We are facing down hurricane Florence. The top priority for this police department is to keep all our citizens safe. I am asking for your help and cooperation during this event. If you want to leave and do not have the capability please call 678-0458 and ask for one of us to come help you. Once the storm hits it will be to late to leave. To the business owners it would be extremely helpful if you would close Thursday until the storm passes. We will be extremely busy due to flooding and possible down trees and loss of power. My officers safety is paramount and coming to aid people at a business or coming to work is avoidable. Please do not drive out and into any flooded streets again this is avoidable so don’t put yourself in that situation because I can not guarantee a fast response time.
Florence may track near Bermuda, US East Coast
Florence is forecast to restrengthen into a hurricane and push close to Bermuda and the United States East Coast next week. Florence is expected to have an indirect impact and may evolve into a serious direct threat.
Florence is a relatively small tropical system, and small tropical systems are very vulnerable to both ideal and poor environmental conditions.
After forming near the Cabo Verde Islands last weekend, Florence became the first Category 4 hurricane of the 2018 Atlantic season as it entered a zone of low wind shear and sufficiently warm waters earlier this week.
Wind shear is the increase in wind speed and change in wind direction with either increasing altitude or over a horizontal distance. High wind shear can prevent a tropical storm from forming and cause a well-developed hurricane to weaken.
A zone of strong wind shear has caused Florence to weaken to a tropical storm. Additional fluctuations in strength are anticipated.
This weekend, wind shear is forecast to diminish, while at the same time Florence moves over much warmer water. As a result, AccuWeather meteorologists expect Florence to gain strength.
The movement of Florence is likely to remain steady in the short term, but a deviation in the path may develop next week.
“An area of high pressure over the central Atlantic will bridge westward and join with an existing high pressure near the U.S. East coast over the next several days,” according to AccuWeather Hurricane Expert Dan Kottlowski.
“This setup will guide Florence on a west to northwesterly course into next week,” Kottlowski said.
If the high pressure area weakens next week, then Florence may be able to curve northward then northeastward out to sea with impacts in the U.S. limited to an indirect nature with rough surf and heavy seas.
However, if the high pressure area remains strong, then Florence may complete a 3,500-mile-long journey over the Atlantic and be guided right into the U.S. East Coast somewhere from the Carolinas to southern New England sometime during Wednesday or Thursday of next week.
Northampton Football: Northampton Dismantles Surrey 31-13
The relentless ground and pound running attack of the Northampton Yellow Jackets proved to be too much for an overmatched Surrey squad. Cory Smith piled up over 100 yards and a brilliant touchdown to lead the Northampton attack.
From the outset, Surrey had trouble sealing the edge, as Smith, with solid downfield blocking from his wide receivers chewed up big gains. Big back Carlton Smith kept the Surrey defense on its heels as he pounded the ball inside the tackles. Northampton, despite struggling with extra points, led 18-0 at the half.
An early second-half score gave Surry some hope, but the Jacket defense tightened, holding Surrey to under 70 yards the rest of the game.
Handing the ball to #1 Carlton Smith proved to be a steady diet the rest of the game. Sometimes carrying three of four defenders, Smith eventually balled his way into the end zone, sealing the win. Trip Wescoat added a 36-yard field goal to complete the victory.
The win leaves the Jackets with a record of 2-0. They are scheduled to finish the game against Northumberland at home on September 15th at 5:00. Those times will finish the second half of that game, which was postponed due to lightning. Northumberland leads 14-0 in that contest.
Depending on the outcome of Hurricane Florence, Northampton will take on Windsor at Windsor next Friday night at 7:00.
The Long and Sordid History of Accawmacke Plantation – Bay Creek at Cape Charles
In 1974, Thora Scott Ronalds McElroy and Donald A. McElroy, her husband (‘the McElroy’s”) conveyed by deed over 2,000+ acres to Brown & Root, Inc. The McElroy Deed contained 195± acres in the Town of Cape Charles – the North Tract which included Kings Creek Farm; Kings Creek Marina; Northampton County Club – a leased 9-hole par 3 golf course; undeveloped acreage designated as available for agriculture; numerous vacant lots in and or adjoining the Town of Cape Charles, significant Chesapeake Bay frontage and mud flats of the Bay. “The golf course is a private nine-hole course on the northeastern corner of the town. The Northampton Country Club was organized in 1928 and has been in continuous existence since then. The property is now owned by Brown and Root and is in the process of being replanned.)[1] “ONE OWNER OWNS ABOUT HALF OF THE VACANT LOTS THAT ARE AT LEAST STANDARD LOT SIZE (40′ BY 140′), IN ADDITION TO A MAJORITY OF THE OTHER VACANT ACREAGE, AND, THEREFORE, CONTROLS A LOT OF THE FUTURE DEVELOPMENT OF THE TOWN. (MAP 8).” [2]
A portion of the North Tract west of the dilapidated Kings Creek marina and silted-in harbor was used years ago as a town dump. A majority of this North Tract area along with the majority of the Town was within the floodplain and portions remain in designated wetlands.
“The town has approximately two and a half miles of low shoreline, which includes the Cape Charles beach. There are approximately 30 acres of wetland areas in Cape Charles. Most are in the northern part of the town limits around King’s Creek as well as a few places along the Cape Charles beach, the harbor, and along the edge of the golf course, including over three acres of Type I marshes which are the highest level of wetlands as determined by the Northampton County Tidal Marsh Inventory, 1977.” [3]
The McElroy Deed contained 1,762± acres in the County, the South Tract, known as the Hollywood Farms. The McElroy Deed contained specific language: “to Brown & Root, Inc., its successors and assigns forever”.
Brown & Root, Inc. purchased these combined significant properties in both the Municipality of Cape Charles and within Northampton County. Local news publications reported, and other sources stated that Brown & Root’s intent was to use the majority of the undeveloped property in the South Tract, within the County, for commercial and industrial use following an OPEC imposed oil and petrochemical embargo against the U.S. in October 1973. The Nixon administration commenced Project Independence in November 1973 to boost U.S. energy production and independence from foreign oil and energy interests.
Brown & Root’s planning attempts in later years, when the ‘oil crisis’ turned into an ‘oil glut’ beginning in March 1974, led Brown & Root to change this 1974 land acquisition into a proposed and significant residential, commercial and recreational development – a Planned Unit Development (PUD), named ACCAWMACKE PLANTATION sometime around the end of the 1980’s but before 1989, as Brown & Root had at first changed the land designation from undeveloped acreage to an industrial classification and then proceed to modify its intended use. “If the proposed resort/retirement development takes place as envisioned, approximately 2000 additional dwelling units may be built in and around the town with an undetermined number of other dwelling units required outside of the property to accommodate any public needs caused by development.” [4]
An Annexation Petition was filed by the Town on March 26, 1990, together with the appropriate notice to adjoining counties and political entities. In order for municipal services to be extended to the proposed development of houses, new professionally designed golf courses, commercial activities and other designated land uses, the property purchased by Brown & Root from the McElroy’s that was located in the County comprising a significant portion of the proposed PUD development
The Town approved the use of Brown & Root’s counsel to be counsel to the Town for the legal proceedings regarding the annexation petition, subsequent defense of an agreement negotiated between the Town and Brown & Root prior to the Petition submission as well as subsequent negotiations and proceedings. This combined effort resulted in a successful annexation of the Brown & Root properties identified as South Tract parcels in the County into the Town’s jurisdiction effective January 1, 1992.
On March 13, 1990, Brown & Root and the Town of Cape Charles entered into an AGREEMENT.[5] This initial agreement has been described as the “Prior (Town) Agreement” as it was amended in 1991 at the request of the Special Annexation Court empaneled by the Virginia Supreme Court, as part of the Annexation proceedings negotiations between the Town and the County with the expressed recommendations found in the Report of the Commission on Local Government Report on the Town of Cape Charles – County of Northampton Annexation Action February 1991.
The original March 13, 1990 AGREEMENT specified certain future criteria, prior to the planned expansion of the Town’s jurisdiction.
The Town agreed:
- To petition to have the property shown in an exhibit to the AGREEMENT, annexed as a part of the Town of Cape Charles pursuant to the applicable provisions of the Code of Virginia.[6] The “Property” as shown on the exhibit included both the then current Town corporate limits and the Proposed Annexation Area. The proposed annexation area was identified as the South Tract, known as Hollywood Farms, the current location of Bay Creek at Cape Charles’ private amenities, open to the general public such as the Palmer and Nicklas Signature golf courses, its Pro Shop, the Coach House Tavern, Bay Creek Beach Club, Bay Creek Community Pool, Bay Creek Community Beach, and only several of the planned scores of neighborhoods – villages or subdivisions located south of the historic Town.
- that the Town would not discriminate against any portion of the Property in the application and enforcement of any law, ordinance or regulations following annexation.
