failure to communicate

 Lord Fairfax Health District warns Strasburg residents of rabies risk - The River 95.3 

one of the basic services of local government is to communicate important information to its citizens completely and accurately and in a timely manner. 

question: how does the town communicate important information to its citizens?

answer: it doesn't. 

question: doesn't facebook count?

answer: no. (1) not every citizen has a facebook account. (2) those who do don't check it every hour for important information from the town.

question: doesn't the town's website count? 

answer: no. see (1) and (2) above. substitute "PC" for "facebook account".

question: doesn't the flyer that comes with the water bill count?

answer: no. it comes only once a month.

question: don't the NVD, WHSV, the River 95.3, etc. count?

answer: no. it's not their job to communicate important information to town residents completely and accurately and in a timely fashion.

the town gets an F for communication of important information to its citizens completely, accurately and in a timely manner.  

foul odor

Town of Strasburg,

what is responsible for the foul odor on E. Queen Street between S. Massanutten St. and Acton Place? it smells like sewage. the town is responsible for sewers. why hasn't the town fixed the problem? 

   

question

so, we've been living the rural life in strasburg for nearly 4 years. we have a question. many days we hear a cow or a bull mooing. it sounds like it's coming from the town. but where? we can see for miles from where we live. the far edge of strasburg is about 2 miles away and we're not aware of anywhere where there are cows in town. I did a little research and discovered that a bull can be heard from several miles away. seems possible. 

then, I found this: http://au.answers.yahoo.com/question/index... so, my question to those who may have more experience in the rural life than we do is: what do you think? is it a bull, a cow or a bullroarer? 

there's another possibility... https://www.boomblasters.com/pro.../cow-moo-sounds-car-horn/ Valley Milk Products is a large milk processing operation in town--tractor trailers enter and exit regularly. maybe one of them is equipped with a moo-sounds-truck-horn. 

strasburg's covid positivity rate is well above virginia's overall covid positivity rate

VDH-COVID-19-PublicUseDataset-ZIPCode | Virginia Open Data Portal

10/22/20

zip code 22657, strasburg 

1,936 tests

147 cases

positivity rate = 7.6%

virginia's overall covid positivity rate = 5.0%

Coronavirus update: Virginia reports more than 1,000 new COVID-19 cases | 8News

those of us who care about our neighbors, including the elderly and other high risk persons, would like to thank the militant anti-maskers, store and business owners (e.g., food lion, ace hardware, etc.) who don't require their employees and/or their customers to wear masks and local government. Thank you for a covid positivity rate that's half again more than virginia's overall covid positivity rate.

it's been said that ignorance is bliss. if that's true, then there's a whole lot of bliss in strasburg. 

food lion's rotten apples

why would food lion sell tiny bagged apples from the northwest US here in its strasburg va store? not only are they scrawny, but they're also full of brown spots (overripe) when they're peeled. food lion is the only grocery store in strasburg--that probably explains it. but c'mon, strasburg! why are you buying food lion's poor excuses for apples when locally grown virginia apples twice the size of the ones that are sold at food lion are available at farm markets here? I selected the fuji apples shown here--$6 for a half peck. it's an insult to the people of strasburg that its only grocery store sells inferior apples here in the shenandoah valley--the apple capital of the world.

held up at an intersection by a town cop while car after car of noisy trump supporters, some displaying confederate flags, were given the right of way on route 11

on sunday, 10/4, we were in our car on south holiday street at the intersection with east king street (route 11). we sat through at least 6 cycles of the traffic signal while a strasburg cop let car after car of noisy trump supporters, some displaying confederate flags, have the right of way on east king street (route 11). at times there were long gaps in the trump parade--nonetheless, the cop wouldn't allow stopped cars on south holiday street cross east king street (route 11).

what's wrong with this town? what's wrong with the town's police department? 

cheerleaders

strasburg has its cheerleaders.

not just at strasburg high school. 

at town hall too.

  

BOOMALAKA, BOOMALAKA,

BOOM, BOOM, CLOWN!

LET'S ALL STAND UP,

AND CHEER FOR THE TOWN!

YAY TOWN!!!

other than cheerleading, what does the town of strasburg actually DO for its citizens?

that's a tough one...

what do citizens want from their government?

