INSIDE NEW FACES page 2 GO FOR LAUNCH page 3 DIRT TO GLASS page 6 CCAC page 7 HERE & GONE page 8
JANUARY 2017 VOL. 11, NO. 8
Crozet Plaza Design Options Bring Out the Community
NEXTDOOR page 10 GREENWOOD STORE page 15
By Eric J. Wallace eric@crozetgazette.com
MEATLOAF page 18 GOODWIN CREEK page 20 SUPER EL NIÑO page 27 JUST SCARED page 28 FIELD HOCKEY page 30 CHEERLEADERS page 31 FOOTBALL RECAP page 32 DREAM BIGLY page 35 BROKEN HEART DEATH page 36 THE SEA OF PLASTIC page 38 SEMICOLONS page 39 VALLEY CRANBERRIES page 40 SCIENCE IS NOT RELIGION page 41 BEREAVEMENTS page 42-43 TALLAMY’S OAK page 45
Crozet Pizza Owner Mike Alexander and John Plantz of Parkway Pharmacy look over alternative designs for the downtown Crozet plaza at the Downtown Crozet Initiative event December 8.
Crozet to Get a Catholic Church A Catholic church is coming to Crozet now that Bishop of the Diocese of Richmond Francis X. DiLorenzo has recognized the Crozet Catholic community as a mission congregation that is on its way to becoming a regular parish. DiLorenzo made the announcement at a meeting at diocese headquarters in Richmond Dec. 15 that assembled the pastors of the Charlottesville-area Catholic churches, Crozet representatives Michael
Marshall and Julie Balik, and diocesan officials who will be responsible for supporting the success of the new parish. DiLorenzo gave local Catholics and Holy Comforter Catholic Church pastor Fr. Joseph Mary Lukyamuzi permission to begin holding a once-amonth Mass in Crozet in January 2014, a move that was designed to test community support for a church. Local Catholics formed the Crozet continued on page 17
On December 8 the Downtown Crozet Initiative invited the community to the new Piedmont Place shops in downtown Crozet to provide feedback on three separate designs for the future Crozet community plaza. The event was sponsored by Milestone Partners and Crozet New Town Associates, the development services firm and property owners behind the Crozet Square project, and featured free food and beverages. Food was provided by Smoked BBQ and Morsel Compass’s food-truck, with complimentary brews courtesy of Star Hill served at the Blue Ridge Bottle Shop. On display in the building’s firstfloor meeting room were easels showcasing drawings by landscape architecture firm Mahan Rykiel Associates Inc. for the Crozet community plaza, a $3 million, 28,000-square-foot civic greenspace and hardscape that will serve as the centerpiece of the Barnes Lumber development site. The draw-
continued on page 24
Perrone Robotics Brings Silicon Valley Innovation to Crozet By Eric J. Wallace eric@crozetgazette.com Over the past 15 years New Jersey native and automotive software pioneer Paul Perrone has made Crozet his home. He shops at the local grocery, his kids attend Western Albemarle schools, he sips coffee at Mudhouse and he’s stoked about the recent addition of the Crozet Bicycle
Shop. Now, in hopes of spearheading the community’s longstanding effort to transform the downtown area into a hub of thriving commerce and localroots business, Perrone has committed to move his own company, Perrone Robotics, Inc., to the Barnes Lumber site. The relocation makes PRI the first major business to, in the words of
continued on page 4
Perrone Robotics testing their self-driving car.