INSIDE THE SQUARE FIRST page 2 LOOSE DOGS page 2 CALGON CARBON page 4
CVFD SIGN page 10
APRIL 2017 VOL. 11, NO. 11
Plan to Improve The Square Comes Forward
ATTACHMENT page 11
By Michael Marshall editor@crozetgazette.com
RESPONSIVENESS page 14 YOU’RE OUT page 16
MIKE MARSHALL
CLEAN UP PRIZES page 18 DIXIE FLYERS page 19 GREAT MATTRESS page 22 BOOMER CARE page 32 RUNNING BUDDIES page 34 GREENWOOD CENTER page 35 MVPS page 36 SEASON PREVIEWS page 37 RECORD SPEED page 38 TEAM VALUES page 41 EGGCORNS page 42 SCHOOL NOTES page 44 THE DOCTOR WILL SEE YOU NOW page 45 HONEYSUCKLE page 46 BEREAVEMENTS page 51
Small group brainstorming for Neighborhood Initiative Funds at the Crozet Community Advisory Committee’s March 15 meeting at Crozet Elementary School. See story page 53.
Conserving the Future: How Easements Shield the Land By Lisa Martin lisamartin@crozetgazette.com Henley’s Orchard, now owned and managed by Tim and Sarah Henley and their family, was founded in 1932 with the purchase of a house on five acres by Tim’s grandfather. Expanding the apple and peach orchards and adding a herd of cattle, horses, and hay, Tim’s father steadily increased the family’s holdings to over 800 acres of
farmland, plus 770 acres of forested land on the mountainside along White Hall Road. To protect the land and preserve it for future generations, the Henleys have gradually placed large tracts under conservation easement. “The easements make it possible for us to invest in the farm and to continue our sustainable agriculture practices,” said Sarah Henley. “It will never continued on page 12
Local Bluebirds Thrive, with Help By Theresa Curry theresa@crozetgazette.com It’s not always a happy life for bluebirds, those vivid symbols of spring and joy. Rat snakes plunge from nearby trees to invade their homes and eat their eggs, and house sparrows trap them in their nests, attack and kill them. And invading development gobbles up the open land that gives
County transportation engineer Jack Kelsey, joined by facilities director Trevor Henry, presented a plan to renovate The Square with new grading, storm drains, sidewalks and 29 parking spaces to the Crozet Board of Trade at its March 20 meeting at Crozet Pizza. Kelsey noted that The Square presents several constraints, mainly three buried utility lines that are not particularly deep and therefore limit grade alterations. A right of way, Rt. 1217, also runs through it. The deal with CSX railroad, in which it gave up a weak claim to ownership of The Square, also required a chain link fence separating the tracks and a 50-foot-wide gate that allows maintenance equipment access to the tracks. “We have to be very careful about grading,” warned Kelsey. To allow for the installation of storm drains, curbs and sidewalks, the existing grade will come down by six inches, he said. The plan assumes that storm water will be sent down the newly named Barnes Street (formerly Oak Street) to a junction at Piedmont Place and Library Avenue.
continued on page 9
THERESA CURRY
NEW HOLY CROSS page 6
them a territory for hunting along with the old trees that provide hollows for nests. The Monitors Luckily, they have a lot of human help. “And luckily, they accept our help,” said Ann Dunn, who monitors the bluebird trails in Mint Springs Park as well as others in the
continued on page 28
Ann Dunn with a bluebird box at Mint Springs
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CROZETgazette
APRIL 2017
The Square Comes First Last month Crozetians were asked for ideas about how to spend part of the Neighborhood Funding Initiative, a $1.4 million surplus in the county budget that the Supervisors will distribute to “quality-of-life” projects in its seven growth areas. Last month we also learned that renovation of The Square will cost about $250,000, more than the $200,000 that would be a one-seventh share of the fund, but given that the County is responsible in any case for the condition of the street, not much more. The Square is the commercial center of town and the entry way to whatever happens on the Barnes lumber property. The business owners there have suf-
fered for many years from the neglect of the parking area in front of their stores and they are at the front of the line for redress. If the county should choose some other priority for a Crozet NFI project, they should be ready to fund fixing The Square in any case. Our second infrastructure priority is funding the Lickinghole Creek bridge that will open up east Crozet to Rt. 250 and ultimately be another way into downtown.
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.
Dog Walking Etiquette
PHIL JAMES HISTORICAL IMAGES COLLECTION
From the Editor
The Square in 1914
Twice this week I have been to Mint Springs Valley Park to walk the trails with my two dogs, and twice I have encountered dogs off-leash. Not only is this a threat to personal and public safety, and an encroachment on my right to enjoy the park, but it’s also a Class IV misdemeanor. Since I’ve lived in Greenwood for the past couple of years, my family has gotten a lot of enjoyment out of the trails at Mint Springs. I am happy we have such a wonderful resource in this area of the county to share
CROZET gazette
MICHAEL J. MARSHALL, Publisher and Editor news@crozetgazette.com | 434-466-8939
© The Crozet Gazette
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
Member, Virginia Press Association
ALLIE M. PESCH, Art Director and Ad Manager ads@crozetgazette.com | 434-249-4211
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, Eric Wallace, Denise Zito.
with each other. What I don’t like, however, is the anxiety I get when I encounter off-leash dogs (sometimes with no owner in sight) on the trails. As my two dogs have gotten older, they’ve become weary of offleash dogs approaching them directly and getting in their faces. Depending on the personality of the dogs we encounter, sometimes growling will ensue. Luckily for us, nothing worse than that has happened— yet. Dog trainers agree that on-leash greetings are a no-no. Leashed greetings prevent the natural greeting habits of dogs, reinforce the negative behavior of pulling on the leash, and can cause dogs to feel trapped in a situation they may not want to be in. Occasionally when I run into continued on page 15
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CROZETgazette
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CROZETgazette
APRIL 2017
By Michael Marshall editor@crozetgazette.com The Rivanna Water and Sewer Authority is installing a granular activation carbon filter system at Crozet’s water treatment plant on Rt. 240. Two large tanks holding 16,700 gallons each that will contain the carbon particles are being housed in a new steel structure and should be operating by autumn. “It’s an advanced treatment and it’s much more expensive than alternative systems based on chlorine, but its the best filtration system,” said RWSA spokeswoman Teri Kent. The system is being added at all five treatment plants operated by the RWSA in the county. RWSA is the wholesale water producer for the Albemarle and Charlottesville jurisdictions. Retail delivery of water to individual users in the county is the job of the Albemarle County Service Authority. The improvements are paid for from income from
customers that was set aside for plant maintenance. Crozet’s treatment plant, built in the 1960s to meet the needs of frozen food manufacturing, can clean up to one million gallons of water a day, drawn from Beaver Creek reservoir. The new system is the final stage of cleaning when byproducts of earlier disinfection procedures are taken out. Water will pass through the carbon filters under pressure before going to storage tanks near the plant and near Mint Springs that have two-million-gallon capacities. The carbon granules will replaced with fresh ones every year. “We’ll be monitoring to make sure that’s the right schedule,” Kent said. This month the RWSA will issue a request for proposals to perform a Crozet water master plan, which is expected to be ready in 12 to 18 months. “The plan will look at safe yield from Beaver Creek, at waste water capacity, and the need for more cleaning capacity,” Kent said. “We need to be
MIKE MARSHALL
New Filtration System Being Added at Crozet Water Plant
The new water filtration system under construction on Rte. 240 near Highlands
ready for peak conditions.” Crozet’s current daily demand is nearly 500,000 gallons a day, but at times of peak demand, 75 percent of the treatment plant’s capacity is engaged. “That makes the engineers nervous,” Kent said. In February, for example, Crozet consumed 14.4 million gallons of water. In the last couple of
years daily demand has started to increase more sharply than previously. “The first step is to nail down the number we need to build for,” she said. “What’s the population we will serve? The county needs to come to us with that. We’ve been following the growth. We need to be delibercontinued on page 10
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APRIL 2017
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CROZETgazette
APRIL 2017
By Michael Marshall editor@crozetgazette.com Easter will mark the emergence of Holy Cross Anglican Church in Crozet under the leadership of mission pastor Rev. Blake Johnson. The 50-member congregation, which has been meeting in private homes, expects to meet in a barn under construction on Fidelis Farm off Jarmans Gap Road for its regular Sunday services. During the week the barn will house three start-up businesses under farm owner Randy Caldejon’s leadership. On Sundays at 10 a.m. it will transform into a chapel. “We hope to be here Easter Sunday even if it’s not finished,” said Johnson, who will also have an office in the barn. “As pastor I’m interested in being in shared space. We’re very excited to have the barn to use. We’ve been in living rooms.” Holy Cross belongs to the Anglican Church of North America, which formed in 2009
in the aftermath of the Episcopal church’s controversies. ACNA is a province. Holy Cross’s diocese is Christ Our Hope, which covers parts of Virginia, North Carolina and Maryland with about 30 churches in all. Johnson was raised a Baptist but was attracted to Anglicanism by its tradition and liturgy, he said. He went to grad school for Classics but got redirected to Anglicanism and the ministry. His first post after seminary at Nashotah House Theological Seminary in Wisconsin was as curate at a D.C. plant church, Church of the Advent. “It was full of young people, 95 under age 30. They were seeking something transcendent. The liturgy gives a sense of order to it. “We’re planting here with a really positive vision. We seek the flourishing of Crozet—and doing that through establishing a community rooted in the Gospel, the historic Christian faith. The ancient Gospel has amazing relevance for today and how we raise families. We’re not in reaction to something, but
MIKE MARSHALL
Holy Cross Anglican Church Stands Up in Crozet
Fidelis Farm will be the home of the Church of the Holy Cross
hopeful. Crozet is our center of gravity. This is where we’re doing it. “We worship in the Prayer Book way. But our first focus is on the ways that Christianity has worshipped at all times. About half of our members don’t have a background in Anglicanism. We welcome seekers who want a space to explore their faith. While we are liturgical, we want to be warmly liturgical and show hospitality. “Hospitality, eating together,
will be the life blood of Holy Cross,” Johnson said. “Our goal is to build a strong ministry through relationships. If we get the opportunity to get our own space in the future, that’s something we would certainly consider. “Crozet has experienced a lot of growth. It has a strong sense of place. Having new churches is a net good. People connect in churches. New churches—studies bear this out—are best at reaching a newer resident.
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CROZETgazette
APRIL 2017
7
MIKE MARSHALL
Riverfest Saturday April 29, 2017
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10 am to 4:30 pm
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Rev. Blake Johnson
“We’re not here to say ‘we’re it’. We want to do our part in Crozet in the ways we can. Easter will be us going public, so to speak.” The church’s 50 core members range from children to empty nesters, Johnson said.
“We’re a mission church until we meet certain benchmarks. Then you become a parish.” Church of the Incarnation in Harrisonburg, which formed in 2010, is Holy Cross’s mother church. “They’re going really strong,” said Johnson.
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Vendors presented the CUMC food pantry a $1000 check at the end of last season.
Farmers Market Opens May 6 The Crozet Farmers Market will open Saturday, May 6, in the parking lot of the Crozet United Methodist Church (CUMC). Market hours are 8 a.m. to noon every Saturday through mid-October. If you are a new vendor, please contact Market Manager Al Minutolo at 434-823-1092 prior to April 14 to discuss your product, space availability and market rules. The Crozet Market is a growers/producers market, providing vendors the opportunity to sell their locally grown produce, homemade baked goods and handcrafted items to the public. Proceeds from sales in the market are returned to the community through a donation to the CUMC food pantry. The pantry is a USDA-approved facility that serves families in our community. The average monthly food distribution is 2 tons. Cash donations are important to the
food pantry and are a significant multiplier for the purchase of food locally at the central food bank. Although food costs vary, $1 will often purchase 8-12 pounds of food. The market offers a variety of locally grown vegetables, bedding plants, vegetable starts, cut flowers, homemade baked goods, handcrafted jewelry, wood-craft and pottery. Another popular feature is the Horticulture Help Desk (HHD), staffed by volunteer Piedmont Master Gardeners every second and fourth Saturday. The HHD staff is available to answer your questions about horticultural practices re: plants, pest control, and plant diseases, with an interest in safeguarding against adverse effects to the consumer and the environment. You’re welcome to bring samples of pests or problem plants.
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APRIL 2017
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CROZETgazette
APRIL 2017
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THE SQUARE (RT 1217) CROZET, VA FUTURE PARKING CONCEPTUAL LAYOUT 08-31-2016
POSSIBLE FUTURE ANGLED PARKING (TYPICAL)
CSX RIGHT-OF-WAY
CSX PARCEL
CSX RIGHT-OF-WAY
EXISTING CHAIN-LINK FENCE
CSX PARCEL
CSX PARCEL EXISTING CHAIN-LINK FENCE & GATE
ONE WAY
ONE WAY
ONE WAY
POSSIBLE FUTURE ANGLED PARKING (TYPICAL)
—continued from page 1
The “stub out” railroad entrance was raised first. “Is there any way to change that?” asked Jennie More, White Hall District planning commissioner. Kelsey discouraged the idea that any change in the deal with CSX is plausible. “They say they have to have [the gate] for the one time they need it.” The plan shows angled parking on both sides of the street, which becomes one-way, in from Crozet Avenue. Out is by way of Library Avenue. The Board of Trade agreed that it wants the town’s Christmas tree to stay and in fact be planned for. Kelsey said it means one fewer parking space. He estimated the construction cost as “ballpark 250K, not including engineering.” It also needs a survey. For years ownership of The Square was in limbo with neither Albemarle County nor CSX able to establish a clear title. Meanwhile businesses on The Square paid an annual parking fee to the railroad and Parkway Pharmacy was subjected to flooding in heavy rains as water ran off the higher street pavement and in their door. Now the County fully accepts
ownership and it is responsible for the project. “The project needs to get on the Capital Improvement Projects list, possibly through the Neighborhood Funding Initiative,” Henry suggested. “It’s a very viable source. There may be opportunities at the end of 2017. This type of project is very viable for dollars like that. If we could get money for design meanwhile, we could have drawings ready to bid for summer.” Henry asked White Hall Supervisor Ann Mallek to make the Square project a formal CIP item so that the Facilities Management department can proceed. The question in the County’s mind, Henry said, was, “Who’s going to take care of it when it’s done?” “It will be public parking. It could only have restrictions on it if it were maintained by a private entity—such as a business group,” he said. Kelsey put the construction period at 45 days. “It could drag out to 90,” he said with the voice of experience. “You think you can shut us down for 45 days?” asked Crozet Hardware owner Rick Ruescher. “We’ll make a deal to get parking on Barnes during construction,” volunteered Mallek.
MIKE MARSHALL
The Square
The Square
“We’ll maintain access and pedestrian access will be maintained, too,” said Henry. He brought up “the end game” question again—whose responsibility is maintenance? “It will take management by the businesses,” Henry asserted. That means a legal agreement. “Will the light stay there?” asked Ross Stevens of Stevens and Company realtors. “It will probably move to Library Avenue,” Henry said. “But we’ll leave a pedestrian crossing light.” “Without our businesses in control,” More said, “we can’t control who can park in front of the stores.” “We get people who park in The Square and spend six hours in The Mudhouse,” said Ruescher. “We have groups of
cyclists who park there and ride away. Most of our customers are only in the store 10 minutes. The parking lot stays full, but we don’t know where the owners of the cars are.” CBT president Mike Marshall asked the group if it was interested in responsibility for The Square. The answer in a show hands was a noncommittal yes, with some businesses more emphatically in support. Members also pressured county leaders to approach CSX about moving the gate to the end of the railroad’s area and pointed out that the railroad also owns a good access point a short way away on Railroad Avenue. Moving the gate adds about five parking spaces. The Board of Trade will meet again May 15.
CROZETgazette
APRIL 2017
THERESA CURRY
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Tom Loach and Rodney Rich with the new CVFD sign
New Crozet Firehouse Sign Creates Opportunities for Safety, Community By Theresa Curry theresa@crozetgazette.com The Crozet Volunteer Fire Department is the proud owner of an electronic sign, the first in Albemarle County, according to Tom Loach, a lifetime member of the department and assistant training officer. Loach said the new sign at the front of its building on Three Notched Road, is managed via computer. It has the versatility to display any message deemed appropriate by the department. Some are light-hearted, said Loach, like the messages sent out to congratulate parents on the birth of baby girl or boy; some are helpful, like the current time and temperature; and some will impart important safety information. “If we know
Water Plant —continued from page 4
ate because it has to be built to last. We want to meet with Crozet citizens and community leaders. There’s a lot coming in the outcome of the plan.” Construction at the Crozet plant will include a new entrance and landscaping, Kent said. The exterior of the new building will be red metal. It’s designed to allow the tanks to
of an accident on Rte. 250 or I-64, we can have a warning here and some people who pass by will be able to avoid it.” During emergencies, it will be a way to post information to help the community cope, said Rodney Rich, the department’s captain. “If we’d had a sign like this after the derecho (the intense wind storm of 2012), we could have advertised that we had water and air-conditioned space for the public inside.” The sign, which cost $27,000, was a gift to the community from the former Ladies Auxiliary, Loach said. The department is interested in hearing from community members who have ideas for messages of interest to the community.
be removed if need be. Meanwhile, the RWSA is replacing Crozet’s “finished water” pump station, which is small and worn out, and is also planning to build a flow equalization tank and pump station on the sewer line leaving Crozet by 2020. Its location is undecided, but it will likely be near the Lickinghole Creek Basin. Kent said new state regulations will also require improvements to the Beaver Creek dam spillway.
CROZETgazette
11
CLOVER CARROLL
APRIL 2017
Melody Warnick presents “Loving Where You Live”
Loving Where You Live with the Festival of the Book By Clover Carroll clover@crozetgazette.com “Good towns don’t just happen,” explained Melody Warnick to a large crowd at the Crozet Library March 22. “People help to create their towns and cities; our towns are what we think they are.” In a community as active and beloved as Crozet, Ms. Warnick was preaching to the choir—we don’t need reasons to love where we live!—but her presentation explored how we can make our community even better. The Virginia Festival of the Book program, titled “Loving Where You Live,” was sponsored by Charlottesville Tomorrow, the Crozet Community Association, and the Tom Tom Founders Festival. Ms. Warnick, author of This is Where You Belong: The Art and Science of Loving the Place You Live, was joined by Anthony Flaccavento, author of Building a Healthy Economy from the Bottom Up: Harnessing RealWorld Experience for Transformative Change. The library meeting room was packed with local dignitaries and regular residents, including Albemarle County Supervisor Ann Mallek, Crozet Community Association president Tim Tolson, Assistant County Executive Lee Catlin, JMRL supporter Bill Schrader, and board members of the Crozet Trails Crew. Ms. Mallek pointed out the appropriateness of holding such a meeting at the Crozet Library, one of the “crown jewels” of the county.
