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 Oct. 22 through Oct. 29. Motorists are urged to allow extra time if they are traveling through one of the construction zones.
Drivers on Route 100 southbound in West Goshen Township will experience lane restrictions for patching. Crews will be working from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. from Route 202 and 30 from Monday, Oct. 24, through Wednesday, Oct. 26.
Also in West Goshen Township, a lane closure will be in effect on Boot Road between Route 202 and Phoenixville Pike through Nov. 23. Crews will be conducting pipeline maintenance from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
After a five-year closure, the historic Speakman Covered Bridge in East Fallowfield and West Marlborough townships reopened this past week.
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.
Burnt Mill Road in Kennett Township remains closed and detoured for reconstruction between Norway and Spring Mill roads. The estimated completion date is Dec. 20.
Route 30 westbound in West Whiteland Township will be the scene of a fuel spill cleanup on Wednesday, Oct. 26. The right lane will be closed between Route 100 and Quarry Road from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
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., Tuesday, Oct. 25, through Tuesday, Nov. 1.
Stargazers Village has closed Strasburg Road between Sunset Drive and Stargazer Road in West Bradford Township through Monday, Oct. 31 for the construction of a roundabout. Crews are scheduled to work from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., and detours are posted.
The shoulder of I-476 in both directions will continued to be closed between I-76 and I-95 for fiber optic cable installation. The work is scheduled from Sunday, Oct. 23, through Sunday, Oct. 30; crews will be working from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
A shoulder closure is scheduled on northbound I-95 in Tinicum Township between Routes 420 and 291 to install foundation. The work will be done Sunday, Oct. 23, through Sunday, Oct. 30, from midnight to 5 a.m.
Lane restrictions are scheduled next week in Philadelphia and Delaware County for the installation of Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) components. On Sunday, Oct. 23, through Sunday, Oct. 30, from midnight to 5 a.m., the right lane will be closed on I-95 north between Route 420 and Bartram Avenue for the installation of overhead sign foundations and signs; on the same dates from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., lane closures are scheduled on Broad Street between Pattison Avenue and 11th Street in Philadelphia for the installation of travel time readers and electrical conduits; and from midnight to 5 a.m., the right lane will be closed on I-76 west between Penrose Avenue and Mifflin Street in Philadelphia for overhead message board installation.
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.”
Let's face it: This pumpkin created by Patrick Cabry deserves its top prize at the Great Pumpkin Carve.
Ten pumpkin-carving teams slashed their way to greatness in a field of 72 on Thursday night, Oct. 20, as the 2016 Great Pumpkin Carve kicked off its three-day run.
Mark Rupp earned a $100 prize for ‘Best Use of Pumpkin.’
Patrick Cabry snagged the top “Best Overall” prize of $200 – not bad for someone who didn’t even know he was going to be able to compete. Cabry was on the waiting list, said members of the Chadds Ford Historical Society, which organizes the popular event.
A team of judges, including representatives from Longwood Gardens, the Brandywine Conservancy, and the Concordville-Chadds Ford Rotary Club, awarded $100 prizes each to Kelina Ganon for “Best Carving,” Mark Rutt for “Best Use of Pumpkin,” the Santoleri family for “Most Original,” and the Hall family for “Most Halloween.”
‘Best Carving’ honors went to Kalina
Amid the fierce competition, honorable mentions went to the Owens family for “Best Overall,” Jeff Brown for “Best Carving,” Linda Allan for “Best Use of Pumpkin,” John Bilek for “Most Original,” and Tony and Nick Mottola for “Most Halloween.”
For the first time, the vote for the People’s Choice Award will occur on the society’s Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/events/185368475205063/ or the event’s Facebook page, click here. Votes will be counted through “liking” the image. The winner will be posted on Monday, Oct. 24.
The ‘Most Original’ prize went to the Santoleri family.
The decked-out pumpkins will be on display rain or shine on Friday, Oct. 21, from 5 to 9 p.m. and on Saturday, Oct. 22, from 3 to 9 p.m. In addition, there will be hayrides, live music, food and beverages along with selected arts and crafts.
Tickets, which are available at the gate, are $10 for adults, and $5 for children ages 7 to 17. Admission is free for CFHS members and children 6 and under. More information is available at http://www.greatpumpkincarve.com.
