INSIDE PRINCIPLES page 3 SCHOOL NOTES page 6 BUSINESS BRIEFS page 10 DUDE OF HAZARD page 13
FEBRUARY 2018 VOL. 12, NO. 9
Raise a Glass: Crozet’s Water Plan on Tap for 2018
WHITE HALL CCC page 17 CAULIFLOWER PASTA page 13
by Lisa Martin
lisamartin@crozetgazette.com
ROCKGATE page 21
BIGGER SCHOOLS page 28 SALES BOOM page 30 VOLUNTEER! page 31 SUPERBOWL VERBS page 32 YOU’RE BAD DOG page 34 SNOWDROPS page 36 CALENDAR CLINIC page 37 MOUNTAIN LAKE page 38 ART FEST page 39 CHURCH NEWS page 40 OBITUARIES page 42 EVENTS page 44 KIDS CROSSWORD page 45
MIKE MARSHALL
IMMIGRANTS page 26
One person died and four others were taken to U.Va. Hospital with injuries after a chartered Amtrak passenger train carrying GOP lawmakers to a retreat at The Greenbrier in West Virginia crashed into a local Time Disposal trash truck Wednesday morning, Jan. 31 at the CSX railroad crossing at Lanetown Road near Mint Springs. The circumstances of the collision were unclear.
Survey Shows Wide Community Agreement on Key Growth Issues by Michael Marshall
editor@crozetgazette.com
The Crozet community survey shows wide and deep agreement on several growth issues, survey committee member Shawn Bird told the Crozet Community Advisory Committee at its meeting Jan. 17, where he presented a 25-part slide show of survey results. Bird, also a
CCAC member, holds a Ph.D. in political science and his occupation is political opinion polling. Among the take-away conclusions: Crozetians overwhelmingly favor the development of downtown as the town’s primary commercial and cultural center; correspondingly, they oppose more commercial development along Rt. 250; Crozetians are
continued on page 22
Fire and Ash Vex Neighbors of Westlake Hills Subdivision by Heidi Brown Firefighters extinguished a blaze at the new Westlake Hills subdivision Jan. 4 when fierce winds kicked up embers from a burn box at the construction site and set the woods on fire on one of the coldest nights of the new year, officials said. Although it burned for only 20 minutes and was contained to a cou-
Crozet’s water supply system is being overhauled with the long view in mind, says Rivanna Water and Sewer Authority (RWSA) Executive Director Bill Mawyer. “We are gathering usage data and growth projections for the area, and our goal is to make one plan that will cover all of the necessary modifications,” he said. That blueprint, called the Drinking Water Infrastructure Plan (DWIP), will be finalized this year, and parts of it are already underway. Crozet’s water is supplied by Beaver Creek Reservoir and is independent from the rest of the county and the city of Charlottesville, which draws its water largely from the Moormans and Mechums rivers. In 2011, the RWSA’s Regional Water Supply Plan forecasted a water demand of 1 MGD (millions of gallons per day) on average for the Crozet service area to satisfy the community’s needs for the next 30 to 50 continued on page 14
HEIDI BROWN
NO SNOW page 16
ple of trees and dead leaves on less than an acre, neighbors said they feared it could have been much worse if a college student home on winter break hadn’t spotted it. The fire on the property being developed between the Foxchase and Western Ridge neighborhoods broke out around 11 p.m., when most residents were going to bed. The temcontinued on page 8
Burnt forest floor near Western Ridge.