The Town currently has a vacancy on the Board of Zoning Appeals and a position will be opening up in August on the Library Board. If you are a citizen of the Town of Cape Charles and are interested in serving on the Board of Zoning Appeals, Library Board, or any of the Town’s boards, please complete the Application for Boards and Commission and return it to Town Clerk Libby Hume at 2 Plum Street, Cape Charles, VA 23310 or email it to clerk@capecharles.org.
Archives for July 2019
Tai Chi With Baji
Tai Chi With Baji at the Historic Palace Theatre Dance Studio, located at 305 Mason Ave. in Cape Charles.
Dates are from Monday, July 22 to Thursday, July 25 from 11 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. Cost is $15/each; $50/series.
Enjoy cultivating your internal and external energy as you learn the basic postures of qigong and tai chi. Dr. Baji Daniels is a certified instructor under Dr. Paul Lam’s International Tai Chi for Health Institute.
She has practiced qigong and tai chi for twenty years and taught for nearly 10 years at community senior centers, churches, public libraries, and other local venues.
Tai Chi is a way of life for her because it keeps her healthy – mind, body, and Spirit.
Tai chi offers many benefits: extends your range of movement; reduces stress and tension; improves posture; helps lower blood pressure; improves sleep; changes thought patterns to positive and increases stamina.
For reservations, text Metty at (404) 538-9660 or email mimanmetty@gmail.com. Walk-ins welcome. Pay at the door.
Congresswoman Elaine Luria Opposes Efforts to Remove Protections from Virginians with Pre-Existing Conditions
WASHINGTON – Congresswoman Elaine Luria (VA-02) today responded to the latest efforts in court to dismantle important and life-saving protections for people with pre-existing conditions, along with every other benefit and protection provided by the Affordable Care Act.
“I came to Congress to defend quality and affordable health care for all Virginians,” Congresswoman Luria said. “If this lawsuit is successful, it would represent a multi-generational attack on our Commonwealth. Millions of young people, seniors, and everyone in between would be hurt. I’ll continue to fight back at every turn.”
Today oral arguments begin in the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in the Texas v. U.S. lawsuit that – among other things – would destroy Virginia’s historic Medicaid expansion, allow insurance companies to limit coverage, and end tax relief that makes health insurance affordable for millions of Americans.
Protections on pre-existing conditions for Virginia families would be devastated.
- 3,441,400 – Number of Virginians who have pre-existing conditions and will lose their protections.
- 2,974,000 – Number of Virginians who could face reinstated lifetime and annual limits on coverage.
- 642,000 – Number of Virginians who could lose all health care coverage.
- 109,517 – Number of Virginia seniors who could have to pay more for their prescription drugs.
- 59,000 – Number of young Virginians under age 26 who could lose the ability to remain on their parents’ insurance.
A vocal opponent of repealing the Affordable Care Act, Congresswoman Luria previously has spoken out against efforts to restrict health care in America. One of her first votes in Congress allowed the House of Representatives to throw its full legal weight against the Texas v. U.S.lawsuit.
History Notes this week of July 7
988: Traditional date of the founding of Dublin, Ireland.
1040: Lady Godiva makes her famous ride through Coventry to protest an onerous tax levied by her husband. He relents.
1099: The First Crusade- Low on supplies, and finding themselves encamped on arid ground after they failed to initially breach the fortified walls of Jerusalem, the 15,000 men of the First Crusade respond to a vision by the priest Peter Desiderius to purify themselves by a three day fast, and then make a pious demonstration of marching barefoot around the city, mimicking the Hebrews’ actions at Jericho. This day saw both the completion of the fast and the demonstration around the city, and stimulated a public rapprochement between bickering factions in the Crusader army. One week later, the final assault on Jerusalem will begin.
1191: The Saracen garrison at Acre surrenders to Conrad of Montferral, ending a two-year siege of the city- a key waypoint on the Third Crusade.
1536: Death of Erasmus of Rotterdam (b.1466), best known as the first and greatest humanist thinker, biblical translator, and author of nearly 30 percent of the books circulating in the early 16th century. Ironically, despite being a devout Catholic, his incisive sense of logic and belief in human free-will decisions made him one of the early intellectual “fathers” of the Protestant Reformation.
1543: Good old King Henry VIII, convinced he still had it in him, marries his sixth and final wife, Catherine Parr, who not only survived him but also survived three other husbands, thus becoming the most married queen in English history.
1576: Explorer Martin Frobisher sites the landmass of Greenland.
1776: Captain James Cook departs Plymouth on his third journey of exploration of the Pacific Ocean.
1778: As evidence of his support- heavily lobbied by John Adams and Thomas Jefferson- of the newly declared United States of America, Louis XVI of France declares war on the United Kingdom. The war costs him big money, which he finances through heavy borrowing. The financial strain plays directly into the crisis that caused him to convene the Estates General in 1789.
