Once upon a time in West Whiteland Township, Chester County there was a female supervisor who was a lioness for the people. Hell no, I am definitely not speaking about Theresa Hogan Santalucia. That woman is a hamster stuck on a hamster wheel. I am speaking about Diane Snyder.
Diane Snyder was instrumental in stopping the Rouse Churchill plan in the 1990s and getting all those blessed acres saved. (That Greg Walters who was with Rouse somehow back then is now in this Green Fig Land Development along with Charles “Charlie” Lyddane, and isn’t that interesting?)
Back to Diane.
Diane was also instrumental in getting the West Whiteland Concerned Citizens group back then together. She stood up, got involved, rolled up her sleeves and look at what they accomplished? And now how many years later it’s all at risk again? Because I am not sure if all of the three West Whiteland Supervisors get it?
Yes, I am saying it out loud: I have reservations (right or wrong) that West Whiteland Supervisors Theresa Hogan Santalucia and Raj Kumbhardare don’t necessarily get it in this instance. And that concerns me because their decisions don’t happen on a tiny island in the middle of a vast ocean, and their decisions here affect more than West Whiteland residents.
Raj Kumbhardare will undoubtedly say it’s good for business because all he sees as a person with a career in database administration is the data center. He stands up for certain things, but here I just think his perspective would be different. He’s a good guy but sometimes things are lost on him. I fear this could be. He wasn’t here when the land was originally saved so he might not get the gravitas as it were.
Theresa Hogan Santalucia is not in my opinion a good person. And she is a terrible politician. Always volatile and insecure and just ignorant on so many issues. As opposed to Supervisors Raj Kumbhardare and Brian Dunn she is downright harmful. She also is not in fact particularly involved in the community she serves. And if you question her actual service and authenticity she goes on pity parties for one saying all she does is work. Well I have known lots of nurses who actually make time for volunteerism and most of us work, so that is just an excuse. Theresa IMHO would be a “yes” mind on this plan because she is unpleasant, often unknowledgeable, and seems to want to suck up to certain factions and curry favor.
Theresa Hogan Santalucia is SO unlike Diane Snyder, who did her job for the benefit of the residents, not to the detriment of residents. Diane Snyder paved the way for other female elected officials as well as putting her community first. She was a trailblazer and worked hard for the greater good.
Diane Snyder stood up. Here is a healthy excerpt of a 2008 article from the Philadelphia Inquirer:
By Don Beideman, Inquirer Staff Writer Published June 22, 2008
Sorry not sorry if I feel like this is all about the money, honey. I am allowed to have these opinions. And I am also of the opinion that they already got into East Whiteland with approval for a data center there (which I believe is a mistake) so why so greedy? I am of the opinion this takes us back to the the whole Trojan Horse idea? You know, data centers as the path to the hydrogen power plant? Money money money?
Do I have the answers about the whole data center and hydrogen plant issue? Nope, but a grand indicator is one of the faces of the plan spent years as an investment banker so do we really feel that this is for the greater good or merely someone’s greater profit?
A former West Whiteland Supervisor put it on the line to preserve land and open space in this area, so why would any West Whiteland official be gung ho to change the zoning and open up the area to industrial? And why would any elected official want to open up the area to industrial that we really don’t know enough about?
I was ambivalent about data centers until I looked into Loudoun County, Virginia. Now I’m just thinking they’re a mistake in certain areas. I worry about the one approved in East Whiteland already because I don’t think anybody did enough homework with conditions of approval as far as HVAC systems and other things like potential environmental and power worries went, and isn’t that reasonable to be concerned? I mean do the residential residents near by even really know about this data center? And if it gets supersized via West Whiteland, how will all that affect them?
And not to go all conspiracy theory but what about interested parties above this local level? Is there a push coming from elsewhere that is not as yet self evident?
Thank you Diane Snyder for what you did for us all those years ago. Now I just hope West Whiteland doesn’t let you and everyone else down in the present.
But like *MAGIC* , Theresa Hogan Santalucia thought by changing her page, would make it all go away. She’s just compounded her issues and made people wonder more what goes on inside her mind exactly.
Sunday she’s all “Government Official” right? Perfect song for her:
So now Theresa is a blogger? Ok umm and I am Mayor of Blogdom. Sheeesh totally so funny and co-mingled pathetic at the same time. I have to ask does West Whiteland have a social media policy for the township? Many do. Social media use by elected officials is something that is evolving. There is already case law about public officials blocking voters/constituents.
Theresa Hogan Santalucia blurs the lines between political and personal on social media, and you can’t say she is professional, mostly she always seems reactionary. She also now tells everyone she is a nurse, so does whomever she is employed by have policies on outside activities? Because politics is most definitely an outside activity.
So then in order to appear “chatty” our heroine posted this I guess overnight:
Ok, seriously? Honey, you are not a writer and so you wrote this when? Late? Haven’t you learned from posting late at night in the past? Grammatically your post is a hot mess, and you have this habit of CAPITALIZING WORDS WHEN THAT IS NOT THE PROPER USE.
Theresa has this rambling stream of her political consciousness, which is fine…if she actually were a blogger, but hasn’t she just changed her page West Whiteland Township Supervisor page from “Government Official” to “Blogger” to try to get out of whatever proverbial pickle her words have landed her in this time?
So obviously this post serves the function of setting her up to run for reelection. But when she says “She is a Democrat and believes in the Democratic process” it is like nails on the chalkboard because you just have to wonder, does she think that democratic process is only for Democrats? And she admits to voting for Barbara Hafer?
