The individual ingredients that make up the final product of a “milky white” substance that leaked into a Chester County creek last week are toxic to aquatic life, killing fish, eels, and worms, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection said.
But county health officials said the materials released into the creek are not known to have acute or chronic human health risks. The department still advised people and pets to avoid “affected areas of Goose Creek to reduce impacts on the ongoing cleanup efforts.”
The leak, which was discovered after several people called West Chester officials about “noticeable pollution” in Goose Creek, was plugged last Saturday. It stemmed from Atmos Technologies, at 216 Garfield Ave. in West Goshen Township, near Henderson High School. It is unclear how long the outfall pipe had been leaking before people reported it.
Atmos Technologies told the state agency chlorinated water was released to a containment area, mixing with a manufactured product known as “Long Duration Foam AC-645,” forming a foaming agent, DEP officials said last week. The county’s health department said 4,000 gallons of the mixture was released.
Since its discovery, DEP staff have visited Goose Creek, most recently on Wednesday, and observed cleanup efforts at Atmos and along Goose Creek. The creek was clear Wednesday, with some foam accumulation present on debris, said Robyn Briggs, a spokesperson for DEP. The outfall pipe remained plugged, she said.
People had reported a fish kill — the mass death of fish due to pollution or environmental stress — but as of Thursday, no dead fish had been seen at the end of DEP’s tracing area.
West Goshen and West Chester officials said last week that Atmos Technologies could face fines for the leak. The company said in a statement last week that the chemical is nontoxic and used in environmental cleanups.
“The material breaks down naturally and is not expected to have any long-term impact on local wildlife or the ecosystem,” the company wrote.
This suburban content is produced with support from the Leslie Miller and Richard Worley Foundation and The Lenfest Institute for Journalism. Editorial content is created independently of the project donors. Gifts to support The Inquirer’s high-impact journalism can be made at inquirer.com/donate. A list of Lenfest Institute donors can be found at lenfestinstitute.org/supporters.
The mother of Ju’Juan Jeffers, the 20-year-old man killed during a shooting at Lincoln University homecoming last October, has filed a lawsuit against the school, the university police chief, and others.
Attorneys for Marchelle Hargroves, Jeffers’ mother, allege that Lincoln prioritized the “college experience” over safety and, in doing so, fostered a campus culture that permitted violent and sometimes fatal acts,” according to the suit filed Friday in Common Pleas Court in Philadelphia.
“Lincoln University allowed unrestricted public access to its homecoming events and negligently failed to implement or enforce adequate security measures, including … controlled entry points, attendee screening, handheld wands, metal detectors and/or bag checks,” the suit said.
Jeffers, of Claymont, Del., was one of seven people shot at the Oct. 25 event; he was the only one who died.
Jeffers was not a student at Lincoln, but had been invited to attend, according to the suit.
A university spokesperson said the school does not comment on active litigation. Its police chief, Marc Partee, declined comment.
Also named as a defendant in the lawsuit is Zecqueous Morgan-Thompson, who was charged with possessing a concealed firearm without a license at the event, but has not been charged in Jeffers’ shooting. Prosecutors have said Morgan-Thompson is not a student at Lincoln, nor an alumnus, and that it had been unclear why he was on campus. Law enforcement officials said after the shooting that they had confirmed a match between a fired .380 cartridge at the scene and the Glock 28 semiautomatic pistol that Morgan-Thompson had.
Morgan-Thompson, the lawsuit said, fired a round during the event, “thereby helping to incite the crowd, which negligently and recklessly contributed to the shooting death of Mr. Jeffers.”
Morgan-Thompson’s attorney in his criminal case did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday. A trial is scheduled this month for Morgan-Thompson; no other charges have been filed in connection with the homecoming shooting or Jeffers’ death.
Other defendants listed in the lawsuit complaint include unnamed Lincoln security officers, as well as unnamed outside companies that Lincoln hired to provide additional security.
Michael T. van der Veen, an attorney for Hargroves, described Jeffers as an honor student, chess player, and “dedicated athlete” who wanted to serve in the military and start his own clothing company.
“He loved basketball and played throughout his school years,” van der Veen said at a news conference Friday announcing the suit. “He had a beautiful life ahead of him.”
