ACROSS THE BAY
Robots, Laser-guided Carts, and Northampton Supervisors
Northampton County Supervisors Larry Trala, Willie Randall, and Oliver Bennett, with Janice Williams, assistant to the County administrator, before their tour of the factory. No photos were permitted in the factory. (Wave photo)
By KAREN JOLLY DAVIS
Cape Charles Wave
August 27, 2012
Members of the Northampton County Board of Supervisors went on a field trip last Thursday. They visited the Stihl manufacturing plant in Virginia Beach.
“I heard it was a good trip to see how high quality businesses function,” said board Chairman Oliver Bennett, who is also a teacher. “I wanted to see the operation, and see what we should be teaching our students.”
Bennett drove the small white activities bus that took the group to the factory. The building was huge — more than 2 million square feet of interior space on 150 acres, with 1,900 employees.
Most of the work was done by enormous robots, with a skilled technician manning two or three machines at a time. Long assembly lines filled several buildings, with people in high-tech workstations fitting, measuring, and inspecting the products in 12-hour shifts.
“What are you looking for in a student coming out of high school?” asked Supervisor Willie Randall. [Read more…]
Creative Writing Soars with 10-Week Workshop
Authors Lenore Hart and David Poyer give writers wings at Eastern Shore’s Own.
By DONNA BOZZA
Special to the Wave
August 26, 2012
Creatively grounded? Why not get serious about starting — or finishing — that novel, short story, memoir, nonfiction article, nonfiction book, play, or screenplay?
Two much-published authors — Lenore Hart and David Poyer — are ready to coach both new and experienced writers in a weekly Creative Writing Workshop at the ESO Arts Center in Belle Haven. The class starts September 4, lasts 10 weeks, and is limited to eight writers on a first-come, first-served basis.
The popular workshop is in its 16th year. David Poyer’s 32 books have been reviewed in the New York Times and on USA Today’s bestseller lists. His work has been translated into Japanese, Dutch, and Italian, and rights have been sold for films and audiobooks. He teaches in the MA and MFA in Creative Writing programs at Wilkes University.
Novelist Lenore Hart will be the primary instructor this fall. Her books have been alternate selections of Book of the Month, Doubleday, and The Literary Guild, and have won the Barnes & Noble Discover Award. Her six critically acclaimed adult novels include Waterwoman, Ordinary Springs, Becky and, most recently, The Raven’s Bride. They have been translated into Norwegian, Swedish, and Portuguese, and two have been optioned for film. [Read more…]
Young Green Thumbs Celebrate Bountiful Garden Harvest
Kaylen Fitchett, 7, picks tomatoes at New Roots Youth Garden on Randolph Avenue and Fig Street. (Wave photo)
By KAREN JOLLY DAVIS
Cape Charles Wave
August 12, 2012
The New Roots Youth Garden produced 194 pounds of vegetables this summer — and 18 young gardeners. At their Green Thumb Picnic on Saturday, they celebrated both the bounty of their harvest and — for the adults — the success of a public/private partnership that made the program possible.
“The Cape Charles Rotary donated about $6,000 and over 300 man-hours,” said Rotary president Bill Payne. “Eyre Baldwin donated workers to put up the fence. We couldn’t have done it without him.”
The Town provided land for the gardens at the corner of Randolph and Fig, as well as the services of Jen Lewis, Cape Charles Recreation Coordinator.
Project leader Tammy Holloway said the summer program lasted eight weeks, with a different “garden guru” teaching each week. The kids, aged 6 to 12 years old, learned about the soil, insects and parts of the plant. They learned what grows on the Shore, and what products are made from local agricultural crops like cotton and soybeans. They even learned how the Shore’s harvest impacts the state, Holloway said.
Fifteen adult volunteers shepherded the young gardeners and accompanied them on field trips, including to the Mason Beach Fruit Farm in Pungoteague to see the blueberries. [Read more…]
Super Successful Clam Slam Festival Ends with a Bang
By GEORGE SOUTHERN
Cape Charles Wave
August 6, 2012
Cape Charles Harbor Master Smitty Dize was tired but happy Sunday evening as he counted up ticket proceeds for the just-completed Boat Docking Contest — the grand finale of a very successful weekend comprising the Town’s first Clam Slam Festival.
Some 800 tickets were sold for Sunday’s boat docking competition which drew watermen and their friends and families from up and down the Shore. Nine boats competed this year — a 50 percent increase over last year. Proceeds go to pay the cash prizes, plus $300 to each boat to help cover fuel costs.
It was the success of the first boat docking contest last year that inspired Dize to expand Harbor events to fill a full weekend, including a Shriners Parade, marching band, and car show on Saturday.
Boat dock competitions are wildly popular on the Shore, with Crisfield, Maryland, having one of the largest. But Dize was happy with the Cape Charles crowd and nine boats — big enough to give a good show, but not so large as to drag on interminably on a hot afternoon.
Three local boats competed: Jay B, Three Brothers, and The Pound Netter.
Master of Ceremonies was the popular Erik “Flea” Emily.
Watch the 5-minute Wave video above, and then read more to see the list of winners.