And honey, even when I was a Republican and a then employer was messing with her campaign, I didn’t vote for Barbara Hafer. That cracks me up because way back when Barbara Hafer was supposedly environmentally “aware”, yet people (myself included) saw her use aerosol Aquanet hair spray. I never forgot it. I was a little fly on the wall, part of an office admin staff (not political staff, just a body pressed into service for an event and at that age, well it was a free party and great people watching so of course I said yes) , so no one paid attention to what I or any other support peeps saw at an event back then. Actually that was the same event where I got to meet former Chief Justice Ron Castille, who was at that time District Attorney in Philadelphia. Barbara Hafer would have been running for Auditor General then, I believe. Meeting Castille was fascinating to watch in person, a total political animal. And he wasn’t a jerk when the lowly like myself met him. Very personable. But Barbara Hafer? Just didn’t like her. And since ol’ Babs Hafer was eventually indicted around 2016 on federal charges of lying about taking in more than $500,000 in consulting fees from a company that did business with her office, would you admit as a current politician with profile issues already that you even voted for her back in the day? And then there was that whole set of estate issues in 2010 or thereabouts?
But Barbara Hafer is always an amusing footnote in PA political history. She was a Republican until she thought it would be more politically advantageous to be a Democrat, or that has always been my theory. She also was a nurse before a politician so perhaps West Whiteland’s Supervisor Nurse Ratched sees a kinship. Now in case West Whiteland’s Supervisor Nurse Ratched says well she used to be a Republican, meaning me, yes I did, never hide it. But I have zero desire to be in public office and I stopped being a Republican when Donald Trump became the nominee, and my own personal voting record since I was able to vote was about splitting my ticket most of the time.
But I digress.
However, I find Theresa Hogan Santalucia’s record of edits on this Facebook post where she now calls herself a blogger yet she is a blogger without a website or evidence of regular or any blogging is also a weird thing to behold. I bet she doesn’t know people can check this stuff out:
Now she does this all of the time:
On that post, there is the all too frequent lament of what and why and wherefore she couldn’t do something…work. Does she think that she is the only person on the face of the earth who works hard or who had to work hard? I mean STFU with that already, unless of course she wants people to think she can’t handle a work/life/politics balance?
Back to the social media post editing. Everyone edits posts. But it’s what she takes out, puts in, takes out, puts in that can tell it’s own story. She’s been a politician now for enough time and around politics long enough that you would think she would be less invincible in her ignorance?
And all the talk about nursing, how long has she been an actual nurse? It has obviously been her vocation for many years, and I find no fault with that. Registered nurse is what she is now.
Again, no issue with her being a nurse, I was just curious so I looked. I would not want her as a nurse however, because given how I feel about her would she be able to be impartial if she did not like you or had beef and came across you as a patient? A practical nurse which she was for many years is also known as an LPN. LPNs usually provide more basic nursing care and are responsible for the comfort of the patient. RNs on the other hand, primarily administer medication, treatments, and offer educational advice to patients and the public. Nursing is hard work. At any level.
She tells people about her military career. Was she active duty or reserves? She never says. Either is admirable, just curiosity makes me ask.
And Theresa you don’t live in my head, but we know a lot of us live in yours. And you keep putting this weird stuff out there which makes people ask questions. And there is this whole thing seemingly with you about people finding you worthy. It comes across as majorly insecure. And a reminder that she is an elected official of not just one election cycle at this point, so with a lot of her behavior, one would again think she would know better?
But she doesn’t know better, which is why her politician days need to come to an end. This whole “Government Official Page” to “Blogger Page” and what she says on it is but the latest example. Poor West Whiteland Township.
However, all hope is not lost because she is indeed being primaried. And her competition is the real deal. I cannot speak highly enough of her. Libby Madarasz.
West Whiteland voters and residents you have a choice. You can get rid of the Marcia, Marcia, Marcia of Theresa, Theresa, Theresa. But you have to get out and vote in the primary.
And she should be censured by the Democrats IMHO.
Thanks for stopping by….
OH MY GOOD LORD READERS IT IS WHAT??? 5:30 PM??? SHE CHANGED HER PAGE AGAIN!!!!NOW SHE IS POLITICIAN IN CHESTER COUNTY WHICH IS SUPER EMBARASSING FOR EVERY POLITICIAN IN CHESTER COUNTY EXCEPT HER APPARENTLY? LITERALLY WE COULDN’T MAKE THIS UP IF WE TRIED!
The world according to West Whiteland Stupidvisor Theresa HoganSantalucia , but is her truth anyone else’s?
Saint Theresa of West Whiteland. What can we say about her that is not true? She’s unpleasant, a bad bullying politician, petty, a wannabe tyrant and more, correct? She is incredibly angry and insecure, takes no ownership of her behavior, does she? She is a professional victim after she melts down every single time, isn’t she?
And oh yes, politician darling, I can indeed express my opinions on you.And ask questions.
We all remember her behavior at the reorg meeting in West Whiteland last January, yes? And that the truth with her is always stranger than fiction, correct? So before we get to the present and her relatively new Facebook page of revisionist history essentially insinuating she is the sole supervisor in West Whiteland, Bossette Tweed needs a dose of reality, truth, and recent history as it actually happened, not as she wishes it to be.
So every meeting or not even in meetings there are Theresaisms. Her clumsy, almost uncomfortable way of speaking. Her flipping out at residents and targeting whomever she feels is in her way, right?
Oh and the company she keeps. State Rep. Kristine Howard’s boys in particular are her BFFs and cheerleaders, correct? And Kristine Howard is a State Rep who only got reelected because her opposition was truly a nut bag, and now she wants to be a judge and does she even have courtroom experience? (But I digress.) Here lookee Lou at a recent T Bird post (which is PUBLIC note the globe):
In 2023 I am glad T Bird is suggesting reach across the “isle”, but I hope the islanders can swim, right? No you can’t make this stuff up, or her new page announcing her as West Whiteland Supervisor, like she’s the only freaking one, and how funny is that? Those sitting in Harrisburg and with aspirations in Harrisburg and who like to play at the power behind the throne, might wish to distance themselves, yes?
