Chatham

Jeffrey and Elaine Rhoads bought a house on Pennsylvania Avenue in Avondale in July. They quickly learned what life was like on the borough's main street, also known as Route 41. The heavy traffic, especially the trucks, forced them to keep their windows closed during the summer. And their guests couldn't believe the noise. It wasn't long before they joined ACCT 41 - Avondale Citizens Concerned for Transportation on (Route) 41. "The community is being so divided and destroyed by this traffic," said Jeff Rhoads.

Only five teams in South Jersey have won three or more state boys' soccer titles. Haddonfield and Shawnee are two of them, and they will try to extend their totals over the next two nights. Haddonfield has won a South Jersey-record four state championships, all in Group 1. Shawnee, Haddon Heights, Riverside and Delran have won three apiece. Today at the College of New Jersey, Haddonfield (20-0-1) will play Whippany Park (18-4) in the Group 1 state final at 6 p.m. At 8, Moorestown (18-3-1)

Of all the horrific accidents that have happened on the crowded and unsafe highway known as Route 41 in Chester County, one in particular stands out in Michael Girwin's mind: Two people were killed while trying to get their mail. Girwin is the Route 41 project manager for the state Department of Transportation. This morning, he is making public proposed alternatives to improve the road's safety and ease congestion. He will address members of the Southern Chester County Organization on Transportation, which is holding its annual meeting at Longwood Gardens.

Overcoming key injuries and a disputed call, the Moorestown boys' soccer team yesterday advanced to its first state final since 1981. Jason Dowiak's goal with 35 minutes, 58 seconds left in the second half broke a tie and sent the Quakers to a 3-1 victory over Somerville in a Group 2 semifinal at Burlington County College. Moorestown (18-3-1) will play Chatham in the state-championship game at 8 p.m. Thursday at the College of New Jersey in Trenton. Chatham defeated Ramsey, 4-1, in the other semifinal.

Dennis "Chubb" Miller raped his wife and stabbed her to death in their Chatham home, Chester County Judge Howard F. Riley Jr. decided yesterday. After a three-day, non-jury trial, Riley convicted Miller, who was once featured on America's Most Wanted, of first-degree murder, rape and related charges for killing his wife, Sherry Miller, in November 1995 after years of threats and abuse. He faces a possible death sentence. In his closing arguments, Dennis Miller's attorney, R. Kerry Kalmbach, contended that his client killed Sherry Miller in a fit of rage.

Dennis "Chubb" Miller, a man once featured on America's Most Wanted after he evaded Chester County authorities for six months, yesterday watched in stony silence as prosecutors described how he allegedly tortured and murdered his wife. Miller, 34, who is also charged with raping his wife, Sherry, 28, at their Chatham home in November 1995, could face death if convicted in the nonjury trial. In his opening statements before Chester County Judge Howard F. Riley Jr., prosecutor Robert L. Miller, who is not related to the defendant, said Dennis Miller had stabbed his wife about 20 times.

The Southeastern Chester County Refuse Authority, owner of a community landfill near Chatham, has plans to grow significantly. The authority has applied to the state Department of Environmental Protection for a major modification to its permit. If granted, the changes would almost double the landfill's annual trash volume. The application seeks to increase the amount of waste that could be dumped at the site from 60,000 tons a year to 100,000 tons a year, authority chairman E. Kneale Dockstader said.

When the Chatham United Methodist Church celebrated its 95th anniversary in 1940, a commentary marking the event noted that "the past is secure" but inquired, "What of the future?" Members of this crossroads community church in London Grove Township have asked themselves that question quite frequently in the last 150 years. Organized July 14, 1845, the church enjoyed a heyday in the 1860s after a big revival, but it has clung to a fragile existence ever since the early railroads in Chester County decided to bypass the village of Chatham.

It was Thomas Pennock Medill's first visit to his ancestors' home, Primitive Hall in West Grove, last Sunday. "Before today I never met anyone with my name," said the Lancaster resident, who attended a fund-raising party to benefit the 1738 manor home built by Joseph Pennock. "I read about them in literature. That was all. " The visit was "delightful for me and makes me feel connected in a significant way," said Medill, who came with Dorothy and Daniel Medill of Dover, Pa., and their granddaughter, Lydia, from Elliotsburg in Perry County.

A late goal by Chatham deprived Delran of its fourth state boys' soccer championship last night, as the Cougars took a 2-1 win in overtime at Trenton State College. Chatham tied the game with less than six minutes to go in regulation and won its second Group 2 state championship on a header by star Bill Walsh in the first of two 10-minute overtime periods. The Cougars finished 22-2 and won their last 20 straight games. Delran finished 16-5. The Bears won a state title in 1983 and were co- champions in 1986 and 1988.