GOVERNMENT CENTER BUILDING

     201 W. FRONT STREET

     MEDIA, PENNSYLVANIA

COUNCIL                                                  ____________

                               610-891-4931

     Thomas J. McGarrigle                                           FAX NUMBER 610-891-8055                               Department of Public Relations

              Chairman                                                          E-MAIL:  delcopr@co.delaware.pa.us                                         Trish Cofiell

                                                                                                                                                                                     Communications Officer

        Mario J. Civera, Jr.

           Vice Chairman                                                                                                                                                                            

                                                                                                                                                                                      For Immediate Release

        Colleen P. Morrone                                                                                                                                                         05/09/12

           John P. McBlain                                                                                                                                                  Contact:  Lauren Contino

            David J. White                                                                                                                                                   Public Relations Assistant

610-891-4567

Study underway for reuse of Marcus Hook refinery

County Council announces that IHS global energy experts will conduct study

Delaware County Council announced another positive step on the refinery landscape at Wednesday’s Council meeting.

Council reported that the Delaware County Industrial Development Authority (IDA) has contracted with IHS Global Inc. to study potential uses for the 781-acre Marcus Hook complex, with results anticipated soon.

IHS Global Inc. is a world-class information company that has experts in the fields of energy, economics, sustainability and supply-chain management.

Based in Colorado, the company has local offices at the Baldwin Tower in Eddystone, and their experts are very familiar with the Marcus Hook complex and the importance of the facility to the regional economy.

“We are pleased that a global firm like IHS, with an excellent reputation for expertise in the field of energy and power, was selected by the Industrial Development Authority to conduct this study,” said Delaware County Councilman Tom McGarrigle. “We are confident that IHS will provide an expedited assessment of potential reuse of the Marcus Hook assets to help the county, state and local municipality, plus the property owner, make strategic decisions about the future use of this complex.”

The study was commissioned at a cost of $100,000 with a target completion date within a month’s time.

According to the scope of services, IHS will assess a macro-view of reuse options including, but not limited to energy products storage, Marcellus Shale-related chemical development, and industrial supply chain infrastructure development.

Founded in 1959, IHS Global employs more than 5,500 people in more than 30 countries. Its partners include IHS Purvin & Gertz, which specializes in serving companies in natural gas, crude oil and petroleum fields; IHS Chemical; IHS Economic Strategy Solutions and IHS Global Insight, based in Eddystone.

McGarrigle noted that County Council is determined to work toward positive solutions for all of the region’s idled refineries. He said ConocoPhillips in Trainer has agreed to sell its refinery to a Delta Air Lines subsidiary, and Sunoco Inc. is in talks to operate the Philadelphia refinery in a joint venture. That left the fate of the Marcus Hook refinery as the third piece of the economic puzzle.

Sunoco idled its Marcus Hook refinery in December 2011 and there have been several meetings and hearings regarding the closing of the refinery and future use of the site.

“This industrial complex in Marcus Hook has many assets and many potential development opportunities,” McGarrigle said. “It has deep water port access, a dedicated rail spur and close proximity to I-95. The complex has a rich infrastructure that makes it stand out from other potential sites.”

McGarrigle added that Delaware County offers a superior workforce and public officials who are dedicated to ensuring a business-friendly environment as well as a track record of developing cutting-edge projects.

In their proposal, IHS staff said they are “fully prepared to expedite a highly-informed, market-oriented assessment of site options” and that they recognize the County’s effort to “maintain existing employment levels by either preserving employment in the existing industry or transferring employment to new ones.”

“Reuse of the Marcus Hook refinery is not only important to the people employed there, but to the entire County and region,” McGarrigle said. “This study should give us a clear picture of just how much potential we have at this site.”

The Industrial Development Authority (IDA) is an entity of the Delaware County Commerce Center, the county’s centralized location for all economic development in the county. The IDA is organized for the purpose of encouraging economic growth and development within Delaware County.

Harrisburg – The Pennsylvania Department of Health is reminding parents and caregivers of the upcoming final deadline for students to comply with new school immunization requirements. 