Tolson offered Crozet family crest stickers and magnets as an example of our strong sense of place. Anne DeVault of Over the Moon Bookstore in Piedmont Place sold books in the lobby. All of these attendees, as well as the book festival itself, exemplified the speakers’ message. Warnick outlined three categories to describe how we decide where to live: Mobile, Stuck, and Rooted. Currently, a large portion of the American public falls into the Mobile category; the average American moves 11.7 times in his or her lifetime, and 36 million people move every year. The Stuck category is comprised of people who do not have the ability to relocate—in terms of job, income, and other resources. Those who are Rooted, she explained, choose to live where they do and take action to make themselves part of the community. They exhibit “place attachment,” which has proven benefits such as deeper relationships, more social capital, and health benefits including living longer. In other words, a rooted life can be more meaningful and satisfying. To gauge our level of place attachment, Warnick asked the audience a quick quiz, with ten statements with which we were to agree or disagree including “I feel like I belong in this community,” “I can rely on people in this town to help me,” “If something exciting were happening in this community, I’d
continued on page 30
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CROZETgazette
APRIL 2017
Third Thursday at The Lodge at Old Trail
LISA MARTIN
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april 20 5:30 pm
Phil James Presents: “A Century-or-so of Crozet History” This month we’re excited to bring you Phil James presenting “A Century-or-so of Crozet History”. Phil is a native of western Albemarle County and he has spent four decades researching and gathering stories of the people and communities of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Phil’s presentation will include vintage photos, narrative and anecdotes related to the history of the village of Crozet. He will also be discussing his books, Secrets of the Blue Ridge: Stories from Western Albemarle, Volumes One & Two. The evening will be filled with wonderful stories and pictures from the past and is one Third Thursday you won’t want to miss. So, make your plans today and be sure and join us for this fascinating and exciting journey back in time. OPEN TO THE PUBLIC! Make your reservation early. RSVP to 434.823.9100 or rsvp@lodgeatoldtrail.com 330 Claremont Lane Crozet, Virginia 22932
www.lodgeatoldtrail.com INDEPENDENT LIVING • ASSISTED LIVING • MEMORY CARE
David and James King
Conservation —continued from page 1
be developed, and it’s nice to know that our kids won’t have to sell the farm to pay the taxes.” Conservation easements have surged in popularity over the last 20 years as a prime tool for preserving land as open space, left in its natural state and undeveloped. An easement is a legal agreement between a landowner and a nonprofit organization (a “land trust”) that restricts development and certain commercial or industrial uses of the land. The agreement essentially splits off the owner’s development rights and conveys them to the land trust to hold into perpetuity. Most often, a landowner gives up the right to construct additional buildings or alter waterways on her property but retains ownership of the land and continues to live on it. The arrangement is a serious commitment, full of long-term pros and cons. The upside largely benefits the public: the land remains as open space, wildlife habitats are undisturbed, streams and rivers are protected, views are preserved. The property cannot be divided or developed, ever. Giving up the development rights on the property represents a significant loss of value to the landowner, and that is how the monetary value of the easement is measured—as the difference between the market value of the land “before” versus “after” the restrictions are placed on it. “In this area, based on appraisals, typically there’s a 20 to 40 percent reduction in the value of the land when a conser-
vation easement is placed on it,” said Rex Linville, a land conservation expert who covers Albemarle and Greene Counties for the Piedmont Environmental Council (PEC). “It’s a significant gift.” The landowner is compensated for this loss by receiving federal and state tax benefits if the easement is donated, or by receiving payment directly from the land trust if sold. The land usually remains private with no public access, and may continue to be used for farming or ranching consistent with open space provisions. Notably, the easement is legally bound to the property deed and is permanent, passing down through any property transfers in the future. The permanence of an easement is a feature, not a bug. “Landowners don’t need to protect the land from themselves,” said Linville. “They are worried about the next owner, the next generation. They want to protect the land from the future.” Forever seems like a long time to exclude building rights, but Linville points out that development decisions often have the same effect. “Building a set of houses or a shopping center on a piece of property is also a long-term use of the land, but people don’t always think about it that way.” As a means of land preservation, the use of easements in the U.S. has been around since the 1800s. The earliest conservation easements were issued by local governments to create public parks in Boston and to provide scenic views along the Blue Ridge Parkway. In the mid-1900s they helped landrich but cash-poor farmers,
CROZETgazette investment. The easement allowed us to preserve it for future use by keeping it as a larger tract.” The family put all 327 acres of their farm under easement in 2000, just as they planted their first grapevines without knowing the future viability of the operation or how the local area would change. As growth has progressed westward from Charlottesville over the years, the value of the property has only increased. In their easement agreement, the family bargained for the rights to operate the winery, and for three additional parcels on the land should their descendants wish to live there in the future. In King’s view, the tax credits are a negligible inducement for working farmers. “There were 27 division rights on this land,” he said. “If you wanted to sell them off today, that would dwarf the tax benefit. I expect that many people who put their land in easement must by definition have the ability to give up opportunity and economic value for the purpose of preserving the land.” While most land trusts such as The Nature Conservancy and the Piedmont Environmental Council are private agencies, Virginia’s easement landscape is dominated by a public entity called the Virginia Outdoors Foundation (VOF). Created by the Virginia General Assembly in 1966, the VOF is the only state-mandated land trust in the country, and its funding by state budget appropriation and grants means it doesn’t have to rely on donations or outside fundrais-
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pressured by rising land values and property and estate taxes, to be able to keep their land and lower their tax burden. It was not until the 1990s, when conservationists began to recognize the value of easements in curbing out-of-control development, that the number of land trusts in the U.S. exploded, increasing four-fold between 1985 and 2000 to over 1,600 agencies. Over the same period, the tax treatment of easements has turned strongly favorable, giving the landowner of a donated easement a charitable deduction of 50 percent of the easement’s value (100 percent for farmers) with generous carryover terms, a 40 percent state tax credit, an estate tax exclusion, and a property tax basis reduction. While these benefits are meaningful, so too are the constraints for the landowner. The market value decline makes future loans potentially harder to obtain and lowers the value of the estate for the owner’s descendants. Restrictions on the use of the property can be severe, including limitations on building any other residences on the land for family members and on activities such as selling crops at a farm stand. David King, founder and owner of King Family Vineyards, believes the motivation for an owner to put land under easement has to be preservation, not economics. “Why would you put an easement on a tract of land when you might be able to sell it for a fortune?” is the question he anticipates, before laying out his view. “Our intent was not to buy it as an
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CROZETgazette
APRIL 2017
LISA MARTIN
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Crozet Community Easter Sunrise Service Sunday, April 16, 2017 6:30 a.m. at Mint Springs Park
Latishia Wilson and Beth Costa
Henley Embraces Cultural Responsiveness By Lisa Martin
lisamartin@crozetgazette.com
Henley Middle School’s advancement toward greater cultural responsiveness among its student and teacher population was recently galvanized by a single incident. Late last year, a Henley student was taunted on social media for his cultural background. He subsequently confronted the offending classmate at school, resulting in a discussion with Principal Beth Costa. Rather than treating the situation solely as a conflict management matter, Costa asked for the student’s help. “What can we do here to ensure that this doesn’t happen to you again, and also not to anyone else?” she asked him. Henley’s Assistant Principal Latishia Wilson posed the same question within the school’s newly formed Equity Team—a small group of administrators and faculty established this year at every Albemarle County school to learn and share culturally responsive teaching (CRT) strategies. Henley’s team is led by Wilson and C’ta Delaurier, its Diversity Resource Teacher, and includes eight other teachers from various disciplines across the school. The team’s answer—to organize student groups to advise them on cultural concerns—reflects a key CRT theme of connectedness. Culturally responsive teaching is an area of professional development for teachers that
has been gaining traction across the division as a way to increase student achievement. The goal is for teachers to examine their own mindset and cultural influences and to reflect on how those might impact their teaching. By being aware of their own as well as their students’ cultural influences, teachers can adjust their teaching strategies to motivate and engage students more fully. “It all connects,” said Bernard Hairston, executive director of the Office of Community Engagement in Albemarle County and creator of a new CRT certification program for teachers. “If we motivate students we engage them, and if we engage them we can maximize their achievement,” he said. “The primary focus of CRT is on pedagogy, and the secondary focus is on issues like relationships and understanding culture. At Henley, they have taken it to another level by creating that student voice as part of the process.” Key to Henley’s approach was that it grew organically from the concerns of the kids themselves. With the support of the original student’s family, Costa worked with other Western feeder pattern principals and their teams and shared ideas. “We said, we have our voice, now we need to get the voice of the students.” At Henley, groups of fifteen students, diverse in terms of gender, religion, and racial and ethnic backgrounds, were ran-
CROZETgazette
APRIL 2017
domly invited to be part of halfday workshops to talk about their perspectives. The workshops featured discussion topics and team-building activities mostly centered on self-reflection. They examined their own values by listing both material and non-material things that were very important to them, and deciding which of those would be easiest and hardest to give up. Questions such as, ‘What do you hold close to you?’ and ‘How do you get to know other people?’ allowed the students to examine their cultural differences in a personal way, while sharing common experiences and strategies. “It’s really empowering them,” said Costa. “The kids start with themselves, and now it will build. The whole idea is to invite other kids in, invite a kid to the next meeting, so that we build our understanding of each other.” The students found what they discovered in these meetings to be so powerful that the workshops were repeated for
the parent-teacher organization and then for the entire faculty. Henley plans to incorporate these kinds of reflective discussions into daily meetings at the Sting level, in groups of 16 to 18 students. Can the benefits of this program be measured? Costa thinks it’s possible. “We do quarterly surveys that ask the students if they feel safe at school, if they feel that adults here care for them,” she said, and those could reveal a shift upward. “We could measure numbers of discipline referrals, the numbers of kids recommended to counselors for conflict,” in hopes those would decline. “It’s all about building relationships with students, building a community,” she said, and she revels in the possibilities. “There’s absolutely nothing like the power of bringing these kids together, and out here in the Western schools, there seems to be support everywhere you look.”
To the Editor
should not be approached. As I have come to learn, this isn’t just for aggressive dogs, but for sick dogs, blind dogs, dogs that are afraid of children, or for any other number of reasons. While I don’t think my dogs need yellow ribbons, I really value the idea of giving all dogs space because they’re strangers; you don’t know them! People need to keep this in mind. It’s not enough for a person who has off-leash dogs to say, “Oh, they’re friendly!” Yes, but what if the dogs your dogs are about to encounter aren’t? All dogs deserve walks, regardless of whether or not they like to be approached by strangers and strange dogs. When you bring your dogs to Mint Springs and break the law by allowing them to run the trails off-leash, you are infringing on my right as a law-abiding, tax-paying resident to enjoy a safe, pleasant walk with my dogs. I hope, as the dog-lovers we are, that the people who have been choosing to do this re-think their decisions, and allow the rest of us some peace.
—continued from page 2
this situation on the trails, my fellow dog walker will offer up an excuse. Twice, recently, it’s been from different women who complained that it’s just too difficult to control their dog(s) on the leash. Well, they make all different types of harnesses and leads, like the figure eight for example, that make it easy for small women to walk big dogs. I know, because I’m a small woman with two big dogs. To anyone who might say, “well, you should have socialized your dog more to begin with and you wouldn’t be having this problem,” let me say I used to be you! Yes, before I had the experience I have and the education it led me to receive. Part of that education is the Yellow Dog Project. It’s a movement that I first discovered where I take my dog to day camp each week, at Pampered Pets in Charlottesville (yes, both of my dogs are well-socialized). The goal of the project is to create a movement where the public understands dogs wearing yellow ribbons on their leash or collar need extra space, or
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CROZETgazette
APRIL 2017
By Eric J. Wallace eric@crozetgazette.com For baseballers growing up in Crozet, Gene Sandridge’s strike call is something they all heard and likely haven’t forgotten. This is because, for over 25 years, the 69-year-old called baseball games from behind the plate for the Peachtree and Babe Ruth League, as well as the Virginia High School League. “I first started up at the field at what’s now the Field School which, when I was coming up, used to be the old elementary school,” said Sandridge. “Back then, it was an open field that didn’t have a fence, so if an outfielder made an error, a player might score a homerun when he should’ve probably only had a single.” Sandridge’s three-decadeslong love affair with Crozet baseball didn’t begin until his oldest son, Chris, turned six. “I’d always loved baseball and as a kid I used to listen to the Yankees playing on the radio whenever we could pick up the station,” he said, recalling the evenings he spent riveted to the news of now-legendary figures like Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle, Roger Maris and others. “I wanted to play, but we didn’t have the money and daddy said he needed my help
with the chores. But I always listened to the games and, later on, watched them on television. I was a big, big fan.” When Chris expressed interest in the game—he’d been asking to play since he was four—Sandridge wanted give his son the opportunity to play baseball that he himself never had: And when the league needed an extra coach and Chris asked daddy if he’d do it? Well, Sandridge couldn’t say no. That was 1985. Sandridge was 37 years old. “As a coach, my biggest concern was to teach the kids how to play, and winning always came second,” said Sandridge. “If a kid wanted to learn, I tried to teach him as much as I could about how to play. I was inspired and I wanted to see all the kids have a good-time and get the opportunity to go as far with it as they wanted to go.” When Chris asked him to do it all over again the following year, Sandridge said yes. By 1989, his second son, Troy, was entering the league. “I never wanted to force it on them and I wanted to make sure they still wanted me there, so every year I’d ask them, ‘Do you want me to be your coach?’ And they’d say, yes dad, we do,” said Sandridge. “That always made me feel really good. Like I was
ERIC WALLACE
Legendary Peachtree Umpire Sandridge Retires After 30 Years
Gene Sandridge at Crozet Park holding a commemorative plaque from the Peachtree Baseball organization alongside a photo of his 1985 T-ball team.
doing the right thing.” Ultimately, the cycle continued for 13 years, ending when both boys aged out of the league at 15. When Chris entered high school, there came a new development. “He came to me and said he wanted to be an umpire, and he wanted me to go get certified with him so we could do it together,” said Sandridge. “Now, I’d been pulled out of the stands to call games at the league sometimes when we had a no-show, but I’d never really given any thought to becoming a certified umpire. However, I wanted to support my son, so I did it.” After acquiring VHSL certification, considering the
fact most games required at least two umpires, Sandridge continued to support Chris by offering to serve along with him at games. “The problem with it was, if I didn’t do it, he’d have to rely on other people, which made for a lot of phone calls and scheduling, and even then, a lot of times, the other guy would end up not showing up or getting there late,” explained Sandridge. “I felt like that wasn’t something that was good for the kids, so I just told Chris I’d be his partner at it and that’s how we started calling games together.” Working both the area high school and Peachtree games continued on page 24
CROZETgazette ERIC WALLACE
APRIL 2017
LE FOOT SOCCER CAMP
Sunday, June 18 • 4 - 6 p.m. Monday - Friday, June 19 - 23 • 8:30-11:30 a.m. Field School Of Charlottesville 1408 Crozet Ave, Crozet
For Boys & Girls Birth Years 2000-2012 Our camp is specifically designed for individual players committed to soccer. Players are carefully grouped according to age and ability. Offered as an excellent tune-up for upcoming travel, ODP/PDP, district and state try-outs. Individuals will greatly benefit from our unique training concepts.
Visit www.art2beat.com to download application Contact Lesly Gourdet: jahrah@art2beat.com or 347-698-3953 Retiring umpire and former director Gene Sandridge threw this spring’s Peachtree Baseball League opening pitch.
Peachtree Baseball League Kicks Off Its Season By Eric Wallace eric@crozetgazette.com In the chilly morning hours of Saturday, March 18, hundreds of parents, children and supporters gathered in Crozet Park for the opening ceremony for the Peachtree Baseball League of Albemarle’s spring season. There to throw the opening pitch was Gene Sandridge, a long-time league fixture and umpire, who announced his retirement earlier this year. “Gene has been with us for 30 years and has been crucial to the development of our organization, and served as such an asset to our children,” said PBLA president Cheryl Madison, who herself has been with the league for 23 years. “We already presented him with a plaque honoring his service a few months ago, and are proud that he can be here to open our season.” As his pitch sailed through the strike zone into the mitt of 12-year-old Peachtree veteran catcher Eli Scarbrough, the crowd went wild with applause. This year marks the first that Peachtree has offered softball. “We offered softball for the first time in the fall of 2016,” said Madison. “While we had just a few teams in the fall and around 33 players, we’ve doubled our numbers since then and, this spring, have five teams—two 8-youth and three 10-youth teams, with about 12 players each.”
The expansion was the result of work put in by committed parents, Madison said. “We’d been fighting for and wanting this to happen for years, but there was no one that had the drive and was willing to put in the hours it took to make it happen,” she said. “But this year, the parents just came together, got organized, and were willing to put in that effort to make softball a reality. The girls really, really wanted to play and they reached out to their friends and drummed up a lot of support—there was just a great turnout.” In addition to the softballers, Peachtree has 27 boys’ teams ranging from T-ball—that’s four and five-year-olds—on up to the Babe Ruth League players, who are aged 13–16; in all, 324 boys. “We want to thank our sponsors, parents and volunteers— without you none of this would be possible,” Madison told the opening day audience. “Because of you, these kids get a chance to be on the field playing ball, having a great time, enjoying and learning the game of baseball and softball with new and old friends alike.”
The Crozet Gazette is a proud sponsor of this spring’s Peachtree Softball.
Go, Nemos!
