It's actually not a scam!

Today a white envelope arrived in my mailbox from "Money Network Cardholder Services" in Omaha, Nebraska. With a bland name like that, I assumed it was another junk credit card, and as I walked up the driveway I started getting incensed about scam artists who prey on elderly, more trusting people. I was even going to write a Tilda item about it.
But I opened it up anyway and read the words, "Enclosed is your Economic Impact Payment Card. This prepaid debit card is being sent to you on behalf of the U.S. Department of the Treasury in place of a paper check. This card contains the money you are receiving as a result of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES act)."
Well! 
Everything was spelled right, the grammar was fine, but I was still highly suspicious. Come on, the Department of the Treasury seal didn't even say "U.S." The card came from a dot-com address, always a red flag (though the letter did mention IRS.gov). And just like a garden-variety credit card, the letter contained all the boilerplate "terms and conditions" and arbitration language and, of course, a fee schedule.
My next step was to check online . . . and to my surprise, it's actually legit! But apparently many people haven't checked, assumed it's a fake and tossed it in the trash unopened.
I called the phone number to activate the card and set my PIN and the robot informed me what the balance was. I'm not sure how that number was calculated, but I'll take it.
Oh, and the Treasury seal was accurate too.
My friend M.A. works for AARP and they just put out a very useful fact sheet about the whole operation. Here's the link: https://www.aarp.org/money/taxes/info-2020/stimulus-payment-debit-cards.html?intcmp=AE-HP-TTN-R2-POS3-REALPOSS-TODAY&fbclid=IwAR305JRENGgGC71kRrLqopjdcTxuoUAbZLuAv90fZ4w940wUSEJJ2fTKA_Q.

Get your carnival food in Cochranville

With carnivals cancelled, the Houghton family is trying to salvage its season by selling funnel cakes and deep-fried Oreos from a roadside concession stand on Route 41 at Route 926 in Cochranville. Hours are Friday, Saturday and Sunday, 1 to 7 p.m. 
Bonus: Customers get a close-up view of the mothballed midway rides as they drive through the storage lot for the Houghtons' carnival equipment.
I posted this photo on the Southern Chester County Weeklies' Facebook page and one man commented, "American ingenuity: let it out, turn it on and get out of the way." Our thoughts exactly. 
Did we partake? We did not, having just finished supper.

Yet another cancellation

The clerk at the dentist's office left me a voice mail message the other day, cancelling my cleaning appointment for the third time since March 19 and this time not even estimating when they'll be reopening. I had to laugh when I replayed her message because I understood exactly what was going on. Occasionally for volunteer jobs I've had to make dozens of calls in a row, leaving the exact same canned message each time, and after a while my mind decides, "This is boring! Vocal cords, prepare to go off script." Good luck getting back on message. 
I could tell the poor clerk had reached that point when she said: "We'll call you to reschedule at [giving the office phone number]. Oh. No. We'll call you."

A drive-by birthday celebration in New London

I took part in a coronavirus ritual this week: the birthday drive-by. A friend celebrated his 65th birthday last weekend, and his wife arranged for a celebration he will not forget. 
The staging area was at the beginning of their development in New London. We were the second vehicle to arrive, but before long so many cars had gathered that we had to move forward a few driveways. While waiting we took the opportunity to catch up with friends we hadn't seen in weeks, including some whose lives have been turned upside-down by COVID, like a funeral director and a flight attendant.
We'd been told that the procession would begin when the fire trucks arrived -- which they soon did, sirens blaring. The utterly surprised birthday boy was standing by his mailbox, wearing a mask and waving and thanking everyone. 
Dearest Partner had made a "Happy Birthday" sign on a big piece of cardboard and held it up through the sunroof as I drove. A friend on a Harley-Davidson motorcycle paused as he approached the house and then revved up the bike and sped by. One couple arrived in their convertible with the top down; the tiara-clad wife (a great-grandmother several times over!) was seated in the back waving like a beauty queen. Amused neighbors watched from their front yards, some recording the spectacle on their phones.
The whole thing was over in just a few minutes, but it was great fun. Our friend, a Navy veteran, has survived some health challenges in recent months, so this was a very happy milestone.

