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Fighting to keep a son’s memory alive | Inquirer Chester County
Hi, Chester County. 👋

A local family is working to preserve a memorial and play area dedicated to their late infant son, putting them at odds with some township officials. Also this week, a roller derby team is searching for a new home, two people have been charged in a road-rage incident, plus we take a look at Vanguard’s evolving real estate footprint.

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This family is fighting to keep a play area memorializing their son from being relocated

The sandpit was created in collaboration with West Pikeland Township.Photo courtesy of Ryan Leithead

After the death of his 7-day-old son in 2022, Ryan Leithead channeled his grief into creating a memorial for Cayden. The result was a sandpit play area at the Pine Creek Park playground in West Pikeland Township, complete with a photo of Cayden’s hand encircled by those of his parents.

But as officials contemplate upgrading the playground, the memorial could end up being moved — something Leithead says feels like losing his son all over again. It’s put him and some other residents at odds with the board of supervisors.

Here’s what to know ahead of the board’s planned Sept. 8 meeting.

For these locals, roller derby is much more than just a sport

Brandywine Roller Derby currently has 26 members. Kriston Jae Bethel / For the Inquirer

A local roller derby team is on the hunt for a new space to host its practices and possibly spectator-attended bouts, something that’s proving to be a tall order for the lesser-known sport that emphasizes inclusivity.

Consisting of about two dozen members, Brandywine Roller Derby currently practices at a facility on Collegium Charter School’s Exton campus, but hosts its games in Pottstown due to a lack of roller rinks anywhere in Chester County.

As the team gears up to recruit new skaters — there’s an event Sept. 20 — its president worries about the group’s future if it can’t find a new spot.

The Inquirer’s Brooke Schultz delves into roller derby’s history and why it’s more of a community than just a niche sport.

📍 Countywide News
- Two Chester County clubs — Applebrook Golf Club in Malvern and Stonewall in Elverson — have some of the best private golf courses in Pennsylvania, according to a ranking from Golfweek.
- Several new roadwork projects will join a slew of ongoing ones throughout the county this week. Here’s what to know.
- Trash and recycling pickups may operate on an altered schedule for Labor Day. Check with your municipality or service provider for details.
💡 Community News
- Two men involved in an alleged May road-rage incident in Tredyffrin Township were charged last week with attempted murder and terroristic threats.
- Another stop-work order was issued last week at the East Whiteland Township Superfund site that’s being converted into a 1.5 million-square-foot data center. This one called into question documentation about sufficient water to operate the facility.
- Malvern investment giant Vanguard has sold a Tredyffrin Township office complex for $17 million, but plans to continue leasing the site.
- Malvern medical-technology firm Tela Bio plans to slash about 20% of its workforce, or roughly 40 full-time employees, to cut operating expenses. The Great Valley Corporate Center company specializes in biological products for soft-tissue repairs.
- Fifteen players from the Berwyn–Paoli Area Little League challenger baseball team — geared toward individuals with physical and intellectual challenges — competed in the 2026 Little League Challenger Division’s exhibition game over the weekend.
- Former New Garden Township supervisor Warren Reynolds has been sentenced to 17 1/2 to 35 years in state prison for sexually abusing a child. Thirteen years ago, Reynolds was also charged with possessing child pornography.
- Birmingham Township is contemplating an ordinance to better define language about potential future data centers and will host a public hearing Tuesday at 7 p.m.
- Uwchlan Township’s board of supervisors will resume discussions about the possible development of a 492-home community at the Lionville Station Road property at Tuesday’s 6 p.m. meeting.
- Setting the Bar, a new shop specializing in vintage barware, recently opened at 152 E. Gay St. in West Chester.
- Uwchlan Ambulance Corps has launched a car seat loan program for community members.
- A new 67-apartment building with one- and two-bedroom units has opened at mixed-use development River Station in Downingtown. A second building with 93 apartments is slated to open next year.
🏫 Schools Briefing
- Coatesville Area School District is hosting a ribbon cutting and sneak-peek for students and their families this evening at 6 p.m. for its new Doe Run Elementary School, which broke ground in fall 2024. A community celebration is expected this fall.
- Kennett Consolidated School District opened New Garden Elementary this week, a little over two years after the project broke ground.
- Oxford Area School District has made several personnel changes as the school year gets underway. Stephanie Farmer has been appointed principal of Elk Ridge Elementary School, taking over for the retiring Matt Hovanec. Former Penn’s Grove School principal Tami Motes has taken that same role at Hornet Virtual Academy, with former Oxford Area High assistant principal Andy Wendle stepping into her previous role. Wendle is being succeeded by Vanessa Kephart.
🍽️ On our Plate
- Los Sombreros, a new West Chester eatery specializing in Mexican and Venezuelan cuisines, soft opened yesterday at 139 W. Gay St.
- Japanese restaurant Egawa, which serves a large selection of sushi and omakase, recently opened at 650 Carnegie Blvd. in Malvern.
- Want to get a peek at a 1923 Colonial revival once owned by the du Pont family? Tickets are on sale now for Longwood Gardens’ open-fire culinary event, Field & Flame, on Oct. 2 and 3, which will take place on the grounds of the 505-acre Wilmington estate Granogue that Longwood purchased in recent years.
🎳 Things to Do

🇺🇸 America250 Concert and Drone Show: Drones will light up the sky for this rescheduled patriotic celebration. There will also be food and drinks. ⏰ Thursday, Sept. 3, 6:30-8:30 p.m. 💵 Pay as you go 📍 Exton Park

🏎️ OMI Car Show: See over 200 unique cars, trucks, and motorcycles; enjoy live music; and grab a bite to eat from a food truck at this 12th annual event. ⏰ Friday, Sept. 4, 4-8 p.m. 💵 Free 📍 Downtown Oxford

