Town Crier Articles

Tornado Safety

This part of Virginia will be exposed to possible Tornado activity and damages over the next  8 months.   You need to be Ready:

Know the Difference

Tornado Watch - Tornadoes are possible in and near the watch area. Review and discuss

your emergency plans and check supplies plus your safe room. Be ready to act quickly if a

warning is issued or you suspect a tornado is approaching. Acting early helps to save lives!

Tornado Warning - A tornado has been sighted or indicated by weather radar. Tornado

warnings indicate imminent danger to life and property. Go immediately to your safe room.

How to Prepare for a Tornado

• During any storm, listen to local news or a NOAA Weather Radio to stay informed about tornado watches and warnings.
• Pick a safe room in your home where household members and pets may gather during a tornado. This should be a basement, storm cellar or an interior room on the lowest floor with no windows.
• Practice periodic tornado drills so that everyone knows what to do if a tornado is approaching.
• Consider having your safe room reinforced. Plans for reinforcing an interior room to provide better protection can be found on the FEMA web site.
• Prepare for high winds by for the summer by removing diseased and damaged limbs from trees.
• Move or secure lawn furniture, trash cans, hanging plants or anything else that can be
• picked up by the wind and become a projectile.
• Watch for tornado danger signs:

? Dark, often greenish clouds – a phenomenon caused by hail

? Wall cloud – an isolated lowering of the base of a thunderstorm

? Cloud of debris

? Large hail

? Funnel cloud – a visible rotating extension of the cloud base, Roaring noise (like a freight train)

What to Do After a Tornado-Check for injuries. If you are trained, provide first aid to persons in need until emergency responders arrive.

• Continue listening to local news or a NOAA Weather Radio for updated information and instructions.
• If you are away from home, return only when authorities say it is safe to do so.
• Wear long pants, a long-sleeved shirt and sturdy shoes when examining your walls, doors, staircases and windows for damage. 
• Watch out for fallen power lines or broken gas lines and report them to the utility company immediately.
• Stay out of damaged buildings.
• Use battery-powered flashlights, do NOT use candles.
• If you smell gas or hear a blowing or hissing noise, open a window and get everyone out of the building quickly and call the gas company or fire department.
• Take pictures of damage, both of the building and its contents, for insurance claims.
• Use the telephone only for emergency calls.
• Keep all of your animals under your direct control.
• Clean up spilled medications, bleaches. If you have spilled gasoline or other flammable liquids, call the fire dept. vacate areas where there is a chemical or gasoline spill.

This year of 2019 marks 400 years after the official beginning of the American slave trade. That year, some 23 Africans arrived in Hampton and were sold into enslavement.  Many of these newly arrived Africans were scattered throughout the James River area - including Jamestown founded in 1607.  Details of this arrival are still being research and studied. 

William & Mary marks 2019 as a year to remember and recognize it is 400 years since the first enslaved Africans arrived not far from New Town.  William & Mary, founded in 1693, has had an over three century relationship with African Americans; from owning enslaved Africans to build and maintain the campus; supporting enrolled students who brought their own enslaved to live with them; employing African American staff, supporting Jim Crow laws aimed at restricting the movements of African Americans and keep them separate from white Americans, enrolling African American students, employing African Americans in key administrative roles, creating the Lemon Project (a program to encourage scholarship on the relationship between African Americans and W&M), awarding African Americans Honorary Degrees, naming two dormitories after African Americans (one for the enslaved man named Lemon - the other after Associate Dean Caroll F.S. Hardy), to having African Americans on its governing body - the Board of Visitors. 

The 1619 - 2019: Remembering 400 years website contains a list of events scheduled during the year. William & Mary invites community participation in these events.   

The website also highlights two Board of Visitors’ resolutions important to 400 years of Remembering. In April 2009, the Board adopted a resolution that acknowledged William & Mary's role in slavery and the era of Jim Crow and established "The Lemon Project: A Journey of Reconciliation” as a long-term research project.  In April 2018, the Board adopted a resolution in which members acknowledged that “William & Mary enslaved people, exploited them and their labor, and perpetuated the legacies of racial discrimination.” The Board expressed profound regrets for these activities and apologized for them.

There are other events and related experiences that are not sponsored by William & Mary, such as the “Angela Site” at Jamestown. 

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You may have seen our neighbor Ed Elmore walking his Dalmatian Chompsie along the trails surrounding New Town.  Maybe you spotted them in town where businesses and restaurants are always happy to greet them, sometimes with a bowl of water for Chompsie on hot days.

Ed is originally from Baltimore, a fan of the city's Ravens and Orioles and the Colts who left that city years ago. He has lived since 1964 in the Tidewater area, most recently in Gloucester before coming to New Town. He left the Tidewater area for only five years in 1990-95 when his work sent him to Huntsville, Alabama. 

