Tag Archives: west vincent

justice for argus & fiona: gabe pilotti goes to court

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Outside District Court in Pottstown 3.27.13. Photo credit AFD

All the confusion over whether or not Gabe Pilotti would go to court in Pottstown and when is over.  He did.  And NBC10 Philadelphia, The Daily Local, The Pottstown Mercury, and others were there. Many thanks to all of them for caring enough to cover. (Links to media coverage will be posted when available).  Thanks to Tom Hickey from Dog PAC for being there too.

NBC10 Philadelphia: Owner of Murdered Dogs Still Waiting for Apology From Alleged Killer

There were also lots and lots of police. Apparently they were there due to death threats received by Pilotti. As an aside,  no matter what he has done, that kind of eye for an eye vigilante justice has no place in civilized society.  That behavior is not condoned, and the Bocks are quite clear in their desire for the courts to be able to do their job and for laws being able to be created and changed to protect PA dogs. Vigilantism like that makes him the victim, when he is the one who shot defenseless puppies so why do that stuff?

Daily Local: Hearing waived in West Vincent dog killings

SOUTH COVENTRY — A 72-year-old man who shot and killed a neighbor’s two family dogs in February appeared in district court Wednesday as about 15 police officers stood guard outside.

Gabriel Pilotti, of the Chester Springs section of West Vincent Township, waived a preliminary hearing on charges of animal cruelty and recklessly endangering another person…Pilotti, who appeared in court with his attorney Thomas H. Ramsay of West Chester, did not speak as Magisterial District Judge James V. DeAngelo quickly moved through the procedures of waiving the preliminary hearing….About 15 law enforcement officers from various county and state agencies stood guard in and outside…

What no one seems to know is if Gabe Pilotti’s guns were confiscated pending outcome of case? Shouldn’t they be? (owning guns is a responsibility and did he behave responsibly?)  Also interesting to note that no one from district attorney’s office was present.  Don’t misunderstand me, they don’t have to be present at this stage but given the public outcry over this it seems they might have made an appearance.

So we all are on the same page, these are the charges at this point:

docket 1

Now this will head to county court at some point in West Chester. As per the docket (which is sort of updated) next up is a visit to Chester County Court in West Chester for a formal arraignment (if Pilotti and attorney don’t waive it ):

docket

Now I wonder if we can get the media to go to a hearing at Judge Cabry’s in Honeybrook next week on April 2nd for a little civil manner involving a horse rescue gal who isn’t always civil?  Will this hearing mean more problems for the owner of Off The Track Thoroughbred Rescue?

And as a wee post script, Mary Bock had this to say with regard to the “apology” that Pilotti’s attorney referred to on NBC10:

….As soon as I got home I asked the DA’s office if such a letter came to them, they said they have seen no such letter.

sigh….

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wv4West Vincent must think I have some super secret radar when it comes to that municipality.  I don’t.  It just seems to be the land of dumb stuff. But given the mental midgets who govern over there, is it any wonder? (And lest West Vincent officials get their panties in a knot over this post they can thank the public info that let this stuff loose. Yes, municipalities like this love to live under the radar, but they might as well accept that through their own actions this Warped Mayberry is now on the radar of many…)wv5

When State Senator Any Dinniman posted an article about fracking and stuff on his facebook page I learned what I thought was I don’t know what in West Vincent sandwiched between dense residential development and playing fields for children was indeed some kind  fracking or gas line thing.  So close. So close. That is kind of freaky if you ask me. I would never want to be so close to something like that. The thing is although we might need the gas, you don’t know really how the whole process can affect people that live close by, can you?

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Senator Dinniman had a simple message:

We cannot allow natural gas pipeline companies to run indiscriminately throughout our open spaces, pristine waterways and backyards. In Chester County, we value the environment. And there are enough people who have the skills, talents, and financial resources to resist encroaches done insensibly and without proper community dialogue

wv 2a

No matter WHERE you stand on fracking and those pipe lines, you can’t disagree with that.  Here is the article:

In Chesco town, opposition helped stop proposed gas pipeline

By Aubrey Whelan, Inquirer Staff Writer
Posted: March 12, 2013

And then there is the latest from Chickenman, hence the title of his post “sigh”.  I am pleased to note that a lot of people who once thought Chickenman was “scary” now understand that it is the truth he puts forth that is scary.  His truth comes from public records and public sources.  Soon those friends of West Vincent supervisors will undoubtedly start putting up flyers in the post office again. Of course, they do so at their own risk because that is utterly illegal IMHO.  And if you are a victim of these flyers you can and should turn them over to postal inspectors to run through crime labs. Postal inspectors don’t play.

