Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Massey steps into his second term
Magisterial district judge speaks about scourge of heroin epidemic in the area
OXFORD » It was Magisterial District Judge Scott Massey’s day in the spotlight as he was sworn in for his second six-year term as judge of Chester County Magisterial Court 15-3-05. But rather than celebrate the event alone, he invited in all the newly elected township supervisors in this jurisdiction, swore them in, and then took them and their guests out to dinner.
Massey was first elected in 2011 and then re-elected this year. On Friday, standing with hands held beside his wife, Diane, he took the oath from Chester County Common Pleas Court Judge Alison Bell Royer.
After he swore in the township supervisors, he reflected on the job for the past six years and the years ahead as he saw them.
“When I took office
Walmart was just about to open (on Route 10 in Lower Oxford). That changed the complexion of the community,” he said.
Massey said the presence of the mega-store and the others around it are not a detriment, but that they became an attraction of drug dealers and drug addicts. And in the passing years he has dealt with their crimes of stealing to obtain money from the sales of their take.
He said the drug trade has even arrived from Cecil County, Md., as dealers seek a place for drug commerce.
“Even with the cameras, when they have the addiction, they don’t care. They don’t care that they will get caught. In fact, 85 percent know they will get caught, but it doesn’t matter to them in that state of mind,” he said.
In his position as judge, he said drugs — especially heroin — make up the bulk of his cases.
Although drug use is not limited to one age, gender or race, he said he often sees subjects in their 20s and 30s, and most of the time when you see a couple, both the male and the female share an addiction.
He regrets that, especially those addicted to heroin, because he said the outcome is never good.
He said when he looks at the obituaries and sees the name of someone dying in their 30s or 40s, the death is often drug related.
“They are often someone who has been through (this court),” he said.
Massey is a former police officer and has served in Kennett Square, and in a position to compare the cultures of the two towns.
As Oxford stands on the brink of a growth in development, he said people often compare what they see going on with Kennett Square’s growth.
But he does not see that happening because he views the two boroughs as different.
“This community (Oxford) is perceived as a town lost in time. But in this town, when someone needs help, someone steps up. In Oxford, people know each other,” he said.
Additionally, he said, the suburbs of Kennett Square and Oxford are different. In the outlying regions of Kennett Square there is wealth and million-dollar homes, he said. In the suburbs of Oxford, he said, there are still homes going for $150,000 to $200,000, he said.
After his formal swearing in at the front of the district court before an audience of about 60 people crammed into the auditorium and front entrance area, he swore in township supervisors from nearby municipalities. They were:
Gerald Porter from New London; Curtis Mason from Penn, William Winand and Candice Miller from West Nottingham, Albert Jazyk from Elk, Samuel Goodley from East Nottingham and Charles Fleishman from Upper Oxford.