Governor McAuliffe Announces New Agricultural Exports to United Kingdom and European Union

Barley is a major animal feed crop. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

~Animal Feed, Specialty Foods Deals Enhance Virginia's Position in Growing European Marketplace; Trade, Marketing Mission Also Continues Work To Expand Forest Product Exports~

LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM – Governor Terry McAuliffe announced as part of his United Kingdom trade and marketing mission new export sales for Virginia agricultural and foodstuff products into the European market.  Over the last several months, Virginia Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services' (VDACS) international marketing staff and Virginia's agricultural trade representative in Europe, Andrew Brown and Associates (ABA), based in Surry just outside of London, worked with several Virginia specialty food producers and an animal feed additive exporter to achieve new international sales from the Commonwealth.  While sales figures are confidential, the trade deals represent new revenue streams for the exporting companies into the growing United Kingdom and European markets.

Speaking about the new exports as he finishes the United Kingdom portion of an eight-day trade and marketing mission that also included several stops in China, Governor McAuliffe said, "One of my top job economic development priorities is to work with Virginia businesses, foreign purchasers, and government leaders from around the world to find new trade opportunities that grow Virginia’s economy.  Finding new international sales provides more revenue and job creating opportunities for our producers and agribusinesses.  The new exports also move us closer to my goal of making Virginia the East Coast capital for agricultural and forestry product exports."

Over the four-day mission and in addition to meetings conducted by the Virginia Economic Development Partnership (VEDP) and Virginia Tourism Corporation, Governor McAuliffe, along with First Lady Dorothy McAuliffe, Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry Todd Haymore, and VDACS and ABA staff, met with European agribusinesses and various specialty food and beverage importers to encourage more investment in Virginia and promote Virginia agricultural products.  Meetings focused on thanking businesses and importers for recently completed deals and discussing ways to expand those relationships.  Other meetings started dialogue on potential new export deals. 

“Virginia’s work in global agricultural and forestry product trade development and expansion has not been focused singularly on large-scale commodity exports, such as soybeans, corn, and other small grains," said Secretary Haymore.  "Export sales are also important to smaller agribusinesses and family-owned operations, which are the backbone of Virginia’s economy and create the majority of jobs in the Commonwealth.  Assisting those smaller-scale businesses has been a priority for the Governor and our international marketing and development teams in both Virginia and Europe.”

Micron Bio-Systems is a smaller-scale agribusiness that has benefited from Virginia’s marketing push in Europe.  The Buena Vista-based company produces feed additives for dairy cattle, poultry, swine, and other animal feed.  The company focuses on additives, which preserve feed and diminish mold problems, benefiting the health of livestock and poultry.  Working with Micron Bio-Systems, Virginia's European trade representatives helped secure a trade deal with Bio4Globe, a major farm supplies distributor covering France, Spain, and Portugal. 

Following a VDACS-organized reverse trade mission promoting speciality food products, FERIDIES, a Courtland-based producer of award-winning, extra large gourmet Virginia peanuts and peanut products, reached a deal with Cotswold Fayre to have a variety of products featured in the company's 2014 Christmas catalogue.  Cotswold Fayre is a fine foods wholesaler supplying independent and high-end retailers in the United Kingdom with quality food and drink products sources from across the globe.  Cotswold Fayre works in close partnership with its suppliers, most of whom are small producers not currently distributing through major United Kingdom supermarkets.

Virginia’s European trade representatives worked with Dr. Lucy's, a Norfolk-based gluten- and allergen-free cookie manufacturer, to secure a new trade relationship with natural food distributor Tree of Life.  The two companies reached an agreement regarding exclusive distribution in the United Kingdom.  The deal marks Tree of Life's first-ever food product import from North America.  Dr. Lucy's also received assistance from VEDP's Virginia Leaders in Export Trade (VALET) program, which helped the company research new markets to focus on and provided introductions to international consumer products experts, banks, and legal consultants.

Tree of Life was established almost 20 years ago originally as Natures Store.  The company is now the largest wholesaler in the United Kingdom's 'Nutrition & Healthy Lifestyle' sector.  Tree of Life distributes over 14,000 premium products including organic foods, general health food products, vitamins, minerals, sports nutrition supplements, body care, and household products.

