Thursday, October 24, 2013

Governor McDonnell Announces Board and Commission Appointments

Governor of Virginia Bob McDonnell speaking at...
Governor of Virginia Bob McDonnell by; Gage Skidmore . (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
RICHMOND - Governor Bob McDonnell today announced appointments to one board of visitors: University of Mary Washington. Governor McDonnell also announced appointments to eleven other Virginia boards and commissions. Further announcements regarding additional appointments in the McDonnell administration will continue to be made in the months ahead.



Board of Visitors:
University of Mary Washington Board of Visitors
·         Tabitha Geary of Richmond, Vice President of Sapient
·         Kenneth J. Lopez of Alexandria, CEO of A2L Consulting
·         Lisa D. Taylor of Chantilly, Director of Contracts for Northrop Grumman Corporation

Additional Board Appointments:
·         Eugenio Monasterio* of Mechanicsville

Assistive Technology Loan Fund Authority
·         Sandra A. Cook of Petersburg, Retired
·         Joyce G. Viscomi of Harrisonburg, Retired Special Education Teacher for students with intellectual impairments and multiple handicapping conditions and Certified Reading Specialist

Board of Medicine
·         Lori D. Conklin, M.D. of Charlottesville, Associate Professor of Anesthesiology at the University of Virginia
·         Jane Sheffield Maddux* of Charlottesville

Board of Psychology
·         Barbara Peery, Ph.D. of Richmond, Associate Professor of Business and Director of Graduate Studies at Fort Lee Graduate Center – retired

Board of Social Services
·         Darrell “DJ” Jordan of Woodbridge, Congressional Aide, U.S. House of Representatives

Education Commission of the States
·         The Honorable Artur Davis, Esquire of Sterling, Self-Employed, Former member of the U.S. House of Representatives

Family and Children’s Trust Fund
·         Mary Russo Riley of Chesapeake, Community Programs Administrator for the City of Chesapeake

Medical Advisory Board to the Department of Motor Vehicles
·         John D. Sheppard, M.D.* of Cape Charles, Surgeon with Virginia Eye Consultants

Milk Commission
·         Robb Watters of Great Falls, Managing Partner of The Madison Group

Virginia Fire Services Board
·         Walter T. Bailey of Phenix, Chief of the Phenix Fire Department 

Virginia Foundation for the Humanities and Public Policy 
·         Edward Augustus Mullen of Richmond, Attorney at Reed Smith LLP
·         Michelle du Pont Olson* of McLean
·         Daphne Maxwell Reid of Petersburg, New Millennium Studios
·         Lacy Ward, Jr.* of Pamplin, Director of the Robert Russa Moton Museum

*Denotes re-appointment
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Battle of the Hook, 2013, Art Print No 1



























We are presently working on producing a series of art prints from the Battle of the Hook.  If these get enough attention, we will make them available for purchase.  In the mean time we will be releasing our series on a daily basis for everyone to enjoy.  These are under copyright at this time.  You are free to share them on social networks, however, these can not be copied and used on other websites or printed without our express permission.  Give us your feedback on these as we present them, it's greatly appreciated.
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Wednesday, October 23, 2013

Governor McDonnell Invites Public to Provide Input on Future Road, Rail, Transit Projects

English: Governor of Virginia at CPAC in .
 Governor of Virginia  (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Public meetings take place Oct. 22 to Nov. 21

RICHMOND - Governor Bob McDonnell today invited Virginia residents to attend the public meetings to be held across the state this fall so they can learn more about transportation projects funded in the current Six-Year Improvement Program (SYIP) and to provide comments for transportation improvements in the upcoming SYIP for fiscal years 2015-2020.

The Commonwealth Transportation Board (CTB) approves a SYIP for road, rail, and transit projects each June.

Speaking about the public meetings, Governor McDonnell said, “For the first time in 27 years, transportation in Virginia received a major boost, thanks to bipartisan cooperation in the General Assembly that allowed passage of legislation to provide much-needed, long-term sustainable funding for roads, bridges, and transit. Now I am looking to Virginians to provide their input on potential projects that will improve transportation.”

The meetings begin Tuesday, Oct. 22, in the state’s nine transportation districts. See list below for dates and locations.

CTB Chairman and Secretary of Transportation Sean T. Connaughton added, “The new transportation investment will support better roads and stimulate job and economic growth as well.  The state’s transportation program is $17.6 billion for the next six years, including $15.7 billion for highway, rail and public transportation projects in the current SYIP and $1.9 billion in new funding sources for Northern Virginia.  Much of the funding is going toward rehabilitating aging highways and bridges, improving safety and operations as well as increasing capacity to reduce congestion.  Already, VDOT has advertised more than $2 billion in projects during this year alone.” 

“The new transportation funding will help each motorist in Virginia reach their destination quicker and more safely,” said Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) Commissioner Greg Whirley. “I am asking for your ideas, suggestions and input on how we can improve roads and bridges. You can do this by meeting with your regional transportation representatives during these fall planning meetings.”

“Due to the historic transportation funding bill signed into law this year,  the Commonwealth continues to provide for and grow its regional intercity passenger rail service and provide  for more public transportation choices, while reducing the amount of single-occupancy vehicles and maximizing the existing transportation infrastructure,” said Thelma Drake, director of the Department of Rail and Public Transportation.

Projects include interstate, road, rail, bicycle, pedestrian and public transportation initiatives. They emphasize bridge and pavement projects along with those to improve safety and reduce congestion throughout the transportation network. All SYIP projects eligible for federal funding will be included in the Statewide Transportation Improvement Program (STIP), which documents how Virginia will obligate its federal money.

Representatives from the CTB, VDOT, Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation (DRPT), metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs), and planning district commissions (PDCs) will be at the meetings to discuss their respective projects and programs.

