During its March 1 public meeting, Delaware County Council recognized March as Women’s History Month, a month designated to commemorate and encourage the study, observance, and celebration of the vital role of women in American history.

Women’s History Month began as a local celebration in Santa Rosa, California in 1978 and the movement spread across the country as other communities initiated their own Women’s History celebrations, which then grew into a month-long celebration and tribute. Each year, a different theme is named for the celebration that is chosen by the National Women's History Alliance. The theme for this year is “Celebrating Women Who Tell Our Stories” and is a tribute to women who have worked to share collective histories and positive portrayals of fellow females. 

Women have led the efforts to secure suffrage and equal opportunity for women, and have served in the abolitionist movement, the emancipation movement, labor movements, civil rights movements, and other causes to create a more fair and just society. 

For the first time in history, a woman is the Vice President of the United States and Ketanji Brown Jackson is the first Black woman to serve on Supreme Court. This week, Joanna McClinton became the first woman to serve as speaker of the Pennsylvania House. 

“I and my fellow female colleagues—Dr. Monica Taylor and Christine Reuther—are also proud to be part of history,” said Council Vice Chair Elaine Paul Schaefer. “Three of the five members of Council are women, and for the first time in Delaware County’s history, two females now hold the Chair and Vice- Chair titles. That is absolutely incredible to be a part of!”

Deadline for Tickets and Sponsorship Extended to March 8

In honor of Women’s History Month, Council will join the Delaware County Women’s Commission to recognize several Delaware County women who have profoundly influenced women and girls across the county during a Women’s History Celebration on March 25 at 11:00 a.m. at the Corinthian Yacht Club in Essington.

Nancy Webster, Peg DeGrassa, Leigh Anne McKelvery, and Jacquona Blackwell will be honored for their contributions to Delaware County during this unprecedented time with the Woman of Achievement Award. The community is invited to join the celebration. 

DCWC Annual Achievement Awards Luncheon

Corinthian Yacht Club

300 W. 2nd St., Essington, PA

March 25, 11 a.m. - 1 p.m.

For tickets and information, go to delcopa.gov/women or click the button below.

Delaware County was recently granted approximately $4.6 million dollars in Federal Community Project Funding (CPF) for three major initiatives that target Workforce Development and Healthcare in the county.

First, with the assistance of Senator Bob Casey, the County will receive $954,000 in funding from the Department of Labor’s Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act demonstration program to launch the Delaware County Perinatal Community Health Worker/Doula Pilot Program.

Delaware County Perinatal Community Health Worker/Doula Pilot Program

This program prepares participants to work as Perinatal Community Health Care Workers (PCHW) or doulas. The program also aims to reduce racial and economic disparities in maternal care through education, targeted training, and deployment of doulas in communities that have the highest disparities in maternal and child health outcomes. This program will ensure that Delaware County women will receive the support they need to ensure healthy pregnancies and deliveries, as well as reduce disparities in maternal/childcare and birth outcomes.

Delaware County Health Department Health Equity Resource Improvement Initiative

With the assistance of Congresswoman Mary Gay Scanlon, the Delaware County Health Department Health Equity Resource Improvement Initiative will receive $1.75 million dollars in funding from the Health Resources & Services Administration. To meet the challenge of establishing and providing comprehensive public health services, the Department will use this funding to invest in additional equipment and technology, allowing the County’s Health Department to enhance core services by implementing a comprehensive electronic health records system, improving the quality and diversity of diagnostic and treatment services available in its new mobile health unit, and purchasing lead screening equipment to combat high rates of lead toxicity among county residents.

Prison-to-Community Workforce Development Initiative

Congresswoman Scanlon’s support was also critical to securing $1.9 million in funding for the Prison-to-Community Workforce Development Initiative, also from the Department of Labor. This initiative will establish two programs at George W. Hill Correctional Facility that will provide direct employment training and support services to justice-impacted people.

• The first program, New Leash on Life USA, is one of the most successful recidivism reduction programs in the country and pairs participants with rescue dogs to teach animal training and caretaking skills.