- the Town agreed that it would tax the Property according to Va. Code Section 15.1–1047.1, following annexation and it would provide to the Property all Town services furnished to other properties within the Town limits unless such services ‘are reduced or waived in writing by Brown & Root’.
- the Town further agreed that at such time as the Town assumed assessment responsibilities of Brown & Root’s property, it would ‘continue the then existing policy of maintaining (tax) assessed values of the property until the issuance of occupancy permits for the parcel of property for which the permits are sought.’ [7]
- the Town agreed to fully comply with local ordinances and state statutes in the review and approval of Brown & Root’s site plans, subdivision plats, zoning applications, building and other permits associated with the use of Brown & Root’s property.
- the Town agreed, contingent on available natural resources, to extend water and sewer treatment capabilities to Brown & Root’s properties and to reserve for Brown & Root water and sewer treatment capabilities in sufficient capacities to service the completed development on the Brown & Root property as depicted in Exhibit B [8] in accordance with state regulations.
- the Town agreed that the provisions in ¶10 ‘shall run with the land’ and be binding upon the Town or any entity that assumes the responsibility for sewer and/or sewer treatment systems.
- the Town expressly waived any defense available to it by statute such as sovereign immunity with respect to obligations made by the town in the [9]
- the Town represented that it intended to fulfill its obligations in the AGREEMENT and would continue to use its best efforts to comply with all its obligations contained therein.[10]
Brown & Root agreed:
- To pay the costs of physical expansion of water and sewer collection, distribution and treatment to accommodate demands of Brown and Root beyond permitted capabilities. [11]
- To construct the necessary physical improvements within its property to accommodate sewer and water services in a coordinated fashion with the Town’s proposed improvements to its existing sewer and water treatment facilities. [12]
- To dedicate the treatment system improvements i.e. collection, distribution and treatment, and the sewer and water lines within the Brown and Root property to the Town. [13]
- That all vehicular access roads within its development, that are dedicated to the Town and/or State, would be constructed to state standards, except as modified to not require curb, gutter and/or sidewalks. [14]
- That any sewer and water system improvements i.e. collection, distribution, treatment and lines that it is required to construct per this Agreement would-be built-in accordance with state standards.[15]
- That the provisions in all of paragraph 10 ‘shall run with the land’ and be binding upon the Town or any entity that assumes the responsibility for sewer and/or water treatment services for the Brown & Root property.[16]
- That in the AGREEMENT, to an additional paragraph which clearly states: “Brown & Root covenants and agrees that the obligations set forth herein shall run with the land and be binding upon the owners of its property, their successors and assigns.” [17]
Thirteen (13) days after this AGREEMENT was signed, on March 26, 1990, The Town filed its Notice of Annexation Proceedings to the Commission on Local Government. A year later, February 1991 The Commission on Local Government – Commonwealth of Virginia issued its: Report on the Town of Cape Charles County of Northampton Annexation Action. As found throughout this Report there are many references and footnotes as to the interactions, correspondence, testimony and public hearings among the various interested parties.
“Brown & Root has predicated its development plans on the incorporation of all its property into the Town of Cape Charles and on the expansion and utilization of the Town’s utility systems.” [18]
“To this end, Brown & Root has entered into an agreement with the Town by which it has committed itself to supporting the proposed annexation and to investing its resources into an expansion and enhancement of municipal facilities.” [19]
“Representatives of Brown & Root have indicated that the Northern Tract will only be developed in concert with the Southern Tract and that company officials now view the entire Accawmacke Plantation proposal to be contingent upon annexation of the Southern Tract by the Town of Cape Charles.” [20]
On April 30, 1991, The Town filed its Petition for Annexation Ordinance NO. 361 in the Circuit Court of Northampton County.
On May 9, 1991, an Option and Purchase Agreement between Vernon and Betty Jean Martin and Brown & Root was entered for the sole purpose of purchasing land for a proposed ‘connector road’ for the PUD development South Tract as an anticipated and resulting in a provision found in the AGREEMENT that Brown & Root would construct a new access corridor from Route 184 across the Martin property.
On November 1, 1991, the Town filed a Brief in Opposition to the County’s Motion to Dismiss the Annexation Suit. The Town was successful in those proceedings in defense of the March 13, 1990 AGREEMENT as enforceable and valid. Contained in the Town’s Brief in Opposition to the County’s Motion, the Town re-emphasized on page 16, the power and authority to provide a unique tax provision to Brown & Root as to maintaining assessed values of property owned by Brown & Root in the Town. Specifically, the Town stated: “Likewise, nothing precludes the Town from determining when or how often it assesses property, so long as it does so at least every 4 to 6 years.” The Town continued in the same paragraph to include: “Similarly, localities around the state may differ on when they determine property to be “improved” or “unimproved”.
On November 25, 1991, The Town and Brown & Root entered into an AMENDMENT TO AGREEMENT OF MARCH 13, 1990. This Amended Agreement was a condition of the Special Annexation Court for Northampton County. This Amended Agreement was to address specific concerns, recommendations, and TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF ANNEXATION as found in the Commission’s report. [21] Paragraph 10 of the ‘Prior Agreement’, was amended to add details as to the Town and Brown & Root’s obligation and covenant to: ‘abide by the “Proposal for Water and Waste Water Treatment Plant Improvements” submitted to the Commission and referred to by the Commission in its report on the proposed annexation by the Town of Cape Charles, dated February 1990’. The date should have read, February 1991.
Brown & Root and the Town agreed that any reservation of treatment capacity in or from the Town’s water or wastewater systems, as provided in the Prior Agreement, for the use of Accawmacke Plantation “shall be derived from the capacity created by investments in the Town’s water and/or wastewater systems, made by Brown & Root”. [22]
Most important is the addition of ratifying language that was included in this Amended Agreement: “Except as modified herein all of the terms and conditions of the Agreement of March 13, 1990, are ratified and incorporated herein by reference.” [23]
Also, on November 25, 1991, the Town and the County entered into an ANNEXATION AGREEMENT. These government parties acknowledged receipt of the “Report on the Town of Cape Charles-County of Northampton Annexation Action”. These parties agreed to settle the pending Annexation Suit, whereby the County withdrew its objections to the pending Annexation Suit. As a result, ¶ 5 of the AGREEMENT was no longer challenged as to the provision of the unique tax provision provided to Brown & Root, its successors or assigns. The parties urged the Commission to recommend and/or the Special Annexation Court to approve the ANNEXATION AGREEMENT.
Subsequently and also on November 25, 1991, The Town, the County, and Brown & Root entered into an AGREEMENT, known as the Settlement Agreement. This AGREEMENT identified the Brown & Root property in the Town and in the Area Proposed for Annexation as Accawmacke Plantation except for certain subdivided and platted lots existing in the Town at the time of this AGREEMENT. [24] This defined area became the PUD Development as identified in the 1993 Cape Charles Municipal Ordinance. The PUD identified and defined in the PUD Document both the North Tract and South Tracts. This AGREEMENT contains precise language covering the Annexation Petition, the subsequent various agreements, covenants, terms and conditions negotiated among the parties. This AGREEMENT restated clearly that those negotiated agreements, covenants, terms and conditions including the acceptance of the Commission’s Report, were “Subject to the approval of this Settlement Agreement by the Court, the representations and obligations contained herein shall be binding upon the respective parties, their successors and assigns. Brown & Root’s obligations contained herein shall apply only to the property designated as Accawmacke Plantation.” [25] “Furthermore, the subsequent purchasers of individual lots or other incidents of individual ownership shall not incur the obligations of Brown & Root contained herein. It is the intent of the parties not to impose the obligations of Brown & Root contained herein upon the consumers who purchase lots, condominiums, and/or memberships with Accawmacke Plantation.” [26] “The obligations of Brown & Root contained herein, except as provided above, shall run with the land and be binding upon the subsequent owners of Accawmacke Plantation, which owners shall assume all of those obligations and relieve the prior owner thereof.”
As a result of all of the negotiations and annexation proceedings, on November 26, 1991, both the Special Annexation Court for Northampton County and the Circuit Court of the County of Northampton issued The Annexation Order Law No. 27. Therefore, by a provision of the Virginia General Assembly, Public Law No. 27 was enacted as a ‘legislative act’ not subject to judicial proceedings, nor subject to any Statute of Limitations, unless specifically expressed in the Orders or by Agreement, such as the Bayshore Agreement’s ten-year tax relief.
