WEST CHESTER - West Chester University has confirmed that a university student has been diagnosed with bacterial (meningococcal) meningitis.

According to the university, it is working closely with the Chester County Department of Health to determine the close contacts of the student and treat them accordingly. As the contacts are identified, they will be notified by the Health Center or the Department of Health and given the accepted treatment.

The Center for Disease Control states that bacterial meningitis is usually severe and can lead to serious complications, though most people who develop the condition recover.

The Chester County Health Department identifies meningitis as an inflammation of the membrane covering the brain and spinal cord that can be of bacterial or viral origin.

The university said the meningococcal infection is not highly contagious, though it is transferable person-to-person through direct saliva contact such as kissing, sharing eating utensils, food, using the same beverage container or being within three to four feet of an infected person when they cough. An individual who has had close contact with the diagnosed student may be considered to have been exposed, and it is recommended that they be treated with antibiotics.

According to the university, only those in close contact with the diagnosed student will be treated. Routine classroom and school contacts are usually not a risk.

University representatives said the one student is the only case they were aware of as of Wednesday evening and many of the student's contacts have been notified.

The Center for Disease Control lists symptoms of the condition to be sudden onset of fever, headache and stiff neck. Other symptoms include nausea, vomiting, increased sensitivity to light and altered mental status. Symptoms can appear quickly, typically developing three to seven days after exposure.

The center stated in the United States about 4,100 cases of bacterial meningitis, including 500 deaths, occurred each year between 2003-2007.

Anyone developing symptoms is encouraged to see a physician immediately. The university urges students to contact the Student Health Center, a family doctor, or go to the nearest emergency room, informing them of any exposure to meningitis.

The Chester County Department of Health will continue to investigate the situation. Anyone with questions should contact the Student Health Center at 610-436-2509 or the Chester County Department of Health at 610- 344-6452.

University representatives said they will continue to give updates as information becomes available.

For more information on meningitis, visit the Chester County Health Department website at: http://chesco.org/index.aspx?NID=852

Follow Daily Local News staff writer Jeremy Gerrard on Twitter @JeremyGerrard.

SOUTH COVENTRY - The Owen J. Roberts School Board hopes to award a contract for renovation of East Coventry and East Vincent Elementary schools by the end of 2013 and complete the project by fall of 2016, with students from both schools moving into East Vincent for the 2015-16 school year.

Architect Jeffrey Chambers, who is designing the building projects, reviewed plans for renovating East Coventry and East Vincent elementary schools at a school board building and grounds committee meeting Monday. The board also heard from a representative of Johnson Controls Inc., who presented a plan to provide energy consultation services for the project at a cost of $32,791.

The renovations will create equity among the district's five elementary buildings. East Coventry and East Vincent Elementary are the only district schools that do not have air conditioning, and both have large student populations over the 550 student capacity.

The estimated $34 million project won't significantly increase the size of the schools, but will provide appropriate spaces for a variety of learning environments - such as support classes, commons areas and music rooms - not currently available in those buildings.

The proposed time line for the project calls for awarding a bid for the East Vincent Elementary renovation by November or December of this year. Construction of a new two-story addition would begin in January 2014 and is expected to take about 12 months to complete.

In November 2014, the schedule calls for beginning renovation of the East Vincent primary wing. At that point, the students currently taught in that part of the building would be moved into the new wing. Once the renovation is complete, in August 2015, East Coventry students would move into the East Vincent building, where they will be taught for one year while the East Coventry building undergoes renovations.

During the summer of 2016, the oldest portion of the East Vincent building, constructed in 1953, will be demolished, and the East Coventry renovation will be completed. East Coventry students will return to their renovated school in the fall of 2016.

Chambers said there would be adequate space in East Vincent during the 2015-16 school year for both school populations - which currently have a combined total of over 1,000 students - since, at that point the oldest wing will not have been demolished and the new wing will be completed.

According to Superintendent Michael Christian, both schools would maintain their own identities while sharing the East Vincent building. That is, East Coventry students will remain in classes with students and teachers from the East Coventry Elementary School, rather than being mixed into East Vincent classes.

Chambers stressed that busing and safety issues had been taken into account when planning for the year the two schools would be combined. A parent pickup and drop off area would be created to keep those students arriving or departing in cars separate from the 27 buses that will be transporting students each day. A temporary overflow parking area would also be constructed, doubling the amount of spaces currently available.

In addition, a temporary wall will provide a barrier between the playground and the construction area while the new wing is being built.

"We wanted to make sure we had a safe play area, safe drop-off and pick-up, and a separate parent pickup area," said Christian.

The buildings and grounds committee also heard a presentation from Johnson Controls Inc., the Plymouth Meeting firm that installed a solar powered energy system on the high school and middle school roofs last year and instituted a number of energy conservation measures in all district buildings.

Phil Solomon, account executive for Johnson Controls, has proposed providing energy consultation services while planning renovations of the East Coventry and East Vincent Elementary Schools. If the contract is approved, Solomon would work with Chambers to determine what energy systems would be most cost effective at both schools.

Johnson Controls would look at a number of issues including the possibility of installing solar panels, or adding design elements that could increase natural light and decrease the need for electric lighting. They would also weigh the cost of bringing natural gas to the schools against the price of other heating and cooling systems.

"We would build models that look at the buildings to understand not just the initial cost impact, but the long-term operational costs," Solomon said. "We want to be as green as possible, but only as far as it makes financial sense."

He noted that it's essential to consider the long-term costs of operating an energy system, rather than only looking at the up-front costs of installing a system.

"These are big decisions you're making. It's good to have financial implications over the long-term," he said.

The building and grounds committee agreed to move the Solomon's proposal onto the full board for consideration at the next board meeting.

GEOGRETOWN, Texas (AP) - A former Texas district attorney is choking back tears as he recalls a prosecution that wrongfully sent a Texas man to prison for 25 years.

Ken Anderson calls the case of Michael Morton his "worst nightmare."

Morton was convicted in the slaying of his wife Christine in 1987 but exonerated in 2011 following new DNA tests.

Anderson is now a judge in Georgetown near Austin. He is accused of withholding evidence indicating Morton's innocence during the original trial. A special court of inquiry on the matter is in its fifth day Friday.

Anderson says he did nothing wrong. He says the office he "ran was professional, it was competent."

Then, his voice cracking, Anderson added, "We got it right as much as we humanly could."

HOUSTON (AP) - A hacker apparently accessed private photos and emails sent between members of the Bush family, including both former presidents, and a spokesman for George H.W. Bush said a criminal investigation is under way.

