CCAA’s Allinson Gallery to Host Major N.C. Wyeth Exhibit

This year’s Founders Exhibition of the Chester County Art Association will feature works by the illustrious artist and CCAA Founder NC Wyeth, who helped establish the Brandywine school of painting.

The exhibition, held in the CCAA’s Allinson Gallery from October 10th to 18th, will include 17 paintings on loan from The Hill School in Pottstown, which make up a unique and stunning set as each painting illustrates a literary work by an American poet, such as Walt Whitman, and depicts a momentous event in US history. The final and very beloved N.C. Wyeth painting, “The Giant”, is on loan from the Westtown School.

This exhibition will mark the 84th anniversary of the founding of CCAA, and will include several ticketed events and lectures from esteemed art experts. For more information visit www.chestercountyarts.org or call 610-696-5600.

Chester County Voters Can Now Use Online Voter Registration Service

After the controversy over its voter ID law, Pennsylvania is approaching the 2016 elections proactively by launching an online voter registration service meant to make voting easier than ever before.

On August 27 Governor Tom Wolf, together with Secretary of State, Pedro Cortés, announced the launch of the site hosted by the Department of State, available for use by eligible citizens atregister.votesPA.com.

The information collected from the online form will be forwarded directly to the appropriate county voter registration office for processing and will not allow registration with incomplete information. This should help immensely with the ongoing issue of deciphering illegible handwriting.

“Online Voter Registration is about making the voting experience more convenient and more accessible,” said Wolf. “It is about giving citizens an easier way to exercise their right to vote and establishing a clearer connection between the political system and the citizens.”

Chester County SPCA Steps Up to Cover Delaware State’s Legislative Fumble

The Chester County SPCA has taken on additional responsibilities for the remainder of the year after the tragic news that the First State Animal Center and SPCA that covers the state of Delaware will be closing in 60 days.

As a result the Chester County has offered its assistance to cover the Wilmington, Delaware, area. This emergency came as a result of the newly formed state Office of Animal Welfare, a result of legislative changes in Delaware.

However, the new department will not be in operation until next year, but in the meantime the legislation requires existing shelters be given 60 days notice as per their contract to terminate all services.

This leaves a three month void until the new department begins. CCSPCA has stepped forward to lend some services to help out during the three-month gap, working closely with the Delaware Humane Association and Faithful Friends, two nonprofit shelters in Delaware.

Gourmet’s Delight Mushrooms Given Green Light to Continue Mushroom Farming

Despite the vocal protests from Franklin residents, an opinion on mushroom farming from the Pennsylvania State Attorney General’s office has made it clear that Gourmet’s Delight Mushrooms has the right to continue with growing and running substrate production operations on the Benmark Farm parcel.

The issue was started by the application by Gourmet’s Delight to expand its mushroom production from its current property in London Grove into the adjacent land in Franklin, a move strongly opposed by the residents and township fearing the adverse consequences of the substrate production.

Susan L. Bucknum, senior deputy attorney general cited the Agricultural Communities and Rural Environment Program in a letter to Franklin solicitor Mark Thompson that “several provisions of the township zoning ordinance unlawfully prohibit or limit a normal agricultural operation in violation of the ACRE law,” and threatened legal action to invalidate them.