Anyway, here is what chickenman is saying and you can be your own judge but IMHO West Vincent is playing Russian Roulette with the environment again.  But then again, in West Vincent it is always about who you know.

Anyway Chickenman’s missive of 3/22/2013:

Hi. A new business is opening in West Vincent Township. This is great news for the Township, a new business. Here is a copy of a brochure from the business.WestVinc1Seems you’ll be able to buy all of your hard landscaping supplies here. It is located on the far west side of West Vincent Township on route 401 just before getting into East Nantmeal Township.It looks to me like there may be a problem with this establishment, though. Here is a picture of the operation.                         WestVinc2What kind of problems, you may ask? All the trees next to the stream have been torn out in order to set the concrete barrier walls. It looks like the containment bins are too close to the stream. If mulch is going in those concrete bins, the drains would spill directly into the stream, which is not allowed. The CFO of the company that owns this property was a member of the Sustainability Committee in 2012. I wonder how the other members feel about this? Sounds a little like Pam Brown, doesn’t it? Of course, those are just the environmental issues. Then there is the problem of this project is being built in a residential area. While the trucking company has the right to be there from a previous zoning hearing board decision, I don’t think there is an allowance for a landscape supply or retail establishment. That would be another commercial use on top of the one already granted in an area that commercial isn’t allowed. This would be a violation of the Township Zoning.Why am I talking about this issue? Because it involves Katharine “Kit” Trolier. Kit Trollier, formerly Kit Greiner, is the CFO of Greiner Inc. the company that is expanding the business operations and is part of the family that owns that land. Kit is also a Ken Miller handpicked member of the Zoning Hearing Board in West Vincent Township. She is a Judge that decides people’s property rights within the township.You may remember Kit Trolier. She ran for Committeewoman twice and once for Supervisor. Every attempt was unsuccessful. But that doesn’t mean Kit Trolier isn’t without friends. While running for political office, she was supported by Supervisors Ken Miller and Zoe Perkins. During her run for Supervisor, she partnered with David Brown who was successful at becoming a West Vincent Supervisor. Kit was on a board for a company that West Vincent Township solicitor Steve Siana own. She bought the property where she resides from Steven Siana. One of her best friends is fellow zoning hearing board member Carl Brachwitz. And, I repeat, she herself is a member of the same Zoning Hearing Board. She is a former member of the Sustainability Committee and also a member of the Trash Task Force. She is well connected.From the township minutes Jan 7, 2013:Trash Task Force appointments and terms (1 year term to expire on December 31st of the listed year): Steven Bazil, 2014 Eugene Briggs, 2014 Chip Farnham, 2014 Penny Furgess-Hodgkins, 2014 Peter Gafer, 2014 Bob Kaiser, 2014 Ted Otteni, 2014 John Rieder, 2014 Harry Saunders, 2014 Kate Stanton, 2014 Kit Trolier, 2014 Michael Whitehead, 2014What will come of this issue now that this information is in the public? Will Ken Miller’s administration be able to protect his friend? For the environmental issues, it could go either way. After all, Supervisor Miller is probably the biggest polluter in West Vincent after Exxon/Mobil and he has been able to somehow skirt the PA DEP. (http://kenmillersepareport.blogspot.com/).I think it’s doubtful. But I could be wrong. After all, this is West Vincent Township.As far as avoiding the township issues, DL Fleck still operates illegally, in direct conflict with a Chester County Court of Common Pleas Order. The township doesn’t enforce the ruling or regulations when it involves friends. Kit Trolier has been a good lapdog for the Miller administration, even defending the motives for the Eminent Domain actions against the Ludwig’s Corner Horseshow grounds. There may be some posturing but in the end, it is doubtful that the zoning will be enforced. After all, Kit (Greiner) Trolier is the final enforcer at the township level.Here is a screenshot saved from www.goodgovernmentforwestvincent, Kit Trolier’s campaign website, a website which was removed after David Brown was caught contradicting his campaign statements on issues AFTER he was Supervisor. It shows she has been CFO for Greiner Inc. for almost 20 years.WestVinc3Best wishesChickenman 

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.

justice for argus & fiona

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poolWhen I posted “the post” almost 48 hours ago now, I hoped this would take off as an issue so this family could have peace and justice, but truthfully this has surpassed my wildest imaginings. Justice for Argus & Fiona has spread far and wide and the Facebook page set up for support by the Bock family’s friends has almost 1500 members and continues to grow. And a petition has begun as well so feel free to sign it!

