Happy Memorial Day to everyone, andwarm congratulations to all our Kingspoint neighbors who have worked so hard to successfully complete this academic year. This includes a special ‘thank you’ to all our neighborhood teachers, professors, and academic support staff. Congratulations also to all parents, grandparents and family friends who have supported and encouraged the students in their lives through another successful year. This year’s class of 2024 graduates have shown tremendous resilience and dedication to completing their degrees in difficult circumstances.
With summer vacation on the horizon, please remember to keep an eye out for children and families on their way to the pool and the Creek when driving through the neighborhood. More of us will be out walking, biking, and playing, so please also remind your guests and contractors to drive cautiously in Kingspoint.
If you are on the streets in the early morning or late evening, kindly carry a flashlight or wear reflective clothing so drivers can see you from a distance and give you plenty of space. Walkers should remember to walk facing oncoming traffic, and to allow space for cars to pass safely.
The Atlantic hurricane season begins June 1. NOAA issued their Atlantic Hurricane predictions for 17-25 named storms over the coming months on May 23, 2024. They are calling for between 4 to 7 major hurricanes of Category 3 strength or higher. Other forecasters have already predicted 25 named storms this summer, and at least 12 hurricanes.
Apparently, temperatures in the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic are so elevated that forecasters are extremely concerned about the tropical storm season this year. You may have been following the news about extreme weather along the Gulf Coast and Southeastern US Coast in recent months. We need to anticipate the possibility of storms affecting coastal Virginia in the coming months and make our preparations now. As the meteorologists often remind us, the number of storms forecast doesn’t really matter if even one bad storm hits our area. Even an unnamed thunderstorm that knocks out power and damages buildings can make life challenging for a while.
Long-time Williamsburg residents know how to prepare and what to expect. New residents will find some tips on our Severe Storm Survival Guide on the Kingspoint Neighborhood website. Former KCI President Anne Allen and I compiled the guide several years ago, immediately following a hurricane that affected our community. There are some lists, some suggestions, and a few links to additional information that we pulled together while the experience was fresh in our minds. You may also want to review the NOAA Hurricane Preparedness website. The Virginia Department of Emergency Management has designated a few waterfront areas of Kingspoint as Evacuation Zone C, but most of us are not in a designated evacuation area.
You may have noticed that late May in Kingspoint brings out the biting flies, mosquitoes, chiggers, and ticks. It is that time again to protect ourselves and our children from these painful bites. Ticks and mosquitoes also carry a variety of harmful illnesses, vectored by their bites. Mosquitoes lay their eggs in as little as an inch of standing water. Please empty any standing water that collects in your yard frequently, so mosquitoes don’t have a chance to reproduce. Ticks and chiggers lie in wait in tall grasses/weeds and in wooded areas where animals may spread them around.
Please also watch for larger wildlife in your yard and on neighborhood streets. Animals that we don’t normally see may be more visible as they take advantage of the cicada feast this summer. Babies are moving around now, and animals are drawn to the scent any sort of food trash, grills, and even bird feeders. It is a great pleasure to live so close to wildlife of all sorts, but also a challenge to live harmoniously with those creatures we may not expect to encounter. The Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources offers some terrific guides you may find useful.
As you may know, the Board of Supervisors approved the county budget for the next two fiscal years at their May 14 meeting and county staff is already at work on plans for their proposed new government office center. There are currently multiple facilities in different parts of the county. The proposed new center will consolidate and update government facilities. While there was a meeting for public input on Thursday, May 23 at Legacy Hall, you may still contribute your wisdom in a variety of ways if you were unable to attend:
• Mail: James City County, PO Box 8784, Williamsburg, VA 23187-8784 ATTN: Brad Rinehimer
This budget is funded with a significant personal property tax increase on real estate. However, the Board of Supervisors approved a $0.05 cent per hundred dollars ‘tax credit’ for the first year of the new assessment, thus changing the current $0.83 cents per hundred tax rate to $0.78 cents per hundred dollars for one year as residents adjust to the higher assessments. Supervisors are also anticipating the potential for the school division to split when this contract is up, and a need to invest in additional facilities, equipment, and personnel. There are many unknown quantities that they have had to take into account in constructing this budget.
Our KPNA Board is so pleased that Kenita Hill has resumed her work as our secretary. Please contact Kenita at secretarykpna@gmail.com with any changes to your listing in the neighborhood directory.
Many thanks to all our dedicated front entrance volunteers for their work. Ann Hobson is leaving our KPNA team as she and her husband Chuck prepare to move across the Creek to The Landing in early summer. Ann has been a loyal and dependable member of our Board, always taking care of the entrance and ready to help whenever needed. We will miss her so very much. David Miller is taking over the responsibilities of coordinating our efforts to keep the neighborhood entrance well-maintained. Chris Bonday is continuing his ongoing efforts to keep the grass neatly trimmed and trash removed. His partner in this service, Tom Mahone, passed away earlier this month. If you are willing to join our crew of volunteers to help with maintenance chores at the entrance, please get in touch with David Miller.
We appreciate everyone who has already given Treasurer Karen Schneider your 2024 membership dues for the neighborhood association. I am touched by the goodness and kindness of our neighbors here in Kingspoint, and your voluntary support for keeping our neighborhood vibrant, beautiful, and connected. Neighbors have already requested over 400 jonquil bulbs. We have ordered 500 from Brent and Becky’s Bulbs in Gloucester, so please make sure we have your request soon if you know you want to join in this beautification effort. You will find complete details and a 2024 membership form in the first few pages of your 2024 Kingspoint Directory.
If you are new to the community, or have a new family living near you, please let us know so we can visit with a copy of the Kingspoint Directory and include them in the 2024 listings.Contact us at kpwebmistress@gmail.com to add your email to our distribution list, to change your email, or to have your email address removed so you no longer receive community updates.
Please visit our KPNA websitefor news and useful community links.
Mountain Laurel, Kalmia latifolia, blooms each April and May in Kingspoint
Spring creeps up on us slowly some years. Then one day we notice that the trees are green, and the mountain laurels are covered in flowers once again. Have you noticed how sweet the breeze smells this time of year? We have been happy to notice clouds of native bees visiting flowering shrubs this month. Researchers tell us that bee populations are rebounding these days, perhaps thanks to all the folks planting flowers and leaving habitat in their yards to support them over winter. We’ve already spotted several butterfly species this spring, so perhaps the butterflies are making a come-back, too.
It is such a pleasure to walk in Kingspoint and enjoy the many beautiful shrubs and flowers growing in neighbors’ yards and on their porches, while listening to the sounds of birds. Many thanks to everyone who has been cleaning up this month and preparing for the long summer ahead.There are a few special events in the next few weeks which may interest you.
Our local chapter ofThe Virginia Native Plant Society’s Annual Plant Sale will be Saturday, May 4, 9:30 am – 2:00 pm at the Williamsburg Community Building, 401 N. Boundary St. Any interested in learning more about native plants, and perhaps purchasing a few, is invited to attend. Members already have over 1000 plants prepared for sale. Our local chapter is an active, friendly group, always welcoming new members. Come out to see old friends and make new ones while shopping for a great cause. Many of the proceeds of the sale to go provide Nature Camp scholarships to young people in our area.