Now Madam doesn’t list her name or her bio. When she adds her bio I am sure Moses won’t have anything on her, right? And before I get to the next bit let’s seriously talk for a minute about what she has done while in office? Besides wreak havoc?
I’ll wait.
Does anything come to mind?
Yep, I can’t think of anything either and I know for a fact that residents prefer to go to Raj Kumbhardare or Brian Dunn. You see they are nice, they care, they listen. They are secure in who they are and are beloved by their friends and families. Guess she’s jealous, right? Sad, so sad. Pathetic, even.
So a brief segue to the recent 2023 reorganization meeting. I knew it seemed too civilized when compared to 2022. Nasty is as nasty does and please don’t jump ahead, I will get there.
To the public it looked like all were getting along up on the dais to begin 2023, right? Well let’s pull it apart. Theresa would not be elected chairwoman of the supervisors now, the jig is so very up, right? She undoubtedly in my opinion pushed for Brian Dunn to first of all punish Raj for essentially not being her boy toy. Sorry not sorry Theresa, grown men don’t gravitate towards your brand of leadership as it were. Besides supervisors generally rotate this position around within their board, and face it Raj was chairman through quite the difficult time, I am sure he doesn’t mind a break, does he? But why else Brian as chairman (and she was the one who nominated him)? Easy, she wants to set Brian up to fail in my humble opinion. She wants to say as she runs for reelection that only she can do the job. Blah blah blah.
So now I know you want to see what she is posting on her shiny new page that appears to only have one follower. She started the page November 18, 2022.
OK, OK you have been such good readers, so here are her first two and thus far only posts. And if they appear fuzzy on your screen, click on each screen shot individually or simply read the verbatim copied text:
Let’s talk December 2021. The week between Christmas 2021 and New Years 2022 I was summoned to a diner in Exton by the supervisor elect.
I found out that night that the supervisor elect and the chair of the supervisors had been colluding to fire the solicitor and replace him with a solicitor that had made campaign donations to both their campaigns. The solicitor they were planning to install had been turned down by the sitting supervisors in a 2-1 vote in January 2021 due to his heavy involvement in politics and heavy load of other townships. The solicitor that was in place had vowed to stay out of local politics to include donations to campaigns.
The discussion was started with, “ you are already outvoted,”. But out voted by who? The sitting Board of Supervisors didn’t have a vote or even a discussion.
Seems the chairperson and supervisor elect ( not sworn in) decided to fire the sitting Township Manager for reasons never explained.
The morning after the diner meeting the chairperson walked into the Township Building and fired the sitting Township Manager. She had a stellar reputation in Chester County, she was never written up or reprimanded in fact previous boards had given steady raises and bonuses to the Township Manager.
This all happened WITHOUT a vote by the sitting Board of Supervisors. This firing was illegal as was the replacement of the solicitor. The sitting BOS had installed a reputable honest solicitor and a supervisor elect and one member of the sitting board colluded to fire the Township Manager and solicitor for reasons still unclear.
AGAIN THERE WAS NO VOTE OF THE SITTING BOARD TO FIRE THE MANAGER OR THE SOLICITOR!
What I asked for. Given that the supervisor elect ( not sworn in) and the Chairman fired the Township Manager without the required 90 days notice. I asked the than finance director to pay the Township Manager the 90 days pay.
Yes I both phoned and texted the than Finance Director to give the money to the now former Township Manager. Since this needed a vote and the time was fading away I had to wait for the 2023 Board to be seated. The figure I asked for was 3 months pay, $41,250.
Because the time ticked away and now the board consisted of me and the chairperson there was no vote,
The former manager got a lawyer. And what we ended up giving her was.
Three months pay $41,250
Three weeks vacation time $10,312.50
Plus her medical benefits for three months including her HSA contribution
So instead of giving her the 3 months pay and being finished. West Whiteland had a no show employee for the first quarter of 2022. All due to two men throwing their weight around in an illegal firing of an employee.
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~Theresa Hogan SantaLUcia from her west whiteland supervisor page december 6, 2022
Let’s talk Trash:
In 2017 the then Board of Supervisors ran a survey to get an idea of where West Whiteland Residents stood on the Pay As You Throw (PAYT) program. The residents voted in a majority to continue with the PAYT program.
In the most recent local election in 2021, a new Supervisor was elected and he does not like the PAYT program. He wrote up a PowerPoint where he proposed getting rid of the PAYT program in favor of a more traditional program. One of the conditions of his program was a rebate program based on age. I would have qualified for that program. For the record I am against any rebates based on age, all rebate systems should be needs-based.
As a compromise, we distributed another survey to see where the residents of West Whiteland stood on staying with PAYT or going to a billing system and using any trash bag they want to use and putting out as much as they want for no extra charge.
The alternative for PAYT would start at $130 a year, the cost of one bag per week. Giving a break to those that put out 2 or more bags a week and costing more for those that put out 1-2 bags per month. Most smaller households either senior citizens or younger residents without children put out 1 or 2 bags per month costing between $30-$60 a year. The proposed non-PAYT system would have been an increase of $70-$100 a year.
In the 2022 Survey, we had 2032 residents on the PAYT system finish the survey. Of the 2032 responses, we had 1926 (94%) put out 1-3 bags. In the comments, some of the residents checked they use less than 1 bag a week but there wasn’t an option to say they use ½ to ¼ bag per week. The respondents voted 55% to 44% to stay with PAYT. That is an 11 point lead.
To be clear the newest supervisor wanted the survey and then claimed in the October 26, 2022 meeting that his son didn’t know about the survey. He also claimed the survey wasn’t the way to decide how to choose our trash collection system. Again, he was the one that wanted a new survey called the 2017 survey a joke.
