it is not just dogs that need the kindness and caring of the public, horses do too.

So I am circling back to the topic of horse rescue.  Briefly.  It is my hope since the media that is interested in horse rescue irregularities now knows how to find their way to Chester County, they will check out what is up with horse rescue.  Especially since so many come literally off a track in Pennsylvania.

See this horse photo posted?  His name I am told is Wildcat.  He has a story posted with his photo.  I found it all on Facebook yesterday, and it is quite recent. I will share that too:

wildcat story

Yes it is fugly out there when it comes to horse rescue, and I wish that just one iota of the media attention shown to other types of animals, animal cruelty, and animal rescue would show here.  Wildcat ended up with a happy ending of sorts because he ended up thousands of miles away on a farm of a caring woman from Oklahoma….who is still waiting apparently for either Turning for Home through Parx or Off The Track Thoroughbred Rescue to pony up the horse’s paperwork and medical records.  I can’t make this stuff up, just look for yourselves:

wildcat 2

Horses are expensive and when they change hands they have all these things that are supposed to go with them. I am too tired to go into all of it again, but can we leave it as horse rescue seems to me to be a somewhat dirty business?  And can we also say around here that these race horses that come off the track via a woman named Barbara Luna and Turning for Home and in turn go to a rescue that isn’t even a non-profit called Off The Track Thoroughbred Rescue at 261 Fairview Road in Glenmoore are long overdue with some explaining on Wildcat and other horses placed into rescue?   Are there still horses related to this rescue at a place called Lasko Farm in Oxford? After all how else do you explain why some horse lovers/owners are still so upset in Chester County? That photo of Wildcat above is on Facebook in a couple of different places – in once place it cause enough uproar for over 80 comments .  These PA “rescues” are even being discussed by a pretty big deal nationally known horse rescue person, and I would not say it is all positive and love, is it?

The dogs in our world have a lot of good people to look after them and fight for them.  Horses, not so much.  Around these parts they are supposed to have LAPs, but does that do any good?  No one can ever seem to answer that question for me.

My final comment this morning is for the dogs. The outpouring of love and support for the Bock family over the loss of their beloved dogs Argus & Fiona is so truly amazing and wonderful…some of the more negative behavior I have heard about associated with this? Not so much. I really don’t dig the idea of strangers taking the nosy pleasure ride through Chester Springs to see “where it happened” or the comments I have seen threatening innocent animals or when I heard about the freak of a woman who stood in the road with a bull horn screaming.

I find this morning’s article in The Daily Local interesting.  Especially since West Vincent officials pretty much hid from the media and public for days on this.  Are they utterly innocent in this? Only time will tell.  Seems to me they were advised to get on the publicity bandwagon. People don’t generally think warm fuzzie bunnies and chickens when it comes to these supervisors do they?  I do applaud the Chief of Police for stating flat-out that they freaky vigilante justice has to stop.  No civilized person condones that kind of behavior so good for them.

but wait….there’s more happy horse scheisse

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UPDATE 1.28.13  Wowza!  SOMEBODY DOESN’T LIKE BARBARA LUNA TODAY

deb jones

turning for home xraySigh….when it rains it pours.  I have received another horse comment that deserves it’s own post….again it is about a certain local-ish horse rescue: Off The Track Thoroughbred Rescue and I guess also about that elusive Barbara Luna from Turning for Home which feeds horses coming off the track and into Off The Track Thoroughbred Rescue and Jessica Troxell Basciano’s care, and are we surprised?

As is the case with the more ad naseum post of earlier I did not solicit what I am about to post, it did not originate with me.  I don’t rescue horses, don’t own horses, don’t currently ride. If the rescue la la types have a hissy fit over this comment, they also sold this person a horse so they also know where to find them.  I do not.

The heat is on in horse rescue in Chester County I would say, wouldn’t you?

Here is the comment. The X-Rays are posted as photos within the body of this post as you can see. The comment comes from a lady named Lisa who comments regularly on these horse rescue posts:

Here is what the people of this rescue think a removed bone chip looks like. Didn’t know a removed bone chip required screws? My vet calls it a fracture not a bone chip removal and that this horse, my little girl’s horse that I got from Jessica Basciano, is not going to be able to do much when it comes to riding. I have invested a load of money in this horse and to find this out has been heartbreaking for myself, not to mention my little girl whose horse this is!

Oh yeah, I got this horse at the end of August and am now just finding all this out now. You think maybe in an almost 5 month spread I could have been told about this?