This Law No. 27 was further confirmed at the request of the Town in the General Assembly’s 2002 Session on March 11, 2002. The Motion and Petition of the Town of Cape Charles was granted upon certain terms and conditions. [27] The ANNEXATION AGREEMENT was incorporated by reference. The AGREEMENT of March 13, 1990, was incorporated by reference and that March 13, 1990 AGREEMENT was required to be amended “to accommodate all other recommendations specified in the Utilities portion of the proposed “Terms and Conditions of Annexation” in the Commission on Local Government’s report, which section of the report is specifically incorporated herein by reference.” [28] The Order included an additional condition: “The Town shall extend public services to the annexed area in an orderly fashion, as specified in the Annexation Agreement, the Bayshore Agreement, the Ordinance, the Town’s Notice to the Commission filed March 26, 1990, the provisions of which are incorporated herein by reference, and according to the needs of the property owners within the annexed areas.” [29] The AMENDMENT TO AGREEMENT OF MARCH 13, 1990, dated November 25, 1991, also included: “Brown & Root agrees that if it expands the Town’s Waste Water Treatment Plant as provide[sic] in the Prior Agreement, that such expansion may include having to pay for the cost of its share of capacity for increasing the Town’s treatment standards to tertiary treatment;” [30]
On February 9, 1993, the Town enacted the PUD Development Document as a Municipal Ordinance, known as “ACCAWMACKE PLANTATION A PLANNED UNIT DEVELOPMENT (PUD). The PUD – Municipal Ordinance has been amended from time to time (1997, 2002, 2003, and 2006). Brown & Root, Inc., prepared the original PUD Document in concert with the Town. This municipal ordinance contains the specific reference to the properties purchased by Brown & Root from the McElroy’s in 1974. This municipal ordinance, amended from time to time, contains the details of land use classification, site plan ordinances and subdivision ordinances, all relative to the PUD development which directly impacts both the North Tract and South Tract Town approved platted parcels – Lots/Units and their required development or failures to develop thereof. This municipal ordinance addresses and provides for the Virginia Code statutes regarding planned unit developments (e.g. requirements as to streets, roads, utilities, surety bonds, etc.). The Annexation Agreements requires the Town to enforce all local ordinances and state regulations as they related to the PUD Development – Accawmacke Plantation. The PUD Document provides for the assessment of penalties against developers who do not meet the requirements of the municipal ordinances. The PUD Document sets procedures and deadlines for development activity within the PUD. The PUD Document is a direct extension of the annexation proceedings resulting in the Annexation Order of 1991 and remains as the Town’s compliance methodology and statutory mechanism for enforcement of the issues and concerns raised by the Commission on Local Government, the County, and as also found in the Town of Cape Charles Virginia Comprehensive Plan 1989
On December 15, 1997, Brown and Root, Inc., entered into an installment Sale and Purchase Agreement, a Contract with Baymark Construction Corporation. The Contract, as amended from time to time included the specific reference as to the Assumed Obligations and Rights of Brown & Root to the Town, the County, its successors and assigns. Baymark agreed by Contract to assume the obligations and rights as identified in the Contract’s Exhibit J. Counsel for Baymark and former co-counsel to both Brown & Root and the Town of Cape Charles, R. J. Nutter, confirmed these obligations and rights by letter to the Town’s counsel on October 25, 1999, and cited: “that for the purposes of negotiating with the Town you (James J, Szablewicz, Town Counsel) should assume that Baymark is responsible for the terms of the annexation agreement.”
In 2000 Baymark assigned its obligations and rights under the Contract to its wholly owned corporate entity, Bay Creek, L.L.C. By ASSIGNMENT OF SALE AND PURCHASE AGREEMENT, dated February 23, 2000, recorded by deed. This assignment included reference to the obligations and rights under the Contract as they pertain to the Annexation Agreements. Bay Creek joined therein to evidence its agreement to be bound by the terms and conditions of the Contract.
In 2001, By Assignment of Contract Rights by which Bay Creek executed, the Agreement to Assign and Convey the right to purchase the property described as the “North Tract” (178 acres more or less), the West Parcel, the East Parcel, the Marina Parcel and Parcel KK, delivered to its controlled subsidiary – Bay Creek Marina & Resort, LLC – BCMR, the rights to purchase North Tract parcels directly from Brown & Root. Under the terms of the Brown & Root Contract, and as evidenced by the details contained in the Sale and Purchase Agreement: ¶4. Purchase Price (c) Marina. The consideration for the conveyance of the Marina shall be Purchaser’s performance of the dredging work specified in Permit No. 93-0149 issued by the Virginia Marine Resources Commission -VMRC, at Purchaser’ sole costs and expense. BCMR assumed the rights to the VMRC permit. In 2001, BCMR acquired from Brown & Root parcel A in the North Tract. BCMR is a successor and an assign under the Brown & Root Contract. A DEED OF BARGAIN AND SALE between Kellogg Brown & Root, Inc., formerly Brown and Root I, Inc. and BCMR states: “IT BEING part of the property conveyed to Grantor from Thora Scott Ronalds McElroy and Donald A. McElroy, her husband, by deed dated January 10, 1974, and duly recorded January 16, 1974 in the Clerk’s Office in Deed Book 177, at page 431 Tax Parcel No.: 083A1 – ((OA))-00-00A (portion)”
Baymark Construction commenced site improvement work and North Beach Restoration and Kings Creek Marina restoration projects, prior to the purchase of the parcels from Brown & Root. Baymark, and its controlled real estate company Progressive Realty marketed and advertised the North Tract parcels – The Colony and collected cash deposits for identified lots in this first North Tract subdivision. Baymark, as Developer and Declarant to the Property Owner’s Association’s Declaration, failed to post a surety bond for construction and land improvements in the North Tract.
- Beginning in 2002 “BAYCREEK THE COLONY” entered into Purchase Agreements for Improved Lot(s), in the North Tract. In 2004, BCMR as Baymark and Bay Creek L.L.C.’s subdivider applied for Town of Cape Charles Plat approval of 118 residential lots in the proposed Marina Village East, MVE – subdivision. Baymark and Bay Creek LLC as Developers and Declarants of Bay Creek at Cape Charles both failed to post a surety bond to complete MVE.
- Bay Creek as Successor Declarant and Developer to Baymark, filed and recorded on March 25, 2002 the first set of SUPPLEMENTS TO DECLARATION OF COVENANTS, CONDITIONS AND RESTRICTIONS FOR BAY CREEK AT CAPE CHARLES (Supplement) declaring that “The Colony Units are deemed to be Units as defined in the Declaration and that the Declaration shall be fully and completely applicable thereto in all respects.”
Beginning in 2005, BCMR, as an assign of Brown & Root, through Baymark and Bay Creek is identified as Seller of lots in Marina Village East, The Colony and Kings Bay.
In November 2006 Baymark, and Bay Creek through its controlled subdivider BCMR, discontinued completion of the MVE subdivision and repurposed its bank line of credit for other BCMR corporate or related corporate entity purposes. Such repurposed funds were reportedly used for other purposes but were not used to complete the Marina Village East subdivision. South Tract developments were consuming projected and Town stated, ‘limited utility capacity’. In 2006 Baymark, Bay Creek and BCMR conveyed by deed, the common areas and unfinished streets and Town approved platted infrastructure obligations to the Property Owner’s Association. Baymark, Bay Creek and BCMR were not assessed property taxes due to the County and to the Town at the time of these conveyances as required under Va. Code § 55-509.1., for planned communities.
In June 2007, Baymark, Bay Creek and BCMR conveyed Parcel T to a third-party developer. Baymark and Bay Creek stated in the documents at closing of this sale, that Parcel T in the North Tract, located on Chesapeake Bay frontage, was not required to abide by the PUD Municipal Ordinance or the restrictions contained in the Property Owner’s Association’s Declaration and Supplements, all in apparent contravention of the Town’s PUD Municipal Ordinances and the Association’s Declaration, as filed in the Clerk’s Office on February 3, 2000 as Instrument #000000213. The Parcel T conveyance established the lowest sale price per acre value in the North Tract.
On February 1, 2008; by published assignment from Bay Creek, the BCMR rights, duties, obligations and benefits are transferred from Bay Creek back to Baymark.
On March 8, 2008, Baymark and Bay Creek sold a controlling interest in Bay Creek South, LLC a controlled entity of Baymark, to Keyser-Sinclair. Keyser-Sinclair is a controlled subsidiary of the public company Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc. No assets formerly owned by or subdivided by BCMR were a party to the sale of assets of Bay Creek South to Keyser-Sinclair. Sinclair announced in March 2008 to its public shareholders that it controls Bay Creek South, and by recorded instrument in the Clerk’s Office of Northampton County, controlled the Property Owners’ Association as Developer and Second Successor Declarant of and for the Association, which includes the PUD development North Tract subdivisions of The Colony, Kings Bay and Marina Village East, the Bay Creek Marina and related businesses located in the northern sector of the North Tract described as Marina Villages.