1789: The French National Assembly, which on the 17th of June formed itself out of an uneasy alliance between the 3rd and 2nd Estates of the Estates Generale, almost immediately became embroiled with both the Crown and the 1st Estate over its legitimate authority. Banned from the Estates venue, on the 20th of June it met on a tennis court and took The Tennis Court Oath, which committed the Assembly not to adjourn until it had created a new national constitution. By this day, the Crown had moderated its demands on the group, and they, in turn, re-designated themselves the National Constituent Assembly and assumed unto themselves sole legislative authority, an assertion not yet universally agreed upon. It did, however, provide a viable venue for the continued transformation- to full revolution– of the French government.
1789: The French Minister of Finance, Jacques Necker, is dismissed from office by King Louis XVI for favoring a re-structured tax program that would shift the burden more evenly across the Estates. In his years of service Necker was widely viewed as a highly forward-thinking reformer, even when working directly for the Crown. During the upheavals of early 1789, he took a leading role in supporting the demands of the Third Estate, but over time he found less and less cooperation from the rest of Louis’ government. With unrest growing concurrent with the dissolution of the National Assembly and the establishment of the National Constituent Assembly, high expectations were growing among the common people of Paris, many of whom looked to Necker as their voice at Court. His dismissal on this day and the way the news traveled through the grapevine on the 12th triggered an increasingly violent mob mentality, exacerbated by the extensive presence of mercenary troops serving at the order of the King. With Necker’s dismissal, the mobs began to grow panicked over the prospect of a violent repression of the political and social movement that was energizing the city.
1798: The Quasi-War with France- After four years of increasing tensions between the United States and the revolutionary French Republic, including repeated capture of American merchant ships by French privateers, Congress on this day repeals all treaties with France. This includes canceling our Revolutionary War debt to France, justified on the basis that the money was owed to the Crown and not the Republic. The action infuriated the French government, who increased its issue of Letters of Marque in order to continue harassing American shipping. With its entire navy in layup after the war, the American coastline is completely naked to attacks. President Adams re-activated 25 ships, who go on to distinguish themselves by capturing 22 privateers and deterring hundreds of attacks on American shipping. The conflict lasts nearly two years until Napoleon Bonaparte takes control of the French Directory and focuses French attentions elsewhere.
1804: Death of former Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton (b.1755), the victim of a duel with the sitting Vice President, Aaron Burr. The two had long been political rivals, but after a recent NY gubernatorial election which Burr lost to an associate of Hamilton’s, Burr became so incensed at Hamilton and vice versa, that the two took their dispute to a bluff over the Hudson River at Weehawken, NJ. Hamilton shot intentionally high, but Burr was determined to take his revenge and aimed directly at Hamilton’s torso. After his fall, Hamilton turned to his Second and his doctor and told them the wound was mortal. Minutes later he fell unconscious and was taken back home to NYC. On his deathbed, he moved in and out of consciousness as he bid farewell to a stream of friends and relatives. Finally, in the early afternoon, he died.
1839: Birth of John D. Rockefeller (d.1937): Cleveland native, oil man, industrial titan, and philanthropist
1846: U.S. troops occupy Monterrey and Yerba Buena (San Francisco), beginning the American conquest of California.
1846: Congress authorizes the retrocession to Virginia of District of Columbia lands south of the Potomac River. So the Pentagon is, in reality, not in DC. Something along these lines, by the way, would be a viable solution to the problem of “representation” for District residents
1853: Commodore Matthew Perry, with a United States Navy fleet dubbed the “Black Ships” by the Japanese, steams into Tokyo Bay to begin negotiations to open trade relations between the United States and Japan.
1854: Birth of George Eastman (d.1932), inventor of roll film in 1884 and film transparencies, the foundation of the motion picture industry. He founded the Eastman Kodak company in 1892, establishing a mass-produced film and standardized photo equipment that brought photography out of the expensive laboratories of the dry plate process and into the hands of the general public. In his later years, Eastman was a notable philanthropist, donating over $100 million to a variety of charities and foundations.
1856: Birth of Nikola Tesla (d.1943), Serbian-American inventor whose work with electricity and magnetism was well ahead of his time.
1859: Publication of Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities
1863: The United States authorizes its first military draft to fill the ranks of the Union army. Exemptions and substitutions may be purchased for $300; a lucrative black market follows.
1865: At the Navy Yard in Washington, four conspirators convicted in the assassination of Abraham Lincoln are hanged by the neck until dead, three months after the President’s shooting by John Wilkes Booth. [Photos: Lewis Payne, David Herold, George Atzerodt, and Mary Surratt at the scaffold. Surratt was the first woman executed in the United States
1868: Final ratification of the 14th Amendment, guaranteeing full citizenship to former slaves.
