Reflections on Cape Charles and the Eastern Shore
All normal events and activities through the remainder of the year are back on the schedule, including all of our Fourth of July Events. The parade is back, and this year will include the Shriners and their cool vehicles. Vendors will be back n the beach, and music will start up around 11:30 and finish around 9:00. At this time, fireworks are not scheduled. The timeframe is very tight, and the logistics for those crews are very detailed.
Last October, Town Council voted to let the cooperative agreement with the Department of Wildlife Resources (DWR) governing the harbor boat ramps expire. Currently, the ramp is in marginally good shape, but down the road, it will require a large amount of maintenance. The cost would be over $700k.
After DWR was alerted to the Cape Charles’ decision, their staff contacted the town to try to find a way to keep the facility in the free public access program.
Part of the agreement is an exchange for more certainty on the timing of a future renovation. DWR estimates that a major renovation of the boat ramp would be in the $750,000 range.
However, Cape Charles would lose arond $250k in revenue generated from user fees. According to town staff, they are shifting gears and changing to a shorter-term agreement. They will add this analysis to the Harbor Capital Plan Evaluation which is upcoming.
Below is the propsed five-year agreement; attachment:
The boat ramp agreement will be on the agenda for the June 17th Town Council Regular Meeting
Due to the State’s lifting of COVID-19 restrictions, Cape Charles reports that the Town offices have re-opened to the
public as of June 1, 2021. Town Hall is open to the public from 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM, Monday through Friday.
The Cape Charles Memorial Library’s hours are 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM, Monday through Friday, except it will remain open until 6:00 PM on Tuesdays. Saturday hours are 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM.
All normal events and activities through the remainder of the year, including the 4th of July celebration, are back on the schedule, this year, we have the ever-popular Shriners joining the parade.
The CCPD answered 114 Calls for service inside of Cape Charles limits, and 5 outside.
The force posted 1 Felony arrest, 4 Misdemeanor arrests, 45 traffic summons, 16 traffic warnings (written& verbal), 12 parking tickets.
They assisted Northampton County Sheriff’s Office 3 times and assisted the Virginia State Police twice.
32 Building Checks were logged, as well as 32 Foot Patrol Hours. Bay creek patrol hours were 18.
2 active shooter training classes were held for town staff.
The HDRB will hold its Regular Meeting on 6/15 – 6:00 p.m. Here is what is on the agenda:
• Pre-Application for a Certificate of Appropriateness to replace the third-floor windows at 4
Tazewell Avenue
• Pre-Application for a Certificate of Appropriateness to replace wood siding, window and
doors, and exterior trim on the single-family detached dwelling at 616 Tazewell Avenue
• Pre-Application for a Certificate of Appropriateness to renovate the exterior, add screen
porch, and rear second floor addition on the single-family detached dwelling at 515 Mason
Avenue
• Pre-Application for a Certificate of Appropriateness to replace the roof on the single-family
detached dwelling at 621 Plum Street
• Pre-Application for a Certificate of Appropriateness to restore the home and construct a
rear addition at 624 Jefferson Avenue
• Pre-Application for a Certificate of Appropriateness to construct a new two-story singlefamily detached dwelling and detached garage on lot 168 on Jefferson Avenue
• Pre-Application for a Certificate of Appropriateness to construct a new two-story singlefamily detached and outbuilding on lot 561 on Randolph Avenue
• Pre-Application for a Certificate of Appropriateness at 524/526 Peach Street – continued
from last meeting
• Pre-Application for a Certificate of Appropriateness to enclose a rear porch, install a fence
and a shed at 518 Jefferson Avenue
• Pre-Application for a Certificate of Appropriateness to construct a deck at 602 Madison Ave
New Applications received – for the JULY MEETING CALENDAR:
• Application for a Certificate of Appropriateness to install solar panels at 117 Strawberry St
• Application for Certificate of Appropriateness to install a storage shed at 227 Madison Ave
• Application for a Certificate of Appropriateness to renovate the existing garage building at
630 Tazewell Avenue
• Pre-Application for Certificate of Appropriateness for storage shed at 524C Washington Ave
Applications ON HOLD (Waiting on action by applicant):
• Pre-Application for a Certificate of Appropriateness for 635 Mason Avenue – Construction
of addition and repair of roof
• Pre-Application for a Certificate of Appropriateness for a second floor, addition, rear porch,
renovation at 616 Strawberry Street
Below is a quick and dirty look at the town’s Water and Wastewater statistics for May:
Wastewater Plant Manager
• Wastewater plant treated an average of 227,700 gallons a day last week with a high day of 306,200 gallons a day on 6/28/21
• Utility Staff continued to do normal maintenance on the Plant and collection system
• Gerald did washdown of Wastewater Plant
• Dan made repairs/modifications to the Belt Filter press to improve performance
• Ralph made repairs to the cart used by Public Work for emptying the Trash at the beach
Water Plant Manager
• Performed routine maintenance processes including filter backwashing and softener regenerations
• Daily water quality testing and analysis
• Training of 2 new PT employees
• 1,348,880 gallons produced with 137,500 gallons used for process
• 192,697 gallons average daily production with peak of 241,045 on 5/28/21
The Bakery on Mason has the well-deserved reputation for freshness, making everything from scratch and baked on premises. The very best baguettes on the Shore are right here, and they are so delicious, you can eat them just as they are. Of course, the sourdough, boules, focaccia, croissants, and sandwich loaves are just as incredible…yes, choosing between the Bayside and Seaside sandwiches is a little painful.
