The Croatan Civic League News
Transcription
The Croatan Civic League News
The Croatan Civic League News July 2013 By the Beach with Bill Garvey Well, here we are in the middle of summer (hope it’s not going by too quickly) and while the days are slowly getting shorter, the nights are getting hotter as the Dog Days are almost upon us. At our July meeting our guest speaker was Adjutant General of the Virginia National Guard. Major General Daniel Long, Camp Pendleton Commander Lt. Col. Elena Scarborough, Del. Barry Knight and VB Councilman John Uhrin were also in attendance. General Long said Camp Pendleton and the Virginia National Guard will continue to be good neighbors with Croatan. Sean and Lisa Forsyth once again threw a fantastic 4TH of July party. The weather was great and there were more kids then I ever remember seeing. The fireworks to end the night were spectacular as were the snow cones and cotton candy. In upcoming events: We have the annual National Night Out scheduled for Tuesday, August 6th from 6:00 to 8:00 PM at “The Point”. Bring the kids (both young and old) to come out, have fun, refreshments, and show our neighborhood unity. On September 1st, the Rock N’ Roll Half Marathon works its way by our hood. Dress for the beach and bring some frozen icy pops for the thirsty runners. th The Annual Dinner will be held on Friday, October 18 at the Dam Neck Base once again. Last year’s event was a great party with a large turnout, dancing, mingling and fun for all. Get those babysitters lined up as you do not want to miss it this year. More info to follow as it gets closer. We will also be holding annual elections for Board Director positions. If you have an interest in running for a board position, please contact me at 439-2897. That will take us up to the holidays (by God, the year is going by too quickly!) CONTENTS: By the Beach 1 From the Desk of 2 Nextdoor 3 Book Club 3 Wildlife in Croatan 4 Baby/Pet Sitters 5 Directory Update 6 CAC Report 9 National Night Out 11 Plant of the Month 11 Please remember to be safe while enjoying the summer and many, many thanks to all who make this neighborhood an incredible place to live and raise a family. See ya at the Beach….. Bill Garvey CCL President COMING EVENTS: 7/18 Book Club 8/5 CCL Board Meeting 8/6 NNO 9/1 Rock ‘n Roll Race 9/9 Women’s Club 10/18 CCL Annual Dinner Next Month’s Newsletter Deadline 8/16 2 From the Desk of Ken Jobe CITY OF VIRGINIA BEACH BEACHES AND WATERWAYS ADVISORY COMMISSION- Hurricane Sandy raised concerns about CVB beach replenishment funding. Future Federal Beach replenishment funding is uncertain and questionable. By resolution Council directed The Commission to conduct a public input process regarding how to finance sand replenishment along the City beaches. A Commission meeting was held 11 July. A staff briefing was featured. Included was an overview of the Chesapeake Bay and Atlantic Ocean sand beaches, their need for replenishment, potential costs for initial and maintenance replenishment and related legal issues. This included Croatan Beach Public Park’s beach. Pertinent Croatan Beach bulleted points were: Relatively stable owing to inlet No current project Replenishment project would require revisions to inlet infrastructure The next meeting is 25 July. Future activities will include business and community stakeholder meetings and 5 to 7 public meetings. The WETLANDS BOARD 15 July agenda has no Croatan applicants. CAMP PENDLETON/LAKE CHRISTINE – MG Daniel Long, Adjutant General, Commonwealth of Virginia visited with us at CCL's July meeting. MG Long is an avid fisherman, deeply interested in Lake Christine and being a good neighbor to Croatan. He met with us, heard our concerns, briefed on the mission and organization of the Commonwealth’s National Guard and Camp Pendleton, now and future. Delegate Barry Knight and Councilman Uhrin attended the meeting and commented. The Williamsburg Environmental Group [aided by Solitude Lake Management] continues conducting a Lake Christine environmental study. Study completion date could be late Aug or early Sept. MG Long stated he would not like to see the jointly owned Lake Christine turn into a messy bog. Neither would the Lake Christine Conservatory nor any resident of Croatan with whom I have spoken. The expensive, time consuming study is expected