Also I am still trying to get my other horse’s vet records. In fact I contacted Barbara Luna a few weeks ago requesting them, as my vet is going to now have to a check on him as well, since I don’t know if I was told the entire truth about his injuries. I still haven’t heard a word back from Barbara about his vet records!

Hey Barbara, if you are reading this, my vet still needs Hi Card Gambler’s vet records!  Can I please get them for the 3rd time in asking for them?!

file_1

Here is the horse before this lady Lisa started caring for him:

HiCardlookingsick

Here is is AFTER she bought him and has cared for him:

HiCardlookinggood

Here is some sort of discharge papers from when he was a racehorse:

Discharge_Orders-condylar_NDP_simple_riding

Goes to show that someone will still care for an animal even when it ends up being more special needs than pleasure riding so why wasn’t eveyone just up front about this with all vet records?  These horses unlike the majority of dogs and cats who go into rescue have paperwork, have vet records — it is all supposed to go where they go so why doesn’t it?

1.23.13 UPDATE:

Yowza! There seems to be a flurry of activity and phone calls and facebook messages and all sorts of Tom Follery.  Of course more people are asking where Barbara Luna and Turning for Home are in this hot mess. Follow this LINK for the 990 on Guide Star in 2010.  Barbara Luna must report to the board and they are listed on page 33 of the report.(also found here: Turning For Home 990).

So anyway, hope this all gets sorted out.  But this sure is one hot mess. Who the heck knew finding odd Craig’s List Posts in late fall would lead to so much drama?

horse popp 1horse poop 1

more ad naseum about horse rescue: along came a comment from oklahoma

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wildcat 1I will admit up front I am waaay past cranky.  I have been sick for a week and I am tired of being sick.  Anyway between being sick and life in general I did not pay much attention to some outreach this blog received which was very interesting.  It came in a few days ago, I forgot about it, did not approve it and came back to it today.

It’s from a woman who lives in Oklahoma named Kendall Pearsall who had problems with (drumroll please) a wildcat2certain local-ish horse rescue: Off The Track Thoroughbred Rescue . Furthermore I would not describe her words as kind or complimentary  for those folks or that elusive Barbara Luna from Turning for Home which feeds horses coming off the track and into Off The Track Thoroughbred Rescue and Jessica Troxell Basciano’s care, ok?

Anyway this woman Kendall with whom I have never spoken, and certainly never met, got a horse called “Wildcat”.  Wildcat was mentioned by people in wildcat3the comments on  one of the posts.  I don’t remember where.

Silly me, I had no idea horses in a horse rescue in PA would travel across the country to the great plains state of Oklahoma.  But I don’t rescue horses so what do I know.

Her comments and name (and e-mail address) provided me with enough to find her wildcat4aFacebook page and photos that are public of this horse. I am NOT publishing her e-mail as she seems like a victim if that is what you call it.  I did not solicit this woman, did not know she exists.  But if people from clear across the country are complaining now, what next? And if anyone mentioned in her comment have issues with being mentioned, well heck you sold her a horse and you know where to find her.wildcat4

Makes you wonder that is for darn sure. What I am posting is unedited and it is unsolicited by me.  I don’t know her from Adam’s house cat. The only thing omitted is her e-mail address – no photos  were embedded with the comment. But again, I found photos of the horse on her Facebook page that were public not private photos. (we are not Facebook friends as it were.)

Here it is:

Sadly, I have to add my name to the list of people who have been misled by Off the Track Rescue and Turning for Home.

Mid November- saw Wildcat Lake on OTTB Connect facebook advertised by Christina Hannan representing herself as working for Jessica Basciano. I quickly received a private message saying he had come off the track with a bow but released to ride by a vet.

<photo.JPG>

November 23, 2012- I received a fax with an adoption application from Christina Hannan and adoption agreement. All the paperwork was titled Off the Track-Jessica Basciano

November 24, 2012-I faxed back signed paperwork. The adoption agreement does not have a date, horse description, horse name or signature by anyone from adoption facility. I asumed all paperwork would arrive with him with the his description filled in along with a signature. Oddly, I received a private message cancelling the adoption saying Jessica didn’t want him to go that far. I then received another private message saying it was on again. We received several phone calls this same day from Barbara Luna, Jessica Basciano, Deb Jones and Bonnie Hutton confirming we were adopting him.

