Volume 3, Issue 4 · Early March, 2008
« January 2008 | Main | March 2008 »
February 21, 2008
February 14, 2008
February 12, 2008 Primary Day in Front Royal, VA
Video also available on iReport.com and on CNN
It was very interesting to talk to these folks. I finished before the polls closed because I didn't want any of the comments to be influenced by the results of the election. It was refreshing to see people from all walks of life so tuned-in to politics right now.
It is worth noting that according to unofficial state-wide results (98.6% in), Sen. Obama beat Sen. Clinton by 28% and Sen. McCain beat Gov. Huckabee by 10%. Several precincts have not reported so those results may change a bit.In Warren County, where these interviews took place, Senator Clinton won by 10% and Sen. McCain won by 4%.
With some exceptions, Sen. Obama did very well in the cities while Sen. Clinton did well in the counties.
On the Republican side, it wasn't so simple. Senator McCain did well in more progressive Northern Virginia and the cities were pretty well split between the Sen. and Gov. Huckabee. Huckabee was the clear winner in the cities of Lynchburg and Bedford and in the counties of Amherst, Campbell, Bedford and Appomattox, all well populated with members of the late Rev. Jerry Falwell's Thomas Road Baptist Church. But Huckabee lost Virginia Beach, home base of the Rev. Pat Robertson. That difference probably reflects the larger population of Virginia Beach diminishing the influence of evangelical voters associated with Rev. Robertson as compared to the smaller city of Lynchburg, where the late Rev. Falwell's church holds more sway.
But what really hurt Huckabee was a 40% crushing loss in the state's most populous area, Fairfax County, where he lost by 23,000 votes. Had that been reversed, Huckabee would have won.
Also noteworthy: In Virginia, a state President George W. Bush easily won twice, 487,000 people participated in the Republican primary while 977,000 voted in the Democratic contest.
Is there a dramatic shift in the state from red to blue or there was simply more interest in the more competitive Democratic contest that will yield the first African American or female major party presidential nominee?
The answer to that question will have to wait until November.
February 07, 2008
Volume 3, Issue 3: Mid February, 2008
Download the full PDF of Volume 3, Issue 3: Mid February, 2008
Super Tuesday Answers No Questions for Dems
Super Tuesday gave Republican Sen. John McCain a big boost, but it left the Democratic race as tight as ever. Sen. Hillary Clinton and Sen. Barack Obama are now turning toward states like Virginia and Maryland as they fight for the nomination. (Feb. 6)
February 06, 2008
Remains of old North Fork Bridge brought down explosively
February 05, 2008
The Art (and Business) of Self Defense
By Matthew Swain
Warren County Report Business Writer
Stephens City, VA – After high school, staying in shape through sports was a mission for Chris Moorhead - bowling and golf were not an option. Not real sure what to expect, and a bit reluctant, he tried a local self-defense course in Warrenton, VA. He was hooked immediately. Now, with over twenty years of experience and training in the martial arts style known as Tae Kwon Do, Moorhead is a third degree back belt with a passion and mission to help others.
Moorhead recently opened Blue Mountain Martial Arts, a school dedicated to Tae Kwon Do, Hap Kido, and cardio kickboxing instruction. He specializes in Hwal Moo Doo, meaning “life, protect, art” in Korean and selected Stephens City because of the growing opportunities associated local business and housing developments.
“I enjoy teaching individuals and families of all ages, from beginners to advanced, in self-defense and the importance of control in everyday life.”
Blue Mountain Martial arts is located on Main Street at the rear entrance of It Figures.
Matthew Swain is a writer focused on new businesses and success. For more information email meswain@shentel.net or call (540) 336-3981.
February 04, 2008
Front Royal Warren County Chamber of Commerce News
| 2008 I DO BRIDAL SHOWCASE If weddings are a part of your business, then your business needs to be a part of the 2008 I Do Bridal Showcase. You can spend alot of money advertising and possibly reach only a few brides. Your message and service gets lost in a sea of advertisements. At the Bridal Showcase, you will be directly in touch with many brides. Brought to you by the Front Royal-Warren County Chamber of Commerce, in partnership with Debbie's Ivy Garden, Bowling Green Country Club and Clear Channel Communications, the 2008 I Do Bridal Showcase is scheduled for February 9th from 11 a.m. until 3 p.m. Register before January 15th and receive a 10% discount. Contact Niki at 635-3185 or nfoster@frontroyalchamber.com for more information. |
Join us for fun, food & the power of networking at the Hampton Inn for the Business After Hours (BAH), Wednesday, February 13th, 5:30 p.m. - 7 p.m. Don't forget your business cards!
REALTOR /BUILDER /HR FORUM & LUNCHEON
Hear the latest news and happenings about our community, school system, planning and zoning offices, economic development office and more to help you close the deal. You are invited to the Realtor/Builder/Human Resources Forum & Luncheon on Thursday, February 21, 9:30 a.m. at Skyline High School. A special presentation, "Motivation - It's An Inside Job" will be given at 12:15 p.m. and lunch is included. The Forum is sponsored by Front Royal Federal Credit Union, Country Home Mortgage, BB&T Mortgage -Aneita Bryant, Property Solvers, and Commonwealth One Federal Credit Union. To rsvp or for more information contact Niki Foster at 635-3185 or nfoster@frontroyalchamber.com by Monday, February 18th.
REALITY STORE VOLUNTEERS NEEDED
The Chamber’s Education Council is coordinating the “Reality Store” for all sophomores at Warren County and Skyline High Schools on February 28th. The Reality Store provides students with a look at life after high school and helps teach a valuable lesson on the importance of further education. Volunteers are needed for the event from 8 a.m. until 11:30 a.m. Contact the Chamber at 635-3185 or info@frontroyalchamber.com to volunteer or for more information.
MEMBER NEWS
Blue Ridge Hospice upcoming events include: Understanding and Managing Your Anger, Feb. 12 – March 18, 6:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.; Safe Passages Support Group, Feb. 13 – Apr. 2, 2-3:30 p.m.; Dominion Document Shredding, Feb. 16, 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.; Community Wellness Festival, Feb. 23, 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.; The Moon Balloon Project, Apr. 15, 8:30 a.m. – 4 p.m. For more information contact Lisa Wilt 540-536-5210.
