Crozet Gazette January 2018 by The Crozet Gazette

INSIDE NO RAIN FEE page 3 ECON 101 page 6 NANOSCALE page 7 CANCER MEMOIR page 9

JANUARY 2018 VOL. 12, NO. 8

Cell Tower Proposed for WAHS Site

SIGNERS page 12 HEALTHY NEW YEAR page 13

by Michael Marshall

editor@crozetgazette.com

DEEP FREEZE page 16

MIKEMARSHALL

1876 page 17 PASTA CARBONARA page 19 HOW TO KEEP RESOLUTIONS page 20

BLANKET WEATHER. Albemarle County Public Schools were delayed one hour on January 3, the first day back from winter break, due to bitter cold. Low temperatures were in the single digits to start the new year. See story page 16.

GROWTH AREA MAP page 23

Crozet Survey Finds Residents Enchanted with Area, Yet Worried about Growing Pains

CROZET SURVEY RESULTS page 25-28 KISS page 30 LITERALLY page 32 CUMC FOOD PANTRY page 34 HARD CHOICES page 36 DINOSAUR TREE page 39 SHOULD YOU BELIEVE IT? page 40 WRONG BROWNIE page 41 BEREAVEMENTS page 43 CLASSIFIED page 46

By Shawn L. Bird If there’s one broad, irrefutable conclusion to draw from the 2017 Crozet Community Survey it’s that the people who live in the Crozet area really, really like living here. They treasure the history of the area and are complimentary of many different fac-

ets of present-day life in Crozet. Yet the survey also reveals that local residents recognize, quite clearly, that the area is rapidly growing, and with that come both opportunities and challenges. In overwhelming numbers local residents are in general agreement

continued on page 22

After it was approached by Shentel about providing a cell tower to remedy coverage weakness in the Crozet area, Milestone Communications of Reston has proposed to build a 145foot tower on the northeast corner of the Western Albemarle High School football stadium. The tower would also offer an antenna location to three other cell phone services, possibly including Verizon and T-Mobile, as well as an array that would boost the signal of the Internet system of the high school. Milestone is also the builder of a 125-foot tower at Albemarle High School. The Crozet Community Advisory Committee was introduced to the plan at its Dec. 19 meeting, which satisfied the proposal’s requirement for a public meeting. Lawyer Lori Schweller of the Charlottesville firm LeClairRyan made the presentation on behalf of Milestone, who was represented by senior project manager Cristian Hernandez. She said the company began building towers on continued on page 14

A Shift in Focus for the County Courthouse Project by Lisa Martin

lisamartin@crozetgazette.com

After more than a year of debate over alternative plans to relocate the Albemarle County Court buildings, the Board of Supervisors recently spent several weeks simply listening. The Supervisors convened in December to hear the results of a consultant’s cost/benefit analysis of the

various options, to listen to county citizens’ views on the matter, and to absorb both an offer and a warning related to the project. Armed with both data and opinion, the Board ultimately passed a split motion requesting further study of one part of a potential relocation while putting another part on hold pending negotiations with the city. continued on page 4

LISA MARTIN

DELI COMING page 10

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MICHAEL J. MARSHALL, Publisher and Editor news@crozetgazette.com | 434-466-8939

LOUISE DUDLEY, Editorial Assistant louise@crozetgazette.com

the

Published on the first Thursday of the month by The Crozet Gazette LLC, P.O. Box 863, Crozet, VA 22932

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CONTRIBUTING WRITERS: John Andersen, Clover Carroll, Theresa Curry, Marlene Condon, Elena Day, Phil James, Charles Kidder, Lisa Martin, Dirk Nies, Robert Reiser, Roscoe Shaw, Heidi Sonen, Denise Zito.

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From the Editor No “Rain Tax” Albemarle County Supervisors called a time-out as the date for a decision on imposing a storm water management fee on county property owners drew near, but what the facts call for is a punt of the whole idea. Gazette readers are reminded of an in-depth analysis of Albemarle’s impact on pollution in Chesapeake Bay, and the worthiness of the fee policy as a solution, by our house scientist, Dirk Nies, that appeared in our September 2015 issue. The story is titled “The County’s Rising Water Programs.” Look for it on the Gazette’s website. The Albemarle County Farm Bureau has come out against the fee, dubbing it a “rain tax” that would use aerial photographs to calculate the area of roofs of houses, barns and sheds, driveways (including gravel ones, as well as packed dirt farm roads), and parking lots on a parcel and impose a fee—not a tax, because that could not be imposed on tax-exempt properties such as churches, schools, or public properties such as fire or rescue squad stations. Let’s leave aside whether

To the Editor Send your letters to the editor to news@crozetgazette.com. Letters will not be printed anonymously. Letters do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Crozet Gazette.

Landes Town Hall Our delegate in the state legislature held a town hall meeting on Dec. 27 at the Crozet library. I would like to thank Delegate Landes for holding the meeting and reaching out to local citizens to hear our concerns. The good news coming out of the meeting is that Mr. Landes has acknowledged that action should be taken on gerrymandering and finding ways to expand health care coverage. He pledged to try and work on bipartisan solutions in the coming year. The disappointing news is his reaction to the Republican leadership’s attacks on the press and the FBI. My sense is that he is concerned about the attacks on the FBI but agrees with those in the GOP who think the news

JANUARY 2018 these calculations would be accurate and look at a few points the story addresses about the goal of reducing pollution in the bay and Albemarle’s share of the problem. First, water runoff from impervious surfaces does not, in and of itself, contribute the chemical pollutants of concern —nitrogen or phosphorus—to the environment. In most rural situations, rainwater runoff from impervious surfaces does not significantly contribute sediment loads into surface waters. Albemarle County contributes 3 percent or less of the pollutants of concern (nitrogen, phosphorus, sediment) entering the Chesapeake Bay from the bay’s entire multi-state watershed. The real pollution threat to the bay comes from the Susquehanna River, which drains central Pennsylvania, as well as runoff from the vast metropolitan areas of Baltimore and Washington, D.C. Further, the pollutants of concern that come from Albemarle (flowing in the James River) enter near the mouth the bay at Hampton Roads, where bay waters are in good condition and affected by ocean tides. Even if the County’s

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media cannot be trusted. He said that he is not sure if the results of the presidential election showing a 3 million popular vote advantage for the Democrats is accurate. He claimed that there were millions of fraudulent votes cast in California. In any event, he is going to continue to remain silent in the face of his party’s attacks on our democracy. It is worrisome to think that our elected representative does not trust the news media and will not speak out more forcefully on his party’s attacks on the federal law enforcement community. Where does he get his news from? How can he work with members of the Democratic party when he can’t agree to the veracity of certain facts. I urge him to be mindful of the growing movement to replace the term “mainstream media” with “reality-based media”. John Hickey Crozet

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Courthouse —continued from page 1

Price tags The county’s consultant on the courts project, Stantec Services Consulting, Inc., presented a summary of the projected capital and operating costs of five options. The options range from renovating the existing court buildings where they stand, to relocating both the courts and the County Office Building (COB) to a site in the county (likely the Rio/29 area where Albemarle Square currently sits). Stantec calculated that keeping the courts downtown and renovating the existing buildings is the least expensive option ($38 million), whereas constructing a new court system elsewhere would cost between $47 and $52 million because of the need to purchase a site and build a structured parking facility. In addition, annual operating costs are lower for the renovation option ($200,000 to stay downtown vs. $1.1 million to relocate) because of parking structure maintenance and increased security personnel expense at the new location. The consultants also analyzed the possibility of relocating the County Office Building (alone or in tandem with a courthouse move), with an eye toward spurring economic development in another part of the county. The idea would be to partner with a private entity to create a mixeduse development of moderate to high density in a walkable environment of retail stores, restaurants, apartments, and office space surrounding the county buildings. A standalone COB move is estimated to cost $37

million (net of proceeds from selling the current McIntire Road building), an expenditure that must be added to the cost of whichever option is chosen for the courts to get a full picture of the project’s outlay. After an analysis of various development scenarios and their potential costs and benefits, Stantec concluded that a courtsonly move is limited in its development potential due to the relatively small numbers of employees and stakeholders who frequent the courts on a daily basis. More compelling, according to the report, is the COB move, which would involve many more employees and visitors to support economic activity. Points of view Nineteen county residents spoke to the Board during a public hearing on Dec. 19. Across the range of speakers— attorneys, defendant support specialists, activists for racial and social justice, historical preservationists, and other city and county residents—every person argued in favor of keeping the courts downtown and negotiating with the city for additional parking options. Many speakers referred to the Stantec report, praising the Board for their due diligence in commissioning the study and pointing to its conclusions in urging the Board not to move the courthouse. On the same day, Charlottesville Mayor Michael Signer sent a letter to the Board clarifying the city’s position on a potential court move. Signer emphasized the city’s support for co-locating the city and county General District Court facilities downtown, noting that

it “has $6.5 million in its Capital Improvement Plan” to help with the costs of the building. In addition, the city committed to financing and building a parking structure near the corner of 7th and Market Streets to alleviate county parking concerns. “The City hopes to re-engage in negotiations with the County to keep the General District Court in Court Square soon,” said Signer. Potential risks Beyond pure cost considerations, one significant risk for the courthouse move option is litigation. A Dec. 4 letter to the county from the CharlottesvilleAlbemarle Bar Association laid out the argument for a potential legal challenge to a Circuit Court move. Such a move of the “county seat” typically requires a referendum vote, which would delay planning until after a vote could be scheduled, and would hinge the project’s viability on county residents voting in favor of the more expensive “move” option. Virginia law makes an exception to the referendum rule “in the case of the removal of a county courthouse that is not located in a city or town, and is not being relocated to a city or town.” As the courthouse sits on a small parcel of county land, the county has thus far relied on this carve-out to avoid a referendum. However, the Bar Association has a different interpretation of the Virginia Code. Bruce Williamson, chair of the association’s Courts Committee, likened the situation to a blank tabletop with a salt shaker in the center. “The way to determine whether the courthouse is

‘in a city or town’ is not who owns the land underneath the courthouse,” Williamson said, “it is where that plot of land is in relation to the boundaries of the city.” Like the saltshaker on the table, he argued, the courthouse is ‘in the city’ because the city surrounds it, and thus would be subject to a required vote by county citizens. The implied threat is that the city will sue the county if the latter tries to move the county seat. Stantec officials are concerned that this litigation risk, which they consider to be very high, will scare off potential development partners. Stantec Senior Principal Jeffrey Simon noted during the presentation that, in his experience, developers hate uncertainty. “I don’t know any developer who would spend time writing a high quality proposal only to face three years of sitting and waiting,” he said. County Attorney Greg Kamptner estimated a minimum 2-3 year delay if such a case had to work its way up to the Virginia Supreme Court, and Supervisor Liz Palmer suggested adding an allowance for increased construction costs (due to potential delays) to the plan’s estimate.

continued on page 8

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CROZETgazette

JANUARY 2018

Stories & Photos By Lisa Martin

lisamartin@crozetgazette.com

Thomas Mierzejewski makes a sale at the CRES Third Grade Market.

Economic Outlook

tract. d, school-wide social con

ta shows off the student-le

Henley Principal Beth Cos

A Wonder-ful Trip What’s more fun than a school-wide field trip? Not much, says Henley Principal Beth Costa, especially when the subject of the trip revolves around the universal themes of kindness and caring. “Last year we went to see the movie ‘Hidden Figures,’ but we had to go to the theater in waves,” she said. “This year all 875 students traveled together to see ‘Wonder,’ and we had an overwhelmingly positive response from the kids.” The movie ‘Wonder’ is based on a best-selling 2012 middle-grade novel of the same name by R. J. Palacio. The title character is Auggie Pullman, a 10-year-old boy born with a facial deformity, who is about to enter 5th grade in a mainstream school for the first time. Questions about kindness, inclusion, and being different run throughout the story, and

Henley students engaged in advance work in their weekly advisory sessions on initiatives such as “Choose Kind” and “Kindness is Contagious.” “The next day we changed our schedule to have a longer advisory period to debrief, and talked about what we’d learned,” said Costa. “How do we treat people who are different?” Lessons from the movie dovetailed with the students’ work on a school-wide social contract, in which each grade came up with one-third of a threepart overall commitment to a safe learning environment. An example of the three tenets is “Embrace each other’s differences.” “We [teachers and staff] didn’t write a word of it,” said Costa. “The students put forth their ideas and debated and decided, and in the end we made a huge sign and every kid put their thumbprint on it. I’m really proud of them.”

Holiday-themed slime was a brisk seller at the CRES Third Grade Market

Crozet Elementary third graders learned some practical life lessons during a three-week economics unit which culminated in a raucous Third Grade Market in December. “The students have been learning about producers and consumers, goods and services, supply and demand, and scarcity and opportunity cost,” said third grade teacher Jaylen Crist. “Their final activity is to create their own product to market and sell to their fellow students.” Student products for sale at the market ranged from homemade cookies and cotton candy to crafts such as jewelry and soaps, and even a nail-polishing service. The build-up to the market encompassed a wide range of economic activity that mirrors real life. “They have jobs at school, such as cleaning an area, being respectful, having a neat space, and handing in their homework, and for those jobs they get a weekly paycheck,” explained teacher Atlanta Hutchins. (All of the transactions use class-made, phony money.) “They have to pay taxes on their income, and pay the bank to keep track of their

money. Also they have to fill out applications to get other jobs like banker, paymaster, and money cutter.” The teachers are struck by how much of the system the students understand by the time the market rolls around. “A girl selling soap told her mother, ‘This is going to be such a scarce good that I’m going to run out, and people will have to make economic choices,’” said Hutchins. After the Market the classes do an evaluation to look back at their choices, asking whether they should have priced their goods higher or lower based on their sales, and what would they advise next year’s classes. Teacher Lori Phillips said the students also talked about opportunity costs, understanding that money and effort are both scarce resources. “One girl made two beautiful quilts, and she understood that her price had to be higher because of all the labor she put in,” said Phillips. Hutchins said the lessons really sink in. “Sometimes I’ll offer to do an extra five minutes of a fun activity if they want to each pay $5, but they’ll say no, they’d rather save it.” Perhaps everyone could benefit from a little third grade economics.

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UVa Professor Jerry Flo ro demonstrates nano scale material that ma seem to disappear. kes water

Think Small Murray Elementary fifth graders were treated to a host of scientific demonstrations using nanotechnology, a type of engineering science based on the concept that normal things behave differently when they are very, very small. A nanometer is a billionth of a meter, and Professor Jerry Floro of UVa’s Materials Science department held up a human hair to give students the idea of the scale. “If we could slice this hair 100,000 times length-wise,” said Floro, “each strip would be a nanometer wide.” Professor Floro displayed a model of a nanotube made of carbon atoms, which is the strongest material known to man, he said. He and eight UVa graduate engineering students set up demonstrations to give the Murray students a feel for the possibilities, from hydro-

philic absorption in diapers to steel ball bearings bouncing endlessly on metallic glass. The fifth graders rotated through the exhibitions, spending six minutes per station, laughing and exclaiming at each one. Murray teacher Sara Haas said that the UVa team adds new features to the demonstrations each year. “We talk about nanotechnology when we study matter in our chemistry unit,” said Haas, “but this really brings it to life for them.” Floro and his group do four or five field trips to schools per year, usually working with elementary students. “We try to convince them that science is actually fun, not drudgery, and that they can understand these complex things,” he said. “We’re not trying to convince every kid to become a scientist, but ultimately it seems like a good idea to have a scientifically literate electorate.”

