FRIDAY 12/19: ‘Weary of War — the Shore in December 1864′
“Weary of War: The Shore in December 1864” is the subject of a free 90-minute seminar 12:30 p.m. Friday, December 19, in the Lecture Hall of the Eastern Shore Community College, 29300 Lankford Hwy., Melfa. Historian Kellee Blake will address declining hopes for Southern victory, the Shore command of bright young colonel Frank J. White (including his handling of the previously enslaved population), the predicament of women, and the costly demand that every adult on the Shore take the dreaded oath. [Read more…]
American Legion Food Drive for Eastern Shore Pantry
American Legion Post 56 in Cheriton has an ongoing Holiday Project to provide canned food to the Eastern Shore Food Pantry. A box is located inside Post 56 near the front door to collect canned goods for our neighbors who need help this year. Not everyone is fortunate enough to have a family who can feed them during this Christmas season. All members and their families are asked to please consider donating canned goods to this project.
Cape Charles to Host 2015 CBES Bike Tour
Upwards of 1,000 riders, mostly not from the Shore, are expected in Cape Charles for the 2015 CBES “Between the Waters” bike tour next October 24.
By DONNA BOZZA
Citizens for a Better Eastern Shore
December 15, 2014
Next year will be Cape Charles’ turn to host the annual CBES “Between the Waters” bike tour. Held each year on the fourth Saturday in October, the tour attracts upwards of a thousand participants – 90 percent of them not from the Eastern Shore.
This year’s bike tour was held in Onancock, headquartered at the historic Onancock School, with excited riders streaming to check in and start one of the tour’s four routes: 25, 40, 60, or 100 miles. Event Coordinator Phyllis Tyndall estimated about 800 cyclists, up some 50 participants from last year.
“It’s about the fifth or sixth time for us,” said Don Pratt, 70, of Southern Shores, NC, as he saddled up in the school parking lot. “It’s a good ride and it’s flat like the Outer Banks where we train.”
Nearby, Brad Dougherty, 60 of Virginia Beach, riding with his coach Mellissa Kuch, shared how triple bypass surgery prompted him to do the tour. “I made it part of my therapy to train and do the 100 mile tour — it’s my goal.” Dougherty finished shy of his mileage goal but logged an impressive 73 miles. “I’ll be [in Cape Charles] next year to do the full 100,” he promised. [Read more…]
EXTRA
Supervisors Hear Intense Opposition to Rezoning
Some of the 150 zoning opponents who rallied at the old courthouse prior to a Northampton County Board of Supervisors meeting December 9. (Wave photo)
By DORIE SOUTHERN
Cape Charles Wave
December 11, 2014
Some 150 Northampton County residents rallied December 9 against plans for a sweeping rezoning that opponents say could change the Eastern Shore way of life. The crowd than attended a Board of Supervisors meeting where it was standing room only in the usually nearly vacant meeting room.
In the face of intense opposition to the zoning proposals developed by county staff, the Supervisors voted to take up to six more months to decide what to do. During public comment time, almost all of the 19 speakers asked the Supervisors to just withdraw the proposal instead of extending the deadline. But only Supervisor Granville Hogg voted against the deadline extension.
Public speakers called for the Supervisors to request input from county residents as well as research studies on what proposed changes might mean to the economy.
Virginia Shorekeeper Jay Ford, one of the rally organizers, said that more than 500 people had signed a memo calling on Supervisors to completely withdraw the rezoning applications. The zoning applications were filed in the name of all county residents, but in fact were drawn up by county staff without consultation with the public.
Cape Charles Mayor George Proto was among speakers calling for the Supervisors to withdraw the zoning proposals. Proto said he was speaking for himself and not for the Town of Cape Charles. The proposed changes are inconsistent with the county’s Comprehensive Plan and the desires of a large portion of the county’s citizens, Proto charged, calling for public input and verifiable data to address issues of concern.
Cape Charles Business Association President Andrew Follmer said that his Board of Directors, representing 60 members comprised mainly of small businesses, had voted unanimously to request the Supervisors to completely withdraw the zoning code applications. “We further request a new process be launched to update the county zoning code in accordance with the Comprehensive Plan and based on relevant data,” Follmer said.
Exmore Mayor Douglas Greer also voiced his opposition. “You don’t have a good reputation when it comes to getting the Shore where it needs to be,” he told the Supervisors. “You have a good chance to turn this county around. . . . You need to listen to the people of the Eastern Shore. . . . Open your minds and don’t ignore the people here. Think before you act. That’s all I ask,” he said. [Read more…]
VIDEO: WAVY-10 Covers Rally Against Rezoning
December 10, 2014
Last night’s anti-rezoning rally outside the old Eastville courthouse is getting major news coverage. WAVY-10 was there and broadcast the feature below (click arrow to view) at 11 p.m. last night and again today. Shore Radio also has a report (CLICK to read). Ron West from the Eastern Shore Post was there, as well as Eastern Shore News photographer Jay Diem — not to mention the Cape Charles Wave, which emerged from semi-hibernation to cover the event.