NEW! Friday Night Buffet at The Apple House from 5 - 9 pm. Reservations Recommended by calling 540-636-6329. Come enjoy some delicious food and call for a sampling of the buffet items!
Randolph-Macon Academy Middle School is holding its fourth annual Scholarship Writing Contest for students currently in grades 5-7. The awards for the writing contest will be applied to the students’ R-MA tuition for the 2008-2009 school year. First place will be awarded a $2,500 one-time grant and the runner-up will receive a $500 grant. The contest is open to students who would be new students at R-MA in the next school year. Students do not need to be accepted to R-MA in order to compete in the contest, but to receive their scholarship awards, the winners must apply and be accepted to the Academy. Essays must be 400-600 words in length, and are due by February 29, 2008. The essay topic, additional information and an application packet are available by contacting the Middle School office at 540-636-5480, or visiting the web site at www.rma.edu.
The Humane Society of Warren County will hold a Rabies & Microchip Clinic on Saturday, February 23rd, 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. at the Humane Society. Ask them about their discount bundle package (vaccines, microchip and county license)! For more information contact 635-4734.
Belle Grove Plantation invites you to join them for a special Valentine's Day Dessert Party to learn about exciting volunteer opportunities at historic Belle Grove Plantation. Sample delectable homemade desserts in the historic 1797 Manor House, meet current Belle Grove volunteers and hear their stories. Belle Grove is seeking tour guides, special event assistants, and front desk, office and museum shop aides for the 2008 season. The Valentine's Day Dessert Party will be held at 1 p.m. on Valentine's Day, Thursday, February 14 at Belle Grove Plantation in Middletown, VA. Contact Betsy Anderson or Craig Orndorff for more information or to RSVP by phone call 869-2028 or email info@bellegrove.org.
Randolph-Macon Academy’s third annual Springfest will be Saturday, April 19, 2008, from 12 noon to 4:00pm.Last year, about 1,000 people attended this free community event, which features games, bounce rides, and entertainment.If your business or organization would like to be a part of Springfest 2008, please contact Celeste Brooks at cbrooks@rma.edu for an application. Space is free to those who are only displaying information; organizations/businesses that wish to sell products must pay a nonrefundable $50 vendor fee. Springfest is an indoor/outdoor event held rain or shine.
Front Royal Relay for Life 2008! June7th-8th! Corporate sponsorship is an essential component of the success of our Front Royal 2008 Relay for Life event. Corporate sponsorship levels range from $250- $2,000. Your companies commitment and generosity is the key to finding the cure! We would be honored if you would take this opportunity to join in with the entire community in the fight against cancer. If your organization is interested in joining the Front Royal 2008 Relay for Life as a sponsor, or if you have additional questions, please contact Jodie Knight at540.631.2595or e-mail jodie.knight@yahoo.com.
The Lord Fairfax Workforce Solutions and Continuing Education is offering the following classes: Learn Spanish the Fast and Fun Way – Part I, Feb. 5, 7 p.m. – 9 p.m., $245; Microsoft Word 2007 – Basic, Feb. 6 & 8, 12:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m., $145; SHRM Learning System, Feb. 7, 4 p.m. – 7 p.m., $895; Facilitation and Training Techniques for Core Stability, Feb. 9, 8 a.m. – 3:30 p.m., $199; AutoCAD 2008 – Level 1: Mastering the Fundamentals, Feb. 11, 8 a.m. – 3:30 p.m., $355; Microsoft Word 2003 – Basic, Feb. 11 & 13, 8:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m., $125; SHRM Global Learning, Feb. 12, 4 p.m. – 7 p.m., $899; Employee Recruitment, Hiring and Interviewing, Feb. 14, 1 p.m. – 5 p.m., $95; Customer Service for the Public Employee, Feb. 15, 8:30 p.m. – 12:30 p.m., $95; Medical Administration Training, Feb.16, 8 a.m. – 6 p.m., $125; Microsoft Excel 2003 – Basic, Feb. 18 & 20, 8:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m., $125; Measuring, Eval, & Motivating Employee Performances, 1 p.m. – 5 p.m., $95; Stay in Touch with MS Outlook 2003, Feb. 22, 9 a.m. – 4 p.m., $125; Serve Safe Food Certification (Spanish), Feb. 26 & 28, 8 a.m. – 1 p.m., $175. .For more information call 540-868-7021.
TOWN OF FRONTROYAL
Monday, February 11th, 7 p.m. at the Government Center
Monday, February 25th, 7 p.m. at the Government Center
COUNTY OF WARREN
Tuesday, February 5th, 9 a.m. at the Government Center
Tuesday, February 19th, 7 p.m. at the Government Center
UPCOMING EVENTS
Feb. 5 Front Royal Federal Credit Union, Ribbon Cutting at Skyline High School, 8:20 a.m.
Feb. 6 Warren County Business Today on The River 95.3 FM
Feb. 7 Tourism Council, 9 a.m. at the Chamber
Feb. 9 “I Do” Bridal Showcase, 11 a.m. at Bowling Green Country Club
Feb. 12 Downtown Business Council, 9 a.m. at the Chamber
Feb. 13 Chamber Board of Directors Meeting, 4 p.m. at the Chamber
Feb. 13 Business After Hours, 5:30 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. at the Hampton Inn
Feb. 14 Adult Leadership
Feb. 18 Chamber Closed
Feb. 19 Wine & Craft Festival, 8:30 a.m. at the Chamber
Feb. 19 Youth Leadership
Feb. 21 Realtor’s Forum, 9 a.m. at Skyline High School
Feb. 25 Women’s Business Council, Noon at the Apple House
Feb. 25 Small Business Council, 3 p.m. at the Chamber
Feb. 28 Reality Store
Feb. 29 Leap Downtown
February 03, 2008
Up with the new, down with the old
Remains of old North Fork Bridge brought down explosively
By Roger Bianchini
Warren County Report
And with a boom, not a whimper it ended – 66 years of service to the community helping ferry gasoline-fueled vehicular traffic in and out of Front Royal. I guess 66 years is a good functioning lifespan – at least when it came down, it came down intentionally, unlike some old or ill-designed bridges we have read about in other sections of the country.