1870: Death of Rear Admiral John A. Dahlgren (b.1809), Chief of the Navy Bureau of Ordnance, and inventor of a number of advanced muzzleloading naval artillery pieces. His legacy includes the Naval Test range on the Potomac River that bears his name.
1914: Babe Ruth makes his major league debut with the Boston Red Socks, playing pitcher and outfield.
1921: Former President William Howard Taft is sworn in as the 10th Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.
1925: Opening day of the ACLU-initiated trial against young biology teacher John T. Scopes, in Dayton, Tennessee. The case was sensationalized primarily because of the presence of the two most famous lawyers in the country, three-time presidential candidate William Jennings Bryant for the prosecution, and Clarence Darrow for Scopes. The climax came when the two lawyers agreed to cross-examine each other on the issues surrounding the teaching of evolution.
1930: Under the guidance of industrialist Henry Kaiser, construction begins on Boulder Dam in southern Nevada. In March Nevada legalized gambling almost concurrently with the announcement of the project.
1940: First major Luftwaffe assault in what would become known as the Battle of Britain
1943: Opening guns of Operation HUSKEY, the Allied invasion of Sicily. During this campaign Lieutenant General George S. Patton cements his reputation as “Old Blood and Guts” as he sweeps wide of his assigned lanes and captures not only Palermo at the western end of the island, but beats British Field Marshall Montgomery to Messina in the east.
1943: Battle of Prokhorovka, the primary armor engagement of the two months long Battle of Kursk, which began on the 9th as a German attempt to perform a double-pincer encirclement of the Soviet bulge resulting from the German’s earlier withdrawal from Stalingrad. Kursk was the last offensive operation executed by the Wehrmacht on their eastern front; any further activity was halted by Hitler as a result of yesterday’s Allied invasion of Sicily. Today’s eight-hour battle pitted 494 German tanks against 593 Soviet T-34 tanks plus 37 pieces of self-propelled artillery, creating the largest armored battle in history. The Soviets were able to stall the German offensive and save their over-extended forces, but they could not exploit the action to prevent a continued orderly German withdrawal.
1944: After three weeks of intense fighting, Saipan Island in the Marinas is declared taken. The final days of the assault included the Japanese staging a suicidal Bonzai charge that overwhelmed the combined Army and Marines units in their path but resulted in over 4,500 Japanese deaths, many of whom were already-wounded personnel forced into the charge. Saipan was also where Japanese civilian suicides were first ordered en masse. The island became a major US Army Air Corps bomber base for attacks on the Japanese homeland.
1951: The city of Paris celebrates its 2000th birthday.
1960: Two months after being shot down on a U-2 reconnaissance mission over Russia, the Soviet Union formally charges Francis Gary Powers with espionage. He is convicted in August and spends two years in prison before being part of a prisoner exchange with the U.S. for Soviet spy Rudolf Abel.
1962: Launch of TELSTAR, the world’s first active, direct-relay communications.
1962: The United States conducts the STARFISH high altitude nuclear test program. This burst was one of five conducted in outer space during the FISHBOWL series of tests. STARFISH was a 1.4 megaton W49 warhead carried by a Thor rocket to an apogee of 680 miles. The Mk.4 re-entry vehicle was detonated at 250 miles and produced an electromagnetic pulse that forced virtually all of the instrumentation off of the scale, in addition to creating an orbital radiation belt and an aurora visible for hours after the burst.
1985: French intelligence agents (DGSE) bomb and sink the Greenpeace vessel Rainbow Warrior in Auckland harbor, New Zealand.
Two Charged After Burning Dog In Fire
Accomack County Sheriffs Department reports that Terrance Baines, age 37 of Melfa, was arrested July 7th on charges of Arson and Animal Cruelty.
Dorothy Payton, age 31 of Mappsville, was arrested July 6th on charges of Threat to Bomb/Burn and Drive without License. Payton was also charged with Arson and Animal Cruelty on July 7th. She is being held in the Accomack County Jail with bond denied.
Charges originated after a call from the Eastern Shore 911 Center regarding a residential fire on Coldkall Road in Horntown. Two camper trailers had burned in the of fire. It was discovered that the owner’s dog was killed in the fire.
Baines and Payton are being held in the Accomack County Jail. Bond for the two was denied.
Delegate Rob Bloxom Report on Gun Control Special Session
Hi. This is Delegate Rob Bloxom with a special edition of my Capitol report covering this week’s special session. The Governor called for this session to enact gun control measures within four days of the murders, before the funerals and memorials were even completed and when the investigation was in its earliest stages. We convened July 9 to accept his gun control bills along with dozens of other proposed bills from both Democrats and Republicans. The bills were referred to the appropriate committees, as are all bills. At that point, the committees re-referred all the proposed legislation to the Crime Commission. The Crime Commission is a bi-partisan committee consisting of delegates, senators, representatives appointed by the Governor, and a representative from the Attorney General’s office. It is a commission staffed with four full-time state employees who are non-partisan.
