Bay Creek Shops Foreclosed, Shutting Down; Aqua Remains

By DORIE SOUTHERN
Cape Charles Wave

October 14, 2012

The Shops at Bay Creek, comprising four stores in the building located between Bay Creek Marina and Aqua Restaurant, are closing at the end of this week, victims of a bank foreclosure.

The Shops, Aqua, and the Marina are three separate business entities, and only the Shops are being foreclosed.

The Shops include:

— Bahama Breeze clothing store for men and women;

— Veranda arts and novelties;

— Purple Pelican gifts and wine; and

— Seaside Gallery, featuring paintings and prints by local artist Thelma Peterson.

The Shops will be open through Saturday, October 20. Employees who spoke to the Wave said they had no idea when or if any of the businesses might reopen under new management.

Most merchandise is on sale at 75 percent off. [Read more…]

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Service Honors Cape Charles’ Only Fallen Police Officer

By GEORGE SOUTHERN
Cape Charles Wave

October 11, 2012

Almost a century ago a Cape Charles police officer was shot and killed while attempting to arrest a double shooting suspect. Yesterday, Sgt. James A. Taylor was honored with a ceremony in Central Park and a memorial stone.

“Sgt. Taylor paid the ultimate price by giving his life in the line of duty 95 years ago,” Cape Charles Police Chief Charles “Sambo” Brown told townspeople and area law enforcement officers assembled in the park. “We have left room on the monument for other names,” Brown said, “but I pray that we will add no more names.”

A group of Sgt. Taylor’s descendants came to Cape Charles to attend the ceremony.

The Virginia Marine Resources Commission and the Norfolk Police Department provided a color guard, and Pastor Russell Goodrich of First Baptist Church offered a prayer and scripture reading.

Northampton Sheriff’s Deputy Terry Thomas sang “You Raise Me Up.”

Cape Charles Mayor Dora Sullivan read a letter from Gov. Robert McDonnell honoring Taylor’s service and sacrifice. McDonnell also expressed appreciation for Cape Charles Police Officer Jim Pruitt and his colleagues for organizing the dedication service. (Read letter here.)

Vice Mayor Chris Bannon read two poems, “The Final Inspection,” and A Hero Is.”

Members of Montgomery County Police Pipes and Drums played “Amazing Grace.”

Perhaps the most poignant moment was the “Final Radio Call,” with Chief Brown holding his walkie-talkie to the microphone as the Town Police dispatcher repeatedly called for Sgt. James Taylor to respond.

There was no answer. [Read more…]

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Old School Cape Charles Questions Developer Moonlighting

By GEORGE SOUTHERN
Cape Charles Wave

October 9, 2012

The fight in Cape Charles over the old school, basketball court, and playground parking has spilled over into Hanover County.

Hanover County, 12 miles north of Richmond, is perhaps best known as the home of King’s Dominion theme park. The county has a population of 100,000 and a full-time director of economic development: Edwin Gaskin.

Gaskin is also president of Echelon Resources, Inc., the development firm set to receive from the Town of Cape Charles the old school, park property, and $41,000 in insurance proceeds. According to a contract signed by Mayor Dora Sullivan, Echelon gets the property and the insurance money for the nominal sum of $10.

The local group Old School Cape Charles, LLC, is working every angle to try to stop the deal from going through. They have filed two lawsuits in Northampton Circuit Court against the Town and Echelon. And now they are taking their case to Hanover County.

In an October 4 letter to Hanover County Board of Supervisors Chairman Ed Via, the community relations spokesperson for Old School Cape Charles, Deborah Bender, requests copies of telephone logs and emails “to establish how much time Mr. Gaskin devoted to his development project in Cape Charles while employed by Hanover County.”

The request was made under the Virginia Freedom of Information Act, which allows public access to most state and local government records. [Read more…]

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SEASON ENDS: A Great Summer on the Eastern Shore!

By GEORGE SOUTHERN
Cape Charles Wave

October 8, 2012

September 21 saw the official end of summer, but the “season” actually ended only yesterday — appropriately with a cold rain.

And this last week presented a spectacular finale to what might be Cape Charles’ most upbeat summer since the last ferry boat steamed away in 1949.

The season unofficially began with the June 8-12 Tall Ships at Cape Charles festival, drawing 7,000 visitors (and 43 vendors). The first-time event is now planned to repeat annually.

Nearly concurrent with the Tall Ships spectacular was the opening of three new businesses and one new building — all having a big impact on the Town.

