Lovingston
Nelson County, Virginia
Go back 210 years. Yes, 210 years and you will find a unique inscription written over the balcony that the jury would see. In 1807 when the courthouse was built “Virtus – Keep God’s Commandments – Veritas” was inscribed on a wood beam there. The find was discovered as workers were doing renovation on the courtroom there.
Pretty neat find!
Born in Nelson County. Still In Nelson County : 2005-2017 Blue Ridge Life Magazine Celebrating A Dozen Years In Nelson County & The Blue Ridge
Central Virginia Blue Ridge
For over a decade folks have been using our online calendar to find out what’s happening across the Central Virginia Blue Ridge area. It’s one thing to send in an event or enter it, it’s another thing for people to really see it. Our calendar has been established for over a decade as the go to place to find out what’s happening here in the Blue Ridge.
Blue Ridge Life Magazine started our original online calendar years ago with our charter publication Nelson County Life Magazine. It’s grown ever since!
Go ahead and try it now!
Piney River
Nelson County, Virginia
For years we’ve been telling you about the Annual Chitterling Dinner Fundraiser at the Piney River Fire Department. Though they might not be for everyone, there’s plenty of other food on hand to eat too!
Above, four years ago back in 2013 our writer photographer Marcie Gates tried her taste of chitterlings! Click on fullscreen in the lower right corner of the image above to read that article now.
Thanks again to Don Haevey for sharing his photos and we’ll see everyone next year!
Parkersburg Turnpike
Augusta County, VA
Via VSP:
“At 4:17 p.m., Saturday (Feb. 18), Virginia State Police Trooper J.S. Martin responded to a two-vehicle crash in Augusta County. The crash occurred in the 400 block of Parkersburg Turnpike.
A U.S. Postal Service truck was traveling west on Parkersburg Turnpike, when it made a U-turn in the road and collided with an eastbound 2000 Harley-Davidson Roadster.
The motorcyclist, Bill F. Claytor Jr., of Staunton, 33, Va., was transported to Augusta Health, where he died a short time later.
The driver of the mail truck, Joseph T. Jackson, 51, of Staunton, Va., was not injured in the crash.
Jackson was charged with failure to yield the right of way. The crash remains under investigation.
Corinne N. Geller
Public Relations Director
Virginia State Police”
Big Island
Bedford County, Virginia
According to the Virginia State Police and reporting from WSET ABC-13 in Lynchburg, 25-year-old Candice Paige Clark of Nellysford was killed in a car accident on Friday night – February 17, 2017 in Bedford County.
For more details on the story click here for their coverage or on their Facebook page above.
Afton
Nelson County, Virginia
Afton Christian School students enjoy etiquette luncheon
By Yvette Stafford
The most important lesson teacher Kimberly Gale will teach today is a lesson on etiquette.
“I just came to realize that having good manners at a table actually makes me feel more comfortable in a formal dinner setting than uncomfortable because I know what I am doing,” Gale explained just minutes before dozens of students at Afton Christian School sat down for the school’s Etiquette Luncheon, held on Valentine’s Day.
Wearing a white and black striped dress and a bright red shawl, Gale is using this lunch break to reinforce the importance of table manners.
As the kids file into the cafeteria, staffers and volunteers pour lemonade into their cups, which sit to the right of the plate for those of us whose manners may be a little rusty.
“If you start from the outside you work your way in,” Gale reminds the students as they settle into their seats. “You start with the outside spoon, which is the soup spoon, and the outside fork which should be the salad fork and you just work your way into the plate for the various courses.”
The first of which is a piece of chicken. It’s then followed up with a soup course.
“Scoop away from you,” Gale reminds her students.
Then on to a fruit salad.
“Use your knife to cut, then switch your fork to your other hand,” she advises.
Not every child is polishing off their plate, and that’s okay, Gale says.
“Let’s try for three bites.”
But some kids are already scanning the room for the next course, a meat or vegetarian dish, to be capped off with a dessert tart. As well as these children are behaved, you would think they were born knowing how to set a table.
It’s the kind of thing any parent can fall in love with.
Via VDOF:
As wildfire season approaches, there is expected to be an increased threat in 2017 in some areas of Virginia due to a lingering lack of rain, minimal snowfall and growth in urban interface areas. More than 60 percent of Virginia’s annual average of 1,000 wildfires occur in the spring – with March and April historically being the most active months.
To help reduce the number of wildfires this time of year, the Commonwealth’s 4 p.m. Burning Law goes into effect February 15. The law prohibits open burning between the hours of midnight and 4 p.m. each day. Burning is permitted between the hours of 4 p.m. and midnight, but officials at the Virginia Department of Forestry caution people that, even though burning is allowed from 4 p.m. to midnight, they not burn if the weather conditions are such that a fire will likely escape. (Such conditions include low humidity, warm temperatures and winds over 10 miles per hour.) The law remains in effect each year until April 30.
