Take a dump... in the creek

According to TV3, the City of Staunton is dumping piles and piles of snow into Lewis Creek. Out-of-sight, out-of-mind is their attitude, I guess. Clear the streets, water quality be damned. Other cities and towns have similar "solutions" to snow removal.

In Beijing, we saw citizens popping off manhole covers and dumping snow into sewers and drains. But, that is China.

Is this a responsible way to dispose of way too much snow. Hell NO! The roads were treated with salts and other chemicals just before the snowstorm. Add in all the oils and other pollutants that regularly coat city streets. Now we have a toxic brew being dumped directly into Lewis Creek.

I know that Valley snowmelt will eventually end up in Lewis Creek and other streams and creeks. Diluted, it will make its way into South, North, and Middle Rivers and from there into the South Fork of the Shenandoah River. But, snowmelt dumped on fields (even on parking lots) will at least have some soil filtration, some dilution, some time-lag... before being introduced into our streams and rivers. While it is easy to understand why the City of Staunton is looking to take a quick dump - understand this - it is irresponsible to put chemical-laced street scrapings directly into waterways of the Commonwealth. Shame on the Queen City. How dare you city slickers criticize farmers for livestock runoff - take a long look in the mirror!

Curren to Bell "You hit it in the rough"

Dickie Bell has been saying to anyone who will listen that he is a conservative and supports only fiscally responsible policies. Well, anyone who knows Bell has questions about his history of "fiscal responsibility." Today Erik Curren called him out on the issues of fiscal responsibility, prudent city management, and failing to put public safety before the nine iron. Curren's press release:

Staunton, Va. -- October 12, 2009 -- Staunton City Councilman Richard P. "Dickie" Bell voted against building Staunton's new fire station but he voted for spending $600,000 on the city's public golf course, which raises questions for Bell's opponent, Democratic nominee for 20th District Delegate Erik Curren.

Residents of the 20th District take fire and rescue protection for granted. But when a family or business suffers the tragedy of a major fire or other emergency, their distance from the nearest fire station can mean the difference between life and death, or between damage and demolition.

"Firefighters and other first responders risk their lives daily," said Curren. "Surely we owe firefighters the resources they need to get to the scene as quickly as possible. And we owe it to our families and businesses to make sure that our communities have sufficient fire stations to keep us safe."

Curren questions whether 20th District Republican nominee Dickie Bell appreciates the importance of adequately funding fire and rescue services.

"In this campaign, my opponent has said that he would fund core services at the state level. Yet, he refused to support expanding fire protection in Staunton. Does that mean he would not adequately fund public safety, a key core service, at the state level? Voters have a right to know."

Despite Bell's no-vote, Staunton did approve and build Fire and Rescue Station Number Two on Grubert Avenue. Since it opened in the spring of 2006, the new substation has already saved lives and prevented millions of dollars in property damage, according to local officials.

When fire breaks out, every minute in response time is crucial, because a fire can double in size every 30 seconds and completely engulf a building in seven minutes. With the new substation, 96% of the city is within five minutes of a firehouse, according to Staunton Fire Chief Scott Garber.

Curiously, though he voted against the fire station, Bell voted to spend more than $600,000 to pay for a new irrigation system for Staunton's public golf course in Gypsy Hill Park. Bell himself is an avid golfer who plays at the course on a regular basis.

"My opponent's priorities seem mixed up," Curren said. "Does he consider golf to be a core service of government? My opponent seems to think that taxpayers should pay for a golf course but not for better fire protection. Voters are right to ask, if my opponent were sent to Richmond, would he put special interests and frivolous spending ahead of the public interest and core services like transportation, education, and public safety? If so, that's not fiscal conservatism -- that's fiscal irresponsibility."

Monday, Monday

This promises to be a busy Monday evening. Capturing the Valley headlines is the GOP forum and a decision, perhaps tonight, to nominate a replacement candidate for Chris Saxman who surprised all by quitting the race in the dog days of summer. There is speculation all over the place, including here, of which candidate the local party chairs will pick behind closed doors. One thing is sure, whoever is picked won't please everyone. While the 20th leans R, a split in the GOP will give the Democrat, Erik Curren, an unexpected opening and make this a very interesting contest.

Another meeting in Staunton this evening may start the discussion about the fate of the annual July 4 celebration. Back in the day, it was called Happy Birthday USA and the Statler Brothers performed along with other national names, bringing in tens of thousands of fans and lots of dollars for charities and other local causes. The parade and daylong activities continued even after the Statlers stopped performing. But, the costs of the event are rising and Staunton City Council has cut funds for next year.

Across the mountain, the Orange County Board of Supervisors will take up Walmart's invasion of the Wilderness Battlefield at a forum tonight. It isn't to late to register your views. This may be a local decision but the ramifications go far beyond and will affect Virginia tourism and our heritage.

