By Rebecca Maynard

If you thought you had missed the 68th annual running of Blue Ridge Hunt Point-to-Point Races in March, there is good news. The event was postponed due to cold weather causing unfavorable ground conditions and is now taking place rain or shine Sunday, April 23 at noon.

Everyone is invited to come enjoy the races, with an admission price of just $20 per carload. Brian Ferrell, MFH (Master of Foxhounds), chair of the races for the past six years, explains that the beautiful location of Woodley Farm is due to the generosity of Brooke and Michele Middleton. The historic 383 acre property, located at 490 Woodley Lane, two and a half miles south of Berryville, was originally bought by Daniel Sowers in the 1830s from George Washington’s cousin and has been used for fox hunting ever since.

One of the unique things about the property, Ferrell says, is that it has one of the only point-to-point courses in Virginia that allows spectators to see the entire course at one time. Parking is available with the $20 per car admission, but reservations can be made ahead of time to park cars and tailgate on the property’s hill for $150. For details on reservations, call Jenny Irwin at 202-664-4664.

The day will feature 9 or 10 races, depending on the horses available on the day, and will include three different types of races: flat, hurdle jumping and timber fence jumping. All should be exciting to watch with the spectacular view Woodley offers.

“It’s a fun day and a nice local event,” Ferrell says. The Enders and Boyce fire departments provide safety for the event, as well as local vets and a farrier. Many local businesses sponsor the races and Nantucket-Treweryn beagles will be on site for children (and children at heart) to see and play with.

As Norm Fine notes in his history, today’s followers of the Blue Ridge hounds ride over the same hills and fields and along the same twists and turns of the Shenandoah River as did George Washington nearly 300 years ago when he followed the hounds of his employer and friend Thomas, sixth Lord Fairfax.

At 16, Washington had come to Fairfax’s Greenway Court in what is now White Post, to help survey Fairfax’s holdings. The two pursued the native gray fox behind hounds that Fairfax had sent over from England even prior to his arrival.

Fine explains that fox hunting in Virginia flourished privately until the massive changes after the Civil War set the stage for the formation of organized hunts and subscription packs. The period following the war saw a number of Englishmen moving to Virginia, many of whom were fox hunters in their native England. One such Englishman, Archibald Bevan, helped to organize the Blue Ridge Hunt in 1888, and he served as its first Master.

Well over a century later, the Blue Ridge Hunt is going strong and welcomes anyone who wants to enjoy the sport of fox chasing. Although that no doubt requires some experience, none is needed to come out and enjoy what promises to be a wonderful afternoon of point-to-point racing at Woodley Farm. Pack a picnic and bring the family! For more information, call Ferrell at 540-550-7015 or visit www.blueridgehunt

by Claire Stuart

Spring is the traditional time to clean up and catch up on the chores that didn’t get done in the winter. If you need help with your to-do list, Melvin and Susan Hallman, owners of Budget Handyman Service, invite you to call on them for jobs big and small. They are local, licensed and insured, and they guarantee their work. They promise to arrive on time and do the job right.

Their expertise includes carpentry, plumbing, and installation/repair of ceramic tile and laminate floors. They are also ready and willing to tackle odd jobs, from cleaning out the garage, pressure washing, and painting, to repairing drywall, installing locks and deadbolts, fixing garbage disposals and maintaining your landscape. They can replace windows and doors and spruce up your kitchen with new cabinets and countertops.

Budget Handyman Services is a husband-and-wife operation. They do almost all of the work themselves, with occasional help from reliable craftspeople they have worked with for years.

Susan provides the estimates, schedules the work, does the billing and generally deals with customers. She will even accompany you to home improvement stores to consult on materials. Susan worked in the office side of the construction industry for many years, including a stint with FEMA in home inspections, reviewing inspections and billing.

The growing season finds her at work outdoors in the landscaping end of the business. She mows, plants trees and flowers, mulches and weeds. In winter, she helps with snow removal. And, she says, “I will paint if I have to!”

