Show your Support for the (building of) Crozet Library

via email:

Greetings friends/patrons of the Crozet Library,

Crozet and JMRL staff and board representatives have been working with Albemarle County staff and Supervisors for some time to urge them to fulfill their promise of building the new Crozet/Western Albemarle Library.

The plans for the new library were approved by the County Architectural Review Board in April. The parking lot for the new library is currently under construction.

A small group of supporters is convinced that strong and sustained advocacy is the only way to get the new library built. We are in the process of organizing this grassroots effort as “Build Crozet Library.”

There’s a particular urgency to this effort: without seeing steps taken toward building the new building soon, JMRL will need to start reducing the collection at the current Crozet Library. The excellent staff has done everything they can to make the space work for all patrons, but the crowded conditions are not sustainable.

WED, Oct. 5, at 9:00 am:

Continue reading “Show your Support for the (building of) Crozet Library”

Dancing and Old Time String Music to benefit Crozet Charities – 24 September 2011

Uncle Henry's Favorites Band

via press release:

UNCLE HENRY’S FAVORITES PLAYS OLD TIME STRING BAND MUSIC AT GREENWOOD COMMUNITY CENTER WITH BRAD SAYLER CALLING

The sound of old time string band music and dancing feet will be heard Saturday night at a country dance to raise money for groups in Albemarle County that provide life-saving support and are working to keep our community healthy. Uncle Henry’s Favorites, one of the South’s premier old time string bands, will be playing tunes at the Greenwood Community Center from 7:30 pm to 10:30 on Saturday, Sept 24. The dance is sponsored by Ann Mallek to celebrate our community’s commitment to volunteerism and citizen engagement. The event will be fun for the whole family, whether you come to listen to music or to dance. Admission at the door is a donation of your choice to the Crozet Fire Dept., the Western Albemarle Rescue Squad, the Earlysville Volunteer Fire Company or the Crozet PARC.

Continue reading “Dancing and Old Time String Music to benefit Crozet Charities – 24 September 2011”

Local Folk Music at Crozet’s Mudhouse this Saturday

via press release:

Local Crozetians, Ursula and Stephen Goadhouse play their original folk music at the Crozet Mudhouse on Saturday, September 17th at 8pm. This special event is a welcoming back of the musicians into the public after 7 years and a Benefit Show to help offset therapy cost for their son, Rumi.

Ursula is a local singer-songwriter whose music has been described as “great heartfelt passionate songwriting that will stir your insides” by Danny Schmidt. Stephen plays lead guitar, acoustic bass guitar, steel guitar and Strumstick. Together they weave sound and story of loss, love and hope. They will be joined by Scottsvillians, Jennifer and D Borishansky on djembe and fiddle for a few tunes, adding spice and grove to the music. 

The donations given at the Mudhouse show and the sales of their album, “Love is Medicine”, go to RumiRising.org to help offset the cost for supportive therapies for their son, Rumi, who has autism, Downs syndrome and hearing impairment. This will be a special night, so come enjoy the music, Mudhouse and your community!

Country Dance Benefit for Local Crozet Groups

via email:

COUNTRY SQUARE DANCE TO CELEBRATE OUR COMMUNITY

Saturday, September 24
7:30 to 10:30 pm
Greenwood Community Center

Ann Mallek is sponsoring this event to bring the community together in a spirit of fun, dance, and commitment to groups that keep our community thriving and growing.

Your donation at the door will be a contribution to the Western Albemarle Rescue Squad, Crozet Volunteer Fire Department, Earlysville Fire Company, or Crozet PARC. Come by yourself, as a couple or dance together as a family!

Country Dance in Crozet flyer (PDF)

Note that this dance/flyer/event is “Paid for and authorized by Ann Mallek for Supervisor” but I don’t see any reason to not go, have fun and donate to your favorite local organization. Besides, right now she’s running unopposed.

Crozet Park Update – $7k to Go!

From Crozet Park’s newsletter:

1. Good news- after about year and half of fundraising we as a community have raised nearly $193,000 That puts us just $7,000 away from our goal of $200,000 on the community match. We have until SEPT 01 – one month to close the gap – we have that deadline from a local foundation in order to receive a grant from them.   

The July 2nd weekend events of the Swing Dance and the fireworks raised about $10,000 for this campaign. ?

2. Bad news – despite all of the fundraising we didn’t make the early June deadline to put the down payment needed for fall/winter opening on the dome so it will NOT happen for this upcoming winter season.?

3. Where does that leave us now? Finish the remaining $7,000 so we can get the local grant and helping the park raise the final portion of their part of the pledge.   

Continue reading “Crozet Park Update – $7k to Go!”

Batesville Store is Closed

Update 13 June – Perhaps the best explanation comes from a Newsplex comment:

If you take time to read the letter provided by the Batesville Store to its clients, which is linked in the story, the reason for closing is clearly explained. They had been operating as a country store and were under the governance of the state’s Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. However, it was determined that the store did too much business to remain a country store. The only option available was for them to become a restaurant and to comply with all Virginia Health Department regulations. The owners state in their letter that the requiremetn (sic)to operate as a restaurant was not viable for many reasons.

Update 12 June: See the bottom of this post for new from the Batesville Store that they are closing. For good. Surely the State could find a way to make this work for the good of the Batesville community.

Update 12 June #2 – cvillenews has more insight.

Update 11 June: The Newsplex reports:

A store employee told CBS19 that the reason behind the shutdown wasn’t a health issue, but a safety issue. He says the store had exceeded their seating capacity.

A country store is allowed to have 15 total seats by law, but The Batesville Store has over 40. The employee was frustrated saying that the Health Department hadn’t given them a warning.

Surely someone in Batesville can shed some light on this. The Batesville Store is fantastic – the food, ambiance, smells, location, beer, music … it would be a tremendous shame if it were to be shut down by the State of Virginia.

Just received via email …

Dear Friends of The Batesville Store,

I have some sad news:

The Batesville Store is closed until further notice.

Earlier today two representatives from the state of Virginia showed up at the store without warning, informed us that we were not in compliance with certain state regulations, and basically gave us no choice except to close immediately. Continue reading “Batesville Store is Closed”

Vacation Mowing Service in Crozet

Check out this vacation mowing service in Crozet, courtesy of Sean Connolly, a graduating senior at WAHS.

Sean contacted me and he strikes me as a quality, enterprising young man who has something that many people – young or not – lack: a work ethic and a willingness to do something that is seemingly anathema to so many: WORK.

So, if you need some vacation mowing or work done around the house, give him a call. I did (and I’m not even going on vacation).

Yes, this is sort of an ad, but no, I’m not getting paid to run it.

Related book that I’m reading: The Great Stagnation: How America Ate All the Low-Hanging Fruit of Modern History, Got Sick, and Will(Eventually) Feel Better