Sunday, Feb. 28, 2016
Strides 2016 |Suffolk News-Herald
February 28, 2016 | Page 1
Around the Clock Again in Suffolk
Strides
Page 2 | February 28, 2016
Suffolk News-Herald | Strides 2016
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Strides 2016 |Suffolk News-Herald
February 28, 2016 | Page 3
8 a.m.
Courting justice....................pg 5
8 p.m.
Sidelines, prime time.............pg 25
9 a.m.
‘Can I help you?’..............pg 7
9 p.m.
A night-desk lull....Pg 26
10 a.m.
A sweeping gesture..................pg 9
10 p.m.
Convenient and fun..................pg 27
1 1 a.m.
A library of benefits.............pg 11
1 1 p.m.
Keeping a weather eye...........pg 29
Noon
A little off the top...................pg 13
the Midnight Weighing possibilities............pg 31
1 p.m.
Oaths and records...................pg 14
1 a.m.
The pet protectors..............pg 33
2 p.m.
Looking for a home..................pg 15
2 a.m.
A place to stay......pg 35
3 p.m.
Testing, testing....................pg 17
3 a.m.
Doughnut delights..................pg 37
4 p.m.
The dinnertime rush........................pg 19
4 a.m.
80 stops around suffolk........pg 39
5 p.m.
On time, on schedule...........pg 21
5 a.m.
Sorting things out..............pg 41
6 p.m.
Science, artists and sunsets............pg 22
6 a.m.
Delivering smiles flowers........pg 43
7 p.m.
Working it out at the ‘Y’................pg 23
7 a.m.
A labor of love.......pg 45
Page 4 | February 28, 2016
Suffolk News-Herald | Strides 2016
Around the clock in Suffolk
S
uffolk might not exactly be The City That Never Sleeps, but pick just about any time of day or night, and you’re likely to find there’s something happening somewhere around the city. Most folks are familiar with the things that take place around Suffolk from sunup to sundown: commerce, education and recreation are among the main things that keep the people of this city busy during the day. But much of what happens at night — and during the wee hours of the morning — is a mystery to those who aren’t caught up in the midst of it all. And even the daytime activities and jobs sometimes hold their secrets. This special section celebrates the 24-hour cycle of life in Suffolk. It’s a sequel to a similar section
last year — there were just too many interesting things happening around the city for us to limit ourselves to a day’s worth of interviews. Our writers drew assignments to cover a variety of people, jobs and events throughout the day (and night) and then to share the experience with our readers. As we did last year, we all came away with a huge amount of respect for the folks who keep Suffolk ticking along like clockwork. And we have a special appreciation for the folks who are up before the dawn to get the city ready for the day while many of us are still dreaming of sugarplums. We hope you’ll enjoy this look at a life around the clock in Suffolk. — Res Spears, Editor
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Strides 2016 |Suffolk News-Herald
February 28, 2016 | Page 5
Courting justice BY TRACY AGNEW NEWS EDITOR
M
Tracy Agnew/Suffolk News-Herald
Prosecutor Michael Mullin takes notes on case law about 8:30 on a Friday morning.
ichael Mullin sips black coffee about 8:15 a.m. on a Friday morning as he goes through his usual daily routine. The prosecutor in the office of Commonwealth’s Attorney C. Phillips Ferguson starts his day with a cup of joe and the usual emails, which include a list of people that have been taken in by the Western Tidewater Regional Jail overnight. There’s also usually a pile of responses to motions he has filed in cases, especially discovery motions — to gain access to the evidence the defense has. But on this day, he takes time to review a case file for the case he has in court today — the arraignment for a revocation proceeding on a prior offender. He has court about four of the five days in a work-
week. “It’s always great on that one day you don’t have court,” says Mullin, whose family photos line the walls. “You can take your time with your coffee.” When Mullin isn’t checking email or going through responses to motions he’s filed, he’s taking notes on case law he’s looked up or reviewing future cases. He looks at every case about two weeks out to make sure he’s taken all the proper steps — issuing subpoenas, requesting transport from jails and the like. Mullin is part of the juvenile and domestic relations team, dealing especially with gang and sex crimes involving minors. Due to the age of the victims in his cases, he also spends a lot more time meeting with them and their families than prosecutors of cases involving adults. “There’s never a dull day,” Mullin says. He’s known he wanted to be a lawyer since he was a child. His grandfather was a judge for the National Labor Relations Board. The sensitive cases he deals with are a far cry from labor disputes, but he says his work is rewarding. With adults, “you can’t change someone’s life,” he says “But when you’re dealing with children or young adults, you can change someone’s life for the better. We want to make sure they get some justice and give them a voice. We have a special opportunity to do that in JDR.”
8 a.m.
Page 6 | February 28, 2016
Suffolk News-Herald | Strides 2016
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Strides 2016 |Suffolk News-Herald
February 28, 2016 | Page 7
‘Can I help you?’
BY R.E. SPEARS III EDITOR
I
t’s not uncommon for Vicki Martin and Sindrinka Bates to find a few folks waiting to get into Suffolk City Hall when the doors open at 8:30 on a weekday morning. It’s not that people are especially eager to pay their taxes or their water bills; it’s more a matter of citizens wanting to take care of their official business with the city and then move on with their lives. Martin and Bates are customer service representatives in Suffolk’s year-and-a-half-old city hall. They sit behind an information desk that arches across a portion of the building’s massive, multi-story lobby, with a view to both the front and rear entrances. Anyone who comes into the building looking lost or in need of help will quickly meet one of the two ladies. “You can usually tell when somebody’s lost,” Bates says as she hops up from behind the counter to go and ask just such a visitor if there’s some way she can help. By 9:30 a.m. on this day, City Hall has had 52 visitors. (Yes, they keep a running count, and there’s a spreadsheet, too, complete with
hourly, daily, weekly and monthly totals and averages.) Several of those visitors have clearly never been in the structure, and nearly all of them seem a bit bewildered by the building diagrams that greet them upon entry. Men, according to both of the ladies, are less likely to ask for help finding their destinations than women. “I’ve seen a guy walk all the way upstairs, and then back downstairs and then down the hall,” looking for the planning department office that is located just inside the main entrance, Bates laughs. Most days, during the 9 o’clock hour, the building begins to get busy, Martin says, with most folks headed to the Treasurer’s office to deal with tax issues, to Public Utilities to pay water bills or to the Planning and Zoning office for building permits. Having all those offices under one roof has been a boon for Suffolk taxpayers, she said, and the sparkling 110,000-square-foot building better represents the city to new residents and visitors than the old facilities did. “We didn’t have anything at the
9 a.m.
R.E. Spears III/Suffolk News-Herald
Vicki Martin, left, and Sindrinka Bates, customer service representatives for the city of Suffolk are two of the friendly faces folks are likely to see first when they visit City Hall.
other building like this,” Martin says of the information center she and Bates operate. “I’m proud of it. It’s way better than the old building.” Occasionally a “grumpy” citizen will complain about the cost of the $37-million structure, but Martin has a quick answer: “It’s my taxes, too.” Still, the grumpy visitors are the
exception to the rule, both ladies say, and since a new parking lot opened on the site formerly occupied by the old city hall, there are very few complaints at all. Which gives them plenty of time to give directions. And to count.