This commission staff will take all the proposed legislation and do a complete analysis and comparison to states that have enacted similar legislation. They will also analyze the entire police report when it is finished. The commission will meet later this summer in order to hear the staff’s report and will also hold public meetings. This is a very similar approach that Tim Kaine took, when he was the governor, after the Virginia Tech tragedy.
The largest debate we encountered July 9 concerned the actual rules. The Republicans felt that there was a need to include a discussion on other important issues concerning gun violence, mainly the area of mental health. On the other hand, the Democrats wanted to limit the issue to gun control without any consideration of other outside factors.
As I am sure you have read in the news, Governor Northam has admitted more than once that none of his gun-related proposals would have prevented what happened in Virginia Beach. For this reason, it sickens me that politics had more to do with this trip to Richmond than anything else. It is my hope that the Crime Commission brings viable solutions back to us, solutions that will help prevent tragedies such as what happened to our Virginia Beach May 31st.
I continue to be honored to represent you in the 100th District, and will keep you updated on future developments concerning this issue. Thank you.
Elizabeth Lankford Announces State Senate Candidacy
Elizabeth Lankford announced Thursday morning in an email to supporters she would be running as the Republican candidate for Virginia’s 6th Senate District. She is the owner of Blue Crab Bay Company in Melfa.
“I think we have all been following politics more closely over the last few years. I have had a unique perspective having moved away from the Eastern Shore for 10 years, then coming back to run a small business,” said Lankford. “I realized that while I was away, things haven’t gotten any better. Opioids have spiraled out of control. Health insurance costs are too high. Flooding isn’t just the same problem it was a decade ago, but has gotten worse. What we have right now isn’t working. Things have to change. This is why I am running for the State Senate.”
Virginia’s 6th Senate District includes Accomack and Northampton Counties, as well as parts of Norfolk and Matthews County.
Is Poultry Putting Our Groundwater at Risk?
The following article is from the Virginia Eastern Shore Clean Water Council’s newsletter. It is their concern for our groundwater that brings you this urgent message.
Our sole-source aquifer – the only source for our drinking water and all our other needs — is nearing a tipping point. As you may know, the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) requires permits for any operation that withdraws more than 300,000 gallons a month (GPM). Two years ago, the DEQ began the permitting process for the new poultry farms on the Shore. The draft permits for 49 poultry house operations were issued on May 24, 2019. There are a number of concerns if these permits are issued as currently drafted. First and foremost, if the water is withdrawn at the rate currently proposed, with even the best-case scenario, we will be at or close to the tipping point — withdrawing water at the same rate the aquifer is being recharged. Once we go past that equilibrium point, we risk the draw-down of our aquifer, which could create hardships for individual homeowners and businesses, including failed wells, saltwater intrusion, or restrictions for larger users. Further depletion of the aquifer could mean more complex, expensive options. Remember — this is a sole-source aquifer, and there’s no other source of water we can bring in.
We don’t have to be here however. There is a second aquifer, the Columbia, that recharges much more quickly. Unfortunately, the poultry houses have already drilled their wells into the Yorktown aquifer. A large percentage of their needs are for cooling water where they do not need the purity of the Yorktown aquifer and they could use the Columbia in many of their locations.
In order to save our drinking water for human consumption, we want the DEQ to conditionally approve these permits with a plan to transition many of the wells over to the Columbia aquifer. This is where we need your urgent help. The DEQ has published the permits and has requested public comments by July 12. If you are concerned with preserving our drinking water for human consumption, you need to make sure the DEQ hears your concerns. You need to send them a letter or an email before July 12. Tell them that we expect them to preserve and protect our groundwater now, and for future generations.
For your convenience we have outlined a number of concerns about these permits that you can cut and paste or reword for your letter or email to the DEQ.
Joe Valentine – President – Virginia Eastern Shore Clean Water Council
About Virginia Eastern Shore Clean Water Council. A year ago, we evolved as an organization from the Virginia Eastern Shorekeeper to become the Virginia Eastern Shore Clean Water Council, but our mission has not changed — our goal is to preserve, protect, and improve the waters of the Eastern Shore of Virginia. This includes the Chesapeake Bay and creeks, the seaside bays and creeks, our Atlantic waters, as well as our groundwater.
INSTRUCTIONS
We are urging all of our members to submit comments to DEQ on these draft permits. We have outlined below a few of the issues that we are concerned about, please feel free to use any of this language, or put your concerns into your own words.
The draft permits are available for viewing at: https://www.deq.virginia.gov/Programs/Water/WaterSupplyWaterQuantity/WaterWithdrawalPermittingandCompliance/EasternShorePoultryFarmPermitting.aspx .
Public comments will be accepted through July 12, and can be addressed to: withdrawal.permitting@deq.virginia.gov.
