Town Crier Articles

Meet Aliaya Blair and Arturo Sosa, two of the lifeguards taking shifts at the New Town pool this summer.  They are part of a larger team of lifeguards (in fact, Aliaya and Arturo have an apartment for the summer with two other lifeguards) that may draw assignments at our pool, but also may work shifts at Stone Hill, Green Springs or other area pools. 

 

Aliaya is studying pharmacy in her native Jamaica.  She lives in St. Catherine Parish, not far from Kingston.  She attends the University of West Indies, where she has three years remaining.  

 

She has been to the US several times before to visit relatives in NY, NJ and OH.  When she visits, her favorite thing in the US that is unavailable in Jamaica is Dunkin’ Donuts doughnuts  

 

Arturo is in the US for the first time this summer.  He is from the Dominican Republic.  He had been in Williamsburg only about two weeks at the time of our interview but he is already liking it.  He had also spent time in MD for training.  He too mentions food (pizza and Chick Fil-A) as significant attractions of being in the US.

 

Arturo is studying medicine.  He has two and half years left at university, but at 22, it seems likely he will have many years of additional training left to reach his goal of being an MD.  While in the US, he plans to get up to New York City to visit an uncle before returning home.  

 

When asked what safety rules they want to emphasize, both Aliaya and Arturo say first, “No running.”  Arturo adds, “No diving.”  The classics. 

 

Enjoy the pool. Be safe.  Share something cold with a lifeguard.

 

  

Aliaya

 

 

Arturo

Need a family-friendly place to work out, to escape daily stress and to meet new people?  American Family Fitness in New Town is the place.  Conveniently located on Main Street, this all-purpose gym is, as General Manager Mike Sabin says, "a place for everybody." 

 

With a Master’s degree in Exercise Science, Mike has been committed to personal fitness for all age and activity levels since 1986 and plans to continue that work in Williamsburg with the existing and new exercise programs at AFF. 

            

Currently the gym offers something for every fitness level.  Group classes include Active, Zumba, Power, Cycling, Fight and Blast and others all designed for great cardio workout as well as strength training.  All classes are led by well-trained certified instructors.  

 

 

In addition to cardio and strength classes, AFF provides Mind and Body programs such as Vinyasa Yoga and Centergy designed to reduce stress and increase strength and flexibility.  Feeling anxious?  Tense? These classes may be the answer.

 

Children and seniors too have a place at AFF. As a family friendly facility, the gym provides Kid Zone, an onsite childcare service where your children engage in age-appropriate activities while you work out. Classes such as Zumba Kids, Tae Kwon Do, and Kids Boot Camp introduce young children to the fun and benefit of regular exercise at an early age. For seniors, there is the Senior Fitness program for low impact cardio, balance work, and resistance training that is easy on the joints.  AFF is also a participant with Silver Sneakers and the activities it supports.

 

If you prefer to work individually, nine personal trainers are available by appointment to address your specific goals. Or you may choose to work out in the well-equipped open gym with the tools you need to reach those goals. 

 

Interested in learning more about your personal nutrition goals?  Make an appointment with Diahnn Thompkins, a registered dietician. Need a refresher after a workout?  There's a sauna.  Hungry? Grab a protein bar or shake at the café.

  

As one of the outlets for healthy living in New Town, American Family Fitness is truly a "place for everybody."

As Williamsburg area residents, we are familiar with the significance of the part of Virginia we call home. The Historic Triangle is one of the premier national sites for Colonial American history.  But did you know that a site of historical importance can be found right here in New Town? 

Take a stroll through our own Roper Homestead Park at the intersection of Casey Boulevard and Center Street and you will find historical markers identifying the parcel as the site of the Roper Homestead.  In 1990 and again in 2004, New Town Associates (NTA), LLC, commissioned studies by the William and Mary Center for Archeological Research (WMCAR) as part of their permit application for development in New Town.  Archeologists found the remains of two buildings and artifacts, including various quantities of kitchen and serving ware, nails, as well as oyster shells and animal bones on the site.  They placed the time of occupation as roughly between 1800 and 1850. This corresponds to the eras known as the Early National Period (1789-1830) and the Antebellum Period (1830-1860). What is particularly important is that the structural remains and artifacts found have been relatively undisturbed and not superseded by other uses and time periods.

 

Kitchen Excavation at Roper Homestead Park

 

The post-Colonial period in Tidewater Virginia is an understudied timeframe. After the American Revolution, James City County experienced a period of significant decline. In 1796, British architect Benjamin Latrobe, of US Capitol fame, toured the area and remarked on the extent of the “poverty and decay” throughout the Peninsula. Between the late 1780s and 1820, after the capital was moved from Williamsburg to Richmond, JCC population declined by 42 percent as crops failed and the average landholding gradually decreased with the sale and division of plantations.

