Find out how to help restore the Crozet murals at the Crozet Gazette.

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via email -

The Lodge at Old Trail, a beautiful Senior Living Community in Crozet,VA, will be hiring for over 50 positions ranging from RNs, Medication Aides, Health and Wellness Director, Licensed Practical Nurses, servers, concierge and maintenance technicians to a sous chef and administrative assistants. Located amidst the rolling hills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, the Lodge is a premiere living establishment looking for the top industry professionals. If interested, please bring your resume to our Job Fair at the Old Trail Golf Club on February 7th from 10am-2pm or 5pm-7:30pm. If you would like further details about the Job Fair, please contact Virginia’s Staffing Choice at 434-970-1818. 

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EMT Class at Western Albemarle Rescue Squad starts 21 February. If you’re interested, call 434-981-0963

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Get informed. Get involved. Get educated.

Wednesday, January 25 at 7 pm, Western Albemarle High School Auditorium

Post-screening discussion to be held in the Cafeteria:

June Jenkins, Director of Safe Schools/Healthy Students will facilitate the discussion. Panelists will include Lori Wood, Region Ten Prevention Director; Amy Wright, Chair, Western Albemarle HS Guidance Dept.;  Marc Dawkins, Safe Schools/Healthy Students, and Dyan Aretakis, UVA Teen Health Center

The screening is being sponsored by the ACPS Western feeder pattern PTOs, Health Advisory Board, and Parent Council. The PTOs of the Western feeder pattern schools have paid for the screening; donations to cover their costs will be accepted at the door. Western feeder schools include Brownsville Elementary, Crozet Elementary, Henley Middle, Meriwether-Lewis Elementary, Murray Elementary and Western Albemarle HS.

Seats can be reserved via this EventBrite link.

More information on the film, including background on the issues covered, can be found here.  

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Valentine fundraiser for local emergency services in Western Albemarle on February 11.  7 – 11 pm at the Field School, (Old Crozet Elementary School)    Crozet Avenue in Crozet. This event is great for all ages.

Salute To Swing, the local 16 piece Big Band and four singers, will entertain the crowd with music from the 40′s and 50′s, as well as more modern favorites. The band will play from 8-11 pm. Clips can be found on salute2swing.com.

A free learn to swing dance lesson is offered to all who arrive between 7-8 pm. Join in when you arrive.

Crozet organizations and businesses will provide snacks and refreshments, wine and beer, and RAFFLES.  Many services and products from local farms and merchants will be available for your 50 cent raffle ticket, as well as a special 50/50 raffle, where the winner takes home half of the ticket pot.

Admission is by donation at the door to Crozet Volunteer Fire Company or Western Albemarle Rescue Squad. Separate checks must be written to each agency. Suggested donation is $20 per person. School age dancers may attend free with their parents. This is a family event. Any questions, please call 434-996-6159.Valentine Swing Flyer 2012 to benefit Crozet Volunteer Fire Department and WARS

Valentines Day Swing Dance (PDF)

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The Crozet Trails Crew was kind enough to put together this map of the trails in Crozet. Click to the image below to enlarge.

January 2012 Crozet Trails Map - draft

They have work days often if you’re interested.

Thanks, Crozet Trails Crew – this helps answer the question I get frequently from clients – “where are the trails in Crozet?”

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Congratulations to those who have worked so hard, tirelessly and persistently for so long.

From Charlottesville Tomorrow –

An effort to upgrade the pool at Claudius Crozet Park to a year-round facility took a major step forward Wednesday after the Albemarle Board of Supervisors voted to reallocate $200,000 in capital funding towards improvements at the park.

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Are you watching what our legislator is doing in the General Assembly? You should be and it’s easy to do on Richmond Sunlight. While you’re at it, have a look at how he gets his money … and from whom, and from where.

Update: From Delegate Landes’ newsletter:

“Delegate Steve Landes’ Newsletter: Week of January 13, 2011
 
Dear Friends,
 
We are back in Richmond in full swing! The 2012 Session officially opened on Wednesday, January 11 and we are already busy as ever.
 
I was reappointed by Speaker William J. Howell, R-Stafford, to serve on the House Appropriations, Education, Rules, and Privileges and Elections Committees. I am looking forward to continuing to serve on these committees.
 