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Murray fifth graders take part in a nanotechnology experiment.

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Courthouse —continued from page 4

On the other hand, the option to remain in Court Square and renovate the courthouse comes with its share of uncertainty as well. BOS Chair Diantha McKeel recalled unforeseen problems during the construction project to enlarge the Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court building ten years ago. “Walls collapsed, resulting in an additional 693 days and a doubling of the cost to complete,” she said, “and that building was not as old as what we’re talking about right now.” Partners and pre-marketing After a closed work session on Dec. 20, the Board of Supervisors passed the following motion on a 5-1 vote, with Supervisor Norman Dill opposed: • The County will impose a moratorium on further discussions of the courts’ potential relocation from downtown until March 2 in response to the let-

ter from the Mayor of the City of Charlottesville. • The Board directed Stantec to continue to explore the development of and facilities in Albemarle County, such as the County Office Building, a performing arts center, and a convention center. • The County Executive and the County Attorney will resume negotiations on the Board’s behalf with the City of Charlottesville, on the County’s ownership and the County’s control of the 7th and Market Street parking lot and other related issues and terms. • Land-use valuation should be recognized in the revenue-sharing formula between the County of Albemarle and the City of Charlottesville. Supervisors Liz Palmer and Norman Dill had been the two ‘no’ votes on the original decision to hire Stantec. Explaining her switch to a ‘yes’ vote on this motion, Palmer said, “I am going to vote for this, though I would have liked it to be stronger, allowing longer than 60

days to work with the city. I sincerely hope that we’ll be able to work with them to keep the courts downtown.” The reference to “land-use valuation” in the motion sets the stage for the Revenue Sharing Agreement issue to be raised during negotiations with the city over parking facilities. Basing the revenue-sharing formula on land-use valuation (instead of market value) could reduce the amount paid by the county to the city by millions of dollars each year. Based on the motion, Stantec is now authorized to develop a “pre-marketing” strategy for soliciting bids for a possible County Office Building move to the Rio/29 area and other locations. The consultants are expected to present cost and scope data at the Board’s early February meeting, but preliminary estimates put the work on this next phase as taking three to four months at a cost of around $50,000.

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Old Trail resident Tony Alimenti co-wrote My Turn on the Courch: Our Cancer Journey with his children and deceased wife.

Death Be Not Proud By Clover Carroll

clover@crozetgazette.com

If you need a primer on how to face terminal cancer with courage, grace, and even joy, pick up a copy of My Turn on the Couch: Our Cancer Journey, by Carol, Tony, Chris, and Darcy Alimenti (available on Amazon). The couch of the title refers to the family’s tradition of assigning any sick family member—whether suffering from a cold, flu, or cancer—to the same worn leather couch, where s/he was coddled and treated like a king or queen. Over the course of this book, various family members get their turns, including the primary author. Carol eloquently narrates this heart-rending story of a family’s multiple battles with cancer, starting with their son Chris’s diagnosis of Acute Lymphatic Leukemia (ALL) in 2006 and followed only two years later by her own diagnosis with Uterine-based Leiomyosarcoma (ULMS), to which she succumbed at the age of 62 in 2015. The book also includes the CaringBridge journals for the nine-year span of both battles, epilogues by the caregivers, tributes presented at Carol’s memorial service (including a song composed by Chris), brief biographies of each family member, and other resources that might prove useful to those facing a similar situation. A gifted writer, Carol’s joie de vivre shines through every page. In the course of these two primary preoccupations, the family also lost their grandmother (Carol’s mother, Anna

Lemma) and their dog. Yet through it all, Carol, with a degree in environmental science from U.C. Berkeley, enthusiastically pursued her bucket list— taking lessons to develop her love of painting which led to exhibits and commissions, taking seven family vacations to Europe and the U.S., growing in faith with the support of Christ Community Church in Woolen Mills in Charlottesville, gardening, and writing—in other words, enjoying to the fullest what she had come to realize were the waning days of her life. She wrote children’s books— recently self-published with illustrations by a friend— made videos of herself reading favorite children’s books for future grandchildren, and wrote birthday, Christmas, and graduation cards for her own children to enjoy in their future without her. She even painted the cover art for this book. “It was too crazy to believe it was reality,” recalled Old Trail resident Tony Alimenti, still living in the house they built in 2014 to accommodate Carol’s disability. “Life has a different meaning for me now,” he adds. “I’m still young enough to decide to do something worthwhile with the time I have left.” He—like his daughter Darcy, now studying to become an acute care gerontology nurse practitioner at the University of Pennsylvania, before him—volunteers at U. Va. hospital as well as with the Crozet Trails Crew, among other activities. Chris, a thriving cancer survivor, inherited his mother’s writing ability and is continued on page 15

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CROZETgazette

JANUARY 2018

Business Briefs THERESA CURRY

By Theresa Curry theresa@crozetgazette.com

Local business news

SUBMITTED

New studio space at Santosha Yoga in downtown Crozet

Expanded produce section at Crozet Market

More Changes at the Crozet Market

Anyone looking to change their life for the better in 2018 can find plenty of support from local businesses. At Santosha Yoga, now at its new expanded headquarters on Three-Notched Road, you can experience a 5-day New Year detox that includes yoga, meditation and nutritional counseling, starting Monday; or “Reset your Compass” in a three-hour class January 20. There are other special offerings, too. For details, visit crozetyoga.com. Santosha’s former neighbor at Piedmont Place, Smojo, will offer food to accompany the detox. Owner Beth Harley said anyone interested can order a day’s worth of plant-based, gluten-free food––three hearty meals and a snack––whether taking the class or not. Reach Harley through the Smojo Facebook page, or stop by to

order. Over at A Place to Breathe, there are several opportunities to prepare yourself for the year ahead: “Cultivating Loving Kindness” Sunday; and “Create Balance in the New Year” Thursday. For more information, visit aplacetobreathe.com. Fitness expert Carl Zovco, who is a physical therapist as well as the owner of ZSP Crossfit, has some good advice for those of us wanting to be more active: “Simplify the resolution,” he said “Resolve to do something three times a week: run, bike, practice yoga, go to the gym, experience CrossFit.” He advises that showing up for something three times a week should be the first goal. And, once you’ve shown up consistently for three months or so, then address your nutrition with whatever healthy plan interests you. Then make the next goal: sign up for a race or a new sport. “When we try to change too many things at once, we get GAZETTE FILE PHOTO

THERESA CURRY

Over at the Crozet Market, it’s obvious that things are happening. There’s a new floor, and the produce section has expanded to line the front wall with fresh vegetables and fruits, beautifully arranged for those who like to take a close look at their produce before plopping it in the cart. On the side wall, several freezers have been taken out to

make room for the opening that will allow access to the deli section coming next door. The deli will have seating and be open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, said manager Greg Davis. While the menu is still being worked out, Davis said that Boar’s Head meats and cheeses will be served, as well as specialty salads, hot dishes and fried chicken. Davis, as well as several other market employees, came to Crozet from Foods of All Nations on Ivy Road.

A Little Help for New Year’s Resolutions

Deli coming soon at Crozet Market

Johannah Dottori and Crystal Oliver of A Place to Breathe

CROZETgazette GAZETTE FILE PHOTO

JANUARY 2018

Crozet

YMCA

Exercise your HEART in more ways than one

Dr. Maura McLaughlin

friends and religious communities, social supports that actually increase the number of years people live. Not only are these supports accessible to all of us, she said, but they also bring us joy. Dr. McLaughlin also observed that people in the Blue Zones didn’t use extreme willpower or one specific diet or exercise program. “They lived longer because their environments— both physical and social—were set up to support healthy habits,” she said. “Their environments made the healthy choices the easy ones. “Something as simple as leaving the fruit bowl out on the counter, or not keeping ice cream in the house, can have lasting changes in people’s health,” she said. “We are fortunate to have a community in Crozet with accessible parks, trails, sidewalks, bike lanes, community gathering spaces—all these factors in the physical environment that increase the activity level and health of the whole population.”

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GAZETTE FILE PHOTO

overwhelmed and we stop,” he said. “Don’t allow yourself to stop. Sign up and then show up. Amazing things can happen in 2018.” Maura McLaughlin of Blue Ridge Family Practice, warns us not to take too narrow a view of our health: “As a family doctor, I focus on not just treating disease but also on helping people to get and stay healthy,” she said. Dr. McLaughlin is interested in the “Blue Zones,” the places around the world where people remain healthy into advanced old age. What struck her the most about Blue Zones was the enormous positive effect of social support on people’s ability to live a long and healthy life. “Most of us think about diet and exercise as important parts of staying healthy, and while those are certainly important, it turns out that having a supportive social community potentially is the most important factor in longevity,” she said. She tries to talk with her patients about the need for family,

Beth Harley of Smojo

CROZETgazette

JANUARY 2018

LISA MARTIN

CharlottesvilleFamily Favorite Award Winner 2015

Derek Domecq ‘s signing ceremony

Rising College Athletes Western Albemarle High School football and baseball star Derek Domecq, shown above flanked by his parents Greg and Julie and WAHS baseball coach Skip Hudgins, has signed with

Radford University as a baseball player. Luke Tenuta, a star linebacker, shown with his parents John and Dorie, will play for Virginia Tech.

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CROZETgazette

JANUARY 2018

by Theresa Curry

theresa@crozetgazette.com

While the short-lived nature of New Year’s resolutions has become a cliché, many people still welcome a quiet opportunity to reflect on past events and articulate their intentions for the year ahead. Crozet has a number of original thinkers who believe in the possibility of meaningful change. None of them came to this belief easily. They’ve had difficult journeys, and are willing to share what they’ve learned. The Wheel of Health A couple of weeks ago, Donna Ginsberg was at her job as the nighttime clinical pharmacist at Augusta Health, working with the doctors to stabilize a patient with a critical head bleed. It was like a movie set, only real: “The helicopter was waiting, the doctors were scrambling, and my assistant’s hands were shaking too hard to fill the prescription,” she said. She had the technician stop for just a second and take a deep breath. Ultimately, the patient was medicated, loaded onto Pegasus and flown to Charlottesville. The incident gave her a chance to reflect on why she became a pharmacist.

Ginsberg started out years ago as a dietitian. “I’d counsel clients about what they needed to do to restore their health, but they just didn’t believe they could really change, so all the same problems would repeat themselves.” She grew weary of the disappointment and studied pharmacy, where at least she could have some observable results. Different profession, same problem, she discovered. Scenes like the recent emergency leave her glad to make a difference, but her day-to-day work has the same pitfalls as her previous work: “I’ve seen obesity, diabetes, heart disease and other chronic diseases grow until they’re the major reasons for hospitalization,” she said. “I’m filling prescriptions for people who could have prevented their own disability.” So she continued her interest in prevention and healing, studying plant-based nutrition at Cornell and integrative medicine at Duke. When two fairly young colleagues died, she resolved to use her accumulated knowledge for the good of the community, and she added individual coaching to her professional repertoire. At Duke, she had learned about the wheel of health, a

THERESA CURRY

A Deeper Look: Guidance for Health, Public Engagement and Discipline in the New Year

Donna Ginsberg and the wheel of health

concept that acknowledges personal responsibility for our own health in a number of areas: the mind-body connection, movement and rest, nutrition, spirituality, personal and professional development, physical environment, and relationships. In her coaching, Ginsberg’s noticed that people often diagnose themselves with the wrong ailment: A recent client thought she needed nutritional counseling when it was really recreation she was lacking, Ginsberg said. Or someone might come in with anxiety and then let it slip that their living space is chaotic and depressing. “We become so

out of touch with ourselves that we don’t know what’s really wrong,” she said. Ginsberg has found a way to expand her individual coaching practice to include the larger community. She became interested in Essentrics, a group class that focuses on the movements necessary to sustain life, mobility and independence, and trained to be an instructor. She’s leading a class, “Aging Backwards,” at Tabor Presbyterian Church at 10:15 a.m. Tuesdays and Fridays. For more information, visit her website, higherplanehealth.com. continued on page 33

CROZETgazette

JANUARY 2018

Cell Tower —continued from page 1

school sites in Fairfax County and has so far built about 100 following that model. Shentel also sent a representative. Shentel is a publicly traded telecommunications company based in Edinburg that now offers services in rural Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania. The company started in 1902 as an effort to get telephones in farmers’ homes in the Valley and with its acquisition of Ntelos in 2016 it became the sixth largest public wireless company in the country. It has a coverage gap locally in the vicinity of Yancey Mills, Schweller said, pointing to a map, and also along Interstate 64 from Mechums River to the Mile 107 interchange with Rt. 250. The tower would stand behind the home bleachers of the field with an equipment shed built underneath. The site would be fenced off and checked by a technician twice a month, Schweller said. The tower would be a monopole (no bracing wires) painted brown, and the five triangular antenna arrays would also be brown. The pole would be a Tier 3 type LTE, and Milestone is requesting a waiver from Board of Supervisors to raise the limit of three arrays to allow five. Tier 3 towers require a Special Use Permit. The arrays, each 14-feet across and supporting six antennas, would be 70 to 80 feet above the existing tree tops. The signal would have a 15- kilometer range, a little more than 9 miles. Shentel needs its antennas to be at least 135 feet in the air. The additional 10 feet of the pole provides the location for the antennas in Albemarle County Public School’s network. The tower at AHS has four arrays. White Hall District Supervisor Ann Mallek, a regular at CCAC meetings, noted the proposed tower would be the first in the county with five arrays. She dubbed it “a shooting for the moon request.” She and White Hall District Planning Commissioner Jenny More were the only officials to vote against the tower at AHS, which contradicts the county’s tower ordinance. Signal coverage is governed

Lawyer Lori Schweller of the Charlottesville firm LeClairRyan made the presentation to the CCAC on behalf of Milestone.

by the height of the pole—the taller the farther—and having a taller pole cuts down the need for additional poles, Schweller pointed out. Milestone conducted balloon tests of the location on September 21 (with leaves on the trees) and on December 7 (without leaves) to judge how conspicuous the tower would be. A four-foot-wide red balloon was raised to 145 feet. Schweller said the balloon could not be seen from Rt. 250 in the stretch along the high school when the leaves were on the trees. Without the leaves it was visible but not particularly noticeable. Photographs taken from Old Trail showed that the tower was difficult to discern. The lights poles for the football field are 80 to 90 feet tall, she said. The leased area for the ground equipment would enclose 2,500 square feet and have a concrete pad surrounded by gravel. The exact location for the tower was chosen by school officials, who judged it the least intrusive spot. ACPS would get rent from Milestone for providing the location, $20,000 per year for the tower itself and $5,000 per year from each carrier that used an array, amounting to $40,000 per year, said Schweller. The money would go to the school division’s general fund and not to Crozet-area schools exclusively. The lease period would

be 30 years. Hernandez said the tower would cost roughly $250,000 to construct. If approved, it will be built this summer in six weeks. Federal Communication Commission rules prevent local governments from considering the possible health affects from cell towers when making decisions about approving them. Critics of towers claim they raise the risk of cancer and other illnesses, but so far studies have not found a link and government and industry advocates say the radiation levels emitted by towers are below safely allowable limits. Neighbors from Savannah Court spoke at the meeting but did not raise strong objections.