Before his retirement seven years ago, Ed worked as a civilian for the Department of the Army in the Training and Doctrine Command in Fort Monroe and later Fort Eustis. Each day he commuted to work from his waterfront home in rural Gloucester. Wanting a more convenient, walkable and lively community where he could continue his active lifestyle, Ed found New Town the perfect spot.  

Upon retirement from the Department of the Army as well as US Army Reserve, Ed has found the time to pursue the many activities he loves.  He fell in love with running while a student at Christopher Newport University where he ran track.  In earlier days, he competed in marathons including those in Boston, New York City, Virginia Beach's Shamrock, and the Marine Corps marathons. Today he continues to run regularly with a group of fellow enthusiasts.

Ed also loves biking, especially along the Virginia Capitol Trail, a route he loves for its safety from cars as well as its beauty.  He also hikes the many trails in western Virginia, including those around Crabtree Falls near Waynesboro. He once completed a multi-day backpack hike from Front Royal to Harper's Ferry. In his "spare time," Ed is politically active and an avid reader.

Chompsie, Ed's canine companion, is one of the many Dalmatians he has rescued after falling in love with the breed years ago.  Over those years he has given a home to several Dalmatians, male and female, but for the moment Chompsie is an "only child," although that may not be the case forever.  

When looking for the right place to live and play, Ed - and Chompsie - have found New Town the perfect place, so say hello when you see them.

The Transition Program Team is continuing to plan for the turnover of the NTRA from the Developer controlled Board of Directors (BOD) to a Homeowner controlled Board.  The Team has been expanded to include all of the Committee Chairs.  The turnover is officially scheduled to take place on April 1, 2020. This specific date can be found in the Amended and Restated Master Declaration of Protective Covenants and Restrictions.

The Transition of a Master Planned Community from Developer to Owner control is the most critical Phase in a community’s growth.  A smooth Transition benefits both the Homeowners and the Developer.  In our case, the Developer recognized early on that there was a need for continuing Owner involvement and education in Association operations.  The Resident Advisory Board (RAB) was specifically formed for this purpose and has been functioning at the direction of the Board of Directors.  The BOD asks for and highly values RAB recommendations.

Transition is a process.  In a well-planned and implemented Transition Program, “actual turnover is a  formality that marks one event, during an extended process, when the Developer relinquishes control of the Association.”  In the case of New Town, the RAB and standing Committees have been in place for many years. Having a strong Committee structure in place is key to the future of our community.

Legal work will be required to review existing NTRA documents, make modifications and draft new documents as needed.  This will be done by an independent third party.  In addition, a financial review/audit will also be accomplished by a third party accounting firm.  These are just two of the major work elements.  We will be reporting on all the work being done in future Town Crier issues.  

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So, what can you find at The Ivy Trellis? Owner and operator Rosa Mann says, “All my favorites things.  It’s like Oprah.  Only better!”

The Ivy Trellis is a new retailer on our Main Street that opened in New Town in March, 2019.  In all the variety on display, there is a logic of categories. There is home décor, home accessories and gourmet foods.  Does that cover it all?  Not really. You will have to go in and see for yourself because there is also the baby corner and all those handbags!

Rosa has been in the home décor business since 1994, always operating under the name of The Ivy Trellis.  She started the business in Farmville, VA.  (Side bar for New Town residents from other states:  if you have not gone furniture shopping in Farmville, plan a day trip.)  For about fifteen years, The Ivy Trellis was a full support interior decorating business, providing in-home design

Home décor products at Ivy Trellis

services, a show room for product sales and employing a support staff.  

When Rosa’s husband, Ed, began thinking about sailing and retirement, she re-invented the business as an on-line enterprise, still under The Ivy Trellis banner.  Then last year, she re-opened the store with a shop in Lightfoot Crossing.  That shop succeeded and Rosa loved its courtyard which was a natural space for selling home garden accessories.  

Experience showed a basic fact about shoppers:  they like to combine eating out with shopping. And that is what led her to open a shop this year in New Town where dining opportunities are plentiful.  

Additionally, the New Town store has extra storage space and that seems a good idea given all the stock Rosa includes among her favorite things.  Having extra storage space will help keep the shelves out front fresh during the change of seasons and trends.  Check out the pictures to get ideas for your own addendum to the Rodgers and Hammerstein tune.  

The Ivy Trellis no longer offers in home interior decorating services, but Rosa is happy to offer shoppers advice.  Bring in photos for a discussion.  Maybe Rosa will have something in stock that works for you, or can obtain an item from one of her dealers, or she may simply help you imagine what you need, like an orange chair, so you can go out into the larger marketplace with a specific concept of what you are looking for.   

Welcome to Rosa and Ed and The Ivy Trellis!

Some favorite things

We are so excited to welcome the new NTRA website. Our goal with this newly designed website is to create a user-friendly and informative browsing experience.

