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INSIDE STRIDES
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25 [MoRe] Reasons We Love Suffolk
RHYTHM OF THE TRAINS The cycles of life in Suffolk have long been influenced by the schedules of the trains that have run in and through the city..
A SATELLITE CAMPUS
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You might have many reasons to pay the new tolls to use the tunnels to Norfolk, but attending Old Dominion University classes need no longer be one of those reasons.
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SUCCESSFUL SEASONS
Suffolk has become a powerhouse for field hockey, and the continuing success its high schools have had in the sport can be traced back to one coach.
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LOCAL, FRESH
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If it can be grown on a farm in Suffolk, you’ll find it here.
EDITORIAL R.e. Spears iii editor
ADVERTISING Leanne Hundley Marketing Consultant
Tracy Agnew News editor
earl Jones Marketing Consultant
Matthew A. Ward Staff Writer Titus Mohler Staff Writer
Lindsay Mizell Marketing Consultant Shelby Palmer Marketing Consultant Nathan Richardson Marketing Consultant
PRODUCTION Beth Roughton designer Hope Rose Advertising design The 2014 Strides and the Suffolk News-Herald are publications of Suffolk Publications, LLC. For more information, call (757)539-3437 or visit www. suffolknewsherald.com
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[#LoveSuffolkVa]
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So much to love
’ve never been very good at math, which has a lot to do with why I’m a newspaper editor and not an engineer. So it was with some trepidation that I sat down to double-check that we’d included 25 stories in this special section, 25 [More] Reasons We Love Suffolk. This time last year, we introduced the first installment of reasons we love Suffolk, and we had so many left over that we were immediately sure a follow-up list would be the theme of this year’s annual Strides section. What we concluded pretty quickly is that we’d still not exhausted our list after a total of 50 entries. We had topics left over, and in the final days of production of this section, I found myself with the unenviable job of deciding which 25 reasons would make the cut this time and which stories would be left
undone. There was a good story to be had about Suffolk’s prize-winning giant redwood tree and another about the fine aroma of coffee that permeates much of the city when the air is just right. We passed over possible Res stories about the lakes that Spears draw fishermen from all over Editor the surrounding area and about an archery club that holds competitions at Lone Star Lakes Park, which is itself one of the things I love about Suffolk. So as I counted our story assignments to make sure we had 25, I realized that we were over budget. Which gave me an idea that fits right in with my poor math skills: Instead
of 25 stories about reasons we love Suffolk, you’ll note that there are 24 in this edition. We’re leaving the last story for our readers, whom we know love the city at least as much as we do. Here’s how this will work: If you’re on Twitter, tweet what you love about Suffolk with the hashtag #LoveSuffolkVa. If you’re on Facebook, post a brief status with the same hashtag. And if you’re not into social media (don’t worry — my wife hates it, too!), send me an email at res.spears@suffolknewsherald.com. We’ll collect all the reasons you love Suffolk into a list that we’ll publish in an upcoming edition. There’s so much to love here, why limit ourselves to just 25 — or even 50 — reasons?
VISIT US DURING OUR OPEN HOUSE MARCH 5, 2014
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[CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY]
Why I love country churches Column by Chris Surber
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hristian community is more than a theory in country churches. A country church isn’t the only place where one may go to get it, but in country churches, it’s just kind of built in. When I arrived at Cypress Chapel Christian Church a few years ago, I was humbled to be another pastor in history of nearly 300 years of faithful shepherds. Looking around the property, one sees evidence of the longevity and seeming indestructibility of this little old country church, as one man described it to me on my first visit. The “Little White Chapel on the Cypress Swamp” has stood through every major development in America. It has weathered many storms and remains steadfast in its
commitment to the historic Christian faith. The same can be said of dozens of the many country churches in and around Suffolk. The strength Surber of these places lies in their family connections and simple Christian faith. The crosses that adorn granite headstones in the centuries-old cemeteries of these churches are almost as steadfast as the Christcenteredness at the heart of the families and individuals that make up country churches. I love looking out of my study while preparing a sermon to see family names on headstones from the 1800s that are still common in the church I serve as pastor. In a country church, you minister to Cousin Susie and old Fred, who
everybody knows, because he has “always lived out here.” In country churches, you are just as likely to minister to someone in dire spiritual need as you are to have a conversation with a farmer sitting in the cab of his truck as he is headed out to check his fields. During the weekdays, the church tends to be quiet and peaceful, the only sounds being the neighbor’s goat baying or a hawk screeching. But when evening comes on a meeting night, the grass parking lot fills with cars, and the sound of children playing and folks catching up in the halls floods the place. It is the echo of the faith of the past — and even more than that, it is the living voice of something so much greater than a crowd. It is the voice of a living legacy of faith and Christian community. I love country churches, because
with their combined history and living legacy, they become so much more than the sum total of their parts. They tend to be small and should be. They have a special role to play in God’s plan. Sometimes folks in country churches think they are less, because they are small. I disagree. I like fields of tulips far better than one or two giant sunflowers. Tulips display a brilliant variety of colors, while every giant sunflower I have ever grown was unwieldy and toppled easily. I love country churches. They are beautiful and vibrant because of their living legacy, family roots, and the most precious gift of all — intimate Christian community. Chris Surber is pastor of Cypress Chapel Christian Church in Suffolk. Visit his website at www.chrissurber.com.
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[pRuDeN CeNTeR]
The Pruden Center director Corey McCray leads the institution’s efforts to prepare high school and adult students for success in life.
In the ‘academic lab’ story and photo by Titus Mohler
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igh school students and adults in Suffolk are afforded unique and cutting edge educational opportunities by way of The Pruden Center for Industry and Technology. The institution is one of the first Governor’s Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Academies in Virginia. This is reflected by the diverse programs offered. The list includes training to become an emergency medical technician, an auto service technologist, a modeling and simulation support specialist and a building tradesman. “We like to say that our programs are academic laboratories,” said Corey McCray, director of the Pruden Center. He said the center’s mission is to provide students with education and training to prepare them for the next phase of career development.
‘We like to say that our programs are academic laboratories.’ Corey McCray
DIRECTOR OF THE PRUDEN CENTER
“And we do it on two fronts,” he said. First, high school students can earn college credits through classes offered at the center, preparing for post-secondary education, or they can earn credentials to help get into the workforce. Second, the Pruden Center provides the community with adult education opportunities, including information technology training, training for welding, construction trades and more. “We’re providing both adults, as well as high school students, education opportunities that otherwise might be very expensive, first of all,
but would be more time-consuming, as well, if they pursued it outside of what we do at the Pruden Center,” McCray said. One thing that helps make the center unique is its heavy emphasis on project-based learning to help students grasp concepts. “As instructional leader, I require every teacher to prepare lesson plans that include the academic application to what they’re teaching students, and that is across the board,” McCray said. He gave an example in which a student who has difficulty understanding mathematical concepts is able to apply them in building
trades. The Pruden Center has built 13 residential properties in the community since its inception, and students came out of those experiences better able to understand the academic application that is required in the real world, McCray said. “So we make a connection for those students.” Teachers of PC programs are constantly being trained and looking at new ways of delivering instruction to ensure they are using the best methods. They are also continuously working with colleagues and partnering with business and industry to ensure that students graduating from the program leave with knowledge that is industry standard. Partnership with colleges helps the Pruden Center make certain the instruction is it giving students will be useful. “We’re constantly reinventing ourselves,” McCray said.
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[STANDOUT Athletes]
cluster of star athletes
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Current WNBA player Sugar Rodgers, Olympic gold medalist and current world champion runner LaShawn Merritt, bottom, and former pro basketball player Michael Britt are a few of Suffolk’s stars. (Photo credits from top left: Alex King, Minnesota Lynx Public Relations Manager; Mitchell Haaseth, NBC; and Tracy Agnew, Suffolk NewsHerald.)