to contain recommendations for addressing the Lake’s issues. It is anticipated addressing the Lake’s ills will be expensive and borne by the National Guard and Croatan residents, not the City. CROATAN ROAD RADARSIGN – As mentioned in prior months the CCL BoD voted to acquire a solar powered radar unit at an approximate cost of $4700. City staff has reviewed the CCL request to install and operate the device. An onsite meeting has been held. An Operational Plan is being reviewed by the Publics Works Department. The Croatan Beach Public Park Weir’s deteriorated Concrete Ramp – no change from the 6 May CCL Meeting. Twilight & Croatan Road/South Atlantic Walking Paths – Responding to residential complaints and reports of near misses, we have requested yield-to-pedestrian signage installation and refreshing the crosswalks. Also requested was remarking the center line and multi-use path in the 800-900 block of South Vanderbilt. Questions or comments on the preceding? Please send them to me @ kejo425@aol.com ………………………………………………See ya on the beach. Ken 3 Nextdoor Croatan by Marian Kitchin As of publication time, 210 residents have joined us on Nextdoor Croatan. A new feature is now available—Nearby Neighborhoods. You can view activities and alerts in Rudee Heights and Shadowlawn by clicking on Croatan + 2 Nearby Neighbors. To view Croatan only, click on Croatan.. You also have to option to control which neighborhoods are included in your Nearby Neighborhoods by clicking on Croatan + Nearby Neighbors, then clicking on Nearby Neighbors and click OFF on Rudee Heights and/or Shadowlawn. Thanks to Nextdoor during the past week one cat and one dog were returned to owners. You can post directly to Nextdoor. No need to wait for a neighborhood email. If you have questions about Nextdoor Croatan, contact one of the leads: Maria Kania, Marian Kitchin, Katie Ripberger and Sylvia Vance. Maria is the Citizens Advisory Committee representative for Croatan at the 2nd precinct and sends out neighborhood alerts. Marian is the Croatan Newsletter editor and web master. She posts the monthly newsletter, documents and events. If you are the event chair, you can post the event yourself. Katie is active with Lynnhaven River NOW and Rudee Inlet Foundation. These organizations strive to preserve the natural beauty and habitat of Rudee Inlet /Owl’s Creek watershed and the Lynnhaven River basin. Croatan and Nearby Neighborhoods Rudee Heights and Shadowlawn are within that watershed. Sylvia sends out neighborhood emails. Sylvia posted this message on Nextdoor Croatan: “It's a good idea to post items for sale, lost pets, fund-raisers, and recommendations here on Nextdoor. It's much faster than going through me. I can only send three messages via email, then Cox cuts me off for three hours because I'm over my quota. You can post photos here, too.” We hope you will join us on Nextdoor Croatan. To join, visit: croatan.nextdoor.com/join. Enter your code: CDPTFS. The Croatan Book Club Next Meeting Date: Thursday, July 18th Time: 7:00 P.M. Place: Home of Miriam Petruschak, Leader—Sylvia Vance Selection: The Elegance of the Hedgehog" by Muriel Barbery All Neighbors are welcome. Just read the book (or maybe not), bring a beverage or snack, and e-mail the hostess that you will be attending. *** We plan to watch the movie "The Hedgehog" in French for those wishing to stay after the book discussion. Future Selections — Hosts and Leaders August 15 "The Light Between Oceans" by M.L. Stedman—Hostess Jan Periello September 26 October 17 Nov/Dec Jan 2014 "Wild, From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail" Cheryl Strayed—Hostess Sylvia Vance "The Round House" by Louise Erdich "The Lawyer's Lawyer" by James Sheehan "The Dinner" by Herman Koch 4 Wildlife in Croatan by Susanna Hart Miller This month, let’s look at some of the flora and fauna that grace our freshwater community. As we look at the health of Lake Christine, it’s nice to appreciate the plants and animals that help make up a successful ecosystem. Lizard’s Tail, Saururus cernuus, is a native perennial which colonizes by rhizome a spreading, underground stem. The neat, drooping bloom is reminiscent of a lizard’s tail, hence the name. Lizard’s Tail is an important plant for cover and shelter of many species of mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians, providing