Shortly after 8 a.m. Sunday, Feb. 3, most of the remaining superstructure of Warren County’s North Fork Bridge came tumbling down after being detonated by contractor Demtech Inc., of Dubois, Wyoming, working under the auspices of the Virginia Department of Transportation. There was a slight delay in the planned 8 a.m. detonation to move some spectators who had gathered on nearby railroad tracks further away from the “event horizon.”
When the smoke cleared one section remained standing between the bridge abutments – but that was intentional one nearby bridge worker explained to this inquiring journalist.
“That section is over the water. It has to come down piece by piece,” he explained.
So, the sections brought down were all over the floodplain land most of both bridges traverse.
Asked if there was much lead paint abatement prior to Sunday’s razing of the bulk of the remaining superstructure, the worker unenthusiastically replied in the affirmative – “For awhile it seemed like all I did was chip pieces of paint by hand,” he said.
Media from far and near gathered in the gray, early-morning winter chill along with a few hearty spectators, Warren County Fire and Rescue units – on hand just in case – VDOT and other construction officials near the bottom of Guard Hill Road for the historic demolition. Several groups of birds, including a V-shaped squadron of geese did fly-bys reconnaissance of the area before and after the explosion.
As cameras clicked and whirred, the event appeared to go off without a hitch and traffic was again running over the adjacent new three-lane bridge by 8:30 a.m. The demolition of the final sections of the old bridge marks an important turning point in the North Fork Bridge project scheduled for completion in September 2009.
The North Fork Bridge opened to traffic in 1941, perhaps not coincidentally at about the same time nearby synthetic fiber manufacturing plant American Viscose, designed to support much of the Allied war effort in World War II, came on line. Now, like the Dodo bird and WWII itself, both the plant and the old bridge are history.
In September 2005 the Commonwealth Transportation Board awarded the $19.2 million North Fork Bridge project to Flippo Construction Co. Inc. of Forrestville, Md. The project includes replacing the existing three-lane bridge on Route 340/522 (Winchester Road) over the North Fork of the Shenandoah River with a new five-lane structure that includes sidewalks and bicycle lanes. Bridge approaches were rebuilt as part of this project. Traffic began using the initially constructed three-lane structure erected next to the old bridge in late summer 2007. Upon completion of the remaining demolition of the old bridge, the final two-lane structure will be constructed in the shadow of the old bridge’s footprint.
Shakeup in county administration proposed
Deputy Planning Director Taryn Logan may be upgraded to Planning Director. Photo by Roger Bianchini. Copyright 2008 by Warren County Report.
Stanley would give up dual role as county administrator/planning director
By Roger Bianchini
Warren County Report
A proposed change in the county administrative office has been in the works for some time according to several of the primary players involved.
Doug Stanley has been serving the dual role of county administrator and planning director since April of 2000. Stanley notes with a laugh that both his 1996 promotion from zoning administrator to planning director and assumption of the county administrator’s role in 2000 came on April’s Fool Day. He declined to speculate on any deeper meaning to the dates of those promotions.
More seriously, Stanley says the board of supervisors allowed him to continue serving in the dual role of planning director and county administrator at his request in 2000. However, he notes the plan has always been to eventually train a replacement to take over most of the day-to-day duties of the planning department.
In a written justification of the move to finally achieve that plan, Stanley wrote, “Taryn, acting as Deputy Director, continues to take on more day-to-day planning issues and gradually has taken over most of the planning proposals presented to the Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors. She also has capably handled supervision of the Well and Septic Appeals Board.”
The promotion of a relatively young deputy – Logan is 29 – may raise questions with some about experience. However, Stanley was 27 when he took over as planning department head and just 31 when he became county administrator. Still a relatively young whippersnapper at 38, Stanley believes Logan is ready for the expanded role.
“If you’ll notice, over the last three or four years at the planning commission level, more and more of the applications have been taken over by Taryn and some she had been doing have been taken over by Matt [Wendling]. So, there’s been a gradual transition for them to take on a lot more of the workload. And it’s gotten to the point today that I deal with very few of the walk-in customers of the planning department. And Taryn, I think professionally, is ready to assume the daily oversight of the department.”
Apparently Logan’s co-workers on the planning department staff agree.
“Doug announced the plan to have the board promote Taryn to planning director at the staff meeting on Monday and we were all delighted. We couldn’t be happier, for us and for her – we all applauded her,” Planning Commission Administrative Assistant Linda Neighbors said Feb. 1.
Logan is grateful for the support of those she works with and credits the entire county planning department for its professionalism.
“I work with great people who all do a great job. I’ve learned a lot working with Doug over the past six years as he’s given me more responsibilities. I’m excited about the opportunity and I am grateful that Doug has the confidence in me to ask the board to make me planning director,” Logan says. “And there are a lot of exciting things happening right now in Warren County and I’m just fortunate to be a part of it. Over the past year we’ve been meeting every other month with the town planning staff, county zoning and building inspections departments and I think there is better communications between all the departments. I’m looking forward to continue working together and anyway we can improve the system, simplify the process for the public we’ll try to accomplish.”
“From my perspective it’s the right thing to do,” former two-term board chairman Richard Traczyk said of the proposed administrative shakeup. “It gives the staff a little more balance. Doug will still oversee planning operations but the change will enable Doug to focus on County Administration and leave the day-to-day planning to Taryn.
Traczyk said in recent years the board has agreed Stanley should groom a planning director replacement.
“Taryn Logan was that person and she has continued her training over the past years and is in fact currently handling 80 percent of the planning issues on a daily basis. Doug now feels she has progressed to the point where she can take over the position with the approval of the Board for the next budget period. Thus, Doug has followed the direction from past boards over the years.”
The Super Bowl: Who Stole the Soul?
By Dave Zirin
Apparently it’s not killer bees, sleeper cells, or flesh eating viruses we are supposed to fear this week. According to the mainstream media, it’s the Super Bowl that’s hazardous to our health. The LA Times ran an article this week titled, "Sports is a strain on fans' hearts." "In Germany," the piece opened, "a study finds a spike in heart attacks on soccer game days. Super Bowl viewers, take heed."
It seems that the adrenaline and heart pounding passion of Super Bowl Sunday could send the hundred million viewers into a pulmonary panic. Balderdash. If you want to know if the Super Bowl will strike you dead, don’t ask a doctor. Ask a sportswriter.