Melvin has years of experience in all phases of construction, including custom flooring. His background also includes work with a local plumbing and heating company, dealing with everything from outside water and sewer to inside plumbing and fixtures. In addition, he worked for a builder doing “punchout” work, the final step in new construction where last-minute details are completed. This covers things like repairs to doors, wood trim or drywall that was damaged in the construction, hardware, adjusting installed appliances, minor electrical adjustments and touch-up painting.

“It could be anything from drywall to doorknobs,” Susan explained.

The Hallmans have been in business for themselves for over 16 years, the last eight years full-time. It began with Melvin working on custom ceramic tile floors in his spare time.

Susan recalled, “As he worked on a floor, someone might ask him to remove a toilet or a vanity, install fixtures. He’s very handy. If you want it done, he’ll figure out a way to do it!”

Thanks to his plumbing background, he could take on bigger jobs, leading into kitchen and bathroom remodeling. Both Melvin and Susan lost their jobs when the housing bubble burst, so they decided to take their part-time business full-time. They put out the word by sending out a bulk mailing describing their services.

“We only got four customers,” recalled Susan, “but we still have them!  We re-did one customer’s house and now we have the new owner.”

Their handyman business expanded in another direction when their son graduated high school.  “He wanted to go to college to study turf management and asked if we’d add landscaping,” Susan explained. “We did, and then he joined the army! So now Mom and Dad have the landscaping.”

She reports that they do not do mowing on a contract basis. “Some operators contract to mow on a certain day every week and do it whether it needs mowing or not. We do it when it is needed—sometimes there will only be two or three weeks when we need to mow. We’re old school – we agree with a handshake.”

When they are called on to paint, says Susan, “We start by doing one room at our own pace so that you can see how we work. If you like it, you can tell us to go ahead with the rest. We are a time-and-material business. We work by the hour so you are only paying for when we actually work. You get all the receipts for material.”

Budget Handyman will tackle just about any job, large or small, except new construction. They have chinked and sealed historic log structures and changed a light bulb two stories up. They have even installed Christmas decorations for elderly folks who were no longer able to do it.  If you are on a fixed income and need work done, they will do their best to plan the work around your budget, prioritizing and doing what you can afford over a period of months.

Twenty-four hour emergency service is available for urgent problems like leaks, and they will get there within 24 hours and try to fix the problem the same day.

The Hallmans prefer to work close to home in Clarke and western Loudoun County, but they will travel to Frederick and parts of West Virginia. The farthest they have travelled for a job was to Alabama. “That was for family,” Susan laughed.

Call Budget Handyman Service at 540-327-1189 or 540-327-9130

 

by Karen Cifala

Being a caretaker is one of the hardest jobs ever! Every caregiver goes through a “burnout” period when they feel exhausted and stressed out, and just not up to the responsibility. Here are a few burnout signs to look for if you are a caregiver of a loved one:

• Not wanting to interact with people, especially family and close friends.
• Not being as interested in your favorite hobbies, such as reading.
• Thoughts of suicide or hurting your elderly loved one; feeling depressed.
• Abnormal eating patterns.
• Abnormal sleeping, not being able to fall asleep or have trouble getting up.
• Not being able to shake a cold, signs of a reduced immune system or not really feeling good.
• Irritability that triggers negative responses and actions.

Any of these signs might be a clue that caring is becoming too draining on you and that you need a break.

Our Place Respite Center, formerly housed at the Episcopal Church is Berryville, is now located at Crums Methodist Church, on Crums Church Road in Clarke County. Our Place is a social model program developed by the Shenandoah Area Agency on Aging (SAAA) and the Brookdale Foundation, and has been in existence for 14 years. You don’t have to be a Clarke County resident to attend, as SAAA also operates another respite center in Edinburg. You can choose whichever is closest to where you live.

Our Place in Clarke County offers a break to caregivers of persons with dementia, early to mid-stages of Alzheimer’s or other cognitive disabilities. This program provides a benefit to both the caregiver and the participants. It is very affordable, with a sliding scale daily fee ($10­–25) which includes lunch and snacks. Participating adults need to be mobile (which includes using a walker) and able to participate as well as able to toilet themselves. The food is provided by Meals on Wheels and is delivered daily for the participants. Participants need to provide their own transportation to and from the program which runs in Clarke County from 10am to 3pm, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.

