Tuesday, April 23, 2024

government futility




well done, Ryan Fitzmaurice! one would think that the USPS wouldn't make it harder for handicapped folks to mail a letter. AMAZING! 


Mr. Fitzmaurice, your article is an eyeopener for some of us and a reminder for others that some of our neighbors have difficulty with tasks that we take for granted: mailing a letter, getting stamps or mailing a package at the post office, getting groceries, getting supplies, finding a vendor, changing a light bulb, etc. One would like to think that government would help. Your article confirms the opposite. One would think that neighbors would help. The rub becomes connecting the neighbor who wants to help with the neighbor who needs help. Legal concerns make this difficult--or even impossible. One would think that local government would help. not so. it's a sad situation. 


This image says it all: 




attribution: Adam Fagen and flickr



Friday, April 12, 2024

government's calculations for inflation (CPI) are flawed

 "The CPI represents changes in prices of all goods and services purchased for consumption by urban households. User fees (such as water and sewer service) and sales and excise taxes paid by the consumer are also included. Income taxes and investment items (like stocks, bonds, and life insurance) are not included."





There you have it. the CPI only includes "out-of-pockets". Big ticket items like federal and state income taxes, state and local property taxes, healthcare costs (including prescription drugs), education costs, etc. aren't included. 

why? 

Mark Twain said it all: "Figures don't lie, but liars figure." 





public domain via wikimedia commons




attribution: Lance W. Haverkamp, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons



Thursday, April 11, 2024

cutting spending is the answer to strasburg's budget deficit

By the narrowest of margins town council got it right by voting against raising real estate taxes. 

https://www.nvdaily.com/nvdaily/strasburg-council-rejects-real-estate-tax-increase/article_d27b6663-1a87-5289-a4a2-9492b75254fd.html

questions remain.

The slim majority has it right this time. 

"Monahan called for the council to have a financial retreat next year to discuss needs in detail before she was ready to approve new taxes, stating she would not approve new taxes in this cycle.

“I have no interest (in raising taxes),” Monahan said. “The people of Strasburg are all struggling.”

“I would exhaust all other options before doing a tax increase,” Louder said."

  • how does a struggling homeowner deal with a 22% increase in real estate taxes? most people can deal with 3% inflation in the small items (gas, food, clothing, etc.). real estate taxes are a big ticket item in a struggling homeowner's budget. a 22% increase in real estate taxes in one year puts a HUGE burden on a struggling homeowner's budget.

The answer to the town's budget deficit is clear--cut spending--just like a struggling homeowner has to do if they have a budget deficit.





Wednesday, April 10, 2024

demolition

question: where's that noise coming from? 

answer: demolition at 1 Shenandoah Valley Drive. 




there's a sign: ARCO design and build



That's all I know--for now.

Stay tuned.



Friday, April 5, 2024

double-talk



Calvin Coolidge said: "Collecting more taxes than is absolutely necessary is legalized robbery."

strasburg has a history of spending taxes unwisely.
etc.

strasburg also has a history of double-talk. Beware of councilman Dane Hooser's advocacy for raising the real estate tax. 
in 2022 the real estate tax rate went down 11% while real estate assessments went UP a whopping 45%--resulting in a whopping 22% increase in real estate taxes. talk about inflation!!!

Here's a fourth option--cut spending.

 

attribution: Matt Deegan and flickr



Friday, March 29, 2024

Bicyclist killed in crash in Shenandoah County, police looking for information



where do I begin? 

am I surprised? 
no.

why? 
because since we moved to Strasburg more than 7 years ago, I've seen some of the worst driving in my life (we're in our mid-seventies). young people seem to be the worst. 

why is that so?
I don't know. Strasburg High School is not a small school. In 2021 SHS had an enrollment of 606 students. I've personally witnessed speeding, racing and reckless driving on Ram Drive--the driveway into SHS. 

am I blaming Strasburg High School?
no. the school itself is not the problem. neither are most of the students. there are other factors. but, SHS could be part of the solution. 

what else?
many roads in Shenandoah County are narrow, curvy and hilly rural roads with no shoulders. a 55 mph speed limit is too high for some segments of these roads. Since most are relatively low traffic volume, there's virtually no law enforcement.

bottom line is this: a 66 year old Strasburg man was struck and killed by a 19 year old Strasburg resident in broad daylight. Had he just retired and was enjoying a beautiful Sunday afternoon riding his bicycle in the countryside? I don't know. What I do know is that now he's dead. what a terrible shame!

I can't imagine what effects that this tragic event will have on the driver of the vehicle that struck and killed this man. I can't imagine what it would be like to know that I had killed a completely innocent man. God help him.

Something should be done about the unlawful and dangerous speeding, tailgating and reckless driving that I see in Strasburg and its surrounding area every day. In addition to the police, one would think that VDOT and Strasburg's mayor and town council would be involved in solving this problem. I do know that a 55 mph speed limit on many of these rural roads is too high where they are narrow, curvy, steep, and shoulderless.



Wednesday, March 20, 2024

what else is new?



all of this because previous town councils and town staff didn't adequately plan ahead for the industrial park.
  • failure to provide two points of access for the development
  • failure to provide for all acquisitions needed to extend Borden Mowery Drive
  • failure to provide adequate protection for existing high pressure gas pipelines that cross the property
  • failure to consider traffic, air quality, noise, safety and other negative environmental impacts from the industrial park
  • that these failures could lead to the unwanted development of "500 single-family homes and up to 570 duplexes or town homes."
  • that these failures could upset existing residents concerned with devaluation of their homes






so, what else is new?



