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 Feb. 10 through Feb. 16. Motorists are urged to allow extra time if they are traveling through one of the construction zones.
• Motorist should expect lane restrictions on Pyle Road, between Route 202 and Concord Crossing Lane in Concord Township during the overnight hours between Monday, Feb. 12 through Thursday, Feb. 22 for utility improvements.
• Barrier installation continues to cause indefinite lane closures on Brandywine Creek Road, between Green Valley and Powell roads, in Newlin Township.
• Motorists should expect daytime lane restrictions on Pyle Road, between Route 202 and Concord Crossing, In Concord Township weekdays through Feb. 23 for utility installation.
• Periodic lane restrictions continue through Oct. 20, on Conchester Highway, between Route 1 and Foulk Road, in Concord Township.
• Station Road, between Concord Road and Conchester Highway, in Concord Township, is closed through Oct. 20, for road construction. Detours are posted.
• Sunoco Pipeline has closed Route 352 at Boot Road in East Goshen Township, for pipe installation. The restriction is only for trucks traveling south and turning onto Boot Road. The daily closure will remain in effect through late December.
The Pennsylvania State Police is investigating a Feb. 8 armed robbery at Jersey Mike’s Subs, in Brandywine Mills, the 1700 block of Route 202, in Chadds Ford Township.
Police described the suspect as a black male, medium build, approximately 6 feet tall, dressed in all black clothing. He was wearing a black ski mask partially covering his face. The suspect displayed a handgun and demanded money from the register. He fled the scene on foot with an undisclosed amount of cash. There were no injuries reported.
If you have information pertaining to this crime, please call the Pennsylvania Crime Stoppers Toll Free at 1-800-4PA-TIPS or Tpr. Brian Maturo of the Pennsylvania State Police Criminal Investigation Unit at 610-558-7080. All callers remain anonymous and could be eligible for a cash reward.
It’s been a week, but the joy, pleasure and reflection remain. Joy and pleasure aren’t things normally associated with fans of Philadelphia sports teams. I’m a native Philadelphian who grew up rooting for the Phillies, Eagles and the Warriors before they moved to San Francisco, so I speak from experience.
Being a life-long Philadelphia sports fan hasn’t always been easy. More often than not it’s been a bitch. But I’ll start with the good news. My sports fan claim-to-fame is that the only time I ever had a season seat for anything was the year the Flyers won their first Stanley Cup. Glorious.
I recall remaining in my seat after the final buzzer when the Flyers beat the Bruins unwilling to move, too overcome to move. It was surreal to see Bobby Clarke unable to do the skate around with the cup because so many fans had stormed the ice.
My first sports love, however, is the Phillies. And while they have won the World Series a couple of times, I still have a permanent scar on my heart from when they broke it in 1964. For those who don’t know, the Phils had a 6.5 game lead with 12 games left in the season. They then lost 10 straight games and were knocked out of first place. I was crushed.
I was 11 years old the last time the Eagles won the NFL championship, but I don’t recall the event. Because of the NFL’s old blackout rule, the game was not shown in the Philadelphia market.
So, with last Sunday’s Super Bowl win I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry as both expressions were trying to happen at the same time, canceling each other out as they met in my throat.
A supermajority of people who were calling into sports talk radio this past week told stories about watching games or going to them with their fathers or grandfathers. I’m no different.
I had been to a Penn football game or two but was ecstatic when I learned my father had gotten tickets to an Eagles game and I was going with him. It was my first Eagles game. I remember that day well. It was Nov. 24, 1963. The TV was on in the living room and, as my father and I were saying goodbye to my mother before leaving the house, Jack Ruby shot Lee Harvey Oswald in a Dallas, Texas police station. That, too, was surreal.
The Eagles lost that game against the Redskins, but I’ll always remember my father’s reaction to one particular Eagles touchdown. We had end zone seats and Timmy Brown, my favorite Birds running back, scampered and juked for a touchdown running right at us. He faked two Washington defenders out of their socks. Everyone stood and cheered and I heard my father shout, “What feet!”
I got out of the Air force in October 1972, football season. One Sunday we were sitting on the couch watching the pregame and saw some of the Eagles players pounding each other on their shoulders as part of their preparation. Dad and I both laughed, looked at each other and, without a word, stood up and pounded each other on the shoulders. We did that every Sunday the rest of that season.
So, when Super Bowl LII ended, I jumped up and down in joy and thought of my father. “They did it. They did it, dad,” I said.
The crush of emotion subsided by Tuesday, but it still felt good. As I was leaving the Concord Township council meeting, I jokingly turned to someone and said, “If you didn’t hear, the Eagles won the Super Bowl.” I then turned to a colleague who was walking out with me and said, “It feels so satisfying to be able to say that.”
While watching the parade Thursday, all those emotions came back. In my head, I was watching the parade with my father, again not knowing whether to laugh or cry. But I don’t care. The Eagles won the Super Bowl. Damn, that’s satisfying.
** 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
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.
Is employee morale a concern in your business? Is there extensive gossip in your workforce that distracts from getting the job done? Do you get the sense employees are “checked out” and not focused on the business goals? If any of these situations resonate with you, read on.
In prior columns, we have discussed engagement, and a major component of engagement is trust. This is more than trusting the employee will lock up at the end of the day, or will remember to turn the lights off, or they will not steal from the cash drawer. This trust is about the relationship between the supervisor and employee to establish a mutual goal and working together to achieve that goal for the individual and the business.
Employees who do not trust their supervisor or management will not perform their best work, ever. Establish that trust and build the relationship and you will see pride and dedication develop in a way that you couldn’t force no matter what incentives and carrots you wave in front of the employees.
This trust is about an employee believing that the supervisor and, holistically, management truly have the best interest of the employee at heart in all the decisions and activities they do. It means that they respect the contributions of the employee, listen to the employee, and demonstrate through their conduct and behavior that the employee matters to them and to the business.
This is not as difficult as you might think, and the results are amazing. However, it is even easier to fail miserably because this trust must be built on the belief that the caring for the employee is genuine, and that the supervisor really has their best interest at heart.
Now we are not suggesting employers do whatever an employee wants in the workplace, not at all. We are suggesting that when working with your staff, you recognize they are individual people striving with their own professional and personal goals, and they have chosen to work for and with you to achieve your goals as a business. The more you can do to help them achieve success, the great the collective success of your business.
Execution of this strategy starts with building and executing a communication model with the leadership team and demonstrating the behaviors in everything you do. Leaders must help their management team understand the value of trust in the workplace, and how it is created, managed, and sustained. Trust begins with the hiring process through the entire lifecycle of the employee and touches orientation, onboarding, training, work assignments, performance feedback, and much more. Certainly, trust goes two ways, therefore remember that you should also hold your staff accountable for their actions so that you can learn to trust they have the business best interest at heart as well.
Develop positive mutually beneficial relationships with your staff built on trust and respect and you can achieve a wonderful culture, improve retention, and increase productivity.
** 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.”
• Motorist should expect lane restrictions on Pyle Road, between Route 202 and Concord Crossing Lane in Concord Township during the overnight hours between Monday, Feb. 12 through Thursday, Feb. 22 for utility improvements.
