Welcome to the Coatesville Dems Blog

Public Corruption in Chester County, PA

I believe an unlikely mix of alleged drug trafficking related politicos and alleged white nationalist related politicos united to elect the infamous “Bloc of Four” in the abysmal voter turnout election of 2005. During their four year term the drug business was good again and white nationalists used Coatesville as an example on white supremacist websites like “Stormfront”. Strong community organization and support from law enforcement, in particular Chester County District Attorney Joseph W. Carroll has begun to turn our community around. The Chester County drug trafficking that I believe centers on Coatesville continues and I believe we still have public officials in place that profit from the drug sales. But the people here are amazing and continue to work against the odds to make Coatesville a good place to live.

Sunday, May 31, 2020

"resolution condemning police brutality" It’s only a resolution, but I think Pelosi will kill this. DNC leadership is behind a corporate bribery built wall. One of the biggest bribes comes from the “Police Industrial Complex.”

"They are responding to the murder of George Floyd by police in Minneapolis. And the murder of Breonna Taylor by police in Louisville. They are responding to the excessive use of force by police in cities across the country where protests of these murders are taking place.

"[P]olice brutality and the use of excessive and militarized force are among the most serious ongoing human rights and civil liberties violations in the United States and have led to community destabilization, a decrease in public safety, and the exacerbation of structural inequities," the resolution reads, laying out a condemnation of the system racism in law enforcement in three pages of legislative text. "Whereas the House of Representatives has a moral and constitutional obligation to protect the civil rights and liberties of all people from police abuses," the resolution continues, "be it resolved that the House of Representatives" answers.

They call for "'he adoption of sound and unbiased law enforcement policies at all levels of government that reduce the disparate impact of police brutality and use of force on Black and Brown people and other historically marginalized communities."

MORE AT:
DAILYKOS
Democratic lawmakers, all women of color, introduce resolution condemning police brutality




VIDEOS OF COMMUNITY - POLICE FORUM IN COATESVILLE PA ARE BELOW


We had a meeting in a tent about drugs in Coatesville. Our then Republican PA State Rep. Harry Lewis was invited. But was not there. He told my friend Elwood Dixon it was “anti-police.” I think what Harry meant was the “Community Policing” practiced by our Coatesville PD was counter to the military style policing then endorsed by the Philly PD Union, supported by the Republican Party and some Democrats on the take.

Our Coatesville PD is deeply involved in "Community Policing."


"The intensive militarization of America’s police forces is a serious menace about which a small number of people have been loudly warning for years, with little attention or traction. In a 2007 paper on “the blurring distinctions between the police and military institutions and between war and law enforcement,” the criminal justice professor Peter Kraska defined “police militarization” as “the process whereby civilian police increasingly draw from, and pattern themselves around, the tenets of militarism and the military model.”

The harrowing events of the last week in Ferguson, Missouri – the fatal police shooting of an unarmed African-American teenager, Mike Brown, and the blatantly excessive and thuggish response to ensuing community protests from a police force that resembles an occupying army – have shocked the U.S. media class and millions of Americans. But none of this is aberrational.

It is the destructive by-product of several decades of deliberate militarization of American policing, a trend that received a sustained (and ongoing) steroid injection in the form of a still-flowing, post-9/11 federal funding bonanza, all justified in the name of “homeland security.” This has resulted in a domestic police force that looks, thinks, and acts more like an invading and occupying military than a community-based force to protect the public."



MORE AT:
The Intercept
Glenn Greenwald
August 14 2014, 8:40 a.m.






















"Community Policing


Acceptance of constructive change by police and the community is central to the purpose of the Police Foundation. From its inception, the foundation has understood that to flourish, police innovation requires an atmosphere of trust, a willingness to experiment and exchange ideas both within and outside the police structure, and, perhaps most importantly, a recognition of the common stake of the entire community in better police services.


The Police Foundation has done much of the research that has led to a questioning of the traditional model of professional law enforcement and toward a new view of policing–one emphasizing a community orientation–that is widely embraced today.