Hotel Cape Charles Makes the Washington Post
The Washington Post’s travel writer liked Hotel Cape Charles’s modern look — A LOT! (Photo by Becky Krystal/Washington Post)
By GEORGE SOUTHERN
Cape Charles Wave
August 4, 2012
Washington Post travel writer Becky Krystal stayed at Hotel Cape Charles recently, and gave a very favorable review in Friday’s online edition of the paper.
The article is one of a Washington Post series on East Coast and regional lodging.
Unlike some local residents, Krystal didn’t seem to mind the modern look of the just rebuilt Hotel Cape Charles, which she termed “very zen” and “eco-beach chic.” And “not a single cliched pastel shore print hung on the walls” — a definite plus in her book.
This is the second (and more prominent) mention the Washington Post has given Cape Charles in a matter of weeks. On July 13, Krystal wrote more generally about her trip to First Landing State Park near Virginia Beach, Kiptopeke, Cape Charles, and Assateague Island. She mentioned Cape Charles (specifically, Brown Dog Ice Cream shop) only in passing.
Now we know why — she was saving Hotel Cape Charles for a full-length article. [Read more…]
Clam Slam to Show Harbor No Longer ‘Across the Tracks’
Cape Charles Harbormaster Smitty Dize with a racing “cork” and one of the competition boats, the Jay B. (Wave photo)
By KAREN JOLLY DAVIS
Cape Charles Wave
July 30, 2012
Spin a workboat from one dock to another, attach four lines to four posts bow and aft, and do it in about 30 seconds — that’s the essence of a boat docking contest. Next weekend in the Cape Charles harbor, watermen from Virginia and Maryland will compete to see who is the fastest.
“They risk tearing their boats up,” said Harbormaster Smitty Dize, who organized the event. “Most of them get dinged up. Last year, one guy knocked a part of his guard off, but that’s to be expected. It can be a very expensive thing if you tear up the hydraulic line.”
The boat docking contest is one of many events planned for the Inaugural Cape Charles Clam Slam, a town-wide festival August 3-5. Participants will enjoy three live bands, trash to treasures and yard sales, vendors, a Shriners Parade and car show, skiff and cork races, and clams, clams, clams.
“We’re not doing these events to make a profit,” said Dize. “We’re hoping to offset the costs of other town events, like the 4th of July fireworks.”
Last year, the town hosted its first docking race. Six boats competed before a crowd of about 1,200. Dize expects 9 or 10 boats in three divisions this year, and double the attendance. The Clam Slam Facebook page is getting lots of traffic, he said. And a yacht club that had one member attend last year is bringing 30 boats next weekend.
“A lot of vacationers are here this year because we exposed the town last year,” said Dize.
Cape Charles got a $10,000 grant from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to market the harbor. The grant paid for ads in boating magazines like Proptalk and Spinsheet, plus rack cards and other marketing tools. Massive harbor improvements have prompted some to consider it the new center of town.
“No, we’re not the center of town,” said Dize. “But we’re actually attached to the town now. The harbor used to be on the other side of the railroad tracks.” [Read more…]
First Boardwalk Gazebo Party Finally Gets a Break
G.Z. Slick Band played the old favorites backed up by a sunset afterglow. (Wave photos)
July 29, 2012
Heat lightning flashed across the Bay, but the third try was the charm for the Northampton Chamber of Commerce’s “Applaud the Sun” Boardwalk Gazebo Party last night. Due to rain, the party was cancelled two Saturdays ago and again last Saturday.
G.Z. Slick played the music and Ol’ Sol provided the lighting effects, all to a backdrop of several classic cars from the ’60s.
This was the Chamber’s first Boardwalk Gazebo party, replacing last year’s Harbor parties. Which location do you prefer? Comments invited.
Mark Demarino of Cheriton showed off his just-restored 1968 Plymouth Barracuda with a 340 V-8, two 4-barrel carbs, and a nitrous oxide tank in the trunk. He was not late to the party!
ArtsSplash Summer Theater Camp Grows Self-Esteem
Forest Flynn, 11, plays Robin Hood in the theater camp’s production. (Wave photo)
By KAREN JOLLY DAVIS
Cape Charles Wave
July 25, 2012
The Palace Theater swirls with youthful energy. On stage, choreographer Amy Watkins directs a swordfight. Kids with sticks, plastic swords, bows, and quivers (also full of sticks) lunge at each other with cries of delight.
“So much of what you do in the fight scenes is shown by what you do with your body,” said Watkins, gently organizing the pandemonium. “You don’t really have to hit each other.”
Thirty campers in the ArtsSplash Summer Theater program have two weeks to memorize their lines, movements, songs, and put on two live performances. It’s a lot for a kid to learn, and many of these children are very young.
“The kids learn how to cooperate and take direction,” said Mary Ann Roehm, co-director of Arts Enter, the nonprofit that sponsors the theater camp. “It’s a big confidence booster for them to get on the stage.”
All of the camp staffers are volunteers, said Roehm. Three years ago, Emily Bates —- who runs a children’s theater group in Florida and spends part of the summer in Cape Charles -— walked through the Arts Enter doors. [Read more…]
