PASTELS: Vineyard Vines is what's hot

If you have a Unionville teenager in your life as I do, I am sure you know ALL ABOUT Vineyard Vines. It's this Christmas season's red-hot preppy clothing line, kind of like "Hang Ten" or Ralph Lauren Polo shirts were back in my day. There are shirts, hats, jackets, ties, iPhone covers, stickers and even pencils emblazoned with the fanciful whale logo. (Without realizing it, I've seen numerous Vineyard Vine car magnets at the Kennett Y.)
The prices are what you'd expect. You get free shipping if you order $125 worth of merchandise, and it's incredibly easy to do so: even simple T-shirts will set you back $40 or more. (My engineer brother immediately started calculating what the company's profit margin must be.)

Naturally, there are subtle gradations in the items that are evident only to adolescents. The Young Relative and I were scrolling through the site looking at potential Christmas presents for him.
"Oh, I like that color!" I said, pointing to a T-shirt where the whale logo was done in a blue tropical print.
"It's not about the color of the whale!" protested the Young Relative. Apparently, in some complex youth calculus, sleeve length and the pocket placement have far more to do with the item's cachet.
I suggest you order now. The "Clean Catch" T-shirt (an unfortunate name indeed) that we finally settled on was sold out in all sizes except XS. I told him to text me his second choice.

UNIONVILLE: Fed up with speeders

Baby Meow, Tammy Hartzell's beloved pet cat, was killed by a speeding car in the Buffington Street neighborhood in Unionville last week. I've written before about how absurdly fast people travel in that area, which is full of kids. The speed limit is 25 mph on that stretch of Wollaston Road, and there's no way people should be going anywhere near that fast on Buffington Street, which is essentially a one-way alley.

Little Meow was hit by a speeding car.

A Buffington Road resident put this sign up on his fence.

WEST MARLBOROUGH: State police report on activity

Lieut. Rich D'Ambrosio, the Avondale station commander for the Pennsylvania State Police, attended the West Marlborough Township supervisors meeting on Dec. 1, as he does every quarter, to give an update on the state police activity in the township. He said there had been a total of 60 incidents in the township in September, October, and November, exactly the same as in the same period in 2014. There was not a single criminal incident, he said, and of the 14 car crashes only four were serious.
He suggested that given the increasing popularity of online shopping, residents ask delivery-people to drop off packages around back so they're not visible to potential thieves driving by. He also advised against leaving Christmas tips in the mailbox for postal employees: "Just run it out to them," he suggested. He also encouraged residents to call police if they see anything unusual going on in their neighborhoods. "You know what cars are supposed to be there," he said.
In other business at the township meeting, the township engineer reported that two zoning permits had been issued in November: one for a 20-by-30-foot pole barn at the Dupreys' farm on Wilson Road and one for a 16-by-10-foot run-in shed at the Myers' farm on Newark Road.

LOCAL AUTHOR: Clipper LaMotte's new book

Unionville resident, foxhunter and attorney Clipper LaMotte has written his first novel, "Necessary Vengeance," a crime thriller that's partially set in our own backyard.
One of the characters is "Thaddeus Pennock," perhaps a nod to one of the earliest families who settled here in West Marlborough Township.
Thad is an FBI agent as well as an equestrian. As we learn in Chapter 2: “Then Thad did what he always did to pull himself together. He reached within for the lesson he started learning by foxhunting at the age of twelve alongside his parents. ... If he fell, he was expected to get right up, remount, and carry on without so much as a whimper no matter how frightened he was or how much he hurt unless he broke a bone and couldn’t. Over the years of his youth he did fall, but just as many times he made himself get up and thus came to believe he always could.”  
According to the book's blurb: "The plot races from the sinister world of organized crime in Philadelphia to dirty DC politics and from deadly deception in Buenos Aires to a murderous ambush in the rolling hills of Pennsylvania horse country, with provocative characters and unexpected twists at every turn."
You can download the first chapter for a preview (clipperlamotte.com) or purchase the book online (the e-book is available starting Dec. 8). I'll bet Clipper would even autograph it for you!

The cover to Clipper LaMotte's first novel, "Necessary Vengeance."

WEST MARLBOROUGH: Future of police coverage in the township

No more Clarkie??
The West Marlborough Township supervisors are proposing eliminating local police coverage from the township budget in 2016. The move would save $35,000 per year.
Since 2008 West Marlborough has contracted with neighboring East Marlborough to have its police officer (now chief) Robert Clarke patrol West Marlborough for 40 hours per month. The original goal was to ease parking problems at the Whip tavern in Springdell and cut down on speeding.
At their December board meeting, the West Marlborough supervisors said although they have been pleased with Clarkie's service, the move was a matter of fiscal priorities.
"This indicates no level of dissatisfaction," said Supervisor Bill Wylie. "We've had a very, very good relationship."
He said although the township's income is predictable, its expenses are not, especially when zoning hearings require the township to pay for engineers and attorneys. He said the fee that the applicant pays does not cover the township's expenses.
The supervisors (Wylie, Jake Chalfin and Hugh Lofting Sr.) said they welcome township residents' input into the decision (and I understand they have received some already). The budget will be posted on the bulletin board outside the township building in Doe Run and will be voted on at a Dec. 29 meeting.
Pennsylvania State Police at the Avondale barracks would still patrol the township if the contract with East Marlborough were ended. 

HERR'S: Bright lights, and lots of them

The spectacular Christmas light display at Herr's in Nottingham is well worth the trip down the Route 1 bypass. Hundreds of shrubs and trees throughout the potato-chip factory's large campus are decorated with lights. I felt like I was in downtown Who-ville as we drove through (the route is very well marked; at one turn a huge gingerbread man points the way). It's enchanting, and odds are good we'll be making a second trip.
And in the non-Christmas department, I chuckled when I saw a pedestrian-crossing sign in which the pedestrian stick figure was carrying -- you guessed it, a bag of Herr's potato chips.

FATHER DENNY: Kennett loses a downtown fixture

Downtown Kennett Square has lost one of its beloved fixtures: Dennis Van Thuyne, better known as Father Denny, died on Saturday, Nov. 28, at age 64.

Father Denny outside his State Street second-hand store in 2011.

Father Denny organized a bike helmet drive for kids in 2009.

A former priest at St. Patrick's in Kennett many years ago, Fr. Denny suffered a traumatic brain injury in 2005 when he was mugged in Philadelphia. He returned to Kennett and opened his second-hand store, the Kennett General Store, so that he could raise funds to help support fellow victims.
On Sunday, as word spread about his unexpected death, tributes to Father Denny poured in. People shared stories about what a kind and pleasant man he was, always ready with a gentle smile for children and a treat for dogs. It seemed that whenever I walked or drove past his shop, he was standing outside in an apron, doing little chores, puttering with the plants in his windowboxes and ready to strike up a conversation with anyone who passed by.
"Kennett Square won't be the same without him," commented one friend. "He always gave me hope when talking to him about my health issues. Our niece was in a horrible car accident several years ago and suffered a traumatic brain injury; my husband and I were in the store one time and he told us his story and we told him about our niece. He was so helpful in explaining the effects of a TBI and really helped us to understand better what she was going through."
Hal Lewis, who used to own H & R Auto in town, recalled that he "had many good talks with Father Denny at my shop, he stopped by every day...he will be missed."
Said another friend of his:."Look for flowers from Saint Theresa, he loved Saint Theresa! Told me lots about her. He was really smart about a lot of things. Never minded giving him whatever was in my purse/pocket for his cause." 
May he rest in peace.




, .