1. information--timely, accurate information. like when the town won't be picking up trash. NOT posting on facebook 10 minutes before the deadline for putting the trash at the curb. at that point, most residents have taken their trash to the curb. now they have to go drag it back to the house. nice job, town!

another example is the town posting on their facebook page that residents' trash is being recycled into energy. that's simply NOT true. the town's trash goes to shenandoah county's landfill--NOT to a waste-to-energy plant. The United States had only 71 waste-to-energy (WTE) plants in 2015--NONE within 50 miles of strasburg. Waste-to-energy electricity generation concentrated in Florida and Northeast - Today in Energy - U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA)  cheerleading or propaganda? get it right, town!

why is this important? because it affects the town's credibility. for example, if the town lies about residents' trash being recycled into energy, and doesn't answer residents' questions posted on the town's facebook page, then why would residents believe the annual drinking water quality reports that it posts on its website or information that it posts on its facebook page or sends out with the newsletters that accompany the town's water and sewer bills? answer: they won't. 

2. to be heard. town residents' want to be HEARD. Melissa Schleig lives in madison heights. she went to a town meeting months ago and voiced her concern. Town park accessibility a challenge for officials | Nvdaily | nvdaily.com ms. schleig's concern is legitimate. what is the town doing to address ms. schleig's legitimate concern? NOTHING. the town has LOTS of reasons for doing NOTHING.

3. ACTION. actions speak louder than words. look around. there's LOTS that the town can be doing for the town's residents and visitors. what have they DONE for them lately? I could go on--convenience (strasburg requires residents to go to town hall PERSONALLY to open a water & sewer account), infrastructure (parks, streets, sidewalks, etc.), maintenance (riverwalk), safety (riverwalk), enforcing dog leash and dog waste cleanup (riverwalk), amenities (restaurants, grocery store), etc.

but, if the town isn't even performing basic services for its citizens and visitors, then what's the point?

historical note: The 1898 Bates-Bowdoin football game that cemented a historic rivalry | News | Bates College

antique strasburg

no, this isn't about the plethora of antique shops in strasburg.

it's about the way that the town of strasburg does business. 

at a time when the rest of the world uses advanced communications to communicate, the town communicates with its residents by the modern equivalent of two cans connected with a string. when trash pickup doesn't occur as scheduled, the town notifies its residents with a post on its facebook page--sometimes only minutes before the scheduled pickup time. 

email? robocall? cell phone alert? not the town of strasburg. 

if you move to strasburg, then instead of setting up your utilities on-line, like the rest of the world does, residents have to come to town hall IN PERSON to set up a water & sewer account. in the 21st century, have you ever heard anything more ridiculous than that? today, in addition to opening up utility accounts on-line, people make major purchases on-line, bank on-line, etc. 

not in the town of strasburg. that isn't the way that the town of strasburg did business in the 1920s--and that's why it's not the way that strasburg does business today. 

it probably won't be any different in 2120.

 

a citizen raises a concern. is anybody at the town listening?

https://www.nvdaily.com/nvdaily/town-park-accessibility-a-challenge-for-officials/article_0f942bc9-60b6-5c5b-af5c-74bc19b08ebb.html 

SOLUTION:

what has the town done in 7 months???

Ms. Schleig, how does it feel to talk to a wall?

letter to the mayor

unanswered questions

more than a week has passed since I posted these questions on the town's FB page:

"our first (trash) pickup is supposed to be on friday, 7/3. will this happen given the 7/4 holiday (the federal holiday is friday, 7/3)? I signed on to wm's website and received the following message: "Your email is verified, but we did not find any matching accounts to your email. It takes 48 to 72 hours to set up your WM account and display it online." so, my questions are: (1) will wm pick up our trash on friday 7/3? (2) under the town's contract with wm, will the town furnish to wm the information necessary (customer ID and postal code) so that we can access for ourselves wm's pickup schedule?"

here's the town's response:

"Waste Management (WM) will be picking up on July 3rd. We are working with WM to see what will work best for customer notifications moving forward, and will communicate that to all our residents as soon as possible."

I got an answer to my first question, but not my second question. a couple of things are clear:

1. there have been several times over the past 3 years that residents were unaware that the trash company wasn't picking up on a scheduled day. residents hauled their trash out to the curb only to haul it back again. sometimes the town posted on its FB page that the trash wasn't going to be picked up--sometimes only minutes before the deadline for residents to put their trash at the curb. Further, the town has failed to recognize that residents don't check the town's pathetic FB page hourly.
2. the town's non-answer to my second question clearly shows that even though the town has known for months that a new trash collector was required in 2020, they failed to address the notification problem during contract negotiations with the new vendor.

on july 4 the town posted on their FB page a diagram that shows the following steps: (1) customer placing their trash at the curb, (2) trash collected by vendor, (3) vendor taking trash "to plant" and (4) plant processing waste to energy (fuel, gas, electricity). The town's post included the following statement: "Your waste becomes energy that you use! We’re here to help you navigate as we begin our new partnership with WM."

