Harpers Ferry Community Newsletter

Harpers Ferry
Community Newsletter
December 2013
Volume 10 Issue 12
Harpers Ferry - Home for the Holidays !
Photos by:
Kathryn Payne
The Town got a head start on its white Christmas with a sheet of snow falling on Friday, December
6, followed by a blanket on Sunday, December 8, and a quilt on Saturday December 14.
Hardy souls attended the lighting of the trees in the Gazebo Park on
December 6. Slippery roads and falling snow greatly reduced the
events and shoppers during both Olde Tyme Christmas and weekends.
Those who did brave the weather and road conditions stayed warm
with hot cider and chocolate.
There is still time to see the Lower Town in its holiday finery and get
some last minute shopping done.
Inside this issue:
Calendar
Martin Luther King Jr.
2
Planning Commission
Report
Snow
3
Council Meeting Report
A Kind Heart
4
Water Works
Improvement Study
Communication
5
New Years Eve Facts
Blast from the Past
6
Photos by: Don Burgess
The Town’s official website has useful information including important notices, ordinances, meeting minutes, official applications, and events calendar.
Visit us at www.harpersferrywv.us
Town Calendar
All meetings at Town Hall, unless noted otherwise.
Dec 24
Dec 25
Dec 26
Dec 30
Dec 31
Jan 1
Jan 7
Jan 8
Jan 8
Jan 13
Jan 16
Jan 20
Jan 20
Jan 20
Jan 22
Jan 23
2
Christmas Eve, Town Hall closes at noon
Christmas Day, Town Hall closed
Tree Committee meeting, 7-9pm
Historic Landmarks Commission meeting, 7-9pm
New Years Eve, Town Hall closes at noon
New Years Day, Town Hall closed
Planning Commission meeting, 7-8:30pm
Parks & Recreations Committee, 6-7pm
Municipal Court, 7-9pm
Town Council meeting, 7-9pm
Water Commission meeting, 7-9pm
Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Town Hall closed
Police Committee meeting, Bolivar Community Center, 8-9:30am
Trail & Town Alliance meeting, 5-7pm
Harpers Ferry Foundation Board meeting, 5:30-7:30pm
Tree Committee meeting, 7-9pm
Save this Date !!
February 16, 2014
Join the Trail & town
Alliance on this day for
a hike starting at 1pm.
More info in the January
newsletter.
Yoga at the Library
Yoga class will be held at the Bolivar - Harpers Ferry Library Monday December 23 and December 30 at 7 pm. Starting
January 7; yoga will be moving to Tuesday nights at 7 pm. Registration is not required, just drop in. $5.00 fee per
session (pays instructor). Please bring yoga mat and water.
Martin Luther King Jr. Day
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Did you know…….
Michael King Jr., was his name. Martin was not his first name. It wasn’t until the age of 5 that his father changed his
first name after traveling to Germany and was inspired by the Protestant Reformation leader Martin Luther.
King was so gifted, he skipped grades 9&12, and entered college at the age of 15.
King was nearly assassinated a decade before his death. On September 20, 1958, King was in Harlem signing copies of
his new book “Stride Toward Freedom”, when he was approached by Izola Ware Curry. She asked if he was Martin
Luther King Jr. After he said yes, Curry said, “I’ve been looking for you for five years,” and she plunged a seven inch
letter opener into his chest. The tip of the blade came to rest alongside his aorta, and King underwent hours of delicate
emergency surgery. Surgeons later told King that just one sneeze could have punctured the aorta and killed him. From his
hospital bed where he convalesced, King issued a statement affirming his nonviolent principles and saying he felt no ill
will toward his mentally ill attacker.
According to Jesse Jackson, who was present when King was assassinated, Kings last words on the balcony were spoken
to musician Ben Branch, who was scheduled to perform that night at an event King was to attend, he
said “Ben, make sure you play “Take my hand, Precious Lord.” Play it real pretty.”
