Warrington

Township supervisors have approved a bond issue worth almost $5 million to fund Warrington's open-space program. Money from the bond issue will be available in about a month, Robert Jones, the township's bond counsel, said Tuesday. Township voters extended Warrington's borrowing capacity in January 1997 when they approved a $2.1 million bond referendum. That borrowing power was used for this issue. Warrington announced its $4.5 million plan to preserve almost 12 percent of the land in the township as open space last month.

Motorists in Warrington could find themselves competing for highway space with horses and carriages Sunday. Thirty to 50 antique carriages will set off on a 4-mile trek through Warrington and the nearby woods at 10 a.m. Sunday. It will be the highlight of a series of events at the Warrington Lions Club Horse Show and Carriage Marathon this weekend. The show, marking its 30th year, is expected to draw 600 horses and riders from 14 states and Canada. And some of those horses will be taking to local highways for obstacle events.

Warrington is struggling to plan for its neighbor's growth. Although they envy Horsham's ability to attract two office parks, Warrington officials say they're worried that development beyond their southern borders will increase demands for housing in their township and adversely affect already crowded roads. "Horsham is a step ahead of us," said Supervisor Andrew J. Kaelin. "It looks like a good tax base for them, but this kind of action puts pressure on us. " The Horsham Planning Commission has given preliminary approval to the 280- acre Hidden Springs Corporate Center, proposed by Hansen Properties.

Neil G. Kyde Inc. is the wrong consulting firm to help Warrington choose a new insurance package, former township supervisor Randolph A Scott says. Kyde is the same firm that gave the township "imperfect" advice last year in recommending health insurance that would have violated the township's contract with the police department, Scott says. He spoke out Tuesday at the Warrington insurance advisory committee's meeting. Despite his objection, the three-member committee voted unanimously to hire Edward B. Snyder of the Kyde firm for the job. The advisory committee was appointed by the supervisors last month to analyze insurance proposals and recommend the most comprehensive and cost- effective health-benefits package for municipal employees and the police department.

They call it gerrymandering in politics. But in the world of Lower Montco American Legion baseball, it's called tough luck. Before this season, the Warrington entry in the Lower Montco league had been allowed to draw players from a small portion of Warminster Township. This year, the league's regional office took away that portion, thus deleting three players from coach Jack Toy's roster. "If it wasn't for the players themselves, we wouldn't have a team this year," said Toy, who also serves as an assistant baseball coach for Central Bucks East High School.

The Warrington Athletics, a sure bet to finish second in the Bux-Mont American Legion League, will enter the playoffs in search of a missing ingredient. "We have had a problem with consistency all season," Athletics coach Jack Toy said. "One day we look like a team that can't be beat, and the next day we look like we can't win a game. Our games with Doylestown and Pennridge recently is perfect evidence of that fact. " Warrington knocked off first-place Doylestown, 6-5, July 13 and followed that game with a 7-1 loss to last-place Pennridge on Monday.

A Philadelphia man was arrested Friday night and charged with raping a 19- year-old woman Tuesday in a wooded area near Route 611 and Street Road in Warrington. The suspect, Luther C. Ruffin, 22, was arraigned before District Justice Clyde C. Leaver on charges of rape, simple assault and indecent exposure after he was arrested at 7 p.m. in Warrington. He was released on his own recognizance. Police gave the following account: The victim, a Warrington resident whose name was withheld by police, said she was walking north on Route 611 at 7:30 p.m. when a man approached her from behind and walked alongside her. Moments later, the man pulled the woman into the woods and attacked her. No weapon was used.

At 2:30 Monday afternoon, catcher Stan Cinkowski called Warrington manager Jack Toy from the emergency room of a local hospital. "I don't think I can make tonight's game," was Cinkowski's grim message, explaining how he had just had seven stitches put in his leg as the result of a accident on his construction job. But Cinkowski showed up in the third inning, strapped on the catching equipment and crouched behind the plate, doing a workmanlike job...

Citing safety and financial concerns, the Warrington supervisors have given the green light to a financial agreement with a neighboring New Britain Township for the joint purchase of a traffic signal at Upper State Road and Limekiln Pike. During its regular meeting Tuesday night, the Board of Supervisors unanimously agreed to split the cost of renting a traffic signal with New Britain until bids for the purchase of a signal are received. The intersection is shared by the townships.

The search for a person to replace retiring Warrington township manager Teresa S. Thomas has been narrowed to eight candidates. The seven men and one woman will be interviewed this week, Thomas said. They were chosen by the Board of Supervisors from a field of 54 candidates who responded to local, state and national advertising. Each supervisor selected two candidates for interviews, Thomas said. Thomas said she hoped the final selection would be made from among the eight finalists.

