Fluvanna Online has moved to a new software package. It is now located at www.fluvannaonline.com. If you are seeing this message after visiting the exact link above, you may need to delete your cookies/temporary internet files.
CURRENT MEMBERS - TO RETAIN YOUR MEMBER NAME, PLEASE SEND A PRIVATE MESSAGE THROUGH THE PRIVATE MESSAGING FEATURE ON THIS SITE (THE OLD ONE)WITH YOUR PREFERRED EMAIL ADDRESS. I WILL THEN SET UP AN ACCOUNT FOR YOU ON THE NEW SITE AND EMAIL YOUR LOG-IN INFORMATION TO YOU.
No new memberships will be processed for the old site, only the new one. Also, the forums have been locked to prevent new posts. They are here for reference purposes only. If you want to quote something from an old post and put in on the new site, simply cut it from the old site and paste it to the new one, then highlight what you just pasted and hit the "quote" button. That's it! Don't hesitate to ask questions. You can reach us through the CONTACT US link on the new site.
Thank you for supporting Fluvanna Online.com
FLUVANNA ONLINE UPGRADING SOFTWARE - PLEASE READ
As mentioned before, I will be switching to a new software for this website in the near future. If you would like to continue your membership, please do the following:
Send me a Private Message telling me your preferred email address. Once I get the software configured, I will add you as a member using the same account name. I will provide you with a temporary password so you can gain access. Once in, you will be required to change your password and fill out your profile information.
DO NOT SEND ME AN EMAIL WITH THIS INFORMATION. YOU MUST SEND IT VIA PRIVATE MESSAGE OR YOUR MEMBERSHIP WILL NOT BE TRANSFERRED
This is going to be a brand-new website, meaning that no forum posts, news items, etc. will be transferred over. It would be a technological nightmare for me to try to transfer all of that information. What I will do, is run the old software on the server so you can access it for historical purposes. It will be locked so that no one can post messages or register as a new member. I will run the old version as long as there is a need to do so.
Now, I am sure that there will be bugs to work out with the new software. Please be patient with me as I am not too familiar with it myself so there will be a period of learning for me as well. And please remember, I am always open to suggestions on how to improve this site. You can email me at: admin@fluvannaonline.com for that.
Posted by administrator on Wednesday, October 31 @ 15:52:51 CST (69 reads)
(Read More... | Score: 0)
Fluvanna gets green light for new school
PALMYRA - After an hour and a half of discussion, the Fluvanna County Board of Supervisors voted 4-2 Thursday to spend $60 million to $71 million for a new high school, the first step of the controversial “Domino Plan.”
Chairman Cecil Cobb, Vice Chairman Thomas Payne, Charles Allbaugh and Marvin Moss voted in favor of the measure. Gene Ott and Donald Weaver voted against it.
The decision gives the School Board the go-ahead to move forward with Scheme C, which includes career and technological education space as well as a regional athletics center. The supervisors did, however, scale down the size of the proposed main gym from a capacity of 2,500 to 2,000.
The career and technical education space as well as the various athletics facilities will go out for bid individually.
The measure also gave the county approval to borrow $10 million in fiscal 2008 towards the funding of the project.
“We’re doing this for the future generations of Fluvanna County,” Payne said. “We need to provide quality education in order to better prepare our students to enter the world.”
County officials hope to have the new high school completed in a little more than three years. The current high school would then be converted to a middle school and the middle school into an elementary. The overall cost of the project is expected to top $90 million, according to estimates presented at last week’s public hearing.
Proponents of the Domino Plan say the project is necessary to accommodate projected population growth.
Dozens of Fluvanna residents crowded the courthouse in Palmyra to witness the vote. A round of applause occurred after the vote was taken.
According to data presented to the supervisors at the public hearing last week, Scheme C has an estimated cost of $75 million. Moss said that the supervisors approved $60 million to $71 million as a way to encourage the School Board and designers to keep costs down.
“We delivered a message to the School Board, public and ourselves by doing that,” he said of the cost ceiling.
