Shannon Dunham Edges Tamsey Ellis for School Board
Shannon Dunham and Tamsey Ellis at polling place in Cape Charles. As depicted, the race was a friendly one. (Wave photo)
CAPE CHARLES WAVE
November 6, 2013
Eastville attorney Shannon Dunham defeated retired teacher Tamsey Ellis for the District 1 seat Tuesday on Northampton County’s first elected school board. Dunham received 488 votes to Ellis’ 435, with absentee ballots still to be counted.
The race had been a friendly one, with Dunham declaring that “I’m not running against Tamsey — I’m running for the School Board.”
Neither candidate carried the burden of incumbency, as dissatisfaction with County schools is running high. Incumbent Delores Lindsay had filed to run in District 1, but later changed to contest an at-large seat voted on County-wide. Lindsay was unsuccessful in the at-large race, however, losing to Randall Parks 2,170 to 1,442.
In the other at-large contest, Jo Ann Molera defeated Nykia Robinson 2,122 to 1,328. [Read more…]
Mason Merchants Display Halloween Spirit
Gull Hummock takes first place, in the Wave’s judgment, for best decorated storefront.
Hook-U-Up earns second place. (Pumpkin pizza, anyone?)
And garnering a “Special Mention” is a laced-up proprietor of Watson’s Hardware. (Stop by to find out which one.)
Happy Halloween, Cape Charles!
(Wave photos)
Town Council ‘Gong Show’ on Front of School Building
CAPE CHARLES WAVE
October 30, 2013
Cape Charles Town Council has adopted another new procedure to control dissent, which sounds a lot like the old TV program “The Gong Show.” Council member Frank Wendell consistently says what other Council members don’t want to hear, so they have begun limiting his remarks to five minutes at the end of each meeting. Joan Natali is the timekeeper, and sounds the gong when Wendell’s time is up.
Click on the slide show below to hear Wendell harangue Town Council members at the October 17 meeting for their refusal to recognize the front of the old school building in Central Park. A developer wants to construct a parking lot in front of the building in violation of the Town’s historic guidelines. But if the front of the building is on Plum Street instead of facing the park, then the planned parking lot would be on the “side” of the building.
County Sewer Hookup Fee Could Be ‘Game Changer’
Owners of yellow properties on special tax district map have informed the PSA that they don’t want to be included. Owners of the green properties, currently not included, say they want to join. The rest of the proposed tax district is shown in purple. (CLICK FOR LARGER VIEW)
By DORIE SOUTHERN
Cape Charles Wave
October 25, 2013
Plans to pipe sewage to Cape Charles from commercial properties near the Cape Charles/Cheriton traffic light have hit another snag: hookup fees.
Chairman Bob Panek informed fellow members of the Eastern Shore of Virginia Public Service Authority October 15 that Cape Charles Town Council wants to charge connection fees to new users of the Town’s sewer treatment plant. But PSA calculations had always assumed no connection fee. The fees could add $200,000 to costs, which according to Panek could be a “game changer.”
Hookup fees are intended to cover future costs of expanding the Cape Charles treatment plant, and every new user in the Town is required to pay the fee. The current residential sewer hookup charge for Town customers is $7,475. But Panek had not planned to charge out-of-town customers.
Panek also reported sentiment for allowing County property owners to opt out of the proposed special tax district. As originally formulated, some 70 parcels were included in the district, each of which would pay close to double their current County real estate tax. But of those 70 properties, only about 30 are developed.
Panek alluded to discussion over changing the source of funding for construction of the sewer pipe from the County properties to Cape Charles. The County has already budgeted to pay 25 percent of the cost, with the remaining 75 percent coming from landowners in the special tax district. Panek said that figure might possibly be changed to 50-50, meaning that half the cost would come from the County budget, and half would come from the special tax district. [Read more…]
Sunset Photo Is LOVE at First Sight!
