The News Journal from Wilmington, Delaware • Page 89

THURSDAY, FEB. 24, 1994 THE NEWS JOURNAL CROSSROADS neigh A Someday Kind Of Place Aristocrats and movie sets set stately scene in Westover Hills. By PATRICIA TALORICO Staff reporter GREENVILLE In some ways, Westover Hills is a fantasy neighborhood. UAmonumoi tiro oKna nan The News JournalBRIAN PRICE THE CHIEF: Police Chief Peter Kotowski is backed up by county patrols. Westover Hills Police: truly a single-minded force drive through the community's quiet, tree-lined streets, marvel at the elegant homes along Edgehill, Du Pont, Berkeley and Westover roads and sigh, "Someday." The aristocratic neighborhood after the Great Depression, it was jokingly known as "Leftover Bills" has long been home to some of New Castle County's biggest movers and shakers.

Residents have included the Carpenter family, who formerly owned the Phillies, and other extended members of the du Pont family. Doctors, lawyers, bankers and DuPont Co. employees have always been the backbone of the neighborhood. The new kid on the block, relatively speaking, is Charles M. Cawley, chairman and CEO of MBNA America Bank.

Cawley bought the former home of developer Edward B. DeSeta on Berkeley Road in February 1992. According to a 1993 article in The News Journal. Cawlev naid $1.3 of stately trees, mail carrier Joe Oiler jiiuuuji in lasu iui me wane moved to West- HOLLYWOOD SETTING: This grand residence on Edge- Road was used Community Profile By PATRICIA TALORICO Staff reporter GREENVILLE It's been a long time since someone mistook the Westover Hills police station for a hot-dog stand. Longtime Police Chief Robert G.

Cathcart, who died in 1990, once told a reporter about a drunken motorist who stopped late at night at the Du Pont Road station and tried to order a meal to go. The current chief, Peter J. Kotowski, laughs at the story. He remembers the small white frame station, a former gardener's cottage that burned to the ground about 10 years ago. "It always reminded me of an old-time train ticket office," Kotowski said.

Now, there's no mistaking the station for a fast-food joint. Shield-shaped yellow signs in front of the building, which once served as portable bank trailer, read "Westover Hills Police." The land is leased by the New Castle County Police Department, and a county patrol car is frequently parked next to Kotowski's cruiser. The Westover Hills Police Department is a one-man operation. Kotowski, a retired county police lieutenant, calls himself the neighborhood's "Secret Service." He wants residents to know he is always there to protect them, but it's best if they and potential criminals don't know all his movements. Kotowski varies his schedule according to criminal activity in the area, he says.

The Bear resident is a licensed constable and has been given the same powers as a county officer by Police Chief Col. Thomas P. Gordon. Kotowski carries a gun and can make arrests, although he has made none since coming aboard in September. Prisoners are never held at the Du Pont Road station house.

Kotowski works closely with patrol officers Kevin Murphy, Mark Forbes, Steve Rinehart, Paul Neill, Mike McGowan, Doug Warren and Wendy Forrester, who are assigned to the stone house. naries ocnwartz oi ratterson-Schwartz Real Estate said over Hills is not only one of the most prestigious neighborhoods in the county, it "is certainly one of the most diverse in terms of hous-ing. Many of the houses are two-story Colonials; others are "ranch homes, English Tudors, Georgian Colonials, French country manor houses and a varying degree in between," Schwartz said. Westover Hills is divided into three sections, each with its own maintenance corporation. A 10-bedroom Georgian manor house on Westover Road that was owned by George Edmonds, who died in January, is currently the most expensive residence for sale in the county.

Built in 1928, it was one of the first houses in Westover Hills. It now carries a posh asking price of $3.9 million. The area now known as West-over Hills was formerly owned by the late William du Pont head of Delaware Trust Co. Through bis nplawnrp Ijinrl Bpvelnnmpnt. KjJ.t UU i UUL OUJU JjailClO IU MIC porations.

mi. 1 ine nrsi nomes sprang up in the early 1930s and were finished before the Depression. More sections were added in the 1940s, '50s and '60s. W. Lysle Alderson Jr.

and his wife Jean bought their half-acre lot at the corner of Du Pont and Westover roads in 1952. Alderson said they built in Westover Hills because "we wanted a place where our children could walk to school." Son David and daughter Helen, known as "Penny," attended nearby Tower Hill School. "It is a very convenient location. I worked at the DuPont Co. The News JournalBRIAN PftlCI walks across Berkeley Road to make a in the film "Dead Poets Society." The News Journal rations.