The new high school will be able to accommodate 1,750 students and could be easily expanded to hold 2,500. The current enrollment figure at the current high school is 1,173, according to Superintendent Tom Smith.
The hefty price tag of the new school is what concerned many opponents of the plan.
Weaver said he does not think the county can afford it.
“I am alarmed with what is going on in this county,” he concluded.
Some opponents fear that tax increases to fund the project will be overly burdensome on county residents, especially senior citizens with fixed incomes.
Allbaugh tried to assuage those concerns.
“We realize the tax impact this is going to have on people,” he said. “It’s going to require fiscal discipline. We’re going to need to put some of our growth money into capital reserve so we can save money for debt service.”
He also said that he would favor expanding the tax relief program for seniors.
Many opponents of the plan argued that a new middle school, rather than a high school, should be built. Enrollment numbers show that the middle school is already over capacity while the high school is not.
More than 50 county residents spoke at last week’s public hearing, which lasted more than three hours and was cut off at midnight despite angry protests.
PALMYRA - Approval for a new high school in Fluvanna County will have to wait for at least one more week. An emotionally charged public hearing ended around midnight without a vote having been taken by the Board of Supervisors.
Before adjourning, the supervisors set a special meeting for next Thursday to continue looking at the issue. According to chairman Cecil Cobb, time for public comment will be allotted at the end of that meeting.
On Thursday, over 50 Fluvanna residents stepped up to the lectern to express their feelings about the new high school project - the first step of the "Domino Plan."
Under that plan, the current high school will be converted into a middle school and the current middle school into an elementary school.
The new high school is expected to cost either $69 million or $75 million, depending upon which design is chosen by the supervisors.
The overall plan is expected to cost over $90 million dollars.
"This will be the most important vote of my 12 years as a supervisor," Cobb, who will be leaving the board after the election in November, said.
Many county residents who spoke were concerned with where the money for the plan would come from.
"My taxes could double from this and I can’t afford to fund this plan," said Carrie Wigal of Cunningham.
Several senior citizens said that, due to their fixed incomes, they would not be able to afford a hefty tax increase.
Numerous speakers called for a public referendum on the Domino Plan, an idea supported by supervisor Donald Weaver.
Supporters of the Domino Plan made their voices heard as well. Jason Davis, a math teacher at Fluvanna High School, delivered one of the more passionate speeches of the night.
"I’m scared of the taxes too but we need to suck it up because the children of this county are too important not too," he said. "Raise my taxes. Our children are worth it."
Other supporters of the plan expressed frustration that the new high school project has not been given the go-ahead yet, despite the fact that the Domino Plan was first approved in 2003.
These years of inaction have led to the cost of the project to increase, supporters of the plan said.
"I’d like a little less talk and a lot more action," said Lisa Hoffman, quoting country singer Toby Keith.
The meeting ended in chaos around midnight. Weaver and Gene Ott did not support a motion to extend the hearing to 1 A.M. The hearing had already been extended once an hour earlier.
The adjournment drew the ire of those still in attendance. Many began to chant "Vote" repeatedly.
Vice-chairman Thomas Payne was disappointed by the adjournment.
"We can’t keep putting this off," he said.
A Fluvanna woman was shot repeatedly in her Lake Monticello home Saturday evening, and the shooter was believed to have committed suicide.
The victim was shot two or three times around 6 p.m. before escaping to a neighbor’s house, investigators with the Fluvanna Sheriff’s Office believe.
Once authorities responded to a 911 call from the neighbor’s home, they found another woman at the scene of the incident. It appeared she had shot herself in the head with the same .38-caliber pistol used in the shooting.
Rescue workers tried to save the woman’s life, but she was pronounced dead shortly after their arrival.
The victim in the shooting was flown to the University of Virginia Medical Center for treatment. Her condition was unavailable late Saturday, but Cpl. David Wells of the Fluvanna Sheriff’s Office said her injuries did not appear to be life-threatening. Her wounds, he said, were mostly in her extremities.
The woman was conscious and briefly spoke with authorities before she was taken to the hospital, Wells said.
