White Stone Officials Bite Into a Meals Tax Proposal
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Wednesday, November 10, 2004 • Kilmarnock, Virginia • Eighty-eighth Year • Number 6 • Three Sections • 50¢ White Stone offi cials bite into a meals tax proposal beautifi cation. credited the town administration Councilman Jack Johnson over the years with building a Hearing opposed the proposed tax, saying surplus from limited revenues. it would be a deterrent for cus- “We’re not broke,” said Boles. tomers to patronize town restau- “You know that. We can pay our rants due to the increased cost for bills, but we’ve got to look at the is tabled food. future.” Johnson also said he feels the Boles also questioned the by Robb Hoff town does not need additional impact upon residents if another WHITE STONE—After the revenues at this time. He further form of taxation, such as a real town planning commission tabled opposed the tax because it would estate tax, was needed to increase its scheduled hearing last week on be directed toward one group town coffers. a proposed 4 percent meals tax, while benefi ting others who do “How could you ask 300 fami- the White Stone Town Council not share in the tax. lies to pay any kind of taxes that prioritized ways it would spend “I always feel like a tax should could actually benefi t this town?” revenues to be raised if the tax is be on the people who are benefi t- asked Boles. adopted. ing from it,” said Johnson. While not voicing support or “We would be giving back to However, Boles said the res- opposition to the proposed meals the people, back to the town, and taurants and other prepared food tax, vice-mayor David Jones we would have the money to do retailers in town would be com- noted town services are used by it with,” said councilman Jack pensated for collecting the tax more people than just town resi- Boles. and the tax itself would be paid by dents. As proposed by council, the customers, not the businesses. “It’s unfair to say that only tax on prepared meals served in “This tax is not going to hurt the people who live within the corpo- White Stone would be used to restaurants,” said Boles. “They’re rate limits are going to be paying Living history fund the town police department, not going to have to pay any of the tax,” said Jones. Chesapeake Academy’s First Settlers’ Day event offers living history experience for youngsters. a water and sewer service fea- it.” Planning commission Susan Johnson shows members of Helen Pitman’s preschool how to mash corn into meal. The sibility study, a town boundary Boles agreed with Johnson that The planning commission had hands-on history festival was part of the academy’s early childhood enrichment series. See line adjustment study and town the town is fi nancially sound and (continued on page A15) related coverage on the school page. (Photo by Lisa Hinton-Valdrighi) The ‘fly boys’ of menhaden: Local pilots fish high in the sky by Reid Pierce Armstrong REEDVILLE—Twelve miles out into the Atlantic Ocean, three single-engine planes circle on a dime. Wings seesaw side to side as pilots crane their heads to see the water below. Revolving 2,500 feet above the water, they look for shadows, glints, glimmers – signatures of a payload below. William “Billy” Graham The men occupy a rare pro- fession. They are spotter pilots, members of a class of specialized pilots that travel the east coast Graham from New Jersey to North Car- olina with one objective–to fi nd schools of menhaden. A distant cousin to the herring, legacy menhaden are a small, unpalat- able species of fi sh prized for their oil. For 150 years, they have endures been harvested for bait, fertilizers and pet food and other things. by Robb Hoff Menhaden oil is better known IRVINGTON—William in its refi ned form as Omega-3, an “Billy” Graham of Irvington died odorless and tasteless nutritional November 4 at the age of 82, but supplement proven to reduce the his legacy in Lancaster County risk of heart disease. Further endures. refi ned, the oil is marketed as The retired Richmond insurance an ingredient in buttery spreads, executive moved to Irvington in salad dressings and pasta sauces. These nine men belong to a specialized class of pilots that fl y the Atlantic shore in search of just one fi sh—menhaden. From left, 1982 and his philanthropic leader- Only a handful of companies they are Cecil Dameron, 53; Jerry Held, 51; Jake Haynie, 50; Forrest Brann, 42; Carl