David did not make the deadline!!!  I have edited (updated) last month’s message to reflect changes that have occurred since the last newsletter. 

At the last civic league meeting, we got a good response for volunteers to assist with median clean up.  There are still a few vacant weeks though so please contact Sid Sward or Jim Hall to sign-up. We are still looking for volunteers to assist in a membership drive and directory update; please contact John Sheadel if you can help with this project. 

Lastly, I am sure David would want to continue to express appreciation for ‘Our Troops’ that are fighting for the very rights and freedoms we are enjoying today. Please remember to pray for them and for their safe return. 

The speaker for our next civic league meeting will be from the Fire and Rescue Department.  Which one?  Don’t know.  What is their topic?  Don’t know.  It is time to get this newsletter to the printer in order for it to be delivered before the meeting and we can’t find anyone who knows at home!  Come on out to the next meeting and get the answers for yourself.  It will surely be a very interesting and informative presentation.  See you there!

   Median Enhancement

Our median enhancements are making progress.  The flagpole is up and the electrical work should be done by the end of the month.  Foul weather has delayed startup of the electrical work but they have completed the conduit that runs under the streets.  Mr. John Kupfer provided a detailed progress report at the last Civic League Meeting and we were delighted to learn that power will also be provided to the gazebo.

If you have been to our Civic League meetings in the past and heard the treasurers report, you may have wondered what the Joseph H Richter Memorial Fund was and what is it used for?  Joe rode his bike throughout the neighborhood always waving and saying "Hi."    He loved to see a flag flying.   When you come into the neighborhood or leave it--take a look at our lovely flagpole. The memorial fund was put towards the cost of this flagpole.   Joe would have loved seeing it there.  I hope you enjoy it too.

BOAT for SALE
92 Diamond Craft  $5,400
Shore Lander Trailer
Yamaha Commercial Motor-55hp
Boat was not used much in the last 2-3 years but was kept up.       497-7208

Childcare in my Pembroke Meadows home. 
Non-smoker, CPR & First Aid Certified, nutritious meals, snacks and activities.
Member of VICCHA. FT/PT. M-F 
References available. Please call 456-9188 

NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH PROGRAM

HOW DO I CALL THE POLICE?

If you wish to report an EMERGENCY, dial the emergency number, 911.  If you have information of a NON-emergency nature, or you wish information on police matters dial 427-5000.

Need replacement parts for the original aluminum windows installed by Terry Corp. in Pembroke Shores homes? 

We recently learned that Burgess-Snyder Industries at 560 Baker Road in Va. Bch still carries the balances that are located on each side of the window, i.e. the piece with the spring, cord, and tiny pulleys that are seen when the window is removed.

They also carry the small plastic tips located at the top and bottom of the balances.

Tip for keeping the windows moving easily in their tracks.   Lemon Pledge, sprayed into the tracks on each side of the windows, helps keep them moving easily up and down.

TEA TIME AT FERRY PLANTATION HOUSE

Once again the lovely antebellum home in our neighborhood known as Ferry Plantation House was transformed into a beautiful, peaceful place for guests to converse and enjoy a nice cup of tea.  Background music was provided by two members of the dulcimer group, the Hammerheads.  Each table had a teapot full of fresh flowers lovingly arranged by Betty Bloxom.  The members of the Pembroke Meadows Garden Club gathered greenery and fresh cut flowering branches of redbud, bridal wreath, azaleas, and yellow jasmine to adorn the mantles and windowsills.  Belinda Nash, Peggy Caverly and Phyllis Anglim prepared the food.  Many volunteers from our neighborhood worked many hours getting ready for the tea: cleaning floors, rugs, windows; polishing silver; setting tables; collecting items for the raffle and table prizes and cleaning up and putting things away after the tea; manning the gift shop before and after the tea.  The proceeds from the tea are applied to the restoration of this beautiful historic home and we thank all who participated—guests and volunteers.  If you would like to attend one of these teas, call Peggy Caverly at 490-0925 or Clera Hall at 473-8258 and we will see that your name is put on the waiting list.

Dr. Brian spoke about pet preventive medicine and vaccination recommendations.  He also stressed the importance of pet identification tags and highly recommended the new embedded chip and national registration of your pet’s identification.  Independence Veterinary Clinic is a corporate member of our civic league.