At a board of trustees meeting last month, the university announced new safety plans for large events, including holding no outdoor events after dusk, screening guests, and allowing only one registered guest per student for the upcoming Spring Fling event in April.
Lincoln, a historically Black university with 1,650 students in rural Chester County, has been under pressure from its neighbors and Lower Oxford Township to make changes since the shooting.
Several officials in Lower Oxford had reported ongoing problems with parking, trash on neighbors’ lawns, disturbances, and, in some cases, crime when the university hosts events. After thousands gathered for homecoming, emergency personnel had to use all-terrain vehicles to transport patients on stretchers because ambulances could not access the campus, given how many cars were parked around the venue, they said.
The township’s board of supervisors is expectedto vote at their meeting at 7 p.m. Monday on a special events ordinance that would require a permit process for large events.
According to the lawsuit, thousands packed Lincoln’s International Cultural Center parking lot after the homecoming football game, and there was alcohol consumption.
It took hours for Jeffers to receive medical care after he was shot, the complaint says, because the roads were clogged around the university.
“Multiple invitees were forced to render emergency medical aid because emergency medical personnel could not promptly access and reach him,” the suit said. “Lincoln University knew or should have known that the Homecoming football game and celebrations would attract a substantial number of attendees to its campus and were on notice of the need for protocols for adequate safety of and about the University.”
Partee, the Lincoln police chief, “failed to take reasonable steps to correct or remedy these dangerous conditions,” the suit said.
Concerns about behavior during large events had been raised with Lincoln officials by township officials and others over several years, but no adequate action was taken, the suit said.
Chester County’s former chief executive officer said his departure this week stemmed from an “administrative decision” he made more than a year ago, which allowed county staff to access online sports betting and fantasy sports websites.
David Byerman, who was the county’s top administrative official for just over a year until his departure Monday, said in a phone call Thursday that Commissioner Josh Maxwell informed him that he had overstepped when he approved an employee’s request to allow access to fantasy sports and regulated online gaming sites on the county Wi-Fi. Byerman acknowledged that he made the decision after being told website access issues were previously under the commissioners’ purview.
Byerman argued that by creating a new CEO role — moving away from the traditional county structure of a county administrator and two deputies — the county increased his responsibilities and authority, and this “was likely a situation where I felt I had the authority to make that decision,” he said. Though Byerman said he did not recall the email exchange with the employee, he said he had no reason to doubt it happened.
“Did I occasionally update my fantasy baseball team and put bets on the Sixers and Eagles using the county’s Wi-Fi? Yes, that is true, but it’s also true that I regularly ate lunch at my desk. It’s also true that I regularly worked verifiably 60-hour-plus weeks in this job,” Byerman said. “And I believe I represent the county professionally and persuasively with external constituencies. I take the role extremely seriously. I take my work extremely seriously.”
A spokesperson for the county on Thursday declined to respond to Byerman’s comments. In a weekly community newsletter, the county’s commissioners publicly acknowledged Byerman’s departure.
“Mr. Byerman, whose lifetime career of public service includes impactful roles across the country, is a hard-working executive who focused on improving innovation and communication in county government,” they wrote. “We wish him well in his future endeavors.”
Byerman said he had a “profound appreciation” for the commissioners and the county staff.
Byerman was appointedto the role in 2024, as the commissioners restructured their administrative leadership structure. He was the first to take the title of “CEO” in the county, which came with increased responsibilities, including terminating employees, something previously left to the commissioners, he said.
In his role, Byerman oversaw the county’s 2,600 employees and a roughly $730 million annual budget.
He moved to the county from Kentucky, where he had served as the director of the state’s legislative research commission. He had previously worked as secretary of the Nevada Senate. But the county CEO job was a return to Pennsylvania for Byerman, who was the chairman of the Chester County Democratic Committee in the 1990s (a fact he said he disclosed to the commissioners during his interview, as his role was nonpartisan).
Earlier this week, the commissioners announced to county staff that they had appointed a new county administrator, former deputy county administrator Erik Walschburger, to fill Byerman’s role. They rounded out the rest of a three-person leadership team by adding Chester County Prison warden Howard Holland as an acting deputy county administrator for operations to work alongside Megan Moser, whom the county hired last year.