Rice, 46; Henry Dixon Jr., 50; Rob Hudnall, ship has benefi ted numerous orga- harvest menhaden along the 42; Bill Corbett, 52; and John Mark Deihl, 32. nizations in the local area. Atlantic coast. The largest of Graham was a moving force these is Omega Protein in Reed- 1,800 feet long by 60 feet deep. “It’s the freedom of it I enjoy,” behind the growth of the North- ville. The pilot guides the two rafted “We are kind of like family when said Rice. “You never know ern Neck Free Health Clinic in Relying on the keen eyes of the purse boats to the fi sh. Eyeing where you are going to be or Kilmarnock. He donated over $1 spotter pilots, Omega’s Reedville the current, he tells the them we are out there. We are it. All we what you are going to do.” million to the organization in its fl eet of 10 ships brings ashore when to “set” the net by travel- As adventurous as that may mission to improve health care for some 200,000 tons of menhaden ing in opposite directions around talk to all day is each other. ” sound, spotter pilots work from the uninsured and under-insured. per year. a circle, and when to cinch it— —Jake Haynie daylight to dusk during the Graham also volunteered his like an upside-down pouch with Omega Chief Spotter Pilot season, which starts the fi rst expertise in the business opera- Scouting for fish a weighted drawstring. week in May and lasts until the tion of the clinic, which helped Spotter pilots are the seeing- While talking to the fi shermen, third week in November. They it expand to the point where the eye dogs of the fi shing industry. the pilot is fl ying tight, almost weather and the plane’s gauges. in the way and they are always fl y for three to four hours at a clinic now provides more than $3 From 2,500 feet above the water’s perpendicular, circles so that he When all the factors come into moving us, so we get separated time, spending as much as six million in services annually. surface, a trained pilot can esti- can look straight down through play, the job can get hairy. The from each other. When the fi sh are hours in the air without refuel- “He took us to a place for our mate the size and direction of his window at the water below. worst is working down the bay hard to catch and the weather is ing on a busy day. They also next level,” clinic executive direc- travel of a school of menhaden. As the pilot communicates with on a Norfolk approach, explained bad, things can get pretty dicey.” do a patrol on Sundays to see tor Jean Nelson said of Graham. Using his radio, he directs the boat captains on an FM radio Omega’s chief spotter pilot, Jake Near misses are a reality spot- where the fi shing boats need to Graham served on the clinic’s the 170-foot fi shing vessels, or channel, he also talks to the other Haynie. ter pilots face. In 1994, a spotter be Monday morning. board of directors for eight years. “steamers,” to a catch. The spotter planes on aircraft radios. “You have to listen to everyone pilot was killed when his plane The schedule is bearable Earlier this year, he was awarded steamer then launches two He must monitor his altitude in they are talking to,” Haynie said. collided with a military helicop- because it is not a year-round job. the Hero in Health Care Award by 40-foot aluminum “purse boats” skies where he is likely close to “It’s constant chatter on three ter near Cape Charles. With six months off, the pilots the Virginia Health Care Founda- guided by a captain and a mate, other planes. In addition, he keeps radios. The air traffi c controller is Most days, however, the job is get to do something different for tion for his work with the clinic. each carrying half of a net that is track of air traffi c control, the calling you a lot. We are always “more dull than scary,” Haynie part of the year. “He told me he felt that the said. The pilots can fl y around all Of the 12 menhaden spotter clinic really brought in every day and never fi nd a fi sh. pilots that fl y the Atlantic coast, aspect of the community and “It can be right boring when no nine live on the Chesapeake Bay. it was truly a mission,” said fi sh are showing,” said 23-year Seven work for Omega Protein Nelson. veteran Carl Rice. and two work for local indepen- The entrance to the clinic is The job may be as dangerous dent snapper (bait) boats. Regard- named William B. Graham Court as it is boring, but it has its less who signs the paycheck, they in his honor, and the clinic facil- perks.