Spruce up Volunteers Needed at Rockfish Valley Ruritan Park
Ed and Camille Hicks are currently painting the pavilion in the 22-acre Rockfish Valley Ruritan Park in Afton to make it useful again. Hicks also is looking for volunteers to help clear brush and other upgrades.
“Since Covid hit, we weren’t able to hold any fundraising and we are trying to get the park fixed up for community functions.” Hicks explained.
David McGann continues to volunteer to cut grass in the park and the Rockfish Valley Volunteer Fire Department has agreed to burn the brush piles as both a service and a training exercise. Tim Fuller has volunteered Fuller Construction Company to repair the pavilion roof.
In 2018, the Rockfish Club joined with the Lovingston Club when Hicks was the Ruritan district governor. Hicks recommended that the two local clubs combine since the Rockfish club was ready to disband due to lack of membership. The Rockfish Valley Ruritan Park became a 501(c)(3) foundation also at that time. Club meetings are held the first Monday of each month at the Lovingston Café at 6 p.m.
Volunteers can call Hicks at 434-531-5055 and donations can be made to Rockfish Valley Ruritan Park Foundation, P.O. Box 485, Lovingston, VA 22949.
The first annual Ruritan Club Car, Truck and Motorcycle Show will be held at the park September 11 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Gates open at 9 a.m. The entry fee is $20. The event includes concessions, vendors, bake sale, 50/50 raffle, door prizes, and entertainment by DJ HIXX. Call Jennifer Fitzgerald 434-987-0082 with questions.
Celebrating Wintergreen
Sponsored by Rockfish Valley Foundation (RVF) since 2018, Old Wintergreen Day has become an annual event and after a 2020 pause returned July 4 to the Natural History Center at Spruce Creek. RVF president Peter Agelasto and board chair Gene Hughes welcomed 128 visitors. Hughes, who grew up in the area, described “the crossroads of Wintergreen before the resort took over the name.” The event included blacksmith demonstrations, a loom, quilting, and canvas-made floor covers. A descendent of Thomas Nelson, the former Virginia governor, read the Declaration of Independence to mark the date.
The property behind the center at Spruce Creek Park is open to the public and welcomes children and leashed pets. A devoted crew of volunteers keeps the park in beautiful condition with gravel walkways and mulched wildflower pollinator gardens. A screened gazebo with a table and double porch swing can be reserved.
Volunteers “hosts” are needed to open the doors of the Natural History Center on weekdays from 1-3 p.m. and from 12-4 p.m. on weekends.
Combating Heat in the RVCC Food Pantry
The People Feeder at Rockfish Valley Community Center may look empty, but the pantry items have just been moved indoors temporarily due to high temperatures. Help yourself to staples now located just inside the door at the Treasure Chest.
Donations of non-perishable items are still welcome. Here are ideas for summer choices that keep well on food shelves: Applesauce (in plastic jars), canned beans, canned chicken, tuna fish and salmon, cooking oils (olive and canola), crackers, dried herbs and spices, granola bars, pasta and rice, peanut butter and cereals.
Board of Supervisors Approves Study of Land Purchase
At their July 13 meeting, the Nelson Board of Supervisors funded a study of the feasibility of building both a business park and a recreation center on parcels in the southern end of the county close to Route 29. Noting the successful effort of attracting business to Route 151, County Administrator Steve Carter sees a business park as an opportunity for economic development.
A site near the high school and another on Callowhill Drive will be evaluated by Architectural Partners for potential future development of a recreation center, ball fields, parking, and other structure. A public swimming pool is also a possibility.
Public Celebration of Defeated Pipeline
More than 100 people showed up at the Rockfish Valley Community Center July 10 to celebrate the demise of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP). Richard and Jill Averitt, whose Nellysford property was in the path of the proposed pipeline, hosted the event.
Numerous speakers included Ernie Reed, chair of the Nelson County Board of Supervisors and the former head of Friends of Nelson. Reed shared the resolution passed by the Nelson Supervisors to recognize July 5, the one-year anniversary of the cancellation of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, as a commemorative day of celebration.
A new exhibit by Amelia Williams titled “The Ties That Bind: A #NoPipelines Collaborative Community Art and Story Project” will be on display in the RVCC auditorium through September.
