Thank you from the Kids’ Fishing Rodeo
We want to thank each and everyone of you that took time out of your busy schedules to volunteer, to donate, to participate, to help set up or take down, to cook, to paint, to stock the pond, to the “filleters” of the fish for the children (all six fish that each kid caught was then fileted and put in a Ziploc baggie). Thanks to Steve Thrasher who provided the place for us to have this wonderful event (it was our 10th time having the fishing rodeo). To the organizations/individuals that not only donated raffle ticket prizes, but also Chinese auction items; there were 21 items in all (with multiple items in each); there were so may I cannot name them all but you definitely know who you are! To Game and Inland Fisheries that donated all the goody bags for the kids (along with DeeDee Bruce and Patsy Clark). The Lexington Moose Lodge donated all the trout along with the gentlemen that helped prepare the food (and they didn’t have one child in this, either). The Buchanan Moose Lodge provided the food. We had face painting along with wagon rides, and we fed all the families that came with the children, too.
There are so many people that made this rodeo a success that I am afraid to start naming people because I will definitely miss some. All I want to say is this: NOTHING, and I mean NOTHING, could have happened without you. Pat yourself on the back, you deserve it.
There was a total of $4,250 raised on May 9 alone, for a grand total of $7,415.25 raised by the event. All proceeds go to the Mill Creek Baptist Church Backpack organization to help children in our area supplement dietary needs during the holidays, weekends, and time off the children have during the school year.
This was a well-deserved fundraiser for a wonderful charity. It was a beautiful day, the 59 kids had a blast that I could tell and so did the adults!
Thank you once again to everyone that made this fun day possible.
Melissa Hutchens
Kids’ Fishing Rodeo
Calls for halt to solar facilities
It is called the “lake effect” – and it is deadly to birds and bat species whose populations are struggling. The lake effect happens when polarized light is reflected from large solar arrays simulating the way water reflects light. Birds flying overhead look for water by using polarized light. Mistaking solar installations for lakes, birds attempt to land, strike the hard panels, and are killed, crippled, or stranded where they eventually die. Aquatic insects, also drawn to the polarized light of solar panels, attract bats and insect-eating birds, many of which also meet the same fate. Each year worldwide 17.3 million birds die at solar facilities. Energy companies, like Dominion Power in Virginia for example, routinely hire people whose sole responsibility it is to collect the bodies of dead birds and bats from their solar facilities. Efforts to mitigate the bird kills have so far been ineffective.
The stated purpose of wind and solar facilities, “green energy,” was to protect the environment. As Vijay Jayaraj of the CO2 Coalition in Fairfax, Va., reported in April of this year, “Wind and solar facilities devastate wildlife, destroy habitats, fragment ecosystems, and leave ecological wreckage that extends far beyond what the green lobby cares to acknowledge. The narrative of politicians and well-heeled environmental NGOs – that wind and solar are the saviors of the natural world – is a lie. The data prove that these projects are not just displacing wildlife, but are killing it on an industrial scale.”
“Lake effect” ripples flow also into the human sphere. When bat populations decrease, farmers must turn to man-made pesticides, which do not eliminate insects as well as bats. University of Chicago studies found that farmers in areas where bat populations had dropped lost $26.9 billion. This loss was caused by a decrease in crop quality resulting in a decrease in crop sales capped off by an increase in money spent to apply pesticides. A more alarming human cost in these areas was an increase in the infant mortality rate caused by maternal exposure to chemical insecticides. Studies showed for every 1% increase in pesticide use there was a 0.25% increase in infant deaths. One such area cited in the University of Chicago study reported over 1,300 infant deaths directly related to pesticide usage.
“Green” energy is beginning to reveal a dark side. Two-thirds of Virginia’s counties already have banned or otherwise halted solar projects. The prudent course would be for our planning commissioners and county supervisors to do the same – halt the recommendation and permitting process for solar and wind installations. Listen to the citizens of this county who do not want data centers, or solar installations, or battery farms. They want to be able to live in this special place where every green hillside has its own history. Past generations have loved this place. It is more than worth protecting for future generations.