Page 8 | February 28, 2016
Suffolk News-Herald | Strides 2016
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Strides 2016 |Suffolk News-Herald
February 28, 2016 | Page 9
A sweeping gesture BY R.E. SPEARS III EDITOR
I
t’s all about curb appeal for Bob Colligan. That’s kind of a bad pun, but it’s his, and with 20 years operating a street sweeper, including 10 of them for the city of Suffolk, he’s earned the right to use it. Riding high in the left-hand driver seat (there’s another on the right side) of a 2014 Freightliner Tymco vacuum truck, 58-yearold Colligan loves the fact that his job makes such a tangible difference in Suffolk. “It makes the city look clean,” he says as he turns onto Allen Street at about 10:30 a.m. He’s nearly done sweeping the streets in Riverview and, after a stop on Pitchkettle Road to sweep up some remaining sand from the city’s storm preparations earlier in the month, he intends to head over to Kilby Shores to sweep the streets there. Only those Suffolk streets with curb-andgutter are swept, which is why folks in many parts of the city never see a street sweeper in their neighborhoods. But in the neighborhoods they are able to service, Colligan says, the city’s three vacuum-truck drivers are well appreciated. “They enjoy seeing it clean,” he says of residents along the streets he travels. “They wave at me, and they just think it’s awesome.” Colligan is from Newport News, where his family used to own a popular restaurant. He worked in that industry for years, he
says, but he never really liked it. One day, while he was visiting a friend in the shop of a commercial power sweeping company in Isle of Wight, he saw a “Help Wanted” sign and decided to apply for the job. He’s been driving a vacuum truck ever since. “Whatever happens is meant to be,” he says. “God’s got a reason for it.” Riding shotgun in a street sweeper is an interesting experience. Since there’s a wheel and a full set of driving controls and pedals on that side, the operator can choose which side works best for him. A passenger must be careful where he puts his hands and feet, but he gets a chance to see everything the driver sees — including a fresh, wet, clean stripe of pavement trailing out behind the truck as it moves forward. Water is used to keep the dust down as the curb broom sweeps leaves and debris into the path of the 14-inch suction tube, which draws it all into a hopper that is later dumped at the Public Works Department’s Carolina Road site. Eventually the resulting piles will wind up at the landfill. When the temperature drops below freezing, the sweepers don’t run. November and December are the heaviest months, as the fall season brings its annual bounty of fallen leaves and tree droppings. “Pine cones are job security,” Colligan says. “But there’s always something to sweep.”
10 a.m.
R.E. Spears III/Suffolk News-Herald
Bob Colligan stands beside his vacuum truck during a break from his street-sweeping duties one morning in February.
Page 10 | February 28, 2016
Suffolk News-Herald | Strides 2016
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Strides 2016 |Suffolk News-Herald
February 28, 2016 | Page 11
A library of benefits BY TITUS MOHLER STAFF WRITER
M
organ Memorial Library is many things to many people of all ages. The 11 a.m. hour on a Tuesday provides a vivid illustration of this. In a back room of the library at the top of the hour, a voice can be heard, excitedly reading a story. The voice belongs to youth and family services library assistant Shawna LoMonaco, and her audience is a group of children around the ages of 3 to 5. As parents look on, she engages the children in the story, getting them to recite recurring parts of it with her like a jingle. Peppered with the storytelling is a simple song and dance that gets her young listeners on their feet and participating. LoMonaco is in the latter half of Preschool Time, which started at 10:45 a.m. and runs until around 11:15 a.m. It is an important part of the day to the children and parents involved. “It’s sort of an integral part of our homeschooling week,” says Nichole Stewart, a mother of three, with one on the way. “This is one of our favorite things. They look forward to the story time
every single week.” Her children love LoMonaco and enjoy “being able to see their favorite teacher every week.” Melissa Freeman runs a homebased preschool called Helpful Hands Preschool, and on Tuesdays, she normally brings the children. “They love the story time, because it mimics a lot of what we do,” Freeman says. “So, they come here, they enjoy, they kind of create that relationship with Ms. Shawna. So, it’s so personal. It’s kind of like they get to play with their friends when they come.” Beyond the social benefits, Freeman says, “I love it because of the phonics, because I’m big on reading, so I like those skills that I know that they’re getting when they come to actually listen to the story, and it’s fun.” “Their job is to play and to move, and so my job is to speak their language and try to kind of teach them,” LoMonaco adds. “I always call it ‘tricking,’ tricking them into learning, like kind of sneak it in there by playing with them.” Elsewhere in the main room,
1 1 a.m.
Titus Mohler/Suffolk News-Herald
Youth and family services library assistant Shawna LoMonaco teaches children as she gets them to move during Preschool Time at the Morgan Memorial Library.
adults are making use of the library’s other provisions. In addition to the books, there is a cluster of 12 computers with Internet access in the middle of room. Judy Babb does not have Internet at home, so she is using one of the computers to do her taxes. In a remote section of the library, Kenitra Jenkins is enjoying something libraries have long been
known for. “It’s quiet and peaceful, relaxing,” she says. At the front of the main room, Peter Smith sits and reads a newspaper, while Patricia Smith, his wife of 56 years, reads a book. “My wife likes to come here, and I read the paper,” he says. She adds, “We both read a lot. We’re in here every week.”
Page 12 | February 28, 2016
Suffolk News-Herald | Strides 2016
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Strides 2016 |Suffolk News-Herald
February 28, 2016 | Page 13
A little off the top
Allison T. Williams/Suffolk News-Herald
Customer Greg Previto gets a talk and trim from barber Al Babcock, of Mr. D’s Barber Shop.
BY ALLISON T. WILLIAMS STAFF WRITER
A
l Babcock is not just a barber. He’s a friend, a builder of relationships, a solver of world prob-
lems. “That’s what barbers do,” says Babcock, the only barber at Mr. D’s Barber Shop, at 404 W. Washington St. “No matter what the customer says, we listen … and we talk.” Mr. D’s has been in downtown Suffolk for decades, on the first floor of a twostory gray house with the hallmark red, white and blue barber pole twirling outside the front door. Babcock has worked at Mr. D’s for more than 25 years. A small wave of customers floods the tiny shop around noon on Saturday, as folk try to get their hair trimmed up before Babcock closes for the weekend. The shop is cozy: a black-andwhite tiled floor, two barber chairs, overflowing bookshelves in one corner, a sign that says “Jesus Loves You” over the door and a Dallas Cowboys sticker on the front door. Keeping the Dallas sticker up is a way of paying homage to his former boss and
friend, John Oliver, who died in 2014. Oliver was a big Cowboys fan, he says. “I tried to hire another guy, but it just didn’t work out,” Babcock says, swiping at a few stray hairs on customer Greg Previto’s collar. “Maybe John and I were too much like an old married couple.” When he’s finished, Babcock holds up a hand mirror for his customer, Greg Previto, to inspect his new cut. “Put a frame around your head and we would have a Rembrandt,” Babcock quips. A good sense of humor is essential to his job, Babcock says. In order to do their jobs well, barbers have to first be able to make customers laugh and relax, he explains. “I don’t rush, and I try to give everyone the same amount of time,” he says. “When you are in my chair, you are the most important thing in the world at that moment.” Previto nods at his image approvingly. “He gives a good, clean haircut, and he takes time to look back over his work,” Previto says. “A sign of a job well done.” Babcock cuts hair for three generations of a handful of customers: grandfather, father and son. It always feels good when someone keeps coming back and entrusts him with their child’s hair, he says.