~ Theresa Hogan SantaLUcia from her west whiteland supervisor page november 25, 2022
Umm yeah. OK Theresa. (dying laughing over here. Let’s talk trash or talk about your incessant trash talking, right? )Don’t you just love, love, love revisionist history in politics on a Sunday morning? Blessed be.
There actually isn’t too much to say about her posts other than, Theresa, professional therapy is cheaper. I mean it’s already been established that Ms. Gleason, the former township manager of West Whiteland had her contract simply NOT renewed. Perfectly legal, happens all of the time. Sometimes, municipalities will give managers the opportunity to resign in lieu of a non renewal but it is not a written in stone thing, is it? And if they are given the opportunity to resign in lieu of non-renewal and don’t? And no I do not know what happened behind closed doors, but there are only so many ways this can go, right? And not renewing a completed contract is perfectly normal and it happens. Everywhere. Not just in West Whiteland.
And then there is the whole issue of what Theresa did which was hardly Kosher before the 2022 reorg meeting at the end of 2021, right? The whole ordering township employees to just write checks to the departing manager because she said so? It didn’t seem to matter then that she was even told by the former finance director who had also been a supervisor that this was not legal and not done, right?
But here she goes again with her revisionist history and version of truth, right? I mean is it safe to have someone obviously unhinged and delusional in public office? I mean yikes!
And let’s review: no votes, as in NO votes took place BEFORE the reorg meeting in 2022. That is the truth, and the beginning and end of it. At that same 2022 reorg meeting she not only threw then brand new supervisor Brian Dunn under the bus for essentially not going along with her, she also tried to besmirch the reputation of the new solicitor. She so doesn’t get how municipalities work and what is legal and not legal that West Whiteland should get back all the money they have shelled out so she could attend PSATs conferences, right? And Mimi Gleason is now a manager or interim manager in Lower Gwynedd in Montgomery County, maybe no matter what you think of her, the woman wants to get on with her life?
Of course I am amused to remember when Ms. Gleason retired from her job as township manager in Tredyffrin in 2012, declaring she had a life to live yadda yadda yadda and a “job is not a life” I have to wonder HOW she feels about Theresa right now…you know as she is trying to live her life now not after Tredyffrin, but West Whiteland? I mean you can almost feel for the woman because and old adage comes to mind — with friends like these, who needs enemies? Oy, Joey Adams, truer words were never spoken. Bossette Tweed, Saint Theresa of West Whiteland is such a liability politically and otherwise, right? If the Democrats were smart they would just formally censure her for behavior unbecoming of a public official and a Democrat.
So next let’s discuss Theresa’s Pyrrhic victory of 2022. Pyrrhic victory defined is:
Pyrrhic victory (plural Pyrrhic victories) A very costly victory, wherein the considerable losses outweigh the gain, so as to render the struggle not worth the cost.
Bossette Tweed carried on most of 2022. Her Pyrrhic victory of 2022 was the whole trash issue. Yawn. Supervisor Brian Dunn tried to offer alternatives to West Whiteland residents because at it’s simplest, SO MANY WEST WHITELAND RESIDENTS ASKED FOR AN ALTERNATIVE TO THE INEFFICIENT, RIDICULOUS TRASH BAG PLAN THAT SHE LOVES. That friends and readers, is called doing his job. She should try it sometime.
So next we go to how Bossette Tweed has her page set up for the public:
Oh yeah….that….Theresa Hogan Santalucia is an elected official. A politician. I guess she also doesn’t get that the plurality has rights. My blog has a Facebook page, and how many of us have our own personal Facebook pages? We can control our own pages because we are not politicians and elected officials. We can be as private or as public as we choose and can remove comments and block people if we so choose. Also we are all guests of social media platforms, so there is that aspect as well. Madam decided to be a politician and the rules for her are different. I will let the ACLU speak on the topic:
For generations, physical spaces – like public squares and town halls – have been critical forums for people to speak out on issues of public importance. But with the rise of social media, the avenues for members of the public to speak with their elected officials have expanded. Facebook comments and Twitter retweets are replacing the public meeting. In fact, the Supreme Court recently called these sites, “the modern public square,” where constituents can “petition their elected representatives and otherwise engage with them in a direct manner.”
If a public official uses their account to carry out their role as an elected official, then their page or account is subject to the First Amendment. That means they cannot engage in most forms of censorship such as blocking someone or deleting someone’s comments just because of their subject or opinion. It is also generally unacceptable for the official to ask the platform to delete comments for them.
How to determine if an official’s social media account is being used as an extension of their office:
The official identifies as a government official (e.g., includes their official title like @POTUS ) on the account.
The official posts announcements about their policies, responsibilities, or actions to communicate and interact with constituents and voters.
The official uses the account to seek or encourage comments about what legislation they should bring or support.
The official uses the account to call official meetings or declare orders within their authority.
The official encourages public discussion on their account or page.
The official allows users to ask for government services on their account.
The page lists or otherwise indicates the official’s title.
So don’t waste your breath telling her she is wrong to do this on her page other than to bring it up at a public meeting where in Public Comment you CAN challenge her on what she says and writes. That is your right as a resident of West Whiteland. I do not live in West Whiteland, so it is my right as a woman with a brain to say she is ridiculous and an embarrassment to the office she holds and to female politicians in general. She is no better than politicians like Marjorie Taylor Greene. She is a risk to the Democrats in Chester County and they should start distancing themselves now. West Whiteland Democrats and the Democrat Party of Chester County should truly consider censuring her. They ALL know her behavior is unhinged and a censure (sometimes referred to as condemnation or denouncement) does not remove her from office. However, it is a formal statement of disapproval. And necessary.