I have also submitted several pieces of legislation for this session and I am looking forward to working hard to see that they are passed. Some of the legislation that I have submitted are outlined below.
 
2012 Legislation
 
House Bill 766 creates the Governor’s Agriculture and Forestry Industries Development Fund, which establishes an economic development grant program targeted specifically at agricultural and forestry operations. Grants will be awarded to support localities’ efforts to attract value-added or processing facilities using Virginia-grown products. Under the program, localities will apply for grants after having established a relationship with a new or expanding business.
 
House Bill 767 provides updates to the Small Business Jobs Grant Fund, which was created in 2010 through House Bill 943. HB 767 requires a small business to be organized under Virginia law or maintain a principal place of business in Virginia in order to qualify for a grant under the Small Business Jobs Grant Fund. It also requires that a new full-time position must employ a Virginia resident in order to qualify for the grant. The bill also includes provisions that prohibit receiving more than one grant for the same position, require the employee to be employed in the new full-time position for at least 90 days prior to the award of the grant, and require the small business to submit a taxpayer identification number and certification Form W-9 with each grant application.
 
House Bill 768 codifies the Virginia Jobs Investment Program administered by the Department of Business Assistance and changes the name to the Virginia Jobs Investment Plan, which is comprised of the Virginia New Jobs Program, the Workforce Retraining Program, and the Small Business New Jobs Program. The bill establishes general eligibility requirements for obtaining assistance under the Plan and requirements for the component programs under the Plan.
 
House Bill 776 creates the Federal Oversight Commission, consisting of seven legislative members representing the Virginia House of Delegates and the Virginia Senate. The Commission will meet twice a year with the United States Senate members of the Virginia Congressional Delegation and to communicate with Virginia’s members of the United States House of Representatives. The purpose of the Commission will be to address public policy issues for which both federal and state policy makers have responsibility.
 
House Joint Resolution 108 directs the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC) to conduct a two-year study on the cost efficiency of the Commonwealth’s institutions of higher education and to identify opportunities to reduce the cost of public higher education in Virginia.
 
House Joint Resolution 109 memorializes Congress to propose an amendment to the United States Constitution to impose a balanced budget requirement. This resolution relates to Delegate Landes’ work as Co-Chairman of the Virginia Chapter of Pass the Balanced Budget Amendment.
 
Contact and Visit Us!
 
As always, my legislative aide, Judy Wyatt, and I are here to serve you. Please use the contact information below to reach us in the Richmond Office by phone, fax or email. Our Richmond Fax number is 804.698.6725. Our Richmond Address is Post Office Box 406, Richmond, Virginia 23218.
 
If you are in Richmond, be sure to stop by and visit! I am located in Room 515 of the General Assembly Building, located on the corner of 9th and Broad Streets.
 
Sincerely,
Steve Landes”

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A question from a reader:

“Good morning, Jim.  I am curious if you or any or your readers might have information about who has been running fiber-optic cable along Mint Springs Road over the past week.  I live in Emerald Ridge, above Mint Springs, and can see where the cable extends to the entrance of my neighborhood.  I would love to replace my spotty DSL connection with fiber service.  Keeping my fingers crossed.”

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The folks in this Facebook group do.

Personally, I think Crozet is still a small town. Not as small, but still a nice small town.

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via email –

Go Green and support PARC this Wednesday!

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Two items of note from the Henley Middle School newsletter:

MESA – OPEN HOUSE

MESA, Albemarle County Public Schools Math, Engineering and Science Academy, is having an open house on January 25 from 5-8 in Rooms 241 and 242.

As always please let me know if there are any questions.

Jeff Prillaman?
Director Math Engineering & Science Academy Albemarle High School 2775 Hydraulic Road Charlottesville, VA 22902 434-975-9300 x 60624

————————————————————

RACE TO NOWHERE COMING TO A THEATER NEAR YOU!

Save the Date for The Race to Nowhere! It is going to be held in the WAHS Auditorium on Wednesday, January 25th at 7pm. There is no charge for admission, but donations will be accepted. There will be more information coming including a link to reserve a seat.