The outpouring of support is so amazing.  From every day people to almost every media outlet that exists regionally, people care about what happens. People who sometimes normally can’t agree on anything have come together with this issue because they want better things to happen then two dogs getting gunned down within twenty minutes (give or take) from when they escaped their home yard for a tragic first and only time.

kidsTo be clear, I am not a big fan of West Vincent government.  I think they rule oddly over one of the prettiest places in Chester County.  And weird and unnecessary things always seem to happen. And for Pete’s sake, elected officials seem to spend an inordinate amount of time worrying and spreading nonsense about a writer called Chickenman don’t they?

West Vincent the truth shall set you free but that is a topic for another day.  Well, it won’t be if you aren’t respectful of your citizenry at the upcoming Supervisors Meeting on Monday February 25th at 7:30 pm.  I know full well residents have contacted you and requested that the matter of the shooting to death of puppies Argus and Fiona be put on the agenda.  If you try to stifle your people on this, West Vincent, the hue and cry over attempting eminent domain at Ludwig’s Corner Horse Show will be child’s play by comparison.

West Vincent Township is located at :
729 St. Matthews Road
Chester Springs, PA 19425
 Phone: (610) 458-1601

a2Residents want to learn about firearm use in a residential area, what constitutes a farm, and how to make changes to bad laws.  And in addition to all of this, they strive to find a positive from this tragedy.  West Vincent, you owe decency and answers to your citizenry.

To the citizenry I urge you to make your voices heard respectfully.  Emotions are running hot on this issue and I was told by a reporter today about a woman who stood outside the dog shooter’s house yesterday  and just stood in his driveway yelling “Dog killer!!” at him for 5 minutes. That, I am so sorry, is not cool.   First of all he has guns and isn’t afraid to use them, and secondly he has neighbors who must feel under siege by all the media crawling around West Vincent, and third and most importantly things need to happen the right way with this.  Don’t stoop to the level of someone who shoots dogs, please.

Last evening on the heels of the truly remarkable coverage by NBC10 Philadelphia and CBS3 . Today came coverage from 6ABC, KYW News Radio 1060, Syndicated talk show host Michael Smerconish, Main Line Media News, The Daily Local, Patch, and a really good piece from Claudia Gomez at Fox 29. Tomorrow will bring more – the Inquirer and who knows what else.

dog killer signA friend of mine commented  something that is worth repeating. She was afraid of people getting too vigilante justice for lack of a better term. She is absolutely correct that cooler heads must prevail.
It is with that in mind that I must say that  encouraging people to call this guy who shot the dogs or stand outside his property is NOT the right thing to do. In my mind that falls into two wrongs don’t make a right.
If you want to help, show the Bock family support and condolences and empathy- losing a pet under ANY circumstances is so hard, and what happened to their dogs IS intolerable cruelty, but justice should be served under the law by those qualified to serve it.

If you want to help, get Pennsylvania lawmakers to update outmoded farm statutes and other laws so Pennsylvania’s dogs are PROTECTED.

If you want to help, go show support for these people at the upcoming West Vincent Board of Supervisors meeting and ask them to do their jobs as elected and appointed officials the RIGHT way.

If you want to help ask the Chester County DA to ensure that people use firearms responsibly as in DON’T fire them in residential areas and gun down dogs and possibly put unsuspecting humans at risk. Violence should NOT beget violence. As adults we have the free will and ability to pay this forward the RIGHT way.

And among other things, we need to pass that along to our children. Ok so lecture is over.

Let us get back to the business at hand: Justice for Argus & Fiona and peace and love for their humans.  Together we can enact positive change so other dog owners don’t go through this. thanks for reading.The momentum is growing.  Truly together we can enact change. It might take time, lots of petitions and bus trips to Harrisburg, but we can do it.  And if we are successful, other pet owners and their furry friends might be spared unspeakable tragedy.