• The second program, Branching Up, provides skill certification and horticultural training in landscaping through the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society (PHS) and Temple University. Both programs will result in reduced recidivism, increased job placement and retention, and healthier communities.

“Thank you to Senator Casey and Congresswoman Scanlon for working to secure this funding for Delaware County and to the external supporters who submitted letters of support for the project, which was critical in the earmark process,” said Delaware County Council Chair Dr. Monica Taylor. “Thanks to their efforts, the County is able to invest in initiatives which reflect Council’s focus on improving the criminal justice system and strengthening the healthcare system in the County.”

During Delaware County Council’s March 1, 2023 public meeting, County Solicitor William Martin announced the successful conclusion of the County’s negotiations with Broomall’s Lake Country Club and Media Borough. 

The successful outcome comes after a decades-long issue related to a dispute between the County, the Borough of Media, and the Broomall’s Lake County Club over the appropriate usage of property adjacent to the sensitive Glen Providence Park and the possible rebuilding of a long-condemned dam that had once served as a bridge for vehicular traffic on 3rd Street between Media and Upper Providence. 

“This is an issue that has been near and dear to many Media residents for decades,” said Delaware County Councilman Kevin Madden, who has worked on this project during his five years on Council. “As a Media native, it’s tremendously gratifying to finally be ending a 40-year quagmire that protects Glen Providence Park and reconnects these two communities.” 

Pursuant to approvals which were granted by County Council in 2022, the County, the Borough of Media and the Country Club have entered into a series of agreements which will result in the County’s purchase of a Conservation Easement over a portion of the Club’s property, resolution of long-standing litigation related to the breaching of a dam which had previously been on the edge of the Club’s property, and extension of an agreement for the County’s utilization of a parking lot owned by the Club.

The negotiated agreement will facilitate the dissolution of the 2011 legal stipulation that required the reconstruction of the dam. Approximately one acre of the woods and wetlands of Glen Providence Park would have been permanently destroyed by the reconstruction of the dam. The agreement includes a conservation easement on the four acres of Broomall’s Lake Country Club’s property that abuts the Park and requires that Broomall’s Run (stream) continue to flow freely into the Park, as environmental best practice dictates. In addition to preserving the land and ending the possible construction of the dam, the agreement also extends the County’s parking arrangement with the Club, which provides overflow parking for jurors and County employees. The new agreement states that Media Borough (with consultation with PennDOT) will have control over the future of a planned bridge on Third Street that will reconnect Media Borough and Upper Providence.

“The County is thrilled that this long-standing litigation has been resolved, and that the County, the Borough of Media, and the Club have reached an agreement after decades,” said Council Vice Chair Elaine Paul Schaefer. “This agreement allows for the continued stability of the Club, preservation of important green space, and for the community to plan, without the cloud of litigation, for the appropriate future of 3rd Street.”

Members of grassroots organizations Keep Media Green and the Friends of Glen Providence Park attended the meeting and expressed their enthusiasm for the long-awaited resolution and commended Council for their efforts. 

"Conservationists and park lovers in Media Borough are celebrating the agreement between Delaware County, Media Borough, and Broomall's Lake Country Club that puts to rest a nearly 12-year old plan to reconstruct a high-hazard dam at Third Street in Media,” said Terry Rumsey, Co-Founder of Keep Media Green. "Rebuilding the dam would have damaged wetlands, woodlands, and wildlife habitat in Glen Providence Park and posed a perpetual threat to park's stream valley. Delaware County Council deserves an enormous amount of credit for taking decisive action to protect our County park, as well as grassroots advocates from Friends of Glen Providence Park and Keep Media Green who persevered for more than a decade. They are truly the green heroes of our community!”

Marc Manfre, Director of Delaware County’s Department of Parks and Recreation was also commended for his efforts leading to the agreement.  

The dam, built in 1883 to create a small lake for local residents to harvest ice for produce, later became the centerpiece for The Media Swimming and Rowing Club (created in 1919 and re-named the Broomall’s Lake Country Club in 1967), was declared unsafe by the US Army Corps of Engineers in 1980 and closed to traffic in 1996 by the Borough of Media. 

