Should Frederick County shift about 60 students from Sherando to JW?

As a voice for my immediate family of whom are all Frederick County residents as well as most residents would like to know the following:

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From:
Date: Thu, Feb 4, 2010 at 8:23 AM
Subject: Re: Last 24hrs, the WincStar Poll on moving 60 students to keep Sherando AA
To: Steve Edwards, John Lamanna, Patricia Taylor

Dear Mr .Edwards,

Just the last 24hrs, thought this was interesting ... www.winchesterstar.com

What is the extra financial cost for playing AAA?

Should Frederick County shift about 60 students from Sherando to James Wood to get Sherando's enrollment under the limit to keep it in Group AA for athletics?

    Feb. 3rd:
    9:41am :  86 YES, 178 NO
    1:10pm :  99 YES, 205 NO
    9:38pm : 110 YES, 230 NO

    Feb. 4th
    8:25am : 121 YES, 241 NO

Go here to cast your "unique" vote here and to to view the comments ... http://poll.fm/1kdiu

Why not a Bi-State Valley League? Is this old news???

This editorial directly below was in print in the Winchester Star February 1, 2010 but look at the article that appeared in The Journal over Martinsburg, WV back on Februrary 15, 2009.  The perception is that this new league has been in the works for over a year?

Why not a Bi-State Valley League?

To squeeze this all into football parlance, former state Sen. (and Star sports editor) Russ Potts took the snap and, during an informal conversation over the weekend, local gridiron coaching legend Walter Barr ran with it.

The subject(s): renewal of a long-gone cross-border rivalry (Mr. Potts), and the extension of that and similar rivalries into something resembling a league (Mr. Barr).

On at least two occasions this past month, or ever since Sherando High’s efforts to remain a Group AA school attained critical mass in the public eye, Mr. Potts said it may be time, in these days of economic hardship and pinched travel budgets, to revive the old Handley-Martinsburg rivalry. In days of yore, these two schools would regularly meet on Thanksgiving Day. It was a huge, as in HUGE, game.

So what does this have to do with Sherando’s plight? Well, nothing and, yet, everything.

If Sherando were to be forced into AAA status, it would not only translate to extended travel times for district games, but also could signal the end of the wholesome local competition symbolized by the Star-sponsored Barr-Lindon Crimson Apple trophy.

The travel component inherent in all this got Mr. Potts to thinking: Why shouldn’t two historic foes separated by less than 25 miles — i.e., Handley and Martinsburg — not consider playing again? A good question.

During that other recent conversation, Mr. Barr and The Star almost simultaneously came to a similar conclusion about Northern Valley and Eastern Panhandle schools in general. Our wishful proposal: Keep the current Northwestern District alignment — Handley, James Wood, Millbrook, Skyline, and Sherando (hopefully) — intact. Then, mainly for football purposes but for other sports as well, have these schools schedule all five Eastern Panhandle bellwethers — Martinsburg, Musselman, Hedgesville, Jefferson, and newcomer Washington. As it is, some of these schools cross the border to play each other now.

For football, that would be nine games already built-in. The Virginia schools could round out their schedules with traditional foe Warren County, now in the Evergreen District. The West Virginia entries could maintain their rivalries with Hampshire.

A name for this so-old-it’s-new inspired set-up: the Bi-State Valley League. Or maybe the Pan-Valley Conference.

By any name, the idea has merit — and promise — if only for this reason: The longest trip on anyone’s itinerary would be Hedgesville-Skyline, roughly an hour in length.    

New league in works
Jus' Bekoz/By Rick Kozlowski
THE JOURNAL - Martinsburg, WV
POSTED: February 15, 2009


There's been a Tri-State, a Bi-State, a CVAL - all dead.

All that's ever been needed to keep any of those leagues of a past life alive was an MD.

But when all of the Maryland schools decided eventually to stay on their side of the Potomac River as far as league affiliations go, be it 30 years ago, 20 years ago or just a couple of years ago, those leagues went away.

Most of those schools, once hooked up in different associations with schools from the Eastern Panhandle, are pretty much aligned now in the Monocacy Valley Athletic League, schools like Frederick, Thomas Johnson, North Hagerstown, South Hagerstown and Williamsport, among others. Those schools were in any of the previously mentioned "State" leagues and the Hagerstown schools in both the Tri-State and Cumberland Valley Athletic League, which lasted until Fort Hill joined two-time departee Allegany in dropping out a couple of years ago.