Now as far as the Chester County District Attorney goes, the following message was sent to media today:
From: “Billela, Barbara C.” <bbillela@chesco.org>
Subject: Dog Shooting Incident
Date: February 21, 2013 4:31:28 PM EST
To: “Billela, Barbara C.” <bbillela@chesco.org>
The Chester County District Attorney’s Office will have a press release tomorrow with significant new information about the dog shooting incident in Chester Springs, PA.

 Barbara Billela

Administrative Assistant to District Attorney Thomas P. Hogan,
First Assistant Michael Noone, and Chief of Staff Charles Gaza
Chester County District Attorney’s Office
201 West Market Street, Suite 4450
Post Office Box 2746
West Chester, PA  19380-0989
(610) 344-6827

I have no idea what this means, but I hope it means they are taking a second look.

I am also taking this opportunity to share something from the Justice for Argus & Fiona Facebook page written by Mary Bock:

mary1

mary2

The outpouring of support has been amazing.  Can I say that again?  There is even support from elected officials like State Senator Andy Dinniman.  Congressman Jim Gerlach has also been made aware, so I urge anyone who reads this to contact elected officials about this horrible turn of events.

Now a lawyer I know sent me three things for people to read, so please do:

459-501 statute re dogs

Crueltytoanimals

Ingram

I have to say this whirlwind has left me dog tired, so I can’t imagine how the Bocks feel.  More media coming tomorrow I hear. And oh yes, please check out the Daily Local article by Michael Price:

Officials: West Vincent dog shooting legal under state law

 By MICHAEL N. PRICE mprice@dailylocal.com

Posted: Thursday, 02/21/13 10:31 am Updated: Thursday, 02/21/13 06:16 pm

WEST VINCENT — The Chester County District Attorney’s Office is expected to release new information Friday in the shooting deaths of two family dogs in Chester Springs last week.

According to a statement from a District Attorney’s Office spokesperson, authorities will release “significant” new details related to the killing of two Bernese Mountain Dogs who were shot on Feb. 12 after they escaped a fenced-in yard in the unit block

My previous post which was the first thing out there on this horrible tragedy can be found by clicking on this link called “intolerable cruelty”. And I know those funkadellic horse rescue folks think I have forgotten all of that, they should think again.  I am hoping now that the media knows how to get out to Chester County they will check it all out too. (Well Fairview Road in Glenmoore is not that far away from the scene of the dog crime is it?) Especially since Victor Fiorello wrote on Foobooz today about Philadelphia chefs wanting to add horse meat to the menu. (As an aside, can I tell you how I will now never go to a Mark Vetri or Peter McAndrews restaurant again as a result?)

Ok people, thanks for reading, thanks for supporting Justice for Argus & Fiona.  Hug your pets and say a prayer to St. Francis.

Over and out.

Shooting of dogs sparks ill will in Chester Springs

Carolyn Davis, Inquirer Staff Writer

Posted: Friday, February 22, 2013, 3:01 AM

Contact Carolyn Davis at 610-313-8109, cdavis@phillynews.com, or @carolyntweets on Twitter.

And oh yeah, people from some church called Calvary Fellowship in Downingtown have been calling the Bock family and I have to ask why? And what do the West Vincent police have as far as info for the family?  Someone says they want to speak with them today?

roof line like a sway back mule…

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bend in the road

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in case you thought things couldn’t get more strange in tredyffrin….

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So in the end will we discover that John DiBuonaventuro had the approval of all his fellow supervisors regarding his infamous September letter in Tredyffrin?  Will he write a personal note back to Sam Stretton who is representing Pattye and sent Tredyffrin a letter ?

Before I get to the crux of this post, as far as background check out  article by Rich Ilgenfritz of Main Line Media News on November 5, 2012, and post by Pattye on November 2nd.  Also check out post by Pattye on November 4th.

So Tredyffrin has as their mouthpiece it seems the solicitor Vincent Donohue, who paints such a rosy picture of Tredyffrin and how the residents are treated that many can’t help but wonder has he actually been there? I also wonder why we have not heard from Tredyffrin resident/Radnor Township ex-pat/Tredyffrin Manager Bill Martin?  Where is he on all of this or is he somewhere in the Tredyffrin Township Building hiding under his desk? (Don’t laugh, I heard a story once of someone in Tredyffrin hiding under their desk and why couldn’t it happen?)