The Master Gardener Plant Sale will be held at the Williamsburg Botanical Garden and Freedom Park Arboretum again this year on May 11 from 9:00 AM until Noon. Freedom Park is located at the intersection of Centerville Road and Longhill Road. Visitors will find a wide variety of native and non-native perennials, trees and shrubs along with garden art and other items. Master Gardeners will be available to answer questions. Enjoy beautiful Freedom Park as you shop.
Our KPNA Board is so pleased that Kenita Hill has resumed her work as our secretary. Kenita has done a wonderful job over the years keeping up with all the neighborhood comings and goings, so our Directory remains accurate. With Joe Bailey now greeting new neighbors, and Kenita keeping track of names and contact information, we have a terrific team. Kathy Williams took the work on briefly but resigned earlier this month. Please contact Kenita atsecretarykpna@gmail.comwith any changes to your listing.
Ann Hobson will also leave our KPNA team as she and her husband Chuck prepare to move across the Creek to The Landing in early summer. Ann has been a loyal and dependable member of our Board, always taking care of the entrance and ready to help whenever needed. We will miss her so very much. David Miller is taking over the responsibilities of coordinating our efforts to keep the neighborhood entrance well-maintained.
Many thanks to all of our dedicated front entrance volunteers for their work. Tom Mahone and Chris Bonday are continuing their dedicated efforts to keep the grass neatly trimmed and trash removed. If you are willing to join our crew of volunteers to help with maintenance chores at the entrance, please get in touch with David Miller.
We appreciate everyone who has already given Treasurer Karen Schneider your 2024 membership dues for the neighborhood association. I am touched by the goodness and kindness of our neighbors here in Kingspoint, and their voluntary support for keeping our neighborhood vibrant, beautiful, and connected. Neighbors have already requested over 300 jonquil bulbs. We have ordered 500 from Brent and Becky’s Bulbs in Gloucester, so please make sure we have your request soon if you know you want to join in this beautification effort. Everyone who joins the KPNA this year can request 5 free bulbs with their membership, and 10 for a small additional contribution. We will deliver the bulbs in November, and we can’t wait to see our community in bloom next spring!
Please remember to share the streets with caution and courtesy, whether you are walking, biking, or driving. Warm weather brings us outdoors, and we can expect to encounter more neighbors on our streets. Watch for playing children on many side streets and more pets along the way. There are a few particularly difficult spots for walkers, especially after heavy rain. Walkers frequently need to step off the pavement when traffic approaches. Please pause and look both ways at Kingspoint intersections and keep a sharp eye out for neighbors walking or riding bikes. Remember that Swim Team members will be out heading to the pool for morning and evening practices before we know it.
If you are new to the community, or have a new family living near you, please let us know so we can visit with a copy of the Kingspoint Directory and include them in the 2024 listings. Contact us at kpwebmistress@gmail.com to add your email to our distribution list, to change your email, or to have your email address removed so you no longer receive community updates.
Please visit our KPNA websitefor news and useful community links.
The Queen Anne’s double jonquil is an heirloom Narcissus dating to 1601. All neighbors who join the KPNA this year may request free bulbs for delivery in November.
We had a dedicated and enthusiastic team of KPNA volunteers delivering the 2024 Kingspoint Directory earlier this month and it appears that the distribution went flawlessly. Many, many thanks to everyone who helped, including children, spouses, and pets! Please shred any old directories you may be discarding, to protect the personal information of our neighbors. If you have been meaning to let us know about any changes to your listing, please do so by March 31 so we can send out a list of those updates to everyone on our email list. Send you updates to our new Secretary, Kathy Williams, at secretarykpna@gmail.com.
We sincerely thank Kenita Hill for her diligent work to keep up with the many changes to the directory over these past several years. She has been incredibly generous with her time and attention to keep the directory as accurate as possible. She has now passed the work of KPNA Secretary on to Kathy, and will remain on the Board as a Member at Large.
We combined our annual membership drive for the neighborhood association with the new directory again this year. Everyone should have found neighborhood information in the first few pages of the new directory, along with a summary of what the KPNA has accomplished over the past year and a request for your continued support. There should be a return envelope, addressed to Treasurer Karen Schneider, in your directory. We appreciate the tremendous support neighbors have given our Kingspoint Neighborhood Association membership drive this month. Treasurer Karen Schneider continues to accept membership contributions at her home.
We distributed the redbud trees that neighbors requested with their 2023 memberships earlier this month. We trust that they are all planted by now and beginning to settle in. Please keep them well watered this year, especially during dry spells, and do what you can to protect them from deer browsing. You will be rewarded with early spring flowers for many years to come.
This year, we are offering heirloom jonquil bulbs to neighbors who support the KPNA. This 1601 Narcissus hybrid is very unusual because it has a double flower, and like all jonquils, it is fragrant. Find details in your directory, and please make sure to mark on your membership return form that you want us to reserve bulbs for you. We will pick them up in Gloucester this coming November and distribute them before Thanksgiving. All Narcissus are poisonous, so deer and rabbits will leave them alone while the bees enjoy their early nectar.
We celebrate Earth Day and Arbor Day at the end of each April. We can each commit our own positive actions to participate in Earth Day, celebrated on Monday, April 22, and Arbor Day on Friday, April 26. Planting trees has been an Arbor Day tradition since April 10, 1872. Many Kingspoint neighbors are following this special tradition by planting trees, shrubs and flowers this spring. All plants cleanse our environment by removing carbon and air borne pollutants from the air. Evergreen ferns and perennials also help filter greenhouse gases and pollutants from the air year-round and help manage storm water run-off.
April is Spring Clean-up Month in our area. The 46th annual JCC Countywide Spring Clean-upis planned for Saturday, April 27. Register to assist the Clean County Commission in their efforts at the link above. Let’s work together to hold our own spring cleanup here in Kingspoint this April. Many neighbors are already hard at work, cleaning up what winter left behind in our yards. Our neighbors appreciate every small effort we each make to keep our community looking neat and well maintained.
You may request a county truck to pick up large debris such as discarded furniture, appliances, old stumps and tree trunks, yard waste, and other bulky refuse for a $75.00 fee. Contact Matthew Prince at 565-0971 to make an appointment, andfind more information here. You may drop most of these things off yourself at the Jolly Pond Road facility. Many items, such as old grills, propane tanks, scrap metal and lawnmowers,can be dropped off for free.
As we prepare for spring indoors and out, we will have an opportunity to discard and recycle many household chemicals and electronics at VPPSA’s next Household Chemical collection day on April 13 at Warhill High Schoolfrom 8:00 AM until noon. Please check their website for a list of what they will and won’t accept. Staples, on Monticello Road, accepts discarded electronics and computers for recycling daily.
Registration is open now for the Master GardenerLandscape Love program. You can sign up here to request a team of Master Gardeners to visit you at home to answer your questions and offer advice. This program is free of charge, but there are a limited number of appointments available each spring. Please register early if you want to make an appointment. Here is a link to theMaster Gardener website, where you will find a variety of useful information, including a new article that examines our recent concern with eradicating certain plants, “A History of Our War With Plants.”
Each member of the Board of Supervisors will hosta public meeting in their respective district to discuss the Fiscal Year 2025-2026 Proposed Budget and get feedback from citizens in April. Please mark your calendar for our meeting with Dr. John McGlennon on April 11, at 4 PM, at the James City County Government Center, 101 Mounts Bay Road, Building F.
