Arts Council of the Valley awarded a total of $28,760 to 11 Advancing the Arts grant recipients during the Spring 2023 funding cycle.

Advancing the Arts grants are awarded twice each year in two categories: Arts for Education, provided to educators and educational organizations, and Creative Inspiration, allocated to individual artists. Also, new this year, is a $15,000 grant to support public art installations.

The grants support community-based initiatives in the City of Harrisonburg and Rockingham County.

“All three types of Advancing the Arts grants invest in the vital arts infrastructure of our community,” said ACV Executive Director Jenny Burden. “These awards tangibly express ACV’s continuing commitment to creative projects designed to cultivate the arts, create experiences and connect communities.”

Spring grants cover projects that occur between April 1 and October 31.

Since launching the grants program in 2001, ACV has granted more than $483,500 to area artists and art educators.

To learn more, visit valleyarts.org.

Arts for Education grants

• Joseph Arbaugh of Lacey Spring Elementary School, for More Than A Click with a Blick Printing Press; allowing students to work with collagraphs, monographs, dry-point etching and linoleum block printing.
• Jo Enke of Mountain View and Fulks Run Elementary Schools, for Music A la Carte: A Cross Curricular Musical Storytelling Project for students in grades pre-K through 5 to compose and create sound stories based on children’s literature.
• Megan Frantz Kaspar for Harrisonburg Songtuary, a group that promotes community singing through public song circles, as well as mentorship of potential song leaders.
• Harriet Flynn, Harrisonburg Parks and Recreation, for Art in the Park, a recently-concluded six-week summer series offering a variety of outdoor art projects that use nature as an inspiration for creativity.
• Amanda Gookin, Shenandoah Valley Bach Festival, for Book Notes, a storytelling hour held at Massanutten Regional Library during the Shenandoah Valley Bach Festival.
• Leeanne Shepherd, Second Home Learning Center, for a production of It’s The Hard Knock Life at Second Home.

Creative Inspiration recipients

• Jeffrey Guinn for Ink Drops, a new mural in downtown Harrisonburg highlighting the natural landscape of the area, local activities and people, as well as the history of the property.
• Aili Huber of Silk Moth Stage, to sponsor accessible tickets for underserved populations to attend the world premier of Wonder of Our Stage, a play about a Renaissance-era automaton trying to be human.
• Rachel FitzGerald for recording Spectator Bird Sings Songs for the Very Young and holding an album release show.
• Rebecca Porter for an inclusive music video titled Rebecca Porter Music Video.

Public Art Forward grant

New this year, a Public Art Forward grant was awarded to Ben Hughes and Andy Keeler for a MODdisplays Building mural by artist Laura Thompson.

The new $15,000 grant, made possible by the generosity of the Forward family, will be awarded once each year through 2025 to create a new work of public art in downtown Harrisonburg.

The next Public Art Forward funding cycle opens in Spring 2024.

The post Advancing the Arts grants awarded to 11 recipients in Harrisonburg, Rockingham County appeared first on Augusta Free Press.

Virginia State Police are still trying to get leads to get to a next step in the investigation into an alleged Aug. 6 hit-and-run that left an Augusta County sheriff’s deputy injured.

The deputy, whose name still has not been released, was traveling northbound on I-81 near the 220 mile marker at 9:48 p.m. on Aug. 6 when his Ford Explorer was reportedly struck from behind by a tractor-trailer, according to a release from the sheriff’s office.

The impact, according to the release, pushed the Ford Explorer approximately 100 feet down the interstate and into a VDOT work truck, striking the energy-absorbing bumper on the VDOT truck, and spinning the deputy’s cruiser around.

The release tells us that the driver of the tractor-trailer did not stop and fled on Interstate 81.

VDOT workers at the scene, according to the release, assisted the deputy, who was injured and unable to radio for help due to the damage to his patrol unit.

The deputy was transported to Augusta Health, where he was treated for his injuries, which were reportedly minor in nature.

There have been questions from local residents on social media about what the sheriff’s office reported in relation to the crash, with some speculating that there was no tractor-trailer involved – basically, that the deputy might have simply lost control of his vehicle, and concocted the story about a runaway tractor-trailer as cover.