🏇 Ludwig’s Corner Horse Show and Country Fair: Now in its 83rd year, the Labor Day weekend event features equestrian competitions and local vendors. ⏰ Saturday, Sept. 5-Monday, Sept. 7, 8 a.m. daily for equestrian events, 11 a.m. for the country fair 💵 $10 per carload 📍 Ludwig’s Corner Horse Show grounds, Glenmoore

🏡 On the Market

A four-bedroom Chester Springs home with a chic interior

The kitchen has an island with seating and a herringbone backsplash.Alcove Media | Courtesy of Steve Huber/Re/Max Pinnacle

Located in the Chester Springs neighborhood of the Reserve at Waynebrook, this four-bedroom home has undergone a number of updates. Its airy living spaces include a family room with a fireplace, a dining room, an office, and a remodeled eat-in kitchen with granite countertops and high-end appliances. The primary suite has a bathroom with a soaking tub, plus a walk-in closet. The home has a deck and a patio with a fire pit out back. There’s an open house Sept. 13 from 1 to 2:30 p.m.

See more photos of the home here.

Price: $820,000 | Size: 3,499 SF | Acreage: 0.18

🗞️ What other Chester County residents are reading this week:
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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.
September 2, 2026
Delaware County is about to get another tool to help manage intense flooding

A new tool may help Delco officials better understand flooding in the county.

Delaware County recently acquired 70 AWARE flood gauges, which officials say will help track data, improve response to flooding events, and allow the county to better plan for the future as extreme weather events challenge the region’s aging infrastructure.

Here’s a rundown of what flood gauges do and how they’ll fit into stormwater management in Delco.

What are flood gauges?

Flood gauges are tools placed in and around bodies of water that measure water levels — think giant measuring sticks.

Delaware County’s flood gauges will be placed throughout the county and report data to a public access portal in real time, allowing municipalities and residents to track water levels online.

Why is the county installing flood gauges?

Flood risk is growing in Delaware County, Gina Burritt, the county’s planning director, said, as the region’s infrastructure contends with increasingly frequent and intense precipitation events.

The county is seeing flooding in areas where it used to be rare, Burritt said, and water-proximate areas are becoming more vulnerable to serious storm damage. Flooding is of particular concern in Delco, where much of the land is low-lying and close to the Delaware River and its tributaries.

“We always kind of say that we’re downstream of everywhere,” Burritt said. “All of the watersheds, they flow to the Delaware River, so we’re at the very bottom of that watershed.”

Gauges will help the county understand where flood risk is the most acute, said Burritt, informing decision-making for county planners and emergency responders.

The flood gauges may also eventually provide early warning detection, though Burritt noted that this capability is still being developed.

Philadelphia installed a similar flood monitoring system earlier this year, with flood sensors and cameras put in nine locations, including Cobbs Creek, Darby Creek, and the Manayunk Canal. Residents can see flood monitoring data on a live portal.

The creek at Rolling Green Park in Springfield. Delaware County is planning to install 70 flood gauges to measure levels in and around waterways. Tyger Williams / Staff Photographer

Where will the gauges be installed?

In drafting its Act 167 plan, a state-mandated stormwater management blueprint, the county and consultant Jacobs Engineering have identified 87 potential flood gauge locations.

The first batch of flood gauges will be installed on county-owned sites like bridges and parks. Once the initial round of gauges are placed, Burritt said her department hopes to work with other landowners, like the state, PennDot, and local municipalities, to place gauges in other key sites.

Potential locations outlined in the draft plan include Smedley Park, Catania County Park along Little Crum Creek, Sun Village Park, Clayton County Park, and numerous county-owned bridges, according to the county’s draft Act 167 plan.

Officials have identified 230 “flood problem areas” across the county, 130 of which fall under the “high priority” category. Some of the highest priority flood risk areas in Delaware County include the intersection of 69th Street and Marshall Road in Upper Darby, Brookhaven Memorial Park, and the section of Baltimore Pike that crosses Brandywine Creek at the border of Chester County. The highest priority areas were identified by the frequency and severity of flooding that occurs there, as well as impacts to emergency services, roads, and structures.

Delco’s Act 167 plan is in preliminary drafting stages, according to the county, and will be further refined, including with feedback from municipalities and the Commonwealth’s Department of Environmental Protection.

How much did this cost?

The 70 flood gauges were acquired with a $107,845 Community Development Block Grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and another $224,274 in Pennsylvania Local Share Account grants.

Installation of the first batch of gauges will cost $95,000, an expenditure coming out of the county’s capital budget. Burritt said the county is in the request for proposal process and does not yet know exactly how many gauges will be installed in the first round.

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.

September 1, 2026
Malvern medical-tech company is slashing jobs as part of cost-cutting campaign

Tela Bio, a Malvern-based medical-technology company, plans to cut about 20% of its workforce.

The layoffs, most of which are to take place this month, will reduce the company’s headcount from 201 full-time employees to 160, according to an SEC filing last week. The locations and types of jobs affected were not specified. Company executives say the move is part of a larger plan to slash Tela Bio’s annual operating expenses by about $17 million.

CEO Heather Getz said in a statement that they are “implementing a broader initiative to strengthen our cost structure and position Tela Bio for long-term success.”

Headquartered in the Great Valley Corporate Center, Tela Bio makes biological products for soft-tissue repairs, including hernia surgeries and ab-wall reconstructions. Among its products: OviTex tissue, made from sheep stomach, which Tela Bio says promotes natural healing while reducing plastic in the body.