Authorities did not release the identity of either of the women, pending the notification of the next of kin. The pair shared the residence in the Lake Monticello subdivision, but Wells said it was too early in the investigation to discuss their relationship.
He was uncertain what prompted the shooting. “I don’t want to speculate until I have more details,” he said.
No one else was believed to have been in the house at the time of the incident.
Fluvanna authorities were continuing their investigation late Saturday night.
ICE CREAM TRUCK ARTICLE: TURKEYS IN THE STRAW, BY JENNIFER ZAJAC
Turkeys in the Straw
Released 09/27/07 for the Fluvanna Review and reprinted with permission by Jennifer Zajac
They’re big. They lure our children out into the dangerous streets. They dispense to people of all ages caloric, fatty, heart attacks on sticks.
I speak, of course, of ice cream trucks.
Ice cream Drivers In Our Towns must be Stopped. That’s the name and motto of the new group I’ve just formed, IDIOTS for short.
Some folks who live in a Candyland fantasy world think that these vendors represent pleasant memories of warm summer evenings with kids congregating over Creamsicles. If you believe that, then your head’s the consistency of Mister Softee’s.
Back in March, husband and wife duo Jim and Diane Welsh contacted the Lake Monticello Owners Association about operating their ice cream truck in the gated community. There is no law requiring them to do so, but since they live at the Lake, they thought it would be the neighborly thing to do before dishing out their weapons of mass consumption: Bomp Pops.
The Board shot them down, told them it was illegal to solicit such novelties in the subdivision. When legal eagles informed the Board that such is not the case, a hearing was held about the matter in May.
Several sugar-smitten families wrote letters and e-mails to the Board expressing their support for Mobile Munchies, the name of the enterprise. Other communications to the Board advocated freezing out the ice cream truck. "This is a fertile market and I don’t like the idea of a plethora of vendors here at the Lake," Board member Chuck Johnson said at the meeting, the Fluvanna Review reported June 7.
Yes, imagine all the other mobile businesses that would prey on our youngsters and seniors if the gates are raised for such enterprises: All the other non-existent competing ice cream vendors in the area; the Bookmobile; perhaps the dreaded Brocollimobile.
Board member Ed Seroskie expressed concern as well. "I’m very skeptical about liability claims … It will create litter and a nuisance from the bell ringing to residents ... I encourage fellow Board members to vote no on the proposal." Seroskie said.
Indeed, the muted recording of "Turkey in the Straw" that emanated from the ice cream truck that wheeled around our neighborhood on hot summer nights when I was a child dished out a heap of confusion for me. For years, I thought the lyrics were "Turkeys Need to Thaw," which, of course, makes no sense at all.
Speed is also an issue when it comes to these vehicles. Trucks like the one the Welsh family operates cruise around at a whip-lashing 5 miles per hour, just enough to lure customers out of their homes yet mortally wound unsuspecting insects lounging on the asphalt. If we could eradicate all the ice cream truck vendors in the country, many innocent street slugs might be saved in our lifetime.
The Board of Directors "directed staff to draw up an agreement with Jim and Diane Welsh to operate an ice cream truck within the community, incorporating provisions that address Directors' stated concerns about safety, liability, schedule, location, etc. The agreement will require a favorable legal opinion and Board approval," according to the Summer/Fall 2007 issue of Lake Monticello News.
According to Peggy Alexander, communications manager at Lake Monticello, the Board worked with the solicitation and contract review committee to draft an agreement “that would address the serious safety concerns of operating an independent commercial mobile business on privately-owned narrow roads without sidewalks.”
Sure, garbage trucks, large construction vehicles and 18-wheeled moving trailers navigate these roads daily, not to mention joggers, walkers and cyclists. But we all know that roads contract under the weight of ice cream vehicles.
At first, the agreement did not appear to be a snow-cone job. "The Board was basically agreeing to open up discussions with us regarding the use of the truck," Diane Welsh told the Fluvanna Review. "At that time, we believed that the rest that followed would be straightforward and move along quickly. We even did a few runs with the truck in the neighborhoods outside the gate, and were very well received.”
