NRV’s Premier Lifestyle Magazine
New River Valley JULY/AUGUST 2019
M A G A Z I N E
PAs on the Front Lines Transplanting Hope Travel: Dubai NRV Rocketry Pet IDs
Healthcare nrvmagazine.com
PET CARE
Search. See. Love.
Find a place to hang your heart. Explore all homes today and leverage the insight of our agent network. Find your agent at LongandFoster.com
of Long & Foster Real Estate
of Long & Foster Real Estate
Patti Bass REALTOR® 540.818.3958
TellPatti@gmail.com www.longandfoster.com/PattiBass
Wendy Swanson REALTOR® 540.797.9497
swansonwm@gmail.com www.wendymswanson.com
Priscilla The
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Team
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Priscilla Morris REALTOR® 540.320.3586 Priscilla@PriscillaMorris.com www.PriscillaMorris.com
2018 #1 Top Team Producer New River Valley Office
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Mike Weber REALTOR® 540.250.6727
MikesYourRealtor@gmail.com www.longandfoster.com/MikeWeber
Visit www.longandfoster.com or download our mobile app today! 3601 Holiday Ln. Blacksburg, VA 24060 | 540.552.1010
Darin Greear REALTOR®
540.320.5859 Darin@RinerVa.com www.RinerVa.com
Brenda Woody REALTOR® 540.257.0281
Brenda.Woody@LongandFoster.com www.longandfoster.com/BrendaWoody
Long & Foster was named “America’s Most Trusted Residential Real Estate Brokerage” by Lifestory Research.
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When it comes to always our best,
we mean business. When you’re passionate about something, you give it your all. Your business is proof. We’re passionate about delivering a great banking experience, supporting your business and elevating our community. So we carefully think through your challenges, come up with creative solutions, and embrace enthusiasm, kindness and inspiration in all that we do. It’s how we give you always our best. Your business will get nothing less. Contact us for your business banking, lending and cash management needs. We look forward to serving you.
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MOVE BOLDLY At Nest, we believe that buying and selling real estate is the most important decision you will ever make. That belief guides us to make your decision-making process as stress-free and enjoyable as possible. How can we help you Move Boldly in the New River Valley?
Nancy Massey ASSOCIATE BROKER, ABR nancy@nestrealty.com 540.250.3222 nestrealty.com/nancymassey
Cynthia Ilewicz ASSOCIATE BROKER cynthia.ilewicz@nestrealty.com 540.808.3691 nestrealty.com/cynthiaIlewicz
Skip Slocum ASSOCIATE BROKER skip@nestrealty.com 540.392.8891 nestrealty.com/skipslocum
Rachel Hogan ASSOCIATE BROKER rachel@nestrealty.com 540.599.0880 nestrealty.com/rachelhogan
Jeremy Hart PRINCIPAL BROKER jeremy@nestrealty.com 540.998.4731 nestrealty.com/jeremyhart
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T H E
E W I N G
C O M PA N I E S
REMODELING | CABINETRY | BUILDING Visit our showroom: 1701 S. Main St., Blacksburg, VA 540.951.0544 • EwingBuildingAndCabinets.com
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CONTENTS
July/August
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Pa sture Ta l k
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Tra nsp l a nt i ng Ho p e 1 0 PA s on t he Front L i nes 1 4 Seeing a Healthy Lifestyle 18 Prof i l e: Ms A udre 20
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Home: Vi c tor i a n Leg a c y 22 Tra vel : Duba i 28 S ha ve 'em to S a ve 'em 3 0
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NRV Ro c ket r y 32 Pet Boa rdi ng 3 6
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Pet I Ds & Ta gs 40
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Fo o d Fa re 42 Town & Countr y Vet 4 4
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Pasture Talk
NEW RIVER VALLEY M
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P. O. Box 11816 Blacksburg, VA 24062 o: 540-961-2015 nrvmagazine@msn.com www.nrvmagazine.com
PUBLISHER Country Media, Inc. Phillip Vaught MANAGING EDITOR Joanne Anderson ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Sabrina Sexton ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Kim Walsh DISTRIBUTION MANAGER Dennis Shelor WRITERS Joanne Anderson Karl Kazaks Krisha Chachra Emily Alberts Jennifer Cooper Mike Wade Becky Helper Astleigh Hill Nancy Moseley PHOTOGRAPHERS Kristie Lea Photography Kevin Riley Always and Forever Photography Tom Wallace Silver Pebble Photography Nathan Cooke Photography Š 2019 Country Media, Inc. Country Media, Inc. will not knowingly publish any advertisement that is illegal or misleading to its readers. Neither the advertiser nor Country Media, Inc. will be responsible or liable for misinformation, misprints, or typographical errors. The publisher assumes no financial liability for copy omissions by Country Media, Inc. other than the cost of the space occupied by the error. Corrections or cancellations to be made by an advertiser shall be received no later than 5 p.m. the 20th of each publishing month. No claim shall be allowed for errors not affecting the value of the advertisement. Paid advertising does not represent an endorsement by this publication. Content cannot be reproduced without written consent from Country Media, Inc. All rights reserved. Real Estate advertised in this publication is subject to the Federal Fair Housing Act of 1968.
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I have to give a shout out to Curb Appeal Landscaping and Tree Service. A week after meeting Lori at the Home Expo in March, she and Ben came to evaluate my work. It topped $5,000, and we shook hands. The day their crew came to scrape, sand and paint the deck, one of their workers, Brian, nicely pointed out what we already knew -- rotted boards around the hot tub would be challenging to paint. Within 20 minutes, an executive decision was made, and the hot tub was history. My husband John and Curb Appeal guys Tory and Louie headed for the dump with it in our Chevy truck. A Jaguar (see last issue Pasture Talk) would have been useless. Brian counted boards and lengths and called the info to Ben, who arrived about an hour later with wood, drills, screws and a circular saw. The crew slipped comfortably into demolition mode then carpentry team to install some 30 feet of new wood deck. A couple weeks later, Ben and Lori transformed a matted grassy area into a beautiful paver patio on our not level, rock bed ground, hugging a dual water stream we are finishing. I am not
plugging them because Ben and Lori are from Vermont, like me, but because of the entire crew's flexibility, professionalism, skills and willingness to roll with the flow. Ben and Lori work tirelessly side by side, just like John and I did in the old days when we did everything ourselves. I feel a kindred spirit with them and enjoyed meeting Jordan, a rising senior at Christiansburg High School, who is working his 3rd summer with Curb Appeal. There are many small businesses in the New River Valley which operate on those same principles of integrity and dedication, like New River Personal Training spearheaded by Vaughan Twigger. He is an award-winning body builder who is not new to the fitness scene. He's been an NRV personal trainer for 15 years and recently opened his own business where every workout is a personal training session. The whole small business scene still drives the economic engines, and "buy local" is more than a mantra. It is a special kind of community spirit and concentrated effort to support our NRV friends, neighbors and entrepreneurs who work hard to deliver useful and fun products and services. Here's wishing you a fun, safe, warm, interesting summertime!