Scott Hilles said, “We’re OK. It’s progress.” Thomas Jackson, a student at Western, raised cautions about erosion caused by construction. CCAC member Tom Loach said he would rather the tower was at the lowest height possible and Kostis Alibertis commented, “If it was on private property we would be raising holy hell. This plan leverages the kids and that is hard to argue against.” The proposal goes before the Planning Commission on February 20. Video of this and other monthly CCAC meetings are available at crozetgazette.com and on the Crozet Gazette YouTube channel.

Shentel’s current cell service coverage area is shown in green. The proposed tower would serve the area south of the site, below the red arrow.

CROZETgazette

JANUARY 2018

Looking to Buy or Sell in Crozet? Give Rod a Call!

UNDER CONTRACT

7130 Hampstead Drive

5967 Jarmans Gap Road

Tony, Carol, Nana (sitting), Darcy, and Chris Alimenti in 2012. Photo: www. carolalimenti.com

Cancer

—continued from page 9

studying English at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond. Editing the book was cathartic for the family, binding them together more closely. Peppered throughout with inspiring quotations—some biblical and others literary— this book is a testament to the

indomitable power of the human spirit to rise above death and disease. “Life was not meant to be easy,” counseled George Bernard Shaw, “but take courage: it can be delightful.” This book will move you to tears, as you listen to a voice from beyond the grave celebrating life, family, and faith. To learn more about Carol, visit www. carolalimenti.com.

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CROZETgazette

JANUARY 2018

Crozet

Weather Almanac

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Skeptics are Welcome Broken Lives are Mended Jesus Christ

is the Message

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By Heidi Sonen & Roscoe Shaw | weather@crozetgazette.com

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Historic Cold Settles Over Virginia On the very first morning of 2018, bitter cold gripped much of the United States. 98% of the country was below freezing, with 33% below zero degrees. Only Hawaii, southern Florida, and parts of the desert Southwest were spared. We had a low of 8 degrees at our house. This comes after what was a rather mild 2017 in Crozet. Much of December was mild, too, until a cold wind blew in on Christmas day. So how does this cold snap stack up against the record books? We looked at ten-day periods back to the year 1900 to find the coldest of the cold snaps.

January 21, 1994 16.8 January 18, 1982 16.9 January 13, 1912 17.7 December 25, 1989 17.9 February 18, 1979 18.1 February 4, 1918 19.3 December 29, 1935 19.9 December 17, 1917 20.1 January 28, 1961 20.4 January 19, 1977 20.4 February 24, 2015 20.5 January 3, 1900 20.8 February 18, 1958 20.8 January 13, 1981 20.8 January 7, 2018 21.1 The coldest ever was the period January 12-21, 1994

with a ten-day average temperature of just 16.8 degrees. This cold snap, by comparison, has been 21.1 degrees, good enough for 15th place in 117 years of records. Another way to look at it is that we get this cold about once every eight years. Yet another way to think about it is that it is warmer 99.7% of the time than it has been since Christmas. All of these bitter cold snaps happened between mid December and mid February. We were even colder three years ago in February 2015. Despite the wicked cold, no snow has fallen. The only snow so far this year was a wet three inches on December 9. Snowfall in central Virginia depends on a combination of factors coming together and cold is just one part of it. Usually, when we are extremely cold, the air is too dry to produce significant snow. 2017 Recap By contrast, 2017 was a very warm year for us. Temperatures averaged 1.5 degrees above the long-term average. Fortunately summer wasn’t bad. Most of the warmer-than-normal weather was in February, April, and October. We measured 38.73 inches of rain, which was significantly below the average of 46.

CROZETgazette

JANUARY 2018

By Phil James

phil@crozetgazette.com

Eighteen Seventy-Six: Crozet Claudius Crozet (1789– 1864) passed back and forth through our environs many times between 1839 (when he surveyed a route for trains to pierce the Blue Ridge Mountains) and his Civil Warperiod death at the home of his daughter near Richmond. In March 1865, US General George A. Custer, after laying waste to industries, farms and croplands in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley, plundered his way through this area while destroying much of the Virginia Central Railroad works of Colonel Crozet. The Miller Manual Labor School of Albemarle was established as an entity in February 1874 by an act of the Virginia General Assembly. Newspapers throughout the state had carried news of the continuing legal maneuvers over the late Samuel Miller’s (1792–1869) million-dollar estate and his directives for the endowment of a school to be established near Batesville that would teach manual trades to Albemarle County’s white orphans. A year later in 1875, authorities of the school advertised for proposals from architects to design the institution’s first building to include housing and teaching facilities for students and faculty.

In July 1876, Charlottesville Judge John L. Cochran, Chairman of the Building Committee, sought sealed bids from contractors and builders capable of erecting a building with “a front of about 228’ with side-wings about 150’ long, three stories high including basement, and to have a Mansard roof; to be supplied with water and gas, and heated by steam or hot water.” At the end of August, a contract was awarded to Richmond builder Thomas Woodroff. Higherthan-anticipated bids led architect A. Lybrock to adopt a modest scaling back of the depth of the facility’s two wings. Existing C&O train depots at Mechum’s River and Greenwood anticipated the potential for freight and business passenger traffic that such a colossal enterprise would create. Miller School officials, too, considered the pros and cons of those logistics. Six miles north of the planned building site, farmers along the rail line in the neighborhood of Wayland’s Crossing prepared a petition to establish a rail stop, calculating that what might be more convenient for the school would also be good for their bottom lines. Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad Vice-President Williams C. Wickham (1820 - 1888)

When Crozet was named in 1876, the 37-star U.S. flag (1867–1877) was still in effect. [Design by Phil James Historical Images]

Nothing!

The Virginia Central Railroad’s “J.H. Timberlake” locomotive began service in 1855, the same year that VCR’s passenger service extended west of Staunton. Smoke and steam from passing engines such as this one heralded a new era for pastoral regions like western Albemarle. [Courtesy Phil James Historical Images]

responded to the matter in June 1876 by meeting trackside with that small group of progressive farmers and landowners. He announced that, yes, their request would be honored by the railroad, but that the future depot’s designation would not be known as Farmers, as they had requested, but, instead, the “name will be Crozet or nothing.” Abram Wayland’s son Charles Lee (1861–1953), who had carried the local petition by horseback to landowners in the region, confirmed that historic

meeting to Claudius Crozet’s biographer Col. William Couper of Virginia Military Institute in 1935. On April 15, 1877, a landmark Chesapeake & Ohio RR order was issued, known as “General Order, No. 4. — A regular Freight Station, and a Flag Station for Passengers for Trains Nos. 1 and 2, to be known as CROZET, has been established at 110 Mile Post, with Mr. A. Wayland, as agent.” Land for the depot was purcontinued on page 18

This page header for the month of April in “The (Old) Farmer’s Almanack” of 1877 was current when the C&O Railroad established its rail station named CROZET, VA. [Courtesy Phil James Historical Images]

CROZETgazette

JANUARY 2018

1876

—continued from page 17

chased in May of that year, and Crozet, Virginia, was on the map! In January 1878, Abram Wayland, in addition to being the C&O station agent, was appointed as Crozet’s first postmaster. C.E. May opened Crozet’s first store business that year. Miller School’s first Superintendent, Prof. Charles E. Vawter, was joined by Virginia’s Governor and his Superintendent of Education for the August ’78 dedication of one of the grandest projects in Albemarle County history. That fall, the lifelong dream of Samuel Miller was realized when the first students began classes in the finest industrial school in the South. The federal census of 1880 in and around the Crozet area made note of an increasing number of residents and occupations in addition to farm laborers and housekeepers. There were blacksmiths, brick makers, carpenters, merchants, millers, manganese mineworkers, nurserymen, railroad workers, a shoemaker, a steam mill sawyer, store clerks, telegraph operators, and wagon drivers. Building materials and school furnishings were off-loaded in Crozet, a new phenomenon

that became commonplace as additional buildings at the school were erected and furnished for its increasing enrollment. Wear and tear on the primitive dirt (and mud) road between Crozet and Miller School was remediated in 1881 when the school funded the laying of the first macadam road in this region of Virginia. The good road, in turn, directed even more business and prosperity to Crozet. Farmers, fruit and ornamental tree nurseries, and other producers of goods south of the railroad routed their freight deliveries to Crozet to take advantage of the more surefooted road surface. Entrepreneurial housekeepers in the Crozet area joined into the

The establishment and construction of Miller Manual Labor School near Batesville was the primary factor for the placing of a Freight Station and passenger Flag Station named CROZET on the Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad. [Courtesy Phil James Historical Images]

Green Peyton’s Albemarle County map published in 1875 included names of some of western Albemarle’s principal farmers who had a vested interest in the establishment of a new station on the Chesapeake & Ohio rail line. [Courtesy US Library of Congress]

These well-ordered croplands and orchards of Abram Wayland at Wayland’s Crossing in western Albemarle County are a good representation of the nature of things prior to the founding of Miller Manual Labor School and the subsequent establishment and growth of Crozet. [Photo courtesy of David Wayland]

hospitality industry with others at nearby Afton, Greenwood, and Mechum’s River depots with the boarding and feeding of business and leisure travelers. Eighteen seventy-six: oh, what a year it was! Nurtured by the railroad, the region prospered, bringing positive returns to early investors and more-varied occupations to its people. The nation celebrated its first hundred years by hosting the Centennial International Exhibition in Philadelphia, PA, recognized as the first World’s Fair in the United States. Alexander Bell’s telephone was demonstrated publicly. Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Tom Sawyer was published, and the areas beyond that writer’s beloved Hannibal, Missouri, were developing their reputation as the wild, wild West. In the eastern Montana Territory, Lieutenant Colonel George Custer may have all too briefly wished that he were back in old Virginia, as the US 7th Cavalry Regiment’s date with destiny loomed at the Battle of Little Big Horn. How the nation was changing even as the Ballard, Early, Gentry, Harris, Jarman, Rothwell, Toombs, Wayland, Woods and other soon-to-be first-families-of-Crozet met trackside with W.C. Wickham that June of 1876!

Follow Secrets of the Blue Ridge on Facebook! Phil James invites contact from those who would share recollections and old photographs of life along the Blue Ridge Mountains of Albemarle County. You may respond to him through his website: www.SecretsoftheBlueRidge.com or at P.O. Box 88, White Hall, VA 22987. Secrets of the Blue Ridge © 2003–2018 Phil James

CROZETgazette

JANUARY 2018

DRY LAND ROWING CLASS February 2 - 16: M, W, F

I tasted my first pasta carbonara in Sicily, though it is actually a Roman dish. The friend we were visiting had studied in Rome and made it when we stayed with him in Catania, Sicily. It’s breathtakingly delicious, calorie-laden, velvety pasta, named ‘carbonara’ (like a coal miner) because of the small pieces of pancetta that resemble chunks of coal. I made it for my cousin Tony once; I thought he was going to weep,

he found it so delicious. I ate it again last year in France, after a 12-mile walk, thus not caring one iota how many calories I would consume. That restaurant served it with a raw egg yolk, still in the shell, nestled in the center of the pasta, for the patron to pour over the pasta just before eating it. This would probably cause a typical American to faint. I loved it! I dare you to try it!

Pasta Carbonara 1 lb thin spaghetti ½ pound pancetta or bacon, cut into small cubes

3 beaten eggs, plus an extra egg yolk per person, if you are adventurous 1 cup grated Romano cheese

Put a large kettle of salted water on to boil. In a heavy skillet, fry the pancetta or bacon until crispy. Remove from heat.

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Beat the eggs, grate the cheese, add spaghetti to the boiling water. When the pasta is cooked al dente, drain it and quickly add to the skillet of pancetta. Stir to mix. Immediately add the beaten eggs and whisk to coat the pasta without cooking the egg. Next, stir in the cheese. The heat from the pasta melts everything together. When completely combined, plate the pasta and decorate the top with a separated egg yolk, in the shell, nestled atop the pasta. Serve immediately. Serves 4-5. Save the egg whites and the next morning, make yourself a virtuous egg white omelet for breakfast.

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CROZETgazette

JANUARY 2018

dirknies@crozetgazette.com

Making and Keeping New Year’s Resolutions All our actions take their hue from the complexion of the heart, as landscapes their variety from light. - Francis Bacon. “I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year. I will live in the Past, the Present, and the Future. The Spirits of all Three shall strive within me. I will not shut out the lessons that they teach.” “Scrooge was better than his word. He did it all, and infinitely more; and to Tiny Tim, who did not die, he was a second father. He became as good a friend, as good a master, and as good a man, as the good old city knew, or any other good old city, town, or borough, in the good old world.” Scrooge’s New Year’s Resolution was nothing short of life-altering. Each year, my heart is warmed by re-reading the miraculous change wrought overnight by the visitations of the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future told by Charles Dickens in A Christmas Carol. Christmas Eve— Ebenezer Scrooge was a “squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous, old sinner!” Christmas Day— Scrooge had become as “light as a feather, … happy as an angel, … merry as a schoolboy, … giddy as a drunken man.” The arrival of the New Year offers each of us an opportunity to reflect upon our lives; where we have been and where we are headed. The dawning of these twelve months offers a fresh vantage point from which to envision how we wish to live within this annual gift of time. If, upon reflection, we sense the need to make some changes in our lives, how do we go about making achievable New Year’s resolutions? Here are tips drawn from research in human psychology and the social sciences that can guide our efforts and

increase our chances of successful change and growth. The American Psychological Association (APA) offers these insights on how to make New Year’s resolutions stick. Start small. Instead of a singular, overwhelming goal, set small, attainable goals throughout the year. Make resolutions you can envision keeping. Change one behavior at a time. Don’t get overwhelmed by trying to change too many things all at once. Instead, work toward changing one thing at a time. Talk about it. Sharing our struggles and our successes with family and friends makes the journey less daunting. Avoid perfectionism. Expect missteps are going to happen. In the first months of implementing a resolution, research shows that people who ultimately keep their resolutions make as many missteps as those who don’t. The key is to acknowledge our mistakes, get back on track, and move forward. Seek support. Accepting help from others strengthens our resilience and our ability to manage stress caused by change. Major life-altering resolutions may benefit from professional help by those trained to help us walk through painful and complex personal issues. SMART is another useful perspective for formulating and achieving desired change in our lives. Coined years ago by the journal Management Review, the acronym SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-bound) describes formulation of goals that bring about desired results. We all stand a better chance of achieving our New Year’s Resolutions when we bear in mind these SMART guidelines. Specific. Vague resolutions—I want to lose weight— seldom succeed. Specific targets—over the next three months, I will remember to say ‘thank you’ to the clerk in the check-out line—have a higher success rate.

