Kathy Napier, member of the Rotary Club of Warren County, presented “Uganda 2019” a voyage to Africa with George Karnes, Ron Napier, Beth Waller, Liz Gibbs, and other Rotary International Rotarians. The main purpose of the trip was to attend the dedication of the Sam F. Owori Memorial Wash Global Grant Project.

The idea of a project in Uganda began at the Governor’s training, where 30 rising district governors from Zone 29 and 30 met and decided on a project to honor the incoming Rotary International President, Sam Owori, who was from Uganda. Sam, who had been elected to serve as president of Rotary International in 2018-19, would have been the second African Rotary member, and the first Ugandan, to hold that office. The idea was to construct a well for a school in Uganda to honor Sam. And George, as the incoming District Governor for District 7570, was put in charge of obtaining a global grant for this purpose. Sam was thrilled at the idea of the project.

Unfortunately, after surgery, Sam died, and it looked like the project would pass with him. There was a groundswell of support for a project in Uganda to honor Sam’s memory and the proposed project in Merikit. George expanded plans for the original project to bring a much larger water system to Merikit, and enlisted the aid of other Rotary Districts and Clubs, to support the larger project. As a result, more than $228,000 was raised from 42 Rotary Districts and 22 Rotary Clubs. Rotary International partnered with the Clean The World organization, and the project became the Sam F. Owori Memorial Wash Global Grant Project.

Merikit, the remote village where Sam had grown up, is a community of 4,000 people which grows to 10,000 during the day. The grant provides a solar-powered pump water system for more than 3,000 homes and the local maternity ward. On one of his visits to the village with Walter Hughes George found that the local medical clinic required the presentation of 100 liters of water during the dry season before they would allow pregnant women to enter the facility and have their babies. As a result, many babies were born on the steps of the clinic.

Also sanitation was a problem, with the lack of latrines. This all would change as a result of the grant: the new system pumps water into the huge steel water tank, which holds more than one hundred thousand liters of water. The project also provides five schools in the area with disposable toilets, and the village received two micro flush toilets. The maternity ward now has a hot shower for its patients. No longer would pregnant women deliver their babies on the steps.

The grant also provided for the training of forty-eight toilet makers, giving these craftsmen a source of income. Thirty school teachers and ten health workers have been trained as trainers, in order to improve on sanitation, health, and menstrual hygiene for girls. A water users committee has been trained and equipped to maintain, sustain, and manage the distribution system.

On October 26, 2019, a day-long ceremony was held to officially transfer the project to the villagers, with Sam’s wife Nora in attendance, along with Kathy, Ron, and George, Rotary Club members from Kampala, and Ugandan governmental officials. It was a joyous occasion and a lot of fun, culminating with everyone dancing. Kathy said that she was struck by the friendliness of all the people in Uganda. Known as “the Pearl of Africa,” Uganda is a developing country with a bright future. After presenting a brief history of the country, she noted a striking statistic about Uganda: the media age in Uganda is 16.7. Forty-six percent of the population is 14 or under; and another twenty-one percent is aged 15 to 24.

During the trip they also visited the Light Up Front Royal Academy, a school started by Beth Waller in December 2017 in the remote village of Bunyade,Uganda. It provides educational facilities for the children of the village. The school, which has an excellent reputation, now serves more than 200 children, and Beth is actively working to improve the school.

Message from Beth: “I’m so honored to be a part of the Rotary family and to witness the amazing work they are doing in Uganda, all over the world and in my own community. I’m looking forward to an even brighter future of global impact work now that I am a Rotarian and connected with fantastic like-minded individuals working together to make more of a difference on our planet.”

Finally, after the celebration, they toured the Murchison Falls National Park, where the animals were more than happy to greet and perform for visiting Rotarians.

Watch this video of the entire presentation:

Watch this video by Beth Waller and George Karnes:

For more information, please go to www.warrencountyrotary.org

This story is a collaborative effort by Hank Ecton & Jennifer Avery.
Photo credit: Kathy Napier (picture quote by Jenspiration)
#RCWC #RotaryConnectsTheWorld

Ugandans gift local businessman with goat for providing fresh water to African village

The Economic Development Authority held their monthly Board of Directors meeting on January 24, 2020.

One of the topics was the sale of the Stokes Market (most recent the Main Street Market) to William Huck, owner of C&C Frozen Treats on Main Street in Front Royal. Huck has been trying to remodel the property he owns adjacent to C&C but because of costs higher than anticipated and issues with zoning and permitting, he has been exploring other options to open his newest business known as My Lagniappe – it’s a Louisiana expression that means ‘An extra or unexpected gift or benefit, such as that given to customers when they purchase something.’ If you know Huck, you know he always offers his customers a little lagniappe.

The solar panels on the roof of the EDA office building was also a point of discussions. The EDA is advertising for any party interested in purchasing the solar electric system currently stationed on top of the EDA Building at 400 Kendrick Lane, Front Royal.

The RSW Jail has said they are not interested in the solar panels. The cost of installation and unknown purchase price makes the project not cost effective.

Discussion also included workforce housing, the 2018 audit, Afton Inn renovations and the big one, running out of money by March.

Watch the EDA Board at work in this exclusive Royal Examiner video:

Disposition of Solar Panels

The Town and County held their liaison committee meeting on January 23, 2020 at Town Hall. Mayor Eugene Tewalt chaired the meeting.  County Supervisor Chairman Walt Mabe, Supervisor Tony Carter and County Administrator Doug Stanley represented the County. Mayor Tewalt, Councilman Chris Holloway, Town Manager Matt Tederick and Town Attorney Doug Napier represented the Town.

