Chester County

Ten alleged heroin dealers operating in Chester County have been arrested following a yearlong police operation, the District Attorney's office announced Monday. The arrests targeted activity in Phoenixville, East Pikeland, West Goshen, New Garden, Avondale and other locations. In Phoenixville, the investigation started after the parents of a 22-year-old women found her dead from an overdose. Police were able to identify the man who allegedly sold her the drugs as Joseph McIntosh, 31, of Philadelphia.

Time. It can move slowly or at a sudden pace. But whatever its speed, its product is always change. In Chester County, time has brought a gaggle of changes. In the decade past, residents who measured their tenure in generations were supplanted by transients, whose presence has altered the texture of this once rural county. The vast estates and farms are fewer now. In their place are cul-de-sacs, townhouses and colonials, convenience stores and roadside berms. The arrival of these 50,000 new residents also has prompted considerable talk about preservation: How much?

He worked seven days a week at his pizza shop to support a wife and two children. He was happy to go home to his tidy suburban home, where he spent evenings doing yardwork and playing with the kids, neighbors say. Konstatinos Boulias, 53, lived a simple life - a life cut short yesterday by an assassin who is at large. Boulias closed his pizza shop, the K&G Pizzeria in the Five Points Shopping Center in West Goshen Township, Chester County, at around 11 p.m. as usual Wednesday, tidied up and went home to his sleeping family.

Justin Frame, Mike Gatlos and Vince Belnome smacked home runs yesterday as the Chester County all-stars thumped Delaware South, 27-8, in the Carpenter Cup Classic at Penn's Meiklejohn Stadium. Drew Constable knocked in four runs for the winners, who advanced to tomorrow's semifinal at Citizens Bank Park. In the other quarterfinal, Burlington County edged the Suburban One National/Bicentennial League stars, 7-6. Dan Hayduc went 2 for 3 with a double and three RBIs for Burlington County.

Among those warming up to the colder weather are the fur trappers of Chester County. With winter come thicker and more profitable pelts. Trapping is not big business in the county, and growing smaller with the suburban sprawl, but about 300 licensed trappers depend on it for a livelihood or do it for sport. To some, like John Conner, it recalls a simpler time. As for those opposed to the killing, Wayne Buckley says animals were created for the use of humankind. "It says so right in the Bible.

Lawsuits filed in Philadelphia by 273 workers and neighbors of a PCB- contaminated rail yard in Paoli should be tried in Chester County, where the polluted yard is located and the courts are less backlogged, a state panel of judges has ruled. Lawyers for the rail workers and residents said yesterday that they wanted the cases heard in Philadelphia Common Pleas Court and intended to appeal the Jan. 11 Commonwealth Court ruling to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. They have until Feb. 11 to do so. One of those lawyers, Arnold Cohen, said that the cases involve "issues that are more urban-oriented than rural-oriented" and that he expected a Philadelphia jury to be "more like" his working-class clients.

A 45-year-old man was hit and killed by a pickup truck this morning as he crossed a busy Chester County thoroughfare, said police. Gerald Bernstein, who lived at the Golf Club Apartments complex in West Goshen Township, was attempting to cross West Chester Pike near the complex at 6:20 a.m. against the light when he was struck. He was pronounced dead at the scene, police said. The driver of the pickup, who is not being identified, stopped and was extremely distraught, police said.

If covered bridges conjure up notions of the romantic kind, you're in good company. In the 19th century, when most of the covered bridges in this country were built, young lovers would steal away for a quick smooch. That is why they became known as "kissing bridges. " Why the bridges were covered has been a popular topic for debate, but most believe it was done to extend the life of the bridge and deck and reduce maintenance. Pennsylvania used to have about 1,500 covered bridges - more than Vermont, the so-called covered-bridge state - but now, due to arson or neglect, only about 200 remain.

For Coatesville's Keith Minker, the Carpenter Cup is his last stand. "I don't have a college yet, and I'm hoping someone will see me here," said the senior, after going 3 for 4, with three RBIs and two runs scored, as Chester County pounded Mercer County, 9-1, in last night's opening round of the Carpenter Cup at the Vet. Minker's stock got an additional boost because he was at first base instead of catching. "It's a whole new experience for me," said Minker. "I never played at the Vet and never played in that position.