Kathy Williams recently set up the new Kingspoint Facebook group. Interested neighbors can join the new Kingspoint group page at: https://www.facebook.com/groups/kingspointneighborhood If you have any questions, please direct them to Kathy.
Did you know that James City County offers a huge range of recreational opportunities, facilities, and classes, including in their indoor pool and weight rooms at the Recreation Center on Longhill Road? Learn more about opportunities and fees here. You may purchase passes for family members for just a few months, or for the entire year. Here is a link to JCC Spring/Summer 2024 Activities and information about upcoming programs in local parks.
If you are new to the community, or have a new family living near you, please let us know so we can visit with a copy of the Kingspoint Directory and include them in the 2024 listings. Contact kpwebmistress@gmail.com to be added to or removed from our email news list. Please visit our KPNA websitefor news and useful community links.
Poisonous Helleborus hybrids are just beginning to bloom in Kingspoint. All parts of this plant are highly poisonous, which means that deer and squirrels leave them alone. Grow Hellebores with confidence that they will survive to bloom for many years to come. Deer will graze English ivy, however, which helps keep this ‘invasive’ plant under control in our community.
Happy New Year, and may this year be a blessing to you and your family. As we each count our blessings, we remember how fortunate we are to live in this beautiful neighborhood. As you may know, our community will celebrate 60 years of life in 2025. Our infrastructure is a little frayed in places, but the Kingspoint spirit of community and volunteerism remains strong.
VDoT workers did a good job of patching nearly a dozen potholes on major neighborhood streets this month. We are still on the list for some major repaving as funds come available. And I have heard that we can look forward to some upgrades in our water and sewer lines in the next few years. I was told that JCSA has prioritized the replacement of water lines in Kingspoint in their Capital Improvement Plan as JCSA’s next neighborhood improvement project. The current cost estimate for the project is $6.9 million, and they hope to initiate the project in 3-5 years once they have the funding. Funding is key to all improvements, as each of us certainly knows first-hand.
We have had some issues with leaks in the plumbing of the neighborhood in recent days. JCSA workers have been on the job to find the source of the leaks and to make repairs. While we can all take precautions to prevent frozen pipes in our own homes, issues will still arise in unusually cold weather, especially when things thaw very quickly, as they have this week. We are very fortunate that JCSA is extremely responsive when problems arise. Please call their after-hours emergency number at 757-566-0112 if you spot a leak around your own home or on the street after 3:30 PM. You can call the day-time emergency line 757-229-7421 between 7 AM and 3:30 PM.
We have had some unusual stretches of cold weather in January, and we may have some more ahead. Long-time Williamsburg residents know that snowy weather may continue to find us in February or March. When snow is in the forecast, please remember to park your vehicles in driveways and garages to keep the street clear for emergency equipment and snowplows. We always hope that VDoT will spread sand and plow our community, and they will do a better job for us all if they don’t have to work around parked cars.
The message boards at the neighborhood entrance sustained some damage during storms in mid-January. We appreciate the work of Karen and Phil Schneider, who covered the most damaged sign to protect it from the weather, and Gary Gordon, who is making repairs and upgrades to both message boards. Gary expects to have both message boards repaired and back in service by the end of January, weather permitting.
Deer and other wildlife are looking for their next meal and may be more active around landscaping in winter when less food is available. I recently heard from a neighbor that deer were interfering with mail delivery on his street. The growing deer population is a significant problem throughout Virginia, and especially here in James City County. Find tips for ‘deer-proofing’ your yard in the article on our Master Gardener website, “But Will Deer Eat It?” Please keep in mind that many different types of animals will be attracted to any food source in your yard, including bird feeders.
You will soon notice new reflectors installed on existing street sign and traffic signposts around Kingspoint. David Miller and John Williams will head up this effort to assist delivery drivers, mail carriers, and guests to navigate Kingspoint after dusk. We want to make sure that intersections and side streets are clearly marked. If you have had difficulty finding or navigating a particular intersection at dusk or after dark, please drop me a note at kpwebmistress@gmail.com.
David Miller, Ann Hobson, and Joe Bailey volunteered one Saturday morning in late December to spread new mulch over the extensive excavation work at the neighborhood entrance. We appreciate their hard work, on a very cold morning, to neaten up that area after the electrician finished. David is also training a few additional volunteers on how to manage our new lighting system.
KPNA Secretary, Kenita Hill, is working on revisions to our 2024 Kingspoint Neighborhood Directory, which we plan to distribute to every home in March. Please look over your own listing in the 2023 Directory and contact her by February 19 with any corrections to your phone number and personal information. We have noticed some out-of-date land-line numbers which need to be updated with current cell numbers. If you haven’t checked your listing recently, please contact Kenita.
Please welcome our newest neighbors, Joanmarie del Vecchio and Kalle Jahn, who recently moved into their new home at 104 Glenwood Drive. Joe Bailey has taken over the happy work of welcoming new neighbors, and bringing them a welcome packet, from Mary Haines.
If you are new to the community, or have a new family living near you, please let us know so we can visit with a copy of the Kingspoint Directory and include them in the 2024 listings. Contact kpwebmistress@gmail.com to be added to or removed from our email news list. Please visit our KPNA websitefor news and useful community links.
Yuko Sato created the floral arrangements on the Kingspoint sign again this year. Many thanks to her, and to neighbors who provided greenery and assisted her with the installation.
The Romans honored the ancient brothers Janus and Saturn during their late December Saturnalia celebrations in the first millennium BCE. Janus was the ‘Two faced god’ who could look both forwards and backwards at the same time. You probably recognize Janus from the name of our first month of the new year, which is almost upon us. The period from winter solstice to the new year is a time of reflection and planning for many of us, a time to appreciate the many blessings of family and friends, a time to give back to our community, and a time to set goals for the coming year.
I hope you were at home to enjoy the Luminary night this past Monday and could get out to enjoy the beautiful evening with neighbors. Many thanks to Sarah Huber and the Kingspoint Club Board for all their efforts to organize the event and sell the Luminaria kits. During this ‘Season of Light,’ neighbors of many different cultures and traditions can agree on the beauty and power of bringing light to the darkness. We appreciate everyone who was able to participate in any way. The many lights in yards and in windows during December remind us all how small gestures of love and friendship can mean a great deal to us all. Our beautiful neighborhood is especially festive at the holidays, thanks to the efforts of so many.
Special thanks to all those who have served on or volunteered to work with our Neighborhood Association Board this past year. Our very talented and generous volunteers have repaired signs, installed lighting, blown leaves, watered shrubs, mown grass, pulled weeds, painted, picked up trash, pruned, raked, mulched, cut up fallen limbs, visited newcomers, updated the directory, managed the finances, and generally pitched in to help this year. Our community is better for the volunteer efforts of so many generous neighbors.
We want to welcome our newest KPNA Board member, Kathy Williams, who graciously agreed to join us this month. Kathy, her husband John, and their children moved to Kingspoint during the summer of 2022. Skye is 10 and Grady is at Jamestown High School. You may know him from his work as a lifeguard at the pool this past summer. Kathy is joining as a ‘member at large’ and has already been volunteering with other Board members to deliver directories last March, help me with some computer work, set up luminaries this week, and Kathy also volunteered set up the new Kingspoint Facebook group last week.