And playing for league championships for Eastern Panhandle schools pretty much evaporated as far anyone really cares, even though there are such associations like the Apple Valley League and the Potomac Valley Conference.

Beside day-long league championship competitions, like swimming, wrestling or track, for example, let's face it, who really ever mentions anything about the leagues?

Oh, sure, Woody Higginbotham, the legend from Tygarts Valley, keeps track of the PVC statistics and e-mails them weekly. But really, little to nothing is ever said about that "huge PVC or AVL game."

OK, so up in the Potomac Highlands, the Single-A schools treat the PVC like life and death in its class division.

Around here no one ever mentions first place being on the line in the league. Talk basketball, and the coaches say "we have an important sectional game this week." The teams in the top-schools division of the PVC make up Class AAA, Region II, Section 2 anyway, except for Hampshire.

The section - the sectional tournament, actually - is what matters, which is essentially the league, too. In a strange twist, though, what happens in the regular season may not actually matter as far as actual wins and losses because the coaches get to seed the teams in this section and the section in the middle of the state that's part of the region. It's all about perception, how the teams are ranked on each ballot (which will be compiled before the regular-season ends, incidentally) all added up will determine positions for the sectional tournament.

League talk could be back in vogue.

No, the West Virginia Secondary School Activities Commission isn't going to position the postseason pairings based on regular-season, head-to-head meetings. That would make too much sense.

Rather, I-81 will have meaning in sports.

A league formed this week, unformed and could be reforming again in the future.

"It's a slow process," Hedgesville athletic director Ron Allen said.

The process is trying to put together an all-sports league between the five schools in Jefferson and Berkeley counties and four schools in Frederick County, Va., and one in Warren County, Va.

Allen said a couple of schools from the quintet of Handley, James Wood, Sherando, Millbrook and Skyline backed out just before the ink dried on the signatures.

The association - the I-81 Conference maybe? - would be for all sports, should it come to pass.

"We're just trying to get something together and recognize the kids," Allen said, then later adding that part of the formula is to help reduce travel costs and increase gate receipts between more familiar teams.

In these tough economic times, it's hard to argue with any of that reasoning.

At face value, a 10-team league among the Virginia schools and Hedgesville, Jefferson, Martinsburg, Musselman and Washington would be terrific.

The competition in the Border Classic for basketball and the cheers from the fans really getting into the game showed us the interest is there. (The Border Classic, by the way, won't be played this year. Call the Winchester Star.)

And schedules for athletic directors would be a piece of cake, particularly in football for the West Virginia schools.

The Eastern Panhandle teams struggle to fill out their schedules and sometimes are sent off on distant trips to play games. In a 10-team league, there would be nine guaranteed games each season, meaning each school would have to find just one more opponent.

The alignment also means 18 required meetings in sports like basketball and baseball if the schools are playing a home-and-home series, typical of a league.

That would limit the number of "non-league" games teams could play given the state-issued ceilings on how many may be played.

Eastern Panhandle boys basketball coaches have said they don't like it, how it would even make having tournaments very difficult.

Maybe trying a unbalanced scheduling system might alleviate that, giving coaches the leeway they've often enjoyed. Let's say, for instance, all the West Virginia schools play each other twice during a season, the Virginia schools do the same with their brethren in the Old Dominion, and then each state plays the other one just once. The Big East plays 18 games in its basketball leagues, with teams playing 15 one time and playing three twice. If that's not unbalanced...

"We'll see what we can do," Allen said.

What Allen and his colleagues can do is add excitement.

Those old enough will never forget the boys basketball battles between Thomas Johnson and Martinsburg in the Tri-State League.

Always close and sometimes lasting past the final regulation buzzer, the Patriots and the Bulldogs simply captivated. The coaches, Dave Rogers at Martinsburg and Tom Dickman at Thomas Johnson, were college teammates at Shepherd, which was a story unto itself. Then you throw in the fact each team was usually battling for first place, the displays were incredible.

Over time, the I-81 Conference - a good name - could provide some of that same excitement and meaning.

It's worth a shot.

- Rick Kozlowski can be reached at (304) 263-3381, ext. 116 or rkozlowski@journal-news.net

              

OK, is it not time for some property tax money from SU and VHS?

