Big Thanks for the Clarke County Fair

Congratulations to the Ruritan Club of Clarke County for a wildly successful Clarke County Fair! And a big thanks to everyone who had a hand in the event.

When you’re at the fair having a great time, and everything‘s going so smoothly, it’s really easy to forget just how many people and volunteers it takes to have such a wonderful event —— especially one that lasts an entire week!

There are 15 departments organizing the fair, ranging from beef, dairy, sheep and goats, to swine, poultry and rabbits. There are the departments for floral, homemaking, horticulture, photography, and fine arts. And, of course, horses. An effort of this size needs a department for rules and regulations, and one to oversee animal
health regulations.

There is vendor logistics, scheduling, entertainment, and the huge challenge of providing a safe, comfortable venue — nearly all of which is out of sight to the visitor.
One of the great highlights of the fair for many of us is to see young people taking on such responsibility and receiving —and responding to — mentorship by so many
dedicated people.

Clarke County says thanks!

At the County Fair: The Barn Area: Building Character and Nurturing Youth

By Hope Cather

While you’re at the Clarke County Fair, be sure to visit The Barn Area. Good things abound there: Good times for the over 150 exhibitors; good vibes for exhibitors, volunteers, and families; and —very important to us all — good news for the future of our community youth can be seen there. The Ruritan Fairgrounds’ barn area is home to the largest interactive educational program in 
our county.

People unfamiliar with how the barn area is set up to work think it’s only a place where farm children show their farm animals. In Clarke County, the barn area is so much more than that. Community children between the ages of 4 and 19 are welcomed by Ruritan, 4-H, and Future Farmers of America volunteers to learn about responsibility, integrity, and the rewards that come from hard work. They are encouraged to find out for themselves what 4-H or FFA projects interest them, and then supported in their efforts to excel in them. Winning is only a byproduct of their efforts; strength of character is the Ruritan Club’s goal for them. 

Their efforts do not start on the first day of the fair. Many months before the fair, our local 4-H/FFA advisors and volunteers guide their members on how they should start their project and work through it. The Ruritans support all of the exhibitors and volunteers by offering our fairgrounds as a supportive area for meetings, fundraisers, and educational programs. All of the events are geared towards including our community in their journey. Once their months of preparation are completed, the main event starts happening. 

By June of each year, all project animals and exhibitors have been registered for the fair. Emails are sent explaining guidelines and requirements. These include: the project must be under the constant care of the exhibitor; marketing of their projects must take place in a timely manner; and volunteer hours must be worked before showing their animals. If participating in one of the non-market animal ownership programs, regular visits to Harvue Dairy, special attention to the particulars of being a good equestrian, or practices with their Dairy Goat mentor must be implemented. Their months of work are then rewarded with a week at 
the fair! 

Their first day of at fair is full of cleaning, setting up, meetings to plan the week’s schedule, and meeting up with all of their friends to spend a week together in the barn area. Many volunteers are right there with the exhibitors offering guidance and support. The week is full of bringing their animals into the ring to showcase both their exhibitor skills and their 
projects’ excellence. 

Of special importance are the many fun and educational events throughout the week. All of this culminates in the large auction on Friday night. Here the market animals are auctioned off with the proceeds going directly back to the exhibitor. These funds are often used to finance their future projects, much like a small farm business. At the end of the exhibitors’ show years, their accumulated “wealth” can be used for college, starting their own business, or giving them a leg up to start their adult life. 

There you have it! That barn area that has been the center of the Ruritan Fair for years is not just where you can go see the animals. It’s also about a community agricultural education program that builds character in our future citizens, encouraging them to value hard work and to volunteer in their community as adults.

Come visit The Barn Area!

For more details and information about how you can support this wonderful program or to meet us for a tour any time of the year; feel free to email us at president@ccruritanclub.org.

Community Cat Alliance, Humane Treatment for Feral Cats and Kittens

by Lydia Mahan

A friend of mine once said, “They make the world go round.” He was talking about volunteers. In fact, they do a lot to pick up the slack, the extra pieces that often get
left behind.