Dr. Anthony Cucuzzella heads section Joan Deery heads and Morgan L. Hendry III is in charge of C. Circle moved to the area 15 years ago, when he married his wife Doris. "It's a beautiful neighborhood.

said. His only complaint? "I liked it better before Barley Mill was built" on the old Du Pont Airport. Even Hollywood has noticed the neighborhood's glamour. Alderson said a house on Edgehill Road was used in the movie "Dead Poets Society." It: ixTflpn Dorado Pocifico (Ocean View) $795 pp- Hotel Presidente 7 nights, All meals and Drinks. $04.0 if PUERTO vniMRTn 7 Nights, nonstop departures, Deluxe Hotel accommodations $745 FROM 399 flir Only from 1 jWestover Hills A yHockesln "Qreenvifl NewarlfaT Kirkwoorf -i Westover HillsCentre-villeGreenville area through the county's community policing operation.

Patrolman David W. East-burn, spokesman for the county police, said officers working in the Westover Hills area frequently stop by the station to make phone calls and write up reports. They also use the county's substation in Powder Mill Square in Greenville. Kotowski's uniform and patrol car closely resemble those used by county officers. His radio channel is the same as the county's and his computer is being hooked up now to the main system at county headquarters on U.S.

13. His phone is connected with 911 operators. Kotowski's salary is paid by Westover Hills residents. He patrols the neighborhood, checks on empty houses and responds to complaints and requests regarding security matters and disturbances. Kotowski replaced 10-year chief William Knecht a former state trooper who retired in June 1993 after he was hurt while investigating a possible burglary in progress at a house that was being remodeled.

Knecht fell from the second story, seriously injuring his hip and leg. W. Lysle Alderson a 42-year resident, said crime in Westover Hills "comes in waves." In 1969, a gardener was killed in a house after he apparently surprised burglars in the kitchen. More recently, there have been robberies, bicycle thefts and criminal-mischief reports. But since county officers began patrolling about a year ago, Alderson said "crime has gone way down." Kotowski admits the pace in Westover Hills is slower than his former work with the county force, but he's careful not to let down his guard.

"I don't think it's any different from any other policing. I get a lot of satisfaction when my efforts are successful. I think I can really make a difference here," he said. (mm Walt Disney World ORLANDO 7 Nights INCLUD6S: flir Fare and Rental Car wunlimited mileage '465 pp- RPRIL IN PARIS April 19-28 see Mont St. Michel, Loire Volley, Belgium, The Netherlands 4 nights in Paris.

H469 pp. land Only. UJJE WESTOVER VISTA: Dwarfed by an allee snowy delivery. SATISFIED RESIDENT: Fred D'Annunzio over Circle 15 years ago, and still loves it. Experimental Station and could come home every day for lunch, but I'm not sure if my wife liked that so much," Alderson quipped.

The community has deed restrictions, and no roads can be built between parcels. Building plans must be approved by the service corporations, Alderson said. Bruce White of White Robbins Inc. and his family moved into their home on Essex Road about 20 years ago. The lifelong Wilmington resident had lived in Wa-waset Park, but moved to West-over Hills "because I always liked it." He said he can name almost every resident in the community.

"For a while, there were a lot of older residents, but we're seeing younger families moving in more and more," he said. Neighbors enjoy strolling through the neighborhood's winding streets and the parkways off Essex and Hopeton roads, White said. If they're lucky, they glimpse the fox that lives on the Edmonds estate. Alderson said he can't recall any community picnics, though "the Edmondses would give a garden party and invite some of the surrounding neighbors." When Westover Hills was created, so was its police department one of only a few in the area employed by a private community. (For a time, Brookside Park and Arden had their own forces.) The Westover Hills police department employs just one man, Police Chief Peter J.

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Since 1992, properties that were sold through brokers have ranged from $190,000 to $1.3 million, according to Patterson-Schwartz Real Estate. The 1993 median sale price Is $418,500. A 21-acre estate is now on the market for $3.9 million. SCHOOL DISTRICT: Red Clay Consolidated. FEEDER PATTERN: Highlands and Marbrook elementary schools; Alexis I.

du Pont Middle and Wilmington High schools. CIVIC ASSOCIATION: The community is divided into three service corpo- is joined by officers from New Castle County's police department who patrol the area. Surveillance operates almost around the clock. Still, because the wealth of Westover Hills is almost legendary, many residents have experienced break-ins. Alderson said his home was burglarized one day about seven years ago while he mulched leaves in the back yard.

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