Local rock band to perform benefit concert for New Hope-Solebury High School classmate and leukemia research
By Charlie Sahner
New Hope band JC Satellite will perform “A Concert for Carly – Destroy Leuk” on Saturday, March 5 to raise awareness and money for Acute Myeloid Leukemia Research at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
Three of the four bandmembers are classmates at New Hope-Solebury High School of Carly Stephens, who was diagnosed with leukemia in July, 2010.
Radio deejay “Spike” from Philadelphia’s WYSP 94.1 FM will emcee the concert, which also includes an opening performance by singer/songwriter Kelly Carvin and special guest Gabby D’Angelo, another classmate from New Hope-Solebury High School.
Doors to the concert will open at 7 p.m. at the Eagle Fire Hall, 46 N. Sugan Road in New Hope. Tickets are priced at $12 and available at the JC Satellite website.
Those who can’t attend may make a donation to AML Research at the Childrens’ Hospital giving page.
St. Martin of Tours Church in New Hope may close school
By Charlie Sahner
Rumors are flying among parents of children enrolled at St. Martin of Tours School in New Hope that the institution is closing.
St. Martin of Tours School is a private Catholic elementary school serving students of all denominations from pre-kindergarten through 8th grade.
Some speculate that low enrollment may be the cause. Other parents are wondering how a potential closure might affect enrollment figures at New Hope-Solebury schools, although several parents have said on a popular local Facebook site that they would move their children to other area Catholic schools if necessary.
School teachers and staff there seem well-liked by students and parents, some of whom say they are still fighting to keep the school open.
A church spokesperson contacted Sunday confirmed the move was under consideration, but said, “The final word will come from the Cardinal within two weeks.”
Opposition mounting to proposed shopping center in Solebury
By Charlie Sahner
As area real estate developers seek approval to build another shopping center in Solebury adjacent to the existing Logan Square commercial complex, the township’s Zoning Hearing Board continues to deliberate in secret, and opposition from nearby residents and environmental groups grows.
The proposed commercial development would include a gas station run by nearby Giant Food, a bank, a pharmacy, a chain-style family restaurant, a Dunkin’ Donuts and other businesses where the local nightclub Cartwheel once operated before being severely damaged by a 2005 fire.
That space was bought by Penns’ Grant Corp., whom will work with with New Cartwheel Partners, which in turn shares interlocking executives with Logan Square owners Solebury Partners Ltd. The consortium is talking to another new commercial center based around the defunct banquet hall Fountainhead, also once ravaged by fire, which already has needed approvals for a new hotel and banquet location.
While the location is already zoned for commercial use, developers require approval of 15 or more zoning variances, including one to construct nearly 400 new parking spaces.
Speaking of the proposed shopping center, concerned Solebury citizen Chris Caputo puts it plainly: “We just don’t need it. Residents don’t want another traffic light on Route 202, they don’t want more chain stores, they’re concerned about the look and aesthetics of the area, and about the potential effect on water depletion and potential water pollution.
“This project is the most critical development in Solebury Township and is irreversible, so the decision requires significant thought and public input before it should move forward,” Caputo added.
Caputo has collected more than 350 signatures in opposition to the proposed development and plans to present them at the Dec. 21 Solebury Board of Supervisors meeting where the the determination by the Zoning Hearing Board will be heard.
Solebury resident and petition signatory Soren Giese said, “The Cartwheel project will require a record 16 variances to existing ordinances to be completed as proposed. It seems that the developers are turning the process on its head by trying to retrofit current zoning ordinances to comply with their proposal rather than coming forward with a plan that is in alignment with the requirements set forth by the township.”
All that we ask is for the township to apply the ordinances as written. We feel that this is the best way to protect our community while at the same time allowing development of those areas designated for this purpose,” added Giese.
New Hope resident Terry Marks said of the project, “I’m okay with it as long as there is safe ingress and egress, with a new traffic light at the entrance…but do we need another drug store or another Dunkin’ Donuts one half mile from the one on Main and Bridge streets? A gas station that doesn’t gouge us with ridiculous prices would be welcome, though.”
Joni Lefkowitz-Glassman, owner of the Dunkin’ Donuts location in New Hope, commented on the new location she intends to add at the former Cartwheel site: “A Dunkin Donuts WITH a drive thru, may I add! Always a good thing when in a rush or in bad weather!”
