Clarke monthly January 2022

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Clarke

JAN 2022

2

Please buckle up!

Local man says thank you to EMS and stranger who pulled him from his truck

I would like to thank the Enders Fire and Rescue Department, staff from Berryville Physical Therapy, and a very special person that ran to my truck to help me after my accident on November 29.

My story starts here: I turned off a side street on to North Buckmarsh Street when I choked on a piece of food and completely blacked out.

When I woke up, I had hit a tree head-on at The Berryville Medical building.

Thank goodness no one else was involved or injured, but an unknown person ran to my truck to help me. I did not get your name, but by chance if you read this article, I want to say Thank You. Enders Fire and Rescue was there in minutes and were so professional. Berryville Physical Therapy came to my aid also. The EMT said I was a lucky man because hitting the tree likely saved my life as it dislodged the food. He also asked if I was wearing my seatbelt, to which I replied, “Yes sir.” He told me it was a good thing, or the outcome could have been much worse.

Thank You again and thank you to the man that ran to my truck to help me. Don’t forget, always wear your seatbelts.

— Tim Micheals

After his truck hit a tree on Buckmarsh Street in Berryvile, Tim Micheals was aided by a stranger and EMS.

CMSP is now in Berryville!

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JAN 20 22

Clarke STAFF

David Lillard, Editor/Publisher Jennifer Welliver, Associate Publisher factoryBstudio, Art Direction Ralph Welliver, Proofreader

JANUARY CONTRIBUTORS Cathy Kuehner Doug Pifer JiJi Russell Claire Stuart

COVER IMAGE Courtesy of Bre Bogart Photography

ADVERTISING SALES

Jennifer Welliver, 540-398-1450

Advertising Information: 540-398-1450

AD DEADLINE 1ST OF EACH MONTH Clarke prints signed letters-to-the-editor of uniquely local interest. Letters containing personal attacks or polarizing language will not be published.

Letters may be edited. Send letters to the editor of 300 or fewer words to: editor@clarkeva.com.

CLARKE MONTHLY

PO BOX 2160 SHEPHERDSTOWN WV 25443

540-440-1373

www.CLARKEVA.com

Clarke

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Clarke County Receives State Funding for Rural Broadband Governor Ralph Northam announced today that Clarke County is one of eight counties in the Northern Shenandoah Valley that will share a $95,303,000 Virginia Telecommunication Initiative (VATI) grant for much-needed rural broadband infrastructure. The grant was awarded to All Points Broadband in partnership with the Northern Shenandoah Valley Regional Commission (NSVRC) as well as Augusta, Clarke, Fauquier, Frederick, Page, Rappahannock, Rockingham, and Warren counties.

Clarke Supervisors David Weiss, Bev McKay, Terri Catlett, and Doug Lawrence attended the December 13 news conference in Augusta County where Governor Northam also announced an allocation of more than $722 million in total for universal broadband infrastructure projects in 70 localities. Since he took office in 2018, Virginia has invested more than $846 million to connect more than 429,000 Virginia homes, businesses, and community anchors to broadband service.

The $95,303,000 VATI award will be leveraged with a combined $59.3 million in matching funds from the participating counties and primarily sourced from local American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) infrastructure funding.

The project will deliver fiber broadband to more than 37,000 unserved locations and achieve universal coverage in the eight counties. In Clarke County, the project will serve those households located in unincorporated areas of the county that currently lack access to any wired broadband options. Berryville and Boyce are incorporated towns and are not part of the project.

“The grant funding announced today is a once-in-a-

lifetime investment for Clarke County,” said Board chair David Weiss. “This project will close the digital divide much like the Rural Electrification Act of the 1930s closed the electrical divide. We thank Virginia’s governor and his staff for their work on this funding opportunity.”

Russell District Supervisor and current chair of the Clarke County Broadband Implementation Committee Doug Lawrence noted, “This project is the culmination of years of work by Clarke’s Board of Supervisors and Broadband Implementation Committee. We are thankful for our partnership with All Points Broadband, Rappahannock Electric Cooperative, and the Commonwealth.

We look forward to developing an agreement and implementation schedule with All Points Broadband and hope to have more details to share about this project in the coming months.”

“Today is a historic day for Clarke County,” said Jimmy Carr, chief executive officer of All Points Broadband. “We are honored to be partnering with Clarke to seize this opportunity to fully and finally bridge the digital divide with a project that will extend an all-fiber broadband network to all remaining unserved locations in the county.”

Rappahannock Electric Cooperative is part of the project, too.

In a news release from the Governor’s Office, president and CEO of Rappahannock Electric Cooperative John Hewa said, “Our goal has always been to be part of the solution to enable and facilitate broadband to the households and businesses Rappahannock Electric Cooperative serves. Being able to partner on this with the counties and All Points Broadband is a major accomplishment that

allows each of us to further the Commonwealth’s goals of making broadband access available to everyone.”