The Smoking Gun website said the hacker, who went by the online moniker "Guccifer," gained access to emails, photos, private telephone numbers and addresses of Bush family members and friends.

The website displayed photos it said came from the hacker, including one that purported to show the elder Bush during his recent near-two-month stay in a Houston hospital where the 88-year-old was treated for complications arising from a bronchial infection.

The authenticity of the photos and other details on the website could not immediately be confirmed. A spokesman for former President George H.W. Bush declined to comment on the reports.

"There's a criminal investigation and, as such, there's nothing else we can say," Jim McGrath told The Associated Press Friday.

The FBI in Houston, where Bush lives, was similarly tight-lipped.

"We do not confirm or deny the existence of any investigation," Houston FBI spokeswoman Shauna Dunlap said.

Freddy Ford, a spokesman for former President George W. Bush, who has a home in Dallas, also said Friday he "won't be commenting."

The FBI in Dallas referred calls to the Secret Service, which did not immediately return a message left Friday morning.

The word "Guccifer" is plastered across the photos published on the Smoking Gun website in translucent, neon blue print. The website quotes "Guccifer" as describing himself as a veteran hacker who has long been in the government's sights.

---
Associated Press reporter Diana Heidgerd contributed to this story from Dallas.

BIG BEAR LAKE, Calif. (AP) - Police spent all night searching the snowy mountains of Southern California but were unable to find the former Los Angeles police officer accused of carrying out a killing spree because he felt he was unfairly fired from his job.  

Authorities planned a midmorning Friday news conference about 80 miles east of LA at Big Bear Lake, where Christopher Dorner's torched pickup was found Thursday. The area was under a winter storm warning, with snow falling and temperatures well below freezing.

Local ski areas were open, but Bear Valley schoolchildren had the day off because of the manhunt.

About 150 miles to the south, up to 16 San Diego County sheriff's deputies spent the night surrounding and searching a rural home after a hoaxer reported Dorner was there. There were people at home but Dorner wasn't one of them, said Lt. Jason Rothlein. Investigators have a pretty good idea who made the call and will be seek criminal charges, he said.

Though the focus is on the resort area, the search for Dorner, 33, stretches across California, Nevada, Arizona and northern Mexico. LAPD officers are especially on edge because Dorner, who was fired from the force in 2008 after three years on the job, promised in rambling writings to bring "warfare" to police and their families.

"We don't know what he's going to do," said Cindy Bachman, spokeswoman for the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department, one of many law enforcement agencies whose primary purpose has become finding Dorner. "We know what he's capable of doing. And we need to find him."

Tracks that surrounded the truck and hours of door-to-door searching around Bear Mountain Ski Resort turned up nothing, and authorities conceded that the whereabouts of Dorner, also a former Naval reservist and onetime college running back, remained a mystery.

"He could be anywhere at this point," said San Bernardino County Sheriff John McMahon, who had 125 deputies and police officers and two helicopters searching the community of Big Bear Lake, where light snow fell early Friday morning.

The saga began Sunday night, when Monica Quan, the daughter of a former Los Angeles police captain, and fiance Keith Lawrence were found shot in their car at a parking structure at their condominium in Irvine. Quan was an assistant women's basketball coach at Cal State Fullerton.

The following morning in National City, near San Diego, some of Dorner's belongings, including police equipment and paperwork with names related to the LAPD, were found in a trash bin.

The LAPD was notified of the find, and two days later informed Irvine police of an angry manifesto written by a former officer and posted on Facebook. Among those named as targets was Quan's father, Randal Quan, the former LAPD captain who became an attorney who represented Dorner in his unsuccessful attempts to keep the police job he lost in 2008 for making false statements.

"Bing bing bing, the dots were connecting," Irvine police Lt. Julia Engen said. "These names are somehow associated to Mr. Quan, who just lost his daughter the prior day. The dots connected. OK, now we've got a name of somebody to look at. That's when the discovery was connected."

On Wednesday night, Irvine and Los Angeles police announced they were searching for Dorner, declaring him armed and "extremely dangerous." Hours later, they learned they were all too correct.

Two LAPD officers en route to provide security to one of Dorner's possible targets were flagged down by a resident who reported seeing the suspect early Thursday at a gas station in Corona. The officers then followed a pickup truck until it stopped. The driver, believed to be Dorner, got out and fired a rifle, police said. A bullet grazed an officer's head.

Later, two officers on routine patrol in neighboring Riverside were ambushed at a stoplight by a motorist who drove up next to them and opened fire with a rifle. One died and the other was seriously wounded but was expected to survive, said Riverside police Chief Sergio Diaz.

Thousands of heavily armed officers patrolled highways throughout Southern California, while some stood guard outside the homes of people police said Dorner vowed to attack. Electronic billboards, which usually alert motorists about the commute, urged them to call 911 if they saw him.

At a news conference held amid heightened security in an underground room at police headquarters, Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck urged Dorner to surrender.

"Of course he knows what he's doing; we trained him. He was also a member of the Armed Forces," he said. "It is extremely worrisome and scary."

While in the Naval Reserves, Dorner earned a rifle marksman ribbon and pistol expert medal. He was assigned to a naval undersea warfare unit and various aviation training units, according to military records, taking a leave from the LAPD to be deployed to Bahrain in 2006 and 2007.

He wrote that he would "utilize every bit of small arms training, demolition, ordinance and survival training I've been given," the manifesto read.

The hunt led to two errant shootings in the pre-dawn darkness Thursday.

LAPD officers guarding a target named in the manifesto shot and wounded two women in suburban Torrance who were in a pickup truck delivering newspapers. Investigators said Maggie Carranza, 47, and her mother, Emma Hernandez, 71, were in a Toyota Tundra, similar to Dorner's Nissan Titan. Carranza had minor hand injuries. Hernandez was hospitalized with a gunshot wound in the back. A lawyer said they had no warning.

Minutes later, Torrance officers responding to a report of gunshots encountered a dark pickup matching the description of Dorner's, police said. A collision occurred and the officers fired on the pickup. The unidentified driver was not hit and it turned out not to be the suspect vehicle, they said.

In San Diego, where police said Dorner tied up an elderly man and unsuccessfully tried to steal his boat Wednesday night, Naval Base Point Loma was locked down Thursday after a Navy worker reported seeing someone who resembled Dorner.

Navy Cmdr. Brad Fagan said officials believe Dorner had checked into a base hotel on Tuesday and left the next day without checking out. Numerous agencies guarded the base on Thursday. Fagan said Dorner was honorably discharged and that his last day in the Navy was last Friday.