When the school year began, families were given eight months to bring students up-to-date with their vaccinations. On April 27, the department announced a two-week grace period.

While final deadlines vary based on when each district began its school year, the department estimates that the grace period will end in most districts within the next week.

New immunization regulations that took effect last August require children in all grades to receive a second dose of mumps vaccine as well as a second dose of the chicken pox vaccine.

They also require students in seventh grade to have one dose of meningococcal conjugate vaccine (MCV4) and one dose of the tetanus, diphtheria and acellular pertussis vaccine (Tdap). All vaccines also need to be appropriately spaced to be considered valid.

While the department established the new regulations, enforcement is left to individual school districts. School districts maintain the right to exclude students from school if they lack the proper vaccinations.

Any student who is not yet up to date should make an appointment with their local healthcare provider, or call 877-PA HEALTH (877-724-3258) to be connected to their local state health center. The most recent copy of the student’s vaccination history must be provided at the time of the appointment. Students must be accompanied by a parent or guardian. 

Exemptions are allowed by law for medical reasons verified by a healthcare professional, on religious grounds, or on the basis of a strong moral or ethical conviction similar to a religious belief. However, the student must fill out a statement for exemption and provide it to his or her school.

The regulations were developed upon recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. To review the regulations, visit www.health.state.pa.us/immunizations.

The year-long 50th anniversary celebration of St. Timothy's Lutheran Church in Aston culminates with a dinner and dance next week.

By LorettaRodgers

 lrodgers@chesterspirit.com

t Timothy Lutheran Church in Aston will end its year-long celebration of its 50^th anniversary with a dinner at 6 P.M., Saturday, May 19^th at Hennessey’s restaurant and a special visit from the Rev. Claire Burkat, bishop of the Southeastern Pennsylvania Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America.

Guest speaker will be Rev. Patricia A. Davenport, assistant to the bishop since 2007. Davenport is director for evangelical mission in the Synod with responsibilities that include working with new mission congregations and support to Synod-wide congregations in outreach, evangelism and transformational ministry.

Davenport was a vicar at St. Timothy from 1999-2000 and served as pastor of Spirit and Truth Lutheran Church in Yeadon from 2001-2007 before she left to join the Synod staff. Burkat will be the guest preacher at the 9:15 A.M. service at St. Timothy on Sunday, May 20^th. There will be one service that Sunday with a light brunch following.

Burkat was elected bishop in July, 2006 and serves as the spiritual leader for nearly 95,000 members in 170 ELCA congregations in Philadelphia, Bucks, Chester, Delaware and Montgomery counties.

St. Timothy Church was founded in August, 1961 under the direction of mission developer Rev. Kenneth W. Zimmerman. Services were initially held at the Killen-Miles American Legion in Aston beginning in September, 1961, with 138 people at the first service.

Three acres of ground were purchased for $25,000 at Pennell Road and Lamp Post Lane where the church now stands and the present sanctuary and office addition was dedicated Dec. 16, 1979.

There were 143 charter members received on Mar. 18, 1962.

In addition to the founding pastor, the church has had four pastors: Rev. Thomas H. Reinsel (1966-1969); Rev. Edwin L. Druckenmiller (1961…

For more on this topic see the May 9 – 15 edition of the Spirit.

By SamBenesby

sbenesby@chesterspirit.com

new parking and entertainment tax was proposed by Chester City Council last week that would levy more than a 30 percent tax for businesses in the city.

The two separate draft ordinances include a 20 percent tax on parking revenue and a $100 annual license with an additional dollar for every space. The entertainment tax would put a 10 percent tax on all admission charges (per ticket tax) to any amusement within the city and a $100 tax per “customer-payment operated device.”

The tax proposals are subject to change and Council said it would meet with interested parties to discuss the measures this week. Councilmember Nafis Nichols, director of Accounts and Finance, said the city could be profiting more than it is right now.

“All agreements are on the table,” Nichols said. “We’re looking at everything and we’re trying to make sure we do whatever we can to ensure our residents get the best bang for their buck.”

