June 2014 Newsletter www.chesopeiancolonycivicleague.org

Chesopeian Colony "On the Lynnhaven River"

President's Message...

Preparations for this year’s 4th of July parade and celebration are

underway and it looks like it will be even bigger than last year’s event.

Mike Swirzinski, our 4th

of July Event Director, asked me to put the

word out that he has plenty of volunteer opportunities remaining. Many

of them require only a couple of hours of your time on the day of the

event. Sign up to help make this year’s event the best ever!

The Grand Marshalls for the 2014 4th

of July parade are Bill and

Susie Thesier. Colony residents for nearly 20 years, the Thesier's have

participated in social events as volunteers and hosts every year since

moving in. Susie served in leadership roles in the Garden Club and

Civic League for 14 of those years and Bill is a Past President and

longtime director of the Civic League. Their contributions to the

community reach well beyond our neighborhood, where they support

charity organizations that benefit children and families in need. Please

join us in recognizing Susie and Bill for two decades of compassion,

hospitality, and downright fun!

What else is in store? Cash prizes for parade entries like

patriotic bicycles and epic floats? We will be taking the egg toss and

hula hoop contest to the next level. The clown and DJ will be back and

you can join in on a classic watermelon eating contest. And stick

around for Whitner’s famous pork barbeque. If you have other plans

for the 4th

, there is still time to cancel them and join us.

See you there!

Steve

Upcoming Event!

The next Civic League

meeting will be held on

Tuesday, June 17th

at 7:00 PM at the Foundry

United Methodist Church

across from our entrance.

Hope to see you

there!

Content:

President's Message

Treasurer' s Report

Out and About

Dredging Report

About the Colony

Butterflies

Buyer Beware

4th of July

Treasurer’s Report

As of May 20th , 77 residents have paid their dues. In addition, our

residents have contributed $415.00 so far to the Chesopeian Colony

Scholarship Fund. I would like to Thank each and every one of you for

paying your dues and for your generosity to the Scholarship Fund. If

you have not paid your dues, please do so at your earliest convenience.

You can hand deliver a check to my mailbox or come meet Hunter, our

yellow lab and deliver to the box on our front steps.

The dues cover many wonderful things that we as residents all get to

enjoy such as the upcoming 4th of July Party!

If you have any questions feel free to contact me anytime.

April Brown

2704 Shepherds Quarter

481-3772

Harry & Hogan Brown

2704 Shepherds Quarter

481-3772 Yard maintenance & pressure washing

Out and About...

Now that summer is upon us and you realize that after the umpteenth adventure to Busch Gardens that

you have run out of things to do, may I offer a few “off the beaten path” suggestions:

Take a trip to Bacon's Castle, also variously known as "Allen's Brick House" or the "Arthur Allen

House" is located in Surry County, and is Virginia's oldest documented brick dwelling. Built in 1665, it

is noted as an extremely rare stylistic example of Jacobean architecture in the New World. The house

became known as "Bacon's Castle" because it was occupied as a fort or "castle" by the followers of

Nathaniel Bacon during Bacon's Rebellion in 1676. However, contrary to popular folklore, Bacon never

lived at Bacon's Castle, nor is he even known to have visited it. Open Friday and Saturday 10:00 am –

4:00 pm and Sunday noon to 4:00 pm

While you’re at it, ride the Surry Ferry (actually the Jamestown-Scotland Ferry) crossing from

Jamestown to Scotland on Route 31.

Also while you’re way out in the wilderness, see historic St. Luke's Church, 14477 Benn's Church

Boulevard, Smithfield. "Old Brick", circa 1632, is our nation’s only surviving original Gothic building

and the oldest Church of England foundation in America. This historic site is a National Historic

Landmark, on the Virginia Landmarks Register, and on the National Register of Historic Places. Tours

Hours are Monday - Saturday 9:30 - 5:00 and Sunday 1:00 - 5:00

All the way across the water in Newport News is the Virginia War Museum, 9285 Warwick Boulevard,

Newport News. American military history unfolds at the Virginia War Museum. Outstanding

collections of personal artifacts, weapons, vehicles, uniforms, posters and much more trace the

development of the U.S. military from 1775 through the present. See a section of the Berlin Wall and a

portion of the outer wall from Dachau Concentration Camp. Galleries include Women at War and

Marches Toward Freedom, exploring the roles of women and African-Americans in the military and

Visions of War, the museum's outstanding propaganda poster collection. Open Mon – Sat: 9 am to 5 pm,

and Sunday: 12 to 5 pm.