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hey are all around you, in plain sight, but you might not even know it. An exciting aspect of Suffolk for sports fans is the fact that so many current and former Olympians and professional athletes either live in or have ties to the city. A lengthy — but by no means exhaustive — list of them may help put the “Surprising” in front of Suffolk for many readers. 4Two-time Olympic gold medalist and six-time world champion runner LaShawn Merritt resides in the city. He is the world’s best right now in the 400-meter dash, and is aiming for more Olympic gold in 2016. 4Another Olympian who lives in Suffolk is LaTasha Colander Clark. She won gold for the 4x400-meter relay in Sydney in 2000. 4Former King’s Fork High School star Ta’Shauna “Sugar” Rodgers was drafted into the Women’s National Basketball Association last year by the Minnesota Lynx with the 14th overall pick. 4Teko Wynder was drafted by the Philadelphia 76ers, spent a year in the National Basketball Association and also played two years in Sweden. He lives in Hampton, but makes a difference working in Suffolk at the Western Tidewater Community Services Board. 4Michael Britt was drafted by the Washington Bullets, now known as the Wizards. After a short time with them, he played in a variety of overseas leagues. He lives in Suffolk and helps its youth through Britt-Quinn Enterprise, Inc. 4Greg Scott, who helps Suffolk’s youth through his Cover 3 Foundation, was drafted by the Washington Redskins and later played for the Cincinnati Bengals. He spent five years in the National Football League, played with NFL Europe and
played in the Arena Football League. 4Joe Jones, King’s Fork’s head football coach, was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in ’85, spent training camps with four teams and played three games with the Indianapolis Colts. 4Former First Baptist Christian School star Josh Henderson was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2012 and is advancing in their minor league system. 4Former Nansemond-Suffolk Academy star Isaac Ballou was drafted by the Washington Nationals in 2013 and is advancing in their minor league system. 4Former Nansemond River High School basketball players are playing pro in other countries. Howard Frier is in Estonia, Quinton McDuffie is in Mongolia, Maurice Riddick is in Mexico, Nick Wright just signed to play in Austria and Andre Jones, having played in the NBA Development League, is possibly headed for either Switzerland or Germany. 4From King’s Fork, JaQuon Parker is playing in Finland, and from Lakeland High School, Jaleel Nelson is playing in Uruguay. 4Lamont Strothers, who played at Forest Glen High School, played briefly in the NBA for the Portland Trail Blazers and Dallas Mavericks before spending most of his career overseas. 4Tony Smith, an assistant coach at Lakeland, had a solid pro career in Spain, as did Derrick Bryant, who lives in Suffolk and is assistant coach of the men’s team at The Apprentice School. 4Nansemond-Suffolk Academy graduate Lauren Doughtie earned her Ladies Professional Golf Association card and played on the LPGA Tour in 2013. 4Lakeland boys’ soccer coach Nizar Arfaoui played soccer professionally in his native Tunisia.
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[TRAIN SOUNDS]
The rhythm of the trains
Column by Dennis Edwards
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uffolk has a long history with trains and tracks. This mixture of steel, wood and rock has framed life here since before the Civil War. Without them, lumber wouldn’t have gotten from the Dismal Swamp to markets all over the world. And neither would peanuts, cotton, produce or seed. Getting around town requires having flexible schedules, patience with traffic and a need to come to grips with the shaking of the foundations beneath us. But these massive mechanical dragons had an inspirational, almost relaxing effect when I was young, especially on warm summer nights. Distant whistles, the lumbering rhythm and clackityclack of cars passing over track sections drew me into thoughts of distant places. I’d quiz my mother about where they went and what cargo they carried, and I wondered about the worlds they passed
through. On summer nights, these behemoths provided periodic background noise for front-porch conversation. Their rumble seemed present whenever Edwards I was being praised or scolded. Their whistles pierced the air like distant affirmations when I talked about what I wanted to be and where I wanted to go. Over time, anticipation of a train crossing on Wellons Street actually relaxed me. Like a friend who came often but never stayed too long, these were rumbling reminders that “trouble don’t last always.” They helped me realize that in order to get somewhere or do some things, the ground beneath us periodically must rattle and roll. On nights when the air refused to move, it was as if the trains came through to stir a stagnant wind. The
window in my room faced Wilson Street and the train tracks beyond. I couldn’t see track or train but I could see shooting beams from the big engine’s light filtering through neighborhood trees. Ultimately their mechanical lullaby produced a melody that actually put me to sleep on many a night. Even though these interlopers caused all kinds of daily inconvenience, folks stopped to watch them go by. Sometimes people seemed mesmerized or maybe hypnotized by the magnificent marvels before them. The tracks were their own source of adventure. Deep ditches beside them were filled with tadpoles and Lord knows what else in spring. We’d jump in, capture a few in a jar, go home and watch them grow into frogs. Looking down a train tracks seemed to present a mystery begging to be solved. We followed them to Lake Meade, walking on rails, tossing huge
rocks and skipping wooden slats along the way. The distance between slats always seemed slightly too long for my stride. To be sure, there was danger and even tragedy along those tracks. I remember one day back in the ‘60s, when a boy tried to beat the train to the crossing on East Washington Street. It ended just as terribly as you might imagine. Tragedy, triumph, joy and pain seemed to come and go like the trains. And I learned that like the trains we, too, have our own schedule and our own right of way, producing a kind of progressive rhythm, mystery and promise that pushes living forward and takes us with it. Dennis Edwards is an Emmy Awardwinning television news reporter and anchor, He is a 1974 graduate of Suffolk High School. Email him at dennisredwards@ verizon.net.
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[MoDeL aIRpLaNeS]
Flying, from the ground
From Staff Reports
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t’s not all that unusual to find a grassy airstrip in the country. Not all airplanes need a long, asphalt runway to do their thing, and in agricultural areas like that which defines much of Suffolk, rural airfields have served everything from cropdusters to helicopters to biplanes. But Suffolk has an airstrip that serves a unique fleet of aircraft, a fleet that’s controlled from the ground by folks who crane their necks to the sky as they put scalemodel radio-controlled planes through their paces. The Hampton Roads Radio Control Club uses a field next to Lone Star Lakes Park to allow its members to stretch their wings, and the resulting aerial ballet can
be nearly as much fun to watch as a full-scale air show. According to club lore, Hampton Roads Radio Control, Inc., now with 90-odd members, came into existence when 14 radio-controlled airplane enthusiasts met at a local hobby shop on April 21, 1977. More than 20 years ago, officials from the city of Suffolk helped the club set up a permanent base at their field in Chuckatuck. There is a long, smooth, forgiving fabric from an old paper mill roller laid out along the ground for a runway, but many of the planes take off and land on the grass on both sides of the fabric. The soft landing area is a real See FLYINg, PAge 28
R.e. SPeARS iii/ SuFFOLK NeWS-HeRALd
At left, members of the Hampton Roads Radio Control Club use a “Buddy Box” to help a boy fly one of their radio-controlled airplanes. The club holds several events throughout the year to attract interest in the sport and to show off the model construction skills and flying abilities of its members. visitors can expect to see many dozens of different planes at those events.
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[TaSTY pRoDuCe]
From the field story by Matthew A. Ward
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ith a selection of farms offering a variety of items, as well as a farmers market that’s becoming more and more popular, Suffolk has a growing reputation for fresh produce. Leave behind the downtown area and drive into the city’s rural areas, down two-lane country roads where the air is fresher, and one can learn about this sleepy side of Suffolk. Nancy Parker calls herself a city girl. Born in the Western Branch area, 29 years ago, at age 19, she married Pete Parker and moved to the Desert Road farm that’s been in his family five generations, and now calls itself Parker’s Produce. “I have been now in the country longer than I was in the city,” Nancy Parker said,” and I wouldn’t go back to the city for the world.” The Parkers furnish Suffolk with vegetables, including butterbeans, tomatoes, sweet corn, squash, cantaloupes and watermelons, while also providing canned items, barbecue, confections and baked goods. “To make ends meet, my husband planted a small field of sweet corn,” Parker explained. “It kind of grew from there.” Butterbeans are the main crop, she said, adding they did over 500 bushels last year. “They are all shelled, and I can honestly say I had my hands on every one,” Parker said.