The new building is the Cape Charles Harbor Bath House — a quarter-million dollar better mousetrap designed to attract high-roller yachts to the Harbor’s newly expanded floating docks. And it’s working — at the height of the season, more boats called at the harbor in a month than previously visited in a year.

Dockside is another new building — the Shanty — the restaurant/bar that quickly became the watering hole for the “in crowd” — especially after the owners gave in and installed air conditioning in place of the original open-air design.

Across the railroad tracks in Town, two other businesses opened. First came the tony boutique Hotel Cape Charles, where owner David Gammino has bet $2 million that upscale tourists will increasingly make Cape Charles their destination.

The other new business was Brown Dog Ice Cream, where owner Miriam Elton quickly discovered the crowds could eat ice cream faster than she could make it by hand. [Read more…]

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LINDEMAN
Building Community One Conversation at a Time

By BRUCE LINDEMAN

October 5, 2012

I often wonder why I like to dig in the dirt.  Most of my friends my age don’t enjoy gardening, or at least don’t want to admit it.

It’s not like I even consider myself a “gardener.”  I couldn’t tell you the names of many of the plants in our garden, which my wife and I recently inherited with the purchase of our Tazewell Avenue home.

What I do know is that I enjoy it.

For some, however, gardening is a solitary affair: a chance to be alone with one’s thoughts.  To escape the other, more mundane chores that await them back inside, to even get a little bit of exercise or to feel the warmth of the sun against their face.  The reasons why people garden are about as varied as the shells you might find walking the shoreline of Smith Island.

For me, working in the yard has always been a chance to do all of the above – and to be social.  Gardening is not usually a social activity, such as playing golf, or attending a dinner party.  It’s usually different with me.

At some point during my yard work, a conversation with someone typically ensues.  Oftentimes, a neighbor strolling down the street might toss out a “lookin’ good!” or even a “love what you’ve done with the place” and keep walking.  Sometimes, such comments lead to a return of “thanks” and other times, it begins a 20-minute conversation about any variety of topics.

Often, I simply need a break from the work and find an unsuspecting neighbor to walk over to and chat.  Such was the case last weekend.

My wife and I live in a wonderfully friendly block of Tazewell and striking up a conversation is never a challenge.  But I realized this weekend when our conversation with our neighbors had ended and we went back to working in our respective yards, that there is such a more visceral need for such conversations than we might realize.  As much as we may like gardening and the results it yields, we also like to commune.  Commune, of course, is the root of the word, community. [Read more…]

20th Annual Harvest Festival Again a FEAST-A-FULL

By GEORGE SOUTHERN
Cape Charles Wave

October 4, 2012

“You have to go at least once to the Harvest Festival.”

And so we did, and had a great time.

The weather behaved, and I did too —

by keeping my promise to my 60-year-old stomach not to try to get my money’s worth by eating $40 worth of food.

Because the Harbor Festival is not just all about the food.

(That’s a lie — it IS all about the food.)

But there’s a county fair spirit about it all, along with a see-and-be-seen atmosphere.

The weather was fine (hot and humid beats rain),

the food was par excellence,

and spirits were high.

And Sunset Beach is the PERFECT place for a few thousand Shore folks to gather.

So what’s not to like?

See you back next year! [Read more…]

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PLANNING COMMISSION: Beach Club Gets Building Permit

 By DORIE SOUTHERN
Cape Charles Wave

October 3, 2012

Two large construction projects are on the drawing board in Cape Charles, with one of them nearly underway.

Bay Creek Resort received a building permit yesterday authorizing construction to begin on the Beach Club and Fitness Center at Bayside Village in the Bay Creek golf course complex.

The members-only facility will include a 3,000 square-foot member lounge, cardio area with exercise equipment, indoor and outdoor pools, snack bar, and children’s game room.

Bay Creek spokesman Oral Lambert told the Wave last month he expects construction to take about eight months.

The other project is even more ambitious but still in the early planning stages: Eastville-based South Port Investors LLC envisions a Cape Charles Yacht Center, with yacht repair, manufacturing, and sales.

Cape Charles Town Planner Tom Bonadeo reported to the Planning Commission last night that South Port has submitted plans for permit updates, including wetlands mitigation.

The plans must be approved by the Northampton County Wetlands Board and others. South Port hopes to begin work this fall along the wetlands near the harbor, Bonadeo said. [Read more…]

ECHELON COUSINS: Cape Charles, Meet Chatham

By GEORGE SOUTHERN
Cape Charles Wave

October 2, 2012

Most folks in Cape Charles probably have never heard of Chatham, Virginia — and vice versa.