The Hall family’s pumpkin was judged ‘Most Halloween.’
The Chadds Ford Historical Society is located at 1736 Creek Road in Chadds Ford, a short distance from Route 1. For more information, contact the society at 610-388-7376 or visit its website at www.chaddsfordhistory.org.
To learn more about the Great Pumpkin Carve’s opening night, click here.
A $2,500 reward is being offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction of a 23-year-old Philadelphia man.
Shaquille Bowman
A press release from the Delaware County District Attorney’s Office said Shaquille Bowman, who is considered armed and dangerous, is wanted in connection with the armed robbery shooting and home invasion that occurred in Ridley Borough on Oct. 16.
Bowman is approximately 6-foot-6 and 220 pounds. He is known to frequent the areas of 51st, Brown and Reno streets in Philadelphia, the release said.
To provide information call the Citizens Crime Commission tipline at 215-546-TIPS (8477). All callers remain anonymous. The reward is being offered by the Delaware County District Attorney’s Office and Ridley Park Borough Police; it is being administered by the Citizens Crime Commission, the release said.
Competitors at the Chadds Ford Historical Society's Great Pumpkin Carve begin to work their magic.
The line of carvers – encumbered with assorted boxes, baskets, totes and wheelbarrows containing the tools of their trade – started to form before the gates opened at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 20, at the Chadds Ford Historical Society.
An array of pumpkins await their creative fate at the Great Pumpkin Carve.
Once inside the pumpkin patch, more than 70 competitors in the 2016 Great Pumpkin Carve found their assigned number and viewed their giant squash for the first time. Within minutes, the buzz of Dremels and the clanging of knives filled the air as the artists began a transformative process, painfully mindful of their 8 p.m. deadline.
The treasured tradition, a fundraiser for the CFHS, began in the early 1970s when Jimmy Lynch, a local resident and favorite Wyeth family model, convinced artists Andrew and Jamie Wyeth to carve pumpkins for decorations inside the Chadds Ford Inn, which is now the Brandywine Prime Restaurant at the Chadds Ford crossroads.
Since then, the event has evolved into a creative squash showcase and a revered fall ritual. The intricacy of the pumpkins’ designs, sometimes achieved with dental picks and frequently defying gravity, annually elicit awe from spectators.
Bill DeHaven takes a selfie with his pumpkin before he begins to dissect it.
Veteran carver and prize-winner Bill DeHaven, who was working with his brother-in-law Jason Wallace, breathed a sigh of relief when he saw his pumpkin: The shape worked well with the design he had pre-sketched. During about 13 years of entries, he said he sometimes had to change gears after confronting a squash incompatible with his vision.
With Kate Raffa watching, Anthony Gourdier wasted no time digging into their entry with a utensil aptly labeled a “super-goop scoop.” Raffa said despite years of effort, they never won, but it doesn’t matter. “We just come for the fun,” she said.
Nearby, the stakes were a bit higher. Michelle McDonald, whose fish garnered an award last year, began working on this year’s butterfly next to a competitor who happened to be her husband. And Joseph P. McDonald III said he was next to another relative. For nearly a decade, the McDonald dynasty has often included four competitors, they said, but this year one was unable to attend.
Michelle McDonald poses with her 3-year-old daughter, Fiona, who provides inspiration for her mother’s designs.
Michelle McDonald said the inspiration for her designs comes from their 3-year-old daughter, Fiona, whose love of Nemo prompted last year’s winner. Asked why she and her husband don’t collaborate, she paused before citing “artistic differences.” Her husband laughed. “That’s a good way to put it,” he said.
The rules specify that no more than four people can work on one pumpkin, and the use of embellishments other than the seeds and guts of the pumpkin make the final product eligible only for the People’s Choice Award, not the official judges’ selections, which range from “Best Overall” “to “Most Halloween.”
For April Margera, the owner of the Rose Hip Barn in Thornton, an eclectic venue for home furnishings, accessorizing is part of her DNA. She explained that she participates “just for fun,” and always enjoys bringing illicit enhancements for her giant vegetable.