November 28, 2012 – Wildcat Lake was delivered to us in Oklahoma by a shipper we provided and paid for. No vet records, no rehab info, no signed adoption papers were delivered with him. We received a coggins but a couple weeks later discovered the tattoo does not match Wildcats tattoo..

Early December, 2012-I checked with our three references provided to Christina/Jessica and found no one had been contacted on my behalf.

Late December & Early January- I asked Christina for his vet records as she quoted he had been approved for riding in her advertisement. She again in a private message told me he had been approved to ride by two vets. She sent me a private message (see below) later telling me Wildcat had been released by Jessicas vets and that we should contact her. She said she had only spoken to her personal vet on the phone about it and he had not seen him. I called the vet that did his coggins and it was confirmed that he only did a coggins and did not discuss the bow and its rehab with Christina.

<photo2.JPG>

January 7, 2013 – . I then contacted Barb and Jessica for Wildcats vet records. I received both of their interpretation of supposed vet records but didn’t get the actual physical paperwk Barb said the vet that did track eval and followup eval with Jessica was Tom Lurito. I received this from Jess but no actual vet records were sent to me as requested:

<photo 4.JPG>

Then I received this from Barb Luna-her interpertation of the vet records but no actual paperwork was received from her either:

January 8, 2013 – I left messages for Dr Lurito several times over the past two weeks

January 17, 2013- I contacted Barb Luna again telling her that I wasn’t having any luck with Dr Lurito and she responded that she couldn’t do anymore for me.

January 18, 2013- Dr Lurito called and said he couldn’t remember a horse named Wildcat.

I still have nothing on Wildcat except my personal vets evaluation which is he is NOT ridable now, has a really bad case of rain rot, and underweight. No shot records were provided either.

For those few of you who are defending these ladies, you need to ask yourself a few questions:

what if I wasn’t a good person that received a horse in this condition? what would have happened to him? My references were never checked! I can only assume he was never vetted after the track so if jessica received money for him as she admits in an earlier post (approx 2000.00), what did she spend it on for him? we know it wasn’t for vet care, rain rot meds, ulcer meds, etc etc etc so what did she do with it? Christina stated she was “thinning the herd for health reasons” yet she is advertising as of today with more horses.. I see in earlier post where Christina says she adopted him from Jessica – then why was the adoption application titled OFF THE TRACK with Jessicas name if she no longer owned him? None of this makes any logical sense.

People, can this whole horse manure pile get resolved?  What does Barbara Luna think?  Is she ultimately responsible in some way since she appears to be the link between the tracks and the horse rescues?

It is time for the players in this drama to get together and get this figured out. I see names in her comment that mean nothing to me, but I have to ask is the Deb Jones she refers to the big deal horse rescue lady Deborah Jones mentioned in the media? ( See this article and this article for example)  Is this the lady from savinghorsesinc?

Giddy up y’all. Just Giddy up.

1.25.13: This message was purportedly sent to this Kendall lady by someone in the rescue.  Kendall isn’t very tech savvy so I believe she doesn’t know how to screen capture private messages very well and copied and pasted this to herself or something? I don’t know but whatever, here:

message

UPDATE 1.27.2013  Received this document from Kendall Pearsall in OK.  It is in native format “as is”

giddy up y’all

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8354078628_a14b5dec48_bSigh….do people really think that what they write on the Internet is private?  And when they yickety yack no one will dish on them?

And I so love (yes love) when I am referred to by those who just ummm…doth protesteth too much.

Here’s the 411: I did not go looking for irregularities in horse rescue.  I am not rescuing a horse, have never rescued a horse, no longer ride. This all started because of strange postings on Craig’s List.  Not really knowing many in the horse community, I had no idea how this issue would literally explode.  I still have no clue who put up those Craig’s List postings.  But whomever they are, they exposed a seedy underbelly.

All these people rolled up and started commenting.  Apparently this is a HUGE issue in the racing and horse community.  Once Pandora’s stall was opened more stuff was found on the internet and more and more people left comments.

This is not an advertised blog.  Yet here are all these people caring about the same thing.

So it ends up this horse hurricane is centered around a non-profit called Turning For Home and as I understand it a woman who helps dole out these horses leaving the professional life named Barbara Luna?  As I have come to understand it based upon the MANY MANY comments of others left on these posts she works with horse rescues?  The one that piqued my curiosity, was the one that kept cropping up as a topic on those Craig’s List ads was Off The Track Rescue run by a woman named Jessica Basciano .  Until the Craig’s List ads I had never heard about ANY of this.