During his tenure, Byerman said, he improved internal communications and addressed policy concerns, includingthe establishment of a research partnership with Temple University to focus on housing within the county and the creation of a working group on immigration enforcement. The county has also spent months responding to a series of election errors, the most significant of which forced more than 12,000 voters to cast provisional ballots in the November election. Residents have said it rattled their trust.
Byerman said he had previously been given “very good” and “excellent” performance reviews from the commissioners, and found it “surprising and disappointing that they opted to move directly to remove me because of this infraction.” He said it was the only reason he was given.
“I think it’s especially important for public servants to demonstrate professionalism, accountability, and respect for the people we serve, and I always work to hit that standard,” he said. “I want the taxpayers who paid my salary to know that I worked my tail off for them, and I’m incredibly proud of the work that we did.”
This suburban content is produced with support from the Leslie Miller and Richard Worley Foundation and The Lenfest Institute for Journalism. Editorial content is created independently of the project donors. Gifts to support The Inquirer’s high-impact journalism can be made at inquirer.com/donate. A list of Lenfest Institute donors can be found at lenfestinstitute.org/supporters.
A Chester County man has been charged with unlawful contact with a child at a Walmart store in West Sadsbury Township, police said this week.
Joseph Gerard Bouffard, a 26-year-old Glenmoore resident, was charged this week with a felony for sexual contact with a minor, along with three lesser charges. The incident occurred in January, police said.
A Pennsylvania State Police trooper wrote in a complaint that around 11 a.m. on Jan. 24, a mother called to report that a stranger had inappropriately touched her 11-year-old daughter in the Walmart.
An attorney representing Bouffard did not immediately return a message seeking comment.
The child told police that the man had touched her while she was in the beverage aisle of the store, grabbing a drink her mother had asked her to get. The child said that she had noticed Bouffard earlier when he smiled at her in another aisle. After he touched her, she immediately ran to her mother. Bouffard left immediately after, police said.
Security footage showed that Bouffard allegedly passed the victim several times in the store, looking at her repeatedly and walking close to her, police wrote in the complaint. The footage also showed Bouffard touching the child, police said.
Bouffard had left the store before police arrived, and officers identified him using law enforcement resources and surveillance. Last week, police interviewed Bouffard, who matched the description the girl gave as well as the security footage. When asked by police if he intentionally touched the girl, Bouffard “nodded in the affirmative and agreed,” according to the affidavit.
Bouffard was arraigned on Wednesday, and was released on $25,000 unsecured bail ahead of a preliminary hearing scheduled for March 16.
This suburban content is produced with support from the Leslie Miller and Richard Worley Foundation and The Lenfest Institute for Journalism. Editorial content is created independently of the project donors. Gifts to support The Inquirer’s high-impact journalism can be made at inquirer.com/donate. A list of Lenfest Institute donors can be found at lenfestinstitute.org/supporters.
Chester County’s prison warden will round out a new leadership team after the county’s top official left his job earlier this week.
Howard Holland, who has served as prison warden for the county since April 2024 and was its acting warden for eight months before that, has been appointed as acting deputy county administrator for operations and will complete a team of three newly named top county officials, the county announced this week.
“I have always advocated for improved government processes, and I’ve been particularly pleased by the changes Mr. Holland has undertaken at the prison,” County Commissioner Eric Roe said in a statement. “I’m happy to have him join our leadership team, and I look forward to his continued contributions as a manager and leader at the County level.”
The administrative team oversees 2,600 staff members and a roughly $730 million annual budget. Members are appointed by the county’s three elected commissioners.
The change comes just days after the county’s top official, David Byerman, left the job, and a new county administrator, Erik Walschburger, was named.Holland anddeputy county administratorMegan Moser, whose role was renamed this week, will work under Walschburger.
Walschburger most recently was the county’s deputy administrator, a role he had held since 2022 overseeing internal day-to-day operations. Moser, who joined the county in 2025, has been involved with the county’s response to multiple election errors in recent months.
The county’s announcement on Wednesday made no mention of Byerman. A county spokesperson earlier this week declined to give a reason for his departure.