Veteran carver April Margera, proprietor of the Rose Hip Barn, displays a cupcake made from a pumpkin to accent her “Tea Time at Rose Hip” theme.
“I’m going off the grid,” Margera joked, displaying some delectable-looking cupcakes crafted from small white pumpkins. They will complement her “Tea Party at Rose Hip” theme, she said. “And they don’t even have any calories,” she added.
The event represented a reunion of sorts for Mike Connolly. He was attending his first Great Pumpkin Carve as the CFHS’s executive director. However, he said he had visited previously as a spectator.
“I would like to know how many thousands of pounds of pumpkin are on that field,” he said as he surveyed the patch.
Connolly said he was enjoying the way in which the Great Pumpkin Carve brings people together and creates fond memories. “If you’re a carver, you’ve got stories, and if you’re a spectator, you’ve got them, too,” he said. “A lot of people have been coming for a long time. It really is a very cool event.”
Kate Raffa (right) and Anthony Gourdier demonstrate their ‘super goop scooper.’
And word is still spreading. First-time visitors Stephanie and Frank Duchacek from Kingsville, Md. were among the first to enter the patch on Thursday. Stephanie Duchacek said she read an article about the Great Pumpkin Carve in a gardening magazine and decided it sounded like fun.
“We have friends who live in West Chester,” she said, “and they told us to arrive early.”
This year the layout of the pumpkin patch was altered to improve traffic flow, said Connolly. And for the first time, the vote for the People’s Choice Award will occur on the society’s Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/events/185368475205063/. Connolly said photos would be posted sometime on Friday, Oct. 21, of all the entries so that the public can choose their favorite. The judges’ selections are already displayed, and the People’s Choice winner will be posted on Monday, Oct. 24.
Volunteer Gene Pisasale said he was excited about the new additions to the haunted trail, a favorite with kids. And based on the reaction of Melanie Rundatz’ three children – Marcus, 12, Faye, 10, and Isaac, 8 – Pisasale was not alone.
Marcus Rundatz noticed and liked the additions, both human and non-human, and his brother expressed interest in making another trek.
On the haunted trail at the Great Pumpkin Carve, it isn’t always easy to discern who’s human and who’s not.
“We stole candy from the witch,” Isaac Rundatz said gleefully, acknowledging that Halloween is his favorite holiday. Needless to say, he was in the right place.
The pumpkins will be on display rain or shine on Friday, Oct. 21, from 5 to 9 p.m. and on Saturday, Oct. 22, from 3 to 9 p.m. In addition, there will be hayrides, live music, food and beverages along with selected arts and crafts.
Tickets, which are available at the gate, are $10 for adults, and $5 for children ages 7 to 17. Admission is free for CFHS members and children 6 and under. More information is available at http://www.greatpumpkincarve.com.
The Chadds Ford Historical Society is located at 1736 Creek Road in Chadds Ford, a short distance from Route 1. For more information, contact the society at 610-388-7376 or visit its website at www.chaddsfordhistory.org.To learn more about the winners, click here.
Copywriting is critical for the growth of your business whether you’re at the head of a startup or leading a company that’s been around for decades. However, copywriting may be an aspect of your business that you have been ignoring. Here are three reasons to take notice and put energy into making sure your business copywriting is effectual:
Copywriting can make or break communication
Whenever you communicate with your colleagues or the general public, you will have someone writing copy in order to do so. This is the case whether someone is writing a speech, blog post, employee manual, commercial script, or business contract.
In the office:
Clear copy is critical for ensuring employees understand their jobs, including compensation, benefits, responsibilities, and possible reprimands. Business partners also need to clearly understand what their role is in relation to the business, what they can expect from your company, and what your company will be expecting from them.
When you aren’t clear in the copy you produce for these entities, you run the risk of minor misunderstandings and even catastrophic lawsuits due to breaches of contracts.
With the public:
When you are producing contracts, agreements, service descriptions, or product descriptions to the public, your copy needs to be clear in order to prevent customers from feeling used or tricked.
If you say that a length of fabric is 3 yards wide instead of 3 feet wide, you will have some very unhappy customers who will want refunds or the rest of their fabric. They will also be quite likely to relay their sloppy, unprofessional experience with your company to others, decreasing the likelihood of you gaining further business through word-of-mouth and damaging your reputation.
