REFINERY SEEKS SOLUTION : Sunoco has told state officials and civic leaders that it is looking for an 'interim solution' to prevent  having to burn off waste gas after the adjacent General Chemical plant in Claymont shuts down in September. George Lossé, president of the Claymont Coalition, said that the company has been told doing that would be "totally unacceptable." The oil company currently is seeking state and federal permits to construct a sulfur recovery unit, but it will be at least 18 months before that is on line. "They've said they're considering five options," Lossé said, adding that he is not sure what they are, but they probably involve "bringing in some kind of equipment to take care of it on a temporary basis until then."

For several years, Sunoco has sold the gas to General Chemical for use in making sulfuric acid. At times when General Chemical has equipment problems and is unable to accept the gas, Sunoco has had to use its flare to burn it off. That releases sulfur dioxide, a potentially dangerous pollutant, into the air. General Chemical, which is in bankruptcy with its parent company, recently announced plans to close the Claymont plant in September. Because the waste gas is a byproduct of its basic petroleum-producing operation at the Marcus Hook, Pa., refinery, Sunoco apparently has no alternative to continuning to generate it. The crude oil cracker is in Pennsylvania; the flare is in Delaware.

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The new Brandywine branch library is scheduled to get its first books on Mar. 11 -- 2,100 boxes of them. That shipment is the vanguard of 150,000 items expected to be on hand when the faciity, a unit of the New Castle County library system, opens for business on Apr. 12.

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THE WAY IT WAS:
The Grand Opera House in the 800 block of Market Street has changed since the post card was published circa 1906-08. There has been a third floor added, but the lower portion of the entranceway remains similar. (Note that 'House' is misspelled 'Housee' on the card.) The Garrick Theater shown on the card was replaced by a motion picture theater which became the Loews Aldine. It was torn down several years ago and the 'Baby Grand' theater now stands at that site.
This is another in a series of 'then and now' views of Wilmington. It draws on the extensive collection of local picture post cards accumulated by Terry Craig. Current views of the same scenes are Delaforum digital photos. See previous views in this series.

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BENEFITS PACKAGES COMPARED: Brandywine School District is "favorably positioned in the market" in terms of employee benefits for teachers, according to Nancy Doorey, vice president of the school board. An internal study presented to the board found Brandywine's combined state- and locally-paid benefits to rank third among Delaware districts responding to a survey -- behind the Christina and New Castle County Vocational-Technical  -- and eighth among 22 districts in the region. The study concluded that Brandywine is "highly competitive" in health care insurance, but below the other district in tuition reimbursement.. Unlike other districts, Brandywine picks up the cost of health insurance during the first 90 days of employment.

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POLICE BEEF UP CLAYMONT SECURITY: State Police have launched a 'Claymont initiative' in response to a rash of burglaries and break-ins during the past six months at business establishments along Philadelphia Pike. State representative Gregory Lavelle pressed for additional efforts after six such incidents occurred in the vicinity of Commonwealth Avenue during a single evening in late February. The legislator expressed concern that there is a strong possibility that an inadvertent confrontation with one of the burglars could easily lead to a business owner or employee being injured or killed. He and other legislators who represent the area met on Mar. 3 with top police officials to map a strategy.

Police Major David Baylor said that at least eight officers will be involved in the initiative for an indefinite period. In addition to assigning patrols from the Penny Hill troop to concentrate on the area, uniformed officers on overtime status will be used to provide an additional police presence during evening hours. In addition, he said, detectives will immediately "begin proactive investigative work" to solve the crimes which have been committed and the probation and parole will step up surveillance in an attempt to come up with suspects. Community liaison officers have reported that activation of State Police officers who also are military reservists has left Penny Hill and other troops short-handed.

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HURDLE CLEARED EASILY: Planned for the proposed Bank One data center on Governor Printz Boulevard just north of Wilmington breezed through a New Castle County Planning Board hearing on Mar. 3. The board took the project under advisement, but indicated it will recommend approval. The only qualifying point raised was the number of parking spaces to be provided -- 54 against a normal requirement of 813, based on application of the formula in the Unified Development Code. The fact the 235,600 square-foot building will have only 45 to 50 employees to run the highly automated operation justifies the wide disparity, according to Charles Baker, general manager of the Department of Land Use. (Read previous story)

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WHEN THE CAT'S AWAY: When she joined County Council in November, the first 'cause' that Patty Powell took up was to get committee meetings to run on time. She had the staff install a clock in the conference room and supervised its placement in the presider's direct line-of-sight. When named chair of the land use committee, she vowed to set an example and actually began her first meeting on time. On Mar. 3, however, that panel's scheduled half-hour meeting convened 25 minutes after the appointed hour and ran for more than an hour. No broken political promise was involved, however. Council president Christopher Coons announced at the start that he was filling in for the Sixth District councilwoman who was away on vacation.

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Violins and other string instruments will return to four schools in the Brandywine School District with a planned expansion of the music instruction program.

Tom Alderson, supervisor of arts education, told the school board on Mar. 3 that the eventual goal is to extend the program to all schools, looking to establish a district orchestra. If a teacher can be found and hired in time, the new effort for fourth-, fifth- and sixth-graders will get underway as part of the summer fine arts session. With the start of the academic year in September, small group instruction will be offered at Harlan and P.S. du Pont Intermediate Schools, Talley Middle School and Mount Pleasant High School. The in-school program, he said, is intended to supplement private lessons and those provided by such places as the Wilmington Music School.

Although the board was not required to specifically approve the proposal, all its members strongly endorsed the idea, which Superintendent Bruce Harter described as a component of the district's strategic plan for educational improvement. Its cost will be included in the budget for the 2003-04 academic year, he said. Alderson said that, although marching and concert bands are big at many schools, "strings have really suffered in this state for some time." He said having such a program in Brandywine, where parental interest in music education has traditionally run high, will likely attract students from other district as well as private and parochial schools.

After board member Mark Huxsoll noted that orchestras from two Philadelphia high schools have performed in Europe and Asia, Alderson remarked, "If it can be done in Philadelphia, it can be done here."

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