How Malvern’s Pa. Turnpike ramp sparked billions in economic development

Last year, Tela Bio reported more than $80 million in revenue, up 16%, which the company attributed to an increase in customers and higher sales overseas, according to earnings reports. But with $88 million in operating expenses, the company continued to operate at a loss, as it has since its founding in 2012.

Tela Bio, which went public in 2019, had accumulated a deficit of more than $421 million as of June, according to its latest quarterly report.

Company executives expect these layoffs to cost about $1.5 million in severance and other employee payouts, according to the SEC filing.

On Monday, the company also parted ways with Roberto Cuca, who had served as chief financial officer and chief operating officer since 2021. Per the SEC filing, Getz, the CEO, will become the company’s “principal financial officer.”

Tela Bio executives said they’ll provide more information on cost-cutting efforts on the company’s next earnings call, scheduled for November.

“We are focused on disciplined execution, strengthening the business, and creating a more efficient organization positioned to deliver sustainable long-term growth,” Getz said, adding that executives ”expect this initiative to extend our cash runway into 2028.”

Getz was appointed CEO last month, succeeding Tela Bio cofounder Antony Koblish. Previously, Getz was executive vice president and chief financial and operations officer at Butterfly Network, a portable-ultrasound company.

In announcing Getz’s hiring, Tela Bio executives said she made “transformative changes in [Butterfly Network’s] strategy, capital allocation, cash runway and investor relations while building a performance culture.”

Butterfly Network remains unprofitable, but has seen recent revenue increases.

September 1, 2026
Seeking: A barn? Chester County’s only roller derby league is hitting obstacles while looking for a new space

After graduating nursing school and navigating the loss of her mother, Corinne Kucewicz was looking for something positive to focus her energy on. That’s when she found Brandywine Roller Derby, Chester County’s only league.

Now the league’s president, overseeing roughly 26 members, Kucewicz, 28, worries about Brandywine’s future as they struggle to find a permanent and affordable home in Chester County to practice, hold games, and fundraisers. Without any roller rinks in the county, they’ve ended up at their current space at a school facility in Exton. It offers enough room for their track, but with a slippery — and sometimes muddy — floor that can make skating conditions iffy, the location is starting to hurt retention.

“It worries me if we don’t find another space that our league is going to go kaput,” said Kucewicz, who goes by Maria Von Scrapp on the track. “That would obviously be worst-case scenario, but unfortunately, as one of the leaders of the league, that’s something I have to worry about.”

Corinne “Maria Von Scrapp” Kucewicz, captain of Brandywine Roller Derby, sits for a portrait at the 422 Sportsplex in Pottstown on Saturday, Aug. 22, 2026.Kriston Jae Bethel / For the Inquirer

Roller skating has seen its peaks and valleys. There was a boom as far back as the 1880s. More recently it’s been a fixture of school trips or birthday parties. Roller derby, which started in 1935, has a long history itself, transforming from a race, to a full-contact sport, to a scripted professional-wrestling-esque performance.

Today’s roller derby — a DIY, gender-expansive, and LGBTQ+-friendly sport — cropped up in the early 2000s. Gone are many of the banked tracks, the raised, curved oval that was synonymous with derby of the ’70s and ’80s. Many leagues rent spaces and play on “flat tracks,” which is exactly how it sounds.

COVID-19 offered a bit of a paradox for roller skating and derby. The pandemic led to the closing of rinks across the country, as many large venues struggled with shutdowns. It simultaneously put roller derby leagues on pause, with skaters unable to hold practices or bouts (i.e. games), eating into funds they had raised through selling tickets and skaters’ dues. Some leagues collapsed.

Members of the Brandywine Roller Derby warm up on the track before a bout against the Dirty Jersey Roller Derby Violet Uprising at the 422 Sportsplex in Pottstown. Kriston Jae Bethel / For the Inquirer

At the same time, roller skating spiked, with merchandisers struggling to keep up with demand as people increasingly took up the hobby.

As pandemic restrictions eased, and roller derby leagues were able to practice again, they saw a depleted returning membership but heightened interest in the niche sport.

Kucewicz was among them. She showed up with a cohort of other interested skaters to a 2024 recruiting event. The team took her in despite having no past skating experience, and taught her how to skate, how to fall safely, how to hit, and how to take a hit.

“It was an amazing mix of friendly people and people that I saw myself being friends with,” Kucewicz said. “That was something that I definitely needed at the time, and is still important.”

Before the pandemic, Brandywine had a large league that was doing well, Kucewicz said. When they were able to start skating again after, they were down to six returning skaters but also had a crowd of interested newbies.

Rachael “The Texorcist” Gable laughs alongside teammates. Kriston Jae Bethel / For the Inquirer

Finding a space has proven to be difficult. When the league was founded in 2010 by a group of skaters, they met at the Caln Roller Rink in Downingtown. But a changing of the rink’s ownership ultimately closed the rink.

The league ended up at Collegium Charter School in Exton two years ago, practicing in an outdoor-indoor, climate-controlled space. The floor is, essentially, plastic tiles on top of dirt. When it rains, mud seeps through.

The floor itself is uneven: On one side of their track, it goes uphill; the other, downhill. Aside from scrimmaging, derby is a lot of learning and drilling fundamentals, focusing on agility and footwork. A slippery, uneven floor makes that difficult.

“Members have left and gone to other leagues because they’re afraid, because our floor is so slippery, that they’re going to injure themselves. Or they just want a higher level of derby that we can’t really provide at this moment because our floor is not that great,” Kucewicz said.

Brandywine Roller Derby and Dirty Jersey Roller Derby Violet Uprising compete during a bout at the 422 Sportsplex in Pottstown. Kriston Jae Bethel / For the Inquirer

As they prepare for a new class of recruits — they’re holding a new skater program Sept. 20 — they want to find something more suitable.

