Sunshine may be in short supply over the Labor Day weekend, but fortunately for area residents, Tropical Storm Hermine is expected to pack less of a punch inland than originally feared when it moves into the region late on Saturday, Sept. 3, according to the National Weather Service.
Hermine, currently centered over southeast Georgia, is expected to stall off the New Jersey and Delmarva coasts on Sunday, Sept. 4, and Monday, Sept. 5, before exiting the region entirely. A tropical storm watch remains in effect for portions of the southern Delaware and New Jersey coasts.
A more easterly track for the storm is expected to spare Chester and Delaware counties from any substantial rainfall.
Cloudy conditions are predicted locally on Saturday with a high near 77 and a 30 percent chance of rain on Saturday night. Those conditions will continue on Sunday with a high near 75; however, the likelihood of rain will increase to 40 percent on Sunday night with some wind gusts possible.
The cloudy Labor Day forecast also includes a 30 percent chance of rain. Some sun is likely to return on Tuesday with a high of 85, and sunshine should dominate on Wednesday, which is expected to reach a high of 89, according to the National Weather Service.
PennDOT has announced the following road projects, which are weather-dependent and could affect residents in the greater Chadds Ford area during the week of Sept. 3 through Sept. 10. Motorists are urged to allow extra time if they are traveling through one of the construction zones.
Motorists on Route 1 in Kennett and East Marlborough townships will continue to experience overnight delays between Baltimore Pike and Greenwood Road on Thursday, Sept. 8, and Friday, Sept. 9. Crews will be paving from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m.
Fiber optic cable installation will result in an overnight lane closure on southbound Route 202 in East Whiteland Township. Crews are scheduled on Friday, Sept. 9, and Saturday, Sept. 10, from 8 p.m. to 10 a.m.
Work will continue on the Speakman Covered Bridge in East Fallowfield and West Marlborough townships. Frog Hollow Road between Concord Bridge and Strasburg roads will be closed and detoured until the estimated completion date of Sept. 20.
Green Valley Road in Newlin Township is closed and detoured between Powell and Brandywine Creek roads due to structural deficiencies at the Green Valley Road Bridge. No repair date has been scheduled.
The shoulder of I-476 in both directions between I-76 and I-95 will be closed for fiber optic cable installation. The work is scheduled from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. from Tuesday, Sept. 6, through Friday, Sept. 9.
Burnt Mill Road in Kennett Township remains closed and detoured between Norway and Spring Mill roads while advance work continues on repairs to the Burnt Mill Bridge, which was closed on April 24, 2014.
Work is continuing on the Birmingham Road Bridge in Birmingham Township, which was closed in September 2015 due to structural damage. Posted 24-hour detours will be in effect between Lambourne Road and Stoney Run Drive at least through Friday, Sept. 16.
Utility installation on East Market Street in West Chester Borough will require lane restrictions at Franklin Street. The work is scheduled from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. from on Thursday, Sept. 8, and Friday, Sept. 9.
On Saturday, Sept. 17, and Sunday, Sept. 18, from 7:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., the westbound I-76 ramp to Schuylkill Avenue will be closed for bridge inspection. Traffic will be detoured over I-676 east, 23rd Street, Chestnut Street, Market Street and Schuylkill Avenue.
If you want to report potholes and other roadway maintenance concerns on state roads, call 610-566-0972 in Delaware County or 484-340-3200 in Chester County, or visit www.dot.state.pa.us and click on “submit feedback.”
A consortium of state agencies and organizations want to help keep people safe over the Labor Day holiday.
PennDOT, the U.S. Coast Guard, the Philadelphia Police Department, the New Jersey State Police Marine Services Bureau, the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission, AAA Mid-Atlantic, and Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) held a new conference on Thursday, Sept. 1, at the U.S. Coast Guard facility in Philadelphia, to highlight enforcement efforts for the 2016 Labor Day “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” campaign, which runs through Sept. 5.
Law enforcement discussed plans to conduct checkpoints and roving patrols as part of the high-visibility holiday mobilization and demonstrated a mock BUI (boating under the influence) arrest to highlight the dangers of impaired boating. It is illegal to operate a watercraft on all the waters of the Commonwealth while under the influence of alcohol or a controlled substance, a PennDOT press release said.
As part of this high-visibility impaired-driving enforcement effort, Pennsylvania State Police and local law enforcement will conduct checkpoints and roving patrols. This effort is funded through PennDOT’s statewide distribution of more than $4.7 million in federal funds from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The funds are used for police overtime, equipment and other associated costs.
According to PennDOT, 315 alcohol-related crashes with 13 fatalities and 106 drug-related crashes with five fatalities occurred on state highways during last year’s Labor Day holiday time period.
PennDOT urges the public to take steps to help keep impaired drivers off the roads. Some safety tips include making sure all guests have designated a sober driver before any drinking starts; never leaving a friend alone if they have had too much to drink and might try to drive; and taking the keys from anyone who has had too much to drink. In addition, PennDOT recommends downloading the Safer Ride App for Android and Apple phones beforehand. It can help a user find a taxi or ride-sharing service.
Visit www.penndot.gov/safety for more information on impaired driving and PennDOT’s other traffic-safety initiatives.
Kennet Square Borough Council President Dan Maffei, left, explains some of the borough's hopes with state Sen. Tom Killion during a walking tour of the borough on Thursday.
State Sen. Tom Killion, R-9, took a guided tour through the streets of Kennett Square with Borough Council President Dan Maffei as his guide.