In additional to the new feed and specialty food export deals, Governor McAuliffe continued efforts related to the ongoing growth of Virginia’s wood fuel pellet exports to the United Kingdom.  Over the past year, Virginia has worked with Virginia exporters and British policy makers and electric utilities promoting Virginia’s sustainably-managed wood resources as a renewable fuel for power plants that previously utilized coal as an energy source.  In the first five months of 2014, Virginia’s wood pellet exports to the United Kingdom reached $22 million, an increase of 275% from the same period last year.  Wood pellets have been one of Virginia's fastest growing agricultural commodity exports, on a percentage basis, over the last two years.

During meetings in London, Governor McAuliffe, Secretary Haymore, and VDACS and ABA staff met with representatives of electric utilities purchasing Virginia wood pellets as well as smaller importers in hopes of growing existing export deals and establishing new trade relationships.  They also met with British Members of Parliament and other senior government leaders who are responsible for establishing standards for renewable fuels utilized in power generation.

Agricultural and forestry exports from Virginia reached a record high of $2.85 billion in 2013.  Europe is a significant market for Virginia's agriculture and forestry products.  Last year, more than $320 million worth of product were exported to the United Kingdom and other European Union countries.  That figure is expected to rise in 2014.

According to a 2013 economic impact study conducted by Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service at the University of Virginia, agriculture is Virginia’s largest industry, generating more than $52 billion per annum. The industry also provides more than 310,000 jobs in the Commonwealth.

Governor McAuliffe Announces 596 New Jobs at Fort Monroe in the City of Hampton

Fort Monroe, Virginia (also known as Fortress Monroe) is a military installation located at Old Point Comfort on the tip of the Virginia Peninsula at the mouth of Hampton Roads on the Chesapeake Bay in eastern Virginia in the United States. For more info, please see talkpage. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

~ Liberty-Source PBC to invest $1.56 million in customer service operation~ 

RICHMOND - Governor Terry McAuliffe announced that Liberty-Source PBC, a flexible onshore business process outsourcing model that uniquely harnesses the talent of military spouses, will invest $1.56 million to establish an operation at Fort Monroe in the City of Hampton.  The company will provide finance, accounting, human resources, customer care and additional support services for its clients, creating 596 new jobs.

               Speaking about the announcement, Governor McAuliffe said, “Liberty-Source PBC is a tremendous addition to the Hampton Roads region.  The company’s delivery model is centered on employing staff from the U.S. military community, and Fort Monroe and the City of Hampton have a long and storied military history.  In addition to active duty men and women in Virginia, thousands exit the military each year in the Commonwealth, and Liberty-Source will make a great social and economic impact providing opportunities to valuable government assets.”

            “The addition of nearly 600 new jobs is significant news for Fort Monroe and the City of Hampton,” said Maurice Jones, Virginia Secretary of Commerce and Trade.  “An operation at a former U.S. Army post is a perfect fit for Liberty-Source PBC’s business model.  The companywill add economic vitality to a location with a centuries-old military tradition while drawing on the prevalent talents of the strong workforce in the region.”

Liberty-Source is a business process outsourcer (BPO) delivering finance and accounting, human resources, customer care and specialized industry solutions for clients seeking a flexible, onshore and cost-effective solution.  The company offers large multinational companies the first viable onshore alternative to a traditional offshore BPO model.  In addition, its compelling, socially conscious mission—providing career and training opportunities to the dedicated, under-employed pool of highly skilled military spouses—benefits both clients and, in this case, the broader Virginia community.

“Our unique operating model provides clients a solution unlike anything else on the market,” said Deborah Kops, Chairman, Liberty-Source.  “As an onshore BPO, Liberty-Source provides clients agile, tailored solutions which can deliver the spectrum of their business process needs.”

By harnessing the power of military spouses and creating strong alliances with leaders in the education, consulting and technology sectors, Liberty-Source is able to rapidly implement powerful solutions that meet the changing needs of its clients.  A Public Benefit Corporation (PBC), Liberty-Source is for-profit, yet designed as a responsible and sustainable enterprise, managed for the benefit of its clients, its shareholders and the broader public interest.

