At their December meeting, the Newlin Township supervisors (Janie Baird, Rob Pearson and Bill Kelsall) opened bids for the sale of the township's old truck, described as a "1995 Chevy 3500 HD Dump Truck, 6.5 turbo diesel engine, 81,000 miles, fresh Pa. inspection, automatic transmission, 2WD, all central hydraulics, equipped with 9' western uni-mount snow plow and rear mounted tailgate spreader." The winning bid was $7,777, well over the $3,000 minimum.
A newer four-wheel-drive truck, purchased from Pocopson Township, "will enable the Township to better perform its responsibilities in inclement weather," according to a report in "The Newlin News."
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Say what?
Overheard on Saturday afternoon: one youth to another, as they were leaving the Y after working out: "Aw, man, I had to park so far away, it's insane!"
Friday, January 21, 2011
Power shift
Wow, did we dodge a bullet this afternoon (Jan. 21). The temperatures had been dropping to well below freezing and the wind had been picking up since lunchtime, and bang: the power went out at about 3 p.m. I think there was probably a car accident, or a tree fell on the wires. I called PECO to report the outage and the automated voice said that 51 customers were affected, and power should be back on by 6:30 p.m.
At about 4:30 I was just thinking about heading out to Starbucks for the duration when -- wonder of wonders! -- I heard my printer start up and saw the digital clock flashing. Back to normal!
Living without power is awful at any time of the year -- no cooking, no water, no computer for work or e-mail or the Internet -- but in the winter it's especially nasty because it gets dark so early, and I have electric heat. Even with my Aladdin oil lamp burning, it had dropped to 58 degrees inside by the time the power came back on.
Thank you for the quick repair, PECO!
Earlier in the week, lots of folks lost power late Tuesday afternoon in the wake of some motor vehicle accidents near Willowdale. I'm told that Route 82 was shut down between the high school and Route 926.
At about 4:30 I was just thinking about heading out to Starbucks for the duration when -- wonder of wonders! -- I heard my printer start up and saw the digital clock flashing. Back to normal!
Living without power is awful at any time of the year -- no cooking, no water, no computer for work or e-mail or the Internet -- but in the winter it's especially nasty because it gets dark so early, and I have electric heat. Even with my Aladdin oil lamp burning, it had dropped to 58 degrees inside by the time the power came back on.
Thank you for the quick repair, PECO!
Earlier in the week, lots of folks lost power late Tuesday afternoon in the wake of some motor vehicle accidents near Willowdale. I'm told that Route 82 was shut down between the high school and Route 926.
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Business for sale
If it's your New Year's resolution to start a mushroom farm, you're in luck: there's one for sale on the west side of Newark Road at Spencer Road in West Marlborough Township. Drive by and take a look. There are signs on the site giving the owner's contact information.
Vested rights
No one expects rapier-sharp legal arguments and riveting testimony at a municipal zoning hearing, but even by those standards the three-hour hearing at West Marlborough Township the evening of Jan. 19 was exceptionally dull. The only excitement came when a stink bug crawled up the back of attorney Michael Gill's brown suit jacket. The spectators behind him were mesmerized, wondering whether it was going to crawl into his long, wavy hair before he noticed. (It didn't; one of his clients flicked it off him.)
Here's some background. Some Springdell residents don't like the impact that the popular tavern/restaurant The Whip has had on their quality of life: it brings noise, traffic and trash, they say. They've sought various remedies over the years, but the problems have persisted, so they presented a formal complaint to the township in 2010, claiming that the township zoning officer ignored the township's ordinance when he issued the initial permits and then permitted expansion of the Whip.
The township's attorney responded that the zoning officer had in fact done his job properly. The neighbors then filed an appeal to the township Zoning Hearing Board, which is what led to the Jan. 19 hearing.
The Whip, argued the neighbors' attorney, Mr. Gill, has become "very, very, very successful" and "a regional restaurant attraction," but its popularity has created "intolerable conditions" in Springdell.
The position taken by The Whip and the township is that the neighbors knew about the situation for years but did not file a complaint on a timely basis. The Whip's attorney said his clients did exactly what the township instructed them to do when renovating the property and opening the restaurant.
Moderating the hearing was the Zoning Hearing Board's solicitor, E. Craig Kalemjian of West Chester, and chairing the zoning board was Clayton Bright.
Other attorneys present were:
The hearing was to continue on Tuesday, Jan. 25. You are welcome to attend, but I'm going to find something more interesting to do: there's no guarantee that adventurous stink bug will return to entertain us.
Here's some background. Some Springdell residents don't like the impact that the popular tavern/restaurant The Whip has had on their quality of life: it brings noise, traffic and trash, they say. They've sought various remedies over the years, but the problems have persisted, so they presented a formal complaint to the township in 2010, claiming that the township zoning officer ignored the township's ordinance when he issued the initial permits and then permitted expansion of the Whip.
The township's attorney responded that the zoning officer had in fact done his job properly. The neighbors then filed an appeal to the township Zoning Hearing Board, which is what led to the Jan. 19 hearing.
