WEST MARLBOROUGH: COVID Voting

Today was primary election day in Pennsylvania. A lot of people voted via mail-in ballots, but I went to our township garage to cast my vote in person. Voting's not only a civic duty, one I'm proud to perform, but here in West Marlborough Township, population 850, it's also a social event -- even before the pandemic. 
This time around, after weeks of seeing friends only via Zoom, it was so great to chat with Jonathan Ireland and Brett Dolente (representing their respective political parties) and Tom and Risa Herman and Sandy Nutting (who were running the voting process; thank you for your service).
Everything was very well organized. Masks were of course required before you entered the township garage. Plexiglas screens separated the seated poll workers from the voters. Blue arrows on the floor indicated the correct pathway in and out. And even the ballpoint pen you used to sign the voters' book and to fill in the little circles on your ballot was collected afterward and sanitized. 

The West Marlborough Township garage/polling place. Photo by Tom Herman.

An update from the county library system

Libraries won't be opening to the public just yet, according to an email I received this evening from Joseph L. Sherwood, executive director of the Chester County Library System: 

"June 5 will be the first time the state has allowed library staff into the buildings (other than emergency facility work and emptying the book drops) since mid-March. Staff at libraries will be in the buildings trying to get organized, caught up and preparing for when we can restart services to you. Everyone’s priorities will be getting ready to continue services to you. However, those services will not start on June 5.

"The state is still restricting our in-person services. So, for now, our virtual services will continue.  However, we will be looking to add curbside holds pickup as soon as we are able. We will be cleaning our buildings, marking appropriate social distancing spaces, installing sneeze guards, and much more. While we have ordered PPE, as everyone has, not all of it has arrived yet."

Mr. Sherwood said he expects to post updates later this week.

EAST MARLBOROUGH: A new township supervisor, and local activities are starting up again

East Marlborough Township has a brand-new supervisor, Burling "Burley" Vannote. 
He was sworn in virtually by District Justice Al Iacoccca at the June 1 township meeting. The judge asked him if he wanted to have someone hold the Bible or other meaningful text, or simply to raise his right hand. Burley chose the latter: "My wife is tending to our two-year-old," he explained.
Burley replaces former supervisor Julia Lacy, who resigned in May.
The township meeting was full of news about local activities starting up again:
1. Plantation Field will be hosting an equestrian event June 5 through 7, although spectators will not be permitted. Denis Glaccum, president of Plantation Field Equestrian Events, said there will be a professional screener checking participants for any coronavirus symptoms. Scoring will be paperless, and no last-minute paperwork will be accepted. He said procedures have been put into place to "cut down on face-to-face interactions." Most of the competitors will be from Pennsylvania.
Denis said one of the great joys of running horse shows like this is seeing youngsters just starting out in competition and "10 years later you see them representing their country."
The supervisors gave their approval to the event as a "temporary outdoor activity."
2. From 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Monday, June 8, the day Unionville High School graduation was supposed to be held, there will be a parade allowing the new grads to take a "drive down memory lane." The students will meet at their former elementary school (Unionville, Hillendale, Chadds Ford and Pocopson) and will process to the Patton/UHS campus. For efficiency, departure times and routes have been set for each school. Kim Murray, one of the organizers, said that 180 students have already RSVP'd and she doesn't expect more than 200 vehicles. No roads will be closed, but there will be people controlling traffic at the Willowdale crossroads.
3. Bob Dobie, president of the Unionville Recreation Association, said he'd like to allow families to be able to reserve one of the baseball fields for a half-hour at a time so members of the household can play ball. He said if the state goes to green status by June 29, URA will be able to hold a full baseball season. Signup will be via GoogleDocs, he said. 
"You'll make a lot of families happy," he said, thanking the supervisors for their approval.
Finally, the supervisors gave permission to Tom Blomer to build an 80-square-foot addition to the kitchen of his house at 1667 West Doe Run Road (across Route 82 from Hood's BBQ). He said it will allow people entering the house to walk into a mud room rather than directly into the kitchen.

There will be no Unionville Community Fair this October

Here is the letter that I just received from the Unionville Community Fair board:

It is with great sadness that the Board of Directors of the Unionville Community Fair announce the cancellation of the 2020 Fair which had been scheduled for October 2-4.

COVID-19 has taken a significant toll on all of us. Residents in our local communities are suffering from the effects of sudden unemployment, prolonged business closures, and worrying about loved ones who may be ill or be at a higher risk. While we all crave a return to our normal lives, our board realizes that the potential health risk of holding a fair this year is too great for our exhibitors, volunteers, and patrons.

We have been in contact with the PA Association of County Fairs and the PA Department of Agriculture over the past few weeks to seek guidance on how to safely hold a large community event in the middle of a pandemic. This decision was not easy, nor was it taken lightly. It is based on many factors, first and foremost, community safety and fiscal responsibility.

Community Safety
It is the Fair’s civic responsibility as a community event to ensure that the safety of our volunteers and the public is a priority. Based on what we have learned about the virus, large gatherings such as a fair create more opportunities for person-to-person contact and therefore pose a great risk of COVID-19 transmission. Although Chester County will soon move to the yellow phase of the state’s re-opening process, the Governor’s office released on May 27th updated guidance for Pennsylvania counties moving into the green phase indicating that fairs and festivals would not be permitted to have more than 250 people to gather at an event. We also took into consideration the number of people who volunteer at our fair, as they are the backbone of our organization. Many are older adults or persons with pre-existing health conditions who are at greater risk.

Fiscal Responsibility
Fair planning is a year-long venture. It involves many hours of planning and preparation that typically begin immediately after the last fair is over. There are various factors and expenses involved in preparing for an event of this magnitude: advertising, printing catalogs, contest ribbons and awards, sanitation services, construction materials, signage, entertainment contract deposits, licenses, and volunteer staffing. Therefore, it is imperative that we make the decision now before additional effort and funds are expended. We want to ensure that the Unionville Community Fair will be around for years to come. It is our responsibility as a board to be good stewards of the financial resources that we have thanks to the tremendous support of our sponsors, patrons, and exhibitors all these years. We simply cannot in good conscience spend money planning for an event that may not be
safely or legally permitted to take place.

As we stated above, planning for the next Unionville Community Fair never ends. We will use this time to plan great things for next fall. Together, with the help and support from our community and volunteers, Unionville Community Fair will come back better and stronger next year! So mark your calendars for October 1st, 2nd and 3rd, 2021 when we will come back together to enjoy the beer & wine garden, watch the lip sync, scream in the Haunted Tent, take in the homemade exhibits
and dairy show followed by the ever popular milking contest, visit Giggles & Grins with our kids, stroll through the antique car show and be entertained by Dan & Galla! We encourage you to follow us on our Facebook and Instagram pages to find out what is in store for 2021.
Thank you for your understanding and your loyal commitment to the Unionville Community Fair. Please remember to support our local first responders, businesses, and non-profit organizations, as you are able, during this difficult time. We are incredibly grateful for our patrons, volunteers, exhibitors, and concessionaires, and cannot wait to see you next year!
Cindy Wallace, President, and the entire Board of Directors

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."