Given the undeveloped nature of the Roper property and the availability of historical records allowing identification of previous occupants, the site provides a rare opportunity to examine habitation over time. Nearly all of JCC’s records were destroyed in Richmond during the Civil War, but some court records, including land tax entries, were prepared in duplicate, allowing ownership to be traced locally.  

Indications are the Roper tract was a relatively modest farmstead. The earliest record appears in 1803 when Randolph Roper was first assessed for 615 acres with some type of building valued at $1058. By 1820, the property was reassessed at $2146.  The assessments of personal property also document Roper’s rising prosperity during the period, counter to the prevailing economic conditions. In 1803, Roper was taxed for one slave, age 16 or older, and a two-wheeled carriage. By the time of his death in 1822/23, records show that he owned 4 horses and a carriage valued at $50 and that there were 8 slaves on the homestead.  

By 1826, the property had been divided among his heirs and eight individuals appear on the tax records. Only the tract of Ann Roper, who was possibly his wife, includes a building valuation. Ann transferred her tract to a John T. James in 1833. The lack of records showing him farming the land could indicate that Ann continued to work the farm as part of life occupancy rights. Crops would have included corn, wheat, oats, potatoes and sweet potatoes. Butter production, wool, cattle and pigs would also have been part of a mixed farm.   

After the 1850 census, the building valuation decreased dramatically. In 1851, the land tax assessment of structures was only $100. This could indicate loss of property through fire or demolition or a change in use of the property.  Subsequent ownership of Jones heirs, followed by the Darling and Taliaferro families, are less historically significant, although there are records from 1912 showing P B Taliaferro commissioning a survey in advance of planning a subdivision. In 1919, Clarence Casey and four other family members purchased the land that would eventually become New Town and held it until it was deeded to Carlton and Calvin Casey in 1962.

In 2004, the Roper site was designated eligible for the National Register of Historic Places. A 2005 interpretive and archeological management plan was commissioned by NTA LLC from WMCAR to provide guidance on how best to preserve the site as green space with public interpretation of the site’s archeological resources, leading to Roper Homestead Park as it appears today.

Editor’s Note:  The New Town Activities Committee is in discussions with Joe B. Jones, MA, Director of WMCAR, which provided the information for this article, to speak about the Roper tract and its history at a future Noon Talk. Stay tuned!

Changes are coming to the James City County (JCC) recycle program.  NTRA does not facilitate the recycling program for New Town residents.  Each homeowner who wishes to participate in recycling deals directly with JCC.

The JCC website is the most authoritative source of information about the changes to the recycle program:  https://www.jamescitycountyva.gov/910/Curbside-Recycling 

In particular, there is a fact sheet at this link: https://www.jamescitycountyva.gov/DocumentCenter/View/21581/Curbside-Recycling-Program-Fact-Sheet-PDF?bidId=

Here are some important points made in the fact sheet:

1. Old carts (gray with green lid) will be collected following the last collection in June. 
2. Leave carts at the curb following collections after June 15. 
3. New carts (gray with a tan lid) will be delivered between June 15-30. 
4. Recycling will continue to be paid by the County through Sept.30. 
5. Residents will pay $7/month per cart for the curbside service beginning Oct. 1
6. Additional information will be delivered with the new cart and can be found online at jamescitycountyva.gov/recycling.

Traudie McCullock does not beat around the bush about Comber Physical Therapy & Fusion Chiropractic located on Discovery Boulevard. “I love coming here,” she asserts. My visit to Comber PT Williamsburg in New Town tells why Traudie and others feel that way and I thank Kim Owens, Director of Marketing for guiding me on a very informative and fun tour of this therapeutic facility.

 

Comber Physical Therapy and Fusion Chiropractic is the vision of founder, Erika Stephan. In November 2003, her vision came to life and today she is the owner of Comber PT and Fusion Chiropractic, Williamsburg in New Town and in Lightfoot. It is the peninsula’s only Integrated Clinic that “treats most any physical condition [relating] to the musculoskeletal system and offers women’s and men’s health therapies” This year marks the 15th anniversary of Comber PT & Fusion Chiropractic and they are definitely not slowing down.

