The Montclair Post - giving you a voice

Public Hearings on Proposed PRTC Fare Increase

Fri, 15 Aug 2008 10:51:32 -0400

PRTC has scheduled six public hearings on a proposed FY 2009 bus fare increase and a fare indexing policy. Hearings will begin with a presentation, followed by a question and answer period. Spanish and sign language interpreters will be present at all public hearings. The presentation (in English and in Spanish) also may be reviewed by visiting PRTC's website, www.PRTCtransit.org.

Comments about the proposed fare increase and fare indexing policy may be furnished to PRTC verbally or in writing at one of the public hearings. Written comments also may be submitted to PRTC by mail or by email until September 12, 2008. Comments should be sent to:

PRTC
Attn: Public Hearing
14700 Potomac Mills Road
Woodbridge, VA 22192
publichearing@OmniRide.com

Trash Can

Tue, 12 Aug 2008 20:07:15 -0400

Ok so today I'm outside doing some gardening in the front yard (weeding etc.) and I have my trash can with me in the driveway to put the debris in. I quick grab my two kids and throw them in the car for a 30 minute trip to CVS for medicine and when I get back to finish gardening my neighbor says that the Covenents person was checking my house out. Well I can't figure out what could be wrong, I mean we painted our "naturally weathered" mailbox last month like they demanded so what's wrong? Well I go to Armstrong Connect to check it out and here it is people:

8/12/2008 4410 Ridgewood Ct 0
1st Notice : Trash-Improper Storage

OMG!!!

Portajohn Arson

Sat, 12 Jul 2008 12:37:30 -0400

Sometime during the early morning hours between 4:00 - 5:00 am on Saturday, July 12th, arsonists torched a row of 15 portajohns that had been set up on the basketball courts near Dolphin Beach in preparation for tomorrow's Montclair Triathalon. All but a couple of the johns were completely destroyed, and extensive damage was done the the basketball court and surrounding landscaping. The playground appears to have escaped without any visible damage.

These pictures were taken shortly after 11am on the morning of the fire, and replacements were already arriving and being set up for the race.

See the official MPOA web site for more information. A reward is expected to be offered for anyone who can provide information that leads to the apprehension of those responsible.

Check Your Boats

Thu, 10 Jul 2008 18:33:04 -0400

At last night's Board meeting, one agenda action to remove from MPOA Boat Racks any boat that is not properly registered. In the past this had been done reduce the number of unclaimed or abandoned boats in the limited space available on MPOA provided boat racks.

But three years ago when similar action was taken, one Montclair Post contributor wrote of his frustration when he learned that his properly registered and stored boat's lock had been cut and the boat thrown on a pile of others that MPOA was gathering for auction, while no attempts had been made first to contact him.

To help be sure every effort has been made to notify boat owners of the upcoming plan to remove unregistered and unclaimed boats, the board voted to delay action and first make additional efforts to communicate to the community and boat owners in particular that now would be a good time to double-check that your boat is properly registered and stored.

So now's the time, check up on your boats!

Wink-O-Matics

Fri, 20 Jun 2008 11:53:14 -0400

About 2 years ago a parent from Henderson Elementary School started a campaign to move the flashing 25mph blinking lights (Wink-O-Matics) on Waterway Dr. to cover all side streets that our children walk in the mornings and afternoons to slow down drivers. Well with the help of our MPOA President VDOT finally came out and agreed that they should be moved! They are not as far back as we would like; however their visibility is much better for drivers when they are approaching the school zone. We should all say a huge thank you to Blake Nicolai and Jim Cech! Thank you both so much for looking out for our students welfare!

Virginia Senate Race: Warner vs. Gilmore

Sun, 15 Jun 2008 11:39:08 -0400

We're going to have an epic Senate race in Virginia this year, pitting two former Virginia Governors against each other; Republican Jim Gilmore and Democrat Mark Warner.

Yesterday, at the Virginia Democratic Convention in Hampton, Mark Warner set aside any talk of being interested in being considered as a potential VP for Barack Obama in his acceptance of the party's nomination to run for the Senate seat that will be open with the retirement of Senator John Warner (Virginia's Senator Jim Webb, and Governor Tim Kaine are both also frequently mentioned as VP candidates).

Today's Washington Post has an editorial worth reading that reviews Gilmore's term as Governor.

Mr. Gilmore's Candidacy
A former governor cites his ruinous term as his principal qualification.
The Washington Post, Sunday, June 15, 2008

Golf Carts on the Sidewalk

Sat, 7 Jun 2008 11:52:40 -0400

If you have walked along Waterway recently, you probably notice the sign telling walkers that Montclair Country Club golfers will use the sidewalk -- as a path for their golf carts for a while. During one of the last big rains, a footbridge was washed out, so this was the Club's chosen option, to get the golfers from hole to hole, until the bridge is repaired.

