Home Care In West Chester, PA

WEST CHESTER, PA — R. Lorraine “Laurie” Bernotsky was unanimously named the 16th president of West Chester University by the Board of Governors of Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education, effective July 1.

Bernotsky, 56, worked at the university for 27 years, recently as provost.

“I am deeply honored and humbled to be selected to serve West Chester University’s students, faculty, staff, and alumni as its 16th president,” said Bernotsky, who resides in Exton with her husband, Michael Bray, who also works at the university.

“I have dedicated my professional life to public higher education because I believe in the access mission of public universities and of public higher education in general”

A champion for public education, Bernotsky is a first-generation college graduate selected to lead the largest research institution within Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education.

She has a bachelor’s degree in political science from the former Messiah College and master's degrees from Oxford University and Temple University.

Bernotsky, interim president of Pennsylvania Western University, will succeed Christopher M. Fiorentino, who will retire on June 30. He has served as president since 2017.

Retired State Sen. Robert M. Tomlinson, chairman of the university Council of Trustees, said Bernotsky exemplifies the understanding that all students within the state’s higher education benefit when universities collaborate with governance structures, including unions.Dr. Kristen Crossney, professor and director of the University’s Doctor of Public Administration, said the university community is pleased with the announcement.

“We are excited for Dr. Bernotsky to lead the West Chester University community into our next chapter,” Crossney said.

With nearly three decades of progressive experience in higher education, Bernotsky began her career at West Chester University in 1996 as a member of the political science faculty. When the opportunity opened to serve as associate provost and dean of graduate studies at the university, she competed in a national search for the role and served for several years before becoming provost in 2015. As provost, Bernotsky led the university’s Academic Affairs division, which oversees approximately 850 faculty and comprises five colleges that offer more than 100 academic degree programs.In 2017, she led the university’s budget and labor relations.The presidential search committee led a comprehensive and inclusive university-wide process that elicited the feedback of West Chester University students, faculty, staff, and alumni. Numerous opportunities to interact with Bernotsky were provided through interviews, open forums, and presentations.

Two years ago, Speer Madanat threw open the door of a white-tiled former bakery at 136 E. Market St. in downtown West Chester and started selling pizza.

Just pizza: by the slice or the whole pie, plain, white, or pepperoni. Walk-ins only. Cash only. Odd hours, gleanable only via Instagram. (It was open from noon to 3 p.m. and 4:30 to 7 p.m. on Tuesday, for example.) No phone or email. His website redirects to a “coming soon” banner. The sign outside says only “pizza.”

Of course, customers, critics, and cognoscenti swooned over the crispy, well-cooked 16-inchers. Barstool’s Dave Portnoy showed up in November 2022 to award Madanat an 8.4 rating in his One-Bite Review.

Last weekend, Madanat expanded his empire five blocks away on the outskirts of town with a shop simply called Steaks West Chester, a former caterer’s kitchen at 698 E. Market St. The menu: cheesesteaks and chicken cheesesteaks, plus fries, for now. He said he’s planning to add wings, meatball sandwiches, salads, chicken fingers, and hoagies.

As he does with his pizza, Madanat is paying close attention to ingredients. The fries are made from hand-cut Chipperbecs, a starchy, low-moisture, low-sugar potato. He slices down rib epye and adds coarse-cut Cooper sharp American and rough-chopped onion for texture, and griddles in olive oil.

The meat is neither slab nor chopped. Because the secret to a good sandwich is the roll, he commissioned West Chester bakery La Baguette Magique — owned by chef Anthony Andiario of the peerless Andiario’s restaurant — to make him one. Andiario and head baker Scott Weymiller developed a sesame-coated roll that gives you a crunch while keeping the ingredients together. (I drove one 45 minutes with no sogginess.)

Madanat’s workers Ludwin Zavaleta and Javier Cordero run the show, while Madanat handles pizza duties at Pizza.

The system at Steaks West Chester is more customer-friendly. It has regular hours (11 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily except Monday, or until sellout), and orders are taken by phone (484-373-5500) but not online. It also takes credit cards and cash.

Watershed 2045 addresses the management and protection of the county's streams, lakes, and groundwater.

WEST CHESTER, PA – Chester County commissioners Wednesday approved Watersheds 2045, a plan that addresses stormwater and flooding, pollution mitigation and prevention, recreational access, and sustainable water supplies.

The new Watersheds 2045 plan will also serve as Chester County’s Rivers Conservation Plan, and the Act 167 Stormwater Management Plan, adopted by all municipalities.

“In recent years, Chester County has seen more intense storms and flooding, and this has become a real worry for our residents, especially those who live along the Brandywine Creek,” said Commissioner Eric Roe said.

“Watersheds 2045 addresses flooding and stormwater runoff concerns and advocates for integrating water resources, natural resources protection, and how we use our land. These are all interconnected and vital to the lives and livelihoods of everyone who lives and works in our county.”

Commissioner Chairman Josh Maxwell said the Watersheds plan adopted in 2002 guided the county in protecting and restoring streams, lakes, and groundwater.

Find out what's happening in West Chesterwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

“Watersheds 2045 continues the Watersheds’ legacy by addressing our current and future water concerns while empowering individuals, businesses, non-profits, local governments, and others to help protect our shared water resources," Maxwell said.

The planning process for Watersheds 2045 involved a review of current conditions in the county’s watersheds, including land use, stream health, water availability, and projected future climate and population changes.