POOL NEWS

Saturday, April 26 was Spring Fling at the park and pool grounds.  Many volunteers helped prepare the area for regular warm weather use.  Thanks to Susan, Earl and Mariah Lee, Jim, Jeanette, Barbara and Grace Ann Willenbrink, Mike, Carol, David and Steven Moore, Jim, Carl and Dale Price, Stan and Danielle Ballard, Joe, Vicki, Jackie and Matt Vaughan, Melissa Maldonado, Jim and Clera Hall, Bill Bertholf, and Jimmy Eddings.  Quite a bit was accomplished.  The morning culminated in a burger & dog lunch, cooked on a newly refurbished grill.

Special thanks also to Lee Haddock for his plumbing expertise and George Watkins for his electrical expertise.  The pool is taking shape nicely for OPENING DAY, Saturday, May 24.  Don’t be left out in the heat, join the pool.  You can contact Jim Price (jdprice@COX.net or 499-5115) or Bill Bertholf (PoolInfo@AOL.com) for information or an application.

Swim team practice starts in early June.  Swim team sign ups will be held Opening Day.  Swim team participation is great recreation for 5 to 18 year olds.  Swimmers compete in events divided into age groups.  All swim team members, regardless of speed, compete in the five regular season swim meets.  Kids enjoy the thrill of competition and the camaraderie of team spirit.  All swim team members develop better stroke technique and increase speed.

Swim lessons will be available at the pool beginning June 17.  This will be an eight-day session, Tuesday through Friday, ending June 27.  Sign up at the pool.

Phase 1 on the capital improvement plan is complete.  We hope to increase memberships to begin phase 2 next winter.  Be a part of it all.  There are a lot of family and children oriented activities planned for the summer.  For less than the cost of a weekend out of town, your family can enjoy an entire season at the pool.  Reserve your place in the sun, by the cool of the pool.

Explore the history of the Bayed area, and gain insight into how and why the colonists settled along the Lynnhaven River.  You'll become awed by the amount of history found in this area of Virginia Beach as you learn the legacy of the Lynnhaven.

In the year 1999, the City of Virginia Beach collaborated with many historic homes, churches and citizens to coordinate a large annual event.  Visitors are encouraged to travel from site to site and participate in a variety of programs.  All programs for this event are free of charge.

Visitors will receive a map & passport at the first site they visit.   When you have four of the seven sites stamped in your passport on May 17th, you will receive a commemorative patch. This year the patch will display Haygood Methodist Chapel. If you have been collecting the patches from the tour each year but have missed one, you may purchase the past patches at Ferry Plantation House for $3.00 each.

This year at Ferry Plantation House you will learn the art of spinning flax and wool, learn the secrets of the keeping room. Hear the story of the Trial by ducking of Grace Sherwood, Virginia's only convicted witch that was tried by water. While there enjoy old fashion gingerbread with lemon curd and lemonade or ice tea.

Another stop in the neighborhood is Old Donation Church, The church will be open for tours, the baptismal located at the front of the church was taken from the waters of the Lynnhaven, it was used in the First Lynnhaven Parish Church that was built before 1639. At noon Father John will read from the Colonial Book of common Prayer, the organists music will echo through this lovely Colonial Church.

Other sites close to home are Lynnhaven House, Haygood United Methodist Church, Pembroke Manor House, Adam Thoroughgood House and Morning Star Baptist Church. Enjoy your tour.

Sunday May 18th come on back to the Ferry Plantation House and enjoy the 7th Annual Strawberry Shortcake open House. See the improvements made on the house and see the treasures that have been found.  Try our Strawberry Short Cake made with Barbara Henley's own strawberries. Lemonade and Champaign Punch will quench your thirst as you hear the local history by our costumed docents.  The flax spinner will be working while the dulcimers play. Hope to see the whole neighborhood there between 1 p.m. and 4 p.m.  We will have plenty of strawberries to go around.

A "Roundup" spray will kill the weeds and grass in places where you don't really want them to be.    They will return in time.  Round up is not permanent.