Correction from MayJune: Wilderness Road Festival in Christiansburg is Sept. 21
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Joanne Anderson ManagingEditor jmawriter@aol.com
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Transplanting Hope the gift of second chances through organ donation
The Floyd Country Store
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Text by Nancy S. Moseley
Photos courtesy of Chelsea Hartman and Nancy McDuffie
When Chelsea Hartman of Christiansburg was 8 years old, she was diagnosed with Alport Syndrome and told she would need a kidney transplant in her 20s. It is news no one wants to receive but kidneys are the most commonly transplanted organs worldwide followed by the liver and the heart. The first transplant can be dated to the late 1860s – a skin transplant. Now, well over a century of medical advances later, the organs and tissues that can be donated include heart, kidneys, lungs, pancreas, liver, intestines, corneas, skin, tendons, bone, nerve and heart valves and, of course, blood. The United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) launched in 1984 as a private, non-profit organization in contract with the federal government to manage the nation’s transplant system. It is headquartered in Richmond, Va. 10
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Notification of organ donor status via a driver’s license or living will is the best way to assure your wishes are made known. However, it is also imperative to have a conversation with family members who are often on the front lines of posthumous decision-making. True to the prognosis, Hartman’s kidneys started to fail six months after she turned 20. In order to officially go on the waiting list, kidney function has to drop to less than 20%. Testing living donors includes rounds of blood work, urinalysis, psychological tests and stress tests. There can be no presence of diabetes, cancer or high blood pressure. Denna Harris, Hartman’s third cousin, came out as the top match. When an organ becomes available, the closest Organ Procurement Organization (OPO) sends all medical Jul y/August
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Feat u re
and genetic information (like organ size, condition and blood and tissue types) to UNOS which generates a list of compatible candidates. They are ranked by criteria including biological characteristics, time spent on the waiting list, geographical proximity, pediatric status and chance of success. The potential recipient’s transplant center is notified of the match and has one hour to analyze the data and make a decision, accept the organ or not. Nancy McDuffie, retired Virginia Tech music professor, entered the ER with abnormal heart rhythms in NRVMAGAZINE.com
2009. Shortly thereafter she went into full congestive heart failure and spent years meeting with specialists, enduring inconclusive testing and making weekly visits to UVA. Eventually, it was discovered she had Giant Cell Myocarditis, the only successful treatment being a transplant. The next several years she lived on batteries and had extensive weekly treatments to prepare her body for a new heart. Appositely, in February 2015, a heart was found. All she knows is that her donor was male. She sent a letter to the third party agency that handles communication between donor families and recipients.
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Before any transplant surgery, a routine final crosscheck of blood is performed. It’s very rare for problems to occur in the cross match given the comprehensive preliminary testing. McDuffie’s numbers came back perfect in all tested categories (also rare). Her doctor providentially described it as a “match made in heaven.” “Every day is Thanksgiving day," she exclaims. "I was horizontal a lot over the years. It’s an amazing thing to walk briskly to the car and drive myself places.” Unlike McDuffie’s experience, there were problems with Harris’s and Hartman’s final blood cross match. The
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Unbeknownst to anyone at the time, the trade was part of the largest Paired Donor Exchange chain in the United States to date. Because of the generosity of strangers, 68 lives have been changed. ABC News featured the story on Nightline. Through GPS tracking, Harris was able to watch her kidney travel across the country and even got a picture of it right before it settled into its new home. Eventually, she met her recipient in person. He showed up with roses. “It’s a blessing to live in a time when organ donation is possible. It’s a pretty cool opportunity to have selfless love by giving a piece of themselves. And it’s that much more incredible when you choose to give to a stranger,” Hartman relates. This August will be Hartman’s 5-year “kidneyversary.” She is 26 years old, a therapeutic day treatment counselor and an avid hiker. She and her husband, Zach, are thinking about fostering kids next year. She feels her story, unexpected turns and all, was meant to be, while roughly 114,000 people remain on the transplant list, waiting patiently for their story to begin. Nancy S. Moseley is a freelance writer who made almost everyone featured in this story cry a little bit; in a good way.
QUICKS FACTS ~ An average of 20 people die each day waiting for an organ ~ One donor can save up to eight lives ~ 95% of patients on the waiting list need a liver or kidney ~ Kidneys are viable for 24-36 hours in transport ~ Hearts are viable for 4-6 hours in transport
surgery was cancelled. The two, having emotionally bonded through this journey, were devastated. Heather Corcoran was the next best match on the list. Hartman had babysat her boys every Saturday for two years in high school. Meanwhile Harris, seeking peaceful closure, called UVA and offered her kidney anyway. “I felt strongly that my story wasn’t over,” Harris tears up. She was immediately put into the national Paired Donor Exchange program. Her kidney would go to its best match on the exchange. One week later Harris got a call that she paired with a gentleman in Colorado. He needed a miracle having only a 2% chance of finding a match. Harris was that miracle.
SIGN UP www.organdonor.gov CLOSEST TRANSPLANT CENTERS University of Virginia Health Sciences Center (Charlottesville, VA) Charleston Area Medical Center (Charleston, WV) Carolinas Medical Center (Charlotte, NC)
. . . One week later Harris got a call that she paired with a gentleman in Colorado. He needed a miracle having only a 2% chance of finding a match. Harris was that miracle. 12
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discover the college
by its mission VCOM, a medical school in Blacksburg, Virginia was inspired by a vision to bring physicians to medically underserved areas. Our students are inspired by the College mission and focus on caring for those most in need. Visit us online to find out how you will be
inspired... www.vcom.edu For a copy of our Outcomes Reports, please see www.vcom.edu/outcomes. Š2019 Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine. All rights reserved. VCOM is certified by the State Council of Higher Education to operate in Virginia.
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PAs on the Front Lines
Text by Joanne M. Anderson Chances are very high these days that when you go to see a doctor, you see a physician assistant or PA instead. These healthcare specialists have a unique role in the medical field for being on the front lines with initial consultation, diagnostics, tests, minor procedures, treatment plans and prescriptions. Each one is a nationallycertified and state-licensed medical professional. According to thepalife.com and a U.S. News report, physician assistant is the number one healthcare job in 2019 with 40,000 PA positions open The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects PA jobs to grow 37% in the 2016-2026 decade. While doctors have 12-14 years of higher education, PA programs are like a mini-crash course in health, 14
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science and medicine over a continuous 26 to 28 months. One must have a college degree with pre-med classes like anatomy, microbiology and chemistry. Anne Campbell, PA-C [certified] with Carilion Family Medicine in Pearisburg, graduated from UVA with a degree in neurobiology and did biotech research for years. "I met a woman who was in PA school, at a time when I had never heard of the PA profession. My interest was piqued. I wanted to find a career which could incorporate my training in science that was more people-focused. I also knew I wanted to have a family, and work-life balance was important." Some PA programs require two or three years experience in a healthcare environment like being a
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nurse, EMT, Peace Corps volunteer, ER or surgical technician. The education is intensive with comprehensive courses in pathophysiology and physiology, pharmacology, genetic and molecular mechanisms of health and disease, behavioral science and more. There are 164 accredited programs in the U.S. which cost between $71,000 and $90,000. "I did not begin my journey knowing I wanted to become a physician assistant," states Brandi N. Moore, PA-C. "I did always want to be in healthcare and probably thought about nursing first. I wanted a role that had more responsibilities and independence, however, I did not want to be a doctor. Therefore, I went down the path to become a PA." Moore works with
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Carilion New River Gastroenterology in Christiansburg. The idea of being able to complete a post-graduate program and be ready to work in three years appealed to Campbell. "I began taking prerequisites while working and started PA school a few years later. The program was intense but very rewarding, and at the end of a yearlong series of internships (with an emphasis on rural primary care), I felt prepared and ready to work." She has been practicing in the New River Valley for 15 years. While PAs can practice independently in some states, Virginia is not among them. One of the attractions of the PA career, however, is the autonomy to see and treat patients, calling in a doctor for unusually perplexing cases. "We have the ability to specialize without additional training," Moore relates. "It’s much more on-the-job training if you choose to go into specialty practice. The supervising physician(s) will train you and can tailor that to their needs within their practice." Among the advantages of seeing a PA are time and extensive evaluation. Where a doctor may have 15 minutes per patient, the PA is more likely to engage in conversation over 20 to 30 minutes covering lifestyle factors that may be part of the symptoms or problems at hand. According to Dr. Doug Althouse who serves on the faculty at Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine, PAs have time to evaluate a patient's symptoms and well-being from a holistic approach. "The PAs can discover home and work stress factors as well as emotional, mental and social aspects of life which may be impacting the patient's health," he says. Moore concurs: "We have more patient contact because we are generally much less driven by production and can spend more one on one 16