In 2012, Bay Creek Marina, controlled by Baymark as of February 2008, and its associated businesses located in the commercial district known as Marina Villages – together with significant vacant parcels and lots, failed to repay its 2005 Marina Village East completion loan, the 2005 North Tract Breakwaters loan and defaulted on the 2006 re-purposed BCMR loan from Gateway Bank & Trust Co. The Bank foreclosed on BCMR’s pledged assets at a public auction in December 2012 to a third-party developer.
This former private marina amenity to the Bay Creek development as advertised and promoted by Baymark as the Bay Creek Golf and Marina Resort along with the marina and restaurant business and rental villas are now known as the Kings Creek Marina and Oyster Farm restaurant and its associated businesses, remain part and parcel to the PUD Document restrictions, zoning requirements, land classifications, obligations and covenants established by the Annexation Agreements and therefor the Annexation Order.
But Kings Creek Marina and its associated businesses, parcels. villas and lots were never subject to the Association’s Declarations and Supplements or defined as “Units” within the Declaration. The purchaser at auction however must rely on the obligations of the Town to provide adequate utility connections, zoning and other municipal ordinances, water and wastewater treatment capacity as these properties were subject to the Annexation Agreements and proceedings as part of “ACCAWMACKE PLANTATION, defined as all of Brown and Root’s property within the Town, along with all of Brown and Root’s property in the Area Proposed for Annexation
A direct line can be drawn from the McElroy deed to Brown and Root, Inc., to Baymark Construction, to Bay Creek, L.L.C., to Bay Creek Marina and Resort, LLC, conveyed back to Baymark, and Bay Creek South, LLC and as third-party beneficiaries, directly to and thereby subsequent purchasers of parcels and lots by title and deeds of conveyance of Town approved platted parcels and lots in and throughout the PUD development “Bay Creek at Cape Charles”, formerly known as Accawmacke Plantation.
- Sufficient detail and recorded documents demonstrate the assignment of rights from Brown & Root to Baymark, to Bay Creek, to BCMR, BCMR back to Baymark, and to Bay Creek South, controlled by Keyser-Sinclair, establishing the acceptance of the rights and obligations of the parties and to the Annexation Agreements and Annexation Orders.
- BCMR, subdivider of North Tract subdivisions was never a Declarant or Developer as defined in the Declaration and the Virginia Property Owners’ Association Act. Baymark was the original Declarant as of February 1, 2000, followed immediately by Bay Creek, March 22, 2000, and subsequently Bay Creek South/Keyser- Sinclair as Second Successor Declarant, February 28, 2008.
Considerations should be given to the reasonable expectations that the failure by the Town: to enforce is own Municipal Ordinances found in the PUD Development Document; failure by the County through the lack of established and County sought oversight of the conditions it required of the Town as part of the Settlement Agreement to enact the Annexation Orders; and the subsequent failure of both governmental agencies to oversee the Town’s utility and connector road improvements, present clear evidence that neither governmental functions protected the real property taxpayers in and throughout Bay Creek or the residents of Cape Charles and by extension, the taxpayers of Northampton County.
Without listing here, each and every published letter, e-mail communication or correspondence, there is more than adequate historical correspondence that flowed between the developers and declarants of Bay Creek and Town officials beginning in 1990 and proceeding into well after the year 2014, as they both addressed the well-known and publicized issue that the State of Virginia Department of Environmental Quality was concerned and issued violation fines as a result of the Town’s inadequate, sub-quality wastewater treatment utility plant. This major concern and utility issue were promptly identified and addressed during the Annexation proceedings, public hearings and resulted in Annexation Agreements and Annexation Orders which failed to be enforced. Subsequent letters in March 2009 from Mayor Sullivan giving notice to builders, developers and individual lot owners of an impending utility capacity constraint was seeking cash deposits of $10,047.00 or in excess of 570% for the original $1,750 water and wastewater connection charge – even for lots with no building permits. Town Manager Heather Arcos in April 2009 notified by e-mail in answer to a posed question as to the Town’s position on the constrained utility capacity issue and recent letters from Mayor Sullivan to a property owner in Marina Village East: “As of right now, I don’t see the town approving anymore subdivisions without an approved plan to expand plant capacity.”
Bay Creek was all the while, promoting its subdivision expansion efforts with Bay Creek’s Real Estate marketing and sales efforts coupled with its filed and Town approved platted new subdivisions. The Town, addressing the well-known need to upgrade its aging and quality deficient wastewater treatment plant combined with the requirement to expand utilities to meet the forecast demands of Bay Creek acknowledged and addressed the reserve capacity requirements and obligations it had agreed to provide to both the North and South Tracts of the Bay Creek at Cape Charles development. Plant capacity and plant replacement became a public dispute. Bay Creek appears to have timely reduced its forecasted capacity demands and needs by apparent abandonments of the Marina Village East subdivision and by curtailing the number of condominium units in the foreclosed The Fairways Condominium, perhaps therefore artificially reducing the time pressure on the expansion of the wastewater treatment plant in 2006 as it sought a new financial partner, Keyser-Sinclair. Keyser-Sinclair in an undated correspondence from its executive Oral Lambert, to owner of lots and homes in Bay Creek publicly acknowledged Keyser-Sinclair only had a financial interest in the South Tract and therefore its interests lie only in Keyser-Sinclair’s capacity needs and demands, perhaps at the expense of the North Tract subdivision, The Colony and Marina Village East and the Kings Creek Marina district.
- BCMR and Bay Creek filed and received approval for the Plats in Marina Village East in 2004. These approved plats were subject to specific provisions of the PUD Municipal Ordinance and in particular “Town of Cape Charles Zoning Ordinance – Appendix B: Site Plan Ordinances” (See § 5, 6, 9, 10, 11 & 12)
- The PUD Site Plan Ordinances enacted by the Town and following state statutes, required the streets to be paved to a standard set by the VDOT. Therefore, no legal or valid certifications of occupancy should have been issued by the Town. The streets in Marina Village East did not meet this requirement until the year 2015. The PUD Site Plan Ordinances required approved plat infrastructure development and construction to certain timetable limitation and subsequent penalties. Failure to meet those time constraints – within 5 years or the year 2009, would restrict or limit any valid or legal issuance of certificates of occupancy until such time as the Town granted new construction approval after review and or appeal and the waiver of appropriate penalties provided for in the Ordinances. Baymark would be a party to this action as a result of the February 2008 re-assignment of membership interests formerly held by BCMR, the subdivider, back to Baymark from Bay Creek to its sole member, Baymark. However, Bay Creek South (Keyser-Sinclair) accepted in March 2008 by recorded instrument, the acknowledgment as the Second Successor Declarant – and therefore as Developer, under Virginia’s POA Act for Bay Creek at Cape Charles Community Association, which includes all of the North Tract subdivisions.
- Bay Creek filed Supplements to the Declaration to include the Units in Marina Village East Phase I on January 20, 2005; May 3, 2005 the Units in Marina Village East Phase III; and May 20, 2005 the Units in Marina Village East Phase II comprising a combined total of 117 Units in Marina Village East – representing over 17% of the then total Bay Creek at Cape Charles development. As of May 20, 2005, Supplement filing, there were a total of 686 Units within Bay Creek at Cape Charles, subject to the Declaration.
- By December 29, 2005, Bay Creek and Baymark had filed a Supplement to the Declaration to include an additional 78 Units of condominium Units (FAIRWAYS II CONDOMINIUM) ‘to be developed in the South Tract, followed by a March 21, 2006 filing for 72 Units in FAIRWAYS III CONDOMINIUM.
- Subsequent parcels, Phases and additions to the number of Units subject to the Declarations followed in 2006 and 2007. Overall, 873 Town of Cape Charles approved and platted Units, subject to the Declaration and subject by Title and Deed to the PUD Document had been listed on the Bay Creek Master Plan submitted by Bay Creek and maintained in the office of the Town Planner up and until 2012.
- How will Keyser-Sinclair increase its shareholder values if it cannot grow and expand the South Tract previously planned subdivisions without an expanded utility plant? Especially after paying Brown & Root on May 14, 2014, the remaining amount of $8,147,545.62 from the original installment sale Contract for the remaining tax assessed parcels in the South Tract containing planned but unused residential 1,983 Units?
[1] Town of Cape Charles Virginia Comprehensive Plan 1989, p. 59
[2] Ibid, p. 53
[3] Ibid, p. 38
[4] Town of Cape Charles Virginia Comprehensive Plan 1989, p. 14
[5] AGREEMENT dated March 13, 1990, between the Town of Cape Charles Virginia and Brown & Root I, Inc., amended November 25, 1991 AMENDMENT TO AGREEMENT OF MARCH 13, 1990.