The Parkers have a shop on their farm, which Nancy Parker said usually keeps up fresh supply between Memorial Day and Labor Day. Growing produce for the kitchen table is a way of life for many Suffolkians, Parker says. “I don’t think I could name a lot of people living out in the country that don’t have their garden,” she said. “People have been brought up that way. It’s pretty awesome, when you think about it.” Though Parker’s Produce is not represented, a good way to learn about Suffolk’s fount of fresh food is the farmers market, under the pavilion behind the Visitor Center. Visitor Center Coordinator Kevin Sary said the 2014 season runs May 3 through Nov. 22 for Saturdays, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., and May 7 through Labor Day for Wednesdays, 3-6 p.m. Vendors have to be within a 100mile radius of Suffolk, he said, and items sold “range from fresh fruits, eggs, to meat.” It started in 2005, Sary said, and “each year it’s growing in popularity as the word gets out. We are getting more and more vendors, and a variety of customers as well.” It’s a place where urbanites and farmers gather and mix, he said, fulfilling the market’s stated aim of “creating a place of connectivity between producers and consumers,” and preserving the city’s agricultural heritage.
R.e. SPeARS iii/SuFFOLK NeWS-HeRALd
Suffolk’s farmers’ markets offer a wide variety of produce and locally made items.
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[TRaIN STaTIoN]
story and photo by Tracy Agnew
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dults like Suffolk’s Seaboard Station Railroad Museum, but it’s a particular favorite of kids. “We’ve found over the years, the kids love the place,” said Barbara McPhail. “They come in and they don’t want to leave.” And with good reason. With a gift shop full of train-related toys — and plenty of stuff for adults, too — a train play set and a massive, two-room HO scale model of Suffolk in 1907, there is plenty for the kids to get excited about. The station was built in 1885 to serve what was then known as the Portsmouth and Roanoke Railroad. One room was a ticket office, one room held waiting passengers and one room held baggage in transit. It’s believed the tower that stands nearest the road was a telegraph office, McPhail said. In 1900, the name of the railroad changed to the Seaboard Air Line Railway. From 1907 to 1956, the Virginian line ran on the north side of the depot and the Seaboard ran on the south side, with passengers of both lines using the station. In the late 1800s, about 100 trains were stop-
ping in Suffolk, with about 25 percent of them being passenger trains and the rest freight trains. Passenger service ended in 1968, but the depot continued to serve as a freight office until the late 1980s. After that, the station closed and fell into disrepair, suffering a fire in the ‘90s that nearly destroyed the building. “There was a grassroots effort to save the station,” McPhail said. Federal funds that required private and local government matches were obtained and helped restore the station to its original grandeur. It opened in its present state in 2000 and is owned and operated by the Suffolk Nansemond Historical Society. “It was one of the first projects done downtown,” McPhail said. “We always felt like this was the center of a wheel. (Restorations) spread out up and down Main Street. It made the street look better, and everybody has enjoyed it.” Original doors and windows were used in the restoration, McPhail said. The station has acquired much Seaboard memorabilia, from dishware to ticket stubs, that is on display at the museum. But the centerpiece of the restored station is the award-winning model train, designed by the late James McLemore and created by
Not just a whistlestop
Sutton McPhail, Ava Giacometti and Bellamy McPhail check out the model train at the Suffolk Seaboard Station Railroad Museum. Children love the museum because of the model train and its collection of toys and other curiosities, said their grandmother, Suffolk Nansemond Historical Society member Barbara McPhail.
the Tidewater Division of the National Model Railroad Association. It depicts Suffolk in 1907, along with the Suffolk and Carolina Railroad and many of the buildings one would expect to see, including Riddick’s Folly, the Nansemond County courthouse and, of course, the train station itself. The train runs on more than a mile of electrical wire situated underneath the model. The station also features an outdoor caboose available for tours. The 1962 caboose ran on the Nickel Plate line and first came to Suffolk in 1981 when Arthur Lancaster bought it and moved it to Mike’s Trainland and Lancaster Toy Museum on Shoulders Hill Road. After his death, his wife donated it to the station in 1999. Since the station is so popular with kids, it hosts many birthday parties, which account for some of the 5,000 visitors each year. The historical society’s Touch a Truck, Train and More event is also held at the train station. “You name it, we try to do it here,” McPhail said. The station is open Wednesdays through Sundays. “Families enjoy it,” McPhail said. “It’s a great Saturday afternoon outing.”
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[bIkINg eNTHuSIaSTS]
A haven for cyclists
story and photo by Matthew A. Ward
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t’s perhaps a little known fact, but Suffolk has forged a reputation as a cycling Mecca. The city’s winding country roads, with not too much traffic and mostly courteous motorists, draw scores of out-of-town pedal-pushers week in and week out. Anyone who regularly commutes through Chuckatuck on Route 10 would already know this. Most Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays — and often on holidays, too — riders with the Chuckatuck Chain Ring gather outside Oakland Christian Church in the early morning to embark on rides that 80-year-old Harold “Doc” Heafner, a founding member, said average about 50 miles. But rides are also commonly 62 miles, he said, known to cyclists as a metric century.
“It’s friendly, it’s social, and we love the camaraderie,” Heafner said, adding the group has 131 riders on its email list. Another member, Lee Kaster, turning 90 in March, said he generally hangs back and rides at his own pace. Lamont Poole, 66, said the rides are “very safe, and by-and-large, the drivers are pretty courteous.” While others do shorter rides, Heafner he said, the Chain Ring is the only such club in Tidewater that heads out for daylong jaunts. “Our club is a lot of retired people,” he said, adding they have a rest stop in the morning and lunch at local eateries. After starting in Portsmouth in 1987, the club moved to Chuckatuck in 1989 “because of the traffic,” Heafner said. “The (Suffolk) roads are bike-friendly, and the drivers are very nice, and we are very nice to them. I can’t even recall if we ever had an
incident with a rider. We obey the rules of the road.” Rides also use Isle of Wight County roads, he said, and, after departing the church parking lot at 8 a.m. in the summer, an hour later during colder months, they’ll end up as far away as Williamsburg, Wakefield, Carsville, Franklin, Zuni, or even Corapeake in North Carolina. “Over a period of years, it’s just taken off,” Heafner said. “There’s no dues, no officers ... we just show up and bike.” Poole said he and many other club members live on the Peninsula “and come out here to ride because it’s so much better.” Outside the church one recent chilly Thursday morning, with a feeling in the air that suggested snow flurries wouldn’t be out of the question, Poole said that his wife, also a club member, “stayed in bed this morning. At least there’s one smart person in the family.”
On a recent cold Thursday morning, Barbara Lux, Marianne Reading, Barbara McKee, Lee Kastner, Harold Heafner, Lamont Poole and douglas Lee, all members of the Chuckatuck Chain Ring, line up outside Oakland Christian church before setting off for a ride. Members of the group say Suffolk has the area’s best roads for cycling.
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[aRTS CeNTeR]
FiLe PHOTO
An annual favorite at the Suffolk Center for Cultural Arts is Ballet virginia’s “The Nutcracker” and the Sugarplum Tea that precedes it. At the tea, young fans meet the dancers and get autographs, as well as make a craft and sample sweets. Above, Coral Featherer, 6, of virginia Beach reaches for her autograph book after a dancer signed it at the 2011 event.
