Dogs will have to be on leashes starting January 1st, 2020 as the Cape Charles Town Council adopted the final text for the leash law on Thursday. The ordinance is the fruit of several months of discussion, revision, and re-factoring.

Councilwoman Cela Burge correctly noted, “I just want to say that the final outcome is due to the amount of public input we received.”

The ordinance is finely crafted legislation that attempts to balance the needs of all citizens, those in favor of canines on lead, and those not. It is also a testament to Town Manager Larry DiRe’s talent for achieving a balance in perspectives. The new ordinance is below:

Sec. 50-191. – Domestic animals in public places.
(a) Domestic canines.
(1) It shall be unlawful for any person owning, or having custody of, any domestic canine to permit such canine to run at large at any time. For purposes of this section, a domestic canine shall be deemed to run at large while roaming, running, or self-hunting off the property of its owner or custodian (Code of Virginia § 3.2-6538).
(2) It shall be unlawful for any person owning, or having custody of, any domestic canine to permit such canine to be off a leash or other physical restraint, or off an electronic collar on any public street, sidewalk, alley, plaza, or other thoroughfare.
(3) It shall be unlawful for any person owning, or having custody of, any domestic canine to permit such canine to be in the following public facilities at any time: town offices, public works and utilities facilities, Civic Center, library, tennis courts, children’s playground.
(4) It shall be unlawful for any person owning, or having custody of, any domestic canine to permit such canine to be on the fishing pier from May 1 through Labor Day inclusive. It shall be unlawful for such domestic canines to be on the fishing pier off a leash or other physical restraint daily between the hours of 8:00 am and 7:00 pm at all other times of the year.
(5) It shall be unlawful for any person owning, or having custody of, any domestic canine to permit such canine to be on the public beach either on or off a leash or other physical restraint, or electronic collar at any time during the period from 9:00 a.m. through 8:00 p.m. between May 1 and Labor Day inclusive of each year, such period hereinafter referred to [as] the “season”.
(6) It shall be unlawful for any person owning, or having custody of, any domestic canine to be in Central Park off a leash or other physical restraint, or off an electronic collar except and for times and areas under a town facility use form for specific events and\or activities.
(7) Service dogs are recognized as a regulated animal and are exempt from the requirements of this section.

The rules for dogs on the beach remains the same. Between Labor Day and May 1st, dogs are can run off-lead. From May 1 to Labor Day, that is restricted from 9 pm to 9 am.

Come out to the Cape Charles Harbor next Saturday for an all you can eat crab steam provided by local commercial waterman Scott Wivell.

All proceeds will be going directly towards the completion of the Watermen’s Memorial!

Saturday, September 7, 2019, from 1 PM – 6 PM

Cape Charles Town Harbor Marina-11 Marina Road, Cape Charles, Virginia 23310

$20 all you can eat crabs and then some! Live music and Commercial Fishing displays. Come on out and finish off summer the right way!

Eat crabs, Drink beer, and have a good time with Scott for a good cause!

While the stupidity of Reverse Angle Parking (RAP) is probably the most Cape Charles thing ever, eventually, it will go away. In the meantime, it’s still here, causing frustration, anger and accidents.

Everyone hates it.

Is backing into stalls difficult? For many, yes. The original dubious mantra by town officials looking to save face was that it is “far easier than parallel parking.” Really? Why can’t we just pull straight into the spot with our eyes facing forward instead of having to maneuver into a tight space surrounded by expensive vehicles?

Case in point:

The Hungry Crab, LLC, the corporation behind the Shanty restaurant has submitted an unsolicited offer to purchase lot 10 (the Shanty pad) at 33 Marina Drive, the current location of the establishment for $262,000.

The waterfront lot is 17.03 acres. The portion for sale is only .40 acres.

The Shanty is currently operating under a lease of the land from the town.

A public hearing on the sale is scheduled for Thursday March 14 at 6:30 in the Civic Center. 

The town received some additional documentation that needs to be vetted by a professional appraiser relative to an additional proposal. Rather than hold separate hearings and votes on two halves, the town will be moving forward on one comprehensive proposal. 

This season, GEAR and the Palace Theatre will present the modern holiday classic, Elf the Musical. Jr.

Showtimes are December 8th @7:30, December 9th @3:00, and December 15th @7:30.

The Palace Theatre is located at 305 Mason Ave, Cape Charles, VA 23310.

Based on the film of the same name, Buddy, a young orphan, mistakenly crawls into Santa’s bag of gifts and is transported to the North Pole. The would-be elf is raised, unaware that he is actually a human, until his enormous size and poor toy-making abilities cause him to face the truth. With Santa’s permission, Buddy embarks on a journey to New York City to find his birth father and discover his true identity. Faced with the harsh reality that his father is on the naughty list and that his half-brother doesn’t even believe in Santa, Buddy is determined to win over his new family and help New York remember the true meaning of Christmas.

“This is really a fun, enjoyable work of musical theater,” co-director Amy Watkins told the Mirror. “For all of our actors, especially those in the dance and theater programs, we try and prepare them to be a triple threat—dance, act and sing. In Elf, they have really been pushed to polish all three aspects of the performing arts.”

The GEAR dance program is an integral part of the program. Ms. Watkins choreographed all the original dance numbers.

“I have really been proud of everyone in this show,” said co-Director Wayne Creed. “The actors, singers and dancers have really put in the work—it has been a joy to be around such a remarkable group of performers who are dedicated and willing to give up a big portion of their lives to make this show great. Amy Watkins has also done a great job once again bringing the show to life visually and spatially, and Katherine Reid, our costume mistress has been wonderful making our transitions from the North Pole to New York believable and aesthetically beautiful.”