[6] Va. Code Chapter 25 of Title 15.1 § 15.1 – 1041
[7] AGREEMENT, ¶ 5, p 3
[8] Exhibit B Accawmacke Plantation Plan of Development: Accawmacke Plantation consists of approximately 2000 acres owned by Brown & Root. The property will be developed as a resort-recreational, second home and retirement community consisting of a total of 3000 units. The units will consist of a variety of housing types to accommodate the diverse needs of the residents, etc.
[9] Ibid: ¶16, p 8
[10] Ibid: ¶16, pps 8 & 9
[11] Agreement, ¶ 10, p 5
[12] Ibid: ¶10, p 5
[13] Ibid: ¶10, pps 5 & 6
[14] Ibid: ¶11, p 6
[15] Ibid: ¶10, p 5
[16] Ibid: ¶10, p 6
[17] Ibid: ¶10, p 8
[18] Report on the Town of Cape Charles – County of Northampton Annexation Action; p 11
[19] Ibid: p 11, footnote 29
[20] Ibid: p 17, footnote 47
[21] Ibid: Pages 62 – 70
[22] AMENDMENT TO AGREEMENT OF MARCH 13, 1990, ¶1(d), p 2
[23] Ibid: ¶ 5, p 5
[24] AGREEMENT, dated 11/25/1991, ¶1, p2
[25] Ibid: ¶ 8, p 6
[26] Ibid: ¶ 8, p 6
[27] ANNEXATION ORDER, p 3
[28] ANNEXATION ORDER, ¶5, 6, & 7, p 4
[29] Ibid: ¶ 7, p 5
[30] AMENDMENT TO AGREEMENT OF MARCH 13, 1990, ¶ 1 (b), p. 2
The Fix is In: Town holds work session on Annexation Agreement
“Work sessions, meetings whatever, er, if this helps you feel better and sleep at night so be it. Bay Creek will never pay the town a dime and in your heart of hearts you know it too. Cape Chuck sold it soul long ago to Brown & Root, Dickie Foster and now will end it all with the Baldwins. Karma, Karma, Karma.
Note by Cape Charles Mirror: You are probably right.” — a comment posted to a story published in the Mirror back in August.
The Cape Charles Town Council attended a work session on Thursday regarding the 1991 Annexation agreement between Brown and Root and the town. The agreement led to the creation of the PUD and resort we know as Bay Creek. The PowerPoint presentation was led the town attorney Mike Sterling of Vandventer and Black.
The presentation lasted only about 45 minutes and left out as much as it put it put in. The ‘overview’ glazed over the historical context and seemed more geared to letting the council know that they really do not have to do anything regarding the terms, conditions, and obligations laid out by the agreement, which is a legislative act of the State of Virginia known as Law No. 27. As a note, that fact that the agreement is law was never mentioned by Mr. Sterling.
- Here are some major points missing from the presentation:
Under the Virginia Property Owners’ Act (POA), the Declarant is also described as the ‘developer’. Bay Creek South, L.L.C., and Sinclair agreed in March 2008 to become responsible, by deed recorded with the Clerk of the Northampton Circuit Court – ‘Declarant’ for all of the obligations and assurances made by Brown & Root in 1990 and 1991, as part of Brown & Root’s efforts to have the Town of Cape Charles annex a significant portion of Northampton County into the Town. Brown and Root had a proposed industrial site in the County (begun in 1970’s in reaction to the then Oil Crises). Brown and Root also owned over 50% of the vacant and undeveloped land in the adjoining Town of Cape Charles. Brown & Root sought and successfully achieved its goal of combining the two significant parcels into one PUD then known as Accawmacke Plantation, now known as Bay Creek at Cape Charles. Brown & Root’s lawyer also acted during the annexation proceedings as counsel to the Town, before, during and after the Annexation Order was issued November 25, 1991. In Virginia, Annexation Orders of the Virginia Special Annexation Courts (appointed by the Virginia Supreme Court) become Legislative Acts – and the Annexation Order was and remains Law No. 27, filed in both the Virginia Legislature and the Northampton County Circuit Court. This premise and the recorded obligations and promises are extremely important to the residents of the Town, the County as well as the U.S. and Virginia taxpayers. - Why? Because Sinclair in its own agreement with Baymark Construction Corporation (the original purchaser and obligator in 1998 to the Brown & Root agreements) purchased from Baymark all of the interests in Bay Creek South and filed to become the Second Successor Declarant – obligating Sinclair to the Annexation Order Agreements. Now after many years of attempts by the Town and by factual misrepresentations made by the County to the Virginia Department of Transportation, Sinclair is and has not followed the stipulations in the Annexation Agreement, nor the findings published by the Commission on Local Government – February 1991 (CLG) incorporating those such agreements.
- The precise language in the CLG report is on pages 62 & 63 TERMS AND CONDITIONS FOR ANNEXATION.
- In March 2008, Sinclair during its quarterly public filings acknowledged it had purchased the controlling interest in Baymark (Bay Creek South, L.L.C.) and was in ‘control’. Baymark and its controlled subsidiary Bay Creek, LLC lost control due to its own inadequate financial schemes. Neither Baymark, Bay Creek nor Sinclair followed the federal guidelines for sale of land to purchasers as required under Federal Law, The Interstate Land Sales and Full Disclosure Act. That evidence was made clear in the Virginia Beach Circuit Court in 2012 – it remains unknown if Sinclair ever corrected this under the ILSFDA.
- Sinclair has refused to pay the Town for its share of water and wastewater demands of the Bay Creek development for the required Virginia upgrades and expansion of the old and dysfunctional Town of Cape Charles’ wastewater treatment plant, as clearly found in the Commission on Local Government’s Report (attached) and Annexation proceedings. The U.S. taxpayer, through an Obama stimulus bill and the residents of Cape Charles, through borrowings from the EPA, Virginia State loans, and significant increases in the Town’s water, sewer and connection fees, has paid for the required upgrades of the old plant which was and remains a contributor to an unhealthy Chesapeake Bay. The replacement plant is undersized for the required new 1,900+ homes planned to be built in Bay Creek, which under the PUD allows for 3,000 homes. Only 973 have been approved for platting, yet subdivisions are not yet built nor completed.
- Sinclair did not pay for the highway extension across its and its POA’s property (The Martin Parcel), the Virginia state taxpayer has paid the bill.
During the discussion, Sterling noted that the agreement “runs with the land”, that is, the agreement is binding on all purchasers. However, when he talked about the connector road, the extension through the Martin Property, Sterling stated that since VDOT had already paved the road, that part of the agreement was not mute. The Mirror disagreed:
On September 9, 2016, the Cape Charles Mirror contacted the Virginia Department of Transportation regarding the Route 642 connecter road project in Cape Charles, sometimes referred to as the “Harbor Access Road”. The Mirror submitted a series of questions, and on November 21, 2016, VDOT sent the following responses (VDOT responses are in italics):
I.Have VDOT attorneys reviewed the Annexation Agreement between the Town of Cape Charles and then developer Brown and Root?
VDOT attorneys neither reviewed the Annexation Agreement nor were they aware of any obligations thereto, prior to or at the time of the project. As a result of this inquiry, our attorney obtained and reviewed the Annexation Agreement.
II.Does Bay Creek South, LLC, as successor in interest to Brown & Root, Inc., Brown & Root I, Inc. and Kellogg, Brown & Root, Inc. as developer and primary owner of Bay Creek, have an obligation to construct VDOT Project No. 0642-065-577 (UPC103391) at its sole expense?
VDOT believes that Bay Creek South, LLC has a legal obligation to construct VDOT Project No. 0642-065-577 (the “Project”) at its sole expense.
The Annexation Order entered by the Circuit Court of Northampton County on November 26, 1991 and recorded among the land records of Northampton County on December 9, 1991 in Deed Book 252 at page 649, obligates Brown & Root I, Inc. to “construct or have constructed a new two-lane access road into its development to accommodate traffic from [Bay Creek, formerly known as Accawmacke Plantation], provided the necessary land and easements are acquired and providing all necessary permits are obtained.”
The Report of the Commission on Local Government on the Town of Cape Charles – County of Northampton Annexation Action dated February, 1991 (the “Report”), which was incorporated into the Annexation Order by reference, contains strong language providing the justification for placing the burden to construct and pay for the Project on the developer of Bay Creek. There is also a referenced Agreement between Brown & Root I, Inc. and the Town of Cape Charles (the “Town”) dated March 13, 1990 (the “Developer’s Agreement”), an Amendment to the Developer’s Agreement dated November 25, 1991 (the “Amendment”) and an Agreement between the Town, Northampton County (the “County”) and Brown & Root I, Inc. dated November 25, 1991 (the “Town-County-Developer Agreement”), all of which are incorporated by reference into the Annexation Order or Amendment.
III.Why didn’t VDOT know about the Annexation Agreement between the Town of Cape Charles and then developer Brown and Root?