At 6:01pm, April 4, 1968 a shot rang out as King stood on the 2nd floor balcony. The bullet entered
his right cheek, smashing his jaw, traveled down his spinal cord before lodging in his shoulder. King
was pronounced dead at 7:05pm.
Mahalia Jackson sang “Take my hand, Precious Lord” at Martin Luther King Jr’s funeral.
Kings mother was also slain by a bullet. On June 20, 1974, as Alberta Williams King played the organ at a Sunday
service inside Ebenezer Baptist Church, Marcus Wayne Chenault Jr rose from the front pew, drew two pistols and began
to fire shots. One of the bullets struck and killed King, who died steps from where her son had once preached about
nonviolence. Chenault was convicted and sentenced to death, but that was later changed to life imprisonment, in part due
to the King family’s opposition to capital punishment.
www.interesting facts and www.history.com/news
3
Please Keep Sidewalks Clear of Ice and Snow
The recent snow falls have been beautiful,
but don't forget they can also be dangerous.
Our streets have been plowed and many
thoughtful residents were out immediately
clearing sidewalks in front of their
businesses and homes. We request that
everyone who has not yet done so, please
take the time to clear the ice and snow from the sidewalks
adjacent to their property, as required by law.
Ordinance 909.04:
All owners or occupants of property within the Town shall
remove, or cause to be removed, the snow from the sidewalks
adjacent to their property within four hours after the snow has
ceased to fall; provided, however, that should the snow fall
during the night or on a Sunday, it shall be removed, within four
hours after sunrise on the following day. (Ord. 86-1. Reinstated 1
-11-1999)
Is bad weather coming?
Download MyRadar to your smart phone
and you will
know. The photo
shows what the
radar saw before
the snow started
falling on
December 8. It
was clear to your
editor that we were
likely to get more
than the 1-3”
predicted.
Harpers
Ferry
Planning Commission Update
The Planning Commission has been working hard since the last newsletter: a worksession on November 24, a fourth
public workshop on the proposed zoning ordinance amendments on November 18, and its regular monthly meeting
on December 3. The public workshop focused on the draft overlay district for a hotel which is a part of the
amendment proposals sent to Council in early September. It can be viewed on the Planning page of the Town’s
website. Public attendance at all meetings was very good and the discussions helpful.
The amendment proposal totals about 61 pages of which 4 pages pertain to a future development of a hotel. Most of
the proposed changes aim at providing:
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Ordinances that can better withstand legal challenge by aligning with WV State Code requirements and best
practices from other municipalities. Doing so will lead to fewer challenges and increase the likelihood of
prevailing, if challenged. Our recent experience at court was not good.
Clearer ordinance wording that reflects present practices in the Town and that attempts to increase clarity and
fairness in the processes. Together with the first goal we seek a clearer, smoother and shorter approval process
for most applications, particularly small projects.
There is a lot to read. We recommend that you start with the PC Study & Findings Report (22 pages) which is also
posted on the Planning page. and discusses not only what the PC recommends bit also the reasons for do so. If you
agree to disagree with any of this, you should let your elected representative know you views soon, since they will
be aiming to enact amended ordinances in Early FY14.
Council Meeting Report
4
At its December meeting the Council:
1. Approved allowing one employee to carry over up to 16 hours of annual leave into the next calendar year.
2. Heard in a report from Police Chief John Brown that 24 deer have been harvested in this year’s hunt.
3. Discussed the recommendations engineering firm GD&F has in its Evaluation and Feasibility Study: Water
Treatment Facility and Distribution System Upgrades and approved a special meeting for December 19 at 7pm
to further discussion and decide on next steps.
4. Heard a report from Wayne Bishop on behalf of the Parks & Recreation Commission.
5. Approved the purchase of gift cards in the amount of $25 as mementoes of appreciation for each town employee,
the money to come from the budgets for each individual department.
6. Approved a letter to Amtrak supporting the Roll-On Service (see November newsletter for description).
7. Approved extending the existing parking policy to March 2014 with the provision that unauthorized signs
restricting parking, other than signs that residents request to have left in place, will be removed by the end of
February.