Cultural delights story by Matthew A. Ward
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hen Crystal Gayle brought her supple crooning to the Suffolk Center for Cultural Arts in 2012, it drew one couple to our fair city all the way from Australia, the center’s executive director reported. “They were planning their vacation around coming here and seeing Crystal Gayle,” Jackie Cherry said. “They flew into Philadelphia, rented a car, came here, spent two days at our hotels eating out, buying gas.” It’s an example of the center’s long reach, Cherry said, adding she polls the attendance at just about every performance and often finds 85 percent of folks came from outside Suffolk. Another example, she said, was a group that came down from Washington for a performance at
the SCCA. “The theater here is small enough and intimate enough for most performers to meet and greet and sign autographs,” Cherry said. “They don’t have the opportunity when they go to other, larger venues.” From its 2013-2014 season, Ballet Virginia International’s “The Nutcracker Suite” — always immediately preceded by the ever-popular Sugarplum Tea — the Virginia Symphony Orchestra Series, “Popovich Comedy Pet Theater,” “Masters of Motown,” and “One Night in Frogtown” show how the center caters to an array of tastes and age groups. But Cherry points out that the center is more than just a performance venue. It partners with other nonprofits and businesses to bring a variety of classes and workshops, she said, such as lectures this year by the Nansemond River Preservation Alliance, sponsored by the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, on Suffolk’s waterways.
The center is also partnering with Suffolk Public Schools on programs that are relevant to the Standards of Learning, she said, and has several other programs focused on children and families. A thumbnail sketch of what’s on offer at the center through the year includes art exhibitions, pottery and photography workshops, yoga, Zumba, weaving classes, arts and theater camp, ballet, and screenings of classic movies. There’s also the dining and catering provided by in-house cafe Mosaic. The first time she heard the center described as a hidden gem, Cherry said her reaction was, “Why in the world are we a hidden gem?” A lot of Suffolkians, she said, still think they need to “go across the river” to get their arts and culture. “My desire is that more locals take advantage of us,” Cherry added. “It’s a pleasure to be here, and such a pleasure to offer everything that we offer.”
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2014 Strides
[TRaINS CRoSSINg]
Love the locos story and photo by Matthew A. Ward
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ill Lassiter, one of many rail buffs calling Suffolk home, says his love of locomotives goes back to when he was “8 or 10,” living in the 300 block of Bank Street. “I was born in ’52, so I remember a little bit about the Powhatan Arrow and the Pocahontas,” Lassiter said, citing two trains with a cult following. Both were passenger trains of the Norfolk and Western Railway. Barry Amon, another Suffolk train buff, said other railroads hauling through Suffolk back in the heyday — before companies merged
— were the Seaboard Air Line, Atlantic Coast Line, Southern, and Atlantic and Danville. “I’ve been into this since I was a kid,” said Amon, born in Portsmouth but a Suffolk resident of 30 years. “My dad worked for the railroad; so did my grandfather and several of my uncles. I work for CSX.” Lassiter, Amon and various other train buffs meet at a certain downtown Suffolk location Thursday nights to watch the latest generations of locomotives creep through the city. They monitor the airwaves with portable radio scanners, take photos and often video as well, share intelligence and — most important, they say — See LOCOS, PAge 28
Rail buffs Bill Lassiter, Barry Amon and Tommy Arthur watch a Norfolk Southern locomotive haul containers through downtown Suffolk recently.
Get Skilled Now; Benefit Tomorrow!
The Pruden Center meets the needs of students by providing career development, work-based learning experiences, industry credential opportunities, and transition agreements, thus creating a seamless transition to post-secondary education and/or high-demanding, high-wage, high-skill employment.
Isle of Wight County Schools and Suffolk Public Schools
4169 Pruden Blvd. 925-5651 1-800-831-8639 or visit us on the web at: www.prudencenter.net
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[HIgHeR eDuCaTIoN]
A satellite campus story and photos by Tracy Agnew
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ellie Wasco, a Chesapeake resident who is pursuing a degree in Old Dominion University’s teacher preparation program, loathes navigating the tunnel and the commute between her home and the college’s Norfolk campus. Fortunately, she doesn’t have to go there for all her classes, because the college has a teaching site right around the corner from her house. The ODU Tri-Cities Center is technically located in Portsmouth, but it’s so close to the line that the parking lot is in Suffolk. Located near the intersection of the two cities and Chesapeake, it provides a convenient alternative to the tedious and costly drive to Norfolk from points west. “I hate the drive to Norfolk,” Wasco said recently while waiting for an English composition class to start. “This is so much more convenient. When there’s a class here I need, I take it.” The trip became even more costly recently when tolls were instituted on the Midtown Tunnel. Officials expect the site will pick up students next semester as more people find out about the Tri-Cities Center. “We definitely want to put the word out,” said John Costanzo, assistant director of the center. “It offers a way for students to take classes without having to go to the main campus.” The center offers upper-level under-
graduate as well as graduate classes in all six of the university’s colleges. About 350 to 400 students take classes at the center each year. Most classes don’t have an instructor on site — rather, the instructor is located at the main campus or at one of the other two satellite sites in Virginia Beach or Hampton. Two-way technology including television screens, cameras that focus on a student at the push of a button and document viewers help students and professors communicate. The center also offers admissions services for prospective students and other conveniences for students, such as registration, advising, student loan help, the ability to have books from the university library delivered to the site or have a photo taken for their student IDs, and more. In addition, Tidewater Community College controls one wing of the building and offers classes there. An exciting development on the horizon this summer is the relocation of the Eastern Virginia Medical School’s ophthalmic technology lab to the center. Folks from the community will be able to come get low-cost eye exams, said Renee Olander, associate vice president for regional higher education centers. She said it’s important for ODU to have more than the Norfolk campus. “Every locality benefits from having higher education access,” she said. “I think it’s critical to meet students where they are.”
Above left, Kellie Wasco, an Old dominion university student, is the only member of her english composition class to take it by satellite at Odu’s Tri-Cities Center off College drive. Above, Jacqueline Lewis and erwin Farrow operate all the technology at the Tri-Cities Center from a control room. The center serves about 350 to 400 students each year.
Home Sweet Home Care Inc
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[HeaLTHY peopLe]
A good time for health
Column by Jett Johnson
A
few years ago, city officials created the slogan, “It’s a good time to be in Suffolk.” They were certainly right. Since the creation of that slogan, our city has seen growth that could rival any city’s. It seems that quite a few people have found out what we’ve always known: Suffolk is unique. For every industrial park, there is a farm. For every cellphone, tower there is a silo. For every highway, there are 10 country roads that will get you to your destination ‘almost’ as quick. As a part of that unique character, we have developed a sense of togetherness here in Suffolk that is unparalleled. I have never experienced such a coalition-focused community in my life. We aren’t just unique because of our geogra-
phy or our history or our agriculture. We’re unique because we all want to make Suffolk a better place. Suffolk’s numbers are telling. More than Johnson half of our adult population is considered obese or overweight. A quarter of our youth are in the same predicament. We have made our way down a slippery slope and it’s time to make a change. The Suffolk Partnership for a Healthy Community strives to coordinate the resources of our community in a collaborative effort to improve the mental, physical, socioeconomic, and spiritual health of all its citizens. Long story short: We’re here to help. The sense of togetherness, community involvement and willingness to help others is tangible in
our community. There are so many people who truly care about the well being of others, but no matter how much you help improve someone’s living conditions, employment or social welfare, their health is the greatest concern of all. That goes for the people who need help and for the people who are doing the helping, alike. We know Suffolkians are considerably involved in the health of their city, and it’s because of this we ask that you to engage with the Suffolk Partnership for a Healthy Community. It doesn’t take much. Our Healthy People Healthy Suffolk initiative can connect you to a walking group. Our community gardens can connect you to healthy eating and community engagement. Encouraging friends and family to go on just one of our annual 5K runs can be the start of a new tradition. The trend is grow-
ing; collectively, we had more than 800 participants in our 5Ks last year. Or, to make it easy, simply giving us a call to learn how you can get involved and get active can make the difference in someone’s health, someone’s life — maybe your own. We’re unique for a dozen reasons. Let’s add one more to the list and be one of the first cities in America to turn our numbers around once and for all. It really is a great time to be in Suffolk. We just want you to enjoy it as long as you can, and that starts with being healthy. JeTT JohnSon is program manager for Healthy People Healthy Suffolk, a program administered by the Suffolk Partnership for a Healthy Community. Visit the organization at www.suffolkpartnership. com.
