Home Care In Honey Brook, PA

The fifth-annual Belgian Horse Expo opens this week in Honey Brook and Lititz, Pennsylvania.

The two-day event, July 7-8, is free and open to the public and is sponsored by Indiana-based Belgian Draft Horse Corp.

“The expo kicks off our summer events,” said the organization’s Michelle Keaffaber. The highlight is the National Belgian Show and Belgian Futurity from Aug. 17-19 at the Indiana State Fair in Indianapolis.

Belgian horses are used by many southeastern Pennsylvania Plain Sect farmers in teams for planting and harvesting. According to Keaffaber, Pennsylvania has the third most registered Belgians in the country behind Indiana and Ohio. More than 23,000 Belgians were registered nationally in the first five months of 2023, including nearly 2,000 in Pennsylvania.

The horse farms of Belgian breeders Junior Fisher (Lan-Chester Equine Service in Honey Brook) and Isaac King (Watersedge Belgians, Lititz) will host the expo events that include seminars and classes for Belgian horse owners, potential owners and breeders and those just getting into the industry. Demonstrations and presentations, along with wagon rides and farm horse demonstrations, will be open to visitors on both days for those who want to learn more about the popular breed.

The Honey Brook portion of the expos will begin at 2:30 p.m. on July 7 and will feature local breeder presentations, an amateur hitching demonstration and the Belgian Alliance Banquet and benefit auction.

In Lititz on July 8, the expo will begin at 9 a.m. and include driving and cart demonstrations as well as hitch and confirmation presentations. Other events during the day include halter judging, a Belgian foal raffle and a horse pull at 3 p.m.

Belgians draft horses are believed to be descendants of the large horses of the Middle Ages including the Flemish horses from western Europe that were favored for mounted warfare and pulling heavy wagons.

Those early horses provided the genetic material from which many of the draft breeds developed. These Belgians were important in the growth of farming in the United States. Imports of European draft horse ended during World War II and American bloodstock matured on its own into the Belgian horses we have today.

Modern Belgian horses stand between 17 and 19 hands and weigh from 1,800 to 2,200 pounds. The breed is known for its kind temperament. Belgians are still used for all manner of farm draft work including plowing, logging, hitch work, and pulling carriages and sleighs. In addition, riding draft horses is becoming increasingly popular in a variety of disciplines from western to jumping.

To learn more about the 2023 Belgian Expo and to view the schedule of events for both days, visit the Expo website.

Storms hit the area Friday and brought the threat of severe weather in the Philadelphia region, including several tornado and severe thunderstorm warnings.

One tornado has been confirmed to have touched down in Pemberton Township, Burlington County, according to the National Weather Service via Twitter.

The tornado began in Southampton Township where a few properties sustained some minor tree damage. A couple trees were uprooted, and tree limbs knocked to the ground, but no injuries have been reported due to damage from the tornado.

Another tornado was confirmed in West Caln Township, Chester County by the National Weather Service.

The tornado has been confirmed as an EF-1.

Tornado warnings as severe storms hit

Multiple tornado warnings were issued late Friday morning, with one issued at 11:33 a.m. for areas around the Main Line in the Pennsylvania suburbs west of Philadelphia.

That tornado warning expired at noon but the threat of severe weather still remained with severe thunderstorm warnings and the potential for wind damage looming throughout the area.

The latest tornado warning was in effect for parts of Burlington and Ocean counties in New Jersey around 1 p.m., but it expired at 1:30 p.m. That line of storms produced "a severe squall line capable of producing both tornadoes and extensive straight line wind damage," the National Weather Service said.

If you are areas under a tornado warning, seek shelter and get away from windows ASAP. If you don't have a basement, hunker down inside an interior bathroom.

Just before 11 a.m., a tornado warning was also issued for parts of Lancaster County, just to the west of Pennsylvania's Chester County. That warning later expired.

Around 11:10 a.m., a tornado warning was issued for parts of Chester and Berks counties, including Honey Brook, Elverson and Morgantown. The warning expired at 11:45 a.m.

Severe thunderstorm warnings

Severe thunderstorm warnings were in effect across the area midday Friday. Straight-line winds are a threat from these storms, according to the National Weather Service.

By 1:15 p.m., much of the Jersey Shore was under a severe thunderstorm warning that went for about an hour.

Storms were impacting air traffic at Philadelphia International Airport, and a ground stop is impacting flights as the severe thunderstorms come through.

