Propane Costs Too Much!
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
STANDARD PRESORT RESIDENTIAL U.S. POSTAGE CUSTOMER PAID ECRWSS PERMIT NO. 82 WOODSTOCK, VA FEBRUARY 2019 www.blueridgeleader.com blueridgeleader SINCE 1984 ‘Personal Recreation Fields’ free to turn rural Loudoun into dumping grounds BY ANDREA GAINES In an impassioned letter dated Jan. 24, 2019, Cattail, LC, a limited partnership of family members who have over 800 acres of farmland under Nature Conservancy easement outside of Hamilton, showed the Board of Supervisors the necessity of dealing with an almost wholly unregulated landfill approved by the County. The letter was accompanied by a stun- ningly raw video showing what can only be described as massive landfill activity, “mas- Loudoun, show your querading,” says the partnership, as what is known as a “Personal Recreational Field.” love for Cannons That field is, in fact, an 18-acre tract of land – 30 feet high in some places – and strewn Aerial photos, video, and an explanation baseball; Team seeks of the case can be seen at www. with piles of dirt, massive chunks of con- LoudounRuralLandFills.com. host families crete and asphalt, construction debris, plas- For a copy of the Cattail, LC “Open Letter tic waste, and, in some places, liquid waste. to The Board of Supervisors, Jan. 24, BY ANDREA GAINES The waste is brought in by large dump 2019,” go to BlueRidgeLeader.com. The opening of the baseball season trucks accessing the site from old Business is some months away, but the Can- nons organization is working hard 7. The trucks enter – dozens and dozens per required to dispose of in a particular manner. Farm PRF “is, in fact, a landfill of more than day, dump their waste, and exit, day in and The Rural Economy Plan for the Gable 18 acres. The landfill rises more than 30 feet and fast to put the finishing touches day out – a process that has been going on Farm (REST-2015-0003) applies to four ru- and dominates a quarter-mile-long bound- on the 2019 team roster. intensively for more than three years. ral parcels zoned Agricultural-1 (AR-1). Ac- ary with our land. We estimate, conserva- This time of year, in addition to re- Cattail, LC owns land – Digges Valley cording to the requirements of the plan, the tively, that the volume of the ‘approved’ cruiting players, the team’s Housing Farm - that is adjacent to landfill that is part area receiving the infill is to be “not open landfill is at least 220,000 cubic yards. Re- Coordinator, Brian Haas, is looking of Gable Farm. to the public or used for any commercial cent surveys suggest that it may actually for host families, places for the guys In 2015, Gable Farm received approval purposes.” The erosion plan sets limits on contain over 420,000 cubic yards of waste: to live during the season. from the County to create the Gable Farm the infill that can be deposited and graded a total of about 28,000 truckloads that orig- Haas is a self-described “baseball Personal Recreational Field (PRF), approv- at the site for its use as a recreational field. inated off the site. The revenue from dump- fanatic,” and has experienced person- ing the land to be a receiving area for ex- In the January letter from Henry Harris, ing this much waste is potentially in the ally the value of community generos- cessive fill – soil, rocks, and other materials Managing Partner, Cattail, LC, since being millions of dollars. ity. He is one of the beneficiaries of that construction companies and others are approved, County records show it is noted “We believe that such dumps of ‘exces- the local Hero Homes project, which that the Gable Farm PRF may have accumu- sive fill’ – whether called ‘landfills,’ ‘dirt provides housing to injured veterans. IN THIS ISSUE lated a level of infill waste up to 14 feet over stockpiles,’ or ‘personal fields’ – are not an Volunteering as the Housing Coordi- BUSINESS . 12 GOVERNMENT . 8 what is allowed in the plan. appropriate land use in western Loudoun,” nator for the Cannons is one way for CLASSIFIEDS . 24 OPINION . 6 The letter goes on to say that the Gable COLUMNISTS . 4 REAL ESTATE . 11 CONTINUED ON PAGE 20 » CONTINUED ON PAGE 18 » PROPANE COSTS TOO MMUUCCHH!! This Winter is the Ideal Time to Make the Switch. 