“Virginia is the ideal location to headquarter a BPO operation,” said Steve Hosley, president and CEO of Liberty-Source.  “With over 30,000 active military from all 5 branches in the greater Hampton Roads area, Fort Monroe provides us access to a highly skilled and dedicated workforce.”

The Virginia Economic Development Partnership worked with the City of Hampton, the Fort Monroe Authority, and the Hampton Roads Economic Development Alliance to secure the project for Virginia.  Governor McAuliffe approved a $300,000 grant from the Governor’s Opportunity Fund to assist Hampton with the project.  Funding and services to support the company’s employee training activities will be provided through the Virginia Jobs Investment Program.

“In addition to its long and proud history, Hampton has a strong military tradition.  Hampton is a perfect fit for Liberty-Source’s mission to bring jobs back to the U.S. and employ hundreds of military spouses,” said Hampton Mayor George Wallace.  “With our supportive environment, friendly neighborhoods, excellent schools and quality of life, we believe that Liberty-Source is making a great investment in Hampton.”

"We're thrilled to welcome Liberty-Source to Fort Monroe,” said Glenn Oder, Executive Director of the Fort Monroe Authority.  “The company’s hiring of military veterans and family members of our active duty service men and women is admirable.  That makes it even more meaningful that they can call Fort Monroe home."

Gloucester, VA School Board's Continued Waste of Taxpayer Money

Driver, Mike May.  Gloucester County School Board.  Department.  Facilities Services.  Contact Person.  Dave Miller.  Date and Time.  July 7th, 2014.  7:01 Am.  Vehicle number 226.  Location, 7-Eleven.

Driver, Ed Barry.  Department, Facilities Services.  Contact Person, Dave Miller.  Location. Coming out of Wal Mart.  Date.  July 7th, 2014.  Time 7:10 AM.

Driver, D Miller.  School Board.  Contact Person.  Dave Miller, Department, Facilities Services.  Location, Hardee's Restaurant.  Date, July 7th, 2014, Time, 7:37 AM.

Driver:  Unknown.  Department:  Unknown, School Board?  Vehicle number, unknown.  Back of car says Sheriff's Department.  County insignia on side of vehicle however.  Date:  July 14th, 2014.  Time, 7:19 AM.  Location, Hardee's Restaurant.

Driver, D Miller.  School Board.  Department.  Facilities Services.  Contact, Dave Miller.  Vehicle Number 273.  Date, July 14th, 2014, Time, 7:26 AM, Location.  Hardee's Restaurant.

Driver, Ed Barry.  Department, Facilities Services.  Contact, Dave Miller,  Date, July, 14th, 2014.  Location, Tractor Supply.  Time, 8:50 AM.

And these are the people we were able to get pictures of.  If we do not get the cameras out in time, then they get lucky.  We caught plenty of others but did not have the camera ready.  This is only a sampling.  For over a year we have been covering this and the pattern right now is very clear.  The school board has no concern about your tax money.  It's part of the reason why the keep wanting more of it.  They waste it so fast it's not even funny.  But the folks at the school board keep telling us that it's for the children.  Anyone see where these people above are helping the children?

Gloucester, VA What The Daily Press Didn't Tell You, July, 2014

The Daily Press newspaper had an article shown above in the Sunday, July 6th, 2014 edition.  In that article a mother daughter family was brought up along with animals they once owned.  The Daily Press only gave you a part of that story and we contacted them with more information and yet they decided it was not in your best interest to ever hear the rest of the story.  The Mother Daughter team are the LaFrance's.  We covered the story from the very beginning here on this site, however we did not use their name during that time.  That nightmare began over a year and a half ago just days before Thanksgiving.  Gloucester Animal Control charged the family with Failure To Perform Duties of Ownership on 26 different charges.  Problem with that is that the title of the law was in violation with state code and hence not at all valid.  But that did not stop the county attorney from continuing to prosecute them under this disgraceful ordinance.