 

My visit began in the main building where physical therapy was in full swing addressing head, neck, shoulder, back, foot and ankle conditions. Sue Mulnix, a resident of Charlotte Park shared this about her physical therapy at Comber PT. “I went to Comber after I had my right knee replaced. I found the staff friendly, caring, and professional and, of course, convenient. Sue went on to say, “I was pleased that the techs were allowed to adjust their schedules so they could go to classes to further their education in the field.” It was true that the environment was warm and friendly, and I sensed the remaining part of my tour was going to get warmer. We were headed for the Rock Steady Boxing (RSB) program…yep, boxing.

 

Upon entering the recently renovated and expanded gym with updated equipment my education began. The Comber PT Williamsburg facility “is the sole outpatient provider of the LSVT® [Global] BIG protocol; i.e. an exercise treatment program for people with Parkinson's disease (PD)…based on the principle that the brain can learn and change (neuroplasticity).” It works on the same principle as the Lee Silverman Voice Treatment (LSVT), which uses bigness of movement to improve movement quality in PD. Exercises involving boxing techniques and boxing equipment fit the protocol. The participants are called “fighters” and three of them joined the Lead Coach/Program Director, Rachael Carter to explain that “Big” in the RSB protocol stands for the increase of amplitude, with whole body movement, motor skills, and overall function. Rachael also contributed that her background in martial arts, her training in physical therapy and her personal experience with family members who have Parkinson’s disease afford her the skills, interest, and understanding to work with the fighters in RSB. Her face lit up as she talked about them.     

 

Bob Golub spoke next and he was emphatic about the camaraderie among the fighters and with their Coach. He shared that they “understood each other’s problems and were able to help each other” and Traudie added that the “support for one another was so important.” Melissa Hough contributed that the program “helps all the symptoms” and that she comes five times a week to RSB. The three fighters were in total agreement about another fact too. Rachael is a great trainer who is a part of the group and an active supporter of them all. Their faces lit up as they spoke about her. Among the many new programs for the Parkinson’s patients at Combers PT/ Rocks Steady Boxing, Williamsburg is a modified, boxing chair class for those who cannot participate in the higher intensity RSB classes. Comber/RSBW has also partnered with Brookdale Senior Living to provide a monthly Parkinson’s support group meeting. Kim is busy with outreach to local doctors such as inviting them to an evening RSB class called “Box with your Doc”, held on May 16th. They plan to continue those evening classes so area doctors can experience RSB with their patients. Hats off to the RSBW program, all the Comber PT treatment programs, the entire staff, the fighters and patients who make it no secret that they are grateful for the benefits of physical improvement, growing energy, and gratifying camaraderie.  

“Osher helps us to be successful” without any onerous oversight or requirements, explained Scherry Barra, Director of the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at William and Mary. Scherry gave an interesting historical perspective on what led to the 2018 switch from the Christopher Wren Association to the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute during the May 8th Noon Talks in New Town.  

 

The Christopher Wren Association had operated for 28 years without State funding as an independent agency associated with the College of William and Mary. Largely as a result of William and Mary’s review of about 20 independent agencies associated with the university as well as increased operating expenses, the Christopher Wren Board began considering whether to become an independent 501c3 nonprofit or an official part of the University.

 

When Scherry attended a conference of many lifelong learning programs in the Southern United States, she met Bernard Osher Foundation representatives and learned more about the funding opportunities they provide to 122 other “mature student” programs. (The Bernard Osher Foundation is a philanthropic institution supporting higher education, integrative medicine, and the arts. Four other Osher Lifelong Learning programs exist in Virginia at George Mason University, University of Richmond, Hampton University and UVA.)

 

She approached Osher management about sponsoring the Christopher Wren program. Working with the Board and William and Mary, the program demonstrated that it met the Osher Lifelong Learning’s criteria for success and sustainability and earned their financial support.

 

In July 2018 the Bernard Osher Foundation provided William and Mary with an initial $100,000 grant that will be subject to review in February 2020. The grant funded increased programming in the Spring 2019 semester and a variety of projects including the purchase of portable audio-visual equipment to provide greater flexibility in locating classroom space, upgraded equipment for the Wightman Cup classroom, and scholarships for students who may find the membership fee cost-prohibitive (55 scholarships are available to those in need in the community). If these projects are deemed successful, Osher at William and Mary hopes to become the recipient of a $1 million grant that would become an endowment for the future to help support annual operating costs.

 

Scherry explained that among the constant challenges are enrollment which fluctuates seasonally, and keeping fees reasonable. A future marketing study will help assess what options are available to balance these needs. Attendees asked for more information on the endowment funds, the 2019 summer program and suggested ways to enhance awareness of the program’s attractiveness to part-time residents. Scherry acknowledged that word of mouth has been a great advertising tool and that through Osher’s National Resource Center, the William and Mary program now has access to many new experiences and ideas. “It’s like joining a new family,” she said.