Chester County Restaurant Festival Poster

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Open House To Highlight Youth Work Opportunities

An open house is being held on Thursday for The House of Original Dreams, a facility that houses a program to help youth with their future employment.

The HOOD, as the facility is known, is a place where eligible youth, ages 14 to 21, can attend classes for academic remediation, workforce development, GED preparation, vocational training, and post-secondary education preparation.  Youth are assisted with work experiences, job search and job placement.  

In order to make The HOOD facility better known to the public, and introduce the new program structure and staff, an Open House is set for Thursday, September 1, 2011, from 3:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m with a formal program to occur at 4:30 pm.  All are welcome and refreshments will be provided.

The HOOD is located at 530 E. Union Street, Suite 3, West Chester.  Hours of operation are Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.  The HOOD can be reached at 610.344.4225.  

On July 15, PathStone Corporation took over services at The HOOD. Since the HOOD opened its doors in January of 2008, more than 200 Chester County youth have been served. In the past year, the HOOD has exceeded its state’s negotiated performance levels in youth placement and attainment of a degree or certificate and met the performance in youth literacy and numeracy attainment.

The HOOD is supported by the Chester County Workforce Investment Board and the Chester County Department of Community Development. 

Chester County is the first county in Pennsylvania to initiate a strategic planning process and has a Aaa rating on its bonds from Moody’s Investors Service as well as AAA ratings from Standard & Poor’s and Fitch Ratings.  Established by William Penn as one of Pennsylvania’s three original counties, Chester County has been named by Forbes.com as one of America’s best places to raise a family and is ranked the healthiest county in Pennsylvania by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute.

West Nile Virus, What Is It? How To Keep From Being Infected

By Magdalena Stuehrmann

As was reported earlier today in West Chester Today, Chester County’s Health Department detected the presence of West Nile virus in trapped mosquitoes in East Goshen and West Goshen this week.  

Though this is not by any means a cause for panic, it is a cause for caution.   

West Nile virus is not an uncommon disease in the eastern United Sates, but it is not a disease that should be taken lightly.

This mosquito borne member of the viral family called flavivirus was not found in the Western hemisphere until the first case was reported in New York City in 1999. Since then, the virus has spread down through the East Coast and to several Southern and Midwestern states.

The West Nile virus is a member of a family of flaviviruses.  Viruses are not categorized as living things, and are more in the classification of parasites because they cannot reproduce on their own. Viruses instead reproduce by infecting a susceptible host cell, in this case a human body cell, and inserting its own viral genetic information (in this case RNA) into the nucleus of the host cell.

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Before the West Nile virus can reach human host cells, it must first be carried by a female mosquito. The mosquito becomes the carrier of the virus by first biting an infected creature, almost always a bird.

Crows and jays are the most common avian carriers of the disease, though over 100 other species have been identified as carriers of the virus.

Mosquito then bites a human, transmitting the virus to the human in the mosquito’s saliva, which the mosquito uses to keep the person being bit from feeling the bite.

Luckily, West Nile virus cannot be spread by direct human-to-human contact, which makes it easier to control.

The virus can be spread between humans through blood transfusions and organ transplants, though the risks of getting the disease are far outweighed by the benefits of such procedures. There is the possibility that it may also be transmitted from mother to infant through breast-feeding, though this is still debated.

Anyone has the possibility of contracting West Nile virus, but the possibility of a person developing a more severe form of the disease is increased if that person has a condition that might weaken the immune system, such as HIV, or has recently undergone an organ transplant or chemotherapy, or is either very young or of an older age.

Though West Nile virus sounds like a very scary disease, and it can have serious complications, eighty percent of those infected with the virus show no symptoms of having the disease or experience only mild, flu-like symptoms that last for only a few days.

Symptoms of West Nile virus usually exhibit themselves between 3 and 14 days after infection occurs.

About 20 percent of patients develop what is called West Nile fever – the symptoms include a fever, headache, body aches, a skin rash on the trunk of the body, swollen lymph glands, abdominal pain, muscle aches, nausea, diarrhea, lack of appetite, sore throat or vomiting.

These are symptoms of a mild case of West Nile virus, but should probably be investigated by a physician to ensure that there are no underlying complications.

1 in every 150 patients with the disease develops very serious conditions called West Nile meningitis or West Nile meningoencephalitis. West Nile meningitis is an inflammation of one or more of the three meninges, or layers of membranes that surround the brain.

This can be caused by either the presence of the virus in the meninges due to the virus crossing over the blood-brain barrier, or by the body’s own immune reaction to the virus.

West Nile meningoencephalitis is a condition that resembles both meningitis and encephalitis, a swelling of the brain, at the same time. The presence of either of these very serious conditions may be indicated by the following symptoms: headache, muscle weakness, paralysis, high fever, neck stiffness, disorientation, tremors, convulsions, or a stupor, which is a state of impaired consciousness, extreme lethargy and reduced activity to external stimuli of the patient.

The presence of any of these symptoms requires immediate medical attention, as they are potentially lethal and debilitating through serious brain damage if they are not treated immediately and properly.

Treatment for the more mild cases of West Nile virus is simply treatment of the symptoms – there is no specific treatment for West Nile virus.

A physician will determine the proper treatment of the patient by taking into consideration a wide variety of factors about the specific person and the way the virus has affected them.

There is not currently a vaccine for West Nile virus and it is still rather rare for West Nile virus infection to occur in humans.  So the best way to avoid having to worry about all these complications is to avoid contracting the disease in the first place.

