The Northern Virginia Daily is a fine enough paper, but a sense of humor they lack:

Couple in May shooting to split

WOODSTOCK — Evelyn Louise Lambert is planning to divorce her husband, whom she is accused of shooting earlier this year …

Investigators testified in a June 1 hearing that …. Mrs. Lambert …. shot her husband twice in the torso after he complained about a meal she had fixed

Lambert was transferred to Shenandoah Memorial Hospital with non-life-threatening wounds, while Mrs. Lambert was sent to Rockingham Memorial Hospital with chest pains following the incident.

…. defense attorney Jim Allamong said Wednesday that [Mr.] Lambert will soon be moving into an assisted-living facility, and his client [Mrs. Lambert] and her husband plan to divorce. Also, the couple plan to sell the home and split the proceeds,

Not a much else to report on today I guess, but it’s good to hear they’re getting along better now. Some of the current political campaigns —and their supporters— could take a good, hard lesson from the Lamberts.

The good news for Mount Jackson area citizens is the Mt. Jackson Volunteer Rescue Squad’s purchase of the former Davis Tire and Auto site, both the building and 6 acres of land.

The deal allows faster response to the interstate —which accounts for well over half their calls. It’s also a safer location than the current building’s blind entrance onto Main Street; rescue vehicles crossing the sidewalk, the limited view due to parked cars, and heavy traffic at that spot.

The great news is the squad’s viewpoint of “the Tisinger property as a place where the community’s emergency units can grow together”. Talks are underway to join together with Mt. Jackson Volunteer Fire.

The new site can easily accommodate both companies. More important is the group strength gained by combining and joining forces. You only have to look at other combined emergency services to see the benefits.

Shenandoah County’s combination companies are in Orkney/Basye and Conicville. With tremendous depth of skills and personnel, they lead the county’s response rates. Combined companies benefit from the community’s renewed sense of support, and both have an amazing volume of new volunteer membership.

No matter what the basis —joint, combined, mutual, cooperative— I urge the Mt. Jackson companies to work together toward what is best for the community. Coincidentally, this is always best for the companies too.

The fund drive to finance this begins soon. Our neighborhood emergency service volunteers provide top quality service and save all of us millions of tax dollars. Please contribute generously.

What’s going on here? This poll sounds like the tail-end of a Northern Virginia pity party. In the middle of a US Senate campaign, these questions center on Virginia-only issues; specifically on state tax revenue versus spending on a regional basis.

Though mild, it’s a push poll. The interview takes about 15 minutes, a significant investment even for sparse sampling. Though I might be surprised, it wouldn’t be shocking to discover tax monies supporting this justified as ‘leveraging a return on investment’.

Northern Virginia governments get no sympathy while they balance their budgets on the backs of surrounding areas. Until Northern Virginia jurisdictions are willing to make residences correspond with industry —match employee numbers with employment capacity— all the whining and whimpering is hypocritical.

Nevertheless, this is interesting and reveals the tactics that’ll be used in next year’s General Assembly session.

Poll transcript, taken August 22, starts at the third question
Which issues are the most important for Virginia?
· Spending taxes more efficiently
· Education
· Illegal immigration
· Taxes
· Gay rights
· Fighting crime and drugs

Organizations that have been in the news recently. Please rate how influential they are to you personally? Extremely / very / somewhat / not very / not at all.
· GMU
· PEC
· VDOT
· VA Chamber of Commerce
· NVTC
· Coalition for Smart Growth
· VEDP

US Senate election. If it were held today, for whom would you vote?
· Allen / Webb
· Probably / leaning toward / neutral

How familiar are you with the recent George Allen political rally where Senator Allen called out a Jim Webb campaign volunteer who was observing the rally?
· Very / might have heard or seen something about it / not at all

If a friend of your was moving to Northern Virginia and they weren’t positive exactly where in Northern Virginia they were going to go and asked for your basic views of the area. Which of the following statements might come closest to what you might tell your friend?
· Northern Virginia is too congested, the taxes are too high; they might want to consider moving in a couple of years.
· Avoid Northern Virginia, move somewhere else and take a commuter train into work.
· Northern Virginia is a decent place but it’s crowded and expensive.
· Northern Virginia can be a great place depending on where you live.
· Northern Virginia is a terrific place to raise a family, with the schools, parks, and proximity to DC
(more…)

BACKPEDAL ALERT

After a splashy Riverkeepers™ and Waterkeepers™ press release, timed for the weekend before they ever informed any of the people they’re threatening to sue, it now looks like ‘everything is not as it seemed’.