Joe Bailey, who also just joined the KPNA Board, will take over the work of greeting new families as they settle into Kingspoint. Mary Haines has done a marvelous job of welcoming neighbors for the past several years and she will work with Joe as he takes over the work in January. Joe will also be working with David and Wendy Miller and Ann Hobson at the neighborhood entrance. Mary will stay with us as a ‘Member at Large.’ Please let any of us on the Board know when a home near you changes hands and new neighbors move onto your street.
David Miller tells us that the electrical work at the entrance is completed now. Even after the holiday lights come down in January, we will still have spotlights on the sign every evening, rain or shine. Our past solar systems were reliable on sunny days but didn’t always do the job in winter and on dull days. Lights at the entrance will make it safer for drivers and easier for emergency vehicles to find.
Please take a look at the county’s December News to Know. You will find information about when and where to drop off your fresh Christmas tree once you take it down, late season leaf disposal, and December safety information from county police. The county is looking for good staff. If anyone is looking for a new job, you will find a link to learn about positions with county government.
Here is a link to the schedule of holiday closures for county offices, parks, libraries, courts, and convenience centers. Each trash service has its own holiday schedule, but we can count on some schedule changes and disruptions for trash and recycling pick-up since Christmas and New Years Day fall on Monday this year. Here are tips and standards for recycling holiday waste.
With winter approaching, you may want to sign up for jccalert.org notifications by text or email. This allows county staff to alert you to dangerous weather systems, water outages, and to provide other safety notifications.
If you have intended to drop off your KPNA membership renewal, please know that we will gratefully accept your contributions through the end of the year. Your contributions will help us cover the one-time expenses of running electricity to the entrance and purchasing new holiday lights. If you have misplaced the slip, noworries. Simply drop off your check with your name, address, and phone printed on it to Treasurer Karen Schneider. Our annual membership contribution has remained $25.00 for the past several years.
We welcome many guests to our community during the holidays. Please ask your guests and visitors to drive cautiously, watching for children, pets, and neighbors out walking. Now that days are growing shorter, please take extra care to make sure you are visible when you are out walking, jogging, or biking so there are no close calls with drivers. Lights and reflective clothing will help ensure your safety and alleviate stressful moments for folks heading out in the morning or coming home at dusk.
Finally, the USDA issued a new Hardiness Zone Map in November which shows that our area has shifted from Zone 7b to Zone 8a. The hardiness map is based on the extreme low temperatures on the coldest night of the year (averaged over the past 30 years) and does not reflect warmer temperatures overall. Learn more about the implications of this Updated USDA Hardiness Map here.
If you are new to the community, or have a new family living near you, please let us know so we can visit with a copy of the Kingspoint Directory and include them in the 2023 listings. Contact kpwebmistress@gmail.com to be added to or removed from our email news list. Please visit our KPNA websitefor news and useful community links.
Many thanks to Yuko Sato for creating our floral holiday decorations at the entrance again this year.
There is a growing feeling of excitement during the holidays in Williamsburg. There are so many interesting things to do, great opportunities to shop, and beautiful places to visit. Colonial Williamsburg will spread its Grand Illumination events over three weekends again this year: December 2, 9, and 16. We will likely hear the fireworks here in Kingspoint. You can enjoy this, The Greensprings Garden Club’s historic home tours, and many other holiday events and opportunities at Colonial Williamsburg in coming weeks. You can enjoy the Christmas Market on Court Street, weekends through December 24. And Busch Gardens has its annual Christmas Town again this year. It will be a busy month in our area!
Yuko Sato has worked her floral magic again this year with beautiful evergreen arrangements on the Kingspoint sign at our entrance. We appreciate Yuko’s dedication to this annual project, her creativity and skill; and we appreciate those families who donate greenery from their yards for the arrangements.
Once Dominion Energy hooks up the electricity to the new spotlights and outlets, David and Wendy Miller will decorate trees and shrubs at our entrance with white lights. The lights will be on timers so we can enjoy the beautiful display deeper into the winter evenings than our previous solar lights allowed. David has done a tremendous job of shepherding this project with Dominion, and we can all look forward to enjoying the beautiful results of his persistence.
After the Dominion crew finishes their work later this week, we will need a few volunteers to help spread mulch over some bare spots on top of the mound. Please contact Ann Hobson, or me at kpwebmistress@gmail.com, if you can help with the mulch. We appreciate Ann Hobson and her volunteers for their continued work at our neighborhood entrance. Tom Mahone and Chris Bonday are continuing their dedicated efforts to keep the grass neatly trimmed. If you are willing to join our crew of volunteers to help with maintenance chores at the entrance, please get in touch with Ann at annhobson1010@gmail.com.
Special thanks to all those who have served on or volunteered to work with our Neighborhood Association Board this past year. Our very talented and generous volunteers have repaired signs, installed lighting, blown leaves, watered shrubs, mown grass, pulled weeds, painted, picked up trash, pruned, raked, mulched, and generally pitched in to help this year. Our community is better for the volunteer efforts of so many generous neighbors.
Our Board members do so much quiet work behind the scenes. We appreciate everyone who greets and talks with neighbors new and old, those who help keep our Directory up to date, those who distribute the Directories, manage the finances, and work with the companies we collaborate with to get things done. Many hands make light work.
If you have intended to drop off your KPNA membership renewal, please know that we will gratefully accept your contributions through the end of the year. Your contributions will help us cover the one-time expenses of running electricity to the entrance and purchasing new holiday lights. If you have misplaced the slip, noworries. Simply drop off your check with your name, address, and phone printed on it to Treasurer Karen Schneider. Our annual membership contribution has remained $25.00 for the past several years.
This is the season of gratitude for our many blessings as individuals, families, and as a community. We remember so many friends and neighbors who are no longer living with us in Kingspoint, their friendship over the years and the contributions they made to our community. We are also grateful for new friendships with families who have joined us over the past year. Our community continues to grow and thrive. Best wishes to all for the weeks of celebration ahead.
We are already enjoying holiday lights and beautiful decorations that neighbors share with us each December. This is ‘the season of light’ for many of us, and the comfort we take in candlelight and holiday lights during this darkest time of the year unites us. Our beautiful neighborhood is especially festive at the holidays, thanks to the efforts of so many.
We welcome many guests to our community during the holidays. Please ask your guests and visitors to drive cautiously, with an eye out for children, pets, and neighbors out walking. Now that days are growing shorter, please take extra care to make sure you are visible when you are out walking, jogging, or biking so there are no close calls with drivers. Lights and reflective clothing will help ensure your safety and alleviate stressful moments for folks heading out in the morning or coming home at dusk.
With winter approaching, you may want to sign up for jccalert.org notifications by text or email. This allows county staff to alert you to dangerous weather systems, water outages, and to provide other safety notifications. If you plan to be away from home for an extended period for travel, you might want to register with the police for safety checks of your home.
County residents may drop off leaves free of charge at the Jolly Pond Convenience Center, 1204 Jolly Pond Road, daily between 7 a.m.-5 p.m. during these dates: Nov. 12- and Jan. 15. (In past years, Christmas trees were also accepted in late December and January.) Leaves dropped off by residents will only be accepted in clear bags no larger than lawn or leaf-size (40 gallons or less). Outside of these dates, residents must buy ‘coupons’ to drop off yard waste.