  The charges were dropped way down later in court, but in the mean time it forced very harsh and undue consequences on the LeFrance's and there is some serious questions as to harassment from Animal Control officers in regards to the LeFrance family.  We have a statement that was offered to the Daily Press and they did not want to even hear it and never covered the invalid charges from Animal Control that we showed them.  The statement is as follows:

"Mathews County knew about the exotic animals in question with the above article as we applied for and were given a Mathews County business license.  To get this license we had to disclose that we were running an exotic animal education business and what animals were involved.  The business had both a USDA and Virginia Fish and Wildlife permits which meant regular inspections for quality care and animal health.  The business had a great reputation and performed programs in schools, nursing homes, churches and private programs in five counties.  We used small and gentle exotics of all species including gentle reptiles and everything was well received everywhere we went."

  Animal Control of Gloucester came in and inspected the  LeFrance's animals while the LeFrance's were in the process of moving out of one place and preparing to move to another.  Literally packing up a truck when Animal Control came onto the property.  Also, the circumstances behind the horses being taken while the LeFrance's were in Mathews County are also very highly suspect as to what happened there.

If the local papers are not willing to tell you the entire story, then we will.  And we are going to start doing so on a regular basis.

Governor McAuliffe Announces Administration Appointments

McAuliffe speaking at Frying Pan Park in Herndon, VA. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

RICHMOND – Governor Terry McAuliffe announced additional appointments to his administration. The appointees will join McAuliffe’s administration focused on finding common ground with members of both pa

rties on issues that will grow Virginia’s economy and create more jobs across the Commonwealth.

Office of the Governor

Rachel Levy, Special Assistant in Constituent Services

Rachel Levy interned in the Governor’s Press office this past spring and formerly interned at the White House in the Office of the Press Secretary. She graduated with a B.A. from the University of California, Davis. She holds a degree in Communication with English and Writing minor.

Secretariat of Education

Eric Von Steigleder, Special Assistant to the Secretary of Education

Eric received his B.A. from the University of Mary Washington and his Master’s in Multimedia Journalism from the Richard T. Robertson School of Media and Culture at VCU. Most recently, he served as the Marketing Manager for an Henrico-based law firm and Editor of the East End Daily, an online news source in Richmond’s East End.

Secretariat of the Commonwealth

Board Appointments

Chesapeake Bay Bridge and Tunnel Commission

·       The Honorable Chris Snead of Hampton, Member, Hampton City Council

Emergency Medical Services Advisory Board

·       Samuel T. Bartle, MD of Richmond, Assistant Professor, Departments of Emergency Medicine and Pediatrics, Virginia Commonwealth University/MCV

·       Stephen J. Elliott*, BAS, NREMT-P of Palmyra,  Battalion Chief/Shift Commander, Albemarle County Fire Rescue

·       The Honorable Joan F. Foster of Lynchburg, Member, Lynchburg City Council; Director of Development, Lynchburg Beacon of Hope

·       Kelly G. Southard of Orange, Rescue Chief, Orange County Rescue Squad; Senior Principal/ Partner, Gillum Architects, P.C.

Joint Leadership Council of Veterans Services Organizations

·       Richard J. Rinaldo of Newport News,  Lieutenant Colonel, U.S. Army Retired

Roanoke Higher Education Authority Board of Trustees

·       Robert A. Archer of Salem, President and CEO, Blue Ridge Beverage Company, Inc.

·       Patricia White-Boyd of Roanoke, President, Star City Management, Inc.

·       Charles A. Price, Jr. of Roanoke, Retired General Contractor

Secure Commonwealth Panel

·       John L. Bell, Jr. of Virginia Beach, Deputy Chief of Police

·       John A. Braun of Falls Church, President and Chairman of the Board, Dynamis, Inc.

