Post 56 Raises $7,000 for Victim of Vicious Assault

November 14, 2013

The American Legion Post 56 dinner/fundraiser for a young woman assaulted in Oyster was a huge success. The Post will present the victim with a check next week for more than $7,000.

Post 56 held a spaghetti and seafood dinner November 9 at the American Legion Hall in Cheriton (click here for story) to support their “Neighbor from the 180th” who was brutally assaulted in October in Oyster.

The event drew a large and festive crowd of nearly 300.  More than 280 meals were served, and the kitchen staff reported over 48 pounds of dry spaghetti were cooked in addition to several gallons of red sauce and over 1,500 clams. [Read more…]

Town Council Rolls the Dice on Interest Rates

By GEORGE SOUTHERN
Cape Charles Wave

November 13, 2013

Cape Charles Town Council is poised to refinance nearly $1.2 million in debt at its Thursday, November 14, meeting, when Council members are also expected to endorse a proposal to borrow an additional $1 million.

Most of the existing debt was for water and sewer infrastructure. Money allocated to hook up new wells was instead used to buy the new library building, so now the Town needs to borrow $300,000 for the wells, among other projects.

Current Town debt is at a fixed interest rate. But the Town has contracted with a Richmond financial advisor, Davenport & Company, who recommends paying off two fixed-rate loans in favor of a cheaper variable-rate loan.

Anyone with a home mortgage is likely to understand the difference between fixed-rate and variable-rate loans. Fixed-rate loans are issued at a higher interest rate because the bank bears the risk if interest rates go up in future years. Variable-rate loans have lower rates at first, because the customer (in this case the Town) bears the risk of future interest hikes.

In 1992 the Town borrowed $1.58 million to construct the water tower. That was a 40-year loan at a fixed rate of 5 percent, and there are 19 years left to pay. Davenport recommends paying off that loan and replacing it with a 20-year loan from PNC Bank. The PNC interest rate would be 2.65 percent for the first 10 years, which amounts to a substantial reduction in annual payments.

But there’s a catch: In 2023 the interest rate would change to reflect whatever the rate might be at that time. While that future rate is anybody’s guess, almost no one thinks it will match the present historically low rates. And some people fear that hyper-inflation could bring sky-high rates in future decades. [Read more…]

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Plenty of Empty Rooms at Local Inns, Owner Says

Click above to hear Fig Street Inn Bed & Breakfast owner Donna Kohler address the Cape Charles Planning Commission.

By DORIE SOUTHERN
Cape Charles Wave

November 12, 2013

Perceptions that Bed and Breakfasts in Cape Charles are doing a booming business are not accurate, Fig Street Inn owner Donna Kohler told the Cape Charles Planning Commission November 5. The reality is that occupancy last year averaged 28 percent among the five B&Bs in town, she said.

Kohler addressed the Planning Commission after the Wave reported October 3 that Commissioners wanted more motels on Route 13.  Commissioner Joan Natali said, “I’d love to see two or three hotels out on Route 13. The occupancy of our hotels has been consistently full. The reason is we have become a wedding destination.”

Not so, refuted Kohler. Even in August the occupancy rate was only 53 percent. “There is the idea that we need more rooms because we’re becoming a wedding destination and we need places for these guests to stay. Speaking only for my bed and breakfast, wedding guests aren’t staying at my inn . . . they make up under 10 percent of my business,” she said.

Kohler noted there are “multiple weddings” on any given weekend. “We know that the guests are coming, but we also know that they’re not choosing to stay in town.

“Is it appropriate for the Town to be concerned about a market that is basically a pass-through?” Kohler asked. “They’re here for one reason only – a wedding – and they are literally in and out in less than 24 hours.

“There is not enough demand for the inventory that already exists,” Kohler said. “If there were, I would think that the Hotel Cape Charles would be open year-‘round.

“You might want to say that we’re a summer destination and we need places for people to stay in the summer months,” Kohler continued. “That is not necessarily true. For August 2013, my inn had an occupancy rate of only 46 percent – far below what anyone would expect of a peak season. [Read more…]

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Town Property Tax Bills Mailed; Due December 5

CAPE CHARLES WAVE

November 11, 2013

(NOTE: A link to a list of delinquent Town taxpayers appears at the end of this story.)