Nevada authorities also joined the search, because Dorner owns a house nine miles from the Las Vegas Strip.

And agents were inspecting a package sent to CNN's Anderson Cooper that arrived in New York on Feb. 1, days before the first two killings. It contained a note on it that read, in part, "I never lied." A coin typically given out as a souvenir by the police chief was also in the package, riddled with bullet holes.

Dorner's writings suggested he did not expect to live through the ordeal.

"Unfortunately, I will not be alive to see my name cleared," he wrote at one point in his manifesto, later saying, "Self-preservation is no longer important to me. I do not fear death as I died long ago."

---
Associated Press writers contributing to this report include Jeff Wilson, Bob Jablon, Greg Risling, Shaya Tayefe Mohajer, Linda Deutsch and John Antczak in Los Angeles, Ken Ritter in Las Vegas, and Elliot Spagat and Julie Watson in San Diego.

Abdollah reported from Los Angeles. She can be reached on Twitter at www.twitter.com/LATams

Shire plc on Friday said its subsidiary, Shire LLC, has settled all pending litigation with Impax Laboratories Inc. over Shire's supply of an authorized generic version of Adderall XR.

Shire, which has its U.S. headquarters in Tredyffrin, has been supplying Impax with authorized generic Adderall XR since October 2009 pursuant to a supply agreement between the parties, Shire officials said.

In November 2010, Impax filed suit claiming that Shire was in breach of its supply obligations, and Shire brought a counterclaim against Impax relating to its ordering practices under the agreement.

According to the settlement, both Impax's claim and Shire's counterclaim will be dismissed. Also as part of the settlement, Shire will make a one-time cash payment to Impax of $48.0 million.

APP: To address growing security threats to consumers' mobile devices, Comcast on Friday launched Constant Guard Mobile, a free app that can be downloaded onto smartphones and tablets to help prevent online threats.

Constant Guard Mobile helps to protect consumers from phishing attempts, identity theft and connecting to fraudulent Websites.

Mobile devices have increasingly become a primary way people access the Internet and used to complete financial transactions like shopping and banking.

The frequency of mobile threats doubled between 2010 and 2011, according to Symantec, a global leader in security solutions. Some 35 percent of online adults worldwide have either lost or had their mobile device stolen, thereby exposing them to identity and data theft.

SALES: Comparable store sales at Bon Ton in the four weeks that ended Jan. 26, decreased 0.4 percent compared with the same four-week period in 2012.

Meanwhile, total sales rose 15.2 percent for the five weeks that ended Feb. 2 to $200.8 million from $174.4 million in the four-week period a year ago. (Fiscal year 2012 was a 53-week year, according to the National Retail Federation reporting calendar.)

The company will discontinue monthly sales reporting effective in this month.

EARNINGS: McDonald's says a key sales figure dropped again in January as the world's biggest hamburger chain faced ongoing weakness in Japan and sales in China were hurt by a food scare and the timing of a holiday.

The Oak Brook, Ill.-based company said global sales at restaurants open at least 13 months dropped 1.9 percent for the month. The figure is a key metric because it strips out the volatility of newly opened and closed locations.

After years of outperforming rivals, McDonald's has been struggling amid intensifying competition and challenging economic conditions around the world.

STROUDSBURG, Pa. (AP) - Philadelphia International Airport says 60 flights have been canceled so far as a snowstorm bears down on Pennsylvania and the rest of the Northeast.

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport reports six cancelations.

This live map shows the storm's path as it bears down on the Northeast.

Hundreds of schools have dismissed early ahead of a storm that forecasters say could bring more than a foot of snow to the Poconos and a mixture of rain, snow and ice to other parts of the state. The bad weather has also curtailed bus service from Pennsylvania into New York City.

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation says its plows are ready, with crews already applying brine to highways. The evening commute could be especially treacherous, with snow predicted to fall at a rate of 1 to 1.5 inches an hour in some areas.

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) - Breaking more than a year of silence, Sue Paterno is defending her late husband as a "moral, disciplined" man who never twisted the truth to avoid bad publicity.

The wife of the former Penn State coach is fighting back against the accusations against Joe Paterno that followed the Jerry Sandusky scandal. Her campaign started with a letter sent Friday to former Penn State players.

She wrote that the family's exhaustive response to former FBI director Louis Freeh's report for the university on the Sandusky child sex abuse case will officially be released to the public at 9 a.m. Sunday on paterno.com.

Freeh in July accused Joe Paterno and three university officials of covering up allegations against Sandusky, a retired defensive coordinator. Less than two weeks later, the NCAA levied unprecedented sanctions on the program that Joe Paterno built into one of the most well-known in college football.

"When the Freeh report was released last July, I was as shocked as anyone by the findings and by Mr. Freeh's extraordinary attack on Joe's character and integrity. I did not recognize the man Mr. Freeh described," Sue Paterno wrote. "I am here to tell you as definitively and forcefully as I know how that Mr. Freeh could not have been more wrong in his assessment of Joe."

The family directed its attorney, Washington lawyer Wick Sollers, to assemble experts to review Freeh's findings and Joe Paterno's actions, Sue Paterno wrote.

She did not offer details on findings in the letter, "except to say that they unreservedly and forcefully confirm my beliefs about Joe's conduct.

"In addition, they present a passionate and persuasive critique of the Freeh report as a total disservice to the victims of Sandusky and the cause of preventing child sex offenses," Sue Paterno wrote.

Sue Paterno said neither Freeh's report, nor the NCAA's actions, should "close the book" on the scandal.

"This cannot happen," she wrote. "The Freeh report failed and if it is not challenged and corrected, nothing worthwhile will have come from these tragic events."

In a statement released through a spokesman, Penn State called Sue Paterno "an important and valued member of the Penn State community.

"We have and continue to appreciate all of her work on behalf of the university," the school said. "She has touched many lives and continues to be an inspiration to many Penn Staters."

The Associated Press left messages Friday for representatives for Freeh.

Sandusky's arrest in November 2011, triggered the sweeping scandal, including the firing of Paterno and the departure under pressure of Graham Spanier as president days later. Prosecutors filed perjury and failure to report charges against former athletic director Tim Curley and retired vice president Gary Schultz.

Sandusky, 69, was sentenced last fall to at least 30 years in prison in after being convicted in June on 45 criminal counts. Prosecutors said allegations occurred on and off campus.

"The crimes committed by Jerry Sandusky are heartbreaking," Sue Paterno, who has five children and 17 grandchildren, wrote. "It is incomprehensible to me that anyone could intentionally harm a child. I think of the victims daily and I pray that God will heal their wounds and comfort their souls.

