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Friday night, August 6, the Colonial Beach Chamber of Commerce will host a kick-off party on town hill welcoming the National Tour Jet Ski Races to town.  The kickoff party will begin at 5 p.m. and is open to all contestants, their crews, and the public.  According to Patrick Mell, the coordinator for the races, “We are very much looking forward to being in Colonial Beach. The Chamber has been fantastic to work with and our crews are excited about the races.”  There is also a racers’ party scheduled at High Tides Saturday night beginning at 7 p.m.

Four students, all from the Colonial Beach school district, participated in the 4-H Water Wizards Program July 7-9, 2010. The Water Wizards Program was started 5 years ago by Wendy Herdman, Extension Agent for Westmoreland and Richmond Counties.  The purpose of the program is to introduce the concept of water quality in the unique Northern Neck environment and the effect that human activity can have on water quality.  Attendance by students is free – they just have to fill out an application form and submit it to the Extension Office.  The boys — Christian Tinsley, Logan Sandy, R.J. Brann and J.W. Musselman — were treated to three action-packed days filled with information about the ecology of our local land and waterways.  There was a lot of learning taking place, but all in a fun, informal atmosphere.

On Wednesday, June 14, Colonial Beach Town Clerk Barbara Goff notified the Journal that the FOIA documents requested on June 25 were ready.  Goff further informed The Journal that the cost for administrative time spent in filling the FOIA request would be waived as it had reached approximately $200.  The decision to waive the administrative fees came about, according to Goff, from a “commitment by the town staff to serve our citizens.”   
A review of the 45 pages, which included a 10-page employment agreement and a 4-page job description for the Chief of Police position, provided no evidence as to the breakdown of contract negotiations that occurred between former police chief Christopher Hawkins and the town during the timeframe of June 10 through June 24.  

Burkett Lyburn was appointed under Resolution 27-10 to serve as vice mayor by the Town Council on a split 4-3 vote, with council members Shane Buzby, Gary Seeber and Steve Kennedy casting the nay votes.  As noted by Seeber, two years ago the council departed from years of tradition by re-appointing former council member Trish King to continue to serve as vice mayor based on a recommendation by Mayor Fred Rummage.  Traditionally, the role of vice mayor has been filled by the newest elected councilperson who had the most votes in an election.   

People on blankets and beach chairs covered the shore, and the water was filled with bobbing boats for the Independence Day celebration. See more photos in the 7/7/10 edition of the Colonial Beach/Westmoreland Paper!

See our fireworks video - press here!

(photo by Bonnie Bonnie Gouvisis)
 

The Journal submitted a Freedom of Information Act request to the Town of Colonial Beach for documents pertaining to the negotiation of an employment agreement between the town and Christopher Hawkins on June 25.  
On Friday, July 2, The Journal received a request to extend the deadline by seven days for the FOIA request citing the town had “experienced issues with our server this week delaying the completion of your request.”  The Journal was also informed by Town Clerk Barbara Goff that the costs had risen to more than $200 because of the amount of staff time spent in working on the request.

Fireworks light up the sky over the Potomac River Sunday night at Colonial Beach’s Fourth of July display. If you missed the show and skipped the crowds, be sure to check out our video of the fireworks here

(photo by Daniel A. Murray)

At a special meeting on Monday, June 28 at 10 a.m., which was recessed and reconvened at 6 p.m. Tuesday June 29, the town council named G. “Butch” Wells to serve as Interim Chief of Police. (Click Here to view video from the special meeting.)
Wells previously served as Chief of Police in Staunton, Va., for 17 years, from 1986 to July 2003, at which time he retired. Wells also served as president of Virginia Association of Chiefs of Police from 2000 to 2001. The city of Staunton is located in Augusta County with a population of 23,853 according to the 2000 census and operates under a council-manager form of government.
Major Kenneth Blevins has been in command of the police department as of June 28, which was the last day former police chief Christopher Hawkins served.  Blevins indicated the department is the “best its ever been” and they were ready to handle expected crowds over this weekend’s Fourth of July festivities.  The Virginia State Police, Westmoreland County and Charles County will assist in crowd control.