TRIOX can be sprayed along fence line, sidewalk or driveway cracks, and along any growth coming up in the gutter and street.   It is long lasting-thus saving time.  Since the unsightly weeds, grass, etc. is GONE for an extended period of time YOU have more time to enjoy life with a lot less time spent trimming.  (p.s. If the edging gets beyond you--you can even spray this on the sidewalk and lawn edge.)  Sometimes when we are gone on vacation the angel in charge of keeping things neat must go away too.

Keeping all clippings and trash out of the gutters will make our lakes more beautiful.  There will be less algae growth if fertilizers are kept out of the gutters too!   Remember--if it goes on the gutter--it goes into our surrounding lakes and river.

Litter has its proper place--but it just does nothing for the appearance of your home or mine (remember I am your gutter speaking.)    If you see litter, please pick it up and dispose of it properly.  Have a great and happy summer. 

Sincerely, 

Name: Gerry Richter

How long have you lived in the Neighborhood?

36 years. We are the original owners  of our home, and can remember when there were horses all around!

What do you like most about our Neighborhood?

The Neighbors and it is a comfortable and wonderful area.

Where are you from, if not VA Beach?

Born in Maryland.

When exiting the Food Lion parking lot alleyway and crossing the median be aware that there is a blind spot (depending on the size of the vehicle) of 1 to 3 car lengths on the left side of the brick wall.  When checking right and left you will not see any traffic coming in this blind spot.   Several accidents have occurred at this spot.   A safe approach would be to slow or stop mid way and recheck traffic before proceeding across the median.

VIRGINIA BEACH - You hear something scratching in the attic and write it off as squirrels. Or you figure rabbits have been raiding the vegetable garden.  You refill the birdfeeder more often than usual. Don't blame the sparrows, bunnies or squirrels. A more likely culprit these days in Virginia Beach: rats.

City officials and private exterminators say they've noticed a spike in the rat population recently - or at least, an increased number of calls about rodents.

The experts blame a combination of factors: farmland becoming tract housing, buildings getting older, easy access to fresh water and - despite the soggy winter - two years of drought.

City exterminator Lorraine Brown said Beach residents are sometimes too quick to deny that rats might be lurking nearby.   The black rat or roof rat, is commonly found in coastal regions, Brown said, and the Beach is no exception.  Roof rats are social climbers: Once inside a building, they head toward the top.

A city exterminator who inspected the one property found a hole beneath the house where the rats probably entered. The homeowners used a foam spray that hardens overnight to fill the gap - only to find the following day that a rat had plowed through it anyway.

Though city exterminators are happy to talk with civic groups about the rat parade and to help residents identify problem areas, for legal reasons they don't kill rodents on private property.

Most of the precautions people can take are common sense.

Cat and dog food attract rats. Same with bird food, even if it's in a feeder. Rats can climb trees and run along branches.  They can survive a fall from four or five stories. They can even swim a mile in the open ocean.  If fresh food isn't available, rats can survive on pet waste.

"Get that yard spruced up, trimmed out, get the brush away from fences and find a way to block off space below sheds and decks.

Plug up openings with cement or caulking — and don’t underestimate rats. They can squeeze through openings the size of a quarter.

Hardware cloth, similar to a window screen but made of galvanized steel, can be nailed over roof vents or beneath siding as an extra barrier.

It's just a myth that rats are an Inner-city problem. They can flourish just about anywhere.

Volunteers are currently visiting homes in order to update our Community directory.  They will also have information about joining the pool, and forms for registering your pet for the neighborhood "Pet Program".  Many pets have been returned thanks to the programs information and the coordinators.  If you have not yet paid your annual Civic League Dues for 2003  ($10.00) you may also pay it at this time.  For security purposes we will not by putting ages of children in the directory.

Chris was diagnosed with brain cancer and underwent emergency surgery on 20 March 2002.  He received radiation treatments and is currently undergoing chemotherapy.  Thank you for all your support during this difficult time.

Chris is continuing in his battle with brain cancer.  We, as a community, have been taking dinner to the family on Thursday evenings.  We do not publish a newsletter in the summer--therefore, we now NEED volunteer  families to sign up for the summer weeks.  If you would like to provide a meal--please contact Gerry Richter 497-5243. Your simple volunteer effort can enable us to continue to support the Kuhrt family.   Don't force us to stop.....please call and set up a date.