It was in Kansas City that the foundation learned, in a practical test, that random preventive patrol may not be the best way to deter crime. It was the foundation that was among the first to learn that shortening police response time may have little effect on the chances of a burglar or robber being caught. It was also the foundation, working jointly with the police in Houston and Newark, that began to see the advantages of foot patrol and door-to-door surveys as a way of dealing with the public’s fear of crime and disorder. It is from the foundation’s Newark Foot Patrol experiment that the “broken windows” theory is derived.


What this, and other, research revealed is that there are strategies–several of them new, some of them used in the past but discarded–that can reduce levels of perceived crime and disorder, reduce fear and concern about crime, improve satisfaction with police service, increase satisfaction with neighborhoods, and, in some cases, reduce crime itself. By staying in close contact with neighborhoods they serve, the police can identify problems at the local level, and, working with residents, respond to them.


The name for the model of policing that has emerged varies: in some places it is called community or community-oriented policing, in other places, problem-oriented policing. However it is labeled, it tends to be based on some commonly shared beliefs:


  • It is the job of the police to cope with problems, not just respond to incidents. 
  • Among the problems with which the police should be concerned are those involving disorder and incivility as well as those involving serious crime. 
  • Reducing crime and disorder requires that the police work cooperatively with people in neighborhoods to 
  • As the most visible local agency of government on duty 24-hours a day, the police must be willing to serve as catalysts to mobilize other city agencies and services.


The movement toward community policing has escalated dramatically in recent years, due in large part to the Federal government’s commitment of billions of dollars to hire and train 100,000 community policing officers. With assistance from the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services of the U.S. Department of Justice and the national Community Policing Consortium, thousands of America’s police departments–large, medium, and small–are working to develop organizational philosophies and strategies for the implementation of community policing.


The Police Foundation is one of five leading national law enforcement organizations that joined in an unprecedented cooperative effort through the creation of the national Community Policing Consortium (CPC). Under a cooperative agreement with the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, these five organizations–the International Association of Chiefs of Police, the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives, the National Sheriffs’ Association, the Police Foundation, and the Police Executive Research Forum–played a principal role in the development of community policing research, training, and technical assistance.


Since 1993, the foundation has provided community policing education, training, and technical assistance to more than 1,000 law enforcement agencies and communities on issues such as internal changes and shifting paradigms, partnerships and diversity, strategic planning, ethics, and integrity.


Community policing research conducted by the Police Foundation are listed below."



MORE AT:




Community Policing



This is community policing, the type of policing OPPOSED by our PA State Rep. Harry Lewis: 
“Coatesville Police Chief John ‘Jack’ Laufer also praised law enforcement officials for their ‘good investigative work and utilizing a joint team approach.’ He said the city’s Vice Unit was able to ‘remove a sizable quantity of dangerous drugs and firearms from the streets of Coatesville.’ 
 The fight against violent crime most often associated with the illicit drug trade requires a team approach not only within law enforcement, but also with the community we serve,’ Laufer said. “Together we can bring about positive change within the City of Coatesville.” 
 MORE AT: 
Daily Local News 
Coatesville police seize drugs, guns from ‘heavily fortified’ residence 

Ronald Terry Smith

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Friday, May 29, 2020

I can still see elderly black woman walking away from Coatesville’s 5th Ward saying “They won't let me vote." I now think CCRC Chairman Skippy Brion & the GOP were trying out an early version of what is now the premier GOP voter purging system, “Judicial Watch.”

Early on the General Election Day of 2004 several Republican attorneys from Spring City showed up outside of Coatesville's Fifth Ward (precinct 120). When the polls opened they went inside and I saw elderly black women coming out of the polls saying, "They won't let me vote."   

 When the Democratic attorney was inside the polling place everything was peaceful. When the Democratic attorney took a break, again people were walking out saying they won't let me vote.
   
 The effect of all that Republican muscle in Coatesville's Fifth Ward was stopping long time voters from voting.  

 I can't understand why they brought in lawyers from Spring City and why CCRC Chairman Skippy Brion was screaming at a Democratic poll watcher inside the polling place in front of voters but I don't have the mind of a Republican. 
   
But I do think that if the Republicans persisted in stopping long time voters from voting there would have been violent incidents at the Fifth Ward." 