Noon
Page 14 | February 28, 2016
Suffolk News-Herald | Strides 2016
Oaths and records BY TITUS MOHLER STAFF WRITER
A
t 1 p.m., the circuit court clerk’s office in the Mills E. Godwin Courts Complex is not loud, but it is alive with activity. Between noon and 2 p.m., things get busier with folks on their lunch breaks, deputy clerk Belinda Epps says. Citizens come to the office for a wide variety of services, which means the clerk of the circuit court and his deputies frequently face new challenges. “You don’t get in a rut in this job,” Circuit Court Clerk W. Randolph “Randy” Carter Jr. says. “You just have to be prepared, because you just don’t know what is going to take place, which makes it kind of exciting,” adds Deputy Clerk Faith Gwaltney. “A lot happens in a day.” Even as the lunchtime rush begins to slow down around 1 p.m., things are busy. The day’s mail often arrives then, sometimes bringing a lot of deeds that need recording. A significant part of what Carter’s deputy clerks do is deal with the public, so it is important they enjoy working with and helping people. The 1 o’clock hour is lunchtime for Senior Deputy Clerk Jean Roberts, but she doesn’t go out often. “I sit at my desk, and if I have anything to eat, I go ahead and
eat it,” she says. “If I don’t, then I go ahead and work. One of the reasons that I don’t go out is I do like dealing with the public. If there’s somebody that comes in that needs something, I’m going to help.” Gwaltney, at the front of the office, is one of the first people visitors see, so she tries to reflect positive professionalism. “I’m a people person, so anyone that walks through that door, the first thing I give them is a smile,” she says. “If they don’t smile back, I’m prepared.” The clerk’s office is responsible for filing civil suits, docketing and filing of criminal actions, filing divorce suits and filing adoption petitions. Other services include recording land records and plats, probating wills, administering various oaths of office, issuing marriage licenses, recording military discharge forms and recording assumed business names. One day in February, a little after 1 p.m., Gwaltney was working the front desk when LaVerne Weaver came up to the glass partition. She submitted her paperwork to become a notary public, and then Gwaltney asked her to raise her right hand and administered the oath of office. Meanwhile, over in the Records Room, Roberts had stepped away from the deed recordation desk to
1 p.m.
Titus Mohler/Suffolk News-Herald
Clerk of the Circuit Court Randy Carter swears in Linda Consolvo as a member of the fine arts commission.
spend some time training a fellow employee. In the long room’s back recesses, George Swisher was on the clock for his job, accessing some of the public records on hand to do title research. As his office buzzed with activity, Carter was busy, too, review-
ing and approving the business report from the previous day, administering oaths of office and fulfilling responsibilities related to being on the legislative committee of the Virginia Court Clerks’ Association.
Strides 2016 |Suffolk News-Herald
February 28, 2016 | Page 15
Looking for a home BY TRACY AGNEW NEWS EDITOR
M
Tracy Agnew/Suffolk News-Herald
Mackinna Gallagher prepares to bathe a dog at the Suffolk Animal Care Center.
ackinna Gallagher and Tyler Bradley are done entering adoptable dogs and cats into the PetFinder system for now, so it’s time — 2 p.m. — to socialize some dogs. They grab a couple of dogs on leashes from their cages in the Suffolk Animal Care Center and let the pooches interact in the lobby. The dogs sniff each other and play but don’t growl or bark. That’s exactly what the employees want to see, and it will make the dogs more adoptable. “We want to make sure they get along with other dogs,” says Laurie Brittle, shelter manager. “We want to make sure that they’re not aggressive in any way.” Gallagher and Bradley put the dogs through their paces. Both dogs came to the shelter as strays and didn’t have microchips, so nothing is known about them. They watch how the dogs behave, see if they’re housetrained, find out how well they walk on a leash and whether they know any commands or tricks, among other attributes. “The more we can say about them, the better chance they have of being adopted,” Brittle says. Later, Gallagher and Bradley gather
a group of hounds — quite common in the shelter now that hunting season is over — and let them play outside in the yard. There’s more sniffing, lots of running and plenty of using the facilities. It’s just a typical afternoon at the animal care center, but anything could change. At any moment, someone could come in to surrender an animal they can no longer care for, bring in a stray they found, see if their lost pet has been found or look for an animal to adopt. All animals brought to the center are scanned for microchips. Animals are kept for a certain number of days before they are released for adoption, depending on whether they had a collar when found, in order to give the owner plenty of time to find their pet. Those without owners to claim them are spayed or neutered, if they’re not already, as well as vaccinated against diseases. They undergo all the testing Gallagher and Bradley were performing earlier to improve their chances of being adopted. “Our No. 1 hope when one comes in as a stray is we want the owner to find them,” Brittle says.
2 p.m.
Page 16 | February 28, 2016
Suffolk News-Herald | Strides 2016
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February 28, 2016 | Page 17
Testing, testing BY TRACY AGNEW NEWS EDITOR
I
n the laboratory at Sentara Obici Hospital, technician Margie Manley takes a canister from a hole in the wall, a larger version of pneumatic systems used at bank drive-throughs. She opens the canister and removes a bag, marked “STAT” in red. Inside is a blood sample taken from a patient in the emergency department. The patient’s name and the tests the doctor has requested are automatically entered into the computer database. From this point, the lab aims to have results in 25 minutes or less. As Jeanette Ruffin puts the blood in the centrifuge to separate it into its different components, Jackie Irons is a few feet away, preparing a test on a patient’s bone marrow. Behind her is a climatecontrolled case with bags of blood marked with type — A, B, AB and O — waiting to be transfused to patients. On the other side of the laboratory, Wayne Johnson is peering through a microscope at a slide with a drop of blood. The patient was recently diagnosed with leukemia. Through another door, tumors and other body parts sit in jars,
waiting for biopsies and other tests. And it all takes place behind a door marked “Biohazard.” “We’re kind of like the hidden profession,” says lab manager David Rice. “Even if you’re in the health care community, you see the biohazard sign and you stay away.” The lab workers might be hidden, but their work makes a big impact on the medical profession. One study showed 90 percent of doctors’ decisions are based on lab results. The Obici lab can perform most any test that’s needed, from testing the blood of a patient with chest pains for the enzymes that indicate a heart attack to evaluating spinal fluid for signs of disease. However, the most common tests are complete blood count — which measures the number of the different components of the blood, such as white and red blood cells — and basic chemistry, which measures the amount of different elements in the blood, such as glucose, potassium and sodium. Those tests combine to total about 300 to 400 a day. The lab
3 p.m.
Tracy Agnew/Suffolk News-Herald
Wayne Johnson uses a microscope to examine the blood of a patient with leukemia at Sentara Obici Hospital’s laboratory.
completes about 1.4 million different individual tests each year. The lab operates almost entirely on computer. The test results are fed directly from the test machine to the computer system after a tech, clad in a purple gown, verifies them for accuracy. The doctor
can see the results without having to come downstairs. It all improves efficiency and accuracy of results, Rice said. “We are a very busy lab,” he says. “As the community has grown, our workload has increased.”
Page 18 | February 28, 2016
Suffolk News-Herald | Strides 2016
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Strides 2016 |Suffolk News-Herald
February 28, 2016 | Page 19
The dinnertime rush BY ALLISON T. WILLIAMS STAFF WRITER
V
Allison T.Williams/Suffolk News-Herald
Vintage Tavern Executive Chef Kenny Reynolds checks to make sure the potato/cauliflower puree is warm and smooth before dinner customers arrive.
intage Tavern Executive Chef Kenny Reynolds runs a ball of dough through a pasta machine five times, until it’s paper thin, and slices it into strips. “It’s going to be one of today’s specials,” Reynolds says. “Sweet potato fettuccini.” With minutes to go before Vintage Tavern opens for the Friday dinner crowd at 5 p.m., the kitchen crew of seven is hustling to get the things ready. Vintage Tavern, at 1900 Governors Pointe Drive, is particularly well known for its steaks and fresh seafood, Reynolds says. The eatery also has earned a reputation for putting its own twist on classic Southern dishes, such as grits and pimento cheese. Reynolds’ goal is to make sure everyone who comes into the upscale restaurant has an exquisite dinner, he says. That can make for a busy kitchen in the late afternoon, with the last hour devoted to final prep work and getting all the cooking ingredients within arms’ length of the cooks. “The last hour is always hectic,” Reynolds says, moving from the pasta machine. Navigating around the busy kitchen, Reynolds makes a final check at
various cooking stations. He dips up a ladle of the potato/ cauliflower puree, making sure it’s warm and thick. He makes sure there is plenty of spinach and greens near the grill, he checks in with the chefs and heads to the rear of the kitchen to take a look at the batch of spoonbread cooling from the oven. “This kitchen is like a well-oiled machine,” he says. “Everybody has their job, knows what they’re doing and does it well.” Most of the chefs and kitchen staff members have a long work history for Vintage Tavern, says Reynolds, who has been with the restaurant for 10 years. Both Reynolds and Ralph Steinert, assistant chef, say they appreciate the opportunity to be a little creative with the menu. The two supplement their standard menu with their daily specials, often based on what fresh foods are available locally during a specific time of year. “We get as much as we can from local sources,” Steinert says. On rare occasions, the restaurant raises a few of its own ingredients, such as herbs and tomatoes in the summer, Reynolds adds. “I like to cook and like sharing it with other people,” Steinert says.