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APRIL 2017
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It’s the perfect community improvement effort for busy people, said Jennifer Homan. She’s the founder of the Crozet Cleanup Crew. “It’s designed to be as easy as possible for people to join us. You don’t have to go to meetings, you don’t pay to join, there are no background checks, and you do it on your own schedule.” Jennifer, her husband Eric and their two children—Lucas, 9, and Sylvie, 5—are new to the area. “We noticed a lot of trash around our home in Greenwood,” Homan said. “We simply went out for an hour and picked it up.” The family took a photo of their haul, got a Facebook page and invited others to join them, picking up trash wherever they found it and posting a photo to the page. The response has been great, both on the page and from people they meet on their trash
hauls. Homan decided to add a further incentive: she’s gotten businesses involved, asking them to donate gift certificates, which she passes on to volunteers on the Crozet Cleanup Crew. The Mudhouse was the sponsor for March, and she herself is a sponsor. She’s an accomplished baker and awarded a cake recently to monthly winner Sam Harris of Crozet, who picked up trash at the bottom of the Crozet dog park. Odd things have turned up: a deer skull, a printer, a shredded tire, a wading pool. Mostly though, it’s what you might expect in the way of beer cans, fast food wrappers and plastic bags. Homan said the effort has benefits beyond cleaner surroundings. “It’s a family thing for us,” she said, “and we want the children to see that their efforts are important.” Find the Crozet Cleanup Crew on Facebook: www.facebook.com/ crozetcc
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CROZETgazette
APRIL 2017
By Phil James
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phil@crozetgazette.com
Dixie Flying Service Those seemingly winged horses observed each spring and fall at the Foxfield Races on Garth Road are not the first beings that have taken to the air above that storied acreage. A half-century before the popular Albemarle County steeplechase event was inaugurated in 1978, steeds of another pedigree were bent hard to the task of leveling the bumps and dips and installing drainage on the former Fretwell, and later, Wilhoit, farm land. Workmen with the aid of tractors and 40 or so mules busily graded runways in preparation for central Virginia’s first commercial airfield. Edward Sturhahn, president of newly minted Dixie Flying Service Inc., secured a deed in May 1929 for the 145acre tract from Hugh Garth who had taken possession of the property less than three years earlier. Sturhahn and his peers had come of age during an era of rapid industrial advancements. Rail service that radically altered lifestyles in the 19th century was, by the 1920s, shedding business to private trucks and automobiles. The early 20th century saw important advancements with experimental aircraft being tested by dreamers and bicycle mechanics. The Curtiss Exhibition Company, sponsored by the U.Va. Aero Club, performed above Lambeth Field in 1912. The most successful of those aviation pioneers saw their innovations fill the skies over World War I battlefields. In 1917, German planes shot down former U.Va. student James R. McConnell during an aerial dogfight. A statue to his memory, crafted by Gutzon Borglum and titled “The Aviator,” was installed on University grounds in 1919.
at
Wood Field
Dixie Flying Service inaugurated regularly scheduled air service from Wood Field on Garth Road in 1929. The former airfield now hosts the semi-annual Foxfield Races. [Photo by Ralph Holsinger; courtesy of University of Virginia Library]
Months after McConnell’s untimely passing, another U.Va. student, 20-year-old Charlottesville resident Robert H. “Buck” Wood Jr., entered the flying corps. Scarcely a year later on August 13, 1918, his youthful spark was quenched when his observation plane crashed along the French front. First Lieutenant Wood’s remains are interred in St. Mihiel American Cemetery at Thiaucourt, France. A stone originally erected to his memory by comrades at Issoudun, France, was brought to Charlottesville and placed in his family’s section in Riverview Cemetery. Some of the daring military aviators fortunate enough to return home after the war embraced another exciting, albeit dangerous, career. The curious public thronged to open spaces to witness amazing feats executed by those winged war heroes. Tragic accidents were commonplace, but did little to stem the tide of barnstorming aerial exhibitionists or their awestruck spectators. During the next several years, the sight
June and July 1931 saw successive violent windstorms that damaged planes and destroyed the original hangar at Wood Field on Garth Road near Owensville. [Photo by Ralph Holsinger; courtesy of University of Virginia Library]
and sound of machines flying overhead in Central Virginia became more common. Howardsville residents on the James River marveled at their first airship sighting in 1918. Charlottesville Aerial Motor Corporation advanced plans for a flying field off Rio Road in 1920. Flyers from Lynchburg stopped over in Charlottesville to give rides and advertise their Curtiss Aeroplanes. One Saturday afternoon, local businessman W.P. Mertens dropped 1,000 advertising circulars from the sky over the city. In 1921, an airplane crashed on U.Va.’s Massie Field in front of 2,000 spectators attending a track and field meet. Amazingly, the two operators, gashed and shaken, survived. Problems of a different sort occurred at Crozet in 1922 when only two paying customers showed up for an exhibition. A Daily Progress pundit described that day thusly: “The air ship came to Crozet But didn’t get the “biz,” With their dollar a minute Bird flights o’er the town; For tho’ we’d like to go up, To where the sunshine is, We’ll wait until the prices have come down.” In June of ’29, Dixie Flying signed a contract for the construction of a 60x60’ steel hangar. Local contractors Failes & Burrage built a Spanish-style clubhouse. That centerpiece of the airfield included a large main floor meeting room for flight classes and social functions, a private dining room and kitchen, chart room, and restrooms. The basement contained dressing rooms and showers. A rooftop observation tower allowed an unobstructed view of the field’s three landing strips. Boxwoods adorned the grounds surrounding the clubhouse. Dixie Flying’s vice-president Capt. continued on page 20
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Dixie Flying —continued from page 19
Malcolm Robinson piloted the service’s first official passenger, Columbus C. Wells, owner of New Dominion Book Shop at Jarman’s Inc., on a nonstop hop to New York City on August 21. Within weeks, a decision was made to name the airport Wood Field in honor of WWI aviator Buck Wood. At the close of 1929, Dixie Flying Service at Wood Field was numbered among the state’s 31 airports. Each of its three landing strips was in service; the clubhouse had an able manager; and its active Aviation Club had 50 members. The airport officially was christened Wood Field on Memorial Day 1930. Charlottesville-Albemarle Post 74, American Legion, organized the event. Dignitaries participated alongside the Monticello Guard and VFW. Charlottesville’s Municipal Band performed, and a bronze tablet memorializing 1st Lt. R.H. “Buck” Wood Jr. was unveiled at the airport’s entrance by his sister, Mrs. Isabelle Wood Holt.
General William L. “Billy” Mitchell, who had been in charge of the American Expeditionary Forces (A.E.F) air forces during WWI, delivered the keynote address. Mitchell, who would come to be recognized by many as the father of the U.S. Air Force, noted, “When ‘Young Wood’ entered the service, there were hardly fifty American aviators. He was therefore one of the forerunners of a new force.” During the Great Depression, Dixie Flying Service Inc. inaugurated regularly scheduled air service up and down the east coast. They also acquired Byrd Field at Richmond and the municipal airport at Danville. Two devastating storms struck Wood Field a month apart in 1931. Fierce winds tore planes from their moorings, tossing them like toys across the field and onto the highway, while lightning struck another. Two burst into flames that reduced them to tangled ruins. Hailstones riddled fabric-covered wings and perforated metal fuselages. During the first storm, the hangar was unroofed and damaged beyond repair. The next storm damaged more planes plus the replacement
Descriptive letterheads, gummed baggage labels, postcards and advertising placards only hint at the fantastic changes taking place in central Virginia in the 1920s and ‘30s. [Courtesy of Phil James Historical Images Collection]
Dixie Flying Service’s fleet of airplanes carried up to six passengers in enclosed comfort, a giant leap from the Wrights’ Kitty Hawk glider only two decades earlier. [Photo by Ralph Holsinger; courtesy of University of Virginia Library]
hangar that was still under construction. Losses not covered by insurance added to the burden of the economic times. Another company office was opened at White Sulphur Springs, WV. The Cavalier Daily noted in November ’32 a new plane purchased by the Flying Club. The club’s optimistic yet dwindling membership reflected realities of that day.
In March 1933, Dixie Flying Service was dissolved by its stockholders. Its landing strips were left available for emergency landings, sans liability. Only an occasional air show during the ensuing years, along with the empty replacement hangar, reminded passersby of the lofty dreams, and dreamers, that had taken flight at that special place.
Dixie Flying Service’s easy-to-read fare chart, c.1931. [Courtesy of Phil James Historical Images Collection]
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 © 2003–2017 Phil James
CROZETgazette
APRIL 2017
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All Are Welcome at Crozet Baptist Church! Easter Service
Crozet Baptist Church
46th Annual Community
Sunday, April 16 • 10:30 am
Easter Sunrise Service
(...for those who feel 6:30 is a bit too early)
Mint Springs Valley Park
Easter Egg Hunt
Sunday, April 16 • 6:30 am
Old Trail Village Center
Easter Breakfast
Saturday, April 15 1 - 2:30 pm
Complimentary
Crozet Baptist Church
Sunday, April 16 • 7:30 - 10 am St. George Avenue
Minister of Children, Youth and Community Ministries
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Railroad Avenue
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CROZETgazette
APRIL 2017
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Lauren Rider as Princess Winnifred the Woebegone (aka Fred) and Cutter Mendenhall as Prince Dauntless the Drab face off with Indigo Witt as Queen Aggravain in WAHS’ superb production of Once Upon a Mattress.
Talent to the Max in the WAHS Spring Musical By Clover Carroll clover@crozetgazette.com In our youths, many of us enjoyed reading the classic fairy tales by the Brothers Grimm and Hans Christian Andersen. But do you remember any that began with an out-of-wedlock pregnancy or a loud, fearless princess strong enough to swim moats and stand up to overbearing queens? Yet that is the hilarious, updated version of Andersen’s “The Princess and the Pea” (1835) we got in Western Albemarle High School Theatre Ensemble’s fabulous production of Once Upon a Mattress, with music by Mary Rodgers and lyrics by Marshall Barer, on the weekend of March 16-18. This re-envisioning of the classic tale premiered in 1959 with Carol Burnett in the leading role, offering a decidedly 60s, gender-bending (dare I say the fem- word?) view of woman’s role and capabilities. As Caitlin Pitts’ Director’s Notes point out, “Winnifred shows us … that true nobility comes from being true to oneself, not from commanding power or wearing a crown.” This clever fairy tale parody, with assistant direction by Olivia Gallmeyer and Sierra Reynolds, vocal direction by Amber Blakovich assisted by Chloe Horner, and a 30-plus student orchestra directed by Joel Hartshorn, featured a cast
and crew of 130 from both Henley Middle School and WAHS. The show was dedicated to choral teacher Eric Betthauser, who died in a car accident on November 22, 2016. Thursday night’s proceeds, as well as donations collected all weekend at the door or mailed to WAHS, will support a scholarship in Betthauser’s honor to benefit students pursuing the arts after high school. With lively choreography by Becca Vourvoulas assisted by Arina Bratkovska and artful program design by Laura Bendick (who also served as stage manager), this rollicking production would have been right up Betthauser’s alley. Sweet-voiced tenor Tristan Rose as the Minstrel, promising to tell us the real story of the well-known “Princess and the Pea,” begins by explaining the underlying thorny situation: the kingdom is living under a curse. No loving couples can be married until Prince Dauntless the Drab finds a wife, but his smother-mother, Queen Aggravain, has devised impossible “princess” tests so difficult that none of the twelve applicants so far has been able to pass them. Moreover, King Sextimus has been struck dumb and will not be released until “the mouse devours the hawk.” When Sir Harry discovers that his beloved, Lady Larken, is pregnant, he recognizes that they need to
CROZETgazette marry ASAP and sets off to find the “true” princess that the Queen claims to be seeking. The large chorus of courtiers then sings “An Opening for a Princess,” naively declaring that the ideal princess should be “dainty and delicate as a dragonfly’s wing.” Cutter Mendenhall as Prince Dauntless was simultaneously glum and eager as he begged his mother to let him grow up and marry. Evolving from a henpecked wimp to a courageous young man by the end of the show, Mendenhall’s lovely voice and agile dancing won the audience to his side. Indigo Witt gave an outstanding performance as the self-centered and condescending Queen Aggravain, who disdains her silent but lecherous husband, and seems to have no intention of ever finding a suitable wife for her beloved son. But Stuart Schill as Sir Harry—who nearly stole the show with his fine acting and exquisite singing voice—comes through and finds a princess, who will come in at #13 and set in motion the undoing of the curse. In one of many ironies in the show, #13 is the lucky number for the entire royal court. Into this raucous melee arrives Princess Winnifred the Woebegone, played by Lauren Rider. Too impatient to wait for the drawbridge, she swims across the moat. Winnifred (nicknamed Fred)’s outspoken manner and physical prowess are the complete opposite of the dainty portrait of a princess painted in the opening song. But the prince is rightly swept off his feet. Dauntless and Winnifred make a refreshingly upside down couple. He admires her strength, both physical and emotional, and she is attracted to his gentleness.
APRIL 2017 Rider has an outsized talent and a Broadway-ready voice—powerful, pitch perfect, melodic, and a pleasure to listen to. She brought down the house as she bellowed “I’m Shy,” and delighted us with “The Swamps of Home.” Some might say she overdid it a bit as she channeled Burnett, but she did it so well that no one cared. I only wish she had softened a bit more by the end. The multi-talented Rider was also named a Rising Star for Visual Arts by the Piedmont Council of the Arts, along with Allie Morris for music and Jacob Chang-Rascle for photography. Morris played in the musical’s orchestra. Not only does Fred survive the Queen’s most devious test yet—requiring the ability to detect a pea under 20 mattresses—but also her strength rubs off on Dauntless, who at last finds the courage to stand up to his mother and tell her that he intends to marry Winnifred with or without permission. This, as it turns out, is the meaning of “the mouse must devour the hawk,” and the spell of silence over the King is broken—and passed on to the Queen, bringing comfort and joy to all concerned. Stuart Schill as Sir Harry and Ryann Sheehy as Lady Larken were perfect together, providing a foil to the troubled central couple and setting a sweet, romantic mood with their beautifully sung duet and the catchiest tune in the show, “In a Little While.” Julian Waters as the silent King, Benjamin Jessee as the Jester, and Tristan Jones as the minstrel made a zanily slapstick trio reminiscent of Danny Kaye or Donald O’Connor as they sing “The Minstrel, the Jester, and I.” Tyler Gale was a suitably sinister wizard who aids continued on page 23
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CROZETgazette
APRIL 2017
Gene Sandridge
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—continued from page 16
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“Worthy is the Lamb” Contemporary Easter Musical and Resurrection Message from Pastor Jim Hardwick April 16 at 10 a.m.
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kept the two busy for nearly a decade. During that time, despite working the night shift as a police security officer at the University of Virginia, Sandridge was constantly seeking to improve as an umpire. “I hate to say it, but so many times you go somewhere and you see an umpire that favors one side or the other,” he said. “I didn’t think that was right—the umpire shouldn’t be the one that decides the game. So, I tried to learn as much as I possibly could, keep consistent, and be fair to the kids. “Of course, when you’re umpiring, people are going to blame the ump. It took getting used to as a new umpire—when someone insulted you, you wanted to blow up. But you didn’t want to make a bad example for the kids, so you just had to keep a cool head and calm things down and keep your composure.” Take, for instance, Sandridge’s approach to the strike zone. It’s not the easiest thing to judge an 80 mile-perhour fastball relative to the batter’s true height (they tend to hunch) and the ball’s position over the plate. “What I realized after a while was the perfect way to place my head so as to be able to see the ball coming in without the catcher getting in the way,” he said. “Also, I’d position my line-of-sight even with the batter’s chest, so that way I could see exactly where the upper part of my strike zone was and simply glance down to see the plate. It’s a system I have, and while it definitely took some time to perfect, I think it keeps me consistent.” Over the years, this emphasis on fairness and integrity—not to mention dependability— defined Sandridge’s reputation among coaches, parents and players. Once, while attending one of Troy’s high school games in Greene County, an umpire didn’t show. The coaches talked and, knowing Sandridge was certified, the opposing coach asked him to call the bases. Only, thing was, Troy was pitching. “I didn’t really want to do it, but I knew the boys needed me and so I went ahead and said yes,” he said. “I was afraid some-
one would wind up accusing me of cheating, but I tried to envision the game as if it was a different situation, like Troy wasn’t even there.” Another time, at a Babe Ruth League game, a home plate umpire didn’t show. Sandridge was disgusted by the delay, and hunted down an old set of catcher’s equipment in the park’s storage shed. It was filthy and barely fit, but Sandridge dusted it off and jumped in behind the plate. “For me, it was always about the kids,” he said. “They wanted to play and I wanted to make sure they got to do that. It wasn’t their fault someone didn’t show up. They were there to play ball and I did what was necessary to make that happen.” Sandridge’s dedication led him to be named coordinator for scheduling all the umpires at Peachtree Baseball league games. With three separate divisions, over 400 players and dozens of teams, to say the gig—which was a volunteer position—was demanding would be a drastic understatement. “Each division would play a couple games during the week and then three or four on the weekend,” said Sandridge. “Sometimes I’d be up late working on the schedule and every week I’d umpire at least a couple of games. But a lot of times someone would call in on a Monday and tell me they couldn’t make their Wednesday or Thursday game, and I’d call Chris and he’d look out for dad and come help me out. So yeah, it was a lot of work. But I loved every minute of it.” Sandridge held the position for around six years before retiring. On his watch, an umpire never had to be pulled from the stands. And while that was largely due to his own willingness to step in, the point illustrates the selfless dedication for which Sandridge will be sorely missed. “We can fill his position, but we’ll certainly never be able to replace him,” said Cheryl Madison, the current president of the Peachtree Baseball League. She’s worked with the organization for 23 years. “Gene was always thinking about the kids and went above and beyond to put them first. He did so much for this organization and our community, and
continued on page 25
CROZETgazette
APRIL 2017
Salad in a Jar A few years ago, the idea of salad in a jar was all the rage. So I’m not claiming this as an original idea, but thought I’d write about it to remind all of us that this is a nifty way to carry lunch to work, or make road trip eating a real pleasure. I’ve used lunch-in-a-jar to get us all the way to California. I made six of them, put them in a cooler and we’d pull off at the nicest roadside rest area we could find and enjoy high-quality food, with little mess and very low cost. Three days of salad stayed perfectly fresh and tasty when packed like this and kept cool. The basic idea involves putting the salad dressing on the bottom so that your greens don’t get soggy. Then layer the salad with everything you like--finally stuffing the greens on top. The other advantage of this method is that if one person doesn’t like onions, you can
omit them from that person’s jar. As with many/most things these days, I learned about salad in a jar from one of my children. They keep me relevant. They make sure I don’t dress like an old lady. They tell me about the latest apps. They guarantee that my eyeglasses are cool. What would I do without them? I’ll give Kirsten the credit for this idea. She got it from a book by Julia Mirabella (Mason Jar Salads and More: 50 Layered Lunches to Grab and Go). I urge you to make salad in a jar and take a road trip, or go on out to Mint Springs for a picnic. Below is the salad that got us all the way to California. Bring a paper plate, napkin and fork. For an extra protein punch, bring a pop-top tin of tuna packed in oil and top the salad with tuna. One can of tuna will usually satisfy two people.
Salad to Go Starting at the bottom of a wide-mouth one-pint canning jar, layer: Blue cheese dressing, garbanzo beans, chopped spring onions (or not!), sliced radishes, grated carrots, sliced bell pepper, and grated cheddar. Fill to the brim with chopped spinach or lettuce. Don’t be afraid to stuff the greens.
Gene Sandridge —continued from page 24
we’re just so grateful for his contributions. He was sort of a quiet hero, and definitely a great role-model for our kids.” After Sandridge announced his retirement last fall, the league held a surprise ceremony at his final game and presented him with a commemorative plaque. “I feel like I’ve put in my time,” he said. “It’s not so much that I can’t do it any more as that I feel like it’s time for the young folks to step in and take over. I feel privileged to have been able to do this for as long as I did, and to have had the opportunity to get to know so
many great kids. The fact that they still come up to me today and want to say hello and thanks, that makes all the time and energy I put into it more than worth it.” Meanwhile, with his first grandchild approaching baseball age, when pressed, Sandridge revealed his retirement from umpiring may be freeing up space for a coaching comeback. “My grandson is three years old and will be turning four this June, and already he loves to play catch and swing the bat,” Sandridge confided with a laugh. “If he comes to me next year and says, ‘Granddaddy, will you be my coach?’ I can assure you that little voice will be tough to say no to!”
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O Death, where is your sting? O Hell, where is your victory? Christ is risen, and you are overthrown. Christ is risen, and the demons are fallen. Christ is risen, and the angels rejoice. Christ is risen, and life reigns! Celebrate Holy Week with us, from Holy Monday, April 10, to our midnight Easter service beginning Saturday, April 15. Schedule and more at www.stnicholasorthodoxchurch.org
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CROZETgazette LISA MARTIN
APRIL 2017
Conservation —continued from page 13
Sunday Worship 10:30 a.m. • 5804 Tabor Street, Crozet www.taborpc.org • 434-823-4255
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ing as private land trusts do. According to its website, the VOF’s 800,000-acre portfolio of conserved land is larger than the state of Rhode Island, accounting for 80 percent of all open-space easement acreage in Virginia. Prior to the year 2000, the VOF conserved fewer than 10,000 acres per year; after 2000, when the state tax credit provision was instituted, that rate jumped to over 40,000 acres per year. The state issued over $250 million in tax credits for easements in 2006 alone, during which the VOF received over 70,000 donated easement acres. “The difference is that while other land trusts do many things, from transportation to county issues to nature trails, we do largely one thing, which is easements,” said Sherry Buttrick, VOF Assistant Director of Easements for the region. “We are a vehicle to further private philanthropy for public benefit. Most people come to us because they want to make sure the property stays the way it is beyond their tenure on this earth.” Albemarle County contains over 500 conservation ease-
Rex Linville
ments covering almost 100,000 acres, 72 percent of which are held by VOF. Because it is a public foundation, the VOF’s funding is subject to budgetary constraints, and it counts on the advocacy of state legislators in each new cycle to avoid cuts. Rex Linville of the PEC worries about the continuation of the state conservation tax credits, currently capped at $75 million per year, for the same reasons. “You never know when circumstances might change and the tax credit program may be altered or drastically reduced,” he said. Whether the current rate of land conservation can be sustained is an open question. The pace may slow as the number of landowners in a position to donate easements dwindles, or the boom may be just beginning. Future funding will certainly play a key role. When the conservation tax credit was established by Virginia legislators in 2000, did taxpayers expect to contribute $1.5 billion (the value of credits issued through 2015) to land conservation, and can that level be maintained? Conservationists hope so, but time will tell. As Mark Twain said of investing in land, “They’re not making any more.” ALLIE PESCH
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The farm across from Western Ridge and Wickam Pond is in a conservation easement, preventing the Crozet growth area from crossing north of Rte. 240 there.