·       Patrick E. DeConcini of Hampton, Principal, DeConcini & Associates, LLC

·       Paul T. Diamond, MD of Charlottesville, Associate Professor and Director of Neurorehabilitation, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, University of Virginia Health System

·       Michael Lawrence Hamlar of Roanoke, Founder/President Hamlar Enterprises, LLC, Adjunct Professor, American National University

·       L.V. “Pokey” Harris of Chilhowie, Director of Emergency Management, Washington County

·       Jim Redick* MPA, CEM of Virginia Beach, Director of Emergency Preparedness and Response, City of Norfolk

·       Reuben Korah Varghese, MD, MPH of Arlington, Health Director and Division Chief, Arlington County Public Health Division

·       The Honorable Angelia M. Williams, Vice Mayor, City of Norfolk

Southwest Virginia Higher Education Center, Board of Trustees

·       Christine P. Kinser of Tazewell, Superintendent, Tazewell County Public Schools

·       Steven C. Cochran of Blacksburg, Director of Human Resources, HHHunt Corporation

State Air Pollution Control Board

·       Samuel A. Bleicher of Arlington, Principal, The Strategic Path LLC

·       Rebecca R. Rubin of Fredericksburg, President & CEO, Marstel-Day Environmental Company, LLC

Virginia-Asian Advisory Board

·       Julia Kim of Vienna, Chief of Staff, Office of Delegate Mark L. Keam, Virginia House of Delegates

Virginia Biotechnology Research Park Authority

·       Kenneth E. Ampy of Chesterfield, Chief Executive Officer, Astyra Corporation

·       Eric S. Edwards, MD, PhD of Powhatan, Co-founder, Chief Medical Officer and Vice President of Research and Development, Kaleo, Inc.

Virginia-Israel Advisory Board

·       Irving M. Blank, Esquire, of Richmond, Partner, ParisBlank LLP

·       Marc K. Broklawski of Fredericksburg, Project Management, U.S. Government

·       The Honorable Eileen Filler-Corn of Springfield, Virginia House of Delegates, 41^st District; Director of Government Relations, Albers & Company

·       William R. Frank of Henrico, Public Policy Manager, Virginia Association of Community Services Board

·       Aviva Shapiro Frye of Bristol, Co-Founder & Executive Director, World Prayer Foundation and World Medical Travel, LLC

·       Joyce Slavin Scher of Richmond, Founder and President of Victoria Charles Fine Jewelry

Virginia Small Grains Board

·       Ellen Matthews Davis of West Point, Management Consulting

·       James H. Hundley, III* of Champlain, Owner and Operator, Cloverfield Enterprises

*Denotes reappointment

Secretary Harvey and Secretary Hazel Visit VA Medical Centers, Discuss Commonwealth’s Role in Ensuring Access to Critical Services to Virginia Veterans

Injuries incurred by service members are covered by the Veteran Administration. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

RICHMOND – Governor Terry McAuliffe has tasked Secretary of Veterans and Defense Affairs John Harve

y and Secretary of Health and Human Resources Bill Hazel to with Veterans Administration hospitals across Virginia to ensure Virginia veterans and their families have access to the critical services they need to enhance their health and well being.

“As home to thousands of veterans, active duty service members and their families, Virginia has the responsibility to ensure that members of the armed service have access to the healthcare, mental health services, and resources they and their families need to succeed,” said Governor McAuliffe. “That is why I have asked Secretary Harvey and Secretary Hazel to work with the VA medical centers in Virginia to explore ways the state can give support to their operations and make sure Virginia is providing top notch services to our veterans.”

Secretary Harvey and Secretary Hazel began their tour of VA hospitals on Tuesday, July 8, with a visit to McGuire VA Medical Center in Richmond and visited Hampton VA Medical Center on Wednesday, July 9th. Next week, they will also visit Salem VA Medical Center to meet with the hospital director and identify opportunities for the state to lend assistance on any issues related to Virginia veterans seeking care and medical services.  

Governor McAuliffe has also made it a top priority of his administration to provide pathways for gainful employment to Virginia veterans and their families. As part of this effort, he has vowed to end veterans’ homelessness by the end of 2015, and just last month announced that veterans homelessness decreased by 14 percent between 2013 and 2014. Additionally, under the Governor’s leadership, Virginia has expanded the Virginia Values Veterans initiative, which encourages employers to recruit, hire, train, and retrain our veterans, and recently announced that the state was awarded a federal grant of over $3.4 million allocated to veterans’ job training. The Governor will continue to make veterans health and success a priority throughout his term, and this effort is another step towards promoting their welfare.

Gloucester, VA FOIA Fraud?