Area environmentalists are also weighing in on the proposed development. Said Les Isbrandt, former President of the New Hope Historical Society and current head of the Aquetong Watershed Association, “The Aquetong is a beautiful, high quality watershed. When something like this comes along, let’s do it right.
“We want to protect the watershed for all of us,” he continued.
“It’s not just a small step, it has major consequences — for land use, water, and traffic — what do Solebury and New Hope gain by this going in? Change is inevitable, but is this change for the better?” asked Isbrandt.
He and other environmentalists are especially concerned about construction of a gas station just a few hundred feet uphill from the Aquetong Creek.
Said one Solebury environmentalist, “When it comes to petroleum products, there’s no margin for error.”
And impermeable surfaces like parking lots and restaurants also may cause runoff into the already threatened watershed, from which existing municipal wells draw significant amounts of water for sale back to homeowners.
Isbrandt is also concerned by the Zoning Hearing Board’s decision to “close the record” at its last meeting and the public’s right to input on the board’s decision which it says it will render by Dec. 10, a worry echoed by Caputo.
“We were told at the meeting that there will be no further objections and questions,” Caputo said.
Another Solebury resident interviewed said that his family hadn’t received notice from the township of the zoning meeting in question, as has traditionally been the case.
Peter Augenblick, Chairman of Solebury’s Board of Supervisors disagreed that inadequate notice of the zoning meeting pertaining to the proposed shopping center had occurred, saying “We sent notices to contiguous property owners, and all township meetings are listed on our website.”
Augenblick went on to explain,”Part of the zoning procedure is considered legal testimony, and they have to close debate off at some point. They are a legally independent organization — they have their own solicitor. We have no idea where they are in the decision making process. They might be requesting time on Dec. 21 or maybe later, we don’t know.
“We try not to interfere. Zoning is a long way from getting [their decision] to us yet. But we’re the final step. Solebury is not closing the record; we continue to welcome questions and opinions from residents on this issue,” he added.
“The Supervisors have already looked at the issue of commercial zoning, but zoning is like cheese; eventually it all goes bad,” pointed out Augenblick.
When asked if the proposal’s progress was a sign of a political shift by the current board shift away from conservation and towards commercial growth, Augenblick said, “Absolutely not. This is the biggest thing right now in Solebury and everybody knows it.”
Still, residents and environmental groups are worried that approval of the proposed Cartwheel complex will form the precedent for unbridled commercial development of Route 202 all the way to nearby Lahaska.
“This development will be the first step to transform our community into another Flemington, Warrington or any other place where strip malls and chain restaurants have taken over,” said Giese.
Answers Augenblick, “The Board of Supervisors does not want Route 202 to look like Flemington.”
Meanwhile, community leader Caputo continues to urge “residents concerned about the project to attend and speak up at the Solebury township supervisors’ meeting at 7 p.m. on Dec. 21 at the Solebury Township building.”
Quarry Quagmire: New Hope Crushed Stone causing ‘major problems’ for homeowners and environment, says Solebury
By Charlie Sahner
The trout have died in Primrose Creek.
The creek originates near Solebury Village, and meets the Delaware River at Phillips Mill, a hamlet steeped in local art history and the site of a Colonial-era mill powered by the creek. The waterway is important not only due to its historical and artistic value but also because it sustains local flora and fauna. Virtually every home in the area depends on the creek as a water source, as do wetlands, fish, birds, and plants.
Two years ago, New Hope Crushed Stone and Lime submitted a request to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP) to excavate an additional 50 feet deeper at their quarry at the corner of River and Phillips Mill roads.
At that time, the growing number of lost wells, sink holes, and dry sections of Primrose Creek galvanized Solebury residents, officials, and environmental groups to speak up in opposition to the request, which is still pending before the PADEP.
“The mining activities of New Hope Crushed Stone have resulted in decreased ground water elevations and altered flow patterns throughout much of the Primrose Creek watershed and beyond its boundaries,” said the township. “Consequently, many residents have had to lower their well pumps, deepen their wells, or replace their wells.”
Solebury Township went on to say that “removing the Primrose Creek stream channel on the quarry property and pumping ground water down to greater than 100 feet below sea level in the quarry pit has caused many major problems for home and property owners in the area” including damage to “potable supply wells” along with “land erosion, impacted fish community and aquatic ecology, damaged wetlands and water pollution.”