AsChester County shifts its personnel, it is reverting back to job titles it had used previously, retiring its use of “chief executive officer,” “chief operations officer,” and “chief experience officer” — a change it made roughly a year ago — for the more traditional title of county administrator and two deputies.
Holland comes to the job after a more than 30-year career in law enforcement, working as a police officer, a special county detective, and an adviser to the county’s prison board. He was the chief of police for seven years in Downingtown.
His most recent job came with an electric start: The day he became acting prison warden, convicted murderer Danilo Cavalcante escaped the prison, resulting in a two-week search. Since that incident, Holland made changes to limit the risk of escape, and promised to add additional security measures to the facility.
With Holland’s move to county government, the Chester County Prison Board of Inspectors has appointed Brian Sheller as acting warden, county officials said. Sheller has been deputy warden since 2024, and served as the Parkesburg chief of police for more than 30 years.
This suburban content is produced with support from the Leslie Miller and Richard Worley Foundation and The Lenfest Institute for Journalism. Editorial content is created independently of the project donors. Gifts to support The Inquirer’s high-impact journalism can be made at inquirer.com/donate. A list of Lenfest Institute donors can be found at lenfestinstitute.org/supporters.
A Tredyffrin office complex is being converted into housing, bucking a suburban trend. Here’s why. Also, East Whiteland Township’s meeting about a proposed data center was postponed after too many people showed up, the county’s CEO left the job Mondayand has been replaced, plus a West Goshen business could face fines after polluting a local waterway.
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The office complex at 435 Devon Park Dr. in Tredyffrin Township is being converted into housing.
An eight-building office complex at 435 Devon Park Dr. in Tredyffrin Township is on its way to becoming housing, making it one of the only suburban office-to-housing conversions underway in the region. Zoning issues, demands on school districts, and economic feasibility often make these types of conversions difficult and costly.
Built in the 1980s, the complex is able to be more easily converted than many of its larger counterparts thanks to its layout and the fact that it already has operable windows.
Once complete, the former office buildings will have 162apartments, largely studios and one-bedrooms, breathing new life into the complex.
Chester County Library in Extonlaunched a new service this weekallowing residents to apply for a U.S. passport. The appointment-only offeringis for first-time passport applicants, applicants whose previous passport was issued before they turned 16, or applicants whose passport was lost, stolen, damaged, or issued over 15 years ago. Learn more about the program here.
💡 Community News
Over the weekend, a “milky white” substance and dead fish were spotted in Goose Creek in West Chester, prompting municipal and state officials to investigate. The leak in West Goshen Township was plugged after the substance was traced back to Atmos Technologies, a company with a location at 216 Garfield Ave. Drinking water wasn’t affected, but Aqua Pennsylvania will continue to monitor the area downstream. Atmos faces potential fines.
East Whiteland Township’s planning commission has rescheduled last week’s meeting about a proposed data center at a former Superfund site after there were more attendees than the room’s 98-person capacity could hold. The commissionis set to consider an amended application that calls for increasing the size of the two proposed data center buildings by roughly 61% from what was previously approved. The meeting at a larger venue is tentatively set for Monday.
An NBC10 Philadelphia investigation found that Honey Brook Constable David Jones Sr. is among two area law enforcement officers to have signed a 287(g) agreement, which authorizes agencies to carry out immigration enforcement. Jones told the network that he hasn’t heard from ICE since entering into the agreement in October.
The West Sadsbury Township zoning board will meet tomorrow at 6 p.m. to consider a proposal for a new storage facility at 5787 W. Lincoln Highway in Parkesburg.
There’s a town hall meeting tomorrow night at 7 p.m. at the Tredyffrin Township building to discuss the Pennsylvania Turnpike Milepost 320-324 construction project. The project calls for reconstructing four miles of the turnpike and widening the section from four lanes in each direction to six lanes.
Malvern Borough is hosting a public workshop on Monday at 7 p.m. for its Zoning, Subdivision, and Land Development Task Force as it considers amendments to its zoning ordinance and map.