I posted the following:

"nice diagram. how does this diagram relate to us--citizens of the town of strasburg, shenandoah county, commonwealth of virginia? is OUR waste converted to energy? where is the plant? how does our recycling fit into this diagram?"

the truth is that waste from the town goes to shenandoah county's landfill--NOT a waste-to-energy plant. there were only 68 waste-to-energy plants in the entire US in 2018. Waste-to-energy (MSW) - U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA)

why doesn't the town answer my questions? 

Abraham Lincoln is credited with the following quote:

“You can fool all the people some of the time and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time.”

 the town of strasburg thinks that they can fool all of the people all of the time. 

BTW, this is the same town that continually pats itself on the back about what a great job that they're doing. that also posted "you spoke, and we listened". if that's the case, town of strasburg, then why don't you answer my questions?

 

what we have here is ANOTHER failure to communicate

the NVD reports that the town's annual july 4 fireworks display has been cancelled. Virus snuffs out some area fireworks displays | Nvdaily | nvdaily.com 

and yet there's nothing on the town's pathetic website or facebook page that specifically addresses the fireworks display being cancelled. 

typical. 

facts of life

background

a 1/29/20 article in the northern virginia daily discusses town park accessibility.
link: Town park accessibility a challenge for officials | Nvdaily | nvdaily.com 

Melissa Schleig has a good point. she's right when she says that there isn't a safe way for children in Madison Heights to get to and from town park by themselves. there are rte. 55 and the railroad to cross. the speed limit on rte. 55 is 35 mph in that part of town. many vehicles, including big trucks, exceed the speed limit. parking on both sides and relatively wide lanes (sufficient for vehicles to pass on the right other vehicles that are turning left) make for a long way for children to cross rte 55 by themselves. 

the good news is that there is a solution--a traffic signal at Funk Street with a separate pedestrian phase and activation buttons at the corners.

the dilemma

there seems to be a widespread feeling in town that vdot will never approve the new signal. these people seem to be "afraid" of vdot. it seems that they are unaware of the "facts of life".

facts of life

1. vdot is a public agency. vdot's purpose is to serve the citizens of virginia. no citizen should be "afraid" of vdot.
2. vdot is responsible for virginia's public roads. it's a BIG job. needless to say, safety for virginia's citizens, especially its children, is of utmost importance to vdot.
3. there will always be more projects to improve safety than there is money to fund them all.                                                        https://www.virginiadot.org/projects/syip/virginia's_transportation_funding.asp 
4. if the town wants vdot to approve their project, then the town needs to cultivate good working relationships with vdot's resident engineer, district engineer and the district's representative on the commonwealth transportation board.
5. "good working relationships" work both ways. if vdot's engineers have an unsafe and dangerous situation (e.g., the annual "yard crawl" on rte.11) rammed down their throats by town or county politicians, then building support for road improvements that the town or county may want may fall on deaf ears.
6. if the town wants a safe crossing at funk st. for its children to access town park, then the town needs to build a coalition and "push" their project. that begins with having good working relationships with vdot personnel.
7. once the town has established good working relationships with vdot, then a coalition of the town's elected officials, town staff, technical experts and citizens must convince vdot of the merit of their proposal and show their support for the project. in the case of providing safe access to and from town park for the town's children, convincing vdot of the project's merit and getting their approval shouldn't be difficult. 

new mayor

Strasburg has new mayor, new council members | Nvdaily | nvdaily.com

congratulations to new mayor Brandy Hawkins Boies and to the four new members elected to the town council. 

about Mayor Boies: Brandy Boies announces bid for Strasburg mayor | Nvdaily | nvdaily.com

it's a new day for the town! 

trash/recycling: more confusion from the town

yesterday (May 18) the town posted on FB that recycling services will no longer be provided.

what the town failed to say is that this is effective July 1.

trash/recycling: ANOTHER  town PR disaster.

are you kidding me?

the town posts in FB: "The Town of Strasburg will be entering into a new contract for trash pickup! You spoke and we listened! Visit our website below to find out more information."

"You spoke and we listened!"???