“The 4 p.m. Burning Law is one of the most important tools we have in the prevention of wildfires in Virginia,” said John Miller, VDOF’s director of fire and emergency response. “The number one cause of wildfires in the Commonwealth is people burning yard debris and/or trash, and the 4 p.m. law goes a long way toward reducing the risk associated with wildfires each year.”
A violation of the 4 p.m. Burning Law is a Class 3 misdemeanor punishable by up to a $500 fine. In addition to the criminal violation, however, those who allow a fire to escape are liable for the cost of suppressing the fire as well as any damage caused to others’ property.As the population of Virginia continues to grow, every new home being built in the wildland-urban interface brings new challenges.
Fred Turck, VDOF’s fire prevention manager, said, “While a lot of this new growth takes place in ‘communities,’ we also have a lot of people building in traditionally rural areas. A wildfire can destroy a single home or multiple homes as we saw all too graphically last fall in Gatlinburg, TN. The continued growth in wildland-urban interface areas has led to enhanced collaboration among homeowners, local governments and the Virginia Department of Forestry.”Using the Gatlinburg wildfire as the most recent example of what can go wrong when a number of factors all align in a negative manner, the Virginia Department of Forestry is reaching out to homeowners, community leaders, fire departments, local governments and state and federal partners with an educational campaign hoping that a well-informed individual or group can make a difference.
Virginians can prepare their properties for the spring wildfire season in the following ways:* Attend community preparedness meetings;
* Follow the VDOF on Twitter (@ForestryVA) and ‘like’ us on Facebook;
* Visit the Firewise website at www.firewisevirginia.org;
* Remove all branches that touch the house, garage, shed, etc.;
* Clear all brush (tall grass, leaves, branches, weeds, etc.) within 30 feet of the home and other structures;
* Keep gutters clear of debris;
* Remove combustibles (wood, propane tanks, gas grills, motor homes, boats, ATVs and cars) from under or near structures;
* Trim branches up to 10 feet from the base of the tree and remove any vines from the trees;
* Use gravel or chunky bark for mulch;
* Install spark arresters on chimneys;
* Keep flammable plants away from your home;
* Maintain your driveway so that the clearance is at least 12 feet wide and 12 feet high, and
* Use fire-resistant materials for your roof, deck and siding projects.
Schuyler / “Walton’s Mountain”
Nelson County, Virginia
By Jennie Tal Williams
When 10-year-old Mary Beth McDonough was cast as young Erin Walton in the 1971 TV movie The Homecoming: A Christmas Story, she didn’t ever dream of being part of the national treasure that become CBS’ The Waltons. The TV show, which aired from 1971 to 1981, took Mary Beth out of her “valley girl” California life and dropped her straight into the middle of the Great Depression, right here in Schuyler.
Now, 45 years later, Mary Beth and her castmates are gathering at Schuyler’s Walton Mountain Museum to celebrate their fans and remember the man who made the Walton’s Community a possibility – the show’s writer and creator, Earl Hamner, Jr., who died of cancer on March 24, 2016 at the age of 92.
“I love Schuyler and I love Virginia and I can’t wait to see everybody,” said Mary Beth, “We love each other and don’t get to see each other enough. We’re very connected – we talk and email and text – but being together at the same time in the same place is always incredibly special.”
Mary Beth then quickly – and somberly – added that Earl’s presence will be sorely missed.
“Uncle Earl is what he called himself to us. He would call me and say ‘Mary Beth, it’s your old Uncle Earl,’” she said. “We have so many special memories of him. He really molded my life and who I am.”
Michael Learned, who played Olivia Walton, mother to the Walton clan, agrees wholeheartedly with Mary Beth – even if she and Earl had their spats from time to time.
“Earl and I become very dear friends, but at the beginning, i think I was kind of a burr under the saddle because I was constantly challenging him about the role of the perfect mother. Once, I asked him if she ever did anything wrong. He said no,” remembered Michael.
But despite the occasional disagreement, Michael remembers Earl as the man who wrote the teleplay that gave her her start — and managed his fame humbly and kindly.
“I’ll say the usual thing about Earl, which is also absolutely the truth,” she said. “He was a really nice, kind, gentle man with a wicked sense of humor, which made him bearable. Because otherwise he’d be too good to be true.”
For so many people involved with the show, Earl became more than a colleague, but a family member. Whether it was “Old Uncle Earl” to Mary Beth and the other Walton Kids or a father figure to those who worked for him, Earl was always there with a smile and a story to help you get you where you need to be.
