Town Crier Articles

The first Saturday of October was a beautiful day. The bright sky and mild temperature drew New Towners out of their homes to celebrate the coming of fall at New Town’s fourth Fall Festival.  From 2:00 on, families with young children in tow, young adults, and seniors approached the Village Walk green, which was decorated with scare crows, ghosts, and pumpkins.  The pace of their steps increased, as they heard Activities Committee member Jon Tomas’s flawless rendition of a carnival barker’s patter, as he urged them to participate in the afternoon’s games, races and other activities.   

 

At our old-fashioned Fall Festival, there was something for everyone. It began with kids scrambling to find pumpkin-shaped eggs filled with candy in our fall version of the traditional Easter Egg hunt.  Children then howled with laughter as they vied to hit their opponent with a handful of whipped cream in the game Pie Face Show Down. The “losers” happily licked fingerfuls of the cream off their faces. To the delight of their parents, they also burned off energy, running from area to area where they “earned” candy as they tossed bean bags, rope rings and balls onto a variety of objects, scrambled through tunnels, stepped from box to box to box, shimmied under  the limbo pole, raced each other carrying an egg on a spoon, and hopped in old-fashioned flour sacks. Winners of the races, which were particularly popular this year, and the mummy wrap contest won prizes.   

 

 

 

The kids, however, needed no enticement to build and then destroy structures made of cardboard bricks, although one little guy built his house with no intention of letting anyone touch it. Sometimes holding hands with parents, children also happily marched to music around a giant circle of numbers as they dreamed of winning one of the three giant cookie cakes. They also expressed their artistic inclinations by painting pumpkins, which they happily took home to adorn their front steps.   

 

Teens, adults, and seniors joined in the pumpkin painting, competed in tossing bean bags at the cornhole boards, and hit a few croquet balls.  Others simply enjoyed the happy vibes of the occasion as they basked in the gentle sunshine and companionship and enjoyed the fall-themed music provided by Rick Richards.

 

   

 

Everyone enjoyed the homemade Halloween decorated cookies, the three varieties of popcorn, apples, oranges and cider, and many also enjoyed two hours of freedom from electronics and from the stresses of modern life.  Reflecting on the event, one little guy said to his mother: “Mommy, this is so much fun.  Can we do it tomorrow?” and another mother observed that her children “were beyond happy.”   

 

There are lots of other fun photos in the website Photo Album - 2025 Fall Festival Fun.

 

We would like to thank the members of the Activities Committee, including Susan Schlimme, Jon Thomas, Terri  Finn, Liz Fones-Wolf, Gayle Ducan, Ruth Burgess, Linda Ellis, and Jennifer Morgan, for organizing and staffing the Fall Festival. They and twelve other New Town volunteers, including Merry Thomas, Ken Fones-Wolf, Lynn Griswold, Tracy Burd, Angela Lesnett,  Mark Patterson, Darce Patterson, Bobbie Falquet, Anne-Isabelle Hughes and Scott Ellis, made the Fall Festival possible.    

 

The Activities Committee next is event is a Holiday Party on Friday, December 12,  6:30-9:00 at Legacy Hall.

The James City County Board of Supervisors (BOS) has not yet taken any legislative actions on the two pending development projects for Eastern State Hospital surplus land.

 

 

Jim Icenhour, BOS Chair, announced at the scheduled October 14th public hearing that the Westwood Park applicant had requested a postponement.

 

In an October 14 email to the JCC Director of Community Development, ABVA’s attorney requested that the “Board of Supervisors defer this case until its February 10, 2026 meeting. We look forward to participating in the Comprehensive Plan discussions that will take place in the meantime.” BOS voted to open the public hearing and then postpone any staff presentations until this February 2026 BOS meeting.

 

Following this agenda item, a planned public hearing on the Comprehensive Master Plan Land Use designation change for the Parcel C Eastern State Hospital property was similarly opened and then postponed until the December 9, 2025 BOS meeting. When the JCC Master Plan was updated in 2021, it retained the designation of Public Lands for the Eastern State property given the limited available information on the potential impacts of a land use change to Mixed Use. (Note: the BOS had postponed action on this Parcel C land use designation change in April 2023 until a rezoning application was submitted for consideration. ABVA’s formal application (Z-23-0004) for Westwood Park in May 2023 triggered the need for a Master Plan revision.)