Anyway, my eyes are popping because of this article I just finished reading in Main Line Media News:

Majority of Tredyffrin supervisors may not have approved DiBuonaventuro letter posted to website

Published: Thursday, November 08, 2012

By Richard Ilgenfritz
rilgenfritz@mainlinemedianews.com

It might appear that a majority of the Tredyffrin Board of Supervisors did not see or approve a controversial letter that a Tredyffrin Township supervisor posted on the municipal website in September, according to an open records request made by a local media outlet.

Crikey!  They aren’t riding the train to a new station in Paoli, these people seem to be riding the un-sunshine friendly crazy train don’t they?

So what does that mean if this was not in fact approved by a legal quorum/majority of supervisors?  What are any additional implications involving the former Tredyffrin Township Manager ?

How does John DiBuonaventuro get away with something like this?

Sign me confused.

Here is Pattye’s post on the topic.  She continues to be a lady about this.  I bet Tredyffrin wishes this would go away, but what is that phrase? Truth will out?

Re Personal Letter on Government Website — Did Tredyffrin Supervisor DiBuonaventuro receive approval from his fellow supervisors?

Posted on November 8th, 2012   5:32 PM  by Pattye Benson

Did John DiBuonaventuro actually have approval from fellow supervisors before using government resources and government letterhead to post his personal letter of September 5 on the government’s website?  The answer to that question is not entirely clear, and the answer also depends on whom you ask.

As the resident targeted in DiBuonaventuro’s diatribe to the citizens of Tredyffrin Township, I was very interested to read the Main Line Media News article, “Majority of Supervisors may not have approved DiBuonaventuro letter posted to website”.  In the article, Rich Ilgenfritz explains that the newspaper filed an open records request with Tredyffrin Township asking for all information pertaining to DiBuonaventuro’s letter on the township website.  However, it is interesting that MLMN only received one record; an email from DiBuonaventuro to Patricia Hoffman, executive secretary for Tredyffrin Township….

One of several troubling unanswered questions in regards to DiBuonaventuro’s personal use of the township website, is did he act alone?  Or, … was there discussion (approval) from the other members of the Board of Supervisors.  In her response to my question on this matter, Gleason stated the following in her email dated September 7:

“ … In answer to your question, it is unusual to post a statement from an individual Supervisor, but given the inaccurate and derogatory statements and innuendo publicly made about John DiBuonaventuro, I decided to approve the posting of the letter on the Township website.  In this case, he was the subject of baseless public speculation simply because he is a Tredyffrin Supervisor.  The circumstances justified the use of the website to publicly defend him, carrying with it the implicit endorsement of the Township to the accuracy of his statements.  The Chairman of the Board of Supervisors and the Township Solicitor agreed that it was appropriate for the letter to go on the website.”

Gleason’s email states that the use of the government’s website by DiBuonaventuro carried with it the “implicit endorsement of the Township”.  She further states that the Chairman [Kichline] and the Township Solicitor [Vince Donohue] agreed the letter was appropriate for the website.  But did Kichline really see the actual letter?…Subsequent to DiBuonaventuro’s letter going on the website, there has been no public statement from the other 6 supervisors on this matter, except by Kichline who said that the Board would work on a website policy.  Why the silence from the other supervisors?  Privately, some of the supervisors have told citizens that they never saw the letter and some have stated that they would not have approved of the letter on the government’s website.  Why don’t the supervisors own these opinions in public?….Another interesting thing to note on this email is that there was a private meeting of 3 supervisors – DiBuonaventuro, Kristen Mayock and Kichline.  Why was Mayock involved but none of the other supervisors?  As chair of the BOS, I understand the rationale behind Kichline attending the meeting but it is unclear if she actually attended or not.  Mayock and Kichline are the two attorneys on the Board – was that the reason behind their request to attend this meeting?  And it should also be noted that DiBuonaventuro states in this email, that he has approval from the solicitor Vince Donohue for the letter on the website. Everyone seems to be in agreement that Donohue saw and approved the letter – DiBuonaventuro, Kichline and Gleason all state that Donohue approved the letter.  Interesting that this short email is all that is contained in the files in regards to DiBuonaventuro’s letter.  Just interesting…..Supervisor Mike Heaberg read a statement in regards to the website policy which suggested that there would be a policy presented at the November 19 Board of Supervisors meeting.  It was unclear whether or not the public would be permitted input into the website policy.  Public input could prove important when you read the response from the township solicitor Vince Donohue to my attorney Sam Stretton… (click here to read all of Pattye’s post)

This whole scenario still smells rotten.  What else can you say except are the residents of Tredyffrin REALLY being served? Seems to me this twisted Chester County Kingdom needs an overhaul, doesn’t it?  Darn good thing that Tredyffrin and West Vincent aren’t next to each other, right? (But if Tredyffrin was it would just be more opportunity for certain people to accuse more people of being “Chickenman”, right? After all, as I here told you aren’t anyone until you are accused of being Chickenman, huh?)