Heads up for drivers: In Upper Uwchlan Township, Styer Road between Meadow Creek Lane and Morning Light Road will close Monday and isn’t expected to reopen for three or four weeks while crews work on the underside of the Pennsylvania Turnpike Overpass. U.S. 30 westbound between Lincoln Highway and the ramp onto Airport Road, an area that spanning Sadsbury and Valley Townships, will have a lane closure from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. today through Friday as crews make repairs. In East Pikeland Township, Spring City Road is closed between Township Line Road and Wall Street as crews work to replace the bridge there. The project is expected to last 12 to 18 months. Expect delays between 7 a.m. and 4 p.m. on East Swedesford Road near the intersection of Church Farm Lane in West Whiteland Township for the next two weeks, while roadwork takes place.
Pennsylvania American Water is expected to replace water mains in Parkesburg Borough through April 3. Customers may experience no water, low water pressure, or discolored water while work takes place. Learn more about the project here.
Peco will begin updating the underground electrical feed in Kennett Township early this month, impacting Davenport and Cedar Croft Roads, as well as Donny Lane.The electrical system upgrade work is scheduled to be completed by June.
Residents will gather this weekend in Coatesville to commemorate the 61st anniversary of the Selma to Montgomery March, during which civil rights activists faced police attacks. The Together We Stand Project will host a march on Saturday at 9 a.m., with participants gathering at Gateway Park then walking along Route 30 from 1st Avenue to 5th Avenue. “This march is not just about remembering history — it’s about inspiring our community to take action and embrace their civic responsibility,” event organizer Linda Lavender Norris said.
A former employee at the Devereux behavioral health campus in West Whiteland Township has been convicted for soliciting sexual acts from a 14-year-old resident at the site. Shakur Austin, 28, of Philadelphia, will be sentenced at a later date.
🏫 Schools Briefing
Great Valley School District’s school board last week approved students’ request to start a “Club America” chapter at Great Valley High School. The chapter, affiliated with the national Turning Point USA organization, will “discuss the principles of freedom, free markets, and limited government” and “give representation to conservative and Christian voices,” according to club leaders. A student and a community member spoke against the club’s formation, describing Turning Point as divisive, The Inquirer’s Maddie Hanna reports.
Registration is now open for Owen J. Roberts School District’s more than 40 summer enrichment camp programs.
Tredyffrin/Easttown School District is hosting a workshop for its 2026-27 budget on Monday at Conestoga High School following the Finance Committee meeting, which starts at 7 p.m.
Registration for new TESD students entering kindergarten and first grade next school year is now open. Learn more here.
Unionville High School’s robotics team took home first place in the United States Governors Cup’s FIRST Tech Challenge, held in Washington, D.C., last month. The Silver Wolves were the only Pennsylvania team to compete in the inaugural event.
🍽️ On our Plate
Two new eateries recently opened in West Chester. Cousin’s Burger opened last week at 211 E. Market St., taking over the former Miss Winnie’s space. The new spot, which has several other area locations, serves smash burgers, chicken sandwiches, loaded fries, wings, and chicken tenders. And West Chester Chicken, located at 34 S. High St., is also now open and dishing up fried and grilled chicken, sandwiches, boardwalk fries, and water ice.
🎳 Things to Do
🏀 Harlem Wizards: The traveling professional basketball team known for its entertaining hoops skills is coming to town. ⏰ Friday, March 6, 6:30-8:30 p.m. 💵 $21.99-$76.99 📍West Chester East High School
🩰 Spotlight Performance and Fundraiser: See performances from the Brandywine Contemporary and Brandywine Ballet companies, including a preview of the upcoming production of ThePhantom of the Opera. ⏰ Friday, March 6, 7:15 p.m. 💵 $56-$106 📍Uptown! Knauer Performing Arts Center, West Chester
🍁 Maple Syrup at Springton Manor Farm: Learn how to tap a maple tree and then boil the contents for syrup during one of three 45-minute sessions. Registration is required. ⏰ Sunday, March 8, noon-2:45 p.m. 💵 Free 📍Springton Manor Farm
☘️ Solas’ 30th Anniversary Tour: The Celtic ensemble blends traditional Irish music with Americana, bluegrass, and folk elements. ⏰ Sunday, March 8, 7:30 p.m. 💵 $41.78-$88.87 📍The Colonial Theatre, Phoenixville
The home spans 3,800 square feet and has a greenhouse.