Freeh released his findings the following month. His team conducted 430 interviews and analyzed over 3.5 million emails and documents, his report said.

"Taking into account the available witness statements and evidence, it is more reasonable to conclude that, in order to avoid the consequences of bad publicity, the most powerful leaders at Penn State University - Messrs. Spanier, Schultz, Paterno and Curley - repeatedly concealed critical facts relating to Sandusky's child abuse" from authorities, trustees and the university community, Freeh wrote in releasing the report.

Less than two weeks later, Penn State hastily took down the bronze statue of Paterno outside Beaver Stadium. The next day, the NCAA said Freeh's report presented "an unprecedented failure of institutional integrity leading to a culture in which a football program was held in higher esteem."

Penn State was given a four-year bowl ban, strict scholarship cuts and a $60 million fine. The NCAA also vacated 111 wins under Paterno, meaning he no longer held the record of most wins by a major college coach.

Since then Spanier, Curley and Schultz have also been charged with obstruction and conspiracy, among other charges. They have vehemently denied the allegations. So has the Paterno family, though they have promised a more detailed response when its own investigation was complete.

Paterno's legacy wasn't his statue or his 409 wins, but family and players, his widow said. Less than an hour after the letter was released, a copy was circulating on social media and websites, including one belonging to Seattle Seahawks fullback and former Nittany Lion Michael Robinson.

"The great fathers, husbands and citizens you have become fulfill the dreams Joe had," she wrote to the former players. "All that we want - and what I believe we owe the victims, Joe Paterno and everyone who cares about Penn State - is the full record of what happened."

Paterno died in January 2012 at age 85, about two months after being diagnosed with lung cancer. The way university leadership handled his ouster - over a late-night telephone call - and its handling of the Freeh report and NCAA sanctions remains a sensitive topic for factions of dissatisfied alumni, former players, staff and community members.

"I think Sue hit it directly on the head with everything," Robinson said in a phone interview. "Personally, I've been feeling this way for the past year. The Joe the media was portraying was so different from the Joe I know."

Trustee Anthony Lubrano, who joined the board last year after drawing support from disgruntled alumni, has been among more vocal critics who say that school leaders rushed to judgment on Paterno. Critics have also said Freeh's report downplayed failures of Pennsylvania's child-protective services.

"I knew Joe Paterno as well as one human being can know another. Joe was exactly the moral, disciplined and demanding man you knew him to be," Sue Paterno wrote. "Never - not once - did I see him compromise his principles or twist the truth to avoid bad publicity or protect his reputation."

The Paterno family has remained supportive of the football program and Paterno's successor, Bill O'Brien. Sue Paterno has been active in organizing Special Olympics, which was again held on campus last summer; and son and former assistant coach Jay Paterno has done speaking engagements with students and attends sporting events.

The family's response comes a month after Gov. Tom Corbett filed a federal antitrust lawsuit against the NCAA to overturn the sanctions. The NCAA this week asked a judge to throw out the suit.

----
Follow Genaro Armas at http://twitter.com/GArmasAP

---
Online:
Sue Paterno letter: http://realmikerob.com/pdf/sues-letter-2-8-13.pdf

SOUTH COVENTRY - Set to host a choral competition this weekend, Owen J. Roberts High School's choral director Sheila McIntyre saw her opportunity to reach out to a respected composer whose work the school has used for years.

"I took a chance," McIntyre said.

Because of her shot in the dark, Sydney Guillaume was at a reception breakfast Thursday morning, preparing to direct the 165 students set to compete in the Pennsylvania Music Educators Association District 12 Choral Festival over the weekend. Everything will culminate in a concert Saturday at 6 p.m. in the Owen J. Roberts High School auditorium. (The time originally was 2 p.m. but it was pushed due to the winter storm).

Guillaume is a Haitian-born composer who now lives in Los Angeles. He's written music for Loyola Productions films and his original compositions have been performed by such groups as the Young New Yorkers Chorus and the Syracuse University Singers.

"He's very proud of his Haitian background and all of his works are in Haitian Creole. His pieces are really intimidating to look at," McIntyre said laughing.

Owen J. Roberts choral students have used Guillaume's pieces for years because of their beauty, she said.

"Oh yes, (I've been excited)," Guillaume said of directing in the competition. "I've been in contact with Ms. McIntyre since the summer."

Students from schools across District 12, which contains Chester, Delaware and Philadelphia counties, will audition for the chance to move on to the regional competition against District 11, made up of Montgomery and Bucks counties.

After that, according to McIntyre, students can advance as far as the All-Eastern competition.

Eight Owen J. Roberts students, a mix of all four high school classes, are slated to compete.

To test them, all competitors have to memorize three different pieces but will be asked to sing just certain sections.

Multiple pieces by Guillaume are slated to be sung and a composition by Ben Hjertmann called "Alleluia" will be prominently featured.

Guillaume said the competition will be the debut of Hjertmann's piece and that a Skype session from Chicago will be set up with him Friday.

"We'll be able to go get his point of view," on the piece, Guillaume said.

With rehearsals beginning Thursday afternoon, Guillaume said he was ready for three full days of music.

"Tonight, I will hear them for the first time," Guillaume said at the breakfast Thursday morning.

Although it will contain several days "full of music," Guillaume smiled and expressed readiness to direct the young talent.

Follow Frank Otto on Twitter @fottojourno.

One of two Unionville-Chadds Ford School District Elementary School principals will be walking into the icy Brandywine River on Saturday.

Hillendale Elementary Principal Steve Dissinger and Unionville Elementary School principal Cliff Beaver have placed a friendly wager that whichever school raises the most money for the Brandywine Valley Association, the principal of the other school must take the plunge.

The non-profit BVA, which helps to protect and conserve the natural resources of the Brandywine Valley, hosts the event.

The water this year is expected to be in the mid-30s.

Neither principal has ever taken the Polar Plunge before.

"I think Hillendale students will be putting money in the UE bin because they want to see me get wet," Dissinger said. "I think this bet has the reverse intent, but it will be a lot of fun."

Said Deaver: "I'm anxious about it, but it's for a good cause so it will be fun. The kids are having a great time deciding whether it will be me or Mr. Dissinger who will be getting wet."

The donation jars are at both schools. One jar has a sign directing students to donate if they want to see Dissinger get wet, the other jar a sign directs students to donate if they want to see Beaver get wet. The losing principal must report to the Brandywine Picnic Park in a swimsuit on Saturday, Feb. 9.

"In all honesty I can't say I'm looking forward to jumping into the Brandywine, but I am looking forward to all the fun that surrounds it because it's for a good cause," Dissinger said.