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CROZETgazette
APRIL 2017
Bluebirds —continued from page 1
Become a CAREGiver
Charlottesville-Albemarle area, Mint Springs is one of the oldest trails, established in the 1980s by Bob Hammond. Later monitors were Bill Minor and, more recently, Ron Kingston. Dunn credits Kingston as a local pioneer who began establishing bluebird trails throughout the area more than 30 years ago. “He continues to be very active in this program and has monitored and maintained the trail at Mint Springs for the past eight years,” she said. Besides being loved for their beauty, bluebirds are sought after by gardeners because they eat the worms and insects that prey on garden plants. “We’re used to seeing robins perched on the ground, pulling worms out of likely spots,” Dunn said. The bluebird style is different: they watch the ground from a branch and swoop down on the unsuspecting caterpillars or spiders below. They’ll also eat winterberries, holly berries and other small fruits. Dunn’s a retired lab biologist who moved to Charlottesville with her husband to work in a lab at U.Va. In retirement, she became a master naturalist, with a particular enthusiasm for birds. “Now I’m more of a field biologist,” she said. After accepting the care of the local trails from Kingston, she’s learned some additional skills, including repairing the bluebird boxes and the guards that discourage snakes from slithering into the openings meant for nesting pairs. She’s learned to recognize the nests of
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the nefarious house sparrow by the sloppy construction. “They incorporate cigarettes, chewing gum, almost anything,” she said. She’ll remove this invasive species to make room for the more useful and pleasant bluebird that prefers a tidy little nest of grasses and pine needles. “We also welcome tree swallows, another helpful, native bird, in the boxes.” On a chilly March morning, Dunn was inspecting the seven boxes in Mint Springs. “No nests as yet,” she said, “but that’s a good sign.” Birds that settle down in the boxes too early face weather-related challenges. She travels with a number of tools for making repairs, as well as a stool to reach the 7- to 8-foot high boxes. Boxes face northeast, towards the entrance to Mint Springs, to minimize mid-summer scorching. Most typical is the bluebird pair with one nest of four to seven eggs per season, although bluebirds may have as many as three families in a season in this area. There’s usually a diminishing numbers of eggs each time. “Towards the end, they are just exhausted,” Dunn said. Over time, bluebird monitors have learned that it’s a tricky balance, she said. The boxes have to be easy enough for a monitor to open fairly quickly with a simple screwdriver, but a little too difficult for a curious passerby, not to mention a curious bear. And the metal guards that keep raccoons or snakes from bluebird home invasion have to prove a substantial disincentive to potential intruders but fairly harmless to someone who bumps up against one to catch a frisbee. Generally, “we
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Two Eastern bluebirds (male on the left and female on the right) visit the Free Union yard of D extensively about her experience with bluebirds in her blog, “home, garden, life,” at dianel construction, recipes for bluebird food, and the visual progress of young bluebirds in the ne
CROZETgazette THERESA CURRY
APRIL 2017
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The Builder A suitable and safe nesting site, watching over open land but with nearby trees, is essential for successful nesting. It’s also the male bluebird’s claim to paternal worthiness. Typically, he positions himself near a desirable home with a beak full of grasses suitable for nest-building as a visual proof that he’s a good provider. It’s a pose for the benefit of the area’s female bluebirds, who actually do the nest building. So it’s a lucky thing for local
Diane LaSauce. LaSauce photographs and writes lasauce.wordpress.com, including proper house est.
bluebird bachelors that Clark Walter, an Ivy resident with a well-equipped shop, became interested in building bluebird boxes. Clark, who had worked for various international programs to fund the arts, private charities and to prevent species extinction, met Dunn at a local master naturalist class shortly after he retired. He invited her to examine his Owensfield Road property for its suitability for a bluebird trail. Once the two mapped out the best sites, Walter asked for plans and offered to build his own boxes for the trail. People from the master naturalist class, then the Virginia Bluebird Society, and then random bird lovers all over the country asked him for boxes, and the requests just kept increasing, he said. To say that Walter has refined bluebird-box building to an art is an understatement. A very organized man, Walter ran his “Captain Breck’s Buttery Good Rumcakes” business alongside his work and other interests, and after he retired, operated “Captain Breck’s Custom Carpentry.” He knew the value of ordering in bulk and planning for efficient production. Before assembling the hundreds of nest boxes this last October, Walter had cut and pre-drilled all the pieces and parts, and stacked them in sequential order ready to assemble. He uses spreadsheets to track orders. Neighbors began noticing forklifts of metal and huge stacks of lumber unloading at his shop door as his orders expanded from materials for 20 nest boxes in 2012 to more than 600 in the fall of 2016, along continued on page 47
ichael Cvetan o er & M v bby St. Ours, ich • rdin A Ga 12 Bo J i m my P ily APR •
wait until there are signs of a predator problem before installing the guards,” she said. Locally, bluebirds are thriving. Dunn keeps statistics for Virginia, and reports that the number of fledglings per nest box in Albemarle and Fluvanna counties has held steady, with a spike in 2013—most likely due to the cicada hatch, she says— and a dip in 2014 that reflects the weather extremes of that year.
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Tabor Presbyterian Church (USA) Worship Service Sundays • 10:30 a.m.
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APRIL 2017
Book Festival —continued from page 11
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want to be involved,” and “My town isn’t perfect, but there are a lot of things that make me love it.” When she asked how many in the audience agreed with 8 or more of the statements, she was surprised that a large majority of the audience raised their hands; only two answered yes on fewer than 3 statements. This audience member scored a perfect ten! In her book, Warnick proposes several strategies for becoming more rooted, such as getting involved in town activities, shopping local, eating local food, starting businesses, and spending time in nature. The Crozet trails are one of the many things that makes Crozet feel like home. She discussed several examples of towns that had been rejuvenated by “creative initiators” who found ways to make the town what they wanted it to be, such as opening art centers and starting farmers markets. “Say yes to opportunities,” she advised. Flaccavento enlarged on Warnick’s message with economic strategies for strengthening local communities. He began by echoing Nobel Laureate Joseph Stiglitz’s Friday presentation on income inequality at the Martin Luther King Performing Arts Center, with some eye-opening statistics. While the U.S. population has grown by 42 percent since 1980 and the U.S. economy, as measured by the GDP (gross domestic product), has grown by 530 percent, individual wealth has declined because 93 percent of all new wealth produced has gone to the top 1 percent. Flaccavento roundly rejected the myth that “trickle down economics” works. If wealth distribution were the same as it was in the 1950s, he maintained, we would all be much better off. “How can we create an economy that, in its normal functioning, tends to create fair and just outcomes?” he asked. “One that benefits the many rather than the few?” In his answer, Flaccavento offered strategies to shift from a top down to a bottom up economy. We need to transform our economy from “consumptive dependence to productive resilience,” he argued, by encourag-
ing local startups and diverse businesses. He gave examples of “living economies” based on small, home-grown businesses that have revitalized local communities and spaces; this newspaper is a great example! We should begin, he advised, by changing public policy that rewards big-box stores over small, local enterprises. He described his family’s “annual Christmas tithe” in which, for every dollar spent on each other’s gifts, they donate a dollar to an organization that helps others. If you want to know more, watch Flaccavento’s video blog, “Take Five With Tony,” on YouTube.
The Attachment Statements 1. I feel like I belong in this community. 2. I’ve lived here a long time. 3. I know a lot of people here. 4. I know my way around. 5. I feel comfortable here. 6. The friendships and associations I have with other people in this town mean a lot to me. 7. I feel rooted here. 8. I like to tell people about where I live. 9. I grew up here. 10. I rely on where I live to do the stuff I care about most. 11. If I could live anywhere in the world, I would live here. 12. If something exciting were happening in this community, I’d want to be involved. 13. I’m really interested in knowing what’s going on here. 14. My town isn’t perfect, but there are a lot of things that make me love it. 15. The people who live here are my kind of people. 16. I hope that my kids live here even after I’m gone. 17. I feel loyal to this community. 18. I like to attend events that are happening in my town. 19. Where I live tells you a lot about who I am as a person. 20. I care about the future success of this town. 21. I don’t want to move anytime soon. 22. I can rely on people in this town to help me. 23. There is no other place I’d rather live. 24. It feels like home.
CROZETgazette The 23rd annual Virginia Festival of the Book, which “brings readers and writers together for a five-day celebration of books, reading, literacy, and literary culture,” brought over 400 authors to Charlottesville for over 260 programs from March 22 to 26. Produced by the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities, this local treasure is a program of the Virginia Center for the Book, an affiliate of the Center for the Book at the Library of Congress. The majority of Festival programs are free to attend. Other events in the Crozet area this year included a fascinating behind-the-scenes presentation by Program Director Jane Kulow at Old Trail Lodge on March 16, an author panel discussing “Crossing Boundaries in Young Adult Fiction” at the Crozet Library on March 23, and 15 author presentations in western schools. “We have prepared a feast of authors” for the community this year, Kulow declared to the Old Trail audience of more than 50. “We try to present new worlds that cater to a variety of perspectives”—from sci-fi to
APRIL 2017 romance, from food & travel to sports, from current issues to history, with plenty of children’s programming, both public and in the schools, added to the mix. The Festival provides attendees the opportunity to hear the author’s voice right in the room. They will learn more than if they had just read the book; they will have a personal and direct experience. “I am immensely proud of the work that we do at the Festival,” Kulow said. “This opportunity to encourage reading and conversations with polite discussion adds to the quality of our lives by bringing in creativity.” The festival takes a full year to put together, so work on next year’s, to be held March 21-25, 2018, has already begun. Kulow invited us to get involved by contributing “time, talent, or treasure.” Whether you attend programs, volunteer to drive authors, preview books by joining the Readers’ Circle, or make a financial donation— all at vabook.org—you will be richly rewarded. The Virginia Festival of the Book is certainly one of many reasons I love where I live!
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Rolf Skyber crossing the finish line
Sugar Hollow Bridges Races Raise $3K for White Hall Community Center The fourth annual Sugar Hollow Bridges 5K and 10K races March 11 raised $3,000 to pay for renovations to the White Hall Community Center and for the scholarships and community projects undertaken by the race sponsors, the White Hall Ruritan Club. It was the race’s biggest field yet, 101 runners. The youngest
was 10 years old and the oldest was 75. Ann Mazur was the overall winner for the 5K with a time of 18:59. Rolf Skyber was the first male finisher in the 5K, at 21:13. Erick Romig was the first finisher for the 10K at 33:55. Peggy Mowbray the first female in 10K at 47.43.
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CROZETgazette
APRIL 2017
THERESA CURRY
Bracing for the Boomers Experts Scramble to Predict the Needs of the Next Generation of Elders By Theresa Curry theresa@crozetgazette.com
THERESA CURRY
Marta Keane called it “the mouse moving through the snake:” the swell of baby boomers proceeding through the different stages of life, changing music, work culture, parenting and now the whole way we think about aging. It’s the aging that’s Keane’s concern. She’s the CEO of JABA (Jefferson Area Board for Aging), which oversees aging services for Albemarle, Fluvanna, Greene, Louisa and Nelson Counties. As she sees it, people who live in the most desirable parts of JABA’s outreach area should be bracing for a double whammy. “First,” Keane said, “People tend to want to stay here as they age. And at the same time, others from less desirable places will be moving here.” The day’s not far off, she said, when one in four people living here will be older than 65. That situation will go on for years, she predicted: “For the boomers, staying healthy and fit is a top concern, so we anticipate they’ll stay around for quite a while.” Developers, urban planners, culinary entrepreneurs and service providers are all hustling to anticipate what this giant cohort will expect as their lives slowly change. Keane pointed out an advantage to this situation she believes is often overlooked: “This is a group that will not only be distinguished
by their needs,” she said. “We need to think about what they have to offer. They’ll make a significant contribution as work demands lessen. They have a history of activism and social engagement. They’ll volunteer, start businesses and embrace causes.” Keane spoke about JABA’s senior living community in the heart of Crozet. “We believe Mountainside has a lot of what baby boomers will be looking for when the time comes.” Residents make use of town businesses and cultural activities rather than being restricted to whatever they can find on site. And the reverse is true. Individuals as well as groups from the Western Albemarle area find spending time with the residents to be rewarding. Judy Bowes says the same about The Lodge at Old Trail, where she serves as executive director. She said David Hilliard, the Lodge’s owner, wanted to change the idea of a retirement community as a kind of isolated complex shielding its residents from the world outside. “He wanted to provide all kinds of social engagement. I’ve spent my profession in these kinds of communities and when I saw what he was doing I wanted to be a part of it.” The advantages of being part of a larger community are visibly daily. Bowes said she sees one resident’s grandson from her window almost every morning. “He rolls by on his skate-
Herbert Hawkins, Mountainside Dietary Manager
Valeria Salivonchik, Mountainside Senior LIving’s pastry chef
board, tips it up and comes inside for a visit.” Everyone knows that that the baby boomers are not going to march down to dinner at 5 pm for institutional food. Bowes said today’s adult communities are very much aware of that. “Luckily, we are so new that we didn’t have to change much.” There was one change, she said: “We have full-size kitchens, even in assisted living, and we found that many of our residents still like to cook.” Residents can choose a minimal meal plan, about half of what was included at first. And a wide range of meals are offered over a wide range of times: “We’re very aware that people expect gluten-free, vegetarian, low-fat and low-salt options,” Bowes said. Rather than using processed food or subscribing to an institutional supplier, meals are designed by a chef who meets with residents regularly to assess needs and requirements. JABA’s Marta Keane says that the dietary manager and pastry chef at Mountainside are adept at tailoring meals that meet the nutritional requirements of their residents. Right now, the baby boomers’ parents prefer traditional lunch fare like hot dogs, salads, sandwiches and
hamburgers, Keane said, but she suspects that will not be the case when their children start filling the apartments of Mountainside. “Food is a huge deal for our residents,” said Herbert Hawkins, dietary manager for Mountainside. “They’re always talking about the menus.” And they’ll walk into the dining room and the first thing they’ll ask is “what’s for dessert,” said Valeria Salivonchik, the pastry chef. Hawkins said he’s seen a change in the residents over time. “These people have been watching the Food Network and they just know a lot.” He expects the boomers, who were exposed to gourmet and competitive cooking earlier in their lives, will be even more knowledgeable, and he sees that now in families looking at Mountainside for their parents. Hawkins is not sure whether the next generation will be healthier than his current residents or not: “In the time I’ve been doing this, I’ve seen a trend towards less healthy seniors, with less family support,” he said. “Of course, the older ones grew up with real food and were often farmers themselves. No one really knows everything that’s in the food they eat now.”
CROZETgazette at Mountainside each month where they offer food typical of another country. They also offer specially prepared birthday dinners for each resident, whether it be pig’s feet and applesauce; or lobster, steak and scallops, both actual recent birthday requests. “When it comes to choice, people want more and more,” Hawkins said. “This will continue with each new wave.” Besides food and a local community, there’s another factor that will affect the boomers’ decisions, The Lodge’s Bowes said. “The generation before the boomers had a dismal picture of what were then called nursing homes; in many cases, rightfully so.” This played out in all kinds of ways with the mom and dad being terrified of institutionalization. But the boomers are continued on page 52
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Crozet Orchestra Spring Concert The Crozet Community Orchestra performed a delightful spring concert on March 19 to a packed house at Crozet Baptist Church. From Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel to Délibes’ Coppelia, from rousing overtures to lilting waltzes, the orchestra demonstrated how far it has come in size and professionalism since its founding in 2013 by violinist Denise Murray with Music Director Philip Clark. Local flautist Elizabeth Brightbill’s showy, flawlessly performed solo in Chaminade’s Concertino for Flute and Orchestra was the highlight of the afternoon and earned a standing ovation.
The diverse group of 60 musicians—including amateurs, students, retirees, and professionals—rehearses on Wednesday evenings at Tabor Presbyterian Church and are looking for new members. The orchestra is currently preparing for a November 12 concert featuring the first performance outside the former Soviet Union of a major violin concerto by Arno Babajanian, with violin solo by Armenian-American Monika Chamasyan. We are lucky to have so many opportunities for musical expression and enrichment right here in our own hometown! Visit www. crozetcommunityorchestra.org for more information.
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RON GAYKEMA
Hawkins and Salivonchik deal diplomatically with the tension between what their residents might want and what’s good for them; and try to offer different versions of the same dish for every taste. There’s always an alternate menu for those who have allergies and sometimes, “we’ll just cook to order if that’s what they want,” Hawkins said. “It’s easy enough to make someone a bowl of soup and a sandwich if nothing on the menu or alternate menu appeals to them.” Salivonchik is an expert at cooking with reduced and no sugar, and she also watches the fat: “One thing we know now is that it’s not just sugar at fault with diabetes,” she said. To acknowledge that many residents have traveled, and that they are curious about other cuisines, they schedule a night
APRIL 2017
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CROZETgazette
APRIL 2017
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With a Little Help from My Friends... I love training alone. Running in the mountains for hours, all by myself, is one of the ways I get peace and solve a lot of the day’s problems. Training alone is also a time to check in and see how intrinsically motivated you are to keep up in your fitness journey. Let’s face it, intrinsic motivation—how committed you are to achieve your fitness goals—is the most important thing that keeps us going. If you are truly motivated for your own reasons, then really, nothing can stop you from accomplishing what you set out for. However, if your motivation is mostly based upon other people’s expectations of you or pressures from external sources, then when the work gets hard. There isn’t much keeping you in the game. That being said, I can also say that I wouldn’t be anywhere near the runner I am without my friends. Our shared experiences have given me the perspective, camaraderie, and external motivation that I needed to keep my fitness journey growing without limits. So, let’s say you’re motivated to get back to fitness. Maybe you’ve signed up for a 10k running race. Or a boot camp class. Or you got a gym membership or pool membership. Here are some ways that having some “fitness friends” can keep you on track: They keep you from snoozing. I wake up at 4:30 a.m. three times a week to run. Fortunately, I have some equally time-crunched and motivated friends who meet me at 5 a.m. to get some miles in before our kids wake up. When I know they are meeting me, turning the alarm off is not an option.