Measureable. Tracking behaviors can reinforce change. Measure and keep a record of progress. Show advancements you have made to friends and reward your intermediary successes. Achievable. Don’t try to accomplish too much too fast. We are likely to become frustrated, and we run the risk of becoming fanatical, alienating family and friends. Tackle small chunks of the overall goal, baby steps that can be accomplished in the near term. Relevant. Resolutions should reflect our core values, what really matters to us. Goals that are about more than just ourselves, over time, often afford a sense of a greater sense of satisfaction and purpose, which in turn, promotes their long-term success. Time-bound. Set an overall time limit, with realistic timeframes to achieve intermediate steps toward the ultimate goal. Keeping New Year’s resolutions is hard work. A University of Scranton study of New Year’s resolutions found, after a twoyear period, fewer than 40 people out of 200 participants deemed themselves successful in reaching their goals. Nevertheless, making a New Year’s resolution can be worthwhile. The same study found that after six months people who made New Year’s resolutions were 10 times more likely to make a positive change compared to people who wanted to change but did not make a specific resolution to do so. This old adage holds a grain of truth: people change either by inspiration or by desperation. In Scrooge’s case, his remarkable transformation was wrought by a powerful confluence of both forces. On that fateful night, he came to regret choices he had made and to dread the direction his life was headed; he saw the good will and merriment he could bring to the world. Most of us will never experience such rapid and dramatic change in the charac-

ter and direction of our lives. But that’s not what really matters. What is important is where we are headed and how we are getting there. Most of us would prefer to be proactive (inspired) rather than reactive (desperate) when it comes to making needed changes in our lives. Here are two proactive New Year’s resolutions I will strive to promote in my life. The first is relational, the second personal. SMART ways to achieve them are as numerous as the number of people who would put them into practice. I offer these two resolutions for your consideration as well as we each embark upon the road of days stretching out before us. Increase reverence. Life is refined and uplifted in the presence of beauty, the sacred and the sublime. Reverential awe— for life; for what is true, pure and beautiful—lives us the proper humility from which to grow and to develop healthy relationships. Reverence lies at the heart of civility, ceremony, and compassion. It is spoken in the language of relationship, sweetened through practicing the arts of hospitality, reciprocity, and care. For Albert Schweitzer, Nobel Prizewinning philosopher and physician, “reverence for life” affords the “fundamental principle of morality.” Cultivate gratefulness. Gratitude is the supreme personal virtue. Cicero, ancient Rome’s great orator, recognized that a thankful heart “is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all other virtues.” At its core, this virtue is deeply felt thankfulness for the gift of life. Regular practice of looking for and acknowledging blessings we receive each day makes gratefulness a habit of the heart. Grounded in the emotion and disposition of gratefulness, all other virtues are nourished and strengthened. Fellow Gazettians, thank you for reading. Best wishes for a happy and healthy New Year!

CROZETgazette

From the Editor —continued from page 3

multi-million dollar water program Action Plan were fully implemented, pollutant loads contributed countywide to the bay would decrease by less than a quarter of one percent! In other words, the proposed program when fully implemented achieves negligible water quality improvement. And improvements would be so small as to be non-measurable in most cases, making review of the program’s effectiveness impossible. The County claims it is seeking a funding structure that is

JANUARY 2018 equitable, stable, simple and feasible. The proposed utility fee fails to meet any of these criteria. If specific projects can be identified, perhaps along Rt. 29 North, that could effectively reduce harmful runoff, these should be handled routinely as County Capital Improvements Projects and stacked up with other public needs. Taxpayer oversight of government expenditures is weakened by the proliferation of fees that are outside the general fund budgeting process. These fees serve to grow local government, in this case with negligible impact on the ostensible goal.

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CROZETgazette

JANUARY 2018

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Downtown Crozet

Survey Results —continued from page 1

that the Crozet area is blessed with a wide range of qualities that make it a great place to live. They point to the area’s physical beauty, its low crime and high sense of safety for families, and the high-quality schools. But locals also understand that what makes Crozet so special is not by happenstance; it is a product of thoughtful planning and hard work on the part of all community members. We are a very engaged community, and we ensure there are deliberate, inclusive channels that invite all in the area to help shape Crozet’s future. This is the principal purpose of the 2017 Crozet Community Survey—to allow local residents to be heard and have input into the upcoming revision of the Crozet Master Plan. In this piece, we will share the main findings of the survey. In the coming months the survey committee will hold several public events where we will dig deeper into these numbers and discuss their meaning vis-à-vis the Master Plan. How was the survey conducted? This last summer the Crozet Community Association (CCA) sponsored the second comprehensive survey of those living in and around Crozet, under the direction of a small volunteer survey committee (the first survey was conducted in 2009). The 2017 survey was split up into two methods—a scientific sample and a volunteer sample. The scientific sample represented a fine-tuning of the 2009 survey in that the survey was distributed by mail to a random selection of households inside the Crozet growth area, as well

as to a smaller sample of households in areas adjacent to the growth area. This method reached all corners and sectors of the community. In technical speak, the 2017 scientific sample followed a strict protocol, including mailed-out reminders, that ensured the community members invited to participate would be representative of the community as a whole. The volunteer sample, in comparison, consisted of those who were not singled out to participate but filled out and returned questionnaires on their own initiative. A comparison of the results of the two surveys finds that, for the most part, answers were quite similar. This is encouraging; it boosts the validity of the scientific survey. However, what did vary more was the composition of who took the volunteered survey. Specifically, we found in the volunteer sample a higher percentage of women and those who are civically engaged. This is not surprising, but it was different enough that we concluded that the samples should be kept separate. For reporting purposes, we will be concentrating on the scientific sample of the 2017 survey. (Both sets of results will be available on-line) Who took the survey? In total, for the scientific sample there were 701 questionnaires returned, yielding a statistical margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points on the survey results. The gender breakdown was 55% female/45% male (a fair approximation of the actual population). More than half of the sample (55%) have lived in the Crozet area for 10 years or less, with one-third living here five years or less. We purposely drew most of the sample from within continued on page 24

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JANUARY 2018

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CROZETgazette

JANUARY 2018

VDOT

Third Thursday at The Lodge at Old Trail 5:30pm pm 18 january • 5:30 Natural Public Lands of Virginia with Ben Greenberg

The Crozet Avenue Streetscape project was completed in 2015.

Join us as we kick-off another year of Third Thursday’s at The Lodge. Our first presenter will be Ben Greenberg, well-known Virginia landscape photographer and author of Natural Virginia. Ben will be presenting his remarkable color photographs of the state’s natural public treasures, ranging from the Potomac River to the state’s southern border and from the Eastern Shore and the Chesapeake Bay to the Blue Ridge

Survey Results —continued from page 22

and Alleghany mountains. You’ll experience the beauty of our state’s national parks, national forests and wildlife refuges, as well as state and local parks and natural preserves. Ben’s passion for photographing the beauty of the natural world will not only captivate you, but help you understand the need to preserve that natural beauty forever. Make your plans today for this magnificent and enriching journey across Virginia.

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the designated growth area of Crozet, so about 7-in-10 of the scientific sample live in the growth area, leaving about 30% residing in surrounding areas such as Greenwood, Batesville, Ivy, and White Hall. Finally, 35% of the sample reported that they currently have at least one child in the local public schools. General impressions The survey started by asking respondents a series of general questions about what they most appreciate about the Crozet area. Large majorities of residents consistently cited a number of attributes: low crime, the area’s beautiful surroundings, being family-friendly, and the ease of getting around (versus regularly stuck in traffic). All of these give Crozet that “small town feel” that so many of the survey respondents appreciate. Also registering very strongly with people is having a vibrant library and downtown. Many also feel the numerous local wineries and breweries give the area a positive identity. High level of engagement Beyond physical and infrastructural traits, the survey found that an overwhelming majority of local residents praise the area’s community-mindedness; 95% say it is important to them that Crozet has “thoughtful town planning.” The area also enjoys robust public engagement. Three-quarters of those in and around Crozet report that they either “very closely” or “somewhat closely”

follow local civic and growth/ development issues. Moreover, about 30% say they regularly participate in local community or civic organizations, and another 50% say they take part, but not regularly. That’s an impressive 8-in-10 rate of engagement—a level that would be the envy of most other communities. The 2017 survey did find that just 15% in the area say they were involved in the Crozet Master Plan process in either 2004 or 2010—for example, going to a meeting, taking the 2009 survey, or talking to elected officials. This modest level is somewhat explained by the fact that a sizable proportion of current residents (27%) say they didn’t live here then. This underscores the imperative of revisiting the Master Plan soon, since we have so many in the community presently who did not have input in the last one. Downtown Crozet as the Hub Local residents could not be more in agreement that downtown Crozet is and should be the centerpiece of the area’s economic and communal development. A nearly unanimous consensus (94%) strongly agree that the Master Plan should preserve the central vision of having downtown be the main center for social and business activities. In addition, 80% share a belief that downtown should be the top priority for development over other parts of the area. Wariness about 250 While there is little disagree-

continued on page 29

CROZETgazette

JANUARY 2018

Crozet Community Survey Scientific Results Q1 and Q3. Crozet has often been said to have a “small town feel.” For each of the following aspects, please rate how important each is to you using this scale: 1 = very important 2 = somewhat important 3 = not very important 4 = not important at all (this scale was used for all questions in this format) % very important

% somewhat important

% not very important

% not important at all

Safety/low crime

Plentiful open/green space

Parks and recreation spaces

A vibrant local library

A vibrant downtown

Tree-lined streets

Mix of places to live, work, do business in downtown area

Ease of getting around by car

Convenience to retail/shopping

Limiting new residential development

Many community events

Ability to work in Crozet

Q2 and Q4. There are many reasons why someone lives in Crozet. For each of the possible reasons listed below, please rate how important each is for you. % very important

% somewhat important

% not very important

% not important at all

Overall quality of life in the area

Safety of the area

Physical beauty of the landscape

Thoughtful town planning

Quality of the schools

Ease of getting around by car

Availability of farms or land in general

Availability of culture and arts

Presence of friends, family, loved ones

Convenience of your commute

For a job in the area

Area’s tax rates

Retirement

You grew up in the area

Q5. How closely do you follow local civic and growth/development issues in Crozet? very closely: 19%

somewhat closely: 56%

not very closely: 22%

not closely at all: 3%

Q6. Do you live within the Crozet Growth area (Crozet development area)? [Please refer to the map] yes: 69%

no: 30%

not sure: 1%

Q7. Below are some issues the Crozet Master Plan addresses. Let’s first talk about development issues facing Crozet. For each of the below, please indicate how important each one is to you. 1 = very important 2 = somewhat important 3 = not very important 4 = not important at all % very important

% somewhat important

% not very important

% not important at all

Supporting existing small businesses in Crozet

Ensuring that downtown Crozet is a quality commercial center with a diversity of businesses and services

Increasing the amount and ease of parking in the downtown area

Creating a local recycling center

Increasing commercial development along Route 250

continued on page 26

CROZETgazette

JANUARY 2018

Q8. The Crozet Master Plan states that Route 250 from the Fox Chase subdivision to near the Pro Re Nata Brewery should stay as it isâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;that is, largely protected from more residential and commercial development. Some people say the Master plan should be changed to allow for more residential and commercial development. [Please check the GOLD area on the map (labeled 250 West Area)] Which of the two statements below is closer to your own view? Check one. 69%

Route 250 from the Fox Chase subdivision to the Pro Re Nata Brewery should continue to be protected from further residential and commercial development

31%

Route 250 is a good area for more residential and commercial development

Q9. Do you favor or oppose having the Crozet Master Planâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s current development area boundaries expanded, thereby creating more and new areas in the Crozet area available for residential and/or commercial development? [Current development area boundary shown in RED on map] strongly favor: 7%

somewhat favor: 19%

somewhat oppose: 29%

strongly oppose: 45%

Q10. Below is a list of growth issues facing Crozet. Please indicate how important each one is to you. % very important

% somewhat important

% not very important

% not important at all

Protecting the water supply

Protecting and buffering existing neighborhoods against new commercial and residential development

Limiting new residential development

Increasing the availability of affordable housing

Increasing the availability of jobs in Crozet

Q11. Do you favor or oppose commercial or industrial development near the Route 250 and I-64 interchange? [Please check the PURPLE area on the map (labeled Interstate Interchange Area)] strongly favor: 15% somewhat favor: 39% somewhat oppose: 19% strongly oppose: 26% Q12. Do you favor or oppose a main principle of the Crozet Master Plan that the downtown area should be the social and business center of Crozet? strongly favor: 60% somewhat favor: 34% somewhat oppose: 4% strongly oppose: 2% Q13. Below is a list of possible transportation needs facing Crozet. Please indicate how important each one is to you. % very important

% somewhat important

% not very important

% not important at all

Increasing pedestrian safety

Greater motorist safety and traffic management

Emphasizing walking as an alternative to using the car (including greenway trails and sidewalks)

Emphasizing biking as an alternative

Connecting streets between neighborhoods

Increasing commuter bus and/or van options

Q14. Do you favor or oppose the principle that the downtown Crozet area should be the top priority for new development? strongly favor: 35% somewhat favor: 45% somewhat oppose: 13% strongly oppose: 7% Q15. Do you favor or oppose additional commercial and residential development along Route 250? strongly favor: 9% somewhat favor: 28% somewhat oppose: 30%

strongly oppose: 33%

Q16. How often do you go to businesses in Downtown Crozet (e.g., The Square, B&B Cleaners, Crozet Market/GreatValu shopping center, Crozet Pizza, Piedmont Place)? daily: 11% several times a week: 42% weekly: 22% several times a month: 15% less frequently than once a month: 8% never: 1% Q17. How often do you go to businesses in the shopping area along Route 250 that includes Harris Teeter, UVA Credit Union, UVA Family Medicine, ABC store, Verizon Wireless, et al.? daily: 4% several times a week: 37% weekly: 34% several times a month: 18% less frequently than once a month: 6% Q18. How often do you go to businesses in Waynesboro? daily: 0% several times a week: 6% weekly: 19%

several times a month: 24%

Q19. How often do you go to businesses in the Charlottesville area? daily: 11% several times a week: 32% weekly: 26% several times a month: 24%

never: 1%

less frequently than once a month: 41% never: 9% less frequently than once a month: 6%

never: 1%

Q20. Now thinking about the types of stores and services that may come to Downtown Crozet in the future, please indicate for each of the following, how important it is to you? % very important

% somewhat important

% not very important

% not important at all

More restaurants and bars

More retail stores

More professional services

More employers offering professional/ technical jobs

More lodging/hotel

CROZETgazette

JANUARY 2018

Q21. And from the list below, please indicate how important it is that new jobs in each of the following industries come to the Crozet area? % very important

% somewhat important

% not very important

% not important at all

Office/Professional (such as Business and Financial Services)

Retail

High-tech (such as BioScience and Medical Devices)

Manufacturing/light industrial (such as 14 Information Technology, Defense, Security, and Agri-business Related Technology)

Q22. Below is a list of recreational opportunities that could be created or enhanced in Crozet. For each, please indicate how important it is to you. % very important

% somewhat important

% not very important

% not important at all

Greenways and walking trails

Natural areas and open spaces for walking, sitting, quiet activities

Park space for organized youth sports activities

Outdoor event and performance space

Albemarle County park at Old Trail

Q23. Which of the following local events did you attend in the last 12 months? Number given is the percent of respondents who marked that they had attended the event listed. 69% Crozet Farmer’s Market

11% The Lodge at Old Trail’s Third Thursday events

60% Crozet Arts & Crafts Festival

11% Crozet Car Show

52% Crozet Independence Day Parade and Celebration

9% Crozet Trails Crew Fun Run

50% Crozet Library events/storytime

41% Athletic Events – SOCA, YMCA, WAHS, Peachtree, etc.

