DECA NEWSLETTER – December 2007

DECA NEWSLETTER – December 2007

Seasons greetings from DECA! Here is some news from the last meeting on 12/2/07…

Luminaries – DECA reps may pick up luminary supplies on Saturday 12/22/07 at 9:00 a.m. at the Roberts Road cul-de-sac. Please remember to bring enough grocery bags for all the houses in your section, and a marker to label your bags. Sand scoops will be provided. DECA residents should light their bags at dusk on Christmas Eve 12/24/07. If you will not be home at this time, PLEASE arrange for a neighbor to light them for you. The display looks much nicer without gaps between houses. Thanks!

Caroling – Come join in a DECA tradition! We’ll be meeting at AnnMarie Bryan’s house, 238 Swedesford Rd. on Sunday, 12/23/07 at 6:30 p.m. After caroling come for hot chocolate and cookies at the Palmer’s house, 8 Wood Lane. Please call Susan Palmer (610)644-1836 if you can help provide some baked goods for the event.

Fire truck holiday visit – The East Whiteland Fire Department is scheduled to drive through our neighborhood on Saturday 12/15/07. When you hear it, come out and catch some candy canes!

Bus Driver gifts – It will be up to each family to provide a gift for our drivers this year. A neighborhood collection is not being organized. Please be generous; these people take care of our children every day.

Holiday House Decorating Contest -- The light displays look great this year! Cast your vote for your favorite house and drop it off to Rita Stern, 1 Roberts Road by Saturday 12/22/07. Ballots and voting box will be located on her porch. Each family member is allowed one vote. Top three houses receive a prize.

Online Newsletter/ Email Addresses -- Thank you for helping DECA in its effort to go “paperless” in 2008. Many of you provided your email addresses when you sent back your dues. If we do not have your email address, and you are able to receive news online, please reply to Chris Brown at chrisbrown20@comcast.net . Include your name and street address in the response.

Going forward, paper copies of the newsletter will be sent ONLY to those households that want to receive it that way. If you sent us your email address, look for news via email and the DECA blog – http://decainfo.blogspot.com . Thanks!

Home Improvement List – Looking for a contractor, painter, or other home help? A list of recommended services has been compiled and is now on the DECA blog under the Quick References Link. http://decainfo.blogspot.com .

Progressive Dinner – Mark your calendars! This year, DECA’s winter social event is a progressive dinner, to be held on Saturday 1/26/08 beginning at 7:00 p.m. Residents are asked to bring an appetizer (N-Z) or a dessert (A–M) to share. At your option, you may join in the dinner portion of the evening. Dinner is $5.00 per person and will be catered. RSVP and payment is due by Saturday 1/12/08. (Checks are payable to DECA.) Help is needed in coordinating this event. Please call Susan Palmer (610)644-1836 or Karen Bevec (610)651-5644 for details. Any assistance is welcome!

The tentative schedule is as follows:

7:00 – 8:00 p.m. Appetizers/Wine and Cheese. (Gather at one home. No charge.)

8:00 – 9:30 p.m. Dinner at various homes (Catered. $5.00 per person)

9:30 – 11:00 p.m. Dessert (Gather at one home. No charge.)

Thank You – To Tina Hall and Janine Spiker for coordinating and hosting our Fall Fest, and to AnnMarie Bryan for organizing the Eastern State Penitentiary Halloween road trip. Much appreciated!

Next DECA Meeting – Sunday 3/2/08 at 6:30 p.m. Location TBA.

Wishing you happy holidays and a great 2008!

Your DECA Board,

Susan Palmer and Karen Bevec -- Co-Presidents

Chris Brown -- Treasurer

Maria Hueston -- Secretary

DECA Home Improvement Contractors

GENERAL
Tim Stephey – T.S.I Home Improvement – 610-353-2920
Mr. Handyman – 610-647-5820
The Complete Craftsman – Rob Galbraith – 610-725-0441
TLC Remodeling Inc. – 610-458-8520

PAINTER
Tim Beehler – 610-831-1321

PLUMBER
John’s Reliable Plumbing – 610-430-6656
Ward B. Burnside & Co. – 610-644-2025

ELECTRICIAN
Genn Electric – 610-644-3931

OTHER
Kitchen Tune-Up – 215-355-5587
Al’s chimney Service & Repair, Inc. – 610-337-3788
Elite Tree Care – Brook Shoemaker – 610-935-2279
General Concrete & Masonry – Tom DiOrio – 610-429-3585
Northern Lights Roofing & Siding, windows, & carpentry 610-631-1135 cell# 610-955-4602.
Neal Spiker, Unique Indoor Comfort for all your Heating and Air needs. Home 610-644-1105, Office 610-491-9400, Cell 484-645-5361
Adam Beck, Computer Tune Up 610-240-595

Music Lessons In Your Home
Jim Saia 1 wood lane 610-644-3328

NOTE: This list will be added to the quick reference links section on the right. -Adam Beck

DECA T-Shirts can be ordered until Nov. 15

DECA t-shirts can be ordered until Nov. 15. Children sizes M and L, and Adult sizes S M L XL and XXL are the choices. The short-sleeved Jerzees 50 cotton/50 polyester shirts are "North Carolina blue" with a Downeast design in lemon yellow across the front. Regular sizes will be about $10, while XL and XXL are probably $12. (The cost may go down if we get enough people to order.) You must pay when ordering.

Questions?

Call Mary Lou at (610) 647-7674, or pop in some evening at 4 Beth Lane.

Using the DECA Info Site

Hello,

I was looking for an excuse to send a test email message to all of the people who have signed up for the automatic DECA site email. So here it is...