8. Approved accepting written comments from citizens on the proposed Zoning Ordinance until January 15.
Comments are to be sent to Leslie Stout at clerk@harpersferrywv.us for forwarding to the Mayor, Recorder and
each Council member.
9. Scheduled a work session to discuss the proposed Zoning Ordinance for January 20 and a first reading for the
February Council meeting.
10. Approved the distribution of $500 to the Merchants Association and $2000 to the Harpers Ferry Historic Town
Foundation from the Jefferson County Convention and Visitors’ Bureau for the purpose of enhancing tourism to
Harpers Ferry.
11. Approved the Potomac Street Steering Committee charter.
12. Heard a report from Laurel Drake, Chair of the Harpers Ferry Historic Town Foundation, about the Foundation’s
visioning study results which will be presented to the Foundation by the consultant on January 15, the annual
business meeting on December 18; and the annual auction and fundraiser on January 24.
13. Heard a report from Steve Paradis of the Harpers Ferry Merchants Association about Olde Tyme Christmas,
including the first public event to be held at the Pavilion, the Mountain Twirlers. The Merchants will elect
officers at the January meeting for President and Vice President.
14. Heard an update about the door-hangers project.
Town Website Click here
A Kind Heart at Christmas
Your editor was in the Police Department on Monday when the Chief came
in with a wallet found by a student from Harpers Ferry Middle School. He’d
handed it to the Chief who was parked nearby to discourage
speeders. The money was still in it.
The owner was called shortly after to come pick it up at the Police
Office. He couldn’t believe the money was still there. He’d lost it on
Sunday. He said the money was to buy his wife a Christmas present.
So, many thanks to that angel of a student for his Christmas spirit.
Newsletter Information:
Editor: Christy Huddle
Layout: Leslie Stout
Next deadline:
January 10, 2014
Email for submittal rules and
deadline or to be added to the
notification list.
Anyone wishing to review any of the documents or information considered by the Council (the Council “packet”)
for past (or pending) meetings can find them on the town website (www.harpersferrywv.us) under “Council Docs.”
The documents are posted to the website the Friday before regular Council meetings. A paper copy is also
available in a public meeting notebook available at Town Hall.
Water Works Improvements Under Study
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This is the first article on the proposed needs of our water system. As the proposal moves forward, we will
continue to keep you informed. Continue to check the Town website Water Page for more information.
Repairing, replacing, and upgrading our water works infrastructure can not be put off any longer. The longer we
wait the more dangerous and costly it becomes to keep the water system operating and the more difficult it will be
to encourage economic development in our communities.
Recognizing this, the Water Commission has been working with the engineering firm of Gwin, Dobson and
Foreman (GD&F)) to provide technical and professional assistance in determining what upgrades and
improvements are needed to continue to operate and to deliver quality drinking water to our customers. GD&F,
selected by the Town after a competitive process earlier this year, has now completed an initial evaluation and
feasibility study of the water treatment facility and the water distribution system. You can find the study on the
Water page of the Town website or you can review a hard copy at the Town Hall.
GD&F presented their findings to the Water Commission at its regular meeting on November 21 and to the
Harpers Ferry Town Council and to the Bolivar Mayor and members of the Bolivar Town Council at a special
meeting on December 6. The next step in the process will be to have GD&F prepare more detailed engineering and
cost figures. Following that, Region 9 and GD&F will assist the Town in finding funding sources, including grants
and low-cost loans. The Town has engaged Region 9 to administrator the project once it gets going.
Some of our water mains and pipes and other infrastructure are approaching 100 years in age, having been
installed when the first water tank was built in 1917. Other pieces of the infrastructure, including most meters,
storage tanks, water treatment system, and water monitoring systems range from 30 to 50 years in age. Not
surprising, the age of much of our system is causing extensive repair and maintenance needs. This includes the
replacement of over 20,000 feet of pipe and installation of 22 new hydrants throughout Bolivar, Harpers Ferry, and
Bolivar Heights. The Elks Run intake pipe needs to be rerouted for safety purposes. Our water plant needs a
generator backup system that can keep the plant operating during electrical outages. We need to make upgrades
now to prepare us for coming changes to EPA standards, rules and regulations for clean drinking water. New
treatment techniques and technologies are necessary for State and Federal compliance. The list of needs is long this is just a portion of the needed improvements - and it comes with a $6 million price tag.