The removal of this politicians should come this election cycle. Republicans and Democrats alike in West Whiteland should unite in removing her. If they get their collective acts together they can oust her in the upcoming primary and put a stop to this by lame ducking her. For the sake of this township, this actually has to happen. Primary her ass.
As a politician, this woman also makes a mockery of local government. She wants to rule like old school back in the day Delco, only this is Chester County, and she forgets? Doesn’t care? Is that stupid?
Look West Whiteland, I am being completely transparent when I say I find this elected official’s behavior horrible. In my opinion they also lack humanity and sense of decency and that right and wrong is entirely subjective by her actions. But other than express my opinions, it is up to all of you as residents. And whether she is running or not, people should go every public meeting and at public comment speak up and speak out about this craziness and ongoing reign of terror and ask for her resignation. Maybe she won’t do it, but it is your collective right to ask.
Government is NOT supposed to be about politicians who don’t know how to do their job and what doing their job well and fairly actually entails. This is an elected official who doesn’t seem to like anyone or anything so why is she in office? Is her version of change and good government constantly projecting ugliness? Why does everyone on God’s green earth have to be continually punished because she is unhappy?
I am not an elected official, and I have no desire to be. But there are plenty of local officials who do a really good job, and there are others out there who wish to. Life is too short for ugliness, West Whiteland. Voters need to primary her this spring. And if you all do and she next plays West Vincent politics by running as a fake Republican or Independent, vote her down in the fall. Get her gone. I can’t speak for her abilities as a nurse, but I can offer my opinions on her as a politician and elected official.
Thank you for allowing an intrusion on a Sunday. I am sure this politician’s brain will explode when she reads this post, and undoubtedly she will say I am secretly running West Whiteland or something else ridiculous like she is living rent free in my head. And if you see her at a Starbucks, make sure to snap her photo.
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.
Move over Marie Antoinette, Saint Theresa of West Whiteland is on the Zoom! Apparently people are being chastised for NOT going to the grocery store and using services like Instacart and Amazon? Nice. I found her interaction with this resident completely condescending, and did she go to the political graveyard of West Whiteland to dig up dead bodies to say they like the crappy and overpriced big W trash bags too?
Seriously, there were former officials speaking whose idea it probably was in the FIRST PLACE to do this whole trash bag thing! So of course they were good ol’ cheerleaders! (Full meeting video available HERE.)
Now I honestly couldn’t decide if Saint Theresa of West Whiteland should be Marie Antoinette for Halloween, or just a witch. So she has two costume options. Readers can decide on the best costume.
I will share video snippets of this public meeting and a word of warning to Supervisor Rajesh Kumbhardare. To Supervisor Raj, I caution you on your tone with residents at meetings. You are starting to sound dictatorial and combative. That is really unattractive and you can do and be better. Generally speaking, I think you are a good guy, hence the warning.
But Saint Theresa? Oy woman, just #resign already. You are an embarrassment to women, female politicians, and your own political party. Quit acting like Bossette Tweed of New Tammany Hall. How you grocery shop isn’t necessarily the golden rule of shopping is it? Who are you to judge every resident who essentially doesn’t agree with you? Ed the nice and friendly resident who spoke wasn’t the enemy. He expressed his opinion politely and in a non-threatening manner. You were rude. But then again you are always rude. You talk OVER everyone and CONSTANTLY interrupt. It’s like you are so damn afraid you won’t be paid attention to, and why is this always “The Theresa Show”? If the world revolves around YOU, lady then stop the spin so we can all jump off.
Why do you care where the guy gets his groceries? Why do youcare where the man gets his toilet paper or paper towels? What does THAT have to do with West Whiteland’s over priced but cheap trash bags? And no, we all actually don’t have to go to the grocery store any longer. And however you parented and whatever you thought when you had school age kids way back when is not necessarily everyone else’s opinion and experience. We don’t care. You aren’t a shining example of anything other than an extraordinarily unpleasant politician. That, madam, will be your enduring legacy.
You want to complain constantly on social media about how hard you work, like you are the only one who has ever worked hard, right? Ok, we get it. One of my grandmothers would have called that poor mouthing.
No one is ever as good as you are in your estimation. But then again you were the one who wanted a finance person to just cut a big check at the beginning of the year, bypassing proper procedure, so is your personal estimation even one we should take into account? I guess that might be a conversation for another day. But hey what do I know, I am just a troll, right? (Your words, I also saved the screen shots before you deleted them but you haven’t deleted that post dated September 15th where you trash talk a resident you are threatened by, right?)
Back to the trash: I do not believe all of the people who say they only put out one little trash bag a week. I DO believe that people dump their trash elsewhere, I have seen it with my own eyes in East Whiteland where the walking trail goes behind some office complexes. I literally watched someone drive into the place from the road, stop their car, pop the trunk, dump trash into office complex dumpster and drive off. I have seen it in other places too. When I lived in Lower Merion there was once an apartment landlord that would pick up his trash in Lower Merion and take it to apartments they owned in Narberth.
I understand why people in developments don’t want trash cans. They don’t want trash cans because their neighbors now just leave the recycling bins out everywhere for days without bringing them back to their garages. But that is an issue with the association that runs their development, isn’t it? If the HOAs were proactive and said they were going to fine residents for leaving trash bins out all of the time and blocking sidewalks, don’t you think development residents would be more proactive?
And the quality of the trash bags is poor. Even residents who like the trash bags say that. And they also comment on how the price can jump around if the retail outlets are paying molly markup. Why can’t trash bags be delivered to residents like quarterly? Or have them available at the township building?
And as for the trash haulers making coin on the side? Cash is king, and if people are tipping them to just just make the trash go away, as long as there are bags, I think this will continue to happen. It’s human nature, sadly.