Other questions raised in relation to the accident: why haven’t investigators looked at the VDOT traffic cameras to get specifics on the truck, if indeed a truck was involved; and, how is it possible that we’re more than a week having passed since the accident, and no one has come forward with information about a damaged truck showing up at a terminal, parked in someone’s driveway or being dropped off at a shop for repairs?

We reached out to the State Police to address these questions, and a VSP spokesperson got back to us on Thursday to tell us that, one, evidence collected at the scene and witness statements have led investigators to confirm that the accident indeed took place as the sheriff’s office originally reported, so, that should answer that one, the most important question.

Specifically, State Police are looking for information related to a tractor-trailer with a blue cab that has been identified as the hit-and-run vehicle.

Tips on vehicles matching that description with front-end damage can be called in to 434-352-7128 or emailed to questions@vsp.virginia.gov.

Two, on the traffic cameras issue: VDOT cameras are only real-time cameras, and do not record, so they are not an aid in investigations.

(This might be something for the state to look into down the road.)

Three, on the lack of information from the public, it does seem to stand to reason that the driver could have tried to explain away the accident as having involved not hitting another car, but rather, say, a deer or a bear, and in those situations, an employer or insurance company wouldn’t be contacting police for an accident report.

The post VSP: Truck with blue cab ID’d in hit-and-run that injured Augusta County sheriff’s deputy appeared first on Augusta Free Press.

One person is dead, and a second was seriously injured, in a two-vehicle crash at the intersection of Route 29 and Commerce Drive in Greene County on Wednesday.

According to Virginia State Police, a 2016 Ford Transit van was traveling on Commerce Drive at 11:21 a.m. when the driver pulled into the path of a 2007 Ford Explorer traveling northbound of Route 29.

The impact of the resulting crash caused the Ford Explorer to run off the road and strike a building.

The driver of the Ford Explorer, an adult male, died at the scene. An adult female passenger was transported to a nearby hospital for treatment of serious injuries.

The driver of the Transit van was also transported to a nearby hospital for treatment.

The crash remains under investigation. Charges are pending.

The post Developing: One dead in two-vehicle crash on Route 29 in Greene County appeared first on Augusta Free Press.

Update: Thursday, 2:47 p.m. All sinkhole repairs have been completed on Interstate 64 westbound at mile marker 53.8. All I-64 lanes have reopened.

Update: Wednesday, 6:42 p.m. VDOT has been able to open one westbound lane at the location of a sinkhole on Interstate 64 westbound at mile marker 53.8.

This location is just past the Maury River bridges near Lexington in Rockbridge County.

Earlier today all westbound lanes were closed.

Repairs are ongoing and are expected to last into this evening.

First report: A sinkhole on Interstate 64 westbound at mile marker 53.8 in Rockbridge County has closed all westbound lanes between Interstate 81 and exit 50.

This location is just past the Maury River bridges near Lexington.

The sinkhole was discovered in the right lane during routine maintenance work Wednesday morning.

The right lane was immediately closed with crews monitoring the site. The hole excavation work is in the right lane and extending into the left lane.

Repairs are ongoing and are expected to last well into the night.

VDOT has closed I-81 exit 191 to westbound I-64. Traffic will detour to I-81 exit 150B, take Route 220 north and rejoin I-64 at I-64 exit 27.

Motorists trying to reach Lexington can use I-81 exit 188 at Route 60, or I-81 exit 195 at Route 11.

Depending on the size, shape and location of the sinkhole, ongoing lane closures may be needed.

Sinkhole repairs include excavating the hole to determine its size and the stability of the surrounding ground before backfilling it and repairing the surrounding roadway.

The post Update: Sinkhole repairs that closed portion of Interstate 64 in Rockbridge County complete appeared first on Augusta Free Press.

The Blue Ridge Music Center is sponsoring a performance by The McKenzies on Sunday from 2-4 p.m. at Humpback Rocks on the Blue Ridge Parkway.

The free outdoor concert is one in a series of Milepost Music sessions offered at popular destinations in the national park.