A project of this magnitude will mean that our water rates must be increased to pay for the loans. We do not know
at this time how much, or when the rates will go up so as to provide the funding needed for these improvements.
This will be determined once a long range funding plan has been developed and on the final package of funding
sources that can be put together. The Water Commission is in the process of approving a minor rate increase (as
allowed by law) to get a start on saving for the large funding needs to come.
Communicating with the Mayor or Council
Mayor
Greg Vaughn
hfmayor@frontier.com
Recorder Kevin Carden
kevin.carden@harpersferrywv.us
Council
Betsy Bainbridge
betsybainbridge@yahoo.com
Members Jerry Hutton
jerwar@frontiernet.net
Dan Riss
fdrfdr@comcast.net
Charlotte Thompson charlotte.thompson@harpersferrywv.us
Helen “Hap” Becker hap.becker@harpersferrywv.us
Town Hall Phone: 304-535-2206 clerk@harpersferrywv.us
Fun Facts about New Years
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People have been making New Years resolutions for about 4,000 years. If you chose to loose
weight for your resolution, you have chosen the most popular. 45% of Americans make resolutions
and only 8% are successful. 75% only make it to the next week and 46% make it to the 6 month mark.
The first New Years Eve ball dropped in Time Square was in 1907. It was made of iron & wood &
adorned with 100-25Watt bulbs, it was 5 ft. in diameter & weighed 700 lbs. But in 2008, a new
Times Square New Years Eve ball was introduced, weighing 11,875 lbs. The 12 ft sphere is covered in
2,668 Waterford crystals.
Kissing your significant other is a favorite New Years tradition meant to guarantee a good relationship
and affections throughout the year.
In England, people believe that if the first guest after New Year is a tall man with dark hair, the new
year will be full of happiness and achievements.
In various South American countries like Boliva, Ecuador or Brazil, there is a tradition that has to due
with yellow underwear. If you wear it immediately after midnight it will bring you good luck. Women
in Mexico who want to find love in the new year - wear red underwear.
At first fireworks were only orange & white. In the middle ages new colors were achieved by adding
different salts. The hardest color to create is blue.
All info was found on: www.celebrations.com, www.weirdfacts.com, www.thefireworks.co.uk
Officer Matt
Schul holds the
Platinum Award
plaque received
by the Police
Department for
diligent service in
the field.
Greg Dean
captured this
lovely photo of
the Gap and
church ruins
early
December 8.
Blast from the Past
Curated by Dan Riss
Notes from 122 years of Town Council Minutes (with original spellings)
2 jun 1892 Paid 45 men for work on streets, grading, paving, curbing.
3 may 1900 “On Motion Chap 1 Sec 22 was amended to read as follows, An ordinance to regulate Liverymen,
drivers, Hotel porters and all others soliciting trade from passengers arriving at the Rail-Road Depot in the Town
of Harpers Ferry. “Be it enacted & ordained by the Council: that it shall be unlawful for any Liveryman, Driver
of any Wagon hauling passangers or baggage, Hotel Porter, or businesses, to cross over to the North side of a
certain “White Line” on or near the Rail Road platform for the purpose of Soliciting trade. Any person Violating
the provision of thie Ordinance shall pay a fine of not less than one or more than tem dollars, or be confined in
Jail not more than ten days.
2 feb 1909 “Mr Harry B.Aldor (Alden) applied for License to run a Nickelorium [Nickelodeon, ie the movies] to
be conducted at the room of T M Connor {Hotel}. License granted by the month, the price of the License to be
Settled by the Mayor and Collected at a later Date.”