It’s a shame, really. This is really about politicians who want to govern by surveys. Not everyone will take a survey, some actually want people to TALK to them. But some won’t do surveys in addition because they fear retaliation. Some just don’t have time. I think the survey was set up to fail because two supervisors wanted this to fail. But that is on them and their future elections, isn’t it?
The other thing that is a shame is while certain things in West Whiteland seems to be improving, certain elected officials are not. Saint Theresa of West Whiteland is unpleasant essentially EVERY meeting. Sometimes she has public meeting wig outs, other times it’s on social media. And when she puts on the extra special Bossette Tweed outfit on election day, well look out?
Why does she have to be that way? The simple answer is she doesn’t. The more complicated answer is appears she is not capable of any other way to be and is just so utterly unhappy and angry a person, that it spills out in all directions. And I can wonder aloud about politicians, Theresa.
Anyway, just another trick and no treats meeting this week in West Whiteland. And that is not because trash bags won. It’s because SOME had issues with the public speaking out and not agreeing.
Yesterday Saint Theresa of West Whiteland didn’t like something I said. I mean imagine that? A politician not liking something a blogger says?
Truthfully, she probably doesn’t like most of what I say. I am fine with that. I made a comment about her not appearing at a local community event when the other two supervisors of West Whiteland and other public officials did. Now was that poking a very unpleasant bear? Yeah probably, BUT why did I point this out? Simple: when the other two supervisors appear at public events and she is not there she has huge problems with that doesn’t she? So it was just a pre-emptive strike, truthfully.
At 10:07 PM last night, on a Saturday, I was finally the recipient of what is know as “Theresa gold.” She messaged my personal Facebook page looking for a fight. We do not know each other, I do not choose to engage with angry out of control politicians AND MOST IMPORTANTLY? It was 10:07 PM and isn’t that just rude? Where are her boundaries? Ooops sorry to ask semi-rhetorical questions.
I will note that Supervisor Saint Teresa messaged me at 10:07 PM to say it was none of my business, that she was absent from the community event because her daughter is apparently ill and she wasn’t resigning. She’s right, it’s not my business, but she’s made it everyone’s business, as I was told that she posted it on her page as well. (see screenshot)
I hope her daughter recovers, but it doesn’t change my opinion that this is a rather unpleasant local politician who should not be in office. She also shouldn’t message people late in the evening. It’s also questionable that she makes her family business public like a political tool, which truthfully, isn’t that so sad? She could have simply (1) messaged her fellow supervisors and said she had a family emergency and wouldn’t be at local events on Saturday or (2) put out a statement later congratulating residents and others for wonderful community events that bring communities together for the greater good and she was so sorry she was unable to be there. Truthfully, if she was smart like that she would have silenced any criticism instantly. But she has no style, does she?
Flash forward 7 hours or at 1 AM, Supervisor Saint Theresa of West Whiteland continued her conversation with her sycophants (or maybe just herself?) about me. So here she is, a public official with her pathetic attempt at doxxing someone who is well…not a public official.
Theresa doesn’t seem to grasp in her latest somewhat gaseous explosion of hate and vitriol, that there was NOT going to be some back and forth because I was not having some back and forth with her at after 10 PM or at any point. She has a habit of messaging people late at night whom she doesn’t know.
This is a person who is incapable of having a dialogue with anyone, and she proves it during most public meetings.
This is a person who is a politician who uses her office as a bully pulpit. If I was a resident in her township she would probably try to send someone from the township to try to intimidate or harass me, wouldn’t she?
This is a politician who has issues with pretty much everyone, including political higher ups within her own party whom she should actually attempt to cultivate, and isn’t that just common sense? She is a politician whom other politicians look away from, isn’t she?
This is the local politician who tried to just literally order West Whiteland’s now former finance person who was also a former supervisor to cut a big old check to the former manager whose contract wasn’t renewed without going through proper channels, remember? For that alone as one example of ethically and morally wonky she should have been removed from office, shouldn’t she have?
This is a person whose Facebook page I don’t actually follow and people collect screenshots on, just like they did overnight. “Hey she’s talking about you” was the message. “Of course she is.” was my reply. What I will add here is I now join the ranks of every one of her constituents and others I know she has harangued from her Facebook page or in some social media forum if they don’t tow her line. This is a person who can’t ever seem to keep it together for even public meetings, so is it any wonder MANY people want her to resign? And was this not the woman who this past January started the year in West Whiteland by accusing a new supervisor who has familial ties and the incoming solicitor of nefarious things at a public meeting?
And let us never forget the politician who called the police on sidewalk chalk?
Theresa you are a politician who is a troll and you called me one, so “meh” on that insult. I also don’t have to justify my existence to you in this world, never have. Neither do any of the constituents or others who challenge who and what you are as a politician, although should it be said you are worthy of an ethics inquiry?
Can I get you to resign? I don’t believe I have that power, although I do believe you should resign, and freedom of speech allows me to articulate that comment. As often as I choose.
The comment Saint Theresa makes about my replacing her with a friend is curious, don’t you think? Do I have a friend running against her? Her term ends in 2024, correct? Is a friend in this case literally anyone who runs against her? Asking for a friend.
And finally, because she is obviously a social media Luddite even though she misuses it so regularly, I blocked her on messenger when she messaged me after 10 PM on a Saturday night, so I cut nothing off, I couldn’t see it and when she went to hit send she would have been told that she could no longer reply to the conversation. She was never interested in a conversation, I was merely a target to scream at in that moment.
Saint Theresa of West Whiteland always is the champion of pretzel logic or bad spin. As well as her own worst enemy every time she opens her mouth.
She calls me a troll with a capital T like it is a nationality. That’s actually pretty funny. Maybe I am my own race and nationality now??? Cool!!!!!