Other area environmental groups like the Primrose Creek Watershed Association, Bucks County Trout Unlimited, the Delaware Riverkeeper, the Delaware River Basin Commission, and the Aquetong, Paunacussing and Pidcock Creek watershed associations, are also concerned about damage from the quarry.
Kevin Morrissey, head of the Primrose Creek Watershed Association, explained that there has been a significant amount of analysis performed by Solebury Township consultants and the PADEP Aquatic Biology Unit in Norristown in recent years. “These studies have concluded that the quarry is taking more than their fair share of water resources,” he said. “The experts have determined that this is an unsustainable condition that will continue to get worse.
“Some individuals have expressed the opinion that the mining interests in this state will overshadow other higher priority concerns such as the right of residents to have a safe and healthy environment for themselves and their children,” added Morrissey.
“Our Association believes that the strong support shown by Chuck McIlhinney (R-Bucks and Mongomery) and Bernie O’Neill (R-Bucks) for our efforts will communicate to the DEP Secretary and others in Harrisburg that the security of Pennsylvania residents takes precedence over an aging quarry,” he continued.
Operations began in the quarry in the 1940s, and groundwater withdrawals began to increase in order to keep the quarry pit dry. In 1998, say environmentalists and Solebury Township, the Primrose Creek stream channel was removed on the quarry property with PADEP knowledge.
Ironically, in May 2009 a PADEP Aquatic Biology Unit study concurred with Solebury Township’s own study, detailing quarry effects like dewatering, sedimentation and erosion. One year later, the PADEP placed the Primrose Creek on the endangered list.
Environmental groups say they’re concerned by the quarry’s estimated average water consumption of three million gallons per day, which they believe is drawn from the Primrose and Aquetong watersheds and is ultimately expelled along with sediment into the Delaware River.
Said a Solebury resident living about one mile from the quarry, “Our well hasn’t been affected yet, but our windows rattle with each blast on Wednesday mornings, our lawn is beginning to show waves and swells, and tree roots are suddenly being exposed.”
Mining is big business in Pennsylvania, and while the Norristown office of the PADEP has confirmed that environmental damage has been caused by New Hope Crushed Stone, the department’s Pottsville “Mining” office seems to enjoy a somewhat cozy relationship with the industry. In fact, mining has been designated by the PADEP as an “Industry of the Future”, and “is important to Pennsylvania’s economy and the needs and interests of PA’s mining industry intersect significantly with the visions and roadmaps the mining industry developed with the Department of Energy’s Office of Industrial Technologies.”
According to the U.S. Geological survey, Pennsylvania produces about $2 billion worth of coal annually, and nonfuel mineral production, including crushed stone and lime, accounts for more than $1 billion in annual production in the state.
So, after two years of weighing the quarry’s request to dig even deeper, where does the PADEP now stand on the documented damage to the Primrose Creek and nearby wells, the formation of sink holes, and killing of local wildlife, and what are the department’s planned next steps and overall position on the quarry and its continuing activities?
Says a PADEP spokesperson in a statement, “In touching base with our Watershed Management and Mining staff, I confirmed that we are still reviewing all the information and are discussing the matter with Solebury School officials and the quarry operator. Our mining folks advise that there have been no recent water losses noted.”
The Solebury School?
Officials at the Solebury School acknowledged discussions with PADEP but declined any further comment. The prestigious private school is situated in close proximity to the quarry and neighbors say sink holes have appeared on its grounds.
And while Solebury Township may have once been in the vanguard of the fight for protection of its residents and land, including undertaking studies, legal action, and publicizing environmental concerns extensively on its Web site, the township now seems to be backing away from its prior commitment to resolving the overall quarry issue rapidly, say local environmentalists and political observers.
Some speculate that the results of last year’s Board of Supervisors election may have tipped the balance of that group’s composition in a manner detrimental to environmental concerns. Others familiar with the situation speculate that Solebury’s budget is coming under pressure, and the township is now placing a higher priority on land development and growth of its tax base, as evidenced by the recent proposal for expanded commercial development near Logan Square.
Top Solebury officials did not respond to requests to be interviewed for this article.
Unfortunately, a geographic fault line connects the Aquetong Watershed to the quarry in question, say area conservationists. And that means New Hope and its water supply may be imperiled next as the PADEP lets its decision making process drag on.
As author Norman Maclean once said, “Eventually all things merge into one and a river runs through it.”