Sunday, March 17, 2024

a promise that you can take to the bank?



"...the big thing I want people to know is not to worry about tax rates going up..." 

if you believe this promise, then I've got a bridge in Brooklyn that I want to sell you.


attribution: dog97209 and flickr


BEWARE of:
  • wolves in sheep's clothing
  • people who make promises that they can't keep
  • double talk: e.g. tax "rate". The tax rate may not go up, but if your home and personal property are reassessed, then your taxes will go up



heartrending



Please pray for our neighbors.


attribution: Franco Folini and flickr




Wednesday, February 21, 2024

attention: shenandoah county and town of strasburg

a tragedy occurred recently in nearby Toms Brook. 

The Massanutten Regional Library in Harrisonburg (Rockingham County) has a program for caregivers of people with dementia.



are you listening Shenandoah County? Are you listening town of strasburg?




attribution: Amada44, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons



Wednesday, February 14, 2024

where in Strasburg do I get a VA state safety inspection for my car?

answer: nowhere. There aren't any places in Strasburg where you can get a VA state safety inspection for your car. (a valet service that takes your car to Front Royal for a fee to get your car a state safety inspection doesn't count.) 

this can be quite a problem for those who live alone. 

Strasburg is a town that's known for antique vendors. Strasburg is what it sells--an antique.


Strasburg residents: The closest VA state safety inspection that I could find is Anchor Automotive in neighboring Middletown (tiny when compared to Strasburg). On their website https://anchorautomotivellc.com/ Anchor claims "no wait" VA state safety inspections. I found this to be the case.

It's better than nothing. But then, what do you expect from a town that's known for being an antique?


attribution: Gary Cope and Flickr



Tuesday, February 13, 2024

a day late and a dollar short


  • are the town council's deliberations connected with providing water service to Oranda--whose residents don't want it? 
  • why hasn't the town council looked into remedying the extremely high e coli levels recorded in the river on June 23 2022?

If you live, work or visit Strasburg, then you should find these photos extremely disturbing. The E. coli level on Thursday 06.23.2022, 816.4 MPN CFUs per 100 mL at the NF Shenandoah River @ Strasburg Park Public Boat Landing, is more than 16 TIMES the previous day's reading (50.4). It's 3.5 TIMES the pre-October 2019 Virginia water quality standard for primary recreational use (235). 

  • why does the town "have the highest drought triggers in the valley"? to harass its residents?
  • why, if the town has plenty of water, as the town claims, is the town studying secondary water sources? to pull the wool over residents' eyes?
  • why is the town studying secondary water sources now when Woodstock has been studying secondary water sources for years?

as usual, the town is a day late and a dollar short.

Saturday, January 20, 2024

undependable

yesterday (Friday, January 19, 2024) the town put out its second trash message of the week. It reads:
"There will be NO trash pick-up on Friday, January 19. WasteManagement plans to be in town tomorrow, Saturday, January 20, to collect Thursday's trash. They will be dispatching a second truck later in the day on Saturday for Friday's collection but are not sure they will be able to get all pick-ups due to time limitations with landfill hours and DOT regulations. If your trash is not collected, it will be collected next week. We are sorry for the inconvenience but Mother Nature is at work again."
Our trash is normally scheduled to be picked up on Friday. Does this message mean that our trash may be picked up Saturday afternoon? Maybe--but it does say that "They will be dispatching a second truck later in the day on Saturday for Friday's collection but are not sure they will be able to get all pick-ups due to time limitations with landfill hours and DOT regulations."

So, if it doesn't get picked up on Saturday afternoon, when will in be picked up? "next week". what day? it doesn't say.

Given the vagueness of yesterday's message, coupled with the fact that I've learned not to believe anything that the town says, I put our trash out anyway.

Lo and behold, at 6:45 AM this morning, W/M's trash truck comes rolling down the street.

There's only one way to describe the town of strasburg--FUBAR.



Friday, January 5, 2024

backyardigans


it's good to see that the backyardigans at town hall are looking to adjust Strasburg's water cutoff policy "to bring the town's code more in line with Virginia law". 

“No longer can you cut off water service after 30 days, that has been our policy forever,” Strasburg Town Manager Waverly Coggsdale said at the meeting. “That’s the key change that you’ll see here, locally.”

Well, WHOOP-DE-DO!!! (it makes one wonder what else that the town's government has been doing "forever" that doesn't comply with Virginia law.)

why has the town's policy been to shut off water after 30 days for nonpayment? shutting off a customer's water is a hostile act. recognizing that there may be some deadbeats, there can be other reasons why a customer hasn't paid their bill. maybe they've been out of town? sick? maybe the customer can't pay the bill because of some unfortunate unforeseen circumstance(s)? 

maybe they customer received an enormous bill for water that they know that they didn't use? why does the town ignore the fact that when they drain a water main for maintenance and/or repairs that air gets trapped in the line if there are insufficient or non-functioning air release valves. The trapped air can enter a service line and go through the meter measuring air as if it's water. 

shame on the town of strasburg for its punitive approach (shutting off a customer's water after 30 days) that they've had in effect forever!



Monday, December 4, 2023

drought


Woodstock monitors, studies and plans. Strasburg???



North Fork Shenandoah River at Strasburg Park public boat landing in Shenandoah County VA. E. coli levels on Wednesday June 22 versus Thursday June 23, 2022.

source:  FSSP NF Shenandoah River E. coli levels on Wednesday June 22 versus Thursday Jun 23 - FOSR - FOSR  816.4 CFUs per 100 ml !!!--one would expect E. coli levels like this in an open sewer!!!