This brick Malvern home is classic Main Line, with a twist. It has an attached greenhouse equipped with running water, drainage, and a heating system. Inside, the first floor features hardwood floors, a living room with a fireplace, a dining room, an eat-in kitchen with granite countertops and two ovens, a bedroom with a gas fireplace, and a full bathroom. There are several bedrooms upstairs, including the primary suite, as well as a family room with skylights. Downstairs, there’s a temperature-controlled wine cellar in the walk-out basement, along with another bedroom and full bathroom. Out back, the home has an in-ground pool, a deck, and a large yard. There’s an open house Saturday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
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This suburban content is produced with support from the Leslie Miller and Richard Worley Foundation and The Lenfest Institute for Journalism. Editorial content is created independently of the project donors. Gifts to support The Inquirer’s high-impact journalism can be made at inquirer.com/donate. A list of Lenfest Institute donors can be found at lenfestinstitute.org/supporters.
Pennsylvania had 12 confirmed cases of measles among state residents and two more involving visitors to the state as of Tuesday, the state health department said.
Eight cases are associated with an outbreak in Lancaster County, where the Pennsylvania Department of Health declared an outbreak involving five cases a month ago.
The latest case was reported last Wednesday in that county. LNP reported that the three most recent cases there were diagnosed in people who were already quarantining after a measles exposure.
Pennsylvania officials also have confirmed two cases in Chester County — one in a county resident and another in a person visiting the county.
One of the Chester cases was connected to the Lancaster outbreak, and the other was linked to an outbreak at Ave Maria University, a small Catholic college in Florida, said Jeanne Franklin, the county’s public health director.
Likewise, four cases in Montgomery County — one in a person visiting the county and three in county residents — were connected to the Ave Maria outbreak.
A person infected with measles connected to that outbreak traveled to Montgomery County; later, two members of their household and a person who had visited an urgent care clinic at the same time as the original patient were diagnosed with measles.
The person infected at the urgent care developed symptoms about 20 days after exposure. Measles has a long incubation period of up to 21 days.
That person had visited a Wawa in Limerick and a car dealership in Royersford multiple times while contagious, and late last month county officials issued warnings about possible exposures to residents who may have been in those locations.
None of the Pennsylvania patients diagnosed with measles had been vaccinated.
Measles cases have risen in the last several years in the United States. In South Carolina, a major outbreak has caused at least 935 cases since last fall. At least 83 people have been sickened in Collier County, Fla., where Ave Maria University is located. Florida has seen 114 total cases so far this year, the Naples Daily News reported.
Closer to home, in late February, Delaware health officials reported a potential measles exposure at the Nemours Children’s Hospital emergency room.
Pennsylvania health officials, citing state privacy laws, declined to specify how the outbreak in Lancaster County began.
“The department investigates each reported case of measles to understand the potential source of their infection. Some of the cases in Pennsylvania have been connected to cases in other states,” the department said in an email.
The state conducts contact tracing to identify people who were exposed to the highly contagious disease; the virus can linger in the air for up to two hours. Health officials determine whether those exposed are immune to the virus, either through vaccination or a prior infection.
People without immunity can get vaccinated for measles within 72 hours or receive immunoglobulin within six days to avoid contracting the disease.
In a health alert issued last month, state officials urged physicians to “maintain a high index of suspicion” for measles if patients show up with a rash and fever. If doctors suspect a measles case, they should not wait for lab confirmation and instead immediately notify the health department.
The department stressed that the measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine is the best way to protect against measles; two doses of the vaccine are 97% effective at preventing the disease.
About 94% of Pennsylvania residents have received the MMR vaccine. That is “likely to help limit the number of measles cases in Pennsylvania, compared to other states with lower vaccination rates,” the health department’s statement said.
A business that operates an industrial site in West Goshen Township that leaked hazardous discharge into a nearby creek could face fines, municipal officials said this week.
Several people spotted a “milky white” substance in Goose Creek, near Nields Street in West Chester, on Saturday. The borough received reports of it around 12:20 p.m., according to a news release from the borough on Monday.