Some simple steps people can take to avoid being bitten by infected mosquitoes include:

• Use mosquito repellent with DEET. and apply to both clothing and exposed skin.
• Wear long sleeves and pants that have been treated with DEET repellents
• Stay indoors at the peak times for West-Nile-carrying mosquitoes, which are dawn, dusk, and early evening.
• Fix any holes in screens
• Remove standing water sources around the home. 
• Don't handle any dead birds as they may have the West Nile virus infection.

Though West Nile virus can have some very serious complications and should be taken seriously, it is certainly not a panic-worthy occurrence, as most cases are quite mild, and, with proper precautions, it is possible to avoid contracting the disease in the first place.

West Nile Virus Identified In Area Mosquito Pools

This from the Chester County Health Department:

The Chester County Health Department is informing residents that two mosquito samples have tested positive for West Nile Virus in the following locations:

• Barker Park, West Goshen Township bordering East Goshen Township
• South Concord Road, West Goshen Township, bordering Westtown Township

Mosquito traps were placed in various locations in the County as part of routine surveillance by Health Department officials. The Health Department will continue to monitor this area as well as surrounding areas and will consider control activities when appropriate.

The likelihood of contracting WNV from an infected mosquito is small and chances of becoming seriously ill are even smaller, however, the Health Department recommends that individuals take personal precautions to minimize the possibility of being bitten by infected mosquitoes.

This includes staying indoors at dawn or dusk when mosquitoes are most active, wearing long sleeve shirts and long pants when outside and using insect repellents when mosquitoes are active.

The heightened concern will probably remain until the first frost which usually occurs in mid-October.

For more information about WNV, visit us at www.chesco.org/health or call 610-344-6752.

A. Duie Pyle Driver Is National Champ

Professional truck driver Leo Flack, a driver for West Chester-based A. Duie Pyle is a National Champion. Flack and 428 other professional truck drivers traveled to Orlando Florida last week to compete in the 2011 National Truck Driving Championships. Together the competing drivers account for over 500 MILLION accident-free miles of highway driving.

Flack, driving an orange-over-black Volvo tractor trailer, went up against 46 other drivers in the 5-axle tanker division - driving away with FIRST PLACE in his division. The win also qualified him for a spot in the competition to be named 2011 Bendix National Grand Champion.

A. Duie Pyle trucks are a familiar sight along Chester County's highways and throughout the Northeast Corridor. The company has local operations in West Chester, Parkesburg and Coatesville. The company is frequently honored for its safe driving record. Among the many awards, a Pyle driver was named 2010 Truck Driver of the Year in Massachusetts.

Drought Watch Issued For Chester County

Pennsylvania's Department of Environmental Protection today issued a drought watch for Chester and 39 other counties and more severe drought warnings for four Pennsylvania counties

According to Mike Krancer, DEP Secretary, "With the hot, dry summer, our statewide monitoring network indicates a need to take this first step, which is aimed at alerting the public and water suppliers that it makes sense to take some voluntary common sense steps to conserve," 

A drought watch declaration is the first and least severe level of the state's three drought classifications. It calls for a voluntary five-percent reduction in non-essential water use and puts large water consumers on notice to begin planning for the possibility of reduced water supplies.

A drought warning asks residents to voluntarily reduce water use by 10 to 15 percent.

Chester County's precipitation deficit over the past 90 days is 4.4 inches below normal.

According to DEP, individuals can take a number of measures around the home to conserve water, including:

• Install low-flow plumbing fixtures and aerators on faucets.
• Check for household leaks. A leaking toilet can waste up to 200 gallons of water each day.
• Take short showers instead of baths.
• Replace older appliances with high-efficiency, front-loading models that use about 30 percent less water and 40 to 50 percent less energy.
• Run dishwashers and washing machines only with full loads.
• Keep water in the refrigerator to avoid running water from a faucet until it is cold.

Additional water conservation tips and drought information can be found online at www.depweb.state.pa.us, keyword: drought.

Evacuation Order Scares Some Residents

Many televison viewers were stunned to see the broadcast of an Emergency Broadcast System (EBS) message at 12:30 p.m. today telling them to EVACUATE Chester County.

The brief message - lasting less than one minute - interupted regular programming and offered little information beyond the instructions to evacuate.

The EBS alert was the result of an explosion and fire at the Johnson Matthey Chemical Products facility on King Road in West Whiteland Township. Emergency crews responded at 10:30 a.m. to the explosion and fire of a hydrogen trailer. Originally, only the business was evacuated, but shortly after noon, the evacuation area was expanded to include homes on King Road, Ravine Road, Glen Loch Way and Lewis Lane.

It remains unclear how or why local TV stations escalated it to a county-wide evacuation order shortly after that.

Apparently, there were enough alarmed people in West Goshen Township that the township's automatic phone notification system (usually used during snow emergencies) was pressed into service by Township Manager Casey LaLonde to inform his township's residents that the emergency evacuations were limited to West Whiteland Township.

Check out the Daily Local News for the latest details about the hazmat incident.

Goshen Fair begins August 1st

The Goshen Country Fair begins on Monday, August 1st.

Back in 1949 - 62 years ago - the site of the fair along the West Chester Pike in East Goshen Township was actually in the country. For many suburban kids (and even most adults, too) this might be their only chance to see livestock up close.

There's more to see and do at the fair than just cows and sheep, of course. Amusement rides (the picture at the left is a photo from the 2009 Goshen Fair), games and food.

And don't forget the donuts. The line at the donut stand is ALWAYS the longest on the fairgrounds.

For information about the fair, including hours and events, visit the fair's website. http://www.goshencountryfair.org/