The town has nothing to do with Machipongo’s Chatham Vineyards. The Town of Chatham is in south central Virginia, a little north of Danville. Its claim to fame is as the home of Hargrave Military Academy.

But residents of Cape Charles and Chatham have more in common than they might expect:

— Chatham’s population is 1,300. Cape Charles is about 1,100;

— Chatham hosts a new state prison, which has led to upgrades in their water services. Cape Charles Town Council sought a prison in the 1990s, with hopes of upgrading sewer service as a consequence.

— And, most recently, Chatham’s Pittsylvania County Board of Supervisors voted in May to sell the old Chatham Elementary School to Echelon Resources, Inc., for $10,000. Cape Charles Town Council voted in June to sell the old Cape Charles school to Echelon Resources for $10. [Read more…]

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Long-Time Resident Brings Business Home to Cape Charles

By GEORGE SOUTHERN
Cape Charles Wave

October 1, 2012

Any uptick in Cape Charles business activity is welcome news.

So the Wave is pleased to report that Barbara Brown has opened a professional counseling office at 221 Mason Avenue.

Brown is a long-time Cape Charles resident, but until recently she conducted all her practice on Rogers Drive in Nassawadox. That worked well for clients on the northern end of the Eastern Shore, and she is maintaining her office there. But in response to “many requests from people down at this end for something closer,” Cape Charles now has a resident psychotherapist.

“Some day I would love to work here full time,” Brown says. “My office is located almost directly across from the medical center. If you look up to the second floor you will see a balcony with a green and white striped awning. It is two doors to the right of Dr. Titcomb’s eye office and is my office balcony. So I have a view of the harbor and town. [Read more…]

Town Council Casts Away Boat Parking Issue

By DORIE SOUTHERN
Cape Charles Wave

September 28, 2012

Cape Charles Town Council concluded yesterday that boat trailer parking on Town streets is not a serious problem.

The Town has no authority to regulate boat parking, and the only way to change that is for the General Assembly to pass a bill modifying the State code. Town staff would need to lobby Delegate Lynwood Lewis to introduce a bill during the 2013 session.

At yesterday’s Council work session, Police Chief Sambo Brown noted that the Wave had canvassed the Historic District on Sunday and found only 12 boats parked on the streets. A year ago, 22 boats had been counted.

Town Manager Heather Arcos reported that 110 boats are registered in the Town, down from 182 a year ago.

Council member Larry Veber was concerned about wide trailers preventing access to emergency vehicles. Chief Brown recalled a recent problem on Monroe Avenue when an ambulance had to go around the block to reach a house. However, the blockage was caused by a construction trailer, not a boat, he said.

Brown said that in cases where a boat is a problem, police ask the owner to move it. No owner has ever refused a police request. However, if safety is not an issue, police are not authorized to ask an owner to move a boat, he said. [Read more…]

Developer Pays Blackstone Tap Fee Day before Deadline

By GEORGE SOUTHERN
Cape Charles Wave

September 27, 2012

Today is the day that residents of Blackstone Lofts were dreading.

Blackstone VA Town Council voted a month ago to turn off the Lofts’ water supply if the developer did not pay the connection fee by September 27.

The Blackstone Lofts developer is J. David McCormack, who is also a partner in Echelon Resources, Inc.

Echelon has a contract with the Town of Cape Charles to convert the old school at Central Park into an apartment building to be called Cape Charles Lofts.

According to Blackstone Town Council minutes, Town Manager Philip Vannoorbeeck admitted that the town was at fault for issuing a building permit for Blackstone Lofts without first receiving payment for the water and sewer connection fees.

The town has been trying to get McCormack to pay ever since. Last March, the town council gave him 30 days to pay, but did not enforce its demand.

Manager Vannoorbeeck told the town council he had both talked to McCormack and informed him in writing, “which is not endearing him to the town,” according to the minutes.

On August 27, the town council gave McCormack another 30-day deadline, and this time made sure he knew they meant it. Failure to pay meant the water would be turned off, period.

McCormack told the Wave September 3 that he definitely intended to pay the connection fee but was negotiating the terms.

Yesterday Blackstone Mayor Billy Coleburn told the Wave that McCormack had just delivered a check to the town manager for $38,000. He earlier had paid $2,000, and this covered the balance.

The Wave has been covering the Blackstone connection fee issue because of the parallels with Cape Charles. [Read more…]

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