In their hunt, they’ve been priced out of anywhere that can be an option for them, said Christi Tuminelli, a league skater who has been overseeing the search for a new space. Most warehouse spaces are going for $12 to $24 per square foot. Their budget is closer to $2 per square foot. They’ve reached out to more than 30 properties. Most have gone quiet.

Others don’t work, either because the property doesn’t fit the size of the track they need, or the owner isn’t interested in sports. They also have had to contend with worries about damaging the floor, which they say is a nonissue.

The league is open-minded about its future home; Tuminelli was contacting farms about their barns. They need an open space, with minimal columns in the way. The track spans 108 by 75 feet, which is roughly 8,100 square feet. They want to stay in Chester County, with the hope of getting more involved with the community when they have a stable location. Ideally, they’ll be able to host the public for games or fundraising events. Right now, the team hosts its bouts in Pottstown, in Montgomery County. They’re breaking even between renting the space and raising funds from ticket sales, they said.

“Right now we’re at an impasse because we need the space to generate the income, but we can’t afford the space without new people,” Tuminelli said. “We are a working nonprofit that can pay sustainable rent. We just can’t compete with the market rates in Chester County.”

While derby is a sport, it’s also a community.

Najah “Chaotic Condor” Coon from Brandywine Roller Derby sits on the bench during a recent bout. Kriston Jae Bethel / For the Inquirer

Tuminelli — or Mother Mayhem, on the track — went to her first bout wracked with nerves but walked away feeling excited and empowered. Tuminelli, 42, was never a “sports girlie” growing up, she said. But if she had known what they offered, maybe she would have joined earlier.

With other teams an hour or so away from the suburbs, it’s an important to have the outlet within their own community, Tuminelli said.

“When I moved here from New York, I didn’t know anybody. And having a kid that was young and being in a new space, it’s scary as a new mom,” she said. “I wanted something for me, and this was great. Derby just allows you to do things. It raises your confidence.”

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.

August 31, 2026
A man seeking asylum was detained during a routine ICE appointment in Philly. He fears being tortured or killed if deported.

Jhon Perez Romero carries a driver’s license, Social Security card, and an employment permit, working as a Spark Driver for Walmart in York, Pa.

He also carries the fear of being tortured or killed if he should be deported to his Venezuelan homeland, where he’s been accused as a “traitor” by the government he once served as an intelligence officer.

Perez Romero, who was interviewed and released by U.S. immigration officials when he crossed the border in 2023, was arrested by ICE in Philadelphia on June 30, when he appeared for what he thought would be a routine check-in. He joined a growing number of immigrants taken into custody even while they pursue asylum, a long-established legal process that can grant permission to live in the United States to people who could be harmed at home.

Perez Romero, 39, is being held at the Moshannon Valley Processing Center, the 1,876-bed ICE facility in Philipsburg, Pa., his future uncertain, his wife and step daughter in anguish.

“I thought the U.S. represented a place where people who are escaping political or religious persecution can come here and find safety,” said his wife, Sandra Quinones, an American citizen and high school teacher. “Especially if you’re law-abiding and contribute to society. That’s where my heart is broken.”

The Trump administration’s aggressive approach departs from previous administrations, where asylum seekers with no criminal record were mostly allowed to remain free while they pursued their claims. Now applicants have been detained in communities across the United States, including Pennsylvania and South Jersey.

Last week news broke that the administration intends to revoke the business and tourism visas of up to 200,000 people who are seeking asylum, putting them at risk of arrest and detention. That comes on top of procedural changes that have made it harder for people to prove they should be allowed to stay.

A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security said Perez Romero was released at the border by the Biden administration, not by officials under President Donald Trump.

“He will remain in ICE custody pending removal proceedings and will receive due process,” the spokesperson said in a statement. “A pending application does NOT confer legal status in the United States.”

The agency said that on Jan. 20 Perez Romero was charged with “harassing communication,” an offense that usually involves phone calls or text messages sent to upset someone.

DHS provided no other information. Dauphin County court records show that Perez Romero pleaded guilty in magisterial district court in March, but do not include details of what occurred. A court worker said Friday she could provide no additional information.

“Criminal illegal aliens are not welcome in the U.S.,” Homeland Security said. “We will find you, we will arrest you, and we will deport you.”

Jhon Perez Romero, originally of Venezuela, came to the United States seeking asylum in late 2023, afraid he could be harmed or killed by government agents in his homeland. Now Perez Romero, 39, is being held at the Moshannon Valley Processing Center, the ICE detention facility in Philipsburg, Pa., as the Trump administration detains more people who are seeking safety in the United States.Courtesy of family

Generally, the government cannot deport someone while their asylum claim is being decided — claimants must be given what’s called a merits hearing, where they can present evidence, before any final removal action.

The government does have the power to hold asylum seekers in detention for certain reasons, including if it believes the person might flee or is a danger to the public.

Immigration lawyers argue that there’s no gain for the government in detaining asylum seekers, since their names, addresses, and identifying information are already known to authorities, who require regular, in-person check-ins.

“The Trump administration is targeting people to subject them to detention, knowing they won’t be able to fight their way out of the system, so they’ll give up and leave,” said lawyer Lilah Thompson, who leads the immigration unit at the Defender Association of Philadelphia. “They’re wearing people down.”

For immigrants, freedom while pursuing asylum means everything, enabling them to work and earn money to hire an attorney, and to more easily gather evidence and documents for their cases.

Asylum cases can take years to decide — more than 2.3 million people now await asylum hearings or decisions — and appeals can go on for additional months or longer.