The NFL Championship is many things, but a white knuckled adrenaline overload ain’t one of them. In other words, any heart attacks this weekend are far more likely to come from undigested animal fat than adrenaline.
Before it is anything else, before it’s even a football game, the Super Bowl is first and foremost a two week entertainment festival for the rich and shameless: a corporate Woodstock with suits and sports cars subbing for ponchos and patchouli – less free love and drugs, more hookers and scotch.
One headline preceding the big game read "Phoenix Faces Super Bowl Parking Woe: Where to Put Gulfstreams?" As the article stated, "The Arizona host committee expects 800 to 1,000 private jets, or more, to use the airports before Sunday's game. That will be at least double the number when nearby Tempe was the site of the Super Bowl in 1996.” Giants co-owner Steve Tisch spoke about the pugilistic plutocrats at the airport. “’When that game's over and a lot of people who've flown on private planes want to go home and everybody feels that they're entitled to be the first to take off, that's when it gets interesting. A lot of people are saying to their pilots to tell the tower, “Do you know who I've got on my plane?'''
What a terrifically charming slice of life. Is now an appropriate time to tell Mr. Tisch that 21.2% of children in Arizona live below the poverty line? Or 40% of Native Americans? Can he hear me over the jets?
The thought of corporate execs swinging their egos to get their planes out of an airport hangar is a perfect snapshot for the excess that’s smothered the game. The Super Bowl has become a place to see and be seen. Q ratings matter more than quarterbacks. And spectacle has triumphed over sport.
Consider the 2004 game between the Patriots and Panthers. It will be remembered for eternity as the day Janet Jackson flashed the world, even though it was probably the best quarterback duel in the history of the game. Tom Brady set a record for completions, driving the Patriots down field for a last second Vinatieri field goal.
But what I remember against my will, after Jackson's Action, was the sight of so much smoke, and haze from the halftime pyro, it was hard to see what was happening the first five minutes of the second half. The game looked like it was being played on the back streets of London's East End, with Jack the Ripper ready to slice up an unsuspecting Antowain Smith.
No question it’s the spectacle that drives the spectacular ratings. Of the 20 most watched shows in history, 10 are Super Bowls. For the overwhelming majority of the public, this is a day to rank the commercials, grade the halftime show, and eat enough trans fats to make a goat nauseous. But one thing it is not, is a place to invest any kind of passion in the game itself.
Here's a modest proposal. Let's start playing the Super Bowl at the home stadium of the team with the best record. Imagine this Sunday, instead of playing on the fast tracks of Arizona, in front of an audience text messaging in between martinis, the Patriots had to prove their worth in the Frigidaire of New England. Imagine if the fans were those same beautifully hate-able minions that have been slogging to Foxboro all year. Imagine the excitement as the Giants would attempt to win a fourth straight game on the road. Imagine Eli avenging the Mannings in front of the Foxboro faithful (and just imagine…I'm from New York). Instead both teams have become scenery, some athletic bursts of poetry around which to sell us erection medicine, beer, and tires that are allegedly being produced by African child labor.
But exhilaration just isn’t part of the program. Like a burly sous-chef pounding a chicken breast into flattened submission, the audacity and excitement of the great game of football have been pummeled out of the contest. A great way to avoid dangerous over-stimulation this Sunday would be to take five hours… and watch the game.
(Dave Zirin is the author of the book: "Welcome to the Terrordome: The Pain, Politics and Promise of Sports" (Haymarket). You can receive his column Edge of Sports, every week by going to dave@edgeofsports.com. Contact him at edgeofsports@gmail.com )
Apparently it’s not killer bees, sleeper cells, or flesh eating viruses we are supposed to fear this week. According to the mainstream media, it’s the Super Bowl that’s hazardous to our health. The LA Times ran an article this week titled, "Sports is a strain on fans' hearts." "In Germany," the piece opened, "a study finds a spike in heart attacks on soccer game days. Super Bowl viewers, take heed."
It seems that the adrenaline and heart pounding passion of Super Bowl Sunday could send the hundred million viewers into a pulmonary panic. Balderdash. If you want to know if the Super Bowl will strike you dead, don’t ask a doctor. Ask a sportswriter.
The NFL Championship is many things, but a white knuckled adrenaline overload ain’t one of them. In other words, any heart attacks this weekend are far more likely to come from undigested animal fat than adrenaline.
Before it is anything else, before it’s even a football game, the Super Bowl is first and foremost a two week entertainment festival for the rich and shameless: a corporate Woodstock with suits and sports cars subbing for ponchos and patchouli – less free love and drugs, more hookers and scotch.
One headline preceding the big game read "Phoenix Faces Super Bowl Parking Woe: Where to Put Gulfstreams?" As the article stated, "The Arizona host committee expects 800 to 1,000 private jets, or more, to use the airports before Sunday's game. That will be at least double the number when nearby Tempe was the site of the Super Bowl in 1996.” Giants co-owner Steve Tisch spoke about the pugilistic plutocrats at the airport. “’When that game's over and a lot of people who've flown on private planes want to go home and everybody feels that they're entitled to be the first to take off, that's when it gets interesting. A lot of people are saying to their pilots to tell the tower, “Do you know who I've got on my plane?'''
What a terrifically charming slice of life. Is now an appropriate time to tell Mr. Tisch that 21.2% of children in Arizona live below the poverty line? Or 40% of Native Americans? Can he hear me over the jets?
The thought of corporate execs swinging their egos to get their planes out of an airport hangar is a perfect snapshot for the excess that’s smothered the game. The Super Bowl has become a place to see and be seen. Q ratings matter more than quarterbacks. And spectacle has triumphed over sport.
Consider the 2004 game between the Patriots and Panthers. It will be remembered for eternity as the day Janet Jackson flashed the world, even though it was probably the best quarterback duel in the history of the game. Tom Brady set a record for completions, driving the Patriots down field for a last second Vinatieri field goal.
But what I remember against my will, after Jackson's Action, was the sight of so much smoke, and haze from the halftime pyro, it was hard to see what was happening the first five minutes of the second half. The game looked like it was being played on the back streets of London's East End, with Jack the Ripper ready to slice up an unsuspecting Antowain Smith.
No question it’s the spectacle that drives the spectacular ratings. Of the 20 most watched shows in history, 10 are Super Bowls. For the overwhelming majority of the public, this is a day to rank the commercials, grade the halftime show, and eat enough trans fats to make a goat nauseous. But one thing it is not, is a place to invest any kind of passion in the game itself.
