EPIPHANY PARTY:
New Pink Flamingos Benefit Library, Fire House

Special to the Cape Charles Wave

January 23, 2013

This year’s Epiphany Party raised $4,279 for the Friends of the Cape Charles Memorial Library to use toward renovating the new building.

The 150 attendees also contributed $310 toward renovations at the Cape Charles Fire House. Shane Hayward passed the “boot” to raise an additional $460 for the operation of the Volunteer Fire Company.

The Epiphany Party is held the first Saturday after the Epiphany (January 6). The next party will be January 11, 2014, and everyone is invited.

Chili is traditionally served, and guests are asked to bring an appetizer or a dessert to share and a gift to be auctioned off.

The annual Epiphany Party began 23 years ago in the home of Rick Bowmaster. A handful of people attended the first event, each bringing what was lovingly described as “their least favorite Christmas gift.” The gifts were auctioned off with the proceeds going to specific need.

This community tradition continues today, but the event has become so large that it is now held in the Fire House.

Each year the money raised is donated to a local organization or person in need of help.

Many auction items return year after year, and the signature gift is a pair of plastic pink flamingos. [Read more…]

Bathroom Design Reaffirmed by Citizens for Central Park

By DORIE SOUTHERN
Cape Charles Wave

January 22, 2013

The group that chose a sewage pumping station as the model for a bathroom in Central Park reaffirmed its decision last Saturday.

The action came at a meeting of Citizens for Central Park, held at the home of Cape Charles Vice Mayor Chris Bannon.

The meeting was open to the public, and was attended by the bathroom’s most vocal opponent — Don Riley.

Riley urged Citizens for Central Park to redesign the bathroom to reflect the surrounding historic architecture, and to choose a better location in the park.

The current location will require raising the foundation 2-3 feet to prevent flooding, entailing a long, curved ramp for access.

Assistant Town Manager Bob Panek is also president of Citizens for Central Park, and chaired the Saturday meeting.

Panek noted that the Historic District Review Board and the Planning Commission had approved the bathroom and that Town Council had upheld the approval. He asked for a motion to go forward with the plans.

Twelve of 13 members present voted to continue with the bathroom as planned.

Riley told the Wave that he is not satisfied with 12 members of the community making a decision for the whole Town.

“When they planned the Central Park design, they involved the community. And this should be a community decision too,” he said. [Read more…]

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Town Plans Deal with South Port to Protect Inner Harbor

By GEORGE SOUTHERN
Cape Charles Wave

January 21, 2013

Town of Cape Charles staff have devised a plan to work with South Port Investors to install floating wave attenuators to protect the inner portion of the Town Harbor.

The floating plastic devices (see video at end of story) would be purchased in lieu of construction of additional stone breakwaters.

Town Council is holding a special meeting 6 p.m. Thursday, January 24, to approve the deal.

South Port is constructing a boat repair facility with floating docks and a boatel next to the Coast Guard Station, along with work space across the street where the former sewage treatment plant was located.

According to a memo to Town Council by Assistant Town Manager Bob Panek, South Port has “significant concerns” about when and where the Town will construct additional breakwaters to protect the harbor.

The Harbor Redevelopment Plan calls for five offshore breakwaters, two of which have been built.

Building three more breakwaters is estimated to cost at least $2 million, of which the Town has received approval for a $500,000 grant from the Virginia Port Authority (VPA).

Panek wrote that “the Town’s priority is the next breakwater to the south to protect the floating docks from southwesterly seas.” South Port’s priority, on the other hand, “is the next breakwater to the north for protection of their assets from northwesterly seas.”

According to Panek, however, South Port believes that the inner harbor could be better protected by installing floating wave attenuators on both north and south sides of the harbor, instead of breakwaters. [Read more…]

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OLDIE BUT GOODIE:
Chesapeake Bay Magazine on ‘Becoming Cape Charles’

EDITOR’S NOTE: Quite a few publications have reported the charms of little Cape Charles, and the WAVE reprints the stories when possible. They tend to be one-dimensional, Disneyland-like depictions, but everyone enjoys reading about themselves. Wendy Mitman Clarke’s story below, published last year in Chesapeake Bay Magazine, is refreshingly different: she accurately portrays the “real” Cape Charles. Many of our readers may not have seen it, and the rest may enjoy reading the story again, which Chesapeake Bay Magazine has graciously allowed the WAVE to reprint. 