 

In preparation for a December 2025 BOS vote, the Supervisors held a short discussion of the Eastern State Master Plan land use change at its October 28th BOS business meeting. JCC Staff had prepared a memorandum explaining that geographic specific language could be adopted for both Mixed Use and Economic Opportunity districts. The Chair requested that staff develop additional information on the different levels of mixed use, including the “economic opportunity designation” that might be applied to Eastern State Parcel C. Supervisors expressed concern that there was too much residential coming to the area – both from a traffic congestion and economic diversity perspective. Per their discussion, the County needs to find a balance that is “truly mixed.”

 

The Westwood Park development rezoning public hearing was called to order and remains open. Residents who have not previously commented may still submit written comments or plan to speak at the February 10, 2026 BOS meeting. Similarly, the Master Plan land use change hearing also remains open and additional public comments may also be considered at the December 9th BOS meeting. The address for comments is: Community Development, 101-A Mounts Bay Road, P.O. Box 8784, Williamsburg, VA 23187-8784 or email: community.development@jamescitycountyva. gov

 

Have you taken steps to prepare your home for the coming winter weather? After the heat of summer and the crisp, sunny days of fall, it’s hard to imagine that winter weather will soon arrive, but taking steps now to prepare your home for colder temperatures could save you money on heating bills and costly repairs, and might even help to keep you and your family safer, dryer, and warmer.

 

The Federal Emergency Management Agency, FEMA, has some suggestions you might want to consider to consider:      

• Insulate and weatherstrip:  Add insulation to your attic, basement, and crawl spaces. Seal drafts by applying weatherstripping to windows and doors and caulking any visible cracks.

• Protect your pipes:  Prevent frozen and burst pipes by insulating pipes in unheated areas like your garage or basement.

o   During extreme cold, let indoor faucets on exterior walls slowly drip to keep water flowing.

o   Open cabinet doors under sinks to allow warm air to circulate.

o   Know how to shut off your main water valve in case a pipe does burst.

• Prepare your heating system: Have a professional inspect and clean your heating system and chimney every year. Also, keep flammable materials at least three feet away from all heat sources.

• Clean gutters: Remove any debris from your gutters to prevent ice from building up and causing roof damage.

• Maintain your roof and trim trees:  Inspect your roof for loose shingles and check with a professional to ensure your roof can handle the potential weight of snow and ice. Trim any tree branches that could fall on your home during a storm.    

 

At October's noon talk, New Town resident (and Board Chair), Jack Espinal, spoke about one of his passions - bats.

 

Jack’s interest in bats began with a childhood visit to Moaning Cave In California. His first bat acquaintance was Juri, a fruit bat. We learned some bats are mammals that hibernate during the winters in caves and or migrate, depending on the species.  

 

 

We saw an informative presentation with two pictures in particular of Austin, Texas. That city has a large population of bats that residents and visitors line up at dusk to watch the flock emerge and fly over a bridge to begin their hunt for a meal of flying insects.

 

Jack reassured us that while vampires were not real, vampire bats are. However, they aren’t in the United States and usually bite hooved animals in Mexico and Central America where they live. Researchers have discovered that vampire bats have an anticoagulant in their saliva. Another bat fact that needs more research is bats rarely get cancer. Scientists have discovered they have a gene that suppresses the disease.

 

Of the 1,500 bat species. 30% are endangered. Some things we can all do to protect bats are don’t use pesticides, leave dead trees on the ground, and don’t hunt bats.

   

 

Thanks to our landscapers at Olde Capital, sporting pink bandanas and lead by owner Richard Scruggs, for their good work in preparing trails and sidewalks in support of October 4th's Run For The Hills, a fundraiser for Breast Cancer Awareness. 

It’s time to run and walk in New Town in October!  

 

On Saturday, October 4, New Town hosts the Run for the Hills, sponsored by 501(c)(3) nonprofit Here for the Girls and the Colonial Road Runners. This event features a 1-mile route and a 5k route. Walkers and runners of all skill levels are welcome on both courses! Here's a link to the website  with full details. 

 

Volunteers will be pinking up New Town in support of this event! If you have pink ribbons or other decorations, please show your support by decorating your porches, yards and mailboxes. Volunteers will be decorating the two long fences in Charlotte Park and various other points to help mark the routes. If you would like to help decorate the neighborhood on October 3, please send an email to sommer3553@gmail.com.