Watch the above video all the way through if you can, it's about 4 hours long, but to make a long story short, we were at this meeting and we watched everything going on during the entire meeting.  Here is what we sent to Mr Chriscoe, Board of Supervisor member at large.

"Mr Chriscoe:  We are going to FIOA your text messages made and received during the BoS meeting.  We not only saw what you were doing, we also heard your phone going off numerous times.  Thought there was a policy passed last year that prohibited this.  Since it was done during a BoS meeting, it becomes BoS business.  May we suggest you refrain from this in the future?"

A response from Mr Chriscoe;

My phone did not go off during the meeting.  I did receive a text during the meeting, not pertaining to county business.  I also used my phone as a calculator during a portion of the meeting.  I do not send texts during meetings of any kind they are sent automatically by the meeting setting on my phone.

Thank you for the interest in what I do.  Sorry to disappoint.

Regards,

Ashley Chriscoe

Board of Supervisors

Our Response;

" All we can do is go by what we see and hear.  Your phone seemed to have beeped numerous times during the meeting.  Also, your claim that you were making calculations is of concern as you did not bring up any numbers during the meeting that would release you of such a claim.  May we point out that appearance should always be a concern that must be taken into consideration at all times during a Board meeting.  Also, conversations with numerous people after the meeting, the consensus was unanimous, that the appearance was you were texting during the meeting.  

  We are not trying to be offensive to you.  We are showing you what we are seeing and are simply asking for transparency.  Please go back and review the meeting video and take an honest look at yourself and ask what it is that everyone else is seeing."

Again Mr Chriscoe Responds;

" I understand your point.  My harshest critic watches all of the meetings.  And at no time did my mom say anything about my phone.  She says I am an on it all the time and she made no mention of it.  I do keep my phone silenced and if I do get a text I get a green light that blinks.  My mother is a widow and I have two kids at home.  If something happens to one of them someone can always get a hold of me.  At our next meeting if you are there I will show you the feature I use so that the phone does not vibrate or make a sound.  I apologize if it looked like I was using my phone. 

I did have to use my iPad during the meting because the laptop on the counter quit working prior to the meeting.  

Thanks for watching.  Keep pointing these things out.  They are helpful.

Regards,

Ashley Chriscoe

Board of Supervisors"

There is an old saying that we have adopted here.  Trust but verify.  So as we stated, we did a FOIA request for any and all text messages.  It went like this.

"Hello Christie;

  Attached is a PDF formal FOIA request for information regarding any and all text messages sent and or received by Ashley Chriscoe during the July 1st, 2014 Board of Supervisor's meeting between the hours of 7:00 PM and 11:00 PM.  As always, thank you for everything that you do."

The response back from Christie Lewis is as follows.

I am in receipt of your attached FOIA request as emailed and received on Tuesday, July 8, 2014 for “ digital copies of any and all text messages of Ashley Chriscoe during the July 1st, 2014 Board of Supervisor's meeting between the hours of 7:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m.” 

Mr. Chriscoe has indicated that he reviewed all text messages and only one text message was received and one was sent through automatic response during the timeframe specified.  These texts were not related to public business and do not constitute public records as defined under “Public Records” in the Code of Virginia § 2.2-3701.

FOIA provisions allow a locality to charge a reasonable fee to access and search for requested records.  Total time being charged for this request is 45 minutes at a rate of $15 per hour for a total charge of $11.25.  Please remit payment by check made payable to the “County of Gloucester” for the total amount and mail to Gloucester Community Education, P.O. Box 1306, Gloucester, VA 23061 or you may bring payment in person to our office.  We ask that you call ahead to 693-5730 to ensure staff is available to receive payment.  We are unable to make change, so we ask to please bring the exact amount if paying in person.

Please let me know if I can be of further assistance to you.

Regards,

Christi Lewis

Community Education Director

804-693-5730

We asked for a justification of the above expense as Mr Chriscoe had already went through his text messages prior to the request.  How can he have possibly spent one hour once again reviewing his messages and why would it take anyone so long?  Also, let's look at the facts.  Christie Lewis only asked Mr Chriscoe for any digital copies of any text messages that he may have sent or received during the time frame in question.  She did not search any phone records to verify anything.  She simply asked him for any records.  So we have no idea whether or not he is even telling the truth.  