Pattye, keep on keeping on.  Truth will out. Truth will out.

sandy storm photos – send them in for posting!

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Hi there gentle readers.  I hope everyone has battened down the hatches for however Hurricane Sandy turns out?

I have a proposition for all of my readers: send me storm photos for posting.  I learned a long time ago that if you want to enact change, photos help. The photos you are CURRENTLY looking at are photos I took where I used to live in Lower Merion Township and one from Conshohocken. The snapped tree was courtesy of Irene last year.

So if you have flooding photos and you want them out there, send them to me via sandysnaps <at> spamex <dot> com

That is sandysnaps @ spamex . com – Sorry due to spammers, I will not have this as just a hyperlink to click and go.

Alternately you can tweet me at @gossipgirl19380

I am happy to attribute photos, tell me who gets credit, and *MOST* importantly give me precise locations. Or I will post photos anonymously if you live in a municipality that has shall we say, issues?

I am particulalrly interested in photos where development may be occuring or is currently occuring or has just been completed. I am also interested in areas that chronically flood and often wait until the bitter end for help to arrive.

One spot  of particular curiousity which should not be overlooked by anyone is where the Borough of Phoenixville is building their over-priced new municipal hall.  I passed it last night while in Phoenixville and thought I should defininately put that location out there as a site for good storm photos because it always floods, doesn’t it? And correct me if I am wrong, but the plans for that needlessly overpriced new borough hall doesn’t really have proper flood remediation built in, does it?  Wasn’t that the plan where the plan is put the garage underneath so everyone’s cars drown and there is lots of potential litigation from that?  Anyway, I figure a way to preserve the taxpayer investment and future costs here is to have irrefutable proof that they need a real plan or they should stop and move sites.

Phoenixville has a fun downtown at night.  They need better parking and I notice they have the parking authority people out chalking tires on a Saturday night, and truthfully, most municipalities don’t do that.  They leave it as the police can tow people from certain zones and are done with it.  But then again, people tend to question how Phoenixville spends money – they spend way too much on a manager, they spend way too much on a school superintendant – seriously for a borough barely squeaking by in any economy they pay Main Line prices.

But enough picking on Phoenixville which always floods so badly, from Tredyffrin through to West Vincent and Oxford and wherever, if you have storm photos, or storm info, send it in.   Also feel free to leave comments about where the power is out and if roads are blocked.

Hopefully Sandy will be a non-event for Chester County.

My final note is DO NOT PUT YOURSELVES IN HARM’S WAY TO SEND ME PHOTOS. 

But do document flooding and damage.  It is helpful for getting things corrected so situations do not repeat themselves. I will also take Main Line storm photos if it will help any of you out there near where I used to live.

Thanks and stay dry!

 

 

morning ride

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Snapped this in West Vincent.  So perfectly peaceful and beautiful to watch riders go by in their full (and correct) attire.  Except if development keeps on being the gift that keeps on giving, how long do you think we will have the privilege of seeing such things?

They used to ride like this in Gladwyne.  They used to ride like this in a lot of places. And not too long ago.  There is not room for cookie cutter development and horses and farms.  Choices must be made.  What is your choice where you live in Chester County?

 

sigh…..more drama in the hinterlands

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On the news today they announced that the FBI has a new toll-free government corruption hotline.  The toll-free hotline number is 855-FBI-TIPS (855-324-8477). They did it for Philadelphia, but will accept tips for any municipalities and see where they lead.  File under food for thought. Not saying anything, not accusing anyone of anything, it is public information released today and I found it interesting.

Now onto other curiosities du jour:  quizzle me this: how does a property owner in Chester County not get notified at a potential zoning change they describe as “40 feet” from their front door?