Ringing Out the Old, Hopes For the New

New Years Eve... bad news, good news. The bad news is obviously the tanking economy and the impotent fellow still in the White House. The good news happened on November 4. Most of America, indeed the entire world, is looking forward to 01.20.09.

While the economy continues spiraling down, people seem to be raising their glasses. Sales to individuals at ABC stores increased 8.1% from July to November. While not entirely recession-proof, the business of drinking is certainly faring better than cars, houses, and eating out. Part of the increase may be due to 76 more stores being open on Sundays - on July 1, ABC stores in several Hampton Roads cities and in Richmond were allowed to operate seven days a week. About one third of the state's 333 stores are now open on Sunday. Hey, what about drinkers in Roanoke, Staunton, and Harrisonburg... is going to a restaurant their only choice to drown out another Redskins loss? 

Staunton City Council's legislative "wish list" includes a ban on using handheld devices like a phone or blackberry while driving. As a person who has barely avoided being clipped by yacking drivers on numerous occasions, I hope the General Assembly will pass this much needed legislation. Teenage drivers already face this ban, but they aren't the only idiots trying to multi-task while operating 2,000 lb. battering ram.

Stay warm and have a Happy New Year!

Trickle down

Virginia's budget woes are trickling down to localities more and more every day. CCC has previously posted on the grist shortage that is impacting local governments, schools, and families. If you are like me, you are being a little more diligent about turning off lights and switching to energy efficient bulbs when the old ones die. We've turned the temp down a couple degrees and are using the wood stove more. Actually, we've done those things already and we never go to Starbucks and rarely go out to eat or the movies. What's left?

Counties and smaller cities across the commonwealth are finding new ways to save a few dollars. Staunton has turned off lights in parking garages during the day and is setting stop lights to blink at night to save electricity. Might also save gas for motorists? The Queen City is also combing public notices in newspaper ads. Bath County is giving a serious look at a four day school week to save on transportation and heating costs. Attendance at the Virginia Association of Counties Conference in Hot Springs was way down as localities trim travel costs. Hiring freezes are in place just about everywhere... most troubling when it affects public safety. There's more in the Richmond Times-Dispatch in Rural Localities Stretch Dollars.

Virginia isn't alone in scrambling to deal with the Bush downturn... recession... depression whatever you want to call our current situation. Yeah, I think the word depression is right-on in some communities. The hardest hit states are those which enjoyed housing booms that melted down in the subprime loans - California, Rhode Island, Florida, Arizona, and others. Compounding the situation is rising unemployment just as state unemployment funds are running on empty. States that rely on tourism are struggling. Oil producing states were doing well when oil was well over $100 a barrel, but are hurting as prices have been on a downward slide. And the prospects of a dismal holiday shopping season means less revenue from sales taxes, less part time employment... bad news all around for state and local government.

So, things are tough in Virginia and our localities, but it is worse in other places. The New York Times has more in Facing Deficits, States Get Out Sharper Knives.

Valley Omelet

David Bowers was sworn in as Roanoke mayor yesterday, marking a political comeback. He'd served on City Council from 1992 to 2000 and was the unsuccessful Democratic nominee for House of Representatives in 1998. The Roanoke Times has more in "Back in the catbird seat."Joining Bowers are three new Democrats who were elected in May: Anita Price, Sherman Lea, and Court Rosen.

It was harmony in the Staunton City Council reorganization which unanimously reelected Lacy King as mayor and also chose Dave Metz vice mayor with only Dickie Bell dissenting. New on the council are Ophie Kier and Andrea Oakes. While city council elections are nonpartisan, Kier got some support from city Democrats while Oakes, who had been vocal about the "porn store," garnered support from many Republicans.

Travel across the county to Waynesboro, and all the hens weren't clucking in unison. They unanimously elected Tim Williams mayor but divided sharply over selection of the vice mayor. The so-called "new majority" of Williams, Frank Lucente, and Bruce Allen elected Lucent as vice mayor with strong dissents from Lorie Smith and Nancy Dowdy. If this "new majority" coalition holds together it will mark changes in Waynesboro's direction. You'll recall that City Manager Douglas Walker was forced to resign after the "new majority" was elected. Most of the talk coming from that trio focuses on cost cutting and changing the priorities of the city. All of them are talking about building "trust," "respect," and "unity." Could be some cracked eggs until they are successful at that.

Cuppa joe? How many Starbucks in the Shenandoah Valley are on the closing list? With an economy squeezing many families in the valley, that home brewed cup looks better all the time. In some towns and cities there seems to be coffee shops everywhere. How many can a market support? Plus, even McDonald's has upscale coffee to go with that Egg McMuffin. Starbucks success brought competition, but thinking they were unstoppable, the company probably grew too fast, too far. I don't give a cluck about the big corporate roosters, but I do feel for the employees who will be losing jobs.

Peck. Peck.