LETTER: Town Paying $10,000 for Free Information
February 24, 2014
DEAR EDITOR,
I recently attended a Cape Charles Town Council Meeting and heard that our Town Manager, Heather Arcos, had proposed a wage hour survey be conducted for $10,000 and has already selected her preferred vendor, Springsted Inc., to do the work. Surprisingly, without any discussion, the Mayor and Town Council approved the request. [Read more…]
LETTER: Chief Pruitt Praised for Quick Work
February 24, 2014
DEAR EDITOR,
On January 30, we had an incident at Kings Creek Marina that required medical attention and our staff called 911. [Read more…]
LETTER: State Bar President-Elect on Old School Battle
KEVIN MARTINGAYLE
January 15, 2014
DEAR EDITOR,
For well over a year, a group of residents has been battling to save the historic Cape Charles High School from being lost as an historic public asset. I will explain why and suggest a course of action to protect other historic property.
First, the primary excuse for transferring the property to a private developer, for a nominal price, was a supposed need to unload a building that had been allowed to fall into disrepair. Of course, the Town of Cape Charles has ordinances that prohibit allowing property to become dilapidated, so it appears that the local governing body violated its own laws. That type of excuse for disposing of historic property is sad, ironic, and unacceptable.
Second, the deal involving Cape Charles High School converts a public asset into private property, with no public space and no future intended public use. The deal takes a building that was considered to be a part of the public park and allows it to be converted into private residences. The “renovated” building will bear little resemblance to the old high school. This would appear to be contradictory to the Cape Charles Comprehensive Plan, which calls for the preservation of public space.
Third, saving an historic school property like the Cape Charles High School is not complicated to do. The Town of Onancock managed to save the old Onancock High School, and the community is richer for the effort. Many residents urged the Cape Charles Town Council to follow the Onancock example, to no avail. In fact, a competing bid to purchase the school for more money and keep it public was rejected without any Council vote or public discussion. No good reasons were ever offered for the refusal to engage in a serious preservation effort. [Read more…]
LETTER: Holiday Cheer Trumps Grand Illumination Chill
GRAND ILLUMINATION — Chris Glennon shot this photo of the Gazebo with just the right touch of ice on the ‘cicles.
December 9, 2013
DEAR EDITOR,
Citizens for Central Park would like to thank all the people who braved the cold wind on Saturday evening to attend the Grand Illumination of Central Park! It was the culminating event in a day filled with holiday cheer!
There are so many different people and groups who had a hand in making the day a success. Many thanks to the numerous volunteers who worked all day to get the luminaries prepared and ready for the event. Special thanks go to the Northampton County Chamber of Commerce and Jim Weiner for their invaluable assistance, Jeb Brady for the use of his trailer, and Wako Chemicals for allowing us to use their space to prepare and store the luminaries.
Thanks also go to the Town staff who kindly worked with us to decorate the park for the holiday season and to many citizens such as Ned Brinkley, Heather Gladden, Zach Hunter, and others who helped us keep the luminaries lit in the windy weather. We are also very grateful to the Cape Charles Business Association for providing hot cocoa for guests, the children from Cape Charles Christian School for their joyful song, and Angie Pheiffer for transporting Santa and Mrs. Claus from their sleigh to the Park to greet the children.
We hope you had the opportunity to visit the Cape Charles Museum’ s antique toy display, Santa’s House at the Cape Charles Christian School, the boat tours and the lighted boat parade sponsored by the Cape Charles Yacht Club, and the lighted golf cart parade organized by Sandy Mayer. We appreciate the willingness of all of these groups to work together to create a magical day in our beloved town.
I do hope the Cape Charles Community Band will accept my apologies for the shortening of their concert in Central Park. As you may be able to imagine, coordinating the flow of events from one venue to another can be difficult. It was out of concern for our littlest guests that we moved the Grand Illumination ceremony along more quickly than planned. The wind was cold and we wanted to be sure that the children had the opportunity to visit with Santa. [Read more…]
LETTER: Watch Out for Right Whales
Click on photo to watch a YouTube video on the endangered Right Whale.
December 6, 2013
DEAR EDITOR,
Now that the air and water has finally cooled, trucks and boat trailers overrun the parking lot and roads around Cape Charles harbor — sure signs that the rockfish season is now in full swing. This time of year also marks the start of the North Atlantic right whale calving season which begins in November and runs through April. The whales are now migrating from their normal habitat in northeast U.S and Canada to the south coast of Georgia and Florida. NOAA Fisheries reminds boaters to be aware of these whales, and to take precautions to avoid collisions. There are fewer than 400 left, making them the most endangered marine mammal in the world.