PPL Park began construction in 2008 and was finished in 2010. The stadium was seen by the state and county as an opportunity to revitalize the Chester riverfront and economy while attracting additional tax revenue. The state funded $47 million of the project with an additional $80 million supplied by private investment.

Home of the Philadelphia Union Major League Soccer franchise, the park seats 18,500 and strong initial ticket sales, which range from $10 to $20, have led to talks about a possible expansion. While Nichols did not introduce the ordinances, he took part in a study on parking across the city.

“I saw a figure in what they’re making in parking,” Nichols said. “They can spare it. We can make a whole lot more money and everyone in the city will benefit.”

Nick Sakiewicz,…

 For more information on this topic please see the May 9 -15 edition of the Spirit.

Phliadelphia Union CEO Nick Sakiewicz (standing at the microphone).

By LorettaRodgers

 lrodgers@chesterspirit.com

tudents from across the county gathered last week at the Redwood Playhouse in Upland to be recognized as winners of the 2012 Young Poets of Delaware County Poetry Contest.

Sponsored by the Delaware County Library System, Mad Poets Society, the Delaware County Reading Council and Rose Tree Optimist Club, the contest has been around for more than 20 years. Student winners who captured first through third place, who are in grades one through 12, received certificates and bound copies of the winning entries. First place winners in each grade level category also won money.

“I was so excited to learn I had won,” said Jason Bandjough, a fifth grader at Pennell Elementary School in Aston who won third place for his poem, CATS. “I am happy to be here and grateful that my poem was chosen.”

The contest was organized by Mary Ellen Goldfarb, of the Delaware County Reading Council; Margie Stern, of the Delaware County Library System…

For more on this topic see the May 2 – 8 edition of the SPIRIT.

“This is an exciting opportunity for our local United Way, including our employees, donors, community partners, advocates and volunteers,” they said in a prepared statement.

The merger, led by United Way of Southeastern Pennsylvania, has been in the works for months and with the closing of large businesses like the Sunoco and ConocoPhillips oil refineries in Philadelphia, Marcus Hook and Trainer that have been longtime traditional supporters of United Way, organization leaders see the action as a practical matter moving forward.

“In short, this (the merger) is about growing our impact across the region and in our local communities,” Storey said, “The needs of our region are not defined by zip codes – neither should our partnerships, programs, or promotional activities.  By coming together and sharing our talent, resources and best practices, we will:

“Deliver greater impact to those who need us most in local communities across the region, while taking a regional approach to addressing regional issues; cultivate a deeper understanding of our work, which enables us to engage more donors,…

For more on this topic please see the May 2 – 8 edition of the SPIRIT.

sbenesby@chesterspirit.com

ast week in Philadelphia, a plan was announced to drastically restructure the city’s education system in an effort to combat the district’s ballooning debt and inability to cope with continuous cuts in government funding.

Starting next year, the Philadelphia School District (PSD) expects to close 40 schools across the city and six additional schools every year thereafter until 2017. The central office will be dissolved and the remaining schools broken up into “achievement networks” that would, more than likely, be run by private groups.

The plan was devised by district Chief Recovery Officer Thomas Knudsen, who was appointed by the School Reform Commission (SRC), the PSD’s state-appointed school board that is currently reviewing it for final approval.

But some question the pragmatism of privatizing the institutions responsible for educating our children. With mounting obstacles facing schools across Delaware County and the state, it begs the question: Can it happen here?

John Curtin, Assistant Director of the Delaware County Intermediate Unit (DCIU), the regional educational services agency that serves more than 80,000 students across the county, doesn’t think so. He said that while schools across the state are still reeling from the economic crisis of 2008, state cuts and an end to federal stimulus money in 2010, they are increasingly being forced to find innovative ways to get through it.

Although he said he can’t say for certain.

“We’ve got some very stringent policies coming out of Harrisburg as far as funding is concerned,” said Curtin. “(School districts) need to begin to start looking at class sizes, current programs and consolidating assets. It’s not a good time right now for school boards or…..

For more on this topic please see the May 2 – 8 edition of the SPIRIT.