Here's a modest proposal. Let's start playing the Super Bowl at the home stadium of the team with the best record. Imagine this Sunday, instead of playing on the fast tracks of Arizona, in front of an audience text messaging in between martinis, the Patriots had to prove their worth in the Frigidaire of New England. Imagine if the fans were those same beautifully hate-able minions that have been slogging to Foxboro all year. Imagine the excitement as the Giants would attempt to win a fourth straight game on the road. Imagine Eli avenging the Mannings in front of the Foxboro faithful (and just imagine…I'm from New York). Instead both teams have become scenery, some athletic bursts of poetry around which to sell us erection medicine, beer, and tires that are allegedly being produced by African child labor.
But exhilaration just isn’t part of the program. Like a burly sous-chef pounding a chicken breast into flattened submission, the audacity and excitement of the great game of football have been pummeled out of the contest. A great way to avoid dangerous over-stimulation this Sunday would be to take five hours… and watch the game.
(Dave Zirin is the author of the book: "Welcome to the Terrordome: The Pain, Politics and Promise of Sports" (Haymarket). You can receive his column Edge of Sports, every week by going to dave@edgeofsports.com. Contact him at edgeofsports@gmail.com )
Green Front Royal?
Editor:
Alternative energy will work, but only with energy conservation. During the public hearings concerning the town's decision to invest in a coal fired power plant, several statements were made suggesting that investments in alternative energy can not power Front Royal's future. Wind and solar do not produce enough power to sustain our current rate of energy consumption. However, we can make the transition to these forms of energy possible by reducing our energy use. We all need to make sacrifices to use less.
Front Royal, our county seat needs to take the lead on the issue of conservation and set an example for the citizens of Warren County. Our public schools, libraries, and transportation need to be designed to use less energy. We need leadership that recognizes that investing in a coal fired power plant does directly impact the future health of our children, our beloved parks, and the quality of our drinking water. Is it morally right for us to degrade the health of our fellow citizens in Illinois just so that we can pay a couple cents less on our energy bills? Would the town council invest in the plant if the coal were strip mined from our mountain vistas in Warren County?
I urge everyone to take ownership of this issue and not simply write off efforts to save ourselves through our environment as a pipe dream. Show our leaders that we will take action to conserve even if they won't. I applaud the efforts of organizations like the Tree Stewards and individual citizens like Leslie Fiddler for their constant public efforts towards conservation.
Larry Scislowicz
121 Oak Ridge Drive
Front Royal, VA 22630
[Letters to the Editor are welcome and may be e-mailed to editor@warrencountyreport.com Letters must include the authors real name, address, and phone number.]
February 02, 2008
Landmark county political figure Stuart Rudacille dead at 81
By Roger Bianchini
Warren County Report
His distinctive strong facial features framed by meticulously groomed white hair and moustache became for many the defining face of Warren County politics during a 20-year tenure on the Warren County Board of Supervisors from 1984 to 2003.
Browntown resident and long-time Independent South River District Supervisor Stuart Rudacille passed away at the age of 81 early Friday morning, Feb. 1, at Mont View Nursing Home in Luray.
According to Rudacille’s daughter Susan Bell, her father had been scheduled to transfer to the new Hidden Springs Assisted Living Center closer to home on Buck Mountain in his native South River District the day he passed away. Rudacille had been battling myriad health issues in recent years but retained his interest in life, local politics and his district to the end.
“I think the whole community is saddened by the passing of Stuart Rudacille, he’s a landmark,” first-term South River Supervisor Linda Glavis said. “People have known him for many, many years as a supervisor for the South River District, a farmer and just a friend to many people here not only in the South River District, but also Front Royal, Bentonville and all of Warren County. He will be sadly missed.”
“A dollar worth of service for every dollar spent – that was his motto,” Bell said of her father. “Dad, Becky Poe – they were the Constitutional memory of Warren County, they really were. We were with him when we heard she had died. I’ve been thinking a lot about that today,” Bell said of the passing of another South River stalwart of this community, NVD journalist, Warren Sentinel editor, Warren Times publisher, local historian and personal friend and mentor to this reporter, Rebecca Poe.
Stuart has always been the ultimate concretive,” Shenandoah District Supervisor Richard Traczyk said. “He worked hard for a very long time to protect the rights of his constituents. I have never known Stuart to be anything but a truthful county gentleman, which explains why he was so well respected in the community.”
“Nobody represented their constituents any better than Stuart represented the South River District,” County Administrator Doug Stanley said. “He was a 24-hour supervisor. You could call him any time of night and he’d answer the phone and he’d listen to your concerns … so he was always on the job when he was a supervisor and he always had the interests of his constituents at heart. And he really sought to make sure government worked with the people.”
Stanley fondly recalled the push then Board Chairman Rudacille gave him as a young county official in 2000.
“He was chairman of the board that appointed me to the county administrator’s position. I was joking earlier, but he really would come in and see me every day and try to convince me I was the right person for the job [of county administrator], that I could handle it and those types of things to get me to put my application in. And I sincerely appreciate the opportunity that board, and particularly Stuart gave to me professionally. He respected people and let them have their say. And if he disagreed with you, he disagreed with you but he always listened.”
Whether you were on the same page with him on a specific issue or not, Stuart Rudacille’s was a kinder, eminently more forthright – honest some might say – political face. Perhaps it was the face of a bygone era, the face of a gentleman farmer turned to politics out of concern for his community, rather than out of ego, profit or pontification.
Yes, Stuart Rudacille and his kind will be missed to a degree most of those left behind may not fully appreciate for years to come.
Stuart Lawson Rudacille
Stuart Lawson Rudacille, 81 of Front Royal died Friday, February 1, 2008 at Page Memorial Hospital.
A funeral service will be held on Monday, February 4, 2008 at 2:00 p.m. at Maddox Funeral Home conducted by Rev. Dr. Carlysle Crank. Burial will follow in Prospect Hill Cemetery.
Mr. Rudacille was born March 8, 1926 in Warren County son of the late Raymond and Ruth Lawson Rudacille. He was a graduate of Warren County High School Class of 1944. Stuart retired as a farmer and was a member of the Warren County Board of Supervisors representing the South River District for 20 years, serving as chairman of the board during his final term. He was a school bus driver, driving the same route for over 39 years, and was a contributor the 4-H program at the Warren County Fair. Mr. Rudacille was a member of Agape Baptist Church in Browntown.