NBC10's cameras caught the severe weather rolling into the city late in the morning on Friday.

Flood threat

The quick downpours caused a flash flood warning to be issued for southern Bucks County and parts of Philadelphia County. The National Weather Service warned that between 1.5 and 2 inches caused the flood threat. The warning lasts until 5 p.m.

First Alert in effect

NBC10 issued a First Alert for storms packing the potential for large hail, damaging wind, heavy rain and an isolated tornado that is in effect until to 6 p.m. on June 16 across our area in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware.

This chart shows you the chances of the different severe weather threats as the day unfolds.

Rain started before 11 a.m. Friday and quickly escalated with thunder and lightning.

What's happening outside now?

Even as the greatest severe weather threat passes, rain and storms are expected to continue into the evening. No matter where you are, be sure to have the NBC10 app downloaded to get severe weather alerts sent directly to your phone.

You can also track the radar live right here:

Stache, a Sealyham terrier, has won Best in Show at this year's National Dog Show.

The cream colored male, with long hair sweeping down from his broad forehead, beat out six other finalists at the annual canine competition, hosted by the Kennel Club of Philadelphia and broadcast by NBC on Thanksgiving Day.

Stache, who is barely as tall as the judge's knees, had to crane his neck to look at the silver platter he had just won. His handler, Margery Good, smiled broadly when accepting the award.

"He just gave a wonderful performance," she said. "He stretched his little short legs and hands and flew around this ring."

Stache defeated a group that included a German shepherd, a Great Dane, a Chesapeake Bay retriever, a Shih Tzu and an Azawakh, a hound originating from West Africa. A Dalmatian named Pumpkin won second place, known as Reserve Best in Show. Up to 2,000 dogs from across more than 200 breeds and varieties competed in this year's event. There were only 165 breeds shown at the first National Dog Show in 2001.

Stache's registered name is GCHP Goodspice Efbe Money Stache. He lives in Honey Brook, Pennsylvania, not far from where he picked up today's prestigious award. Ahead of this win, Stache was the No. 2-ranked Terrier and No. 12-ranked All-Breed show dog in America. He has won 49 Best in Show prizes.

The American Kennel Club describes the Sealyham terrier as "brave and spirited, but not as spiky as small terriers." It says they are sturdy and outgoing companions with a sly sense of humor.

It's estimated that over 20 million animal lovers watched this year's National Dog Show, according to Purina, which presented the show.

Besides the judging, there are plenty of fun facts for viewers.

For example, more than 30,000 dogs have competed at the show over the years, but only two breeds – wire fox terrier and Scottish deerhound – have won twice. Some of the most popular dogs – golden retriever, Labrador retriever and German shepherd – have only won one Best in Show each. And two dogs with food-related names have captured the title – Raisin the Doberman pinscher in 2003, and Whiskey the whippet in 2018.

Mobile homes and similar single-family dwellings that are built elsewhere and placed on rented land have long been a low-cost option for aspiring homeowners across Pennsylvania.

Manufactured-housing communities are disproportionately in rural areas, but they’re not exclusive to small rural pockets. In Pennsylvania, a slight majority are in urban areas, particularly in suburbs outside midsize and large cities, according to the first statewide analysis of these communities, published by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia.

» READ MORE: Mobile homes are taxed as homes, but they depreciate like vehicles

Trends in lot vacancy suggest that demand for these homes is strongest “on the outskirts of larger urban areas, where they may represent a more attainable option for lower-income home buyers,” according to the report, which looked at the subset of manufactured-housing communities in which homeowners rent land.

These manufactured-home communities, including many just outside Philadelphia, provide unsubsidized affordable housing in areas that have lower poverty rates than the state overall, unlike formal subsidized housing developments, which are more likely to be in economically distressed areas, the analysis found.

Pennsylvania’s 2,288 manufactured-housing communities — home to an estimated 55,900 households — are present in every county except Philadelphia. The city’s collar counties of Bucks, Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery have a total of 129, and more than 20% of these communities have 100 or more homes. One community in Falls Township, Bucks County, has more than 1,000 homes.

But data on manufactured-housing communities are scarce. And Eileen Divringi, community development research specialist at the Philadelphia Fed and the report’s author, called them “a really under-considered affordable housing tool, potentially, for some communities.”