By WENDY MITMAN CLARKE
Chesapeake Bay Magazine

Cape Charles was not on the itinerary. But we had committed that most typical of sailing mistakes; we made a plan based on an assumption. In this case, we had planned to anchor behind the concrete ships off Kiptopeke on Virginia’s lower Eastern Shore after a 29-hour passage from Cape Lookout, N.C. It was the end of our month-long, 2,750-nautical-mile journey from Panama to the Chesapeake, and we were ready to drop the hook in Bay water and toast success. The assumption was that this anchorage was the same as it had always been, a good spot to shelter for a night from a strong seabreeze and potential thunderstorms. We hadn’t figured on a field of spring crab pots so thick it looked like someone had shaken loose a truckload of Skittles on the water. Anchoring was out of the question.

We were losing light, and we were tired. Cape Charles was only a few miles north up the Cherrystone Channel. Maybe we could anchor in a tiny spot near the harbor entrance where we had once anchored our former boat, Luna. It was far from ideal (and possibly illegal, since Osprey is much bigger than Luna and we might have to swing slightly into the channel), but it might work. As we approached the entrance, I glanced east into the harbor and saw something that made me grab the binoculars. We motored in for a closer look. Sure enough, where last I had seen only a crumbling industrial bulkhead, there was a set of brand new floating docks. It took us about two seconds to slide Osprey along one of the T-heads and secure her for the night.

I went looking for anyone who might know how to find the harbormaster and came upon two folks from a small sailboat that had also just tied up. “We passed him on our way in; he was in a skiff heading out,” the woman told me. “He said just go ahead and take whatever slip we liked and he’d see us in the morning.” She asked if I knew where to grab some dinner. Sunday night in Cape Charles, a week before the high summer tourism launch of Memorial Day Weekend? Not likely, I thought. Last time I was here, the only place open on Sunday night was the Burger King, miles away out on Route 13. But I asked a fellow off a fishing trawler called Captain Ed out of Kitty Hawk, N.C., tied up nearby. “Oh yeah!” he said enthusiastically. “Kelly’s Pub, right there on the main street. You can see it from here. Try their buffalo burger, it’s awesome.” [Read more…]

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Petition Asks Citizens for Central Park to Rethink Bathrooms

By GEORGE SOUTHERN
Cape Charles Wave

January 17, 2013

Cape Charles resident Don Riley is going to the mat over the proposed bathrooms in Central Park.

Riley has appealed to Mayor Dora Sullivan, Town Manager Heather Arcos, Citizens for Central Park President Bob Panek, and several members of the Historic District Review Board.

He also made a formal appeal to Town Council, and says he will go as far as to take his case to Northampton County Circuit Court.

Riley has multiple problems with the proposed bathroom: The building was designed to resemble the adjoining sewage pump station; the site is beside a drainage pond; it’s too close to the park pergola; and it blocks neighbors’ views of the park.

“The [first] pump station was a mistake,” Riley told Town Council last week. “Why do we want to bookend it? [Read more…]

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‘Temporary Fix’ Planned to Reopen Fishing Pier in March

By DORIE SOUTHERN
Cape Charles Wave

January 15, 2013

The Cape Charles fishing pier, partly destroyed by Hurricane Sandy, should be repaired in time to reopen by late March, according to Town officials.

Ultimately, the fishing pier will be rebuilt by FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency).

Town Planner Tom Bonadeo told Town Council last Thursday that rebuilding the pier will cost between $200,000 and $300,000, and will not happen for a “year or two.”

In the meantime the Town is working on “a temporary fix” to allow the pier to reopen as soon as possible.

Town Manager Heather Arcos said the Town is working with an engineer with the goal of reopening the pier by the end of March.

But the permanent fix will be up to FEMA. That will entail replacing the section going out to the jetty which was built on concrete sleepers rather than pilings. The portion of the pier in deeper water is already built on pilings and was not damaged.

“FEMA is going to be dumping a lot of money in it to fix it and fix it right this time,” Public Works Director Dave Fauber told Council.

In addition to damage to the pier, the Town estimates that $5,400 worth of beach sand was lost.

Town Basketball Court and Children’s Playground

In other Town Council business, Town Manager Arcos said that town staff are exploring options for replacing the basketball court in the park. One idea is to locate the court on Town-owned property beside the skateboard park. [Read more…]

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Town Toilets Closed for the Season? Well, Not All!

