Congratulations to our Holiday House Decorating Contest winners! 1st place: Matt Hall - 3315 Humpton Rd. (listen for the music!)
2nd place: Steve Lefler - 3314 Humpton Rd.
3rd place: Chuck Coxson - 3210 Raye Rd. (amazing collection of decorations!)
Thank you to all of the amazing participants - you made it very difficult to choose! We appreciate the time and effort you all put in to making the Township so festive this year!
Pictures really don't do these justice, so drive by and check them out!

Please remove all lights, tree stands and decorations from your tree and place it out at your trash and recycling point by 5:00 AM on the following days. Christmas trees in plastic bags will not be collected.

Collection Schedule:
Friday January 6, 2017
Friday January 13, 2017
Friday January 20, 2017
Friday January 27, 2017
Friday February 3, 2017

The recipient of this year’s Officer of the Year award is Officer Laura Ashe.  She was the unanimous choice, based on established criteria and nominations submitted by the sergeants and lieutenant, for the following accomplishments that bring tremendous credit to her and reflect very favorably on the department: 
 
Year to date, Officer Ashe has out-performed the majority of her peers in all significant performance categories.  Officer Ashe is currently ranked first in felony and misdemeanor arrests for the patrol division. She currently ranks in the top 20% in traffic enforcement and the top 25% in summary arrests. These statistics demonstrate Officer Ashe’s consistently high level of performance in her most basic job function – enforcing the law.  Officer Ashe’s efforts have undoubtedly contributed to enhanced public safety, crime prevention, and traffic accident mitigation; the most basic and critical roles of the police profession.
 
Additionally, Officer Ashe has taken on a host of additional duties which demonstrate her commitment to community policing and enhanced police/community relations, namely in light of the current national environment.  Officer Ashe has served as the department’s National Night Out coordinator for the past three years, resulting in national recognition in 2014, 2015 and 2016.  In March, she co-hosted “Coffee with a Cop” with the Pennsylvania State Police at the Thorndale Dunkin Donuts.  Her civility and communications skills, and the manner in which she engages the public, far exceeds the highest standards of police officer performance.
 
In May, Officer Ashe befriended a young child who had been a victim of bullying at school.  She took the time to engage this child, who suffers from developmental disabilities, and left him feeling very good about himself. The child’s mother could not say enough positive things about Officer Ashe, and her post on Facebook brought Officer Ashe’s actions into the national spotlight.  Officer Ashe then surprised the child when she attended his graduation from pre-school at the local YMCA. This fall, at the family’s request, Officer Ashe attended a “meet & greet” at the West Bradford Elementary School for the child’s first day of class.  Her selfless actions have created a life-long admirer of police and law enforcement, and have gone a long way in exposing young children to true professional law enforcement while creating a real-life role model for young girls.
 
Officer Ashe has also taken the lead and coordinated and participated in three crime prevention presentations at local banks, including First Niagara (now Key Bank), PNC Bank and Citadel Federal Credit Union.  Her presentations on ID Theft and Fraud prevention were well received by bank management and customers.  Her services are now in high demand from other banks to make similar presentations. Her efforts in the area of crime prevention are second-to-none.
 
In October, Officer Ashe participated in the DEA Drug Take Back event hosted at one of our CVS pharmacies. These events are extremely popular with the public, and are vital in removing unwanted prescription medications from our homes and communities, before they fall into the wrong hands and contribute to the drug epidemic that is sweeping our nation.  During October, she also represented the police department at the Thorndale Volunteer Fire Department’s Fire Prevention Open House, where she demonstrated our support for our volunteer firefighters during the annual “Cookies for a Cop and Fire Friends Week”.  
 
Officer Ashe organized the creation of the police officer baseball trading cards, and frequently contributes positive posts and information to the department’s Facebook page.  Likewise, she orchestrated our participation in the Toys for Tots Program, is working with the Coatesville Youth Initiative on a mentoring program, and has enthusiastically embraced the concept of a Citizens Police Academy.  In November, Officer Ashe volunteered to participate in the first Chester County Disproportionate Minority Contact – Coatesville Youth & Law Enforcement Forum. This event is a critical step in developing positive relations between minority youth of the Coatesville area and local police.
 
Officer Ashe is an extremely positive individual with an amazing willingness and eagerness to work with our businesses and residents to ensure a better community and brighter future for all.  Her selfless efforts are tireless and inspirational.  Most importantly she manages to perform these additional duties, with enthusiasm and without complaint, while maintaining a high standard of performance in her primary responsibility of patrol.   She is a role model for her peers, and widely respected by her superiors, the public, and the law enforcement community.
 
In addition to her regular patrol duties, Officer Ashe is a Traffic Accident Reconstructionist, Traffic Safety Analyst, Warrant Control Officer, member of the Drug Task Force, certified Child Passenger Safety Technician, certified Bike Patrol Officer, Social Media Coordinator, and in 2016 she was named the department’s Community Relations Officer.  She will be formally recognized as the recipient of the 2016 Officer of the Year award at an upcoming Board of Commissioners meeting in early 2017.

It is fun to decorate for the winter holidays, but holiday decorations can increase your risk of a home fire. As you deck the halls this season, be fire smart.
When you’re decorating with live trees, make sure you keep the tree watered. If a dry tree comes in contact with a flame, it can catch on fire in fewer than 10 seconds and spread quickly throughout your home. Take a minute to watch this video which shows the difference between a dry and watered tree, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZk4vIXCnc8
Here are a few tips to keep your holiday decorations bright and safe:

• Choose the freshest tree you can find. Check to see if the needles stay when you gently pull on a branch.
• After making a fresh cut on the trunk and placing the tree in a stand, fill the stand’s water basin. Make sure you water your tree every day. Keep electrical cords and lights away from the water.
• Choose holiday decorations that are flame resistant or flame retardant.
• Choose holiday lights with a label from an approved testing laboratory, such as UL, and throw away any frayed or damaged light strands.
• Place your tree at least three feet from heat registers, space heaters, and fireplaces.
• If you decorate with candles, make sure they are at least three feet away from anything that can burn.
• Consider using battery-operated flameless candles, which can look, smell and feel like real candles. 

For additional information, contact the Department of Building and Life Safety at 610-384-0600 x220 or [email protected]