• trash only, NO recycling
• MUST use WM's trash can
• MUST fit in WM's trash can
• what happened to pickup for large items? e.g., mattresses, etc. that won't fit in WM's trash can?
• "The $11.95 per month price is fixed for one (1) year, with an escalation clause for fuel costs and/or Consumer Price Index (CPI) increases​."

furthermore, your write-up is unclear:

• does a trash can come with the $11.95 per month? or is it $12.95 a month including the trash can?
• what on earth would someone need an extra trash can for if WM limits their service to one trash can per pickup? 
• a recycle site located in mauertown is "convenient" to strasburg? really? 
• escalation clause? what will we be paying next year?

are you kidding? less service for more $, and the town is patting itself on the back AGAIN!

GIVE ME A BREAK!

is "Covid 19" an adequate explanation for rescheduling the town's long-scheduled election at the last minute? where's the transparency?

just days before the long-scheduled town election on tuesday, may 5, there's this: Town of Strasburg Elections | Town of Strasburg Virginia 

why? some of us requested our absentee ballot and voted weeks ago. what's going on? hanky-panky? where's the transparency?

lots of questions--no answers. 

typical.

Virginia COVID-19 Response and Social Distancing Dashboard

Virginia Social Distancing Dashboard

Shenandoah County: 58 active cases (4/18/20)

social distancing scores:

• social distancing: D
• daily travel distance: F
• non-essential travel: F
• population: 43,497

more truth stranger than fiction

Strasburg mayor to run for reelection amid ongoing court case

Ultimate Weird But True!: 1000 Wild and Wacky Facts & Phot… | Flickr 

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/

truth stranger than fiction

part one: Fire marshal: Nash garage fire started in attic | Nvdaily | nvdaily.com 

part two: Dane Hooser to run for Strasburg Town Council | Nvdaily | nvdaily.com 

Ultimate Weird But True!: 1000 Wild and Wacky Facts & Phot… | Flickr 

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/

stuck in the 1950s

the town posted the following on its FB page less than 24 hours before regularly scheduled trash pick up:

Town of Strasburg

15 hrs · 

Trash service for this week has been delayed until Saturday March 28th. ADS has requested that residents try to place items for pickup out at the curb Friday night if possible. Please help us spread the word! 
hotlink

• is this how towns communicate important information to their citizens?
• posted on the town's FB page less than 24 hours before regular pick up?
• does the town think that every resident of the town checks the town's pathetic FB page daily?
• c'mon people! it's 2020--NOT 1950! 
• can't you figure out a better way?
• robo call?
• email?
• cell phone message?
• something more 21st century?
• Paul Revere was more effective "spreading the word" in 1775 than the town of strasburg is in 2020. 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/ooocha/2591621630

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/

town park accessibility

a 1/29/20 article in the northern virginia daily discusses town park accessibility.
link: Town park accessibility a challenge for officials | Nvdaily | nvdaily.com 

here's a possible solution to Madison Height's resident Melissa Schleig's problem--a traffic signal with a separate pedestrian phase at the Funk Road/Route 55 intersection. the signal's separate pedestrian phase will allow children to cross route 55 safely while all traffic at the intersection is stopped. there is already an at-grade railroad crossing on Funk Road with good sight distance in all directions.

VDOT must approve the signal. I believe that Melissa Schleig's argument is very compelling--children from Madison Heights need a safe way to cross Route 55 on their way to and from town park. 

What is the town's relationship with VDOT? with VDOT's resident engineer and district administrator? with the district's representative on the Commonwealth Transportation Board? Who will brief VDOT on the town's proposal for a traffic signal at Funk Street? Will the mayor, town council, town manager and concerned citizens attend the briefing in support of the town's proposal? needless to say, gaining VDOT's approval requires the right presentation by the right person(s) with support from the town's elected officials, government representatives and concerned citizens.

riverwalk safety and security: man fires a shotgun from a boat in the shenandoah river next to riverwalk

up until a few months ago, I used to walk riverwalk almost every day. I often saw preschool children with their adult supervisors playing next to the river near the boat ramp parking lot. 

one day in early January 2019, it was mid-morning and I was about halfway back from the high school to town park parking lot. I heard a blast from a shotgun--loud and close. it came from towards the river (about 100 yards away). at that point on riverwalk, there's an open field between riverwalk and the river. I couldn't see the river, but I could clearly see the trees along its bank. I walked a little farther to the town run crossing (there are trees between the town run crossing and the river) and called 911. about 10 to 15 minutes later I reached the parking lot where town police were talking to a man at the boat ramp. a row boat with a shotgun had been pulled onto the ramp.

the police blotter for January 2019 published in the northern virginia daily didn't include the incident. I guess that the police told the man with the shotgun to have a nice day rather than charging him. but, in all fairness to the police, they can't charge someone with a violation if there isn't a law on the books that makes it a violation.