Let me be clear, waking up at 4:30 a.m. STINKS. It is NEVER easy for me. So, on those mornings when my friends can’t join, hitting that snooze sometimes happens. Having a friend meeting you keeps you accountable to them and to yourself. You learn that you’re not the only one who struggles. Sometimes keeping straight on your fitness path becomes discouraging because life is always getting in the way. Stress at work, parenting challenges, arguments with your spouse, slow progress—so many things make “getting fit” hard to prioritize. But when you have a friend joining your journey, it won’t take long to find that they likely struggle with similar things. Consider it group therapy. On every run I go on with my close running buddies, we commiserate, and it definitely helps me to keep my chin up. They share in your accomplishments and victories. One particular morning my buddy and I had a fantastic run. We took pride in the fast time we ran our long morning route. We were joking how surely as soon as we entered our homes, our spouses would be pouring over how impressed they were. True to our joke, my friend was handed a cranky 2-year-old as soon as he stepped in his house while I was met with paper towels—our dog had just puked all over the stairs. When we are trying to get better, we do need some external validation, and we may not get that at home. Your training buddy shared that experience and you can pat each other on the back. They teach you things. continued on page 52
CROZETgazette
APRIL 2017
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Historic Center Serves Greenwood and Beyond It was a recreational hub to be proud of. The Greenwood Community Center, dedicated in 1950, boasted a full-size swimming pool, four bowling alleys in the basement, pool tables and a baseball field. Later, Rev. Lee Marston, the main force behind the center’s construction, put a blanket of urethane down on the beautiful wooden floor upstairs, sent away for dozens of skates in all sizes, and opened up the indoor meeting place to rollerskating. “It was definitely the center of life for us when we were growing up,” said Charlotte Jane (Marston) Pope, Rev. Marston’s daughter. Her father had taken over the ministry of Emmanuel Episcopal Church in 1937. By the time the Community Center was built, Pope said, he knew just about everyone in the community who could lift a hammer or a paintbrush. “He was used to gathering the community together whenever a home or a barn burned down, so it was no problem for him to find help for the center’s construction.” The plan was for the center to honor all the community’s young men who fought in the world wars, and to be a memorial for those who died. After local society leader Ella Smith and her committee considered all types of structures, including statues, flags and plaques, the community met in August of 1947, heard a speech by local celebrity Lady Nancy Astor, and voted for a memorial that would serve the neighborhood. Ella Smith, who had overseen many construction projects at the Rose Hill estate of her parents—including her own historic home, Casa Maria—was involved in the construction process and became a lifetime patron of the center. Nancy Astor by then had vacated her term as the first woman seated in Britain’s parliament, and was a frequent visitor to her childhood home of Mirador. Like Smith, her friend and fellow rural socialite, she was an ardent supporter of the community effort. Pope remembers her showing up for fund-
THERESA CURRY
By Theresa Curry theresa@crozetgazette.com
Greenwood Community Center
raisers and fairs, sharp-tongued and fashionably dressed. She participated in the center’s fourth birthday party, auctioning off a cake and donating a check for $1,000. Pope thinks the returning servicemen themselves helped push the decision to fund a gathering place rather than just a symbolic monument to their service. “They’d been all over, in places where there was a lot to do, even in the small towns,” she said. Once the center was dedicated in 1950, it provided employment as well as recreation. “I remember well being a pin boy there,” said Lang Gibson, who now lives in Richmond. “And there were many other jobs as well.” At first, the only lifeguard was Rev. Marston himself. “He had to spend a week in West Virginia to be certified,” Pope remembered. Marston’s children figure that their father taught literally thousands of children to swim. The Marston children became lifeguards, too. When the center opened with much fanfare, including a speech by Lady Astor, Marston unceremoniously threw some kids in the pool. “He hated segregation and wanted the black population of Greenwood to use the center and the pool, Pope said. “Two of the kids in the pool were Dusty and Rusty
Sims, who played with all the white kids anyway.” Others followed. Pope doesn’t remember any backlash from the community, and she served as a lifeguard for many years. Her brother, H. Lee (Minor) Marston said in his Remembrances of H. Lee Marston, that Albemarle county was furious but they were powerless to stop it. Shelton Sprouse grew up in the ’50s and ’60s in the Buck Mountain neighborhood. Sprouse, a guitarist, said, his first band, “Poison,” played its debut gig at the center. “There was always music there,” he said. “Where else would you go on a Saturday night?” Mostly, it was country music rather than heavy metal, though, Sprouse said. The multi-talented Rev. Marston had a flare for entertainment. He was the caller for square dances, and introduced Friday night movies to the community center, Minor Lee Marston recorded in his book. No one needed to stay away for lack of a ride, as the minister always had a huge station wagon and made the rounds of the countryside, picking up swimmers, skaters and lifeguards. MariClair Hale said that by the time she moved to the area, there was a legend about the Marston station wagon. “I always heard that the free transit
started during the war,” she said. Ministers were able to buy gas, despite rationing, so Rev. Marston would drive everyone in the community around. “People said that he could fit 20 people in his car and did this regularly,” she said. Minor Lee said the all-time record was 38, with adults sitting up front, layers of children on their laps, and six or seven boys hanging on the sides. People also rented the center for parties and family reunions. Turkey shoots and rummage sales helped raise funds for the center and other community charities. “It’s not what it sounds like,” Pope said. “All we shot at were targets outside. The winner got the turkey.” In later years, Albemarle County took over the center and filled in the pool. The playing fields and basketball courts remain, as does the children’s playground. And the interior is used almost every day: for yoga classes, martial arts, rollerskating, contra dances and birthday parties. “It’s a great space, with good light and acoustics,” said Carol Brown, who teaches yoga in the former bowling alley. To find out about spring and summer classes in Greenwood, or rent the center for a private party, call Albemarle County Parks and Recreation at 434296-5844, or visit www.albemarle.org/parks.
CROZETgazette
APRIL 2017
ERIC WALLACE
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WAHS Winter Sports Athletes Honored at Awards Ceremony By Eric J. Wallace eric@crozetgazette.com
ERIC WALLACE
On a chilly night at Western Albemarle High School, this year’s exceptional winter sports athletes were honored. “For 330-some high schools in the state, there are over 200,000 students competing in athletics each year,” Principal Darah Bonham told a packed grandstand of students, parents, coaches and supporters March 2. “At the beginning of each season everyone starts at 0-0, with an opportunity to come out and do their best. Obviously, at the varsity level, one of the main goals is to be the team that, at the end of the season, doesn’t lose their last game. And maybe we’re a little spoiled in that our teams so often have a shot at being one of those teams. But even though not everyone ends up on a banner, the most important thing is what you accomplish from the time you start training, during tryouts, and throughout the season. To juggle the load of being a student-athlete, succeeding both in the classroom and out, that’s a huge accomplishment, and above all we want to recognize and honor that dedication and commitment.” Following the principal’s congratulatory introduction, as the crowd cheered and clapped, coaches from each sport honored the following exemplary athletes in an emotional display of hugs and kind superlatives:
WAHS principal Darah Bonham addressing students, parents and coaches at the March Winter Sports Banquet.
Varsity Boys Basketball Ryan Ingram, MVP Jed Strickland, Sportsmanship Award JV Boys Basketball Tommy Mangrum, MVP Ricky Weikle, Sportsmanship Award Freshman Boys Basketball Evan Hajek, Sportsmanship Award Varsity Girls Basketball Eleri Hayden, Warrior Award. Ellie Plantz, Sportsmanship Award JV Girls Basketball Anna Kreienbaum and Sydney Sherman, Warrior Awards Caity Driver, Sportsmanship Award Freshman Girls Basketball Kate Wallace,Warrior Award Ineke La Fleur, Sportsmanship Award Varsity Girls Swim & Dive Morgan James, MVP Julia Perrone, Sportsmanship Award Varsity Boys Swim & Dive August Lamb, MVP Andrew Holzwarth, Sportsmanship Award Varsity Wrestling Nate Riley, MVP Will Davis, Second MVP Jake Jackson, Sportsmanship Award Varsity Boys Indoor Track Will Koester, Best Runner Jackson Smith, Best Field Matthew Capshaw, Sportsmanship Award Varsity Girls Indoor Track Averi Witt, MVP Ella Flanders, Sportsmanship Award Varsity Cheerleading Tiffany Smith, MVP Kaitlyn Graves, Sportsmanship Award Scholastic Bowl Jack Emery, Sportsmanship Award
Jack Tribble preparing for a serve in a home match against STAB.
Boys Varsity Tennis Gunning for the State Championship By Eric J. Wallace eric@crozetgazette.com Last spring, despite fielding just one senior starter, the Western Albemarle boys varsity tennis team won the Jefferson District and Conference 29 titles and advanced to the semifinals in the regional tournament. For number one seed junior Daniel Thomas the performance left a bitter taste. “In the regional semifinals, we lost to Hidden Valley, which ended up winning the state tournament,” explained head coach Seth Heller, who is in his fourth year. “Most of the matches were tough, grueling, 3-hour faceoffs, where really it could’ve gone either way. Daniel felt we missed a few opportunities that ultimately would’ve led to a win.” With five of the teams’ six starters returning, and only one rising freshman starter, the WAHS squad remembers well the heartbreaking loss. “The first day of practice I went around the group asking each player to name his goals for the season,” he said. “Every player stated their goal is to win the championship.” Heller is confident his boys have what it takes to achieve their goals. “Daniel played in the singles and doubles competition at last year’s regionals, so he knows what the pressure is like, as well as what’s required to win at that level,” said Heller. “He felt as a sophomore that he wasn’t ready to handle the pressure and to really put the stamp down on those big matches. He worked extremely hard during
the offseason and made huge leaps. Now when he addresses his teammates, you can hear that confidence in his voice; he knows the work it takes to get to the playoffs and how to capitalize on that work once we’re there.” The bulk of the team put in hours in the offseason honing their competitive chops playing in the USDA tournament circuit or working on taking lessons at prominent area clubs like Farmington or The Boar’s Head. Thomas has been a starter since he was a freshman (going undefeated that year), and, at six-foot-five, is a big player. His surprising agility allows him to wallop a serve that puts opponents on their heels, as well as cover the court in ways impossible for a smaller player. “He’s a fierce and determined competitor and, when he’s playing his top game and gets close to the net, he’s so big it’s next to impossible to get a shot around him,” said Heller. Thomas played basketball during the winter. “I think that’s benefitted him hugely,” said Heller. “He’s coming into the season stronger than before and in great shape, and that time off has given him a mental break from the pressures of competitive tennis. It has left him sort of chomping at the bit to get back on the courts.” After losing their number four seed, senior Beau Merhige, the team has received a huge boost from freshmen, particularly their new number two seed, Alex Ix. “Alex is a four-star continued on page 42
CROZETgazette
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By Eric J. Wallace eric@crozetgazette.com For two seasons running the WAHS boys varsity lacrosse team has competed in Virginia’s division 4A state championship game and finished as the runner-up. This year, despite losing seven of his 12 starters, head coach Alex Whitten is excited by the prospects of going all the way. “We had a tremendous group of seniors who were great leaders and had a lot of success on the field,” said Whitten, who is in his fifth season at WAHS. “We have a number of strong players returning to replace them, but we still have some critical gaps to fill with younger athletes, and that’s our challenge.” With a lineup of 33 players, the prospect of plugging holes left by starter-captains like attacker Luke Reilly, midfielder Carter Elliott (who’s now playing at Liberty University), defenseman Oliver Herndon (Washington and Lee University)
and keeper Jackson Sours isn’t quite so daunting. “We always ask all our players to lead in their own respective way, which, from an overall standpoint, doesn’t mean you have be the best player, but simply set an example as best you can for the next classes,” said Whitten. “Last season’s guys set a pretty good benchmark. Every team has its own character and personality, and these guys are currently working hard to define their team for themselves. Losing that kind of veteran leadership tends to foster an environment that develops younger players.” Leading the charge to define the team is its defensive core, senior leaders like Noah Yourkavitch, Chris Valente, Henry Houghton and Kovie Bowen, as well as sophomore Jack Lesemann. A battle is on for the starting keeper slot between sophomores Ben Kunkel and Liam JuilanoDunn. “That healthy internal competition is energizing the team and inspiring other players
BROOKS FAMILY YMCA | Opening June 2017
ERIC WALLACE
Boys Varsity Lacrosse Team Aims for State Championship
A WAHS midfielder advancing in a March 22 win against Hanover.
to push themselves and get better as well,” said Whitten. Yourkavitch, a captain, is expected to be a standout. “He’s already signed a letter of intent to play football at Hampden Sydney [College] next fall, so that gives you an idea of his athleticism,” said Whitten. “He has great speed and is a very vocal leader. On the offensive front, the team got a boost from attackman Will Cory, who transferred to Western from the Virginia
Episcopal School earlier in the year. He’s joined by senior James Boteaw and junior John Carr Hayden. “Will is a great player and James is as strong and as tough as they come, and they both lend major shooting ability to our attack,” said Whitten. “Once you factor in John, who’s a three-year left-handed starter, our scoring ability looks really strong.” Bridging the gap between front and backfield are middies continued on page 38
SOCCER ORGANIZATION CHARLOTTESVILLE AREA
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Learn why many families from western Albemarle have joined our teams! Visit www.socaspot.org for tryout schedule
38
CROZETgazette
APRIL 2017
By Eric J. Wallace eric@crozetgazette.com
Lacrosse
—continued from page 37
Jack Weyher, a sophomore, and seniors AJ Donovan and Jarrett Smith, both of whom logged notable performances for other WAHS teams. “I’m a big believer in multi-sport athletes—we like to cross-pollinate with football and other sports,
Zoe Clay, Faith Reid, Averi Witt and Julia Berg
Ready to board the train to New York City
hand-off with a time of 3:39.0 for the opening 1,200 meters. Next, Reid finished the 400meter segment with a solid time of 61.56 seconds to keep the team close to the leaders. Then Berg ran a personal best time of 2:19.81 in the 800 meter stretch and was followed by Clay, who also finished with a personal indoor record of 5:04.48 in the final 1,600-meter leg. “Our total team time was 12:04.84, which was easily an indoor school record, and beats our outdoor school record by 10 seconds!” said Witt. With the performance, the girls placed 11 out of 46 teams competing in the event. The next day Averi Witt competed in the Elite Mile. Running in the first of three heats, her goal was to break the WAHS 1,600-meter record. “By the midpoint Averi had taken the lead, which she held for most of the second half,” said coach Witt. “Unfortunately, she was out kicked on the final lap.” Even so, Averi managed to run a 5:00.18 mile which, when adjusted to reflect 1,600 meters (which is slightly shorter than the mile event), was 4:58.44. “That means she broke [WAHS’s] old 1,600 record set
by Annie Taylor by almost 3 seconds,” said Coach Witt. “She managed to place seventh out of the 37 girls entered in that event.” Three hours later the team ran the four-by-800-meter relay. Despite a jumbled first handoff, the girls clocked in with a time of 9:29.4, which bested the school and state record-setting effort they’d logged just a few weeks before. “We placed twentieth out of 31 teams in that competition. The time marked the third school record we’d set at the meet,” said coach Witt. The girls described the experience as a profound capper for the season and, to some degree, the schoolyear. “It was really cool to not only break our records, but to get to witness so many other people breaking national records as well,” said Clay. “These girls have put in so much hard work to get to this level,” said Coach Witt, “and it’s awesome that they ended the season on top of their game at the biggest indoor venue in the country. They had never run at a meet quite like this, yet that didn’t stop them from performing their very best. These four are such amazing competitors.”
which keeps our players in shape,” explained Whitten. “AJ is a huge offensive threat and was a major swimmer for the school, while Jarrett played football and is just a great allaround-athlete.” During the preseason, Whitten said the team focused on having fun, chipping off the rust, and building camaraderie
and rapport. On a technical level, they drilled the basics. “Our kids at Western play hard, with fervor and a lot of energy, but in lacrosse you have to couple that with strong execution of fundamentals,” he said. “We put in a lot of stick work and worked hard on all the small components of the game like faceoffs, man-up and man-
down scenarios, clearing and riding, and transitions. “Our season is four months long, so we’re always saying: ‘Don’t look too far ahead, the most important game is the next one,’” he said. “We play a challenging schedule. Our goal is ultimately to see where we stack up against everyone else in the state.”
CHERIE WITT
After record-breaking regular and postseason performances, four WAHS girls indoor track standouts caught a train to New York City to compete in the 2017 New Balance Nationals Indoor track meet March 10-12. The competition featured more than 3,600 high school athletes from 40 states vying for All-American honors and championship medals in 46 different events. For Zoe Clay, Julia Berg, Averi Witt and Faith Reid, calling the trip a groundbreaking experience would be a radical understatement. Due to the event’s size, the schedule was hectic, but that was counteracted by a sense of cultural awe. “Running at nationals was kind of stressful, but going to the city was really fun,” said Clay. After arriving at the enormous Armory track center in upper Manhattan, the girls hit the town. While in the Big Apple, they visited Ripley’s Believe It or Not museum, checked out Times Square, toured Liberty Park, went to Rockefeller Center, where they pondered night views of the city from the 70-floor facility’s Top of the Rock observatory, com-
pleted warm-up exercises along the Hudson River overlooking the George Washington Bridge and navigated the city via subway. “It was pretty overwhelming at first, but then we just got used to it,” said Clay. “Peoplewatching on the subway was definitely the best.” Berg said she loved the freedom of being able to easily get where you wanted to go when you wanted to go there—all minus a car. Coach Cherie Witt accompanied the girls on their adventure. On the track, the WAHS runners were all business. They were entered in the Championship Distance Medley, the Emerging Elite Mile, and the Championship four-by-800-meter relay. “As they watched the first of three heats in the distance medley go out blazing fast, I could tell they were all thinking,” said Witt. “‘What have we gotten ourselves into?’ But once their own race went off, it was clear that we were right where we belonged—in the fast heat at the most important high school track meet in the country.” Averi Witt took it out smart, biding her time at the back of the pack before turning on the afterburners and bringing the team up to sixth place at the
CHERIE WITT
Girls Indoor Track Runners Log Record-setting Performances at Nationals
CROZETgazette
39
ERIC WALLACE
APRIL 2017
Emma Ratcliffe dribbling down the line against Albemarle High School.
Girls Varsity Soccer Team Looks to Capitalize on Experience By Eric J. Wallace eric@crozetgazette.com After graduating just four seniors, this year’s Western Albemarle varsity soccer lady Warriors are fielding an experienced squad. Last spring, despite being a young team, the girls came in second in the Jefferson District, won the Conference 29 championship, and qualified for the regional semifinals. Still, head coach Jake Desch said the squad’s inexperience caused them to underperform against their strongest adversaries. “Against the best of our opponents—including Albemarle, Jefferson Forest and Blacksburg—we ended up losing every time. It came down to a lack of fight, and that’s something this team hasn’t forgotten,” he said. The point has become a theme in meetings, conversations and practices. “At this point, we have experience and maturity on our side,” said Desch, who has 19 players returning. “Many of our girls played on the team that competed in the state finals two seasons ago, so they remember that success and can contrast that to what happened last year. Meanwhile, we’ve gained some very talented freshmen that will push our older ladies for playing time and will hopefully have a big impact.” This depth will drive the team’s success, according to Desch. “We’re a deep, athletic and skillful team,” he said. He
hopes the dynamic of intrateam competition will leave the team playing scrappier games. Desch is betting this year’s lady Warriors will exhibit no shortage of ‘fight.’ In the March 17 game against Monticello High School, the strategy could be seen firsthand. Midway through the first half, with the score tied at zero, a group of eight WAHS girls began warming up and, a few whistle-blows later, entered the fray. Replacing the bulk of the starters, they attacked like a pack of starving wolves, wearing the Monticello team down and demoralizing them. After a breather, the starters came back on and played even harder than before. “It’s like they just don’t stop,” a fan from the opposing team observed, shaking his head. “The subs come on and they seem every bit as good as the starters. Then the starters come back and it’s like they have something to prove—like a fire’s been lit under their butts.” On an individual level, three key all-state players stand out: junior midfielder Jane Romness, junior defender and midfielder Shannon Moore, and sophomore defender Julia Berg. “Jane is an extremely talented player who can do it all and has the ability to take control of any game,” said Desch. “Shannon plays both mid and defensive positions, has a profound talent for shutting down our opponent’s attacks, and has just really continued on page 40
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CROZETgazette
APRIL 2017
Pitcher Luke Tenuta winding up to deliver a strike against Waynesboro.