You say you have a sweet tooth? The cakes, cookies, muffins, scones, and locally roasted coffee are near perfection.
With all this goodness, we want to be careful with this next bit of news. Prepare yourself. The Bakery on Mason is taking Pizza to the next level. If you like Sicilian-style pizza, then look no further…we could go on, but it’s best to just try it for yourself…such goodness! The only downside is that it is only available on Fridays, sometimes Saturdays…
The new student lounge at Eastern Shore Community College is dedicated in memory of Professor Barry Neville. Over the years, Mr. Neville touched and improved many lives on the Eastern Shore. This writer once asked his daughter, that had just graduated from VCU, who was the best professor she ever had. The response was succinct: Professor Neville.
More than just a prof, he was to many of his students also a mentor. Always a perfect gentlemen, his favorite catch phrase was, ‘Life is Good!’ As teacher, friend, and mentor, he is missed by the Eastern Community each day.
Eastern Shore Chapter of the Virginia Master Naturalists Welcomes Shannon Alexander as New Chapter Advisor
After a successful career as the Director of Planning of the Accomack-Northampton Planning District Commission, recently Shannon Alexander has been hired by the Virginia Department of Recreation and Conservation Natural Heritage Program as the Coastal Region Steward and the Regional Supervisor in the Division of Natural Heritage.
Shannon was born in Williamsburg, VA, but raised primarily on the Outer Banks of NC. She has extensive experience along shorelines from Florida to Maine and internationally in Thailand and New Zealand. She enjoys being out in natural areas and sharing them with others, which she has also been doing since 2012 through her ecotour company Bay Country Kayaking.
In addition to responsibility for managing and maintaining the Natural Area Preserves (NAPs) on the Eastern Shore, Shannon also has responsibility for all the NAPS in the new Coastal Region. The ES Master Naturalists are pleased to announce that Shannon has graciously agreed to become their Chapter Advisor.
In light of her educational training as an Environmental Scientist with a BS from UNC-Wilmington and a Master’s Degree from Nova Southeastern University in Florida in Coastal Planning, the ES Master Naturalists look forward to Shannon’s leadership for their activities in educational outreach, stewardship of the NAPs and citizen science projects.
Data in this story is from Kerry McDonald’s Liberated blog
According to the US Census Bureau, more than 5.5 million US K-12 students were homeschooling this academic year—up from around two million students pre-pandemic. These are independent homeschoolers who officially left another school or never enrolled in a school at all.
The Census reported a five-fold increase in the number of black homeschoolers this academic year, to more than 16 percent of the homeschooling population. This is an over-representation of black homeschoolers compared to the 15 percent of black students enrolled in K-12 public schools.
And while some of the 2020/2021 homeschoolers will return to conventional schooling in the fall, there are indications that many new black homeschooling families will not.
Rasheeda Denning, the founder of Black Homeschoolers of Central Florida, says that her members who are new to homeschooling this year have found it to be rewarding and re-empowering. They don’t plan to send their children back to school.
“One common trend that we’ve noticed during this pandemic is that parents have become empowered,” Denning recently told redefinED.
She continued: “Some new families will return to traditional schools, but we’ve found that most of our families are enjoying this new way of schooling and will stay with homeschooling, seeking out support to help them on their journey.”
It remains to be seen how many new homeschoolers will remain with this educational approach come fall, but with so much uncertainty still looming around what classrooms will look like, it’s not surprising that many families will continue to opt-out.
We may get our first glimpse of fall trends in a couple of weeks. Last summer, one of the early indications that this was going to be a big year for homeschooling was when North Carolina opened its homeschool registration website during the first week of July. So many parents submitted their online intent to homeschool that it crashed the state’s website. It will be interesting to see what happens this time.