Farewell soon

Just so everyone knows, by Nov. 16, I will no longer be the West Chester reporter because I will no longer be at the Daily Local News. I am going to graduate school, starting in January. I am leaving the paper in November to give myself some down time and adequate time to find an apartment near the university I plan to attend. I will be studying English and creative writing. I hope to teach college writing and literature courses once I obtain my higher degrees.

I am not sure at this point who the new West Chester reporter will be, but I will most likely discontinue this blog once my time here is finished. If I find out who the the new reporter is, I will post some info about the person on this blog. I am sure she or he will do a great job covering the borough.

the price of that building

If you've driven on Chestnut Street recently, specifically East Chestnut Street, you'll notice large for sale signs on the YMCA building. Yes, the building is finally on the market, and the asking price is $5.9 million.


The zoning is town center, so the building could serve numerous purposes, including retail, physical therapy, health facilities and other uses.

council candidates

The November general election is just around the corner and features several county races, school board races and municipal races.

In West Chester, there are a few contested races. In the 4th Ward, Councilwoman Susan Bayne, a Democrat, is running unopposed. In the 2nd Ward, Councilman Stephen Bond, a Republican, is running against Cassandra Jones, a Democrat and president of the East End Neighborhood Association. In the 6th Ward, Jim Jones, a Democrat, member of the Zoning Hearing Board and history professor at WCU, is running against Andrew Lehr, a Republican, attorney and member of the planning commission. Council President H. Paul Fitzpatrick will be termed out.

If you're interested in learning more about the candidates and what issues they care about, as well as the traits they will bring to council, if elected, check out our paper over the weekend for a story about the council races.

After I finish writing the story today, I'll be off to Boston, just in time for the World Series madness. It'll be nice to take a brief vacation before the election.

Show Us Your Hot Face

Those fine folks over at WC Dish created an entertaining compilation video entitled "Show Us Your Hot Face" from the Chili Cookoff that happened in downtown West Chester a few weeks ago. The video had me laughing.

Check it out here:

http://www.wcdish.com/hey-hot-stuff-check-you-out/

Shred Day

This is an interesting little tidbit of news that ended up on my desk at work today. The borough is having a free shred day on Saturday, Nov. 17.

At Borough Hall, free shredding of confidential papers and documents will be offered, including junk mail, blank statements, payroll stubs, legal documents, etc. There is a limit of five bags/boxes per household or businesses. The event is open to all borough residents and businesses.

The event runs from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m., and a rain date is scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 24 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Parking always seems to be an issue here

The free parking available on the weekends in garages may soon be gone.

Borough Council is going to consider launching a trial program to charge people that use the garages on Saturdays. Currently, people can park in the garages in West Chester for free on weekends, except for special events. If the new plan is approved, the rate for Saturdays would be a flat fee of $5 from 6 p.m. to 2 a.m.

The plan, however, has already drawn opposition from the Business Improvement District, which has circulated about 90,000 brochures advertising free parking in the borough on weekends. In addition, there are concerns that charging for garage parking on weekends will push cars into residential neighborhoods, where parking is free on weekends.

Anyways, council is expected to accept or deny the proposal tonight, during its meeting beginning at 7 p.m. at Borough Hall.

I went on a ghost tour of West Chester Saturday night and learned about some of the spooky stories behind some of the sites in the borough that have been around for centuries.

I found the event to be a lot of fun. The tour goes through a lot of the downtown streets, and hits the Bicentennial Garage on High Street, Lafayette Street, Marshall Square Park and other sites. The tour was a good mix of history and eerie tales. If you go on the tour, you'll hear about soldiers that lingered long after they died, runaway railroad activists that haunted the borough, as well as a slew of other stories. A few of the stories are rather grisly. I was shocked to learn the folklore regarding why the gazebo at Marshall Square Park is always lit. I would state the story here, but I'd rather not ruin it, since some people may want to go on the tour.

I did wonder, however, why the tour did not swing by West Chester University, since Ramsey Hall is supposed to be haunted by the woman it is named after, since the plaque inside of the building has her death date wrong. I've also heard Philips Memorial Building, that structure that looks like a castle, is supposed to be haunted. Oh well, maybe those sites will be included in years to come.