Surviving are his wife Petsy Holt Rudacille; two daughters Susan Rudacille Bell and her husband John of Front Royal and Lillian Rudacille of Charleston, SC; one sister Anna Rae White of Front Royal; and two grandsons James Bell and John Richard Bell
Pallbearers will be Doug Stanley, Doug Napier, William Royston, Jr., Ronnie Clegg, James Bell, and John Richard Bell.
The family will receive friends on Sunday, February 3, 2008 from 7:00-9:00 p.m. at Maddox Funeral Home.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Warren County Council on Domestic Violence, c/o Rita Biggs, P.O. Box 1831, Front Royal, VA 22630 and the Shenandoah Area Agency on Aging, 207 Mosby Lane, Front Royal, VA. 22630.
Mr. Rudacille was born March 8, 1926 in Warren County son of the late Raymond and Ruth Lawson Rudacille. He was a graduate of Warren County High School Class of 1944. Stuart retired as a farmer and was a member of the Warren County Board of Supervisors representing the South River District for 20 years, serving as chairman of the board during his final term. He was a school bus driver, driving the same route for over 39 years, and was a contributor the 4-H program at the Warren County Fair. Mr. Rudacille was a member of Agape Baptist Church in Browntown.
Surviving are his wife Petsy Holt Rudacille; two daughters Susan Rudacille Bell and her husband John of Front Royal and Lillian Rudacille of Charleston, SC; one sister Anna Rae White of Front Royal; and two grandsons James Bell and John Richard Bell
Pallbearers will be Doug Stanley, Doug Napier, William Royston, Jr., Ronnie Clegg, James Bell, and John Richard Bell.
The family will receive friends on Sunday, February 3, 2008 from 7:00-9:00 p.m. at Maddox Funeral Home.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Warren County Council on Domestic Violence, c/o Rita Biggs, P.O. Box 1831, Front Royal, VA 22630 and the Shenandoah Area Agency on Aging, 207 Mosby Lane, Front Royal, VA. 22630.
February 01, 2008
Town trades energy price stability for commitment to coal
Officials from AMP-Ohio, Town Manager Michael Graham, second from left and town Energy Director Joe Waltz, far right, sign contract purchase agreement commiting town to helping fund construction of new Ohio Valley coal-fired power plant in exchange for locked in electric purchase rates. The plant is forecast to go on line in 2011. Photo by Roger Bianchini. Copyright 2008 by Warren County Report.
Contribution to AMP-Ohio power plant approved over environmental concerns
By Roger Bianchini
Warren County Report
Hearing only limited public opposition – two speakers – and despite a call by two councilmen for proactive efforts to seek alternative energy sources to already polluting coal-fired plants in the Ohio Valley, the Front Royal Town Council moved forward on a 40-year energy contract with AMP-Ohio on Jan. 28. The motion to approve the contract passed 4-2, with Stan Brooks and Eileen Grady dissenting.
The contract propels the town into a municipal association designed to help fund construction of a new American Municipal Power electrical generating plant in the Ohio Valley. In return for their financial commitment to the AMP-Ohio project, forecast to come on line in 2011, participating localities have been promised locked-in energy purchase prices that will not fluctuate wildly with future market variables. That is supposed to translate into lower costs for customers over the long haul.
Stung by an energy market fluctuations that radically raised its power costs two years ago in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, a council majority reasoned better safe than sorry in purchasing a base source for 30 to 40 percent of its future power needs.
However, Councilmen Stan Brooks and Eileen Grady joined Public Hearing speakers Tom and Kristen Adams in asking at what actual cost such “safety” was being sought.
Her young child in tow, Kristen Adams told council coal has been identified as “the dirtiest fuel source” and linked Ohio Valley coal-powered power plants to “the haze we see over the Skyline Drive.” She linked coal pollution to issues with the health of the Shenandoah and other rivers in the Shenandoah Valley and pointed to the destruction of communities economically linked to the coal mining industry due to arsenic byproducts being dumped into the sources of their water supplies.
“While that is happening in Appalachia, they are our neighbors … There is no reason to be in a hurry, I ask you to do the right thing,” Adams told council.
Her husband was more succinct.
“We try to avoid being engaged with such things, but fools and their follies, sometimes they take you with them,” he pointedly told council.
In voicing the majority opinion and trying not to appear “a fool” leading anyone toward folly, Bret Hrbek predicted coal would remain the major source of American energy for years to come.
“I continue to say it is far off to be able to use alternative sources as the primary source of our energy needs – “I don’t expect to see it in my lifetime,” council’s youngest member said. Hrbek also cited improvements in coal industry emission levels since the 1970s.
Responding to a question from Vice-Mayor Tim Darr, town Director of Energy Resource Management Joe Waltz pointed out that the AMP-Ohio agreement to provide for about 30 percent of the town’s base power needs did not preclude the search for alternative energy sources to help provide town power. Waltz said coal provides 50 percent of the nation’s base power needs, with alternative sources providing 12 percent. And of that 12 percent, Waltz stated that hydro, or water generated power, still accounted for an overwhelming 10-percent of that number.
“We can still look at alternative power sources, wind, biomass, solar – but that is still only providing a small portion of that 12 percent of alternative energy supply,” Waltz observed of the current energy marketplace.
Waltz was recently giving his current title in the wake of the town renaming its Electric Department, the Department of Energy Resource Management. Waltz was serving as the town’s Director of Public Utilities and was originally hired as head of the Electric Department.
Council opposition
Brooks and Grady reiterated earlier points they had made at a December work session on the AMP-Ohio plan.
Brooks joined the rest of council in lauding Waltz for exploring energy options to prevent a recurrence of the town’s 2006 energy cost surge.
“But what is the real cost – to the health of our citizens; to the planet as a whole; to the future??? It’s hard to calculate these things. And this is a small blip on the radar of the entire discussion [nationally and internationally]. We all have our own moral decisions to make – not to say anyone on council is immoral. But what is the incentive to move away from coal as an energy source if we are still funding the building of these plants with a 50, 60-year life span? I think we need to demand something different,” Brooks concluded.