Earlier this year, the Clarke County Board of Supervisors unanimously voted to participate in a regional VATI grant application with All Points Broadband through the NSVRC. With the grant now approved, Clarke County has 90 days to enter into an agreement with the NSVRC and All Points Broadband to execute the project, which involves installation of approximately 290 miles of fiber infrastructure to unserved areas in Clarke County.

A more detailed construction timeframe will be available early in 2022. Residents and business owners who want to learn more about the project, sign up for updates, or pre-register locations for service once it is available should visit fiber. allpointsbroadband.com, and complete a survey.

Virginia’s Department of Housing and Community Development administers the VATI program. The projects that received funding today were selected through a competitive process that evaluated each project’s demonstrated need and benefit for the community, applicant readiness and capacity, and the cost and leverage of the proposed project. The level of funding awarded was based on the infrastructure needs in the project area.

For more information about current broadband options in Clarke County, go to clarkeconnect.org. Direct questions about the broadband project to County Administrator Chris Boies at (540) 955-5100 or cboies@clarkecounty.gov.

—Clarke County Public Information Office dispatch

Clarke

JAN 2022 Long Branch Historic House and Farm Presents:

The 2022 Speaker Series Sundays at 6pm

February 6: Jason Queen Clarke County writer speaking about his dream to become a published author and how modern technology has changed the publishing industry.

February 27: “Bemer” by Dr. Rebecca Verna Holistic veterinarian, discussing how a German engineered Class II Medical device increases blood flow at the micro capillary level.

March 6: “Fox World” by Author Jack Russell 500 miles of Walks and Talks with an Old Fox March 13: “Blind Bombing” by Author Norman Fine How Microwave Radar Brought the Allies to D-Day and Victory in WWII”

Ticket prices: $25 each/$75 whole series

To reserve tickets, please visit: www.visitlongbranch.org/2020-long-branch-speaker-series or call: 540-837-1856

You have the power to save You have the power in one finger to lower your electric bill.

With it, you can turn off lights, power strips and unused electronics.

You can turn your thermostat down to 68 and your water heater to 120 F. You can also go to MyREC.coop/Save for more tips.

So, put that finger to good use and lower your electric bill today.

You have the power.

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4

Barred Owls Hoot A Duet Story and illustration by Doug Pifer

As a new year starts, I love to step outside at dusk and see the twigs of the bare trees etched against the greenish afterglow of sunset. I was about to call the dogs back into the house when I heard two barred owls hooting. We don’t hear barred owls too often. Hearing them makes me smile.

To me a barred owl sounds like a person trying to sound like an owl. I used to attend the annual meetings of the National Wild Turkey Federation during the 1980s. They always had a turkey calling contest, which included an owl hooting competition. Turkey hunters know that a spring gobbler will sometimes give his roost location away before daylight by gobbling in response to a hooting owl. Contestants could use their own voice or a specially made owl call, and the judge would decide who made the best owl hoot. I can make a tolerable voice imitation of a barred owl, to which wild turkey gobblers, as well as wild barred owls, have responded.

But I never entered a competition! Nowadays, most hunters use electronic owl calls.

Humans have a long history of imitating owls. Native Americans used owl hoots to communicate with each other after dark. Tlingit tribesmen hooted like owls when going into war to boost their confidence and to inspire fear in their enemies.

The Cree people believed owl calls were a summons from the spirit world. If you hooted an answer to an owl call and received no response, you would die. Robbers in England signaled each other with an owl’s call. They believed that, unlike the whispered human voice, it would be dismissed as a natural night noise.

Angela Crenshaw, a ranger at Harriet Tubman Underground

Railroad State Park in Church Creek, Maryland, says Harriet Tubman frequently used owl calls to communicate with refugees fleeing slavery. Tubman imitated various owl sounds “to alert freedom seekers if it was OK, or not OK to come out of hiding,” Crenshaw says.

Crenshaw claims that Tubman must have imitated the hoots of a barred owl, a bird she would have heard often while growing up in the southern states.

Barred owls have a call many people think sounds like “Who cooks for you? Who cooks for you-all?” These owls may not care who does your cooking, but their cadence matches those words. It seems to be a favorite call of barred owls everywhere. The first barred

owl I ever heard in my native western Pennsylvania clearly ended a series of eight hoots with a characteristic southern “you-all.” Now, in the woods behind our barn, barred owls sometimes wake me up at night with a single loud “Who-aww!”

Owls even make this call in the daytime. Years ago, my wife and I sometimes hooted like this to locate each other during our woodland adventures.

