staff reports
Published: March 26, 2008

March Madness thanks

Thank you to all those that supported the first annual March Madness event to benefit the American Cancer Society.  Through your concern and generosity we were able to dance and game our way to a very nice donation to further Cancer research. 
Special thanks to our event Sponsor Monroe Products and our other sponsors for the evening Nelson Tax & Accounting, Wells Sheffield Funeral Chapel, BB&T Lovingston Branch, Tiger Fuel, WA Lynch Roofing of Madison Heights, Byrun-Parr Funeral Home, Discount Portable Toilets, and all the families that sponsored gaming tables in memory of loved ones lost to Cancer.
Plans are beginning for our 2009 event and we welcome any comments or suggestions on how to make the evening more entertaining. 
Thank you again for supporting the citizens in Nelson who battle Cancer everyday as well as millions around the country.

Heather Goodwin
March Madness Coordinator
Arrington

Class act

Let us now praise Nelson’s famous young men, ( with apologies to James Agee).
By now all of us here in Nelson know that our men’s basketball team won the Division 1 State Championship on March 15th in Richmond. 
For me, it represented far more than winning one more game.  In its essence the team demonstrated the value and virtues of hard work, mental and physical discipline, never quitting when the going got tough, esprit de corps, teamwork and grace under pressure.
The coach (Brandon Garrett) did an outstanding job guiding and supporting his players with calm and dignity. 
The Nelson crowd could not have been more enthusiastic or supportive.
Congratulations men on your well deserved championship. 
Thank you for the opportunity to share in such a poetic and enriching event.

Chapin Wilson
Shipman

Assessment

Without going into the mechanics of the recent changes in the real estate assessments by the Nelson County Board of Supervisors, suffice to say that they are unrealistic at the very least.
Perhaps Nelson County needs the money. And this comes on top of the current recession.
If you want to see where this is headed, please look at the Amherst County “Notice to the Public” on page A3 of the March 18th edition of The News & Advance.
The gun has been loaded and cocked. Each year the percentage evaluation will go up and up yearly until it is back up to the current 71 percent per $100/valuation.
This is a novel way to “snooker” Nelson County citizens and, at the same time, make them think they are rich. This is a con job worthy of the sellers of the Brooklyn Bridge.
Our local government seems ready to copy Fairfax County in its ever burgeoning structure and personnel to the point where few positions are essential.
People — our total population is only 14,000. Wintergreen is semi-autonomous and provides its own fire, rescue and police services.
Fairfax County is in the process of redoing their assessed property values that came in too high.
Across the country, the average equity in homes has dropped to about 50 percent.
It appears that the Board of Supervisors, upon hearing complaints, either oral or written, will have authority to increase, decrease or affirm such real estate assessments.
I believe a decrease across the board of 20 percent is needed. Please remember that the appetite for money and power at all three levels of government is insatiable.

Walter L. Hughes
Roseland

Thank you fans

The faculty, staff, students, and, most especially, the varsity basketball players of Nelson County High School would like to thank everyone in this county and in other areas as well who supported the Governors in their successful journey to become our school’s first ever Division I, Single “A” State Basketball Champions. 
From the district title game to the state championship, our fans were never outnumbered and certainly never out-cheered. 
Indeed, it was the fans who gave our players something beyond titles and trophies. They awarded the team the devotion and admiration of a fan base the likes of which has not been seen here or in other areas for many years.
The “sixth man” —- the fans who spent hard-earned money and gave precious time to follow the Governors from Lovingston to Amherst to Harrisonburg to Richmond (twice) —- cannot be thanked enough for their undying confidence and support.  From this point forward when someone asks, “With whom are you?” (a.k.a. “Who u wit.”), our reply will be a loud and proud, “NELSON.”

Emma Wardlaw
Principal
Nelson County High School

For the record

The front page article in the March 20 issue about community centers contained an error related to the financing of the Nelson Center that creates a mistaken impression.
The article stated that Nelson County spent $2.4 million on renovations to the Nelson Center, which is why it is not in the state of disrepair of other old schools now used as community centers.
Of the total $2.9 million in funding required to renovate the old Lovingston school, the building owner, Nelson Center, LP, (a partnership of non-profits Nelson County Community Development Foundation and Jefferson Area Board for Aging) raised $2.4 million from individuals, foundations, corporations, state and federal sources, historic tax credits and $875,000 in borrowed construction financing.
The County of Nelson provided $250,000, or $50,000 a year for five years, as matching funds to obtain pledged donations and grants, and donated the abandoned building. With the building valued at $239,000, Nelson County contributed 16 percent of the project budget, and 9 percent of the cash.
Because the recent property reassessment has brought focus on how effectively county tax dollars are spent, it is important that the details of the significant public/private partnership that made this project a success be correctly understood. For a relatively small investment of local tax dollars, the board of supervisors was able to access millions of dollars in grant funds and help create a new business generating $12,000 a year in taxes.
Most importantly, a group of dedicated citizens with a vision were able to preserve an important historic resource, provide much-needed office and community space, and create a sustainable business model that will allow the Nelson Center, and owners NCCDF and JABA, to continue to contribute to the community for decades to come.
The Nelson Center benefits from its location on a major highway and proximity to the county seat, but the principles of its success have application to other community centers.
The key is hard-working citizens developing a long-term business plan that requires minimal investment of local taxpayer funds. In reporting on these projects, it is important to correctly recognize the board’s fiscal responsibility and the efforts of citizen groups.
The mutual benefits they and the public derive from these cooperative public/private efforts may hopefully inspire others to rise to similar challenges.

George Krieger
Director, NCCDF
Manager, Nelson Center, LP