The problem is that this decision is illegal, even though the Club's Golf shop tells me that the MPOA Board told them it was OK. I called the Prince William County Police, who confirmed that it was illegal to drive golf carts on the sidewalk -- but they were not manned to enforce that law. Yes, that is exactly what I was told. Next I contacted a PWC elected official, who said she would ask the Police about the manning problem they seem to have. On Friday, the Club’s Manager told me he would call VDOT, to see what he could legally do, during this period. But, I have heard nothing from that effort either. It does seem that the Club will continue to break the law and the Police will do nothing about it. No, I am not anti-golfer, but I do think having golf carts coming beside you at speed, along the narrow sidewalk, is very unsafe. Maybe I am in the minority, but I think safety comes first here and with one single exception, the golf carts drive by like I am in the way without slowing down.

Drowning in Lake Montclair

Thu, 22 May 2008 21:38:43 -0400

Fire and rescue crews are searching for a 28-year old man who reportedly was on Lake Montclair in a canoe that capsized and has not been seen since. The possible drowning was first reported at 3:20 pm, and at 6:16 pm crews were still searching.

Fire and rescue teams search for man in Lake Montclair
The Potomac News, 5/21/08

Water Recovery Continues for Man in Lake
News Channel 8, 5/21/08

UPDATE: The accident victim was identified as Philip Esposito of Ashgrove Drive in Montclair.

Drowning victim identified

Dam Opened During Sunday's Delgue

Wed, 14 May 2008 10:34:49 -0400

While I'm sure many of us had a late night on Sunday working to keep water out of our own basements (I was on wet vac duty myself all night long), there is a noteworthy item on the official MPOA site about the Dam. The severity of the storm led MPOA staff to open the Dam to maintain the lake at a safe level. No information is included about how long the Dam remained open.

One document that Montclairions should be familiar with is the 'Emergency Action Plan' which is available for download on Armstrong Connect. It describes the following conditions levels for rising water on Lake Montclair:

Stage I Condition - Heavy rainfall amounting to 3.3 inches within a 6-hour period; or 4 inches of rainfall within a 12-hour period; or a staff gauge reading of 4 feet on the hood of the principal spillway (lake elevation of 192 feet).

Beach Tags!

Wed, 30 Apr 2008 13:59:09 -0400

Please don't forget to stop by the MPOA building between the hrs of 9am and 5pm to pick up your 2008-2009 Beach / Recreation Tags. My wife picked ours up today.

Also, for those that pay the annual assessment at the MPOA building, the first payment is due this week.

Property Covenants Inspections

Sat, 26 Apr 2008 08:12:00 -0400

The annual covenants violations arrived in the mail this week. Feel free to share your notice here.

I received two; one for dirty gutters and the other concerning the paint on my mailbox.

The gutters are not overflowing with debris but they do have some tree gunk stuck to them in a few places. The mailbox on the other hand is the same color it has been for the past 15 years.

Two years ago everyone on the street got notices about cracks in the ir driveway. Looks like this year the mailbox police are out.

Montclair Street Repairs

Mon, 21 Apr 2008 12:32:10 -0400

Please visit the Main Montlcairva.com website and look at the entry with regards to street maintenace. Be careful that you don't block yourself in.

Street Repairs

Montclair Woman Dies

Fri, 11 Apr 2008 07:55:25 -0400

It is sad to see someone so young lose their life, especially to an alcohol related incident. On my Southlakes Cove Neighborhood Watch board, they had mentioned an incident that happened this past week where a 21 year old was struck by a vehicle on 234 near the end of Waterway. She had decided to not drive her vehicle due to the intoxication. Another neighbor had mentioned the incident to me along the lines of the woman was being disorderly and was asked to leave Brothers Encore and went over to Burger King and was being unruly there as well. Then she apparently went over to Bloom and used the telephone there to phone a friend that would be coming to pick her up from Manassas via the South Bound Side of 234. She was caught on tape falling down, so she must have been extremely drunk. She was informed that the authorities were on their way. It is unclear as to who alerted them. She then apparently decided to go to the other side of 234 to be ready for her friend to pick her up. This is why the accident occurred, due to the rain and low visibility.

Right on Hilda!

Thu, 3 Apr 2008 21:16:07 -0500

Well said. I'm a bit less enthusiastic about her praise for current board members who didn't show the political courage to vote against Corey Stewart's fear-mongering when they had the chance. But better late than never I guess. More videos from the same County Board Meeting are available online here.

Giorgio's Family Restaurant & WIneStyles

Thu, 3 Apr 2008 09:37:18 -0500

In case you haven't heard, Giorgio's is expanding and opening a wine store next door. The store will be one of the WineStyles franchises and serve as the cellar for the restaurant also. I'm excited!

They also are selling memberships to a wine club. We signed up during the wine tasting at Southlakes this past weekend; they made their first public announcement there.

Expect to open sometime this summer.