Prolonged detention leads some to drop their legal cases and accept voluntary departure. Leaving voluntarily avoids the automatic 10-year ban on returning that can accompany a formal deportation.

“It’s very tough, for people who are facing these choices,” said immigration lawyer Robert Barchiesi II, who represents Perez Romero.

Thompson is helping defend a Chester County newlywed who has so far spent two months in detention after being arrested at a late-June check-in.

Nelson Contreras-Gelves, 35, originally from Venezuela, has followed government directions and broken no rules, Thompson said, noting that he recently married a U.S. citizen.

People seeking asylum must show not only that they could be harmed in their homeland, but also that the danger springs from at least one of five specific causes — their religion, race, nationality, political beliefs, or membership in a particular social group.

Moshannon Valley Processing Center, in Clearfield County, Pa., is the largest immigrant detention facility in the Northeastern United States.Max Marin / The Philadelphia Inquirer

People granted asylum can apply for lawful permanent residency and eventually for U.S. citizenship.

Perez Romero’s life has taken him from a position in Venezuela’s notorious national intelligence agency, to a flight across countries in fear of his life, to love and marriage to a U.S. citizen and a caring role as stepfather to her 17-year-old daughter.

From roughly 2011 to 2019, according to his asylum application, Perez Romero was an agent at the Servicio Bolivariano de Inteligencia Nacional, known as SEBIN. It was created in 2010 by then-President Hugo Chávez, officially aimed at protecting the nation but accused by human-rights groups of arresting and torturing political opponents, journalists, and activists.

Perez Romero said he quit the agency after receiving instructions — the specifics were not described in his asylum application — that he refused to obey. His resignation came less than three months after a failed military uprising against authoritarian President Nicolás Maduro triggered a purge of the intelligence services, targeting those suspected of disloyalty.

Perez Romero was told to report to government officials — and that he was accused of treason.

“Which is erroneous,” he wrote in his asylum application, “since I have not committed any crime.”

In March 2020, facing an arrest warrant, Perez Romero fled to Colombia, keenly aware of “what happens to political prisoners in Venezuela, things like imprisonment for life or murder.”

Two years later, after Gustavo Petro was elected as that nation’s president, he said, he began receiving threats from Venezuelan agents that he would be seized and forced home.

Perez Romero headed north. On New Year’s Eve 2023, he reached the U.S. border at Eagle Pass, Texas, where he was interviewed and released by immigration agents.

The next year he met Quinones at La Iglesia de Dios Voz de Alerta Church in York, and they wed in 2025.

She described him in an interview as an outstanding husband and father, working long hours to provide for their family. He’s deeply invested in their church, she said, and before his detention was developing a resource package to help missionaries serving in remote and dangerous areas.

Last month, he tried and failed in federal court to win his freedom from Moshannon.

U.S. District Court Judge Joseph Leeson ordered the government to hold a bond hearing, but Immigration Judge Tamar Wilson ruled that Perez Romero did not show he was not a flight risk or a danger to the community.

He may say he’s innocent of treason, the judge wrote, but “the court cannot simply take his word for it.”

Quinones says the family hasn’t lost hope. Their GoFundMe has raised $8,000 of its $9,000 goal, all of it going for legal fees and related expenses. They await the hearing to present evidence to support Perez Romero’s case for asylum.

Quinones said her husband relies on his Christian faith to stay strong. She’s trying to stay optimistic as well, she said, but so much is uncertain and in flux. Her husband could end up having to accept voluntary departure to a third country, like Colombia.

She’s prepared to retire early and join him, if necessary, and has begun exploring job possibilities there.

“I can’t be apart from my husband,” she said. “I can’t picture my life without him.”

Staff writer Dylan Purcell contributed to this article.

August 31, 2026
A Chesco play area memorializes a child who died at 7 days old. His father is fighting plans to move it.

When Ryan Leithead’s son Cayden died at just 7 days old in 2022, he channeled his grief into making something. Alongside West Pikeland Township officials, Leithead worked for weeks, mostly in freezing rain, to build what became Cayden’s Corner, a sandpit play area at Pine Creek Park’s playground.

A dedication sign, with a photo of Cayden’s little hand encircled by his parents’, notes that the hope is “that this sandbox sheds some light on his memory and brings joy to many children for years to come.”

It offered a glimmer of light amid a tragic, unexpected loss. Leithead’s oldest son, 6, and daughter, 2, play there often. “It’s kind of like they’re playing with their brother because they’re there,” he said.

But now, just a few years later, Leithead, 37, worries the memorial will be swept up in proposed playground renovations, which are the subject of several grants and public fundraising efforts to update the decades-old equipment and make the site more accessible. Final plans haven’t been released yet, but officials say it could involve relocating the sandpit and replacing the memorial.

For Leithead, it feels like losing Cayden again.

“It was built by those who loved Cayden. It kind of goes into that term of ‘grief in action,’” he said. “I spent the first year after he died kind of focusing on this — right, wrong, or indifferent, that’s how I grieved. So it’s a memorial built by his father.”

The elected board of supervisors will vote on the proposal and plans “when they are available,” said Joan Blatcher, township manager. Completion of the full renovation is anticipated for mid-2027, she said.

“The intention behind Cayden’s Corner was to provide a memorial for Cayden Leithead. If the sandpit is relocated, it will continue to be called Cayden’s Corner,” she wrote in an email. “The benches and a dedication explaining the reason for the name have always been part of the plan for the new playground.”