During their spring breeding season, pairs of barred owls seem to enjoy hooting contests with each other. They start out by trading the usual eight or nine hoots. As their excitement grows, they improvise and add loud whoops and yells until the woods echo with their wild music. Now that’s a concert!

Clarke

JAN 20 22 Guest Commentary

A Very Worrisome Choice

5 The Fox & Pheasant Antiques • Decor • Interiors • Fabrics

By George L. Ohrstrom II

I will admit that I did not vote for our new Governor, Mr. Glenn Youngkin, but I did follow the campaign closely. As a person that follows conservation issues in our Commonwealth actively, I have been watching to see who he might nominate for leadership roles in positions like Secretary of Natural Resources and Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry. While I find his nominee for Secretary of Ag and Forestry, Matt Lohr, to be an inspired choice, I’m absolutely appalled at his nominee for Secretary of Natural Resources, Andrew Wheeler.

Although I personally know Matt Lohr because we served on a selection committee together, and I’ve never met Mr. Wheeler, I don’t really feel I need to know him. His reputation is enough of a worry.

He was appointed to succeed Scott Pruitt as the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) after Mr. Pruitt was forced to resign after he ran afoul of ethical issues.

Over the years, the EPA has certainly been a federal agency that has not always been totally consistent in direction, but, for the most part, its administrators have taken their job seriously. The purpose of the agency is to protect the environment and do its best to eliminate any pollution that damages public health, safety, or welfare. One has only to remember that one of the reasons it was formed by President Nixon was that the Cuyahoga River in Ohio caught fire because the pollution level in the river was so high.

I would like to quote a former EPA Administrator under President George W. Bush, Christine Todd Whitman, with her thoughts on Mr. Wheeler and his direction of the EPA. She testified to Congress the following: “There is no doubt in my mind that under the current administration the EPA is retreating from its historic mission

to protect our environment and the health of the public from environmental hazards.

This administration, from the beginning, has made no secret of its intention to essentially dismantle the EPA …. Therefore, I urge this committee, in the strongest possible terms, to exercise Congress’s oversight responsibilities over the actions and direction of the EPA.” So, back to Mr. Youngkin and his appointment of Mr. Wheeler to serve as Secretary of Natural Resources of our Commonwealth. What message is he sending?

Does he not care about the health, safety, or welfare of the citizens of Virginia? I would certainly hope that is not the case.

I think it may rather be that as a leader of the Carlyle Group investment company, he is more focused on investment returns regardless of the ancillary costs.

The following is a quote from the Constitution of Virginia: “To the end that the people have clean air, pure water, and the use and enjoyment for recreation of adequate public lands, waters, and other natural resources, it shall be the policy of the Commonwealth to conserve, develop, and utilize its natural resources, its public lands, and its historical sites and buildings.

Further, it shall be the Commonwealth’s policy to protect its atmosphere, lands, and waters from pollution, impairment, or destruction, for the benefit, enjoyment, and general welfare of the people of the Commonwealth.”

In consideration of the above, I don’t see how any citizen of Virginia could feel anything but worried about Mr. Youngkin’s recommendation of Andrew Wheeler to be the Secretary of Natural Resources of our great Commonwealth.

—George Ohrstrom is a resident of Berryville, Va.

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Clarke

JAN 2022

6

Around Clarke County Promote your event in Clarke.

Send notices by the 1st of the preceding month to jennifer@clarkeva.com. Keep event descriptions to 125 words, following the format of these pages. One or two CMYK photos, saved as tiff or jpg at 200 dpi, are always welcome.

January

14

Kate MacLeod Concert

Barns of Rose Hill. 95 Chalmers Ct. Berryville. Dynamic and versatile Americana musician brings her authentic music to you through her original songs, instrumentals, and modern renditions of traditional music. Keith Patterson writes of MacLeod, “She sings like she plays the fiddle, with touch and tone, class and power, with beautiful clear, ethereal notes when she feels like it, and a rootsy roar when she’s feeling that . . .

Kate McLeod has a voice that heals, like warm soup on a cold January evening.” $20 in advance, $25 at door. 7pm. www.barnsofrosehill.org.

16

Speaker Series: “Tales From a Wandering Sports Writer”

Long Branch Historic House and Farm.

830 Long Branch Lane. Millwood. Len Shapiro gives talk. 6–7pm. 540-837-1856. www.longbranch.org.

22

Bruce Molsky and Tony Trishka Workshops

Barns of Rose Hill. 95 Chalmers Ct. Berryville. Fiddle and bluegrass banjo workshops. Learn from the masters.

Participants are free to film and record but are asked not to post recordings on social media. $50. 2:30–4:30pm. www.barnsofrosehill.org.

