End of the Line for Straight Line Automotive
Cape Charles’ only service station closed on Tuesday. The property is now available for lease. (Wave photo)
By GEORGE SOUTHERN
Cape Charles Wave
April 19, 2013
There was absolutely no warning — and as recently as Monday it was business as usual at Cape Charles’ only gas station and full-time auto repair shop.
But when owner Mark Richardson put out the CLOSED sign by the gas pumps that evening, he called it quits. After several years operating as Straight Line Automotive, the business is closed for good.
Cape Charles regulars were stunned, since from all appearances the business was doing well. There was always activity in the repair bays, and gas sales were steady.
The business had the distinction of being one of the few gas stations south of New Jersey to provide friendly pump attendants at no extra charge. And even with the full service, Straight Line gasoline usually was priced a couple of cents below stations on the highway.
Straight Line also sold hard-to-obtain ethanol-free gasoline, preferred for outboard motors and small engines.
It was apparent to any regular customer that Richardson sweated the details, and his closing was no exception. Call the station number (757-331-1303) and you’ll hear a detailed message of concern from Mark for his customers.
“I’m afraid we’re ceasing operations,” he begins, and then provides names and phone numbers for a tire shop and other auto repair shops.
Richardson told the Wave that he wanted folks to know that nobody had forced him to close. “I was not actually shut down,” he emphasized. “I’m just not a business person — it was nobody else’s fault.” [Read more…]
Town Property Values Drop 35% — Tax Rates Will Increase
By DORIE SOUTHERN
Cape Charles Wave
April 11, 2013
It was a long time coming, but properties in Cape Charles and Northampton County have finally been reassessed to reflect current values.
Northampton County, which handles assessments for the Town of Cape Charles, had not done a reassessment for five years — before the real estate bubble burst.
According to Town Manager Heather Arcos, the reassessed values in the Town of Cape Charles are 35 percent lower than last year.
For Northampton County overall, values dropped 20 percent, according to County Administrator Katie Nunez.
During the real estate bubble, values swelled more in Cape Charles than elsewhere in the County, and now those Town values have dropped the most.
Rising property values tempt governing bodies to increase their budgets for “free” – that is, without increasing the general tax rate.
But when property values fall, counties and towns are faced with the necessity of increasing the tax rate just to obtain the same amount of money as before.
Northampton County Board of Supervisors would have to increase property taxes from 54 cents to 70 cents per hundred dollars of property value just to maintain the same income as last year.
But since budgets include cost of living increases and other inflationary items, the tax rate could be even higher. [Read more…]
Blessing of the Fleet: Cape Charles Is Proud of Its Watermen
April 10, 2013
Last Saturday a rainy, wet
morning turned into a beautiful
late afternoon — perfect for the
6th Annual Cape Charles
Blessing of the Fleet.
There was a great turnout
for a very nice ceremony,
demonstrating that Cape Charles
is proud of its watermen.
Photos by Ron Wrucke
Gull Hummock Expands: What’s Their Secret?
By TED WARNER
Cape Charles Wave
April 8, 2013
A little more than a year ago, shortly after having received the job offer that would ultimately bring me to Cape Charles, I decided to spend a day driving around the Eastern Shore — to see if could imagine, one day, calling this peninsula my home. I didn’t know what I was looking for. So it was hard to find.
But turning off the highway, just past the Food Lion, I made my way into Cape Charles and drove slowly, sizing everything up.
The first store that I stopped at was Gull Hummock.
“What is a ‘gull hummock’?” one wonders.
A hummock is small mound of earth and, while their formation is its own geological story, whenever you are looking at very lumpy terrain, you can say: “Look at all ‘em hummocks.” Now imagine a colony of seagulls alighting on a hummock. It was a busy day for the seagull and now he just wants a nice place to pause for some friendly chit chat and maybe a wine tasting.
That’s what Gull Hummock is.
It’s a small, warm store, filled to the gills with carefully selected wines, cheeses, breads, soaps, ice creams, chocolates, and other healthy foods (healthy for the soul, at least.)
The good stuff. The gourmet.
“Carefully selected” isn’t an overstatement. Jon and Honey Moore, the owners, travel to wine shows and conventions in order to select the best available products. Their wine tastings are orchestrated for flavor, with three price points, and are a delight. And, when you read the contents of any of the packaged foods, you’ll note the absence of trans fats and all those other chemicals.
Next time you’re there: pick up any product and ask Honey to tell you about it. She’ll tell you a story. [Read more…]
APRIL CALENDAR for Town of Cape Charles
COMPILED BY CAPE CHARLES RECREATION DEPARTMENT
EVERY TUESDAY — Free Computer Classes for Beginners every Tuesday at 11 a.m. Call the Cape Charles Memorial Library to register at 757-331-1300
EVERY WEDNESDAY — Arts and crafts every Wednesday at 4 p.m. at the Cape Charles Memorial Library
EVERY THURSDAY — Story time every Thursday at 10:30 a.m. at the Cape Charles Memorial Library
EVERY THURSDAY — New Roots Youth Garden Spring Session every Thursday from 4 to 5 p.m.