After his son Cayden died at just seven days old in 2022, Ryan Leithead worked with West Pikeland Township to build a sandpit in honor of Cayden’s memory. Under proposed renovations of the playground, officials are considering relocating the sandpit and removing the existing dedication sign.Photo courtesy of Ryan Leithead

Leithead isn’t against renovating the playground. When he helped bring the sandbox to life, seeing the whole playground renovated was something he hoped for. His work with the project is also how Leithead became involved with the township’s parks and recreation committee. But he struggles with the idea of relocating or altering the memorial they built in the early days of that grief.

“The analogy my wife used was: Say you have a wedding ring that was a family heirloom for generations, and you lost it, and your husband turns around and says, ‘Well, I’ll just buy a new one, it’ll be bigger and better,’” he said. “It’s not the same, right? You lose the meaning behind that heirloom.”

At a meeting on Aug. 17, vice chair of the supervisors Noreen Vigilante said that the sandpit was within the “fall zone” of the swing set, according to a recording shared with The Inquirer. A preliminary design, which the township hasn’t released, would relocate the sandbox and make it bigger. A recording of the public meeting is not available online.

She also mentioned removing the existing sign dedicating the corner, saying that the playground designers felt it was “depressing.” Signage would still be there, later saying they could “negotiate” the sign, but not the sandpit’s placement.

In an email, Vigilante said that in early meetings “it was requested that the playground not be moved.” Leaving the sandpit where it is “severely limits the opportunities for a safe and accessible design.”

The sign, she said, is a “trigger for others who have also lost children or have family members who have lost children.”

“The sign is so large and centrally located that it cannot be avoided if it makes one uncomfortable. An alternative is to have a smaller sign with the same text by the tot lot/sand play area of the playground so that those who may also be grieving do not have to look at the sign when they are attempting to enjoy a playground with other children,” she wrote. “A playground should provide the opportunity for adult-child enjoyment.”

During the meeting last week, officials said they hadn’t heard of any complaints about the sign when the Leitheads asked. Separately, Leithead said the purpose of the sign was “to honor Cayden’s life and to show how a community came together to support a grieving family.”

Other supervisors disagreed with the playground designers’ assessment.

“I don’t care what the playground people think,” supervisor Harold Hallman III said at the meeting. “It’s a park of West Pikeland playground. It’s a part of West Pikeland. It should stay there.”

An early supporter of the memorial plaque and sandpit, Vigilante wrote in an email that she continues “to support the sandpit and a memorial plaque in the playground.”

“However, I feel very strongly that in my role as a township supervisor, I have an obligation to represent all of the residents/children of the township and that all children of all abilities should have safe access to a playground,” she added in an email.

A Facebook page, Preserve Cayden’s Corner, has collected just shy of 100 members, asking fellow residents to push back on the proposed relocation.

The board will meet next on Tuesday, Sept. 8.

Blatcher, the township manager, said that officials have “had multiple conversations with the family” and said it will share the plans with the family when they’re available. Leithead said he hadn’t heard about the possible relocation officially from the township; he approached them at August’s meeting after hearing about the possibility through someone else.

Blatcher wrote that Vigilante championed the proposed renovation, helping secure a second grant for $230,000 and has been “instrumental” in raising more than $65,000 in private donations to cover what the grants don’t.

“The updating of the playground is for the benefit of all West Pikeland Township’s residents and will make the playground ADA accessible and allow more children to access the full play area, including the sandpit,” she said.

Leithead said he just wants the ability to weigh in on the design, saying it wouldn’t be hard to modify the existing sandpit to be ADA accessible, or to relocate the swing set to keep the sandbox out of the fall area.

“We would have never built this three years ago if they said there is even a 1% chance that, ‘Oh, when we redo the playground, we’re going to have to move it,’” he said.

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.

August 30, 2026
Berwyn-Paoli Area Little League’s challenger baseball team relishing ‘amazing opportunity’ to play in Williamsport

In 2017, Zach Brooks was watching the Little League World Series on TV when he asked his dad, Gary, if he could take him to a game in Williamsport, Pa.

The Brooks family and two of Zach’s teammates from the Berwyn-Paoli Area Little League’s challenger baseball team, which is designed for individuals with physical and intellectual challenges, went to a game. They returned the following year, this time to watch the Little League Challenger Division exhibition game.

Gary noticed the excitement on the players’ faces as they took the field and soaked up the energy of the environment. On the drive home, an idea began to formulate.

Brooks, who is the director of the BPALL Challenger Division and has been a coach for 13 years, wanted to get his team there.

“I remember distinctly on the way home talking to my wife and saying, ‘This is something we’ve got to do. I got to figure it out,’” Brooks said. “So that sort of planted the seed and put it on my bucket list.”

That bucket-list item will become a reality for Brooks and the team this weekend.

Berwyn-Paoli Area Little League will represent the area in a challenger baseball game at Williamsport on Saturday.Courtesy of Gary B

The BPALL Challenger Angels will compete in the 2026 Little League Challenger Division’s exhibition game at 10:30 a.m. Saturday in Williamsport as part of championship weekend. They will face the East County Little League from Oakley, Calif. WVIA, the PBS station for northeast and central Pennsylvania, has partnered with Little League to televise the game.

Fifteen players from BPALL were selected to participate based on their age and how long they’ve been part of the program. Each player will be introduced before the game, get an at-bat, and receive a medal. Little League teams from around the world will attend the exhibition, helping pack the stands and create an exciting atmosphere, Brooks said.

Challenger baseball counts roughly 950 programs worldwide and 30,000 players. In older and more skilled BPALL senior challenger games, they call balls and strikes, steal bases, and play on a 90-foot diamond. The only difference in challenger baseball is that players don’t pitch.

The Berwyn-Paoli program, started in 1991 by Bob and Jeannie Roggio, includes players ranging from 8 years old to 36. Brooks said the program is designed for young adults with disabilities who play baseball and have the skill and desire to play competitively.