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time with patients." Often what propels someone to the doctor's office is directly connected to a life stress factor or behavior which can be modified or even eliminated. The PAs are the ones to delve into lifestyle, diet, work, exercise and whole health factors. "Family Medicine is challenging, but has been so rewarding," Campbell states. "I love treating the whole lifespan, forming relationships with families and watching my patients grow up. I have patients whom I have followed through middle and high school who have become my children's teachers! As a physician assistant, I do feel like we have more time to spend with our patients. Like that of nurse practitioners, our training tends to have a holistic emphasis, stressing the importance of not just the patient's problem or disease, but also addressing their mental and emotional health, beliefs, socioeconomic and other factors that will affect the success of their treatment." One of the biggest healthcare challenges, especially in our rural communities, is the huge shortage of primary care providers. Campbell cites a 2018 study by the Association of American Medical Colleges which estimates that by 2030 there will be a shortage of between 14,800 and 49,300 primary care physicians. PAs and NPs are doing a lot to fill this gap, particularly in rural areas. Nurse practitioners (NP) also provide first line patient care under the indirect supervision of a medical doctor. Both NPs and PAs play a pivotal role in healthcare in large part because of the increasing shortage of physicians and more demands on the healthcare system. NPs gain their education at nursing school while PAs go to medical college or a center for medicine. Both are highly valued on the professional medical community's front lines in the New River Valley. Jul y/August
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Seeing the Value of a Healthy Lifestyle
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The eye, the brain and the body are inextricably interconnected. As an eye doctor, I am reminded of this every day when dealing with “eye” diseases that are really whole body or lifestyle issues. These include glaucoma, macular degeneration, cataracts, diabetic eye disease, dry eye and even myopia (nearsightedness which increases the likelihood of these others). A sick eye, especially in chronic conditions like those cited, does not occur in isolation, but results from a sick body or unhealthy behaviors. Preventing, or modulating, diseases is more effective than treating them after they occur, especially if treatment only involves a pill, injection or surgery. It would be nice if a cholesterol or blood pressure pill was all you needed and then you could eat fast food three times a week, sit on the couch and watch TV. Unfortunately, regardless of what the TV drug ads imply, it doesn’t work that way. Living a healthy lifestyle is simple, but it is not easy. As a friend of mine says: 18
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“You’ve got to stop stuff, eat stuff and do stuff.” The stopping stuff and doing stuff may be the trickiest parts. But the eating (and not eating) stuff is just as important. Exercise and diet affect everything. Exercise, particularly aerobic – even as little as 20 minutes of brisk walking 3 times a week – improves blood flow, which allows more oxygen to reach tissues and cells, which improves cellular health and resilience. This is particularly valuable in preventing or reducing the impact of macular degeneration - and it’s a whole lot more fun than getting injections in the eye. Similar benefits are noted with glaucoma and cataracts. For diabetes, exercise reduces insulin levels and improves blood sugar control. Dry eye is an increasingly common chronic condition, and for many, more than a minor annoyance. Hours staring at devices leads to eyestrain and reduced blinking, making the eyes less clear and comfortable. In the long term, it sets off an inflammatory cascade leading to constant discomfort, blurred vision and
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increased risk of eye infections. Now, think of your kids spending hours every day glued to a device six inches away. How will their eyes feel when they are your age? There is not enough space to address how this may affect nearsightedness and the risks associated with it. Finally, the effects of chronic stress include chronic inflammation in the body and mind. Beyond high blood pressure and heart disease, stress and inflammation play direct roles in macular degeneration, dry eye and glaucoma. Mindfulness meditation can reduce intraocular pressure and stress hormones in the blood, plus it can make you feel good. Diet impacts health. Consume everything in moderation, eat “real” food, eat less often, and eat lots of veggies.
Contributed by Dr. Steve Jacobs Dr. Steve Jacobs is passionate about the role of diet, exercise, stress, behavior and good or bad habits on eye health. Call his Blacksburg office to set a time to chat with him about long-term strategies to protect your vision. 540-953-0136.
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Minimal Incision. Recovery Time. Pain. Stay. Now offering da Vinci Xi. With the largest team of surgeons using the latest robotic technologies, Carilion Clinic offers more minimally invasive surgery options than anyone else in the region. These innovative approaches treat a variety of conditions and offer important advantages over traditional open techniques. If you’ve been told you need surgery, ask your doctor about your options.
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Profile
Ms. Audre ~ Sewing, Serving and Stitchery
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Text by Joanne M. Anderson Photos by Kevin Riley Photography
On her way home from Bluefield one day, the GPS diverted Ms. Audre through downtown Princeton where she noticed a "going out of business" sign. It was a fabric shop, and she is a seamstress, so stopping was a no-brainer. She did not simply buy some discounted material. She bought it all and opened her own fabric store in June of 2010 in Pearisburg. "I started sewing doll clothes when I was 4 or 5," she recalls, then went on to make her own clothes at 9 or 10 while growing up in Arizona. At age 25, divorced with two small children, Ms. Audre joined the U.S. Air Force and 20
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spent more than half of her 21 years in the military in Italy, Turkey, Germany and Holland. "When I returned to America, I was a little disillusioned with the country. It was not the America I grew up in." After retiring from the Air Force, Ms. Audre returned to Arizona until, in 2002, she discovered Giles County. "This area offered that small town atmosphere I craved. I settled down in Narrows and plan to stay," she explains. While serving our country in Europe, she organized a sewing circle for ladies - military women like herself and wives of active duty fellas - along with preparing a home-cooked meal. "We met
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once a month. Military men and women brought things that needed mending, patches or buttons, and they got a homemade meal while we all socialized, ate and sewed." Avon and Tupperware comprised her sales experience, and having sewn all her life gave her extensive knowledge of fabrics and notions. After seven years in Pearisburg, the store relocated to downtown Narrows where it occupies approximately 9,000 square feet in two adjacent buildings and houses more than 6,000 bolts of fabric. Whether you want animal prints, calico, solid, flannel, patriotic or holiday
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fabric, it's all here along with much, much more. On the animal front, there are prints with horses, cows, cats, dogs, bear, deer, chickens, foxes, pigs, safari creatures and leopard prints. Rural and patriotic material include tractors, barns, farms and monster trucks plus myriad prints in red, white and blue. There's fabric on sale for $1/yard and all the thread and supplies you'll need to make anything. Ms. Audre also stocks sewing books and a vast collection of embroidery thread. Sharyn [Craig] Jennings and her husband, John, who both graduated from Narrows High School and now reside in Atlanta, make time to visit Ms. Audre's on every trip home. "I sew baby clothes and John is a quilter, and he always wants to look first at Ms. Audre's for his quilt fabric," Sharyn relates. "I sometimes think the visit to Ms. Audre's is as much a reason for their visit as is visiting family," quips her brother, Mike Craig, who retired back to Narrows several years ago. Other patrons hail from Huntington and Beckley, W.V., Ohio, NRVMAGAZINE.com
Maryland, Florida, Rural Retreat, the New River Valley and beyond. It's a like a destination with folks at least from Virginia and West Virginia making a day trip for fabrics, sewing notions and the fellowship. Quilting fabric and classes are some of the biggest draws at the shop, and if you think there's nothing new under the sun in quilting, think again. There are new styles in fabric blocks, and the innovative stack-n-whack quilting rage has unfolded over the past several years. Self-described quilting nut Jenny Taylor has worked here for nearly five years, like the proverbial kid-in-thecandy-shop. She took me to a table with quilt fabric spread out flat and set up a folding mirror that reflected kaleidoscope-like patterns. From there, one can choose a unique quilting style. The shop has a board for posting prayer requests, and alterations are a big part of the business. "We alter law enforcement uniforms, blue jeans, prom dresses, scout uniforms and all
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kinds of clothing," Ms. Audre states. Two of her big challenges are labor and alteration time. "It's hard for people to have to wait for alterations, but we have lots of alteration jobs all the time, and theirs has to get in line. Alterations can be tedious and time-consuming, and carving out that time in addition to running a small business with not quite enough part-time help can be tricky." Yes, she has a couple part-time jobs open. If Ms. Audre were given a week off to sew whatever she wanted, she'd make a quilt or sew doll clothes. Perhaps that's part and parcel of her all-American approach to life, as quilting is an important component of the fabric of Americana. She loves her country, and we thank her for her military service and this wonderful fabric-n-fellowship shop in small-town America, which just happens to be in the New River Valley.