DECA Info Website Overview

DECA Info is the website for the Down East Civic Association. It can be viewed on the world wide web at http://decainfo.blogspot.com/ at any time by anyone. This website is a blog hosted at Blogger which is owned by Google. It was easy to create and is easy to administer. It is also free. This post will describe some of the things you should know about this site.

A blog is a short name for a web log. Basically the association leaders publish or post information at the top and the older posts get pushed to the bottom. On the right hand side of the blog you will see the sidebar. Currently it holds the following which can be changed as needed.

• Sunshine Corner
• Email Subscription Option
• Local Government Listing
• Local School Listings
• DECA Events
• Blog Archive
• About Me

The Email Subscription feature is provided by Feedburner which is also owned by Google. It provides DECA with an automatic notification system for anything posted to this website. An email will be delivered to your inbox daily if there is anything new. This email will contain all the posts added to the site since the previous day. Anybody can register or remove themselves from the mailing list. Sign up using the button in the side bar. To be removed use the link in the emails you receive from this service.

If you have any questions don't hesitate to ask. Please send questions about the website to decainfo@gmail.com

Adam Beck

P.S. Are you still awake? I know this can be dry stuff ;-)

DECA Newsletter - Fall 2007

DECA Newsletter – Fall 2007
Thanks to all who attended the last DECA meeting on 9/23. It was a productive night and there is much to report…


FALL FEST – Mark your calendars! Saturday 10/20/07 will be our annual DECA Fall Fest and Potluck Supper on Roberts Road starting at 4:00 p.m. Join your neighbors for an evening of fun, food, and good conversation. Activities will include games, crafts, and scarecrow- stuffing (bring your own clothing). DECA t-shirt orders will also be taken – the cost is around $10 depending on the # of orders. Families whose last names begin with A-M should bring an entree or side dish to share and N-Z should bring a dessert. Make sure to bring your own beverages for the whole family. DECA will provide paper products. Rain date is Sunday 10/21 at 4:00 p.m.

DUES – DECA Reps will be collecting annual dues this month. The rate is now $20 per household; $15 for seniors. In short, our yearly costs have risen consistently in recent times; dues need to be adjusted to cover those costs. An additional $5 donation will help to fund the Sunshine Club (see details below). When you return your dues, please provide your rep with your email address so you can receive DECA info/updates online. Thank you in advance.

SUNSHINE CLUB COMMITTEE – This newly formed committee’s purpose is to spread a little sunshine in the lives of those who live in Down East. We would like to recognize comings and goings of Down East residents. This would include births and deaths of those in Down East, as well as moves in and out of the neighborhood. For example, each new family would be provided with an edible treat, a Down East directory, and a Welcome Packet (which is currently under construction.)

The Sunshine Committee would like to extend our sympathy to Carmen Riale, whose husband Ray passed away earlier this year. We would also like to welcome the Fritz family and the Levin family, who both recently moved in.

If you know of any comings or goings in Down East, please let the Sunshine Committee know through a call, email, or by dropping by for a visit. Thanks for your donations to the Sunshine Committee!

Sue Jacquette

31 Wood Lane

610-647-2189
asudejacquette@verizon.net

Mary Lou Meehan
4 Beth Lane
610-647-7674
malvernmeehans@yahoo.com

DECA ROAD TRIPS -- An outing is planned to the Eastern State Penitentiary’s “Terror Behind the Walls” haunted house for November 3 -- adults only. For more details, contact AnnMarie Bryan at ambryan238@netzero.net or (610) 240-0731. The August trip to the Reading Phillies was a good time. DECA is planning both adult and child-friendly trips for future events. Some ideas are: DECA Bowling Night and DECA Beef-n-Beer Night. If you have any suggestions, please contact AnnMarie.


DECA WEBSITE/BLOGPAGE – Thank you to Adam Beck for creating a DECA page online! Check it out at http://decainfo.blogspot.com . Currently, there are maps, basic DECA information, and important area links. DECA hopes to use this site to post newsletters, make announcements about meetings and events, post Sunshine Committee news, take voluntary resident submissions, etc. Residents may subscribe to receive updates (free). More details to come.

NEIGHBORHOOD SIGNS –

1. We are still looking into the possibility of placing attractive signs at the entrances of both Elbow Lane and Hillside Drive, indicating our development. Some neighbors are researching the history of Down East to see if it can be incorporated into the signs.

2. DECA is also thinking of placing permanent “bulletin boards” to announce meetings and events in both sections of Down East as well, rather than using posters.

NEWSLETTER -- The DECA Newsletter is aiming to go paperless in 2008. This will cut some of our overall costs and will provide you with information in a timelier manner. We ask that if you are able to receive the newsletter electronically, that you do so. When you pay your dues this month, please provide your area rep with your email address. If you do not use email, please indicate that you would still like to receive a hard copy of the newsletter. Thank you in advance for your cooperation. Please forward any future newsletter submissions to Maria Hueston at CCML2002@aol.com.

DECA MEETINGS – We have decided that we will hold 3 to 4 regular meetings each year. We invite all residents to attend; you need not be an Area Rep. Looking forward to seeing you and hearing your ideas!

Have a great fall!

Your DECA Board,

Susan Palmer and Karen Bevec – Co-Presidents
Chris Brown – Treasurer
Maria Hueston – Secretary

Fall Fest: October 20th, 4pm

More info. coming soon!!

Association Leaders

Co Presidents: Susan Palmer, Karen Bevec

Treasurer: Chris Brown

Secretary: Maria Hueston

Map of Down East