# Pine Creek Park Redesign Puts Child’s Memorial in Question WEST PIKELAND TWP, PA — A planned accessible-playground overhaul at Pine Creek Park could relocate a township-supported memorial created after a local couple lost their week-old son, setting up a dispute over how West Pikeland Township balances accessibility and safety requirements with preserving Cayden’s Corner. The memorial sand play area opened Dec. 16, 2023, in memory of Cayden Leithead, the son of township residents Ryan and Denise Leithead. Cayden died a week after his birth in December 2022. Ryan Leithead worked with the township on the memorial, which remains identified on West Pikeland’s parks page as part of Pine Creek Park at 1488 Yellow Springs Road in Chester Springs. Its location is now in question as the township advances a broader playground renovation. A preliminary design contemplates moving the sandpit and replacing its existing dedication sign, though final plans have not been released. Township officials have indicated that Cayden’s Corner sits within the fall zone for a swing set and that keeping the sandpit in its current location would constrain efforts to redesign the playground for safety and accessibility. The possible relocation became public during an Aug. 17 township meeting. Leithead has objected to moving the memorial and says his family was not directly notified about the proposal before learning of it. He is seeking an opportunity for the family to participate in the planning process before the township settles on a final design. The issue has since drawn community attention, with residents organizing an effort to preserve Cayden’s Corner ahead of the Board of Supervisors’ Sept. 8 meeting. Supervisors have expressed differing views on the issue. The dispute comes as West Pikeland moves forward with a substantially funded redevelopment of the playground. The township reported in January that it had received a $231,900 grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources toward a project estimated at $300,000. More than $65,000 has also been raised privately. According to the state grant description, the project calls for parking improvements, new playground equipment and safety surfacing, stormwater measures, ADA access and landscaping. West Pikeland’s fundraising page describes the project as a fully accessible playground and displays three preliminary images labeled “Proposed Pine Creek Park Playground.” The renovation is expected to be completed around mid-2027, but the Board of Supervisors must approve the project and final plans have not been made public. The township’s Parks and Recreation Committee is scheduled to meet Sept. 3. An agenda had not been posted as of the latest check. The disagreement leaves officials confronting competing considerations before the project moves forward: providing an accessible playground that meets modern safety requirements while determining whether those objectives can be achieved without substantially altering a memorial the township helped establish less than three years ago. Caydens Corner @ Pine Creek Park

Pine Creek Park Redesign Puts Child’s Memorial in Question
West Whiteland Township

Weston Campus Housing Plan Advances With 55 Units
data center

East Whiteland Halts Data Center Work Over Water Approval
Christkindlmarkt 2026

West Chester Christkindlmarkt Returns With 100-Plus Holiday Vendors
Road work

Avondale Secures $645,118 for Pennsylvania Avenue Rebuild
Pine Creek Park Redesign Puts Child’s Memorial in Question
Weston Campus Housing Plan Advances With 55 Units
East Whiteland Halts Data Center Work Over Water Approval
West Chester Christkindlmarkt Returns With 100-Plus Holiday Vendors
Avondale Secures $645,118 for Pennsylvania Avenue Rebuild

Entertainment

View All
Colonial Theatre/Phoenixville Film Festival
Movies

Phoenixville Film Festival Brings Local Stories to the Big Screen

- by Timothy Alexander

PHOENIXVILLE, PA — From the unsettling history of Pennhurst to the borough’s steelmaking past, stories rooted close to home will share the screen with independent films from around the world …

Lifestyle

View All
man driving
Automotive

What Pittsburgh Traffic May Be Doing to Your Brakes

- by Timothy Alexander

The morning commute has its own rhythm: accelerate, coast, brake. A red light. Another line of cars. A sudden slowdown ahead. Then a foot returns to the brake pedal and …

Pennsylvania

View All
oag back2School
Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania AG Expands School Safety Push as Tech Risks Grow

- by Maryann Pugh

PITTSBURGH, PA — Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday on Monday outlined an expanded school-safety and youth outreach effort in Pittsburgh as his office increases scrutiny of social media platforms and …

National

View All
National

U.S. Mint Sets $164 Price for Coolidge Silver Medal

- by Maryann Pugh

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Mint will begin selling a one-ounce Calvin Coolidge Presidential Silver Medal for $164 on Sept. 3, extending its presidential medal series with a 99.9% silver …

Latest Articles

View All
Ecovyst
Executives

Ecovyst Names Laurie Bergman CFO as Feehan Exits

- by Timothy Alexander

WAYNE, PA — Ecovyst Inc. (NYSE: ECVT) recently appointed Laurie Bergman chief financial officer, replacing Michael Feehan as the Wayne-based specialty chemicals company shifts responsibility for its finance organization. Bergman, …

Palvella Therapeutics
Health / Medical

Palvella Files FDA Bid for QTORIN Rapamycin in Rare Disease

- by Timothy Alexander

WAYNE, PA — Palvella Therapeutics Inc. (Nasdaq: PVLA) has completed its application for U.S. approval of QTORIN 3.9% rapamycin anhydrous gel to treat microcystic lymphatic malformations, moving the Wayne-based biotechnology …

TELA Bio
Business

Malvern MedTech Cuts 20% of Staff as CFO Exits

- by Timothy Alexander

MALVERN, PA — TELA Bio (Nasdaq: TELA) is cutting annual operating expenses by about $17 million and reducing its workforce by roughly 20%, a restructuring the medical technology company expects …

oag back2School
Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania AG Expands School Safety Push as Tech Risks Grow

- by Maryann Pugh

PITTSBURGH, PA — Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday on Monday outlined an expanded school-safety and youth outreach effort in Pittsburgh as his office increases scrutiny of social media platforms and …

Axalta Coating Systems
Regional

AkzoNobel-Axalta Merger Board Takes Shape Ahead of Close

- by Timothy Alexander

PHILADELPHIA, PA — AkzoNobel and Axalta Coating Systems have completed the planned board lineup for their pending merger of equals, naming three additional non-executive directors who will help oversee the …