The new site is using a completely different software platform from our original website, so NO prior registration information could be transferred. Take a few minutes to register your family on the new site.  The URL is:  www.ntrawilliamsburg.org

One advantage of the new site is the ability to list members of your family on your membership. Once Town Management has confirmed the primary user’s registration, you may add other users such as a spouse. (Both owners and renters can register at the same address. Tenants will be asked to renew their registration annually so that the NTRA knows you are still living in New Town.)

Another opportunity the site provides is that the NTRA can go electronic for the bulk of our communication. By July, we anticipate that information currently published as the Town Crier will be posted on the site and there will no longer be a page-oriented Town Crier prepared for electronic or printed distribution. Check out the site’s Crier Article section. Messages from our RAB Chair, Chuck Stetler, will be posted as a feature “From the Chair” each month, or more frequently as needed.

So what new things might you want to enjoy now?

• Calendar– you have a full month’s view of all the NTRA events in New Town, and the ability to export the calendar for your use.

• Report an Issue– you can submit a request (select a topic) to Town Management that will be tracked electronically so that you will know its status and can check the site until it’s resolved.  Organizing requests by topic also allows the association to more readily determine where concerns are and should give our committees more visibility to issues.

• Search – are you looking for information on a certain NTRA committee or policy? Just enter the topic in the search tab (under the “Residents” drop-down menu).

• What’s New – wondering what you might have missed?  The What’s Newtab (also under the “Residents” drop-down menu) lets you specify a time period and then identify any content that has been added to the site during that period.

• Other new content – if you’ve wondered how New Town was created or are new to the community, look for helpful information under the “About” drop-down menu.  We’ve expanded the Frequently Asked Questions to provide useful info as well.  And we can add more questions if you let us know what you think is missing.

Some features that can be activated as needed in the future include a Survey function and a news bulletin.  As we gain more experience with the site and learn what you, the members of our community, would like to see, modifications may be made since the software platform has many different options enjoyed by other associations. Contact ntrawebsitecommittee@gmail.comwith your suggestions.

So why not join us on this journey?  We are looking for a few volunteers to help us to maintain the site and keep both the web and our Facebook page current and meaningful.  Contact Communications Committee Chair Lucy Painter at hokiegirl70@gmail.com.

The Landscape Advisory Committee (LAC) will be conducting a landscape services survey. Plans are to circulate the survey to ALL homeowners of the NTRA later this spring. Information gathered will be used to establish policies, create a budget and update specifications for the landscape contract, which expires at the end of this year. Your participation and comments are an important factor in the ongoing efforts to provide quality landscape services from our contractors. 

The LAC has set itself on a tentative time-line as follows: 

• complete the final draft of the survey by April 30
• send the survey out to homeowners by May 15
• collect responses from homeowners by June 15
• communicate results to homeowners by July 15

To help homeowners answer the survey questions, we think it is important to first understand what landscape services are the responsibility of the contractor. To that end, we reprint here (with a couple corrections) from a document available on the NTRA website called “Living in New Town; A quick guideline for the homeowner living in New Town.” 

Homeowner Responsibilities*: 

• Providing clear access to yard for landscaping contractor?(contractor is not responsible to move items out of yard for maintenance) 
• Contacting the irrigation company if the homeowner’s system needs repairs (repairs are the homeowners expense) Hampton Roads Irrigation – 757-877-3748
• Ensuring homeowners irrigation system does not over/under water homeowners property 
• Replacing dead/dying shrubs and trees (with similar kind) located on homeowner’s property 
• Landscape enhancements and plants (with LAC approval) that are additional work above landscaping contractor’s responsibilities 

* New Homes Plants and irrigation systems are maintained by the builder for 1 year from closing on new homes (if stated in warranty) 

NTRA Responsibilities: 

• Community pool/pool facilities and surrounding grounds 
• Playground facilities and grounds?- Designated trails within New Town?- Park and common areas within New Town 
• New Town banner flags?
• Street trees (on NTRA controlled roads) 
• Light bulbs for street lighting?
• Pet stations 

Landscaping Contractor Responsibilities:?

• Mowing, trimming, and edging property (edging is done every other week) 
• Mulching (once a year in the Spring)?
• Pruning shrubs and trees (up to 10 feet), (as per schedule on website) 
• Weed pre-emergent application (once a year in the Spring) 
• Weeding around trees and shrubs will be done on an as-needed basis - Fertilizing (as per schedule on website)?
• Aerating and over-seeding (once a year in the Fall)?
• Lawn insect control application (as per schedule on website) 

Irrigation Support Contractor Responsibilities:

• Irrigation Systems (startup*, backflow testing, 1 mid-season inspection, and shut down) 

*Systems are started and checked to make sure heads are working and spraying the appropriate area