There are 3 project parcels at issue, Parcels 004, 006 and 010.
Parcels 004 and 006 were handled by Northampton County. Acquisitions activity on these parcels, including Title research, was not performed by VDOT and the title report reviewed by VDOT did not reference the existence of any proffers.
Although VDOT did handle Parcel 010, in searching for the existence of proffers, VDOT must rely on the responses from localities where any such proffers might be present. We ask for written responses from Planning Departments as part of our diligence. VDOT asked the County to provide any information regarding zoning restrictions, special use permits, unrecorded proffers and open zoning cases concerning parcel 010 and we were told that none of those were applicable to Parcel 010. As a result, any related Annexation Agreements were not known to us.
On November 22, 2016, The Mirror responded (italics):
Thank you so much for the response, it is much appreciated. Given VDOT attorneys feel the developer has a legal obligation to construct VDOT Project No. 0642-065-577, what are the next steps? Will there be a stop work order while this is hashed out? One question the attorneys should ask is why VDOT was not made aware of the annexation agreement by the Mayor and Town Council of Cape Charles, as well as Northampton County, and was allowed to fund this project using taxpayer funds when they were fully aware of the agreement between the town and then developer Brown and Root. I can provide correspondence going to back to 2004 which can verify this. Also, the current County Attorney should have been aware since he was the person that signed the annexation agreement in 1991.
VDOT contacted the Mirror on January 12, 2017 at 9:00 AM per Paula Miller, Communications Manager for VDOT Hampton Roads. While VDOT attorneys agree that the developer Bay Creek South should be funding this project in whole, since they were not party to the agreement, their hands are tied in terms of enforcing it. According VDOT, only the Town or the County can enforce it. The Mirror asked how VDOT came to its determination, as well as whether it was their decision not to attempt to find out why they were not made aware of the Annexation Agreement during planning phases. This information was not available at the time.
In the audience was developer Eyre Baldwin. During questioning, Mr. Baldwin got Sterling to admit that, in his view, since the agreement happened so far in the past, it was not germane to events now taking place in the Town of Cape Charles. There may be some truth to this.
Last winter, Mr. Baldwin asked the Mirror just what the point of all this coverage of the Annexation agreement was all about, what did we really want out of it. We told him, “It’s kind of like buried treasure, like Poe’s story The Gold Bug…we just want to know the truth…we want someone to tell us we are wrong, someone in authority, not our lawyers, but the State’s lawyers. Once that is settled, we will shut up for good.”
History Notes this week of Sept 2nd
301A.D. Founding of the Principality of San Marino, by the stonecutter Marinus of Rab (Croatia). It is the third smallest micro-state in Europe (behind the Holy See and Monaco) but has the distinction of being the longest-lived republic in the world, with its 1600 constitution still in force.
1492: Italian navigator Christopher Columbus departs from La Gomera harbor in the Canary Islands, the last stop before sailing his little fleet of three ships off the edge of the known world.
1522: Three years after its departure as part of Ferdinand Magellan’s fleet of exploration, the Spanish ship Victoria makes port in San Lucar de Barrameda, Spain under the command of Sailing Master Juan Sebastian Elcano. He and only 17 others are the sole surviving members from the original five ships and 235 men. They did not originally plan on circumnavigating, but after the dangers and loss of getting their small fleet through the southwest Pacific islands, Elcano chose to continue westward across the Indian Ocean to follow the coast of Africa back to Spain.
1620: After completing nominal repairs to the Speedwell in Dartmouth (see DLH 8/5), and again in Plymouth, the Pilgrims finally sell the leaky ship. They crowd into Mayflower and on this day finally depart England, enroute to the new Massachusetts Bay Colony
1666: The Great Fire of London breaks out and burns for three days, destroying over 10,000 buildings, including Saint Paul’s Cathedral.
1698: In a dramatic and widely despised attempt to drag the Russian aristocracy into the modern age, Tsar Peter I imposes a tax on beards: more hair = more tax. Unlike more modern thinkers today, he instinctively understood that when you tax something, there will eventually be less of that something to tax, human nature being what it is.
1715: Death of The Sun King, Louis XIV (b.1638), ending a reign of over 72 years. It is probably impossible to summarize a life as consequential as his in a DLH paragraph, but here goes: he was the personification of the concept of an absolute monarch, who believed he was put into his position by divine right, and was not subject to any standard of law other than God’s. When asked once to define the nature of the state, he responded with the famous quip,“L’etat, c’est moi.” (I am the State). It was Louis quatorze who converted the royal hunting lodge outside of Paris into the Palais du Versailles, forcing the nobility by decree to reside in its apartments and live the Court life isolated and distant from their own bases of power in Paris and the other regions of France. Versailles put the final punctuation mark on the development of a centralized, unitary state on the European continent, with its glamour and opulence seducing the nobility away from their nominal political independence from the French crown.
1757: Birth of the Marquis de Lafayette (d.1834), George Washington’s right hand man during the Revolutionary War.
1774: In response to the Intolerable Acts passed by Parliament, the First Continental Congress convenes in Philadelphia to debate a collective colonial response. The naming of the acts on both sides of the Atlantic reflected the steadily growing rift between the parties. Parliament referred to the acts as the Coercive Acts, not a friendly title, but reflective of Britain’s exasperation with the independent thinking and latent violence that was infecting her expensive New World colonies, particularly as it related to paying down the debt from the recent Seven Years War. Through the burgeoning Committees of Correspondence throughout the colonies, consensus grew that these Acts had dangerous ramifications for all of British America, not just Boston. There were five of them: Boston Port Act, which closed the port to commerce until the value of the tea ruined by the Boston Tea Party was repaid in full; Massachusetts Government Act, which unilaterally changed the status of all government positions from elected to appointed by the Governor or the King and severely limited the activities of Town Meetings; Administration of Justice Act, permitted moving trials of royal officials to a different venue- including to England at crown expense- if they could not get a fair trial in Massachusetts. George Washington called this the “Murder Act” since it allowed officials to conduct their harassment of Americans and then escape justice; Quartering Act, cited specifically in the Declaration of Independence, mandated colonial support for supporting the very soldiers who were suppressing them; Quebec Act, although not directly related to the insurrection in Boston, it defined British interests in Quebec in a way that demonstrated disregard for the interests of the British colonies already in place in America.
1777: The Stars and Stripes fly in combat for the first time at the Battle of Cooch’s Bridge, the only Revolutionary War battle fought in Delaware.
1781: A group of 44 Spanish settlers form a small ranching town named El Pueblo de Nuestra Senora La Reina de los Angeles de Porciuncula, better known today by its abbreviation, L.A.1781: Battle of Virginia Capes- in the sixth year of our War of Independence, a French fleet of 24 ships of the line, under the command of Rear Admiral Francois Joseph Paul le Comte de Grasse, sails out from Lynnhaven anchorage* to meet and do battle with 19 Royal Navy ships under the Command of Rear Admiral Sir Thomas Gage. The battle was a classic slugfest between two Lines of Battle. Under northerly winds the two fleets headed east, coming together just outside Cape Henry around 1500 in the afternoon and then pounded each other until sunset. The fleets maneuvered within sight of each other for two more days; de Grasse maneuvering his ships to ease the British ever-seaward in order to protect an expected French supply convoy coming up from the south, the very same convoy which Gage was tasked to find and destroy. After sighting one of the convoy ships late in the afternoon of the 7th, de Grasse abruptly broke off contact with the British after sunset and proceeded back to the Chesapeake, where the convoy was already re-supplying George Washington and the combined Franco-American forces besieging General Cornwallis’ army at Yorktown. Although the naval battle was only a tactical victory for the French, it was a strategic victory of highest importance for the fledgling United States, as it completely isolated the British in Yorktown from any expectation of relief or re-supply.
1792: In France’s continuing descent into the anarchy and bloodletting of the Revolution, mobs throughout Paris go on a rampage known as the September Massacres. Like most mob actions, this one began with a rumor, although the rumor had some basis in fact: the Duke of Brunswick’s Prussian army had indeed invaded France just days prior, overpowering the border fortress of Verdun before continuing on toward Paris. The Paris mobs, essentially un-led by anything resembling a functioning government, concluded that the officers at Verdun must have been secret Royalists who turned the fortress over to the Prussians. Brunswick himself was unusually blunt in publicly stating his aims to restore the monarchy and the authority of the church from the anarchy of the revolution. Fearing an uprising of the monarchists imprisoned throughout the city, the mobs surged into those prisons, most notably Saint Germaine du Pres, and began slaughtering all the “monarchists” behind the bars. For good measure, they also attacked and killed over 500 Carmelite priests and a number of other clergy. Within weeks, over 1,200 had been murdered by the mob in the name of the Revolution and Reason.