  Second.  Christie Lewis asks Mr Chriscoe how much time he spent searching his phone records and just goes along with that.  No verification on time spent here either and all this after Mr Chriscoe already told me the same story prior to the FOIA request.  Does anyone wonder why we question the integrity of local government officials?  Here is more of the conversation.

Another email to us from Christie Lewis;

"Mr. Chriscoe indicated he spent approximately one hour reviewing and responding to your request.  The county guideline is to provide a courtesy 15 minutes of response time so we billed for 45 minutes at the clerical rate of $15 per hour."

Our response to this is as follows:

"Please ask Mr Chriscoe to justify his time spent going through his cell phone for one hour after having already provided information on such prior to said request."

Again, we were at the meeting and kept hearing cell phone tones that would indicate a message came in on someone's phone during the meeting and it was coming from the front of the meeting room.  Mr Chriscoe had his head down and looking at something in front of him throughout a great deal of the 4 hour meeting.  It looked as though he was in fact texting.  We tried to work with county officials to clear all of this up, but there has been no response to us from the last email we sent asking Mr Chriscoe to justify his time spent looking through his cell phone messages or was that possibly deleting his cell phone messages?  We are presently looking into potential fraud on this.  This is not what we expect nor is it what anyone should expect of any county officials at any time.  It's disgraceful.  

Related articles

• Gloucester, VA Planning Commission and BoS Meeting Video, June, 2014
• Gloucester, VA Real Estate Sales Along Highway 17 Are Telling
• Gloucester, VA Bos's Christ Hutson: Second Conflict of Interest Vote?
• Gloucester Main Street Preservation Trust, Secret Shadow Gloucester, VA Government Extended Into 2014?
• Gloucester, VA - FOIA and Private Email Accounts In Virginia
• Gloucester, VA Board of Supervisors Meeting, May, 2014 with Notes

Gloucester, VA What Glo-Quips Didn't Tell You, July, 2014

If you caught this paper or if you missed it, there is a good deal you were not told about the story.  So we are going to fill in the holes for you.

Here is the crux of the story.

 Sec. 3-18. Animals in enclosed vehicles.permanent link to this piece of content

(a)

It shall be unlawful to leave any animal in a vehicle without the benefit of air conditioning when the outside temperature reaches eighty (80) degrees fahrenheit or greater.

(b)

Any person who confines an animal in an unattended vehicle so as to cause the animal to suffer from heat stress, shall be guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor. The animal control officer or other officer shall have the authority to remove any animal found in an enclosed vehicle that appears to be suffering from heat stress. The animal shall be provided immediate veterinary care. The animal owner or custodian shall be responsible for all expenses incurred during the removal of the animal or its subsequent treatment and impoundment.

(c)

In the event that the person responsible for the violation cannot be ascertained, the registered owner of the vehicle, as required by Chapter 6 of Title 46.2 of the Code of Virginia, shall constitute in evidence a prima facie presumption that such registered owner was the person who committed the violation.

(Ord. of 7-1-2008(1), § (2); Ord. of 2-5-2013(1))

That's the entire story inside the paper.  It came out after we brought up the following with a number of county officials.

Gloucester Animal Control In Violation of Ordinances? from Chuck Thompson

Now what is interesting here is that a local ordinance can not supersede state code nor Federal Laws.  According to everything we have looked up, neither the local government nor the state government can regulate vehicle manufacturers and what is required in a vehicle.  So we see Gloucester thinks it can supersede state and Federal rules?

Here is a copy of an email we sent to the Sheriff's department.

 Greetings;

  We want to help.  Since we can not find any State codes that are equal to Gloucester County AC Section 3-18, we have started a campaign to help get this to both the State and Federal Government.  We have contacted the State Attorney General asking him to look into getting state codes created to fall into compliance with our county ordinance.  We have also contacted Congressman Rob Wittman and Senator Mark Warner as well as President Obama asking that they get together and create laws to get into compliance with Gloucester County.