In stating her opposition to the contract, Grady cited Hrbek’s reference to the “pipe dream” of a significant rise in alternative energy sources in the foreseeable future.
“Think of all the pipe dreams this country and the world have had, all the inventions no one previously envisioned that have changed the world … We need to be problem solvers. We as a society need to expect better … If we don’t say ‘no’ now [to coal as a primary source of power] it will never change,” Grady said.
Wind and waste options
While Gene Tewalt said he believed the contract addressed current realities, he added that the town could be in a position within “a few months” to pursue wind power as one option to provide a source for some of its bulk power needs.
Last the year the town attracted some initially negative response when it acknowledged exploring the possibility of contracting with a company that builds plants that burn solid waste to make energy. That company, Energy Answers, claims its process is environmentally friendly and has been successful in environmentally sensitive areas, including the midst of cranberry bogs in Massachusetts.
It would seem that when it comes to the acquisition of power, you’re damned if you do and damned if you don’t pursue the path of least resistance.
Opinion: DON’T Get Tough, Barack
The punditry has been telling Barack Obama that it’s time to take off the gloves: Be mean, act tough. But historian James Grossman says that Obama is showing us another way.
By James Grossman
History News Service
Don’t do it, Barack. The pundits have weighed in, and they’ve reached a consensus: it is time to take off the gloves. “Time to get mean,” as one Chicago columnist puts it. “Democratic War!” screams the headline in New York. The media have concluded that the Clintons have gotten serious, and it’s time to show how tough you are. Time to demonstrate that you aren’t as “soft” as you have seemed.
Well, this is not the National Basketball Association, where a player who’s deemed “soft” can drop a dozen slots in the draft. You play basketball, Barack, so you know why it matters underneath the basket. But this is not the NBA. Or the NFL. This is politics, where getting tough and acting tough matters not because it has to matter, but because people say it matters. But maybe it doesn’t. And maybe that’s the new politics that you are talking about.
It goes beyond politics to policy. One of Jimmy Carter’s biggest mistakes as president came when he listened to the pundits who told him it was time to get tough. He seemed weak. “Never seem weak” ran the conventional wisdom. So Jimmy Carter exercised American muscle in Nicaragua and destabilized its politics. George Bush is one tough honcho and showed us how tough he is when he gloated over his possession of Saddam Hussein’s gun. Yes sir. We are big, strong and tough.
The conventional wisdom goes further. Not only does one never show weakness, but one never talks to foreign potentates you don’t like unless you know from the outset that the result will be a win. Don’t want to embarrass yourself. Don’t want to legitimize that tinhorn dictator by talking to him. It’s better to maintain the arrogance of American power and let the world know that we talk to whomever we want, whenever we’re ready.
This was the policy that you questioned many months ago. The pundits declared that it showed your inexperience, but instead it demonstrates why you’ll be a president who at least has a chance to restore our standing in the world. We are, perhaps, the world’s most hated nation. Or close to it. This is the challenge for our new president, and you’re the one most likely to change that. Not because you’re black. Not because you went to school in Indonesia. Not because of who you are, but because of your approach to politics.
This is why you understand that to stick our Democratic heads into the sand and refuse to recognize that Reagan brought new ideas to Washington is to carry partisanship to the point of foolishness. Reagan did have new ideas, new ways of thinking about government. You were right to remind us of that. It’s good history, and it reflects a willingness to give credit where credit is due. It’s also called generosity of spirit, a characteristic that is precious scarce in Washington. And it also is called learning from the opposition, one of the major qualities of good leadership.
So don’t do it, Barack. Don’t get mean. This isn’t war. You believe you’re the person most able to defeat the opposition in November and to provide a new approach to leadership. Hillary Clinton sincerely believes that she deserves the opportunity. The two of you generally agree on most substantive issues. By August you’ll need to work together. And a year from now, at least one of you will likely still be in the Senate, playing an important role in bringing change to Washington.
So let’s do it differently this time. Let’s acknowledge that we have two strong Democratic candidates, both of whom are decent individuals fully capable of governing. This is the politics that you stand for and stand by. It’s not war; it’s not about who’s the toughest dude on the court. A strong leader listens, collaborates and understands the virtues of generosity and collegiality.
James Grossman is the author of “Land of Hope: Chicago, Black Southerners, and the Great Migration” (1989) and a writer for the History News Service.
No tolls on I-81 without Assembly OK
Obenshain I-81 Bill Passes Transportation Committee
From a release:
RICHMOND - On Thursday, the Senate moved one step closer to banning VDOT from imposing tolls on car and truck traffic on I-81 without General Assembly approval.
With only one dissenting vote, the Senate Transportation Committee advanced a bill introduced by Senator Mark D. Obenshain (R-Harrisonburg) that would require VDOT to come back to the General Assembly for approval before tolling any portion of Interstate 81. Obenshain told the panel that the recent toll proposals being advanced by VDOT would have had devastating effects on commerce and on the agricultural character of the I-81 corridor, particularly upon the Shenandoah Valley. Obenshain said that "Tolls have been proposed as high as 15¢ - 17¢ per mile on cars, that would force families to dig deep in their pockets to pay for the commute that is common in many Valley and western Virginia households. The tolls on trucks could have been so steep that they would have driven trucks off of the interstate and through the cities and towns through which Route 11 passes."
Speaking to the bill's success, Obenshain stated, "I am encouraged by the Committee's decision today and believe it will help to prevent unelected authorities from levying burdensome tolls on the residents and commuters of the Valley."
Under current law, the Commonwealth Transportation Board and VDOT are able to enter into agreements with road builders involving elements of tolls without the consent of the Virginia General Assembly. Obenshain's legislation will require that any proposals for tolls on Interstate 81 must first come before the General Assembly.
The bill received near-unanimous support among legislators on the I-81 corridor. The Chief Co-Patron of the bill is Senator John Edwards (D-Roanoke). The other Senators who signed on as co-patrons of the bill were Senators Wampler, Deeds, Newman, Puckett, Vogel and Smith.
"The support for this legislation is far-reaching," said Obenshain. "Industry, local governments, agriculture, conservation groups and common citizens agree that no tolls should be implemented on I-81 without first gaining approval from the General Assembly."