7% Old Trail Movie Night

31% Local cultural events – WAHS plays, Crozet Community Orchestra or Chorus, etc.

6% Old Trail Summer Movie Series

6% Misty Mountain Music Festival

26% Crozet Christmas Parade

3% Annual Pitch-In at the Park

15% Old Trail Friday’s After Six

3% Third Thursday Depot Acoustic Jam Session

9% Crozet Spirit Walk and Fall Festival

Q24. Below are some phrases. For each, please indicate how much you feel it describes Crozet, using a 1 to 5 scale, where 5 means it very much describes Crozet, while a 1 means it doesn’t describe Crozet much at all. Number reported is the mean rating given by respondents. 4.6 4.3

Mountain views

3.9

Wineries

3.8

Rural area

3.3

Agricultural/gardens

Good schools

3.9

Rich history

3.5

Parks and green space

3.1

Local arts and culture

3.8

Locally-owned restaurants

3.4

3.0

Walkability

3.8

Locally-owned businesses

Local recreational facilities & opportunitites

2.8

Bike-friendly

3.3

Active railroad

4.2

Family-friendly

4.0

Community-minded

4.0

Breweries

continued on page 28

CROZETgazette

JANUARY 2018

Q25. Below is a list of education issues in Crozet. Please indicate how important each is to you. % very important

% somewhat important

% not very important

% not important at all

Increasing local school capacity by building schools

Managing local school capacity by re-districting

Q26. Please share any other comments or thoughts you’d like to make about Crozet or the Crozet Master Plan and/or its revision. Individual responses will be published at a later date. Q27. How long have you lived in Crozet? 0-2 years: 16%

3-5 years: 16%

6-10 years: 22%

11-20 years: 26%

21 or more years: 17%

All of my life, so far: 3%

INSIDE GROWTH AREA

Q28. Which of the following neighborhoods do you currently live in? The list below first names areas inside of the Crozet growth area and then some areas outside of the growth area. (If your neighborhood isn’t listed, please write in your street name or area name). Number reported is actual number of respondents per neighborhood (from scientific sample only). 10 Bargamin Park Blue Ridge/Carter Street 6 Brookwood 8 Chesterfield Landing 0 Clover Lawn 3 Cory Farms 13 Crozet Crossing 4 Crozet Mobile Village 3 Foothill Crossing 17 Foothill Village 0

Grayrock North 11 Grayrock Orchard 24 Hayden Place 6 Highlands 59 Hilltop/Myrtle/Tabor Street area 4 Jarman Gap Estates 3 Laurel Hills 8 Liberty Hall 3 Meadows 2 Old Trail 95

11 Greenwood 80 Ivy Mint Springs Road 4 Newtown 0 1 Sugar Hollow

OUTSIDE GROWTH AREA

0 Afton Emerald Ridge 7 Batesville Freetown 0 0 Beaver Hill Village 5 Free Union 0 Brownsville Fox Chase 1 10 Church Hill West Hillsboro 1 0 Emerald Forest (Miller School Rd area) 0

Orchard Acres Waylands Grant 15 12 Park View 51 Western Ridge 7 10 Parkside Village Westhall 22 4 Railroad Avenue 1 West Lake Hills 1 Rea Subdivision (btwn Haden & Killdeer) 2 Weston St George Avenue/McAllister area White Oaks 9 5 0 St. George Acres Wickham Pond 17 Three Notch’d Road area Other area INSIDE the 5 37 Union Mission Rd/Starr Hill Brewery area Growth Area 0 Wayland Park 1 Thurston Drive area 4 White Hall 22 Yancey Mills 3 Other area OUTSIDE 55 the Growth Area

Q29. Where do you most often work or go to school? In or near Crozet: 16%

In or near Charlottesville: 46%

In or near Scottsville: 0%

In or near Waynesboro: 2%

In or near Staunton: 1%

Somewhere else: 9%

Not working or going to school right now (Skip to Q31 below): 4% Retired (Skip to Q31 below): 22% Q30. How far do you usually travel to go to work or school? 0-5 miles: 21% 6-10 miles: 15% 11-20 miles: 48%

21-30 miles: 7%

greater than 30 miles: 9%

Q31. Are you a: (please check all that apply) Crozet resident: 77.2% Local business owner in Crozet: 5% Employee/non-owner of a Crozet business: 3%

Property owner in Crozet: 50% None of the above: 17%

Q32. Were you involved in public participation for the Crozet Master Plan in either 2004 or 2010? For example, going to a meeting, taking the 2009 survey, talking to elected officials. Yes: 15%

No: 54%

Did not live here then: 28%

Not sure / Don’t know: 3%

Q33. Please check the number of household members, including yourself, in each age category, that live in your home. 0

0 to 5 years old

54%

29%

14%

6 to 12 years old

39%

37%

21%

13 to 18 years old

44%

36%

19 to 21 years old

66%

22 to 30 years old

71%

31 to 50 years old

19%

25%

56%

51 to 70 years old

18%

35%

47%

17%

71 to 80 years old

61%

22%

17%

28%

81 or older

78%

16%

21%

Q34. What is your gender?

Male: 45%

Female: 55%

Q35. What is your marital status? Single, never married: 6%

Married or domestic partnership: 76%

Q36. Do you have children in the local public schools?

Yes: 35%

Widowed: 5%

Divorced: 12%

Separated: 1%

No: 65%

Q37. What is the highest level of formal education you have completed? Completed some high school: 0%

High school graduate or equivalent (e.g. GED): 3%

Completed some college: 5%

Trade/technical/vocational training: 1%

Associate degree: 5%

Completed some post-graduate: 9%

Master’s degree: 28%

Ph.D., law or medical degree: 17%

Bachelor’s degree: 30%

Other advanced degree beyond a Master’s degree: 2%

Q38. Do you own or rent your current home? Own my current home: 92%

Rent my current home: 7%

Living with someone who owns the home: 1%

Living with someone who rents the home: 0%

Q39. Are you currently participating regularly in any local community or civic organizations? Yes: 29%

No: 51%

I particiate, but not regularly: 19%

Don’t know / Not sure: 1%

CROZETgazette

Survey

—continued from page 24

ment that downtown Crozet should be revitalized, there is a high level of concern about further development along Route 250. The 2017 survey asked a number of questions on the topic. One question finds that two-thirds of the community think that increasing commercial development along Rt. 250 is either “not very important” or “not important at all.” Another question asked specifically about further development in the main stretch of Rt. 250 from Blue Ridge Supply to Pro Re Nata, and 70% were opposed. The public is more conflicted about the area near the Rt. 250/ I-64 interchange. When asked about whether the Crozet Master Plan should be changed to allow more residential and commercial development near the interchange, 55% back the idea of changing the plan, while 45% are against it. The downside of development Many in Crozet welcome the progress of the area and the many new opportunities available to residents and businesses. However, they also recognize that the area is suffering from some growing pains. A very large majority of locals want to buffer existing residential com-

JANUARY 2018 munities from further development and to limit growth in general. And close to three-quarters (73%) oppose the idea of expanding the current development area’s boundaries. The survey finds that many in Crozet feel it is important to address traffic management in the area and the inadequacy of parking spots in commercial areas (particularly downtown). There is also a widespread sentiment that they area is not very pedestrian- or bike-friendly. Also, with more and more people moving to the area, it is broadly agreed that the local schools are dealing with serious capacity issues. Next steps The survey committee will continue to analyze the survey data more deeply and share findings at a series of public meetings in the first few months 2017_Layout 1 2/27/17 ofCrozGaz_March 2018. We invite all community members to attend and share their own thoughts helping to inform the next steps we take toward an updated Master Plan for the Crozet area. The dates and times of the public meetings will be announced soon. Shawn Bird and Tom Guterbock, experts in survey research methods and interpretation, and both Crozet residents, provided technical assistance on the 2017 Crozet Community Survey.

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CROZETgazette

JANUARY 2018

by John Andersen

john@crozetgazette.com

Keep It Simple, Stupid

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The KISS principle (keep it simple, stupid) states that most systems work best if they are kept simple rather than made complicated; therefore simplicity should be a key goal in design and unnecessary complexity should be avoided – Wikipedia Now more than ever, people are making getting into shape a far-too-complex undertaking. Between the explosion of social media information sharing, new “studies” that are constantly trying to show us the best way to add a few more days to our lives, and a million and one products to make you better, stronger, faster, and thinner, it can be difficult to find your way through all the muck! Someone who is motivated to get in shape and starts doing a little research on the topic may soon be convinced that they need special shoes, socks of a particular fabric, a special and painfully restrictive diet, just the right GPS watch/fitbit with all the latest features, a coach, the perfect smoothie recipe, and a crazy-detailed training program that has you scheduled for the next six months. With all of this special stuff, you hardly even have to exercise! Ask most long-time veterans of endurance sports or exercise their opinion on how to get in shape however, and they will likely answer more simply—“Just run.” “Get outside every day.” Or, “keep it simple, stupid!” I love the KISS principle and find it so very important to reflect on here in 2018. Not because you’re stupid, but more because we 21st century humans are overthinking things to the point of unnecessary and unproductive complexity. I have been guilty many times of being “stupid” and overly complicating a training plan, diet routine,

or injury. I am now convinced that keeping it simple works! When you are faced with information overload about getting back to fitness, I recommend opening up the “Journal of Common Sense” and asking yourself if what you are planning 1) is reasonable, 2) is practical, and 3) is sustainable. Here are some humble suggestions I offer you if you are motivated to get into shape in 2018, each with its own “overly complicated” plan, and then a “keep it simple, stupid” plan. Lose extra weight I don’t mean to offend anyone, and I realize that this is a sensitive topic. But let’s be real: extra weight can not only become its own health issue, but it also makes exercising much more difficult. It’s also important to note that being thin does not necessarily mean being healthy or fit. We should all strive to be a “healthy weight”—not too thin, and not too heavy—and living an active, fit lifestyle. Another misconception is that simply adding exercise to one’s current lifestyle will cause weight loss. Exercise certainly doesn’t hurt, but it takes a change in the way you are eating to cause significant and lasting weight loss. Let’s overly complicate this: There are a ton of “special” diets out there: celebrity diets, diets that include only smoothies, diets that eliminate all meats, diets that eliminate almost all carbs, raw food diets. There are also weight loss supplements, jiggle machines, colon cleanses. Do as many of these as you can and continuously switch between them! Keep it simple, stupid: Make an honest accounting of everything you eat over a typical

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JANUARY 2018

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week—most people never take the time to do this. Study it, and find out where you can make healthy changes. Stop drinking soda and juice. Avoid sugar and foods with added sugar (this is hard!). Eat more whole, real foods. Eat reasonable portions. Avoid fast food and eating out. Avoid desserts. If you don’t make changes, nothing will change. If you are at a loss, seek professional help from a dietitian or long-standing programs like WeightWatchers®. Fix and address problems A swollen knee. Chronic lower back pain. Recent foot pain. If you have some significant, long-standing orthopedic or health issues, it’s best to address these things at the beginning of a new fitness program, versus trying to force exercise on top of these problems, which predictably can make them worse and derail your entire year. Let’s overly complicate this: Jump on the latest fad or cureall supplement or diet, take advice from your friends with no medical background, crosstrain like crazy and create new imbalances that weren’t even there before as you try to avoid using the problem area! Keep it simple, stupid: Get professional help. Ask around your active friends who they recommend as a sports-specific doctor. The U.Va. Runner’s Clinic is a great start (even for non-running injuries). Also, most physical therapists are a fantastic resource to get your body back to balanced, strong function, and they probably have their own recommendations for good doctors. If you’ve gone the route of doctors and physical therapists and are still having problems, continue to seek other alternative ideas and therapies, but always ask yourself, “Does this make sense?” Set a schedule

In our ever-busier schedules, it is crucial to have some prearranged time that you give yourself for exercise. If momma can’t take care of herself and keep herself healthy, how well will she be able to take care of the kids? Let’s overly complicate this: Assume your personal schedule is the least important one in your home and try to schedule your “selfish exercise time” around everyone else. Have no set schedule or time, and be sure to never give yourself enough time to eat, shower, and change after you’ve exercised. Give yourself small blocks of time, like 20 minutes, where you really can’t get anything significant done! Keep it simple, stupid: Your health is very important! And if you are a parent, your personal health is very important to the successful running of your family! Without guilt, set aside consistent blocks of time, try for five 1-hour blocks of time every week. You need at least an hour and don’t be afraid to give yourself more. Wake up early if you need to. Try to keep your wake-up times consistent if possible. Take it easy and keep it fun/ interesting Much of your exercise should be enjoyable and at lower intensity, i.e. walking, easy running, easy cycling, etc. Getting your heart rate up in a class or workout is great, but that should be balanced with some proper “aerobic” exercise on other days, where we are using more of our aerobic energy pathway (which is happening mostly when we are exercising at lower intensities). Mostly, your fitness routine should be mentally sustainable! Let’s overly complicate this: Plan out every minute of exercise for your entire month—no continued on page 37

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A Literal Language Laughingstock or Another Lost Cause for Language (You Choose) by Clover Carroll | clover@crozetgazette.com