egg laying sites in and around leaves for dragonflies, frogs and salamanders. Insects and spiders use the plant above water, including bees and other nectardrinkers. Speaking of egg-laying sites for frogs, have you heard the baritone notes of our male American bullfrogs, Rana catesbeiana, courting the ladies? Their call is suggestive of a bull’s roar (thus the common name) and they aggressively defend their territory during the breeding season. These hefty frogs are the largest in North America, capping out at 8 inches and 1 ½ lbs! They are voracious hunters that prey on almost anything they can overcome and swallow. This has been known to include rodents, small turtles, snakes, crayfish, frogs (including other bullfrogs), birds, and even bats! In turn, bullfrogs are an important item of prey to many birds, otters, fish, and other amphibians. The eggs and larvae taste yucky to many fish and salamanders, but are happily consumed by birds and snakes (although young bullfrogs are resistant to the venom of Copperheads and Cottonmouths). While occasionally kept as pets, the bullfrog will still bite even when tamed, and can live 16 years or more in captivity! Of course it’s nicer to leave our froggy neighbors free in the wild. Another interesting group of creatures using Lizard’s Tail for egg laying are the dragonflies and damselflies. Dragonflies tend to be larger and perch with wings extended to the sides. Damselflies are a bit smaller and slower and sit with wings held above the body. These jet fliers of the insect world come in many beautiful colors. Dragonflies are generalist feeders and often hunt in groups where flying insects, such as termites, are swarming. They are also prey for many other species including birds, fish, frogs and spiders, although their agility and huge compound eyes give them an exceptional visual response to threats. Each eye is composed of nearly 28,000 individual units and together the eyes cover most of the head More than 80% of their brain is devoted to analyzing visual information. The larval form is aquatic and stays underwater for six to 15 molts…most of its life. Larval forms are quite carnivorous, eating many small aquatic insects, including mosquito larvae. There are so many plants and animals which interact to make a thriving aquatic ecosystem. Sometimes we think we know what is ‘good’ or ‘bad’ for a habitat, but there are so many interconnecting layers beneath the surface. I hope you enjoy peeking into the lives of these three species ‘working together’ in Croatan. 5 Neighborhood Contacts and Helpers Welcome Wagon BABYSITTERS IN CROATAN Contact Katie Ripberger at katiefr@williamewood.com or phone 434-6450 if you know of new Croatan neighbors Alexa Anderson Preston Banta Jordan Delaney Devan Doss Cindi Dunker Mariah Dunlap Skylar Faillia Morgan Garber Sofia Gerloff Alex Goss Alli Ingraham Mariah Jonklaas Emily Leonard Brittani McLeskey Cameron Reuss Sidney Roeder Christian Sims Book Collection Betty Rosignolo Sentara Virginia Beach Hospital Auxiliary 760 Virginia Dare Drive 437-8662 rbrosignolo@cox.net Magazine Collection Michele Speight, Teen Crisis Intervention 549 Bushnell Drive 428-7947 msp8@cox.net Who to Call Dead or Stranded Marine Mammal (dolphin, seal, whale) or Sea Turtle Virginia Aquarium Stranding Response Team 757-385-7575 Important Contacts Police Fire & Rescue Emergencies Non-Emergency Assistance Miss Utility Potholes, Street Signs and Repairs Animal Control (Option #1) City Landfill Bulk Trash Pickup Croatan Temporary Parking Permit Wildlife Response , Inc. VBSPCA Wildlife Referral Line 911 385-5000 811 385-1470 385-4444 385-1980 385-4650 385-4131 543-7000 263-4762 961-0423/330-519-1349 (Cell) 425-7463 491-2263 613-1525/565-7568 (Cell) 287-6725 or 425-7476 422-6050/412-8469 (Cell) 491-3001 422-1840 567-6727 491-7275 469-3892 (Cell) 491-4189/618-7016 (Cell) 439-6917 491-5800 491-1245/633-0928(Cell) 288-9577 437-1811 To make corrections or additions to this page, please contact Marian Kitchin at 437-9554 or email to mdkitchin@gmail.com. PET SITTERS IN CROATAN Donald Black 965-3208/818-2330 (Cell) Peri Bowman 425-9327 Austin Dunkler 425-7476 or 234-1157 Cindi Dunker 287-6725 or 425-7476 Skylar Faillia 491-3001 Morgan Garber 422-1840 Sofia Gerloff 567-6727 Karina Josh 284-8544 Nadia Kravstova 641-4256 Susan Leslie 437-9626 Molly Pocock 377-2126 Cameron Reuss 491-1245/633-0928 (Cell) Sidney Roeder 288-9577 Annabelle Smith 641-0943 Emily Yoder 286-0159 For recommended pet sitting businesses, visit Nextdoor Croatan or our website at www.croatanbeach.org and go to Neighbortoneighbor/Recommended Services/PetSitters SCOOP THE POOP!!!!! It’s the LAW!!! Please carry a plastic bag with you when you walk your dog. Don’t let pet waste become part of our waterways or our neighbor’s landscape. 