Dissinger said he has participated in two polar plunges before, both in the Atlantic Ocean in Delaware. But in those two, participants just jump into the ocean and come right out. At the BVA polar plunge, participants must cross the river and return.

Both principals said they are big supporters of the BVA.

"The BVA has wonderful environmental education programs, conservation and stream studies," said Dissinger. Early in my career, I taught science at the middle school and I worked closely with the BVA as part of my science instruction."

All of the proceeds go directly to the BVA.

"This is for a good cause," Dissinger said. "They realize we are human beings and we want to support a good cause. They can see their principal as more than just putting on a tie and coming to school each day."

The Brandywine Valley Association's sixth annual Polar Plunge is Saturday, Feb. 9, with registration from 10 to 11 a.m., and the Plunge at 11:30. Pre-registration is encouraged and can be done by visiting the website at www.brandywinewatershed.org, or by calling the BVA at 610-793-1090.

The Department of Environmental Protection announced on Feb. 7 that it has awarded over $500,000 in recycling grants to four groups in Chester County for developing and implementing recycling programs.

The $513,971 awards are part of $17.8 million in recycling grants awarded to 131 municipalities and counties throughout the commonwealth.

Chester County received $43,439, Chester County Solid Waste Authority was awarded with $250,000, Southeastern Chester County Refuse Authority received a $184,295 grant, and West Grove Borough received $36,237.

"Recycling plays a key role in improving Pennsylvania's economy and protecting its environment," DEP Secretary Mike Krancer said. "These grants further that cause, and DEP is proud to invest in local programs that help the awardees strengthen their recycling programs."

Through the grant program, municipalities and counties in Pennsylvania are eligible for up to 90 percent funding of approved recycling program costs. Municipalities that are designated financially distressed under the Financial Distressed Communities Act are eligible to receive funding for an additional 10 percent of approved costs.

Examples of eligible projects include operating compost facilities; developing web-based programs on recycling for consumers; expanding recycling processing facilities; installing data collection systems on recycling vehicles; continuing and creating curbside recycling programs; and developing educational materials to encourage residents to recycle.

This is the 53rd round of grants being awarded since the inception of the Pennsylvania Municipal Waste Planning, Recycling and Waste Reduction Act in 1988, also known as Act 101.

The law mandates recycling in municipalities with more than 10,000 residents and those with populations between 5,000 and 10,000 that have population densities greater than 300 people per square mile.

Currently, 440 of Pennsylvania's 2,700 municipalities are required to recycle and provide curbside collection programs.

For more information, visit www.dep.state.pa.us, keyword: Act 101.

Follow Daily Local News on Twitter @wcdailylocal.

EAST CALN - Members of the Downingtown Area Educators Association will vote again on the fact-finder's report on Thursday, Feb. 14, leading to either a contract or a more of the negotiations saga between the school district and the union.

Leaders of the association said on Feb. 7 that the majority of their members voted to reject the Jan. 28 Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board assigned fact-finder's report. The union's vote was taken on Tuesday, Feb. 5, four days after the Downingtown Area School District's School Board voted 8-1 to accept the fact-finders report.

According to Craig Krusen, president for the association and a member of its negotiating team, some possible reasons for the majority voting against the report were related to its recommendations about the health care plan.

"It's up to each individual teacher to assess where they're at," said Krusen. "There are elements of the fact-finder's report that are detrimental to younger teachers. There are some serious restrictions on tuition reimbursement which would affect the younger teachers. The top teachers in this district would get a $200 raise but their health care cost would go up $400. These are the folks who built the district into what is today."

At the union's request, the school board agreed to enter the fact-finding process in January. After reviewing the fact-finder's report, the school board accepted its terms last week. If both sides had accepted the report, it would have become the new teachers' contract.

"I think it's a really good foundation," said Krusen. He also said that he hopes to speak with the membership to determine why the report was rejected. "I view it as a tool. I didn't expect that if this report was very pro-teacher that the board would accept it."

Because the teachers' union has rejected the report, it has been made public and the union may have the opportunity to vote again within a five- to 10-day period. If no official second vote is taken, the union's rejection of the report stands.

Since the school board approved the report, it does not need to hold a second vote. An entire copy of the fact-finder's report can be downloaded at www.portal.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt?open=514&objID=1416839&mode=2.

"We're hopeful that now that they have all the details of the fact-finder's report, they will have another vote and reconsider their position," said Jacqueline Fenn, school board member and the spokesperson for the board's Negotiations Committee. "Everybody's working hard to find a solution to this and everybody's intentions are good."

The fact-finder's report, drafted by Rochelle K. Kaplan, Esquire, contained some of the following provisions for a contract:

o The report recommended a contract that would last for four years, from Sept. 1, 2011 to Aug. 31, 2015, offering two and a half years of stability for both sides. "It also gives the parties the ability sooner rather than later to address changes that might occur during the term of the agreement at the bargaining table, in particular, significant increases to health care costs and/or PSERS liability," said Kaplan in the report.

o Salary: The fact-finder's recommendation includes a salary freeze for 2011-2012, a retroactive salary increase of 2.95 percent for 2012-2013 school year, an increase of 3.20 percent for 2013-2014, and a salary increase of 3.30 percent for 2014-2015. In the report, Kaplan said, "It also must be said that the salaries in Downingtown are competitive with other school districts. Several of the salaries are ranked at the top in comparing them to the other school districts and others are in the mid-range ranking. Accordingly, there is no basis for the increases beyond those proposed by the District."

o Health benefits: The fact-finder's report preserves PC 10/20/70 (Option 1 plan) through the 2013-2014 school year with recommendations that teachers contribute 10 percent toward premiums in 2012-2013, and 12 percent toward premiums in 2013-2014. PC 20/30/70 (Option 2) is offered with a 3 percent premium share in 2012-2013, a 4 percent premium share in 2013-2014 and a 5 percent premium share in 2014-2015.

The Downingtown Area Education Association has been working under the conditions of the contract that expired on Sept. 1, 2011. The union and the district's negotiating teams began meeting informally in December 2010, nine months before the expiration of the collective bargaining agreement.

For more information on the negotiations process, including previous contract proposals, visit the union website, downingtown.psealocals.org, or the school district's website, www.dasd.org.

Follow Daily Local News staff reporter Sara Mosqueda-Fernandez on Twitter @DailyLocalSara.

PENN - Two state troopers were seriously injured Friday morning when their vehicle struck a tree as the pair was rushing to respond to a burglary.