1797: With the political upheavals of the French Revolution settling into their eighth year, three members of the ruling Directory stage the Coup of 18 Fructidor, forcing what’s left of a representative legislature to purge themselves of lingering “royalists” and other members not fully committed to the revolution. Not surprisingly, all this resort to Reason led to yet another military confrontation between factions, the exercise of raw power being the ultimate arbiter of “truth” in this environment. Luckily for the Directory, the young Brigadier General Napoleon Bonaparte was on their side, in Paris now, after busily suppressing dissent down south in Toulon two years earlier with his famous “whiff of grapeshot.” Today’s coup sealed the triumph of the executive over the legislative branches, and set the stage for eventual dictatorship.
1836: Sam Houston is elected first President of the Republic of Texas.
1875: Birth of the automotive engineer Ferdinand Porsche (d.1951).
1901: Vice President Theodore Roosevelt, speaking at the Minnesota State Fair, first uses the expression, “Speak softly, and carry a big stick.”
1905: Signing of the Treaty of Portsmouth (NH), an arbitration effort led by U.S President Theodore Roosevelt, which formally ended the Russo-Japanese war, and for which Roosevelt was recognized with a Nobel Prize.
1914: After retreating from the Battle of Mons the combined Franco-British force launches its first major counter-offensive in what became known as the Battle of the Marne.
1923: First flight of the U.S. Navy’s first rigid airship, USS Shenandoah (ZR-1). The ship was a technological masterpiece that improved on both the successes and weaknesses of the German Zeppelin program. It was the first to use helium for buoyancy instead of the highly volatile hydrogen that filled all previous airships. The 680 foot long Shenandoah and her three sister ships (Los Angeles, Macon, and Akron) flew extensively in support of Navy operations, particularly by exploiting their high loiter times and relative (to ships) high speed (~70 mph) in a reconnaissance mode. Of interest too was the extent of their usefulness during periods of foul weather, which remained problematic. After two years of service Shenandoah was lost on September 3rd, 1925, breaking apart in the air while transiting an area of thunderstorms over Ohio. 13 of her crew were killed, but 29 survived the wreck. Interestingly, 7 crew members were trapped in the bow section as it broke free from the main structure; LCDR Charles Rosendahl was able to navigate the section as a free-flying balloon, bringing it down in a controlled landing not far from the main wreckage.
1939(a): After finally using up all their diplomatic pretexts, and having neutered their Soviet adversaries with the Molotov-Ribbentrop Non-Aggression Pact (DLH 8/23), Nazi Germany invades Poland, thus marking the start of World War II. The Poles put up a fierce resistance, but German Blitzkrieg tactics, refined in combat with the Condor Legions in Spain, overwhelm Poland’s defenses.
1939(b): Two days after Germany’s stunning invasion of Poland, and in accordance with longstanding defense treaties with that beleaguered nation, France, the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Australia declare war on Germany. From this day until the following May, the “Allies” do virtually nothing to relieve the pressure on Poland, a period known now as the “Phony War” or “Sitzkrieg.”
1964: Death of Alvin York (b.1887). The World War I hero was a corporal during the Meuse-Argonne campaign when his battalion began to be mowed down by 32 German machine gun nests. As the firing let up, York realized it was only him and six others who could still function. He led the men behind the German machine gun line and began to systematically pick off the Germans one by one- (“And those machine guns were spitting fire and cutting down the undergrowth all around me something awful. And the Germans were yelling orders. You never heard such a racket in all of your life. I didn’t have time to dodge behind a tree or dive into the brush… As soon as the machine guns opened fire on me, I began to exchange shots with them. There were over thirty of them in continuous action, and all I could do was touch the Germans off just as fast as I could. I was sharp shooting… All the time I kept yelling at them to come down. I didn’t want to kill any more than I had to. But it was they or I. And I was giving them the best I had.) …until the commander closest to him surrendered the remaining 132 Germans to the seven Americans. His actions earned him the Medal of Honor and a battlefield promotion to Sergeant. The Tennessee native later explained that it was something like picking off squirrels, he started shooting at the back of the line so the ones in front didn’t know they were being cut down until it was too late.
1968: Swaziland becomes an independent kingdom.
1969: Death of Ho Chi Minh
1970: Death of football legend Vince Lombardi
1972: In Reykjavik, Iceland, American chess wizard and political gadfly Bobby Fischer defeats Soviet chess master Boris Spassky to become the World Champion of Chess. Because the international chess tournament worked its way down to these two competitors, the match took on unusual levels of Cold War significance, made even more weird by the antics of both of these titanic egos making demands on the lighting, stage positioning, hours of play, food, breaks.
1972: American Swimmer Mark Spitz becomes the first athlete to win 7 gold medals in a single Olympic games.
1974: The SR-71 sets a world-record flight time NYC-London in 1 hour 54 minutes 56 seconds; an average speed of 1,435.587 mph, Mach 2.68, which includes deceleration periods for in-flight refueling. The record still stands.
1976: Soviet Air Force pilot Victor Belenko lands his MiG-25 at Hakodata airbase in Japan and requests political asylum in the United States.
1981: Death of Hitler’s architect and industrial production wizard, Albert Speer (b.1905). After serving his full 20 year sentence in Spandau Prison, he published three books that gave a unique view of the political and bureaucratic machinations of the workings of the Third Reich. The two autobiographies, Inside the Third Reich and Spandau: The Secret Diaries review Speer’s own role at the center of Nazi power. The third book, Infiltration, is about the workings of the SS.
1983: A Soviet SU-15 fighter shoots down Korean Airlines 747 enroute from Anchorage to Seoul when it strayed into Soviet airspace over Sakhalin Island. All 269 on board, including US Congressman Lawrence McDonald, are killed.
Cat Found At Guard Shore Beach Confirmed Rabid
EASTERN SHORE RESIDENTS REMINDED TO BEWARE OF RABIES
On August 31, 2018 a sick and injured cat and was found among the rocks at Guard Shore in Bloxom, Virginia and reported to the Accomack County Health Department. The cat was described as a female grey tabby with tricolor stripes (photo of the actual cat). The cat was tested for rabies at the state laboratory in Richmond, Virginia and those results confirmed this cat was infected with rabies.
Given the remote location this cat was found and its poor condition, it is possible that this cat may have been transported there by someone from another location. If you, your family member or your pets had any potential contact with this cat in any location, please contact the Accomack County Health Department immediately at 757-787-5886.
Rabies is a FATAL disease caused by a virus that is present in the saliva of infected mammals.
Rabies is spread when the virus enters a fresh open wound, or through exposure of a mucous membrane of the nose, eye, or mouth. Rabies is endemic in our raccoon population with spill over into other species. High risk species include raccoons, foxes, skunks, bats and unvaccinated cats.
This incident is another reminder that residents of the Eastern Shore must keep a heightened sense of awareness of this deadly disease and always be wary of wild, stray and unvaccinated animals. To protect yourselves, your families, and your own pets he Eastern Shore Health District recommends that everyone make sure all of your own pets and valuable livestock are up to date on rabies vaccinations.
Keep your pets confined to your own property. Avoid contact with wild, stray or unknown cats, dogs, and wildlife. If you do get bitten or scratched, wash the wound thoroughly with soap and plenty of water and notify your doctor as soon as possible.
Always report all animal bites to the local health department and/or your local Sheriff’s department:
Accomack County Health Department 757-787-5880
Accomack Sheriff’s Office 757-787-1131Northampton County Health Department 757-442-6228
Northampton Sheriff’s Office 757-678-0458
VA Dems reminder for 2018 Voting
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Drive for Literacy Golf Tournament set for October 5th
The 22nd Annual Drive for Literacy Golf Tournament will be held Friday, October 5 at the Eastern Shore Yacht and Country Club to benefit the learners of the Eastern Shore Literacy Council. Lunch will be served beginning at 11:30 with a Shot Gun Start at 1:00. The major sponsors include PW Davis Disposal, Perdue Farms Incorporated, Weichert; Realtors Mason-Davis Co. Inc., Therapeutic Interventions, and Tyson Foods. The day will wrap up with the presentation of prizes at the social hour following the tournament.
The biggest winner, of course is the nonprofit Eastern Shore Literacy Council. We are in our 32nd year of providing free literacy services to adults on the Eastern Shore. Join us for a gorgeous fall day of golf while helping us fulfill our mission. Registration forms are available on our website at www.shoreliteracy.org.
Master Gardener Advice for Fall Lawn Maintenance
Fall Lawn Maintenance is special to the Mirror By Jane McKinley, ESVG Master Gardener
Everyone loves a lush, green lawn that is easy on the bare feet and provides an attractive vista that frames the home. To this end, most homeowners in Virginia think of fall as the time to perform annual maintenance on their lawns. Depending on the variety of grass, this is partially true; however, a regular maintenance plan of watering and mowing is necessary throughout the year to ensure a healthy lawn. Fertilization, weed control and leaf management are more specific to the varieties of grass in the lawn or the time of year. There may also be an occasional need for dethatching, pH adjustment, aeration and disease and insect control.