Also along for Thursday’s walking tour were Council Vice President Geoff Bosley and Borough Manager Joe Scalise.
The tour had nothing to do with the upcoming election in November, Killion said, rather it was to get acquainted with the borough and learn what state resources he can bring to Kennett to satisfy its needs.
Killion became a state senator in April.
After walking along State Street and stopping into a few places — Kennett Library and The Mushroom Cap — Killion said he was impressed with the borough.
“It’s an amazing place,” he said. “It has a small hometown feel, a lot like Media Borough near where I live, and West Chester. It has restaurants and places for art. It’s a walkable community, and that’s really the future.”
What he hopes to do, he said, is to help the borough get some assistance for various projects.
“This council is doing a great job. They have a lot of ideas, and I want to help,” he said. “There’s lots of programs in the commonwealth, and I want to bring some of those tax dollars home to this community. And I’m looking forward to the Mushroom Festival.”
That help would come in the form of getting the borough some grants.
Maffei told Killion the borough would like assistance in getting money to expand the parking garage behind the Genesis Building and for the library’s eventual move.
For Maffei, Killion’s visit was significant.
“We can’t do everything by ourselves. We can’t live in a vacuum. We need help from others. We can’t do all the things we want to do without some other people pulling for us in other places,” he said.
Maffei said it would be helpful having someone like Killion facilitate communication with state agencies as well as getting grant money.
He also gave Killion a brief history of how Kennett Square came to be known as the mushroom capital of the world. Maffei explained that people used to grow carnations, but noticed that mushrooms would grow under the carnation benches. At first, the growers cultivated and sold both, but soon learned that mushrooms brought in more money.
“They said, ‘The heck with the carnations,’” Maffei told him.
Killion was elected in a special election in April and must run again this fall. He will face Democrat Marty Molloy, the same person he beat in the spring.
The special election was necessitated after former state Sen. Dominic F. Pileggi became a Common Pleas judge in Delaware County.
Rich Schwartzman has been reporting on events in the greater Chadds Ford area since September 2001 when he became the founding editor of The Chadds Ford Post. In April 2009 he became managing editor of ChaddsFordLive. He is also an award-winning photographer.
One of the greatest challenges for employers and employees alike involves accountability for performance that is not meeting expectations. There are a variety of reasons for ineffective performance, including lack of training, lack of competence, lack of motivation, and a myriad of other potential catalysts. The manner and method of addressing these performance concerns will be a direct impact on any chance for improvement.
Remember, that when you hired the employee, or when you joined the company, there was a belief that the employee can meet expectations and that the duties were something that could be performed well. When this is not the case, a punitive approach by the employer is not the most appropriate path to take to address the less than acceptable performance.
The guidance and best practice on the topic of accountability for performance is corrective actions by the employer in a continuous effort to help the employee achieve success. This should be done through a staged approach that allows the supervisor to provide the tools, resources, and support to the employee while simultaneously requiring the employee to be accountable to a plan of action that demonstrates performance improvement.
An effective approach is a combination of coaching, training, mentoring, and documentation with clear and concise expectations presented to the employee as well as regular review and measuring of progress towards established improvement plan goals. Please note that the duration of time spent is dependent upon the performance deficiency and the commitment of the employee to achieve the established goals. This approach, using corrective action as a tool to aid and support the employee, also develops the necessary documentation if the process fails and requires punitive disciplinary action from warnings and reprimands or suspensions to termination of employment.
Before moving to disciplinary action, be sure to appropriate investigate, validate, and document the failed performance of the employee. However, now that you have taken the time to communicate deficiencies to the employee, and you have provided the tools, resources, and support for the employee to be successful, you will have the necessary documentation and defense for discipline.
As an employee, there should be a feeling of relief when you work for an employer that takes the time to provide you the tools, resources and support you need to be successful in your position. While accountability for deficient performance may feel terrible, take ownership in the feedback and communication provided to you by your employer. Recognize that you are being provided an opportunity for improvement and the expectations for success will be outlined for you. Use this opportunity to ask for the help you need to achieve your goals and meet your employer’s expectations. The more you can partner with your supervisor to meet performance expectations, the better chance you have of achieving success.
Corrective action is about communication and helping an employee become successful while maintaining an appropriate level of accountability during the process. The early steps of corrective action can truly be a mutually beneficial process for the employee and employer, so master the skills to execute the process effectively.
** The opinions expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the ownership or management of Chadds Ford Live. We welcome opposing viewpoints. Readers may comment in the comments section or they may submit a Letter to the Editor to: editor@chaddsfordlive.com
Warren is the President and co-founder of SymbianceHR and provides strategic oversight for service delivery, business operations, and technical guidance on consulting engagements. He is a human resources subject matter expert with over 25 years of experience as a strategic human resources business partner, project manager, and people leader across private and public sectors organizations.
Warren is responsible for the strategic planning of all client consulting engagements from initial needs assessment and compliance review through delivery of customized strategic solutions that meet the client’s business goals. He has a proven track record of providing executive coaching and guidance to business leaders and human resource professionals at all levels including the C-Suite of Fortune 100 companies.
Warren is also the Chief Talent Officer and cofounder of SymbianceHiRe, a Symbiance company dedicated to providing direct placement talent acquisition services and temporary and contract staffing solutions to the business community.
Warren holds a B.S. in Human Resource Management, an MBA in Project Management, and a M.S. in Industrial and Organizational Psychology. Warren is the author of “Applicant Interview Preparation – Practical Coaching for Today.”