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[championship caliber]
Melissa Glover Photo
Nansemond River’s Cali Valdivieso and Lakeland’s Kasey Smith compete in a game deciding who won the Ironclad Conference this year.
Many successful seasons story by Titus Mohler
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ith success as the barometer, it is largely understood that Suffolk is a basketball city. But it might be fair to say that after a history of consistent on-field success dating back to the 1990s, Suffolk is a field hockey city, too. Though not the first or only architect, Tara Worley is the chief one behind this development. She took over as coach at Lakeland High School in 1999 and shortly thereafter the Lady Cavaliers became perennial rulers of the Southeastern District and a major power in
the state. During her 15-year coaching tenure at Lakeland, the Lady Cavs went 250-46-3, winning a state championship in 2010. “There’s so many things that contribute to our success,” Worley said. Coaching and the ability to manage teenagers are keys, but she emphasized the commitment of parents and players. Addressing field hockey’s modern status as one of the main sports Suffolk is known for, she said, “It makes me proud of the work those kids and those families put into it and the fact that they bought into what I was trying to do.” “Once I got one group to
believe in it, then it just kind of trickled down,” she said. One way this shows is in the number of off-season programs Worley has initiated or inspired that have gained traction and raised the quality of Suffolk’s players. Most local teams have benefited. Nansemond River High School coach Ali Mowry, who continues that schools’ own winning tradition, has said her players “always have a summer league to attend, an indoor league in the winter to attend.” Stella Payne of Suffolk started a winter league around 1998, and interest has sustained it as a Suffolk Youth Athletic Association offering
for the last 14 years. “Field hockey has been on the rise in Suffolk and the Tidewater area because there is a tight-knit group of people involved in building programs,” stated King’s Fork High School coach Courtney Van der Linden. A former Lakeland player under Worley, Van der Linden led King’s Fork to its best season ever in 2013 as it finished with a 10-6 overall record. Back in the early ‘90s, Nansemond-Suffolk Academy had some success, and Nansemond River emerged as a primary force in the Bay Rivers District under coach Bucky Payton.
During Payton’s nine-year tenure, the Lady Warriors were 95-47-5, winning the BRD in ’94 and ’95, and finishing as AA state runners-up in ’95. They later won the Southeastern District several times. He realized the need for a junior varsity program to train players early, and Vivian McClenney, Worley’s mother, handled that duty. Payton shared his “secret” for success: “I was able to get good athletes to come out and play and enjoy themselves,” he said. One of those athletes, who played for him in ’91, was Tara Worley.
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A good read
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[Literacy council]
story by Titus Mohler
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or a significant number of adults in Suffolk, the story of their education is missing some key developments, like ones that would help them to easily read and understand this sentence. “The reality is that one in six people in Suffolk do read below a third grade average,” said Jessica Reitz, the tutor coordinator for the Suffolk Literacy Council. Tutor Nancy Dempsey stated in an email, “The solution is best addressed by volunteers in our community willing to teach and improve the lives of others.” The SLC was founded in 1987 by a task force of concerned citizens who specifically wanted to address the problem of adult illiteracy in Suffolk, according to the council’s website. Nearly every day of the week, the group is active with the mission to eradicate the problem in a variety of Photo submitted by Jessica Reitz
See READ, Page 28
Suffolk Literacy Council tutor Nancy Dempsey, left, works with student Pearlie Killebrew, who has mastered many reading and math skills because of their sessions.
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[BETTER COMMUNITIES]
At left, Opal McCleod shows off the Chuckatuck Volunteer Fire Department, where the Greater Oakland and Chuckatuck Civic League meets. She is the president of the organization. Above, Barbara Artis, president of the Hollywood/Jericho Civic League, holds a framed photo of Ethel Eley, who was president of the civic league for about 12 years before her death.
Catalysts for change story and photo by Tracy Agnew
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he city of Suffolk has more than 50 civic leagues and homeowners’ associations, and they all have helped their communities become better places. Anton Weaver, acting president of the SaratogaPhiladelphia Civic League, said he joined the civic league because he learned as a child it was important. “My recollection as a child, there was some major improvements brought about in my neighborhood, and the civic league was the catalyst organization behind it,” said Weaver, who grew up in Saratoga. Some of the older people in the community, who are now deceased, helped motivate the city to install sidewalks, close open ditches, run city sewage to the community and get streetlights installed, he said. “There was two gentlemen that were very influential, King Bishop and Bishop Obadiah Colander,”
Weaver said. “All of these projects were promoted through these two gentlemen.” Weaver added that civic leagues are important, because they provide a unified voice to speak for the community. “The civic league is held in high regard when it comes to city-level considerations,” he said. “That’s the importance of the civic league. It is the recognized voice. It is important to get involved with your civic league so your concerns can get addressed.” Civic leagues also provide an outlet to get to know your neighbors, your City Council and School Board representatives and police officers who regularly patrol the neighborhood, others said. “We want to strengthen the relationship with the people in the community and police officers and neighbors,” said Barbara Artis, president of the Hollywood-Jericho Civic League, which she says is the oldest in the city. “When people come to me with their complaints, I will say, ‘Come to
the civic league and express your opinion while Councilman (Charles) Parr is there, and we can do more than just telling me.’” Artis’ civic league, and many others in the community, also organize National Night Out and other events for the community. “At the National Night Out, I get to meet my neighbors,” Artis said. “We like to get as many people involved as possible.” Opal McCleod is president of the Greater Oakland and Chuckatuck Civic League, one of the city’s newest such organizations. It formed in 2008 but already has worked with the city to get streetlights, to reduce speed limits, to extend public water on Everets Road and to help combat crime. “We’ve done great things together to benefit the community,” McCleod said. “It’s important, because it brings the community together with one common purpose, which is to benefit the community and everybody in the community and make the community a better and safer place to be.”