“I ate so much Christmas dinner, I literally exploded!” she groaned. Oh, really? And did her organs splatter all over the walls? Coming in from outside she announced, “I can’t take a walk—the snow is literally blinding, and it’s so cold I’m literally frozen to death!” But hey, I guess if she were dead, her inability to see no longer bothered her. “We were housebound for so long,” she proclaimed a few days later, “I was literally climbing the walls!” Well, I guess we’ve found the new Spider Woman! What this speaker actually meant was that it felt like she might explode, that the extreme brightness of the snow hurt her eyes, and that s/he might have frozen to death if s/he had stayed out in the cold for another week or so. And after being snowbound, she was so antsy that she felt like climbing the walls—but she surely did not, as her use of “literally” implies, actually do any of these! The misunderstanding and abuse of the word “literally” has gotten completely out of hand—and is now, as noted by the Boston Globe, literally the most misused word in English! People forget that “literally” is defined as “in actual fact, in a strict sense, exactly.” When used correctly, this adverb lets others know we’re serious and are describing our situation accurately, not exaggerating or being metaphorical. When we misuse “literally” as a throwaway inten-

sifier to emphasize the extreme nature of a situation, we instead sound ignorant and confused. “I am literally going crazy” should only be used to explain that I am in therapy and ready to check into an institution. The word the speaker should have used in these examples is literally’s opposite—namely, “figuratively,” which means to use a figure of speech, such as a metaphor or symbol. When I say, “at 11:00 I turn into a pumpkin,” I am speaking figuratively—not, I hope, literally! I’m using a metaphor for shutting down, becoming inactive like a pumpkin, and perhaps growing surly. A literal translation of “cul de sac” is “bottom of the bag,” but we use it figuratively to refer to a dead-end street. The misuse of the word “literally” in casual conversation is forgivable, but in published writing it is truly offensive. “They’re going to create literally a tidal wave of data,” declared a Washington Post article. I hope you’re ready to get wet! When we think them through, these blunders become truly absurd. “I’m so hungry, I could literally eat a house!” Might be crunchy! “I was literally starving to death.” Well, your clothes still fit pretty well, considering. “I’ve been waiting on hold for literally a year!” Really? Can you still pay your utility bills? “I literally died laughing!” Really? I didn’t believe in ghosts until now. Of course, there are correct ways of using literally. “She was literally soaked to the skin” is simply a statement of fact about

someone who has walked through the rain without an umbrella, emphasizing her discomfort. “The city of Detroit literally went bankrupt.” Yup— the city government did, in actual fact, declare bankruptcy. If you aren’t sure whether you are using literally correctly, simply ask yourself whether what you’re describing actually happened in physical reality, or only in your imagination. And if it didn’t, try rephrasing your sentence using a different intensifier, such as ‘absolutely,’ ‘definitely,’ or ‘unquestionably’: “she was absolutely frozen solid.” The character of Chris Traeger, played by Rob Lowe on the TV sitcom Parks and Rec, highlights the embarrassing ignorance conveyed by this language pitfall by using it often to great comic effect. “This is literally the best thing I’ve ever eaten,” he declares as he downs a cheap burger. Once you master the meaning of these two terms, you can show off by using them both together. If you and a group of people were sailing in the ocean and an emergency arose, for example, you might say, “I guess we’re all in the same boat—literally and figuratively!” Not only are you actually in the same physical boat with everyone else, but also your situation fits the idiomatic expression meaning you are all facing the same adversity. When a football player twists his knee while trying to prevent a pass interception, a spectator might say “Ouch! And I mean that both literally and figuratively”—literally in that his injury actually causes pain, and figuratively

because the team suffers the metaphorical pain of missing the pass, and ultimately a touchdown. Sadly, this language error has become so prevalent that dictionaries have accepted it as a secondary or informal definition for “literally.” Merriam-Webster online lists as its second definition, “in effect: virtually,” and Google adds to its list of definitions, “informal: used for emphasis or to express strong feeling while not being literally true.” In other words, over time “literally” has come to mean its opposite! “People are using it in a way that is different than its original meaning,” comments David Haglund of Slate on NPR, implying that the correct reaction is tolerance. “These things change, and we don’t have that much control over them.” Or do we? We can certainly choose to use such words correctly ourselves. “Literally every modern dictionary includes this definition,” states Merriam-Webster, adding, “there is… a strong impulse among lexicographers to catalog the language as it is used…. As lexicographers we are in the business of defining language, rather than judging it.” Bah, humbug! Thank goodness I’m not a lexicographer; I can still defend our beautiful language as it should be used, and avoid confusing illiteracies. To me this is simply more proof that the English language is literally going to hell in a hen basket* (sic).... can you feel the flames? *see crozetgazette. com/2017/04/07/a-rain-of-terror-for-language-lovers.

CROZETgazette

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Deeper Look —continued from page 13

Healing and Courage in Public Life Gene Locke was a young Presbyterian minister when the tragic death of two children in his congregation led him to take a different path in his profession. “The impact of these deaths was so enormous, and the family’s heartbreak so painful, that I wanted to learn how best to help,” he said. Locke undertook the lengthy training to become a hospital chaplain and over the years, has worked in Michigan, Wisconsin and Atlanta, taught and supervised other chaplains and maintained a pastoral counseling practice. In a large urban setting, he saw the devastation of the early AIDs epidemic and learned a great deal about how families react in the face of tragedy. “I guess one of the first things I realized was that all family members are not the same in the face of loss,” he said. “Each person experiences a different reality, has his own story, often quite different from other family members.” When Locke retired and moved to Crozet to be near his grandchildren, he applied his understanding of the validity of each person’s individual experience to a new kind of ministry. He’s educated students at U. Va.’s medical school on the place of spirituality in their practice, and has taken and taught courses for OLLI. Like many, he’s been discouraged by the ferocity and nastiness of political debate in this country, and a course he offered at The Lodge at Old Trail–– ”Healing the Heart of

Gene Locke

Democracy”––based on the work of the Quaker writer Parker Palmer, especially touched him as a way forward politically. Like Palmer, Locke believes in the importance of listening and remaining open in the face of heartbreak at the state of national affairs. Both men talk about having hearts “broke open” to find new energy and purpose, and creating safe spaces to discuss ways to promote meaningful change. Using a model proposed by Parker, Locke has offered to facilitate a “circle of trust” for those in the area who would like to support each other in figuring out how to extricate themselves from tribal warfare and engage effectively in public life. By “engaged” Locke does not mean crafting insults to post online to political enemies.” If our idea of ‘discourse’ is angry posts on Facebook, then we’ll lose everything,” he said. Those interested in a non-partisan group discussion on healing democracy are invited to email Locke at lockegene@gmail.com. A Transfer of Power Everyone wants to know what John Alton knows. He’s consulted with U.Va.’s swim team to prevent the many respiratory illnesses that plague each season; he lectures at the University’s School of Nursing; he’s gone to Silicon Valley to make presentations to thousands of Google employees; he has interactions with both U.S. and Chinese government health officials that sometimes baffle him. He’s not a doctor, nor a public health official. His life’s study is of the tools that could transfer to each person the power now held by the medical continued on page 35

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JANUARY 2018

SUBMITTED

Religion News By Theresa Curry theresa@crozetgazette.com

SUBMITTED

In March 1984, three or four people stopped by the new food pantry operated by the Crozet United Methodist Church on its first day. In fact, it was just a handful of Crozet citizens who had inspired the idea in the first place. Polly and Mack Sheets worried about the plight of the men who sat on the wall beside the old drug store in all weather. Through friends, the Sheets had a connection with the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank, also in its infancy, and they did the paperwork to make the church a participating site. The modest turnout didn’t faze the organizers, who had come up with the idea the previous fall. They knew those few people would be the best advertisement for the new project. They were right. Connie Herring, the food program coordinator, said the most recent Monday distribution of perishable food served 87 households, or 218 family members. The weekly program gathers produce and baked goods from two Charlottesville Food Lion stores and offers them to any local families in need. “All they have to do is sign their name,” Herring said. By making the process quick and easy, the pantry can help people who find themselves in a bad situation to feed their families immediately. Diana Pace, who assists Herring in the project, says the

Pantry items ready for pickup.

Monday program supplements the non-perishable pantry items that are offered at the church monthly, through the USDA food distribution program on the third Saturday. The most recent count on this part of the food ministry is 119 families served, or 313 individuals. On Mondays, “We especially like it when we get versatile produce like potatoes, onions and apples,” Pace said, although the volunteers sometimes get an unfamiliar item. “Sometimes our clients know more about what to do with an unusual vegetable than we do,” she said. The two volunteers identified a few of the many situations that prompt people to seek help feeding themselves and their families. Pace said there are many older people, disabled and retired, who are on fixed incomes and cannot rebound from an unexpected expense. Other clients are families, joined unexpectedly by other family members who are down on their luck, and unable to stretch their budget enough to accommodate the extra mouths to feed. “Then, there are the young homeless people, without families,” Herring said. All are served in a way that strives to preserve their dignity: “We distribute only quality items,” she said. Another way they show respect is by offering clients the freedom to choose the food they need, a practice that avoids waste as well as acknowledging the individual tastes and health requirements of each client. And volunteers are working on new countertops to upgrade the pantry’s appearance. Clients also appreciate doing their share to avoid waste: “We ask them to bring re-usable bags, and they do,” Herring said. Any items that have seen better days are picked up by Black Bear Compost which, in turn, delivers compost to nourish the church’s downtown landscape. Volunteers of all ages and church affiliation are welcome to contact the food pantry through the Crozet United Methodist Church website, crozetunitedmethodist.org.

Danny and Marsha Newton volunteer at the food pantry.

St. Paul’s Houses Homeless Women in February Along with dozens of congregations and community groups, St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Ivy will give homeless men and women a warm place to sleep this coming winter through PACEM (People and Congregations Engaged in Ministry). The church provides shelter and parishioners provide a warm evening meal, coffee and breakfast, and help transport cots, linens and people to and from the church. PACEM provided shelter to 218 adults last winter, with an average of 38 men and 9 women

each night from November through March. It falls to St. Paul’s to be the hosts to the women for a week in February, said Gina Thornton of St. Paul’s. This is the fourth year that the church has participated. PACEM statistics tell us a little about who becomes homeless: many are veterans and the largest percentage are the working poor. PACEM staffers help clients to acquire identification they may have lost in order to find work and housing, and they work together with the Salvation Army and Mohr Center to take steps to find a stable housing solution. PACEM is the place of last resort for homeless adults who need overnight shelter in the winter. ST. PAUL’S IVY

Crozet UMC Food Pantry Heads Into 34th Year

St. Paul’s Ivy

CROZETgazette

Deeper Look —continued from page 33

SUBMITTED

establishment, which does great at heroic treatment for specific problems, but not so great at the big picture. His method is far from simple, although it started simply enough. Alton, a long-time and fierce student of East Asian martial arts with multiple black belts, broke his wrist in a bicycle accident, ignored it for too long and re-injured it enough times that it was pronounced unfixable. He spent long months with his arm in a full cast with no improvement. The young Virginia Tech English professor sought and was offered a job in China teaching English and working on language textbooks. Alton, unwilling to accept his life-changing loss of mobility, was determined to see if Chinese medicine could offer something for his useless wrist. One of the reasons he was offered the job was because he was young and healthy, Alton said: “They needed people to be in good health because the air there is so bad.” Accepted into a yearlong study program with Beijing’s foremost master, Alton practiced Qi Gong, plus an arduous routine of breathing, meditation and exercise, following very specific instructions. “I can’t say I had much hope in the routine I was given for

John Alton

JANUARY 2018 my wrist,” he said. And despite his health and youth, he had succumbed to the bad air and had a lung infection. “I felt miserable, the routine was a lot of work and it was boring.” But he had promised to follow instructions exactly and he did. One night about a month in, while meditating and contracting his muscles in a certain way corresponding to his breath, he felt his infection clear as though it had been zapped by lightning passing through his body. Encouraged, he struggled to direct the same kind of energy to his wrist, which eventually also healed. Beijing University—the Harvard of China—was the world’s center for experts in the Chinese tradition. Beijing was also the place to go for advanced Western-style care. Alton was surprised to see that the life-saving procedures and medicines of the West, and the more interior and holistic practices of China had never been integrated: “In fact, you might have to go to two different hospitals if you wanted both,” he said. Since then, Alton’s life’s work has been a search for that integration. He owned and was the chief instructor for the “Three Emperors” studio in Charlottesville from 1990 to 2002 and has written three books, focusing on the healing power of reflective exercise rather than the potential of martial arts to vanquish a foe. He’s had success working with individual clients with intractable disease. One of his most difficult students has been himself, a journey he chronicles in his book, Autonomic Intelligence. He now focuses full time on running his company, Pulsatile International, which offers his books, a special app, and instruction in reflective exercise. For more information on Alton’s work, go to pulsatileinternational.com. Those looking for local classes in Tai Chi can register for Wednesday classes at the Greenwood Community Center through albemarlecounty.org, or Saturday classes at Tabor Presbyterian Church at blueridgetaichi@gmail.com.

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JANUARY 2018

By John Andersen, DVM gazettevet@crozetgazette.com

Are We Kickin’ or Stickin’?

My boss, Dr. Michael Rose, and I can rightfully be accused of sophomoric behavior. Call it a healthy survival tactic in a very difficult profession. We care deeply about our clients, their pets, and their problems, probably more than is good for our own mental health, and we work hard to serve them all. So, we balance this with some good old-fashioned immature behavior, wisecracks, and lots of laughter behind the scenes. Don’t worry, there will be no Matt Lauer stories coming from our hospital; this “therapeutic immaturity” is more inspired by our preteen boys. Fifteen years later, we’re still happily practicing together and (I think) doing a good job. One of our less-than-professional questions we often ask each other is “Are we kickin’ or stickin’?”, referring to when the doctor and the client are faced with a difficult decision of whether to go forward with a procedure, or just “wait and see.” “Are we kickin’ or stickin’” is a football reference. It’s fourth down, the stakes are high, and you’ve got the ball. Are you going to punt the ball? (kickin’), or are you going for it (stickin’). In the medical field, when faced with a difficult decision such as a risky surgical procedure, we can ask ourselves if we’re kickin’? (not doing the procedure, “wait and see” approach) or stickin’ (going forward with the procedure). All joking aside, “are we kickin’ or stickin’” is one of the most common and most difficult discussion points we have with our clients as we decide what our care options are for elderly pets with problems. Most commonly, we are faced with geriatric pets who have either a tumor that needs to be removed, or a bad dental prob-

lem that we need to take care of. Both of these procedures require anesthesia and surgery and when you’re dealing with a 13-year-old dog, “are we kickin’ or are we stickin’” is not an easy question to answer. I’ll reference two classic case examples that we see on a very regular basis. Case 1: Jojo “Jojo” is a 13-year-old Labrador Retriever with a large tumor on his leg. Jojo is full of tumors, mostly benign, all over his body, but there is one in particular on his front leg near his wrist that is quite large, hangs by a stalk, and looks like it’s going to rupture any day. He licks at it a lot, a sign that it probably bothers him. Jojo also has bad arthritis and a heart murmur, but he is otherwise still full of life and energy. So, are we kickin’ or stickin’? Tumor removals on older animals are a common dilemma. On one hand, the vast majority of tumors I see, both benign and malignant, are surgically resectable. There is a problem and I can resolve it by cutting it out. On the other hand, there is always risk when putting an older patient through anesthesia and surgery, and then there is the emotional part that we don’t want to put the older pet through anything painful without a clear guarantee for a cure. The good news is that anesthesia is very safe, even in older patients with lots of problems. Losing animals under anesthesia, when done properly, is very rare now! Y a y !