Photo by Irene Munz (click for full-size view)
October 24, 2013
The Virginia Tourism Corporation’s LOVE sign arrived in Cape Charles for the Town’s October festivals, but the weather cast a pale — day after day after day. The exhibit was due to be removed last week, but somehow it remained — waiting, perhaps, for the sun? Finally, the gorgeous sunsets have returned, and local resident Irene Munz, who has photographed over a thousand sunsets from this same vantage point, last night caught the sun right in the clasp of the “V.” Thank you to whoever procrastinated in removing the LOVE sign — now we have what we wanted!
Town Council Overrides Planning Commission (By FAR)
By DORIE SOUTHERN
Cape Charles Wave
October 23, 2013
Two years’ work by the Cape Charles Planning Commission fell victim to an email from an absentee councilman at last Thursday’s Town Council meeting.
The Planning Commission, composed of seven volunteers, had been studying floor area ratios for the Town’s Harbor District. The higher the floor area ratio (or FAR), the denser the development allowed by right.
The Planning Commission worked “about two years” on a FAR recommendation to Council, according to Joan Natali, who sits on both Town Council and the Planning Commission.
The Planning Commission recommendation was presented to Council at its September meeting, where Town Planner Rob Testerman explained that a FAR requirement would “prevent any hugely dense, out-of-character development” in the Harbor District. The recommendation was tabled for further thought when two councilmen disagreed: Frank Wendell argued that the FAR should be lower (less density), while Steve Bennett believed it should be higher. [Read more…]
Cape Charles Rotary Club Cleans Up
Cape Charles Rotary Club members and their friends picked up a truckload of trash last Sunday along Stone Road, their “adopted” highway.
CAPE CHARLES WAVE
October 20, 2013
Last Sunday’s threatening weather couldn’t dampen Cape Charles Rotary Club’s first cleanup of their adopted highway, Stone Road coming into town.
Rotary President Paul Strong reports that 12 volunteers – some members and their children, and some friends, donned florescent vests and proceeded to pick up enough trash off the side of the road to fill a pickup truck.
Strong said that prior to the cleanup he had no idea the group would find as much trash as they did. In addition to ordinary litter, they picked up a Cadillac hubcap and an old tire. [Read more…]
Coast Guard Station Cape Charles Aids in Perilous Rescue
Helicopter rescue video has no sound, but can induce motion sickness! (Click bottom right for full-screen)
October 19, 2013
EDITOR’S NOTE: Here in Cape Charles we are most likely to see resident Coast Guard personnel playing soccer in Central Park or jogging along town streets. The Wave is reprinting the following Coast Guard rescue report as a reminder that our neighbors’ “day job” can be a perilous one. On Thursday, October 10, in 40-knot winds, 12-foot seas, and inky darkness, the Coast Guard rescued two people from a disabled vessel by lowering a rescue swimmer from a helicopter who rigged a tow line to a Coast Guard vessel. Coast Guard Station Cape Charles participated in the mission.
U.S. COAST GUARD PUBLIC AFFAIRS
Fast-moving storms blew through parts of the Eastern Seaboard last week, whipping maritime communities with heavy rain and high winds. True to form for Coast Guard men and women, the foul weather was no match for the perseverance of Coast Guard crews.
The Coast Guard responded to a sailboat sinking near the mouth of the Great Wicomico River and another sailboat northeast of Cape Charles that was also sinking.
Crew members aboard the 34-foot sailboat Basta contacted Coast Guard Sector Hampton Roads’ command center reporting the boat was experiencing engine trouble, and they were unable to raise their sails or lower an anchor.
Hampton Roads watchstanders issued an urgent marine information broadcast and dispatched a rescue crew from Coast Guard Station Cape Charles and an aircrew aboard an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter from Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City, N.C.
After being underway for approximately an hour, the boat crew was directed to return to base due to the high seas. The helicopter crew met a similar fate as they arrived on scene. [Read more…]
