Opinion
Festival time
Reflections on the Pope’s Visit
celebration
Port royal Charter days festival
See inside for information on the Montross Fall Festival
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T he Volume 39, Number 40
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pages 4-5
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Colonial Beach • Westmoreland
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Wednesday, September 30, 2015 50 Cents
Colonial Beach residents, motorcycle enthusiasts gear up for annual Bike Fest Linda Farneth
Photo by Linda Farneth
Gearheads, shade tree mechanics and motorcycle enthusiasts will descend on Colonial Beach Oct. 8-11 for the town’s second annual Bike Fest. For four days, participants will enjoy a variety of motorcyle-related activities, including a poker walk, a scavenger hunt and the Blessing of the Bikes. Live music will fill the air, and a variety of foods and beverages will be available. The weekend is sponsored by All American Harley Davidson and will be judged by Boston Nichols Bike & Rider Productions.
Don’t miss the 2nd Annual Colonial Beach Bike Fest, which will take place Oct. 8-11. This event will feature a variety of activities throughout that weekend including vendors, bike demos and much more. Carey Geddes, Director of the Colonial Beach Chamber of Commerce, and Bryan and Vickie Coffman, owners of High Tides Restaurant, have teamed up again with Steven “Smurf ” Keene, General Manager of All American HarleyDavidson of Hughesville, MD, to put on the second annual Colonial Beach Bike Fest. This four-day event is filled with activities sure to delight bikers and spectators alike. Come down and get a look at the latest bikes, show off your own machine and join in the fun. Last year’s event was a big success, despite rain during the concert according to Geddes. In 2014, bikers from DC, Maryland and Virginia gathered for the first Bike Fest. Chuck Powers came from as far south as Daytona Beach to enjoy the event. “Came up from Daytona, great time!” he said. “Hopefully no rain next year. We will be back. Great job Colonial Beach!” The Virginia State Police estimated more than 10,000 people showed
up during the three-day weekend. Visitors of all ages enjoyed the music despite a constant drizzle on Saturday. The aroma of hot dogs, funnel cake, BBQ and other delights added to the many festive atmosphere. This year’s will include Lickity Splitz at Dockside Restaurant & Tiki Bar, and Bob Noble at High Tides on the Potomac. Highlights of this year’s events include: the Harley-Davidson Demo Fleet, a poker walk, a scavenger hunt, and the Blessing of the Bikes. High Tides on the Potomac & Tiki Bar, located at 205 Taylor St., will have games every hour, a 911 Wing Challenge and bands throughout the event. Dockside Restaurant & Tiki Bar, located at 1787 Castlewood Dr., will feature the Ultimate Beer Gut Contest and bands throughout the event. Bike Fest also includes concerts featuring Swamp Da Wamp on Friday beginning at 3 p.m., Kashmir and many other great bands. The Marshall Tucker Band and the Artimus Pyle Band will appear on Saturday. Both concerts are free however there will be a V.I.P. seating area offered for both concerts. Tickets are $35 apiece per concert. This includes seating at the front of the stage area, as well as access to the V.I.P. area lavatories and V.I.P. area bar.
The tradition of bike fests began years ago at Daytona Beach, with Bruce Rusmyer of the HarleyDavidson Dealership, who decided to have a little get-together for the weekend. Now bike fests are hosted all over the country for some good clean all-American fun. Events are all geared around having fun, all while practicing safety. The second annual Colonial Beach Bikefest Bike Show is sponsored by All American Harley Davidson and will be professionally judged by Boston Nichols Bike & Rider Productions. The show contest will take place on Sunday Oct. 11 at the Colonial Beach American Legion Paved Parking Lot between noon and 4 p.m. An awards ceremony will follow directly after. Admission is free to riders and spectators, however, each event does charge an entrance fee for the participants. Proceeds will fund the prizes and be donated to local charities, as is customary with these happenings. For the list of events, times and location go to www. colonialbeachbikefest.com/events But the best part of the weekend is the ability for good old fashion bragging rights as bikers from all walks of life get to show off their custom-painted and tricked-out hogs. Old friends get together and new friendships are built.
