VDOT advises drivers to avoid high water, expect additional road closures today
CULPEPER — Less than a month after torrential rains caused major damage to roads and bridges across Central Virginia another round of severe storms overnight has left numerous secondary roads closed due to high water. The Virginia Department of Transportation advises motorists to drive with extra caution this morning, expect more flooding in areas that received heavy rainfall overnight and more roads may close this morning.
VDOT and other emergency response agencies remind drivers never to drive through water flowing across a roadway. Six inches of moving water is enough to knock a person off their feet; 12 inches will sweep a car off the roadway. Remember: Turn Around, Don’t Drown.
At this hour the rain is flooding secondary roads near mountain streams in the western areas of VDOT’s Culpeper District near the Blue Ridge Mountains. Albemarle, Greene and Madison counties again received the most rain, with four to five inches reported overnight in Madison and Greene. Eight roads are reported closed due to high water in Madison, seven in Greene and two each in Albemarle and Orange counties. Some of the roads are the same that were damaged by the floods last month.
VDOT crews are mobilizing early this morning to check the condition of flooded roadways and bridges in those areas. In some cases a damage assessment may not be possible until the floodwaters recede. VDOT will reopen the closed roads once they have been inspected and found to be safe for travel.
Drivers should check www.511virginia.org or the 511 mobile app for the most current information about road closures and follow @VaDOTCULP on Twitter for updates.
Esmont, North Garden, Yancey Mills, Stony Point, Amicus, Scott
Stadium, Damon, Greenwood and Boonesville.
741 PM EDT THU JUN 21 2018
…THE FLOOD WARNING HAS BEEN CANCELLED FOR NELSON COUNTY…
The heavy rain has ended. Therefore, the flooding threat has ended.
Flood Warning
National Weather Service Baltimore MD/Washington DC
423 PM EDT THU JUN 21 2018
Nelson VA-City of Charlottesville VA-Albemarle VA-Greene VA-
423 PM EDT THU JUN 21 2018
The National Weather Service in Sterling Virginia has issued a
* Flood Warning for… Nelson County in central Virginia… The City of Charlottesville in central Virginia… Albemarle County in central Virginia… Greene County in central Virginia…
* Until 1030 PM EDT Thursday.
* At 423 PM EDT, Doppler radar indicated thunderstorms producing
heavy rain which will cause flooding. Up to two inches of rain have
already fallen.
* Some locations that may experience flooding include…
Charlottesville, Crozet, Shipman, Stanardsville, Schuyler, Free
Union, Wintergreen, Montebello, Campbell, Westmoreland, Hollymead,
Ruckersville, Nellysford, Ivy, Arrington, Scottsville, Esmont,
Lovingston, Allens Creek and North Garden.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…
A Flood Warning means that flooding is imminent or occurring. All
interested parties should take necessary precautions immediately.
Flood Watch
National Weather Service Baltimore MD/Washington DC
125 PM EDT Thu Jun 21 2018
VAZ025-026-029-036>040-050-051-503-504-507-508-WVZ505-506-220130-
/O.CON.KLWX.FF.A.0010.180621T1900Z-180622T1000Z/
/00000.0.ER.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.OO/
Augusta-Rockingham-Page-Nelson-Albemarle-Greene-Madison-
Rappahannock-Orange-Culpeper-Western Highland-Eastern Highland-
Northern Virginia Blue Ridge-Central Virginia Blue Ridge-
Western Pendleton-Eastern Pendleton-
Including the cities of Staunton, Waynesboro, Stuarts Draft,
Harrisonburg, Luray, Shenandoah, Stanley, Lovingston,
Charlottesville, Stanardsville, Madison, Washington, Orange,
Gordonsville, Culpeper, Hightown, Monterey, Big Meadows,
Wintergreen, Riverton, Brandywine, Franklin, Oak Flat, Ruddle,
and Sugar Grove
125 PM EDT Thu Jun 21 2018
…FLASH FLOOD WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT THROUGH LATE TONIGHT…
The Flash Flood Watch continues for
* Portions of Virginia and eastern West Virginia, including the
following areas, in Virginia, Albemarle, Augusta, Central
Virginia Blue Ridge, Culpeper, Eastern Highland, Greene,
Madison, Nelson, Northern Virginia Blue Ridge, Orange, Page,
Rappahannock, Rockingham, and Western Highland. In eastern
West Virginia, Eastern Pendleton and Western Pendleton.