OTTBOff The Track Rescue unless someone can tell me differently does not appear to be a non-profit or even a formerly formed business, does it? Can anyone find anything other than a fictitious name registration?  Note, that is nothing illegal, but most rescues I know of are non profits so they can accept donations for which people get a tax write off and so they can apply for grants.  Because why? Rescue is EXPENSIVE.   Comments on these posts from people involved with this Jessica and from Jessica herself seem to indicate that the Barbara Luna seems to give like an allowance per horse she places with them?  Is that enough money and quite honestly without a non-profit status or falling under the umbrella of another non-profit isn’t that a taxable nightmare?

Anyway, the fur has been flying since I first mentioned funky Craig’s List ads.   Back and forth and back and forth and back and forth.  Some of the comments left by those PRO-rescue can indeed be interpreted as harassing or threatening and the tales of what 8354078868_5d2d47b3dc_bhappens when the horse sets complain about this rescue is a little odd isn’t it?

And also odd the Where’s Waldo of it all as far as locations of this rescue.  They say Glenmoore, but then there are also references to Phoenixville and Oxford and then lots of refuting a couple of the locations like they don’t exist but people see these rescue horses in these fields so what is up with that?

And then there is the chatter between some of this crew on Facebook after they read things here and comment.  And they do things LOL like refer to “that blogger” and “everyone who thinks they are a writer”.  (Oh honies, silly youse gals, I am a writer)

Yes, if I perceive something as a threat, harassment, or anything else I will indeed publish the name, e-mail addy and I.P. address publicly.  Duh. It’s my blog and maybe in the further reaches of Chester County bullying and harassment is ok, but not where I live.  And I want it to be clear who is saying what.  This is all something very ordinary, and if they were talking to a reporter in traditional media do they seriously think they would all be unnamed sources? And who the heck is making them verbally regurgitate all over the Internet?

I said it before, will repeat it again:  if everyone is on the up and up and all these horses have a proper paper trail in and OUT of state – if they all have tattoos that match those coggins things (never knew what that was until this started), if all the prospective homes for these horses have been properly vetted like they do for other animal rescues, if ALL the vet records are made available for prospective families and those who have already adopted horses, why fuss?  If it is all on the up and up, no worries necessary, right?

But is all the right stuff happening or just more questions and layers and layers of innuendo and comments I sure as hell didn’t seek out? And there are so many questions now that yes, the traditional media is looking at all of this as I understand it.  Apparently what happens to horse once they leave race tracks is somewhat of a hot button topic across the country, isn’t it?

Also at issue here for me is what this group called LAPS actually does. After all if they actually did their job would there be so many darn comments on horse rescue???? And what about this Barbara Luna and Turning for Home?? Of all people, she can explain what the heck is going on.  She can definitively state what horse went where, what monies went with, what records went with and one would also think she would know the ultimate destination of these large, expensive animals, right?

Lurking media?  Please cover this and settle this issue once and for all.  I am tired of much ado about horse rescue. And yes, if I think of something as being menacing, threatening, or harassing, I will post a comment in its entirety including e-mail and IP addresses.   Truthfully I can do that with ANY comment.

(To avoid any belly aching about the screen shots from Facebook, if you don’t have your privacy settings on and the little globe is showing, it means you are showing these posts to the world. )

If nothing bad is happening, then the record will be corrected, but posturing is not proof is it? So when this gets back to being about the horses, let me know ok?

At the end of the day people, I did not originate this topic.  It was out there with plenty of stuff publicly available. But hey, I am just a ninny, right? So what do I know?
I see this as a made for Lifetime TV Moment of Truth Movie some day there is so much yackety yak…..

wading into a potential manure pile

not snapped to anyone’s lead line

groundhog day came early…

horsegate…oh, the drama!

the funny thing about asking questions about  horse rescue…

will it be classy with a “k”?

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I am reading with some amusement the article about the guy who lives in Unionville  with the construction company near West Chester who thinks civil rights are being violated because Concord Township (in Delaware County) is saying no thanks right now to his idea of a teen mecca.  The last one was Pulsations in Glen Mills wasn’t it? So…. you can’t blame people for not wanting to repeat that or having reservations, can you?

I always giggle as soon as someone says about what they will be proposing that it will be “classy”.  It makes you wonder if they would know from classy if it bit them in the ass. But I suppose “classy” is in the eye of the beholder?

Check out this reference to “klass” in urban dictionary:

Klass
Another spelling of the word class. Indicating an attempt to show class that is instead received by others as tacky.
“He took his prom date to the Olive Garden?  That’s klassy.  With a ‘K’!”