 

         

 

Next, on Saturday, October 25, New Town embraces purple as it hosts the Walk to End Alzheimer’s, sponsored by the Alzheimer’s Association and many local businesses. See the flyer below for registration details. Volunteers are also needed for this event! Please visit https://signup.com/go/dAgehoV to sign up to volunteer!

 

If you have purple ribbons or flowers from previous events, please show your support for the participants by decorating your porches, yards and mailboxes! Volunteers will again be decorating the long fences in Charlotte Park and other points along the way. If you would like to help decorate the neighborhood on October 24, please send an email to sommer3553@gmail.com.

 

Show your pink and purple colors to support these events!

The James City County Board of Supervisors is holding its public hearing to decide on the rezoning of Parcel C of the Eastern State Hospital surplus land on Tuesday, October 14, 2025 at 5:00 PM. Residents are invited to attend and speak on the development or to submit written comments (by mail, fax or email). The hearing will be in the Government Center Board Room, 101 Mounts Bay Road, Building F.

 

The meeting agenda will be available on the JCC website next week.

 

Prior to this hearing, Jamestown District Supervisor Jim Icenhour is holding an informational meeting about the Westwood Park project tomorrow evening, October 2nd at 7PM at Legacy Hall, 4301 New Town Avenue.

 

Background: Westwood Park is the 79.56 acres development by ABVA adjoining Charlotte Park in New Town and is proposed to build 172 units (82 single family and 90 multifamily homes) with its own parks, pool and amenities, and homeowners association. An additional 24,000 square feet of commercial space will be provided. Access to the new community would be via Discovery Park Boulevard. As currently depicted, Westwood Park will have no association with New Town. The impacts of the development on stormwater protection resources and traffic have been continuing concerns, and led the James City County Planning Commission to not recommend its rezoning approval in its April 2025 meeting. Since then the applicant, ABVA, has modified its plan to mitigate some of these issues. JCC Staff will report its evaluation of these additional changes to the Board of Supervisors. (See August Town Crier article.)

 

The Board of Supervisors must now decide whether or not to approve the rezoning of public use land to multi-use for this development.

 

 

 

It's just about time for New Town’s old-fashioned fun-filled, FREE Fall Festival in the Village Walk neighborhood on the corner of Casey and Settlers Market Boulevard.  

 

Fun for all ages - we promise. Invite your family and friends to join in. Who can resist some cider, popcorn and other goodies? As an added treat, there will be drawings for a large pumpkin and for gift certificates donated by the New Town Commercial Association.

 

Children’s activities, including shark toss and mummy wrapping, races, pie face showdown, a kid’s obstacle course and best of all, all participants win prizes. Adults can join the kids in pumpkin painting, playing croquet, cornhole and in the cake walk, of which there are four rounds, and the winners take home a large cookie cake.  

 

Remember, the Festival begins with a children’s Halloween “egg” hunt at 2:15 across the street from the main venue. So get there early!!

 

Come to participate or just share the good time, the kids’ joy and the music.

 

For those of us in Charlotte Park and Shirley Park with individual irrigation systems, I came across an interesting recommendation from the James City Service Authority (JCSA).

 

For whatever reason during July when we endured over 100 degrees for weeks, I did not adjust my irrigation, and the water bill hadn't increased. 

However, when I received the August bill, quite a bit more water was used, because the irrigation wasn't running properly following a power outage, despite the 9 Volt battery in our system to save settings. That's a lot of responsibility for a little 9 Volt battery. Another good reason to check your control panel for a low battery indicator, or to check your run schedules occasionally.

 

Anyway, battery and settings restored I did increase the run times a bit, hence more water.

 

Ok, here’s what JCSA recommended. When you submit your irrigation meter reading to HRUBS (which goes towards adjusting your sewer bill), jot down or note how many gallons used from month to month, this way, lest you forgot you adjusted your irrigation, you can determine whether there is a leak in your underground irrigation, or even with the home.

 

A bit late in the season now for sharing this tip, but starting next year, you might consider JCSA’s recommendation to perhaps catch a problem before it develops.

 

At any rate with aeration and overseeding now in progress, irrigation is key to the health of your lawn.