This initiative is being sponsored by the schools in the Western Feeder Pattern.

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“Would you please let your readers know that Blue Ridge Beads & Glass is offering Beading and Stained Glass Classes in Crozet?  We have a schedule of classes and will teach by appointment as well.  Our website has the complete schedule and description of classes.”

Sure.

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Final Plans for PARC Project Near

With the help of community professionals volunteering their time and expertise, Crozet Park has been able to turn a multi-year, multi-phase 1.2 million dollar facility into a two year, $600,000 project yielding us an indoor aquatics and recreation center by September of 2012. To date, community professional have come together to donate their time and services in preparation of the facility. Phil Kirby, Crozet resident and senior executive of Barton Malow has been instrumental in allowing the recreation facility to become a reality, donating all services, including general contracting and guaranteeing the project for $600,000 dollars.  Kirby is ready to start construction later this month pending the remaining $200,000 being secured through funding from the Albemarle County Parks and Recreation Department.

Thanks to the community and donors, the Crozet Park has recently raised the $400,000 needed to put a dome over the Crozet pool and provide year round aquatics. If all goes as planned, at the January 11, 2012 Board of Supervisors meeting, an additional $200,000 will be received from the County for the needed renovations to the community building.  This is funding that was initially allocated to the Park in 2008 to put in tennis courts, basketball courts and trails.  With the early fundraising successes of the PARC project, Park Board members met with County staff in late 2010 and determined that the money might be better spent completing the PARC recreation building.  If the recreation phase were completed concurrently, there would be an enormous savings in construction and the PARC would be able to provide numerous recreational and fitness opportunities. This would also create a center that would become a hub for programming tennis and basketball.  

Meetings with County staff proved positive regarding this transfer in funds, and in the past year PARC committee members have been working with Bob Crickenberger of Albemarle County Parks and Recreation toward a successful transfer of these funds to the PARC project.  However, tennis, basketball and trails still need to be given a place in the park and the Crozet Park Board will be responsible for replacing the funding for these facilities in a fashion that meets County requirements. With the help of our district supervisor, Ann Malleck, the Park Board has been working actively to come to an agreement that both satisfies the County requirements and makes it possible for the Park to fundraise for these facilities.  

In response to this opportunity, and in a matter of months, $68,000 has been raised for tennis, thanks to the efforts of Lynda Harrill, the Quickstart Tennis coordinator.  This spring, the goal is to start with 3 Quickstart Tennis courts and continue fundraising to complete 2 additional adult courts that easily double as Quickstart courts as needed.  Through a joint venture agreement, the PARC will be operated by the Piedmont YMCA who will also provide programming opportunities for these amenities as they are built.

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Copy and pasted via email …

Peachtree Baseball League of Albemarle,Inc.
                                        
 
                                    Welcome to the 2012 Baseball Season!!!
 
                                    Peachtree Baseball Registration for all divisions
                           Tuesday,January 24th & Thursday,January 26th 
                                           6:00-8:00 P.M
                                     @ Crozet Park Building
                                   For Boys and Girls ages 4-15
 
Registration forms can be found at www.peachtreebaseball.com  Under Document
Please print off 2 copies if you download it from the website. If you do not have two copies you will have to fill out another form when you come to registration.
 
Peachtree Baseball is for Boys and Girls age 4-15. We offer 6 divisions:
Blastball 4 yr olds
Tball for ages 5-6
Rookie 6-8
Minors 9-10
Majors 10-12
Babe Ruth 13-15yr olds
 
League age is the age of your child as of April 30th, 2012. To see your child’s league age go to

http://baberuthleague.org/resources/2012BBBirthChart.pdf

 
 
                                                      Tryouts will be held
                                              Saturday, February 11th for Minor/Majors
                                           @ Western Albemarle High School Gym
                                                               10:00-3:00
             We will have a sheet at Registration with the times that each age group needs to be there.
 
                                               Tryouts for Greenwood 13-15yr olds
                                                          Saturday,Feb 25th    12:00
                                                  @ Greenwood Community Center
                                                             
 
                   .
 
