WHSV: Skyline Drive Closes Due To Government Shutdown / Blue Ridge Parkway Roadway Open
Locals in the area along the BRP confirm they have been able to freely travel the parkway, but amenities such as visitors centers, restrooms, etc were closed.
Around 5:30 pm Tuesday our media partners at CBS-19 forwarded this release to us from the NPS ranger in charge of the BRP:
Government Shutdown Forces Closure of Blue Ridge Parkway Facilities
Asheville, NC – Because of the shutdown of the federal government caused by the lapse in appropriations, the National Park Service (NPS) has closed all 401 national park units, including the Blue Ridge Parkway. All visitor facilities including all NPS Visitor Centers, historic sites, park hotels, restaurants, campgrounds, picnic areas and restrooms – except for the main motor road, a thru way – are closed. These park facilities will remain closed until the government reopens.
Chief Ranger Stinnett said that park visitors in all overnight campgrounds and lodges will be given until 6 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time on Thursday, October 3 to make travel arrangements and leave the park. In addition, all park programs and special events have been canceled.
The Blue Ridge Parkway hosts approximately 70,000 visitors on average each day in October; nationally, more than 715,000 visitors a day frequent the National Park System. Nationwide the NPS stands to lose approximately $450,000 per day in lost revenue from fees collected at entry stations and fees paid for in-park activities such as cave tours, boat rides and camping. Gateway communities across the country see about $76 million per day in total sales from visitor spending that is lost during a government shutdown.
At the Blue Ridge Parkway, 195 National Park Service employees are on furlough because of the shutdown and approximately 200 concessions’ employees are similarly affected. 43 National Park Service employees remain on duty, providing law enforcement, security and emergency services.
Nationwide the shutdown has also furloughed more than 20,000 National Park Service employees; approximately 3,000 employees remain on duty to ensure essential health, safety, and security functions at parks and facilities. About 12,000 park concessions employees are also affected.
Because it will not be maintained, the National Park Service website will be down for the duration of the shutdown. NPS.gov has more than 750,000 pages and 91 million unique visitors each year.Steve Stinnett
Chief Ranger
Blue Ridge Parkway
Ashville, NC
NPS Shutdown on the web: http://www.nps.gov/shutdown/index.html
Beautiful Scenes Emerging In Blue Ridge As Fall Takes Hold
Skyline Drive
Near Big Meadow
Fall in the Blue Ridge always brings beautiful sights. Though we are still 2-3 weeks from peak here in the Central Virginia Blue Ridge, there are some breathtaking views already. BRLM Mountain Photographer Paul Purpura grabbed a beauty Sunday afternoon along Skyline Drive at Fisher’s Gap. Just beautiful!
Nelson Museum Of Rural History: BRLM Columnist & October Featured Story Part of National Museum Day
Arrington
Nelson County, VA
Nelson’s Museum of Rural History celebrated National Museum Day this past Saturday – September 28, 2013. For that one day admission was free to the museum highlighting the rich history of Nelson County. BRLM columnist Lynn Coffey was on hand autographing her 4th book recently released, Appalachian Heart. If you haven’t purchased one of these. Do it. All of Lynn’s books are keepsakes if you want to learn about life in the Blue Ridge from long ago.
In 1980, when Lynn Coffey moved to the tiny mountain hamlet of Love, Virginia, she realized the Appalachian culture was slowly ebbing away and somehow needed to be preserved. Without any formal training in journalism, Lynn started a newspaper called “Backroads” and began recording oral histories and taking photographs of her elderly neighbors, publishing their stories in the monthly newspaper. For the next twenty-five years (December 1981-December 2006) Lynn roamed the hills and hollers around Love, writing stories that captured the heart and soul of the Appalachian culture, lending dignity and importance to an oft-overlooked and misunderstood people and their rugged way of life. When Backroads ended, the cry of the mountain folks’ words, “Don’t let our stories die with your retirement,” haunted Lynn so she began compiling many of the articles from the former newspaper, putting them in book form.
Lynn’s first book, Backroads; Plain Folk & Simple Livin’ was published in November of 2009 and was an instant success. One year later, the second volume, Backroads 2; The Road to Chicken Holler came out to the delight of those who enjoyed the first book. The third book in the series, Backroads 3; Faces of Appalachia completes the Backroads trilogy.
Ted is known all across the area. Lynn writes about Ted in her October column in the magazine and our Marcie Gates tells his story in greater detail and pictures on page 38 of the October issue.
Sunny End To The Weekend Brings Several Accidents Across The Area
Central Virginia Blue Ridge
Because of cloudiness on Saturday, many folks stayed indoors. But Sunday, with full sunshine, everyone was out traveling the roads. Just after noon Sunday in Nelson County near Montebello, an RV caught fire on Route 56 between Montebello and the Blue Ridge Parkway. No one was hurt in the fire but the RV was pretty much totaled. And, Route 56 was closed down for much of the afternoon while the burned RV was removed. Just after 5PM Sunday the road was reopened for traffic.
Just an hour or later in Augusta County northward on the Blue Ridge Parkway around MP 3.8 a serious motorcycle accident sent patients to Augusta Health in Fishersville. National Park Police are investigating that accident.
Back in Nelson an additional accident in the afternoon around 4:30 PM sent another person to the hospital by helicopter. The single motorcycle accident happened on Route 151 in the vicinity of Brent’s Gap, south of Route 664. The female driver was airlifted from a landing zone in Nellysford. No word on her condition at this point.
Updates when we have them
Lockn’ Presents Checks To Non-Profits
Charlottesville
Albemarle County, VA
Press Release via Lockn’
Nine regional nonprofits were among the non-profit organizations to receive $2,688 each from the inaugural Lockn’ Music Festival, held early September at Oak Ridge Farm in Nelson County.