6 Directory Supplement 2013-2014 Effective Date: July 1, 2013 Next Publication Date: May 2014 Only changes in member’s information are noted. If not listed, all other information is still correct. Please let me know if any corrections need to be made. Martha Davenport, Membership Director. Barnhart, Brad & Ginny (New) 524 Surfside Ave 410-967-5561 Jbradleybarnhart@att.net 622 Coventry Place, Towson, MD 21286 Basilone, John & Patricia 528 Virginia Dare Drive Basilonepat@gmail.com Batchelor, Daniel & Donna Bennett (New) 541 Vanderbilt Ave 679-9718 – Donna - Cell bankerbennett@hotmail.com Cahill, Vincent & Linda (New) Conor, Megan, Carleigh, Colin, Reed & Matthew 717 South Atlantic Ave 962-7620 301-873-3553 Lindacahill64@gmail.com 4924 Butterworth Place, NW Washington, DC 20016 Cartwright, Chris & Gina Hughes Katrina 605 Croatan Court 418-1996 –Chris- Cell 553-4807 – Gina - Cell Christian, Lang & Jane 828 South Atlantic Ave Lajata3@aol.com Dale, Alex 509 South Atlantic Ave Jamie.dale@icloud.com Daniel, Deette 621 Vanderbilt Ave deettedaniel@yahoo.com Dunker, Bob & Lisa 901 Surfside Ave RFDunks@gmail.com Earman, Chess & Bari Grohler (New) 409 Croatan Road 715-5033 419-8953 Earman930@yahoo.com bgrohler@aol.com Ellis, Tony & Karen (New) 711 Virginia Dare Drive 510-1585 536-7325 tonyellis@cox.net barteeellis@gmail.com 7 Fanney, Timothy & Linda 625 South Atlantic Ave 1TFann@cox.net George, Rick & Christine 648 South Atlantic Ave 412-613-0628 Rick@classichq.com Celynn@aol.com 219 Grandview Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15211 Gisbert, Taryn (New) 608 Bushnell Court 233-9475 631-553-7316 TarynGisbert@yahoo.com Goodman, Scot & Lila (New) 504 Surfside Ave 804-304-7080- Lila - Cell 804-306-4555- Scot - Cell lilagoodman@verizon.net Scot.goodman@verizon.net 10901 Ashmont Court, Glen Allen, VA 23059 804-353-4654 Gorby, Chris & Kathy (New) 805 Vanderbilt Ave 492-8520- Chris – Work 374-0336 – Chris – Cell 317-1114 – Kathy – Cell CGorby@hotmail.com NurseKathyI@yahoo.com Gottwald, Floyd (New) 504 Kerry Lane Henry, Ryan & Michelle (New) Austin & Carson 510 Surfside Ave 333-7359 288-6600 – Ryan – Cell 288-2043 – Michelle - Cell M600henry@cox.net Ryan@streco.com Kassir, Farouk (New) 724 Vanderbilt Ave Miller, Susanna H. (New) 628 Fort Raleigh Drive bsashramite@yahoo.com Martin, Milton & Susan 853 South Atlantic Ave 804-458-2170 804-926-4179 - Cell mcmsbm@verizon.net 301 Sherwood Drive, Hopewell, VA 23860 Maxwell, Don & Ginny 857 South Atlantic Ave 321-7201 McCutcheon, Joe 848 South Atlantic Ave 428-2728 McRee, Grif & Susan 525 Virginia Dare Drive gmcrjr@macra.com Melchor, Boyd (New) 712 South Atlantic Ave Meyer, Victor & Sandra 735 Surfside Ave 540-371-2419 - Home 540-845-6448 – Cell 540-846-6447 – Cell Victor.meyer@aol.com Murray, Dane & Lorna 413 Croatan Road 353-2655 540-421-9186 Danemurray5@yahoo.com Lorna.luckey@gmail.com 8 Nichols, Keith & Carolyn (New) Ryan & Hannah 832 Vanderbilt Ave 729-0170 – Keith – Cell 729-0336 – Carolyn - Cell Keith.nichols58@gmail.com cnicholsrn@gmail.com Nickell, Kitti 845 South Atlantic Ave 675-9256 - Cell Oneil, Keith & Karen 973-879-7131 – Cell Teamkon@aol.com Overstreet, Dona & Alex 516 Bushnell Drive 943-1328 – Donna - Cell dona@bigorangetruck.com Oxenham, Anna 539 South Atlantic Ave 804-282-3049 Potas, Dan & Marcia (New) and Howard Potas Lawson & Carolina 561 South Atlantic Ave 623-910-2955 – Dan 804-647-0393 – Marcia 757-751-2037 – Howard mdpotas@hotmail.com 106 Pickett Place, Yorktown, VA 23693 Reven, Mike & Norma Telthorst (New) Marion Reven & Alex Reven 425 Croatan Road 314-495-4627 – Norma gardengirlnt@aol.com Risku, Daniel & Cynthia (New) 501 Croatan Hills Dive 321-2286 criskee@gmail.com Ross, David & Dana Crummer Sam Crummer, Josh Crummer, & David Ross 616 South Atlantic Ave 703-760-9500 Swan, Ron & Allison 825 South Atlantic Ave 425-7708 450-7708 – Ron – Cell 581-2221 – Allison - Cell AllisonSwan@cox.net Ron@adschem.com Travis, Mike & Loretta 515 Vanderbilt Ave TravisM@nationwide.com Werner, Eric & Alice 413 Maryland Court camerava@cox.net Williams, Bo & Julia 545 South Atlantic Ave Williams, Perry & Gena 533 Vanderbilt Ave Croatan1@cox.net Wohler, Stephen 624 South Atlantic Ave S.Wohler@verizon.net Ziegler, Brian & Nicole (New) Brinen 737 Surfside Ave 962-2217 858-220-1616 – Nicole 858-337-9511 - Brian n.lefevre@sbcglobal.net 9 Citizen’s Advisory Committee by Maria Kania 757-343-5707 Maria@MariaKania.com If you see something......say something! We’ve had a little activity in our sleepy little community this month. Just this week, a homeless couple set up residency in a tent on the beach. No one said much in the beginning. But, when the clothes line went up, attached to the lifeguard station, to hang up the freshly, ocean washed laundry, it was time. Kindly Officer Esposito waited for them to take down the laundry and their tent, and gave them a ride to a shelter. There is a law that you can’t sleep on the beach after 8:00 p.m. There is a homeless lady named Sunshine that would sleep on the bench at Harris Teeter during the day, but sit there all night. The police would try to get her to move to a shelter at night, but she would just say “I’m not sleeping” and by law she could stay there. 385-5000--------------------385-5000-----------------------385-5000 Fourth of July was a sunny and fun filled day until guests in a rental house on South Atlantic thought it was a good idea to launch several flaming Wishing Lanterns and float them over a few of our dried and crispy cedar shake roofs. Needless to say someone had to notify them of the error of their ways. 385-5000--------------------385-5000-----------------------385-5000 OK, now on to the 20 young men in a rental house on Maryland. A rental house with a roof deck. Twenty guys........4th of July..........fireworks..........roof deck. Oh boy. Get the picture? Did any of them ever notice that fireworks displays are usually out in the open, away from homes, trees, people. Obviously, these geniuses didn’t give that any thought. Wish they could have walked down to the beach and at least tried to aim them out into the ocean. Maybe they thought the fireworks would go up and not come down? Who knows? They all just scampered up to the roof deck and had their fun while their poor neighbors watched burning embers land on their cedar shake roof. Now there is some good news and bad news. The good news is that one of these firecrackers flew completely over a house and thankfully missed the cedar roof. The bad news is that it landed, flaming, a foot away from a child while he was on the back patio. The police were called, but with all that was going on at the jampacked oceanfront, we are not sure if they came out. As the saying goes........you can’t fix stupid. I mentioned all of this at the CAC meeting, but there’s not much anyone can do after the fact. . 385-5000--------------------385-5000-----------------------385-5000 Every year I try to remind you not to take any valuables to the beach. I should have done it last month, but forgot. Sorry! Let’s face it; you don’t have to be a rocket scientist to figure out where the goodies are, when all you have is a towel, suntan lotion and some shoes. Unfortunately there are those people that feel that your possessions should be their possessions and they love summer and going to the beach, too. Hiding any valuables under the corner of a blanket or towel is about as big a secret as hiding your front door key under the mat. We’ve already had our first reported “light fingered lift”. While out surfing at the Croatan Beach access someone took two towels, a hat and glasses and a phone, which was wrapped in one of the towels. 