I’m a volunteer and I can certainly attest to the fact that I pick up a lot of “extra pieces.” I volunteer with a charity organization called Community Cat Alliance (CCA). Our mission is Trap-Neuter-Return, or TNR, in Frederick County, Virginia. It can be challenging work. Without question, it is rewarding work.

We are a small group of men and women who have a passionate calling to help those who cannot speak for themselves, namely feral and abandoned cats — and often, their kittens, many of whom are in desperate need of medical care. We go into the field and work with caretakers who are doing their best to feed and shelter colonies of cats, or one or two cats. The need is the same; all of these cats and kittens need to be spayed and neutered to stop the pervasive over-population of cats and kittens in our area.
We are in the midst of kitten season, and there is a tremendous need for foster homes. All you need is a bathroom or an unused guest room. Kittens are taken from the field and evaluated by our medical coordinator. If kittens need to see a vet, CCA arranges the visit with the foster parent’s schedule and we pay for the visit. We provide foster parents with what they may need: Food, toys, litter and litter boxes, medicine like Pyrantel (a broad spectrum wormer).

If you need to leave for vacation, we will provide respite for your kittens. In fact, we welcome homes that only want to do periodic respite! When kittens are two pounds (about 8 weeks), we arrange for them to go to a clinic to be vaccinated and spayed and neutered. We then return them to you. The next step is for one of our partners to take them and adopt them into their “forever homes.”

If having kittens in your home is not feasible, we have other needs that may be interesting. Social media your thing? We put out a periodic Mewsletter that we could use help with. Are you a Facebook expert? You could help us. Interested in going into schools to help educate the next generation about the importance of spaying and neutering all pets? How about attending local Chamber of Commerce events, or becoming an ambassador for CCA by becoming a Rotary member?

If you’re interested in trapping, we will train you and provide you with traps. Periodic transport? We need folks with cars large enough to accommodate several traps and carriers to transport cats and kittens to the vet clinic and back — not every week, but once a month. We need folks who are willing to drive to Staunton, Va., to pick up low-cost cat food we pay for, and then pass on to our caretakers. Fundraising? Lend us a hand. Make a gift basket, help with publicity, record a public service announcement for us, write an article.

CCA tends to attract folks who are retired. Makes sense, right? Retired people have flex schedules. But even if you work full time, and have children, if this is a cause you are passionate about, we can find one of those extra pieces that works for you and your family.

Look us up; check us out. We work hard, we do good work. The volunteers at Community Cat Alliance need your help. The abandoned and stray “community cats” out there who have been dumped, and born in the field need you even more. Think about it. Do it.

And if you can’t help us with any of the above a $20 donation will go further than you think. Go to www.communitycatalliance.org. Thank you

Shenandoah Valley natural area restoration efforts expand

Protection for rare sinkhole ponds, wetlands funded by natural resources 
damage settlement

More than 35 acres have recently been added to two Virginia natural area preserves in Augusta County as part of a long-term, multimillion-dollar effort to restore the South Fork Shenandoah River watershed contaminated by mercury 
decades ago.  

The Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, which manages the state’s natural area preserve system, acquired 26 acres of forest adjacent to the Lyndhurst Ponds Natural Area Preserve. The expansion, which brings the total acreage of the preserve to 376 acres, will make it easier for staff to manage the land with prescribed burns and invasive species control. 

Lyndhurst Ponds, near the community of Lyndhurst, was dedicated in 2020 as a natural area preserve. It is home to globally rare Shenandoah Valley sinkhole ponds and rare plant and animal species. Among them are two rare plant species: the federally threatened Virginia sneezeweed (Helenium virginicum) and Valley Doll’s Eyes (Boltonia montana). 