“One of the things that I’ve seen and I’ve witnessed is when you teach the challenger players and keep raising the bar for them and the expectation of what you’re going to do on the baseball field — ‘I want you to throw the right way, I want you to hit the right way, I want you to feel the right way,’” Brooks said. “It’s not about wins and losses. It’s about you’re going to get more enjoyment and enjoy more success out on the field if you’re doing things properly”

Berwyn-Paoli Area Little League has fielded a challenger baseball team for 35 years.Courtesy of Gary B

Brooks first submitted an application in 2019 to take part in the exhibition game in Williamsport. Each team interested in participating must submit an application in November, including a written explanation of why the team deserves to compete in the game.

For years, Berwyn-Paoli was passed over. Now, this will be the first time in the team’s 35-year history that they will play in Williamsport.

The Brooks family first got involved with the Berwyn-Paoli challenger team in 2014 after Zach, who graduated from VUnited Scholars at Villanova in 2023, transitioned from Devon Strafford Little League to challenger baseball. Gary started out as a helper, but after seeing what happened during practices and games, he was “hooked” and became a coach.

“Once you start and you see the smiles on the players’ faces and the joy that they get from playing games, it encourages you to want to be out there helping these players,” Brooks said.

Brooks’ nephew is getting married this weekend, so he almost missed the opportunity to travel to Williamsport with the team. Initially, his wife, Wendy, wasn’t sure they would be able to make it work.

“I was like, ‘Wendy, with all due respect, I can’t say no. If I say no, the league might never get this opportunity again,’” he said. “I owe it to the league and the legacy of the Berwyn-Paoli challenger baseball league to go out there and do it right.”

Luck was on the Brookses’ side. The wedding falls on Sunday, allowing them to attend both events. Zach, 29, will assist as a “buddy” for players during Saturday’s game.

The weekend for Brooks is about more than the game itself. Being up in Williamsport and getting treated like “rockstars,” Gary said, is a once-in-a-lifetime experience for these players and families to represent the Berwyn-Paoli area.

A challenger baseball player high-fives the Philly Phanatic.Courtesy of Gary B

“You got to pinch yourself a bit because we’re doing this on the biggest stage in youth sports in the world,” he said. “Everybody knows the Little League World Series and ESPN is all over the place.”

And when the players step on the field Saturday morning, Brooks expects the significance of the moment to sink in for all of them.

“When the families start seeing the other Little League teams coming to the game and on the field afterward, by the end of the day on Saturday, they’ll have realized what an amazing opportunity this is,” Brooks said.

August 29, 2026
2 Philly men charged in Chester County road-rage shooting

Two Philadelphia men were charged with attempted murder for a shooting that occurred during an alleged road-rage incident in May, Chester County District Attorney Christopher L. de Barrena-Sarobe said Thursday.

Sophay Yem, 35, and Intanon Chay, 36, who also were charged with terroristic threats and related offenses, surrendered to police, de Barrena-Sarobe said.

Yem was being held in lieu of $500,000 cash bail, and Chay was being held on $350,000 cash bail. Both men did not post bail and remained in custody at the Chester County Prison, court records show.

Thomas Kenny, Yem’s attorney, said he intended to “vigorously defend” his client against the charges.

“I am fighting this case,” Kenny said.

Patrick T. Doherty, Chay’s lawyer, said his client “denies any involvement in these crimes,” and looks forward to his day in court.

On May 12, the victim, who was not identified, contacted Tredyffrin Township police to report that his vehicle had been shot in the driver’s side door, de Barrena-Sarobe said.

The victim said he unintentionally cut off another driver on Route 202 near the Route 30 Bypass, and then the other driver followed him aggressively, attempting to force the victim’s vehicle off the road, de Barrena-Sarobe said.

The passenger in the other vehicle allegedly threw objects onto the road toward the victim’s vehicle. When the victim exited onto Route 252, he heard glass shatter and later found a bullet hole in his door, de Barrena-Sarobe said.

The driver was identified as Yem and the passenger was Chay, de Barrena-Sarobe said.

“Just because someone cuts you off does not mean you get to shoot at them. This was absurd criminal conduct that put the lives of everyone on the road that day in danger,” de Barrena-Sarobe said in a statement.

August 27, 2026
New trail connector lets bikers ride 70 miles from Philly to Reading. It’s ‘a really, really big deal.’

Cyclists Alvin Morris and Rick Young departed Philadelphia via Shawmont Avenue on the Schuylkill River Trail on Tuesday morning for a heart-pumping, 75-mile round trip ride.

On previous trips, they, like thousands of other riders, had to stop at a gate where the trail abruptly ended near Pottstown and decide whether to risk traveling a busy alternate route.

No more.

Schuylkill River Trail organizers are celebrating the completion of a nearly one-mile connector in Montgomery County that gives cyclists a clear 70-mile path from Philly to Reading. The connector took about 10 years from planning to its Aug. 19 opening.

“I just found out about the connector Sunday,” Young said. “I love it. I told Al about it. We’re preparing for the [city-to-Shore] MS ride, so we need to get in some distance.”

The duo planned to continue on the Schuylkill River Trail for a few more miles past the connector before returning to Philly.

A Montgomery County Planning Commission map of the new Schuylkill River Trail connection between Industrial Highway and the Route 422 bridge near Pottstown. The 0.9-mile section of paved asphalt trail is now open, providing an unbroken path from South Philadelphia to Reading.Frank Kummer

‘A really, really big deal’

Elaine Paul Schaefer, executive director of the nonprofit Schuylkill River Greenways, says the connector is more than just a new trail segment.

“It’s a really, really big deal,” Schaefer said. “On many, many levels.”