The agenda included the following items:

1 – Review Liaison Committee Mission Statement and Policies

2 – Development Review Committee

3 – Boundary adjustment request from Chris Ramsey

4 – Blighted and Derelict Structure Program

5 – Building inspector software

6 – Data Center

7 – Warren County In-Town Projects

8 – Working together regarding the EDA civil suit

9 – Resolution to General Assembly to allow Town to establish its own EDA separate from existing EDA

10 – Update on Happy Creek Road Project

11 – Discussion on Vehicle Decals

Watch the discussion on this exclusive Royal Examiner video:

The threat to the county, regional and even state economies is huge, despite the tiny size of the bringer of that threat was stressed by Front Royal-Warren County Economic Development Authority Board of Directors Vice Chairman Jeff Browne during a Communications Committee Report Friday morning, January 24.

The size of the economic threat from the spread of the 1-inch by half-inch Spotted Lanternfly was vividly indicated by Browne’s report of a $500,000,000 (or half a billion dollar) impact on Pennsylvania’s economy last year. The distinctive and tiny bug normally indigenous to China dating to the 12th century and also found in India, Japan, Korea and Vietnam, was first reported in the U.S. in September 2014 in Pennsylvania.

It was first reported in Virginia in Frederick County in 2018. In 2017 it was identified in single counties in Delaware and New York. It was also reported in New Jersey in 2018, the same year it was identified on 2,080 acres in Frederick County across our northern county border.

To illustrate the Spotted Lanternfly’s threat to Warren County from our north, Browne noted that by 2019 it had spread to 8,000 acres in Frederick County with a projection of infestation of 40,000 acres there in 2020.

Browne’s inclusion of the Spotted Lanternfly in his Communications Committee Report came just two days after a multi-agency presentation at the Virginia Inland Port on the presence and threat to agricultural industries here from the Spotted Lanternfly. It is believed the bug’s ability to rapidly spread comes from a variety of factors, including its wide range of host plants (70 species); a lack of natural native enemies in newly invaded areas; and an ability to hitch rides on vehicles and on shipping packaging.

“The lanternfly’s sustenance is the sap in plant vines – favorites are the Tree of Heaven and grape vines, but they can also be found on black walnut, apple and cherry trees,” Browne reported. He pointed out that parts of Pennsylvania and Frederick County are currently under quarantine requiring physical inspection of commercial vehicles leaving those designated areas.

Involved in that Wednesday afternoon presentation at the Inland Port in northern Warren County were Amanda Bly of the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Affairs; Mark Sutphin, Extension Agent for Warren, Clarke, Shenandoah and Page Counties; as well as two landowners from Winchester and Frederick County.

“The focus was on getting the word out on how to identify the lanternfly in its four stages and informing businesses and homeowners what to do when they are found,” Browne told his board and three county supervisors present, Walter Mabe, Cheryl Cullers and Delores Oates.

Browne acknowledged Front Royal Community Development Director Felicia Hart’s role in the Wednesday lanternfly presentation at the Virginia Inland Port. The presence of the inland port here, and the port’s connection to Interstates 66 and 81 for truck transport of Virginia-based goods regionally points to the potential danger of the Spotted Lanternfly’s arrival in Warren County.

“We were glad you could work with the Town on this,” EDA Board Chairman Ed Daley told his vice chairman, though there were no representatives from the Town present to hear that sentiment expressed. Following County Administrator Doug Stanley’s monthly update on County projects, it was asked if a PDF or hard copy of the monthly Town Report generally presented by the Town Manager had been sent to the EDA office for the meeting. EDA Administrative Assistant Gretchen Henderson indicated she had not received one.

Spotted LanternFly Forum

On January 22, 2020 a forum was held at the Inland Port in northern Warren County regarding the Spotted Lanternfy. Amanda Bly of the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Affairs; Mark Sutphin, Extension Agent for Warren, Clarke, Shenandoah and Page Counties; as well as two landowners from Winchester and Frederick County presented to 30+ county employees and two Warren County supervisors. The Royal Examiner was the sole representative from the press.

The focus on this forum was on getting the word out on how to identify the lanternfly in its four stages and informing businesses and homeowners what to do whey they are found.

The Spotted lanternfly (SLF) was first detected in Frederick County in northern Virginia in January 2018. SLF is native to China, where it has been documented in detail dating as far back as the

12th century. It is also found in India, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam. SLF was first detected in the U.S. in eastern Pennsylvania in September 2014. By 2017, the range had expanded to 13 Pennsylvania counties and a single county in both Delaware and New York. SLF was detected in New Jersey in 2018. Researchers believe SLF likely arrived from China on shipping materials, possibly two years earlier than when it was first detected.

SLF is highly invasive and can spread rapidly when introduced into new areas. The invasiveness of SLF is attributed to its wide host range (more than 70 host plant species) and a lack of natural native enemies in invaded areas. SLF has overwintered successfully, and its geographical range in the Mid-Atlantic states is expected to expand.

Watch and learn in this exclusive Royal Examiner video:

Is your home feeling cramped? Before you consider an addition, here are some ways you can maximize the space you have.

Repurpose space
Many people have parts of their home that are underused. Consider turning the attic into a guest room, a storage space into an office or a closet into a reading nook for the kids.

Design vertically
Use vertical space to free up more room. A loft bed in a kid’s bedroom provides space for a desk underneath. And shelving units can hold lots of items without taking up a ton of floorspace. You can even install a shelf above the bathroom door to store toilet paper and cleaning supplies.

Head outdoors
An outdoor living room allows you to gain extra square footage without sacrificing indoor space. You may not be able to use it year-round, but you’ll undoubtedly appreciate it in warmer months. Install a firepit or outdoor heaters so you can keep using it once the weather gets colder.

If you live in a small home, it’s also important to think carefully about what you own. By purging what you don’t use, you’ll free up extra room.