Woody and Marcia McKenzie have played music together since 1983. Their variety of styles and instrumentation, strong individual and duet vocals, and repertoire of lively tunes all come together to create an energetic brand of entertainment. As former members of two clogging groups, they even incorporate a little flat-foot dancing into their performances on occasion.

Visitors are invited to bring a camp chair and sit a while to hear songs and stories about local musical traditions.

The final Milepost Music session at Humpback Rocks will feature Uncle Henry’s Favorites on Sunday, Sept. 17.

Milepost Music concerts showcase regional musicians playing traditional music at Humpback Rocks, Peaks of Otter, Mabry Mill, Doughton Park, and the Blue Ridge Parkway Visitor Center on rotating Sunday afternoons.  The programs are a collaboration between the Blue Ridge Music Center, Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation, and National Park Service.

For more information, visit BlueRidgeMusicCenter.org.

The post The McKenzies to perform at Humpback Rocks on Blue Ridge Parkway on Sunday appeared first on Augusta Free Press.

Construction will begin next week on a $10 million Waynesboro road project that will open up the new city business and industry park to potential suitors.

Finally, right?

The two-lane, 1.6-mile Waynesboro Southern Corridor, which will run roughly parallel to Interstate 64 between exit 94 and exit 96, will extend Shenandoah Village Drive east to Lyndhurst Road, follow North Oak Lane to the South River, then cross into the Nature’s Crossing Technology Center to connect eventually at South Delphine Avenue.

The new road, which will take two years to complete, has been, in effect, 12 years in the making, as part of the slow road to development of Nature’s Crossing Technology Center, which has been taking forever to spring from the dirt following the politically controversial purchase of 170 acres of agricultural land back in 2011.

City leaders dawdled for several years over what to do with the $3.475 million of scrub brush that was spent to purchase the land from the political allies of former Mayor Frank Lucente, with Lucente himself saying in 2015 that he couldn’t support efforts to partner with VDOT to build the access road needed to open up the property for development out of concern that it “may not prove profitable.

Even as the do-little political leaders dragged their feet, work was done at the staff level to keep things moving forward, pushing the road project into the VDOT Six-Year Improvement Plan in 2013, and leading to the state transportation agency approving the project to qualify for SMART SCALE funding in 2016.

The post Construction on Waynesboro Southern Corridor to begin next week appeared first on Augusta Free Press.

Emmanuel Episcopal Church on Frederick Street began preparing meals in the church for Staunton residents in 1973.

The effort was organized by Minister Jo Lotz and Martha Wilkerson. What would eventually be called Martha’s Meals on Wheels was officially born on March 18, 1973.

“I think it has operated the very same way and been successful. And the community has worked with us,” Wilkerson, who lives in Staunton, said.

They would feed anyone in need who lived within Staunton city limits.

Initially, 20 clients were served one meal a day every day Mondays through Fridays. Today, the program feeds 30 to 35 per day within the city limits, and meals are provided by Armstrong’s Restaurant in Verona. The restaurant has prepared the meals for 20 years.

“Even during COVID, they didn’t miss a single day,” said Sally Crickard, Martha’s Meals on Wheels program coordinator. The meal each day is Armstrong’s daily special.

In 2019, the program fed 4,900 and last year fed 7,700. This year, the program is anticipated to feed 7,800. The need has increased since the COVID-19 pandemic and since the public health emergency ended and SNAP benefits were reduced.

“We are so thankful for the volunteers,” Crickard, who lives in Augusta County, said.

The program has 60 to 80 volunteers. One volunteer has delivered every week since the program began 50 years ago.

“The volunteers are Meals on Wheels,” Wilkerson said.

In the summer, Martha’s Meals on Wheels purchases fresh veggies from Project GROWS to supplement meals during the week.

After serving six years on the board, Tom Compton will step down out of respect for board term limits. He will probably volunteer to deliver meals.

“It’s been an honor. I’ve met some wonderful people and been associated with something that has meant a lot,” Compton said.

According to Compton, no federal funding is used to support the program.

As the program looks into the future, Crickard said another route is necessary if enough volunteers are available and Armstrong’s can accommodate.