SENTEL celebrates 25 years of supporting the U.S. military in King George George Whitehurst In a solid, often-overlooked brick building on U.S. 301 operates an engineering firm that provides cutting-edge services to meet America’s national security needs. For 20 more than years, the team in the King George office of SENTEL has devised solutions for security challenges for spots ranging from that last Cold War holdout, the Korean Peninsula, to the multiple fronts of the global War on Terror. SENTEL held a Sept. 25 open house to celebrate its achievements and to re-introduce itself to the community. Visitors streamed into the office during the four-hour event to get a glimpse of projects ranging from an independently operating robotic rover to a system of sophisticated instruments that can detect biological and chemical hazards. Kelly Zeh, manager of the SENTEL’s work on the Project Jupitr program, showed off the a series of sensors used to detect biological and chemical weapons hazards along
the border between North Korea and South Korea. Assisting her was Daniel Parker, a software engineer, who ran a simulation of a biological hazard “incident” near the 38th Parallel of the Korean Peninsula. Peter Maxwell and Rob McGuire demonstrated an Autonomous Remote Platform, which can be used to map buildings and other areas of combat zones in order to lessen the risk to American soldiers preparing to advance. The platform is durable, yet also cheaply replaced should it run into enemy fire. Joe Landries, a software engineers, demonstrated the RDR Web Sensor Platform. The system allows military and law enforcement personnel and to use handheld sensors to detect a variety of threats. The system was used in Rio De Janeiro to monitor crowds and search for threats during the World Cup soccer tournament. Gen. William “Kip” Ward, USA (Ret.), SENTEL’s president, mingled with the staff - shaking hands and sharing some laughs. He gave a short pep talk praising
the group for its teamwork and reminding them that the men and women of the United States armed forces are relying on people like the SENTEL team. “It’s really an honor... to recognize this team for what you do,” he declared. Ward urged the staff to keep striving for higher levels as a means of “improving the foxhole.” “When we do that, we are all elevated, and the team is elevated,” he said. “That’s how SENTEL will continue to forge ahead.” Founded in 1987 as an engineering company, SENTEL initially focused primarily on electromagnetic capabilities and sensor integration. The company’s array of services has grown to include integreated logistics, IT, intelligence and engineering. Headquartered in Alexanria, VA, SENTEL has offices located in Bowie, MD: Richmond, San Diego, and Vicksburg, MS. The company generated nearly $100 million in revenue in Fiscal Year 2014. Black Enterprise magazine recently ranked SENTEL 37th on its list of top Industrial/Services companies.
Photo by George Whitehurst
William “Kip” Ward (center), president of SENTEL Corp., gets an update on the company’s work on biohazard detectors from Kelly Zeh (left) and Daniel Parker (right) during the company’s open house at its King George office.
Beach Council approves application for financing of new elementary school Linda Farneth
Photo by Linda Farneth
Colonial Beach Council and School Board members shake hands after the council approved financing for a new elementary school. The council took the action at its Sept. 24 meeting.
The Colonial Beach Town Council has voted 4-2 in favor of authorizing the Colonial Beach Public Schools pursue financing for a new elementary school. The action took place at the council’s Sept. 24 work session. Councilwoman Wanda Goforth was unable to attend the meeting. Mayor Mike Ham said the amount of $9.6 million on the resolution is only a cap to ensure that all costs will be met. The plan for the new school construction only requires $8.5 million. “That’s what we are going to end up borrowing. If anything should come to light between now and Nov. 4 that absolutely demands we not do this,
we have until then,” he said. “That’s when we have to commit to the bond in the amount we are borrowing. But the application has to in by the 14th of October.” School officials sat quietly while the council discussed the issue. The vote had been postponed due to a tie vote at the public hearing held two weeks earlier, on the matter. Councilman Tommy Edwards was absent at the Sept 12 meeting and the other members were split on the matter. Councilman Eddy Blunt was hesitant at the first meeting to approve the application and maintained his position at the Sept 24 meeting saying, “I would just like to say this has been an extremely difficult resolution to have to deal with, for
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multiple reasons.” Blunt discussed the total of 5-cent tax increase and its impact on the citizens of the town.” On June 17, 2015 The Colonial Beach Town Council voted 6-1 to raise real estate taxes by 6 cents. Councilwoman Wanda Goforth cast the only opposing vote. Four cents was slated to go toward the town budget and 2 cents was to be earmarked towards the building of a new school. “This is a very critical time in See School page 8