Over the years that followed, a number of actions taken by Media Borough, the County, Broomall’s Lake County Club, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, and several local civic organizations resulted in an impasse that affected the viability of the club, the sustainability of Glen Providence Park, and threatened to absorb millions of taxpayer dollars in litigation and contested actions.

Pictured (Left to Right, Top Row): Kevin Madden, Delaware County Council Member, Stephanie Gaboriault, Founding President, Friends of Glen Providence Park, Elaine Paul Schaefer, Delaware County Council Member, Terry Rumsey, Co-founder, Keep Media Green

Pictured (Left to Right, Bottom Row): Linda Emory, Interim President, Friends of Glen Providence Park, Marica Tate, Vice President, Friends of Glen Providence Park, Robin Lasersohn, Co-founder, Keep Media Green, George Tate, Member, Friends of Glen Providence Park, Lisa Johnson, Board Member, Friends of Glen Providence Park

Delaware County Elections wants to remind voters that voting by mail in Pennsylvania is quick, convenient, and secure. Last November, more than 58,000 Delaware County voters participated with vote-by-mail ballots, accounting for more than one-fifth of all ballots cast.

Voters who wish to vote by mail must submit an application to request their vote-by-mail ballot. The application must include valid ID. Ballots are NOT mailed to voters automatically, even if the person voted by mail previously. 

To apply for a vote-by-mail ballot, Delaware County-registered voters can visit the Delco Votes! website at delcopa.gov/vbm and complete the online application or download and complete a paper application. 

Voters can also receive, fill-out, and submit a vote-by-mail application in person at the Voter Service Center, located on the first floor of the Government Center Building, at 201 W. Front St., in Media, PA.

If approved, a voter will be scheduled to receive a vote-by-mail ballot for both elections to be held in 2023 – the May Primary and the November Municipal Election—weeks before Election Day. For the upcoming May 16 Primary Election, vote-by-mail ballots are scheduled to be mailed to voters in mid-April. 

Once received, voters will find that completing a vote-by-mail is easy, though voters must be sure to follow these three steps to ensure their ballot is counted:

1. Mark the ballot.
2. Place the ballot in the white secrecy envelope and seal that envelope.
3. Place the secrecy envelope in the Ballot Return Envelope, and sign, date and seal that Return Envelope.

Once completed and properly sealed, Delaware County voters have several convenient options for returning the ballot. Vote-by-mail ballots can be returned to the Bureau of Elections through the voter’s regular mail carrier, mailed back at any USPS Post Office or blue box, delivered in-person at the Delaware County Voter Service Center in Media, or dropped off at any of the County’s more than three dozen red, white and blue drop boxes located in municipalities across the County. 

County ballot drop boxes are scheduled to open on May 1 for the May 16 Primary Election. All Delaware County drop boxes are ADA-compliant and under 24/7 video surveillance.

Please note that the deadline to apply for a vote-by-mail ballot is May 9, 2023—one week prior to the May 16, 2023 Primary Election, and voters will have until 8 p.m. on Election Night, May 16, to return their ballot to the Bureau of Elections.

Ballots must be RECEIVED by the Bureau by 8 p.m. on Election Night, so voters are advised to return their ballot in-person or through a County drop box instead of relying on USPS near or on Election Day. By law, ballots that arrive after 8 p.m. cannot be counted.

A complete list of Delaware County ballot drop boxes, including street addresses and hours of operation (most will be open 24/7), can be found at delcopa.gov/dropbox. 

Questions? Call the Delaware County Election Hotline at (610) 891-VOTE, visit the Delco Votes! website at delcopa.gov/vote, or stop by our Voter Service Center, Mon. – Fri., from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

This week, Delaware County Council helped celebrate National Read Across America Day by visiting the students at Bywood Elementary School in the Upper Darby School District and Darby Township Elementary School in the Southeast Delco School District.