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NRV Home
A Victorian Legacy
Text by Karl H. Kazaks Photos by Tom Wallace In 2008, Chris Thompson bought a farm in Floyd County with one-and-a-half miles of Little River frontage. There were many things about the property he liked, but one place in particular grabbed his attention - where the river makes a lazy, oxbow bend. On the ground adjacent to that big, circular turn, Thompson decided to build a house. Not just any old house – though its ornate design certainly speaks to an older time – but a Victorian, built in a certain way. “When I started this project, I got every book on Victorian homes I could find,” Thompson says. “I didn’t see any which were also timber frame. I wanted a timber frame Victorian.” Construction took five years, and the result is amazing, noteworthy in any setting, but particularly gorgeous among this riverside grove of New 22
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River Valley hardwoods. From the outside, the home shows its classical Victorian elements – wraparound porch; mixture of materials and building styles; ornamentation at just about at every possible point and surface; panoply of windows; mixture of dormer types; and towers – an octagonal one set at one corner and a commanding structure in the center. The front entrance is a double door with dual sidelights, all the glass sections bedecked with stained glass depicting wisteria vines. The timber frame beams in the entry meld easily into the interior’s ornamental woodwork. Eyes are drawn to the paneling of the entry walls and ceiling, made from sapele, a sustainable tropical dark wood similar in color to mahogany. But after a few steps forward
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and looking up, all the way to the underside of the home’s main turret some 40 feet above, you realize this soaring space was created by timber frame construction. It's tempting to climb the staircase with its polished wood railings to inspect the stained glass light fixture on the landing, but first – turn left into the dining room. The walls are covered with replica wallpaper to match the styles used 150 years ago. This particular room has other memories of the past. “This is my great-grandmother’s dining room table,” Thompson points out along with his grandmother’s china in the cupboard. Thompson has lived in the NRV more than four decades and in Floyd since 1982. He shares the twobedroom, six-bath home with his partner of 25 years, Trish, and their five
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cats. He graduated from Virginia Tech with an engineering degree and then lived in Montgomery County’s Sugar Grove region. He started a biological monitoring company with Trish’s brother which measured effluent going into waterways. Then he went into artificial intelligence and started an optical recognition software company. Building the house and the adjacent detached ell-shaped, five-bay garage (also timber frame) took a little longer than expected, but Thompson was committed to building them the way he wanted. “He’s a perfectionist,” Trish relates. “Now I know why no one builds Victorians anymore,” he declares. “People think that Victorians, with all their details, require a lot of craftsmanship. Historically, the opposite was true. You could buy an entire house, to the last detail, from a catalogue.” In building his home, however, Thompson had to rely on a bevy of craftsmen. Some came from afar, such as the crew from North Carolina which installed the slate roof on the upper part of the main home. Others live in Floyd, including Bruce Reisinger of Sticks and Stones Construction and Bill St. Pierre of St. Pierre Woodworking and Sawmill. Thompson used a good bit of reclaimed material. The stone and wood wine cellar has lumber from an old log barn which used to stand in Christiansburg. There are timbers from a former Old Crow (the bourbon) processing facility and white oak harvested from the property. The house features exotic woods, such as the sapele paneling and wood decking made from cumaru, a substitute for ipe. There is walnut and plenty of cherry in the kitchen, the ground floor of the octagonal tower and Thompson’s study, which is cherry floor to ceiling. The home has three gas and two wood burning fireplaces. One is double-sided, with one side warming the outdoor deck, a broad expanse with a timber frame covered section and an open part shaded in summer. Thompson’s attention to detail extended past decoration and appearance to practical details. Doors are three feet 24
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wide, a decision Thompson made in case someone needs a wheelchair. The same reasoning led him to install the wood-paneled elevator. Many details are not found in homes built in the last half-century, like paneled wainscoting, stained glass transoms over first floor doors and the ornately coffered ceiling in the library. Interior door and window casings include in their upper corners block molding with a distinctive floret pattern, custom-designed by Thompson. That pattern is found on the exterior, too, where molding is used in the corners of exterior window trim, here handpainted, with the florets painted a 26
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different color than the surrounding block. The contrast of design found on these small, repeating trim elements is evident on a larger scale throughout the home’s exterior features. The siding is Hardie board on the lower section and cedar shakes (stained Gloucester sage) on the upper section. The roof, slate on the upper section, is copper standing seam on the lower section. “The roof has 56 different sections,” Thompson points out. This man's commitment to creating such a complex home is admirable and unusual. Inside there are reminders of the area’s history.
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The original chandelier from the Hotel Roanoke is in one of the upstairs bathrooms. Paintings from local Floyd artists adorn the walls. As complete as the home feels, there are things Thompson is still working on. “There are parts which need repainting, a widow’s walk on the roof to complete and the landscape design – aside from a grapevine-bedecked pergola between the garage and main home – is basically undone." On a recent sunny day, Thompson stood outside his home, a marvel to anyone’s eyes. “It’s kind of a legacy,” he affirmed.
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Dubai: The Largest, Tallest and Greatest of Everything
Text and Photos by Krisha Chachra Not known to shy away from a superlative, the glitzy city of Dubai prides itself on being home to the largest, tallest and greatest of most everything. This luxury stopover for travelers crisscrossing East and West already possesses the busiest airport in the world and will add to its traffic when they host World Expo 2020 [see sidebar]. This global event takes place every five years and invites all nations to showcase groundbreaking ideas and disruptive innovation. It is slated to attract nearly 30 million people in the 6-month span between October 2020 to April 2021 – the largest World Expo yet, of course. Despite growth everywhere, Dubai doesn’t feel crowded. The city, with a population of 85 percent expats and cultures from around the world, runs on efficiency and sophisticated infrastructure. People aren’t loitering, and visitors aren’t confronted with trash or typical city smells. 28
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Everything looks pristine – even the metro stations with their silver bullet-shaped shells are designed with clean lines and clean floors. Every building has a distinct style – kind of like fashion on a runway. And the people who live here protect their reputation. No littering, no bag-snatching, heckling or road rage – and you’ll never see a person drunk in public. Dubai is one of the safest cities in the world and quite modern compared to others in the Middle East. Women drive pink taxi cabs only patronized by other women or families. The Emirati pride themselves on being culturally sensitive and inclusive – hiring people with special needs and referring to them as “people with determination” and giving them visible jobs and positions in management – also not common throughout the Middle East. We weren’t sure what to expect
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when stopping for a few days before returning home from India. We knew it would be an easier pace from the hustle of New Delhi where street smarts and the ability to zigzag through traffic are essential for getting anywhere. By contrast, Dubai is amazingly orderly and easy to navigate despite its incredible pace of growth. Every time you visit, there's something that didn’t exist before. This is the vision of Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed, who is also the Emir of Dubai. Islands are created out of sand in the sea – the latest in the shape of gigantic palm tree lined with mansions and large, luxurious malls. Protecting that enormous investment from waves and storms are seven million tons of mountain rock piled around the island to form a crescentshaped breakwater. We stayed at the Atlantis, the first resort on the man-made island known as
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World Expo 2020 ~ Already teaming with skyscrapers, Dubai is always under construction. The Expo site, called Dubai South, will include a dome over the plaza which doubles as a 360-degree screen at night with projections both inside and out. Each participating country will have its own pavilion along with an area for each of the main themes: sustainability, mobility and opportunity. Virginia Tech’s very own FutureHAUS, winner of the Solar Decathlon Middle East back in December, will be representing our country during the opening and closing ceremonies of the World Expo.