MORE AT:
Friday, October 14, 2016

"Six states are facing federal lawsuits and threats of litigation from the ultra-conservative nonprofit Judicial Watch that could jeopardize the integrity of upcoming primary and general elections.
"The suits claim that states are not properly maintaining voter rolls as required by federal law, and raise the specter of voter fraud, arguing that improper maintenance could leave the door open to “dirty elections.”
Judicial Watch, which focuses on the courts and is funded primarily by large grants from conservative foundations, is suing Pennsylvania’s chief election official, along with county legislators and election officials in three of the state’s six counties with the most registered voters. Pennsylvania was critical to Donald Trump’s win in 2016. He won by less than 1 percentage point, losing only 11 counties, including the three suburban Philadelphia counties being sued by Judicial Watch. It was the first time Pennsylvania went red since 1988. Democrats almost certainly need to win the state — where former Vice President Joe Biden was born, and where his campaign is headquartered — to take back the White House.
 The group has filed similar suits in North Carolina and Maryland. The Pennsylvania lawsuit follows notices Judicial Watch sent to 19 counties in Pennsylvania, California, Virginia, Colorado, and Kentucky last December, threatening lawsuits unless they removed ineligible voters from rolls. One Pennsylvania county buckled under pressure and made changes to its voter rolls, while the three that are currently being sued did not. Counties in California and Kentucky, facing pressure from Judicial Watch, last year started the process to remove close to 2 million voters from their rolls."
“Those excessive practices have been again and again shown to disproportionately impact racial and language minority communities.”
MORE AT:

Right-Wing Group Seeks to Purge Up to 800,000 Voters in Pennsylvania, a Key Battleground State


Coatesville PA Economic & Community Redevelopment is moving along.

I thought the Coronavirus Pandemic Depression might bring economic development in the City of Coatesville to a standstill but:


"COATESVILLE—The City of Coatesville’s Redevelopment Authority (RDA) has selected Competitive Communities LLC, a private economic development consulting company, to vet three proposals submitted for the development of a 22-acre tract known as “The Flats.”
 The property is located at the prime northwest corner of the intersection of First Avenue and Lincoln Highway, which formerly served as an industrial site. It is the largest commercial property available in the city’s Qualified Opportunity Zone.
The proposals, each ranging between 30 and 60 million dollars, were presented during the April 16 RDA public meeting, followed by a week-long period that enabled developers to submit answers to questions that were posed by board members, city officials and residents.
'We’re excited to have three major prospects submitting proposals to develop this important space,” says Michael Trio, Coatesville City Manager. “All three bids are strong, and we look forward to the RDA’s recommendation. Our City’s business and community leaders have approached this opportunity with a spirit of collaboration, which has helped to position Coatesville as an excellent destination for development with a streamlined process and supportive environment.”
MORE AT:

MediaNews Group May 28, 2020



ALSO SEE:

Wednesday, May 20, 2020

BIGGEST OPPORTUNITY FOR UNION ORGANIZING SINCE 1897 Lattimer Massacre, Amazon Warehouse deaths, Cargill Meat Packing deaths happened in Hazle Township, PA

"The greatest danger is found in the industrial parks that sit across the city line in Hazle Township. You could drive those roads for an hour, slicing down factory canyons the length of many football fields. About 13,000 worked there, some in union jobs, and that was a source of pride for a lot of people who worked along Wyoming Street."


"Therese Kelly arrived for her shift at an Amazon warehouse in Hazle Township, Pa., on March 27 to find her co-workers standing clustered in the cavernous space. Over a loudspeaker, a manager told them what they had feared: For the first time, an employee had tested positive.
Some of the workers cut short their shifts and went home. Ms. Kelly, 63, got to work.
In the less than two months since then, the warehouse in the foothills of the Pocono Mountains of northeastern Pennsylvania has become Amazon’s biggest hot spot.
 Local lawmakers believe that more than 100 workers have contracted the disease, but the exact number is unknown. At first, Amazon told workers about each new case. But when the total reached about 60, the announcements stopped giving specific numbers.
The best estimate is that more than 900 of the company’s 400,000 blue-collar workers have had the disease. But that number, crowdsourced by Jana Jumpp, an Amazon worker, almost certainly understates the spread.
 The company has been hit by the biggest surge of orders it has ever experienced, and has paid workers extra to stay on the job."
MORE AT:–
New York Times
‘Way Too Late’: Inside Amazon’s Biggest Outbreak

A warehouse in the foothills of the Poconos has had more known Covid-19 cases than any of Amazon’s others after missing early opportunities to protect workers.