A Warrington man who pleaded guilty in September to illegal possession of three pipe bombs was sentenced Friday in U.S. District Court in Philadelphia to 30 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release. John Grzyminski, 50, had faced a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. He was arrested May 10 in a traffic stop by Solebury Township police after his mother, Catherine Wilson, called police to their home on Saddle Drive. On May 9, she had returned home after surgery to find that Grzyminski had removed the wheelchair-access ramp, an affidavit filed in May in federal court stated.

The bad news for Warrington Township, Bucks County, is that it needs to refund more than $1 million collected for a business tax that was ruled illegal this week. The good news is that the township never spent the money and is prepared to refund up to $13,000, plus interest, to each of 150 businesses, officials said Thursday. "We're ready to send the checks as soon as possible," lawyer William Casey said. "We'll be glad to get rid of that escrow account. It was a pain. " The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that a flat $2,600-a-year tax on businesses that grossed more than $1 million violated state law. A flat, or fixed, business tax is legal, but not a tax based on gross revenue.

Giacomo A. DeBlasi, 98, a retired supervisor for Common Pleas Court in Philadelphia and a decorated World War II veteran, died Tuesday, Nov. 13, at Abington Hospice at Warminster. Mr. DeBlasi was born in Philadelphia. He graduated from South Philadelphia High School in 1932 and attended Drexel University. He served in the Army from 1942 to 1945. Mr. DeBlasi, a staff sergeant during World War II, fought in the invasion of Normandy and the Battle of the Bulge. He earned a Bronze Star, an American Theatre Service Medal, and the European African Middle Eastern Service Medal with four Bronze Stars.

Craig LaBan: I've been away, brewing up a storm in Belgium with a crew from Philly Beer Week ( http://is.gd/hLn9d2 ). Reader: I'm planning a surprise gathering for my husband's birthday and struggling to come up with a decent, and reasonably priced, option for nine people. I want to be able to make a reservation. Been back to Le Viet? We frequent Nam Phuong, but I need something nicer. Thoughts? C.L.: Yes, I've been back to Le Viet many times since the review - it's become something of a family favorite.

The Christou and Kurnellas families, entering their 10th year with KC Prime steak house in Lawrenceville, N.J., have opened their second location, in a former Houlihan's in Warrington. KC Prime (1580 Easton Rd., Warrington, 267-483-8075) - warmly decorated in white brick with striking lighting fixtures - joins a burgeoning upper-casual dining scene south of Doylestown. It's across from T.J. Smith's and up the road from a new Chickie's & Pete's . Specialties are steaks, chops, and seafood; entrees start at $18 for ribs and head into the $30s.

A Warrington man lost his life Tuesday night when his all-terrain vehicle crashed into a car outside the Upper Dublin Sports Center. Shortly after 7 p.m., Thomas Diefenderfer, 25, was thrown off an ATV after it struck a 2011 Volkswagen Jetta exiting the athletic club on Tennis Avenue in Ambler. He was pronounced dead at the scene, according to Upper Dublin Township Police. The ATV, which was traveling north on Tennis Avenue, also struck another vehicle, but no other injuries were reported.

The caller was unrushed and exceedingly polite, even thanking the police dispatcher as he reported that he had beaten his wife and their 7-year-old son to death with a baseball bat in their home in a handsome neighborhood in Warrington. When police arrived at 167 Redstone Dr. late Friday night, they found a typewritten note on the front door that listed the names and phone numbers of relatives to be contacted on both sides of the family. "Thank you" was typed at the bottom of the note.

The caller was unrushed and exceedingly polite, even thanking the police dispatcher as he reported that he had beaten his wife and their 7-year-old son to death with a baseball bat in their home in a handsome neighborhood in Warrington. When police arrived at 167 Redstone Dr. late Friday night, they found a typewritten note on the front door that listed the names and phone numbers of relatives to be contacted on both sides of the family. "Thank you" was typed at the bottom of the note.

Discovery Laboratories Inc., Warrington, said today that it will get a $500,000 investment from PharmaBio Development Inc. as Discovery continues development of treatments for respiratory diseases. PharmaBio already owned 5.6 million Discovery shares. It agreed to purchase about 2.4 million additional shares of common stock and warrants for about 1.2 million shares, Discovery said. If it exercises the warrants, PharmaBio would own about 4 percent of outstanding shares. PharmaBio is the former strategic investing subsidiary of clinical research organization Quintiles Transnational Corp.