HISTORIC TRIANGLE — Catch up on news and notes from in and around the Historic Triangle.
Williamsburg Women’s Chorus Seeks Singers, Invites Auditions
Women in the Williamsburg area who are interested in making vocal music with the Williamsburg Women’s Chorus, a fixture in Williamsburg’s performing arts scene for 58 years, are invited to audition to become a member. Artistic Director Rebecca Davy invites women in all voice ranges to contact her to set up an audition time and date by clicking on williamsburgwomenschorus.org/contact.html, or by calling 757-645-3431.
The Williamsburg Women’s Chorus performs fall and spring concerts each year. This year’s fall concert will be Sunday, Nov. 12, at 4 p.m.; the spring concert will be Tuesday, May 14, at 7:30 p.m., both in the Williamsburg Presbyterian Church sanctuary. Rehearsals for the 2023-24 season will begin Tuesday, Sept. 5, from 12:30 p.m. to 2 p.m. at the Bruton Episcopal Church Parish House.
Rotary District 7600 Multi-Club District Grant
Rotary District 7600 awarded The Rotary Clubs of Newport News, Oyster Point, Virginia Peninsula, Warwick at City Center and Yorktown a multi-club district grant of $25,000 (project total $27,500) for “Connections that THRIVE”, a project benefiting THRIVE Peninsula.
THRIVE Peninsula will move into its new location on Nettles Drive in early fall and Rotarians will focus on renovating several rooms in their Community Connect Wing, building self-watering garden beds for their outdoor Patio Garden, and purchasing laptops, a smart board, and room dividers for their large conference room, it said. In addition, Rotarians will also be volunteering for “The Market at THRIVE”, a full-service food pantry, by assisting families as they shop for groceries, packing meal kits and restocking shelves. The project is expected to conclude in late January 2024.
Kiwanis Club of Williamsburg Hears About Learning Opportunities
Laurie Hesser, associate director of the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at William & Mary (formerly the Christopher Wren Association), recently spoke to members of the Kiwanis Club of Williamsburg about the large, eclectic variety of courses the program offers to adults who take the no-grades, no-tests courses simply for the joy of learning something new. Contact osher@wm.edu for more information, or to obtain a Fall, 2023, catalog of courses. The Kiwanis Club of Williamsburg meets everything Wednesday for lunch at 12 noon at the Williamsburg Lodge.
The Virginia Rural Leadership Institute Cohort Completes Second Session
The Virginia Rural Leadership Institute (VRLI) Cohort completed its second session on the Middle Peninsula and Northern Neck on June 28-30. Over the three day session, the cohort participated in a boat tours of the Rappahannock River, participated in downtown revitalization walking tours of both Tappahannock and Warsaw, visited and learned from Chief Frank Adams of the Upper Mattaponi Indian Tribe, and heard from rural experts on the topics of Difficult Conversations, Growing Your Network, Rural Tourism, Rural Health Partnerships and Opportunities, Engaging with Elected Officials, Communications, and Agritourism.
Each member of the VRLI Cohort have selected their Community Impact Project which will improve rural communities across Virginia over the course of the next year. According to VRLI, cohort members will soon be connected with mentors to advance these projects and further collaborate on the work Cohort members do in rural Virginia.
Abram Frink Jr. Community Center Temporarily Closes For Maintenance
The Abram Frink Jr. Community Center located at 8901 Pocahontas Trail in Grove will be closed from Wednesday, Aug. 9 through Tuesday, Aug. 15 for gym floor maintenance James City County said.
Maintenance work will include stripping and resealing of the gym floors.
The center, closed on weekends, will reopen Wednesday, Aug. 16. During the closure, all active Frink Center pass holders may use the James City County Recreation Center, Monday-Thursdays from 4-9 p.m. and Friday from 4-8 p.m.
For more information, call 757-887-5810 or 757-259-4200.
Gloucester County Treasurer’s Office Recognized for Achieving Accreditation
The Gloucester County Treasurer’s office announced it has again received its accreditation from the Treasurer’s Association of Virginia (TAV).
“I am very proud that the Treasurer’s Office has once again been recognized by the Treasurers’ Association of Virginia as an accredited office,” said Gloucester Treasurer Tara Thomas. “Our office first achieved this in 2003, and we have been recognized every year since then. It is tangible recognition of the effort put forth each and every day by the Treasurer’s Office staff members and myself to serve the citizens of Gloucester County.”
As part of the accreditation process, offices must successfully pass an outside audit with no findings of material weakness. The rigorous accreditation process also requires proof of continuing education such as attendance of an ethics course by the treasurer (or a principal officer) and educational requirements for all staff. Accredited offices are required to have written policies in place addressing areas such as personnel, customer service and delinquent collections.
Public Input Needed for Yarmouth Creek Watershed Management Plan
James City County is seeking public input to help update the Yarmouth Creek Watershed Management Plan.
The second public meeting of the plan development process will be held on Monday, July 31 from 5:30-7:30 p.m. at the James City County Library meeting room, located at 7770 Croaker Road. The meeting will provide an overview of the planning progress-to-date, survey results to-date, and an opportunity for community members to weigh in on recommendations for improving the watershed.
This event is open to the public. More information on the Yarmouth Creek Watershed Management Plan, including a link to the county’s online survey, can be found on the project homepage.
Hampton Roads Transportation Planning Organization Hosting Final In-Person Open Houses for Regional Connectors Study
The Hampton Roads Transportation Planning Organization (HRTPO) is looking at ways to improve future travel between the Peninsula and Southside as part of the Regional Connectors Study (RCS). The project team has finalized their proposed recommendations for crossing the harbor and would like the public to provide final thoughts on the improvements. The public is invited to join the study team at one of its final in-person open houses to learn more.
Open House Dates and Locations:
- July 31, 5:30–7:30 p.m.: Pearl Bailey Library in Newport News
- Aug. 1, 5:30–7:30 p.m.: First Baptist Church Lambert’s Point in Norfolk
- Aug. 2, 5:30–7:30 p.m.: Churchland Branch Library in Portsmouth
- Aug. 3, 5:30–7:30 p.m.: VDOT Hampton Roads District Office in Suffolk
During the open houses, attendees can talk with the study team, review proposed transportation recommendations, and provide input. There will be a brief presentation at 6 p.m. and 7 p.m. The same information will be presented at all four meetings.
For more information about the study and open house details, visit connectorstudy.org.
Chesapeake Financial Reports Second Quarter Earnings
Chesapeake Financial Shares, Inc., parent company of both Chesapeake Bank and Chesapeake Wealth Management, reported earnings for the second quarter of 2023 of $3,041,535, a 25.2% decrease from the second quarter of 2022.
The reported earnings per share were $0.648 fully diluted compared to $0.861 fully diluted for the second quarter of 2022. Total assets ended the quarter at $1,354,817,119, up slightly from year-end.
At its July 21 Chesapeake Financial Shares Board of Directors meeting, the Board declared a quarterly dividend of $0.15 per share effective Sept. 1, payable on or before Sept. 15. Currently the stock has a 3.08% dividend yield. The company has had 30 consecutive years of dividend increases, it said.
For more information about Chesapeake Financial Shares stock (CPKF), or to receive daily e-mail alerts about the stock price, see chesapeakefinancialshares.com.
Williamsburg Chapter, Sons of the American Revolution News