Comments can also be mailed to Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, P.O. Box 1105, Richmond, VA 23218, or hand-delivered to DEQ at 1111 East Main Street, Suite 1400, Richmond, VA 23219 (804-698-4000; 800-592-5482). All comments must include the name, address, and telephone number of the person commenting.
COMMENTS AND CONCERNS
1. Mandate use of the Columbia Aquifer
Our aquifer actually consists of four aquifers, or “layers.” The shallowest is the Columbia aquifer, followed by the deeper Yorktown-Eastover, which is divided into the Upper, Middle, and Lower Yorktown-Eastover. While the Columbia is recharged almost immediately with rainfall, only 0.05% of precipitation reaches the Yorktown-Eastover aquifers. The Yorktown-Eastover aquifer is also considered the safest for human consumption. With a couple of possible exceptions, the wells for all of the poultry operations in these draft permits are in the Yorktown aquifer. However, even if you argue that water for bird consumption should come from the Yorktown, a large portion of the water usage is for cooling, for which the Columbia water is more than adequate.
While it is a positive sign that 26 of the 49 poultry operations have a Special Condition added to their permit to investigate an alternative source (i.e., the Columbia); these test wells are only required sometime within the next five years. There is no language requiring the use of the Columbia if the test well shows sufficient water quality and quantity, prior to the permit renewal in fifteen years.
- DEQ has not provided adequate justification as to why all of the poultry operations don’t require test wells.
- All permits should include a provision to require that test wells in the Columbia aquifer be installed within two years, not five years.
- The permits should include a provision that requires DEQ to re-open the permit should the test wells show sufficient water quality and quantity from the Columbia. The permit should further require use of the Columbia aquifer as dictated by the results from the test wells.
- The criteria for the test wells in the Columbia need to be spelled out, including the minimum duration for the pumping test, and criteria for adequacy of water quality and quantity.
2. Overall Groundwater Estimates
Adding the overall estimated usage from these poultry farms to the current estimates for groundwater usage on the Shore brings us to a virtual tipping point. With even the best-case scenario, we will be at or close to the point where we are withdrawing water faster than it is being recharged. If we get into a deficit situation, we could be looking at more failed wells, more saltwater intrusion, or restrictions for larger users. With all water already allocated, it could also mean that new businesses would be discouraged from moving in.
DEQ’s current estimate for withdrawals from the 49 poultry operations is 1.179 million gallons a day (MGD); adding this to the actual usage from all other permitted facilities on the Shore (from 2017) of 5.72 MGD, and the current estimate for residential and all other uses of 2.06 MGD, yields 8.959 MGD, basically even with our recharge rate of 9 MGD. This is the best-case scenario, and does not include an additional 7 poultry operations identified (5 with partial applications); the usage from the poultry operations that fall below the 300,000 GPM threshold; the requested expanded withdrawal for the Tyson plant; increased usage during drought years; or additional cooling needs as temperatures rise from climate change.
- We need assurances from DEQ that all future groundwater withdrawal permit applications – poultry or otherwise – will take this into account, and that all future permits will require investigation of the Columbia as a source, to decrease the pressure on the Yorktown-Eastover aquifer.
3. Environmental Justice for Our Neighbors
DEQ’s modeling showed areas of impact for each of the 49 facilities, with the largest area of impact in Pungoteague (1.4 miles in diameter). Mitigation plans are required for 44 of the poultry operations where the area of impact extends off the property of the poultry operation. If a homeowner or business within the area of impact has an issue with their well and is within the same aquifer, the poultry farm will be responsible for mitigation, i.e., paying to restore the other user’s water. However, there is no mechanism to notify homeowners or businesses that they lie within the area of impact. The language for the mitigation plan provides little protection for our most vulnerable populations, who may not know their rights, and may not be able to navigate this process. As stated in the draft permits, the poultry operations will be the sole initial decider as to whether there was an impact, after which it will go to an appeal process, including the homeowner/claimant, the poultry operation, and a third party. The poultry operation will have 72 hours to provide emergency water supplies, for human consumption only.
- We need additional protections in place for our residents and small businesses. Potable water should be provided within 12 hours to an impacted party. And the mitigation/response plan as currently proposed is weighted heavily against the aggrieved party. This is not acceptable, and should be revised to require that either DEQ or Accomack-Northampton Planning District Commission (A-NPDC) be the administrator of the mitigation program, with any dispute resolution under the authority of DEQ.
- An Environmental Justice analysis should be completed on all 49 poultry operations. In addition, written notification (in Spanish and English) should be made to all property owners within the area of impact for every poultry operation. This notification should include the DEQ contact information and complete information on the mitigation response program. This should be completed by DEQ, at the cost of the applicant, within four weeks of the permit approval.
4. Other Points to Consider
- We need clarification from DEQ on the process for any new permits (non-residential use). Applications should be submitted before the wells are drilled, and the burden should be on the applicant to prove they can’t use the Columbia, with test well data to prove their case.