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[Obici’S legacy]
Love for Suffolk builds a foundation Column by George Birdsong
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he Obici Healthcare Foundation makes me proud to live in Suffolk. It was founded in 2006 from the proceeds Amedeo Obici left at his death, plus the funds from the sale of Obici Hospital to Sentara Healthcare, which now operates the hospital as Sentara Obici Hospital. At the end of March 2013 (our last fiscal year) the Foundation’s investment portfolio totaled approximately $103 million. Since its inception in 2006, our Foundation has awarded more than $26 million in grants to fund more than 240 programs and capital projects covering a range of needs. Among them were: 4139 grants to fund access to health care — programs such as the Western Tidewater Free Clinic and Main Street Physicians 427 grants to fund chronic disease management — programs such as funding Eastern Virginia Medical School
students to help patients manage their diabetes here in Suffolk 419 grants to insure more people — programs such as funding workers to go into the schools and Birdsong help enroll children in Medicaid and FAMIS 455 grants to assist with obesity prevention — programs such as helping our schools initiate healthy school meals and our work with the Suffolk Partnership for a Healthy Community and the Healthy People Healthy Suffolk Initiative By funding these agencies, our Foundation has served more than 174,500 people. Of this number, more than 163,000 received health- and prevention-related services, 7,600 received dental services, and 3,211 received mental health services. The all-volunteer Board of Directors is made up of community leaders who dedicate their time to oversee the operations of the Foundation, along with
seven staff members who provide community service and educational training for grantees and nonprofits serving the health needs of our community. These accomplishments could not have occurred without the incredible generosity of Mr. Obici. I have an indirect personal connection with Mr. Obici. My father and mother were contemporaries and personal friends of Mr. and Mrs. Obici. My father was on the founding board at Obici Hospital. I remember clearly my dad telling me what a wonderful gift Mr. Obici made to Suffolk and its citizens. Our community was able to build the hospital in 1950 without a fundraising campaign because of Mr. Obici’s generosity. We built our Foundation office at 106 Finney Ave., next to the Suffolk Center for Cultural Arts, not just to be functional and efficient but as a tribute to Suffolk’s greatest philanthropist, Amedeo Obici. We display his art collection throughout our office. Our board hopes our office stands as an inspiration
to generations to come by encouraging them to help others as he did. We are also proud to house the Suffolk Foundation, which in seven short years has an endowment of $5.5 million. The legacy of Mr. Obici is not just the endowment he left us, but the example he set. He came to the United States at age 11, unable to speak English. He began working at his uncle’s fruit stand in Scranton, Pa., and within a year he moved into a store in Wilkes-Barre. As a youngster, he sold peanuts from a homemade pushcart. He was so industrious that his efforts grew into Planters Peanuts located here in our hometown. And then he left his fortune to help others. Yes I am proud to be a citizen of Suffolk. George Birdsong is president of the Obici Healthcare Foundation board of directors. Visit the Foundation at http:// www.obicihcf.org.
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[Historic WORSHIP]
photos from file and courtesy suffolk nansemond historical society
Above left, this photo of Suffolk Christian Church pre-1924 shows a second set of steps that are now inside the church after it was renovated. Above, an undated photo of Glebe Episcopal Church, constructed in 1738, which is the oldest church building in Suffolk. At left, the Rev. Les Ferguson in front of St. John’s Episcopal Church, the second-oldest church building in Suffolk, in 2013.
Grand old churches story by Tracy Agnew
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mong all the historic architecture on display around Suffolk, none is so majestic as that in the local churches. The oldest church building in the city is at Glebe Episcopal Church. The current building was completed in 1738 after five years of construction, according to the church history on its website. In accordance with law of the Church of England, the church was built facing east-west, with its entrance in the west wall and its altar at the east end. The walls are 20 inches thick. Despite its status as the oldest church building in Suffolk, it has been added to, partially demolished and renovated several times. It was enlarged in 1759 with an L-shaped north wing, which was torn down in 1812, and the entrance was changed to the south side of the church. The original building was repaired in 1856, and around 1898 the door on the south side was
replaced by a window, and the door was moved to its present location. Across the river, St. John’s Episcopal Church, a former sister church of Glebe, obtained special permission when its third building was constructed in 1755 to disregard the law concerning the orientation of the church building. An entrance on the western end would have had the congregation entering along a creek, current Rector Les Ferguson said. The brick of the church is laid five layers thick, giving the walls a thickness of 23.5 inches. There is a water table at the bottom, with the building wider two feet up, which Ferguson said was to prevent water from flowing directly onto the foundation in those days before gutter systems. The original compass ceiling sprung a leak and was replaced in the mid to late 1880s, Ferguson said. A herringbone pattern of wood paneling was installed in the ceilings and walls, and colored glass windows were likely installed
around the same time. Elsewhere, somewhat younger churches nonetheless have striking architecture that charms visitors to the city. On downtown’s North Main Street, Suffolk Christian Church has many features both inside and out that are photo-worthy. It was completed in 1893 and is “a fine example of Romanesque design with its towers and central arched entrances,” according to a Main Street walking tour pamphlet done by the Suffolk Nansemond Historical Society in the ‘60s. Nearby, St. Paul’s Episcopal Church’s current building was completed in 1895 and has been added to since then, with Parish House additions in 1914 and 1922, the purchase of an annex in 1953, and a
major addition in 1964 that replaced the annex and provided additional space. Also nearby, Main Street United Methodist Church celebrates the 100th anniversary of its building this year. The Gothic architectural style is attributed largely to former member, Judge James L. McLemore, and his wife. The couple made a trip to England to visit cathedrals and returned with a picture of the Durham Cathedral, build in Northern England by Normans in 1093, according to a church history. Across town, West End Baptist Church’s design was based on Bruton Parish in Williamsburg, a grand 1715 building where the men who led the fight for independence as members of the Virginia House of Burgesses attended.
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[gracious welcome]
Promoting all things Suffolk story by Titus Mohler
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t would be hard for Suffolk to ask for a better friend than the Suffolk Visitor Center. For more than a decade, visitor center employees have worked with the public and private hospitality sectors to develop and implement programs in service of a simple goal. “Our goal is to bring more people to stay longer and spend more money here to help the local economy,” Visitor Center coordinator Kevin Sary said. And the center rarely rests from this mission, staying open seven days a week, and closing only for Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day. In 2011, the Virginia Association of Convention and Visitors Bureaus named the Suffolk Visitor Center as the Visitor Center of the Year. “We’re here for tourists and for local residents,” Sary said. “We get a combination of both coming in, residents wanting to know what’s going on in their city.” Many visitors vacation in nearby areas like Virginia Beach and are simply exploring the surroundings. Some plan ahead. Part of the SVC’s role is being a long-distance ambassador for the city, daily fulfilling email and phone call requests from people all over the country wanting travel brochures because they will be passing through the area. Additionally, Sary said, “We advertise, we market and we do special events and promote product development here in Suffolk.” The Visitor Center has many offer-
R.E. Spears III/Suffolk News-Herald
A pavilion behind the Suffolk Visitor Center provides the perfect location for the farmers’ market and a variety of other events throughout the year.
ings for people physically in the city. It conducts a variety of outdoor tours from March to November. One takes people through the Great Dismal Swamp and others are historic narrated tours of the downtown area, including the popular Ghost Walk. “We have a costumed interpreter, and it’s done in the evening by lantern light,” Sary said. The tour takes people down Main Street, stopping at various places along the way. “You get a history lesson, and you get to hear some fun and interesting ghost stories.”
The center also provides conference services for family reunions, retreats, weddings and conferences held in Suffolk. The SVC showcases city dining opportunities by promoting, twice a year, Suffolk Restaurant Week. During this time, participating establishments offer fixed-price menus. The Visitor Center also regularly operates and manages the Suffolk Farmers’ Market behind the its building on the corner of Constance Road and North Main Street. It benefits from the highly visible location at one
of the busiest intersections in town. Naturally, the center has benefited too, since it moved there in 2010. Each year, the visitor numbers increase, and Sary said, “We saw over 10,000 come through our doors in 2013.” The VACVB has also honored the Suffolk Visitor Center with the Heritage Initiative of the Year award for the Ghost Walk and the Eco-Tourism Initiative of the Year award for its Suffolk Swamp Roar Motorcycle Rally held at the Peanut Festival.
Be a Champion for Suffolk Public Schools You’re Invited ...
