Delmar DustPan

I have posted before on my dislike for the drainage ponds or retention pools that are unfenced and are in the Delmar, Delaware town limits. Today in the News Journal on the Opinion page was a letter from Suzanne Gallo of Hockessin. She wrote about the requirement in New Castle County to fence in a swimming pool but yet drainage basins are not required to have fences in that county.

In Delmar Delaware there are unfenced drainage ponds at Delmar Storage, State Line Plaza, and Delmar Commons. There may be more but frankly what is in Delmar and what is out of Delmar has become confusing to me in the last three years due to annexation. I don't know what the status will be on drainage ponds at the new residential housing developments that will be built over the next couple of years. Delmar High school has their drainage pond fenced in - certainly seems like common sense. Why wouldn't the other properties with drainage ponds in Delmar do the same. I am sure fencing in a drainage pond would cost $5,000 to $10,000, but the legal fees they would encounter if a child was drown in one would far exceed the fencing price. You would think their insurance companies would require them to put fencing up.

One of the things that frustrates me is to encounter a handicap person in a wheelchair riding down the street instead of on the sidewalk. If you hit a wheelchair person with your car it is a no win situation. This morning when I went for my walk I took a tape measure with me. Now most of the sidewalks in Delmar are about 5 feet wide including the curb. It should be wide enough for a wheelchair. The problem is with the telephone poles and traffic control signs. They are stuck in the sidewalk and there is two feet or less of clearance around them. Combined with this lack of clearance is the fact only about half of the street corners have handicap ramps. I guess we will just have to look out for wheelchairs.

The Bi-State pharmacy at 5 East State Street Delmar Delaware

I stopped by the Bi-State Pharmacy today to have a prescription filled. One of the exciting things about getting older is you seem to always have a prescription to fill. Now I happen to be lucky enough to have a drug insurance plan so I pay the deductible amount for a prescription. Since I am paying a set amount it doesn't matter to me if I go to a big box drug stores or a smaller locally owned drug store. The Bi-State Pharmacy is run by Edward M Asare. My prescriptions are low level drugs so I have never had a problem with him filling the prescriptions. His hours are Monday thru Friday 9 to 7 and on Saturday 9 to 3. The phone number is 302-846-9101.

I have often wondered about what kind of inspection the Health department does to the restaurants in Delmar, Delaware and what are the results. On January 7th I filed Freedom of Information Act requests for Five Restaurants in Delmar Delaware. I must say the Health Department handled my requests in a prompt manner with no difficulties. Again it makes me glad I moved from Maryland to Delaware 30 years ago.

In selecting the Delaware food establishments to request inspection reports for I did not ask for any reports for the non profits (Fire department, churches, other social groups) as they do not serve food daily. I also did not ask for inspection reports for "Memories" or "The Sport Nutz" as they are mainly drinking places. The one I was undecided on was "The Top Hat" and I finally decided not to ask for their inspection report. I should have asked for the inspection report on the High school cafeteria but did not as it slipped my mind. The reports really did not provide any unexpected results. You can usually see for your self the conditions of a restaurant when you go into it. All five of the restaurants were inspected within the last three months. So that said here are the results summarized by me.

Railroad Cafe Inspected 11/08/06
Floor in Food Prep area in disrepair
Thermometers missing from 2 cold holding units
Food Debris on exterior and interior of glass door of reach-in freezer
Light Shields not provided over sink in rear
Containers of dry beans stored uncovered

Old Mill Restaurant Inspected 10/27/06
Self closing door not provided for employee bathroom.

Bonanza Family Restaurant Inspected 11/15/06
All Cold Food on buffet was out of temperature
Home style bunt pans are being used, should be commercial
Reinspected 11/21/06 and corrections were made

Delmar Pizza Inspected 10/27/06
Employee Health forms not available
Effective hair restrains not worn by several workers
Sanitized test strips to evaluate sanitizer concentrates nor provided
2 lights burnt out in ventilation hood
Thermometers not provided for cold holding units at wait station
Dry food storage positioned less than 6 inches from the floor
Light shield not provided for fixture at 2nd floor dry food storage area
Effective self closing doors not provided for bathrooms
Covered Waste receptacle not provided for female bathroom

Taste of China Inspected 11/08/06
Fly strips laden with dead flies over food prep area
Shelf on cold food prep table rusted
Sanitized test strips to evaluate sanitizer concentrates not provided
Interior Floor of Walk-in Refrigerator dirty with food debris
Interior Floor of walk-in Freezer dirty with food debris
Ventilation Hood and screen laden with grease
Paper Towels not provided for employee bathroom
Open containers of dry product
Screen Door at rear of establishment in disrepair
Outdoor dumpster has no lid

I was skimming a Norwegian on line newspaper called Aftenpolten and came across this article on a man who wanted two passports. It seems he is a transsexual who is under going treatment to become a woman. He wanted one passport to show him as a man and one showing him as a woman. His request was rejected. The article is at Aftenpolten

Well with another January holiday over with and the business week starts anew with a four day week.

January 16th Tuesday Sussex County Council Agenda Meeting 10 AM, some discussion about Blackwater Creek will occur.

January 16th Delmar Chamber of Commerce< meeting at 7 PM

January 18th Sussex County Planning and Zoning meeting at 3PM.

January 20th Saturday the Delmar Fire Department Auxiliary will have a Chicken Salad, Oyster sandwich, Chicken noddle Soup and Vegetable Beef soup sale from 10 AM to 2 PM

January 20th and 21st the Model train display will be open.

The Delmar council is beginning their budget preparations for next year. If you have any suggestions for them on how to spend the money or changes to the amount collected you should contact your Mayor or Councilperson. For those who may not know their Mayor or Councilperson see this page Delmar Elected Officials I am sure their phone number is in the phone book.

The Church bus for the First Church of Our Lord Jesus Christ

It is hard not to notice the new bus. It is painted red and the cost of the paint job was probably more than what I paid for my house. It is nice looking however.