- The results from the test wells, and all metered usage data, should be made available to the public on a timely basis.
- DEQ’s modeling (which forecasts impacts over the next 50 years) did not include sea level rise or other impacts of climate change. How will periods of drought or increased temperatures impact the usage? Will this expand the areas of impact? In a period of water restrictions, will residents have priority over poultry?
- DEQ began this process in 2017 with 84 poultry operations, based on their Virginia Pollution Abatement permits. By early 2018, they had narrowed this down to 56 poultry operations, after which 2 were dropped because their usage fell below 300,000 GPM. An additional 5 poultry operations have indicated they believe they will also fall below that threshold, which resulted in the remaining 49 with draft permits. However, DEQ has never provided an explanation of the status for the remaining 28 poultry operations (when 84 was narrowed down to 56); we need a full accounting of all poultry operations on the Shore and the process they have followed.
If you are concerned with preserving our drinking water for human consumption, you need to make sure DEQ hears your concerns, and send them an email or letter before July 12.
Please express your concerns and let DEQ know that we expect them to preserve and protect our groundwater, now and for future generations.
Death Race: Golf Carts Pose Safety Risks in Cape Charles
Last week, on my way home from work, two young girls, maybe 12 or 13 were on a golf cart that ran the stop sign at the intersection of Monroe and Nectarine. I drove a cab in the DC area for several years, so I developed a sense of when a driver is going to do something stupid, and was able to avoid running them over.
Locals will tell you this is not an isolated incident. Young kids, drunk teens, and adults are driving all over town, treating the golf cart like an amusement park ride. This is all happening with the knowledge and tacit approval of the Mayor, Town Council, and Police. With tourist dollars driving the agenda, our officials would rather risk public safety than upset the golden goose.
The Mirror has fielded complaints from residents that say they have been nearly run over by kids driving the carts. Some of the newer carts with performance engines and performance-modified controllers are pretty fast now. It’s bad when you have to yell at cart drivers to slow down as they fly past your kids.
A reader told the Mirror that last week they witnessed intoxicated drivers attempting to do donuts in the park. Not sure if that’s funny or just stupid.
Locals understand to watch out for golf carts when they are driving through town, but I’m not sure visitors are quite as aware. After a few drinks, and driving back to the rental, probably too fast, are they going to be able to react in time when a golf cart full of kids comes flying out in front of them?
I don’t blame the tourists as much as town officials. They are here to have fun and have “Vacay Brain”. If the police don’t step up and start issuing tickets and fines, someone is going to get killed. Citizens can’t be expected to educate our visitors. Actually when we try, we usually just get a dirty look or flipped off.
Much like the drownings of the past few years, nothing happens until you have a corpse.
Op-Ed: The Great Experiment
Special Opinion to the Mirror by Chas Cornweller
There was an interesting article released by the Cape Charles Mirror last month entitled, “Town Council calls Library Board’s Bluff on WWI Plaque in Library”. A nice, pithy read on the discourse between a town council member, town manager and the Library Board about the wording on a Memorial plaque commemorating those that lost their lives during the first Great War. The article was structured around the selected wording (colored) and the level of perceived offensiveness to the citizens of Cape Charles and patrons of the library. Like I said, a nice, well-thought-out read on societal norms of today as opposed to societal norms of early part of the last century and our collective views on racial issues, past and present.
It was in the comment section, however, where the firestorm truly raged. Proving once again, our racial past is not quite past and still lingers in the minds of many as a dark reaction akin to an ancient family dispute or a historic injustice done by a neighbor, unresolved, left to fester. Mr. Plante painted a very succinct message in one comment about the heroism of not one, but several Black units and the commendations they received by the French government. In the very writing of his comments, it was clear to see that racism played a large part in shaping of these units’ history. It is a known fact that blatant racism was a large and present danger prior and during the Wilsonian period of American history. It is a known fact that, even though several of America’s African American soldiers had fought and died under extraordinary circumstances and had been rewarded by medals of high honor by the foreign nation they had defended, the very nation they wore the uniform of, did not recognize their bravery for nearly another one hundred years. It is a known fact, that each of these African American units conducted themselves with strength and bravery in the face of the enemy and under conditions indescribable to the average person and unknown to the rest of the world. Yet, they were shunned, beaten, killed and terrorized by their own countrymen on their return to the United States. These are all facts and cannot be denied.