The bill also is supported by a broad coalition of citizen, environmental and business groups, including the Virginia Manufacturers Association, Virginia Conservation Network, Virginia Poultry Federation, Shenandoah Valley Network, Virginia Trucking Association, and the Virginia Farm Bureau.
The bill passed the Transportation Committee with only one dissenting vote and will now move to the Senate floor for consideration there.
Town moving toward final Amended Comp Plan
Roads and how to pay for them, future residential densities remain at issue
By Roger Bianchini
Warren County Report
At the forefront of new amendments offered at the Jan. 28 meeting were the deletion of references to both revitalization of the historic downtown business district and the vision statement guiding the town’s entire Comprehensive Plan.
In raising the issue of deleting those two items, Councilman Bret Hrbek pointed out that council’s directive for reconsideration of portions of its Comp Plan specifically cited the Happy Creek area to the east of downtown Front Royal. Hrbek has been a recent critic of downtown Historic District guidelines on architecture and has gone so far as recommending the dissolution of the Board of Architectural Review that oversees those standards. However, on Jan. 28 Hrbek said his issue was simply that references to downtown and a vision of future growth for the entire town were outside the physical parameters of the study area now on the table.
The “vision bullets” cited for deletion by Hrbek or rewording by other councilmen read: “The historic, quiet, small town living environment of Front Royal should be retained for existing and future citizens” and “The historic downtown should be revitalized as a central business district.”
Deputy Town Manager for Planning Nimet Soliman explained the inclusion of the town vision statement as a reference point for how the planning commission and staff approached their assigned task related to the Happy Creek area.
While the reference to the vision overview was made before her tenure began, Soliman suggested that with some rewording those references remain as an explanation and reference point – “Otherwise someone would not know what the planning commission was looking at in recommending its changes,” she told council.
While initially conceding Hrbek’s basic point on physical parameters, following Soliman’s explanation Stan Brooks argued to retain the reference to an overall town vision.
“The planning commission needed some guiding principals to make the suggested changes. They had to tell us what principals they based their decision on,” Brooks said. He called the vision statement discussion “splitting hairs” but added, “I’m not going to fall on my sword over this” in seeking overall approval of the Comp Plan changes.
A series of motions were offered to either strike all vision statement references or reword them, and to delete the downtown business district references. Ultimately a council majority appeared to agree to delete the downtown business district reference in its entirety; failed to delete the entire vision statement from the amendments; and agreed to send the “Vision Statement” portion of the amendments back to the planning commission for rewording – I swear that’s what happened … I think.
Finally, council voted 5-1 to approve the Comp Plan Amendments as further amended by council on Jan. 14. Hrbek was the lone dissenting vote, arguing to delay the vote until the reworded vision section was received.
Sound familiar?
Included in the approved amendments were a series of motions offered after the Jan. 14 Public Hearing addressing residential densities and the addition of a new east-west connector road to transportation priorities in the Happy Creek area. Inclusion of that east-west connector road paralleling Happy Creek Road to the north running between Commerce Avenue and Shenandoah Shores Road (Route 606) came after lengthy public comment on road inadequacies made primarily by Happy Creek Industrial Park area business owners.
Other road improvements already addressed in the amended plan are the long suggested Leach’s Run Parkway to serve as a north-south connector road between John Marshall Highway and Happy Creek Road; a flyover of the Norfolk-Southern Railroad tracks and Happy Creek Road connecting Leach’s Run Parkway to Shenandoah Shores Road; improvements to John Marshall Highway itself, as well as improvements to Route 606 and its intersection with Happy Creek Road. Also referenced, though council noted it had little control over, was an interchange with I-66 in the vicinity of Route 606.
Soliman told council that while Leach’s Run Parkway has been at the top of the town’s future road needs for some time, the improvements to Shenandoah Shores Road and its intersection with Happy Creek Road sought by area businessmen could be bumped up the priority list. Soliman also said while Leach’s Run Parkway is envisioned as a four-lane road, it could initially be constructed as two lanes due to cost restrictions and planned for later expansion.
With the need to connect Happy Creek Road traffic southbound accentuated by the opening of the new Warren County High School on Westminster Drive this year, the impetus for Leach’s Run Parkway has increased. However, council has also discussed a one or two lane connector between Westminster Drive and an existing neighborhood road, possibly Sycamore Lane, as a stopgap measure to connect Westminster Drive to Happy Creek Road.
Background
Comprehensive Plan changes to bolster the current council’s conservative stance on future residential growth has been in the works for over two years in the wake of a joint town-county planning study, or charrette, of the Happy Creek area in 2003-4. That joint study was initiated before the housing market boom collapsed as regional and national builders, most notably Centex, eyeballed the area along the town-county eastern boundary for development.
The charrette consultants recommended a future buildout of about 1,500 units on vacant Agriculturally zoned town-county land in the area based on existing zoning by-right buildouts and existing and anticipated transportation needs. The charrette estimated the existing by-right buildout at around 1,200 units, primarily on town land in the Happy Creek area.
Based on that recommendation the county became involved in a lengthy negotiation with Centex on housing numbers, cash and road infrastructure proffers based on the charrette’s conclusions. At the same time the town moved to downzone much of its vacant land in the area and place other restrictions on future buildouts in an effort to minimize future growth in the area.
Consequently over the past two years town-county relations spiraled downward over growth issues, most notably the extension of town water for potential clustered buildouts still in the negotiating stage before the county planning staff. But before push came to a final shove between the municipalities on what was the best course of action on growth options, the aforementioned housing market tanked. By December 2006 Centex withdrew its county building proposal still on the table at 1,862 units, down from an original proposal of 2,400.
Interestingly, the town council now finds its own planning staff recommending consideration of the same type of proffer negotiations on increased residential buildouts to pay for road improvements the county was once engaged in with Centex. Such improvements to the Happy Creek road network were cited as crucial by a number of Happy Creek area business owners during Comp Plan Amendment Public Hearings at both the planning commission and council levels.
At least one of those owners, AirPac’s Arthur R. Behnke, said he would consider relocating his internationally distributed manufacturing operation out of the area if transportation improvements weren’t put on the front burner by the town.
At a Jan. 22 work session, Councilman Eileen Grady suggested the town do its best to honor previous commitments on road improvements, even if those commitments predated the current council and staff.
“We want them to know we hear them,” Grady said of including Comp Plan references to business owner’s transportation concerns.