Leaves must be in clear bags and left at the curb by 8 AM on December 1 for free county pick-up. The county will provide one round of curbside leaf collection, and leaves will be picked up in Kingspoint December 1-7. No other yard debris, such as downfall limbs, will be collected.
Here are tips and standards for recycling holiday waste. Trash and recycling pick- up schedules tend to get off this time of year due to holidays and winter weather. Please check with your trash provider for schedule changes.
Finally, the USDA issued a new Hardiness Zone Map in November which shows that our area has shifted from Zone 7b to Zone 8a. The hardiness map is based on the extreme low temperatures on the coldest night of the year (averaged over the past 30 years) and does not reflect warmer temperatures overall. Learn more about the implications of this Updated USDA Hardiness Map here.
If you are new to the community, or have a new family living near you, please let us know so we can visit with a copy of the Kingspoint Directory and include them in the 2023 listings. Contact kpwebmistress@gmail.com to be added to or removed from our email news list. Please visit our KPNA websitefor news and useful community links.
As we enter the season of celebration, thanksgiving, and abundance, we all have a great deal to celebrate and appreciate here in Kingspoint. It has been a good year in our community. Many hands make light work, and we all appreciate the work of the many volunteers who keep the community humming. The thoughtfulness and dedication that Kingspoint neighbors show to one another and to our neighborhood ensures that Kingspoint remains vibrant, caring, and beautiful.
Kingspoint neighbors are helping to set the mood for Halloween with such creative displays this year! If you have not yet had a chance to walk around our neighborhood and enjoy all the autumn and Halloween decorations, please take time to walk or drive through the community soon. There are lighted displays, pumpkins and cobwebs, pots of bright flowers and festive fun on every street.
We are looking forward to Halloween Trick-or-Treating on Tuesday, October 31, from 6PM-8PM in James City County. The Kingspoint Club’s Social Committee has organized a Halloween party for members at the Clubhouse, with Trick-or-Treating to follow at 6PM.
Please remember to have the little ones carry lights and wear colors easily seen after dark. All neighbors can assist by leaving their streetlights burning to make it brighter and safer for those out celebrating.
Neighbors who aren’t participating in Halloween Trick-or-Treating should leave their porch lights off.
Now that days are growing shorter, please take extra care to make sure you are visible when you are out walking, jogging, or biking so there are no close calls with drivers. Lights and reflective clothing will help ensure your safety and alleviate stressful moments for folks heading out in the morning or coming home at dusk.
David Miller has been overseeing our project to bring electricity to the front entrance and tells us that we should have new lights on the Kingspoint sign around November 1. He has done a great job of working with the contractors, the county, and with Dominion Power to bring this effort to fruition. The effort is not inexpensive, however, and so we are making a follow-up membership appeal to new neighbors and to those who did not contribute annual membership dues to the KPNA last spring. Anyone who wants to help support this effort to light the entrance may leave their contribution with Treasurer Karen Schneider at her home at 100 Kingspoint Drive. We appreciate everyone who contributes and supports the work of the Neighborhood Association.
Lately I’ve had contacts from neighbors telling me that there are stray chickens pecking about in their yards. Everyone who buys a home in Kingspoint is expected to sign the Covenants which follow the deed to their home, and the covenants clearly prohibit keeping livestock. (Covenant #5, in your 2023 Directory) It is a health issue, especially these days when the Avian Flu has affected poultry flocks across the country, and it is a safety issue if chickens get in the street. There should be no chickens in Kingspoint. If you see wandering chickens, then you should call either animal control (757.565.0370) to request that they are picked up or call our county zoning office (757.253.6718) to complain.
Please make your plans now to vote on or before November 7. Your vote is very important in this mid-term election with seats on the Board of Supervisors and the School Board in play. Our neighborhood votes at Laurel Lane Elementary School. Anyone who hasn’t voted already will find the information and contacts you need on the JCC Office of Election’s website. Here is complete information about the options available to you to vote this year. Visit the VOTE411.org website to learn about the races on our ballot.
We spot a wide variety of wildlife in Kingspoint. Visit the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources website for easy reference materials should unusual wildlife that may turn up in your yard. Cornwells Wildlife Control (757.264.6369) will safely remove a variety of animals from your property and will help you close openings to your home to keep wildlife out of doors. Any birdseed, small pets, or food left outdoors overnight may attract unwelcome visitors.
Many thanks to Ann Hobson and her volunteers for their continued work at our neighborhood entrance. Tom Mahone and Chris Bonday are continuing their dedicated efforts to keep the grass neatly trimmed. If you are willing to join our crew of volunteers to help with maintenance chores at the entrance, please get in touch with Ann at annhobson1010@gmail.com.
If you are new to the community, or have a new family living near you, please let us know so we can visit with a copy of the Kingspoint Directory and include them in the 2023 listings. Contact kpwebmistress@gmail.com to be added to or removed from our email news list. Please visit our KPNA websitefor news and useful community links.
College Creek at the Kingspoint Club dock, August 2013
We are pleased to welcome Joseph Bailey to the KPNA Board this month. Joe and his family have lived on Glenwood Drive since they moved to Kingspoint in late 2019. Joe has already been working with us informally and will be an invaluable addition to our team on the Board.Joe, and his wife Katherine, have young children and will bring fresh ideas and energy to all that we do.
Many thanks to everyone who has already submitted their opinion on our survey about treating Phragmites growing in College Creek with herbicides this fall. The Conservancy’s HOA is raising money to hire a contractor who will spray the herbicide Imazapyr from a helicopter over large areas of College Creek. Drift of this herbicide could have far-reaching consequences for the Creek’s ecosystem as well as for property owners along the creek. Learn more, and find a link to the survey from the articles, “Phragmites in Local Wetlands” or “Educate Yourself About Phragmites.” A summary of all survey responses will be provided to the Virginia Marine Resources Commission and the JCC Wetlands Board during the period for public comment about any permit submitted for this project.
A huge ‘Thank you!” to everyone who has worked together to make the opening of school safe and successful in the neighborhood this year. It always requires patience and consideration to work together to get everyone to work and to school on time. Let’s continue to look out for one another. As days grow shorter, please remember to carry a light or wear reflective clothing when you are walking, jogging, or biking around dawn and dusk.
Please make your plans now to vote on or before November 7. This is an important mid-term election, and your vote is very important. Our neighborhood votes at Laurel Lane Elementary School. If you haven’t already made a plan to vote, you will find the information and contacts you need on the JCC Office of Election’s website . Here is complete information about the options available to you to vote this year.
If you have questions about the races in which we may vote this year, visit the VOTE411.orgwebsite sponsored by the League of Women Voters. If you type in your address, all the candidates and issues on the particular ballot for your address will come up. Since districts are different this year, many people may not be aware of who is on their ballot.
The Office of Elections has moved to 4095 Ironbound Road. This is behind the Courthouse, between Monticello Avenue and Ironbound Road. Any registered voter can vote absentee by showing up at the office with your ID between September 22 and November 4, 2023.
You may also request a ballot through the mail at vote.elections.virginia.gov/VoterInformation. Note your reason for voting at home as ‘social distancing’. Completed ballots can be mailed to the Office of Elections on Ironbound Road, or ballots may be dropped off in person. Find complete details online about voting this November. New neighbors may be interested in thismap of voting districts and precincts.
