So far, it looks like the closing of Tabor during the day has been ok. Also, the groundbreaking ceremony for the Crozet Streetscape is 1 April at noon.
Thanks to the Outgoing Crozet Arts Board Members
guest post by Melissa Morrisson, Board Chair, Crozet Arts –
At the completion of their terms, Crozet Arts would like to thank the following Board Members for their service to Crozet Arts as inaugural members of the board: Emily Mora of Crozet, Scott Neisser of Free Union, and Vasantha Reddi of Crozet. We would also like to welcome new Board Member Carolyn Lawlor of Batesville. The Crozet Arts Board was formed two years ago by Founders Sharon Tolczyk and Mollie Washburne. Crozet Arts is your community arts center (located behind the Field School) so if you are hearing of us for the first time stop in or visit our website at crozetarts.org.
Recapping the CCAC Meeting – 20 March 2014
Lots happened at the Crozet Community Advisory Council Meeting on 20 March 2014. Click through to read the embedding of the tweets from the meeting. Hopefully you find this helpful. I hope I captured everything accurately; between my tweets and Tim’s, there are 118 tweets in this story.
– 13 members of the public attended. A relatively huge crowd.
– More members of the public are needed to tweet. Really. Please?
– Brief update on Barnes Lumberyard development. In short: process is ongoing, comments going back and forth between developer and county. CCAC wants to stick to the master plan. The focus is said to be on bringing employment centers to downtown Crozet. But what kind? Suggestions?
– A brewery may be interested in building in Albemarle County, specifically in Old Trail. NOTHING is set or proposed; it’s merely a conversation at this point. But bringing in 376 jobs would be an outstanding addition to Crozet.
– Would some neighbors from Old Trail please attend these meetings? We’d all benefit from more participation from our neighbors.
– Lots of good conversation at this meeting.
Continue reading “Recapping the CCAC Meeting – 20 March 2014”
People Love the Crozet Library
“The number of people coming through its doors jumped 93 percent from when the library was crammed in its old home. Circulation is up 70 percent.”
Crozet Pizza Pourhouse is Open
The Crozet Pourhouse is soft-opening right now.
Short story from my conversation:
– Pizza by the slice
– Local beer
– Same hours as Crozet Pizza
– Open now for the NCAA tournament
– Gorgeous space
– Reclaimed wood throughout
– Used much of the original floorboards for the bar. It’s beautiful
– Several big TVs
– Live music coming in spring/summer
Go. It’s beautiful.
CCAC Meeting – 20 March 2014
Who’s up for tweeting what should be a really interesting meeting? (bolding in the agenda below is mine)
CROZET COMMUNITY ADVISORY COUNCIL The Meadows, Crozet (5735 Meadows Dr.) Thursday, March 20, 2014 from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Agenda
Agenda Review. (Meg Holden – CCAC chair)
Approval of Minutes from January 16, 2014 meeting.
Project Updates/Information:
– Library updates– Bill Schrader
– CCAC officers and new CCAC members
– Any Streetscape issues – including how we can continue to support local businesses during this time
– Restore-n-Station
– Acme Visible records
– Update and discussion of Downtown development (Barnes Lumber Property), pursuant to email with county comments
– Discussion of commercial development in Old Trail
News concerning area schools which affects development area.
Future meeting date and place (library) – Bill Schrader.
Items not listed on the agenda.
Announcements.
Future Agenda Items.
Rise of the Machines: Western Albemarle High Robotics Automates County
Guest post by Brian Cohen.
Have you heard the increasing whirring and buzzing in the past three years? It’s not the cicadas. It’s the robots. They’re here, and they’re taking over schools, thanks to a local group of dedicated and self-described geeks—uh—roboticians.
Western Albemarle High School’s Robotics Club was founded by a small group of students and counselor Caroline Bertrand in 2011. Not only has WAHS Robotics worked hard to advance two teams (Loose Screws and Geek Gods) to the state championship robotics tournament every year since it was established, it has also led a movement to introduce the interdisciplinary science to other schools throughout the county and Charlottesville.
WAHS students and mentors have trained five teams at three high schools and worked with budding engineers at middle and elementary schools, teaching them the fundamentals of robot design and basic programming.
They also persuaded the Charlottesville Boys and Girls club to introduce robotics to over 150 children.
It’s no accident that Western is the nexus of central Virginia robotics; it’s a self-reliant facility that provides crucial resources for students interested in mechanical, computer and electrical engineering. Once the Screws and Gods know the tasks their machines must accomplish to win a particular year’s competition, both teams use animated, 3D CAD programs to design their robots. Then they assemble stock parts ordered from robotics suppliers and fabricate custom components by various techniques, including casting aluminum in a forge or turning it on a lathe, or 3D-print plastic components in the classroom.
If WAHS Robotics sounds more like an enterprise than a school club, that’s because it is. To fund the design and building of the robots, competition entry fees and travel expenses, plus lots of pizzas for meetings and 11th-hour pit-crew overhauls, the club spends approximately $6,000 per year. Most of the money comes from educational and corporate sponsors (such as UVa Engineering, Rockwell Collins, MITRE, SEDNA and SRC) and parents. Unfortunately, it’s not enough. WAHS roboticians have appeared on radio interviews at WINA’s Rob Schilling Show and WMRA‘s The Spark with Martha Woodroof and were featured on both CBS19 and WVIR29 newscasts to talk about their program and appeal for sponsorships.
For more information on WAHS Robotics or to sponsor the club, visit http://wahsrobotics.com
editor’s note: NBC29 reports that WAHS’ club is going to the nationals. Thanks to @PamMoran for the tip!
Tabor Street Closing During the Day 17 March
Update 19 March 2014 – It snowed. Now the closing will happen, for real, 19 March.
Barring no snow on Sunday and Monday ….
TABOR STREET DETOUR CONFIRMED FOR MONDAY, MARCH 17TH
Detour signals major milestone in the Crozet Streetscape Project
The closure of Tabor Street is confirmed for Monday, March 17th. As previously advertised, the closure will occur between 8:00 AM and 4:30 PM Monday through Friday for approximately two weeks. Signage has been in place since Monday, March 10, notifying motorists of the closure.
Continue reading “Tabor Street Closing During the Day 17 March”
CCA Meeting Tonight, 13 March 2014
From the CCA newsletter:
On our website, CrozetCommunity.org. is the agenda for tomorrow’s (or today’s) Thursday, March 13 meeting. We’re pleased to welcome Albemarle County Police Officer Andy Gluba, to talk about community policing, safety, and preparedness. We also welcome Kim Guenther, the new Crozet Park Board President, to tell us their plans for their new subcommittee structure and a day-long volunteer event! Of course, we’ll have a delightful Moment in Crozet History from our own Phil James and updates and news from our White Hall District Supervisor, Ann Mallek. So come, bring a neighbor or co-worker who lives here.
Find us on Facebook and Twitter!
The Crozet Community Association (CCA) now has both a Facebook page and Twitter account. We’d be thrilled if you would friend us on Facebook and and follow us on Twitter.
Last meeting’s minutes and this meeting’s agenda will be posted on our website (http://crozetcommnity.org).
Wondering – What is Crozet’s Daytime Population?
Reading this story at NPR, I wondered –
– What is Crozet’s daytime population?
– What are the things that Crozet needs, besides employers?