 
             Minor/Major Draft will be held @ Old Trail Community Building(this is for coaches only) 
 
Major Draft
Mon,Feb 13th 6:30-9:00
 
Minor Draft
Mon, Feb 20th 6:30-9:00
 
Draft Make up Dates due to inclement weather
 
Major Draft
Mon, Feb 20th  6:30-9
 
Minor draft
Mon, Feb 27th  6:30-9
 
                         Babe Ruth Draft (probably at Old Trail, need to confirm.This is for coaches only)
                                                     Sunday,Feb 26th @ 1:00
 
 
 
                                                      Calendar of Events
Tues.Jan 24 & Thurs.Jan 26th         Registration
Sat Feb 11th                                 Tryouts Minor/Majors
Mon,Feb 13th                                Major Draft
Mon,Feb 20th                                Minor Draft
Sat,Feb 25th                                 Babe Ruth Tryouts (13-15yr olds)
Sun,Feb 26th                                Babe Ruth Draft
Mon,Feb 27th                                Babe Ruth can start practice                              
Mon,March 5th                              Practice Starts for all (Cal Ripken 4-12) divisions
Blastball will start March 3rd & 10th with practice
Sat,March 17th                             Opening Day
 
 
 
If you have any questions please feel free to email me anytime. I look forward to seeing everyone at Registration!!

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From Steve Landes’ email newsletter:

Del. Landes Town Hall
January 7, 2012, Saturday, 9:30-11:00 a.m.
King Family Vineyard, Carriage House
6550 Roseland Farm, Crozet, Virginia

Get involved and track what Delegate Landes is doing in Richmond.

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From Albemarle.org’s site:

(short version: take your Christmas tree to Crozet Park and it’ll be turned into mulch)By combining forces with the Charlottesville Curb Side Pick-Up Program, the two programs collected over 4800 trees last year, yielding approximately 230 cubic yards of mulch.  According to the City Public Works Department, their curbside pick up will be the week of January 9, 2012.  Trees must be at the curbside by 7am.  Shortly after the City’s curbside pick up, the County and City Parks & Recreation crews will team up to an estimated 2200 trees at Darden Towe Park.

As a reminder, this program is for Christmas trees only, please no yard waste.  Both the County & City programs require that all decorations, stands and nails be removed from the Christmas trees.  Free mulch will be available to citizens by February 1, 2012, at Darden Towe Park.

The County will operate seven sites daily, 7am until dark.  The sites are as follows:

- Chris Greene Lake Park in Earlysville
- Crozet Park
- Darden Towe Park
- Greenwood Community Center
- Rivanna Solid Waste Authority Recycling Center on McIntire Road  (Note:  Sunday hours are 12:30 pm – 5:30 pm) This location may be congested so please consider Darden Towe Park as an alternate location that is less congested and is suited better for large loads and contract haulers.
- Scottsville Community Center
- Walnut Creek Park

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“Daddy! More people should ride bikes! There’s less traffic!”*

What a nice surprise to get to Crozet Elementary this morning after riding just over a mile to find that the bike rack had been moved to a more visibly prominent location. I even heard kids discussing the new location.

Little things matter.

* When do 2nd graders not speak in exclamation points?

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via press release:

“Community Meets Match Challenge Again!

In less than a month, the community has once again rallied together and met a match challenge in support of the Crozet PARC (Park Aquatics and Recreation Center).  After learning of a Park shortfall in funds due to the Crozet pool re-plastering this past spring, a donor came forth with a $10,000 gift and $10,000 match if the PARC were able to raise $20,000 by year’s end.   This match was presented to the community and in less than two weeks, gifts large and small came pouring in, exceeding the match challenge!  Heidi Sonen, Crozet Park Board member said, “The community has spoken not once, but twice to its commitment to see this facility succeed.”  The first community challenge of $200,000 was met in September of 2011. Final plans for this project are progressing with an anticipated construction start date of mid January 2012.  Look for updates in the next two weeks on the PARC website.

Crozet PARC will be the first aquatics and recreation center open to the public in Albemarle County.”

Now … let’s get cracking on that Library …

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Looking pretty good.

I saw people walking on it too.

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From the Crozet listserv:

We have exciting news to share regarding the Crozet PARC (Park Aquatics and Recreation Center).