She is the one using her adult child as a political prop and public sympathy attempt. I am not. She made whatever her adult daughter is experiencing public, as in a public post. That’s her choice, but not my fault. I have not said anything disparaging about her daughter, nor would I. I hope she gets well soon.
I don’t hide Theresa, I am right here saying out loud that you are a deeply troubled woman unfit for public office. You make your entire township and Chester County Democrats look bad every single time you open your mouth.
Save your pity for yourself Saint Theresa, except that is part of the problem and always has been, hasn’t it? How you see yourself? You do any woman who would ever wish to run for public office a disservice. Truthfully you kind of act like Marjorie Taylor Greene a lot of the time and that is saying something, isn’t it?
If making me your latest target of public posts happy Saint Theresa, that’s on you entirely. But all you are doing is digging yourself a bigger political grave and proving every single critic right. And oh my goodness, the Chester County Democrats should be embarrassed to have you as one of their own.
(And by the way, Saint Theresa by now has deleted or hid her latest crazed screenshots about me from overnight including the public one mentioning her poor daughter. Sadly she doesn’t get that DOESN’T make them go away. It’s like she gets social media Tourette’s syndrome. Seriously, that is a thing.)
And as someone who is probably better versed in the history of Pennsylvania than she who skews life, a reminder that pilgrims weren’t the only ones to come to Pennsylvania or to the new world. And all who came before us would be appalled by the behavior of this local politician. They didn’t fight for her to muck things up, did they? Or did they give us the freedom of our mistakes? If so, why does she never have ownership of her mistakes? She flips out, and thinks deleting everything is all she has to do.
And last night? If she had just let it go and accepted I had no desire to correspond with her after 10 PM at night, let alone sit there and be her whipping girl on messenger, we wouldn’t be here. I would have just laughed about it privately and moved on. But she took it to that next level, made it public, had to be extra nasty. She is an elected official. This isn’t some random flame war on social media.
Bless her heart, Theresa Hogan Santalucia still doesn’t get it.
Oh and Theresa? The grammar police are coming for you 🤣
Whatever it was, is now cleared. There are work trucks and stuff there as well as a fire truck. My friend couldn’t see any smoke, but it looked like there were people coming from a basement area.
Maybe the ghosts of the Ship Inn aren’t happy about it becoming a microbrewery? I mean the place has been reported haunted for years.
Anyway glad that the Ship Inn is o.k. With all the years of somewhat benign neglect it’s no wonder. Wait until they get to the floors above the dining area right?
And of course if this is going to be a microbrewery there is no way I think that those floors inside the ship in can’t handle those big tanks. So my guess is they will have to go in their own structure outside somewhere?
I am also including the rotting historic farmhouse with a fabulous probably rotting barn behind it at 310 Lancaster Avenue in Frazer (East Whiteland Township) which I have been writing about for years (like the Joseph Price house at 401 Clover Mill Road at the corner of South Whitford in Exton, West Whiteland Township.) 310 Lancaster Avenue is the Clews & Strawbridge property, which if I recall my research correctly is three parcels under the same entity name.
What is interesting about the Clews and Strawbridge property is I found a website today for self storage units there. I hope the storage is an inside the historic farmhouse given its dilapidated condition.
What I don’t understand with this location like the other two in this post is why people can’t take care of them? Why the demolition by neglect? And these are hardly the only examples in Chester County, either.
Joseph Price House 401 Clover Mill Road, Exton (West Whiteland)
The Joseph Price House at 401 Clover Mill Road is so sad. That is a magnificent property, and it appears to be on still buy two old men in Ambler. I think at least one of them used to live around maybe? I also know they have had offers for that property for restoration/preservation but in this case it’s demolition by neglect meets greed isn’t it?
Today it looks like some kind of cheap roofing material was being thrown up to cover the holes in the roof and some of the porch roof. So is that because they’re trying to sell it or is there actually still a tenant/caretaker living there? There used to be but the more it deteriorated, people just wondered but Loch Aerie had a caretaker living there as that was rotting up until the end. And Loch Aerie is a prime example that restoration and a viable adaptive reuse is entirely possible. Loch Aerie went from a proverbial lump of coal for decades to a glittering diamond.
Joseph Price House, Exton (West Whiteland Township)
And the farmhouse at 105 S. Whitford is also legitimately historic. It’s even recognized by West Whiteland Township as such. It was part of the Oaklands estate. And was it also not once also a family home to a very popular former Chester County State Representative?
When I went by both houses along South Whitford Road today I was astounded by the condition of the property at 105. The farmhouse looks sad but not completely dilapidated yet. But give it time because if no one pays attention it will get that way.
Demolition by neglect is an old unpleasant thing in so many communities. A few years ago you even saw foreclosure versions of that when banks would come in and take over the properties and just leave ghost houses, or whatever the correct nickname was.
I don’t know what the future holds for that farmhouse but shouldn’t it matter somehow? Shouldn’t the condition of the property matter somehow? And that’s the whole thing: you get that not every historic house can be saved or every old house or every beautiful swath of land, but this whole demolition by neglect and chest high weeds thing is ridiculous. Don’t the people that live in the area already matter? Shouldn’t these property owners at least be respectful of the township in which they have these properties?
It’s just that in spite of how difficult Pennsylvania seems to make historic preservation because they just don’t offer nearly what a lot of other states offer, there are people who still want to restore these properties. It would just be nice if there was more restoration and less demolition by neglect.
105 S. Whitford Road Exton (West Whiteland Township)
It looks like Hollywood Squares for municipalities doesn’t it? At least West Whiteland is recording the meetings, however. Last evening’s meeting was a bang your head on the wall kind of experience.
So there is the new assisted living facility planned for Boot Road and Ship Rd. It has to be close to West Goshen I guess. It’s 930-936 E. Boot Road, West Chester. The road is pretty narrow back there and it’s close to that odd little strip mall that once upon a time had a pizza place that never seemed to have many customers.
