INSIDE LETTERS page 3 SCHOOL OF NOTES page 4 WRITER’S EYE page 6
OCTOBER 2017 VOL. 12, NO. 5
DANCE STYLES page 16
High Hopes for Virginia Grape Harvest
TINY SALE page 17
By Theresa Curry
threresa@crozetgazette.com
THE MOUNTAINS page 19 COCONUT CHICKEN page 22
RAGGED BRANCH page 24
ALLIE PESCH
LOCAL FOOD FAIR page 23
STILL SMOKING? page 26
Albemarle County School Board representative David Oberg helped Crozet Elementary students safely “get to the other side” of the road at the school’s annual Walk and Bike to School Day October 4. Students who live too far to walk from home had the option to get off the bus at Crozet Baptist Church, where parent volunteers chaperoned the walk from St. George Ave.
KEEP ’EM STRAIGHT page 30
No Hope Soon for Traffic Relief
FLOORCLOTHS page 31
By Michael Marshall
TREE SNIPPETS page 32
Traffic congestion through downtown Crozet, especially at school travel times, is not likely to be relieved any time soon, VDOT’s Charlottesville resident engineer Joel DeNunzio told the Crozet Community Advisory
COOLER DOGS page 33 MT. MORIAH page 34 DRY DAYS page 35 GUN RESEARCH page 36 IVY LEAGUE page 38 FIVE HOUSE page 39 OBITUARIES page 42 HOME SWEET CROZET page 45
editor@crozetgazette.com
Committee at its Sept. 20 meeting. CCAC member Tom Loach, a retired Planning Commission representative for White Hall District, had raised the idea of installing a threeway stop sign at the intersection of Jarmans Gap Road and Crozet Avenue, where vehicles on Jarmans
This might be a year for wine lovers to remember, said Annette Boyd, director of the Virginia Wine Board Marketing Office. “Of course, it’s a big state,” she qualified, “but what we’re seeing mostly are wonderful harvests of white and red grapes, both in quantity and quality. We are really excited.” Central Virginia vineyards mostly dodged the hurricanes battering their neighbors in southern states and are picking sweet grapes, undiluted by rainwater and full of flavor and sugar. The harvest was early, too, so most vineyards are nearing the end of harvest with rain expected to hold off as the last reds are brought in. State viticulturist Dr. Tony Wolf said the warm spring weather locally caused early bud bursts and put this year’s grape harvest a week or two ahead of schedule and with more fruit than usual. At King Family Vineyard, James King said grape quality there was
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continued on page 23
With this Vineyard: Planning a Western Albemarle Wedding By Clover Carroll
clover@crozetgazette.com
So you’ve proposed high above Crozet at Humpback Rock, in the Boar’s Head balloon, or at the Rooftop Skybar. You’ve bought the ring, set the date, shared the happy news with family and friends, and— now comes the somewhat intimidating task of choosing a venue for your ceremony and/or reception. Everyone
wants their wedding day to be a perfect, magical celebration that reflects the beauty of their love for each other, creates memories to last a lifetime, is relatively stress-free, and doesn’t break the bank. But how to make that happen? Western Albemarle, with its idyllic settings and sublime mountain views, has become an award-winning location for weddings, bringing big busicontinued on page 10
SUBMITTED
BALLOON PILOT page 8
Ballooning and other offbeat paths, page 8.