While on that side visit the Casemate Museum at Fort Monroe. The museum features the room where

Jefferson Davis was held briefly as prisoner following the American Civil War, highlights Major

General Benjamin Butler’s Contraband of War decision that granted refuge to 3 escaped slaves, and tells

the history of the US Army Coast Artillery Corps. Robert E Lee was station at Fort Monroe as a young

lieutenant.

Admission is free for self guided tours. Guided tours by reservation and the cost is $3 per person. Open

Monday-Sunday 10:30am – 4:30pm Memorial Day to Labor Day, Tuesday-Sunday for the remainder of

the year.

I know none of us venture as far as Chesapeake, except to pass through on the way to the Outer Banks,

but Battlefield Historic Park (how’s this for an address: 1775 Historic Way, Chesapeake) serves as a

tribute to the history of the Battle of Great Bridge. The Park is home to an Interpretive Historic Pathway,

an Outdoor Auditorium, a recreation of the Causeway from 1775, a Family Picnic Area, and a

monument to the British troops that lost their lives during the battle.

Enjoy!

George Coleman

Bob's Jobs Renovations, Remodels, and Handyman Repairs

We Do the "Honey-Dos" that Honey Don't!

Licensed, Insured, Certified

Gutter cleaning, pressure washing and deck cleaning, sealing and repairs. With the addition of a

second technician, we are doing kitchen and bath remodels.

To see the full list of services, please go to our website,

bobsjobshandyman.com

Call today for your free estimate, 757.318.0484.

Mention this ad for a 10% discount!

Bob Wager, Owner & Handyman

Jo Sandlin White, Owner, Marketing Director and Administrative Assistant

Dredging update:

Homes are currently being marketed with the prospect of deep water access due to our

project. We already have new neighbors who moved to Chesopeian Colony to take

advantage of the waterways. Its great to see the excitement building!

The city and Langley & MacDonald have continued scheduling meetings with

individual homeowners to review their private dredging requests. The North East

quadrant is scheduled for the week of 6/3/14 and the South East quadrant the week of

6/10/14. Please make sure to take advantage of this opportunity to meet and discuss

your situation.

After the completion of these homeowner meetings, the drawings will be modified and

the final package ready for the permit application. The city is required by law to either

own, or have a signed lease with the property owners before dredging, so we can

expect to see another round of paperwork later this summer before the project is

ready.

PEDESTRIANS – That means Walkers ...

While in the Colony, where there are no sidewalks, always walk on the left side of

the road, facing traffic so that you can be alert to approaching hazards (cars). It’s

the state law. If it’s after dark, wear light colored clothing… and you should

consider carrying a flashlight. Drivers hate to be surprised by a dark clothed

walker suddenly appearing in their headlights. It could spoil your whole day. Be

careful out there!

=====================================================================================

Chesopeian Colony Goodnight Checklist

•Front door locked

• Back door locked

• Patio /deck door locked

• Pets accounted for and settled for the night

• Alarms set for the night and the morning

• Thermostats set for the night

• Garage and shed doors closed and locked

• Vehicle windows closed and vehicle locked

• Car key fob with panic button on bedroom dresser

• Personal electronic devices on charge

• Kitchen oven, stove, faucets all off

Attention Graduates!

We are proud of this year’s high school and college graduates and we

would like to recognize them at the 4th

of July party. If you have a new

graduate in your family, please contact Steve Vigus at 636-7135 so that

we can congratulate them. (Don’t worry, we won’t drag them up onto

the stage unless they insist on it.) Way to go grads!

CCCL Board and Committee Members for 2014 President: Steve Vigus

Vice President: George Coleman Treasurer: April Brown

Secretary: Heather Serio Past President: Janet Webster

Members at Large: Phillip Figueroa, Frank Gurdziel, Ron Hess, Betsy McEnroe, Everett Milteer, B.J. Taylor Committee Chairs (Appointed): Ron Hess (Security), Frank Gurdziel (Dredging),

Jennifer Coleman (Garden Club Liaison), Cheryl Noyes (Scholarships), Susanne

Vigus (Welcoming), Bill Thesier (Newsletter), John Davis (Website), BJ Taylor

(Council of Civic Organizations), Mike Swirzinski (4th of July)

The 4th of July is rapidly approaching! As always, we can use

some help for setup, parade judging, food & beverage service, kids

games and clean-up. If you have a little free time and would like

to help, give Nancy May a call at 748-0935 or email Nancy at

nancybmay@gmail.com and we'll get you a time when you can

help. As always, we look forward to seeing you and your family

at the picnic enjoying the food, games and parade!