65 of virginia's 94 counties have gun regulations. 
link:  dwr.virginia.gov/wp-content/uploads/media/local-firearms-ordinances.pdf 

(go to https://dwr.virginia.gov/ and search "local firearms ordinances" for the .pdf file.) 
shenandoah county is the 26th most populated county in virginia. 
link: virginia-demographics.com/counties_by_population 
despite being ranked 26th in population, shenandoah county is one of the 29 counties in virginia without county gun regulations. neighboring warren county, ranked 28th in population in virginia, is one of the 65 counties in virginia with gun regulations. Front Royal, warren county seat, was once called "helltown". 

is it any surprise to you, given that there isn't a law prohibiting someone from firing a shotgun while in a boat in the shenandoah river next to riverwalk, that some person would do so? (it doesn't surprise me.)

question: are you comfortable with this situation? 
my answer: I'm not.

questions: where is strasburg's government? why doesn't the town's council pass an ordinance prohibiting firing of guns in the river next to riverwalk?

answer: I don't know. what I do know is that in strasburg, the public (you and me) doesn't hear about these kind of incidents and situations.

question: can you say "cover-up", boys and girls? 

remember that you heard about this first on 

https://strasburgunderground.blogspot.com/

another good sign

link

a step in the right direction

in an email from the town:

Like communities around the globe, the Town of Strasburg is working to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) to protect the health and welfare of its residents, visitors and employees. You can stay up to date about Town services and get links to relevant sources at our website: https://www.strasburgva.com/covid19 Link to Shenandoah County Business Resources Important updates from the Governor Virginia will follow the federal guidelines of gatherings of 10 or more people. This means that all restaurants, malls, fitness centers, and other businesses must comply with these regulations or temporarily close. Restaurants are encouraged to continue offering take-out options.  Virginians that are 65 or older should self-quarantine. The administration is working on solutions to ensure that older Virginians can still get food, medicine, and other needs met.   All DMV offices will be closed to the public. Online services are still available, so anyone who needs to renew a license or registration may do so online. For Virginians who have a license or registration that expires on May 15, 2020, there will be a 60 day extension.  Unemployment funds are available through the Virginia Employment Commission. The Governor has waived the one week waiting period so that workers can start receiving benefits right away. Affected workers or businesses can contact the Virginia Employment Commission for information on how to apply for help.  The Governor is urging younger Virginians to social distance, underscoring the importance of mitigating the spread of this disease. It is critical that we think not of ourselves, but of others. Young and healthy people may think this won't affect them, but the Governor is asking everyone to think of parents and grandparents, your neighbors, and your communities.  The Virginia Department of Health will continue posting information on the number of cases on their website at noon, in addition to other resources. Please visit the VDH website often.   Finally, please continue to take basic health precautions to avoid contracting the disease: Wash your hands with soap and water Cover your mouth and nose when you cough or sneeze Stay at home if you feel sick Avoid touching your face

Copyright © 2020 Town of Strasburg, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you asked to be updated on projects taking place in Strasburg, VA. Our mailing address is: Town of Strasburg 174 East King Street Strasburg, VA 22657 Add us to your address book Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.

town of strasburg va election: out with the old--in with the new.

Strasburg will be holding an election for mayor and town council on tuesday, may 5, 2020. 

"the old":

• orndorff, mayor
• terndrup, vice mayor
• bishop, council
• cherrix, council
• massoud, council
• nicholson, council
• plitt, council
• reynolds, council
• vena, council

strasburg underground

strasburg VA is a beautiful place: blue ridge mountains, shenandoah river, allegheny mountains... 

but in many ways, strasburg is stuck in the 1950s. where else:

• do new residents have to go to town hall to open a water/sewer/trash account?
• has poorer communications between town government and its citizens?
• has a riverwalk with basic safety, security and maintenance issues?
• has only one grocery store?
• has fewer good restaurants?
• has worse cable tv?
• are more businesses closing?
• has a mayor charged with DUI and food stamp fraud?
• has a less effective town government?

strasburg underground is where citizens and friends of strasburg can vent AND suggest ways for improving strasburg for its citizens and visitors. we want to make strasburg a better place:

• a modern, attractive, vibrant community
• a safe place to enjoy the great outdoors
• a great place for tourists and visitors
• a place with more amenities for its citizens and visitors than antique stores
• a great place for business
• a place where communications between town government and its citizens is real time and free-flowing

we welcome your input/suggestions.