Town Crier Articles

There are many reasons New Town is a special place to live.  What makes it special may vary from neighbor to neighbor, but most would agree, we are all fortunate to live here.  Feeling grateful is one reason the Women’s Monthly Lunch Group supports a Giving Back Initiative for the purpose of sharing some of our resources to benefit the greater Williamsburg community.  Last year the lunch group and others donated classroom supplies to the JCC/Williamsburg Teacher Supply Closet and winter coats to FISH and House of Mercy to distribute to those in need.

 

Now in 2024, the Giving Back Initiative is conducting a food drive during the months of February and March.  FISH and House of Mercy are both in urgent need of food items during this time of year when donations typically drop off. In the United States, over 44 million people, including 13 million children, at some point in the year don’t have enough to eat and don’t know where their next meal will come from.  Williamsburg is not immune from this problem. In 2023, FISH and House of Mercy provided, through their respective food pantries, the equivalent of over 400,000 meals.  Food insecurity is a growing problem in our community. FISH, for example, reported an 80% increase in food requests over the past year.

 

Please help us help others by bringing healthy, non-perishable food items to:

• the NTRA meeting space located at 5118 Center Street between 11AM-1PM on either March 1st or 2nd,

• bring your donation to the Easter Egg Hunt on Saturday, March 30 at 2PM at Lydias Park in Abbey Commons

 

The Giving Back Initiative plans to donate school supplies to local teachers again this summer and collect 100 new winter coats for kids in 100 days later this fall. Thank you, New Town, for generously supporting these efforts.

 

Come join the Easter Bunny for an Easter egg hunt and games!

 

The New Town Residential Association Activities Committee will be hosting an Easter Egg Hunt in Lydias Park (Abbey Commons - at corner of Lydias and Town Creek) on Saturday, March 30th, with a March 31st rain date.  The festivities begin at 2.00 PM.

 

The Easter Bunny will be there to join in the fun and provide a photo opportunity. There will be an egg hunt where the younger children (up to age 4) will go first and then will be joined by the older children (5 and up). Games and prizes will follow the egg hunts.  All New Town residents, families and friends are invited. Even if you do not have kids or grandkids, that’s ok, come join in the fun!

 

If you are interested, collection boxes will be available for your donations of non-perishable food items to help stock the food pantries at FISH and House of Mercy.

 

RSVP:  Please let us know if you plan to attend and the ages of your children. Email:  Susan Schlimme at  skschlimme@hotmail.com. 

On Sunday, February 25, fifty-five New Town neighbors cheered on the William and Mary women’s basketball team facing the lady Pirates of Hampton University at Kaplan Arena. New Towners were part of a large lively crowd supporting the Play4Kay cancer fund raiser which honors female survivors of all cancers that affect women. Tribe Mary players shed their traditional dark green for pink uniforms while the Hampton University team sported pink shoes.

     

The afternoon began with a pre-game pizza party at the arena where attendees won gift certificates and a team-signed basketball. William and Mary Assistant Coach Kenia Cole, who previously coached at Hampton, welcomed the New Town fans. She confided that she expected an especially exciting game since Hampton’s top scorer and all conference player, forward Nylah Young, had transferred this year to William and Mary.  

     

Young and her teammates certainly did not disappoint their New Town fans.  The game itself proved to be a cliffhanger with the Tribe pulling out a 66-58 victory largely from the foul line in the 4th quarter.

February is “Responsible Pet Owners Month”. So, let’s remind everyone what it means to be a neighborly and responsible pet owner in New Town. Keeping your pet healthy and happy is important. Equally important is controlling your pet’s behavior in a responsible manner. Be considerate of those living around you.

 

Always clean up after your pet - Your yard should not be filled with your pet's waste, nor should you neglect to pick up after your animal when going on walks around the neighborhood. Pet waste stations are available throughout New Town with disposable bags. Use them and encourage other pet owners to do the same with a gentle reminder pointing to the nearest area. Steer your dog to the mulched areas in our common spaces to urinate when possible. Thank those you see following the rules!

 

Leash your dog – Dogs and cats are naturally curious, so try to control where they explore and most importantly where they “do their business.”  Would you want your landscape damaged?  Recently, the Association received this complaint:

 

 

And another example:

 

Do I know your dog?  Always seek permission from another dog owner before allowing dogs to "meet" while passing on the sidewalk.  Some dogs are anxious, older or more fearful and a more reserved approach is warranted. 

 

New Town loves its pets, but they can damage property if not managed responsibly. Pet droppings, noise, unleashed dogs, etc.-all of these situations are addressed in the NTRA Master Declaration (Section 7.1(x)) and Rules (Section 11.1 – Animals).  New Town pet owners should familiarize themselves with these requirements including those for use of the common areas (sidewalks, parks, alleys, etc.) in New Town. Report problems to our management company, Chesapeake Bay Management. Repeated violations are subject to fines including any poor pet management from tenants to NTRA owners. 

 

In the spirit of being good pet neighbors (minimizing complaints and possible penalties), share this article with neighbors or dog owners especially tenants who may not be up to date on our rules. Print it and pass it around!

 

The first step you can take to prepare for a potential emergency is to keep yourself informed.  One way you can do this is to sign-up for JCC Alert.  

 

JCC Alert is a system through which you are informed of imminent threats to health and safety as well as informational notifications that affect your locations or work environments.  

 

System administrators will send notifications regarding severe weather, flooding, water outages, and more.

JCC Alert emergency notification calls will show as 757-564-2165 on your caller ID and emergency.management@jamescitycountyva.gov in your e-mail. 

 

For additional information and to sign-up for JCC Alert go to https://www.jccalert.org/.

Last year a group of New Town women organized several initiatives to “give back” to our James City County/Williamsburg community. Through residents' generous donations many bags of school supplies and more than 50 children’s winter coats were donated and provided to people in need. Thank you!

 

For the first quarter of this year, we will be holding a food drive -“Fill the Shelves”- to benefit those in need. Perhaps you saw the recent Virginia Gazette article outlining the challenges for those who are housed in locations without kitchens or appliances. https://www.dailypress.com/2024/01/24/helping-hands-volunteers-make-sure-meals-get-to-those-in-need/  It highlighted the reality of poverty in our area: “18.6% of people in Williamsburg are living in poverty, far exceeding Virginia’s statewide average of 10.6%.”  

 

 

Any collected non-perishable food will be donated to the House of Mercy and FISH for distribution. While all donations are appreciated, canned or packaged meat and fish (or other items providing protein) and grains (rice, cereals) are especially needed. We hope to have collection boxes accessible soon, but in the meantime, if you would like to contribute, contact Eden: edenaglenn@gmail.com or Gale: ladyhappy73@gmail.com.