Additionally, dogs and cats both handle surgery very well. Perhaps an adaptation to dealing with fight wounds in the wild, their skin heals quickly from surgical wounds and I am always amazed at how quickly pets return to normal even after more major surgeries such as bowel resection or other abdominal procedures. Am I saying that surgery is not a big deal? No. However, many clients seem to have an overly negative view of just how difficult surgery will be on their pet. As a surgeon, I don’t want to get involved with a procedure that I think is going to fail, so typically I won’t ever recommend something that doesn’t seem like a good idea for the patient. But in the end, I think that far too many older pets are left to deal with their tumors because of a somewhat unwarranted fear that surgery will “be too much for them.” In Jojo’s case, leaving that tumor on his arm eventually would result in the owners com-

CROZETgazette ing home one day to a tumor that opened up and bled everywhere. Jojo seems in pain and his big tumor just ruptured open…this can often lead to discussions of euthanasia, or we are doing surgery when it will now be much more difficult. If we had removed Jojo’s tumor in a timely fashion, he would be back to chasing squirrels in 2-3 days and the owners only complaint would be “how do I keep him quiet!?” Case 2: Meeka. Meeka is a 16-year-old cat with terrible teeth. We’ve all known for years that Meeka has had some heavy tartar buildup and gingivitis. However, she has never shown obvious signs of pain and she also had a lot of other old-cat diseases going on—kidney failure, hyperthyroidism, and a heart murmur. Last week Meeka started drooling profusely and is not eating well. When she does approach her bowl, she seems hungry and takes a bite, but seems stricken by sudden pain as she goes to chew. On exam, Meeka has several severely infected and even broken teeth. She needs to be put under anesthesia for a dental cleaning with some extractions. So, are we kickin’ or stickin’? Dental disease is the number one chronic disease in older

Fitness

—continued from page 31

flexibility for illness or life stress! Overcommit to group activities, never giving yourself solo time. Constantly check your pace, heart rate, and other vital stats both during and after exercise so you can best compare yourself to others! Keep it simple, stupid: Keep it light and approach exercise with humility and optimism. Plan your exercise as suits you, but be flexible for when life throws you some curveballs. Don’t take yourself too seriously. Give yourself at least one day a week where you exercise alone. Turn off the headphones. Finish most of your 1-hour blocks with enough energy that you could turn around and do it again. Don’t worry about your pace, speed, or time. Listen to your body and learn what easy

JANUARY 2018 pets. Over 15 years of practice, I have extracted literally thousands of infected and broken teeth from dogs and cats. The vast majority of these pets were not telling their owners that they were in pain. But dental disease hurts! Every day! Meeka’s owner would rightly be concerned about the safety of anesthesia, but again, even for an old cat with all of these problems, I still put her risk as low. And if we can get her under and take care of the bad teeth, she will immediately feel so much better, like a huge weight has been taken off her shoulders! On the other hand, if we punt and “just watch it,” we are condemning Meeka to a lot of oral pain and discomfort for the remainder of her life. Even if the anesthesia were risky, it would be a risk worth taking. There is really never a right answer when making these decisions for our older pets. Every owner is different as far as what they find reasonable, and also we are balancing people’s personal finances when expensive procedures are needed. However, I always advocate to “go for it” because more often than not we convert on fourth down and give those senior pets the gift of no pain for their golden years. That is definitely a reward worth the (usually low) risk.

and hard feel like. Commit! This is the last one, but the most important one. Commit. Starting or getting back into a fitness routine is HARD! I remember when running two miles was a BIG deal. Now my shorter runs are many times longer than that. But that change did not happen overnight, it happened over years. Commit to change. Commit to a different future without being sure of what it will look like. Commit to getting a little better and a little stronger each day. It’s okay to feel discouraged, defeated, and sometimes like a failure. Being committed means that you continue on, despite these normal and expected feelings. And remember: keep it simple, stupid. :)

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CROZETgazette

JANUARY 2018

inthegarden@crozetgazette.com

Dinosaur Food If you’ve looked at museum dioramas or computer-generated images of dinosaurs roaming through a prehistoric landscape, you might have noticed tall gaunt pine trees in the background. This potential dinosaur dinner, the genus Araucaria, was widely distributed and reached its maximum diversity some 200 million to 60 million years ago; today it’s restricted to isolated populations in the Southern Hemisphere. Some herbivorous dinosaurs were the largest of their group, and scientists posit that they evolved longer necks to browse the foliage of the Araucarias. While dinosaurs are now gone, 19 species of Araucaria hang on, with the majority of those endemic to the island of New Caledonia east of Australia. Despite common names like Chilean Pine or Moreton Bay Pine, they’re only distantly related to the true pines. Perhaps best known to us is the Norfolk Island Pine, Araucaria heterophylla. Native to a tiny subtropical island of the same name a thousand miles east of Australia, we encounter it as a houseplant, often hung with decorations at Christmas; it’s also seen in gardens in warmer climates, where it can grow to 170 feet in height. The similar Cook Pine, A. columnaris, is widely planted in the tropics, and it’s likely you’ve seen it when visiting South Florida or Hawaii. It closely resembles the Norfolk Island

Pine, but has denser branching and a very tight, columnar habit. This “Christmas Tree” shape, more akin to the spruces and firs of northerly latitudes, may look a bit out of place in the tropics, where we are used to seeing tall graceful palms or wide-spreading trees such as banyans. The bunya-bunya, A. bidwillii, hails from Queensland, Australia and is planted in both the tropics and warm temperate climates; its most distinguishing feature is its huge cones. Over a foot in diameter and weighing more than ten pounds, for safety reasons botanical gardens cordon off the areas underneath these trees when they are dropping their cones. Imagine something bigger than a pineapple dropping on your head from eighty feet. Among a clan of strange plants, the Monkey Puzzle tree (A. araucana) may be the most bizarre. Young plants have an open, pyramidal shape of preternatural symmetry—I’ve seen artificial Christmas trees that look more realistic. The branches, covered with “leaves” that are more like daggers or box-cutter blades, droop downward, then arch upward at the tip. Mature trees lose the pyramidal shape and drop most of their lower branches; the flat top of foliage on a bare trunk gives an umbrella effect. With their penchant for the unusual, Victorian collectors took a shine to Monkey Puzzles. When one British gent was showing his new acquisition to friends, one commented that, “It would puzzle a monkey to climb that!” These trees don’t actually have

The author with a Monkey Puzzle Tree

to contend with monkeys in the wild, although some believe that their extreme spininess may have been a defense against long-necked sauropod dinosaurs. Luckily for indigenous peoples of South America, they don’t have to climb the trees to harvest seeds. The cones drop and reveal large “pine nuts” that can comprise up to 15 percent of the peoples’ diets during harvest time. The large quantity of nuts from a mature tree could offer some potential as a crop, if it were not for the fact that a Monkey Puzzle requires thirty to forty years to mature. Indigenous to a small stretch of the Chilean and Argentine Andes, Monkey Puzzles are also widely planted in cool temperate climates. You’re likely to find them in the Pacific Northwest, the U.K. and milder areas of Continental Europe. But what about growing them in the eastern United States? For us, cold should not be the issue, since Monkey Puzzles live in an area with cold, snowy winters; the real problem may be summer heat and humidity, along with poor drainage in clay soils. You might expect more success in sandy soils, and in a phone conversation with Marie Butler at the Virginia Zoo in Norfolk a few years ago, I learned that they did have a 25-foot specimen at that time. A Monkey Puzzle tree is also listed as part

of the collection on the Norfolk Botanical Garden website, and one reportedly grows at the Barnes Arboretum near Philadelphia. Another possibility for growing an araucaria in our climate lies in a cross between the Monkey Puzzle and its close relative, the Parana Pine (A. angustifolia). The latter tree hails from Southern Brazil and adjacent parts of Argentina and Paraguay, an area with warmer and wetter summers that are more akin to ours. I’ve seen one example of this hybrid growing at the J.C. Raulston Arboretum in Raleigh; planted in 2012 as a small tree, it’s now eighteen feet tall. For the adventurous gardener, Plant Delights Nursery near Raleigh offers it for sale. Araucarias’ tall straight trunks were useful for masts and lumber, even while nut harvesting limited reproduction, so many species’ natural ranges have been considerably reduced in recent times. Indeed, some are now classified as endangered and receive protection in national parks. Consider yourself fortunate if you’re able to view any of the Araucarias in the wild, as you’re a witness to plants descended from the forests that dinosaurs once roamed. This article is a revision of one that originally appeared in the Crozet Gazette six years ago.

CROZETgazette

JANUARY 2018

The Future is Now: People Submit to Computers Futurists (people who make predictions about the future based upon current trends, especially with regards to technology) often suggest that machines will eventually take over the world. They typically see machines as somehow attaining the ability to think and act of their own accord, ignoring—if they so desire— the commands of people. The futurists are right about machines taking over, but it will not happen because of innate intelligence on the part of computers. It will happen (and is happening already) because people put so much faith into the competence of computers that they are extremely unlikely to contradict these machines. Last year I had the misfortune of having to replace my washing machine and a heat pump. Despite having spent way more money than I would have liked, I encountered months-long problems with these appliances, each of which depends upon a computer for proper functioning (an idea I dislike intensely). Each computer informed the technicians that certain components needed to be replaced, which they dutifully took care of without question. Yet the original problem persisted. Following months of basically refurbishing my two brand-new pieces of equipment, I insisted that the computers had to be the problem. I could not believe what a hard sell this idea was! People so believe in the infallibility of computers—even though they are no better than the people who make and program them, not all of whom possess enough skill to do a good job—that no one wanted to accept that they could be spewing incorrect diagnoses! But, yes, they were.

Once the computer was replaced in my heat pump system, it worked fine. However, even after the computer was replaced in the washing machine, it continued to put out error messages later found to be incorrect. In the end, the manufacturer had to replace the entire machine for me. Do you think that after this experience I would want to place my life solely under the control of a computer? Absolutely not. What I witnessed was several perfectly capable technicians doubting their own competence and refusing to make their own informed decisions because of the supposed superiority of a machine. Indeed, kowtowing to computers can be very dangerous. On May 19, 2017, the “man who saved the world” died at his home in Moscow with little fanfare. Yet if this Soviet military officer of the Cold War era hadn’t had the courage of his convictions, nuclear war could have ensued. During the early hours of September 26, 1983, Stanislav Petrov’s computers identified five U.S. missiles headed towards Moscow. Mr. Petrov had only twenty minutes to act. Based upon my local experience, I believe most, if not all, people in his position would have warned the military of an impending nuclear attack. Instead, this man—unafraid to use his own intelligence— informed his superiors of a system malfunction. In a 2013 interview with the BBC’s Russian service, he said that he had all of the data to suggest an ongoing missile attack, and if he had sent his report up the chain of command, nobody would have said a word against it. “The siren howled, but I just sat there for a few seconds, staring at the big, back-lit, red screen with the

word ‘launch’ on it.” An investigation later found that Soviet satellites had misidentified sunlight reflecting off clouds for intercontinental ballistic missile engines. In 1999 Mr. Petrov told The Washington Post that he did not rush to start a war because “We needed to understand, ‘What’s next?’” His gut feeling was that people don’t start a war with only five missiles. The New York Times reported that he said his decision to stand down was at best, a “50-50 guess.” But Stanislav Petrov employed common-sense analysis, undoubtedly saving the world from a catastrophe. How sad that the death of such a brave man should have received so little notice, the significance of his decision basically unrecognized and underappreciated. While life-and-death decisions do not comprise most situations, the inability of people to act because of their reticence to contradict a computer certainly results in time and money wasted for everyone involved. It can also result in serious consequences for humans and their environment. Consider the water situation in Charlottesville at the end of the summer of 2017. On September 30, local news agencies reported that water levels at area reservoirs were lower than normal, but the water authority was not expecting to declare a drought watch. Why weren’t they? After all, the director of the state climatology office at the University of Virginia had reported below-normal precipitation since May, and area temperatures had been above normal for much of September. It would be surprising if these two factors did not produce drought conditions, and indeed, they had. Because I get my water from a well, I worry about groundwater when drought is threatening. Therefore, I had been keeping an eye on the streams in my area, and I witnessed one after another drying up. I wondered

why no authorities were discussing the drought we were so obviously experiencing, and instituting water-conservation measures. When the stream at the end of my road dried up on September 29, something that I had not ever seen happen until the serious drought of 2002, I knew groundwater was in poor shape. Finally, on October 5, the Rivanna Water and Sewer Authority (RWSA) issued a drought warning. Why were they so slow to get folks to limit their water usage? A major reason is that people today have somehow been made to feel inadequate when it comes to using their own reasoning ability. Thus, numerous straightforward decisions that governmental agencies should determine for themselves are instead farmed out to “experts” who, it is presumed, are better equipped to make them. Hence, the RWSA, instead of sending someone out to look at streams to see what was happening, instead paid a contractor to run a computer model to predict a probability of a shortage of local water. (dailyprogress. com/news/local/water-levels-arelow-but-drought-watch-not-expected/article_e196c0da-a63911e7-910c-9b50322f67c0.html) However, a computer program is not better able to indicate the likelihood of drought than simple observation of local conditions. We have been deluded into thinking that computers are infallible, and our naivete leads us to make our lives ever more dependent upon them. When I am exercising, I commonly get asked for directions from deliverymen because their GPS device has led them astray. This would never happen if they relied on a good old-fashioned map, which many younger people no longer even know how to read. Therein lies the real danger of entrusting computers to take care of so many things in life. When they fail, people are helpless.

CROZETgazette

JANUARY 2018

BY DR. ROBERT C. REISER

crozetannals@crozetgazette.com

Re-gifting Grandpa was having a stroke on Christmas Eve. He was driving home from his daughter’s house after babysitting his grandkids while his daughter did some last minute shopping. When his daughter got home grandma and grandpa said good-bye to her and the grandkids and left for their home. Soon grandma noticed the car swerving and asked grandpa what was wrong. He said nothing, just shook his head, eased the car to the side of the road and closed his eyes. When he tried to speak his words were slurred and when he opened his eyes they just roamed around aimlessly. He had a terrible headache. Grandma called 911 on her cellphone and help quickly arrived. The medics called in their report. “Sixty-seven-year-old male sudden onset slurred speech, inability to move his extremities, altered level of consciousness.” On arrival to the hospital a stroke alert was called and the neurology team mobilized quickly. His exam was challenging because he could not seem to understand the commands of the neurologist. When asked what wrong all he could say was “I can’t remember anything” He perseverated on this, repeating it multiple times. He did seem to be able to move everything,

although randomly, and he had no obvious facial droop. His speech was garbled but understandable. Strokes can present in many ways but for complex reasons it would be very rare to have the chief neurological involvement be amnesia. This happens in less than 0.2 percent of all strokes. An alternative diagnosis, Transient Global Amnesia (discussed in a previous Crozet Annals column) was considered but rejected because of the slurred speech and roving eye movements. It was a puzzle. He got a rapid CT scan of his brain, which showed that, thankfully, he wasn’t having a brain bleed. We made arrangements to admit him to the neurology service to continue the search for the cause of his symptoms. It was then that his daughter arrived, took a look at her father and motioned us out of the room. “Do you know what’s wrong with my dad?” “No, we are still trying to figure it out. He seems very confused. He is going to be admitted to the hospital and get more studies.” “I think I know what’s wrong with him” she said. We all looked at her quizzically. “My boyfriend is visiting from Colorado and he brought me some brownies as a Christmas gift. Special brownies. One is missing. I think my dad ate it.” I asked her about her children but she assured me the brownies were out of reach of the children. Questioning her father, who continued on page 42

CROZETgazette

JANUARY 2018

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Ricey Clarkson New, born May 1, 1959, went to be with his Heavenly Father on Friday, November 24, following a courageous battle with mental illness. He was a father, a brother, a son, a friend, and so much more to so many people. Clark grew up in Alexandria, VA and found a love for basketball at St. Stephen’s prep school, eventually going on to play for Washington & Lee University. He vacationed in Majorca, Spain with his parents Ricey and Justin, as well as siblings Jimmy, David, and Townie. Later, Clark briefly lived in Chile with his former wife and mother of his children, Elizabeth, before returning to find success in computer sales for IBM. He always retained a love for travel and often returned to South America to keep his language skills sharp after becoming a Spanish teacher in Albemarle County. Clark had an affinity for art and spending time in nature. He hiked the entirety of the Appalachian Trail using the trail names “Cool Breeze” and “Papapuchi,” a nickname given to him by his 3 loving sons, Colten, Kendall, and Madison. He would write poetry while on the trail and return home to make paintings of the things he

saw and felt. His boys would come with him to listen to poetry readings on the Downtown Mall in Charlottesville, where he lived for many years before moving to Crozet. In Crozet, Clark was blessed to meet Jim and Sue Copeland, with whom he lived with for many years while recovering from a prior season of bipolar depression. In their home he found a love for God through a relationship with Jesus Christ and a church community that supported him while finishing his teaching licensure and returning to work. A memorial service will be held for Clark on Saturday, January 6 from 1 until 2:30 p.m. at Mountain Plain Church (4281 Three Notched Rd, Charlottesville, VA 22901). Clark’s family welcomes anyone to view photos, read stories, or make a donation in Clark’s honor at ClarkNew.com. Donations will benefit The Cameron Gallagher Foundation, an organization dedicated to helping teens with mental illness. The family would also like to thank Sam Kellum, Terry Battaglia, Region Ten, Morningside, and the UVA Hospital staff for their care and support.

