{"id":6349,"date":"2011-12-27T13:04:35","date_gmt":"2011-12-27T18:04:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/?p=6349"},"modified":"2011-12-27T13:04:35","modified_gmt":"2011-12-27T18:04:35","slug":"year-in-review-2011-part-i-stormy-times-dominate-headlines","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/?p=6349","title":{"rendered":"Year in Review 2011, Part I: stormy times dominate headlines"},"content":{"rendered":"

Weather, financial crisises drive much of the news of the first quarter of 2011<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

By Mike McGann<\/strong>, Editor, UnionvilleTimes.com<\/em><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Multiple winter storms \u2014 such as this one that knocked down trees over roadways in Pocopson \u2014 closed schools multiple times and left local residents to dig out multiple times in 2011.<\/p><\/div>\n

Weather it was snow storms \u2014 or political storms \u2014 2011 will likely be remembered as a turbulent year in the Unionville area \u2014 whether you measure it from political upheaval, a change in superintendents of schools or a patch of changeable weather.<\/p>\n

Although red \u2014 and in financial deficits \u2014 would be the color that dominated the talk of the first three months of 2011, it was white, as in snow. Although locally we saw typically somewhere between 2.5 and four inches of snow, a foot landed on Philadelphia in the final days of 2010, leaving a slushy clean up job\u00a0\u2014 and led to the postponement of a Philadelphia Eagles\u2019 game for the first time in memory.<\/p>\n

But other colors \u2014 green as in cash, and red as in red-ink \u2014 moved quickly to the fore. East Marlborough\u2019s Board of Supervisors got it going in the opening days of the year by raising some fees<\/a> \u2014 such as for pool permits and zoning variances.<\/p>\n

And while that was more of the routine nature of business, dark financial storm clouds appeared to be gathering in Harrisburg, some local legislators warned that people might be happy with cuts needed to close a $5 billion state budget gap. Just days before Gov. Tom Corbett took office, State Rep. Steve Barrar, (R-160) signaled the worry<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know how you come up with $5 billion in cuts,\u201d he said. \u201cThe new governor may be asking us to make decisions that could cost many of us in the legislature our jobs.\u201d<\/p>\n

Aside from fiscal issues, Corbett would have another immediate impact on the area: tapping Chester County Commissioner Carol Aichele<\/a> to be Secretary of the Commonwealth, leading her resignation. The next day,\u00a0 Chester County Recorder of Deeds Ryan Costello announced<\/a> he would be a candidate for Commissioner in 2011. Costello would later be appointed to finish Aichele\u2019s term \u2014 and then would win election in his own right in November.<\/p>\n

Although it was little surprise that appointments to the new Corbett Administration would ripple through Chester County \u2014 long a source of key GOP players in state government \u2014 the sudden closure of Simon Pearce<\/a> in Pocopson \u2014 a glass-blowing store and restaurant located in the historic site of the Lenape Inn was a bit of a shock. The eatery closed immediately in January with the entire operation shut down by February. The building would go on the market later in the year, reputedly at a price of more than $3 million, and remains unsold at this writing.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, grappling with issues that dominate much of 2011, The Unionville-Chadds Ford Board of Education had two major, intertwined issues to work through: the continued stalemated talks with the districts\u2019 teachers and a largely unanticipated drop in local real estate valuation that tightened an already difficult budget process.<\/p>\n

The board opened the year on both fronts, opting to seek budget exceptions<\/a> from the state Department of Education and moving talks with the teachers into more of public mode. Board member and finance committee chair Keith Knauss argued against applying for the exceptions, but found little support among his colleagues.<\/p>\n

Both sides in the ongoing teacher talks made their arguments<\/a> on the contract issue during a meeting on Jan. 19 \u2014 with Knauss suggesting that the teachers\u2019 proposal could lead to layoffs, while teachers argued it was unfair to blame them for the costs of the Unionville High School renovation project. At the same times, both sides awaited the ruling of Mariann E. Schick, who was appointed by the Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board to hear both sides and offer a non-binding compromise by the end of the month.<\/p>\n

Elsewhere, Supervisors in Pocopson continued to wrangle<\/a> with Toll Brothers over issues at The Preserve, taking issue with a large retaining wall at the site, apparently not in keeping with the original site plan.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Claire Werkiser of Newlin was crowned Pennsylvania Farm Queen.<\/p><\/div>\n

Local residents got the exciting news that Newlin\u2019s Claire Werkiser was crowned as Pennsylvania Farm Queen<\/a>. Werkiser, then a senior at Unionville High School, had been the queen of the Unionville Fair and became the first local resident to be crowned statewide.<\/p>\n

Mid-month, more weather<\/a> played havoc with local roads, closing schools on Jan. 18 and Jan. 21. A pair of storms later in the month would dump more than a foot of snow on the area, closing schools again and snarling traffic.<\/p>\n

February brought talk of a meeting <\/a>with the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) over a proposal to finally replace the Rt. 926 bridge over the Brandywine \u2014 but not address the flooding problem that routinely closes the bridge.<\/p>\n

Amongst the various storms, a large group of Chinese exchange students<\/a> were warmly welcomed\u00a0 to the Unionville area, who spent three weeks living with local families and attending Unionville High School and Patton Middle School.<\/p>\n

