OCTOBER: Food Drive for Eastern Shore Families
The Northampton Virginia Cooperative Extension is hosting an October food drive to benefit local families of the Eastern Shore. Donations may be dropped off at Extension Office located at the Old Middle School in Machipongo. [Read more…]
Master Gardener Sign-Up for 2014 Classes
The Eastern Shore Master Gardener Program is accepting applications for the 2014 Master Gardener training class. [Read more…]
LETTER: Thanks to Town Staff for a Job Well Done
October 11, 2013
DEAR EDITOR,
As the 2013 Mid-Atlantic Bottlenose Dolphin Unusual Mortality Event (UME) Investigation continues, close to 700 strandings have been collected so far. The tentative cause of the UME is being attributed to cetacean morbillivirus, based upon preliminary diagnostic testing and discussion with disease experts. Of 93 dolphins tested to date, 84 were confirmed positive or suspect positive for morbillivirus.
These studies involve several NOAA laboratories and science centers, stranding network members, non-profit research organizations, and academic partners, yet it is important to note that the important data needed would not have been collected without local boots-on-the-ground members of coastal communities like ours. Here is the rest of the story:
We are lucky enough to have a Town Manager and Public Works staff that has been very effective in the handling of dolphin strandings here in Cape Charles. There have been several strandings in and around our harbor, with two dolphins actually landing on our beaches. In both cases, Town Manager Heather Arcos instructed Pete Leontieff of our public works staff to secure the dolphins as best as possible (there’s no handout or standard operating procedure for this) and then contact the Virginia Aquarium. After the technicians were able to conduct the testing and gather the data, Pete and his crew disposed of the dolphins according the specifications supplied by the Aquarium staff. [Read more…]
WEDNESDAY 10/16: MOPS Fun at Pfeiffer Farm
Mothers of Preschoolers will be having a fun fall day at Pfeiffer Farm Wednesday, October 16. [Read more…]
Eastern Shore Birding and Wildlife Festival This Weekend
Magnolia Warbler by Sarah Cashwell, Broadwater Academy, Winner – 2013 Festival Art Contest
Based in Cape Charles, the Eastern Shore Birding and Wildlife Festival is the perfect opportunity to experience the wonders of wildlife—from the keynote presentation by Greg Miller whose own Big Year inspired the book and movie of the same name, to unparalleled guided tours, boat trips, nature hikes and much more.
It’s an incredible chance to catch sightings of species one may never have seen before. As one of the most important migration stop-overs on the East Coast, millions of songbirds and butterflies and thousands of raptors will converge here on their long journey south. With the Eastern Shore of Virginia National Wildlife Refuge and Kiptopeke State Park nearby, this is a migration celebration to remember.
A number of trips for the Festival take place on National Wildlife Refuges which are closed during the government closure. As a contingency, alternate locations are being arranged for all scheduled trips affected by the government closure.
Schedule
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 11
9 a.m. – 5 p.m. — Birding and Wildlife Festival Trips and Tours All Day. Please visit the Birding and Wildlife Festival website (www.esvafestivals.org) for a full listing of all trips and tours and to PURCHASE TICKETS.
9 a.m. – 5 p.m. — Eastern Shore Birding and Wildlife Festival Headquarters open at Cape Charles Volunteer Fire Department, 501 Mason Avenue
12 p.m. – 5 p.m. — Exhibitors and vendors at Festival Headquarters
6 p.m. — Reception with light refreshments and cash bar at Stage Door Gallery, 301 Mason Avenue
7 p.m. — Opening Program Keynote speech by Greg Miller, whose “Big Year” helped to inspire the book and movie of the same name [Read more…]
WHO WE ARE: Combat Veteran Not Jaded By War
Post 56 member Chad Isabelle in Afghanistan 2004
By JOE VACCARO
American Legion Post 56
October 9, 2013
During this Year of the Veteran at the American Legion Post 56, we’re reminded that the persons we call friends and the organizations we belong to are usually a good indicator of who we are or what we aspire to be.
Some people might call these relationships character building. Character building usually begins at home and becomes a finely honed skill in places like church, school and military service. General Dwight D. Eisenhower once stated that character was “everything in leadership” but real character was basically “integrity”.
Throughout the years, military service has become a gristmill for “character building” where men and women are placed in difficult to almost impossible circumstances yet triumph over their circumstances.
The concepts of character and integrity are interwoven throughout a service member’s career whether they serve three years or 33 years. The idea of sacrificing one’s personal needs for the greater good for all isn’t a new concept. If you don’t believe that, ask former combat veteran and American Legion Post 56 member Chad Isabelle. [Read more…]
What’s Happening This Week at the Library
VACATION RENTALS: License to Kill the Golden Goose?
By GEORGE SOUTHERN
Cape Charles Wave
October 7, 2013
According to Cape Charles merchants, this year’s tourist season was the best in memory. But if Town officials enforce their vacation rental rules, they could kill the goose laying the golden eggs.
Cape Charles has five bed-and-breakfasts with 18 bedrooms, and two hotels with 22 rooms, for a total of 40 rooms offered to the public. Those 40 rooms obviously are not the anchor for tourist accommodation in Cape Charles. Families, often staying a week or longer, rent whole houses, and in almost every case these homes are privately owned.
According to a report compiled by former Town Planner Tom Bonadeo, the Town is comprised of 958 houses, of which 402 are used for vacation rentals. Without these individually owned properties, the Cape Charles tourist trade would hardly exist. But Town policies, if enforced, could decimate this cottage industry.
For an example of a Town that has successfully discouraged private vacation rentals, one need look no farther than Chincoteague. Even though Chincoteague hosts multiples of tourists more than Cape Charles, the number of private vacation homes for rent in Chincoteague is only a small fraction of those in Cape Charles.
Why? Perhaps because Chincoteague has enacted a very restrictive ordinance: private houses offered for vacation rental are required to provide one off-street parking space for each bedroom in the house. And the parking spaces cannot be in the front yard. That severely restricts rental opportunities for homeowners, but it doesn’t hurt the tourist business as a whole, because Chincoteague has a Best Western, a Hampton Inn, a Rodeway Inn, Comfort Suites, and many, many more condos and villas. Perhaps commercial innkeepers don’t want competition from private homeowners, and the Town of Chincoteague appears to have accommodated their wishes. [Read more…]