January 15, 2013

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Park Bathroom Appeal Denied by Town Council

By DORIE SOUTHERN
Cape Charles Wave

January 14, 2013

After preliminary construction began last month on a bathroom in Central Park designed to resemble a nearby sewer pump station, resident Don Riley appealed to Town Council, which stopped construction pending a hearing.

Riley was appealing the approval of the Historic District Review Board. He noted that new construction in the Historic District is required to “relate to the design character of the historic buildings in the area.”

“There are many examples of nearby historic buildings, but the pumping station is not one of them,” Riley wrote in his appeal. He also circulated a petition among local residents.

Riley addressed Town Council at last Thursday’s meeting. He said that the site is wrong, the building is too large, and flooding will be a problem. No engineering study exists on whether the building would work at that site, he noted.

Only two council members agreed with Riley.

Steve Bennett said,  “I disagree with the Historic District Review Board approving that building in its present form, not in its present location.” He said that he was not happy with the size of the building, and felt that it was “pretty ugly.” Something that looks more like the pergola would be appropriate, he suggested. He further argued that a redesign might not drive up cost if the building were made smaller.

Frank Wendell also voted against the bathroom, based on its proximity to a deep drainage pond.

Joan Natali spoke in favor of the bathroom because it was better than the existing porta-potty. Chris Bannon, Tom Godwin, and Mike Sullivan also voted to deny the appeal.

Riley said his next step will be to appeal to the circuit court. [Read more…]

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LETTER: Town Courts Should Have Multiple Uses

January 14, 2013

DEAR EDITOR,

QUESTION: How many young people use the tennis courts?
ANSWER:  Almost none.

QUESTION: How many young people used the basketball court?
ANSWER: About 15 each day, including Cape Charles Christian School students.

QUESTION: How often are the tennis courts used?
ANSWER: Less than once a week.

QUESTION: How often was the basketball court used?
ANSWER: Every day.

QUESTION: What was the cost of the two lighted tennis courts?
ANSWER: Over $90,000.

QUESTION: What was the cost of the one unlighted basketball court?
ANSWER: Under $5,000.

In many municipalities, recreational facilities are designed for multiple uses to save money. This is done through proper allocation of space and time based on demand and equality.

It is tremendously selfish to think that it is a big burden on one or two tennis players to wait an hours for a court, while 10-15 young people who have no place to play basketball have to wait months for the possibility of a court being built. [Read more…]

Hundreds Expected in Town for Ultra Triathlon September 7

CAPE CHARLES WAVE

January 12, 2013

Cape Charles will host an estimated 200-600 participants for a 140-mile ultra-triathlon – swim, bike, run – Saturday, September 7, with Mason Avenue the epicenter of the event.

Each participant is expected to be accompanied by 1.3 supporters, resulting in somewhere between 500 and 1500 visitors that weekend.

The course entails a 2.4-mile swim on the Chesapeake Bay, followed by a 112-mile bike stage and finishing with a 26.2-mile marathon.

The entire marathon course will be in Cape Charles, with a 13.1-mile loop through the town and Bay Creek which will be run twice, starting and finishing on Mason Avenue.

Local resident Beth Davis is the community relations manager for the event. She and race organizer Don Mann provided an overview of the event at last Thursday’s Town Council meeting.

Mann owns a home on the Eastern Shore, and decided the area was a perfect place for an ultra-sporting event because of its natural beauty and tranquil surroundings.

“We don’t need your money — just your support,” Davis said. She and Mann have met with Town Manager Heather Arcos, recreation director Jennifer Lewis, and Police Chief Sambo Brown. [Read more…]

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LETTER: Convert One Tennis Court to a Basketball Court

January 11, 2013

DEAR EDITOR,

Was it necessary for the town to remove the basketball hoops at this time?

The developer of the old school, Echelon Resources, has requested more time before beginning construction, due to the court hearing in late January.

Couldn’t the town have waited to see the outcome, or at least discussed the matter with residents to come up with an alternative solution?

The basketball court was the center of physical activity for children and young men and women of all colors, and it was the only exercise facility available to students at Cape Charles Christian School.

One basketball court was enough to entertain and provide exercise for 10 or more youths at the same time.

No one complained about the rusted hoops, broken chains, uneven court, or lack of safety measures to protect the children from running to the middle of the Madison Street to retrieve the basketball.

The basketball court was the ONLY place where children and young people got away from TV, cell phones, text messaging, and computer games.

It was a place where young people could learn to work in a group and cooperate with each other.

There is a solution to our loss of a basketball court: Convert the two tennis courts to one tennis court and one basketball court. [Read more…]

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