We find ourselves in the midst of another election season where most of us have strong opinions. It is our Kingspoint tradition toabstain from displaying political signs on our properties, right of ways or at our community’s entrance. We all want to maintain our beautiful, peaceful community free from politics. See the covenants page in your Directory for more details about displaying any signs in your yard, including signs for contractors.
Please keep in mind that it is illegal to feed deer between September 1 and early January because it is hunting season and feeding is considered ‘baiting’ the deer. Many animals are on the move as they prepare to migrate or hibernate. Bears, and other animals, are attracted to many different food sources, including bird feeders, garbage cans, grills, and fruit bearing shrubs.
While Animal Control officers are available to help with family pets, they won’t remove wildlife. In most cases, it is up to the homeowner to have wild animals removed when they cause a problem. And quite often, there are laws protecting those animals that make it illegal to catch them and release them elsewhere, or to harm them in any way.
Please bookmark the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources website for easy reference should unusual wildlife turn up in your yard. Cornwells Wildlife Control (757.264.6369) will safely remove a variety of animals from your property and will help you close openings in your home, to keep wildlife out of doors.
Mid-September through early November is the best time for planting new trees and shrubs because they can establish good roots before cold weather arrives. We can plant daffodils and other bulbs in October through December, and we enjoy pots of bright fall annuals once the weather begins to cool. Should you want to plant a native, evergreen fern that will efficiently sequester carbon year round, check out, “Christmas Ferns: A Small Step Towards Climate Solutions.” Evergreen ferns are available now at local garden centers. Neighbors appreciate all efforts to keep your yard and home beautiful.
Neighbors have been asking about new user fees for the Colonial Parkway in recent months. Now, one is expected to have a pass to park in any of the parking areas, use the beaches or fish, as well as to visit the various visitor centers. This is new and unusual for many of us accustomed to just hopping on the Colonial Parkway.
Your Neighborhood Association Board voted last month to install electricity and electric lights and outlets at the neighborhood entrance. We have an electrician ready to begin work soon. This entire project, including the fee for Dominion Power to run a new line out to the sign and set up our new account, will cost around $3500.00.
We are asking neighbors who have not yet supported the KPNA this year to please consider sending in your annual membership contribution of $25.00 now, as we face these additional expenses. We plan to send out a follow-up membership letter later in October to those neighbors who have not yet contributed in 2023. If you have been intending to return your membership form in your 2023 Directory, this is a good time to do so, as it will save us sending you a letter next month. We will greatly appreciate any additional contributions from neighbors to help finance this special project.
Please send your contribution, with a note stating your name and address, to KPNA Treasurer Karen Schneider. You may mail it, or you may leave it in the Schneider’s mailbox at 100 Kingspoint Drive at any time. Find details in your 2023 Neighborhood Directory.
We are extremely fortunate that severe weather has missed us so far this year. Hurricane season, which lasts until November 30, can be nerve wracking. You can sign up for JCC alerts to your phone or tablet, to stay in the loop when severe weather threatens. If you, or anyone in your family might need special help during or after an evacuation or other weather emergency, consider signing up for James City County’s special needs registry. This service allows our emergency services to know who may need special assistance due to mobility or other health issues. Call 757-259-3100 for more information.
Many thanks to Ann Hobson and her volunteers for their continued work at our neighborhood entrance. Tom Mahone and Chris Bonday are continuing their dedicated efforts to keep the grass neatly trimmed. If you are willing to join our crew of volunteers to help with maintenance chores at the entrance, please get in touch with Ann at annhobson1010@gmail.com. We need volunteers to help spread mulch in the coming weeks.
If you are new to the community, or have a new family living near you, please let us know so we can visit with a copy of the Kingspoint Directory and include them in the 2023 listings. Contact kpwebmistress@gmail.com to be added to our email news list. Please visit our KPNA websitefor news and useful community links.
Phragmites grow in College Creek behind the Kingspoint Clubhouse 2014
By Elizabeth McCoy September 2023
“… despite its bad reputation, Phragmites provides many benefits that are generally unknown and unappreciated. After studying salt marsh ecology and the impacts of stressors, including invasive plants, for many years, I have concluded that removing this invasive species wherever it is found – especially along vulnerable coastlines – is a very expensive and often foolish procedure.”
Our local creeks, marshes, and ponds lie surrounded by thick stands of reeds, Phragmites australis. Phragmites are a very tall, tough, long-lived grass. Like other grasses, they grow from extensive mats of roots and rhizomes, creeping along in the mud. Native Phragmites australis subspecies americanus, grow across North America from southern Canada south to the Mexican border in the west. On the east coast, they grow as far south as our border with North Carolina.
Another species of Phragmites, possibly native to North America, grows along the Gulf coast. Phragmites australis subspecies berlandieri may have crept northward from Central and South America at some point. It has now moved westward and is found in parts of Arizona and California. Items made from reeds, found in archeological digs in the American Southwest, date to over 40,000 years old.
Native Phragmites co-exist with other marsh and aquatic plants. They were used by Native Americans for food, shelter, and to make useful things. Every part of the plant is edible. Spring shoots may be harvested and eaten like bamboo shoots.
Sandy Bay at Jamestown Island November 2022
A hardier species, P. australis, grows across much of Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East. They are an ancient species, used for many purposes over thousands of years. These ‘old world’ Phragmites are believed to have traveled to North America on European ships in the 18th and 19th centuries, though DNA analysis by the National Park Service has determined that some strains of P. australis predate colonization. Transplanted to North American waters, they have become invasive, sometimes choking out the native Phragmites and other plant species which grow along our waterways. Emerging early in the spring, before the native species and before many other aquatic plants, they grow taller and with more vigor than the native Phragmites australis, subspecies americanus.
Phragmites filter both air and water during their long season of growth. They can be used to filter and sequester heavy metals and other pollutants from wastewater and contaminated sites, trapping harmful chemicals in their biomass. They are planted in some areas for this purpose.
College Creek 2014
Phragmites help catch run-off silt from erosion on land. They tolerate brackish, salty, or fresh water and they can hold areas in wetlands which might otherwise erode from run off, tides, and flooding. This makes them useful in holding shorelines during extreme weather events.
Phragmites filter and sequester carbon, a major greenhouse gas, using it for metabolism and growth. While filtering carbon, they also remove other polluting gasses from the air we breathe, releasing pure oxygen and water vapor. The carbon, converted to cellulose, remains trapped in the vegetation and soil.
Archer’s Hope on College Creek September 2014
European P. australis grows stronger, taller and faster than the native plant species it is replacing, and that growth is accelerated by fertilizers used on lawns, pet waste, and agricultural waste that run off into local waterways. Phragmites are rapidly spreading in local wetlands, creating a monoculture so that fewer plant and animal species inhabit sensitive wetlands.
In a 2008 William and Mary study of Phragmites in the Chesapeake Bay off Maryland, researchers found that 17% of the phragmites-dominated shoreline was adjacent to farmland even though agricultural land was only 11% of the total shoreline surveyed.