Meanwhile, the trout are gone from what’s left of Primrose Creek, its silty water flowing inexorably toward the Delaware River.
New York City “Con Queen” Stings New Hope PA, Nabbed in Belmar, NJ
Nydia Vega Reeves, Nydia Neubauer, Lucy George, Nydia Luz Vega
New Hope-Solebury Lions Rout George School Cougars 42-0
Another pic from Friday night’s New Hope-Solebury Lions football victory and inaugural game at their new, dedicated field. Below, coach Jim DiTulio looks on as the teams ready themselves for the next snap.
Friday, July 30, 2010
Update: Alleged “Con Woman” Being Investigated by Police in New Hope PA
By Charlie Sahner
An alleged con woman has been operating in New Hope recently and local police are actively investigating her activities. The alleged suspect has previously been reported to owe large amounts of money to two individuals, one in New York and the other in California, and to have written bad checks and rented apartments without paying in New York City. Here in New Hope, several incidences of alleged scamming are being looked into, and at least one alleged victim is a very well known local businessman. More to follow on this fast breaking story.
New State Run Liquor Store in New Hope Looks Like a Hit
By Charlie Sahner
It’s probably too early to tell, but last week’s opening of the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board’s new Fine Wine & Good Spirits store at the Logan Square shopping complex in New Hope already shows signs of being a hit with consumers.
A visit to the new wine and liquor shop revealed a well rounded selection of products, competitive prices and a steady stream of excited customers. Said one departing customer with a large paper bag (the store tries to be environmentally responsible), “Great selection, well laid out, and easy to find what you want.”
Commenting on the new location, PLCB Chairman Patrick J. “PJ” Stapleton said, “We are thrilled with the New Hope Store and we hope consumers are as well. It is a prototype store which means we will take the feedback from consumers to find out what works and what doesn’t work and to see if there are things we can do better. Our rebranding effort is a work in progress.”
A focal point of the new store is a center table, where consumers can find staff to answer questions, provide tasting selections, and ring them up quickly. The atmosphere is more Barnes & Noble than the typically dark and claustrophobic spirit shops one encounters.
The wine offerings seemed to represent many of today’s most popular bottles, with a naturally heavy emphasis on domestics from California, Pennsylvania and other states. France and Italy were given equal weight with countries like Chile and Australia, which again reflects current consumer tastes, but also means the variety of Bordeaux, Cotes du Rhone, Barolo and other more traditional favorites was somewhat limited. All in all, the wines were fairly priced and well displayed, with numerous highlighted specials.
The liquor selection was impressive, dominated by a huge offering of various vodka brands. Surprising was the relatively large choice of cordials, rums and bourbons, including some hard to find bottles. Among these were the incomparable Booker’s Bourbon on sale for $41.99, and Ron Zacapa 23-year-old, arguably the world’s smoothest rum, for $44.99. Even the Bacardi 8 was a good buy; at $19.99 it was $7.00 less than I last paid in New Jersey.
Competition from New Jersey liquor vendors minutes away is a serious challenge, for sure. Pennsylvania’s somewhat archaic laws mandating that liquor and wine be sold in state stores and beer largely at discount outlets, restaurants and bars have put the state at a disadvantage in the past. But alcohol taxes have been rising in the Garden State of late, and the PLCB seems determined to compete effectively.
Says Stapleton, “Our selection and pricing is very competitive with New Jersey. We believe our store in New Hope will be a destination and people from both Pennsylvania and New Jersey will shop in it.”
A movement afoot in the Pennsylvania Legislature to privatize alcohol distribution also adds urgency to the PLCB’s effort to become a more consumer-focused retail business.
“The public-policy decision regarding government’s appropriate role in the sale of wine and spirits in PA is a matter for our elected public-policy makers — the Legislature and the Governor to decide,” commented Stapleton. “Our job at the PLCB is to spend our time, energy and resources creating the very best consumer experience we can. We are focused on that effort every day and think Pennsylvanians will continue to be pleased with the changes we’ve made,” he added.
So far, those changes appear well-received. The new store is “very pleasant,” said Glenn Ricci of New Hope. “Everybody is very cordial and helpful, the place looks great, and everything’s nicely displayed so it’s easy to choose.”
Another exiting customer, a tall, distinguished gentleman wearing sunglasses, a Panama hat, and a beatific smile, when asked what he thought of the store responded simply, “Lovely. Just lovely.”