HeadCount.org coordinated the festival’s “Participation Row” – a collection of non-profit organizations present and exhibiting at the festival. The funds donated to these non-profits were raised through a silent auction organized by Head Count. Qello, a provider of full-length HD concerts and music documentaries, sponsored Participation Row and the silent auction.
In addition to the silent auction, 5,752 “actions” were taken at various non-profit booths during the festival’s four days to win a signed guitar. Also, $5000 dollars was donated to the Nelson County Pantry through FATE (Funding America Through Entertainment, http://supportfate.org/) organization along with 1500 pounds of food through the efforts of Conscious Alliance (http://www.consciousalliance.org/).
Nelson County Pantry’s Executive Director Marian Dixon said: “The Nelson County Pantry is very grateful for all the support we received from the Lockn’ Festival. Our local residents who are in most need are the beneficiaries.”Funds were distributed to:
Appalachian Voices: http://www.appalachianvoices.org/
Feed RVA: www.feedrva.org
Instrumental Giving Fund: www.instrumentalgivingfund.org
Music Resource Center: www.musicresourcecenter.org
Nelson County Pantry Bureau: www.nelsoncounty-va.gov
North Branch School: www.northbranchschool.wordpress.com
Park School: www.parkschoolva.org
Wild Virginia: http://www.wildvirginia.org/: www.nelsoncountypantry.org
Nelson County TourismLockn’ Music Festival featured over thirty local and national artists performing for an audience of 25,000 attendees, and offering never seen before musical collaborations. JamBase writer Bill Clifford said in a September online review, “they’ve [co-founders Dave Frey and Peter Shapiro] found what may be one of the most wonderful outdoor concert venues in the country.”
Happy Trails The Hook – Final Publication Thursday – September 26, 2013 – We Will Miss You
Charlottesville
Albemarle County, VA
Seldom do we ever highlight what another publication is doing, this Thursday we make an exception. Today marks the final issue of The Hook in Charlottesville. We are saddened to see them go, honestly. Though we are all competitors in this business, we get no pleasure in seeing a publication go dark. We have fond memories of working with The Hook over the years. A little known trivia, Hawes Spencer the former founder and publisher at The Hook gave me and Yvette lots of advice when we were thinking of launching then Nelson County Life back in 2005. His advice was invaluable, but his willingness to help out two strangers (and very green to the magazine biz) was humbling and refreshing. We have never, ever forgotten his generosity and wisdom.
To all of you departing The Hook, we commend the job you have done. And to Courtney Stuart, well done in these final months. You’ve got lots to be proud of, though we are again saddened to see The Hook go dark.
Best to all of you!
Tommy & Yvette Stafford
Publishers
UPDATE: Just In: Nelson Grand Jury Indicts Randy Taylor in Alexis Murphy Case
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
DATE: September 24, 2013
RE: Randy Taylor indicted by Nelson County Grand JuryFROM: ANTHONY MARTIN, COMMONWEALTH’S ATTORNEY
CONTACT: 434-263-7010
This morning in Nelson County Circuit Court, a grand jury having determined that probable cause exists for a trial, has indicted Randy Allen Taylor on (2) felony charges , one for the abduction of Alexis Murphy in which he previously waived his preliminary hearing in August, and a new unrelated charge of possessing a stolen all-terrain vehicle.
Taylor’s next court appearance will be in the Nelson County Circuit Court on October 23, 2013 at 3:00 p.m. for a trial date to be set.
Law-enforcement officials cannot provide any further details at this time because the investigation is still-ongoing. Taylor continues to be held without bail at the Charlottesville-Albemarle Regional Jail.
Massanutten: BRLM At GoRuck Nasty
Massanutten, VA
For the past couple of years you’ve read all about BRLM’s publisher, Yvette Stafford competing in the extreme obstacle courses across Virginia. Her first was back in October 2011 when she and the then Nelson County Life team participated in Tough Mudder at Wintergreen Resort. Since then we have changed our name and expanded our territory. So has she and her teammates.
Some 2000 people took to the slopes at Massanutten in the first ever Go Ruck Nasty. It’s a lighter version of the Go Ruck events held all across the country.
Yvette and her buddies completed the event and got back home on Saturday evening.
You can see the entire album of pictures from the even by heading on over to Paul’s Zenfolio page here.
We also have a few random pics in our Facebook album below.
20 Annual Sara Ott Memorial Golf Classic Underway
Wintergreen Resort
Nellysford, VA
For years we’ve been telling you about the annual Sara Ott Golf Classic held each September at Stoney Creek Golf Course at Wintergreen Resort. Formerly the Wintergreen Nature Foundation Golf Classic, it was renamed in memory of Sara Ott after she passed away in early 2008. Sara and her husband Frank started the fundraising tournament back in 1993 as a way to raise money for what’s now known as The Nature Foundation at Wintergreen. Sadly Frank passed away earlier in 2013 before this year’s 20th annual tournament.
Liz with The Nature Foundation tells us that one of the golfers in the tournament on Friday had already made a hole in one which means he won a new car!
More details on winners this weekend.
So Long Starry Nights Until 2014 Season
Afton
Nelson County, VA
Another Starry Nights season at Veritas Vineyard & Winery is in the history books. This past Saturday night wrapped up the 2013 run with Jim Waive & The Young Divorcees kicking off the night before Love Canon finished of the night. We’ve been telling you about the highly popular event under the stars for over 6 years.
See you at the 2014 Starry Nights kickoff that usually begins late Spring / early summer.