Calling West Vincent, your slip is showing again.

The long and short of it is some chef wants to open a BYOB.  Not only is there residential to be considered, but it is in a school zone too, apparently? Funny thing is people love quaint country BYOBs, but hey proper notification is key, correct?

Now I have a resident’s permission to post this drama in a country beat, but I am afraid they will be retaliated against for speaking up, let alone speaking to a blogger. And well this blogger hopes that West Vincent shows some style here and just tidies up their mess in a legitimate, above board, sunshine-friendly fashion, ok?

So this nice guy named Kevin Miller is a little upset.  Mostly because he says he never received a written notice of this proposed use and how is that possible?  Was it just an innocent oops that they skipped notifying this property owner? Wasn’t anything posted at the property in question for people to see?  Are there innocent oopsie daisies in West Vincent?  If only a couple of properties within this little stretch were being zoned commercial is that spot zoning?  (I am not a planner or land use specialist or zoning guru, so I am just asking.)

Here is the e-mail this nice man sent to his supervisors:

————————-email to claire quinn and kenneth miller—–

I am the property owner next to Elaine’s flower shop ([HOUSE NUMBER REDACTED] Conestoga rd.).  Last week a neighbor informed me that there was a planning commission meeting in which a proposed change to the zoning map was being considered that included my property.   Apparently Elaine Horton is attempting to sell her barn to a person who wishes to open a BYOB restaurant 40 feet from my house.

I must say that when I attended this meeting to express deep concern over this, I was even more shocked that apparently, this was pretty much mapped out and set to be approved by the planning commission.  Maybe I am naïve in not randomly checking the West Vincent website to see if someone’s trying to rezone my house, but I’m beyond shocked that no one from the township made any effort whatsoever to communicate this to me, in any form.

The concerns I expressed to the planning commission were as follows:

  1.  You’re basically approving to open a BYOB restaurant in a school zone – directly across the street from an elementary school.
  2. I assume this restaurant will be open at night?  Which mean I and my family with 3 small children will have to deals with parking lot lights, noise…etc at night now?
  3. The proposed map was basically spot zoning by skipping over the property at 2735 and its frontage
  4. Concern over the viability of a restaurant in a less-than-optimal retail location given the amount of construction work it would take to get the building up to code.

Fortunately, it appears the planning commission at least paused on approving this until November.  I and a number of neighbors in the immediate area think the idea of a restaurant at this location is bad in many ways.  I’ve communicated my concern over a BYOB restaurant, which will be open during school hours, to the West Vincent PTA and the initial reaction from them was what I would classify as quit negative.

I did not email you today to complain about a proposed restaurant next to my house because frankly, the notion of changing that bat-ridden barn in a place where is food is served is laughable.  What I am taking issue with is the simple fact that the township knowingly made zero effort to communicate with me that you were you going to re-zone my house.

Thankfully, and unlike  elected officials, my neighbors cared enough to bring this to my attention.

I would like an explanation as to why the township made no effort to communicate with  me on  this.   I received multiple communications about the proposed sidewalk from Jim Wendleglass and that’s not even close to happening from what I understand.  My house was basically mapped out with Elaine’s to be spot zoned commercial!  The fact that I didn’t know about this is nuts.

Here is the e-mail that Kevin Miller sent to me that his wife got from the real estate agent when she inquired about the property:

Hi – Unfortunately, there was no attachment indicating which listing you are referring to but it might be the florist business located on RT. 401 called “Elaine’s Flowers”. It has a commercial variance for a gift shop relating to the floral business. There are many uses under the current zoning. Currently, an offer is on the table regarding an organic restaurant. West Vincent is discussing change a “block” of parcels into a commercial district. We are currently involved in those meetings. Please call me at (610) 952-3600.

Barb Kondrath

So this involves Elaine’s Flowers.  Now interestingly enough I found a Prudential Page about this address.

Seems to me that West Vincent has done everyone a disservice here and put backs up all the way around, yes? These things are ALWAYS 100% worse when municipalities don’t take the little steps to ensure comfort, yes?

See PDFs of WVT documents: 001, 2, 3 (incidentally these were NOT sent to me by the potentially affected resident.) I guess they are applicable here?

It is indeed a shame that it appears that West Vincent has screwed a lot of stuff up for a lot of people? I mean don’t you also feel sorry for this woman trying to sell her florist shop?