4 p.m.
Page 20 | February 28, 2016
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Strides 2016 |Suffolk News-Herald
February 28, 2016 | Page 21
On time, on schedule BY R.E. SPEARS III EDITOR
K
R.E. Spears III/Suffolk News-Herald
James Chamblee, building engineer at King’s Fork Middle School, replaces a ceiling tile at the school one recent evening. A continuing art project at the school has replaced many of the blank tiles with elaborately designed ones from students.
ing’s Fork Middle School is one of the busiest buildings in Suffolk. With more than 1,000 students, the city’s newest middle school is one of its two giants. But King’s Fork has the further distinction of being a popular space to rent for community meetings and events. There’s almost always some kind of non-school activity going on there after students have been released for the day. Not to mention summer school. That’s one of the first things KFMS building engineer James Chamblee talks about when a visitor pops in to see him at 5 p.m. one school afternoon. It’s pretty unusual for him and his staff not to have some setup or tear-down to take care of in connection to some event at the school. But the very first thing he says is this: “Hey, you’re not late! I don’t have to get mad at you.” Chamblee’s an affable guy, so it seems kind of unlikely he’d get mad (or, at least, show it), anyway. But anybody who works in a building where schedules are kept to the minute gets used to expecting folks to be on time. By 5 p.m. on an average winter school day, Chamblee has been on the job for more than 10 hours, having arrived at 6:30 a.m. or so to make sure all the classrooms are heated. This is an improvement on the old days, when he used to have to make sure boilers were lit — and do so in time for the classes to warm
up. “We’ve come a long way,” he says. And Chamblee has been through a lot of that trip. He’s been with Suffolk Public Schools for 26 years, having worked his way up from a basic custodian’s position at Kilby Shores Elementary School. He is the only head custodian King’s Fork Middle has ever had. During that time, he’s learned a secret: A custodian’s job goes far beyond emptying trashcans and cleaning up puke in classrooms.
5 p.m.
“Your custodian is your eyes and ears of the building,” he says. “If you really want to know what’s going on in the building, ask your janitor, your custodian.” Many times, he says, students will tell them things they’re unwilling to share with a teacher or guidance counselor. But at 5 p.m., all the kids are gone, and most of the teachers and faculty, as well. By this time of what is effectively the third custodial shift of the day, his remaining staffers are finishing their classrooms, buffing floors and trying to wrap up their own day. On this day, Chamblee has some ceiling tiles to replace, a couple of paper towel dispensers to install and an ever-shrinking list of maintenance chores to finish before he can go home. Tomorrow, he’ll be back to see “his kids.” And you can be sure he’ll be on time.
Page 22 | February 28, 2016
Suffolk News-Herald | Strides 2016
Science, art and sunsets PHOTO AND STORY BY R.E. SPEARS III EDITOR
S
cience can tell us exactly what time to expect the sun to set. Today, Feb. 28, 2016, in Suffolk, that time is 5:59 p.m. Tomorrow, the sun will set here at 6 p.m. Science is so good at this that there is simple software to give us sunrise/ sunset times for any date and any location on Earth. Try it sometime in Google. It makes for a nice distraction from work. Science can also describe what happens in the Earth’s atmosphere to create the colors of the sunset. Science and art (and the Inter-Society Color Council, in concert with the National Bureau of Standards) have conspired to give those colors names. And as it turns out, there’s even a
color called “sunset,” whose pale orange hue marks only the briefest portion of the best actual sunsets. In case, you’re wondering whether this union of science and art had any romance, here’s the definition of “sunset” according to the CMYK color coordinates assigned by the ISCC-NBS: (0, 14, 34, 2). Looks like romance got left behind. There are few better places in Suffolk to rediscover the romance of a sunset than from the rear balcony of the Obici House, overlooking the Nansemond River. On the right day, at just the right time, looking with just the right amount of squint in one’s eyes, one is sure to see some color the artists forgot to name and science failed to number.
6 p.m.
Strides 2016 |Suffolk News-Herald
February 28, 2016 | Page 23
Working it out at the ‘Y’ BY ALLISON T. WILLIAMS STAFF WRITER
I
Allison T. Williams/Suffolk News-Herald
Vencella Major uses the BoxMaster during a Functional Fitness class at the Suffolk Family YMCA.
t’s 7:15 p.m. and music is pounding in the Suffolk Family’s YMCA’s functional fitness studio. As sweat drips down his face, Keith Joyner, wearing a pair of red boxing gloves, repeats a series of jabs and hook punches into the air. Nearby, his wife, Brigitte Joyner, spends an intense 60 seconds punching and pounding the BoxMaster, first with her gloved fists and then by lifting her knees into the boxing training station. Across the room, workout buddies Vencella Major and Sheleate “Bunny” Boldeb give one another verbal encouragement as they drop to the ground, doing sit-ups and planks. It’s just another day in functional fitness class, led by group fitness instructor Guiseppa Bennett. The functional fitness classes include a series of exercises, including boxing, that work muscles in the upper and lower body to create good strength and proper movement. The class is held in the YMCA’s new functional fitness studio, a former 800-square-foot racquetball court that was last year converted into space with BoxMaster machines, weights and a TRX suspension. Bennett shouts words of encouragement over the music, walks around, occasionally correcting students’ form and dropping into a plank or exercise next to them. “I’m not here to be nice,” says Bennett, after the class. “If I didn’t
push you to make you better and stronger, you would be wasting your time. I’m here to help you maximize your time in the gym.” It’s time well spent, students say. “I love the intensity of this class,” says Kevin Banks. “It’s a good way to finish up the day.” As the class wraps up at the end of the hour, people in class — many of them newcomers that night — get a reminder from Bennett that many of the exercises could be replicated easily at home. It’s her first time taking the functional fitness class, and Major says she will come back. Although she can feel the workout, she’s no newcomer to the gym. Thanks to working out and eating more healthily, Major says she has lost 118 pounds and counting. Boldeb says she has dropped 60 pounds during the last four months. “ I feel so much better,” says Boldeb, walking out of the class. “More than anything, I love my new energy level.” Bennett cheers her on, saying she knows from personal experience the challenges of weight loss and making nutritional changes. “I know what it means to struggle, and I know where people are coming form,” she says. “The workout is the easy part, because you are in a group setting with your friends.” “Going home and driving past the fast food restaurant is the hard part. You just have to ask yourself if it is worth it.”
7 p.m.