the Palm Jumeirah. It is a replica of one in the Bahamas with a huge Dale Chihuly glass-blown sculpture in the lobby. My daughter loved the Ambassador Lagoon – a fish tank that could fill more than four Olympic-size swimming pools that, along with the adjacent aquarium, holds more than 250 species of fish. If you stay at the resort, you get free entry to Aquaventure, a waterpark and playground consisting of extraordinary rides, tidal waves and rapids. The Atlantis boasts its own private beach facing the iconic Burj Al Arab (the sail hotel). That hotel is off limits unless you’re staying or dining there, and with room rates in excess of $1,000 per night, we chose to enjoy the view from the Atlantis. There we could see the Burj Al Arab, the famed Jumeirah Beach and Dubai cityscape without leaving the pool. If you want to explore the city, being on The Palm doesn’t cut you off from all the excitement. A metro runs up the trunk of the Palm, collecting residents who live on the artificial island and whisks them to the center of the NRVMAGAZINE.com
city for less than $4 – you can upgrade to gold class seats with free Wifi (Dubai always has VIP options for anyone who is willing to pay). Once in the city, you can hit the colossal Dubai Mall, the largest in the world, with 12 million square feet of shopping, restaurants, a separate town for kids called “Kidzania” and the world’s largest indoor aquarium. It even has an ice skating rink. Adjacent to the mall is an outdoor promenade lined by more retail shops and restaurants. The entire complex encircles the 30-acre manmade Burj Khalifa Lake with a viewing bridge where you can look up 163 stories – more than 2,700 feet – to see the tallest skyscraper in the world, the Burj Khalifa. If heights make you queasy, save yourself the $160 ticket to the lounge at the top and book a reservation at Abd el Wahab terrace restaurant in the Souk Al Bahar. In the evening you can see the spectacular dancing fountains (think the Bellagio in Las Vegas) in front of the Burj Khalifa which has a music and light projection show on the side of the building beginning at sunset. There
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are more larger-than-life experiences to conquer such as The Global Village, a multicultural festival that lasts over 5 months, or Ski Dubai, an indoor ski resort with five runs including the world’s first indoor black diamond slope. Outside the downtown commercial area you can explore the oldworld Spice Market and Gold Souk by taking a boat from the Meena Bazaar and be dazzled by the endless rows of shops packed with 22 karat gold treasures. Or escape the concrete environment and book a camel safari to truly feel the natural elements of the Middle East. After all, beyond the glamour of the city, Dubai is still in the Arabian Desert – appropriately, the largest desert in Asia. Krisha Chachra served eight years on the Blacksburg Town Council and has written for NRV Magazine for more than a decade. She is a community advocate & connector and runs an event production organization that hosts Up on the Roof. She writes the travel column for the magazine and occasional humaninterest pieces. Kchachra@aol.com
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Shave ‘Em to Save ‘Em Text by Becky Hepler Photos by Kevin Riley Fiber artist Fran Stafford of Newport has called herself many things in her career - spinner, knitter, crocheter, but the Livestock Conservancy would subsume all of those under one title, Sheep Employment Specialist. In a world where the Agricultural Industrial Complex has bred out taste in plants, in favor of ship-ability and shelf life, and turkeys have been bred to have breasts so large their legs can almost not accommodate them, the Livestock Conservancy is trying to preserve genetic diversity by championing heritage farm animals. As stated in its mission: Rare farm animals represent an irreplaceable piece of earth’s biodiversity and offer incredible variety that may be needed for future farms - robust health, mothering instincts, foraging and the ability to thrive in a changing climate. These farm animals are a vital part of ensuring food security for our planet – now and for the future. Founded in 1977, the Livestock Conservancy is a repository of information about rare breeds and how farmers can 30
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incorporate them into their stock. In the New River Valley, within a 100-mile radius, there are 18 farms that are registered with and engaged in programs started by the Conservancy. "The staff at the Conservancy has really high caliber people that we can go to for problems," states Harry Groot, owner of Sunrise Valley Farms in Hiwassee. "They have people specializing in these breeds who can help." While the networking and problem-solving are great services provided by the program, for most members, it is the alignment of values they have with the Conservancy, the preserving of genetic diversity and saving rare breeds that seems to resonate most with members. Brit Ritchey had always wanted to be a farmer, or at least, a farmer’s wife. After many moves and different careers, she bought property near Eggleston in Giles County and began tending a small herd of Shetland and Leicester Longwool sheep, a breed once raised by George Washington. "It’s one small thing I can do to help save the world," she relates. "No
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breed should go extinct. Genetically we don’t know what we are going to need, but here they are, in case we do." Ryan Walker, communications manager for the Conservancy, says that preserving the breeds would be much more effective if there was real work for them to do, and from this idea came one of the more successful programs the Conservancy has launched: Shave ‘Em to Save ‘Em. Fiber artists are challenged to use fiber from these rare breeds of sheep to spark new uses and thus new markets for the farmers. Artists are issued a "passport," and they earn a "stamp" each time they buy fiber from a provider listed on the Conservancy’s provider page. They earn items for completing projects and are encouraged to post comments and pictures on the Shave ‘Em To Save ‘Em Facebook page and on the fiber arts website Ravelry.com. While a teacher by trade, Fran has always been a crafter. She learned to crochet and tat lace as a young teenager.
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When her daughter was born, Fran took a French hand sewing class so she could learn smocking and make beautiful baby clothes. When her grandchild was born, she took up knitting to make sweaters and diaper covers. On a trip to the library, she discovered the Spunsters, a likeminded group of fiber aficionados who expanded her spinning skills. When her friend, Gail Groot of Sunrise Valley Farms, told her of the Shave ‘Em to Save ‘Em challenge, she was all in. The contest started in mid-January of 2019 and by February, Fran completed five projects, and her accomplishment was feted in the Conservancy newsletter. This, in turn, seemed to spark more interest, and by May, more than 1,000 artists were engaged in trying the different wools. Fran originally was merely buying roving, shorn fiber that’s been washed and combed or carded, which she would spin into yarn. She was drawn to fiber arts by the visual aspect of the colors and patterns and always got white fiber so she could experiment with dyes. However, working with the rare breeds of sheep, she began to notice the variations of natural color and the difference in the feel of dyed and undyed wool. Lately, she has begun to buy raw fleece and do the whole process herself. She has also knitted the yarn from the rare breeds into a shawl. When Fran first started spinning, "…wool was wool," she recalls. But the program has definitely honed her appreciation for the differences in the fiber of rare breeds. "It spins differently, and I like the crisper feel of the yarn. It doesn’t pill when you knit with it." For Fran, any new endeavor is always a learning opportunity, and what she likes best is the challenge of getting better at that skill, to which she brings great enthusiasm. Walker certainly appreciates that enthusiasm and what it’s done to make Shave ‘Em to Save ‘Em a success. "I thank her for being a leader and taking the initiative to get things kicked off and to show everyone else what you can do," he says. "She led by example in creating wonderful products very quickly, and it inspired a lot more people to get involved." Gail Groot would agree. She started as a provider in the Shave ‘Em to Save ‘Em program and was so tickled by the response ~ first of all the requests for her fiber products and then to myriad projects she saw on the Facebook page ~ that she became a participant and has started working on her own "passport." It’s something to do, because she has sold nearly all the wool she has, which is "a good kind of problem to have." Now, let’s get some more sheep working. FIBER ARTISTS: If you are interested in being part of the Shave ‘Em to Save ‘Em project, check out these websites. www.livestockconservancy.org www.rarewool.org www.ravelry.com The Ravelry.com website asks you to join first. It is free and there are no obligations. Then look under the pull down menu for groups and type in or scroll until you find Shave ‘Em to Save ‘Em. NRVMAGAZINE.com
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NRV Feature
It’s a Bird…It’s a Plane…It’s a ROCKET!