“It’s been a joy and a privilege to be with Meals on Wheels,” Wilkerson said.

Intake forms for clients are available online. Anyone interested in volunteering may call Sally Crickard at 540-886-1219 between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.

Donations are welcome by mailing a check to Martha’s Meals on Wheels, P.O. Box 2354, Staunton, VA 24402.

The post A full 50 years: Martha’s Meals on Wheels celebrates serving community in need appeared first on Augusta Free Press.

Rita S. Wilson was Staunton’s first Black councilwoman.

She served the city for 17 years, starting in 1991. The city’s council chambers were named in her honor in 2020.

The Wheels for Wilson Bike-A-Thon fundraiser returns to Gypsy Hill Park for a second year on Saturday, August 19, 2023. Proceeds benefit the Rita S. Wilson Memorial Scholarship, which is administered by the Community Foundation of the Central Blue Ridge.

The scholarship supports Staunton and Augusta County residents who seek to continue their education. The scholarship is open to high school seniors and adults in the workforce who, like Wilson, chose to pursue higher levels of education and new skills.

Bike riding held a special place in Wilson’s heart.

“Our family had a bicycle club called Tour De Gap,” Tony Davenport, Wilson’s grandson and bike-a-thon event chairperson, said. “That went on for 25 years. One of the things we did as a family was we rode bicycles in different cities every other weekend. My grandmother was a huge lover of this bicycle club. This was a way for me to not just raise funds, but also to pay homage to that bike club and my grandmother’s love for it.”

The Office on Youth will provide the use of bicycles for any child or adult who would like to participate but does not have a bicycle. The main loop around Gypsy Hill Park will be closed off to vehicles early Saturday morning for the bike-a-thon.

“The purpose of it is to raise funds for the scholarship by people riding around the park that morning, without any vehicles,” Davenport said. “It’s a safe environment where we can enjoy each other and the pleasure of riding a bike in an environment where it’s safe and conducive for doing so.”

And it supports a great cause.

“During an orientation, I observed my child talking to his English teacher about the upcoming school year,” Davenport said. “The teacher was Makeba Robinson. She was the first-ever recipient of the Rita S. Wilson Memorial Scholarship. She would eventually teach all three of my kids English.”

That stoked a fire in Davenport.

“Seeing this real-world tangible impact on not only my children but the whole school system gave me the drive do what I could do to help others achieve their dream of being an educator,” he said. “And what better for that than my grandmother’s memorial scholarship.”

Pre-registration is $10 per bicyclist, and is available online. On-site registration begins at 7 a.m. on Saturday and is $12 per bicyclist. The ride begins at 7:30 a.m. and ends at 8:30 a.m. in Gypsy Hill Park.

The post Bike-A-Thon honors Staunton’s first Black councilwoman, raises scholarship funds appeared first on Augusta Free Press.

A fire caused by the failure of electrical charging devices caused $8,000-$10,000 in damage to an outbuilding in Albemarle County on Tuesday morning.

Albemarle County Fire Rescue units were joined by local volunteer units at the scene of the fire, which was reported at 9:01 a.m.

The fire was contained to the outbuilding, and there were no injuries reported.

Fire prevention tips

Lithium-ion batteries store a large amount of energy in a small amount of space and can overheat, catch fire, or explode. We encourage our community to remember these safety tips when using and charging lithium-ion batteries:

• Only use the battery that is designed for the device.
• Put batteries in the device the right way.
• Only use the charging cord that came with the device.
• Do not charge a device under your pillow, on your bed, or on a couch.
• Do not keep charging the device or device battery after it is fully charged.

The post Albemarle County: Fire caused by electrical charging devices causes $8-$10K in damage appeared first on Augusta Free Press.

There might finally be a new use for the old Coca-Cola bottling plant on North Augusta Street in Staunton. But does a craft brewery with a tasting room and a restaurant fit the surrounding neighborhood?

“I’ve lived here for 20 years. This has primarily been an old school, long-term Black neighborhood with great neighbors, great people. But in the past few years, we’ve seen some gentrification in this neighborhood, and the long-time residents are upset about that, and I can understand why,” said Christie Craig, who has lived in a home across the street from the building, which a Crozet businessman, John Schoeb, wants to repurpose into being a home for a new craft brewery.