According to state police, two troopers were riding together in a marked patrol car around 5:30 a.m. on Route 796, south of Kelton Road, when the vehicle left the road through a curve and struck a tree.

A state police spokesman said Trooper Aaron Dykes was driving the vehicle, and Trooper Michael Hall was identified as his passenger.

Both troopers lost consciousness in the collision and their car quickly caught fire, fully engulfing the front of the vehicle. Other troopers who were responding to the burglary stopped to aid the endangered troopers, and they were eventually able to put out the fire with extinguishers and buckets of water from nearby homes.

State police said the burglary report originated with an elderly woman who appeared confused. She may be suffering from some sort of dementia, police said.

Firefighters and other emergency responders were able to extricate the troopers, and they were both taken to Christiana Hospital in Delaware for treatment of serious but non-life threatening injuries, according to state police.

Officials said Hall was released from the hospital Friday, though Dykes remained hospitalized for treatment.

Dykes is the son of Chester County Detective Lt. Kevin Dykes.

Follow Daily Local News staff writer Michael N. Price on Twitter @MikePriceWrites and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/michaelnprice.

BOSTON (AP) - A storm that forecasters warned could be a blizzard for the history books began clobbering the New York-to-Boston corridor on Friday, grounding flights, closing workplaces and sending people rushing to get home ahead of a possible 1 to 3 feet of snow.

From New Jersey to Maine, shoppers crowded into supermarkets and hardware stores to buy food, snow shovels, flashlights and generators, something that became a precious commodity after Superstorm Sandy in October. Others gassed up their cars, another lesson learned all too well after Sandy. Across much of New England, schools closed well ahead of the first snowflakes.

"This is a storm of major proportions," Boston Mayor Thomas Menino warned. "Stay off the roads. Stay home."

The wind-whipped snowstorm mercifully arrived at the start of a weekend, which meant fewer cars on the road and extra time for sanitation crews to clear the mess before commuters in the New York-to-Boston region of roughly 25 million people have to go back to work. But it could also mean a weekend cooped up indoors.

Rainy Neves, a mother of two in Cambridge, just west of Boston, did some last-minute shopping at a grocery store, filling her cart to the brim.

"Honestly, a lot of junk - a lot of quick things you can make just in case lights go out, a lot of snacks to keep the kids busy while they'd be inside during the storm, things to sip with my friends, things for movies," she said. "Just a whole bunch of things to keep us entertained."

In heavily Catholic Boston, the archdiocese urged parishioners to be prudent about attending Sunday Mass and reminded them that, under church law, the obligation "does not apply when there is grave difficulty in fulfilling this obligation."

Halfway through what had been a mild winter across the Northeast, blizzard warnings were posted from parts of New Jersey to Maine. The National Weather Service said Boston could get close to 3 feet of snow by Saturday evening, while most of Rhode Island could receive more than 2 feet. Connecticut was bracing for 2 feet, and New York City was expecting as much as 14 inches.

By Friday evening, the New York-to-Boston corridor was getting blowing, swirling snow and freezing rain. Early snowfall was blamed for a 19-car pileup in Cumberland, Maine, that caused minor injuries.

The snow was expected to be at its heaviest Friday night and into Saturday. Forecasters said wind gusts up to 75 mph could cause widespread power outages and whip the snow into fearsome drifts. Flooding was expected along coastal areas still recovering from Superstorm Sandy, which hit New York and New Jersey the hardest and is considered Jersey's worst natural disaster.

Meteorologist Jeff Masters, of Weather Underground, said the winter storm was a collision of two storms and may end up among the Boston area's Top 5 most intense ever.

"When you add two respectable storms together, you're going to get a knockout punch with this one," he said.

It could break Boston's all-time snowstorm record of 27.6 inches, set in 2003, forecasters said. The storm also comes almost 35 years to the day after the Blizzard of `78, a ferocious storm that dropped 27 inches of snow, packed hurricane-force winds and claimed dozens of lives.

Masters said the region could get a break from warmer air trailing behind that is expected to push temperature up to the 40s by Monday.

"It's going to be not that difficult to dig out, compared to maybe some other nor'easters in the past, where it stayed cold after the storm went through," he said.

Drivers were urged to stay off the streets lest their cars get stuck, preventing snowplows and emergency vehicles from getting through. New York City ran extra commuter trains to help people get home before the brunt of the storm hit.

Amtrak stopped running trains in cities around the Northeast on Friday afternoon. Airlines canceled more than 4,300 flights through Saturday, and New York City's three major airports and Boston's Logan Airport shut down.

Interstate 95 was closed to all but essential traffic in Rhode Island, where the governor said outages remained the biggest threat.

"With tree branches laden with heavy, wet snow, the winds picking up and the temperatures plunging all at the same time, it's a bad combination," Gov. Lincoln Chafee said.

In Massachusetts, Gov. Deval Patrick enacted a statewide driving ban for the first time since the Blizzard of `78. Hours before the ban went into effect at 4 p.m., long lines formed at gas stations, some of which were almost out of fuel.

James Stone said he was saving the remaining regular gas at his station in Abington, south of Boston, for snowplow drivers.

"It hasn't snowed like this in two years," Stone said. "Most people are caught way off-guard."

In New York, Fashion Week, a series of designer showings with some activities held under tents, went on mostly as scheduled, though organizers put on additional crews to deal with the snow and ice, turned up the heat and fortified the tents. The snow did require some wardrobe changes: Designer Michael Kors was forced to arrive at the Project Runway show in Uggs.

For Joe DeMartino, of Fairfield, Conn., being overprepared was impossible: His wife was expecting their first baby Sunday. He stocked up on gas and food, got firewood ready and was installing a baby seat in the car. The couple also packed for the hospital.

"They say that things should clear up by Sunday. We're hoping that they're right," he said.

Said his wife, Michelle: "It adds an element of excitement."

The snow was too much of a good thing in some places. In New Hampshire, the University of Connecticut's Skiing Carnival was canceled because of the snowstorm. In Maine, the National Toboggan Championships in Camden were postponed from Saturday to Sunday, and the Camp Sunshine Polar Plunge was put off until March.

At Rosie's Liquors in Abington, customers were lined up eight to 10 deep Friday, snapping up rum, wine and 30-packs of beer.

"We've been absolutely slammed. It's almost been like Christmas here," manager Kristen Brown said. "A lot of people are saying, `I'm going to be stuck with my family all weekend. I need something to do.'"

___
Associated Press writers Denise Lavoie in Whitman, Rodrique Ngowi in Watertown, John Christoffersen in Fairfield, Conn., and Bob Salsberg in Boston contributed to this report.