The “illicit discharge” stemmed from a pipe at Atmos Technologies, at 216 Garfield Ave. in West Goshen Township, near Henderson High School. The leak was plugged within roughly an hour after reports were initially made, officials said.
It is not known how long the pipe had been leaking before residents reported it.
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection is investigating the spill to find out how much of it spread into the creek and what remediation efforts are needed to protect the public, officials said.
Atmos Technologies told DEP that chlorinated water was released to a containment area, Robyn Briggs, a DEP spokesperson, said in an email Tuesday. It mixed with a manufactured product known as “Long Duration Foam AC-645,” forming a foaming agent.
DEP alerted Aqua Pennsylvania, a public water provider that serves portions of Chester County. It continues to monitor the downstream flow, but said in a post online that residents’ drinking water was not affected.
People had reported fish kills — mass deaths of fish, usually prompted by environmental stress or pollution — and “noticeable pollution” of the creek over the weekend, but Briggs said no further fish kills had been reported since and the creek appeared clear, with some foaming, on Sunday and Monday.
This suburban content is produced with support from the Leslie Miller and Richard Worley Foundation and The Lenfest Institute for Journalism. Editorial content is created independently of the project donors. Gifts to support The Inquirer’s high-impact journalism can be made at inquirer.com/donate. A list of Lenfest Institute donors can be found at lenfestinstitute.org/supporters.
Chester County has appointed a new top administrator after the county’s chief executive officer left his position Monday, officials said.
David Byerman, who served as the county’s CEO for just over a year, left Monday. Erik Walschburger was immediately appointed to replace him, and will be overseeing the county’s staff and budget under the title of “county administrator” rather than CEO, a spokesperson said.
Staff were informed of the changes Monday afternoon in an email from the county’s commissioners. The message, which announced Walschburger’s appointment, didn’t mention Byerman. His staff page was removed by Monday afternoon.
The county did not give a reason for Byerman’s departure. He did not answer a phone call seeking comment.
Walschburger comes into the role having served as deputy county administrator since 2022, with more than 15 years of experience in the county. As deputy, he oversaw the internal day-to-day operations. Prior to joining the county’s administrative side, he worked in the district attorney’s office, prosecuting criminal cases, managing diversionary programs, writing grants, and defending convictions on appeal.
The email from the commissioners also said Megan Moser, the county’s chief experience officer, will continue in her role under a new title —the “deputy county administrator.” Moser joined the county last year, and has been involved with the response to multiple election errors in recent months.
The county is searching for an acting deputy county administrator for operations to replace Walschburger, the email said.
Byerman was appointed as CEO in November 2024, after years serving as the director of Kentucky’s legislative research commission and as the secretary of the state Senate in Nevada. As county CEO, Byerman oversaw the county’s more than 2,600 employees and managed the annual budget of roughly $730 million.
“We look forward to working with the entire leadership team — and all of you — to establish and sustain a culture of collaboration and mutual support as we continue to provide the highest quality services to the residents of Chester County,” the commissioners said in their email to staff.
This suburban content is produced with support from the Leslie Miller and Richard Worley Foundation and The Lenfest Institute for Journalism. Editorial content is created independently of the project donors. Gifts to support The Inquirer’s high-impact journalism can be made at inquirer.com/donate. A list of Lenfest Institute donors can be found at lenfestinstitute.org/supporters.
When Nora Murphy Kramp walked away from her veterinary assistant career to pet sit full time, she didn’t expect that years later, a large chunk of her clientele would be chickens.
And goats. And pigs. Oh, my.
“It’s more common than not,” said Murphy Kramp, founder of Chester County Canines, based near Malvern. “Basically, if it’s, ‘Hey, come take care of my dogs,’ if they happen to have a nice backyard, a year later, it’s like, ‘Oh, hey, come take care of my dogs. We have six chickens now — them, too.’”
But for some of her clients, chickens are just the start: Some have added goats and sheep to their little homesteads, too.
Chester County is a ripe place for it, merging its strong agricultural past and the growing number of residents.
Julie Gunderson, left, and her pet sitter Nora Murphy Kramp, right, at Gunderson’s house with her farm animals, in Chester County, Pa., Feb. 20, 2026.