22

Bruce Molsky and Tony Trishka Concert

Barns of Rose Hill. 95 Chalmers Ct. Berryville. Fiddle and bluegrass banjo music from two outstanding performers $20 in advance, $25 at door. 7pm. www.barnsofrosehill.org.

30

Longevity and Vitality with Geo Giordano

Sanctuary Wellness Center. 208 N. Buckmarsh St. Berryville. 3–4:30pm.

Contact Geo for details: geosjoyRH@ gmail.com. info@sanctuaryberryville.com. www.sanctuaryberryville.com.

February

5

Film and Q and A: African American Women in WWII

Barns of Rose Hill. 95 Chalmers Ct. Berryville. Thanks to Tyson Gilpin for sponsoring the program, in partnership with the Josephine School Muse-

um. Intro and Q&A session with “Invisible Warriors” director and producer Gregory S. Cooke via Zoom. An unforgettable conversation among a diverse group of African American “Rosie the Riveters” who recount what life was really like during World War II. $5. 7–9pm. www.barnsofrosehill.org.

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We smoke Beef Brisket, Pork, Chicken, Ribs and more and make delicious homemade sides and sweet treats every day.

741 Jordan Springs Rd Stephenson, VA catering@jordanspringsmarket.com

Stop in for takeout, dine in with us or have us cater your next special event from 10 guests to 1000! www.jordanspringsmarket.com

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Clarke

JAN 20 22

5

Astronomy for Everyone

Sky Meadows State Park. 11012 Edmonds Lane.

Delaplane. Half hour children’s “Junior Astronomer” program, followed by discussion and enjoying the night’s beauty.

Visitors are encouraged to bring lawn chairs, blankets, binoculars or telescope. Free with $10 parking fee per car.

4:30–7:30pm. 540-592-3556.

ADVERTISE your event here!

Call 540-398-1450 to learn more.

ever written. $5 in advance plus receipt from Main Street restaurant, or $10. Children 12 and younger free. 7–9pm. www.barnsofrosehill.org.

26

Poetry and Music with Sean Murphy and Quentin Walston Barns of Rose Hill. 95 Chalmers Ct. Berryville. The Barns of Rose Hill is thrilled to partner with 1455 Literary Arts for a special reading with Sean Murphy, who will read from his new collection “The Blackened Blues,” accompanied by pianist Quentin Walston. $10 in advance, $15 at door, children 12 and younger free. 7–8pm. www.barnsofrosehill.org.

Ongoing

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Furnace Mountain Trio Concert

Barns of Rose Hill. 95 Chalmers Ct. Berryville. Aimee Curl on bass and vocals, Dave Van Deventer on fiddle and vocals, and Morgan Morrison on guitar, bouzouki, and vocals. The trio creates music that is at times lively and raucous, with spirited fiddle melodies weaving in and around the powerful rhythms of the bass and bouzouki, and other times poignant and poetic, with sublime vocal harmonies beautifully interpreting some of the oldest songs

Nantucket Treweryn Beagles Photo Exhibit Long Branch Historic House and Farm. 830 Long Branch Lane. Millwood. Exhibit is on display January 3–31. Monday–Friday, 10am–4pm, Saturday–Sunday, 12–4pm. Free.

540-837-1856.

Yoga at the Sanctuary: Virtual Gentle Flow Every Wednesday. 7–7:45am.

Specials and class passes available at amyhopegentry.com/yoga.

Yoga at the Sanctuary: In Person Yoga Basics Sanctuary Wellness Center.

Long Branch Historic House and Farm Presents: Nantucket Treweryn Beagles Exhibit of Fine Art January 6 - 31, 2022 Monday thru Friday 10am—4pm Saturday & Sunday 12—4pm

Free Admission Grounds open from dawn to dusk every day General Admission: By donation

540-837-1856

208 N. Buckmarsh St. Berryville.

Every Monday and Wednesday. 10:30–11:30am. Specials and class passes available at www.amyhopegentry.com/yoga.

Yoga at the Sanctuary: In Person Gentle Flow Sanctuary Wellness Center.

208 N. Buckmarsh St. Berryville.

5–6pm. Every Thursday. Specials and class passes available at amyhopegentry.com/yoga.

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Bobcat and Small Backhoe Work Land Clearing • Interior / exterior painting Tree & Brush Removal • 60’ Man-Lift Service

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Yoga at the Sanctuary: Virtual Morning Flow Every Monday and Friday. 7–7:45am. Specials and class passes available at amyhopegentry.com/yoga.

Yoga at the Sanctuary: In Person Vinyasa Sanctuary Wellness Center.

208 N. Buckmarsh St. Berryville.

5–5:45pm. Every Tuesday. Specials and class passes available at amyhopegentry.com/yoga.

