If you have never seen a carpet of Bluebells, you don’t know what you are missing! Merrimac Farm is a truly unique treasure. The event is free and a wonderful opportunity to see the Virginia’s amazing assets.
Prince William Conservation played an integral role in the birth of Merrimac Farm.
Bring your family and friends to Merrimac Farm on Sunday, April 11, beginning at 9:00 am, to welcome spring and view the spectacular display of Virginia Bluebells that carpet the floodplain along Cedar Run for nearly a mile. In the words of one visitor, it’s like walking through Oz.
We’ll have naturalist-led tours to the Bluebells and Cedar Run, where you can stay as long as you’d like. Along the way we’ll travel through a variety of habitats, talking about the birds, butterflies, frogs and other wildlife that lives at Merrimac Farm and in Northern Virginia.
In today’s News and Messenger, there is an article entitled “Tourism agency preps for Sesquicentennial” which made for an interesting little read. PWC chairman of the BOCS did a stand up comedy routine as content for the piece. Let’s focus on some local news. First, the article from News and Messenger:
Tourism Agency Preps for Sesquicentennial
July 21, 2011 marks the 150th anniversary, or sesquicentennial, of the Civil War’s Battle of Bull Run, and tourism officials planning commemorative events are falling heavy on the theme of peace.
“We want to have a rolling series of events, basically for five years, because this is a national celebration and a state celebration,” the Convention and Visitor’s Bureau interim director, Sharon Cavileer, told Prince William supervisors Tuesday. Plans were to follow the state’s plan for commemoration and show the extent of the Civil War’seffects from a range of perspectives—from civilian to slave to soldier, both Union and Confederate.
“In Prince William, the sesquicentennial is an American legacy of war, peace and reconciliation,” Cavileer said, adding that planned events include a speech from a Nobel peace prize winner and a Peace Jubilee at the Old Courthouse in Manassas. On top of that, the key theme or message of the sesquicentennial is a proposed: “Where the battle began and peace prevails.”
That’s fine, said Chairman Corey Stewart, R-At-large. But less peace and more realism is in order, he said.
“I think we need to work on the message. The Civil War was not about peace. It ended in peace; it had to end in peace,” he said. “If you want to have a Nobel peace prize speaker, that’s okay, I guess. For God’s sake, I hope it’s an American.”
The CVB and sesquicentennial marketing strategists should not “water down” the realities and lessons of the Civil War to the point where it’s forgotten that this was a uniquely American period that ultimately led “to the uniting of the nation so it became the power it is,” Stewart said.
Apparently the chairman objects to all this damn peace floating about and he has done his best to make sure it doesn’t happen. One glance at the chairman’s’ record will give a bird’s eye view of his distain for peace in local government. He has fanned the flames during the immigration debate, he shouted anti abortion rhetoric at a V.O.I.C.E. meeting about housing, insulted vets over joining the Coffee Party, disparaging all the other members in his sweeping generalizations, just to name a few instances where peace in PWC seems unlikely.
Fighting Hate West Virginia Style. Westboro descending on Charleston, WV to inform the good people in the state capital that the Montcoal mining disaster happened because God hates …who even knows…oh ….they got a threatening note from West Virginia.
Westboro had mentioned deceased Morgan Harrington on their website. The VT student was murdered last fall after disappearing from a Metallica concert at UVA. Students organized and simply outnumbered qnd out performed Westboro in only the way United VT can do! Morgan’s parents were on hand to express their displeasure at having their daughter’s name dragged through the mud after her horrible fate.
BLACKSBURG, Va., (WIBW)_ Members of Topeka-based Westboro Baptist Church turned up at the Upper Big Branch mine in West Virginia on Friday morning.
They were there for a protest following the mine disaster which claimed the lives of at least 25 miners. Rescue teams continue to search for four more miners whose fate is still unknown.
The church claims the explosion was a result of a threatening memo that the church said was sent from West Virginia, the New York Times reported.
According to the Charleston Gazette, more than 300 counter-protesters were on hand for a counter demonstration against the six church members who showed up.
Nearby, larger numbers of church members fanned out across three locations in Blacksburg, Virginia nearly two years after the shootings at Virginia Tech that killed 32 people.
They too were met by counter protesters, including the father of Morgan Harrington, a Virginia Tech student who disappeared last October. Harrington said he couldn’t believe the Westboro Church was including Morgan’s memory in their protests.
What, if anything can be done to stop these vile people? They are using the very laws that make us tolerant Americans against us. Hopefully the Supreme Court case will castrate their efforts. I would contribute to any plan to legally put these disgusting wretches in their places. I think jail time sounds real good.
And when you thought they couldn’t go any lower, check out the parting shot. This sign was from the Sago mine disaster in 2006. However, they arrived at Montcoal, WV today with similar tactics. The poor people of Montcoal are trying to mourn their dead and recover their lost. They just don’t need this crap.