Deep Bullpen Has Varsity Baseball Hopeful By Eric J. Wallace eric@crozetgazette.com A bullpen stacked with four strong pitchers has WAHS varsity baseball head coach Skip Hudgins excited about prospects. “We returned most of our better pitchers and while we did lose a great player in Sam Hearn, we’ve brought up some excellent young throwing talent as well. We’re really looking to hang our hat on that,” said Hudgins. “With a bullpen like we have, it’s going to be tough to score on us.” For Hudgins, after going 11-11 last year, the excitement is welcome. “We got a tough start last season, but came on strong at the end and played really well,” he said. After securing a berth to the regional tournament, the Warriors advanced to the semifinals where they lost to Rustburg, which ultimately won the state championship. Anchoring the team was three-time All State outfielder Henry Kreinbaum, who is now playing at James Madison University. “It’s hard to replace him because he was one of those special ones that you just know is a legitimate Division 1 level athlete. That’s a pretty rare thing,” said Hudgins. “But we start thinking about replacing players long before they’re gone
and encourage upperclassmen to mentor the younger guys so that, when it’s time, they’re ready to step in.” One such player is Derek Domecq, a junior lefthander who’s been a starter since he joined the team. “He learned and picked up a lot from the other guys and has just been a workhorse on the mound these past three years,” said Hudgins. “He’s a bulldog out there and consistently throws strikes. He has three great pitches—a fastball, curve and a changeup— that he uses to strike out a lot of batters. At this point, with so much experience under his belt, we’re looking to him to be a great leader for this team and do big things.” Rounding out the pitching staff are Luke Tenuta, a junior righty; Jack Masloff, a sophomore lefty; and Garret Payne, a freshman righthander. “We have very high hopes for Garret,” said Hudgins. “Watch him on the mound and the way he throws the ball and dominates. We think he’s got a chance to be really, really good.” Hudgins was reticent about making projections for offense. “I’m hoping some of the players will emerge as reliable hitters and put some runs on the board for us,” he said. “Right now, I’m not exactly sure what to expect.”
Topping the list of candidates is senior catcher Ryan Sukovitch. “He hit about .270 for us last year and really came on at the end of the year,” said Hudgins. “We’re hoping that momentum and fire at the plate will carry over into this season.” In the team’s favor this preseason was an unexpected ally: the February and early-March weather allowed the squad to get on the field earlier than usual. “We had a string of 60 to 70 degree days that let us run our first eight or nine practices on the full-field,” said Hudgins. “So, we felt blessed by the weather and great about knock-
ing off the rust of the offseason. It allowed players to get acclimated as a unit—especially when you have guys stepping into new positions.” Considering the strength of district competition, Hudgins is wary of making predictions. However, starting the season with a 3-1 record has him feeling noticeably confident. “Domecq opened the season pitching extremely well and, assuming the other guys follow his lead, it looks like our pitching staff is going to give us a consistent chance to win. However, it takes scoring runs to win games.”
Soccer
age the girls to participate in other sports and we have numerous players that ran on the track team, or swam, or played on the basketball team,” said Desch. “It keeps the girls conditioned and gives them a break from soccer, but keeps them competing. “We have very high hopes for the season, but the girls recognize that it’s up to them to come together as a team for us to reach those hopes and goals,” he said. “We’re looking to play hard each game, leave it all on the field, and see what happens.”
—continued from page 39
become a strong leader. Julia is a defender with such great intelligence and confidence that it keeps her from getting intimidated under pressure; she really comes through in the clutch and we’ve come to rely on her for that.” To prepare for the regular season, players were encouraged to play winter sports. Those that didn’t were provided a threemonth training calendar to help them stay in shape. “We encour-
COURTESY JILL WILLIAMS
ERIC WALLACE
40
Lani Hoza, Dan Bledsoe and Jill Williams
The Best [of] Western The “Best Western” trivia team of Dan Bledsoe, Lani Hoza, and Jill Williams will compete for the third time at this year’s Wordplay event sponsored by Literacy Volunteers of Charlottesville/Albemarle. The competition fundraiser takes
place at the Paramount Theater on April 27 at 7 p.m. Please support our team in its efforts to combat local illiteracy by attending the event or by making a donation at literacyforall. d o n o r p a g e s . c o m / Wordplay2017/BestWestern
CROZETgazette
APRIL 2017
41
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continued on page 47
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CROZETgazette
APRIL 2017
Tennis
A Rain of Terror for Language Lovers
—continued from page 36
by Clover Carroll | clover@crozetgazette.com As I was moving mulch with my wheelbarrel today, I was in intimate danger of breaking my foot… which would have made me ball my eyes out and curl up in the feeble position! If this happened, I hope a neighbor might be within earshout. Getting me to a doctor will be the crutch of the matter, and we will wait with baited breath for the x-ray results. When I see the medical bill, I might be shocked by the exuberant prices. After picking him or herself up off the floor from laughing, the perspicacious Crozetian might realize that I meant while using my wheelbarrow I was in imminent danger, and if I had broken my foot I would have bawled by eyes out and curled up in the fetal position. If my neighbor were within earshot, they’d have realized that getting me to a doctor was the crux of the matter and we’d have waited with bated breath for the x-ray results, the cost of which might well have been exorbitant. And by the way, that headline should be Reign of Terror, referring to the era of bloodshed after the French Revolution. These all-too-common word mix-ups are called malapropisms, which occur when we mistakenly use a word or phrase in place of a similar-sounding one, resulting in a nonsensical and unintentionally hilarious utterance. I was delighted to encounter a whole catalog of these verbal flubs when I attended “Word Salad or Word Solid?: Malapropisms and New Coinages” at the Virginia Festival of the Book. One of the presenters, Robert Alden Rubin, shared many hilarious examples from his 2015 book Going to Hell in a Hen Basket: an Illustrated Dictionary of Modern Malapropisms with a delighted crowd at City Hall. I was introduced to this kind of amusing speech error at an early age, when my mother, an
amateur actress, played Mrs. Malaprop in Richard Sheridan’s 1775 play The Rivals. Mrs. Malaprop, the pompous middle-aged guardian of a wealthy ingenue, frequently misspeaks by using words which don’t have the meaning she intends, but which sound similar to words that do—to great comic effect. Sheridan presumably chose her name in humorous reference to the word malapropos, an adjective or adverb meaning inappropriate, derived from the French phrase mal à propos (literally “poorly placed”). Some examples of her gaffes include “illiterate him quite from your memory” (instead of obliterate), “He is the very pineapple of politeness” (for pinnacle) and “she’s as headstrong as an allegory on the banks of the Nile” (instead of alligator). You can see why the play had its audience in stitches. The fact that it was George Washington’s favorite play shows us that he had a sense of humor! The synonymous term “Dogberryism” comes from the 1598 Shakespeare play Much Ado About Nothing, in which Constable Dogberry enforces the law but commits crimes against the language. For example, he tells Governor Leonato, “Our watch, sir, have indeed comprehended two auspicious persons” (when he means apprehended two suspicious persons). Shakespeare used malapropisms in a number of his plays, almost invariably spoken by comic ill-educated lower class characters such as Mistress Quickly, the innkeeper associate of Falstaff. The absurdity of these nonsensical substitutions can actually bring us great joy. They occur either when a person mishears an expression that they have not seen in print, so their imagination supplies a familiar word that seems to fit—or, as in the case of Mrs. Malaprop, the speaker reveals a lack of education that simply can’t grasp high-level diction. “Classical literary malapropisms of the sort committed by Dogberry and
Mrs. Malaprop,” Rubin explains in his introduction, “are driven by distinctions between social classes. They are uttered by characters who aspire to impress their betters—but fail by comically garbling the language.” The eggcorn—itself a mangled form of acorn—is a closely related verbal blunder, celebrated and cataloged in the online Eggcorn Database (eggcorns.lascribe.net). Examples of this subset of malapropisms include pass mustard for pass muster (you may say you’ve cleaned your room, but it does not yet pass mustard!); spread like wildflowers in place of spread like wildfire (the news spread like wildflowers), and for all intensive purposes in place of “for all intents and purposes (for all intensive purposes, she is the chair of this committee). Eggcorns differ slightly from malapropisms in that they make a silly sense; after all, an acorn might actually be thought of as egg-shaped. “Those who employ eggcorns aren’t pretending to be something they’re not….their language is that of pop culture, cliché,… secondhand phrases, and talk-radio blather,” which they try to echo but inadvertently get wrong. Eggcorns result in plausible expressions; malapropisms in absurd ones. We all make these mistakes, although people who read a lot are less likely to do so. The key is to be able to laugh at ourselves and enjoy the creative silliness! When I met with my therapist, I battered my eyelashes and begged him to help me exercise my demons. Ever since my advocacy of the Oxford coma I’ve been called a “grammar scold” and a pre-Madonna. He diagnosed me with postdramatic stress disorder and told me to let it go and cease the day.* I took his advice with a grain assault. Let’s hope you can decipher these on your own! *Correct forms: batted, exorcise, comma, prima donna, posttraumatic, seize, and grain of salt.
recruit and, with him filling our number two slot, he’s left us looking stronger than we were last year,” said Heller. At fivefoot-two-inches, Ix relies on agility and his ability to read opponents to win. “He has a lot of experience playing on the USDA tournament circuit and has an uncanny knack for reading the body language and positioning of his competitors,” added Heller. “He gets himself into place to control the court and keeps the ball going, waiting for his opponent to make a mistake.” Adding to the lineup’s depth are number three and four seeds, sophomore Jack Tribble and senior Ben Masselli. Coolheaded and with four years of experience under his belt, Masselli serves as the team’s anchor. “He’s good at not getting rattled,” said Heller. “We rely on him for that and in the last two playoff years he’s had really big matches.” Tribble, who joined the team after moving from Mississippi last year, is the squad’s “Hype Man.” “When he’s having a good day, the energy he brings to the court is just astounding,” said Heller. “Jack was playing with Dan on our top regional double’s team last year. He was constantly pumping Dan up. They were literally screaming at each other and getting just super psyched.” Throughout the preseason Heller stressed conditioning and strength training. “When the temperature rises to 95, 100 degrees, these 3-hour matches really come down to who has the best endurance,” he said. “That’s why we’ll continue to be in the weight room three days a week. That dedication will pay off in the postseason.” To nail down the doubles pairings, which follow singles competition and often determine which team wins a meet, is extremely important. “It’s a tricky because you have to couple the right chemistry with the talent to be able to win,” he explained. Heller said he was confident in his team. “These guys are hard-working athletes and I know they’re going to pull off some amazing things.”
CROZETgazette
APRIL 2017
Crozet
Weather Almanac
MARCH 2017
HEIDI SONEN/ROSCOE SHAW
By Heidi Sonen & Roscoe Shaw | weather@crozetgazette.com
You Can Hear the Grass Grow Despite the exceptionally warm February, grass actually got off to a slow start this spring. How is that possible? Even a warm February is still too cold to grow much grass and the ground was very dry for wintertime. Then, in mid March, when the grass usually gets going, we had a nasty cold snap and snow. It wasn’t until the end of March that we finally got warm weather AND wet weather. There is no turning back now…the grass mowing season is in full swing. Five Distinct Grass Growing Seasons Central Virginia actually has five different distinct grass growing “seasons.” The first starts in late March and peaks in May. That is when the cool season grasses explode with fresh spring growth. Fescues are the most common grasses here but we also have bluegrass and some rye and various other cool season grasses. If rainfall is plentiful, grass can growth at extraordinary rates from late April through early June.
Temperatures are almost always perfect for fescue at that time of year and drought is rare. The second grass season is from late May into August. This is when the warm season grasses take over. The main warm season grass is the often-despised Bermuda grass. It grows just about anywhere that gets sunshine from May through September. Virginians often call it “wiregrass” since it can envelope your garden at astonishing speed during hot, wet summer weather. Bermuda sends out rhizomes (wires) that allow the grass to spread rapidly during the short growing season. Once established, it is very hard to get rid of without turning your landscape into a chemical dump. Ironically, what is a weed to some is an awesome turfgrass to others. Local golf courses generally transition from fescue or rye in spring to Bermuda grass in June. Zoysia is a similar warm season grass but is not nearly as invasive. Because it is non-native and is generally sodded, so you won’t find it growing wild and eating your gar-
den. Old Trail Golf Club has beautiful Zoysia fairways. This is a fabulous grass that grows slowly and requires very little water or care, which make it environmentally friendly. The only problem is that it goes brown and dormant for a full six months per year. The warm season grasses take over in early summer. The cool season grass slows to a crawl when the first real heat hits. But Bermuda grass loves the heat and will grow full speed as long as it is hot and moist. The third season, I’ll call the “summer doldrums.” This is inevitable late in summer when we have a dry spell and almost nothing will grow. Our friend Buck says, “Ain’t nothin’ grows in Virginia in August ‘cept weeds.” If we have some rain, then common crabgrass will grow with alarming speed in August but it will quickly stop dead in September with the first cold spell. Finally, in mid September, Canadian air arrives and the cool season fescues wake up for a brief fall growing season. Even if it is wet, the fall growth only lasts about six weeks before the late October chill ends the season. The Bermuda and Zoysia grow fast in summer, slow to almost nothing in late September and turn brown by late October. The fifth and final season is “dormancy.” Some slight growth continues in November and even early December during warm spells. By late December, nothing can make the grass grow for a couple of months before the new growth begins anew in March. March Recap After the crazy-warm February, March came in almost completely average. The month started warm and ended warm but was cold in the middle. Rainfall was below average, but we ended wet. Total rainfall was 2.67” compared to an average of nearly four inches. Water tables are average, making the chance of significant drought this year slim.
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CROZETgazette
APRIL 2017
Distance Learning lisamartin@crozetgazette.com LISA MARTIN
nticello High School
nts presenting at Mo
de Crozet Elementary stu
The RIFFLE Effect
LISA MARTIN
Hollin Smith with a working
RIFFLE.
Food for Thought Meriwether Lewis School’s Kitchen Manager Cindy Tichner recently received not one but two awards from the School Nutrition Association for her work inspiring kids to eat well and try new foods. For the third time in the past six years, she and her staff won a Physical Activity & Nutrition Award, this year for their creative annual Wellness Week
program. The cafeteria partnered with the P.E. department on fun innovations like Taste Test Tuesday, when the students tried edamame beans and corn and black bean salad, and Water Wednesday, which featured fruit-infused water paired with a stop-and-drop music and dance party. Tichner also received the State Manager of the Year Award for her kitchen ingenuity dating back to 2000 when she
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scenarios. LISA MARTIN
Crozet Elementary 5th graders recently visited Monticello High School to share their work on RIFFLEs, a type of remote data logger they researched and built to monitor stream water quality, with Environmental Science students who have been working on a similar project. “It was a little nerve-wracking, but I felt excited to share what we built,” said CE student Hollin Smith. Inspired by the problem of contamination in Flint, Michigan, the 5th graders have tested their devices in
Beaver Creek, Watts Creek, and Parrot Branch. So far they can measure water and air temperature, and hope to test for pollutants next. The students seek to create a network of RIFFLEs based on the open-source design. “We built this device to see if our water is clean, and we’ll try to get more devices to help us,” said CE student Daniel Jones. Teachers Brandy Garbaccio, Justin Stauffer, and Betsy Agee led the class project, which combines Arduino technology with ecological stewardship, while also consulting with Albemarle County Learning Technology Integrator, Willy Kjellstrom. Though the MHS devices were more complex, the Crozet students understood their potential immediately. “They had more technology and more materials, so we could see how ours could improve,” said Jones. “It was a really cool experience.”
LISA MARTIN
By Lisa Martin
A random sample of Brownsville Elementary 5th graders pilot-tested a week-long NASA simulation program, along with similar groups in four other county schools: Baker-Butler, Greer, Woodbrook, and Hollymead. The simulation was built by the Challenger Center in partnership with NASA and NOAA to give students a technology-driven outer space experience right in their own classroom. The students used internet-linked videos, games, and other activities to work through a problem-solving mission—
their underwater Remote Operated Vehicle became damaged by a seaquake, leaving them cut off from oxygen. After researching and fixing the ROV problem, the students wrote about and reflected on what they learned. “It was very engaging for them,” said lead teacher Karen Morris. “There was lots of engineering and creative thinking, and it was really valuable instruction.” The unit is tied to Virginia SOL standards for the study of oceans and related STEM instructional goals. Morris hopes to share the experience with other interested 5th graders later this year.
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started at MLS. “My motto is, kids eat with their eyes,” said Tichner, “so we arrange our trays with appealing colors.” She finds a recipe for every vegetable harvested by the students from the school garden, includ-
ing the huge quantity of sweet potatoes they grew last summer. “The taste has to be not bland but not too overwhelming,” she explained. “They’re just developing their taste buds, and I try to win them over.”
Something “NOTEWORTHY” going on at your school? Let lisamartin@crozetgazette.com know!