The Lattimer massacre was the violent deaths of at least 19 unarmed striking immigrant anthracite miners at the Lattimer mine near Hazleton, Pennsylvania, on September 10, 1897.
MORE AT:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lattimer_massacre






"The greatest danger is found in the industrial parks that sit across the city line in Hazle Township. You could drive those roads for an hour, slicing down factory canyons the length of many football fields. About 13,000 worked there, some in union jobs, and that was a source of pride for a lot of people who worked along Wyoming Street.


State officials allowed most of these warehouses and factories — American Eagle, Tootsie Roll, AutoZone — to remain open, declaring their products essential for the economy. Each night, workers returned to Hazleton. More than 200 workers at Cargill fell ill, one-fifth of the work force, when the company closed for a week. Other facilities have been hit."

MORE AT:
The New York Times

This Working Man Was Ready to Retire. But the Virus Took Him.

A journey down several blocks of one Pennsylvania city tells the story of the virus in America — of illness, financial strain and rising tension.

Friday, May 15, 2020

Trump’s killing us protest. In Macungie! The GOP has a maniacal homicidal President problem. 

'Trump policies are killing all of us,” read a sign on Pat Russo’s car."

Allentown is mostly Democratic.

However when we lived in Macungie in the 1980s actual Nazis rallied at a farm. Their leader was arrested later in Philly. 
MACUNGIE is a Native American word loosely translated: 
 Where the bear sleeps in the swamp.

In 1987 we moved to Trappe, PA. I worked at a crown & bridge dental laboratory in Elkins Park PA. 

A man who lived on a farm near Macungie did our partial denture work. He had several foster children. My boss, Tom Cassidy asked him, “Why don’t you have Black foster children.” His answer was something like “The people out here are very nice, except I think they might kill black children.”

What I’m trying to say is Allentown is Democratic, The area outside of Allentown is more conservative and more likely Republican. 

Those conservative folks are saying things like this:

'We feel his failure, he’s responsible for the deaths,' she said. 'I hope people pay attention.'



When you go over South Mountain from the Delaware Valley to the Lehigh Valley it's almost like going to a different country.

All of Lehigh Valley residents, Democrats or Republicans are more conservative than the residents of counties in the Delaware Valley surrounding Philly. 

There’s a culture shock for people from the Delaware Valley moving to the Lehigh Valley. 
I ate hotdogs from Yooco’s (Lee Iacocca was a member of Allentown’s Iacocca family)

There were usually long lines waiting at Yooco’s. If you tried to but they refused to serve you. 


Drivers in Allentown stop for stop signs, frustrating the crap out of people that live near Philly. In Philly people that stop for stop signs are stuck there while the rest run through the stop signs. 

There’s a respect for the rule of law that maybe comes from Mennonite heritage or something. I liked that when I lived there. I didn’t agree with everyone but I did appreciate the respect the people of Allentown showed to others. 


The GOP has a maniacal homicidal President problem. 

Protestors greeting President Donald Trump Thursday on his first visit to Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley looked a little different as they gathered amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Face masks, both homemade and store bought, were prevalent among the drivers who organized near Lower Macungie Middle School. Participants mainly stayed at or near their cars, which were decorated with signs. A few Pennsylvania State Police vehicles were stationed nearby.
 Instead of groups of people, Make the Road Action in Pennsylvania organized the caravan to drive past the Upper Macungie Township distribution center hosting Trump and then head to Lehigh Valley International Airport, where Air Force One is expected to touch down.
The focus of the protest was on Trump and his administration’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.
 'I don’t feel that Trump is handling anything well ... especially the COVID-19 (pandemic), his handling of it from the beginning. I think that he doesn’t even acknowledge the fact of all of the people that have died and he’s focusing so much on reopening the country despite what the doctors are saying,' said Kate Middleton of Allentown.
One of the protest signs on a few cars read “Trump Failed 3,943 Pennsylvanians dead from COVID.” Middleton had signs on her car that said Trump’s failure is destroying us and “Biden country.”
'We feel his failure, he’s responsible for the deaths,' she said. 'I hope people pay attention.'
'Trump policies are killing all of us,” read a sign on Pat Russo’s car."
MORE AT:

‘Trump policies are killing all of us’: Protest caravan rolls through ahead of president’s visit to Pennsylvania

Is there a buck door way Republican Senate can impeach Trump saying “we had no other choice”?