And yet, there followed comment after comment reflecting the poor relational condition of Black Americans with their fellow countrymen. Beginning with “When will you ever become Americans and drop the hyphen.” Or, “the smart ones use it as a ladder to success and truly succeed. Most are comfortable with the crutches of victim hood.” Or this perpetual falsehood…” Maybe stop committing 65-75% of all violent crime. Just a thought, as you are only 13% of our population.” The comment that really turned my head was one, so full of falsehoods, I could barely make my way to the end of the disinformation. And it is the reason for this article. The commenter was comparing the Middle Passage and Slavery, with all its baggage, to “The Great Experiment.” An odd choice of wording, I might add. For any astute reader and one knowledgeable of U.S. history will catch this as code for separatism. To compare, (and at the same time segregate black and white) to a “Great (failed – my words) Experiment” is to at once deny the role that White America played in the disenfranchisement of African Americans from the American dream. That’s point one. Point two is, in denying White America’s role, individual whites deny their own actions, their laws, their own history in that ruinous societal role. And lastly, by that very denial, they absolve themselves of their roles. By implying it was “They” (who are they?) and “their” experiment, most whites are not implicit in guilt. Didn’t take part, had no knowledge, how could such a thing happen? Besides, it was so long ago, right? Sound familiar?
In Nazi Germany, six million Jews and several million dissidents, communists, religious leaders, homosexuals, non-compatriots, and anti-Nazis were eliminated, by what some called “The Final Solution.” What was the general consensus by the population in the waning days of the war, as Allied forces liberated those killing fields? “We didn’t know, had no part of, it was out of our hands…etc.” It is interesting that the “Final Solution” and the “Great Experiment” seem cut from the same mold. But, maybe that’s just my perception. But, here is my truth on this commenter’s alternate take on America’s history.
First and foremost, slavery, indentured servitude and an economic system was not built to conduct an experiment. It evolved from many other places, many other situations. And it usually involved peoples’ greed or lust for power, and to a lesser extent, the conformity of society to “go along.” Many indentured servants were willing to put themselves in that situation to be able to travel from England to the New World for opportunity and a chance at a new life. They could not have foreseen if their sponsor was a just and trusting soul or if, when they landed, their lives would be a living hell and their land taken. But, they had choice. And their sponsor had his. At the same time, there were several uprisings in both Scotland and Ireland at a time in which it was expedient for the Crown to get rid of those rabble rousers and treasonous souls. And the Crown did so, by the boat load. So, many of those poor, white subjects with no country, no home, prisoners of the Crown really had no choice. Be hanged or be banished to live in a savage, untamed land across the Atlantic. But, they too, had made their choices (however badly – or justly – depending on varied points of view). Their lives probably fared a little better than most indentured servants. The final set of new emigres to this New World were Africans. The Portuguese actually were continuing a tradition begun by early African and Mid-Eastern (Islamic) tribes. The Spanish needed strong backs to mine and to work open field to replace captured and enslaved Native Americans who were dying in droves due to disease and the harsh work conditions. Africans proved hardy enough to endure the heat and dangerous conditions better than the Indian. Lastly it was the Dutch that first brought Africans to these shores in 1619, ironically, not as slaves, but as indentured servants. In fact, in the early to mid-sixteen-hundreds, many Africans could be freed either by working out those same terms as a white indentured servant, converting to Christianity or both. Those laws were soon to change and an increase in the trade would explode. Also, it is a known fact that other Blacks owned slaves and were working in the slaving trade. One such Black American was named Anthony Johnson. Slavery, as such, was a societal norm and an integrated way of life for nearly two hundred and fifty years. Slavery laws were written so that the African brought over from Africa on a slave ship had no more human rights than cattle. They were actually referred to as Chattel. They were to be owned, bred and worked unto death, nothing more, nothing less. Even from the church pulpits of the time, slavery justifications were expounded upon. The laws forbade teaching reading and writing to Blacks. Families were torn asunder at the very plantations where they were encouraged to marry and procreate. At the master’s death, a poorly written will or no will at all or a settlement of debt, could sentence entire black families to an irrevocable distance and a separation for all time. An entire culture of a people and the histories of their families were erased on a whim of their masters. This is the legacy of “That So-Called Great Experiment.” This is the lens through which Black America sees their legacy. No numbers of apologies from whites, no amount of reparations, no presentations of medals (in War and in Track and Field) and no possible human outreach can undo this legacy. This was a fact and still is a wound on America’s psyche.
And this is my point. Many whites, of which I am also, misunderstand at best, justify at worst the situation in which most blacks are placed in today’s society. I have heard so many of my white brethren speak negatively of Affirmative Action, Equal Opportunity, Reparations, Civil Rights, Education Rights, Property Rights… stating as being unfair to them and creating a society where one race is being given unequal treatment in the competition for the American Dream. These are the people with blinders on. No amount of giving at this level can give back what was taken. The family structure (that even today is so prevalent and important in Africa) was damaged almost beyond repair during the slave era. Had it not been for the Churches and strong community leaders (in free states) extolling the strengths of community, many African Americans would have found themselves in freefall, both societal and within their respective communities. Is it any wonder, that in that Great War of 1918, that blacks proved their mettle in battle? “That Great Experiment” you write of? No, your facts are all wrong. For one, the experiment has lasted almost one hundred and fifty years. African Americans have been here for four hundred years. Can people be taken from the jungles of Africa and made slaves be fully integrated as citizens in a majority white population? Well, for one, it’s a trick question. Second, do they really want to be? I seriously doubt you’ll find many Black Americans who have a polka record collection or eagerly await Garth Brooks next album release. The beauty of America (in my view) is the melting together of cultures from around the world and the blending of people who rise and come together to make this nation what it is. America is not just one culture and never has been. It is myopic to even think so.