Bridge Night Long Branch Historic House and Farm. 830 Long Branch Lane. Millwood. Tuesday evenings. Wine, soft drinks and light snacks provided. 5–7pm. $15 per person. 540-837-1856.

Mediation • Collaborative Law • Litigation Brenda Waugh, Lawyer & Mediator waugh@brendawaugh.com

304-728-3660 (Charles Town) • 540-501-5501 (Leesburg)

—Schedule your free initial consultation online at brendawaugh.com

Clarke

JAN 2022

Geothermal Scott Heating and Cooling Quality Work — Reasonable Rates Ask us about our Annual Maintenance Contracts Spring: Tune, clean and check components of A/C system.

Fall: Tune, clean and check components of heating system. plus a 10% discount on parts and a Reduced labor rate

8

Berryville Welcomes Afghan Refugees

By Claire Stuart

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CLARKEVA.COM The gift of a goat! Ellie Mackintosh donates a goat to the resettled Afghan families.

Two Afghan refugee families who came to Berryville through the efforts of selfless community volunteers were welcomed with a get-together at The Sanctuary Wellness Center on December 11.

When U.S. Army Major Chris Liggett, (son of Chris and Nancy Liggett and grandson of Bill and Sue Liggett of Clarke County) served in Afghanistan in 2014, he formed a lasting friendship with his Afghan interpreter. As conditions were growing more perilous for Afghans who had worked for Americans, Liggett was helping his interpreter with the laborious paperwork it takes to get a U.S. visa. When the Taliban took over, the interpreter and his family had to flee for their lives in the August chaos, barely managing to get safely to the airport. Liggett sponsored the interpreter and helped get him and his family settled in Colorado, where Liggett is now living.

Liggett explained the settlement process for refugees.

There is a visa called the Special Immigrant Visa (SIV)

designed initially for interpreters and their families during the Iraq and Afghanistan wars and which includes a path to citizenship. The SIV was later expanded to cover other Afghans who worked for the U.S. government. There are stringent background checks.

When the refugees arrive here, they are sent to one of several military bases located across the country, where they stay for one to four months in tent cities. There they get fingerprinted and vetted, get vaccinations, apply for social security cards and other necessary papers, and get connected with whatever agencies they will need to start new lives. They are asked where they want to go, but if it is not feasible, they are sent where they can be accommodated.

There are resettlement agencies in certain cities — they are contracted by the State Department to serve all refugees, not just Afghans, and most are religious organizations. Once a resettlement agency is found, it locates housing, English

classes, and other needed services. In the past, most resettlement agencies served a few hundred families a year; now the numbers are in the thousands.

With no income and no jobs, how can refugees be placed in communities? They have been put up in hotels, paid for with the government’s “refugee welcome money” which amounts to a one-time payment of $1,200 per person. Communities without resettlement agencies can agree to take refugees, but they must take on more of the financial responsibilities because the government can’t provide the same degree of resources.

Liggett continues to do what he can to assist groups that help Afghan refugees. On a Northern Virginia Facebook page, he learned of some refugees who were staying in a relative’s overcrowded home in Herndon because the resettlement agencies were too overloaded to deal with them. He decided to float the possibility that Clarke County could take in the refugees. He set up a Facebook page

Clarke

JAN 20 22

Gathering at the sanctuary wellness center in Berryville in early December.

(Clarke County for Afghans) to share their story, then contacted friends, old Clarke County High School classmates, and people he knew.

The refugees are two branches of an extended family. There is the Akhund Zada family (Ashiqullah Akhund Zada, his wife Shakeela, and their daughter Husna), and the Mohmand family (Said Abdul Bari Mohmand and his wife Maria). Said Abdul Bari Mohmand is Ashiqullah Akhund Zada’s uncle.

Liggett explained that the families that came to Berryville were not being served. They needed help from the community, so he set up a “Go Fund Me” page. “I found that most people wanted to help,” he said. Wendell (Wendy) Hawken agreed to provide a house, rent free, for a year. “Volunteers cleaned house, contributed furniture, clothing, kitchen equipment.”

Bisra Sheikh, a former CCHS classmate, was doing volunteer work with a resettlement agency in Northern Virginia when Liggett reached out to her. Sheikh is a first-generation American, and her parents (Samina and Yousaf Sheikh of Boyce) came to the U.S. from Pakistan in the 1980s.

Her father operated an oriental rug shop in Berryville for many years.

“I volunteered to help Chris here,” she said, noting that

since Clarke is not very diverse at all, there is no Afghan community, and the Afghans did not speak any English. She explained that there could be misunderstandings if residents didn’t pick up on subtle cues when interacting with the refugees and could accidentally be rude or inappropriate.

