As we see the proverbial door close on one year and open another to the next, the Chester County Press sends out best wishes to the many townships, school districts and movers and shakers we cover throughout the year, as we soon welcome 2014: 

We wish Oxford Borough good luck with the efforts to revitalize its downtown. The town has taken some positive steps in recent years, including the large-scale streetscape project, but the town is still in need of a few major restaurants or shops to anchor the business district. The opening of Downtown Pasta and the extensive renovation of the Octoraro Hotel & Tavern could signal another turning point for the borough, so we hope that 2014 brings the stability that is necessary for the business district to be strengthened.

We wish Oxford superintendent David Woods and Avon Grove superintendent Christopher Marchese the best as they begin the first full year in those positions. We hope that Oxford gets good news during the budgeting process, and that Avon Grove is able to negotiate a new teachers' contract that is fair to the taxpayers of the district.

We wish success to the Unionville-Chadds Ford School Board as they take on three new members (Carolyn Daniels, Michael Rock and Steven Simonson) and transition to a new board president (Victor Dupuis) and vice-president (Gregg Lindner). This board should reflect the excellence of the district itself, and should work toward progress on issues, not deadlocking over ideologies.

We wish Richard Leff the best of luck as he begins his first term as Kennett Township Supervisor, a term that we hope will begin a new era of politics in the township, free from the backdoor policies that marked the way the township had been governed over the last decade. With Leff's election, the reform that fellow supervisor Scudder Stevens promised will now have a clear mandate.

We wish Kennett Square's most celebrated planners -- folks like Brant Kucera, Mary Hitchens and Leon Spencer, as well as others too numerous to mention -- the best of success as they continue to envision a longterm plan for the town that brings both commerce and community together. 

We wish Richard Ayotte, Randy Geouque and J. Patrick Little success as they assume their place on the New Garden Township Board of Supervisors. With the prospect of the White Clay Point development still looming for the future and the longterm drafts for Route 41 improvements still very much on the drawing board, these new supervisors will need to show both patience and clear-eyed insight in helping make the right decisions for the residents they represent.

We wish the many high school sports teams that we cover throughout the year -- at Avon Grove, Kennett, Oxford and Unionville -- lots of victories in 2014, but more importantly, we wish them great camaraderie and the opportunities they will have to build a platform of great memories that will remain with them for the rest of their lives. 

Finally, to our readers, we wish you and yours a happy and healthy 2014, and a hope that all of your wishes come true in the new year.