* Through late tonight
* Multiple rounds of heavy rain are possible. Rainfall amounts
will be between 1 and 3 inches on average, but localized much
higher amounts are possible in areas that receive multiple
rounds of heavy rain.
* Rapid rises in water due to excessive rain are possible.
Streams and creeks could quickly exceed bankfull. Roads may
become blocked by high water. Mudslides are possible in areas
where heavy rain persists over higher terrain.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…
Be prepared to act quickly to protect your life should water
begin rising or a warning be issued, especially if you live in an
area prone to flooding.
Watch above as we feed one of the many boxes of documents we took to the DDD this past Saturday – June 16, 2018.
More cars line up to get rid of old documents, and even hard disk drives as part of Document Destruction Day this past Saturday – June 16, 2018 at RVCC.
We think they are back in 2019, so start saving up those old documents now!
Yvette and I first met Kate McGinnis within a few months of permanently moving to Nelson County from Tennessee. That was back in the summer of 2004. It didn’t take long before we became friends. If you wanted to know anything about the history of Nelson County, she and her husband Bernie were the people to ask. I constantly ran into Kate at events surrounding the opening Oakland Museum in Arrington.
There’s Kate on the far left helping serve up some cake as part of Oakland Museum’s 1807 Lawn Party & 200th celebration for Nelson County. This was back in July of 2007. Kaleigh Smith, and Becky Norris are to her right.
Kate was the epitome of southern grace and charm. But with a very aggressive side when it came to causes near and dear to her heart. We’d often spar politically, then almost belly laugh over a glass of wine when we realized how ridiculous we all sounded.
As we started having children and then eventually moved from Greenfield in Northern Nelson to Roseland in Southern Nelson, we drifted apart. We’d still see Kate occasionally at events, but not nearly as often as I would have liked. The last time I remember seeing Kate was at the funeral for a close friend of ours dad, Rob Brent of Roseland. After the funeral we all gathered at Dick & Peggy Whitehead’s home. I got to catchup with Kate and tell her all about how much our kids were growing up. She always asked about Adam & Peyton, without fail, every time we’d see each other.
Ironically our friend and neighbor mentioned above, Rob Brent, was at our home just this past Thursday night. We were sitting on the porch having a drink and talking about life. Rob told us about Kate’s passing. I was so saddened to hear this. I knew it was eventually coming. All of these older Nelsonians that I’d come to love wouldn’t be around forever. But I always pretended they would.
I guess one of the reasons Kate’s passing hit us so hard is because she’s literally part of a dying generation. She was an anchor back into a time that Nelson was still very rural and simple. Less hustle and bustle. I loved talking to her about those days.
Way too often I’ve sat at this very keyboard over the last 10 years and written tributes to many of the friends I’ve made that eventually left us. Bob Ward, Frank Ott, Brian O’Rourke, Richard Thomas, Barbara Powell, Sherri Brooks. Just five that come to mind quickly. They were here one day and gone the next.
I had someone stop me last week in Basic Necessities and say, “I love how you remember the older people here and honor and remember them as they pass.” Sometimes, I honestly miss when someone we know passes. But it is important to remember. Remember people like Kate that made an impression on you.
Kate, you made and impression on us. And we are going to miss you dearly. Nelson and Shipman won’t be quite the same with your passing. But, I am certainly glad I go to know you before you had to go.
RIP Kate. You wonderfully sweet, gentle and laughing soul.
Walking back into the Old Lovingston Opry basement in Lovingston was almost surreal for Trish Becker.
“I’m eight years older. It was hard. It was real hard, cause we really had to revamp the place. We had a lot of work to do.”
Trish Becker (left) co-owner of the newly opened Mountain Mama’s Kabob Shop in Lovingston grabs a takeout order to be handed off to a customer this past Wednesday afternoon – June 13, 2018.