Page 24 | February 28, 2016
Suffolk News-Herald | Strides 2016
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Strides 2016 |Suffolk News-Herald
February 28, 2016 | Page 25
Sidelines, prime time BY TITUS MOHLER STAFF WRITER
N
ansemond River High School boys’ basketball coach Ed Young and his team are near the end of the first period against visiting crosstown rival Lakeland High School at 8 p.m. High school basketball games are fastpaced, but it would be a mistake to think the only ones working hard are the players and the referees. On the sideline, a good coach is far from a spectator. “There’s a lot of calculating going on in that early start,” Young says after the game against Lakeland. “Even though you don’t really win or lose a game early, it affects how the game is going to go. So, you’ve got to be on top (of it).” He assesses how the game is going, how the game is being officiated, who’s playing well, who’s not. “And I try to do a lot of talking to our bench players,” Young said. “Like when something happens on the court, tell the bench.” “The mistakes being made on the floor, you’re coaching the guys on the bench almost like they made them,” he says. “But it’s so that when they go in there, they can hopefully eliminate that stuff.” When he or one of his assistant coaches initiates a substitution, he talks to the player coming out of the game about why he was removed. When he sits, Young sits in the middle of the bench, flanked by his assistants, so he is closer to all his players, and they can more easily hear him. Young addresses a lot of his comments to
his assistant coaches. “We do a lot of give and take as a staff,” he says, and some will argue their points strongly for the good of the team. Near the end of the second half, Young yells, “Syracuse!” “All our defenses have names, colors; we change them,” Young explains later. “Syracuse is a very simple 2-3 zone.” With a narrow lead at halftime, Young quietly heads toward the locker room as his players pass ahead. “You have to assess what’s good in the first half, what’s bad, what’s a major correction or two — you can’t overload their brain — that we have to make at halftime, what’s our personnel, whose jump ball is it,” Young says. With the players in the locker room, he and his staff convene outside for a couple minutes, exchanging ideas. Then they join the team. Young uses a marking board to illustrate some directives and answers a player’s question. “There’s no doubt you can beat them, but you’ve got 16 minutes,” he says. “You’ve got to dig down. They’re not going to just hand it to you.” And Lakeland does not. The 13-5 Cavaliers take an eight-point lead into the fourth quarter en route to a win against the smaller, less experienced Warriors. “It’s more coaching, true coaching when you have some holes to fill, and it wears you out,” Young says after the game. “I’m worn out right now. I feel like I just played, but it’s because it was a tight game.”
8 p.m.
Titus Mohler/Suffolk News-Herald
Nansemond River High School boys’ basketball coach Ed Young confers with one of his assistant coaches during an intense cross-city rivalry game against visiting Lakeland High School.
Page 26 | February 28, 2016
Suffolk News-Herald | Strides 2016
A night-desk lull BY R.E. SPEARS III EDITOR
I
t turns out that the 9 p.m. hour can be pretty sedate at the front desk of the Hilton Garden Riverfront. If you want to see the crazy stuff, you’ve got to hang around until midnight or so, and even then, you’d do better to wait for a weekend when there’s a big wedding — and (you probably guessed it) alcohol. Erin McClelland, who joined the staff of the hotel on Constance Road as a front desk agent five years ago, at the age of 21, has worked her way through three promotions and into the front office manager’s position. She’s gotten an eyeful from her place behind the front desk during that time. Like the guy who walked off the elevator one summer night following a wedding cel-
R.E. Spears III/Suffolk News-Herald
Erin McClelland us the front-office manager at the Hilton Garden Inn Riverfront. She says she works the “roller-coaster shift,” filling in as needed at the hotel.
ebration, wearing nothing but his boxers. “Can I help you with something?” she recalls asking him. “And why don’t you have your clothes on?” He turned and ran away. She chose not to follow. Most nights, however, are more like this particular weeknight. A few folks sit in a couple of small groups near the bar in the lobby. Conversations are at a moderate level, and most of the 140 or so guests are probably holed up in their rooms, preparing for business meetings the next day — or at least making sure they don’t arrive at those meetings bleary-eyed. “It’s a whole different ballgame Monday through Thursday than it is Friday and Saturday,” McClelland says. Most of the hotel’s weeknight business is from corporate and business guests working with and for just about any of the big companies one could name in Suffolk. And many of those guests, she says, are repeat customers who tell her they appreciate the fact that they’re remembered and welcomed as friends when they arrive at the hotel. Once in a while, those visiting friends get to have a little fun with the staff — like the time when a pipe burst in the entryway, flooding the lobby. The whole hotel staff pitched in and had the mess cleaned up in an hour, MClelland recalls, but it was what happened when they were done, she said, that brought a smile to her face when she was reminded of it on Facebook recently. As dishwashers, servers, maintenance crew and managers were finishing the cleanup — many of them wearing plastic bags to keep their clothes dry — guests of the hotel stopped to snap photos for them to help commemorate the teamwork that had resulted in a potential disaster turning into a relatively minor problem. “All of us have joked at one time or another about writing a book” about the business, she says. Want to know one of the little secrets that book would probably include? Hotel staffers know when you come into the building from TGIF looking for a restroom, instead of using the porta-potties. They probably won’t say anything, but still — you’re not fooling anybody. After all, standing behind the night desk, they’ve pretty much seen it all.
9 p.m.
Strides 2016 |Suffolk News-Herald
February 28, 2016 | Page 27
Convenient and fun BY TITUS MOHLER STAFF WRITER
T
he vibe established in the new Wawa on 2916 Godwin Blvd. is nothing short of infectious. It may be 10 p.m., but the bright lighting, energetic music, engaging staff and arresting video displays of the store’s food and beverage offerings hardly suggest the day is nearly over. As Brandon Eley, a sophomore at Nansemond River High School, orders something from the deli, he quietly dances to the music. About a dozen customers are in the store. “Guests,” Wawa manager-in-training Kim Arrington corrects. “We don’t have customers.” Arrington helps set the tone in the new store, which opened in midDecember. She cordially interacts with guests and banters with her co-workers. What does she do during this shift? In a word, “Everything.”
“She’s our superwoman,” guest service associate Amy Smith says from behind a register. Arrington coaches her co-workers, ensures guests are happy, that the shelves are fully stocked and that promotional signage is on display, among other duties. “I’m always doing something,” she says. “I never stop.” It is a truck night, meaning supplies are being delivered, so there are five employees on hand. Arrington estimates that the store might 75 or more people in the 10 o’clock hour. Meanwhile, Brandon Eley and his ninth-grade sister, Paris Eley, have begun dancing side-by-side, mirroring each other’s steps. Their father, Shawn Eley, says they all came for Wawa’s hoagies. “The subs are pretty good,” he adds. What tends to bring most people into the store at this time of night
10 p.m.
are coffee, wine, beer and gas. When the Powerball drawing is high, there’s quite a line. Arrington’s big goal for the hour is to get the store ready for the night shift, which involves cleaning, resetting and restocking. She goes about these tasks at the coffee bar, while serving guests, including the Rev. Thomas Winborne, there for coffee and gas. Arrington briefly goes over to the doughnut case to reset it for the next day’s business, throwing out the leftovers. “Goodbye, Mr. Doughnut,” Arrington says lightheartedly as she throws one out. “This is the saddest part of the night.” The Eleys are now gone, but their contribution to the store’s atmosphere remains, as Amy Smith and fellow guest service associate Arthur Crosby dance briefly before returning to work. Arrington returns to the coffee bar and serves DeBorah Laster. Smith announces that she has finished cleaning the doughnut case,
per Arrington’s request. “Thank you, muffin face,” Arrington says. “Absolutely, tater tot,” Smith replies. Arrington’s favorite thing about this time of night is “the fact that I always have something to do. They make sure of it, whether it’s the guests or the co-workers.” Late in the hour, Erica Ricks visits the store. She is packing for a move, the first of her life, and said she came to Wawa because “I needed their wonderful mocha latte to get me through the night, with extra espresso.” Business picks up around 11 p.m., and Smith, who has been dealing with a hand injury, requests Arrington’s help at the register. She obliges and later noted it is not unusual for employees working there to suddenly become a cashier. “It’s busy, we jump on the register,” she says. “It’s not busy, we clean up.”
Titus Mohler/Suffolk News-Herald
Wawa manager-in-training Kim Arrington takes a brief moment for a photo behind the store’s coffee bar while she busily worked to ensure it was ready for the night shift.