A tiny bridge will have a big impact down the road

It sounds like there will be fewer tractor-trailers in Kennett Square but more in Avondale.
When the State Street bridge in Kennett Square closes for repair in June, tractor-trailers on their way to the cold-storage facilities in Toughkenamon, instead of going straight through downtown Kennett, will have to take the Route 1 bypass all the way to the Route 41 exit, will then go through Avondale on Route 41, and will take Baltimore Pike east to Toughkenamon. Kennett Township manager Eden Ratcliff spoke briefly about the closure at the township meeting on May 20. (The bridge, built in 1929, is actually in Kennett Township.)
"For the average car, that's not going to be a huge deal, but for the average tractor-trailer there will be a re-routing process," he said, showing a map outlining the truck detour.
That stretch of Route 41 through Avondale already backs up in the summer with motorists heading to the shore; Friday afternoons will be interesting in Avondale, to say the least.

Prepare for another bridge closure, this one on State Street at Mill Road

Are you ready for another bridge closure?
Kennett Square borough manager Joseph Scalise announced at borough council's May 18 meeting that beginning sometime in June, State Street is going to be closed just west of Mill Road for "a few months" so PennDOT can repair a small bridge near the Creekside Diner. Detours will be posted.
The 39-foot-long bridge, which crosses the west branch of the Red Clay Creek, was built in 1929. PennDOT rates the condition of its deck and substructure as "poor" (the worst rating) and that of its superstructure as "serious" (the next-worst).
Mayor Matt Fetick said the bridge closure will offer downtown borough residents, visitors and businesses "a little taste of what it's like to divert truck traffic" because truckers will be instructed to avoid State Street during the bridge work.
Mayor Fetick also told council that PennDOT completed a traffic study of South Union Street in the area of Mulberry Street and concluded that the speed limit should be decreased from 35 mph to 25 mph. To improve sight distances for motorists at that intersection, some on-street parking spaces will be eliminated, he said.

You can see how deteriorated the underneath part of the bridge is.

Polling places for June 2 primary

Here's a list of the local polling places for the June 2 primary election. Please note: Some of the places have changed due to the COVID-19 restrictions. 
If you'd rather vote by mail, applications for mail in ballots will be accepted until May 26 at 5pm at the following website: https://www.votespa.com/Voting-in-PA/Pages/Mail-and-Absentee-Ballot.aspx.
Thank you, Tom Herman, West Marlborough's Judge of Elections, for forwarding this info.

Avondale: Avondale Presbyterian Church
Elk: twp. building
East Fallowfield East: Hephzibah Baptist Church, 2237 Strasburg Rd.
East Fallowfield West: East Fallowfield Elementary School, 2254 Strasburg Rd.
East Marlborough East: Patton Middle School
East Marlborough South: Kennett Square Missionary Baptist Church
East Marlborough West: Patton Middle School
Franklin: Cornerstone Presbyterian Church, 109 Gypsy Hill Rd.
Highland: township bldg.
Kennett Square North: Kennett Friends Meeting
Kennett Square South 1 and South 2: Mary D. Lang
Kennett Township 1: township building
Kennett Township 2: Church of the Advent
Kennett Township 3 and 4: Greenwood Elementary
London Britain: West Grove Fire Co, 1517 New London Rd.
Londonderry: township building
London Grove Chatham: Chatham Methodist, 3215 Gap-Newport Pike
London Grove South: twp building
New Garden North: Bancroft Elementary
New Garden South 1: township bldg
New Garden South 2: Kennett Middle School
New London: Christian Life Center, 125 Saginaw Rd.
Newlin: township maintenance building, 1751 Embreeville Rd.
Penn: twp bldg.
Pennsbury North 1 and North 2: Chadds Ford Elementary School
Pennsbury South 1 and South 2: township bldg.
Pocopson: Pocopson Elementary
West Fallowfield: township building
West Grove 1 and 2: borough hall
West Marlborough: township building