The right whale got its name from northeast whalers who called it “the right whale” to hunt. These mammals had large amounts of blubber, were very slow swimmers, and once harpooned, tended to roll over and float, making them easy to strip and clean. Chapters 93-96 in Melville’s Moby Dick describe capturing the whale and the process of cutting the blubber into sections and preparing it for rendering.
Adult whales average 40-55 feet in length, can weigh up to 140,000 pounds, and may live up to 50 years. They spend the majority of their lives in the zooplankton- rich waters off northeastern U.S. and Canada. (Having no teeth, they mainly feed on copepods, euphausiids, and cyprids). In the fall of each year pregnant females migrate south to give birth to calves that are 10-15 feet long and weigh up to 1.5 metric tons. After birth, the calves drink mother’s milk for 8 to 17 months.
The coasts of Georgia and Florida are the only known calving areas for right whales, and NOAA wants to raise awareness of their migratory patterns and movement. The biggest issue is that, even as it would seem easy to spot something as big as a whale, in reality it is very difficult. They are dark, do not have dorsal fins, and swim just below the surface of the water. The only way is to be keenly aware of any changes in the texture of the water surface. [Read more…]
LETTER: Variable-Rate Financing Reckless, Irresponsible
November 16, 2013
(EDITOR’S NOTE: The following letter from Jack Forgosh was read by the Town Clerk at a special meeting of Town Council November 14. Town Council subsequently voted to accept the recommendation of financial advisor Davenport & Company to borrow $1.215 million at a variable interest rate. Mr. Forgosh has given permission to reprint his letter in the Wave.)
DEAR MAYOR SULLIVAN AND COUNCIL MEMBERS,
I just learned of your intention to refinance a municipal loan based upon the recommendation of David Rose at Davenport & Company.
I am a seasonal resident of Cape Charles and I hope to become a full time resident in a few more years. While I am not privy to all of the details of our financing, I can tell you with a very high level of confidence that the fixed rate available to the Council and our residents is at historic lows. I understand the appeal of lowering monthly payments by extending the duration of this loan; however, the risks of a rate increase after 10 years outweighs the short-term savings on our principal and interest payments.
The primary saving is not the difference between a 2.65 percent rate and a 3.1 percent rate but rather from the time extension from a 15-year loan via Sun Trust to a 20-year loan via PNC.
The probability that loan rates [in 10 years] will be higher than the current 2.65 percent is a probability approaching 100 percent. There is also a reasonably high probability that interest rates for this loan, 10 years from now, could easily be reset in the 6-10 percent range. Nobody truly knows where rates will be 10 years from now; however, this Council has the opportunity to refinance the debt of Cape Charles at these historic low rates. [Read more…]
LETTER:
Congratulations to ALL Candidates for a Clean Race
November 7, 2013
DEAR EDITOR,
I’d like to congratulate all the candidates in the local elections on running such a clean, respectable race. Despite sentiments running high on a number of issues, there was no mudslinging or backbiting, nor were accusations made by any of the candidates.
Whether they won or lost, our local candidates can be proud of the first-class manner in which they conducted their respective campaigns.
Thank you, candidates, for setting such an excellent example for others to follow!
DAVID BOYD
Letters to the Editor are welcome, and a diversity of opinions is encouraged. Send submissions to [email protected].
LETTER: Why I’m Voting Granville Hogg for Supervisor
November 3, 2013
DEAR EDITOR,
I am supporting Granville Hogg in the upcoming Board of Supervisors election. Granville takes a sincere interest in all aspects of his community, and is always willing to give selflessly of his own time to better the community.
I have worked extensively with Granville on testing water quality in Kings Creek for a state and EPA mandated study. His extensive knowledge of local history, the physical terrain, and real, hands-on engineering contributed greatly to this study. His willingness to learn whatever aspects of the study he didn’t already know, and his devotion to give as much of his time as necessary to gather the data needed for an informed decision, were unparalleled.
Granville doesn’t take a government recommendation at face value. He questions the methodology of the study, the data used, and the assumptions. If necessary he will collect his own data, run the necessary tests, and do his own analysis, as he and I did in the Kings Creek study. [Read more…]