Sun Valley High School recently participated in the seventh annual Greater Philadelphia Sea Perch Challenge at Drexel University against 28 other high schools from the tri-state area. The challenge is open to middle and high schools in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware and its goal is to increase student interest in robotics, science, mathematics, engineering and technology; and to introduce students to naval engineering. The event is structured to give students an overall experience in the engineering process.

The Sun Valley team had eight members: senior Savannah Barrow; juniors Alan Ennis, Shawn Jones, Jim Gentile and Evan Voicheck; sophomore Robby Miles; and freshmen Angela Leo and Adnan Ahmed.

These were the primary members who designed and built the school’s entrant for the competition, a robot the group named the Vandroid 2.0. A handful of additional students did not attend the competition, but helped at times during the robot’s four month construction period.

The competition consisted of four primary technical scoring categories: an engineering design manual; a 10-minute sales presentation to three U.S. Navy judges; an underwater obstacle course the robot had to maneuver in under 10 minutes; and a salvage operation in which five upside-down buckets tied with weights had to be lifted by the robot releasing ping-pong balls.

To add additional difficulty to the last challenge, each vehicle’s pilot was hidden behind a curtain and forced to steer the robot by an underwater camera alone.

The Sun Valley Sea Perch team did particularly well in the sales presentation, receiving an honorable mention and overall ranking sixth of the 29 schools involved.  Part of the presentation included creation of a double-sided tri-fold sales brochure, a 36″x 48″ inch poster detailing the robot’s design, an organizational chart for the team…

for more on this topic see the April 25 – May 1 edition of the SPIRIT

 lrodgers@chesterspirit.com

panel discussion held Saturday at Chester Eastside Ministries resulted in several concrete suggestions for addressing the crisis facing the Chester Upland School District (CUSD).

Hosted by the Education Collaborative of Chester, panelists included Pennsylvania State Teachers Association Uniserv Representative Paul Gottlieb; Michael Churchill, of the Public Interest Law Center; Chester Mayor John Linder; parent Christina Wilmer; and elected school board members Anthony Johnson, Charlie L. Warren II, and Bettie McClairen.

“Chester Upland has a systematic problem of failure that cannot be fixed overnight,” said Warren. “We have to demand excellence.”

The two-and-a-half hour interactive discussion focused primarily on the future outlook of the district and steps that can be taken to keep the district out of state receivership.

Linder said revitalization and reformation of the school district was one of his major platforms while running for office, even though city government and school governance are independent of each other.

“I really don’t have power where the school district is concerned, but as mayor I will do all I can to help rectify the situation,” said Linder, a retired college instructor and career educator.

Linder said he is opposed…

For more on this topic see the April 25 – May 1 edition of the SPIRIT

By RyanK.Smith

rsmith@chesterspirit.com

rue Vine Missionary Baptist Church, at 7^th and Morton Ave., was founded in Chester in 1987 by the late Bishop James L. Harrison. Demonstrating a strong ministry, Harrison joined the Full Gospel Baptist Church International organization in 1994 and established the Chester District division (now called the Eastern District) to add to Pennsylvania’s other districts. In 2000, Harrison was appointed the fellowship’s state bishop of Pennsylvania. In this capacity, he was also “overseer” of the other pastors in the district; a pastor of pastors of sorts, offering guidance and help with their ministries.

One Sunday many years ago, Harrison told his congregation that his son, Jay, would be his heir taking over his role one day. The younger Harrison, then pastor of Keys for Change Family Life Ministry in Williamsburg, VA, couldn’t see it.

“I didn’t believe I (would) come back to Chester, ever,” he said with a laugh. “There was nothing in Chester to bring me back to Chester.” When Harrison, the bishop, passed away in 2004, Harrison, the son, changed his tune when he received a “divine phone call” to return home.

He traveled between Williamsburg and Chester every weekend, serving in his pastoral capacity at his fledgling church and assisting his mother, Pastor Emeritus Lessie Harrison, who filled in for his father as co-pastor.

In 2008, Bishop Harrison’s …

for more on this topic see the April 25 – May 1 edition of the SPIRIT