OK folks, just the real-estate property taxes would HELP our community so much.  It's been exactly 1-year since this article was in print.  Yes, City Council is going after the small non-profits, BUT when is SU and VHS going to be challenged?

According to a Winchester Star article back on Friday, January 30, 2009:

Shenandoah University has $66.8 million in assessed property that is exempt from taxes. That’s about $454,720 in tax revenue each year that the city doesn’t see.

Winchester Medical Center has property valued at $314.1 million in the city. If it were taxed, the city government would collect about $2.1 million in annual revenue.

Council seeking ‘balance’ on taxes

By Eric Beidel
The Winchester Star
January 30, 2009

Winchester — The new City Council has drawn a line in the sand.

The nine-person council has four first-time members, and they’re on a mission to find money and use it more wisely.

“You’re going to see a lot more logical economic decisions,” said John A. Willingham, who was elected to the council Nov. 4.

During a recent retreat, the councilors came up with a new mission:

“To provide a safe, vibrant, sustainable community while striving to constantly improve the quality of life for our citizens and economic partners.”

“Sustainable” is the key word, they said, and it is something that can’t happen if they don’t take a hard-line approach to money — the dollars that come in, the dollars that go out, and the dollars that never materialize.

The latter refers to real estate tax breaks handed out by previous councils.

As of the latest general assessment, the total value of property in the city tops $3.8 billion.

About 20 percent of those properties — at a total value of $747.5 million — are exempt from paying real estate taxes.

Winchester’s real estate tax rate is 68 cents per each $100 of a property’s assessed value. That means the owner of a $200,000 home, for example, pays $1,360 in real estate taxes each year.

Two weeks ago, the new council heard its first request from an organization that hopes to avoid paying the real estate tax.

Shenandoah Valley Community Residences recently bought a home at 809 Chelsea Drive. The nonprofit organization offers fully staffed residences for mentally handicapped adults.

The group has another home in the city that was granted a property tax exemption by a previous council.

But the new council decided that it needs to draw the line. As it stands now, Shenandoah Valley Community Residences must pay the taxes — about $3,600 a year — on the Chelsea Drive home.

“We’ve got to get this scale back in balance,” Councilor Les C. Veach said.

SU and WMC

State law exempts several kinds of entities from paying real estate taxes — governments, schools, and many nonprofit organizations.

However, just because an organization is a nonprofit doesn’t mean the city government must exempt it from paying real estate taxes. The organization must apply for an exemption and go before the council.

Aside from government-owned properties, the biggest tax-exempt entities in Winchester are a university and a hospital.

Shenandoah University has $66.8 million in assessed property that is exempt from taxes. That’s about $454,720 in tax revenue each year that the city doesn’t see.

Winchester Medical Center has property valued at $314.1 million in the city. If it were taxed, the city government would collect about $2.1 million in annual revenue.

The city government has approached WMC about paying real estate taxes because of its Wellness and Fitness Center, a branch of the hospital that opened in September and offers services for profit.

The center has a store that sells fitness gear, and offers fitness classes for a price. The hospital pays business taxes on those for-profit operations, but does not pay real estate taxes for the facility on WMC’s Amherst Street campus.

“It hasn’t been part of our 100-plus-year history here to be asked to pay property taxes,” said Wes Williams, vice president of marketing and community relations for Valley Health, the corporate parent of WMC. “It’s all on the same hospital campus, so the whole part of the area would be exempt.”

Some on the City Council see it differently, especially after watching other fitness businesses in the area flounder and close.

The city once had several Curves locations. It now has one.

PERC Fitness, formerly the Downtown Athletic Club, closed its doors last month. Owner Caren Werlinger said then that a dire economy and competition from WMC’s fitness center forced her hand.

Valley Health is a large nonprofit organization competing against small independent businesses, Willingham said.

“At some point, there has to be equal footing,” he said. “Continuing to provide tax exemptions at the pace we have in the past will not lead us to our mission of creating a sustainable community.”

“Tough decisions”

Of all the real estate in the city, about 20 percent has been granted exemptions.

In Fredericksburg, a city about the same size as Winchester, about 15 percent of its $4.8 billion in property is exempt from paying real estate taxes.

“I think it would be wise for us to look at all the properties that have been granted tax exemptions in the past to see if they’re still what they said they were,” Councilor Art H. Major said.