Almost 10 years ago Trish bought the former St Mary’s Catholic Church building turning the upstairs into an opry entertainment space and the basement into a diner.
“When we were the Basement Bistro we were really kind of a diner like everybody else. We wanted to slim down the inventory and slim down the menu, but we wanted something different. And trying to be a little healthier.
I took out the deep fryer. We do rice, and fresh kababs. Everything is cooked to order. Nothing is processed or pre-made. I was eating in Charlottesville, we had numerous little kabab shops. I was coming home one day from visiting a friend. It was in February. It hit me. Kababs. No one’s got kababs!”
And thats how the idea for Mountain Mama’s was born!
Jode’ Shaw Trish’s Business Partner, (right) the other Mountain Mama and Chef Johnny Shaw from Washington DC prep a to go kebab order this past Wednesday afternoon at Mountain Mama’s Kebab Shop in Lovingston, Virginia. June 13, 2018
“I took out the deep fryer. We do rice, and fresh kababs. Everything is cooked to order. Nothing is processed or pre-made.”
An order getting ready to out the door this past Wednesday afternoon – June 13, 2018 at Mountain Mama’s Kebab Shop in Lovingston, Virginia.
“I have to plug Jesse Rutherford. (East District BOS) He really stood by us. He checks on us every week. He offered even to help. I think things are changing here. Everyone’s working on their buildings. That’s inspiring. And, there’s a new energy here. It’s like Lovingston is open for business again for the small business owner. Especially the historic buildings, that’s what’s hard. It’s hard to meet all of the requirements of new facilities. So doing what we’ve done was actually easier because it’s simplified.”
In addition to the kebab shop, Trish and her business partner have created an entire line of speciality sauces. They are sold at the shop and at the Walton’s Mountain Museum in nearby Schuyler, Virginia.Now this is one you don’t see everyday, but we’re guessing it it insanely delicious!
“You know Tommy, we incorporated in 2014. The Mountain Mama’s name. We just didn’t know what we were going to do with it. We wanted something different.”
To go orders have their own special curb side pickup at Mountain Mama’s.
You can see a full menu of what Mountain Mama’s has to offer by visiting them online at : mountainmamasofvirginia.com
They are currently open Monday through Friday from 11 A.M. until 3 P.M. at 632 Front Street in Lovingston, Virginia.
“The mountain has unique characteristics. There’s material that slides off a mountain relatively easy, just like at interstate 64 in Afton. And, when you denude the mountains for trees that hold the soil, and you introduce water you have the risk of debris avalanches. And those debris avalanches can take out the roadway, they can block the entrance and exit to the community. The material gets in the streams. It’s extremely important for DEQ to look at the engineering and study it and not rubber-stamp the project.”
Above, in this brief video Blue Ridge Life Magazine Publisher Tommy Stafford looks at test wells along the proposed Atlantic Coast Pipeline route with Jay Roberts, Executive Director of Wintergreen Property Owners Association. The wells are within a few hundred feet of the entry-exit of Wintergreen Resort.
Water pushes out around a locked cap on a test well within a few hundred feet of the entry-exit of Wintergreen Resort in Nelson County, Virginia.
Roberts went on to say that keeping underground water running along faults in the mountains has always been a challenge. It was often a problem at the resort when constructing other projects there. He expressed great concern about where the water would be diverted once construction gets underway.
“Stafford : “Is that essentially what you are asking is for them to take a specific look at this versus just accepting the Army Corps’ broad approval?”
Roberts: “Yes. It’s an upland area, DEQ has well within their right the option of studying it to make sure that it meets the standards of The Commonwealth.”
Stafford: “Right now they are proceeding under this blanket Army Corp permit, is that correct?”
Roberts: “Essentially they are saying if it’s good enough for the Army Corps then it’s good enough for us. And, that’s just not true.”
Stafford : “So you will approach the folks at DEQ about this and hope they see your point?”
Roberts: “Absolutely. Turn the information over to them, ask them again, we’ve already asked them a few times to study it.”
