Corps of Engineers Rejects Request to Deepen Harbor
Blue outline is Cape Charles channel, maintained at 18 feet by the Army Corps of Engineers. The Town requested the depth be extended to 35 feet to benefit existing and potential businesses.
By GEORGE SOUTHERN
Cape Charles Wave
July 20, 2013
The Army Corps of Engineers has rejected a request by the Town of Cape Charles to deepen the Town’s outer harbor and channel.
The request was made in April 2012 by Town Manager Heather Arcos, who wrote: “During the past year businesses in the Harbor have lost significant contracts due to the lack of sufficient depth for moving goods from the Harbor.” Arcos did not specify which businesses were losing contracts.
In response, the Corps of Engineers performed a year-long feasibility study. On June 13, the Corps reported that only one business would benefit from deepening the channel: Bayshore Concrete.
To qualify for full Corps funding, at least two users must be identified. If Bayshore is the only user, it would be required to bear half the expense, which, including interest and maintenance of the channel, could exceed $245,000 annually.
According to the Corps report, Bayshore Concrete stated that it would be “financially unable to meet the single user obligation at this time.”
The Corps study identified three potential future commercial users of the Town Harbor: an aerospace defense contractor from Wallops Island, a small inland cruise ship company, and the Cape Charles Yacht Center, a boat maintenance and storage facility currently under construction. However, none of those potential users would require a deeper channel. [Read more…]
WEEKEND 7/19-20: The Little Mermaid at Palace Theatre
Arts Enters’ Musical Theatre Summer Camp production of The Little Mermaid will be presented this weekend at the Historic Palace Theatre in Cape Charles on Friday, July 19, at 7:00 p.m. and on Saturday, July 20, at 3:00 p.m. [Read more…]
THURSDAY 7/18: Town Council Regular Monthly Meeting
Cape Charles Town Council will hold its regular monthly meeting 6 p.m. Thursday, July 18, at St. Charles Parish Hall, 550 Tazewell Avenue. The agenda and information packet may be read at http://www.capecharles.org/documents/20130718-TCAgendaPacket.pdf
SHER: This Place Gets in Your Blood
By SHER HOROSKO
Cape Charles Wave
July 17, 2013
There are places that get in your blood. This is surely one of them.
Just last week I met the man who farms the field outside my window. “What’s your name?” I ask. “Bud” he says — “You know like Bud Light. Lived here all my life. Never gonna leave.”
I could ask him what it is about the place, but I don’t. I track the gleam in his eye instead. His love spills into the sandy soil, sails the windswept fields and dips into the sea close by.
The land-and-blood-thing is strong in him.
Along the back roads toward Kiptopeke, the fields of corn stretch into the arms of Virginia pines. In Cape Charles Harbor, small orange claws and tiny fins poke through the slats of wooden baskets.
“Will I ever get used to this?” I ask myself while topping my oatmeal with handfuls of blackberries picked from a neighbor’s yard.
This is a land of abundance. The horn of plenty is all filled up.
But not for all.
It is the riddle of Abundance living next door to Hunger that brings me to a hot and dusty field after a midnight run to the ER. Tired, disheveled, and barely thrown together, I pull up to a land lit with color.
The gleaners are here, 46 of them from three Virginia churches. White-laced bags of potatoes, about 8,000 pounds’ worth, are stacked and nestled in the powdery earth and spent green vines.
Gleaning means to “gather what is left.”
Local farmer David Long invites the Society of St. Andrew to come to his field each year to share in the abundance he co-creates on Virginia’s Eastern Shore. Every bit of what’s gathered goes to the hungry people who live here.
Looking over the gleaners, it is clear to me that rescuing potatoes requires strong calves or dirt-coated knees. Surrendering to T-shirts wrung with sweat is part of the whole thing, too, and so is a pretty sore back at day’s end.
Volunteer gleaners: Like the hands in the background, hearts are at work. (Photos by Sher Horosko)
Town Staff News: Pruitt Promoted; Testerman, Pfeiffer Hired
Sgt. James Pruitt
Town Planner Rob Testerman
Officer Chelsea Pfeiffer
CAPE CHARLES WAVE
July 17, 2013
The Town of Cape Charles has announced three staff changes: two police officers and the town planner.
Police officer James Pruitt has been promoted to the rank of sergeant. According to the Town statement, “His promotion was based on the performance and work ethic shown since being hired in 2010 and his continued attention to detail while performing the required duties assigned to him by command.”
Pruitt was recognized by Gov. Robert McDonnell last October for organizing a dedication service for the Town’s only officer to be killed in the line of duty.
The Town also formally announced the appointment of Rob Testerman as the Town Planner. A native of Chesapeake, Testerman holds a B.A. in Public and Urban Affairs from Virginia Tech, where he studied urban planning in the College of Architecture and Urban Studies.
After graduation, Testerman was the land use planner for Accomack County for six years before joining the staff of Cape Charles.
His work for Accomack County included rezonings, conditional use permits, ordinance revisions, GIS mapping, comprehensive plan research, and erosion and sediment control inspections. Testerman is certified by the American Institute of Certified Planners.
Chelsea Pfeiffer, the Town’s newest police officer, holds a B.S. in Administration of Justice from George Mason University. She worked for two years as a probation officer for Accomack County and operated the 2A Court Service Unit’s satellite office in Eastville.
MONDAY 8/5: Snips Spay/Neuter Van Comes to Town
The Snips van will be in Cape Charles Monday, August 5, at the old Bay Market parking lot on Mason Avenue. [Read more…]
SATURDAY 7/27: Concert and Movie in Central Park
The Cape Charles Band will perform a free concert in Central Park 7 p.m. Saturday, July 27, followed by a movie sponsored by the Cape Charles Recreation Department. [Read more…]
THURSDAY 7/18: Sandy Sediments Seminar at Coastal Research Center
Sand Bed Filtration: The Role of Sandy Sediments as a Site for Carbon Oxidation in Coastal Streams is the subject of a seminar 7 p.m. Thursday, July 18, at the Anheuser-Busch Coastal Research Center in Oyster. [Read more…]
