Pat Parsons Pens Memories of Bygone Cape Charles
Author Pat Parsons has nearly finished her book about growing up in Cape Charles, entitled “Before We Were Quaint.” (Wave photo)
By DORIE SOUTHERN
Cape Charles Wave
July 28, 2014
When Pat Parsons left home 59 years ago to attend Radford College, Cape Charles was far different from now: a bustling railroad town with a ferry connecting to Norfolk. Now Parsons has nearly completed a book of memories of those bygone days.
During breakfast earlier this year at the Cape Charles Coffee House, Parsons mentioned to proprietor Roberta Romeo that she was writing vignettes of growing up in Cape Charles in order to share her memories with her grandchildren. At Romeo’s urging, Parsons read one of her stories to her. Recognizing a talented writer, Romeo immediately urged her to publish a book, and promised to sell the book at the Coffee House. And so it soon will be.
The Cape Charles that Parsons writes about in the 1950s was the hub of commerce for Northampton County. Schools were segregated, with white children attending the big old school at Central Park while African-American children crossed the hump to Cape Charles Elementary, now often called the Rosenwald School.
Schools and churches were central to the life of the town, and folks came from all over the Eastern Shore to shop in Cape Charles. There were grocery stores, clothing stores, and a business district filled with bustling shops.
(Story continues following excerpt below)
COMMENTARY
Northampton Zoning’s ‘Man Behind the Curtain’
By KEN DUFTY
July 28, 2014
Thank you to the Cape Charles Wave for keeping us all ahead ot the curve regarding the zoning dispute in Northampton County. The complete rezoning of the county into a what several developers hope to be a Disney-like resort retirement destination deserves to be scrutinized, and readers are well-served by the Wave’s reporting.
The million dollar question of who is the “man behind the curtain” orchestrating the plan to completely rezone Northampton County into an industrial, commercial, and resort-style mecca looms ominously heavy on the horizon. And the Board of Supervisors’ “we need to be business friendly” mantra makes us wonder what businesses our protective Comprehensive Plan drove out of the county, and prompts us to wonder what it would be like if the curtain of resource and environmental protection was drawn fully open.
In our quest to answer these questions, we had to do a little digging. And we unearthed a plan in 1992 by PEMSCO to bring 60,000 tons/month of contaminated soil to a 65 acre tract in Cheriton, formerly home of the KMC Food Processing Plant. There the petroleum-soaked soil would be “cleansed” by incineration and “biological processes” so that it could be spread throughout Northampton County and beyond, used in landscaping and road building. But because it required a Special Use Permit, county residents had the chance to learn about it, research it, and oppose it en masse for obvious reasons. It was defeated.
But under the new “business friendly” zoning crafted by Economic Development Director Charles McSwain, this type of use will be allowed “by right” in any agricultural zone. The public will not be notified and no public hearings will be necessary.
In the same year, it was discovered that a local industrial contractor was importing and remediating “contaminated soil” and adding it to his asphalt product, using it in repaving and road projects. Again, once the act was discovered, it was deemed a violation of the county zoning ordinance, and the zoning department issued a “cease and desist” order, giving the owner 90 days to meet “binding contracts” already in place.
Again, under the proposed “business friendly” zoning ordinance, this process would be allowed “by right,” and residents would not know what was happening until they smelled the stinking fumes from the incinerators. [Read more…]
Annual Harbor for the Arts Festival Begins Friday
Arts Festival includes a plain air competition.
By ANGELLE BARBAZON
July 28, 2014
Beginning Friday, August 1, artists from around the world will get a dose of small town America. And small town America (in the form of Cape Charles) will get a dose of global art. The Harbor for the Arts Festival will not only host dancers, musicians, actors, puppeteers and visual artists from around the world, but create an environment for those artists and the community to truly engage with art and each other. The event runs August 1-17, offering free, live art and performances scheduled throughout.
August 8-10, and August 15-17 will be especially art-soaked weekends, filled with concerts, exhibitions, performances for children, and even yoga in the park.
The festival’s line-up includes artists from London, Canada, Hong Kong, Lebanon, Ghana, Italy, and Sweden, among other places. The five workshops will feature Experimental Film Virginia, Gaga Movement Language, Interactive Sonic Arts, Techniques in Charcoal and Improv/Sketch Comedy. [Read more…]
COMMENTARY
Why the Lower Shore Needs a Community VA Clinic
By JOE VACCARO
American Legion Post 56 Commander
July 28, 2014
On March 4, 1865, President Abraham Lincoln gave his second inaugural address to a war-torn nation that was filled with anger, angst, and uncertainty. Lincoln understood it was the people fighting the Civil War who shouldered the burden for the nation. So he elegantly spoke about the need “to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow, and his orphan.” However, those immortal words that were spoken 149 years ago seem to have fallen on deaf ears in America.
We live in a time where the unemployment rate of our veterans still outpaces their civilian counterparts by three to five points and it’s about to get worse with significant military drawdowns. Another startling fact is that one-third of the adult homeless populations are veterans, and over 70 percent of them have some type of substance abuse issues.