Chester County, consistently ranked as one of the state's most affluent areas, has maintained its AAA bond rating from three sources, the county commissioners announced Thursday. Standard & Poor's, Fitch Ratings, and Moody's Investors Service all reaffirmed the county's strong economic base and moderate debt levels, according to a county news release. - Kathleen Brady Shea

Three Chester County men already charged with a Coatesville murder have been indicted by a grand jury in a strategy aimed at preventing witness intimidation, officials said Wednesday. Taking advantage of a recent change in state law, District Attorney Tom Hogan said he opted for a grand-jury proceeding rather than have witnesses appear at a preliminary hearing. Hogan said a "stop snitching" culture, particularly well-entrenched in Coatesville, sometimes discourages witnesses from taking the stand.

The Chester County motorcyclist who was critically injured in a collision with a truck operated by an alleged drunken driver Friday night has died, police said Monday. Liam Crowley, 24, of Chesterbrook, died at Paoli Hospital at 7:40 p.m. Sunday, police said. Crowley was driving north on Route 202 near Stanton Avenue at 10:28 p.m. when a Dodge Ram pickup truck driven by Robert Elwood Landis, 49, made a left turn in front of him. Crowley, who was wearing a helmet, struck the passenger side of the truck, police said.

When a judge finally dismissed the charges against Forrest Solomon, investigators said, the citation in the electronic case docket bore the user name of a different judge - RARNOLD, which belonged to Rita Arnold, a district judge in Chester County. Forrest Solomon is her son, and officials allege the dismissal culminated an elaborate effort by Arnold to hide a citation against him for an offense that would have violated his probation. Arnold resigned Tuesday after her arrest on charges of tampering with records and obstruction, the state Attorney General's Office said.

A driver is reported dead in a crash Thursday morning involving a box truck and tractor trailer on the Route 30 bypass in Valley Township, Chester County. TV news helicopter video from the scene showed the cab of the Ryder box truck was destroyed after apparently running into the rear of the tractor trailer about 11 a.m. near Airport Road. The name of the victim has not been released, and an investigation is under way.

Ten alleged heroin dealers operating in Chester County have been arrested following a yearlong police operation, the District Attorney's office announced Monday. The arrests targeted activity in Phoenixville, East Pikeland, West Goshen, New Garden, Avondale and other locations. In Phoenixville, the investigation started after the parents of a 22-year-old women found her dead from an overdose. Police were able to identify the man who allegedly sold her the drugs as Joseph McIntosh, 31, of Philadelphia.

There are apparently more than enough Marcellus Shale pipelines in the pipeline, for now at least. The Commonwealth Pipeline, a $1 billion trunk-line project proposed last year by three companies to transport Marcellus natural gas from Williamsport to Washington, has officially been suspended, according to the venture's website. There was insufficient demand for the 200-mile, 30-inch pipeline that could carry 800 million cubic feet of gas a day. The project's suspension was attributed to low gas prices, a slow economy, and the expansion of existing pipelines, said Simon Bowman, a spokesman for UGI Corp., the Valley Forge energy firm that is one of the project's three partners.

It was sprinkling lightly Thursday morning, but that wasn't keeping Stuart Constable and his four-man crew from planting new apple trees at Highland Orchards, south of Downingtown. "From the end of March to the Fourth of July, something is being planted," said the production manager for the 200-acre spread, south of Route 30 in West Bradford Township, Chester County. Because fields in Southeastern Pennsylvania and South Jersey have been thirsty all year, the light Thursday rain was a welcome visitor - an all-too-seldom visitor.

SUSAN McGARRY had planned to spend Tuesday morning with her husband, Richard, taking pictures and celebrating the completion of her first Boston Marathon, the gold standard for runners all over the world. Instead, the Philadelphia couple returned home and spent the day like many Americans - thinking about the devastation of the terrorist attacks that killed three people and injured more than 170 - and pondering the "what ifs. " "The whole thing just seemed surreal. I felt more emotional [on Tuesday]

Ronald A. Rambo Jr., 59, who has been township manager of West Brandywine for more than 20 years, has been charged with stealing from the Chester County township. Rambo, of Coatesville, misappropriated at least $456.30 from the municipality, said District Attorney Thomas P. Hogan. Linda Formica, assistant to the township manager, said Thursday that Rambo was in his office but unavailable for comment. Thomas J. McCaffrey, chairman of the board of supervisors, said he was "very disappointed.

SHOE BIZ? Show biz? What's the difference? Not much, according to Benjamin Lovell , and he should know. By day, the 62-year-old York, England, native and current Wilmington, Del., resident is the founder of the five-store Benjamin Lovell Shoes chain. By night (and weekends), he is a veteran of local stages, including that of the Walnut Street Theatre, where his current five-year run as Ebenezer Scrooge in "A Christmas Carol" has made him a yuletide tradition of sorts hereabouts. There are "not a lot" of differences, offered Lovell (pronounced LOVE-ull)