April 5 — Blessing of The Fleet at Cape Charles Town Harbor. Ceremony begins 5:30 p.m.
April 15 — 2012 Business license payments due
April 15 — Golf Cart decals expire. Decals can be obtained at local inspection stations.
April 18, 20, 21 — “London Suites” at the Palace Theatre
April 20 — Rain Barrel workshop in Central Park 2 p.m.
April 25 — Cape Charles Photo Exhibit at Arts Enter 6 p.m
April 27 — Cape Charles Historical Society Low County Shrimp Boil at Cape Charles Museum. 5-9 p.m. Tickets on sale.
April 28 — Cape Charles Inaugural Band Concert at the Palace Theatre
USS Missouri Gun Barrel Leaving Town
Gun barrel on its way to Cape Charles last year. (USFWS photo)
By SUSAN RICE
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
March 28, 2013
The USS Missouri gun barrel is leaving town, moving April 1 to the Eastern Shore of Virginia National Wildlife Refuge in Kiptopeke.
The barrel has sat in the Bay Coast Rail Yard in Cape Charles for the past year. It will depart the rail yard about 9:30 a.m. Monday and will take about two hours to travel the 12-mile route on Highway 13.
Once at the refuge, the barrel will be restored and put on permanent display.
The 16”/50 Caliber Mark VII gun barrel (#393) was on the USS Missouri at the time of the signing of the Japanese surrender on September 2, 1945.
The barrel weighs 120 tons and is similar to the barrel which was in the bunker at the former Fort John Custis, now part of the Wildlife Refuge. [Read more…]
Mandatory Sewer Charges Pondered for Cheriton
By DORIE SOUTHERN
Cape Charles Wave
March 13, 2013
Northampton County Board of Supervisors yesterday heard cost options for expanding sewer service into the County from the Cape Charles treatment plant.
County Executive Director Katie Nunez laid out various costs to the Supervisors, all of which entail running a pipeline from the new treatment plant near the Town Harbor to at least as far as Highway 13.
The Supervisors are interested in expanded sewage treatment to spur economic development in Northampton County.
Public Service Authority Chairman Bob Panek, who is also assistant town manager for Cape Charles, is promoting expanded sewerage as a way to reduce treatment costs. If fixed costs are shared by more customers, rates could be lower.
Cape Charles Town Council has tentatively given a go-ahead to explore expanded treatment options, despite concerns that commercial development on Highway 13 could compete with Town businesses.
Just how much a customer outside Cape Charles would pay for wastewater treatment remains unknown.
The PSA envisions extending service first to businesses near the Highway 13-Route 184 (Stone Road) intersection, as well as to Fairview Mobile Home Park. Infrastructure costs are estimated at $2 million.
Phase Two would extend service to Cheriton. Nunez said that Cheriton would need to enact a mandatory participation ordinance unless at least 80 percent of residents voluntarily requested service.
Nunez conceded that getting 80 percent of Cheriton residents to request sewage treatment was unlikely. But under a mandatory participation ordinance they would have no choice. [Read more…]
REPRINT: Northampton PSA Tries Again
March 9, 2013
(EDITOR’S NOTE: The following report on the Northampton Public Service Authority is reprinted by permission from SHORE LINE, published by Citizens for a Better Eastern Shore. Whenever possible, the WAVE reprints articles from other sources concerning Cape Charles.)
After failing to attract grant funding for either an Exmore/Nassawadox project or a Cheriton-area project, the Northampton Public Service Authority (PSA) is proposing a smaller wastewater system for commercial areas around Cheriton and Cape Charles.
But a July, 2012, survey of area commercial property owners to gauge interest yielded a “poor response,” PSA Chair Bob Panek told the Northampton Supervisors in January.
Follow-up meetings in the fall of 2012 with 64 owners of 85 mostly vacant parcels yielded a “thin response” of five “yes,” four “no” and one “maybe” when asked about commercial sewage treatment, but the Fairview Mobile Home Park has expressed interest in connecting with any wastewater system in the area.
There is still no grant money available for a primarily commercial sewage treatment project. PSA proposals to the Supervisors for generating loans to construct a $1.5–$2 million system for commercial users in the Cheriton, Rt.13, Rt. 184 and Bayside Road area included:
- A PSA loan with a County “moral obligation bond” guarantee;
- A Special Tax District could be created in which the users would be taxed to fund the debt service over 20 years;
- A county-wide tax rate increase on real estate to repay the construction loan; or
- “Blending” the above funding options.
Construction costs and debt service would most likely be in addition to user hook-up fees and monthly fees for the costs of treatment at the Cape Charles treatment plant and operation and maintenance. [Read more…]
