THURSDAY 3/19: ‘Mother Nature vs Us’ at Oyster Research Center
Thursday March 19, at 7 p.m. at the Anheuser-Busch Coastal Research Center in Oyster, Don Young of Virginia Commonwealth University will present “Ecosystem Engineers: Mother Nature vs Us.” Virginia barrier islands are home to two very important dune building grasses, American beach grass and sea oats. Through feedbacks with physical processes these grasses use slightly different strategies to build dunes that protect and stabilize island interiors. The dominant barrier island shrub, wax myrtle, further stabilizes island interiors and increases soil nitrogen that may be important to dune grasses and the island fringe marsh. Field research on these species will be discussed, and our results and experiences”will be placed within the context of coastal restoration, sea-level rise, and climate change.
SUNDAY 3/15: Sound of Music Granddaughter von Trapp Performs at Hungars Church
Hungars Music Ministry presents a free concert by Elisabeth Von Trapp on Sunday, March 15, at 4 p.m. at Hungars Episcopal Church, 10107 Bayside Road in Machipongo. The event is open to the public. For more information, please call 757-678-7837 or visit www.hungarscureparish.org. [Read more…]
FRIDAY 3/20: Extreme Living: Microbes Do It Better!
Science and Philosophy Seminar of the Eastern Shore of Virginia has scheduled its next seminar, “Extreme Living: Microbes do it Better!” The free 90-minute seminar will meet at 12:30 p.m. on Friday, March 20, in the Lecture Hall of the Eastern Shore Community College, 29300 Lankford Hwy., Melfa. Russell Vreeland will describe the organisms that can survive extreme conditions, and how they may have utility to humankind. Vreeland has conducted research in this field for many years.
SATURDAY 3/26: ESO LIVE! On the Road with Pound Net at Little Italy
ESO LIVE! On the Road announces a night of music and fun to support the ESO Arts Center. Pound Net appears at Little Italy in Nassawadox on Saturday, March 28, beginning at 7:30 p.m. Come and enjoy a night of America’s music by one of the Eastern Shore’s most popular groups. Tickets $10; call 757-442-3226 or visit www.esoarts.org for reservations.
FRIDAY 4/17: Eastern Shore Literacy Council to Hold ‘Spell Rite’ Contest
It’s time to think Spring, and one of the fun Spring events on the Shore is the Literacy Council’s Spell Rite competition. The annual adult spelling bee will be held at the Eastern Shore Yacht and Country Club on Friday, April 17. The social hour and silent auction will start at 5:30 p.m., with dinner and a live auction to follow. After dinner, six teams will compete for the title “Best Adult Spellers of the Eastern Shore.” The competition is tough but it is all good fun and for a great cause – improving literacy skills on the Shore. [Read more…]
PHOTO: These Snow Birds Just Won’t Chicken Out
(Photo: Karen Davis, United Poultry Concerns)
United Poultry Concerns founder Karen Davis submitted this week’s snow photo, featuring three of her sanctuary birds. “We got hit with lots of snow this winter, but our sanctuary birds have braved the elements with fortitude and good cheer,” she reports. “Some of the white hens in these photos were flown by private jet from California battery cages in 2013 following their rescue by Animal Place, yet here they are, tramping about in winter wonderland in Machipongo, Virginia!” (Published March 9, 2015)
Dufty Reads Riot Act to County Planning Commission
March 9, 2015
EDITOR’S NOTE: Exmore community activist Ken Dufty continues to hold Northampton County officials’ feet to the fire, as evidenced in his latest letter to the Planning Commission. Of particular and novel interest is the issue of whether an owner of a commercial “barn,” apparently built to hold events, fundraisers, and other public gatherings, could do so “by right” if the owner offered hay rides to party and wedding guests. Dufty does not mention any owner by name, leaving the Wave to speculate that developer Bill Parr’s barn is the object of attention.
CHAIRMAN DIXON LEATHERBURY AND NORTHAMPTON COUNTY PLANNING COMMISSIONERS:
It is becoming crystal clear that both the ongoing revisions to the current Northampton County Zoning Ordinance and the 2009 Comprehensive Plan are being conducted in an arbitrary and capricious manner and are devoid of the required studies and other empirical data that must be relied upon to make the decisions that are now being proposed.
Last week at a meeting of the Board of Supervisors, [County Planner] Peter Stith was asked by Supervisor [Granville] Hogg why the revisions to the Comprehensive Plan did not involve the citizenry at the beginning of the process, rather than the current plan to present a final product to residents and business owners once the Plan had been revised.
Mr. Stith answered that they did involve the citizenry in surveys and workshops about three years ago. I have attached a copy of the responses to those surveys which 188 people filled out. Overwhelmingly, the respondants to those surveys conducted by the county said that it was “very important” that the Comprehensive Plan protect groundwater recharge areas and concerns; protect floodplains; preserve Priority Conservation Areas; protect Historic Sites, ensure Septic Suitability; and also directed the drafters of the Comprehensive Plan update to factor in rate of growth (majority wanted 1-2% rate of growth), and said that it was very important to create a balance between jobs and housing.
We are curious if the Planning Commission ever received the reponses to the surveys and the notes from the community meetings. If you did not, it is incumbent upon you to access that information, factor it into your deliberations, and then offer credible and defendable evidentiary basis to support your version of the plan, which turns its back on the will of the people as captured in the survey responses. As many of you know, in order for any decision of a county government to withstand a judicial challenge, it has to rise to a level to be fairly debatable. Simply ignoring and not responding to a key piece of evidence, such as a community survey and input from public workshops, tips the scales of this review firmly into the arena of arbitrary and capricious behavior, recommendation, and final decision. [Read more…]
PHOTO ESSAY: The House at 113 Tazewell
Geraldine Richardson Scott was born in this house 93 years ago. She revisited it recently with her daughter, Nancy Phillips, and son John Scott. (Photos: Kim Abod)
By BILL NEVILLE
Cape Charles Historical Society
March 9, 2015
This is the story of the family that built the house at 113 Tazewell, and a glimpse of what life was like in Cape Charles in the early part of the 20th century when Geraldine Richardson’s parents raised their three children there. The house was built in 1914 by C.H. Legg, a building contractor in Cape Charles who also was busy laying some of the sidewalks in town. (He marked his work by leaving metal plates stamped with his name. Some still remain today.)
Geraldine Richardson Scott
This story begins with a late summer encounter when Sarah Kepple was visiting Cape Charles and wanted to see the house where her grandmother Geraldine Richardson Scott was born and grew up. The last time she had seen the house it was in great dis- repair and appeared abandoned, so she was happily surprised to see the house completely renovated including a nicely designed addition.
She called her to let her know about the amazing transition. Grandma said, “You should go knock on the door and tell them that your great-grandparents built this house.” So she did. The person who happened to be in the house was Missy, the sister of part time resident Kim Abod, who along with husband Craig bought and renovated the house.
Through a series of emails and phone calls, arrangements were made, and on November 7, a spry and witty Geraldine, now 93 years old and living in Norfolk, returned with two of her children, Nancy Phillips and John Scott, to the home where she was born in 1921. [Read more…]
