Knock Knock Who's there? Clipboard guy. Clipboard guy who? Clipboard guy who shouldn't be here but I'm going to try to sell you something anyway. Now that the weather is better, some windows, doors, siding, roofing etc. companies will come knocking. Here's what you need to know to keep them from disturbing your peace. TOWNSHIP CODE 130 Like most municipalities, Haverford Township has regulations regarding the solicitation of business. We have codes that are quite clear. All business people must follow them, and that includes businesses based in other towns that wish to knock on doors to drum up interest. SPOILER: These regulations are rarely followed. Many businesses that send (usually younger) people to knock on doors routinely disregard township laws. Here is a summary of Chapter 130 of the Haverford Township Code: If a business that wants to send someone to knock on doors, it must register with the Township, and solicitors must carry a badge issued by the Township on their persons. This includes everyone who is in the group knocking on doors, even "helpers." They must check in with the Township on each day they want to knock on doors, along with everyone in their party. They must not approach any properties that are on the DO NOT SOLICIT list, maintained by the Township and provided to them when they register. They must not approach properties that are displaying a "NO SOLICITORS" sign, whether or not those properties are on the DO NOT SOLICIT list. Failure to adhere to these regulations can carry fines and involvement of the police. (Charitable organizations are mostly exempt from these rules). SOMEBODY'S KNOCKING The police advise us to never open our door to strangers, and really, not even to people known to us that we weren't expecting. That second part seems a bit extreme, but police think in terms of bodily safety first. It is reasonable to not open your door to any stranger. Here at Havertown HQ, we have a window … [Read more...]
Drones, drones, everywhere, and not a minute to think…
So H-Town cops have their own drones. The only shooting it does is with a camera, which the cops used in the summer to get arial shots of Merry Place's Life. Be in it. Day. (Which, according to reports from H-Town's youth, involved some sort of Kumbaya hold-hands-in-a-circle moment that was waaaaay awkward). Don't shoot down the cops' drone. That would be bad. And we're not telling you to mess with the FAA airspace, or discharge a firearm in the Township (not permitted, btw). BUT we can tell you that reports abound that one of a drone's fans hit with, say, a rock or a bird or something, will take out the whole drone. Those little flying pests are dependent on all of the fans. Take one out, down comes the drone. We searched the "General Laws of the Township" for "Drone" and we got bupkis: On a totally unrelated note, let's think back to those wonderful, boring summers of years ago, when we climbed trees and whittled sticks and skipped stones on the creek. We had pocket knives and digging spoons and never any shoes on our feet. And we always carried around our own homemade sling shot, one we made with a stick we found by the creek and a rubber band from the garage. Ah, the simpler days. We wear shoes now. The creek is probably contaminated. But we still have the sling shot. Just sayin'. LINKS: Deputy Drone of Haverford Township FAA owns everything above your blades of grass, apparently How to make a survival sling shot... you know, to bring back the old days of youth Sticks and stones will break my drones Search The General Laws of the Township That toy drone you got your kid for xmas? You gotta register that thing with the FAA. Photo Credits: Drone: San Leandro Privacy on Flickr Screen shot, "drone" search: Havertownies.com Sling shot: Havertownies.com … [Read more...]