10 385-5000--------------------385-5000-----------------------385-5000 Every officer was working 4th of July weekend. In 23 years of Captain Gallagher’s career, he had never seen so many people at the oceanfront. . No reason.......maybe the mild temps, following so much rain, made people come out. Maybe, because there were less places to go to see the fireworks because Sequestering eliminated several fireworks displays on some military installations. The hotels were at full capacity. The oceanfront was at full capacity by 4:00 p.m. There were no parking spaces available. There was complete gridlock on I-264 at First Colonial. Moving fire engines and an ambulance anywhere would have been impossible. Also, imagine all 50,000 people trying to leave the oceanfront at the same time, after the fireworks. So, they implemented the same traffic plan that they have used for the last several years. They started shutting down streets and turning traffic west. As a result, the 2nd Precinct took a beating in the press and from some citizens that felt they should have used Birdneck. The Police felt that if they had used Birdneck, those cars would have worked their way back to the ocean front. Despite all of this, it was a relatively peaceful weekend. 385-5000--------------------385-5000-----------------------385-5000 FACT: During the 4th of July, there were 150 children lost and 150 children found. FACT: The parking lot at Little Island made $19,000 in 3 days over the weekend. Considering the $3 -$5 fees they charge, it shows just how many cars were actually here over the 4th. 385-5000--------------------385-5000-----------------------385-5000 Has anyone forgotten Beach Bash Weekend? I am sure you have all heard the rumors of plans for Beach Bash 2? No one is sure that it is for real. It was on Facebook and only received 12 “likes”. But, once the media picked it up, its notoriety spread. So, who knows? But, rest assured, there will be 100 police officers on duty that weekend. These poor officers are exhausted. They have been running full tilt since the election in November, when all the dignitaries came to Hampton Roads. 385-5000--------------------385-5000-----------------------385-5000 Colin Stolle of the Commonwealth's Attorney's Office told us about a the #1 Popular Scam that is going around. It preys on seniors and is called the “Grandparent Scam”. Someone posing as a grandchild calls up Grandma and Grandpa, sobbing, and tells them that they are in jail in some Caribbean island. They are sobbing, so you can’t really tell if it is your grandchild, or not. They tell you that it is all a mistake, but they need $2,000 wired immediately to get out of jail. And.......please, please, don’t tell Mom & Dad!!! Grammy & PaPa rush to the bank and send the money. Next day someone posing as a police officer calls and tells the Grandparents that they never received the money and they cannot let the grandchild out of jail. So, Nona and Opa send another $2,000. I know this sounds so farfetched, but it is happening a lot more than we want to believe. In one case a bank teller, realizing that the Seniors were withdrawing money two days in a row and at the risk of being intrusive, asked what they were doing. When she found out, she made the Grandparents call their grandson and he was right here in Virginia Beach. I would like to think that if I was so willing to send this kid $2,000, I would have a close enough relationship with him/her to know if he/she was out of the country, or not. Just sayin’! 385-5000--------------------385-5000-----------------------385-5000 11 NOW HEAR THIS...NOT ALL THIEVES ARE STUPID!! A friend of a friend left their car in the long-term parking at San Jose while away, and someone broke into the car. Using the information on the car's registration in the glove compartment, they drove the car to the people's home in Pebble Beach and robbed it. So I guess if we are going to leave the car in long-term parking, we should not leave the registration/insurance cards in it, nor your remote garage door opener. This gives us something to think about with all our new electronic technology. <<<>>> By the time a woman realizes her mother was right, she has a daughter who thinks she's wrong. National Night Out Come on out to The Point on Tuesday, August 6th from 6-8 pm for National Night Out. This is a time for us to come together as a neighborhood and as a city to heighten crime and drug prevention awareness, generate support and participation in local anti-crime efforts, strengthen neighborhood spirit and police community relations, and send a message to criminals letting them know local communities are organized and are fighting back. There will be hot dogs, watermelon and ice cream, pony rides and clowns making animal balloons and painting faces for the kids, a treasure hunt on the beach, and hopefully