Recapping Brownsville’s School Board Forum

Last night was a fun forum at Brownsville. The White Hall and At-Large candidates for school board made some time to lay out their positions and reasons for running for school board.

First thoughts:

I was thisclose to leaving out my opinions, but can’t help myself. The tweets are after the break; I highly recommend you read those.

  • Unless convinced otherwise, supporting/advocating for the county school system building their own private internet is reason for me to disqualify the candidate. Why, exactly, is Albemarle county building their own internet?
  • Supporting SOLs in their current format is reason to disqualify the candidate.
  • Colleges don’t look at SOLs, to the best of my knowledge. This seems to be a baffling & upsetting statement. (stated here as well)
  • I appreciated Dolly Joseph’s thoughts on technology, “hitting it with a technology stick” and her pushing back on the 1:1 technology ratio. We do live in a relatively affluent community (relatively!) – giving kids who already have devices is wasteful. (my opinion: and stupid).

As a friend said last night on Twitter:

I’m glad we all have chance to watch presidential politics tonight, but we’d be a better country if more people paid attention to local govt

Truth.



Read the tweets.


 

 

Big Crozet Weekend – 9-10 October 2015

Lots of stuff this weekend in and around Crozet: (see everything at the Crozet Calendar)

1 – What’s missing?

2 – Submit your own event – it takes less than 60 seconds.

White Hall School Board Candidate Forums – 2015

It’s a bit weird to be having a contested election. And nice! There is much more than School Board on this year’s ballot, but local elections are where our votes can matter the most.

There are various forums coming up for the White Hall School Board candidates. If I have any information incorrect or missing, please let me know or correct me in the comments.

6 October – The Crozet Elementary PTO is hosting a candidate forum

7 October – “From the Daily Progress: White Hall School Board Forum at Henley Middle School Cafeteria 6:30-8:30 PM (doors open at 6).”

13 October from 6:00 to 6:45pm: The Brownsville PTO is hosting a forum

13 October (waiting for confirmation) the CCA is holding a candidate forum – probably from a bit after 7pm until ..

Charlottesville Tomorrow’s education reporting has been top-notch.

Curiously, the Virginia State Board of Elections page’s most recent election results are from 2003(!) for the White Hall School Board seat. During that election, 3,770 votes were cast. As of 2010, Crozet’s population was 5,565 people; I’d wager we’ve added at least 500 people since then.

In an election with this relatively few voters, these votes matter.

 

Getting Ready for Joaquin

It’s going to rain. We might need one of these. Seriously, if power does go out, flooding happens, etc, I’ll do everything I can to keep the RealCrozetVA twitter updated and will retweet as needed.

Evan Almighty's Ark
Evan Almighty’s Ark

The Red Cross has a good (pdf) checklist.


 

Some tips:
Don’t drive under the railroad bridge on Crozet Ave. 

Expect trees to come down.


Check on your elderly neighbors. 

Prepare for extended power outages.

Hope the breweries stay open 🙂
And:
Movies for the kids, beer/wine for the parents?

 

The Newsplex says:

Hurricane Joaquin remains a Category 3 hurricane with sustained winds of 125 miles per hour and gusts up to 155 miles per hour. The latest forecast path from the National Hurricane Center is similar to previous forecasts in taking the storm east of the DelMarVa Peninsula but the overall track has shifted to the east. Such a scenario would reduce the impact on central Virginia, but by no means is this forecast finalized and definite. Joaquin is still a threat to both the Mid-Atlantic and Atlantic Coast and will continue to be monitored in the next several days.

We’re having a good conversation on the RealCrozetVA Facebook page about how to be prepared for what is likely to be a remarkable amount of rain over the next few days.

Some useful tips:

What are the other known flood areas around Crozet?

  • I know that the intersection at Crozet Avenue and Tabor becomes challenging at times. Also, the right turn off of 250 on to Crozet Avenue at the stoplight.
– If we get the worst case scenario we might see flooding in places that we normally don’t. Some places that come to mind are the corner of Tabor and Crozet ave, there is a spot along Mint Springs Road …we could have problems under the bridge on Crozet Ave if drains get clogged or can’t handle the volume.
Things to get:
– Coffee, water, matches and candles-check. One large bin of back up water for flushing
–  I buy tea lights in bulk at World Marker. 6 hr. burn, and safer than other options.
– Great Valu has some eco friendly ones…I say eco friendly because they don’t have something bad candles have..my brain forgetting what:) but anyway display next to organic soaps on end aisle near register…I’ve used them.

Continue reading “Getting Ready for Joaquin”

What’s on the Ballot in Crozet this Year?

Election day is 3 November, 2015. Now’s as good a time as any to learn who’s going to be on the ballot.

Start here; the Virginia Department of Elections has a pretty good site.

For the first time in I don’t know how long, we have a choice for our School Board rep; neither of whom is the incumbent.

White Hall School Board: David Oberg and Caroll J. “C. J.” Hatcher are competing.

At-Large School Board seat: Dolly R. D. Joseph, Catherine M. Lochner, J. S. “Jonno” Alcaro

More at the excellent CvillePedia’s page.

Click through to see my sample ballot (I live in the Brownsville district) — there are some big elections, namely the school board, Commonwealth Attorney, Soil & Conservation … dig in, and please, please please, be an educated voter. And a personal request: if you’re not going to be said educated voter, consider not voting.

 


Continue reading “What’s on the Ballot in Crozet this Year?”

Let’s find this stolen bike, Crozet [Update: FOUND!]

Update 28 September 2015:

The bike has been found!


 

 

via facebook:

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Dear Crozet Friends, Owen’s bike was STOLEN out of our YARD last night. It’s a Fuji, 21-speed mountain bike, Thrill SE, blue, 17 inch frame (I think), disc breaks, and all. It’s BLUE, and the frame to me always looked really thick and sturdy, with FUJI written across it. I’m working on getting photos. Owen saved and bought this with his own money less than a month ago. If anyone has any information, please, please, let us know. Aside from that, know that someone came IN OUR YARD to steal a bike, and as you know, that’s not easy to do (no way to park on the street… they either had to actually pull in our driveway or park at least a house away, and walk through 2 yards to take it). Owen is crushed. Neighborhood friends, please be on the lookout. … We will make a police report. Owen’s bike looks a lot like this, but smaller frame.


I had my first “adult” bike stolen off my front porch several years ago; it’s a crappy feeling and I hope we can find this kid’s bike.

 

10 Years of RealCrozetVA

Wow. 10 years & 10 days ago I launched RealCrozetVA.

Lots has changed in 10 years. Lots will change in the next 10 years.

I truly hope this site has been useful.

What have been the most significant changes in Crozet – for you – over the past 10 years?

September 2015 CCAC Meeting – Piedmont Place & More

Piedmont Place in downtown Crozet
Piedmont Place in downtown Crozet

1 – Take a few minutes to read about Piedmont Place, the new building coming across Library Ave from the Crozet Library. Plans include a skybar, apartments, a market akin to the Main Street Market on West Main Street in Downtown Charlottesville

2 – Sidewalk and transportation update from Trevor Henry.

3 – Alternative plan proposed for Barnes Lumberyard from Paul Grady.

4 – Downtown Crozet planning grant wasn’t funded.

Click through, start at the bottom, and make your way up.

Continue reading “September 2015 CCAC Meeting – Piedmont Place & More”