CAPE CHARLES MIRROR

Reflections on Cape Charles and the Eastern Shore

You are here: Home / Archives for Wayne Creed

Old Firehouse has been purchased

by 2 Comments

The following is from the Chesapeake Properties Facebook Page

The Old Firehouse has been purchased by local resident, Susan Eidam! She and her husband, Bob, have admired the building since moving their family to Cape Charles in 2017. The seller, Steve Michel, repurposed the building back in 2009 after sitting vacant for many years. Paying tribute to the past, Steve named his restaurant “The Old Firehouse”, as this was originally home to the Cape Charles Fire Department.

Susan says, “It reminds me of some of the historic buildings that we visited while living in England; wonderfully updated for modern neighborhood enterprise.” Inspired Spaces is Susan’s commercial & residential design firm, so she is well acquainted with rehabbing historic buildings for adaptive re-use! She is excited to lease the restaurant to an entrepreneur seeking to bring a new dining experience to our rapidly growing town. For inquiries, Susan can be reached at 615-497-4518.

Kim Starr and Eva Noonan, who made this sale happen, are very excited about the future of the new “Old Firehouse”!

Meeting on Dog Leash Law July 18th

by 2 Comments

Town staff is proposing amended town code language for a leash\physical constraint law.  Also, proposing amended language to implement some of the former “dog committee” recommendations of a longer time period for dogs on beach (May 1- Labor Day instead of the current April 1 – Labor Day; and 9:00 pm to 10:00 am instead of the current 9:00 pm to 9:00 am). 

The meeting is scheduled for July 18th at 6:30 at the Civic Center.

This meeting will again be formational again this month with staff recommendation for Town Council vote at the August 1 special meeting. 

The issue of a dog park in town will not be part of this meeting, however, it will be discussed later in August.  

Has Tourism Killed Cape Charles?

by 20 Comments

“My neighbor tried it swimming on the 4th. The tents, massive in size, were so thick that in order to reach the water, he had to walk under and through tents. The next day they decided to take a walk along the beach at about 10:00 am. Mass numbers of tents were taken off the support poles and were laying on the sand along with beach chairs and other beach equipment. I know full well that the Cape Charles we came here for is long gone and we exist solely for the pleasure and entertainment of the summer people who make the cash registers ring. An old saying, it’s not kind but degree. The whole situation is getting out of control, witness the firestorm about golf carts.” – sent to the Mirror by Thomy Giese(I am quite content doing very little slowly) from Cape Charles on the Eastern Shore of Saltwater Virginia, where there is nothing to do and we do it all day long.

Once again, Thomy hits the nail right on the head. Summertime in Cape Charles is not what it used to be–it’s not what local residents really signed up for.

Locals have written the Mirror about this, bemoaning the influx of rudeness that has taken over this town. While not all bad, it seems that a larger percentage of this year’s tourists have taken bad manners, narcissism, and self-importance to a new level. Folks tell us they stay inside or just leave town on the weekends.

The following comment was sent in by a reader. While it is in response to a previous article on golf carts, it kind of sums things up:

I was at St Charles Catholic Church for 5:00 Sat Mass…came out of church at 6:00. Had parked two spaces down from the front of the church. Surprise-a crowd was standing around the back of my 2018 Ford Explorer. Several people witnessed a tall grey haired “gentleman? “trying to pull out of his parking space behind my vehicle in his golf cart. They all heard a loud crash as he rammed into the back of my SUV, then backed into the vehicle behind him. A parishioner ran down the church steps managed to take his keys from him offering to drive him home, he snatched the keys back, pulled forward once again hitting the rear of my car, and took off. No one recognized him but said he was obviously intoxicated and just didnt know how to drive the golf cart. Hit and run-no respect, no conscience. I need to replace part of my bumper-I have several pieces from his white 4 seater golf cart. My family and I witnessed the same thing happening during the 4th of July as we were walking to the parade. Another inexperienced golf cart driver trying to parallel park. Luckily the owner of the house came rushing out as he heard the crash. They are for the golf course people! – Reader Comments

We know, that cow’s already out of the barn, and there’s no going back to 20 or 30 years ago when this village had real charm. A little bit of dilapidation goes a long way.