Text by Emily Kathleen Alberts Photos by Kevin Riley
July 20 marks 50 years since the moon landing, but Bob Schoner is getting kids excited about the first footsteps on Mars. “It’s gonna happen,” Schoner says with confidence. “Somebody, maybe the next internet billionaire, will walk on Mars in your lifetime.” The kids’ eyes light up as they begin to realize the future is not just science fiction. As the prefect of New River Valley Rocketry, Schoner lives for moments like this. “When a parent brings their young son or daughter to the launch site for the first time, and they fly a rocket together-there is just nothing like it.” Unfortunately, Schoner relates, it’s not as common as it once was. “There aren’t enough parents doing stuff like this anymore, and we are trying to change that.” New River Valley Rocketry holds monthly, high-power launches at a local farm site, drawing onlookers and rocket 32
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hobbyists from New Jersey to Georgia. The club started with four people over wings at Bull & Bones in March of 2011. Tom Weeks (a.k.a. Tweeks), Kevin Shinpaugh and Monta Elkins got the ball rolling along with Schoner. They continue to attract people finding out about rockets or BARs (born again rocketeers) with memories of Apollo launches from their youth. The club is now some 60 strong. Part of Schoner’s responsibilities as prefect is to certify people. “There are three levels of certification,” he explains. “For Level 1, one must build, fly and recover a rocket using either an H or an I impulse motor. That is the entry level into high power rocketry.” Impulse is the amount of thrust or power a rocket has, and the classification starts at A and then goes up in doubles, where B is twice as powerful as A, and C is twice as powerful as B, etc. The highest impulse motor you
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can buy without being a member is a G impulse, which will propel a 2-pound rocket to 2,500 feet." People can buy motors in hobby stores up to G impulse, which is about 4 ounces of propellant, but for anything over that, they need to belong to either the National Association of Rocketry (NAR) or Tripoli Rocketry Association. NRV Rocketry members belong to both organizations. “Technically, you could launch a 2-pound rocket with less than 4 ounces of propellant to 9,000 feet, but the odds of getting it back are pretty low,” Schoner says. People often ask whether the rockets come back. “Truthfully, anything we put in the air needs to have some kind of recovery device that slows it to a safe speed. Maybe 5% of the time recovery doesn’t happen, and it’s usually due to human error.” The way larger rockets ideally
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Meet the Artist
Steppin’ Out, Blacksburg, Aug. 2-3 Gallery Open House, Aug. 4
Tropical Paradise
216 S. Main Street, Kent Square Blacksburg, VA 24060 (540) 552-6446 blacksburggallery@pbuckleymoss.com
www.pbuckleymoss.com
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Save the Date: July 20 To commemorate the 50-year anniversary of the moon landing on July 20, there is a big launch party scheduled which is expected to draw many spectators. nrvr.org nar.org www.tripoli.org 34
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work is that they have an altimeter measuring barometric pressure, and as the rocket goes up, the barometric press gets lower. Once the rocket gets to the top of its flight path and begins to descend, that pressure increases, which triggers the altimeter to send an electric signal that fires a black powder charge to blow out a parachute. Larger rockets have a small drogue parachute to allow them to fall faster but straighter. Then, when the altimeter senses an altitude around 500 to 1,000 feet above the ground, another signal is sent to fire a second charge to eject the main parachute to open and allow the rocket to land softly. Any rocket weighing more than 3.3 pounds must be approved by the FAA, and Schoner handles those approvals as well. “The waiver application process takes up to three months and is good for a year. We must call four airports before and at the end of each day’s launch.” Not all members of NRV Rocketry are high power certified. Some have no desire to fly at that level, primarily due to cost. But there are several Level 3 certified fliers, which is the highest level the organization currently recognizes. Eric Patterson, chair of Virginia Tech's Aerospace and Ocean Engineering Department, is a Level 3 flier. Patterson joined the group two years ago, and within eight months, he was Level 3 certified. Schoner stresses that rocketry should be fun, and it must be safe. “Our safety code has been a really good thing. We have a Launch Control Officer making sure our skies and fields are safe, a Range Safety Officer inspecting everything from fins to parachutes and assigning launch pads, excellent PA systems, and we always launch everything electronically.” Schoner states that a wire (like in a toaster) heats up and lights a small pellet of propellant, and it can all be wirelessly controlled from 1000 feet away. It takes five to 10 hours to build a rocket using a commercially available kit. Individual membership in NRV Rocketry is $20, and $25 for the whole family. Kids can always fly for free, and NRV Rocketry even has inexpensive “loaner” rockets they like to hand out on launch days to get kids excited about flying. For non-member, high-power fliers, the organization charges $10 per day to use its field and equipment. Spectators are free. So, whether you’ve seen the rocket launch signs or are just learning about NRV Rocketry, spread the word. The organization hopes to be a strong resource for the NRV community through STEM education, church groups, cub scouts and more. The kids in school today are the ones who will design, build and pilot the spacecraft that will return to the moon and eventually journey to Mars. Residents and students with an interest in rocketry or STEM can bring their knowledge and passion into this exciting adventure. Emily K. Alberts recently watched SpaceX land all three Falcon Heavy rocket boosters for the first time ever.
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Pets and Animal Care
(Fur) Baby-sitting
Text by Jennifer Poff Cooper When a lady requests that her dog be read to, and the kennel complies, you know it is a new era in dog boarding. Heartstrings Pet Lodging and Spa coowner Rick Argabright remembers this request because it was an outlier, but he says that things have definitely changed in the 11 years he has operated his facility. Growing up on a farm, he was accustomed to working dogs that lived outside. Now, he says: “People take on their pets as children.” Heartstrings in Blacksburg offers doggie daycare as well as overnight boarding and in-house grooming. Dogs are boarded in suites or rooms to help them be more comfortable. In this cagefree environment, dogs are taken out about four times per day for up to an hour, depending on weather conditions. They may go out in groups based on age, size and sociability. 36
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"Everything we do is designed to reduce the stress of the animal being boarded," says Argabright, "as ‘boarding stress’ or anxiety can make normally tame dogs agitated and even ill." Meanwhile, Flying Fur! in Newport has used an intensive play yard experience model for its 11 years in business, with dogs being on the playground five to six hours per day. Its core business is daycare, augmented by overnight boarding. Owner Sharon Harrell helps dog owners find the right fit for their canines, requiring an evaluation day before allowing a dog to stay at her kennel. Some dogs age out of intensive play or are not sociable enough for Flying Fur!. Plenty of dog owners still opt for a “basic, old-fashioned kennel,” says Tom Wills, owner of Hans Meadow Kennel in Christiansburg. His facility dates back to
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1982. It consists of indoor/outdoor runs without a lot of extras, as Wills says people did not take advantage of, for example, dog walking when he offered it for a small fee. Wills emphasizes that the safety of the dogs is paramount. All boarding facilities require rabies vaccinations by law, and most require additional shots. “A state law protects customers by allowing the kennel to act on the owner’s behalf in an emergency,” he adds. Owners should expect to reserve spots for their dogs well in advance for certain times of the year. Wills recommends at least one month ahead for Thanksgiving and Christmas, and one to two weeks in the summer. According to Argabright, some customers reserve a year ahead for Christmas. Harrell says most weekends she can accommodate latecomers, except in summer and around
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Cats Being more solitary critters, cats are boarded less often than dogs. Many facilities, including Flying Fur!, do not board cats. Still, cats cannot be left alone for weeks at a time so there is a market for cat boarding. Wills estimates that his boarding business is 20% cats and 80% dogs. Hans Meadow provides a cat room with 11 two-foot by four-foot by four-foot cages for cats. "They stretch isometrically [in static positions],” Wills reports, "so they do not need a great deal of space." Kitty condos are the lodging choice for cats at Heartstrings, where they can climb up and down, plus each one receives time alone in the open area.