Sheikh, who can speak Pashto, one of the languages spoken by one of the refugees, recalls that, “I was their only source of communication when they were picked up to come here. I could offer cultural guidance — tell them what to expect, where to buy their food. They’re not comfortable with western clothes — my family helped get donations of traditional clothes. The families seem to be adjusting with support from core community supporters.”

One of those core supporters is Clarke resident Ellie Bouchard Mackintosh, whom Liggett described as a major helper in resettlement of the families.

Mackintosh explained that she learned about the refugees from a Facebook post and that it was also posted on the Clarke Community Page. “Then I put it on my own Facebook page and appealed to my friends to help out. I didn’t really intend to be as active as I have been!

Chris is the brains; I’m just a worker bee!”

Mackintosh was overwhelmed by the positive responses of the community. She

posted needs for “gently-used” household items, and she was happily surprised by how many brand-new items poured in.

Since the Afghans are Muslim, Mackintosh reached out to the Islamic Society in Winchester and asked if there were any Pashto speakers.

Two volunteers from Front Royal responded with offers to help. Resettlement agencies do have online English classes, but they depend on reliable internet connections and equipment, and problems can arise. Of course, any children enrolled in public school are placed in English as a Second Language classes.

“The family is very friendly, very appreciative,” Mackintosh says. “I think they are a good fit for Clarke. I’m proud of how Clarke has stepped up and warmly welcomed them. The objective is for the family to be completely independent, part of American society” Sheikh observed that there are challenges when a family goes where it was not assigned because there is less government support, making it more difficult to meet resettlement needs. Language help and employment connections are more difficult to find without the support of programs geared to helping larger numbers of people, and refugees are without the psychological support of an Afghan community. Without a resettlement

9 agency, there would have been no rental assistance for the Berryville families if they had not been offered a year of free rent. They would have had to pay with their welcome money, which is also meant to cover other necessities.

Sheikh noted that some refugees who had been settled in Northern Virginia had shopping and available jobs within walking distance. Employment opportunities in Berryville are extremely limited, and realistically, the Berryville families will probably have to go to Winchester and beyond for work, requiring a driver’s license, a vehicle and insurance — or someone to drive them until they have those things.

And more help with English is needed.

Liggett recognizes that the greatest needs for the Afghans here are jobs, English

lessons, and transportation.

However, he believes that, all in all, things are going well for them here, and he is optimistic about their future, “They want to learn about American culture and be a part of the community,” Liggett offers thanks to everyone who has stepped up to help and gives special shoutouts to Geo from the Berryville Sanctuary; the Senda family, who have offered support; David Weiss, Chairman of the Board of Supervisors; members of American Legion Post 41, and the Enders Fire Department who brought Christmas gifts to the families.

To donate and offer support, go to https://www.gofundme. com/f/clarke-county-forafghans/donate.

Sale Ends 1/31/22

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Clarke

JAN 2022

on stage

Mar 11-26 The Honorable Wilson L. Kirby

In 1926, radium was a miracle cure and luminous watches the latest rage—until the girls who painted them began to fall ill with a mysterious

by D.W.Gregory disease. Inspired by a true story.

Directed by Roxie Orndorff

winchesterlittletheatre.org • 540-662-3331 Valley Land Works

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“Clarke Co. Winter Sunset”

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Remembered

By Cathy Kuehner

Berryville’s beloved former mayor, Wilson Lynn Kirby, died Dec. 27, 2021, at age 82. He was born Dec. 3, 1939, in Leesburg. He and his wife Cathy moved to Berryville from Loudoun County in 2000.

“Mayor Kirby was a respected leader, and he treated everyone with respect,” said Town Manager Keith Dalton, who worked alongside Mr. Kirby since he was first elected to Town Council in 2002.

To honor Wilson Kirby, Mayor Jay Arnold ordered the Town of Berryville flag be flown at half-staff at the Berryville-Clarke County Government Center and a ceremonial drape be above the main entrance of the government center until Jan. 18.

Mr. Kirby served two terms as mayor (July 2008 to June 2016), as Ward 4 representative on the Town Council (July 2002 to June 2008), and as a member of Berryville’s Board of Zoning Appeals (May 2017 until his death).

When Mr. Kirby campaigned in 2002 to represent Ward 4, the Clarke Courier newspaper reported Mr. Kirby “made history during his election bid when he campaigned door-to-door on his bicycle.” He campaigned in his Ward as well as throughout the entire town. He never missed a Town Council meeting.

Mr. Kirby won the mayoral race in in 2008 “by a landslide,” according to the Courier, and was sworn in on June 25, 2008, becoming the Town’s 27th mayor (since 1871) and succeeding Rick Sponseller, who did not run for re-election. Mr. Kirby officially began his term on July 8, 2008.