The early recruiting promises and contracts regarding medical, dental, and retirement pensions have also fallen into the abyss. The majority of the broken expectations are due to politically oriented budget-cutting on both sides and elected officials who have little understanding of veterans’ issues since the majority of them never served in the military.
Promises of care for veterans have been around for centuries: in 1776 the Continental Congress encouraged enlistments by providing pensions to disabled soldiers, and some states and communities actually made individual pacts to care for their returning veterans. In 1812 the federal government authorized its first medical facility for veterans that eventually evolved into the establishment of the Veterans Administration in 1930 when Congress authorized President Herbert Hoover to “consolidate and coordinate government activities affecting war veterans.”
The VA has been effective in dealing with some veterans’ needs and extremely deficient in other cases as the media bears witness in Arizona. However, the Eastern Shore has a ray of hope that comes in the form of two very hard-working ladies named Wendy Ainsworth and Jamie LeCates-Brown. Ainsworth is the Veterans Service Representative and Manager for the Accomack Field Office, and Lecates-Brown is her administrator. [Read more…]
Clam Slam 2014 Begins Friday; Big Event Sunday
Fund Established for Children of Tornado Victims
Lord Balatbat and Lolibeth Ortega shown with their three children: Lheandrew, 13, Lharizia Ann, 12, and Lheana Ann, 7
July 26, 2014
A fund for the three children of the couple who died in the tornado at Cherrystone Campground has been set up at PNC Bank.
All monies contributed will be distributed to the court-appointed legal guardian of the children.
Organizers hope that Shore residents will pull together and help these kids who have lost their parents.
Mail checks to:
Balatbat-Ortega Children’s Fund
PNC Bank
PO Box 623
Onley, VA 23418
Checks may also be hand delivered to the PNC bank in Onley.
County Overview of Storm Aftermath
NORTHAMPTON COUNTY PRESS RELEASE
July 25, 2014
The state of emergency has been lifted effective 8:30 a.m., Friday, July 25.
A strong thunderstorm with damaging winds and hail impacted the Cherrystone Campground area of Northampton County around 8:30 a.m. on July 24. Impacts from this wind event were extensive with many overturned campers and vehicles. In addition many campsite patrons were injured, with the Northampton EOC reporting 35 injuries requiring hospitalization and 2 confirmed fatalities. National Weather Service Wakefield visited the site and has confirmed the damage is consistent with an EF-1 tornado.
Northampton County declared a state of emergency immediately following initial response. Search and rescue operations were immediate and were well coordinated among various federal, state and local agencies. A mandatory evacuation of the campground was issued and 1,380 visitors to the campsite were evacuated to Northampton High School for temporary shelter. Many camp patrons subsequently found individual shelter options while others remained at the Northampton shelter. In the late afternoon, camp patrons were allowed temporary access to the campsite to retrieve personal items.
Northampton County requested assistance from the Hampton Roads Incident Management Team to continue overnight operational planning and coordination. This team will serve in an incident support role for Northampton County to assist in the recovery efforts. By 9 p.m. July 24 the Northampton shelter was closed, as most camp patrons had found temporary housing solutions.
Today, camp patrons will be allowed additional site access for the purposes of property recovery and personal property damage assessment. Governor Terry McAuliffe is scheduled to arrive at the campsite at 10:45 a.m. to conduct a site assessment and deliver a press conference. Media assets will be allowed to park at a designated staging area and will be allowed limited and controlled access within the campsite. [Read more…]
EXTRA: County Declares Local Emergency
Overturned camper at Cherrystone Campground (Photo: Jordan Bertok)
July 24, 2014
RESOLUTION
DECLARATION OF A LOCAL EMERGENCY
WHEREAS, the Board of Supervisors of the County of Northampton does hereby find that due to the tornado which occurred on July 24, 2014, the County of Northampton is facing a condition of extreme peril which necessitates the proclamation of the existence of an emergency in order to provide mitigation, preparedness, and activities to protect life and property;
NOW, THEREFORE, IT IS HEREBY PROCLAIMED that an emergency now exists throughout said County; and
IT IS FURTHER PROCLAIMED AND ORDERED that during the existence of said emergency the powers, functions, and duties of the Director of Emergency Services, and the Peacetime Emergency organization of the County of Northampton shall be those prescribed by state law and the ordinances, resolutions, and approved plans of the County of Northampton in order to mitigate the effects of said emergency.
Date: July 24, 2014
Chairman, Board of Supervisors
County of Northampton
Commonwealth of Virginia
Northampton County issued the following press release at 11 a.m.:
At approximately 8:30 this morning, a tornado struck the Cherrystone area just north of Cape Charles, VA, and moved across the lower Eastern Shore (DelMarVa Peninsula) toward the east over parts of Cheriton. The area impacted includes some of the more populated neighborhoods in the county. Early reports indicate heavy damage was sustained. A tornado alert was issued just before the storm hit. However, one heavily impacted area was a concentration of camp vehicles along the Chesapeake Bay. [Read more…]