The U.S. Supreme Court is reviewing several lawsuits asking for Trump’s financial records. 

I'm no legal expert. I do know corporate "journalists" are terrified of Trump and will not publish stuff they know Trump will not approve of. 

 Watch any corporate news report of read any corporate news article on the Supreme Court debating Trump's financial records and you will get non committal both sides "news" approved by Trump:

***



This lawsuit will also be bumped up to the Supreme Court:

A federal appeals court on Thursday revived a lawsuit seeking to block President Trump’s hotel in downtown Washington from accepting payments from foreign and state governments. 
In a divided decision, the court refused to dismiss the novel lawsuit that accuses the president of illegally profiting from foreign and state government patrons at his D.C. hotel. The case, brought by the top lawyers for Maryland and the District of Columbia, is one of a set of lawsuits alleging the president’s private business transactions violate the Constitution’s anti-corruption emoluments ban.

Court revives lawsuit targeting President Trump’s business dealings at Washington hotel


AND THIS ONE:


A federal judge overseeing the trial of President Trump's former confidant, Roger Stone, has ordered that the federal government turn over at least 20 emails related to the White House's order to halt military aid to Ukraine, which sparked impeachment proceedings against the president on Capitol Hill.
Judge in Roger Stone case orders Trump administration to turn over Ukraine emails


I believe Trump’s financial records will show ongoing criminal activity involving the Saudis & Russian Oligarchs.

"How to use Trump Tower and other luxury high-rises to clean dirty money, run an international crime syndicate, and propel a failed real estate developer into the White House."
 Trump’s Russian Laundromat


I believe that once Trump’s financial records are public information and prove Trump has ongoing dealings with foreign nationals, some who are actively spying on the U.S., Senate Republicans can say: 

“We had no other choice but removing President Trump from Office."

And with the blessing of the GOP corporate news will blare out: 

"REMOVE TRUMP!"

Monday, May 11, 2020

COVID-19 is changing how we get food. From factory farms to small farms.


Like chicken? You won't find it at the ALDI Store in Exton, PA



COATESVILLE VICTORY GARDEN
Former Coatesville City Council Member Joe Hamrick 
Current Coatesville City Council Member Khadijah Alamin


I was a planning commission member at Lower Frederick Township in Montgomery County PA.  A-10 tank busters were very, very loud and Marine Helicopters shook the dishes in my kitchen cabinets. The hill I lived on was a turning point back to Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Willow Grove.

I played racquet ball in the officers racquet ball court at NASJRB Willow Grove. That's another story.
Limerick Generating Station
from Cessna 172

People flying small aircraft with non-working radios near the Limerick Power Plant were escorted to Limerick Airport by F-18s.

We learned about bio-terrorism threat assessments at slaughterhouses in Montgomery County & Bucks County PA after 911.

Now in 2020 the threat from slaughterhouses has come about on a nationwide scale, not from bio-terrorism but from COVID-19.  



***


When I was active with Schuylkill Riverkeeper we visited the Rosenberger Farm along the East Branch of the Perkiomen Creek. Mr. Rosenberger was heir to Rosenberger’s Dairy. He made a riparian buffer with fencing to keep cows out of the stream.


Riparian buffer with cattle fencing at Rosenberger Farm
Bob Rosenberger at Rosenberger Farm











Bob Adams of WVWA 


Delaware Riverkeeper's Faith Zerbie examines macro 
invertebrates in Manatawny Creek in Pottstown, PA
Only a few months after the orphaned dam on the Manatawny Creek in Pottstown was removed the macro invertebrate (aquatic insect) population began to rebound. 

Saturday, may 15, 2010
Dam Removal on the Manatawny Creek in Pottstown




***


"I have always been impressed with the CSAs (community-supported agriculture) in downtown Philadelphia and I was interested in trying the same thing here in Coatesville," said Keith Gargus, one of the founding members of the organization.