The twenty-five page letter of intent-to-sue included apparently detailed WWTP records of the past five years. Apparently, because the Riverkeeper™ writers didn’t copy and paste accurately.

The Waterkeepers™ originally claimed the Timberville area WWTP is “… exceeding discharge limits in permit by 6,000 percent.”

It now appears that (giving benefit of doubt) the Waterkeepers™ made a math mistake, adding each month’s amount to the already-cumulative amount. A glance at their figures confirms that. Whatever way they arrived at their numbers, their claim is wildly exaggerated. Oops!

When asked about it, Riverkeeper™ Kelble replied that ‘even if the discharge numbers were miscalculated, Shaeffer [the WWTP ] still had an egregious amount of excess going into the river.’

Fake but accurate. Again? You’d think people would learn better. If you’re going to sue someone to the tune of $250,000 per day, you really need to have some grasp of the facts.

The owners of the WWTP also dispute any connection —for good reason— with the fish-kills that happened on the South Fork of the Potomac, the North and then South Forks of the Shenandoah River, and the other rivers in other states.

The Riverkeepers™ letter of complaint makes the case that this particular WWTP is responsible for the fish-kills. Now Kelble states that the plant ‘is not yet being linked to the fish kills.’ [emphasis added]

Backpedal, backpedal, backpedal.

Part 1 described the history leading up to this.

Self-appointed Riverkeepers™, members of a national group called the Waterkeeper Alliance™, say they plan to sue the owners of the North Fork Sheaffer System wastewater treatment plant.

The letter’s only local signer is Jeff Kelble, calling himself the Shenandoah Riverkeeper™. A former river fishing guide, he’s also a citizen member of the Shenandoah River Fish Kill Task Force, formed after massive fish-kills in the North and South Forks of the Shenandoah River.

Although Kelble initially praised them, the single greatest threat to the Task Force is Kelble himself.

The fish kills affect full-grown smallmouth bass and redbreast sunfish; not young and not other species. They were “not the result of an obvious cause such as a pollution spill”. The 2004 and 2005 investigations showed the river was within normal parameters — the river wasn’t in great shape, but there was less contamination than other years when no fish died.

Autopsies have been done at Virginia Tech, and analysis at the federal Leetown Science Center. The Shenandoah River’s now monitored in realtime, daily samples are analyzed, and universities are studying everything from the Shenandoah River’s algae and insects to fishes’ blood, DNA, and stress levels.

It’s a tremendous multi-discipline multi-agency effort by dedicated, talented people. After a year they haven’t pinpointed the root cause yet, but investigations are like that, and the effort has cost Virginia money.

There’s always external political pressure to end any process that’s expensive and doesn’t give quick, easy solutions. It’s so much easier to point a finger at some cause —any conceivable cause— and declare the mission was successful.

We don’t drop crime investigations because they aren’t cost effective, popular, or easy. Wrongs need to be righted; river toxins need to be identified and stopped.

Kelble’s lawsuit provides the ideal excuse —the perfect political cover— to end the Shenandoah River Fish Kill Task Force. Richmond administrators can point their fingers at the WWTP , declare victory against pollution …. and fish will continue to die from whatever’s been killing them.

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Jim Bacon is one of Virginia’s foremost pundits and promoters; but it was only hours into his vacation before Jim Bacon was gushing over North Carolina’s beauty:

“The sky is the canvas. God is the artist. And every evening he paints a new masterpiece.”

Shame on you, faithless and fickle Jim.

Several years ago, I was asked to explain —publicly— why I decided to run for office. A large part of the answer was to protect and keep what Shenandoah County has been blessed with. My opening remarks for that debate included:

“Shenandoah County is a beautiful place, a gorgeous place to live. Everyday we are treated to more of the Creator’s splendors than many people see in a lifetime.”

It is too true. Day after day, from dawn to dusk, daylight or dark; we have been truly blessed. Views of the Shenandoah Valley’s beauty inspire reverence.

Dawn	Day	Dusk	Dark
Medium-size Large-size	Medium-size Large-size	Medium-size Large-size	Medium-size Large-size

Though the mountains and valleys are my home —where I feel comfortable and the place I advocate— Virginia has an enormous variety of unblemished nature to vacation in.