“For me, he was kind of like a father figure — he was a mentor,” said Earl’s documentarian, creator of the documentary Earl Hamner Storyteller, and organizer of The Walton’s 45th Anniversary event, Ray Castro.
“A lot of the time I got to spend with him was listening to him,” said Ray. “Listening to his voice and the stories he told. He had some very colorful stories. You always thought of him as the John Boy character, but in reality he was just like everyone else — he had a great sense of humor and was such a joy to be with. I miss him.”
Castro went on to say, “This reunion is about Earl. To honor him. The reunion is March 24-26. Happens to be the one year anniversary of Earl’s death. It’s a celebration of life and how he impacted our lives — not only as fans, but as part of the Walton family and his extended family and that’s exactly how he made everyone feel. The camaraderie we have between fans. It expands to Europe, Canada, Germany, England. Ww have them coming from all over to honor the show and honor Earl Hamner.”
Though the reunion is, in part, to honor Earl on the anniversary of his death, the cast is also looking forward to spending time together and celebrating the 45th anniversary of the show with its fans.
“I’m looking forward to the fact that I’ll see the gang and we’ll all be together,” said Michael, echoing Mary Beth’s hopes for the weekend reunion. “We giggle and laugh and Eric [Scott] tells jokes – terrible jokes – and they’re a really great bunch. We are also blessed with he best fans.”
“We have such loyal fans,” said Mary Beth. “The show is so important and we’ve touched so many people. Their love is amazing and always inspiring.”
According to Ray Castro you will have several opportunities to meet the cast members of The Waltons.
-The cast will be at the museum for the concert on Friday night 3/24 (Doors open at 7pm. Concert from 8pm-10pm. SOLD OUT)
-At the museum for autographs on 3/25 from 10am-3pm
-At the museum for Earl’s memorial on 3/26 from 9am-10:30amAlso on Sunday March 26 of that weekend Michael Learned’s Front Porch Reflections will be held at The Jefferson Theatre from From 1pm-3pm. We are told this is an excellent show! Plenty of seats are still available as of this post.
For the latest updates and additional ticket information visit earlhamnerstoryteller.com
Faber / Lovingston
Nelson County, Virginia
As BRL first reported in late December 2015, 21 Year old Daniel Rasnake of Shipman was killed on Route 6 River Road on December 30, 2015. He wrecked his Jeep after going down an embankment but managed to walk back up to the highway to get help. He was later hit by a vehicle, or vehicles, and killed.
BRL did a followup story in late December 2016 on the 1 year anniversary of Rasnake’s death and at the time the Virginia State Police said they didn’t have anything new and no arrests to report.
Today the Commonwealth Attorney’s Office in conjunction with the Virginia State Police released the following statement regarding the investigation on Rasnake’s death.
We have copied it verbatim below:
The fatal 2015 Nelson County hit-and-run crash that claimed the life of a 21-year-old male has been completed and officially closed. After more than a year of investigation by the Virginia State Police into all available leads and information, Nelson County Commonwealth’s Attorney Daniel L. Rutherford has reviewed the investigative file and concluded that there is insufficient evidence to support criminally charging any individual in connection with Daniel Jacob Rasnake’s death.
“The state police, with the assistance of the Nelson County Sheriff’s Office, have gone to great lengths to develop and exhaust all possible leads in this case,” said the Honorable Daniel L. Rutherford, Nelson County Commonwealth’s Attorney. “We sincerely appreciate the public’s assistance with the many tips called in during the past year. But, the uncertainty as to Mr. Rasnake’s time of death and the difficulty of proving which vehicle – if any – was responsible for causing it makes this a tragedy. At this point, there is insufficient evidence to support criminal charges.”
At approximately 3:15 a.m., Dec. 30, 2015, Rasnake, 21, of Shipman, Va., was driving on Route 6 in Nelson County when his vehicle ran off the road and struck a rock. The Jeep Grand Cherokee then crossed back over Route 6, ran off the road, struck an embankment, and overturned into the trees. Rasnake was able to call a family member for help.
Between 3:45 a.m., and 4:15 a.m., Rasnake began walking up Route 6.Rasnake was wearing dark, non-reflective clothing. Weather conditions that night were cloudy with patchy, dense fog, and that stretch of highway is not lit. Rasnake died at the scene.
Rutherford and state police met with Rasnake’s family earlier Friday to inform them of the closure of the case.
Charlottesville
Albemarle County, Virginia
Clean out that coat closet this week and bring your extras down to South Street Brewery on Saturday February 11, 2017 from 11 AM until 10PM during their coat drive. They’re offering 20% off food for any donations of coats, hats, scarves and gloves so they can keep our local folks warm!
For more information, see their event page on Facebook by clicking here.