National Read Across America Day, established by the National Education Association (NEA) in 1998 and annually celebrated on March 2, the birthday of the beloved children’s book author Theodor Seuss Geisel (aka Dr. Seuss), is a day for students, teachers, parents, and community members around the nation to come together to read books and celebrate the joy of reading. 

As part of the festivities, schools throughout Delaware County and across the nation invited guest speakers from their communities to read to students from books that students can see themselves reflected in, as well as books that allow students to see into a world or a character that might be different than them.

As part of Read Across America, the NEA invites readers to take the NEA’s Read Across America Diverse Books Challenge and share stories with kids of all ages that are as diverse and complex as the world we live in. When people make the time to read with children, they get the message that reading is important.

VOLUNTEER TO READ TO STUDENTS GO READ TO KIDS!

Be a fresh voice in a classroom, library, or after-school program as a guest reader.

FIND YOUR BOOKS

Choose from monthly recommendations in the Read Across America digital calendar or search all book lists at www.nea.org/readacross.

DO IT EVERY MONTH (OR WEEK OR DAY)

Make a reading connection wherever you go. Read aloud and spark discussion with students of all ages or do activities related to the books you share. NEA has discussion questions and activity suggestions to help you get started.

SHARE ON SOCIAL MEDIA

Tell all your friends and followers on social media about your reading adventures! #ReadAcrossAmerica #NEADiverseBookChallenge

CHALLENGE SOMEONE ELSE!

Encourage others to read aloud to kids and introduce students to a wide range of stories that reflect all kinds of perspectives and experiences.

Delaware County Council Vice Chair Elaine Paul Schaefer joined students from Delaware County Christian School, Radnor High School, and Garnet Valley High School on March 2 to cheer on the academic teams representing each of the schools at the 75th Annual Delco Hi-Q Academic Quiz Championship held at the Delaware County Christian School in Marple Township. 

The Delco Hi-Q Championship is the oldest continuous academic quiz competition in the United States, dating back to 1948. Delco Hi-Q is a partnership between the Delaware County Intermediate Unit (DCIU) and the Franklin Mint Federal Credit Union Foundation.

Teams of up to ten students, representing 21 different Delaware County high schools, compete throughout the academic year to earn one of three spots in the Championship match. Students are quizzed on a range of topics, including art history, biology, chemistry, current events, geography, literature, mathematics, physics, Shakespeare, sports, U.S. Government, U.S. history, and world history.

This year, the Delaware County Christian School, coached by Thom Houghton, entered the match as the season’s highest-scoring team which earned them the opportunity to host the Championship. Radnor High School, coached by Robert Spear, and Garnet Valley High School, coached by Sandra Dubnansky and Dr. Alex Hillemeyer, rounded out the three-way battle, but in the end it was Garnet Valley that walked away with the victory, scoring 49 points to Radnor’s 36 points and host Delaware County Christian School’s 33.

Congratulations to Garnet Valley High School, all the brilliant students from each of the schools that competed this year, including semi-finalists Haverford, Marple Newtown, Penncrest, and Springfield.

Special thanks to Rick Durante, the Hi-Q Executive Director and Quizmaster, for his nearly 20-year involvement in the games, Franklin Mint Federal Credit Union, the primary corporate sponsor since 2004, and to the Delaware County Intermediate Unit for their program management and production support.

For more information about the Delco Hi-Q, including an explanation of how scoring works, a list of past winners, and details about current and past member of the All-Delco Team and the Hi-Q Hall of Fame, visit www.DelcoHiQ.org.

Team photos and select competition photos courtesy of Kelly and Massa Photography.

Thank you!

Delaware County Christian School

3rd Place, 2023 Delco Hi-Q

Radnor High School

2nd Place, 2023 Delco Hi-Q

Garnet Valley High School

1st Place, 2023 Delco Hi-Q

Delaware County Council congratulates the 2023 Delco Hi-Q Champions!

Delaware County Govt Official 2023 Calendar

Meet your Delaware County Council members

The Delaware County Health Department website