Coatesville Men United, Coatesville's Weed and Seed program and the CYWA will join forces on Saturday to combat blight.

The groups will be cleaning graffiti and trash, dividing their effort between the west end and east end, in and around Ash Park.

Volunteers looking to help should meet at the Ask Park pool house at 8 a.m. Check out the official flyer here.

Coatesville Fire Chief Kevin Johnson will not be stepping down, but that's all he would say about the situation.

City Manager Harry Walker called the chief's momentary impulse to leave a "knee jerk reaction" related to some unspecified frustrations.

“I’m not going to discuss my frustrations in the Daily Local News,” the chief said (in Wednesday's story). “I discussed them with the people I needed to discuss them with.”

The chief submitted his resignation letter to city officials two weeks ago. At a City

Council meeting the same night, Johnson would not confirm he would be stepping down, even as other city officials said they had received copies of Johnson’s letter.

...On Tuesday, Johnson continued to be elusive.

Asked again about his resignation letter, Johnson replied, “That doesn’t mean nothing. It’s a piece of paper. Is it signed?”

The riverwalk park plans have hit a snag.

The proposed scenic walkway along the Brandywine Creek spanning between Coatesville and Valley has received conditional approval from Valley's board of supervisors.

Among the conditions, the city must nix the portion of the park's trail proposed to cross the Glencrest Road bridge, leaving Coatesville with the alternative of either building a separate pedestrian bridge or rerouting the riverwalk.

Meanwhile funding for the project -- including a $1 million grant from the county and another $250,000 from Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources -- depends on planning and construction continuing to move forward.

Coatesville Police plan to more rigorously enforce the city's existing jaywalking laws, Chief William Matthews said recently.

“People just seem to be oblivious to the fact that they are endangering themselves and endangering children that are sometimes with them,” Matthews said during a recent interview. “We need to bring attention to it.”

The video below appeared on dailylocal.com with my story.



The crackdown will begin with a grace period, during which time jaywalkers will merely be warned, not cited by officers, unless the offender’s behavior is “excessively dangerous or disruptive,” the chief said.

Here's what's on tap.