Gazette obituaries are just $25 for up to 500 words and include a photograph. Email ads@crozetgazette.com or call 434-249-4211.

CROZETgazette

JANUARY 2018

Margaret Frances “Frankie” Hester Margaret Frances “Frankie” Hester, 69, was born 9/16/48 and was given her wings on 12/11/17. She was a tiny lady with a big heart, filled with love for family and friends. She was born in Marion, VA and lived her adult life in Crozet and Free Union. She retired from Albemarle Country schools, loving the teachers and children at Brownsville Elementary. She loved angels, Christian music, Christmas, flowers, and family gatherings. She had a code word with each grandchild to mean “I love you”. Nothing made her happier than making ‘toast and cocoa’ for family on holiday mornings. She leaves behind her husband of 53 years Rodney Hester; children Annette “Nettie” Conley Peterson (Harold), Steve Hester (Robin), and Angie Hester Richey (Ed); grandchildren Heather Conley Orange (Dara), Tyler Hester (Allison), Travis Hester, Michaela Richey, Tabitha Shifflett (Montie), GW Conley, and Olivia Peterson; great-grandchildren Levi “Little Prince” Payne, Danielle Heflin (Dustin), and Kelsey Shifflett; sister Jean Terlow of Alabama and brother, Ronald Barbre of Oklahoma; in-laws Peggy Johnson Clayton, Ray Hester, and Everett Brown along with many nieces, nephews, and oth-

Medicine —continued from page 41

was showing signs of improvement already, he confirmed that he had unsuspectingly eaten a brownie and it was delicious. The knowing looks on the faces of the interns in the room clued grandma and grandpa into the composition of the brownies and the reason for grandpa’s strange behavior. Grandpa was stoned on Christmas Eve. The brownies were made with butter laced with marijuana extract. Colorado legalized marijuana in 2012 and since then has seen a modest but noticeable uptick in ER visits for

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BEREAVEMENTS

ers who she loved dearly. She was predeceased by parents, James and Oma Barbre Moser, brothers Jimmy Moser, Robert Barbre, and Roy Barbre; son-inlaw Gary Conley, and a great-grandchild with her namesake Everly Margaret Rose Orange. The family would like to thank Dr. William Hammond, his nurse Jennifer, and all the Hospice of the Piedmont staff. They will celebrate her life with a private gathering. Donations can be made in her memory to the SPCA or by doing something nice for someone in need. Nan-nan, we wave with both hands like you did so many times to us, showing your love and letting us know it is not good-bye, but until we meet again. marijuana-related problems. Most are for anxiety and paranoia, and other mental health issues. The most severe seem to be related to the edible forms of the drug and not the smoked form. Many of the visits follow the pattern of my patient, people who inadvertently ingest someone else’s edible marijuana product. At least that is what they say. So we warned the mom about the dangers of these brownies being left out, especially to her kids, and discharged grandpa to recover at home where he had an ample supply of Cheetos. And I recommended fruitcake as a safer holiday edible to exchange and inevitably re-gift. Happy Holidays, Crozet!

Ricey Clarkson New, 58

November 24, 2017

John T. Sweeney, 88

November 24, 2017

Jean Osborne Wilhelm, 92

November 24, 2017

Thomas McKinley Harris, 78

November 28, 2017

Guy Wayne Taylor Sr., 80

November 29, 2017

Louise Estelle Chapman, 94

December, 2017

Nikodem Wawrzyniec Bielecki, 42

December 1, 2017

Thomas Michael Bowman Jr., 64

December 1, 2017

Janie Farrar Campbell, 89

December 1, 2017

Mary Sparks, 91

December 2, 2017

Mildred Reynolds Banks, 106

December 3, 2017

Frances Maze Dameron, 53

December 3, 2017

George Bennett Bartel, 86

December 4, 2017

John Warren Andrews, 89

December 5, 2017

Amos Shifflett, 79

December 7, 2017

Lucy Toliver, 97

December 7, 2017

Juanita Anne Massie Thacker, 77

December 8, 2017

Randolph Rea Lang Sr., 95

December 10, 2017

Margaret Frances Hester, 69

December 11, 2017

John Robert Kent Sr., 93

December 12, 2017

Elizabeth Ann Floyd Pugh, 75

December 13, 2017

Charles Arthur Harris Sr., 84

December 16, 2017

Chester R. Titus, 96

December 17, 2017

John Judson Bradshaw Sr., 80

December 19, 2017

Diane Yvette Walker Folz, 51

December 19, 2017

Ruby Pearl Williams Lamb, 89

December 21, 2017

George O. Kane, 86

December 23, 2017

Layward Lawson Sr., 88

December 23, 2017

Raymond Lewis Wilberger, 79

December 23, 2017

JANUARY 2018

CROZETgazette

2018 CALENDAR PHOTO CONTEST

PHOTOGRAPHY DISCUSSION

with contest judge, National Geographic Photographer Sam Abell

January 6

3 p.m. at Crozet Library All are welcome! Mr. Abell will give a slideshow discussion of his selections for the 2018 Gazette calendar. Calendars will be available for purchase.

CROZETgazette

JANUARY 2018

community events JANUARY 10

JANUARY 23

Meditation for New Beginnings

Novel Revision Workshop

Learn effective techniques to reduce stress, and improve overall health, and then take part in a short meditation sitting. Long-time meditator Gerry Gorman will lead a workshop at Crozet Library on Wednesday, January 10, at 6:30 pm. Open to ages 14 and up.

Writing is rewriting! Crozet Library will host a novel revision workshop for writers grade 6 through adult on Tuesday, Jan. 23, from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Learn techniques for revising your plot, making your sentences sing, and helping your characters leap off the page. Ideal for folks with in-progress or finished novels, but all creative writers can benefit.

JANUARY 13

Second Saturdays Art Openings Art on the Trax will show “American Icons” by Carrol Mallin during the month of January, with a Second Saturday Artist Reception on Saturday, January 13 from 4 - 6 p.m. Mallin has come to painting late in life, during her retirement from careers in psychotherapy and the Episcopal ministry. In the last several years Mallin has been involved in paintings themed on social justice. In these, she intends to convey an understanding of the disadvantaged or discriminated against who sometimes seem alien or frightening. As Georgia O’Keefe said, “I found I could say things with color that I couldn’t say any other way—things I have no words for.”

JANUARY 16

Peachtree Registration Online baseball and softball registration is now open for boys and girls at peachtreebaseball.com. In-person registration will be held Tuesday, January 16, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the Field School in Crozet. Ben & Jerry’s ice cream will be served. Divisions include t-ball, softball, and baseball for ages 4 -16. Registration deadline is January 19; practices begin in March.

Check out the full community event calendar at crozetgazette.com/events

MARCH 3

by Louise Dudley

Mother Goose—& More 3 4

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Sugar Hollow Three Bridges The Sugar Hollow Three Bridges 5 and 10k Race is sponsored by the White Hall Ruritans. Both a 5 and a 10k course will be available on beautiful Sugar Hollow Road alongside the Moorman’s River. The course is measured so that the 5K runners will run over 2 bridges to the iconic sycamore tree. The 10K course will incorporate all three bridges with a run to the Sugar Hollow reservoir. The race will be held rain or shine on March 3. The starting line is 1.5 miles west of Piedmont Store at 5275 Sugar Hollow Road. Ample parking will be available at the Sugar Hollow site. Race registration is $35: on site registration is $40. Following the race join us for a pancake breakfast from 9 to 11 a.m. at the Community Center, 2094 Brown Gap Turnpike. (Runners free! Donation accepted, suggested minimum donation of $5.00) Proceeds aid in the restoration of the White Hall Community Center, a historic building in Western Albemarle County, and for the many community services provided by the organization, including scholarships to area college-bound students, 5th grade achievement awards, highway clean up and many other projects. Contact white hallruritans@ gmail.com with questions.

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ACROSS 1 Opposite of front 5 Mary’s little lamb was white as this 7 Curved under-side of your foot 8 Nickname for mother 10 Pouring vessel that’s short and stout 11 “Little Boy ______ come blow your horn” 12 What Old King Cole called for 17 “5 little monkeys ________ on the bed 18 Opening with panes in the wall of a house 22 Enemy 23 Taxi 26 Old farm owner in a song 28 Nickname for basketball 31 Opposite of up 32 Ali Baba said “_______, Sesame.” 34 Verb in the Golden Rule 35 Insect that frightened Miss Muffett 37 Card game 38 “Nate the _______” DOWN 1 Condition of Old Mother Hubbard’s cupboard 2 What to do if you’re happy and you know it

3 Tool for parting your hair 4 “To market, to market to buy a __________” 5 “One, two, buckle my _______” 6 Where Humpty Dumpty was sitting 9 Fold, or lean over (rhymes with send) 13 A dog’s or cat’s foot 14 Old Mother _________ wanted to feed her dog 15 Big tail-less cousin of a monkey 16 Lemon____ is thirst quenching 19 “___ You Give a Mouse a Cookie” 20 Head motion that means “yes” 21 The black sheep had 3 bags of this 24 Where Jack Horner sat 25 “Hickory, dickory dock; the mouse ran up the _______” 27 Sound of satisfaction 29 Peas grow inside this 30 “The itsy-bitsy spider climbed up the water _____” 33 Midday time 36 Group of Cub Scouts Solution on page 54

CROZETgazette

JANUARY 2018

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Puzzle on page 53

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CLASSIFIED ADS WANTED: UTILITY AND WORKSHOP TECHNICIAN: Perrone Robotics is seeking to hire a full-time Utility & Workshop person to perform the following duties: Assist with testing of autonomous vehicles; assist with fabrication and building of various hardware applications; general maintenance, repairs, and shop management and upkeep; ability to jump in and “turn a wrench” on HW and equipment tasks. Qualifications: Possess valid driver’s license; desire to work with an exciting start-up company that’s doing extraordinary and leading edge work to put autonomy in everyone’s hands; local to Crozet, Charlottesville area. Please forward resume to jobs@ perronerobotics.com ‘CLAUDIUS’ CONSIGN AND DESIGN seeking artisans, craftspeople and quality consignors for our shop located in the Crozet Shopping Center. We are a destination on the Monticello Artisans Trail, promote via Facebook, our website: www.claudius2. com and an active eBay store. Looking for gift items, small furniture, decorative items, arts and crafts supplies, new and like new clothing, shoes and accessories. Please send an email to toni@claudius2.com for more information. We have space available to rent on a monthly basis —cubicle 23x12x18 inches or a glass cube as an alternative to consigning. WANTED: SPORTS REPORTER: The Crozet Gazette is also seeking a part-time freelance reporter who will write 1 – 3 stories per month on local high school sports. Photography or photo-sources are

CROZETgazette

Premium Business Cards: JANUARY 2018 47 Order 816158

CLASSIFIED ADS required.Email jobs@crozetgazette.com for more information. Applications should include cover letter, resume, and three writing samples. PDF attachments are suggested. Photography samples encouraged as well. COMPUTER CARE: Quality computer repair in your home or office. Virus removal, networking, wireless setup, tutoring, used computers. Reasonable rates. Over 15 years’ experience. Please call 434-825-2743. EXPERIENCED SEAMSTRESS with over 30 years of tailoring and garment alterations experience. I work from home in Crozet (Highlands subdivision). Please call for a free consultation. Ruth Gerges: 434-8235086. MATHEMATICS TUTORING Learn why math works, not just how! All ages and levels from elementary to calc 3, flexible rates. Licensed teacher and Ivy League grad with over 10 years experience. Contact mathwithmiranda@gmail. com. CROZET CHORUS is accepting new singers forthe Spring 2018 season. The Spring concert willbe about the “Sun, Moon, and Sky,” and focuses on what you might see when you turn your eyes to the sky. The music will be a variety of repertoire from jazz to madrigals to South African choral music, from a variety of eras, representing music from the Renaissance to the present and everything in between. To register for this exciting season, go to crozetchorus.org and submit your registration on-line. No auditions!

Crozet Gazette Business Card Ads

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Caroline Revercomb | ROY WHEELER REALTY CO. | 1100 Dryden Lane E

Add yours for as little as $45 a month! Call 434-249-4211 or email ads@crozetgazette.com PROOF - Front of Your Card

If you pleas

BAKESHOP

Individually Custom Designed and Crafted Special Occasion Cakes Treats Are Available When The Sign Is Out! 5853 Jarmans Gap Road, Crozet 434-960-5872 mycakebyrachel.com Blue Line: Represents the final trim-size

McAllister Painting

Licensed and Insured Over 20 Years Experience - Free Estimates All aspects of painting Interior and Exterior Gutter Cleaning & Power Washing “No job too small”

Call Todd at 434-960-4775

Resolving your water concerns water testing water filtration water softeners electric hot water heaters uv sterilization well pumps handy man services

We can service your existing equipment John Moore 434-996-9742; 434-823-1973 Crozet, VA 22932 jbmooreservices@gmail.com

complete line of residental services

C&M RESIDENTIAL SERVICES 434-964-7943 Chris Maddox owner

plumbing and septic tank repairs electrical installation and repairs

residential remodeling and repairs general handyman services

DISNEY TRAVEL PLANNING Michelle Holzwarth

Concierge-style service from a boutique-sized travel agency with the most knowledgeable travel professional around. All services are completely complimentary. I can assist you with booking and planning your best DISNEY vacation yet, and with a little pixie dust thrown in :).

michelle@dreamersdotravels.com 434-249-7446

Best Wishes for a Great 2018! Mon-Sat 11-5 / Wed Closed / Sun 12-5

Watercolor Artist ~ Christine Kennedy Studio CROZETANTIQUES.COM 434.989.6556

1171 Carter Street at Jarmans Gap Road

Life revolves around the kitchen—it’s way more than just a place to cook. A kitchen becomes whatever people need it to be: art gallery, repair shop, conference room, therapist’s office, laundry sorting facility, makeshift home office, or the accidental main stage of the party because the guests want to stand around the center island and talk. With decades of experience, KraftMaid knows what makes people love living in their new kitchens, beyond just appearances, and can help people choose a kitchen based on how they’ll actually use it.