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To the Editor:
Too many folk have got their panties in a bunch for no good reason.
Future (maybe not next month) WMC Bosses meetings will be videoed if you bring your camera. If not in the courtroom, then elsewhere.
For a fact, the “old” Bosses did not want to be videotaped. When I asked them, four years ago, to have their meetings videotaped, they had several reasons to deny my request. My only memory is that Woody Hynson said that members would play to the camera. Do they not play to the observers and the press? I would not have to resort to memory if these meetings had been recorded. I was,of course, ignored as usual.
Making the same request to the School Board elicited the comment by Dr. Wallace (at the time not chairman) that nothing could be more boring than their meetings. Perhaps, but if I wanted to look back at a meeting where they decided how to spend the bulk of my local tax dollars, I think I should have that right. If I could just have had that opportunity, would my memory be trumped by the tape?
Unfortunately, Bob Quinn (Westmoreland resident) and the WECOUNT folk were not in the county at the time. At least it seemed that way. I was by myself as usual.
To be fair, the “new” Bosses have never been formally asked to allow cameras. They were recently ambushed by folk who previously had no interest in county affairs. Ever play “Gotcha”? The reaction was reactionary, as it should have been. Did anyone approach their supervisor to explain why 200 years of past practice should be altered? If so, contact this newspaper and put your name on this short list.
My guess is that the three “new” supervisors will immediately agree to videotaping. If not, then you vote them out. It makes no difference if the two old Supervisors agree or not. They had their chance to be relevant. They blew it. I expect them to repent.
To wrap this up, W&L will get their new concession stand and a field house, (but not before the first game), all for far less than the $80,000 Superintendent Fogliani requested for the concession stand alone. Why does our elected SB allow this sort of craziness? It calls their competence or oversight into question. SB, if I am off base, tell me.
What is with this county? Parents and elected officials alike allow W&L to go without adequate facilities. Folks, it just ain’t that hard to do the right thing! Wake up Westmoreland County! We can’t let George do it! He left two centuries ago!
“Butch” Foutz
Oak Grove
To the Editor:
Based on my recent visit to what was the only free public boat ramp in Colonial Beach, Va., Sunday, Aug. 23, I see the city has now imposed a parking fee of $5 for my truck and $5 for the boat trailer. I have been coming to this free ramp for years and never paid any fee to park. If the ramp is actually free, and you have to pay to park, then it’s no longer a free ramp!
The existing area for parking only holds 6-8 truck/trailers and also holds 4”-6” of standing water in it for days after it rains. The ramp itself is shallow at low tide and very difficult to launch/load a boat. The street light over the ramp has not worked for over a year and one of the existing two piers at the ramp is closed due missing decking. Even with all these issues, it was still the only free access ramp on the lower Potomac River, and I would never complain about any of the conditions.
No visible signs indicating a parking fee or how much of a fee was present at the ramp when I launched my boat at 5:45 a.m. Upon return, I had a Parking Permit placed behind my wiper indicating I was to pay the attendant $10. Shortly after loading my boat, the female parking attendant pulled her golf cart in front of my truck and waited for me. I validated she was the parking attendant who had placed the slip on my truck and asked why/when Colonial Beach instituted a parking fee. Response was it began four weeks ago and the only explanation for why was “we have too many people and too much trash.” Confused at the response, I asked where the signs were indicating the parking fee and she pointed to the white block building across the road from the ramp and said there were signs for the fee posted on the side. You can’t see this area from the ramp, nor would you have any reason to go over there to look.
For the town of Colonial Beach management:
I would pull my boat there from Stafford, buy fuel, by bait, eat breakfast sometimes before launching and maybe get a sandwich when I departed. I would also use the car wash to clean my boat every time and even stop and buy a couple vegetables from the roadside stand in town. And now you want to charge me $10 to park in the water-logged parking lot and use the trashed unmaintained ramp? I will make sure that I communicate your efforts to curtail incoming dollars to the local businesses and also to the state government and Marine Resources Commission for restricting the use of the ramp. If this does not get resolved by Sept. 5, 2009, then I will begin conducting my assessment of the situation with the Colonial Beach-imposed ramp fee on all the local marine Web sites and any travel site that refers to Colonial Beach so people are well informed of it prior to arrival.
Michael Meier
Fredericksburg, Va.
To the editor:
Will town ban fun at the Beach? You have got to be kidding. What is the town council thinking?
Town councils of the past have taken away everything for our town children to do. And now you want to take away more from them, but also from the adults of the town and our visitors.
How many complaints have the council actually received and from what citizens? Are they only from those that live along the beach front? I am so sorry, but when you built or bought your home along the beach front, you should have been aware that the beach was a public beach. Granted, you shouldn’t have to worry about picking up someone else’s trash. But the trash cans along the front need to be emptied more often than they are during our busy season, or put more trash cans out.
As for finding fish hooks in the sand. How does Carol King know they came from people fishing from the beach? What about the boats that have people fishing from them? Their lines get tangled into something, the line breaks and they lose their hooks. The tides do come in and with it, it brings things that are in the water. You know like trash, fishing lures/hooks and sometimes whatever is in their on-board toilets.
People bring their families to the beach to have a good time. And when they come they do bring food for them to eat, and games for their kids to play on our beach. If you take away all the fun at the beach, then what reasons do people have to come to Colonial Beach? So now you have no visitors and no one to spend money at our local businesses.
In the past years I have seen our beach with a lot more people than what I have seen in the last few years. And there was never any problem with groups playing volleyball, throwing a Frisbee or eating.
As for Roy Gaither, get a grip, close the whole beach to everyone. Let’s get real here. You own the property across the street from the beach you don’t own the beach. And what is with Carol King’s comment “bring in a class of good people.” How do you know what class of people are using the beach now? Every citizen in the town of Colonial Beach pays taxes, and should have a say in what is done or what restrictions should be placed on our beaches. NOT just those that live on the beach front.
It sounds, once again, like certain people that live at the beach would have all children seen but not heard, and with nothing to do. So once again they can complain about them being on the streets or hanging out. Again, I have to state that Colonial Beach can NOT survive on Social Security alone. You need the working people of the beach to keep the beach alive and prospering.
I urge every citizen to attend the next town council meeting and fight the town council and safety committee on taking the fun away from our beach. Let them hear all of our voices, not just those few. Because if we don’t then they will get their way, and once again our kids are the ones to suffer. But this time so will our local businesses.
Donna Harbaugh
Colonial Beach
To the editor:
I want to address an issue for us on St. Anthony’s Road. SPEEDING.
I called the School Board office. I called the high school and was told once off school property nothing could be done. I talked to the sheriff, and he said something would be done. I see a cruiser at wrong times.
We are in a school zone, the speed limit is posted 25 mph, I have seen county officials, buses and cars hot rodding up and down, and people who use this road need to slow down. There are six children here, small ones in our area. I don’t let my three grandchildren out due to this problem and the others feel the same way!
Please drive 25 mph. Will nothing be done until someone gets hurt? Probably. That’s usually how things go in this county.
Kathy Olive
King George
To the Editor:
Let’s see some info in The Journal about the HR 2747 “Food Safety” bill which will basically make it very difficult for small farmers to sell produce at farmers market by making it cost prohibitive. This flies in the face of going green and buying local. It’s another attempt to squeeze out the small guys.
The KG Farmers Market is still in its infancy and growing. By the attendance on Saturday morning, it’s clear that the community supports our local farmers and wants fresh, local produce.
Here’s a site with more info: www.ftcldf.org/.
Linda Kline
King George
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