You get what you vote for. Every single member of Town Council except for one has business interests in this town, so this outcome is to be expected.

Back in the Assess and Villains days, this writer used to mock this effort as the Cape Maying of Cape Charles.

Who’s laughing now? He’s still wiping the egg off his face and driving an hour to work on his tan at Croatan beach.

Below are photos sent in by a reader on the morning of the 5th of July.

Cape Charles Farmers Market: Dying on the Vine

by 22 Comments

CC Farmers Market – Local Customers Needed!

Special to the Mirror by Karen Gay. Karen is the Eastern Shore of Virginia Weston A. Price Foundation chapter leader. Consider joining our ESVA Weston A Price Foundation Chapter Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/esvawapf/. For more information contact Karen at 240-393-5625 or karengreergay@pm.me. All are welcome!

I am wondering if the town of Cape Charles can support a Farmers Market. The first two years of the market were pretty good and there was a full panoply of vendors. However last year saw a decline in attendance and some vendors did not return, including our much loved Mattawoman Farms.

There are fewer tents at the Cape Charles Farmers Market and in my opinion, this is because many of our own townspeople do not come to the market. I know that life is busy and it’s hard to remember a time on Tuesday afternoon. But if we do not support the small farmers in our area, we will only be left with produce and meats from the Food Lion or a lengthy trip to Quail Cove.  Most of this food is full of pesticides, herbicides, antibiotics and has been transported a long distance. Food grown locally is much more nutritious because it comes to your table directly from the farm. There is no middleman.

Photo by Karen Gay

“But what about the expense,” I’ve heard people say. The vegetables and meats reflect the time and effort it takes for the farmer to grow them. For instance, Copper Cricket Farm is not certified organic, but they grow their vegetables for nutrition by employing a no-till organic method of farming. This requires a lot of labor to weed and hand pick insects from the leaves.  Perennial Roots Farm is biodynamic, providing amped-up nutrition, as well.  In addition to vegetables, they provide pork and lamb that have been raised without genetically modified grains and unnatural poisonous additions like ractopomine (a feed additive, banned in most countries, used to promote leanness), typically added to most U.S. pork products. They’ve added herbal tinctures to their line of products and talking to Stuart is like talking to the physician we always wanted.  Seafield and our beloved Pickett’s Harbor Farms have been regular vendors at the market with radishes, cucumbers and really cute pottery for the former and peaches and tomatoes for the latter. Edwards Seafood is a regular with crabmeat, scallops and freshly caught fish.

The market has supporting vendors like our local caterer, Kitchen Sync, Um Yummies, She Seeks Wool, W.T. Wilkins’ Honey, Chatham Flower Farm, and the Blooming Farmer at my Lady’s Choice Farm.

I would like to give the market volunteers some help. My questions to you, the reader, are as follows:

  • What is stopping you from going to the market?
  • What would you like to see in a market that is not being provided?
  • What do you think about the timing of the market?

I’d really like if we could all pull together to support our local farmers. We want them to thrive and the only way this will happen is if we turn out and support them.

Town Overturns HDRB Denials

by Leave a Comment

On Monday the Cape Charles Town Council heard appeals from four applicants that had Certificates of Appropriateness denied by the Historic District Review Board. Council overturned the HDRB’s decisions and granted all four appeals.

This was a repudiation of the HDRB, as is summed up in the following statement by Councilman Steve Bennett:

You can’t do this in a vacuum, by not looking at the adjacent property. Look at the surrounding buildings cannot be any clearer. The guidelines mean a lot, but your interpretation of the guidelines is too strict. It is your job to interpret these guidelines with some sense about it. You can’t treat them like an edict that has been handed down, and you need to treat every case the same way. If that’s what you think you’re doing, then you’re doing the wrong thing. On my time on council, I’ve only had two appeals from the Historic District Review Board, and one of those was five or six years ago. Tonight, we have four. That’s an indication that something just isn’t right.

Given the push back from big money players, Town Council’s manufactured outrage is predictable.

While it may be easy to criticize the HDRB’s methods, the fact is they are stuck trying to work with a shoddy piece of pigeon crap we like to call the Historic District Guidelines. That document would only be useful it was printed on thin paper, rolled up and put in the public restroom at Central Park.