PENN - Two state troopers were seriously injured Friday morning when their vehicle struck a tree as the pair was rushing to respond to a burglary.

According to state police, two troopers were riding together in a marked patrol car around 5:30 a.m. on Route 796, south of Kelton Road, when the vehicle left the roadway through a curve and struck a tree.

A state police spokesman said Trooper Aaron Dykes was driving the vehicle, and Trooper Michael Hall was identified as his passenger.

Both troopers lost consciousness in the collision and their car quickly caught fire, fully engulfing the front of the vehicle. Other troopers who were responding to the burglary stopped to aid the endangered troopers, and they were eventually able to put out the fire with extinguishers and buckets of water from nearby homes.

State police said the burglary report originated with an elderly woman who appeared confused. She may be suffering from some sort of dementia, police said.

Firefighters and other emergency responders were able to extricate the troopers, and they were both taken to Christiana Hospital in Delaware for treatment of serious but non-life threatening injuries, according to state police.

Officials said Hall was released from the hospital Friday, though Dykes remained hospitalized for treatment.

Dykes is the son of Chester County Detective Lt. Kevin Dykes.

Follow Daily Local News staff writer Michael N. Price on Twitter @MikePriceWrites and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/michaelnprice

The main strength of the winter storm in the northeast was unlikely to find Chester County, officials said Friday, though the storm is expected to drop at least a few inches of snowfall overnight.

According to Chester County Department of Emergency Services spokeswoman Patty Mains, officials expect Nemo to be "a normal snow storm." 4 to 6 inches of snow are expected in the north central and western areas of the county, and 1 to 4 inches are expected in the county's eastern and southern areas.

Steady rain fell in most areas of the county Friday, but the precipitation was expected to turn to a wintery mix around 6 p.m. Snow showers were expected to begin around 9 p.m., and the storm's accumulation was expected to end around 6 a.m. Saturday. Wind gusts up to 30 miles per hour were also likely.

Despite heavy snow forecasts in many areas of the Northeast, Chester County was expected to escape the main brunt of the storm.

"We're not expecting any significant impact in Chester County except for several inches of snow," Mains said. "We're not expecting much flooding or any significant power outages outside of a few isolated clusters."

PennDOT spokesman Gene Blaum said crews were waiting for the snow to begin falling before dispatching plow and salt trucks. All 48 PennDOT trucks and 52 contractor trucks will be deployed in Chester County, Blaum said. Tree contractors are also on standby due to the likelihood of hi winds.

Meanwhile, residents further north are bracing for potential historic snowfall. Even before the first snowflake had fallen, Boston, Providence, R.I., Hartford, Conn., and other towns and cities in New England and upstate New York towns canceled school Friday, and airlines scratched more than 3,700 flights through Saturday, with the disruptions certain to ripple across the U.S.

"This one doesn't come along every day. This is going to be a dangerous winter storm," said Alan Dunham, meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Taunton, Mass. "Wherever you need to get to, get there by Friday afternoon and don't plan on leaving."

The heaviest snowfall was expected Friday night and into Saturday. Wind gusts could reach 75 mph. Widespread power failures were feared, along with flooding in coastal areas still recovering from Superstorm Sandy in October.

Boston could get 2 to 3 feet of snow, while New York City was expecting 10 to 14 inches. Mayor Michael Bloomberg said plows and 250,000 tons of salt were being put on standby. Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick banned all traffic from roads after 4 p.m., believed to be the state's first such ban since the blizzard of 1978.

In the southeastern Massachusetts town of Whitman, where up to 2½ feet of snow was forecast, public works crews were clearing crosswalk signs, trash barrels and anything else that might impede plows later in the day.

"We've had instances where they have predicted something big and it's petered out," said Dennis Smith, a public works employee. "I don't think this is going to be one of those times."

Smith's partner, Bob Trumbull, sounded a note of optimism, saying the relative lack of snow earlier this winter would make this storm easier to clean up. "At least there is room for this snow. There are no snowbanks so we will have a place to put it," Trumbull said.

Snow was being blamed for a 19-car pileup in Maine Friday morning in Cumberland, as 6 inches blanketed the area.

A New Jersey town hit hard by Superstorm Sandy issued a voluntary evacuation order for areas that are still recovering from that storm. Residents in flood-prone sections of Brick Township were also urged to move their cars to higher ground by 5 p.m.

Airlines canceled at least 3,775 flights ahead of the storm, according to airline tracking website FlightAware. At New York City's three main airports, most U.S. airlines planned to suspend operations between 2 p.m. and 5 p.m., resuming after noon on Saturday, FlightAware said. At Boston's Logan and other New England airports, most airlines were to cease operations between noon and 4 p.m.

GETTYSBURG, Pa. (AP) - A proposed four-year contract covering 5,500 faculty members at Pennsylvania's state-owned universities is headed for a ratification vote by the union rank and file.

The leadership body of the Association of Pennsylvania State College and University Faculties endorsed the contract agreement Friday at a meeting in Gettysburg. Union spokeswoman Lauren Gutshall says the tally was nearly unanimous.

The faculty members of the 14 universities in the State System of Higher Education have worked without a contract since June 2011.

Officials said the proposal mirrors contracts covering tens of thousands of other state workers. It includes union concessions on health care coverage, but calls for pay raises of one to two percent in each of the last three years.

Faculty members are expected to vote on the contract in early March.

WEST BRANDYWINE - Supervisors at Thursday's meeting voted unanimously to not collect a fee from one business, while continuing to charge another.

Hurricane Hill Farm, at Reeceville Road, which has operated a successful pair of corn mazes for several years, will not be assessed an amusement fee, but The Golf Zone on Route 322 is still be liable for a 5 percent township amusement levy on admissions.

The Golf Zone paid $3,000 to the township last year and was the only business accessed such a fee. Supervisors voted to exclude temporary agricultural activities from the tax after Township Attorney John Good responded to a request by Township Manager Ronald Rambo to determine whether Hurricane Hill Farm should pay an amusement fee.

The Baldwin Family recently decided to offer hayrides next fall in addition to pedal cart and cow train rides and a hay jump at the working sweet corn, tomato and watermelon farm. The corn maze is offered for a short time period each fall.

Supervisor William Webb argued to supervisors that they should not collect a fee.

"We want to prevent Hurricane Hill from being sold to a developer," Webb said.

Thomas McCaffrey voted to give farmers, or those he said are an "oppressed minority group," a pass since their work should be considered a temporary amusement.

He said after the meeting that hayrides offered by working farms don't seem like commercial amusements like what is offered at The Golf Zone and other Pennsylvania businesses such as Sesame Place and Brandywine Picnic Park.