Page 28 | February 28, 2016
Suffolk News-Herald | Strides 2016
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Strides 2016 |Suffolk News-Herald
February 28, 2016 | Page 29
Keeping a weather eye BY TRACY AGNEW NEWS EDITOR
N
ational Weather Service meteorologist Mike Montefusco clicks back and forth on several different computer mice, looking carefully at the rainbow-colored weather models on each of four different screens. It’s 11 p.m., and he has to be done with the marine and aviation forecasts in just a few hours. Five commercial airports from Elizabeth City, N.C., to Salisbury, Md., and dozens of general aviation airports, as well as mariners of crafts ranging from canoes to cruise ships, are counting on him to deliver a timely and accurate forecast of wind speeds, cloud cover and wave heights. He’s already issued a small-craft advisory for the day. “The weekend is actually looking pretty nice,” he mutters to nobody in particular.
At the next desk over, Matt Scalora is working on the public forecast for the coming day, predicting the high and low for the day and the amount of precipitation, the things that people on land — school districts and families and sports teams — care about. Meteorologist Andrew Zimmerman is getting ready to leave, since he’s done with his evening shift. But before he does,
1 1 p.m.
the three scrutinize a giant television screen with radar showing most of the country and a bit of rain coming their way. It’s not a big deal, so their eyes wander across the country. They spot a place in Colorado with a low of -8. Zimmerman speculates it’s Berthoud Pass, an 11,000-foothigh point in the Rockies, and tells
the story of driving through there on a Memorial Day weekend and encountering snow. Montefusco, Scalora and Zimmerman are among the 22 people who work at the Wakefield office, where jokes about thunderstorms and terms like “low-level thermal gradient” are the norm, at least when there’s not much going on weatherwise. Not all of the 22 are meteorologists, though. There are information technology people and electronics technicians and an
Tracy Agnew/Suffolk News-Herald
Meteorologist Mike Montefusco examines weather models at the National Weather Service Wakefield office.
administrative assistant. They’re also not all there at the same time — on the midnight shift, there’s only two if everything’s
quiet in the skies. “If the forecast looks good, it can be kind of quiet,” Montefusco says. He became interested in meteorology when he was a kid and Hurricane Gloria went over his house in New Jersey. “That pretty much got my attention,” he says. All the meteorologists have at least a bachelor’s degree, but their jobs involve much more than just staring at computer screens with weather models. Conference calls, answering the phone and updating the social media page are also among their duties. “It’s becoming a big part of our job,” Montefusco says of social media, pointing to a Facebook tab open on yet another computer screen, near yet another with an ongoing chat among meteorologists in the Ohio Valley, where a winter storm is pounding the area. But for the moment he’s focused on generating his own forecast. And all is quiet.
Page 30 | February 28, 2016
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Strides 2016 |Suffolk News-Herald
February 28, 2016 | Page 31
Weighing the possibilities BY TRACY AGNEW NEWS EDITOR
M
atthew Marks is working the booth at the Department of Motor Vehicles weigh scales on U.S. Route 58 when a truck pulls up on the eastbound side of the road, with nobody behind him. It’s dark outside — 12:06 a.m., to be precise. It’s the perfect time to do a scale check, which has to be done at least once per shift. It takes a couple of minutes and involves asking the driver to back up, so Marks likes to get it out of the way early in his shift, before the sun illuminates the roads and more trucks are pulling in to get weighed. “Good morning, driver,” Marks says from his post on the other side of the westbound lanes, on the second floor of a building that’s a lot bigger inside than it looks from outside. “Just back up until I tell you to stop.” As the driver backs up, Debra Proffitt is downstairs at a desk, compiling a report of all the work done at the scales in the 24-hour period that has just ended. She tallies how many trucks were weighed — almost 3,000 trucks cross the scales daily — as well as how many tickets were written for overweight trucks or other violations. An average of five overweight citations were written
each day in 2015. The staff at the scales also issue summonses for infractions such as not having the proper documentation or labels on the truck indicating hazardous materials. “Basically, we just want to keep the motoring public safe,” says Greg Brown, the manager of the facility. There’s a building on both sides of the
Midnight scales, and a catwalk — which paralyzes even the burliest truck driver if he’s afraid of heights — that goes between the two. However, the westbound side is the side with the actual office where all of the action happens. The building on the eastbound side is usually unmanned — it’s not much more than a closet with a projector screen where a driver can set documents to be viewed by the staff on the westbound side. The westbound office is more substantial. The bottom floor includes several desks, one of which is usually manned by a state trooper, along with a refrigerator, a coffee pot and a
Tracy Agnew/Suffolk News-Herald
Matthew Marks hits a button to give the green light to a tractor-trailer driver that has met the weight requirements at the scales on U.S. Route 58 in Suffolk.
restroom. A narrow spiral staircase, which all potential employees must prove they can negotiate before they’re hired, leads to the second floor, where Marks is stationed. Trucks pull on and off the scales, and their weights flash on a bank of computer screens. Allowable weights vary by type and length of truck and the number of axles. A standard tractor-trailer is allowed to weigh 80,000 pounds total. There are also individual maximums for different sections of the truck. Companies can get a special permit that allows them to be 5 percent above their ordinarily allowed weight, and they must display a large “5” sticker on the cab that indicates they have the permit. A pair of binoculars is a necessity on the job, especially on days with low visibility. All of the different weights sound confusing, but Marks has them memorized. If he blanks, there’s a cheat sheet that takes up an entire sheet of paper, in three columns. He presses a button to give the green light to every truck that meets the regulations. “It can be pretty interesting up here,” Marks says over the intercom as he bids farewell to the driver who helped him with the scale check. “Have a good morning. Buckle up and be safe.”
Page 32 | February 28, 2016
Suffolk News-Herald | Strides 2016
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February 28, 2016 | Page 33
The pet protectors BY R.E. SPEARS III EDITOR
W
hat’s the biggest job at a veterinary clinic? If you guessed laundry, go to the front of the kennel. There are days when Jessica Sprouse’s scrubs are scrubbed (or at least in dire need of scrubbing) within minutes of her arrival at The Cove — Center of Veterinary Expertise. Working the overnight shift recently, along with a half dozen other veterinary professionals, she was still relatively clean, but that seemed unlikely to last through the 1 a.m. hour, much less the whole shift. But urine stains — and sometimes
even worse things — are all just part of a day’s (or night’s) work for Sprouse, a licensed veterinary technician. The Cove specializes in emergency and critical care for small, domesticated animals. When Fluffy’s regular vet is closed and she gets into something she shouldn’t have, the folks at The Cove are there to help. It’s a relatively slow night so far — a cat with an odd mass on its face has been brought in after having problems following an appointment with its regular vet earlier in the day, and a happy looking mutt has been brought for observation after eating a pack of xylitol-sweetened
chewing gum. Still, one learns to be careful about how one refers to the pace of activity. “You don’t ever mention the ‘slow’ word in a hospital,” Sprouse warns. That can be trouble. Some days are steady, some days are hectic and some days you’re kind of coasting.” This day is somewhere in the middle, as eight four-legged patients have been hospitalized, apart from the two undergoing immediate treatment. Despite his happy demeanor, the xylitol-poisoned dog is by far the more acute of the new cases, and hospital staff are quick to get his leg shaved so they can get an IV drip going. Xylitol, which is increasingly used as a sweetener in everything from breath mints to baked goods, can cause severe hypoglycemia, liver failure and death in dogs, and quick intervention is one of the keys to potentially avoiding the worst outcomes. The Cove is ready for just about any eventuality. On staff, there’s a board-certified surgeon, along with a cardiologist. Primary-care veterinarians frequently refer patients that need advanced or critical care, orthopedic surgery and the like. Sometimes, as in the case of tonight’s new patients, the owners can’t take the chance of waiting for a visit to their regular vets. “We do deal with a lot of emotional toll,” says Sprouse, who has a three-legged cat she adopted after its leg was amputated at the clinic. “It’s hard on us, as well. Here, it’s a flood of emotions. We know (the patients) are not doing well when they come in, and Mom and Dad are hysterical.” Despite the relative calm of this night, the stress level can be high and the decisions heart-wrenching. But as with any vet’s office, at any hour of the day, the focus is on what’s right for the animals. “The idea is to eliminate suffering,” Sprouse says.