The Board asked Town Council point blank, are the guidelines important or not? The response, which exposed just how marginal this Town Council really is, was, “It’s your job to interpret the guidelines with some sense.” What does that mean? Interpretation should not be involved.

Cela Burge, who has the uncanny ability to say the same thing twenty-five different ways (law school training), droned on and on about how difficult it was to create the guidelines; this Frankenstein monster was created under her watch and her input.

It doesn’t have to be difficult. The guidelines could be done in a ten-slide Powerpoint presentation.

  • List the materials you can use.
  • Create a historic paint palette.
  • List the home styles (American Four Square, Cape Cod, Victorian, etc.).
  • List dimensions relative to lot size.
  • Home orientation.
  • Acceptable roof pitch.
  • Etc.

“Men have become the tools of their tools…Our life is frittered away by detail. Simplify, simplify.” – Henry David Thoreau

Town Council is planning a work session to deal with this mess. We’re sure this will be a regular Algonquin Round Table.

Council has no expertise in these matters, and they need to stay out of it. There is a lot of talent and experience on the Historic District Review Board. Council only needs to task them with simplifying the rules so that architects and contractors know where they stand.

Cape Charles Comprehensive Plan Kick-Off Workshop July 25th

by Leave a Comment

The Cape Charles Planning Commission is beginning the process of updating the Comprehensive Plan. A comprehensive plan is a document designed to guide the future actions of a community. It presents a vision for the future with long-range goals and objectives for all activities that affect the local government.

When updating the Comprehensive Plan, participation from residents and other stakeholders is essential. As a part of this process, a public Kick-off Workshop will be held on Thursday, July 25, 2019, at 6 p.m. at the Cape Charles Civic Center. This will be the first opportunity for residents to help form the update process and give feedback to local government officials about the future of Cape Charles.

The focus of the Kick-off Workshop will be to discuss the Comprehensive Plan update process, project goals, and citizen/stakeholder expectations. Input from citizens at the Kick-off Workshop will be used help to shape the planning process and ultimately the new Comprehensive Plan.

Assisting the update process is the Accomack Northampton Planning District Commission, who will be present at the workshop. The Town Manager and Town Planner will be in attendance, and the Northampton County District 1 Supervisor, John Coker, will be asked to attend as well. All Cape Charles Planning Commissioners and a representative of each Town Boards will be asked to attend. If you cannot attend the workshop and want to share your ideas, please email or call Zach Ponds at planner@capecharles.org, or by phone at 757-331-2036.

Shore Soccer Mulls 19 to 21 League

by Leave a Comment

Currently, once a player turns 19, they are no longer eligible to play Shore Soccer. This rule hurts our Hispanic community the most, as many players stay close to home to attend school or begin work.

Shore Soccer is looking into adding a new league that will be for players 19 to 21. Currently, the insurance policy only covers players up to 18.

The Author with his awesome soccer team (U-18 Black) at Randy Custis Field

Pet of the Week: Cletus

by Leave a Comment

The Eastern Shore SPCA is open to the public Tuesday-Saturday (10am-3pm). Stop by and meet handsome Cletus, another new resident looking for a family to love!

26528 Lankford Hwy. PO Box 164
Onley, Virginia Call (757) 787-7385

About Cletus
Hey, I’m Cletus and I’m a pretty laid back boy. I’m also fairly small for a hound, weighing only 40 lbs. I’m only around 3 years old and already neutered. I seem ok with other dogs and like meeting new people. I haven’t been around children or cats yet. I am up to date on vaccines, heartworm negative and on preventions.


Request for Analysis: Town’s $8 Million Dollar Budget

by Leave a Comment

The current fiscal year budget is now in the books to the tune of close to $8 million. The Mirror has looked at the budget, which is balanced, however we still have some doubts about the price tag.

We know that there are many folks that in their previous careers have worked on or even built budgets. The Mirror is putting out a Request for Analysis on the budget to see if the $8 million is legit.

If qualified individuals have the time, please take a look. A high-level look is available in the June Town Council agenda:
https://capecharles.municipalcms.com//files/documents/TownCouncilAgenda06-20-19012102061719PM1468.pdf.

Openings on Cape Charles’ Boards

by Leave a Comment

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.