Editorials Etc.

If you've got something to say, this is where it goes. We're lucky to have some disparate points of view in Aquia Harbour. Make sure that yours is included.

December 2003

  • The Wait for the Second Gate - By Clint Thatcher

    I was surprised to see that 82 members of AHPOA voted for the second gate. With as much negative information as we saw I expected the vote to be unanimous against the gate. At the annual meeting it was mentioned that they had been told they were not being negative enough. I can only imagine that was from someone who is as against the second gate as the people who wrote the reports in Harbour View. I was also surprised to learn that Garrett Corp had written a rebuttal letter but no effort was made to get that information out to the members so we could way both sides of the issue.     (Click Here to read Garrett Corp's Rebuttel from the September Website Editorials PDF Format)

    There are several reasons I can see to build a second gate but it has to be done on our terms, not dictated by any outside influence. Let me list my reasons for wanting a second gate:

     
    1. I live in the third section, my children attend Widewater Elementary School. It takes over an hour for my children to get home from school because the bus has to travel on Rt 1 to get here. A second gate would cut that trip down to no more than 20 minutes including stops to discharge passengers before reaching my home. Having a gate in the back sections would keep these buses off Route 1, thus helping to achieve the goals of the school board in creating safe routes to school.
    2. Several thousand cars pass through the main gate every day. At times the backup gets quite long. A second gate would distribute that load and reduce everyone's commute time. Those of you living in section 1, imagine not having 1/3-1/2 of the cars you currently have to contend with on the road when you are trying to get out in the morning.
    3. VRE has had a station on the Widewater peninsula on their plans for years. In talking with VRE management it has been stated more than once that two things are holding up construction of that station. Aquia Harbour access to the station is one big factor, the other is Stafford County approval.
    4. Emergency vehicles take as much as 20 minutes to reach the back of the Harbour. With access to the back sections available that time could be reduced significantly.
    5. If a major storm were heading this way and Harbour residents were ordered to evacuate, the main gate could not handle all the traffic that would be required to accomplish the evacuation in a timely manner. The emergency gate is not located in a place that would help with this situation as it puts us out on country roads that are narrow and closer to the river than we are now.
    6. As many people have stated, we were promised a second gate when we moved here. Quicker access to our home would increase the equity we have in our homes.
    7. As part of the development at Brent's Mill, Garrett Corp is proposing a shopping center right outside the second gate. How much more convenient would that be for those of us in the back of the Harbour?


    Much has been said about the cost of manning a second gate. I believe an unmanned gate with key card access could cut this cost greatly and possibly eliminate the cost if we agree to pay a fee for the cards. That way, only those who want it would have to pay for the cards and gate access.

    If you would like to see a second gate built on our terms please contact me at highspeed@ibscity.com.

    Thank you,
    Clint Thatcher
    3010 Constitution Dr.
    Stafford, VA 22554
    540-720-9931
     


     
  • Elections turnout "a disgrace" - BY BEN BLANKENSHIP

    Well, those elections certainly clarified things, didn't they?

    For one thing, most people like the status quo. In October we showed little interest in getting a "free" second gate into Aquia Harbour, at least where it had been proposed and with strings attached. The strings were that we'd have to support a developer's rezoning plan to put more houses than allowed in a tract right next to our perimeter alongside Harpoon Drive.

    For another thing, most people like the status quo. In the November elections, during a time we typically rake leaves, most of us raked rather than voted. Only about one in five of us eligibles turned out.

    Most people like the status quo? So? University of Virginia's political analyst Larry Sabato thinks it's horrible. He called Virginia's high number of unopposed races-particularly in the Fredericksburg area (none of Stafford's constitutional officers up for re-election were contested)-where was I?? Oh yes, Larry called those races "a disgrace." Stafford turnout ran 20 percent and below, versus 32 percent four years earlier.

    One thing is for sure. The sparse trek to the polls on a bright and balmy summery day surely destroyed one truism about voting: In bad weather, only the energized base turns out to vote. That now seems to apply during good weather, too. Our Energizer Bunnies were obviously on low battery.

    Even for the contest pitting our Harbour's very own incumbent Jack Cavalier against our very own Joe Graziano for supervisor of the Griffis -Widewater district (which includes sections two and three), the turnout was lackluster at best.

    Mid-morning on election day, there was Jack, forlornly standing standing lonely patrol in front of the country club polling place. He accurately predicted a light turnout. A short distance away, a friendly lady was sitting at a table, passing out literature for Graziano.? It was his mom, visiting from New Jersey.

    While Jack looked all buffed up in suit and all, she was pleasantly matronly. She must have swayed a few voters. Graziano outpolled Cavalier in Aquia Harbour by 50 votes out of 750 cast. But Jack won elsewhere to eke out a 30-vote victory.

    Here's one theory as to why. Jack won because of his support for a state park in Widewater.? That must have resonated outside the Harbour, but not as much here, since we already have abundant park and recreational amenities.


    So the race was a squeaker,? just as I had predicted in the Stafford Sun, I might add. All incumbents in the county elections would win re-election, Cavalier-Graziano would be closest, and county turnout would fall even below the weak 32 percent of four years ago. How about that?? A blind hog found an acorn.

    Meanwhile, congratulations not only to Harbourite Cavalier but also to our very own Bob Hunt and Dana Reinboldt? for winning school board seats without opposition. Kudos also to a former Harbourite, Danny Chichester for winning uncontested re-election as commonwealth attorney, who he's been for 32 years. Another Harbourite, Charles Jett, also won uncontested re-election as sheriff. Well, he actually doesn't live here, but worked as our gate guard for a while in his youth. He still looks like a youngster.

    He could do worse than return as an owner.? Homes here are selling well, in recent months at least. I keep a running total, as reported in editions of the Free Lance-Star.

    For example, it showed 61 homes were sold in the Harbour during 2003's third quarter (July-Sept.).? In that period a year ago there were 77 homes sold. Sales prices have risen, though.? In the latest quarter, selling prices averaged $275 thousand, up from $235 thousand a year earlier. And in the higher price ranges, homes selling for $250-$300 thousand numbered 30 versus only 20 a year earlier, and those bringing better than $300 thousand totaled 13 versus 8 a year earlier.