But it is the next statement that could not be any more false and I’ve seen it time and time again in this blog by different commenters. Here and now, I want to set the record straight. First of all, negating the majestic civilization of Africa is a plain falsehood. There have been literately hundreds, possibly thousands of kingdoms and cities. Beginning with the Kingdom of Kush and the parallel rise of Ancient Egypt, of which it was incorporated. In the region of Sahel, you had some of earliest known outgrowths of agriculture and multiple kingdoms rose and fell at the same time of Ur and Mesopotamia. That time period would roughly be about the time Europeans were crawling out of caves and still hunting and gathering. During Europe’s Dark Ages, Islamic Kingdoms of great wealth and power rose and fell. They were Songhai Empire, Benin Empire, Ghana Empire, Ancient Carthage, Aksumite Empire, to name but a few. To claim that Africans have been stuck living in the early Holocene epoch for all this time, with little to no cultural growth is laughable. It also shows a great misunderstanding of the African heritage and historical lineage that is their noble history. One more aspect that white cultural has denied their African brethren, hidden and buried in lies and misinformation.
The “Talented Tenth” was also taken out of context of its original meaning. The statement in the comment read…” There is a Talented Tenth. They are the black Americans who have become entrepreneurs, lawyers, doctors and scientists. But ten percent is not enough. For the experiment to work, the ten percent has to be followed by a critical mass of people who can hold middle-class jobs and promote social stability. That is what is missing.” First of all, the author’s quote was misleading. Because that is not what the Talented Tenth was defining, according to W.E.B. Du Bois. Secondly, the Talented Tenth was not originated by Du Bois, it was coined by Northern Philanthropists, specifically the American Baptists Home Mission Society with the goal of establishing black colleges in the South to train black teachers. Du Bois went on to use the phrase in his writings and was quoted…” The Negro race, like all races, is going to be saved by its exceptional men. The problem of education, then, among Negroes must first of all deal with the Talented Tenth; it is the problem of developing the Best of this race that they may guide the Mass away from the contamination and death of the Worst.” The key phrase the commenter uses that rankles is this.” For the experiment to work, the ten percent has to be followed by a critical mass of people who can hold middle-class jobs and promote social stability.” Not at all what the Talented Tenth intended or promoted. And on one final note, the falsehood of the author’s statement lies in its outcome. America is safer, America is stronger, America is greater, not in spite of her Black population, but, Because Of. (I refer you to the thirteen names on the plaque engraved under the title, Colored. You, Mr. Parks want to find the negative, find the fault in these people. Well, I want to find the positive that is why I am shining the light on the positive aspects of these people. They died in the very first instigation of our nation’s awaking (Crispus Attucks – March 5, 1770 – Boston Massacre). They have fought in every field of action inside this nation and out alongside their white brethren. They built bridges, churches, schools, homes, buildings in towns and entire towns. They contributed to the science and business of this nation. They’ve brought children into this world and they have buried those that came before us. They were/are teachers, preachers, housewives, mothers, fathers, children, grand-parents and the man who mended your fence and fixed your car. They are police officers, deacons of churches, doctors, lawyers, judges and the bulwarks of our communities. They were and will always be, an American citizen. And despite the odds and the backlash and the hatred and the countless unlevel and unfair legislations and laws passed to shackle them, they do their very best to promote social stability. As you quote Mr. Parks, “For the experiment to work, the ten percent has to be followed by a critical mass of people who can hold middle-class jobs and promote social stability. That is what is missing.” No, that is not what is missing. That’s never been missing. Black American’s have always been on board for the well being of America. The truth is, White America has not always been on board for the well being of Black Americans. If you want to call it a “Great Experiment” that’s your prerogative. But just make sure, that at the end of your experimentation, you double, triple check your results. Double, triple check your ingredients you’ve added as well. Because you and I do not see eye to eye on race relations in this great nation of ours. And you and I surely don’t see eye to eye why the problems are such as they are. And lastly, this experiment of yours, you call a failure, I call a resounding success. Yes, it needs tweaking and revamping in some quarters. But, that is on ALL of us. So, you better hike up your big boy pants, catch your second wind, put that “White Frustration” in a corner and look to the real reasons for your frustrations. The truth of the matter is, we’re all in this together and we’ve a lot of work ahead of us. Freedom isn’t free, ask any African American. They can tell you, pretty much, how high the costs.
- « Previous Page
- 1
- …
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- Next Page »