MORE AT:

Monday, July 13, 2009

Coatesville Victory Gardens in the News


Keith Gargus working on the "Coatesville Victory Garden."
In Coatesville former tireless Obama 2008 worker Keith Gargus offered his expertise in farming at the Coatesville Victory Garden. When Keith left Coatesville he bought an organic farm in North Carolina. 













When he left Coatesville Keith Gargus gave me the hat he wore as a ringer in baseball games between FBI & ATF when he left Coatesville to farm in North Carolina. 
Keith gave me his ATF hat. I can't wear it in public.

There's a story with the hat. On his way back from an ATF vs. FBI baseball game to his home in Valley Forge Park, Keith stopped at the Perkiomenville Flea Market. As he walked through the market he noticed everyone was clearing a path for him. He forgot to take off his ATF hat. Lots of guns for sale at the flea market.
Decades later I had a similar experience at a Coatesville city council meeting:

The Saha "Save our Farm" group led by JBS Chapter Leader Pat Sellers had about 10 people to weed out for or against people coming to Coatesville city council meetings. 

The first time I came to a Coatesville city council meeting I said Coatesville needs to come together as a community. Dick Saha looked at Rickey and a circle formed around me shouting "Communist." 

A few years later Governor Rendell was coming to a packed Coatesville city council meeting. As I walked in the people parted like I was Moses at the Red Sea. They began to know me. 


Keith worked with the FBI & ATF in a room encircled in copper deep under Manhattan.

The games were in Long Island. 

Keith is enjoying cigars, retired in Nicaragua. 





***


"Chloe Johnson and her husband, Craig Scariot, did not grow up on farms. He studied finance and she has an IT job. But in 2015, they bought a 100-year-old ranch in Longmont, Colorado, stocked it with chickens, pigs and sheep, and built a business selling organic, grass-fed meat directly to consumers.
Running SkyPilot Farm hasn’t been easy or made them rich. But the pair are having unexpected success during the current crisis, which has them cautiously optimistic about the future of local, sustainable agriculture...
The commercial meat industry, highly centralized and largely controlled by four companies — Cargill, JBS, Smithfield and Tyson — has been rocked by the coronavirus. As the virus spread to some of the country’s largest meat processing facilities, it killed workers and forced plants to shut down for deep cleaning. Nearly 5,000 meatpacking employees have contracted COVID-19 at 115 meat and poultry processing facilities, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. With animals lining up for slaughter and nowhere to take them, the price of beef and pork has plummeted and livestock producers have resorted to euthanizing surplus stock...
Beside a pen filled with baaing sheep and rowdy 3-week-old lambs, Johnson and Scariot, wearing mud-caked boots and sweat-stained trucker hats, described an altogether different reality. “It’s only gotten busier,” Scariot said, scratching the ears of a Blue Heeler cattle dog at his feet. Since the outbreak, sales at SkyPilot have increased about 400% and the customer base has tripled. 

While the industrial market is facing ruin, small-scale producers are seeing a heyday. In the U.S., more than 167,000 farms sell $8.7 billion worth of meat and produce directly to consumers, restaurants and retailers each year, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. With some farmers markets closed due to the pandemic, many have shifted their businesses online, and farms across the country report that customers are following in droves.
“Inventory management is the hardest part,” Johnson said. “We were growing slowly and steadily over the years. Now we’re not able to keep up with demand.”...
“Demand is extraordinary, even after I’ve increased production by 25%,” said Joe Cloud, who owns T&E Meats in Harrisonburg, Virginia. Cloud processes meat for ranchers who sell directly to restaurants and consumers through community-supported agriculture programs and farmers markets. Before the outbreak, nearly half his customers supplied restaurants where chefs do complicated things with shanks, racks and filets. When those closed, the market shifted overnight to consumers who, by and large, are looking for simple, protean ground beef."

MORE AT:
The COVID-19 pandemic has hobbled the meat industry. Can small farms raise a more sustainable future?
By Stephen Robert Miller
05/06/2020 05:45 am ET 

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There are many different ways to purchase farm goods including directly from a farmer or through a grocery store that offers many local items. Make sure to verify how each business is accepting payment, if they require advance orders and what their operating hours are in a given season. Here is a list of places to shop by category. Enjoy the flavors of Chester County!