During hot, dry weather, lawns can use an inch or more of water per week. The lawn should be watered deeply when the soil begins to dry out but before the grass actually wilts. A light sprinkling on the surface of the grass is more harmful since this encourages roots to stay close to the surface of the soil, dependent on more watering maintenance, and increases crabgrass germination. If it’s not possible to maintain a regular watering regimen, it is best to allow the grass to go dormant until natural conditions bring it back. The best time to water is early morning when evaporation is minimized and water-use efficiency is maximized. Early evening or night watering is not recommended because it leaves the blades and thatch wet at night, introducing the potential for disease.
This article is an excerpt from the Eastern Shore of Virginia Master Gardener Fall newsletter, “Gardening on the Shore.” It is an example of the types of knowledge that one will acquire and share with the community as a Master Gardener. If interested, fall intern classes begin on October 3, 2018 and continue through February, 2019 with a break in November & December. For more information, go to the ESVMG website or call 757-678-7946 EXT. 29. Applications will also be available at the Cape Charles Farmers Market on Sept. 11. |
Mowing is the most frequently necessary maintenance practice in the production of a good lawn. See the excerpt from the Virginia Master Gardener Handbook for guidance on recommended mowing practices.
It is important to identify the type of turfgrass in your lawn since the maintenance schedule other than mowing and watering is unique for each. Turfgrass varieties fall into two basic categories: cool-season and warm-season. Cool-season grasses, such as Kentucky bluegrass, tall fescue, fine leaf fescue and perennial ryegrass, have a long growing season and provide green winter color. Kentucky bluegrasses are best suited to areas in the western part of the state, so these should be avoided in our area unless included as a small percentage of a mix. The tall fescues dominate the home lawn market and are oftentimes mixed with a small percentage of Kentucky bluegrass to help recovery in high traffic areas. Fine leaf fescues exhibit the best shade and drought tolerance and can grow well in low-nitrogen and higher acidic soil. They require the least intensive maintenance of any of the grasses adapted to Virginia.
Warm-season grasses, such as zoysiagrass, Bermudagrass, centipedegrass and St. Augustinegrass, go dormant after the first hard frost and stay brown through the winter months. The wider leaf varieties of zoysiagrass tend to have the best cold tolerance of the warm-season grasses in Virginia. Zoysiagrass also has a low requirement for fertilization and irrigation, does well in full sun and some shade, has very few insect and disease problems and has a density which helps to keep down undesirable weeds. Bermudagrass has exceptional drought tolerance, an aggressive growth habit and grows extremely well on the Eastern Shore. While the winter color of the warm-season grasses may make them less desirable, maintenance costs are somewhat reduced since the shorter growing season requires less water and fewer mowings per year.
For both types of turfgrasses, it’s important to test your soil at least once every three years to determine if supplemental nutrients other than nitrogen are required. Soil test results, done at least one month before lawn renovation begins, determine the basic nutrients available in the soil and will give recommendations for amendments such as lime and fertilizer. The numbers on the fertilizer bag, such as 10-10-10, indicate the percent of nitrogen (N), phosphate (P2O5) and potash (K2O). Nitrogen requirements of turfgrass cannot be reliably evaluated by a soil test, therefore, the test results will contain a nitrogen recommendation for the kind of grass being grown (refer to “Lawn Fertilization in Virginia,” for more information.) Since too much phosphorus in the environment causes nutrient pollution that results in serious environmental and human health issues, apply it only when indicated as necessary by a soil test. Likewise, although maintaining sufficient levels of potassium (potash) in plants is very effective in improving winter and summer hardiness of turfgrasses, if a soil test indicates that potassium levels are adequate, the supplemental application wastes money and negatively affects its balance in the soil with other nutrients.
Maintenance for Cool-Season Turfgrass
Late summer to mid-fall is the best time to establish and refurbish cool-season turfgrass. This time of year presents growing conditions conducive for improving lawn density through the development of new shoots and stems, increased carbohydrate storage (i.e., food for the plant) and enhanced root production.
A diagnosis of your soil’s fertility and pH status is the best way to identify why your grass may have had problems during the past growing season and to prepare the soil to maximize success for the next growing season. Since growing conditions are ideal at this time of year, grasses respond quickly to soil-test-recommended applications of fertilizer and lime. And, if recommended, the fall and winter months are ideal times to make lime applications since it takes weeks to months to fully realize the benefit of the treatment.
Supplemental seeding of an established lawn in late summer or fall can be beneficial. To minimize the need for weed control, promote the rapid establishment of new grass by applying a generous amount of seed and keeping it well watered. If you seed in late summer, a mid-fall application of a pre-emergence herbicide to control undesirable weeds such as annual bluegrass, henbit, chickweed and geranium will help reduce them by inhibiting their seed germination. If you are planning a fall planting, remember that these chemicals will also prevent cool-season turfgrass seed germination. Carefully read the herbicide label to ensure that the product is safe and determine when the product can be applied relative to seeding. Seedlings are much more sensitive to chemical applications than mature plants.
There are also numerous post-emergence broadleaf herbicides available for fall weed control. Many cool-season perennial broadleaf weeds (plantains, dandelion, clovers) will also have a surge of vegetative growth like the turfgrass, and this presents a great opportunity to maximize the effectiveness of chemical control. Controlling these weeds will improve overall turf density in the fall and will result in even lower weed populations the following spring because of the thick turfgrass canopy. Refer to “Fall Lawn Care” for more information on herbicide types and recommendations.
There is potential for early fall applications of certain insecticides for grub control, but the ideal period for their control is between July and August.
Chemical sprays over the top of leaves are often a waste of time, effort, and money in terms of receiving the anticipated response in pest control. Granular applications will have a better chance of delivering the chemical to the soil, but not all chemicals are available in granular formulations. One thing that can be done with the leaves before any chemical application is to simply mulch them back into the lawn.
You can make supplemental nitrogen applications later in the fall if you want a boost in growth or color. The fertilization program following the acronym “SON” (representing the months of September, October, and November) is ideal for maximizing the benefits of nitrogen fertilization on cool-season grasses.
Core aeration (removing plugs from the soil) is a standard method for reducing compaction by improving the circulation of air and water in the soil. Dethatching physically removes thatch, a layer of un-decomposed stems and other living and decaying organic matter that develops between the soil and the turf canopy. Both methods are best done in the fall for cool-season turf when recovery can be optimized by weather conditions and a fertilization and irrigation program.
Maintenance for Warm-Season Turfgrass
The cooling temperatures of fall provide warm-season grasses the opportunity to increase carbohydrate reserves and root production as leaves continue to photosynthesize but overall shoot and leaf development rates decline. The last application of nitrogen for lawns with bermudagrass or St. Augustinegrass should be made no later than one month prior to the anticipated frost date. Grasses with minimal nitrogen requirements, such as zoysiagrass and centipedegrass, should only be fertilized during the most active growing months. As mentioned earlier, only apply phosphorus when needed according to soil tests for established lawns. A key to success is ensuring that other nutrients, particularly the winterizing nutrient potassium, are present in satisfactory quantities. The benefits of potassium in warm-season turfgrass winter survival are often more pronounced than those of cool-season turfgrasses, so be sure to periodically conduct soil tests to evaluate where these levels are prior to winter’s arrival.
The dormant warm-season grass provides little to no competition to cool-season weeds, thus weed control is often necessary. Most turf pre-emergence herbicides labeled for use in warm-season turf can control annual bluegrass, and timing is crucial to get the best control. In most parts of the state, germination begins in early September. Many of these chemicals also have excellent activity on many broadleaf weeds.
Insect and disease pressure for a grass preparing for dormancy are minimal. If a bermudagrass turf has a history of spring dead spot, consider a preventive application of a labeled fungicide in early to mid-fall before the turf goes dormant. This is the only time to chemically control this disease because spring treatments are not effective.
Fall is too late in the growing season to safely aerate or vertically mow warm-season turfgrasses. Do this in late spring or early summer when these grasses are actively growing.
Resources for More Information:
“Fall Lawn Care,” Virginia Cooperative Extension, Publication 43-520
“Soil Sampling for the Home Gardener,” Virginia Cooperative Extension publication 452-129
“Lawn Fertilization in Virginia,” Virginia Cooperative Extension publication 430-011
“Maintenance Calendar for Warm-Season Lawns in Virginia,” Virginia Cooperative Extension publication 430-522
“Maintenance Calendar for Cool-Season Lawns in Virginia,” Virginia Cooperative Extension publication 430-522
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