I have to ask is this what people want around there near Routes 1 and 322?  Now this guy then says he has 8 kids with nothing to do on the weekends?  Ok, so do they move around in a pack and say they’re “bored” all weekend?

This guy is trying to do this under the auspices of a 501c7 non-profit – which is a private club status.  Makes you wonder how much this would cost hard working parents per kid in this economy too, doesn’t it?

I  found the article amusing on many levels including this guy just seems floored that someone said “no” to him – and it comes through so strongly in the article.

And truthfully, did this township say “no” as in final “no”, or did they say take it to zoning? I read it as they said get a zoning variance if you want it so bad.  But this guy has his skirts in a bunch and instead of going to zoning is going to sue this township?   Does he sue everyone who says “no” to him?  Is it cheaper to sue this township versus going to zoning?

Is this what people want?  Do people in Chester County and elsewhere want their kids driving all over hill and dale to go to a place like this?  I am not a teen, I don’t have a teen, so I don’t know what teenagers do today.

I do know that when I was a teen, something like this would have held little interest for me, and I also would be willing to bet if I had and something like this had existed, my parents would have said “no”.   Is this like Gymboree of Chuck E. Cheese for teenagers, I wonder?

Is this something kids in the area want? I think the place sounds way too cavernous in size, and I have to ask, what is “classy” about arcade games?   Is there an example of one of these any place else around? What’s next? A BYOB hookah bar with after hours hours?  There is one of those in Bryn Mawr.  Nothing classy about that.  This seems to be cut from the same thought cloth.

To me this has less to do about kids at the end of the day, but  a way for a guy to make a buck because the industry he is part of is so tumultuous due to the economy.

Township blocks out social club

Published: Sunday, January 15, 2012

By FRAN MAYE fmaye@journalregister.com

A Unionville man is threatening to sue Concord Township for discrimination in federal court if the township doesn’t allow him to start up a social club for the 21-and-under set near routes 1 and 322.
Tom Pancoast, who owns a construction company in the West Chester area, wants to invest millions into a long-vacant furniture store — Ethan Allen — and turn it into a social club for minors featuring dancing, live music, billiards, indoor volleyball, basketball, scores of arcade machines and much more. There will even be a restaurant inside….Pancoast has received state approval for forming a 501c7 nonprofit organization that will be members only. Pancoast claims he has a “use by right” because he is forming a social club under rules set forth by the township ordinance, but township officials say an under-21 club does not fit the definition of a social club….The facility would generate a huge windfall for Concord Township through its amusement tax. Pancoast said he can’t understand why the township would reject his plan and turn away the revenue that will be generated.
“We’re going to employ 50 people,” he said. “We’re going to be hiring local veterans for security. I’m going to invest a couple of million dollars in construction and Concord Township will make money with us being here. If they fight us, they will waste taxpayer money.”……he feels township officials may have a misconception that the social club will be another Pulsations, which debuted in Glen Mills in 1983, but closed in 1994 after experiencing financial troubles with the new owners introducing exotic female dancers

Pancoast is hoping to attract thousands of teenagers drawing them in from Oxford, Chi-Chester, Downingtown, Springfield and Media. “I have eight kids and they have nothing to do on the weekend,” Pancoast said. “This will be a classy place — someplace kids can go without hanging out at the malls or crowding in cars and driving around. It’ll keep them out of trouble. This is going to be great. You would think with the way the economy is today, the township would be a little more job friendly.”

This guy who wants his teen club was last in the Daily Local ironically exactly a year ago on January 15, 2011 when he talked about his new solar panel business:

With the launch of Simply Solar, Tom and Susan Pancoast have joined the growing number of solar panel installers in Pennsylvania.
Motivated by federal and state renewable energy incentives, homeowners and businesses alike are looking to the sun to generate power and reduce electric bills. As a result, the creation of new green companies and new green jobs is booming in Pennsylvania…..For Tom Pancoast, the owner of Pancoast Construction, the time was right for several reasons to shift the construction business to solar panel installation.
“The building business is not all that good right now,” said Pancoast, who invested time and money to attend classes to get certified.

Again, in my humble opinion, this is the story of a guy trying to adapt in a tough economy, which I can’t blame him for.  But you have to wonder if last year was solar panels and this year is a teen club, what will January 15 2013 bring?

However, the most important thing is how residents, kids, and parents feel about this.  So this should be an interesting story to follow.