The Alliance for the Shenandoah Valley with support from the CSPDC is hosting a free webinar on outdoor lighting technology on Wednesday, January 27 from 10:30 to 11:30 am. Bob Parks, founder of Smart Outdoor Lighting Alliance will lead the discussion and show new approaches to using lighting as a tool within our communities. Mr. Parks has worked extensively throughout Virginia to train and help develop zoning ordinances on community friendly lighting standards. Following the webinar, COVID-friendly walking tours will be scheduled with Mr. Parks to experience firsthand the concepts discussed. Registration is required.

The Commonwealth Transportation Board (CTB) has awarded funding for two years of operations of the Afton Express transit service which will connect Staunton, Fishersville, Waynesboro, Charlottesville and Fifth Street Station in Albemarle County.  The planned service will include four morning and four evening trips Monday through Friday, with Charlottesville and Albemarle stops at Bavarro Hall, UVA Health System, Amtrak, the Downtown Transit Center and Fifth Street Station. Discussions will take place with DRPT and the local funders / stakeholders (cities of Staunton, Waynesboro and Charlottesville, counties of Augusta and Albemarle, and UVA) to determine when to safely move forward with implementation of this new transit route.

The 2021 Shenandoah Valley Project Impact Preparedness Calendar is now available for pick-up at local government buildings and libraries or by contacting the CSPDC. Since 2000, the publication has contained preparedness tips and mitigation strategies for dealing with severe weather, emergencies and disasters, as well as fun holidays for each day of the year. This year, local historian, Nancy Sorrells curated the monthly images from a combination of historic photographs and her personal collection. Each image is accompanied by a detailed caption that helps tell the tale of the central Shenandoah Valley.

The CSPDC is pleased to announce that Nathan Garrison has been hired as a CSPDC Regional Planner. Nathan, a native of McGaheysville, acquired his associate’s degree from Blue Ridge Community College and transferred to James Madison University where he received his bachelor’s degree in Public Administration. Nathan was the Town of Grottoes Town Manager for two years and before that was the Parks Director at Weyers Cave in Grottoes. He is a life-long Rockingham County resident with a passion for local government.

This fall, Highland County, known for its award-winning maple syrup production, launched the Virginia Maple Syrup Trail. The trail includes a passport program and offers visitors the chance to experience eight participating Highland County sugar camps throughout the year. The Maple Syrup Trail was formed to bring awareness to this long-standing tradition and encourage tourism to this beautiful and rural part of Virginia. Five Fields of Gold members are participating in the trail, including Puffenbarger’s Sugar Orchard, Laurel Fork Sapsuckers, Mill Gap Farm, Back Creek Farm and Sugar Tree Country Store. Passports can be picked up at various Virginia Welcome Centers or at the sugar camps themselves upon arrival.

In October, CSPDC and Shenandoah Valley Partnership (SVP) staff toured and received an update on construction of the renovation project at the historic Highland Inn in Highland County. In June, the CSPDC assisted the Blue Grass Resource Center in applying for a $50,000 DEQ Brownfields Grant for the Highland Inn’s restoration project. The Brownfields grant is funding the removal of lead paint during this initial renovation phase. Other projects underway include reconstructing the Inn’s iconic front porches, replacing exterior fire escapes and stabilizing the foundation. Located on Main Street in Monterey, the Highland Inn is a part of Highland County’s economic development strategy to increase tourism through retreat conferences and cultural events.

CSPDC staff are members of the Shenandoah Rail Trail Partnership. The Partnership is a coalition of volunteers, local and PDC staff, advocacy groups, local and state elected officials who are working to build support for the project. CSPDC Executive Director Bonnie Riedesel serves as the Vice-Chair of the Rail Trail Partnership, and her counterpart at Northern Shenandoah Valley Regional Commission, Brandon Davis, is the Chair. The Partnership hopes to convert a disused Norfolk Southern rail line running from Broadway and Timberville in Rockingham County 38 miles north to Strasburg, VA into a rail trail facility. The Rail Trail would connect 8 towns, 6 Civil War Battlefields, and Seven Bends State Park as it travels through Shenandoah and Rockingham Counties, and crosses two PDCs. Delegate Tony Wilt, and Senators Mark Obenshain and Emmett Hanger shepherded a FY21 budget amendment through the 2020 special legislative session to dedicate Department of Conservation and Recreation resources to evaluate the feasibility of turning the disused rail line into a rails-to-trails facility. The Partnership will play an integral role in the feasibility study in the coming year.

Follow regional impacts of COVID-19 using the CSPDC Recovery Dashboard, scheduled to launch this November on the CSPDC website. The Recovery Dashboard will feature interactive graphs that display data on localities’ unemployment rates, unemployment benefits claims, COVID-19 cases and tax revenues. The purpose of the dashboard is to illustrate the Region’s recovery process from the COVID-19 Pandemic and Virginia’s Stay at Home order. Data tracking began in March 2020 and will follow economic, health and community statistics for each locality over the next two years. This project is administered by the CSPDC and is funded through EDA’s CARES Act.