1 a.m.
R.E. Spears III/Suffolk News-Herald
Veterinary assistant Emily Gearhart comforts a four-legged patient receiving treatment at The Cove — Center of Veterinary Expertise during a recent late-night shift.
Page 34 | February 28, 2016
Suffolk News-Herald | Strides 2016
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Strides 2016 |Suffolk News-Herald
February 28, 2016 | Page 35
Tracy Agnew/Suffolk News-Herald
John Fisher and Nils Melkerson organize the lunches for Night Stay participants about 2:30 a.m. at Hillcrest Baptist Church.
A place to stay BY TRACY AGNEW NEWS EDITOR
T
he church mice are usually the only ones being quiet in the church at 2 a.m., but it’s different this morning at Hillcrest Baptist Church. Four men — Oscar Lamb, Dean Warren, Nils Melkerson and John Foster — sit in a room near the rear entrance and talk in hushed tones. They discuss everything from church bylaws to local government and even indulge in a snack or two. “We somehow try to stay awake,” Melkerson says. Down the hall, 18 or so people who need a place to stay tonight are sleeping on inflatable mattresses in a dark, quiet room.
Eighteen bagged lunches are waiting on a counter in the church’s kitchen. The fixings for 18 breakfasts are in the refrigerator, waiting to be cooked later in the morning by a different group of volunteers. Sleepers and volunteers both are participants in the Night Stay program, run by the Coalition Against Poverty in Suffolk. The coalition is a group of churches that decided to get together and fund programs assisting the needy in the area. At first, the Night Stay program was an unintentionally well-kept secret, but word is starting to get out. The 18 using the program on this particular night represent one of the lowest totals all year. Churches take turns hosting the
program for a week at a time. Volunteers like Lamb, Warren, Melkerson and Foster take shifts during the night and stay up in case any of the program participants need assistance. Other volunteers cook dinner, pack lunches and cook breakfast. “We serve a pretty hearty meal,” Foster says, mentioning favorites like macaroni and cheese. Still other volunteers play games or chat with the participants until lights-out, drive the van and more. It’s a tiring proposition, but the men say they’ve gotten a lot done on this night. They’re discussing
2 a.m.
a change in the church bylaws and have made actual progress, despite the late hour. Besides, they say, it’s worth it because the program provides a valuable service and shows the love of Christ. “I think it’s one of the best things the church has done,” Foster says. “If we turned our nose up, we’re not much of a church.” “I know it’s been a blessing to me,” adds Warren. Melkerson says he’s enjoyed getting to know the participants. It’s not all local homeless people — one couple was just passing through. “We may never see them again, but that’s the way it is,” he says. “They have been a blessing to us, just to get to know them.”
Page 36 | February 28, 2016
Suffolk News-Herald | Strides 2016
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February 28, 2016 | Page 37
Doughnut delights BY ALLISON T. WILLIAMS STAFF WRITER
D
ecisions, decisions. It’s tough when you arrive at O’doodleDoos Donuts at 7 a.m. and have to decide between the luscious red velvet, the tart key lime or the rich German chocolate doughnuts. But your “problem” was created at 3 a.m., when the day’s first batch of doughnuts was just cooling down. “This is when we get all creative,” says O’doodleDoos proprietor Reeva Luecke, as she drips stripes of pink icing, followed by a wave of sprinkles, across a pan of doughnuts. “We change up our flavors every few weeks.” A pan of undecorated cake doughnuts is a blank canvas, and shelves of clear plastic containers show limitless possibilities: sprinkles, glitter, candy, coconut, all with a rainbow of color options. Most doughnuts have at least three layers of icings and decorations, Luecke said. In the early morning hour, Luecke’s small team works quietly and quickly, producing the 200 to 500 cake doughnuts to sell from bakery’s display case. Any special orders are made and decorated in the afternoon. Everyone has their favorite flavors, Luecke says. But generally, the most popular flavors among adults include anything chocolate and anything with bacon, along with red velvet
and peanut butter and jelly. Kids tend to gravitate toward the doughnuts with sprinkles, ones with lots of color and ones decorated as characters, Luecke says. It takes employees about 90 minutes to decorate most of the day’s doughnuts. By 4 a.m., the last batch is cooling, the decorating is almost done and mixing bowls are being washed.
3 a.m.
The rhythm of the morning will pick up now, as doughnuts are put into display cases before the shop opens at 5 a.m. “We’re faster and more efficient than we used to be, and we’ve got a few holidays under our belt now, so we know what to expect,” Luecke says. Luecke, who used to manage hotels, opened O’doodleDoos in 2011. She and her husband live in Crittenden, had recently had a son, and she had tired of traveling to Norfolk and the Peninsula daily. “My family’s home is here … and I wanted to be a part of this community where I live,” she says. The couple decided to call the shop O’doodleDoos, because it’s “silly, not too serious,” Luecke says. “I want to make this a place people will remember as a happy
Allison T. Williams/Suffolk News-Herald
O’doodle Doos Donuts employee Yvonne Bailey gets up early to decorate cake doughnuts. The doughnut shop in Crittenden opens at 5 a.m.
place for their families,” she says. “On our worst day, we are doing something that makes people want to come in and get happy.”
Page 38 | February 28, 2016
Suffolk News-Herald | Strides 2016
Strides 2016 |Suffolk News-Herald
February 28, 2016 | Page 39
80 stops around suffolk BY TITUS MOHLER STAFF WRITER
S
Titus Mohler/Suffolk News-Herald
Suffolk News-Herald delivery driver James Kearney stocks a box in front of a business with the new day’s paper as he works his route during the 4 a.m. hour.
uffolk News-Herald delivery driver James Kearney arrives before 4 a.m. at the newspaper’s office with Victoria Baker to begin loading his truck with the 80 bundles of papers he will be delivering this day. With 10 years of experience as a newspaper delivery driver — about five on his current route — Kearney has a well-established system for loading, staying mindful of his delivery sequence. Behind the driver seat, he piles bundles of 10 papers and bundles of 25. He puts bundles of 15 on the floor and bundles of 20 on the seat in the middle. “Easy to grab them,” he says. Larger bundles of 30, 35, 40 and 50 go into the bed of his truck, which already contains some old copies of the returned papers from previous days. The old papers are lightly coated with a layer of frost, a visual reminder that Kearney’s job can be a cold one. “This can’t be all the papers,” he says, scanning the load for the day, and then finds some that had been misplaced when they arrived from the printer. Before heading out, Kearney and Baker leave copies of the day’s paper on the desks of the Suffolk NewsHerald employees. Soon, they get into the truck and begin Kearney’s route, which features 80 stops and lasts about four hours. How long did it take Kearney to learn his route? “A day,” he says. “I’ve got a good
memory.” During the 4 a.m. hour, Kearney makes deliveries along Wilroy Road, Nansemond Parkway, Bennetts Pasture Road and Bridge Road. Many of his deliveries are to businesses. Sometimes bundles are left at the foot of the front door, some are slipped through a slot or wedged between the door handle and door. He cleverly puts the North Suffolk Library’s bundle in the book return box. Some places, he can go inside. A few deliveries are to subscribers’ homes, and there are many stops at Suffolk News-Herald boxes. Kearney must re-stock the boxes and pull any remaining papers from the previous day, logging the returns on a clipboard once he returns to the warmth of his truck. The job is demanding of Kearney’s truck, with all the starting and stopping, and it’s a physical one for Kearney, as well. He does all the legwork, but Baker provides some assistance with bagging papers and logging returns. “That’s what I do until I fall asleep,” she says. It is important to Kearney to have someone with him. “I don’t want to get stranded out here by myself in case I get sick,” he says. If all goes well, by 5 a.m. on an average weekday, Kearney is making his Bridge Road stops, allowing him to beat the traffic and get newspapers in the hands of morning commuters.