If you cannot attend, information about the meeting will be available Oct. 22 at www.virginiadot.org/2013fallmeetings.  Send comments on rail, public transportation, and transportation demand-management projects to: Public Information Officer, DRPT, 600 East Main Street, Suite 2102, Richmond, Va., 23219 orDRPTPR@drpt.Virginia.gov.  Send comments on highway projects to: Programming Director, VDOT, 1401 East Broad Street, Richmond, Va., 23219 or SixYearProgram@VDOT.Virginia.gov.  Comments will be accepted until Dec. 6, 2013.

Meeting schedule at each location*:
·         6 p.m.-7 p.m. – Open house displays and general discussion
·         7 p.m. – Moderated public meeting

Tuesday, October 22, 2013
VDOT Northern Virginia District Office
4975 Alliance Drive
Fairfax, VA 22030

Tuesday, October 29, 2013
Hampton Roads Planning District Commission
723 Woodlake Drive
Chesapeake, VA 23320

Wednesday, October 30, 2013
Northside High School
6758 Northside High School Road
Roanoke, VA 24019

Wednesday, November 6, 2013
VDOT Central Office Auditorium
1221 East Broad Street
Richmond, VA 23219

Wednesday, November 13, 2013
University of Mary Washington
Stafford Campus – University Hall (North Building)
125 University Boulevard
Fredericksburg, VA 22406

Thursday, November 14, 2013
Holiday Inn Staunton
Conference Center
152 Fairway Lane
Staunton, VA 24401

Monday, November 18, 2013
Germanna Community College
Daniel Technology Center
18121 Technology Drive
Culpeper, VA 22701

Tuesday, November 19, 2013
Holiday Inn and Suites
Bristol Convention Center
3005 Linden Drive
Bristol, VA 24202

Thursday, November 21, 2013
Kirkley Hotel and Conference Center
2900 Candler’s Mountain Road
Lynchburg, VA 24502

* You can find the localities that make up each district atwww.virginiadot.org or by calling 800-367-7623.
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Battle of the Hook, Ending Show, Liberty's Kids, 37, Born Free And Equal





The Battle of the Hook, American Revolutionary reenactment is now over, however, our ending show still has a few more episodes and we have plenty of stories to tell for some time to come.  So there should be no disappointments.  The only disappointment one could have is having missed this superb event.  Early indications are showing that this has been the nations largest American Revolutionary battle reenactment.  The event was spectacular with land, sea and cavalry battles unmatched by any other we have ever seen all in one location at one event.  Everyone who participated must be commended for an outstanding job.  They created the time machine that truly brought anyone who attended this event back to the time of the American Revolution itself.

  With that said, please enjoy Liberty's kids episode number 37, Born Free and Equal.  Unfortunately, in this modern day and age, the issues of being born equal has been for the most part robbed of us for it's original intentions.  What is not known these days about American History is that what being born equal, the meaning is one where no groups or titles were to be recognized by either our government nor our court system.  We all know that groups control both of these areas of the US these days and dare I say in violation of the original Constitution?  I dare say it but few will ever understand it.  Groups also control titles such as attorney, doctor, CPA and so on.  These were only considered professions with no group standings during the early days of this nation.  Call yourself an attorney today and try practicing law without a union pass and some union folks will pay you a visit very quickly and charge you with violations to their union laws.  The bar association is not a state  agency in any state that we have ever seen.   But we are not attorneys and not looking for a visit from the union folks.  So much for being born equal under the Constitution that has been usurped by tyrants.
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Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Battle of the Hook, More Photos From 2013 Event Including House Fire

We still have not managed to figure out our final count, but our estimate so far is over 6,000 photos taken and about 6 to 8 videos.  3 Videos are in full 1080P HD and include the burning of the farm house on Sunday's battle reenactment.  It's going to take us months to go through all the content we have and several years to even begin to share it.  What we can tell you is that the planners in our own opinion, really understated what to expect.  This was truly time travel into history and as close as anyone can ever come to living what life was once like during the colonial era.

  This was the type of event one always expected Yorktown to produce and has failed to come anywhere near close to producing.  It blew Colonial Williamsburg out of the water for historical interpretations and we take nothing away from Colonial Williamsburg by saying that.  We love CW and would not trade it for anything, but they can not even produce an event of the magnitude that Gloucester just pulled off for the second time and with more flash, flare and graciousness that was put into this event.  This second event proved even better than the first.

  We asked the question, will there be a Battle of the Hook event again next year?  The answer is no.  What we learned was that the 2008 event was meant as a one time event.  Questions kept being asked and requests for a second event finally overwhelmed those involved in the first event.  So it was determined to hold one more event.  18 months went into the planning of this event for those not aware of this fact.  Warren Deal, Stephanie Heinatz and all others must be commended on an incredible job.

  We were further informed that to even consider another event, would take at least 4 years to put together again as there is no way to get all of these people back again each year as they have commitments to other locations for reenactments.  The question of continuing the tradition was not ruled out when we kept digging.  On that same note, this is considered to be the last event of it's type as well.  So only time will tell if there will ever be another event like this here.  We did put a bug in the ear to consider a Bacon's Rebellion event that did take part on the grounds of Warner Hall.  Again, only time will tell what comes up.  Now for the much awaited photos our headline promised.






























































































































































All new Battle of the Hook photos on this site are under TTC Media copyright, 2013 and can not be used on other websites without our permission.  Certain photos on this site have been submitted for public view on other sites with our written permission already.  These photos are also not available for print or other forms of publishing without our permission.  We are posting these photos on Pinterest and can be re pinned.  They may be shared on Facebook and other social networks so long as proper credit is given to this website and to TTC Media.  Our information from the bottom of any of our images may not be removed at any time for any reason.
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