State of Schools Breakfast & 2014 Learning Fair Tuesday, April 1 beginning at 8 a.m. Location TBD
• Join students in hands-on lessons • Learn challenges & successes from the Superintendent
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[RIDDICk’S foLLY]
A step back in time story and photo by Tracy Agnew
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t’s not every day a museum can be called dynamic and vibrant, but that’s how the folks who keep Riddick’s Folly a happening place will describe it. “It’s a vibrant place,” board member Sara Ann Johnson said. “I think we’re a very committed museum and a dynamic organization.” Riddick’s Folly, located at 510 N. Main St., was built in 1837 after a large fire destroyed the first building on the site. Mills Riddick subsequently used his insurance settlement for several of his buildings that burned in the fire — about $5,600 — to pay for the construction of his new home, which locals dubbed a “folly” because of its massive size. He and his wife, Mary Taylor Riddick, had 10 children who lived to adulthood. When he died in 1844, she moved into a smaller home nearby. The home fell to her children in equal shares, but Nathaniel Riddick purchased his siblings’ shares and moved in with his wife, Missouri. He was a lawyer and used ‘Very seldom the home for his practice until he built a separate office on the property. do you see this Nathaniel Riddick would go on to serve in the Virginia House of time period in a Delegates and as a judge. The Union Army used the house as a headquarmuseum.’ ters during its occupation of Suffolk during the Civil War. Nathaniel edward King Riddick died in 1882. MUSEUM CURATOR The home now serves as a museum about the Riddicks and their contemporaries, as well as Suffolk during the Civil War. It has one room dedicated to Gov. Mills Godwin, a Chuckatuck native, and also has rotating exhibits. It has been painstakingly restored with early 19th-century furniture in each of its 22 rooms, a unique time period for a museum, according to curator/director Edward King. “Very seldom do you see this time period in a museum,” King said. “You can go most anywhere and find the 18th century or late 19th century.” The museum offers a lot of programs for the community, King and Johnson said, including through its fundraisers. It recently offered boxwoods that were descended from the home’s original boxwoods, and it holds a Hidden Treasures appraisal show every year, as well as the Folly Ball event. Historical programs are held regularly and have proved popular with local adults. For children, the museum offers regular American Girl programs, welcomes field trips — both in person and via videoconference — and has its own Girl Scout badge. Girl Scouts are required to visit the museum and take a test on what they learn to earn the badge. Its kids’ programs also fulfills Standards of Learning requirements for public school students. The museum also has a gift shop that carries plenty of American Girl products and — in a decidedly 21st-century development — has a Facebook page. “We’re period, but current,” King said. Riddick’s Folly board member Sara Ann Johnson, curator/director edward King and staff member Heather Brinkley show off the front entrance of Riddick’s Folly.
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[CONTINUING EDUCATION]
Education for impact story and photo by Tracy Agnew
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aul D. Camp Community College’s motto is “get an education, change your life.” For many of its students, that’s exactly what their education at Paul D. Camp does for them. Whether it’s an 18-year-old getting his general education requirements out of the way at low cost before going off to a four-year college, or someone his father’s age looking for a career change, or someone his grandfather’s age participating in the Encore Learning program, anyone can find a variety of learning opportunities at Paul D. Camp. “There’s a lot to be said for exploring your options at a community college,” President Paul Conco said. “We make a big impact; we really do.” The college has a campus in Suffolk on Kenyon Road, as well as its campus in Franklin and a teaching site in Smithfield. It offers associate’s degrees in arts, sciences and applied science, as well as one-year certificate programs and many career studies programs that take less than one year. “I think it creates opportunities at an affordable cost,” Conco said. “People can get a job, start a career, contribute to the community.” One of the most popular programs for the college is its “two plus two,” which allows students who complete two years at a Virginia community college with good academic standing to have guaranteed admission to a state four-year college. “What a great asset and what a
great savings,” Conco said. “You can still keep that part-time job, live at home, keep that boyfriend or girlfriend. If we can save that $50,000 for that family, we’re doing good.” That program is especially popular with the younger demographic. But the college’s diverse student body includes 16 percent who are in their 40s and 50s, Conco said. “They’re here because they got laid off, they want a career change or a promotion,” Conco said. “They’re in the classThe front of the Oliver K. Hobbs Campus of Paul D. Camp Community College on Kenyon Road is shrouded in snow in January. room sharing their President Paul Conco says the college helps everyone from high-schoolers to senior citizens further their education without going experience with the far from home. 18-, 19-, 20-yearolds.” Recognizing not everyone will eventually graduate from a four-year college, Paul D. Camp also offers industrial training in high-growth areas like warehouse skills and health care. After many warehouses began sprouting up in the area — not the least of which is the CenterPoint development directly across the street from the Suffolk campus — the college began offering a career studies certificate in warehouse and distribution operations. “That’s just one example of how See EDUCATION, Page 28
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[Aquatic pursuits]
A passion for paddling story by Matthew A. Ward
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ith miles of rivers, creeks and streams right in their backyard – not to mention lakes - many Suffolkians find no need to travel outside the city for canoeing and kayaking. After taking up canoeing about a year ago, Adam Pinell still calls himself a novice. “We’ve done a number of canoe trips up the Chuckatuck Creek,” Pinell said, adding they leave from a friend’s private dock and make for Chuckatuck. One trip was with the Nansemond River Preservation Alliance and Suffolk River Heritage, he said, while another was a family group. During the first trip, he said, Suffolk River Heritage chairman Karla Smith provided history on the places they passed through. “I had no idea about it; it was amazing,” Pinell
said. The wildlife another highlight, he said. “The Eagles are starting to come back.” Now, Pinell is planning a five-day expedition with a Boy Scout group on the lakes of Minnesota. It’ll be with Boy Scout Troop 1, out of Main Street Methodist Church, which Pinell’s 13-year-old son Alex attends. The expedition will involve two crews of eight boys. They’ll have to portage their canoes between lakes, Pinell said, and the group is planning some serious training at Suffolk’s Lone Star Lakes when the weather warms up. “(We’ll) paddle a lake, then get out and portage to the next lake,” Pinell said. Another local canoeist, Lake Prince Woods’ Byron Carmean, says he and his wife have been trying to get
the city to improve access to waterways. “There’s a lot of water in Suffolk and around Suffolk, and getting in that water is very difficult in many cases,” he said. Carmean said he enjoys paddling Suffolk’s lakes – “especially Lake Kilby,” which he finds “to be one of the more interesting of them … there’s even Spanish moss in there.” Carmean says he’s in a group of canoeists that meets thrice annually. Some are in their 90s, he said, adding, “It think there’s really something about these activities and what they do for you.” Suffolk’s place in the hearts of canoeists and kayakers was cemented when the Nansemond River became part of the Captain John Smith National Historic Trail, which teaches
about the places the Chesapeake Bay explorer mapped and documented between 1607 and 1609. Suzette Vida, its outdoor recreation specialist, said the city is currently working on access points that will tie in with the trail. “That will be at Sleepy Hole Park, (where) they are putting in a pier and kayak access point, and also at Constant’s Wharf Marina,” she said. “The hope in the future is to provide access points throughout the city that will give people destinations to go to when kayaking or canoeing.” R.E. Spears III/Suffolk News-Herald
Suffolk has some great places to pursue time on the water, and heading out in a canoe is one of the best ways to do so. Guided canoe trips are available from the city’s tourism department and from environmental groups
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[‘NIGHT OUT’]
File photo
Above, Xavier Griffin prepares to slide down the slide at the playground during the South Suffolk/Pleasant Hill National Night Out celebration in 2012. At right, Mr. Peanut was ready for the 2013 party.
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Read
EDUCATION
From Page 19
From Page 25
fields. “The council is about helping people use reading to become more self-sufficient in order to give back to Suffolk,” Reitz said. As stated on the SLC website, the group’s major goals include providing free one-on-one tutoring for non-reading adults and those with limited reading skills. It also aims to provide training and support for volunteer tutors and to promote individual literacy. People seek help from the council for a variety of practical reasons. Some need to improve their skills to get a job, to keep one or to get a promotion. Some want to pass their General Educational Development tests. Some simply want to read a recipe, or a devotional from church or a book with their grandchildren. Students are taught financial litera-
cy, how to make a budget, and health literacy, how to read their medication orders and nutrition graphs. Family literacy is cultivated, whereby parents are equipped to teach reading to their children. Free classes are provided featuring language and citizenship training for Suffolk’s growing population of immigrants. The council also provides free classes teaching math from the basics up through algebra and geometry. The council is made up of representatives from various agencies in the city, including schools, social services, libraries, a hospital, a jail and Suffolk’s Workforce Development Center. There are only two paid employees, Reitz and administrative professional Pamela Workman, who each work eight hours a week. Otherwise, the SLC’s work is performed by a fleet of
Flying
we’re part of the economic development engine,” Conco said. A variety of health care options also are available, including an associate degree in nursing and career studies certificates in pre-nursing, medical office billing, nurse aide, pharmacy technician and phlebotomy. The college also runs a dual enrollment program in local high schools, allowing motivated students to earn their associate degrees before they even graduate from high school. The college also offers a variety of resources to the community, including Encore Learning courses for seniors, use of the library and bookstore, a career development center with career coaches and workshops, community service, free movie nights and more. “We’re open to the community as well as our students,” Conco said.