"They can't afford to exist (and pay the associated property taxes) in the Coatesville Area School District," McCaffrey said about farm owners.

Good's letter to Rambo was read at the meeting.

"We can't charge The Golf Zone an amusement tax and not charge the hayride operation," wrote the solicitor in the Jan. 29 letter. "One is no more or less an amusement than the other pursuant to the definition. We would have to either abolish the tax or somehow amend the definition to exclude the hayride provider if that is the township's desire."

Supervisor Josef Obernier Sr. was opposed to favoring the "good old boys." After much discussion, he then voted to not charge farmers for temporary amusements.

"I just want to treat everyone the same," Obernier said prior to the vote. "Do it the same for everyone or get rid of it."

Obernier said he was on the losing side of a 2-1 vote about six years ago when township originally determined that Hurricane Hills Farm should then not be charged the fee for the corn maze.

"It seems we're culpable if we're charging an amusement fee to The Golf Zone and not to another," Obernier said after the meeting.

The Hurricane Hill Farm website reads that the 5-acre main maze is "more than a walk in the stalks" with several miles of paths cut into designs visible from above. Walking through twisting pathways visitors answer questions and find picture rubbings.

The farm was established in 1897 and is designated by the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture as a "Century Farm." It was eligible for the award since it has been operated by the same family, on the same land, for four generations and more than 100 years.

The Golf Zone features a driving range, arcade, paintball, go cart racing, mini-golf and professional golf instruction.

WEST CHESTER - Local officials look to Columbia Gas Transmission's plans to install another pipeline as an inevitable progression in Chester County due to the growth of the natural gas business in Pennsylvania.

"As I've often said, Chester County is already pipeline-central, and their numbers are going to increase, not decrease, in the years ahead," said State Senator Andy Dinniman, D-19th of West Whiteland. "I am not against natural gas. I am for protecting our communities, our property values and our natural resources like the Brandywine Creek against harm from companies simply looking to get their product to ports in Philadelphia, Wilmington or Baltimore - or anywhere else - as quickly as possible."

Columbia Gas Transmission is planning to install 8.8 miles of natural gas pipeline that will travel from the Eagle Compression Station and into West Bradford.

State Senator Andy Dinniman on Friday said that the natural gas pipeline proposed for Chester County by Columbia Gas Transmission is only the latest and will certainly be followed by others as the natural gas industry moves more and more Marcellus Shale natural gas to market.

Dinniman said this is why he took the lead last year in demanding the strictest state oversight of Williams Gas Pipeline's 7-mile pipeline replacement project, and why he is introducing a three-bill package aimed at increasing the public's ability to stay informed about pipeline projects and at protecting people's homes, communities, and taxpayer-funded farmland from being harmed by pipeline projects.

According to Chevalier Mayes, communications manager for NiSource Gas Transmission & Storage, the pipeline, 26 inches in diameter, will affect 180 landowners in the pipeline's right-of-way once construction for the project begins, which is anticipated to begin in April 2015. The pipeline is expected to be operational in September of that year, and would lie adjacent to an existing pipeline which is also owned by NiSource, parent company of Columbia Gas.

Mayes also said that the expansion project is a planned response for the need to meet increased demand for additional capacity in natural gas traveling through pipelines.

Columbia's next steps for the project will be to enter into the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's pre-filing process. The purpose of requesting entry into the commission's pre-filing process is to allow stakeholder and environmental issues to be identified and resolved at earlier stages in the project's development and planning. According to Martin Indars, spokesman for state Sen. Andy Dinniman, D-19th of West Whiteland, the pre-filing process is expected to begin later this month.

Tommy Ryan, township manager of West Bradford, said that although representatives from NiSource, the parent company of Columbia Gas, had reached out late last year to advise them of their intended pipeline, he hopes that communication will not cease there. While NiSource representatives have contacted residents in the pipeline's Right of Way, as well as to those within 50 feet of it, Ryan said he expects regular updates from NiSource as they move through the approval and installation process. About 14 properties will be directly affected by the pipeline in West Bradford.

According to Mayes, once they have entered into the pre-filing process, Columbia representatives will notify the public through open houses and other informational events. Those types of meetings will be ongoing throughout the project until the pipeline is operational.

A toll-free number will become available at an unknown later date and company representatives will be available to answer any questions stakeholders may have.

The pipeline is part of Columbia's Side Expansion project, which will feature looping pipelines in both Chester County and Gloucester County, N.J. The pipeline will cross wetlands and waterways in the area; however, the exact number of crossings has not yet been determined.

Follow Daily Local News staff reporter Sara Mosqueda-Fernandez on Twitter @DailyLocalSara.

KENNETT SQUARE -Changes are afoot behind the scenes at the Kennett Area Community Service as the administration narrows its search for a new director.

Board president Peter D'Angelo confirmed last week that former director Stacie Kucera tendered her resignation with the organization in January and has left the position as of the first week of February.

She was honored in January by the Southern Chester County Chamber of Commerce as its Person of the Year.

Kucera replaced former director Sandy Reynolds nearly five years ago; in that time, she implemented numerous new programs and helped expand the number of families the non-profit organization serves on an annual basis.

Kucera was unavailable for comment.

D'Angelo said that the board is very close to finding Kucera's replacement, having received over 60 applications in the past few weeks.

He added that they have narrowed the choice down to a few candidates and would be announcing their decision in the next few weeks.

Known as the Kennett Area Food Cupboard, the organization was started over 55 years ago by Kennett resident and philanthropist the late Bill Buffington in an effort to provide holiday help to what was then a handful of families.

It has since expanded to provide monthly food cupboard services to nearly 1,300 individuals: that's roughly 675 families including hundreds of area children.

The organization still maintains the spirit of Buffington's original giveaways, with its annual Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday food baskets.

During those events, over 600 families are given a frozen chicken or turkey: the Christmas giveaway also includes accessories for a full holiday meal, as well as toys and new warm jackets.

The KACS also provides emergency assistance for families with regards to rent, utility bills, prescription medications, medical bills, transportation, and other unexpected emergencies.

The KACS and the food cupboard rely on financial support from the community, as well as donations of canned and dry goods for their monthly food staples.

The upcoming Empty Bowls dinner is a unique fundraiser where attendees eat a simple meal accompanied by a clay bowl handmade by area children and senior citizens.

The Empty Bowls dinner is Thursday, Feb, 21, from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Red Clay Room in Kennett Square. For tickets, visit online at www.kacsonline.net or call 610-925-3556.