During their Feb. 2 monthly meeting, the West Marlborough supervisors had high praise for their road crew's dedicated performance during the January blizzard.
Supervisor Bill Wylie said although many small townships contract out their snow removal, "we've always thought we're the kind of community who likes to know who's doing the work." He said the road crew "takes special pride in doing a good job ... I think our residents appreciate it."
Tom Brosius of Marlboro Mushrooms told the supervisors he greatly appreciated the road crew's timely help so that his employees could get to the farm safely.
In other business, Supervisor Hugh Lofting said he is continuing to work on getting a grant from a program that targets "dirt, gravel and low-volume roads" (defined as less than 500 cars a day). The money would go toward stabilizing a steep bank along Rokeby Road that slopes down to the Buck Run. Residents have brought the problem to the supervisors' attention several times in recent years.
Friday, February 5, 2016
WEST MARLBOROUGH: Update on police agreement
At their February meeting, the West Marlborough supervisors said they have been talking to the East Marlborough supervisors about continuing their police services arrangement. Since 2008, West Marlborough has contracted with East Marlborough to receive 40 hours of service a month; that has been provided by Chief Robert "Clarkie" Clarke. West Marlborough was going to discontinue the arrangement at the end of 2015, but several West Marlborough residents objected.
As Supervisor Bill Wylie explained, "A lot of people really value some sort of police presence in the township ... having somebody to call would be very useful and reassuring."
Under a new "on-call" agreement being contemplated, Mr. Wylie said, the officer who responded to a West Marlborough resident's phone call might be Clarkie or one of East Marlborough's two part-time officers. Residents have said they would be fine with that.
At the February meeting Clarkie presented his statistics for the service he provided to West Marlborough in 2015: 84 days worked, 480 hours worked, 204 incidents handled, 265 calls to 911 received, 89 speeding tickets issued, 24 parking tickets, six stop-sign violations, two tickets for driving without a license, two tickets for driving an unregistered vehicle, one ticket for passing in a no-passing zone, one ticket for careless driving and 63 warnings.
For January 2016, he handled 21 incidents, received 26 calls to 911 and issued eight citations (two for speeding, three for running a stop sign, one for an inspection violation and two for parking).
As Supervisor Bill Wylie explained, "A lot of people really value some sort of police presence in the township ... having somebody to call would be very useful and reassuring."
Under a new "on-call" agreement being contemplated, Mr. Wylie said, the officer who responded to a West Marlborough resident's phone call might be Clarkie or one of East Marlborough's two part-time officers. Residents have said they would be fine with that.
At the February meeting Clarkie presented his statistics for the service he provided to West Marlborough in 2015: 84 days worked, 480 hours worked, 204 incidents handled, 265 calls to 911 received, 89 speeding tickets issued, 24 parking tickets, six stop-sign violations, two tickets for driving without a license, two tickets for driving an unregistered vehicle, one ticket for passing in a no-passing zone, one ticket for careless driving and 63 warnings.
For January 2016, he handled 21 incidents, received 26 calls to 911 and issued eight citations (two for speeding, three for running a stop sign, one for an inspection violation and two for parking).
Sunday, January 31, 2016
SLEDDING: Lost and found in Pocopson
The Young Relative and his Patton pals spent the day after the blizzard sledding and playing football in the snow at Pocopson Elementary School. In the process, even though he'd stashed his phone in a securely zippered pocket, somewhere along the way it fell out. He was not happy when he noticed.
Simultaneously, his father started receiving odd text messages. It seems that the ingenious boy who found the phone started texting everyone in the phone's contact list. The father described to the texter what his son looked like and was wearing and -- happily -- the phone was soon returned to its extremely relieved owner, with great ceremony.
The YR's Dad added a fitting coda to the story. After all of this ruckus, he picked up his son at the end of the afternoon and they were ready to go home.
"Aren't you forgetting something?" he asked his son.
"No, Dad, here's the phone," replied the son, pointing to the cherished object.
"No," pointed out the father. "I meant your sled."