CROZETgazette
APRIL 2017
45
BY DR. ROBERT C. REISER
crozetannals@crozetgazette.com
The Cobra that Tamed the ER “The immediate goal is to make sure there are more people on private insurance plans. I mean, people have access to health care in America. After all, you just go to an emergency room.” —President George W. Bush, July 7, 2007 I watched the recent debate on repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act with a great deal of (vested) interest. This is because I am part of the 4 percent of US doctors who work in Emergency Departments. That 4 percent of us manage a full two-thirds of all the acute care provided to the uninsured in the United States. So the prospect of increasing the rolls of the uninsured by 24 million people naturally interested me. We 4 percent also manage 28 percent of all acute care visits in the US, and half of all the acute care provided to Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) beneficiaries. Fifty-five percent of our care is uncompensated. As President Bush and many others have observed, we see all comers, regardless of citizenship status or ability to pay. Admirable, no doubt, fiscally questionable to be sure, but it wasn’t always this way and we didn’t come to it out of nobility. In the 1980s there was a big problem in the nation’s delivery of emergency care. A quarter of a million patients a year were denied needed emergency care at private hospitals and transferred to public hospital ERs because of lack of insurance. Eighty-nine percent of these patients in one study were African American or Hispanic. Twenty-four percent of these patients were unstable at the time of transfer. Their mortality rate was triple that of other patients. Many were women in active labor, some of who were put into taxis or private autos
and then delivered en route. Messy. Those of us at public hospitals called this patient dumping and said that the patients had failed a wallet biopsy. In 1986, after an exposé about patient dumping on the news show 60 Minutes, Congress passed the Emergency Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) as part of the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act better known as COBRA. The EMTALA law mandates that all hospital ERs provide medical screening exams on all patients who present to the ER to screen for an emergency medical condition. The hospitals are then required to stabilize any emergency condition either within the ER or in the hospital as an inpatient, regardless of the patient’s ability to pay for the care. If the facility cannot provide the type of specialty services the patient needs for stabilization, neurosurgery for example, the patient can be transferred without full stabilization. Violations of EMTALA by physicians can lead to a $50,000 fine that is not covered by malpractice insurers or employment contracts. Hospitals can also be fined $50,000 for a violation. There is no provision in the law to provide payment for the doctors or hospitals for providing the federally mandated emergency screening and stabilization care—hence all the uncompensated care we provide. For many years ER docs called the anti-dumping act the ominous sounding “COBRA” law because it was so widely feared by us. Not only could the transferring doctors be cited, but the receiving doctors could also be fined for refusing a transfer request, no matter how unreasonable. There is no lim-
continued on page 47
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CROZETgazette
APRIL 2017
inthegarden@crozetgazette.com
Good Honeysuckle, Bad Honeysuckle Almost any Virginian, indeed almost any person living in the eastern United States, could probably identify the powerful, sweet smell that hangs in the air come May. Honeysuckle! Or more specifically, Japanese Honeysuckle, Lonicera japonica. Despite the lovely smell and its value to some wildlife, this is one of the “Bad Honeysuckles.” Which honeysuckles are bad, which are good, and why? Honeysuckles are members of the Caprifoliaceae family, also home to a few other familiar plants: Weigela, Abelia and Diervilla. The honeysuckles themselves comprise approximately 180 species, the majority of which are native to Asia, and that continent has provided us with most of the bad guys. Plants from East Asia are particularly well suited to our part of the world owing to climatic similarities. Unfortunately, they arrive on our continent unaccompanied by their natural predators and diseases. They then have the potential to run amok, as exemplified by the Japanese Honeysuckle. Hardly a fencerow is without its twining
presence. Even worse is its ability to creep into woodlands and smother native wildflowers. I’ve seen its surprisingly tough stems circling young trees and wondered if it could even girdle them. Overall, the battle against Japanese Honeysuckle is long lost, unless some natural predator can be found. In the meantime, unless you have a very large property, it might be worth expending some effort to contain it. There’re also some shrubby honeysuckles among the bad players. Morrow Honeysuckle (L. morrowii) can be invasive, but is more commonly seen up north. Amur Honeysuckle (L. maackii) has bright red fruits eaten and spread by birds; according to the Digital Atlas of the Virginia Flora, it is “locally rampant” in the Commonwealth. Winter Honeysuckle (L. fragrantissima) is native to China and has not yet been declared to be invasive, but should be watched. A goodsized shrub, wonderfully fragrant flowers appear in winter to early spring. Enough of the Bad Honeysuckles; there are many good guys out there also. A native vine, Trumpet Honeysuckle (L. sempervirens)
Bad honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica)
Good honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens)
can actually be hard to find in our woods, owing to the competition from its Japanese cousin. This honeysuckle’s new growth tends to be reddish purple, maturing to bluish green. Leaves toward the end of the stems clasp together, providing the effect of the flower emerging from the center of a single leaf. Non-fragrant, tubular flowers, red to orange-red with a yellow center, are beloved by hummingbirds. There are at least six cultivars available, ‘Major Wheeler’ being one of the more popular. It tends to bloom for a longer period, and the foliage remains clean and disease-free, even during droughts. ‘John Clayton’ also maintains clean foliage, but has pale yellow flowers rather than red-orange. It was first found at Abingdon Church in Gloucester County, Virginia. Evenly moist, acid soils are best for Trumpet Honeysuckle, as well as the other species, although they will tolerate less-favorable conditions. One good honeysuckle is not native, instead coming to us from Europe: Woodbine, L. periclymenum. On the straight species, the fragrant flowers are yellowish-white with a purplish tinge, maturing to red fruits. Lazy S’S Farm Nursery in Barboursville declares this to be “the best [honeysuckle] for beauty and good behavior.” One of the five cultivars that Lazy S’S offers is ‘Scentsation’, with extremely fragrant yellow flowers that appear in mid- to late summer. ‘Belgica’ is early-flowering, the blooms reddish outside and white-pink-creamy yellow inside. These two plants would make a great combination for a long bloom season. Yet another twining vine honeysuckles that one might try is Lonicera x tellmanniana, a
hybrid that includes L. sempervirens as one of its parents. Large, almost fluorescent yellow-orange flowers sit above leaves that are much larger than other species. There are a few Bushhoneysuckles that would be worth seeking out for your garden. Despite the common name, they are not true honeysuckles (Loniceras), but are members of the same family. The three species of Diervilla are all native to the Eastern U.S., either in the far north or in the southern Appalachians. Shrubs that generally top out at only 3’ to 5’ feet high and wide, they will spread slowly by suckers. Small, yellow flowers arrive in early to late summer, depending on the species. D. sessilifolia ‘Butterfly’ has deep yellow flowers and glossy dark green foliage that turns purple in the fall. ‘Cool Splash’ is a smallish cultivar, only 2’-3’ feet tall and a bit wider. Foliage is slightly cupshaped, with a broad cream-colored margin. The Georgia Bushhoneysuckle (D. rivularis) can be found in at least a couple of interesting cultivars. ‘Kodiak Black’ has intense burgundy-black foliage in spring and fall. ‘Troja Black’s foliage goes from burgundy-bronze in spring, to green in summer and to red in the fall. Tough plants that do well in sun or partshade, Diervillas are also drought-tolerant once established. Once they have been in the ground a couple of years, they should be cut back hard each spring. Plants in the Caprifoliaceae family can be mildly poisonous—except for the nectar you sucked from Japanese honeysuckle as a kid, of course— thereby accounting for their alleged deer-resistance. And as always is the case with deer, there are no guarantees.
CROZETgazette
APRIL 2017
Medicine —continued from page 45
itation on the distance of the transfer. I am obligated to take transfers from any other state in the U.S. if requested and if my hospital has capacity--and we always have capacity since we can always squeeze one more patient into our perpetually overcrowded ER. Some have blamed ER wait times and crowding on EMTALA but that is a more complicated issue to analyze. A recent study of all EMTALA claims shows just how far we have come though since 1986. From a high of 250,000 economically motivated transfers in 1986 we now have an EMTALA violation rate of 1.7 per million ER visits. That is a rate of 0.00017 percent of ER visits that result in
Gazette Vet —continued from page 41
A good listener. Being smart and having a good attitude are fantastic, but you’ve also got to be a good listener. Communication in the workplace is sometimes tough. People communicate in different ways, some blunt and to the point and some in a more roundabout way. Your clients, too, may not be clear on what they want or need help with. Listening is a very active skill. I sometimes shut my listening ears off and it drives my staff
an EMTALA violation. Essentially, a never event. In fact over the years the EMTALA obligation to treat all comers regardless of ability to pay has been so ingrained in the ER culture that we have actually stopped teaching it to the medical students and new MDs. It has simply become the normal way to do business in the ER. I kind of like it. See and treat all, regardless of situation or circumstance. Accept all transfers. I do agree with George Bush on one thing though. I would like it even more if everyone had insurance. Home is the place where, when you have to go there, They have to take you in. I should have called it Something you somehow haven’t to deserve. —Robert Frost, The Death of the Hired Man
nuts when they have to repeat things to me that they just told me. On the other hand, when working with clients, by really listening I can usually do a pretty good job of finding out what’s wrong with their pet. Some parents who are going to hold their teens captive and read this column to them. Eye rolls are sure to occur, but teens—listen! These are the things that people will judge you on when you enter the workplace. People who do a great job with these factors are the people that employers want high up in their team.
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Stacks of bluebird boxes in Clark Walter’s workshop.
Bluebirds —continued from page 29
with hundreds of poles and predator guards. Walter won the 2015 volunteer award from the Virginia Bluebird Society for his
work. “When I’m in full production, there’s only a tiny bit of space left for me to work in.” He said he sees no end in sight. It’s all worth it, he said. “It’s spreading happiness on the wings of bluebird diplomacy.”
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R.E. in Crozet
for the 2017-18 School Year!
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CROZETgazette
APRIL 2017
MARLENE A. CONDON
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Harboring Dandelions Is a Criminal Act? When I was growing up, people hated dandelions growing in their lawns, in spite of their cheerily bright-yellow blooms. Many people still detest these plants. In Calgary, Canada, for example, the law required local officials to “demand dandelions be controlled and/or killed.” I have never been able to understand why folks get so upset over these flowers that become such wonderful wishing balls for children when they go to seed. As expressed delightfully in a card I came across, “Some see a weed, others see a wish.” I guess I have always seen “a wish,” but that is not all I’ve seen. I have also observed the value of this plant to many species of wildlife. For example, the dandelion can bloom, if it is warm enough, during any month of the year. As a result, it offers nourishment to insects awakened on an unusually warm winter day, when there would otherwise be nary a blossom in sight to sustain their activity. In very early spring, the dandelion feeds the earliest insects to emerge as the world comes back to life. And, I have more than once viewed a migrating butterfly feeding on the solitary bloom of a dandelion in the midst of an otherwise food desert on a late-fall day. In fact, the Common Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) is so indispensible to our insects that I find perplexing that some localities list it as a “noxious weed”—a plant considered injurious to agriculture, horticulture, humans, livestock, and/or natural habitats (ecosystems). Farmers and nurserymen pushed for noxious-plant laws because they wanted govern-
ment help fighting weeds. Although today farmers and nurserymen may feel overwhelmed by alien plants, I can assure you that yesterday they were overwhelmed by native plants in their growing fields. It is the nature of the game that people will always be fighting unwanted plants in field and garden. Unfortunately, when localities make laws requiring eradication of such plants, the result is often heavy use of pesticides. Strangely, people do not seem to recognize the irony of poisoning the environment in order to “save” it. But even if pesticides are not employed to get rid of so-called noxious weeds, the end result is a further degradation of habitat for wildlife. Plants considered noxious are typically non-native plants that are better suited for growing in today’s environmental conditions of compacted soil, drought, and both higher and lower temperatures than had been typical years ago. [Please use the following link to read a more thorough discussion of this topic: www.crozet gazette.com/2015/06/blue- ridgenaturalist-invasive-plants-invaluableto-degraded-environment/] These features of today’s environment are man’s legacy to future generations. They are the result of such things as over-development of the landscape (more and more buildings and roads) and the current trend of building excessively large houses that require acquisition of more resources to supply enough energy for heating and cooling them. As long as people embrace the current mode of living upon the Earth, it is unrealistic to expect that simply removing non-native plants will automatically allow native plants to flourish in those areas. Nor do native plants necessarily do well
Dandelions are an especially vital source of nourishment to honeybees in early spring and to migrating Monarch butterflies in late fall when few other plants have flowers.
even when given a helping hand by people. Habitat restoration projects, such as manmade wetlands, have been found to function less well than their natural counterparts. Do some plant species truly pose such a serious risk to humans and habitats that they should be designated noxious weeds, which carries the possibility of “plant police” forcing you to rid your yard of them? You may laugh at this thought, but there are already over 100 “cooperative weed management areas” in the United States. Individuals work with private and public agencies to try to get folks to rid their properties of plants considered a threat to natural and agricultural environments. Believe me, these folks take their mission quite seriously. I know, because more than one person has tried to get me fired when I publicly disagreed with their position. Like Galileo, who first wrote about the Earth revolving around the Sun (as opposed to the Earth being at the center of the universe), my stance is based upon personal observations that tell me what is reality and what is an erroneous perception of reality. I disagree because it is obvious that people do not understand the big picture. Their efforts not only increase the difficulties of our wildlife to survive in today’s world; they also poison our world. Luckily for me, folks can’t yet place me under house arrest—as Christian theologians did to Galileo—but they do try to muzzle me. The Common Dandelion is a perfect example of a plant species people malign for no reason other than that they refuse to let go of the unnatural notion that
a lawn should not contain plants other than grass. If it does contain so-called broadleaf weeds, such as dandelions, people accuse the owner of laziness for failing to get out there and poison the whole lot of them. In Calgary, a resident could be ordered to clean up “the mess” (not my words for a yardfull of dandelions) because, according to the Canadian law regarding noxious plants, “These weeds must be controlled to prevent further establishment and spread.” Indeed, any property owner with any of the plants listed as prohibited on his turf is supposed to destroy them. Otherwise, he faces possible fines or the cost for someone else to do the dirty work. I’m happy to report that by 2010, someone finally realized that dandelions should no longer be on the noxious plant list, and therefore “the yellow pest” (not my words) should no longer be condemned. We live in a world where wildlife is struggling to hang on, expressly because so many homeowners see nonnative lawn grass as the ideal landscape. Forcing them to get rid of “noxious weeds” (many of which are quite attractive flowering plants) that grow well in their yards— and that do feed wildlife—simply reduces the amount of available wildlife habitat even more. If we truly care about and want to help wildlife, we should not be trying to exterminate the very plants that can feed these animals in today’s degraded environment. Unfortunately, the ideological notion of bringing back yesterday’s environment is so ecologically alluring that far too many people have bought into it—despite the impossibility of achieving this idyllic goal.
CROZETgazette
APRIL 2017
APRIL 1 - 30
Crozet Trails Events
Starr Hill’s Cheers for Charity benefits the Crozet Trails Crew this month, with $1 of every pint sold helping to promote Crozet Trails. April 9—Four Kings 4K race at 1 pm, starting and ending at Starr Hill and running along the Crozet Connector Trail. Register at http://starrhill.com/ events/four-kings-4k/. April 13, 7 p.m.—Crozet Jam Band at Starr Hill featuring trail songs April 22, 10:30 a.m.—Earth Day trail walk leaving from and returning to the Starr Hill parking lot. This will be a two-mile walk on one of the prettiest sections of the Crozet Connector Trail, led by Linda McNeil, a long-time Trails Crew member. A food truck will be available for lunch.
APRIL 8
Pit of Dreams Mud Bog
The Rockfish Valley Volunteer Fire Department will hold its Pit of Dreams Mud Bog April 8 at 11100 Rockfish Valley Highway in Afton. The gate opens at 9 a.m. The first truck will go in the mud at noon. Admission is $10 with children 12 and under free with a paying adult. Concessions available and the event is handicap accessible. For more information, call (434)982-8302 or (434)3611826.
APRIL 8
Second Saturdays
April brings a reunion of four friends showing work together for the second time, with an exhibition titled #fab4painters. Virginia artists Priscilla Whitlock, Krista Townsend, Jesse Coles and Karen Blair will have work at The Art Box through April 26. There will be a reception and a chance to visit with all four artists on Saturday, April 8, from 4 - 6 p.m. Crozet Artisan Depot will host a reception April 8 from 3 - 5 p.m. to welcome new artists Dinah Bailey, Susan Salomon,
Jennifer Knight and Craig Kompelien. Light snacks & refreshments will be served. Meanwhile, Over the Moon Bookstore and Artisan Gallery at Piedmont Place will host an opening for Paintings by Steve Deupree from 6 - 8 p.m. Events are free and open to the public.
APRIL 9
Rockfish Valley Kite Festival The Rockfish Valley Foundation will host its annual kite festival on Sunday, April 9 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Bold Rock Cider Field (1193 Glenthorne Loop). The event is free and open to the public. Food vendors wil be on hand. Free kites and assembly for first 500 children.
APRIL 13
Crozet Jam Band at Starr Hill
The Crozet Jam Band will meet at Starr Hill Brewery for its 15th open jam session April 13 from 7 to 9 p.m. Food is served until 9 p.m. The theme is Support Your Trails Night. The Band will be playing and singing songs about trails and traveling in support of Starr Hill’s generous financial contributions to the Crozet Trails Crew during the month of April. Songs may include King of the Road, I’ll Follow the Sun, The Weight (by The Band), I Walk the Line, City of New Orleans, Take It Easy, These Boots Are Made for Walking, Rambling Man (by Dickey Betts), On the Road Again, Big Yellow Taxi (by Joni Mitchell), and Happy Trails to You (by Dale Evans). Suggestions are welcome. As in every jam session, the band will also play and sing songs from the 135-page songbook as requested by the participants. Participants are welcome to come up on stage and lead a song! Jams are open to singers and musicians of any instrument and skill level, so don’t be shy! The goal is community participation and having fun with music. Bring your voice and/or your instrument, or come to
APRIL 23
Crozet Chorus Presents “The Glory of Love”
The Crozet Chorus will present “The Glory of Love” April 23 at 4 p.m. at Crozet Baptist Church on St. George Ave in Crozet. Directed by Dr. John McCarty, with pianist Tracey Reed, the concert will feature love-themed music including soloists from the community and a guest performance by The Children’s Choir of Central Virginia. Free admission.
APRIL 29
Ruritan Plant/ Yard/Bake Sale
The White Hall Ruritan Club is holding its fifth annual Plant/ Yard/Bake Sale on two days Saturday, April 29, from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. and Sunday April 30, from noon to 3 p.m., at the White Hall Community Building (2904 Brown’s Gap Road, at the intersection of Routes 614 and 810). Plants, all from local gardens, include flowering plants, shrubs, trees, tomatoes and other vegetables, berries, and herbs. Yard Sale items range from jewelry to decorations to kitchen items to furniture. Proceeds will fund local scholarships and improvements to White Hall’s century-old Community Building.
MAY 6
Tea and Fashion at RVCC
The Treasure Chest and Nelson County SPCA will co-host a special afternoon tea
and fundraising fashion show Saturday, May 6, from 2 to 4 p.m. at the Rockfish Valley Community Center. Attendees can peruse great thrifty fashion finds and visit with pets who need a new home. Local models and supporters of both thrift stores will be on hand to highlight fashion at affordable prices. Food, prizes raffles, door prizes and gift baskets are being donated by local Nelson County business owners. Rockfish Valley Veterinary Clinic will be on hand to provide a demonstration of best pet care practices. All of the $5 entry fee will benefit the Rockfish Valley Community Center and the Nelson County SPCA Almost Home Pet Shelter. Online donations can be made thru Facebook : Rescue Runway Donations. Donations are tax deductible.
MAY 6
Batesville Day Parade and 10k
The Batesville Ruritans will host the 42nd annual Batesville Day parade and 10K race Saturday, May 6. The race will start at 8 a.m., with registration beginning at 7. The parade, featuring the Henley Middle School Band and the Charlottesville Municipal Band, will march at 11 a.m. Field activities following the parade include music by the Central Virginia Blues Society. This year will also feature a tug-of-war rematch of the Crozet and North Garden Volunteer Fire Departments and the grand reopening of the Batesville Market. For more information, visit batesvilleva.org. COURTESY THE ART BOX
community events
enjoy some great beer, food and music!
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The #fab4painters show is on view now at Creative Framing & The Art Box.
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CROZETgazette
APRIL 2017
Crozet Orchestra Registration Open The Crozet Community Orchestra registration for the April 5 - June 4 session is open for musicians until April 30. Register online on the CCO’s website: https://crozetcommunityorchestra.org/orchestra-registration-form/, or via email: crozetorchestra@gmail.com. The CCO has openings for strings, trumpet, trombone, tuba and others.
