Hello, West Chester,
Friday here, and what a wonderful Friday to hole up and write. I have my coffee and a list of local topics I’ve been dying to dig into – like what exactly does the borough manager do? And a review of We Need to Talk, a new addition to the Chester County library system based on this TEDTalk – I’m hoping it will give the courage and some tips for having potentially contentious conversations. Speaking of talking, here are some neighborhood conversation starters.
Hold your candy, please. The organizers of the West Chester Halloween parade has decided it has become too dangerous to have participants throw candy into the crowd so this year candy will be distributed from four stations along the parade route. They cite too many kids pushing past barriers and into the street to grab dropped candy.
Happy 125th! – Chester County Hospital is celebrating 125 years supporting Chester County. The county’s first hospital, it began seeing patients in 1892 as a dispensary just a few hundred yards from its current location. It completed its first surgery two years later and in 1895 the main building of the original hospital was competed.
Drugs busted. Police confiscated $200,000 worth of drugs from a West Chester home. Among the items collected was 43 pounds of marijuana and $42,000 in cash.
Everhart Park adds a stroller entrance. Yay! As anyone who lives on the west side of town and has small kids knows, there is only one stroller friendly-entrance to this park and that is all the way down on the west end by the basketball court. Technically you can also enter from Bradford Avenue but I’m not sure I’ve ever seen anyone do this. Now anyone in need of a ramp entrance can come in on the corner of Miner and Brandywine and cut across the park to the playground equipment (because let’s face it that’s where your heading) instead of hauling the stroller down the stairs or walking all the way around. It’s gravel but it’s better than nothing.
Are we coaching the fun out of sports? In the wake of the U.S. Soccer team missing the World Cup in a disappointing and uninspired lost to the Trinidad and Tobago one local coach worries it’s part of a larger problem. Kids from modest means are being left behind – being good means expensive leagues, travel teams, and summer camps all which add up quickly. And those who can afford all this extra attention, are burning out on the sport early. He suggests no travel leagues for anyone under 12.
Thoughts?