Simultaneously, his father started receiving odd text messages. It seems that the ingenious boy who found the phone started texting everyone in the phone's contact list. The father described to the texter what his son looked like and was wearing and -- happily -- the phone was soon returned to its extremely relieved owner, with great ceremony.
The YR's Dad added a fitting coda to the story. After all of this ruckus, he picked up his son at the end of the afternoon and they were ready to go home.
"Aren't you forgetting something?" he asked his son.
"No, Dad, here's the phone," replied the son, pointing to the cherished object.
"No," pointed out the father. "I meant your sled."
BRIDGE: Speakman covered bridge update
Repair work started on the Speakman #1 covered bridge on Frog Hollow Road in mid-December, and I stopped by on Sunday to see the progress. The covered bridge has already been completely dismantled, leaving only the stone abutment in place on the East Fallowfield side of the Buck Run. On the West Marlborough side is an arc of white sandbags.
The project should be finished, and the long-closed Frog Hollow Road reopened, by September 2016.
Here are the details of the project, according to the contractor, Eastern Highway Specialists:
"· The wood portion of the covered bridge will be dismantled. It will be removed from the site and taken to the warehouse of Lancaster County Timber Frame (LCTF) who will do the rehabilitation work on the timber trusses and associated structural timber. In conjunction with this we have hired Rettew Associates, an experienced engineering firm, to inspect the timber and determine if any additional replacement is necessary.
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| The Speakman #1 covered bridge over the Buck Run has been removed for repair. |
Here are the details of the project, according to the contractor, Eastern Highway Specialists:
"· The wood portion of the covered bridge will be dismantled. It will be removed from the site and taken to the warehouse of Lancaster County Timber Frame (LCTF) who will do the rehabilitation work on the timber trusses and associated structural timber. In conjunction with this we have hired Rettew Associates, an experienced engineering firm, to inspect the timber and determine if any additional replacement is necessary.
· During the winter months LCTF will be doing the timber rehabilitation. During this time we (EHS) will remove the remaining structure and the two abutments. We will then begin the reconstruction of the abutments. The new abutments will be modern cast in place and reinforced concrete but will have stone masonry veneer or stone walls on the exterior. In the end, the new structure will be encased in true stone masonry. One of the local masons, Dan Gallagher, will be doing the stone masonry work.
· The new covered bridge structure will be supported by new steel beams which will be erected on the new abutments. This work is expected to take place in late spring of 2016. After this the covered bridge will re-erected on the site."
LONGWOOD: Bluegrass in the Conservatory
On Saturday night we headed to Longwood Gardens to hear bluegrass performer Rhonda Vincent and her band The Rage.
What a trouper Rhonda is. She explained that she'd been suffering an upper respiratory malady for weeks, so while playing the mandolin throughout she shared the singing duties during the two-hour show with the other members of the band. She was right when she said she has a deep bench to rely on.
Sharing the stage with her were her daughter Sally Berry on guitar (her "The Grass I Am Playing Is Really Blue" was wonderful); joyful fiddle player (and Sally's husband) Hunter Berry; Brent Burke on dobro; Mickey Harris on guitar and mandolin; Aaron McDaris on banjo; and Josh Williams on bass.
Rhonda ruefully said if we wanted to hear what she sounded like normally, we'd have to buy one of her CDs from the merch table.
I love going to shows in the conservatory no matter what the musical genre. It's magical sitting there in the warmth surrounded by the flowers and their fragrances, especially when you can see snow covering the waterlily ponds outside. As part of the special orchid display, behind the performers was a "curtain" of purple orchids, and overhead were magnificent orbs of purple and white orchids.
What a trouper Rhonda is. She explained that she'd been suffering an upper respiratory malady for weeks, so while playing the mandolin throughout she shared the singing duties during the two-hour show with the other members of the band. She was right when she said she has a deep bench to rely on.
Sharing the stage with her were her daughter Sally Berry on guitar (her "The Grass I Am Playing Is Really Blue" was wonderful); joyful fiddle player (and Sally's husband) Hunter Berry; Brent Burke on dobro; Mickey Harris on guitar and mandolin; Aaron McDaris on banjo; and Josh Williams on bass.
