“TOPs”  -  TOWNWATCH on Patrol

Welcome to “TOPs”, Pennsbury Townwatch’s member newsletter.  Pennsbury Township is located in Chester County, PA and is predominately a rural community in SE Pennsylvania. Townwatch can be reached at 610-388-0785.

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President’s  Corner

Greetings to all fellow Pennsbury Townwatch members

At last, the long hot days of summer are behind us, soon to be replaced by cooler, crisper days of autumn.  For some, autumn brings a return to school, a busier schedule and maybe a little less time spent outdoors.  Others enjoy the scents, sights and activities that autumn bring with it.

Your continued support and generosity provides us the funds needed to support our direct operations; patrol equipment, road signs, printing and mailing expense.  We are also able to provide and participate in programs for the community.  There is more on those activities in this issue.

I want to thank everyone for his or her continued support of our Townwatch operations.  Fall is a beautiful time of the year.  I wish everyone a safe, enjoyable autumn.  Remember; please look out for your neighbor.

Kevin D Meloney, President

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Reminder -- Renew Your Membership

Once a year we ask for your support through your membership renewal. For a mere $7.50 for an individual membership, or $10 for a family or business, you can help Townwatch to continue its program of providing patrols and other activities to maintain your safety, security and peace-of-mind. Funds are used for road signs, patrol signs, window stickers, TOPs Newsletter, Outreach activities and other related items.  Member drive will be sent out in the Fall so look for it in your mail. Make your check payable to Pennsbury Townwatch and mail it to: Pennsbury Townwatch Inc., 702 West Baltimore Pike, Chadds Ford, PA 19317.   Note that all donations are tax-deductible.

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Popular “55 Alive” Safe Driving Program Refresher Course November 19th

Due to the popularity of the “55-Alive” Class given in the past, Pennsbury Townwatch has gotten requests for a “Refresher Course” for those who have taken the class and need to be recertified. Produced by the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) and conducted throughout the country, this course is one 4 hour session to be held in the Harris Room, Pennsbury Township Building on Saturday morning, November 19^th from 8 a.m. til noon.  The class, subsidized by Townwatch, is priced at $10 per individual and is limited to the first 20 people. 

 Certificates are good for three years. PA law requires insurance companies to give a 5% discount for drivers 55 and older who successfully complete the course. To sign up, fill in the form on page 4 of this Newsletter and send a $10 check made out to “Pennsbury Townwatch-55 Alive” to: Pennsbury Townwatch, 702 Baltimore Pike, Chadds Ford, PA 19317. Alternatively, call the Township Building at 610-388-7323 to reserve your spot.  In the last several years, over 80 residents have been educated by our “55 Alive” classes.         

A Message for Patrollers

I have the e-mail addresses of a number of patrollers and I have been trying to schedule patrols via e-mail. E-mail offers a lot more flexibility over making phone calls to schedule patrols.

I am using the following e-mail address: :

PennsburyTownwatchPatrol@gmail.com

Please keep a lookout for an e-mail asking you for your preference for patrol dates.

And to make sure I have correct contact information, please feel free to send me your e-mail address.

There has been an average of two patrols per week.

Kevin D Meloney

Patrol Chairman

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Help Wanted

As we approach the end of this calendar year, we will be losing two of our long time members on the Board of Directors.  We are actively looking for volunteers to join our Board of Directors.  Please visit our website for an overview of the Board’s responsibilities or feel free to email or call me.  Kevin Meloney, 610-793-0474, KevinDMel@gmail.com  Thank you. 

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Pennsbury Township Police Reports

At occasional monthly meetings of the Pennsbury Townwatch Board of Directors, the Safety and Security Committee Chairman reviews publicly available listings of police activities in the Township.  Such information is useful to plan our patrolling efforts to those areas where incidents have occurred.

For example for June, 2011, the top types of police activity in the Township were: motorist assistance (4), false alarms (8) (a continuing headache for the State Police), automobile collisions (3), officer assistance (7), and 911 hangups (5) (all of which must be investigated).