Powhatan Creek at Sandy Bay July 2019
Thick, dense vertical stems grow anew each spring to 13’-20’ tall, shading other plants in their midst. Phragmites stems are hollow, like bamboo. Large leaves grow at nodes along the length of the stem, much like the leaves on a stalk of corn. The plant is crowned with a large plume of flowers, which produce thousands of seeds each season.
Phragmites quickly develop an extensive system of deep roots and below-ground rhizomes which may grow up to 3’ deep and up to 10’ away from the clump to colonize new territory, annually. New plants emerge from nodes along the rhizomes. Any small piece of a broken rhizome can grow into a new plant. This deep, extensive root system makes the plant extremely hard to eradicate because cutting or burning the plant won’t destroy it. Phragmites colonies must be burned or treated with herbicides for several years in succession to eventually kill their roots.
Jamestown Island
Stolons, or horizontal stems on the soil surface, also grow many feet each year. New plants emerge at each joint in the stolon, and each of these new plants sends down new roots. The result is a very dense, thick mat of growth at and below the surface. This root system catches sediment in waterways, so the water grows progressively shallower each year as Phragmites colonies grow.
It is easy to see why these Phragmites spread so quickly! They not only spread through growth of their rhizomes and stolons each year, but their seeds travel by air and water to colonize new areas. Only a few animal species eat the seeds. We aren’t currently harvesting and using these reeds in any substantial way. Phragmites are colonizing North American wetlands at an astounding rate.
College Creek at Archer’s Hope October 2014
Phragmites die back each winter and re-emerge each spring. They eventually form a wall between the shoreline and the water, blocking the view and creating a dense barrier for anyone trying to access the water for fishing or boating. Sea level rise enables Phragmites colonies to spread onto once dry land, crowding out trees and turning both fields and forest into marshland.
Many communities, environmental advocacy groups and government agencies across the United States have launched extensive efforts to eradicate Phragmites in recent decades, including groups within James City County. All eradication efforts are expensive and must be repeated during successive years to achieve success. Because Phragmites are already widespread, new colonies continue to emerge in new areas from seed or bits of rhizome.
The recommended methods to remove Phragmites include burning, mowing followed by digging out the roots and rhizomes, flooding with at least 3’ of water, and spraying with herbicides approved by the EPA for use in wetlands. When the Phragmites have colonized large areas, the herbicides are sprayed from a helicopter.
Archer’s Hope
According to Justin Doyle, Director of Community Conservation for The James River Association, the JRA’s Phragmites management project concluded in 2022. He and his colleagues advise that it is difficult to eradicate Phragmites from a large body of water, like College Creek.
Neighbors along College Creek have sponsored initiatives to spray stands of Phragmites with herbicides for many years now. Their contractors have used back-pack spraying of herbicides from boats. Even with this management effort, Phragmites colonies continue to expand in College Creek. This year they are organizing an effort to spray the herbicide Imazapyr, a systemic, non-specific herbicide which disrupts a plant’s DNA thus stopping growth, over a larger area of College Creek from a helicopter in October.
Mr. Douglas McGhee, one of the organizers of this effort, contacted the Kingspoint Neighborhood Association to ask for help in raising the funds required for this project. Some homeowners, particularly those with waterfront property, have supported efforts to spray herbicides on Phragmites colonies in College Creek in past years.
Jamestown Island June 2023
Imazapyr is approved for use in wetlands in Virginia. As a non-specific herbicide, it will slowly kill any plants it reaches during the aerial spraying, including native trees and marsh plants. Clouds of herbicide sprayed from a helicopter, then drifting with any wind, will likely reach and kill nearby trees and marsh plants in addition to the targeted Phragmites colony. When the herbicide kills native plants in and around the Creek, those spaces remain open for new colonies of Phragmites to take root if the area isn’t also replanted with desirable aquatic plants. Experience has shown that the only way to effective prevent phrags from recolonizing herbicide treated wetland areas is by replanting.
Laboratory testing by the EPA in 2005 indicated that Imazapyr has low-level effects on fish, birds, and small mammals. (Find several sources with more information about this herbicide below.) Testing wasn’t conducted on reptiles and amphibians. But those spraying are required to wear full PPE, including goggles, because of the irreversible damage Imazapyr does to the eyes. There is no research which indicates that this herbicide won’t also damage the eyes of birds, especially eagles and herons, in the area during spraying.
The direction and amount of drift of the herbicide during spraying will be determined by the weather, including wind speed and direction, and the flight pattern the helicopter follows on the day of spraying. We expect to have several days notice before the spraying so that any concerned neighbors can keep their doors and windows closed that day.
Jamestown Island June 2023
According to Dr. Randy Chambers, a wetlands ecosystems expert at William and Mary:
“When the Phragmites stands get large enough that you need a helicopter to spray it, it is too late. Spraying programs must run for at least 3 years to be effective, and typically the individual treatments go awry—it rains after spraying, or the tide washes the chemical away, or the plants aren’t active and are unaffected, etc, etc.
Inevitably, the Phragmites will grow back unless someone follows up with on-the-ground work including hand spraying of Phragmites and planting of native vegetation. One can try to contain it and keep it from expanding to where it isn’t, but I doubt one can remove it from where it is, now that the stands are so large along College Creek. That said, there are small stands of Phragmites that are popping up in different locations along College Creek and Halfway Creek and Tutters Creek. Those small stands can be treated effectively by backpack spraying. Once the stand gets to ½ acre in size, there’s not much one can do except wait for sea level rise to drown it out…” At that point, no helicopter is required.
A permit must first be obtained from the Virginia Marine Resources Commission and our local county Wetlands Board, before any spraying of herbicides over the College Creek begins.
Update 10.24.23: “No Regulation or Oversight Needed”
The JCC Division of Stormwater and Resource Protection determined that it wasn’t necessary for private citizens to obtain any permits before using herbicides to kill around 10 acres of Phragmites and other marshland plants in the areas around the Williamsburg-Jamestown Airport, The Vineyards community, and The Conservancy community. All of the land this group, which includes the owner of the airport, plans to treat are within Resource Protection Areas. Some of the phrag stands on this western bank of College Creek were treated previously by operators using backpack sprayers on foot and from small boats. Some of the areas the group intends to treat are new areas only accessible by air.
Since the local Wetlands Board and county staff decided that no permit was necessary, there were no public hearings, and the VMRC and other agencies which normally help regulate what happens within the James River and Chesapeake Bay watershed, had no role in regulating this destruction of plants growing in the waterway.
A New Plan to Kill Functional Plants in College Creek
The new plan, as described in a phone call on October 11 by Mr. Douglas McGhee, who is heading up this initiative for The Conservancy’s HOA and for the airport, is to use a small drone to spray Imazapyr over the Phragmites stands from an altitude lower than a helicopter could achieve. The specialized drone has emitter nozzles to target the spray on the phrags with more accuracy than a helicopter could achieve. Mr. McGhee acknowledged that even this modified plan would allow for airborne herbicides to drift to other areas of the Creek, and the herbicides will be in the water, moving with the tide each day, until the chemicals either settle in the silt (where they can’t break down) or the chemicals in solution in the waterway break down in the sunlight after about a week.
The Phragmites growing in areas adjacent to the airport perform an important ecological function to absorb carbon dioxide and other pollutants in the exhaust from the aircraft using the airport daily. Since the small aircraft used by the aviation school based at this airport use unleaded aviation fuel, the planes’ exhaust is a major source of air pollution which contains vaporized lead. The phrags are able to absorb lead, and other heavy metals from the water, silt, and air.