Rhonda ruefully said if we wanted to hear what she sounded like normally, we'd have to buy one of her CDs from the merch table.
I love going to shows in the conservatory no matter what the musical genre. It's magical sitting there in the warmth surrounded by the flowers and their fragrances, especially when you can see snow covering the waterlily ponds outside. As part of the special orchid display, behind the performers was a "curtain" of purple orchids, and overhead were magnificent orbs of purple and white orchids.
PARTY: Balloons on the mailbox
I'm not around preschoolers much these days, so spending three hours at a birthday party for a four-year-old was something of an adventure this past Saturday. The party theme was "Paw Patrol" (a canine-themed animated show popular with this age group).
I had a great time sitting on the playroom floor and playing with the kids. Although some toys have certainly gone hi-tech since my day (the equivalent of an Etch-a-Sketch is now battery-operated and comes with a stylus for writing on the screen), dump trucks, excavators and bulldozers remain a perennial favorite. One boy was just learning his numbers and counted for me as I tossed plastic bottle caps into the back of a dump truck; he needed prompting only at "eight."
One sweet little girl was just learning to stand up. Her father was sitting next to her, and she would hold on to his knees, then grab his gray sweater and finally his beard as she pulled herself up to standing. Her dad explained that she actually learned to stand before she learned to sit back down again; "that was a problem," he said.
When it came time to open the presents, not only the birthday boy but all of his pals helped out. The wrapping paper was flying. And what an array of gifts, from books to stuffed creatures to games and BabyGap clothes! One special present was a carton of simple wooden blocks, made by the birthday boy's great-grandfather and passed down through the family.
I had a great time sitting on the playroom floor and playing with the kids. Although some toys have certainly gone hi-tech since my day (the equivalent of an Etch-a-Sketch is now battery-operated and comes with a stylus for writing on the screen), dump trucks, excavators and bulldozers remain a perennial favorite. One boy was just learning his numbers and counted for me as I tossed plastic bottle caps into the back of a dump truck; he needed prompting only at "eight."
One sweet little girl was just learning to stand up. Her father was sitting next to her, and she would hold on to his knees, then grab his gray sweater and finally his beard as she pulled herself up to standing. Her dad explained that she actually learned to stand before she learned to sit back down again; "that was a problem," he said.
When it came time to open the presents, not only the birthday boy but all of his pals helped out. The wrapping paper was flying. And what an array of gifts, from books to stuffed creatures to games and BabyGap clothes! One special present was a carton of simple wooden blocks, made by the birthday boy's great-grandfather and passed down through the family.
LATE NIGHTS: Way past my bedtime
The fact the we have become old fogeys was borne in upon us the other night when we went to an Irish music concert in Coatesville. The two performers were young (but hugely talented) men, and the emcee apologized at the outset for the fact that the show really had to start and end on time. It seemed that one of the musicians had to be at work in New York the next morning: after the show, his friend was driving him to Philadelphia, where he planned to catch an 11:20 p.m. bus up to Manhattan.
And he was probably perfectly coherent and efficient at work the next day, too.
And he was probably perfectly coherent and efficient at work the next day, too.
LENAPE: The Polar Plunge returns
After taking a year off in 2015, the craziness that is the Polar Plunge is back. People will willingly strip down to their bathing suits and jump into the frigid Brandywine on Saturday, Feb. 20, from 10 a.m. to noon at the Brandywine Picnic Park at Routes 52 and 100. Proceeds will benefit the conservation programs at Brandywine Red Clay Alliance (formerly the BVA). I know it's hard to believe, but several of my friends sorely missed the Plunge last year and are looking forward to reclaiming their much-coveted trophy (a toilet plunger). You can register online at www.brandywineredclay.org.
As for me, the Alliance event that I'm looking forward to is the annual Brandywine Hills Point-to-Point race, which will be on Sunday, April 3.
As for me, the Alliance event that I'm looking forward to is the annual Brandywine Hills Point-to-Point race, which will be on Sunday, April 3.
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