Did you know you could sign up for email updates from the Dept. of Justice and also find press releases about cases?  Go to www.justice.gov  The US Attorney’s office recently finished their outreach program focusing on the youth in our region “The Voices of Youth Violence Prevention Project”.   It was the first to focus resources on children for the purpose of positively impacting their lives.                    

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The OutReach “Welcome Packet” Program Extends The Contributions of Townwatch to Community

The main activity of Pennsbury Townwatch is to patrol the streets and roads of our Community to help to ensure the safety and security of the residents. However, we sponsor other activities that fit this charter through the Outreach program. For example, one activity is to provide Welcome Packets to new residents. Administered by Board Member Sandy Desirey, the Welcome Packet program provides an overview publication about the township that includes a map and information guide. The mailings also include recent newsletters from the Township and Townwatch. We also include information on the Land Trust and Township Park offerings. Emergency information includes a letter from the Longwood Fire Department and Pennsbury Emergency Management as well as the Chester County 911 Program. We also include some brochures of interest such as Longwood Gardens, Chadds Ford Winery and Pennsbury Inn. We hope this Outreach endeavor helps new residents with helpful and needed information and makes them feel like they are part of the Pennsbury Township Community.

Since the last TOPs Newsletter, there have been 34 new residents in Pennsbury Township, which proves that Pennsbury is a great place to live in spite of the economic downturn.

Scholarship Awarded to Unionville

High School graduate & Other Donations

To encourage the study of law enforcement and

community safety and service, Pennsbury Townwatch is

pleased to announce the continuation of a scholarship

titled the Pennsbury Townwatch Scholarship for Law

Enforcement Study to a deserving Unionville High School graduate who is pursuing a career in law enforcement, forensic science or criminology. The scholarship consists of a one-time $500 award to a student enrolled in such a training program. In May, a Unionville High School Scholarship Committee selects the student from a list of those meeting the selection criteria established by Townwatch. The 2011 recipient was Justin Gawthrop.  He will be attending Penn State and will pursue a degree in Criminal Justice. Congratulations to Justin and our best wishes for success in continuing his education.

Townwatch also donated a lap top computer to the State Police at the Avondale Barracks.  This is only one of a few “current” lap tops that are being used and it was greatly appreciated by the police.  (See picture below)  Along with the lap top, there was a donation of radios for the Township Road Crew.  The phones have a built in scanner and up to date radio frequency.  A donation of $400 was also given to the school nurse at the Chadds Ford Elementary School which helped fund a “first aid” program.  The following is short summary submitted for Julie Krause, School Nurse:

“The week of May 9, 2011 was an exciting one at Chadds Ford Elementary, as the school was celebrating Healthy Body Week.  Each day the students engaged in activities which focused on different aspects of maintaining their health and safety.  Topics such as nutrition, exercise, sun safety, and stress management were covered.  The week culminated with the kindergarten through 4^th grade students participating in a Pedestrian Safety assembly, where they learned how to attend to traffic when walking in neighborhoods without sidewalks.  The 5^th grade students circulated through learning stations for Basic First Aid, Water Safety, basic safety at home and choking emergencies.

At the end of the week, Chadds Ford was able to provide each student in the school a mini First Aid kit to use when out and about over the summer.  The students of Chadds Ford were able to learn to become the stewards of their own safety and well-being through these activities, and the feedback from students, parents and teachers were extremely positive.

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Townwatch Holds Annual Meeting

Our Annual Meeting was held on March 30, 2011 at the Chadds Ford Winery, hosted by Eric Miller, owner and wine master. The speaker for the meeting was Michele Rajsic, Law Enforcement Coordinator from the U.S. Attorney’s office, Philadelphia.  Her topic was “Community Outreach on Crime Prevention – Internet Security

Home Safety Ideas

Most burglars prefer to break into your home when no one is home and with recent burglaries in Pennsbury Township during midday (10 AM-2PM) often when people are at work. Therefore anything you can do to make your house appear occupied will discourage burglars from picking your home as their target. Fortunately, it is relatively simple to make your house appear occupied.