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holidays. Owners should also expect to pay commensurate with services. Doggie daycare can cost roughly $20 per day. For boarding, Heartstrings charges by the night and by weight of the dog, while Hans Meadow charges based on a 24-hour period. There is a discount at most kennels for dogs from the same family staying in the same room or run. Heartstrings offers a discount for length of boarding stay and for regular daycare. Kennels typically provide food, bedding and bowls (“drop and go,” as Wills says), but many recommend bringing the dog’s own food to keep things consistent and avoid upset tummies. They allow toys from home and Argabright even suggests bringing an item of clothing with the owner’s scent on it to make the dog feel comfortable. Harrell advises dog owners to acclimate dogs by boarding them before you have to. People are traveling more and boarding their dogs with the rejuvenated economy. Argabright has repeat customers who come to Hokie football games and bring their animals versus boarding them in Washington, D.C., or Florida where they would have to leave the dogs longer and spend more money. The average stay at Hans Meadow is seven to 10 days, and their business largely revolves around the Montgomery County school calendar. In Blacksburg, stays can be longer with professors on sabbaticals. Amenities around dog care have increased. Flying Fur! offers is its unique Barking Bus, which provides weekday transportation for $7 each way in the Fairlawn, Radford, Christiansburg and Blacksburg areas. Heartstrings provides heated floors and air that circulates every 10 minutes. Folks also want their dogs to be clean, so with a two-night stay, dogs get free baths at Heartstrings. Dirty bedding gets laundered. Some more luxurious but uncommon amenities in other areas include televisions in individual rooms (tuned to what is usually broadcasting at home), pools in the yards and webcams for owners to keep tabs on Fido. Man’s best friend, indeed. Jennifer Poff Cooper is a Christiansburg-based freelance writer.
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Pet and Animal Care
Finding Fido, Bowser, Charlie, Max and Buddy
Fido and Bowser do not make the top 10 list of boy dog names, but Charlie, Max and Buddy occupy the top three in that order. Girl dogs are most often Bella, Molly and Coco. Interestingly, Bailey is on the top 10 name list for a female dog. Archie is number six on the male dog list; perhaps it will move up with a new little prince with the same name. Whatever you call your dog, wandering a neighborhood, field or forest shouting its name can be a frantic scenario. Many dog ears seem to be rendered deaf in favor of irresistible smells or the opportunity for a chase. Separation anxiety switches sides when your dog is lost, or at least lost to you. A dog should wear a collar with ID tags every time it goes outside. For under $10, you can buy a double-sided, metal, bone-shaped tag with a total of eight imprinted lines. That's plenty of space for: • • 40
Dog name Owner name NRV MAGAZINE
• Street address • Town • Phone number 1 • Phone number 2 • I am a happy dog • Call home for me • [or something else] The collar that holds the tags needs to be secure on the dog with the tags tightly attached. Mike and Trish Richardson of Christiansburg have been breeding and raising English Labradors for more than 12 years and involved in Southwest Virginia Lab Rescue for 20 years. "Because we found many dogs in the rescue field with collars and no tags, we write our name and phone number with a Sharpie on the inside of every collar," Trish relates. They also never put collars on their dogs inside the house. Having several dogs of various ages, many of them young, puppy play and dog
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wrestling occurs frequently. Dogs tend to play mostly in the head and neck areas, and one dog's mouth or even a tooth can get caught and twist a collar on another dog, causing collar asphyxiation. A collar can catch on a crate, too, Trish points out, and even dogs rough housing in the yard can encounter collar dangers. Be aware and supervise your dogs as needed to avoid accidents with a collar.
Microchips The latest and greatest in dog identification is the microchip. "A microchip is a fantastic, easy way to permanently identify your pet in the event that it becomes separated from you," states Dr. Rebecca Young of Cedar Run Veterinary Services, a mobile vet serving the New River Valley for 15 years. "A microchipped animal is more than twice as likely to be reunited with its owner than a non-chipped pet when it is lost. Microchips should be considered back-
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up identification to a collar with dog tags." A microchip's number, pet and owner information must be registered with an online registration site. "Because there are multiple microchip manufacturers and registries," Dr. Young adds, "all online registries report to a national database that is searchable by veterinarians and rescue organizations [see sidebar]." The Richardsons inject microchips into their puppies though they have color ribbons around their little necks to tell them apart in the early weeks. "It is important to mark puppies from birth for monitoring their weight, as well as vaccinations and other treatments," Trish states. "You don't want to feed or vaccinate the same pup twice, and another one not at all." Although the Richardsons do their own microchipping, buying sterile microchips which are pre-registered by the box, most dog owners should have a vet input the microchip. "I recommend microchipping puppies and kittens at the time of spay or neuter, approximately five or six months old," says Dr. Cara Waddell of Tipton Ridge Veterinary Medical Center in Pulaski. "However, they may be placed younger if the owner wants it." Advances in microchip technology have reduced chip movement inside the body. "Microchips have been known to migrate from their initial placement location, but newer microchips have less of a tendency to migrate. They have not been known to be damaged once placed under the skin of an animal." "There are three different microchip frequencies, so it is important that found animals be scanned with a 'universal'
"There are three different microchip frequencies, so it is important that found animals be scanned with a 'universal' scanner to read a microchip,"
Pearis Mercantile
scanner to read a microchip," explains Will Crowe, Dr. Young's husband and business partner in their veterinary practice, which makes house and farm calls for horses, dogs and cats. The microchip is only helpful, of course, when the owner registers information in one of the registries. "That is an issue now that microchips are common," says Mike. "We rescue a lab with a collar and microchip, but no tags, no info inside the collar and no one ever registered the microchip number." Besides people never entering information in a microchip database is the issue of not updating it. Trish advises dog owners to check their information online, which is easy with your microchip number. She also reminds people to update it when they move, get a different phone number or a dog's situation changes. "There have been numerous reunions locally of lost pets because a microchip allowed for pet identification and owner contact," Dr. Waddell happily reports.
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540-921-2260 | 200 N. Main St. ~ Pearisburg facebook.com/Pearis-Mercantile July-Aug
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NR V F o o d F a re
Coconut
Compiled by Joanne M. Anderson
The trees may not be here, but coconuts and associated milk, water, cream, flour, sugar, oil, cosmetics and products are abundant and deliver all kinds of delicious flavor and nutritional or therapeutic value. "Coco" means "skull" or "head" in Spanish and Portuguese, and the resemblance is fairly obvious. Coconut palm trees grow where temps exceed 55º F every day and annual rainfall is 39 inches or more. They also do not tolerate any obstruction overhead as they require direct sun to grow and produce. Thus, it's a tropical island food which is a seed, a fruit and a nut and may contain antiviral, antimicrobial and immune boosting benefits.
