The Alleghany Traveler for July 16, 2017 On The Road, After Vacation, Sniffing Out What's Happenin'   We should always try to be positive, mom always told me. "Be aware my young man," said she, "when you speak, your words are rightly or wrongly assigned to all of us. Watch your mouth. Do good deeds. Make sure you know what the hell you're talking about when you talk!" Mom had her ways. She described folks who did just about anything to keep from being assigned a fool as those who take "any port in a storm". Another good mom line: "If wishes were horses, beggars would ride. If horse turds were doughnuts, we'd eat 'til we died." Ah, she was an earthy type woman, loving - a regular 1920s gal, who came up the hard way, making refrigerator parts and ammunition supplies for our World War II heroes to fight with. She had no patience with phony TV type media personalities, all show, no substance folks. She would have subscribed to the idea that many reporters are purveyors of "fake news." That's not good, because her son rides his favorite steed, Calypso, all over the Alleghany Highlands region in search of real stories. We don't make up stuff about governmental officials in hopes that our pitiful online readership numbers will get a temporary burst. In short, making up stuff to get attention, isn't either honorable or in any way "journalism." It's a "shallow" existence, some might say. Very "shallow" ("Shadow") indeed. It's why so many millions no longer trust newspapers or the media in general. It's dangerous in the long run, because we are the last bastion of freedom when REAL trouble erupts from those who have no respect for honest government. * * * * * * It's nice to note that there still exists amongst us some real entrepreneurs, like Linda Leeman, who get an idea in their head, then expand it and refine it and poof, a new business is created - as in this case, a great new custom bakery in Iron Gate. This is the real stuff America is made of - hard work, great ideas, more hard work and then first class execution in the form of the creation of Sweet Magnolias Bakery. Wonderful. * * * * * * Hopefully, a colleague of mine at the Alleghany Journal will soon get an interview with the Director of Instruction of Alleghany County Schools with the whole idea of attempting to explain what "New Tech" means to the average Alleghany County family with kids in school. People often are antsy at things they don't fully understand and when the subject is education, that is completely understandable. The Alleghany County School Board has voted to move forward with the program, which is billed as a "project based" learning environment. Much more on this later and more details are revealed about a program which could be a revolutionary (and positive) change for county students. * * * * * * Boy! What a group of characters were in attendance at the Wings & Wheels event held Saturday, July 15th at Ingalls Field. Many of the region's highly-talented vehicle restorers were obviously present, including those who have spent a great deal of money restoring old tractors. There was a row of lovely Corvettes, antique vehicles of many kinds, Chevy SS models, a sharp 1980 MGB, along with jet aircraft, a CH53 helicopter and more. Sheesh! I didn't even get a hot dog - the link was so long, I gave up. I particularly enjoyed watching people try to ride the bull at the event's entrance. In many cases, it appeared that the younger folks did a lot better than us older folks at this particular spot. Several hundred people turned out for the event, one of Bath County's biggest (if not the biggest) summer events. It was a beautiful day, too and the temperature was almost perfect. Nice job by folks who organized it all. Parking was simple, bathroom facilities ample and wow was it noisy at times...just what I love. Calypso got tied up behind the airport's main hangar and all the hooping and hollering of nearby kids didn't bother her at all. What a pleasant return it was to trot down Airport Road, quickly stop at the overlook to view a nice part of beautiful Bath County and then home for a rest... * * * * * * The news that Kroger apparently decided not to finish its deal with the town of Clifton Forge for a fuel station near the Hickory Ave. project the town is funding was a bit of a bummer for some folks in the town. Town Manager Darlene Burcham read the firm's letter in public which detailed its reasons not to continue forward. And not far away, the Clifton Forge Rescue Squad wants to build a very big (170 x 50) building to house its vehicles and operations on Ingalls St. - but those plans were not met with any resounding bit of support from residents nearby. In fact, just the opposite. One public official told me Thursday that he had received 11 phone calls from residents against the idea. Of course, they all may not have been random callers. The CFRS will learn the fate of its proposal after a Tuesday night hearing at the town hall when the Clifton Forge Planning Commission meets to consider its plans. At last month's meeting on the issue, a local doctor and his wife detailed their concerns about the proposed CFRS move and told the planners that they wished to build a housing development next door on their property. Boy, that's a "new one" - the last housing development of any size in town occurred when Aubrey Dean and his son, Tom, put in the Forester Road set of lots and that wss probably at least 30 years ago... * * * * * * Perhaps you're not one of those "green" type people - you know, those who think recycling is important. But to give you just a smidgeon of what that kind of attitude might entail, consider what is going on in Covington. The city plans to take its current waste "tipping fee" from $40 to something ABOVE $70 immediately. That's a 75% increase - but that will reflect the actual cost of having to expand its landfill or in other ways, deal with local trash. At some point and at some place, the Alleghany Highlands - and all the jurisdictions within it, need to at least consider forming some kind of a Recycling Authority to a) hold down costs b) recycle and reclaim tens of thousands of pounds of local trash and c) educate area homeowners and residents why all this makes sense. This is a job which urgently needs doing. I'll even hitch Calypso up and include a recycling bin at the rear of our hansom to make sure we do our part. * * * * * * Cornelius Florman of Low Moor (an heir to the Reynolds Metals fortune), really made the news this week - apparently now a suspect in a Florida sexual battery case unsolved for the last twenty years. With a new DNA sample now having been taken from him, the court order to have this updated and sent to Florida has made all the regional news shows. With his very troubled history, Mr. Florman probably is not getting the benefit of the doubt from anybody in our region. Because of some prior very bad sexual antics committed in the Richmond area (and there were incidents alleged in both Texas and Kentucky as well) years ago which got him both jail time and a multi-million dollar civil judgment issued against him, Mr. Florman (apparently now in his fifties) is going to find living in the Alleghany Highlands a more complicated thing after this latest revelation. His attorney, a celebrated defense specialist, says if charges are filed that they will be "vigorously" defended. Looks like Mr. Florman is going to need this kind of help to stay out of the clink. (Mr. Florman is the son of well-known local volunteer and investor, Louise Belmont. Mrs. Belmont has had mixed results with her efforts at local investments, but has been involved in a number of local projects in recent years). * * * * * * I'm just back from vacation and my honey-do list is huge. I hope your summer is going well. Unlike when I went to school which normally started after Labor Day, some area school systems are going to crank up in mid-to-early August! Wow.

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