Indeed, in a moment of reckless, foolish abandon that my Puritanical ancestors (if I had any) would scorn, my son and I were among those who chased down the truck and bought ice cream. Miraculously, we made it back to our house.
But word got back to the LMOA about the ice cream truck doing business, so the Board's attorney sent the Welshes’ attorney a letter demanding that they cease operation immediately until a contract was in place. “What became very clear was that the May 24th meeting was just the beginning of negotiations," Welsh said.
The Welsh family did not receive the contract until late July, so they had already missed half the summer season. Diane noted that while some of the terms of the agreement are very reasonable, "there are other conditions that seem very arbitrary and unfair, making us very reticent to sign it as is," she said. "Not only are they asking us to pay a large licensing fee and only permitting us to run the truck for six months out of the year, they want the right to be able to stop us from operating for no reason at all. A major part of our difficulty is that, as it now stands, there is no rule against running an ice cream truck in the community, so rightfully, we should be allowed to operate our business just as the dozens of other people who live at Lake Monticello do without interference or fees, or fear of being shut down."
When asked for a response, LMOA’s Alexander said: “LMOA has made a good-faith effort to work with the Welches; however, the principals of LMOA are legally bound to perform in the best interests of the Association and community, with the primary obligation of ensuring the safety and well-being of all residents.”
Treasurer Scott Meiss was among the few LMOA officials that did not object outright to the sweet treat vehicle. "I don’t see the problems or issues that others see [about the ice cream truck business], but sometimes I think it’s just change that people don’t like," he said at the May 24 meeting.
Ah, but ice cream trucks are old school; they're certainly not new. Banning them from the block is what's different. While Albemarle and surrounding areas welcome ice cream vendors, Lake Monticello doesn't fall in with those drips. No sir, when a bell rings, Lake Monticello residents don't come a-running like a pack of Pavlovian mutts.
Diane Welsh said that the LMOA's contracts committee has contacted them regularly asking how the family wants to proceed with the contract. "Since their contract stated we could only run until the end of October, it doesn't seem likely that all this will fall into place before then, so we are hopeful that during the winter we can come up with terms that are agreeable to both sides, with the Board feeling like their concerns are heard and addressed and with us being able to run our business in the community," she said.
This is the adult version of Cinderella. The Stepmother, played by the responsible, logical Board of Directors, recognizes the frivolity of balls and ice cream. Rather than appear mean-spirited and inconsiderate by saying no outright, conditions and chores are heaped on to the point where going to the dance is impossible.
Now there's a happy ending. Or, at least, a real ending. Because let's face it: Good Humor and gated communities like Lake Monticello go together like a Toasted Almond and Metamucil.
Jonathan Kirby, a Lake Monticello police officer and candidate for Fluvanna sheriff, has asked the Virginia State Police to investigate a vandalism incident involving his personal vehicle.
“Lake Monticello [Police] is investigating, but I’m contacting the State Police because of a possible conflict of interest,” said Kirby.
On July 19 Kirby stepped out of his Lake Monticello home that morning to get in his police car when he noticed his Ford truck covered in eggs.
“In my 18 years of doing this, I’ve never seen so many eggs on one vehicle,” he said. There were five vehicles parked in his driveway that morning and his truck was the only vehicle hit. Kirby’s truck advertises his candidacy for sheriff.
Kirby didn’t drive his truck again until almost two weeks later when he set out for Charlottesville and his truck died leaving the Lake Monticello main gate. He had it towed to Battlefield Ford where mechanics discovered a severely damaged fuel system and some kind of sludge in the gas tank. They guessed it to be sugar and powdered chlorine. The damage came to $3,000. Any vandalism that exceeds $1,000 is a felony.
“I don’t know why it happened,” said Kirby, “You tend to make enemies in law enforcement and I’ve probably upset some people because of my campaign,” he said.
If you have any information on this case, please call the Special Agent Overholt of the State Police at 1-434-352-3443.
"
Posted by administrator on Thursday, September 13 @ 14:58:58 CDT (61 reads)
(Read More... | Score: 0)
Still Searching for Missing Fluvanna Man
On the morning of Sept. 1, 2004, Jesse Hicks kissed his wife and told her to say goodbye to their daughter for him.