The process also included public engagement through public meetings and surveys, stakeholder listening sessions, and a multi-sector, multidiscipline, 30-member steering committee.

Commissioner Marian Moskowitz said that Watersheds 2045 conserves natural resources, allows for more recreational water services, and improves surface and groundwater quality.

The Chester County Water Resources Authority is Pennsylvania’s only county-level water resources management agency.

Seung Ah Byun, executive director of the Chester County Water Resource Authority said Chester County has an abundance of water resources, with more than 2,300 miles of streams that flow through 21 distinct watersheds.

Many of these watersheds begin within Chester County borders, but feed into four of the region’s largest waterways, from the Schuylkill River to the north and the Delaware River to the east, to the Susquehanna River and the Chesapeake Bay to the west.

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WEST CHESTER, Pa. (CBS) -- For 21 years, West Chester University head football coach Bill Zwaan has had an impact on and off the field. With a total of 216 wins, he's an NCAA Division II all-time winningest active head coach.

Zwaan announced his retirement in November but said he's staying on through Christmas to continue a family tradition of being Santa to the West Chester University Promise Program.

"The Promise Program takes care of kids who don't have homes and necessarily don't have families to spend the holidays with," Zwaan said. "My family and I started this six years ago when we found out we had homeless kids on campus, which I was really surprised."

Zwaan told CBS Philadelphia that he comes from a family of 10 brothers and sisters. Every year, they would have a theme where they would exchange holiday gifts for Christmas. One year, they decided to give presents to eight students in need.

Now, six years later, more than 50 students benefit from the program.

The Promise Program eventually turned into a community and all-out-campus initiative. It supports the university's most vulnerable students with access to housing, food and scholarship funds.

Zwaan said although he's accomplished a great deal of achievements on the football field, the Promise Program is one of his career highlights.

"They are incredible young men and women," Zwaan said. "They have jobs, they just don't have families to support them. They need the support from us."

Wakisha Bailey

Wakisha Bailey joined CBS News Philadelphia as a reporter in July 2021.

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Photo: Photograph by Sandra Soliman

This weekend, 10 groups of musicians from across the region will pack up their instruments and make the trek to West Chester University. No heavy lifting or moving trucks required. Why? Because these musicians and their instruments are one and the same.

Vocalists near and far have been hard at work preparing for the Mid-Atlantic round of the International Championship for Collegiate A Cappella (ICCA) Quarterfinals, held this year at WCU’s very own Asplundh Concert Hall. On Saturday, March 2, these singers, composers, choreographers and vocal percussionists will pull out the glitter, put on the costumes and perform their hearts out in hopes of advancing to the semifinals in Wilmington, Delaware at the end of March.

Each group presents their set before a live audience and a panel of three-to-five judges who distribute points based on three categories — vocal performance, visual performance and subjective rank. Though not a requirement, judges can also honor choreographers, vocal percussionists, soloists and composers with special awards. Whichever groups place first and second will advance further in the competition.

This year, WCU’s two competing groups, High Street Harmonix (HSX) and Under A Rest (UAR), are especially excited to present their 10-minute sets. Yes, you read that right — each group is granted no more than ten minutes’ time to give their all on the stage.

So, what does it take to participate in such an intense performance? Planning and preparation — and, in the words of High Street’s music director, JT Hawkes, “lots.”

While most students enjoyed their winter breaks at home, these musicians spent quite a lot of time in the Swope Music Building for intensives they like to call “Boot Camp.” High Street’s Boot Camp consisted of 12-hour sessions spanning eight days, while Under A Rest hosted a two-week camp with eight-hour sessions. Though the students spend a majority of camp learning choreography and perfecting their sound, camp was also an opportunity for the singers to better connect and bond with one another.

Both groups are entirely student-run, so student music directors Hawks and Christina Samar of UAR hold a lot of responsibility on their shoulders.

“I run every rehearsal. So I lesson plan for all of those,” Christina explains. “It’s not required, but personally, I love doing albums and live videos and arranging the competitive set.” Planning an ICCA set begins with a concept before anything else, the three-time music director explains. After the big ideas are hashed out comes the task of song selection. “Your personal favorite song might not be the best song for your group to sing. You have to think about your singers as well,” says Christina.

Although 10 groups are attending the quarterfinal round in West Chester, over 450 groups from nine regions across the United States and Europe are participating in their own regional quarterfinals.

“It’s steep competition, every group is as good [as you] or better,” JT says. “Good preparation just comes from really nitpicky stuff, like fine-tuning one note. That’s how deep we have to get to match the level of the groups that do that kind of stuff on a regular basis.” With the stakes so high, every moment matters.

Curious about the competition? Don’t play it by ear. Grab your tickets at VarsityVocals.com to secure your seat on Saturday, March 2 at 7 p.m.

“If you’ve never experienced collegiate a cappella before, it’s a wonderful experience,” JT says. “It’s just a lot of people getting together to create really beautiful, moving, fun pieces of art.” Not to mention, as Christina says, “it’s a competition!”

You heard it here. Come out and support your pitch perfect peers this weekend. It’s sure to be “aca-awesome.” Ticket link: https://www.freshtix.com/events/icca-mid-atlantic-quarterfinal-at-westchester-university-2024

Erin McGinniss is a fourth-year English major with a minor in American Sign Language. [email protected]