Schaefer and others believe the unbroken 70-mile stretch could be a tipping point for cycling tourism because it is long enough for cyclists to plan trips that allow them to linger in towns for brews and food, or overnight stays, she said.

“At that point, the economic impact to towns along the way really exponentially increases,” she said.

Her group manages the Schuylkill River Greenways National Heritage Area, connecting people to the river and trail. Schuylkill River Greenways has its office in Pottstown, but manages 40 miles of the trail in Berks and Schuylkill Counties, raising money to help maintain it.

The new connector allows riders pedaling south from Chester County to ride parallel to Route 422 in Pottsgrove Township, Montgomery County, then loop under the busy highway and continue into Pottstown Borough.

“The trail now connects the population centers of Philadelphia to Montgomery County and Reading,” Schaefer said. “Soon, it will connect beyond that.”

Elaine Paul Schaefer, executive director of the nonprofit Schuylkill River Greenways, speaks with Sue Shellman, foreground, and her husband, Bill Shellman, in yellow, both of Skippack, at the new connector.Frank Kummer

A boost for Pottstown?

Schaefer believes the new connector will lure cyclists willing to stop and spend money in Pottstown, a former steel town whose sizable downtown contains restaurants, inns, and breweries. Pottstown’s Riverfront Park along the trail is already widely used.

Peggy Lee-Clark, executive director of the nonprofit Pottstown Area Economic Development Inc., said it is too early to judge the impact of the connector, but there is “excitement.”

“I think that always any connection for the trail is an economic boost,” she said.

Commuting workers also use the trail, Lee-Clark noted.

“The river is an important asset to us, as is the trail,” Lee-Clark said. “The connector is just one more thing that brings people to the area and exposes them to all of the other opportunities here in Pottstown.”

When complete, the Schuylkill River Trail will run about 120 miles from Fort Mifflin near Philadelphia International Airport to Frackville, Schuylkill County. About 80 miles of paved and crushed stone trail are currently open. A swing bridge connecting Grays Ferry to Bartram’s Garden is nearing completion.

Jason Brudereck, of the nonprofit Schuylkill River Greenways, rides new the Schuylkill River Trail connector as it crosses from Chester County into Montgomery County.Frank Kummer

How the connector got built

Montgomery County is planning a formal ribbon-cutting on Sept. 29 for the connector, which is already popular. On Tuesday, dozens of cyclists were riding at midday.

Scott France, executive director of the Montgomery County Planning Commission, said the county started trying to acquire rights-of-way to the land a decade ago.

“We are super excited this is open,” France said. “It’s been a long time in the works. This has had its share of challenges, but the fact is that we got there.”

The connector cost $1.28 million, France said. Most of it was paid for from a $550,000 grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, and a $542,000 grant from the William Penn Foundation. The county funded the balance.

Although the connector is less than a mile, it was a challenge, France said.

This is the sign cyclists and pedestrians once had to stop at before the connector was finished.Frank Kummer

The county had to build around a state-owned bridge, work with Peco and Verizon to move utilities, and obtain permits to build in a flood zone. Additionally, crews had to stop work during the breeding season of the northern red-bellied turtle, a threatened species common in the area.

Bill Hartman, trails and open space planning manager for the commission, said the connector serves another key role.

“It provides full access to a number of other trails,” Hartman said, including the Cross County and Perkiomen Trails.

Further, Montgomery County Commissioner Neil Makhija noted that the connector and Schuylkill River Trail are also part of the much wider Circuit Trails network, a planned 850 miles of interconnected trails in the Philadelphia region, including South Jersey.

Makhija said he plans to celebrate his 40th birthday on Sept. 13 by riding the inaugural Tour de Montco, a 40-mile ride from Pottstown to Bala Cynwyd.

The new trail segment, Makhija said is, “not just a trail in the woods — it’s a connection, bringing us closer to Philly and Reading and connecting the two.”

Sue Shellman, foreground, and her husband, Bill Shellman, in yellow, both of Skippack, ride from Chester County onto the new Schuylkill River Trail connector into Montgomery County.Frank Kummer

August 27, 2026
Vanguard sells one of its Chester County offices for $17 million, but will stay put for now

Vanguard has sold a Tredyffrin Township office complex for $17 million — with no plans of moving out.

Last month, the Malvern-based investment firm sold its 22-acre property at 1041 W. Valley Rd. to another Malvern-based company, E Kahn Development, according to Chester County property records.

But Vanguard plans to continue leasing the 323,000-square-foot space, which sits just off U.S. Route 202, about eight miles from its main campus in Malvern. Hundreds of Vanguard IT employees work at the complex, called the Robert A. DiStefano (RAD) Technology Center.

Vanguard’s RAD complex in Tredyffrin Township has been sold for $17 million, but Vanguard will continue to lease the space for its IT operations.Courtesy Vanguard

The sale and lease-back “reflects Vanguard’s focus on providing work environments that support and inspire our crew as they remain focused on our end investors,” a company spokesperson said in a statement. “Vanguard crew will continue to work at the RAD Technology Center through at least 2028, and there are no immediate plans to move crew who work there today.”

Eli Kahn, president and founder of E Kahn Development, said in an email that his company has “no immediate plans for the buildings.”

Earlier this summer, Vanguard closed a leased office at 45 Liberty Blvd. in Malvern, moving employees there to the company’s 87-acre main campus.

Vanguard employs about 20,000 employees, 12,000 of whom are based in Malvern. About 600 IT staffers work at RAD, Vanguard’s only complex with a Wayne address.

The company is expanding its IT staff worldwide, including at a new office in India, but has said its U.S. workforce will not be impacted.

August 26, 2026