“He told me he’d see me that afternoon,” Nancy Hicks recalled.
That was the last time she saw her husband. Three years later, authorities are still searching for the Fluvanna County man, and are investigating the case as a possible homicide.
In the meantime, both the Sheriff’s Office and Hicks’ family are hoping someone will come forward to claim a $10,000 reward offered for information leading to Hicks’ location.
“We believe strongly that there is somebody out there who knows his whereabouts,” said Fluvanna County Sheriff Ryant Washington.
Jesse Hicks, a self-employed tractor-trailer driver, was not driving the truck the day he went missing, his wife said.
After he left the house that morning, Jesse Hicks saw some acquaintances in the area, Washington said.
The sheriff didn’t elaborate, but said the people who saw Jesse Hicks that day were all people he normally interacted with.
That’s where the trail goes cold. When her husband didn’t return home as planned, Nancy Hicks started calling friends to see if they’d seen him. Then she reported him missing.
Given the amount of time that’s passed and the circumstances of his disappearance, investigators are treating the case as a possible homicide, Washington said.
“We have a lot of people of interest, but no suspects,” the sheriff said.
On Sept. 5, 2004, authorities located Jesse Hicks’ Ford pickup at an unofficial park-and-ride off U.S. 29 in Nelson County.
Nancy Hicks said she couldn’t think of a reason for her husband to be in Nelson that day.
Afterward, authorities searched some quarries and other areas near where the vehicle was found.
They renewed that search this summer, again searching a quarry near the border between Albemarle and Nelson counties, Washington said.
The searches were done as sort of a double-check, and weren’t prompted by any new information in the case, Washington said.
That hasn’t stopped the rumor mill from swirling, Nancy Hicks said.
In the past three weeks, rumors about the case have “basically covered one whole portion of the county,” Washington said.
Nancy Hicks said people have called her at home and approached her in public, asking if someone had been arrested or if her husband’s body had been found.
“They’ve named names,” she said.
Washington says both allegations are untrue, though he didn’t discuss details of the investigation.
“Behind the scenes, a lot of things are happening,” he said. “We truly are hoping for a breaking point.”
In the meantime, Nancy Hicks says she holds out hope that her husband will return to her and her two daughters.
“You still go home and think, ‘Maybe today he’ll come home,’” Nancy Hicks said.
Anyone with information about the case is urged to call Crimestoppers at 977-4000 or the Fluvanna County Sheriff’s Office at 286-3642.
Occasionally, I receive letters to the editor (or webmaster in this case) and ask that they be posted. Letters that I receive that I feel affect the good of the community are posted, especially if the content will foster some good discussion that probably needs to take place. Normally, the name of the writer is withheld from publication, but is known to the site administrator so I know that they are legitimate residents of our community. Fluvanna Online does not endorse any statements made in letters submitted. If I do, it will be clearly stated!
Members are encouraged to comment on any letters posted by clicking the appropriate link at the bottom of the story. -admin.
The Straw That
Broke the Camel’s Back
Have you heard the expression
about the straw that broke the back of the camel? The letter to
the editor entitled, “I Disagree!” July 18, 2007 delivered the final
straw for me. I disagree with almost everything that was said
in “I Disagree” and I got the feeling that it was the writer of
the article who was grandstanding and had a personal agenda.
For six years I have been an
armchair viewer of the annual LMOA members’ meeting. Every year,
fewer citizens take advantage of speaking during the member comment
period. It appears that we are down to one last man standing always
followed by a speaker who says something to the effect that everything
said by the previous speaker was not right.
If the writer of “I Disagree!”
was truly paying attention, he would have noted that the first speaker
offered specific and documented issues in the five minutes allotted
to him. The second speaker was allowed to refute them, without
detail or reference, with a general “He is mistaken.” The
situation sure cried out for an equal exchange of ideas so that members
could draw their own conclusion.
The annual meeting lasted only
an hour, was not rebroadcast, and was not reported properly in the Fluvanna
Review. When quoting a portion of a speaker’s comments, it is
essential to report on the main points of such comments. In my
opinion, the Review writer did not hit the main points when reporting
on the Schiff proposal meeting or the recent annual meeting of the members.