Over time, development has increased along with population — the county is one of the fastest-growing in the state — bringing all the amenities one could ask for. But with many municipalities having ordinances friendly to homesteading, allowing residents to farm animals with enough acreage, or chickens if the coop can be far enough from the house, more and more people have been embracing the so-called country life. (Murphy Kramp had to enter a “chicken lottery” to secure her own chickens last spring, due to the surge in popularity. A study last year found that there are more than 85 million backyard chickens nationwide, rivaling the population of cats and dogs.)
When people leave Philadelphia, with its tightly packed rowhouses or apartments, getting chickens can be one of the first things they do, observed Shiena Powelson, the owner of I Sit, They Stay, a pet-sitting business based in Chester County near Pottstown.
“There’s a lot of open spaces out this way, where there’s purposely no building going on, so it allows people to have these animals without being on top of the neighbor,” Powelson said. “On my road, I have these young families that have the chicken coops, but then there’s also a 15-acre horse farm four houses down from me. It’s a nice mix.”
Powelson, who grew up in an animal-loving family that ran a pet store in Pottstown, started her career as an educator at the Philadelphia Zoo. On the side, she fostered her pet-sitting business, and movedto it full time about 15 years ago. From the jump, she has had an interesting assortment of pets to care for: reptiles and exotic birds. She used to sit for full-on farms, mucking horse stalls or caring for sheep, but now she is finding more of a hybrid: people who live in residential communities but have chickens, ducks, and even pot-bellied pigs.
Julie Gunderson, left, and her pet sitter Nora Murphy Kramp, right, at Gunderson’s house with her farm animals in Chester County.
“When you pull in this development, you would never expect there would be two pot-bellied pigs living in the development,” she said.
Chickens, she has found, tend to be a familial thing, where parents teach their kids where the food comes from and how to care for the animals.
John Marshall, one of Powelson’s clients, grew up in Montgomery County and had a friend whose family had chickens. He thought it was awesome. With his own land, he decided to get his own. Now, the 54-year-old has had chickens on his couple of acres in the Pottstown area for about 30 years.
“It’s amazing, because it’s like having a dog. People just fall in love,” Marshall said. “They just become your little buddies. A lot of people think they’re real hard to take care of, but they’re not, if you set the coop up right.”
Caring for farm animals requires a different part of Powelson’s brain — digging back into her zoo background. Does she have her boots for muddy coops? Does she have her heavy jacket to work outside when it’s 10 degrees?
Nora Murphy Kramp, left, and her client Julie Gunderson, right, at Gunderson’s house with her farm animals, in Chester County, Pa, Feb. 20, 2026.
“It feels very different when I’m going to let someone’s dog out and can just hang out with them,” she said. “It’s a nice variety.”
With chickens and other farm critters, there are stalls to clean and muck. Murphy Kramp gets there at the crack of dawn to feed the animals.
During one hot summer, she told a client, Julie Gunderson, that she probably needed a fan for the chicken coop. From vacation, Gunderson ordered one, and Murphy Kramp assembled it and set it up. It gave Gunderson peace of mind, knowing someone was that hands-on with her chickens while she was away.
“I had talked to a lot of people along the way who have slightly bigger operations — still backyard farms — but they would tell me, ‘Oh, you’ll never get away together, someone’s always going to have to stay home to take care of the animals,’” Gunderson said. “I just feel very fortunate to have found Nora. I really trust her.”
Gunderson, 38, didn’t grow up on a farm, or with pets other than dogs. But she had an early appreciation of farm animals, spending time at the barn with her grandfather in Rhode Island. She decided to give chickens a try during the COVID-19 pandemic, after she went from working full time to staying at home with her first child to everything shutting down in rapid succession.
With five acres of land, and a county friendly to backyard farms like hers, it felt seamless to add two goats and two sheep a few years later.
It has been a way for her to learn a new skill, and to do something with her family, she said.
“It was kind of just like, how do I kind of get something new that educates me and teaches me something similar to how I felt when I was working, where I feel like I’m growing in some way,” she said.
With her three kids, all under age 6, they gather eggs and clean up the goat and sheep barn.
“If people are on the fence, I say do it,” she said. “There are plenty of pet sitters to help you when you need to get away.”