The new request to DEQ to take another look was filed early Wednesday morning. The new document is very detailed and provides significant history and engineering information in the new request.
Click on the photo above to read the entire document submitted to Virginia DEQ by Wintergreen Property Owners Association.
Click above to read documents filed by WPOA over a year ago in May 2017 expressing concerns about the impact of the ACP and its proximity to Wintergreen.
Wintergreen Property Owners’ President John Coy says if the exposure is going to be pushed on residents and others at Wintergreen then Dominion should step up financially and do the right thing.
“The fact is we don’t want the pipeline there in part due to its position to our exit and entrance. We’ve done everything legally that we can to get it moved. We realize there are certain limitations. What we are asking is, knowing that it is there, a fact. Two, the reality that it creates an element of risk for our community. The risk of an eruption. That eruption could in fact close of our mountain to exit and entrance. Really all that we are asking is that the pipeline creates and imposes certain risks upon our community. We’re asking Dominion / the ACP to recognize that responsibility that they’ve put on us and to be willing to pay for the costs that we’re going to have to incur. That’s all that we’re asking. We think it’s a reasonable request.”
Trees cut down by ACP workers on the ground along part of the ACP path just beyond the entry-exit of Wintergreen Resort.The trees shown on the ground in the previous photo are just across the road from the exit of Wintergreen Resort seen here in this photo.
Both Roberts and Coy say they now await a response from Virginia DEQ.
This past weekend Roseland Rescue marked half a century in operation. The day was celebrated with live music, good eats, auctions, and even a helicopter landing! Congrats Roseland Rescue on 50 years of service!
“At 5:40 p.m. Thursday (June 7), Virginia State Police Trooper Z.C. Harris responded to a multi-vehicle crash in Albemarle County.
A tractor-trailer traveling east on Interstate 64 ran off the left side of the interstate at the 104 mile marker and into the median. When the vehicle struck the concrete drainage culvert in the center of the median, the trailer swung out into the westbound lanes.
The trailer first struck a westbound tractor-trailer and then two other westbound passenger vehicles – a Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck and a 2017 Subaru. The impact of the crash caused the Subaru to run off the right side of the westbound lanes of I-64 and into the guardrail.
The driver of the Subaru, a 61-year-old Fishersville woman, was flown to UVA Hospital for treatment of life-threatening injuries. She was wearing a seat belt.
The driver of the at-fault tractor-trailer, Arnold L. Jones, 63, of Freeman, Va., was transported by ambulance to UVA Hospital for treatment of non-life threatening injuries. He was wearing a seat belt.
Neither the driver of the westbound tractor-trailer that was struck nor the driver of the Silverado pickup truck was injured.
Jones has been charged with reckless driving for failing to maintain control of his vehicle.
The crash remains under investigation.
Corinne N. Geller
Public Relations Director
Virginia State Police”
Screenshot courtesy of News 12 NY : Anchors with News 12 in New York present the story about a father and son from Suffolk, NY that have been found dead in Rockbridge County, VA.
Rockbridge County, Virginia
Verbatim story copy from News 12 NY:
“A 2-year-old from Smithtown and his father, who is believed to have abducted him, were found in a car on fire Wednesday – both with bullet wounds – in Virginia, according to Rockbridge County Deputy Tony McFadden.
Suffolk police say the toddler, Jovani Ligurgo, who was reported missing by his mother Tuesday afternoon, was discovered in his John Ligurgo’s Jeep Cherokee in the residential neighborhood.”
There’s been great concern about the status of the pig that’s on the poll in front of The Blue Ridge Pig in Nellysford. Over the weekend there was a pretty big traffic accident eight in front of the restaurant.
In the photo I shot above, it appeared that the pig was actually on the back of Wintergreen Fire & Rescue’s engine. I didn’t even notice it until someone dropped a comment to us on the photo.
Thanks to Caitlin Oliver for the photo : Back in February of 2015 the very famous pig that’s been up on the sign at Blue Ridge Pig in Nellysford of Nelson County, Virginia took an unfortunate dive to the ground.
Not to worry, the pig is safe and sound these days and is proudly perched on the pole along Route 151!
