INSIDE TANK TORCH page 8 RAILWAY TRAIL page 11 BACK AT WAHS page 13 ON POINT page 14 BERRIES page 15
AUGUST 2015 VOL. 10, NO. 3
HOME SALES page 16
New Principal Darah Bonham Arrives at WAHS
STOCK CARS page 18
by Rebecca Schmitz becca@crozetgazette.com
WHEN TO EAT page 21 ASH BORER pages 22 PEACH SALAD page 23 PARADE REDUX page 24 JSL RUNNER-UP page 26 OK ANNUALS page 28 NEXT YEAR! page 28 EL NIÑO page 30 FOIA page 32 PUPPIES page 34 WALL OF FAME page 38 FLORIESCENSE page 36 NON-NATIVES page 38 BOOK CLUB page 39 BURNOUT page 40 CROSSWORD page 45 CROZET CHORUS page 47
The Crozet Gators might have finished second in this year’s JSL Championship, but they are still “hands down best team in town.” See story page 26. See more parade pics on pages 24-25.
CCAC Casts Wary Eye on Interstate Interchange Development Reacting to the possibility that the Growth Area Boundary at the interchange of Rt. 29 and Interstate 64, Exit 118, near Charlottesville will be enlarged by County Supervisors to accommodate a potential commercial user who is interested in property on its southwest quadrant, the Crozet Community Advisory Committee considered whether to re-issue a 2012 resolution it passed opposing development of the Exit 107 interchange at Yancey Mills.
The possibility was raised by White Hall District Planning Commissioner Tom Loach, who noted that the Yancey Mills interchange had been brought up by a supervisor in the discussion about enlarging the boundary at Exit 118. Development of the area was considered and rejected in the review of the Crozet Master Plan in 2010. The Yancey Mills location is not eligible for public water and sewer sercontinued on page 4
Adventure Center Opens in Depot The Charlottesville Albemarle Convention and Visitors Bureau opened a tourism center in the Crozet depot in July that it has dubbed the Albemarle Tourism and Adventure Center. Its large interactive screens linked to Apple TV will allow visitors to find recreational opportunities in western Albemarle and the Rockfish Valley. And like any tourism stop, it stocks racks of promotional information about tourist draws all over the
state. It occupies one-third of the 1924 building, sharing the door with co-tenant Crozet Artisans, which has a smorgasbord of wares displayed in the west side of the depot. “We began staffing it the last week of July,” said Bureau executive director Kurt Burkhart. “We’re working hard to get our third ready. We really complement with the Artisans so well. It’s continued on page 6
Twenty-two years ago Darah Bonham saw a movie that changed the course of his life. He could not have known, while walking into a theater with his future wife to catch an afternoon showing of Awakenings, that he would walk out on an entirely new career path. The movie, starring Robin Williams as a devoted doctor working with catatonic patients, sparked Bonham’s desire to find a job that would allow him to have a positive impact on his community. “It made me want to do something that made a difference in the lives of others,” he said. Bonham, who at the time was using his business and technology degree from James Madison University working at a defense contractor in Northern Virginia, became certified to teach a year later and then obtained a master’s degree in education from George Mason University. He’s spent the last 20 years marrying his expertise in technology and innovation with his passion for making a difference in the lives of young people. Bonham was unanimously recommended to be Western’s 12th princicontinued on page 17