We are in the FINAL stages of approval and fundraising and if all goes as planned we will start construction in early February with a completion date of May, 2012!  Our Architectural and Building Committee has been working diligently and are “ready to build”.  The PARC has raised the community match thanks to all our community friends.

The Park Board made a major improvement by re-plastering the pool last spring, and we need to rebuild that account, so the Park match of $200,000 is solid. In mid December we were given another $10,000 gift with another $10,000 match IF we can raise the remaining 20,000 shortfall by the end of the year.

We have recieved $11,000 in pledges and donations in the last few days, so we are now only $9,000 shy.   Right before Christmas, we received a $10,000 pledge, which will be received if we raise this last $9000 before the end of the year.
That ‘s right, we’ll receive the $10,000 match grant, giving us a total of $40,000 raised in December and covering the shortfall due to the re-plastering of the pool.

If you are considering any end of the year giving opportunities please consider the Park… it adds up fast and will give us the security we need to make this project successful along with a $10,000 match gift.  All donations and pledges (yes, pledges will count toward making our match gift so you can pledge now and pay later; but  we need to receive something in writing or a donation dated for this year)  can be sent to:

Crozet PARC
PO Box 171
Crozet, VA 22932

Again thank you for all your support in making this project a reality.  Crozet Park will have the first year round aquatics and recreation facility open to the public in the County thanks to the Crozet community and its passion to see things happen!   Look for more information in the weeks to come.  If you have any questions, please contact Cynthia at cvelles@embarqmail.com.

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The Wienermobile will be in Crozet on 20 December from noon to 4 – at Old Trail’s shopping area. Come see the Wienermobile and bring food for the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank.

And they’re not just the winners of “most awful play on words I’ve seen in a while” …

The Oscar Mayer ‘Wienermobile’ will be stopping in Crozet, Virginia, Tuesday, December 20th, from Noon until 4pm.  In celebration of the 75th anniversary of the Wienermobile, Oscar Mayer held a contest on Facebook asking for people to vote for their towns to win a visit.  Crozet was one of just 75 locations chosen for this anniversary tour.
 
The Wienermobile will setup in the Old Trail Village Center parking lot, located just off I64 Exit 107 (http://oldtrailvillagecenter.com/map.htm).  Everyone is invited to come tour the Wienermobile, receive coupons and iconic wiener-whistles, and have their picture taken for free, which may be accessed later via the web.  Children can also enjoy Wienermobile coloring sheets and all are invited to address special Wienermobile-themed postcards to family and friends.
 
In addition to the Wienermobile’s usual fun festivities, the event will also serve as a collection point for the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank (http://www.brafb.org/).  A list of most-needed items is online here.
 

For more information, contact Andrea McNeill, Andrea@OldTrailVillage.com or visit the Old Trail Village website.  The “Hotdoggers” of the Wienermobile are online via twitter:  @Wienermobile and at www.HotDoggerBlog.com.

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Henley has a wind turbine! Congratulations to everyone at Henley Middle School who worked for so long to accomplish this.

I’ll update this story as the news reports on it.

As promised … the Newsplex has a story up about it .

Update 2: Charlottesville Tomorrow has a thorough account and background about the renewable energy center.

Interesting discussion also at my personal Facebook page.

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Summary of tweets after the jump …

CCAC meetings are representative of the proverbial frog in the boiling pot of water. Many if not most Crozetians won’t know about many of the things discussed here until said things make the headlines of the Daily Progress or the TV news … and then it may be too late. Spend some time reviewing these tweets by @ChuckfromAkron, and ask questions.

If you’re curious about Twitter, it’s easy; watch this video to see just how easy.

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“Crozet” is hard to define – Understanding Crozet is sometimes difficult, particularly when you’re looking to move to Crozet. Some define Crozet as “the 22932 zip code“. Some define it as broad as “past Ivy“.

At Nest, we have been slowly releasing our Live Where you Love video series … we have decidedly not overtly branded these as we intended these videos to be for you rather than explicit marketing for us.

(for my clients, this is how I define it – the Brownsville and Crozet Elementary school districts.”)

Have questions about Crozet? Ask me. I live here.

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