The list of exempt properties has some discrepancies, most of which have been corrected. Still, the list has some properties that officials don’t know much about — or when an exemption was granted.

“It’s worth the effort to go back and look,” Major said, adding that even revoking previously granted tax exemptions could be an option.

“There are going to be some tough decisions to make,” he said. “We only have a certain capacity — and I’m not sure what that capacity is — to sustain ourselves.”

Those applying for tax breaks in the future have been warned.

“I don’t see us granting tax exemptions like in the past,” Willingham said, “if any at all.”



— Contact Eric Beidel at
ebeidel@winchesterstar.com

The Handley Judges need a JO

I personally know Mr. Jimmy Omps as I viewed him as Mr. Quality Control for Handley as I told him last week.

I gave him a lead on a high-profiled name that was missed as a potential donor during the renovation as he thanked me and would follow-up on it.  There you go ... JO still on the job so to speak!

It's hard to believe JO has been retired since 1994; time sure does fly by as I told him Quality-Control left the Handley building when JO retired!

To close folks, from my perspective after visiting several events this year, The Handley Judges are in much need of a JO!

Saturday night will be a very special evening, will the STATE Championship banners be up?  Not sure, but I know if JO was there, they would be up because that is part of Handley Pride as its the rich tradition of The Handley Judges.

Will there ever be someone close to a Mr. Maddux or JO anytime soon that will step inside the walls of the Handley Building to help the young people?


PS ... Today is Friday Jan. 29th, so maybe they are being hung today, a day before the dedication, that would be great as it would be very appropriate if they were hung to honor Mr. Jimmy Omps and Mr. Hunter Maddux.  For the record, if we recall correctly, the gym has been open for 12-14 months since the renovation was complete.

More Baseball for the Valley ... Strasburg lands VBL franchise for 2011 season

Anyone can be most confident that Strasburg organization will be ran in 1st class manner both on the field to off the field.  The town of Strasburg has been waiting very patiently for an opportunity as it presented itself when the Fauquier Gators folded recently.  With Strasburg located within the Shenandoah Valley, it was truly a perfect fit!

These BOD's as they are good people who love and respect the game of baseball!

Strasburg lands VBL franchise for 2011 season
By Jeremy Stafford - jstafford@nvdaily.com

STRASBURG -- The Valley Baseball League announced Tuesday, when it released its 2010 schedule, that team owners have approved the purchase of the floundering Fauquier Gators franchise by Strasburg Community Baseball Inc.

The Strasburg-based group, a nonprofit organization comprising a six-member board of directors, with room available for a seventh member, will move the Fauquier team to Strasburg.

The Strasburg team, which as of yet is without a mascot, will begin play in June 2011 as part of the town's 250-year anniversary celebration; the 12-team league will field only 11 teams this summer.

Jay Neal, a member of Strasburg Community Baseball Inc., said the Fauquier team has not yet been purchased, but that an agreement should be reached within a week.

"It was a wonderful opportunity to pick up a team, and there are a bunch of us who have been interested in doing that for years," said Neal, a graduate of Strasburg High School. "And it's the worst time in the world, economically ... but you can't always pick when your opportunities [come] up.

"But Strasburg is a wonderful place for a team."

The rest of the board members are Richard Wilson, Frank Conner Jr., Mike Whittle, Jan Bane and Butch Barnes.

Barnes will coach the Strasburg team, which will play at First Bank Park in Strasburg.

Neal said that, being a nonprofit group, any money that Strasburg Community Baseball Inc. brings in from the team will be donated to the Strasburg High School baseball and softball programs, as well as the Strasburg Little League baseball and softball teams.

In keeping with the tradition of Strasburg High School, Neal explained, the Strasburg team will wear purple.

VBL treasurer Jim Phillips said the Fauquier team recently folded because it lacked the personnel to remain active.

The purchase agreement for the team stands at a light sum of $5,000, money that was donated to Strasburg Community Baseball Inc. by Homewood of the Shenandoah Valley.

"Since they got here, they've been extremely interested in getting involved in community affairs," Neal said.

For Phillips, the prospect of having a Valley League team in Strasburg, when there's already area teams in Woodstock, Winchester, Front Royal and New Market, will hardly be a detriment to the league.

"They got a lot of baseball-minded people," Phillips said of Strasburg, "and, of course, with the history of Strasburg and sports, it's going to be a very good franchise for the league."