540-687-3608 “So very happy we switched to Hunt Country. My only regret is that we didn’t do it sooner. How “I have been buying propane from Hunt Country for about a year now. My much money we would have saved…However, we finally made the right choice about our propane. previous propane provider was much higher priced. The staff was rude and huntcountrypropane.com For years I have been receiving offers from other companies offering low rates, only to find out didn’t seem to care if you gave them business or not. When I was shopping you have to enter a contract with them. It never made sense to me that you could drive around around for a new company, thankfully I found Hunt Country. The staff is town and shop for fuel for your car, but not for your home. It’s nice to see that a business owner friendly, professional, knowledgeable and genuinely cared that you gave understands this and caters to the customer. We received our first delivery this past Saturday them your business. Hunt Country prices are consistently lower than their and the owner himself brought it out. The service was excellent. Of course, I’m not surprised, competitors. I highly recommend that you call Hunt Country Propane, if you as the initial account set-up was easy and the lady in the office was so pleasant!” —Caroline T. don’t, you’re making a BIG($) mistake. Thanks Hunt Country!” —Ed, Leesburg Less • Local • Honest 2 BLUE RIDGE LEADER & LOUDOUN TODAY | www.BlueRidgeLeader.com FEBRUARY 2019 Tap Our Latest Innovations to Find Your New Home On Your Terms It’s time to take control of your new home search. Brookfield Residential’s Empower innovation features help connect you to the right home sooner and create a better, smoother experience every step of the way. Personalize a nearly complete home with your Access a code online and instantly tour select Control your new home with just the sound of design selections. It’s yours within 2 months. new homes on your own, on your time. Even your voice using convenient home automation before or after business hours. technology powered by Amazon Alexa. The My Brookfield Home app sends you Use interactive technology to personalize Every Brookfield Residential home includes progress updates, photos and reminders floorplans and visualize colors, cabinets, a wide range of features designed to save during your home’s construction. counters, fixtures, appliances and flooring. energy and save you money each month. Search with Confidence. Townhomes from the mid $200’s. Single-Family Homes from the mid $500’s. Prices, financing, availability, terms and 4 Communities Across Loudoun and Frederick Counties. incentives are subject to change without notice. Availability of Empower features varies by home and community. See a Brookfield Residential BrookfieldDC.com/EmpowerBRL Sales Manager for details. FEBRUARY 2019 BLUE RIDGE LEADER & LOUDOUN TODAY | www.BlueRidgeLeader.com 3 Crazy about beating cancer BY ANDREA GAINES Robinson, Ashlyn Cool, Antwoin Stokes, Ryan Cancer has the ability to turn a life upside down. Ruscitella, Riley Draddy, and Katlyn Money But, love, love has the ability to turn it right-side – all Loudoun Valley students, and Sarah Rubin, up again. And, to hold it there, with the support of a student Woodgrove. Robinson is also in the family and friends, until there is a better day to running for the National Capital chapter of the be had. Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Student of the This is the beautiful and enduring spirit of Year. positivity working its way around Loudoun And, this is where the love comes in. County in the form of ten high school students Makenzie Robinson became involved with LLS who call themselves LoCo On Cancer. after her mom, Tracy Robinson, was diagnosed The team is committed to raising $50,000 in a with ovarian cancer. Tracy took the cancer head seven-week fundraising effort running from Jan. on, and has so far beaten the odds – with the love BRMS 6th Grade math students and staff pictured with soup mix jars that were donated to the Tree of Life Food Pantry to 10 to March 2. The full name of the campaign is of her family and friends, and that same beautiful support the local community. and enduring spirit of positivity these students are showing. Tracy also took on the challenge of running in the Man and Woman of Blue Ridge Math the Year campaign for LLS in 2016. Makenzie Robinson is following in her mom’s footsteps. In a Students Give Back January presentation to the Sixth grade students from Blue Ridge Middle Loudoun County Board of School, under the guidance of their math teachers Mrs. Supervisors, Makenzie said, Farrey, Mrs. McDole, Mrs. McFarland, and Mrs. Taylor, “Unlike my mom’s campaign, turned an understanding of fractions into 150 dried I have chosen to run as a team soup mixes that were donated to the Tree of Life Food made up of students from both Pantry in time for the holiday season. “This project Loudoun Valley and Woodgrove was important to me because it worked on my fraction High Schools.” skills and it contributed to the community … it felt In the “SOY” effort, Mackenzie good to know we were helping other people,” said 6th continued, “The title of ‘Student(s) LoCo On Cancer team members pictured, left to right: Antwoin Stokes, grade student Ciara Rosenberger.