Locos
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benefit to the pilots, whose planes can cost thousands of dollars apiece and represent hundreds of hours worth of construction and maintenance. But the real fun of radio-controlled airplanes is found when they’re in the air. The ground-based pilots put their planes through aerobatic performances that include barrel rolls, loops, mid-air stalls, spins and maneuvers that pilots at the controls of a real aircraft would be physically unable to stand. Club members put on a couple of events each year to which they invite the public to come and try their hand at flying. They have “buddy boxes” that allow the expe-
volunteer tutors. In 2013, there were 45 tutors, ranging all the way into their 80s. They donated at least 2,036 hours during the year while providing direct tutoring for 98 people, ages 19 to 78, including inmates at the Western Tidewater Regional Jail. This year, more than 140 people are being tutored. Reitz gets to know both tutors and students and forms the best pairings she can. She said most of the tutors are successful people, and they know, “Without reading, we could have gone nowhere.” That factors into the motivation for why many freely donate their time. “I have such a love of reading,” tutor Ernie Sulski said. “Reading is just so important to get by.”
From Page 15
rienced pilots to take over the controls if things begin to go awry, but the novices get to experience all the thrills of watching as the airplanes respond to their control inputs from the ground. The events are especially popular with children. “We let them do some loops, maybe a little roll,” HRRCC member Mills Staylor said at one such event in 2012. “Generally that’s determined on the age.” “I think it’s my personal philosophy that we are blessed to be able to do what we do,” member Dom DePolo, a 30-year veteran of radiocontrolled planes said then. “There are a lot of people out there who don’t have that ability, and we just like to share.”
enjoy camaraderie. “I have my radio in the car. I have a scanner that I carry around with me,” Amon said. “I’ve got a buddy right now I’ve been texting for the last hour. He’s sending me photographs — some stuff he got hold of.” While Lassiter and Amon are from a riper generation, Gregory Bobbitt has a penchant for steam power at the age of 20. He said he developed into a rail buff during his boyhood on the West Coast, and he says he’s a Santa Fe Railway fan more than anything else. “But then we had to move back here, and it led me to the Norfolk Southern,” he said. Bobbitt lives in Chesapeake, but can be found with his friends beside the
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tracks in Suffolk “every Thursday.” “I just like the variety of them,” he said of the trains through Suffolk. “There’s all different kinds.” Another Suffolk train buff, Tommy Arthur, said he’s more “hit and miss” about the weekly rendezvous. He said his interest is the history and the “old days.” “I don’t get too excited about this stuff now,” he said, adding that his love of all things mechanical — “anything with a motor in it” — also draws him trackside. It seems all train buffs have a favorite machine. Lassiter said his was Norfolk and Western’s 611, a passenger train that was “known to do 110 miles-perhour between here and Waverly.”
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[SuffoLk LIvINg]
Suffolk’s own magazine From Staff Reports
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ith its five-year anniversary on the horizon, Suffolk Living magazine has reached an important milestone in the life of a print publication. From the iconic image of Mr. Peanut that adorned the cover of the Premier Edition in the winter of 2009 to the black-and-white shot of a train sitting on the tracks that appears in the current edition, the magazine has highlighted some of the best photographers and told the stories of some of the most interesting people, places and events in Suffolk during its five-year run. Along the way, Suffolk Living went from a quarterly to a bimonthly publication, giving readers and advertisers two more opportunities each year to enjoy the magazine’s benefits. “Suffolk Living has been a wonderful addition to our family of print and digital products,� publisher Steve Stewart said. “To watch it grow from a mere
concept five years ago to a thriving bimonthly community magazine has been exciting and fulfilling.� A lifestyle magazine devoted to Suffolk and its people, Suffolk Living has highlighted stories ranging from crabbing to carnivals, from horses to history, from Santa to skydiving. Readers have opportunities to participate in each edition with Suffolkthemed photo contests, and an “On Vacation� feature has found growing popularity. “Response from readers and advertiscom ag. ngm ers continues to livi k l fo suf be outstanding,� Stewart said. “We are committed to publishing Suffolk Living for many years to come and making it bigger and better.� For two years running, Suffolk Living designer
Troy Cooper has won Best in Show honors in the design and presentation category of the Virginia Press Association’s annual news and advertising contest. Cooper is in the midst of a project that will result in an update of portions of the magazine’s content. The redesigned features will be unveiled later
this year at an anniversary celebration. Watch the pages of Suffolk Living and its sister publication, the Suffolk News-Herald, for more information. You can also find both publications online at www.suffolklivingmag.com and www.suffolknewsherald.com.
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[TaSTY TReaTS]
‘Something delicious’ story and photo by Matthew A. Ward
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or connoisseurs of Southern tastes, Suffolk has a lot to offer, and the choices range from homestyle to high-end, from soul food to simply delicious. Coming in at or near the top of that hierarchy is the Vintage Tavern, which recently was honored to have portions of its menu used in a guidebook to Southern restaurants. Kenny Reynolds, executive chef at the upscale eatery on Bridge Road, says he uses fresh, local ingredients to apply innovative thinking to traditional recipes. “I think that Southern food is ever-evolving,” Reynolds said. “You always go back to sourcing locally and regionally, and take ingredients offered in the area and turn them into something delicious.” Southern food is not just about cuisine, he said, but “how you go about life” – the experience that goes along with it. “You are an invited guest to our house tonight,” Reynolds said of dining at the tavern. “If
you have ever been to a home in the South, they are always hospitable, they are always gracious.” Reynolds said pork, crab, oysters and other rockfish and seafood are the main local ingredients at hand. He said he likes to “do things the right way, from scratch, just like your grandmother would have done,” while putting a new twist on the time-proven. “We take older-generation recipes and revive them; but not so much that it’s unfamiliar.” Other Southern favorites in Suffolk include Ndugle Eclectic Soul Cuisine in downtown Suffolk, with fare such as smothered pork chops, collard greens and sweet potato casserole. Online reviews suggest it hits the mark. Meanwhile, barbecue abounds, including Suffolk BBQ Co. on North Main Street, where the beef brisket and other delicacies are slow-cooked right outside the back door. Getting back to Reynolds’ notion of the experience, not just the food, time has stood still at Bunny’s Restaurant on Wilroy Road, an old favorite of many.
Step inside and the world of Justin Bieber and Miley Cyrus, big data and smartphones (until one rings, at least) melts away. “Down-home country cooking is the only way I can describe it,” said Nell Evans, who owns the eatery with her husband. “We have quite a few vegetables — more variety than your average restaurant has on their menu.” Elizabeth Hingerty, also known as “Bunny,” opened the first Bunny’s in the 1950’s, Evans said, moving into the present location in 1970 or ’71. The eatery’s regulars are its bread and butter, but Evans said those are constantly being recruited. “We have had quite a few new ones come in recently,” she said. “Many say they never tried it before, but they would be back.”
Co-owner Nell evans, pictured out front of the institution on Wilroy Road with daughter Jenelle Miller, says Bunny’s Restaurant dishes up “down-home country cooking.”
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