Mayor Kirby was re-elected in 2012 and did not seek a third term in 2016.

Taking occupancy of the then-new Berryville-

Clarke County government building and completing engineering for waste-water treatment plant upgrades were his top priorities in spring 2008.

Mr. Kirby attended Mars Hill College before graduating from the University of Tennessee with a degree in civil engineering. He had a successful career in civil engineering, at one time owning his own business before working for Engineers and Surveyors Institute.

“I’ve prepared my entire adult life to be mayor,” he said, referring to his career as an engineer and businessman, the Courier reported. “I want to draw the citizens closer to our Town government,” adding, “Spiritually, this victory was the answer to a prayer.”

He told the Courier, “I love people. I love meeting them, talking with them, and listening to them.”

“Wilson was deliberative and fair, but not afraid to make a decision or take an unpopular position,” Mr. Dalton said. “His fingerprints will be forever on this Town because of his good work with Council’s Streets and Utilities Committee. His work also ensured the Town preparedness for development in its growth area. More than that, Wilson was a good friend and mentor, and I will miss him greatly.”

During his two terms Mayor Wilson Kirby presided over dozens of community The following letter was writevents, including the ribbon-cutting at the Barns of Rose Hill, September 6, 2011. ten by Mayor Kirby and pub-

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“As my last official act as mayor of this great Town, I am penning this letter to the citizens and employees of the Town of Berryville. It has been one of the great joys of my life to serve Berryville as a Town Council member and as mayor.

“During my time on the Town Council, I have been honored to represent and serve Berryville’s citizens. Our citizens take care of one another like nowhere else I have ever seen. Their commitment to one another and their community is unmatched. Thank you for electing me to serve you. Again, it has been an honor.

“During my time on Town Council, particularly while serving as mayor, I have had the great pleasure of working closely with the Town Manager and the employees of the Town.

You are a wonderful group of public servants, and I am so very proud to have worked with you to meet the needs of Berryville’s citizens. Thank you for your dedication, commit-

ment, and professionalism.

“I will leave you with Romans 12:10-11: Love one another with brotherly affection.

Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord.”

Mr. Kirby is survived by

his wife Cathy, whom he married in August 1962; son Matthew Kirby and daughter Kimberly Kirby; brothers Charles Kirby and Francis Kirby; five grandchildren and eight greatgrandchildren with ninth due to arrive in March.

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Forget Lofty Resolutions

Healthy Habits for a New Year

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In case those New Year’s resolutions have been a little tricky to pull off — or if you avoided making them altogether — how about running your health and fitness goals through the filter of a few healthy habits? Adopting a healthy habit might be much easier than shifting an entire lifestyle in the name of “getting healthier.” With that, I offer you five habits to consider incorporating within the next five weeks. Each could stand on its own for effectiveness, but together they could form the foundation of a new awareness and prioritization of your health and well-being.

bar to get started). If you add up those bursts at the end of the week and you might just beat your one-hour class time.

Workout burst

Carry water

Forget the “go to the gym every day” or even “do a onehour workout a day” mandate.

Life gets busy; an hour can be too daunting; and the gym is germ-y anyway. Try for a quick burst of activity, say 10-12 minutes, once a day wherever you are, and see if you can add more of those within your day. Set a timer, and off you go (see side

Pack your lunch

Before you head out for the day, make sure you have packed a fulfilling lunch, and perhaps some snacks. We are prone to making poor decisions about food once we find ourselves starved at our desks or in a situation where it’s impossible to find a healthy morsel of food nearby. Think ahead, the night before perhaps, and pack something that will satisfy you during your workday.

Thirst can disguise itself as hunger, so having a container of water with you during the day can offer a reverse course to snacking or overeating.

Some people have reported using apps that serve as reminders to drink water throughout the day, which could be useful if you tend to forget. If you have the water with you, may-

be you’ll take a sip instead of reaching for the chips.

Cut off meals and snacks by 6 or 7pm

Last spring, I wrote an article on intermittent fasting, a simple concept (though requiring some forethought and resolve to incorporate), that can be very beneficial for digestive and metabolic health. I still stand by the virtues of intermittent fasting, but even if you’re not convinced or ready, try cutting off your eating window by 6 or 7pm. Because our body clocks, or circadian rhythms, are attuned to resting and digesting once the sun goes down, you might find a cutoff time can further support your weight loss or weight maintenance goals.

Report to a friend or partner

Accountability to anyone can be a boon for helping us keep ourselves on track. It could be a personal trainer, a doctor, or

Clarke

JAN 20 22 a coach, but it might be just as effective to report your progress daily or weekly to a friend or partner. Sometimes expressing your actions in a text, email, or conversation can reflect back to you your

successes or your possible weak spots.