‘Occupy Courthouse’ Rally Tuesday Against Rezoning
CAPE CHARLES WAVE
December 8, 2014
Three Eastern Shore civic organizations are calling on Northampton County residents to attend an “Occupy the Old Courthouse” rally 6 p.m. Tuesday, December 9. The rally comes just before the Northampton County Board of Supervisors meeting at 7 p.m. and is intended to raise awareness of the proposed major revisions to the county’s zoning. Billed as a “peaceful demonstration,” the rally will include speakers and musicians and is aimed at encouraging the Board of Supervisors to solicit more public involvement in any changes to the Comprehensive Plan and associated zoning ordinances.
“We are encouraging everyone who is concerned about this issue, one way or the other, to join us December 9 at the Administration Building at the old courthouse greens for this rally,” said Dave Kabler, one of the organizers. “What we do, or do not do, in the next several months could and will have a profound effect on this county and the lower Eastern Shore for generations,” he emphasized.
Kabler represents the group “Citizens for Open Government,” formed with Exmore activist Ken Dufty. Also sponsoring the rally are Virginia Eastern Shorekeeper Jay Ford and his organization. “We will be gathering in a show of support for a repeal of the proposed zoning ordinance that threatens our water quality, our property rights, and our agriculture, and aquaculture industries,” Ford said. “The Board of Supervisors has circumvented the citizen-created Comprehensive Plan that is to serve as our road map for the future,” he charged. The citizens of Northampton deserve better, and they deserve to have their hard work and consideration honored when it comes to the zoning code. Come out and let the Board know that they need to repeal this zoning overhaul and engage the public in a meaningful process in line with the spirit of our law,” Ford urged.
Also sponsoring the rally is the environmental preservation group Citizens for a Better Eastern Shore. [Read more…]
LETTER
Supervisors: Read Your Own Report, Ditch Sewer Plan
December 8, 2014
DEAR EDITOR,
I have sent the following letter to the Board of Supervisors:
Dear Northampton County Board of Supervisors,
In considering the need for a central sewer system, I’d like you to study the attached report, produced by Northampton County. You’ve probably heard before that Northampton County is losing population. The attached report illustrates how the county population has declined steadily from 18,565 people in the 1930 census to just over 12,000 today (see Figures 3.2 and 3.3 in the attached report). We currently have less people in our county than in any time in the past century. We are nearing the point where we will have lost 50% of our population. This trend is predicted to continue for the forseeable future. Projections going out to 2040 predict a continued decline in population (see Table 3.3). [CLICK to download report.]
Population density has a direct bearing on the ability of an area to treat sewage effectively with septic systems as opposed to centralized sewer systems. “On June 28, 2013, EPA released a model program for onsite wastewater treatment systems in the Chesapeake Bay watershed to help states more effectively prevent nutrients from entering the Bay from onsite or septic systems, which will improve water quality. When properly designed, sited and maintained, decentralized systems like septic systems can treat wastewater effectively and protect surface water and groundwater.” (http://water.epa.gov/
The EPA also “concluded in its 1997 Response to Congress that “adequately managed decentralized wastewater systems are a cost-effective and long-term option for meeting public health and water quality goals, particularly in less densely populated areas.” (http://water.epa.gov/
Danceable Drama Is Not Your Father’s Christmas Carol
By WAYNE CREED
December 8, 2014
In Cape Charles, Christmas is our best of times, and this season, Arts Enter and the Palace Theatre are excited to bring you their unique interpretation of the Dickens classic, “A Christmas Carol: An Original Danceable Drama.” Rather than just blowing dust off the pages, and trotting old Ebenezer out in a nightgown once again, we wanted to re-examine the story, not just relative to a mosaic of other literary work, but as a play between the elements of speech, music, and dance.
This sounds like a daunting task, but working with the brilliant Amy Watkins makes it so much easier. Her original choreography pushes our dancers’ movement and form in space, shape, time and energy. For Amy, it is the art of movement, using the language of ballet, contemporary dance, jazz, hip hop, folk dance, GaGa, and even pedestrian movement, all fused together in a spiritual, emotional, and even non-literal textual context to create a vivid and intense narrative that invokes dance’s grandest ghosts of the past and present, Martha Graham and Twyla Tharp.
We are also blessed to have a supremely talented costume designer (who can lift a great deal of stress off of the directors), Vera Miller, who uses fabric to create the characters and fill the stage with texture and color. For period pieces, such as “A Christmas Carol,” she is marvelous in her ability to plot color, changing social status or period through the visual design of garments and accessories. This may sound simple, but it requires a unique knowledge of not just fabric and pattern development, but also an in-depth education in the history of textiles and fashion. [Read more…]