Early I. Kent Jr., 1924-2017 Early I. Kent, Jr. passed away March 22. He was born September 11, 1924 in Albemarle County, son of the late Early Kent Sr. and Olive Maud Kent. Besides his parents he was preceded in death by two brothers, Harry Kent and Paul Kent and his wife Ginny, a brother-in-law, Lacy Hutchinson, and a sister-in-law, Frances James and her husband Aubrey. He is survived by his wife of 68 years, Betty Jane Kent of Crozet; two sons, Charles Early Kent and his wife Beth of Palmyra, Va., and Larry Kent and his wife Judy of Afton. He is also survived by two granddaughters, Lisa Rochefort and her husband Brian of Midland, Va., and Elizabeth Kent of Daytona Beach, Florida. He is also survived by three great-grandsons, Sterling, Marshall and Wyatt, sons of Lisa, and one step-great-grand-
Cellists Wanted Cellists are wanted for the Nelson County Community Orchestra’s spring season. Music for May 21 concert at the Rockfish Valley Community Center includes works by Gluck, Handel, A Night at the Opera Medley and selections from Bizet’s Carmen. Weekly rehearsals are Mondays at 7 p.m. at the Rockfish Presbyterian Church in Nellysford. New players always welcome–all instruments, ages and levels. Please call Ellen Neal at 434-263-4745 or info@nelsoncco.org. www.nelsoncco.org
son, Kyle. He is also survived by his sister, Stella Hutchinson of Waynesboro, his sister-in-law, Janice Kent of Crozet, and four nephews, Steve Hutchinson, Wes Kent, Ron Kent, and Aubrey James, Jr., and their families, and one niece, Paula Martin and her family. He was a long-time member of Crozet United Methodist
Church, a World War II veteran serving two years in Europe, and was retired from Acme Visible Records in Crozet after 35 years. He was an avid sports fan, and enjoyed hunting, fishing, and golf, and loved playing baseball in his younger years. He coached little league baseball for five years when his sons were growing up in Crozet. He was a devoted husband, father and grandfather to all his family, and a loyal friend, mentor, and role model to all who knew him. A memorial service will be held at Crozet United Methodist Church on Saturday, April 8, at 2:00 p.m., followed by a reception in the church fellowship hall. Interment will be private at Mt. Moriah Cemetery in White Hall. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial donations be made to Hospice of the Piedmont or to the Crozet United Methodist Church to fund the Early I. Kent Jr. Scholarship. Anderson Funeral Home of Crozet is in charge of arrangements.
by Louise Dudley
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ACROSS 1 Muhammad ___, heavyweight champion boxer and anti-war activist 2 Storage space under the roof 3 U.S. President before Jefferson 4 Fido’s comment 6 Raggedy Ann’s friend 9 Scientist who travels in a spaceship 10 The fourth month 11 Three of these end an inning 12 Noah’s vessel 13 Reply to a question 17 First _____ (medical help) 18 Opposite of subtraction 19 Between black and white 20 Paving material 23 Playful animal in the water 26 Green vegetable in a pod 27 This colors Easter eggs 28 Opposite of together 29 Last word of a prayer 30 Paul Bunyan’s tool
DOWN 1 Squirrels eat these 3 The Grand Canyon is in this state 5 State with many glaciers 6 Cast members in a play 7 Pointed object to throw at a game board 8 Opposite of shut 9 Crozet’s county 13 Common connecting word 14 Spanish word for friend 15 _____ Springs Park 16 _____ Birds (video game) 20 Fruit said to keep doctor away when eaten every day 21 The ocean 22 Goal when playing golf 24 Group of athletes who play together 25 Garden in the Bible
CROZETgazette
APRIL 2017
Dawn Riley, 1958-2017 Dawn Elaine Jett Riley was born April 28, 1958 in Fredericksburg, Virginia to Frank and Evelyn Jett and was baby sister to three siblings. Dawn started her new life in Heaven on Saturday, March 18. Filled with Christ’s love and Holy Spirit, she lavished her love on others in the form of countless kindnesses and loving acts of service. There was a sweetness at her core like sweet honey in the rock. Her strength and peaceful nature made her the rock that family and friends sought out for comfort, peace and direction. Dawn was a graduate of Stafford High School and spent all of her adult life in Crozet, Virginia. A nurse by training, her strength of character and spirit assisted her as she cared for and walked with several family members from life on earth to life in heaven. Fun-loving and filled with joy, Dawn loved celebrations and vacations with her husband, children and grandchildren at Mint Springs, Virginia Beach, Disney World and Hawaii. Her smiles and laugh filled every space large and small. Hostess extraordinaire, she loved to cook and enjoyed having extra people at her table. Dawn and Michael hosted missionaries through ANM for many years in their home. She had a heart for children and was a mentor to many throughout the years. Dawn is survived by Michael Riley, her husband of thirty-seven years, her best friend,
confidant and protector; daughter Jessica Riley O’Malley (husband Dan); daughter Melissa Riley; son Michael Riley Jr. (wife Jessica); and step-daughter Michelle Griggs (husband Tony). Also, survived by eight grandchildren, lovingly known as her “grands”: Heather Griggs, Brian, Connor, Kaitlyn, Meghan and Kileigh O’Malley, Leyland Riley, and Elijah Riley; her father, Frank H. Jett; and siblings Marilyn Jett Tate (husband Tom), Gaynelle Jett Scott (husband Courtney), and Frank H. Jett Jr. (wife Susanna). Dawn is the well-loved aunt of eight nieces and nephews. She was predeceased by her mother, Evelyn Jett, and brother-in-law, Jeffrey Chewning. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to Advancing Native Missions (ANM), Box 5303 Charlottesville, VA 22905, (540-456-7111). A celebration of life service was held in Charlottesville on March 25. Online condolences can be written online at charltongroomefuneralhome.com.
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Serving Western Albemarle Families Since 1967 Robert S. Anderson & John W. Anderson, Jr., D I R E C T O R S
823-5002 5888 St. George Avenue Crozet, VA 22932
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BEREAVEMENTS Robert Wayne Morris, 56
February 7, 2017
Paul Saunier Jr., 97
February 8, 2017
James J. Holland, 95
February 14, 2017
Agnes Mary Fotta, 95
February 19, 2017
Patricia Ann Hyde, 60
February 23, 2017
Joann Hester, 75
February 25, 2017
Bradford Irving White Jr., 67
February 25, 2017
Rose Catherine Horan, 79
February 26, 2017
Rose Marie Balsamo La Bruno, 77
February 27, 2017
Loretta Shifflett McDaniel, 83
February 27, 2017
Richard Elwood Gibson, 74
February 28, 2017
Carol Jean Tate Craig, 68
March 1, 2017
Joyce Ann Truslow, 70
March 2, 2017
Jean Carol Coffey Varner, 68
March 3, 2017
Dorothy McDaniel Farish, 88
March 4, 2017
Agnes Wine Sandridge
March 7, 2017
Thomas H. Marino, 75
March 9, 2017
Doreen May Dickie, 83
March 10, 2017
Ethel Mae Brown Walker, 87
March 12, 2017
Floyd Watson Frazier Sr., 95
March 13, 2017
Bernice Early Arnette Mawyer McClammer, 94 March 13, 2017
Gregory Scott Morris, 47
March 15, 2017
Frances Childs Rosenthal Morris, 97
March 16, 2017
Barbara Louise Conklin Crosse, 84
March 17, 2017
Edwin Deane, 90
March 17, 2017
Charles Kinloch Nelson, 94
March 17, 2017
Brenda Faye Parham, 65
March 17, 2017
Lara Leigh Brooking, 48
March 18, 2017
Dawn Elaine Jett Riley, 58
March 18, 2017
Janet Winters Drayer, 95
March 20, 2017
Early I. Kent Jr., 92
March 22, 2017
Ronald William Lavis, 71
March 23, 2017
Lucy McIlwaine Hale, 95
March 25, 2017
Mildred Melton Tapscott, 85
March 25, 2017
John Charles Temple, 73
March 25, 2017
Erika Judith Preve, 29
March 26, 2017
Ann Omohundro Wood, 87
March 26, 2017
James R. O’Mary, —
March 27, 2017
Dorothy Harris Hamilton, 96
March 28, 2017
CROZETgazette
APRIL 2017
BETH SELIGA/3 CATS PHOTO
KRISTEN HARDY
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Local runners use the hashtag #runcrozet to organize group runs.
Fitness
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Watch Out for Rubberneckers! Expedia Dubs Crozet Most Beautiful Place in Virginia Travel-booking website Expedia has named Crozet the most beautiful place in Virginia as part of a promotional project to identify the most beautiful spot in each of the 50 states and thus encourage tourism to lesser-known towns. Each location gets a short blurb. Here’s how Crozet is described: Crozet is a charming place where farmland meets mountains. There’s something alluring about the downtown scene as the buildings seem frozen in time with the rolling Blue Ridge Mountains as their backdrop. To get a taste of this slice of Virginia, take a tour of the King Family Vineyards,
Drama
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the Queen in her various plots to ensnare the princesses. The medieval costumes— some borrowed from Monticello High School and some designed by Pitts with student help and sewn by dedicated parents— were nothing short of spectacular, creating a lovely color palette of greens, blues, and earth tones. The set, designed by students led by Malinda Smith, did a good job of creating the
where you can sample the local libations and see the vines up close. Come nightfall, stay at The Inn at Sugar Hollow Farm, an enchanting B&B, nestled within the wine country. Crozet is having a hard time concealing its status as the sweet spot of the Old Dominion with something to offer to the tastes of nearly every visitor, except a hotel. In North Carolina, the selected site is Southport, in West Virginia it’s Summersville, and in Maryland, it’s St. Michaels. Read the article and find other beautiful locations at: Most Beautiful Towns in All 50 States. impression of a castle, and featured a stage apron and box moat decorated with waves, in and out of which Winnifred could emerge. All in all, Once Upon a Mattress was an expertly produced and completely satisfying performance, showcasing the wealth of talent WAHS students have to offer. Kudos to the WAHS Drama Dept., which now boasts classes in musical theatre as well as technical theatre! Watch for a musical revue planned for later this spring.
Whether you are the experienced one or are the novice, your training friends have different lives than yours. You are sure to learn new things about your fitness path – maybe it’s a motivational story that gives you hope, or maybe it’s just something that helps you avoid a big training mistake. I try to listen to every person I train with. I want to get better and I don’t want to have to figure it all out myself. They expand your circle of friends. Your friends have friends, and if you hang out enough, soon they’ll become your friends too. Expanding your circle of training partners is very important. You don’t want to just depend on that one friend—your schedules won’t always align and sometimes you need a break from each other. I am fortunate now to have a pretty large circle of training partners I can call up. Years ago, it was two people. They remain two of my best friends, but enlarging the circle of fitness friends has been very enriching to say the least. So, what if you don’t have any training friends? Perhaps you live way out in the country. Or you just moved here. Or maybe you’ve been so busy that you
Boomers
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seeing how things have changed and will not be so resistant. “I have many children of aging parents touring the place and saying, ‘Mom, I could live here,’” she said. Regardless of how well peo-
haven’t connected with anyone: Go to group runs/rides/ classes. Whether boot camp, cycling, swimming, or running, there are a lot of opportunities to do these things with other people. Search online to find opportunities to connect with other people through classes, group runs/rides, etc. You’ll be surprised how much you may have in common with a few other people that you connect with. Don’t be afraid to come out. All too often people feel that they are too slow, too new, or too easy going to come out to these group events when in reality, most people promoting group events and classes want new people to join! Ask the local experts. If you want to know how to meet cyclists, go to the Crozet Bicycle shop and ask Cor how to get connected. If you want to know about running groups, head over to Crozet Running and we’ll give you some pointers. Don’t hesitate to ask people who are “in the know.” Most of the time they are thrilled to introduce their sport to newcomers. You will quickly be at ease and encouraged to pursue something new. Don’t forget to find your “why”; why do you want to grow your fitness? It is crucial that you WANT it. But then use your friends to help you get there!
ple think they know the needs of the next generation of elders, JABA’s Keane has a warning: “We like to make generalizations about each demographic,” she said. “It’s important to remember that there really is no monolithic set of characteristics. Whether it’s millennials or baby boomers, everyone is different.”
CROZETgazette
APRIL 2017
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Meeting Kicks Up Ideas for Neighborhood Initiative Funds By Michael Marshall editor@crozetgazette.com Albemarle County’s Neighborhood Funding Initiative is a one-time program to distribute $1.4 million in unallocated county funds from its 2016 budget projects in the county’s seven official development areas. Ideas for projects in Crozet were brainstormed at the Crozet Community Advisory Committee’s March 15 meeting at Crozet Elementary School that drew 37 interested citizens. County employees Emily Kilroy and Laurie Allshouse explained the program and the purpose of the evening, then broke up the crowd into groups sitting at the cafeteria tables to come up with suggestions. Money could go for planning or design or for landscaping or beautification, ideas “that improve the quality of life,” said Kilroy, but not for any project that had an ongoing expense. When the tables reported their conversations, the ideas that came forward included: • street, parking and sidewalk
improvements to The Square • a ramp from Library Avenue or the library parking lot that would allow strollers and wheelchairs to access the Harmony Place playground at Tabor Presbyterian Church • crushed stone to put on Crozet trails to allow bikes and strollers to use them • a community center with basketball courts and dirt bike jumps • a hangout place for teens • a “transportation network study” that would identify where roads, parking and sidewalks are needed • a walkability study of Crozet • development of “western park” in Old Trail • a statue of Claudius Crozet to go in the planned plaza downtown • a marketing and parking study of the plaza that would help attract tourists • seasonal banners for the streetlights on Crozet Avenue • a skateboard park • neighborhood “links” to the Crozet trails network • fitness stations, a Frisbee golf
course and a drone race course • a sidewalk along Rt. 240 from the Highlands to Starr Hill Brewery • sidewalks and repairs to sidewalks around the depot and Fruit Growers buildings • a family of sign designs for Crozet parks and trails • seed money to start funding for “Eastern Avenue” bridge over Lickinghole Creek • another way across the railroad tracks near downtown
At its next meeting April 19, the CCAC will create a prioritized list to send to the county supervisors, who will make funding decisions based on what’s proposed by the different growth areas. In other CCAC business, current chair David Stoner was reelected to a one-year term and John McKeon was chosen as vice chair. Minute-taking duty will be shared by James King and Mike Kunkel.
Crozet Park to Host Fourth Annual “Pitch-in @ the Park” Crozet Park will host its fourth annual Pitch-in at the Park Saturday, April 15th from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. The event brings together volunteers and businesses throughout the community and to complete many of the park’s maintenance activities; needs that would otherwise be deferred due to lack of manpower and funding. As in years past, our partner Albemarle County Parks and Recreation will generously provide their tools trailer and many of the materials for the day. Additionally, our very own Crozet Trails Crew is making the Pitch-in a big workday. We’ll also receive support from Yancey Mills Lumber, Blue Ridge Builders Supply, and Sal’s
Pizza. This trio of local companies shows their community leadership each year by providing the Park discounted pricing on a variety of supplies and materials. This year’s event includes several big activities aimed at buttoning up two projects started late last year. Volunteers will clear brush along our beautiful new perimeter trail. This paved trail, almost a mile in length, already gets regular use by walkers, joggers, skateboarders and cyclists. Our second big project relates to the curbed traffic islands in our new parking lot. To reduce maintenance and flying debris associated with trimming grass in these areas, top-
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soil in each of these islands will be replaced with ballast stone. Other projects include painting, landscaping and general clean-up activities. If you enjoy our beautiful park at the heart of Crozet, now is your chance to give back and
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spend a few hours with friends and neighbors to tackling a variety of projects. Lunch is provided to all volunteers. Please join us by signing up at: www.signupgenius.com/ go/9040d4aa4a72aa57-pitchin2
A L L T T I C ADAM O R A AR F I N L Z A S T RONAU R I L S N B AR K A SWE R A M M A M ADD I T I ON G N G R HA L T OT T E R E DY E T A E AME N
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CROZETgazette
APRIL 2017
Add yours for as little as $45 a month! Call 434-249-4211 or email ads@crozetgazette.com
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AUTOBIOGRAPHY WRITER: Crozet-based professional ghostwriter available to write personal life stories, family or organizational histories, military memoirs. Preserve memories, inspire others. Call Kevin Quirk 434242-8417 or Kevin@yourbookghost writer.com. COMMUNITY WIDE YARD SALE in OLD TRAIL, Crozet. Visit all of Old Trail’s neighborhoods for individual and group yard sales: indoor furniture and decor, lawn and garden, books, clothes, and toys. No early birds please. Saturday, May 6 from 8 AM to noon. Old Trail Community, Crozet. Just off Route 250 across from Western Albemarle High School. 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. FOR SALE BY OWNER: 1.34 acre residential building site four minutes from The Square. Clear, asphalt drive, existing bored well. Hillside acreage, all buildable, with great Blue Ridge views. Quick access to Rt. 250 and I-64. $135,000. Current survey, site/ soil study available. Email wolfproperty@mindspring.com or tel. (434) 981-4705. 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: 434-823-5086. YARD SALE: Hillsboro Baptist Church, 6406 Hillsboro Lane, Crozet,
CROZETgazette CLASSIFIED ADS will be conducting a Yard and Bake Sale on Saturday, April 22, from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. The items sold will be by donation and the proceeds will be used to benefit missions work in our community and elsewhere. We hope to see you there! LOCAL DAIRY FARM - COW MANURE/FERTILIZER: Manure has been pressed, de-watered and composted. Absolutely the best manure for your garden, yard, bushes, flowers, berries etc., you will ever need to make your garden grow better. Very little odor, this all natural manure is very clean and consistent with no straw, hay, rocks, twigs etc. We will load manure and delivery can be arranged. Up to 10 cubic yards $15 per yard. Over 10 cubic yards $10 per yard. Contact earlydawn dairy@yahoo.com or 434-823-5096. NEEDED ELDER CARE: Several male or female caregivers needed in Albemarle, Nelson Cty area for light housekeeping & transportation to appointments. All shifts. $12/hr. Please call Cathy at 434-944-9283.
APRIL 2017
Crozet Gazette Business Card Ads
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SAT/ACT TUTORING for May/ June/August test dates. Call Judith Davis, Certified Teacher/Tutor at 434-465-4311. WHAT IS YOUR PLAN IF YOU REQUIRE LONG TERM CARE? The three methods to pay for expensive care costs are self pay, Medicaid, or an insurance plan providing payments. Why be a burden to your family? Live as you choose and protect yourself and family with a Long Term Care or a LTC Life Insurance policy. Investigate your options and see if this financial protection is for you. Contact Jim Carmichael at 434978-4930ext3, or jimcins@gmail. com. ZUMBA SPRING SESSION begins Tuesday, April 11 - June 13 at the Greenwood Community Center 9:30 - 10:30 a.m. Class offered through Albemarle Parks Department, $60 for 10 weeks for residents. Register: jenniferhoman. zumba.com.
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
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NEED SOMEONE TO TALK TO? Feeling stuck? Stressed? Depressed? We can help with private, affordable coaching and counseling, including evening and weekend appointments. For a free consultation, contact Pam Rule, MA, LPC 434-234-4639 or chrysalis.rule@gmail.com. REGISTERED PIANO TECHNICIAN to service your piano. Tuning, in-home repair. Wendy Parham, RPT 434-218-9093 or wendyrparham@gmail.com.
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