4 a.m.
Page 40 | February 28, 2016
Suffolk News-Herald | Strides 2016
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Strides 2016 |Suffolk News-Herald
February 28, 2016 | Page 41
Sorting things out BY TITUS MOHLER STAFF WRITER
F
or the United States Postal Service, providing good customer service begins early in the day. Before many in the city are awake, there is a small group of people hard at work inside the post office at 445 N. Main St., seeking to make life easier for the mail carriers that will be in later that morning. “At this time of the hour, we have our distribution crew that’s here,” Postmaster Bruce Babbs says one morning around 5 a.m. “And our custodial crew’s just come on board.” Today four distribution workers, their supervisor and two custodians are on hand. Mary Credle, Teri Curry and Gin Decker sort parcels into carts corresponding to the 27 carrier routes originating from that office. Off to the side, James Britt sorts raw mail by route. Raw mail arrives at the office unsorted, either by route or by the order in which a carrier will be delivering the mail. Automation has made postal work more efficient to a significant degree as is evidenced by some nearby carts. On different shelves of the carts are trays of letters,
magazines and similar items that have been neatly arranged by a machine in the sequence the carrier will deliver them. “So all the carrier has to do is come in and grab it, put it in the truck,” Babbs says. However, when technology does not work properly, and a machine, for example, does not scan a barcode correctly, a certain percentage of raw mail results. This is why postal workers like Britt are so important because he is scheme trained, meaning he knows all 27 routes by memory and can sort the mail by route based on the address. “I usually have three scheme people here and one person that’s not scheme trained,” Babbs says. Credle, Curry and Decker distribute parcels with the help of a PASS, or Passive Active Scanning System, machine, which scans a parcel’s barcode and tells the ladies which route it belongs to. Typically, the distribution crew arrives for work around 4 a.m. and work is waiting for them. The office starts receiving mail as early as 3 a.m. and two trucks usually make
5 a.m.
Titus Mohler/Suffolk News-Herald
Postal worker James Britt sorts raw mail according to the route it belongs to during the 5 a.m. hour at the U.S. Post Office on 445 North Main St.
deliveries during the 5 a.m. hour. As the crew sorts, supervisor Yvonne Graham works at her computer, preparing her carriers’ routes for the day. The mail carriers typically arrive at 8 a.m. and start putting into delivery sequence the raw mail that Britt has sorted according to their routes. Then they collect their other mail items, including the parcels sorted by the rest of the distribu-
tion crew, and load up their trucks. “By 8:30, nine o’clock, a lot of the carriers are on the street delivering mail,” Babbs says. He notes that every one of the workers present during the 5 a.m. hour takes pride in helping the carriers’ day go smoothly. “These guys’ customers really are the carriers,” Babbs said. “They want to have their customers happy.”
Page 42 | February 28, 2016
Suffolk News-Herald | Strides 2016
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February 28, 2016 | Page 43
Delivering smiles, flowers BY ALLISON T. WILLIAMS STAFF WRITER
Y
ou can tell it’s the Monday before Valentine’s Day at Johnson’s Gardens. Around 6:30 a.m., long before the sun peeps over the horizon, Tim Johnson is unpacking boxes of fresh flowers — roses, sunflowers, tulips and the like — that were delivered an hour earlier. The flowers are rich hues of red, pink and yellow, a lush breath of color on an otherwise ordinary winter day. Johnson usually orders 400 roses a week from his wholesale company, enough to stick a couple
or three in mixed floral bouquets and to fill occasional orders for a dozen, long-stemmed roses. Everything changes on Valentine’s Day, Johnson says. “Around Valentine’s Day, the roses seem to never end,” he says. “Everyone wants roses. It’s what the public expects.” Johnson and his team — mostly
6 a.m.
family members and handful of local teenagers — will deliver. “This morning, we got 2,000 roses — 1,000 red roses and
Allison T. Williams/Suffolk News-Herald
Tim Johnson, owner of Johnson’s Gardens, displays boxes of roses he will use in floral arrangements.
another 1,000 in various other colors,” Johnson says. “Look at these lavender ones. Aren’t they beautiful?” Roses used this time of year are grown in South America, Johnson adds. They were probably picked the previous Thursday, packed on dry ice and shipped to the United States. Johnson gets into his Monday morning rhythm of unpacking fresh roses. Barehanded, he grabs the thorny, 32-inch stems by the bunch and gently places them on a worn, butcher-block table. Then, in one fell swoop, he whacks the ends of the stems off with an axe, puts the bunch of flowers in fresh water and stores them in the cooler. If kept in coolers, the roses are good for about three weeks, Johnson said. With only a couple of hours before the shop opens at 8:30 a.m., Johnson says he values his quiet time in the mornings. It gives him time to check over the day’s orders for flower arrangements and take a final peek at the flowers that are going out for delivery. Ideally, arrangements are made the day before and kept in the cooler overnight until Johnson’s three delivery trucks hit the road, he says. He aims to have flowers out for delivery no later than 10:45 a.m. “Business has grow so much over the past few years,” Johnson said. “We’re now delivering in Western Branch, Franklin and all over Suffolk.” Valentine’s Day is a multi-day project for Johnson’s team. For the five days leading up to Valentine’s Day, Johnson, his
employees and his family — wife, Helen, and sons, Jamie and Jett — will work into the night to fill orders. “It’s going to be a busy, busy week,” he says.
Page 44 | February 28, 2016
Suffolk News-Herald | Strides 2016
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Strides 2016 |Suffolk News-Herald
February 28, 2016 | Page 45
A labor of love BY ALLISON T. WILLIAMS STAFF WRITER
T
his morning, Dianne Burris isn’t cleaning just any silk dress. The short, white dress, trimmed with crystals and seed pearls, is a wedding dress, a memento of a life-changing milestone in the lives of two Suffolk Quality Cleaners customers. And Burris, a silk presser at the Suffolk dry cleaners, treats the garment with the delicate care it deserves when she begins steaming it around 7:45 a.m. She uses a steam press, which cleans only with steam that heats up to 360 degrees, Burris says. No chemical solvents are used in the process. Once the dress is clean, she carefully pins it to special hangers to hold the dress’ shape. If the owners want to permanently preserve it, customer service representative Christine Durant and often owner Tom Williams get involved. Once she looks over the dress to make sure it is spotless, which is standard procedure with all garments coming through the cleaners, Durant arranges the gown in an acid-free box. “The gown will remain its natural color as long as the box isn’t opened and exposed to air,” Durant says. “This part of my job brings me a lot of joy, because I know I’m doing something special for someone.” Many brides preserve their gown
for nostalgic reasons, perhaps saving it for a daughter to wear during her wedding. It’s a lengthy, time-consuming process that could take up to two months, Durant says. Durant also suggests brides think outside the box if they don’t want to save the dress for a child’s wedding. Other ways of using the dress could include using it to make a baby’s Christening gown or a basinet cover, she suggests. “That is something special and personal between you and the baby,” Durant says. Suffolk Quality Cleaners has been on the downtown Suffolk landscape since 1947 and is one of only two on-site dry cleaning plants remaining in the city, says owner Tom Williams. He bought the business in 1987 from the original owner and has been involved in the daily operations ever since. Over the years, he has added drop-off centers on Godwin Boulevard and in Windsor. He believes his focus on customer service is one reason his business has done well over the years.
7 a.m.
Allison T. Williams/Suffolk News-Herald
Suffolk Quality Cleaners employee Christine Durant takes in a load of dry cleaning.
Page 46 | February 28, 2016
Suffolk News-Herald | Strides 2016
Photos WANted
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February 28, 2016 | Page 47
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Page 48 | February 28, 2016
Suffolk News-Herald | Strides 2016