Colonial Place/Riverview Civic League
COMMUNITY NEWS
Guest Speakers: Rep. Bobby Scott and Mrs. Winsome Sears At This Month's Meeting
NEXT BOARD MEETING will be October 18, 2004, at 7:00 pm.
DEADLINE for the November issue is Tuesday, October 26, 2004.
THIS MONTH'S MEETING AGENDA: Monthly police report - Code enforcement update - Guests: Rep. Bobby Scott and Mrs. Winsome Sears.
ZooToDo: October 9 (7:30 -11:30 PM)--Visit virginiazoo.org for more information
East Beach Homearama October 9-24
Front Porch Art Walk, Sunday October 10
Granby Street Open House Nov 6
What a great meeting and a great turnout in September! Vice President Steve Earnhart orchestrated a fantastic, humorous and entertaining group of presentations on local performing artistic groups. And this month (Monday, October 11th) we have "3rd District Dialogue" (see separate article). We also have the CPRV annual Front Porch Art Walk on Sunday, October 10th.
A special thanks to Stephanie Gray for cleaning the graffiti off the Colonial Place historic-designation sign on Virginia (WD-40 has lots of uses). She is also taking action to get Dominion Power to address the recurring power interruptions in our community (as I was reminded this morning, September 29th at 8:34 am). Having to constantly reset the clocks on all the electronic gear is painful.
Kelly Sorensen, our Community News Editor, is looking for help with the Newsletter and a potential successor. Kathy Stark, Chairwoman of our Community Improvement Committee, is looking for a relief after serving for about five years. If you want to help, contact them or me.
If you get a chance, go out to East Ocean View and see all the changes. As I have been going there over the last month (getting my condo ready for sale, having rented it since moving-up to CPRV sixteen years ago), the City’s activity to beautify in preparation for Homearama has been impressive. It is great seeing the City’s concentrated efforts to be sure that Homearama visitors’ first impressions are favorable. At times one must concentrate one’s efforts to make a difference. We should commend our City government for their successful work. While I do not approve of all the changes in East Ocean View (don’t like the multi-storied McMansions on postage-stamp lots lining East Ocean View Avenue and we need Bay Oaks Park more than 80 to 100 more houses), the changes are dramatic.
By the time you read this article, the 6th Annual CPRV Front Porch Art Walk will probably be just days away! We are looking forward to another wonderful event, this year with featured artist Linda Gissen. The event takes place from 1 PM to 5 PM on Sunday, October 10th, and is a great opportunity to meet your neighbors, support your local artists, and show off this unique community to friends, family and co-workers. Please help spread the word and encourage folks to spend a Sunday afternoon exploring CPRV and getting to know some of the creative people who make our neighborhood unique. Thanks to everyone who has volunteered their time, talents, and porches to make this event a success! Questions should be directed to either Kristin Bourcier (622-5324 / MosaicArt@cox.net) or TheresaNock (625-2036 / theresanock@williamewood.com).
Too often, the political discourse in America is reduced to quick sound bites and attack ads. Wouldn't it be nice to have a conversation with a candidate for office rather than a quick "Mc Speech"? To help renew your optimism in the "process", CPRV is a hosting a very special “Election 2004” October Civic league meeting (Monday, Oct. 11th, 7 pm) that we are calling the 3rd District Dialogue. Colonial Place’s very own Glen Sussman, Ph.D., Professor and Chair of Political Science, will moderate a discussion that features the candidates for our U.S. House of Representatives district (3rd) and YOU! Representative Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (incumbent, Democrat) and Mrs. Winsome Sears (challenger, Republican) will be taking your questions and comments. Our neighboring civic leagues have been invited and local media coverage is expected. Bring your ideas, bring your concerns, bring your friends and neighbors. Democracy is not a spectator sport and it is hard to play if you don’t show up – come and participate in the CPRV 3rd District Dialogue! For more information, email Steve Earnhart at scearnhart@erols.com.
We'll be holding a regatta on the Lafayette on Halloween Day October 31st, and we would love to have the neighborhood come out and support the race.
The first races should be passing Mayflower between 10am and 11:30. Also we will be having a costume contest for the best dressed boat, and would love to have about 3 or 4 of our local neighbors that can come out and judge the contest. If anyone is interested, please contact me at robsr@erols.com
The CPRV Oyster Group has started farming 3,000 baby oysters off the shores of our neighborhood. We hope by checking on them weekly, keeping their float free of predators, and rinsing them off regularly that they will begin to flourish. Hopefully by spring time, they will be ready to join their friends on the oyster reefs in the Elizabeth River and help filter and clean the water. Join our group of Oyster Farmers. E-mail me thejanesfam@yahoo.com if you are interested in joining this great group!