BUTTERFLY SEASON IN THE COLONY

I am a member and past President/Treasurer of the Butterfly

Society of Virginia.

The Society was established in 1992. It is a non-profit organization

whose purposes are education, conservation and promotion of

butterfly gardening and habitat provision. Therefore, many of our

members raise the caterpillars and release the butterflies when they

emerge from chrysalis. Generally speaking, the most common

butterfly in this area is the Eastern Black Swallowtail. Every

butterfly has its own particular host plant(s). The host plant is the

plant that the female lays her eggs on and the plant that the resulting

caterpillars eat. The host plants of the Eastern Black Swallowtail

include parsley, dill, fennel and carrot. So a Colony vegetable

garden will likely contain at least one of these plants. Thus, when a

female black swallowtail butterfly visits your yard looking for a

nectar plant (lantana, impatiens, petunias, etc.) it will also be looking

for its host plant to lay her eggs on. When the caterpillar first

hatches it resembles bird poop, black on both ends and white in the

middle, so it doesn’t look tasty to the birds looking for a high-protein

meal. In several days, assuming it has plenty of food; it will begin to

turn into a beautiful black caterpillar with green stripes and yellow

dots. The birds then begin to love them, or rather I should say love

to eat them, and you will begin to hate them since the caterpillars are

quickly devouring your plants. So what is the solution to your

problem????? Call the Eastern Black Swallowtail caterpillar

REMOVAL PERSON. I will come to your home and for NO

CHARGE remove the “critters” and take them to my home to

continue to feed and care for them until they all hopefully go into

chrysalis in preparation to becoming a beautiful butterfly. When the

butterfly emerges, it will be released in my back yard and hopefully

the new generation of butterflies will again find your garden and

start the process again.

Of course we have many other species of butterflies in the

area other than the Eastern Black Swallowtail and assuming I have

the host plant for that particular butterfly, I will also be happy to feed

and care for those also. So if you find caterpillars in your yard, I

may be able to identify them. Feel free to call me.

In addition, if you have children or know of any children who

are interested in butterflies, let me know and hopefully we can

arrange a time for them to visit and learn about raising butterflies.

B J Taylor, 486-3056

___________________________________________________________

INFORMATION BRIEF Virginia Beach Police Department

Municipal Center

Virginia Beach, VA 23456

8/20/10 2010-119

WHEN A SOLICITOR COMES TO YOUR DOOR

SELLING, BUYER BEWARE

The city of Virginia Beach, like most cities in Hampton Roads, has a law to help protect homeowners when

solicitors come to the door. Solicitors must obtain and carry with them a police department-issued non-laminated

plastic card displaying their photo and the name of the company they represent.

The most common door-to-door solicitors are security alarm companies, home repair, and magazine subscription

sales. Most are legitimate companies and will have the proper solicitor permit displayed. Please do not invite

anyone into your home until you are convinced they have properly identified themselves. If the sales offer sounds

too good to be true, trust your instincts; they are probably right.

Some solicitors, such as charitable, non-profit organizations and civic or religious organizations are exempt, and

do not require a solicitor’s permit. However, those individuals are required to register with the Virginia Department

of Agriculture and Consumer Affairs (VDACA). Such organizations can be verified online at

www.vdacs.virginia.gov or by phone during business hours with the VDACA (804) 786-2042.

When considering alarm systems, consult with several reputable home security system providers and make sure

they are Department of Criminal Justice Services licensed in Virginia at

http://www.dcjs.virginia.gov/ps/directory/businessSearch.cfm. You may also want to check the Better Business

Bureau for any complaints about alarm providers.

Report all suspicious individuals and activity to the Police non-emergency number (385-5000). For actual crimes

in progress, call 911. Never allow solicitors into your home and verify their identity before even opening your door.

Trust your instincts. If you feel uneasy, ask them to leave your property.

MPO Jimmy Barnes

Public Relations/Spokesperson

Virginia Beach Police

Department

Jfbarnes@vbgov.com

757-385-4494 office