Determine which habit would bring you the most benefit, and start there; or, if one seems easier than the next, begin with the easy one/s to give

13

yourself a little momentum.

Here’s to healthy habits in 2022.

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Got 10 minutes? Make It Count!

Completing a burst of vigorous physical activity for a short period of time (like 10–12 minutes) can confer a number of benefits, particularly for cardiovascular health. It’s the concept behind “HIIT,” or high intensity interval training. The key is finding your own threshold of “vigorous”.

You can start with determining your agebased maximum heart rate; or even your perceived rate of exertion (RPE), to determine your upper limits. If you have a heart condition, you should also consult with your doctor before pushing yourself to a vigorous zone. Once you do figure out an appropriate level of intensity for yourself, set a timer and go for it. Do these bursts throughout the day when you have 10 minutes to spare. They add up and might even start beckoning you away from your desk more frequently.

If you’re surrounded by others during the day (like kids), turn those 10 minutes into a dance party. Anything goes, as long as heart rates are

up, and it feels like a challenge to maintain the activity for 10 – 12 minutes. Below are some resources to get you started.

The American Heart Association has a detailed explanation of heart rate ranges based on age: www.heart.org/en/healthy-living/fitness/ fitness-basics/target-heart-rates.

Search “target heart rate” on the web to find your age-based range.

Read about the Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE) scale and determine your level of intensity here: www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles.

Search on perceived exertion.

Find short intense workouts on You Tube by searching “10 minute high intensity workout.”

If you’re new to it, you can add “for beginners” to the search.

If you love to dance, search “10 minute dance workouts” on You Tube. Find something that you want to do; you’re more likely to follow through if it’s enjoyable.

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JAN 2022

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County’s Natural Resource Expert Retires After 31 Years Alison Teetor has helped shape the future of Clarke County’s rural landscape

By Cathy Kuehner

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Board chair David Weiss presents a resolution of appreciation to Natural Resource Planner Alison Teetor at the December 21 Supervisors meeting.

Alison Teetor, Clarke County’s natural resource planner, retired at the end of December after 31 years of service to the county and its residents. During the December 21 Board of Supervisors meeting, chair David Weiss honored Teetor with a resolution that highlighted some of her many career achievements.

“We all strive to make Clarke County a better place to live and raise our families.

Through her dedication, tremendous work ethic, and grace Alison Teetor has done just that,” said Weiss. “We wish her well in her retirement and trust she will remain our county’s conscience.”

After the presentation Teetor said, “I would not have been able to do all that I have without the support of county Supervisors and those who have served on other boards and commissions all these years.”

Hired as a geographic information system (GIS) specialist in February 1990 — when the

internet was relatively new — Teetor’s expertise was invaluable in the implementation and growth of the county’s GIS program and the creation of mapping resources to support many county initiatives.

In January 1991, Teetor became the county’s natural resources planner, serving as the subject matter expert for land conservation, natural resources, and water quality and quantity planning issues for three decades.

Teetor was instrumental in the long-term success of the Clarke County Conservation Easement Authority and the Easement Purchase Program.

With her guidance, the county’s Easement Authority has so far preserved nearly 8,700 acres.

When combined with the almost 18,500 acres preserved by Virginia Outdoors Foundation, the Department of Historic Resources, the National Park Services and others, Clarke County has permanently protected almost one quarter of its 113,920 total acres for future generations.

Clarke

JAN 20 22 She also worked to obtain hundreds of thousands of dollars of grant funding from various sources to support conservation easement purchases, historic preservation, and projects related to watershed restoration and pollution remediation.

Teetor managed many projects and programs to protect and conserve the county’s natural and water resources. She helped establish a realtime groundwater-monitoring network in conjunction with the United States Geological Survey and assisted with its development of a droughtmonitoring program.

She worked on stream and watershed restoration projects to improve water quality, including the extension of public sewer service to homes in Millwood at a time when 44 percent of homes had unsatisfactory sewage disposal systems.

Teetor’s knowledge is reflected in her significant contributions to the county’s Comprehensive Plan and its

15

component plans, including continued development of the Water Resources Plan, administration of septic and well ordinances, the creation of an Energy and Resource Management Plan, and implementation of county energy-saving and recycling initiatives.

Teetor also provided staff support and leadership to many boards and committees, including the Conservation Easement Authority, Historic Preservation Commission, Board of Septic and Well Appeals, and Litter Committee.

“I truly appreciate living and working in a community that values its natural and historic resources, and diligently works to protect them,” said Teetor, who moved to Clarke County in 1985.

The county’s new Preservation Planner & GIS Coordinator is Jeff Feaga. Contact him at jfeaga@clarkecounty.gov.

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