This excerpt from the article might concern families who lives beneath the flight paths of the student planes coming and going from the Williamsburg-Jamestown airport:
“The Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday announced it has determined that lead emitted from airplanes is a danger to public health, opening the door for the agency’s first limits on lead fuel in aviation. The move puts the Biden administration in the middle of a brewing fight over how long airports — particularly smaller ones — can continue selling leaded gasoline, despite the health hazards from this powerful neurotoxin. More than 170,000 smaller planes, known as piston-engine aircraft, still use leaded gasoline, according to the EPA, and there is an ongoing dispute about how quickly this form of fuel can be phased out at thousands of airports nationwide.”
Ironically, the very Phragmites that the airport’s owner and Conservancy residents want to spray herbicides over to eradicate from the wetlands bordering the airport and adjacent communities, functionally remove carbon dioxide and other pollutants from the air and absorb heavy metal pollution from the silt of the creek. They plan to kill ten acres of the very plants that can mitigate the pollution from the aircraft coming and going from the airport each day. The Phragmites are growing where they are most needed to purify the pollutants in the creek.
Some of us have a few more weeks to relax and enjoy summer, while others are preparing for back to school and back to work on our various projects. Perhaps you also feel the change in the air as summer winds down and the cooler, brighter days of September beckon. The new academic year brings its own challenges as well as promises of good things to come. William and Mary students are already arriving for fall term. Classes begin August 30. WJCC Public Schools open to students on Monday, August 28 this year.
It is time once again to watch out for the children and give school buses plenty of room as they settle into their new routines. We typically have large family groups gathering at the bus stops in the mornings and afternoons. Working together, we can help everyone get to work and school on time, while everyone stays safe. Please keep parked cars away from intersections so that everyone can see far enough ahead to drive safely.
Let’s also keep an eye out for neighbors walking pets and those on bikes as we drive through Kingspoint. We need to treat all intersections with care. Sometimes children, pets and walkers aren’t visible until we round that corner. You’ve heard this before, but neighbors continue to experience close calls. (We encountered a speeding car rounding the corner onto Crownpoint Road just this morning.)
Excitement is building as this especially hot, humid summer draws to a close. Labor Day weekend through the first frost of November is one of the best seasons of the year in our area. It is a great time to walk, get out on the water, or bike on the Colonial Parkway.
Mid-September through early November is the best time for planting new trees and shrubs because they can establish good roots before cold weather arrives. We can plant daffodils and other bulbs in October through December, and we enjoy pots of bright chrysanthemums and pansies once the weather begins to cool. Neighbors appreciate all efforts to keep your yard and home beautiful.
Neighbors have been asking about new user fees for the Colonial Parkway in recent months. Signs for those new fees appeared at many of the parking areas between Kingspoint and Jamestown Island last week. Now, one is expected to have a pass to park in any of the parking areas, use the beaches or fish, as well as to visit the various visitor centers. This is new and unusual for many of us accustomed to just hopping on the Parkway.
We did a bit of research and learned that there are a lot of different options for passes, particularly for those who are disabled veterans or who are over 62. There are annual or yearlong passes available to use on the Parkway, even for those under 62, and special National Park passes for every child in grade 4. Disabled veterans can get a free lifetime pass that also provides generous discounts on certain user fees and admission to attractions, including free admission for a party of four to the archeological site at Jamestown. Find details at the link above. These various passes can be used in any national park. Take your ID cards to the Visitor Center at Jamestown and the friendly staff there can advise you on your best option and sell or give you your pass the same day. Ask about the hanging pass your car, too….
Your Neighborhood Association Board voted this week to install electricity and electric lights and outlets at the neighborhood entrance. We have an electrician ready to begin work this fall to install lights on timers or light sensors, and to also install outlets for the white twinkle lights at the holidays. This entire project, including the fee for Dominion Power to run a new line out to the sign and set up our new account, will cost around $3500.00.
Neighbors have asked about better lighting at our entrance over the years. We have been using solar lights, but there are many problems when the batteries don’t properly charge up on overcast days. The lights often didn’t stay on deep into the evening in winter. We expect these new electric lights will be a definite upgrade for the neighborhood as we will soon have reliable lighting on our sign every evening.
Many thanks to David Miller for his tireless work with Dominion Power and with local contractors to gather all the information needed to begin this project. This initiative to light the entrance will entail the initial expense for installation of all of the fixtures, meter, and control panel, as well as a new monthly financial obligation for the KPNA to pay for the electricity.
We are asking neighbors who have not yet supported the KPNA this year to please consider sending in your annual membership contribution of $25.00 now, as we face these additional expenses. We plan to send out a follow-up membership letter next month to those neighbors who have not yet contributed in 2023. If you have been intending to return your membership form in your 2023 Directory, this is a good time to do so, as it will save us sending you a letter next month. We will greatly appreciate any additional contributions from neighbors to help finance this special project.
Please send your contribution, with a note stating your name and address, to KPNA Treasurer Karen Schneider. You may mail it, oryou may leave it in the Schneider’s mailbox at 100 Kingspoint Drive at any time. Find details in your 2023 Neighborhood Directory.
This is the last call for anyone wanting to participate in our Redbud Initiative to replant native redbud trees throughout Kingspoint. Any neighbor may request two free seedling trees as a gift of appreciation for their 2023 KPNA membership. Simply request your trees when you make your membership contribution. Karen is keeping track of who has requested trees. We will order the trees in early September for delivery next March. Participants will be contacted when the trees are available for pick-up next spring.
JCSA is still waiting for their paving contractor to repair Kingspoint Drive. It should be any time now and we’ll provide further information as we receive it. VDoT still need to apply the promised sealer on Kingspoint Drive, once that repair is made. We expect their to be flaggers controlling traffic when this work begins.
We are extremely fortunate that severe weather has missed us so far this year. Hurricane season, which lasts until November 30, can be nerve wracking. Even when the big storms pass us by, we still have plenty of weather excitement in late summer. We have had several severe thunderstorm alerts in recent weeks. You can sign up for JCC alerts to your phone or tablet, to stay in the loop when severe weather threatens.
If you, or anyone in your family might need special help during or after an evacuation or other weather emergency, consider signing up for James City County’s special needs registry. This service allows our emergency services to know who may need special assistance due to mobility or other health issues.
James City County wants to help anyone with special or functional needs develop a plan so they will be prepared to survive for an extended time, with the possible loss of electricity, water, communication, food, and medical resources. Call 757-259-3100 for more information.
Many thanks to Ann Hobson and her volunteers for their continued work at our neighborhood entrance. Tom Mahone and Chris Bonday are continuing their dedicated efforts to keep the grass neatly trimmed. If you are willing to join our crew of volunteers to help with maintenance chores at the entrance, please get in touch with Ann at annhobson1010@gmail.com. We need volunteers to help spread mulch in the coming weeks.
If you are new to the community, or have a new family living near you, please let us know so we can visit with a copy of the Kingspoint Directory and include them in the 2023 listings. Contact kpwebmistress@gmail.com to be added to our email news list. Please visit our KPNA websitefor news and useful community links.
The Kingspoint Neighborhood Association 