a fire truck, rescue vehicle, and police department representatives, maybe even McGruff the crime dog. Save the date on your calendar! Plant of the Month?... Poison Ivy by Susanna H. Miller While “leaflets three, let it be” may be the mantra of half of the US population (the overall percentage that breaks out in hives), poison ivy, Toxicodendron radicans, has quite a few benefits you may not be aware of. First, let’s look at the down side… Urushiol, the irritating oil that makes the leaves shiny, is present in every part of the plant, so pulling roots in winter and even contact with smoke from burning poison ivy can cause a rash. Only the oil can spread the rash; the fluid within the blisters cannot. The thinner the skin, the more quickly the rash develops. This makes it seem like the rash is spreading, when it really just takes longer to appear on spots with thicker skin. Sensitivity to poison ivy develops only after the first contact with urushiol. The human body does not produce the reaction-causing antibodies against the oil until after first contact. At second contact, the antibodies are available to cause the reaction. About 85% of people develop a reaction on second contact. Sensitivity to poison ivy usually declines with age! Now the rest of the story… Poison ivy grows best with shaded roots, but tolerates sunny areas. Plants may be selfsupporting shrubs, trailing vines, or hairy vines that climb trees and walls. But, poison ivy is not all bad. The toxins of poison ivy do not generally affect animals and it is an important food source for wildlife. Mammals such as deer, raccoons, rabbits and muskrat devour the nutritious leaves, stems and berries. Birds such as turkey, robins, crows, woodpeckers and bluebirds eat the berries. Smaller species, such as toads, use poison ivy as a source of shelter. The roots of poison ivy can also prevent erosion, especially on sandy soil where few other plants grow. The tough woody roots hold sand dunes in place. Gateway National Recreation Area in New York and New Jersey considers it important for anchoring critical dune systems. I suppose this would be quite a deterrent to playing on the dunes in Croatan although I’m not sure we want to promote it! 12 PRSRT STD U.S. POSTAGE PAID NORFOLK, VA.. The People Make the Beach PERMIT NO. 2135 President, Croatan Civic League 517 Croatan Road Virginia Beach, VA 23451-7110 We are on the WEB! Check us out at www.croatanbeach.org or join Nextdoor Croatan Croatan Civic League Officers, Directors and Committee Chair Contacts President, Events Bill Garvey—Phone 471-5436 Email—cddx@aol.com Vice President, Neighborhood Security George Horvath—Phone 233-0019 Email—george2824@hotmail.com Secretary Jack Hurley—Phone 425-1912 Email—jhurley.consulting@gmail.com Treasurer Thresa Joyce—Phone 376-1264 Email—tajoyce13@nomarinc.com Past President, CCO Contact Ed Oswalt—Phone 422-2776 Email—edreginaoswalt@yahoo.com Director, Membership/Directory Martha Davenport—Phone 428-3348 Email—marthadavenport@officemax.com Director Vince Donlon—Phone 450-7317 Email—vvdonlon@aol.com Director Wanda Iliff—Phone 437-0614 Email—wanda@wandailiff.com Director, Citizens Advisory Committee/Alerts Maria Kania—Phone 343-5707 Email—mkania7@gmail.com Director, Newsletter/Website Marian Kitchin —Phone 437-9554 Email – mdkitchin@gmail.com Director, Rock ‘n Roll Cheering Regina Oswalt—422-2776 reginaoswalt@yahoo.com Director Tom Pritchard – Phone 422-4496 Email—tomrpritchard@hotmail.com Director, Welcome Wagon/Logo Wear/RIF Katie Ripberger—Phone 434-6450 Email – katiefr@williamewood.com Director John Witte—Phone 425-1065 Email—jwitte@wvec.com Director, Spring Fling Patricia Zuraw—Phone 373-8601 Email—pzuraw@williamewood.com Asst. Director, External Contacts Ken Jobe—Phone 428-0328 Email—kejo425@aol.com Asst. Director, Surfing Wes Laine wlaine@cox.net Asst. Director, Landscaping/Data Base Billy Moore —Phone 491-4253 Email – Moore.vb@cox.net Asst. Director, National Night Out Lynette Reuss—Phone 491-1285 Email—plreuss@cox.net Asst. Director, Neighborhood Email Sylvia Vance—Phone 425-9960 Email—sylviavance@cox.net Clubs President, Women’s Club Martha Davenport—Phone 428-3348 Email—marthadavenport@officemax.com President, Book Club Bettie Cholewa—Phone 491-0907 Email—cholewas@cox.net
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