Coconut Fried Shrimp • 1 egg • 1/2 cup all-purpose flour • 2/3 cup beer • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder • 1/4 cup all-purpose flour • 2 cups flaked coconut • 24 shrimp • 3 cups oil for frying
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In medium bowl, combine egg, 1/2 cup flour, beer and baking powder. Place 1/4 cup flour in a bowl and coconut in another bowl. Holding shrimp by tail, dredge in flour, shake off excess. Dip in egg-beer batter, allow extra to drip off. Roll shrimp in coconut and place on a baking sheet lined with wax paper. Refrigerate 30 minutes.
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Heat oil to 350º in a deep fryer. Fry shrimp in batches by cooking, turning once, for 2 to 3 minutes or until golden brown. Remove shrimp with tongs and drain on paper towels. Serve warm with dipping sauce(s).
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Piña Colada Traditional Piña Colada • 2 ounces coconut cream • 2 ounces coconut rum or silver rum • 4 ounces pineapple juice • 1 cup ice Virgin Piña Colada • 1 1/2 cups frozen unsweetened pineapple chunks • 1/4 cup ice • 1 cup unsweetened pineapple juice • 1 cup unsweetened coconut milk • Optional: 1 to 3 tbsp. brown sugar For either piña colada version, place everything in a blender and mix until ice is completely crushed and drink is smooth. Pour into a nice glass or stemware and garnish with pineapple wedge.
Coconut Macaroons • • • • •
2/3 cup all-purpose flour 5 1/2 cups flaked coconut 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk 2 tsp. vanilla extract
Preheat oven to 350º. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper or aluminum foil. Blend flour, coconut and salt. Stir in sweetened condensed milk and vanilla using hands until well blended. Drop dough about golf ball size with spoon or ice cream scoop on cookie sheets. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes until coconut is toasted. NRVMAGAZINE.com
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Pet and Animal Care
Creature Comforts
vet services with a sense of home
Text by Nancy S. Moseley Photos by Silver Pebble Photography Town and Country Veterinary Clinic has always been a 24-hour facility. They’ve always performed surgeries and offered boarding and routine pet care. They’ve always had an on-site pharmacy. But now, after one giant leap across the parking lot, they are able to offer all the old standards, plus a few new perks… in style. Dr. Kelly Lee Burdette graduated from the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine in the spring of 1992. In August of that same year, she opened the doors to Town and Country, then a 1,000-square-foot space at one end of Northgate Shopping Center in Christiansburg. It was staffed by herself 44
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and one employee. “Most people think you become a vet because you love animals. And you do. But mostly you love the bond that people have with their pets. And you want to do all you can to facilitate that,“ Burdette states. Always with her sights on building a practice in her own space, Burdette purchased the land where the new clinic sits in 2014 and waited for the right timing to fall into place. “Life, finances, having kids … all of that plays a huge role in timing,” Burdette offers. In 2015, she attended the annual Veterinary Economic
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Hospital Design Conference in Kansas City, Kan., and talked with several specialized architectural design-to-build companies. She selected TerWisshcha Construction out of Minnesota, and the two worked together over the course of a year to design the new facility. Along with Burdette’s personal requirements for the space, the firm analyzed the clientele and financial data to determine what was spatially needed. All in, from attending the conference to moving in, was approximately a three-year process. When it came time to cut the ribbon on the new hospital, the Town and County crew simply walked across
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Photo coutesy of Town and Country Veterinary Clinic
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the parking lot. “We did the walk,” Burdette laughs. “We started moving at three in the afternoon one day and opened the new hospital at 8 a.m. the next morning.” Entering the new clinic is like walking into a really nice home. The stone work that accents the outside is carried throughout the interior. The lobby has high ceilings with exposed wood beams, and the reception desk sits under a decorative pergola. Off to one side, there is a huge stone fireplace and cozy sitting area. Colorful abstract canvas art adorns the hallways and exam rooms, and a smattering of reclaimed wood décor gives off a farmhouse feel. Upstairs there are multiple offices, a conference room and a covered deck for employees. The whole space hints of home, which is pretty handy when you’re tricking your suspicious fur baby into a visit to the vet. The expansion affords Town and Country a separate area for endoscopies, ultrasounds and echocardiograms, allowing for multiple procedures to occur simultaneously. There are two full surgical suites and two comfort rooms. They expanded from four exam rooms to 10. There is a luxury pet resort for dogs that includes private suites, TVs and elevated beds. Cats can lounge peacefully in a boarding area that’s completely separate from loud and feisty canines. In addition to being a full-service veterinary clinic as well as emergency hospital, they now offer urgent care seven days a week from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m., an exciting new benefit. “It’s a huge convenience for people to know there is somewhere they can take their pets at any time. People can walk in for any reason. Even if you need to suddenly board an animal at 4 a.m., we can take it,” Burdette states. The business has definitely experienced an uptick in emergency care with the new building, which Burdette attributes to visibility. “We are visible to people being right on the main road.” And certainly going from tucked into the end of a strip mall, to a commanding 14,500-square-foot, stand-alone facility doesn’t hurt curb appeal either. Town and Country has 70 employees on staff, with three to four doctors onsite daily. They offer everything from routine vaccinations and dental care to specialty surgeries like heart, lung and orthopedic surgery, foreign body removal and splenectomies. It hardly seems fair to ask, ‘what next?,’ when the paint is barely dry on this new venture. But Burdette willingly offers she’d love to open a separate building across Central Avenue just for boarding and grooming. She already owns that land, too. It might be a crazy idea she grimaces, but perhaps all great ideas sound a little crazy in the beginning. Burdette has an office on the second floor that overlooks the lobby, wood pergola and fireplace. It was clearly a priority to make sure everyone who walks through the door feels at home. “Sometimes I step back and look at it all and say, ‘Wow, this is just an amazing hospital.’ It’s beautiful. It’s functional. It looks like a hospital out of a magazine…,” Burdette beams. Now, after years of working to make her vision a reality, it is exactly that. Nancy S. Moseley is a freelance writer who recently adopted a dog. She doesn’t allow her to watch a lot of TV, though. 46
NRV MAGAZINE
Jul y/August
Advertisers Index 35
Blacksburg Transit
27
Bonomos Flowers & Gifts
8
Brown Insurance
19
Carilion NRV Medical Center
39
Celco Community Credit Union
17
Clay Corner Inn
35
Collision Plus
47
Corner Market
25
DeHart Tile
33
Dogtown Roadhouse
6
Downtown Blacksburg
33
Dr. Jacobs Optometrists
27
Energy Check
48
English Meadows
37
Flying Fur!
37
Friendly Structures
37
Kesler Contracting
2
Long and Foster
35
Macado's
33
Matrix Gallery
33
Mountain 2 Island
5
Nest Realty
15
New River Personal Training
17
New River Women's Health
33
NRV Intellectual Property Law PC
33
P. Buckley Moss
41
Pearis Mercantile
41
P.R. Sturgill Fine Jewelry
25
Progress Street Builders
25
Richard Anthony, DDS
35
Robinson, Farmer, Cox Associates
27
Shelter Alternatives, Inc.
4
Skyline National Bank
6
The Ewing Companies
3
The Mitchell Law Firm
4
The Shaheen Firm, P.C.
17
The Weigh Station
8
Town of Pulaski
37
VA Shoreline Contractors
13
VCOM
2019