“This new addition will better enable DCR’s natural area stewards to manage the rare species habitats at Lyndhurst Ponds Natural Area Preserve, which will include restoring portions of the the preserve to the native grasslands and open woodlands of the historic Shenandoah Valley,” said Jason Bulluck, director of the Virginia Natural Heritage Program. The former property owners, Waynesboro Nurseries and the Quillen family, were also critical to the establishment of the original natural area preserve. 

“Waynesboro Nurseries and the Quillen family are  delighted to contribute this additional acreage to the Lyndhurst Ponds Natural Area Preserve and protect more of this incredible natural habitat for future generations,” said Ed Quillen, president of Waynesboro Nurseries. “It was a wonderful opportunity to cooperate with DCR again and know that under their stewardship this legacy is in good hands.” 

In September, the agency acquired a 9-acre parcel along the South River adjacent to the Cowbane Wet Prairie Natural Area Preserve. That brings the total acreage of that preserve to just over 156 acres.  The parcel includes floodplain habitat along the south bank of the river in one of the most important remaining segments in the watershed, and conserves a critical buffer between the river and a residential area. It supports habitat for two rare plants and a globally rare wetland type called Shenandoah Valley Prairie Fen. On the western slope of the Blue Ridge in the Shenandoah Valley, Cowbane Wet Prairie protects outstanding examples of wet prairies, mesic prairies and calcareous spring marshes which were once common natural communities in the Shenandoah Valley. 

The funding source for the expansions at Lyndhurst Ponds and Cowbane Wet Prairie was the DuPont Natural Resource Damage Assessment and 
Restoration settlement. 

When DuPont produced rayon in the 1930s and ’40s, its facility in Waynesboro, Virginia, released wastewater containing mercury into the South River. The contamination impacted more than 100 miles of river, associated floodplains and habitats for fish, migratory songbirds and other wildlife. To settle claims stemming from that damage, the company paid $42 million in 2017 for restoration projects. The Commonwealth of Virginia and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service are trustees of the settlement funds.

An Unused Rail Corridor In the Shenandoah Valley Sparks a Fight Over What’s Next

Commonwealth Celebrates Keeping Conflict Out of Court

Law Matters

By Brenda Waugh

March is Mediation Month in Virginia, when the Commonwealth celebrates its strides in creating options for alternative dispute resolution, including mediation. In 1993, Virginia passed the dispute resolution proceeding statutes, legislation that has continued to play an essential role in institutionalizing the use of mediation in the courts.

Then, in 2002, the Virginia Administrative Dispute Resolution Act was signed into law, creating opportunities for numerous governmental entities to adopt mediation and other creative problem-solving methods to address disputes. The Act honors strides in the higher education community, recognizing the schools and universities incorporating mediation into their curriculum and the many private practice professionals who have developed a mediation practice. The proclamation recognizes that Virginia continues to be a leader in this field.

Among the state-funded and administered mediation programs are those in the courts and within some agencies. They include:

Family Mediation. Virginia’s program for court-initiated mediation in family law matters began during Governor Doug Wilder’s tenure from 1990 to 1994 when he championed initiatives to establish these programs. Today, in the Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court (JDR), child custody and support cases are often referred to mediation after the parties initiate a suit to establish custody for divorce, or to establish child support. When the court refers the matter to mediation, selected from a court-approved list, mediators facilitate discussions at no additional cost to the 
parties involved.

General District Court. Mediation is also offered in the General District Court for cases involving debts, landlord/tenant disputes, and other matters. Parties attending court hearings may be invited to mediate on the same day, promoting efficient conflict resolution. The Supreme Court mediation programs pay costs. 

Appeals. Virginia extends mediation services to appellate cases. Disputants may appeal the matter when dissatisfied with a lower court decision. At that time, they have the option to participate in a state-funded mediation program with mediators who are attorneys with appellate experience.

Education. Parents dissatisfied with Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) or other unique educational plans can request mediation through their school board, with the school system covering the mediator’s costs.

Employment Mediation. EDR’s Workplace Mediation Program provides a free process in which neutral, impartial mediators assist Virginia state employees in exploring potential joint resolutions to their workplace conflicts. 