Cindy Bandy
Fincastle
Questions actions at public hearings
Botetourt County held two public meetings last week– the Botetourt County Planning Commission and two successive public hearings in one place regarding the proposed tax levy and budget. Few attended the former. Many attended the latter.
The Planning Commission (PC) meeting consisted mainly of the Buchanan District member attempting to insert himself as the main attraction, although there were few there to witness the show.
The first request was for a Special Events Facility in an A-1 Use District which would be limited to 50 people and end by 10 p.m. It appeared that the Buchanan District member thought the matter came before the PC for the PC to help them plan the special events. He could not believe they wanted to end the festivities at 10 p.m. and suggested they change that to midnight and questioned why they did not want to have at least 100 people.
Additionally, he brought a thumb drive which he insisted be shown on the big screen and questioned whether or not personal notice had been given to adjoining property owners (or those within a 500-foot radius, or a 1,000-foot radius) by going to their homes and personally telling them. I live 32 miles away and I did not get personal notice, as it is not required. I knew about it because the Botetourt County Planning & Zoning Office performed their job quite well and complied with the law regarding notice, so what was accomplished by all of this except wasting time?
He inquired as to whether or not the tent in which the special events were to take place would be left up for all events or taken down after each event. He then advised them of something about which he thought they might have forgotten to consider which he thought would be very important to their request (but which may not necessarily be a fact) when he said, “If you leave the tent up, then the grass dies.”
He continued to want the spotlight on himself during the second request. He wondered what two other businesses in close proximity felt about this request. Could he have just discovered in the previous public hearing that they might have known about this request because notice was given as required by law? Did he notice that no one was there to speak for or against it? If he were so concerned about what they felt, why didn’t he go ask them?
Is there something in the drinking water on Hardbarger Road on the southeast side of Interstate 81 which causes this apparent unquenchable thirst in public officials who reside there?
The public hearings on the tax levy and budget were entertaining. here were some superb presentations, especially from the first speaker! She possibly may be the youngest person to ever address the Board of Supervisors (BoS) and, by far, gave the best! I understand that one of our supervisors may have been upset that a young child got to speak first. Is that why she rushed over to the administration table just before the public session started?
There were many other speakers who gave informed presentations and did so in three minutes or less. And, of course, the CCs (chronic, not constant) were there, two of whom love to hear themselves talk so much that they spoke their drivel at both public hearings. The something they allegedly have to say is just a repeat of what they always say, on and on, ad nauseum.
There was one presentation made which attempted to explain why revenues were down well over $1 million this year from last year. A document was provided to the BoS by this speaker, but it wasn’t shared with the audience (probably for good reason). Nevertheless, the speaker made reference to 10 parcels of real estate being sold on June 2, 2026 due to the owners’ failure to pay the real estate taxes thereon and tried to tie that into being the reason for the decrease in projected revenues. Because he lost me (and many others) with this, I looked into it further.
First of all, as of the time he spoke, there were only eight parcels scheduled to be sold on that day as two had been redeemed (really easy to discover, but eight doesn’t sound as bad as 10). The total annual real estate taxes on all 10 parcels is $2,845.50, and the total on the remaining eight parcels is $2,329.80. Some of those parcels are vacant land and some are uninhabited or uninhabitable. Somehow, that appears to fall far short of explaining how, if the total real estate taxes on all 10 parcels together with all penalties and interest were paid, there would be no revenue shortfall? Make no mistake, I am not asking for an attempt to be made to explain this at any future public meeting, but I am sure every opportunity to speak the nonsense will be utilized to its fullest extent, or longer, as often as possible.
I would, however, like to know how 800 people who might share $2,400,000.00 are benefitting in the amount of $30,000.00 each and look forward to that explanation!
Bob Patterson
Fincastle, Buchanan District