The Whip, argued the neighbors' attorney, Mr. Gill, has become "very, very, very successful" and "a regional restaurant attraction," but its popularity has created "intolerable conditions" in Springdell.
The position taken by The Whip and the township is that the neighbors knew about the situation for years but did not file a complaint on a timely basis. The Whip's attorney said his clients did exactly what the township instructed them to do when renovating the property and opening the restaurant.
Moderating the hearing was the Zoning Hearing Board's solicitor, E. Craig Kalemjian of West Chester, and chairing the zoning board was Clayton Bright.
Other attorneys present were:
- Mr. Gill and Kristin S. Camp, both of Buckley, Brion, McGuire, Morris, & Sommer, West Chester, representing the Springdell neighbors (Joe and Cathy Huston, Gus and Linda Brown, George Strawbridge and several others)
- Neil Land of Brutscher, Foley, Milliner & Land, Kennett Square, representing The Whip's owners, Luke Allen and K.C. Culp
- J. Dwight Yoder of Gibbel Kraybill & Hess, Lancaster, representing the township.
The hearing was to continue on Tuesday, Jan. 25. You are welcome to attend, but I'm going to find something more interesting to do: there's no guarantee that adventurous stink bug will return to entertain us.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Where am I?
Think you know our neck of the woods? The Cheshire Hunt Conservancy has started a fun "name-that-view" photo contest on its website, http://www.cheshirehuntconservancy.org/.
On hold
I'm not sure how many people know about a truly amazing service that our county library system offers. You can go online (http://www.ccls.org/), search the catalog, reserve a book and have it sent to the library that's most convenient for you. You'll get an email when it arrives, and you have five days to go to the library and pick it up. No extra charge!
I put "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett on hold and it arrived in only four days -- and it's a bestseller. I'm impressed. (By the way, it's an excellent and entertaining book, and very timely for Martin Luther King Jr. Day.)
One caveat, though: on my computer, the county library website doesn't function very well using Internet Explorer, but it works perfectly with Mozilla Firefox.
I put "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett on hold and it arrived in only four days -- and it's a bestseller. I'm impressed. (By the way, it's an excellent and entertaining book, and very timely for Martin Luther King Jr. Day.)
One caveat, though: on my computer, the county library website doesn't function very well using Internet Explorer, but it works perfectly with Mozilla Firefox.
Get well soon!
Sending healing thoughts and best wishes to Jim Graham, the talented and charming photographer who makes those wonderful images in "The Hunt" magazine, all the equestrian event programs, and lots of other publications. Jim had heart surgery last week at Christiana Hospital and is recuperating at home. I'm sure he'll be back on his feet for the spring wedding season!
Extortion
People have been asking me if I've heard anything about Aggie O'Brien's legal troubles. You'll recall that the Kennett Square caterer stands accused of trying to blackmail a very wealthy local horse breeder and former friend, threatening to say mean (but unspecified) things about the woman and her family unless she received substantial sums of money.
Ms. O'Brien has been free on $10,000 unsecured bail since the extortion charges were filed in August. The latest I've heard is that a jury trial is set for March 22 before the Honorable C. Darnell Jones II of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
Ms. O'Brien has been free on $10,000 unsecured bail since the extortion charges were filed in August. The latest I've heard is that a jury trial is set for March 22 before the Honorable C. Darnell Jones II of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
Monday, January 17, 2011
Brunch
Do you have friends whose invitations you accept without a nanosecond's hesitation? They're fun, relaxed and welcoming, they offer great food and drinks and they have a genius for gathering the most amusing, interesting, diverse people at their homes.
I went to a Unionville brunch on Sunday where I knew the host and hostess and only one other person, but the entire group of us ended up staying until the middle of the afternoon, laughing and swapping stories and getting to know each other. Although we came from widely varying backgrounds, we had no trouble finding plenty of connections, whether neighbors, hobbies, or stink bug problems. A wonderful party!
I went to a Unionville brunch on Sunday where I knew the host and hostess and only one other person, but the entire group of us ended up staying until the middle of the afternoon, laughing and swapping stories and getting to know each other. Although we came from widely varying backgrounds, we had no trouble finding plenty of connections, whether neighbors, hobbies, or stink bug problems. A wonderful party!
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Retreat
Scrapbooking was the main focus of a recent Girl Scout weekend at Camp Tweedale in Nottingham, but there was a lot of relaxing and gourmet food as well. Taking part were Dawn Talley and her troop of 9 girls; Rosalee Wortmann and her daughter, Rachel; Karen D'Agusto and her daughter, Stephanie Bernasconi; and Michal Rittler (who was also the chef) and her daughter, Kate. This is the third year in a row for the Brandywine Valley Girl Scout Service Unit event, which is open only to scouts in high school and former scouts who are now in college.
"The cabins were toasty and the event was a great success," reported Karen.
"The cabins were toasty and the event was a great success," reported Karen.
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