Copywriting matters both inside and outside of the office. Paying attention to it keeps your business running smoothly and your customers satisfied.
Bad copywriting looks irresponsible and lazy
When you use copy that is littered with misspelled or missing words, and improper grammar, you make your company look bad by seeming irresponsible. A company that a potential customer can trust takes the time to vet their writers, and their copy, so that the copy suits the voice, mission, and purpose of the piece. There is nothing I find more irritating than visiting a website of a potential business partner and finding these horrible grammar mistakes; I won’t even acknowledge the business if I see this.
When you don’t take the time to make sure that your copy is on point, it becomes harder to trust that you will do the same with your customer service. When you don’t show that you care enough about something as public and influential as your company’s reputation, it can make it difficult for customers to believe that you’ll work to offer them high-quality products and services for their personal and business needs.
Copywriting permeates everything you do
Even businesses that conduct all their transactions online cannot escape the need for strong copywriting. Unfortunately, doing business online makes the need for good copywriting even more important.
In face-to-face interactions, people have more to go on when a message is given. Body language, such as the rolling of eyes or fidgeting, gives a deeper meaning to any messages that are given. Tone of voice, word inflection, and the amount of personal space given to people all can affect the way in which people perceive the message they are being sent and the company sending it.
When people are socially awkward, online-only interactions can be a lifesaver. People only have to deal with the person’s ideas and don’t get caught up in why they don’t make more eye contact or that they chose to wear a particularly garish shirt to a business meeting.
However, even this benefit can become a problem if the person doing the writing isn’t able to do so in an effective manner. Then the brilliant business plans and wonderful vision for how products will be used by consumers are lost in a haze of poor copywriting.
A focus on copywriting savvy can help save your business from issues that can undermine all the hard work you’ve put into bringing the company together. Hire talented copywriters, learn to write well yourself, or delegate copywriting tasks to someone on your team you can trust to do a great job.
* Maria L. Novak Dugan is president of Marketing Solutions & Business Development, a firm in West Chester, PA, offering creative marketing services and goal implementation for small & medium sized businesses. For more information, contact Maria at 610-405-0633 or MariaNovak001@yahoo.com or visit www.Maria-L-Novak.com
Maria L. Novak Dugan is president of Marketing Solutions & Business Development, a firm serving Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Maryland, offering creative marketing services and goal implementation for small businesses. She has more than 30 years’ experience in the Marketing & Sales Industry ... 13 of those as the sole sales representative for a Pennsylvania payroll company growing their client base by over 500%. Maria Novak Dugan is also the former Managing Director of the Delaware Chapter of eWomenNetwork. Creating, developing, and conducting this division of a national organization strengthened her knowledge of networking, event planning, fundraising, and small-business development.
For more information, contact Maria at 610-405-0633 or Maria@Maria-L-Novak.com or visit www.Maria-L-Novak.com
The Hadley Fund is promising local residents a presentation that will leave them screaming for more.
Storyteller Bill Wood is coming to the area on Halloween courtesy of the Hadley Fund.
It just isn’t Halloween without a good scary story, according to storyteller Bill Wood’s website. His repertoire features spine-tingling tales of the supernatural, frightening stories of fearsome beasts, and humorous accounts of the things that make us shudder.
Wood will be joined by music teacher Guenevere Finley for Hadley’s “Fall Frolic” on Sunday, Oct. 31. This special event will be held at London Grove Friends Meeting, 500 West Street Road in Kennett Square at 2 p.m.
The Hadley Fund started in 1962 when Hal Holbrook presented “A Night with Mark Twain.” Since then many musicians, lecturers and performers have graced Hadley’s stages, many of whom became famous after they appeared Kennett Square.
Notable past performers have included Martin Luther King Jr., Linus Pauling, Julius Erving, Marian Anderson, Alex Haley, Norman Cousins, Ogden Nash and Gloria Steinem. More recently, Hadley seasons have included lectures by Stephen Kress on puffins, Jerrold Post on terrorism, Linda Ales on photography, and award-winning journalists Donald L. Bartlett and James B. Steele on health policies.
