AVONDALE: Mushroom Country

Check out the new brown-and-white billboard on Route 41 near Ellicott Road in Avondale. "Welcome to Mushroom Country!" it reads. "The Mighty Mushroom. Nutritional Powerhouse." At the bottom it gives the link for the Mushroom Council's website.

STARGAZER: Another roundabout is going in

There's been all kinds of excitement on Stargazer Road in Newlin Township.
The brief but intense storm that rolled through on July 28 seemed to focus on the road. The amount of damage was astonishing, with many large trees and limbs down, and the road was closed for several days while the crews cleaned up. Debris still littered yards, and we heard a resident's chainsaw in action when we drove through more than a week later on Aug. 6.
The road was scheduled to be closed for two months starting Aug. 15 for construction of a roundabout at the intersection with Strasburg Road. However, PennDOT realized at the eleventh hour that the detours it had lined up weren't going to work because of the roads' weight limitations. The signs warning of the pending closures have been covered up for now, and the project has been delayed, until a better detour can be worked out.
The roundabout, part of the forthcoming Stargazer Village housing development in West Bradford Township, will have five spokes: Stargazer (which will be slightly rerouted), Strasburg (two ways), Romansville, and Shadyside Roads.
Strasburg Road will also be closed during construction; it's going to be quite a challenge getting around.
Stargazer Village will comprise 95 single-family houses and 39 townhouses.

TEXAS: The Young Relative goes national

I didn't think I could be prouder of the Young Relative, who ran in the Junior Olympics in Houston this past week, until I heard that after the race he went up to the winner, shook his hand, and said, "Good race!"
"Good" being an understatement: the Missouri boy who won set a new national record and beat his nearest competitor by 12 seconds. He has not lost a race since age 10. His time would have beaten that of even the older boys.
Let's just hope he and the YR end up running on the same college team.
The YR's father reports that he was glad the race was scheduled for early in the morning, as the day was already almost unbearably hot and humid.

GYMS: Shutdown weeks at the Y

Every August our local YMCAs close for a week for cleaning, painting and refurbishing. Thoughtfully, they stagger the shutdown week so we can still take our exercise classes, just at a different facility. Check the group exercise schedules online or at the Y.
The Jennersville Y is shutting down from Aug. 22 through 28 and will re-open Monday, Aug. 29.
The Kennett Y is shutting down from Aug. 29 through Sept. 4. They'll be open from 7 a.m. to noon on Sept. 5 (Labor Day) and the normal schedule begins Sept. 6.

WEST MARLBOROUGH: Still drying out

I have a great idea for a future entrepreneur -- or at least someone assigned to develop an app as part of a school project.
Come up with an app that tells Jeep owners when it's safe to remove the windows, doors and roof of their vehicles without fear of a rain storm and -- conversely -- alerts them when they really need to zip all of those parts back into place posthaste.
It would certainly have been helpful in this household during a recent sudden deluge.

WEST MARLBOROUGH: Not much on the agenda

Not much happened at the August meeting of the West Marlborough Township supervisors.
Jake Chalfin was the only supervisor physically present. Bill Wylie was on speakerphone and the third supervisor, Hugh Lofting, was on vacation, far out of cell-phone reach.
Mr. Chalfin and Mr. Wylie conducted routine business like approving last month's minutes and reviewing the financial reports. Township engineer Al Giannantonio discussed a workshop he attended about the updated federal flood plain map, which will affect only two houses in the township.
Mr. Chalfin said that at September's meeting the board may discuss possible plans for the village of Doe Run, owned by the Truitt family, after the board has a chance to receive input from the township solicitor and land planner. At the June meeting Nancy Truitt told the supervisors that the family is doing some preliminary estate planning. She said they want to preserve the village, which they purchased in the late 1980s when the King Ranch was broken up. Doe Run, which is one 15-acre tax parcel, encompasses several rental houses along Route 82, a garage that the Truitts rent to the township, and a small office building used by the township and the Brandywine Conservancy. The Truitts also live in the village.

NOTTINGHAM: Wawa is shut for remodeling

The Nottingham Wawa -- the one across from Herr's -- will be closed from Aug. 1 through 26 for remodeling. The gas pumps will stay open, though. It looks as if they are going to be upgrading the store significantly. When we stopped in on Saturday evening, they had already started installing ornamental stonework around the columns of the gas pump kiosks. According to a sign, all the workers will be transferred to other Wawas during the shutdown and will return to Nottingham store when it's finished.
Note to those of you who think Tilda leads a glamorous life, flitting from one society event to the next: we were at the Wawa at 9 p.m. on Saturday night, in the pouring rain, to get something to drink and to buy Powerball tickets, after shopping at the Oxford Wal-Mart. There. I said it.