Williamsburg
All City of Williamsburg offices will be closed Thursday, Dec. 24 and Friday,
Dec. 25, as well as Thursday, Dec. 31 and Friday, Jan. 1, including offices in the
Municipal Building on Lafayette Street.
Quarterpath Recreation Center remains closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Waller Mill Park is closed Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and New Year’s Day.
The holidays do not affect trash, recycling, or leaf collections in the City. It is a Blue Route
Week for leaf collection. For water emergencies after hours, weekends, and holidays, call 757-220-2331. More information can be found at williamsburgva.gov/publicworks.
James City County
Arlington Regional Master Naturalists is expanding its public-education efforts on controlling the deer population, and is pressing the Arlington and Alexandria governments to join another local jurisdiction in culling herds within their borders.
âWe need human intervention,â said Marion Jordan, head of the Master Naturalists organization, at a Dec. 11 program sponsored by Virginia Cooperative Extension.
The organizationâs outreach efforts have reached more than 700 people, and its conclusions are sound, she said.
âWeâve done a lot of research,â Jordan said.
At the same time, she acknowledged the situation was both a âlarge and complexâ one and a âserious topicâ that could provoke community division.
“Sit back, find a comfy seat and get ready for some excitement.” Reggie Morris, Virginia Cooperative Extension (VCE) Agent for 4-H Youth Development for the City of Alexandria, opens the yearly review of accomplishments for public officials and the community in Arlington and Alexandria on Dec. 11. In the virtual presentation he “challenges you to find a way to come together to continue to improve the lives of Alexandrians, to engage and be involved.”
Morris explains that 4-H, one of the Extension programs, had never experienced anything like 2020 in 100 years. They had to find new ways to network with friends and make the best better. Morris said “talent is everywhere but opportunity is not” with unequal access to technology or healthy food. So this the 4-H counselors turned their traditional summer camp into a virtual experience for 71 campers with a campfire, cooking “so we didn’t have to just survive. We could thrive.”
The 2020 Spring class of Virginia Master Naturalists (VMN) graduated, finally, in a Zoom ceremony on Dec. 14. The 10 graduates from across northern Virginia are now prepared to conduct and participate in area environmental service projects and programs sponsored by the State-wide organization. An additional nine members of the class will complete their elements in coming months. Noting the “great resilience exhibited by the graduates,” Ron Grimes, Fairfax Chapter Vice President, commented on the numerous disruptions caused by the pandemic which extended the Spring class, intended to end in May, well into the Fall.
Graduates completed 12 three-hour classes in earth sciences, four day-long field trips to local parks, offered group presentations, and successfully completed a 100-question final examination to complete the course. Final certification as a Master Naturalist requires 40 service hours and 8 continuing education hours, normally completed within six months of course com
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