So about this site. Only a couple of hundred feet from Mariner East, so what happens in an emergency if this thing gets built? A crafty cottage style warehouse for often immobile senior citizens?
Apparently Bossette Tweed is an expert of what you cannot do, always from her phone screen, and never seemingly prepared ahead of time? Shall we call her Saint Theresa of No-No? Yes Supervisor Saint Theresa Hogan Santalucia, I am referring to you. And yes I can have the continued opinion that you are an unpleasant, sometimes foul mouthed, obstreperous, and useless git of a politician. The First Amendment allows it.
You are the font of NO. And you don’t really know what you are talking about, have incredibly poor speaking skills, and if you actually did your damn job you would realize that although local elected officials have to say no at times because they are hampered by bad advice and crap zoning, there are those lovely state and federally elected officials you kowtow too and pose for photos with who CAN help sometimes with sticky wickets.
Like State Reps and State Senators. Now we all know State Rep Kristine Howard is another useless git of a politician, but she is up for re-election. So Saint Theresa of No-No, Bossette Tweed, have you bothered to figured out the last time the Municipalities Planning Code of the Commonwealth of PA was comprehensively updated? Try late 1960s early 1970s. HAVE YOU EVER PRESSED THESE STATE ELECTED OFFICIALS TO ENACT AN ACT OF THE STATE CONSTITUTION TO UPDATE THIS BEFORE EVERY AREA IN PA IS DESTROYED BY OUTDATED AND OUTMODED ZONING? Instead of sitting like a blob at meetings with your nasal no-no tone, have you ever actually done what you were elected to do? Or are you still confusing West Whiteland with Upper Darby of the bad old days?
Yes, it’s not a great recording and No No Nannette mumbles and tries to hide from the camera BUT you can’t hear Supervisor Raj really either, since he often talks away from the microphone. Why did this application have to get approved preliminarily last night? Why couldn’t they have postponed a decision for a month or so? Why not TABLE for a little bit? Even until the next meeting?
It is not always an easy thing to say NO to a project as an elected official. But there are things you can do like TABLE something for a specified duration, even if just until the next meeting. Which should have been done here, somehow. But nooooo they rolled over except for Brian Dunn who just does what is right, even if not politically popular because he GETS that he was elected to serve the plurality, not special interests. I expected Theresa to be Theresa because she’s always just Theresa, but Rajesh Kumbhardare, the Chair of the Supervisors seriously disappointed residents last evening. He was hard to hear and just rolled over like a good boy. Hope they scratched his ears and gave him a cookie?
West Whiteland is still to me a huge, hot mess. This senior living facility being built deep in the blast zone of Mariner getting approved is just the latest example. If West Whiteland is SO concerned about residential safety, why not table it if you don’t have the municipal balls to say no thank you?
Now allow me to quote West Whiteland Residents for Public Safety:
How is this business owner and our township EMC, neither of whom have a background in developing emergency plans for HVL pipelines, to accomplish this when Chester County Department of Emergency Services and others have not? How can they possibly develop a plan to quickly evacuate 80 residents who cannot travel a half mile upwind on foot unassisted?
In addition to this condition, the applicant stated in the conditional use hearing on 05/25/22 that the Emergency Plan must be approved by the Township before the facility can get a license. To hear that, go to 1:17:55 at (previously recorded West Whiteland Township Meeting)
When this emergency plan is submitted by the applicant how will the WWT Supervisors possibly be able to approve it? Here is Tom Boyce, Delaware County’s Director of Emergency Services in 2019 testifying about the inability to evacuate those who cannot “get up and walk away” when Mariner East leaks. Theresa Santalucia was at the hearing and yet she, along with Rajesh Kumbhadare voted to approve this conditional use last might.
Here also is a written form of comment by West Whiteland resident Ginny Kerslake:
This Decision and Order before you tonight contains a reference to a public comment I made at a previous meeting. It gets a couple things from my comment and about Mariner East wrong. These are significant so I emailed them to you last night and wish to repeat them now publicly.
Mariner East 2 and Mariner East 2X are NOT natural gas pipelines. They are natural gas liquids (NGL) pipelines. This is a critical point. NGLs are denser than air so in the event of a leak they do not dissipate upward like natural gas but rather form a low-lying vapor cloud. They are more explosive and have a larger blast radius. And in the case of Mariner East, they do not have an odorant added. All of this, in addition to their size, makes Mariner East uniquely more dangerous than the other pipelines we have in West Whiteland Township.
Secondly, I did not “inquire about the applicant’s evacuation strategy” but rather spoke to the impossibility of a credible strategy to evacuate these residents who cannot quickly walk or run a half mile upwind, unassisted as is required for a leak on Mariner East.
You have included in this conditional use approval a condition #9 that states: “The Applicant shall work with the Township’s Emergency Management Coordinator to develop a satisfactory strategy in the event of a pipeline-related emergency”
How will this applicant, a senior care facility developer and our township’s Emergency Manager Coordinator possibly be able to come up with a credible plan to protect these 80 residents incapable of self-evacuation when our county and other counties, our township and other townships have failed to come up with an Emergency Plan for Mariner East even for the general public, because it is an impossible plan?
Last night Edgmont Township voted NO on building another school in the blast zone of Mariner East. This was the right thing to do. I ask you again tonight to use your authority and honor your duty to ensure public safety and vote NO on granting conditional use approval for an assisted living facility at this location
~ginny kerslake
West Whiteland likes to pretend they don’t see what is in front of them. It’s wrong. I think a lot of things would have the room to grow and change however if Supervisor Theresa Hogan Santalucia RESIGNED.
#RESIGN THERESA
On right is proposed site of the granny and grand pop go BOOM senior living facility .