Continued On Page 2<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Continued from Page 1<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

February opened with the release of Schick\u2019s fact-finding report and suggested settlement of the ongoing teachers\u2019 talks. While the school board voted unanimously to accept the deal, the teachers rejected it, citing the use of \u201chalf-steps\u201d for seniority, not used anywhere else in the state, and issues with the health care plan. The board asked the teachers<\/a> to reconsider, but the union rejected the deal and second time and talks continued.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

The fourth annual Polar Plunge had hundreds of local residents braving the cold and 35-degree water for a good cause.<\/p><\/div>\n

The board of education, meanwhile, opted not to use<\/a> any of the Act 1 exceptions it had been granted, and decided to keep the tax increase under the 1.36% cap in Chester County (5.06% in Delaware County). Later budget state funding budget cuts \u2014 and an even later restoration \u2014 made that a decision that proved controversial and lingered throughout the year and into the fall elections. Initially, the board would set a .99% in Chester County and 4.61% in Delaware County.<\/p>\n

In what would become a trend, the board opted not to move forward<\/a> with looking at outsourcing food service for the district, citing the strong financial performance and quality of the operation.<\/p>\n

The fourth annual \u201cPolar Plunge<\/a>\u201d saw dozens of local residents splash into a frigid Brandywine Creek, raising more than $12,000 \u2014 including then-Superintendent of Schools Sharon Parker, who came dressed as \u201cFlotene D\u2019Bree.\u201d<\/p>\n

February also marked the start of the 2011 election season, with three local candidates<\/a> seeking county-wide office: Sheriff Carolyn \u201cBunny\u201d Welsh of Pennsbury filed for re-election, while Dan Tyman of Pocopson, a Democrat, filed for Registrer of Wills and Birmingham\u2019s Fredda Maddox filed to run for Court of Common Pleas.<\/p>\n

Local state Senator Dominic Pileggi (R-9) \u2014 the Senate Majority Leader \u2014 found himself in a a bit of a public relations nightmare when it was revealed that the Pittsburgh Steelers paid for the senator to attend the Super Bowl. After the fact, Pileggi said<\/a> it was always his intention to repay the cost of the trip.<\/p>\n

The Unionville High School Used Book Sale<\/a> was another big success, with the high school gym packed with people looking for bargains on books.<\/p>\n

Elsewhere, parents at Hillendale<\/a> Elementary School expressed concerns about class size at the school with some fourth-grade classes as big as 28. Inequality of sizes across the district would led to a look at potential elementary school reconfiguration later in the year and series of controversies.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, school board candidates began<\/a> to step forward: incumbents Frank Murphy, Eileen Bushelow and Timotha Trigg announced they would seek reelection, while Sharon Jones filed to replace Paul Price who opted not to run again. In Region A, Victor DuPuis and Rob MacPherson filed to replace retiring Corrine Sweeney.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

In addition to the Brandywine, torrential rains flooded Rt. 1 in March, 2011.<\/p><\/div>\n

March brought storms of both the financial and weather sort. Heavy rains caused serious flooding<\/a> throughout the area and yet another school closure.<\/p>\n

Gov. Tom Corbett\u2019s budget threatened to slash<\/a> about $1 million in state funding from the Unionville-Chadds Ford School District, forcing officials to look for cuts to a budget already hit by loss of local revenue. Although much of the funds ended up being restored \u2014 about $850,000 \u2014 the cuts would lead to both higher tax increases and layoffs. Later in the month, school administration officials would offer some $1.7 million in potential cuts, to give the board options on closing the budget gap.<\/p>\n

Mid-month, a report<\/a> from a consultant suggested that the Board of Education should put bus service out to bid for privatization, which the board opted to do later in the year \u2014 yet another contentious issue within the school district.<\/p>\n

Pileggi would get a potential \u2014 and as it turns out, temporary \u2014 opponent for his 9th District state Senate seat when former State Rep. Tom Houghton of London Grove announced<\/a> he would run against the Senate Majority Leader in 2012. After an up-and-down year of fundraising for Houghton, redistricting pushed Houghton out of Pileggi\u2019s district. As of right now, it\u2019s unclear whether Houghton plans a primary fight against incumbent Democratic state Senator Andy Dinniman or whether he will seek to regain his State House seat from State Rep. John Lawrence (R-13) in 2012.<\/p>\n

The month and the year\u2019s first quarter ended with the formal end<\/a> of the long-running dispute over the proposed Pennsbury Village development, with the township Board of Supervisors signing off on a stipulation that ended more than a decade of litigation over the townhouse development slated for US-1.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Weather, financial crisises drive much of the news of the first quarter of 2011 By Mike McGann, Editor, UnionvilleTimes.com Weather it was snow storms \u2014 or political storms \u2014 2011 will likely be remembered as a turbulent year in the Unionville area \u2014 whether you measure it from political upheaval, a change in superintendents of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6374,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,7],"tags":[469,47,24,754],"class_list":["post-6349","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-featured","tag-469","tag-news-2","tag-unionville","tag-year-in-review"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6349","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6349"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6349\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/6374"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6349"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6349"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6349"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}