“There is a stigma associated with these communities that’s sort of deeply rooted in the history of these communities and how they emerged that’s sort of a class-based bias that presumes that these communities are transient or something like that,” she said. A “perception that they weren’t worth studying” has been the result of that thinking.

“The fact that they are so under-studied has contributed to a lot of gaps in policy protections” for owners of manufactured homes, Divringi said.

And they need protections. Owners in manufactured-home communities who rent land are among the lowest-income homeowners in the country, according to the report released last week. Their incomes are lower than both buyers who purchase homes that were built on site and manufactured-home buyers who own land.

But because of the type of loan these homeowners use, they weren’t able to take advantage of perks in the federal CARES Act that granted more time for struggling homeowners to pay their mortgages during the pandemic, Divringi said.

If homeowners default on loans for manufactured homes, they lose their properties through repossession, which is a faster process than foreclosure and includes fewer recourses for residents. The loans are less regulated and have higher interest rates.

And although modern manufactured homes are similar in quality to homes built on site, owners of older manufactured homes or those not installed properly face expensive repairs. A Philadelphia Fed report published in March found that nationwide, more than 43% of manufactured homes needed repairs — more than the shares of other single-family and multifamily homes.

Manufactured-home owners may not qualify for home repair assistance or homeowner relief programs because of the structure of their land-use agreements.

“It’s really important to draw attention to that,” Divringi said, “and make sure that these homeowners who are disproportionately lower income, disproportionately vulnerable households are not falling through the cracks.”

» READ MORE: The Philly area doesn’t have enough homes available for low- and middle-income buyers

What makes homes in these communities affordable for these households is that owners finance only the factory-built unit and rent the land. Statewide, the typical monthly payment on the type of loan most often used was $376 between 2019 and 2021. The typical lot rent is $370.

“The fundamental affordability of this model can erode pretty quickly,” Divringi said. “And that’s something that renters in all circumstances experience,” but walking away because of rising rent is even more difficult when owners have invested in the home as an asset.

“Mobile home” may be a popular catchall term for these kinds of homes, but they’re not that mobile, Divringi said. Many people are living in homes that are too old or expensive to move. And they may not be able to find another community to place their homes in.

Yet renting land is the more attainable option for many compared to owning it, which is more affordable long-term. Households that rent land trade a lower barrier to entry for a living situation that can be insecure.

Divringi said the lack of research and “policy neglect of these communities” make them insecure, not the manufactured-housing model itself.

For policymakers who want to preserve low-cost home ownership, “there’s a lot of opportunities for policy innovation that will really improve the lives of a lot of vulnerable homeowners,” she said.

The Philadelphia Fed is planning further research about manufactured-housing communities, including their vulnerability to climate-related risks such as flooding and excessive heat, and residents’ access to infrastructure.

A Honey Brook meth dealer who confessed to burning a stillborn child was sentenced to 6-12 years for abuse of a corpse and other crimes.

|Updated Mon, Jul 26, 2021 at 3:17 pm ET

CHESTER COUNTY, PA — A Honey Brook meth dealer who burned his stillborn child in a barrel has been sentenced to six to 12 years for abuse of a corpse, concealing the death of a child, and charges related to selling methamphetamine.

William E. Jones, 51, pleaded guilty last week to a list of charges and was sentenced on Friday, according to the Chester County District Attorney's Office.

Jones and his girlfriend Anita Depedro, 31, of Muncy, Pa., sold methamphetamine from a Chester County trailer park before they were charged in October 2019. An investigation began in March 2019 when an anonymous tip to Chester County Children and Youth Services detailed how Depedro had given birth at her home on Egan Circle in Honey Brook, authorities said. The tipster said that Jones had put the stillborn body in barrel, burned it, and then buried the remains in an unmarked grave in an unknown location.

As authorities investigated that case, a confidential informant purchased methamphetamine from the couple on several occasions between June and August, according to the Chester County District Attorney's Office.

Police said the proceeding investigation included numerous interviews, social media searches, a review of Children and Youth Services records, and a search warrant at the trailer in Honey Brook.

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

Despite an extensive search, the remains of the child were not immediately recovered, authorities said.

Jones pleaded guilty last week to abuse of a corpse and concealing the death of a child as well as to manufacture and delivery of a controlled substance, according to court records.

Depedro also faced charges of conspiracy in the manufacture and delivery of a controlled substance and other drug felonies.

Justin Heinze contributed to this report.

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