Thanks again!
As of the last week of September, three arrests have been made in connection with the robberies to individuals in Larchmont, Ghent and CPRV. The investigation continues, and at least one more arrest is expected. The police have described the suspects as black male teens not necessarily wearing anything that could be described as a gang uniform. The danger still exists, according to the police, so please remember to be aware of your surroundings when you are out and about the neighborhood, especially at night.
The Crime Prevention Committee would have a much easier job of calling attention to crime trends if more people were on the neighborhood listserve. The CPRV listserve enables residents to share information about anything of interest – not just crime prevention issues – and the process of joining has been made very simple. Sign on to www.cprv.org and look for the “CPRV Email List” link on the homepage.
The next Crime Prevention Committee meeting is on Monday, October 25, at 6:30pm at the Stuart Center cafeteria, and is open to anyone who has an interest in preventing crime in CPRV. Contact Malcolm Martin at tidewatersurvey@aol.com or 624-9708 (new number…625-8285 has been disconnected) for information about committee activity and CPRV Neighborhood Watch.
Crime Prevention Committee Tip of the Month: Do not assume that the crime in progress or suspicious activity that you observe has been reported to the police, even if you know that your neighbors have observed it as well. It is not unlikely that your neighbors will assume that someone else has attended to it.
Please just go ahead and make the call….promptly. Report suspicious activity by dialing the police non-emergency number, 441-5610; report a crime in progress by dialing 911.
The Riverview Village Holiday Open House will reappear on Saturday, November 6 and promises to be a fun day for both the businesses and shoppers. Over 25 businesses have signed up to participate and the event will be filled with door prizes, specials, food, entertainment and trolley tours. Entertainment is still being finalized, but count on seeing the Acclaim Barbershop Quartet, the Colonial Place Circus, the Hurrah Players and several others TBA. The VW Club will again be on hand with their vans as well as a City of Norfolk fire truck. The Zoo will have docents with animals in the education building (and some edible treats for humans!). Stop by the angel tree so that you can purchase a holiday gift for a zoo animal (can’t wait to see what Alvin, Theodore and Simon, the river hogs, have on their Christmas/ Hanukkah/ Kwanzaa lists!)
Last year the Riverview Village Business Association, with the community’s help, sent the Norfolk SPCA home with 1000 pounds of clay kitty litter. Again this year, each $1 dollar contribution will allow our teenage volunteers to transfer 10 pounds of litter to the SPCA truck. Let’s keep those kids busy and send the SPCA representative back to the shelter with a filled truck.
The Ernie Morgan Environmental Action Center will also be participating in the Open House as a warm-up for its own celebration to be held downtown later that evening. The Norfolk Environmental Commission will be celebrating 25 years of keeping Norfolk beautiful with “The Trashy Dinner Dance,” a fundraiser to benefit the building of the “greenest facility in Hampton Roads” and the expansion of environmental education. The event will be held at Nauticus from 6:30-9:30 and will feature Steve Trash, Illusionist and Eco-Entertainer (can he make Mount Trashmore disappear?), along with music, dancing and fun. Tickets are $50 per person and dress is “Retro Re-Use” (put together a “throw back” outfit from a previous fashion era). Awards will be presented for the best outfit. Call 441-1347 or visit www.norfolkbeautiful.org to purchase tickets and for additional information. So call your friends and neighbors and come out and support an event that’s sure to be a blast from the past and an investment in a green future!
3900 East Granby Street is now home to Artisan, a custom interior design workroom. Owner, Verdonda Mayes-Cooper and her staff will create draperies, custom bedding, and slipcovers as well as upholster your items. Bring your own fabric or choose from their selection. The shop is open Monday through Friday from 10 - 6 or by appointment (call 831-6260). Verdonda, a Riverview resident, has been sewing since she was a child and for 10 years was the manager of Undercover. In 2000 she started her own shop, which she recently relocated to Riverview Village. Remember that in Riverview Village you can gas up and service your car, relax with a cup of specialty coffee, buy plants for your yard or flowers for your table, go to the bank, get a will drafted, buy a greeting card, purchase salvage items for your old house, eat a fast lunch, eat an international dinner, have a suit dry cleaned or altered, buy a lottery ticket, select a wedding present, rock to a new CD, have a computer repaired or rent a limo. And so much more! So be sure to shop the neighborhood first.