For those who prefer coastal sand and surf, Virginia (that’s this state, Jim) has part of the largest undeveloped sanctuary in the eastern US. To paraphrase one of Bacon’s gushy articles:

‘Chincoteague is so remote — so far from population centers and accessible only by a single bridge — that it remains largely unspoiled. But the village is absolutely charming, not overrun with chain restaurants, t-shirt shops, putt-putt golf courses and all the other hyper-commercialized dreck that has ruined Nag’s Head and Virginia Beach. The beaches on Assateague Island are the most beautiful on the East Coast and among the most beautiful in the world: broad, white sands, unspoiled by development of any kind. You don’t need a car for anything — except to get there and to reach the beach. Otherwise you walk or ride bicycles. It’s should be one your favorite places on earth.’

For vacationers who want to glide among the wild ponies, sika deer, and rare birds of this unique sanctuary; the Cherrix family —kayak guide and rentals— just incurred enormous costs to re-assert the individual freedoms first expressed by Virginians.

Virginia still has this undeveloped jewel due in part to Jay Cherrix’s efforts. He’s recognized as one of the foremost guides with unsurpassed knowledge on the history and ecology of the barrier islands (and fishing spots); there’s no better way to support deserving people than through the entrepreneurial system.

Jim Bacon needs the vacation, the rest and relaxation. He’s apparently so overworked he’s forgotten that great state called Virginia.

On Thursday, Abraham Cherrix ’s court appeal began over his fight for self-determination in cancer treatment. It ended almost as soon as they got into the courtroom.

The Cherrix’s were appealing the Juvenile Court’s previous rulings that:
· the parents were neglectful for allowing him to use the alternative therapy,
· the parents must share custody with social services,
· the parents must give written consent to the hospital care, and
· that Abraham must undergo radiation and chemotherapy at the hospital.

The appeal, scheduled for two days in the Circuit Court, was cut short when Judge Glen A. Tyler announced both sides agreed to a consent decree he approved of.

The decree is unquestionably lopsided in Abraham’s favor. As previously detailed in ‘Behind the Scenes, the Cherrix Case’, the lower court had gone too far (way too far!) in its decision.
(more…)

Self-appointed Riverkeepers™, members of a national group called the Waterkeeper Alliance, say they plan to sue the owners of the North Fork Sheaffer System wastewater treatment plant. The letter says the plant can avoid a suit by cutting the discharges within 60 days.

The letter’s only local signer is Jeff Kelble —as the Shenandoah Riverkeeper™. A former river fishing guide; he’s also a citizen member of the Shenandoah River Fish Kill Task Force, formed after fish kills in the North (2004) and South (2005) Fork rivers.

A reliable sign of their intentions was the Riverkeepers™ splashy press release over the weekend, before they ever informed any of the people they’re threatening to sue. Another is to follow the shifting-sand politics leading up to this.

Kelble initially praised the Task Force as the “brightest fish pathologists, macroinvertibrate scientists, water chemistry experts, ag scientists, game managers and University researchers in the country.” Two months later he got the Riverkeeper™ position, assuring reporters he didn’t plan to leap into lawsuits. “I don’t want to be known as a litigator,” he said, but, he added, “I’m not going to back down if that’s what it takes.”

In mid-July, Governor Kaine met with state and local officials at Kelble’s Boyce Bed & Breakfast for a meeting on the fish kills. Two weeks later Kelble says he was no longer “waiting for the cause [of the fish kill] to be determined”; asking friends for money to “fund his work”.

And now, out pops a twenty-five page letter of intent-to-sue, full of legalese, including detailed wastewater plant records of the past five years, signed by Kelble, a Potomac Riverkeeper™, and a New York attorney.

Maybe it’s the influence of Kaine’s renege-itis rubbing off on him, but Jeff Kelble has been less than honest.

(more…)

August 2006 marks the beginning of Online Agendas for Shenandoah County. The agendas are accessed through the Shenandoah County calendar, through the Board of Supervisors page, or by way of the Committees’ pages.

Previous procedure was for agenda packets to be finalized on Thursday or Friday, and distributed to the Board of Supervisors over the weekend by the Sheriff’s Department.

The agenda packet consists of the meeting’s list of items, comments, and all supporting materials. The agenda itself is normally one to three pages; but the accompanying codes, legal opinions, petitions and letters, maps, etc added up to a hefty bundle.

Deputies’ time is no longer wasted and we save tons of paper. More importantly, Shenandoah County citizens now have full access to all the agendas and supporting material.

“… our little experiment in cyberspace has come to an end.” –Garren Shipley

The Northern Virginia Daily’s Political Depot has run its course. One of the few fair and balanced political reporters; Shipley’s online column will be missed. The ‘Daily’s main site now gives access to its lead stories, a good move but small consolation.

Hat tip to One Man’s Trash and Commonwealth Conservative.