The writer of “I Disagree”
wrote, “The one common denominator with all of these governing bodies
(except my wife) is I understand the process and the procedure to express
my disagreements.”
Please allow the writer of
this article to elaborate on process and procedure. The process
for members to exercise power is presented in Bylaw Article 4.01.
The bylaw reads, “The annual
meeting of the members of the association . . .”
You read it correctly! It states, “The annual meeting of the
members.”
The members’ meeting is not
just another board meeting. I lived in an HOA before moving here,
and I have seen the members’ comments last for an hour with a detailed
printing in the association newspaper.
It is a civic responsibility
for members to be involved and to speak during the members’ meeting.
I guess what upset me most about the aforementioned article is that
it appeared to be taking another swipe on freedom of speech. Regular
readers on this site will recall that about a year ago, a member who
often writes about financial matters. received an unsigned letter mailed
from Charlottesville telling the person to keep quiet.
The writer of “I Disagree”
went on to list all the avenues that are available to Lake Monticello
residents to express viewpoints. In my opinion, this was the weakest
part of his argument because both of the speakers at the recent members’
meeting attend board meetings, have served on numerous committees, and
have given hundreds of hours of service to this community. But
even if they had not so served, is the writer implying that members
should not speak at the annual members’ meeting.
Most people understand and
appreciate the fact that the Board and committee members spend endless
hours and should receive our thanks for service. If we are honest
with ourselves; however, it is easy to realize that there is for whatever
reason, a serious drive for a few to maintain power. If more help
was desired, the plan to reduce the size of the board from 9 to 7 would
never have been considered.
The best way to maintain power
is to control speech and press and that is all tied up tight in this
community. I assume that the local newspaper tries to get the
details correct but I have noticed several mistakes recently.
What we need is an independent newspaper where all sides of issues can
be discussed on a level playing field.
The State law that governs
communication in communities like Lake Monticello reads:
“The governing body shall
establish a reasonable, effective, and free method, appropriate to the
size and nature of the community for owners to communicate among themselves
and with the governing body regarding any matter concerning the owner’s
association.”
We spent a lot of money for
information; for the most part, it comes from one computer. There
is still not a platform from which members can discuss the various sides
of issues. Even worse, there may be an agenda to discourage member
participation.
This is America where free
speech and press are encouraged. We have a Declaration of Independence
and Constitution which provides us not only the right to speak out against
error but the responsibility to do so. At Lake Monticello, we
denounce apathy but kill the messenger.
“Everyone is in favor of
free speech. Hardly a day passes without its being extolled, but
some people’s idea of it is that they are free to say what they like,
but if anyone says anything back, that is an outrage.” Churchill
Regarding the Schiff proposal
meeting, the Fluvanna Review quoted all the speakers except the member
who gave the history of the governing documents and that presentation
was the most relevant.
The last speaker for the proposal
said that Mr. Schiff should be compensated if he was not allowed to
do the subdivision as requested. I wanted to ask her, “Who would
compensate all of us 4,000 plus owners for liability, stress on infrastructure,
demands on staff time, wear-and-tear on roads during construction, pitting
neighbor against neighbor, possible legal precedent damage, etc.”
Lake Monticello seems to always
have the ability to land on its feet. We have dedicated volunteers
and several involved citizens who continue to do whatever it takes to
look out for the members’ welfare.
Anyone who studied “management”
in the ‘50s and ‘60s studied Mary Parker Follett who introduced
the term “conflict resolution” (later changed to “conflict management”
by some of the practitioners of the art) to the study of organizational
management. A useful quote from her might be:
“There are three ways of
dealing with difference: domination, compromise and integration.
By domination only one side gets what it wants; by compromise neither
side gets what it wants, by integration we find a way by which both
sides may get what they wish.”
Obviously, the “in group”
must listen to and integrate the “dissenters” into a study of an
issue. “Shooting the messenger” is NOT good management.
For me, the letter to the editor
was the final straw.