So who’s looking out for you and your family here in Colonial Place/Riverview? Two likely candidates are Laurie and Craig Reilly who live on Mayflower Road where the Lafayette River meets Knitting Mill Creek. Craig works for Xerox, assisting the Navy with its technical systems, and is our outgoing President of the CPRV Civic League. Laurie is owner and principal of West Ghent School, where several CPRV children (including my own) attend pre-kindergarten classes. The Reillys have 2 children, now grown - Craig (29) and Kate (24) - and are excitedly waiting to be grandparents!
Laurie and Craig are home-grown Norfolkians, having attended Blair and Maury together, where they fell in love and became high-school sweethearts. Transplants from Ghent, the Reillys moved to CPRV about 10 years ago and were forever charmed by our fair neighborhood, finding helpful neighbors that, in Laurie’s words, “watch out for one another.”
As both Civic League President and Vice-President, Craig has watched out for all of us in CPRV, helping guide important initiatives to successful conclusion, including the saving of Lafayette Park’s green space and the refurbishment of the Haven Creek boat ramp. With his inclusive, approachable style, Craig has improved residents’ access to the CPRV Civic League and created positive, beneficial relationships for CPRV with other civic leagues and Norfolk city leadership.
Laurie is a self-described “horse addict” who loves riding English Hunters and training ponies at the “Reilly Barn” in Suffolk. During the school year, however, you can find Laurie readying her teachers and prepping our kids for success at the big show (grade school). Amid the controlled chaos, her wise ways and ready smile calm the jitters of both parents and kids alike and bring out the best in our community’s newest members.
The Reillys find CPRV filled with good feeling and appreciate CPRV’s diverse makeup and friendly, unassuming attitude. Laurie would like to see the neighborhood host more social events and looks forward to mixing it up at the upcoming Front Porch Art Walk. Laurie feels we were lucky to escape most of Hurricane Isabel’s wrath last year and can report that the new bulkhead has definitely helped prevent flooding. A warm thanks to Laurie and Craig Reilly for their active contribution to our community!
CPRV stickers will be available at the October meeting. Your entire donation of $2.50 per sticker goes into the CPRV treasury to help fund all the wonderful league activities throughout the year.
If you can't make the meeting order your stickers by mail. Just send a check (made out to CPRV) to Jeanne Ullian, 4400 Mayflower Road, Norfolk, VA 23508. Stickers will be delivered within a week of receipt.
Mystery Photo Contest: Based upon my enthusiasm (and mine ALONE), Dave Spriggs has generously provided another historic photo for the October Contest. Check the link on the home page to see the current picture of the September photo and the new October photo. If you recognize the building, or have any stories or facts to share concerning it, send an email to jullian@cprv.org
3rd District Dialogue: Links will be up on the home page to the official web sites of our candidates for the U.S. House of Representatives: Representative Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (incumbent, Democrat) and Mrs. Winsome Sears (challenger, Republican).
Art Walk: Link on the home page to Art Walk 2004 information.
CPRV Email List: Link on the home page so you can easily join this email list serving our community. It's a simple "fill in the box" form. This is our forum for sharing information between meetings and newsletters as well as an alternative means to discuss neigborhood issues.
Wanted: Civic minded resident to promote an attractive, well-maintained community located on the shores of the Lafayette River.
Qualifications: Somewhat organized. Likes to socialize. Enjoys living in Colonial Place or Riverview. Has ideas about how to improve the community or is willing to listen to others' ideas. Enjoys the process of working with others to transform ideas into tangible results. And, finally, likes to have fun.
Hours: You decide. (What can be better than that?)
Compensation: Lots of praise, new friendships, not to mention the satisfaction of knowing you're making the community you love better, AND the added benefit of putting your mark on it.
Position: Community Improvement Chair for Colonial Place and Riverview.
What's involved? Working with the City to ensure our streets, sidewalks, and street lights are maintained. Working with the City and neighbors to improve the visual and physical condition of our communties. The benefits are many. Apply now. For more information, contact Kathy Stark at 640-8938.
The Colonial Place/Riverview Civic League
P.O. Box 6130
Norfolk, VA 23508
E-MAIL: president@cprv.org (checked weekly)
WEB PAGE: www.cprv.org
Community News Editor: Kelly Sorensen, Phone 622-0437
Community News Distribution: Margaret Bright, Phone 627-2815
Advertising: Kelly Sorensen, Phone 622-0437
Please deliver typewritten newsletter items to:
Kelly Sorensen
Phone: 622-0437
e-mail: cprvnews@cox.net