Elf JR. features songs by Tony Award-nominees, Matthew Sklar and Chad Beguelin, with a book by Tony Award-winners, Thomas Meehan and Bob Martin.

“I have to admit, being a fan of the Will Ferrell film, I was a little skeptical about a musical version,” Creed said. “but the numbers are wonderful—you can’t stop singing them.”

The Northampton Football Yellow Jackets season ended Friday on a soggy field at Essex High School. The Jackets fell in the first round of the state playoffs 45-25.

It started off well though. Using the standard offense–CJ Smith up the middle–Northampton took an early 14-0 lead. Both drives were long and ate up big chunks of the clock. Northampton added a third TD, when all was said in done, had used almost 19 minutes of the clock.

The bad news is that Essex scored 3 touchdowns while running just 4 plays, and took a 24-18 lead into the locker room. Essex never looked back.

Photo by Chris Glennon Photography

Injuries also hampered Northampton. Starting QB Tripp Westcoat has been hobbled by a sore hamstring, so it was necessary to get at least half of the snaps to talented freshman Liam Flynn. Flynn was tackled hard in the first quarter and broke his right collarbone. While Flynn was sent by ambulance to the hospital, Westcoat had to try and fight through his injury for the entire game

Long plays and superior line play by Essex dominated the rest of the game. Northampton just could not stop them.

Also, some of Northampton’s issues resurfaced and came back to haunt them. The sieve-like defensive secondary play was once again a problem. In games against West Point, Northumberland and Arcadia, long runs through the secondary seemed way too easy. As far as defending against the pass, at times it seemed like the Jacket secondary could not even cover an ornamental shrubbery, much less an athletic receiver.

Ground and pound offensive schemes are great sometimes, but when you are down by 2 or 3 touchdowns, the one-dimensionality becomes a problem. Good teams like Essex eventually make adjustments and stuff even good running attacks. This is exactly what happened Friday.

Where Essex was able to make adjustments, Northampton seemed to be stuck in a rut. Essex had 4 or 5 good playmakers, and they used them all. Northampton also has 5 or 6 difference makers, but they only chose to use Carlton or Corey Smith. Our fast wideouts seemed to have slants, curls and go routes open all year, but Northampton never attempted to take the top off the defense, opting instead to pound the ball up the middle or run a sweep–an occasional counter or misdirection happened when they got a wild hair.

While this team did not advance, it was still a great season for the Jackets, and for the 18 seniors that played their hearts out.

Photo by Chris Glennon Photography

Congratulations boys, you deserve it.

Two years ago, the Wetlands and Coastal Dune Board (Board) spent several months preparing a set of recommendations to manage sand and the dunes at the beach. Those recommendations
were presented to Town Council in September 2016. Recently the Board has been working on a proposed beach and sand management practices plan for the Town’s public beach.

The draft proposed beach/dune plan outline is completed. On Monday October 1, 2018, the Wetlands Board will meet, and Chairman Ann Walker will present the draft outline. The public is invited and encouraged to make comments on the new plan.

Upon further review and discussion, the recommendations will be sent to the Town Council.

The beach/dune plan review of the past and currently employed beach sand management practices which will allow the Board to make appropriate recommendations to Town Council and provide an opportunity for residents’ input into the scale of the sand wind erosion problem and potential practices to mitigate future wind erosion events.

The meeting is scheduled for Monday October 1, 2018.

The location is Cape Charles Civic Center
500 Tazewell Ave
Cape Charles VA 23310

Cape Charles Beach and Dune Management Plan DRAFT OUTLINE (23 September 2018)
1. Purpose and Need (to be completed)
a. Align recommendations with the annual cycle of town planning, budget, and public works
operations
2. Cape Charles Public Beach (description)
3. Regulations Governing the Beach and Dune System
a. Description (Federal, State, Local)
b. Regulatory implications for this management plan, e.g.,
i. FEMA
ii. Coastal Resilience
4. Issues (to be addressed in the plan. Some examples below, others? See Norfolk CBCMA Guidance
Document 2012)
a. Problems, e.g., sand movement off the beach, waste, trash, flooding/storm surge relationships
b. Access methods, e.g., sand trails, mats, walkways, ramps (different for different parts of beach?)
c. Recreational activities/uses
i. Activities/uses, e.g., tents, dogs
d. Structures, e.g., volleyball courts
e. View – visual access, viewshed
f. Safety
g. Maintenance
i. Winter, e.g., winter preparation
ii. Summer, e.g., sand nourishment on beach each spring, beach cleaning
iii. Monitoring for management
5. Good Management Practices for Beach and Dunes (recommendations, by grouping in section 4, to
address identified issues; describe options, pros and cons, including cost)
a. Vegetation
i. Types: Preferred, e.g. American Beach Grass; invasive/nuisance, e.g., Japanese sedge
ii. Location: Beach side of dunes; Boardwalk side of dunes
b. Dunes
c. Beach
6. Implementation Options and Resources
a. Funding
i. Sand Nourishment Options, e.g., ACOE project, winter sand capture and spring
relocation
ii. Other
b. Equipment, e.g., fencing, vegetation, other
c. Personnel
i. Town staff
ii. Contractors (e.g., for sprigging)

Appendices
a. Definitions and Acronyms
b. Regulations
c. References

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