Schoeb and his business partner, Andrew Massina, have had success with Pro Re Nata Brewery in Crozet, which opened in 2015 and has grown to include a brewery and taproom, a main taproom and a premier music venue.

The building that Schoeb wants to turn into a craft brewery on the edge of the downtown district in Staunton has been vacant since the late 1970s, when Coca-Cola moved its local bottling operations to a location in Jolivue, about a mile south of the city on U.S. 11.

The city has been looking for years to find a way to breathe new life into the long-vacant building, which sits at the intersection of North Augusta Street and Churchville Avenue, across the street from a thriving residential neighborhood and the Staunton Public Library.

The lack of on-site parking at the location is a big issue for any possible reuse. The final addition to the property in the early 1960s took away any room on the parcel for on-site parking, and a 1969 update to the city zoning code made the property legally non-conforming to the city’s parking requirements.

But a 2009 update to the city code added exceptions to the required off-street parking requirements to exempt commercial buildings with little or no front, side or rear setbacks.

“At that time, the property became exempt from providing off-street parking. As a result, no off-street parking can be required for this project,” according to a report on the proposed project written by Senior Planner Rodney Rhodes and City Planner Timothy Hartless, which also notes that “it does not appear that the applicant has any definitive plan for providing parking.”

The report from the planners also acknowledges issues raised by Craig with the potential for more traffic in the immediate area.

“If the rezoning is approved, the city will need to consider traffic flow, safety at pedestrian crossings, and available on-street parking in the area,” Rhodes and Hartless wrote in their report. “At this stage of the redevelopment plan, production of beer and a tasting room should not have tremendous impact on the area, but in the future, if a restaurant is added, there could be additional traffic, higher demand for parking, and more pedestrian activity at the surrounding intersections.”

Despite the concerns, the planners are recommending approval of the project, which will come before the Staunton Planning Commission on Thursday.

The one informal caveat in the planners’ report: “Staff encourages the applicant to explore off-street parking options as the business develops.”

The Planning Commission, and ultimately Staunton City Council, are only being asked to weigh in on a request from Schoeb to rezone the 709 N. Augusta St. parcel from B-1 Local Business District to B-2 General Business District.

The reason for the rezoning request is related to the plans from Schoeb to produce beer at the location, a use that is not permitted under the current B-1 zoning.

Per the city code, the B-2 designation allows for “processing and manufacturing establishments that are not objectionable because of smoke, odor, dust, or noise, but only when such processing and manufacturing is incidental to a retail business conducted on the premises and where not more than 10 persons are employed on the premises in the processing or manufacturing activities.”

Craig, the across-the-street neighbor, has questions about the impact of bringing an on-site beer production operation adjacent to a long-standing residential neighborhood.

“What is this going to do to the water, to the air, and the noise from the production and from the music, if they end up doing that here with the restaurant? These are all things we’re going to have to deal with here,” Craig said.

The staff report from Rhodes and Hartless does note that the tasting room and restaurant uses are already permitted under the current B-1 zoning for the property, though there is a conflict with the designation for the location in the city’s most recent Comprehensive Plan update, which was adopted in 2018.

Under the 2018 Comp Plan update, the area including the former bottling plant is designated as “Neighborhood Residential.”

“While the proposed rezoning is not consistent with this designation, it is consistent with historic use of the property as a bottling plant,” the planners wrote. “Staff believes that this area should be evaluated during the next Comprehensive Plan update for a potential change. Given its location on North Augusta Street, the surrounding business uses, and the size of the building, business would be a more appropriate designation.”

Craig, in the meantime, is working to get her neighbors to reach out to city leaders to let them know that what is being planned will have a negative impact on their daily lives.

“What bothers me the most about this is that notice didn’t get sent out to residents in the neighborhood about this rezoning request. I don’t know that a lot of people here know that this is even being planned. It just seems kind of cagey to go about this in this way,” Craig said.

The post Neighbor questions impact of proposed brewery at old Coca-Cola plant in Staunton appeared first on Augusta Free Press.