For $10, the tour is worth it. It runs every Friday and Saturday through October and is run through the Chester County Historical Society.

No stadium in West Chester

While I was sitting in other meetings last night, the developer interested in the Wyeth property held a community meeting to update residents regarding concepts for the site.

According to our reporter that was there, the developer, Pennsylvania Real Estate Invest Trust (PREIT), no longer wants a baseball stadium on the site. Office space, restaurants, residences, a hotel and a movie theater were discussed.

Anyways, for a more comprehensive article on the changes to the plans, check out the article that will be running in the DLN at some point over the next few days.

Also keep in mind these plans could change, and council has not approved anything yet. PREIT may not even be the developer to eventually construct something on the site. But it looks like we won't have to ponder the perfect name for a West Chester minor league baseball team.

Despite this 90-degree weather, Halloween is only a few weeks away

As Halloween grows closer, I've been looking for something to do to celebrate the holiday. I can't have my annual Halloween party because I'll be traveling to Boston the weekend before Halloween, when I normally have my party. But I think I've found something suitable for the season.

Apparently, there are ghost tours that go on in West Chester every Friday and Saturday night all through October. So this Saturday, I'll be going on the tour with my friend. I'm curious to see if there are any interesting tales behind some of the historic neighborhoods around here.

Anyways, for those interested in the tour, it is run through the West Chester Business Improvement District and cultural center of the Chester County Historical Society. The tours are only $10 and paid for at the Historical Society the night of the tour. Reservations are supposed to be made in advance through the Historical Society.

all you can eat for $10

The downtown will be bustling again this weekend, for the 5th Annual West Chester Chili Cook-off on Sunday. The event allows people to pay $10 and eat all the chili they want from businesses, non-profits and other groups.

I've actually never been to the event, but I'm hoping to make it this year, especially since I learned there will be vegetarian chili. I just hope I have a little time after the county commissioner debate occurring at 1:30 at the library in Exton.

Anyways, the chili cook-off runs from noon until 4:30 p.m.

more arrests this homecoming week than previous homecoming weeks

As I mentioned in an earlier blog post, West Chester police arrested 71 people, ages 18 to 25, during homecoming week last week. But I didn't mention that the figure is an increase from previous years.

Police Chief Scott Bohn told me today that during homecoming 2005, 52 people, ages 18 to 25 were arrested, and 67 people, ages 18 to 25, were arrested during homecoming 2006.

What he also mentioned, however, is that it is not likely all of the people arrested are WCU students.

Busy weekend for police

This weekend, West Chester police were busier than usual, due to WCU's homecoming weekend.

Between last Monday and Sunday, police arrested dozens of people for what are typically considered nuisance crimes and often alcohol related.

Below are the arrests broken down into different crimes. Thanks to Police Chief Scott Bohn for this info.

The following arrests were made as a result of Operation Vigilance:

Underage Drinking 23
Public Drunkenness 20
Noise 9
Trespass 3
Disorderly Conduct 12
Criminal Mischief 1
Open Container 22
Furnishing Alcohol 1
Assault 4
DUI 1
Drugs 3
1

A total of seventy-one 71 people were arrested and charged with the previously listed crimes.

another open piece of land slated for development

Last night, plans were unveiled by PresbyHomes & Services to develop the 330-acre Creybilly Farm in Westtown Township.

The development would entail 210 apartment units, 30 nursing beds, 44 assisted living apartments and 47 cottages, all in the first phase of the project, according to Sean Kelly, project manager.

The second phase of the project, which may not happen until 2015, if everything is approved by the township, would entail 16 cottages, 227 apartments and 36 assisted living units, Kelly explained.

The Westtown Board of Supervisors decided to continue the hearing to have more testimony. Anyone interested in hearing more about the plans can attend the Board of Supervisors meeting at 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 15.

In addition to Presby's plans, the Robinson family, which owns the farm, plans to create some type of business center on the land. That hearing will be on Nov. 19.