The following is exactly what we sent out to the above;

Greetings (Addressed to the person in question);

  I am wondering why I am unable to find a state code or Federal Law that is in compliance with a Gloucester County, Virginia Ordinance, Animal Control Ordinance 3-18.

 Sec. 3-18. Animals in enclosed vehicles.permanent link to this piece of content

(a)

It shall be unlawful to leave any animal in a vehicle without the benefit of air conditioning when the outside temperature reaches eighty (80) degrees fahrenheit or greater.

(b)

Any person who confines an animal in an unattended vehicle so as to cause the animal to suffer from heat stress, shall be guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor. The animal control officer or other officer shall have the authority to remove any animal found in an enclosed vehicle that appears to be suffering from heat stress. The animal shall be provided immediate veterinary care. The animal owner or custodian shall be responsible for all expenses incurred during the removal of the animal or its subsequent treatment and impoundment.

(c)

In the event that the person responsible for the violation cannot be ascertained, the registered owner of the vehicle, as required by Chapter 6 of Title 46.2 of the Code of Virginia, shall constitute in evidence a prima facie presumption that such registered owner was the person who committed the violation.

(Ord. of 7-1-2008(1), § (2); Ord. of 2-5-2013(1))

  I am asking that the state of Virginia and Federal Government work together and please look into this and get into compliance with Gloucester County, VA ordinance 3-18.  Municode Link is https://library.municode.com/index.aspx?clientID=10843&stateID=46&statename=Virginia

  To show how the state and Federal Government is in fact out of compliance with local ordinance.

Now to offer some more ideas, we are working on building an email campaign to send to all of the vehicle manufacturers demanding that all vehicles sold in the USA and Canada now be equipped with Air Conditioning as it is unknown if any of those vehicles will ever come through Gloucester County transporting an animal during temperatures above 80 Degrees and we do not need people committing criminal acts in this county.

  We see several opportunities for generating revenue from this that we would like to share with you.  

1.)  We would recommend that deputies now go throughout the county, to each car lot and or anyone who is selling a vehicle and make sure that the vehicle has a working air conditioner.  If it does not, then a fine should be imposed on the seller for each violation and the vehicle should be removed from future sale until it meets compliance.

2.)  Meeting this compliance may cause some people undue burdens, so we are also recommending selling a mandatory county decal that creates a statement from the owner that the vehicle does not have air conditioning and thus will never be used for transporting animals at anytime where temperatures meet or exceed 80 degrees.  Even if the purchaser does not own an animal, this decal should still be made mandatory as one never knows when they will be called on to transport any animal from a neighbor, friend or road emergency.  This would take care of any issues from 1 above.

We also believe that people should be prosecuted for violations to this county ordinance.  We would like to suggest that the Sheriff's office please start with 4 people we know who are violating this policy right now.  Gloucester Animal Control has 4 trucks in violation of this code right now and these criminals need to be made examples of.

Please forward a copy of this email to Sheriff Darrell Warren.

If you have any comments, suggestions or more ideas, please do not hesitate to contact us.  We are more than happy to help with this vital issue.

We sent out emails last night and have already heard from Senator Mark Warner.  His email is as follows.

I appreciate the trust and confidence you have shown in me by contacting me with your letter in which you requested my assistance with your question regarding federal codes protecting animals. 

In an effort to be of assistance to you, I have referred your letter to the Congressional Research Service (CRS). I will promptly forward any information I may receive from CRS to you.

My staff and I stand ready to be of assistance in any other matter that is of concern to you.

Sincerely,
MARK R. WARNER
United States Senator

All we can say at this point is that if the county government is going to make up it's own ordinances, it better be prepared for the consequences that go along with them.  We will keep you up to date with this story as it progresses.  

Related articles

• Gloucester, VA Animal Control In Violation of it's Own Ordinances?
• Gloucester, VA Storage Container Use Ordinances
• Gloucester, VA Board of Supervisor's Meeting, Video and Notes, July, 2014
• Gloucester County Ordinances Repealed, August, 2013
• Gloucester, VA County Services Outrageous Costs, $600 Per Cat and Dog In November
• October Gloucester, VA Ordinances In Violation of State Code