Town of Cape Charles property tax bills were mailed November 8, just before Veterans Day, when mail will not be delivered. Although most local residents received their bills on Saturday, many Town homeowners maintain primary residences elsewhere, and will not receive bills before November 12 at the earliest.

Taxes are due December 5, or 24 days after November 12. Payments postmarked after December 5 are subject to a 10 percent penalty in December and monthly interest thereafter.

Town Treasurer Kim Coates informed Town Council October 17 that Northampton County sent out property tax bills in September, “but their IT staff didn’t get the file to our admin staff until last week.” (The Town relies on County records to generate its tax bills.) [Read more…]

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WHEN THE BAND STOPS PLAYING:
The Dark Side of PTSD

(EDITOR’S NOTE: Cape Charles resident Joe Vaccaro submitted this commentary with the request that it be published on Veterans Day. It is his latest article in observance of American Legion Post 56’s “Year of the Veteran.”)

By JOE VACCARO
American Legion Post 56

November 11, 2013

There are over 830,000 veterans residing in Virginia, and that number includes some 700,000 men and 130,000 women. Within those numbers are over 669,000 wartime veterans who have served their country in time of need. The Eastern Shore of Virginia lays claim to over 5,000 of those men and women living among us; also living among them is the dark potential of suicide.

According to the Department of Veterans Affairs, 22 veterans take their own lives every day. That data is from 1999 through 2011 and only contains information from 21 states, with large states such as California, Texas, and Illinois not reporting any information. Throughout the years combat veterans have been returning home seemingly unscathed by the battles they have fought, yet the suicide rate for our recently returning veterans continues to climb. The troops, especially the career minded, view any cry for help as a career blemish that could tarnish a record of valor and hard work, and halt an upward climb through the ranks.  The attempt to gather facts to combat this national tragedy is too skewed to be of any solid value.

Part of the problem is that there’s no uniform reporting system regarding these deaths. So it’s up to a coroner or funeral director to enter a veteran status or note a suicide on a death certificate. This makes it extremely difficult to determine a veteran’s status unless the person is known to them, which begs the next question of how do they collect that data on homeless veterans? [Read more…]

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Big Turnout at American Legion Benefit for Assault Victim

CAPE CHARLES WAVE

November 10, 2013

To demonstrate community support and concern for the victim of a shocking assault in Oyster, a few hundred people turned out last night for a fundraiser spaghetti and seafood dinner at the American Legion Post in Cheriton.

An Oyster resident jogging on Sunnyside Road October 24 was struck by a car, then assaulted, and then abducted, but was able to escape despite her injuries. She was released from the hospital in satisfactory condition.  A suspect was quickly arrested and charged.

By 7 p.m. last night the Post had sold 240 dinners, with two hours to go.

Cape Charles businesses were well represented by donations to be raffled off at the benefit. All proceeds will be given to the victim as a demonstration of community support.

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Granville Hogg Defeats Willie Randall for Supervisor

CAPE CHARLES WAVE

November 6, 2013

A wave of voter discontent propelled Granville Hogg’s victory yesterday over incumbent Willie Randall as District 1 Supervisor for Northampton County. The preliminary count was 517 votes for Hogg and 400 for Randall, with absentee votes still to be tallied.

The results were vastly different from four years ago, when Hogg and Randall ran in a three-way race where Hogg received only 87 votes to Randall’s 272.

Voter turnout Tuesday on a picture-perfect day was a whopping 62 percent higher than 2009 when Randall first won his Supervisor’s seat. Now running not only as an incumbent but also as Chairman of the Board, Randall had to face voter dissatisfaction over issues such as the impending loss of the County’s only hospital, failing schools, and higher tax rates on declining-value properties.

District 1 voters clearly were also unhappy with County plans to create a special sewer tax district for commercial properties on and near the Route 13 traffic light between Cape Charles and Cheriton, which Hogg opposes.  The issue may have precipitated Hogg’s candidacy after the Board of Supervisors removed him from his seat on the Public Service Authority in retaliation for his opposition. [Read more…]

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Shannon Dunham Edges Tamsey Ellis for School Board

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…]

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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)

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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.

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County Sewer Hookup Fee Could Be ‘Game Changer’

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…]

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