Fair Housing Complaints. The Virginia Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation (DPOR) provides mediation services for fair housing cases and specific regulatory complaints 
against licensees.

Workers Compensation. Virginia’s Worker’s Compensation Commission provides mediators to injured workers, deceased worker claimants, medical provider claimants, employers, insurers, claim administrators, and legal counsel to resolve disputes. 

Utility Digging. While not free, Virginia’s 811 service offers mediation for utility digging disputes, which helps to resolve conflicts in this 
area efficiently.

Virginia maintains community mediation centers throughout the state. with programs in Warrenton, Roanoke, Amherst, Charlottesville, Harrisonburg, and Fairfax. These centers provide workplace, community, and family mediation services. Virginia also supports a healthy network of mediators through their association, The Virginia Mediation Network.

Parties often decide to hire a private mediator, such as before litigation or complaints are filed, they may choose a mediator. Virginia has no licensing requirements for mediators (beyond those required by any business). However, the Virginia Supreme Court maintains a list of mediators who are qualified by their standards to accept mediations on their website at http://tinyurl.com/3ftyp43r.

Brenda Waugh is a lawyer/mediator with Waugh Law & Mediation, serving clients in the Blue Ridge region of Virginia and Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia.

Robins Everywhere

Story and illustration by Doug Pifer

Each morning during mid-February, robin songs echo from the woods behind the barn. Flocks of them stream overhead. Dozens of robins fly back and forth between the sycamores and the banks of the creek. On sunny afternoons robins forage in scattered groups in the mowed field across the road. In the evenings they gather in the cedar trees to roost.

Almost everyone recognizes an American robin. They lay their turquoise blue eggs in grass-lined mud nests in backyard shade trees, hunt worms to feed their speckle-bellied babies, and scold us if we venture too close to their nests. Say “bird” to any American and I’ll bet most of them would 
visualize a robin.

Despite its familiarity, we have much to learn about the American robin. Its scientific name means “migratory thrush,” yet its movements after the nesting season can hardly be described as migratory. Robins breed throughout the continental United States and across southern Canada. Most Canadian birds move southward sometime in the fall, and the U.S. population tends to greatly increase in the southern states during the winter months. But in much of its range, you might see a robin any time of the year.

Much about the travels of robins remains unknown. Scientists often trap wild birds and release them with GPS transmitters attached to their backs to study their movements. Robins have proved difficult to get data from, not because they’re hard to catch in mist nets, but because it’s difficult to re-capture the same robin a year or so later. Robins lack the nest site fidelity many other birds have. They may return to the same general area the following year, but not to the same place where they nested before.

Robins have soft bills that aren’t made for cracking and eating seeds. During the nesting season, robins, and the young they are feeding, consume a high protein diet, mostly worms and insects. Then as fall approaches they turn to eating fruits and berries. 

A fruit diet makes robins go where food is plentiful. In early fall, robins congregate where wild grapes festoon the edges of waterways, or along woodland edges where dogwood, sassafras, and honeysuckle grow. Later they glean dropped and unpicked orchard fruit. Then in December, after several prolonged freezes, groups of robins may appear in suburban landscaped parking lots where they find Callender (Bradford ) pear, holly, and other ornamental fruit bearing trees. Or they frequent certain woods where persimmon, hackberry, holly, and cedar trees bear fruit. A great part of their winter diet consists of the berry-like blue fruits of red cedar trees.

This year I’ve noticed many of our local cedar trees are unusually fruitful. Many cedar boughs are packed with so many “berries” they look blue from a distance. Red cedar groves also provide cover where robins can roost in great numbers, protected from the elements. The birds can hide there with less chance of being taken by predatory owls 
and hawks.

Meanwhile flocks of restless, excited robins continue to brighten the landscape. No matter why they’re here, they can stay as long as they like. Their chorus at sunrise announces with absolute certainty that spring isn’t just around the corner—it’s already here.