On my way to the beach, a lady stopped me and said, “Watch out for the rock.”

“What rock?” I asked. We were at the entrance to the north beach at Washington Street. We walked down the path, and sure enough, there was a chunk of concrete. It seemed like it had been covered up for a while, but due to wind and general wear, it had made its way back to the surface.

Apparently, several people had stubbed their toes and feet on it. The pictures below show the general location to watch out for, however, good samaritans have been covering it back up. It still lurks just below the surface.

This is the weekend, the Mirror will push this info to the town in the new week.

The following pictures give the general location of the rock:

Former Mayor Dora Sullivan sent an email to Town Council, which she wanted to be read into the public record. Below is the text:

Good evening Honorable Mayor and Council persons. I have lived here for the past 25 years.
I have witnessed it all. From the pain and loss of dear friends and loved ones to a community that rallied together when someone could not afford to cover the expense of a funeral for someone they loved. Many things have changed in our small community which of course is understandable. What I have never witnessed was bullying. Someone so angry that they believe they can be the police. What would make someone chase after someone yelling and screaming about what the rules are. You are not the police. If there is a problem, then report it. I would hate to think that after all the many years of Cape Charles being a lovely welcoming place to visit and live that we would be thought of a town where if you do something wrong you become publicly humiliated and bullied. What purpose does that serve? What taste does that leave? We are better than that!
Thank you,
Dora Sullivan

Councilwoman O’Brien agreed. She stated during Town Council comments that Council needed to pay attention to what Sullivan was saying, “We’ve had some outrageous behavior from citizens when enforcing the Town’s rules. We should ask the public to contact the police or staff at Town Hall if they saw anything that needed attention. It should never be incumbent on a citizen to enforce the rules of the Town and this issue needed to be addressed so Cape Charles did not become a Town of angry people”.

The total lack of self-awareness on display here should not come as a surprise to anyone. Did either of these two stop and reflect on why citizens might be just a little pissed off? Why do you think they might be pushed to the limit of patience? What would drive a local to confront someone? What could possibly be fomenting this anger? Which way did he go?

This is the Cape Cape Charles modus operandi. Rather than addressing the problems their lunatic policies have created, they instead try and deflect, and throw it back in your face, “Our low-bandwidth, poorly designed, ill thought out policies are not the problem…it’s YOU!”

Summer used to be our best season, but instead, we can’t wait for it to be over so that the town is not such a cesspool of humanity. By September, the last nerve has been worked over pretty well.

I meet a lot of tourists and really like most of them, but it only takes a few to ruin everything. Some of the stuff I see on golf carts is mind-boggling. It seems every day, I see people holding babies leaving the CC Brewery, driving carts right down Stone Road, ignoring the cart path and forcing traffic to weave around them, or even coming to a stop until they can pass them. The other day, I saw a golf cart so far up the road, I swear they were coming back from Food Lion.

This is just the tip of the iceberg.

If you do feel the need to confront someone over their moronic behavior, try and make the encounter constructive–try to be nice.

Example: “Hey dude, speeding through the park on your golf cart, and doing donuts in the soft areas is fun, I get that. I’m most totally with you, but, if the cops see you, you will definitely get a ticket.”

But that’s me, you do you.

Despite the inner joy and peace, that we all seek, it seems pretty natural to throw an insult or two at these people. In some cases, it may be quite necessary. What is wrong with pointing out that what someone is doing is dangerous and idiotic? It’s not like the town is doing anything about it.

If you see somebody doing something stupid, what are you supposed to do–get out a pad and take their names down like a pathetic dweeb? Being a snitch may come naturally to folks like Sullivan and O’Brien, but it’s abhorrent to most of us.

What if it’s at night and you see something completely obnoxious and illegal, then what? Call the police, really?

Citizens have had it and are finally standing up for themselves, and the town has the nerve to tell them to sit down and shut up, that they have no rights. Former town officials stupidly chide, “We are better than that!”

Lady, put a cork in it.

The people in charge, the ones that are supposed to be answering to YOU, have forsaken you. This disregard and vulgarity began years ago (not mentioning any names). They just want you to sit there and take it while they destroy your lifestyle–all while making it more and more expensive, more and more unbearable to live here. The smart ones have left and moved to Florida.

Reminder for the remaining inmates: The election is this fall. It’s your prison, build wisely.

The Cape Charles Town Council will hold a Public Hearing & Regular Meeting on August 18, 2022
at the Cape Charles Civic Center. The meeting is scheduled for 6:30 PM.

On the agenda:

A. Conditional Use Permit Application – 11 Randolph Avenue
B. Appointment of Zoning Administrator/Subdivision Agent
C. Design and Engineering to Connect Keck Wells
D. Elderly and Disabled Tax Exemption Update
E. Budget Reappropriation Request – Schedule Public Hearing

Town council may set a public hearing for September 15, 2022 regarding the requested amendments to the fiscal year 2023 budget:

Time to get ready for this year’s annual Crabby Blues Festival in Cape Charles’ Central Park. The event is scheduled for September 17th, and it supports our local Cape Charles Christian School. Live music, great food, and some of the Shore’s best artisan vendors will be on hand. More details are coming, but mark your calendars now!

It is that time of the year again. Summer is winding down, schools will soon be opening, and the Academy for Lifetime Learning is ready with an exciting new fall schedule.

If you are interested in art, we offer a class that takes you to the studios of four local artists.  If you would like to know some of what the Shore has to offer, there is a course called Lunch and Learn which will visit four ESVA locations as well as the Norfolk Botanical Garden. If fitness is your thing (or you wish it were), sign up for bocce ball, flexibility training, line dancing, or pickleball. There is a class on beekeeping.  Local sculptor Guy Shover will demonstrate the lost wax method of casting metal in his studio.  For game lovers, we will be offering American mahjong.

There are many new classes this fall and some longtime favorites such as Bite Size Book Club and Ethical Dilemmas.  They have too many new courses to list here. So, check them out on our website (www.allesva.org) beginning August 15.

For a one-time semester membership fee of $25, you can take as many of these classes as you can fit into your schedule. Go to our website to find out the dates, times, and locations of the classes you wish to take.

The Academy for Lifetime Learning is an all-volunteer, not-for-profit organization whose members share a love of learning. We use the funds raised by our membership fee to offer scholarships to graduates of Eastern Shore high schools every year.

This writer has been following the Menhaden fishery since the 1990s. During that time, there have been debates about the health of the bunker. When its all said and done, the assessment from the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Service Menhaden Management Board is the benchmark. This week, the board approved Draft Addendum I to Amendment 3 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic Menhaden for public comment.

The Board also reviewed the results of the 2022 Atlantic Menhaden Stock Assessment Update, which indicates the resource is not overfished nor experiencing overfishing relative to the current ecological reference points (ERPs). In 2021, population fecundity, a measure of reproductive capacity, is above both the ERP threshold and target and total fishing mortality is below both the ERP threshold and target. The stock assessment update extended the 2019 Atlantic Menhaden Single-Species Benchmark Stock Assessment model with additional years of data from 2018-2021 and made some changes to the model structure. Work is also underway for an Atlantic Menhaden-specific ERP Benchmark Assessment, which is scheduled for completion in 2025.

The Assessment Update will be posted to the Commission’s website by mid-August at http://www.asmfc.org/species/atlantic-menhaden under Stock Assessment
Reports.

For more information, please contact James Boyle, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, at
jboyle@asmfc.org or 703.842.0740.