Reverend Tom Barnard, pastor at Crums United Methodist Church, describes “the church” as, “We are the People of God,” and extends his belief that the church, in some respect, is also a hospital where help is offered in many forms; physically, mentally and spiritually for all people. Pastor Tom is very pleased to be able to provide a space for this community service. Crums Methodist also has an all-volunteer food delivery distribution for needy families. They also have a K-1 st grade “backpack program” where they collect easy to eat snack food donations for needy kids. Please support their youth mission to Rosebud Reservation by attending their fundraiser pancake supper on April 29^th at Enders Firehouse, in Berryville, from 5-7:30.

A typical day at Our Place might look like:

• 10:00 Coffee, snack, greetings, puzzles, brain teasers, word games
• 10:30 Exercise: balloon volleyball in chairs, basketball, stretching or walking
• 11:30 Lunch provided by Meals on Wheels
• 12:30 Rest with background music in reclining chairs with a blanket
• 1:00 Craft
• 2:00 Restroom break
• 2:15 Game, dominoes, checkers, card games
• 2:45 Prepare for departure

“An invaluable program,” says Tony Hopson, whose wife has been a regular participant at Our Place for several years. Kathy was diagnosed with a brain tumor, and Our Place has not only freed him up to do regular chores that we take for granted like grocery shopping, but the therapeutic interaction that Our Place offers is very encouraging to Tony as he continues to see small incremental positive changes in his wife’s behavior.

Another wonderful man I talked to, Leroy, who is the sole caretaker of his wife Mareta, explains that her dementia has supercharged her personality and behaviors to the point where she can’t remember what happened even two minutes ago. Our Place has proven to be something that he can’t live without and wishes that they could offer more than three days a week. His wife loves to stay busy every minute and the positive interaction, games, and exercise brings her more pleasure than staying at home all the time. Plus as you can imagine, down time for yourself is non-existent in a situation like this and Our Place gives Leroy the peace of mind that his wife is being well taken care of while he takes some time for himself.

As I walked around the facility I noticed a lovely wall with family collages. Each participant is encouraged to bring in pictures to make a collage of their own. The participants also have raised garden beds to grow vegetables and flowers; they go outside for walks, bake in the kitchen and join in spontaneous singing whenever the moment strikes. How can i forget this song, I heard it at least a dozen times during my interview; “This is the day that the Lord has made, that the Lord has made. Let us rejoice, let us rejoice and be glad in it and be glad in it. This is the day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in Him. This is the day, this is the day that the Lord has made.”

Along with individual care plans and respite for the caregivers, Our Place occasionally offers support group meetings and other collaborative resources for the family.

For more information or to make an appointment with SAAA regarding care for your loved one contact Charity Michael, case manager for SAAA, call 540-635-7141, ext.# 1016

Karen Cifala is a Realtor for Remax Roots in Berryville, VA with a special interest in our aging population. She can be reached on her cell 303-817-9374, office 540-955-0911 or by email. She is happy to take article requests!

The Potomac Valley Audubon Society will sponsor a forum on environmental advocacy the evening of Thursday, April 13 in Shepherdstown.

The forum, entitled “A Guide for the Uneasy Environmentalist,” will be held from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. in the Frank Arts Center auditorium on the Shepherd University campus.

Admission will be free and everyone is welcome to attend.

The event, which is being billed as non-partisan, will be aimed at promoting effective advocacy on environmental and natural resource conservation issues.

It will feature a panel discussion that will explore such questions as what tools are available to change perceptions about these issues, how does advocacy influence decision-making, and what strategies are most effective.

The panelists will be former Democratic State Representative Stephen Skinner; Dr. David Didden, Jefferson County Public Health Department; Mary Ann Hitt, Sierra Club; Christian Thomas, Sky Truth; and Wendy Radcliff, former Environmental Advocate for the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection.

The forum will be followed by a post-event gathering from 8:30 p.m. onward at the Domestic Restaurant, 117 East German Street, Shepherdstown.

For more information go to www.potomacaudubon.org.