Summer in Culpeper....with some teachers, a principal and other cool people. 2015

This blog started differently than it ended up.  I intended to do a summer blog on teachers.  There was one big problem.... I couldn't find them.  Where do you find teachers?  In the school, right? Well not so much in the summer.  If they are not there then they could be almost anywhere.  It seems like teachers should check in with someone... maybe me...I needed them.  Anyway, I wanted a whole bunch of teachers and was very lucky to get as many as I did  (this group probably qualifies as a "bunch") and fortunately I found great ones!  The good news is that in the meantime I ran into some other really cool things and people that I wanted to photograph like: border guards at Mountain Run Lake Park,  the fun staff at a tanning spa, agreeable golfers,  and the guys working at CJ's Ice Cream (No way those guys don't sneak just a little ice cream.  But one is the owner's son so, who cares?) and so on.  It probably turned out to be a bit more fun with the mixture we ended up with.

Let's get on with it, but be sure to take it one step at a time.  

A School Principal

Since three fourths of my career was as a high school administrator, I wanted to be sure to get a picture of a principal busy working during the summer.  Although I live very close to Culpeper County High School I have never met the principal, Jeff Dietz.  So I made an appointment with him. We had a nice conversation "talking shop"  as he put it.  He has the same personality as all the good principals have that I worked with.   When you start talking about school his eyes light up.  He has been the principal at CCHS for ten years and has been an educator for twenty.  He and his wife have four kids and the oldest is 19 years old and a student at UVA.  Two more are in high school and the youngest is in elementary school.  Jeff will be busy this summer seeing to it, along with his staff members who are there during the summer, that everything is ready when the kids come back.  As certain  in life as death and taxes.... is the fact that the students will come back to school, ready or not. Among other things, Jeff will have seen that: the building is in good shape; that he has a qualified teacher for every subject; that each teacher has a room each period and that two teachers are not accidentally scheduled in the same room; that there is a seat for every student every period; that the classes are balanced by period and within county size limits; supplies have been ordered;  all the computers are working; AND that as many kids as possible get the exact schedule they want.  I know I overlooked some things but I got most of them.  People often wonder what school employees do when the kids are not there..... I can tell you that they work and that they have to be very detail oriented.  CCHS will have almost 1100 students next year. 

Let's look at some of the teachers I found.

Mandy Tuel Roberts is a third grade teacher at Farmington Elementary School.  She has just completed her third year and loves her job.  When I asked her what her favorite part of the job is, she quickly replied that it was watching the kids learn and grow.  She is taking graduate courses this summer working on her Master's degree.

Just as I was coming to the realization that I was not going to find enough teachers to complete a summer blog on just teachers, I passed this attractive couple coming out of UPS.  On a lark I asked,  "Any chance that one of you is a school teacher?"  The man said, "She is."  What luck!  A teacher indeed!  Julie Switzer is the new French teacher at Culpeper County High School.  She has been in town about six months and comes to us from Northern Pennsylvania.  Her "friend" is Tim Moniz  (they are good enough friends that they stood fairly close for this picture, or maybe very close).  Tim is the manager of a yacht club in Boston.  Welcome to the Peper!

I went to Floyd T. Binns to catch a couple of teachers as they left summer school for the day.  These two very graciously stopped and chatted with me.  They are spending a good part of their summer helping students who, for one reason or another, need a little extra work.  On the left is Sheryl Simpson who teaches sixth grade math.  She has taught in the Peper for seven years.  Her own two children have provided her with five grandkids.   Nice!   Connie Hadley is also a math teacher, and teaches at Culpeper County High School.  She has taught there for four years and teaches Algebra 1 and 2.  She has twin 19 year olds.

Every school that has a teacher like Khaled El-Nemr is very lucky.  I was told that he is the kind of guy that readily helps new teachers;  is a master of technology; is always willing to share his knowledge; and on and  on.  Here he is on his summer vacation.  He is teaching summer school, but the school day was over and he got into casual clothes and began planting flowers to make his school look prettier... it is not his job, he is just one of those guys.  He teaches advanced math classes to middle school students and really enjoys that work.  He is originally from Palestine and he and his wife have a three year old.

Now people will know how this bit of gardening happened.  Nice!

I saw these three having a picnic at the park honoring our war veterans and naturally saw a perfect picture that I could take.  It became doubly perfect when I discovered that the mom is a teacher!  Add to that, she is close to friends of ours from Fairfax that we have known since the 70's and who moved to Culpeper at least 20 years ago, and you have a small world, even for Culpeper.    She is Mandy Kalec and she is a reading coach at Emerald Hill Elementary School.  She works with students in Kindergarten through Fifth grade.  She is with her daughters Noelle and Emmy Brown.
  It doesn't get better than this!

Here is a husband and wife team of teachers. Shaun Summerscales teaches 6th grade US History and 8th grade Civics.  Melissa teaches 6th grade English.  They were expecting four days after I took this picture.



One of the first summer programs that I visited was "Kid Central"  held at Culpeper Middle School.  There I observed Linda Gray who is a para-educator working with some kids.   During the school year Linda works at Farmington Elementary School.  (note: I have never included underage children in my blog unless they are with their parents.  This is an exception because each of these children has a media release.)



LET'S LEAVE OUR  EDUCATORS FOR THE MOMENT
Here are some other people I wanted to include who are working hard, but enjoying their summer.


I have wondered if tanning salons get any business in the summer.  I mean, it is hot and sunny out side and a lawn chair in the back yard would get the job done.... or so it seems.  So I dropped into Sun Tan City to talk with them and see if any customers were in there. Yep, in fact there were a lot of customers and most of their booths were occupied.  I guess it is good preparation for the beach, or maybe the best way to tan evenly or  perhaps a lot of other reasons.  At any rate I was wrong, wrong, wrong. However once inside I ran smack dab into these two colorful charmers,  Keeley Jones who is enrolled at Germanna in the nursing program is on the right and Courtnie Thomas who is  the manager is on the left.   We had a fun conversation and honestly...... I was lucky to escape without a new tan for both me and my camera.

When it gets hot I always head for CJ's ice cream stand to do a little cooling off and to see who else is there.  I have mentioned a couple of times that Chuck Shewbridge, the owner,  is a friend of mine who I have known since he was about 15 and I wasn't.  That is his son, Jake up there on the left doing a great imitation of his dad at the same age. Jake attends Culpeper County High School and helps out at the ice cream stand during the summer.  Sahas Thumma is the other guy who was working when I stopped by.  He is a student at Radford.

I have to admit that sometimes I run into the very most interesting and totally unexpected things imaginable.  I was thinking about pictures for this blog and realized that I had never gone to Mountain Run Lake Park in the evening....always during the day.  So I drove out and pulled in almost exactly at 8 pm.  As I crested that first hill on the way in, out of the corner of my eye I detected  movement in the woods.  I slowed way down and peered since it was dusk and saw a man in complete camouflage. He was wearing a jacket with some gear strapped on it and one of those floppy wide brimmed hats.  In that lighting he was not easy to see.  Besides it was about 90 degrees and very humid.
I determined to park and walk in there and see what he was all about.  That probably would not have been a great decision.  However, I did not need to because these three were in the parking lot and were very open in talking with me about what they were doing.  

Left to right:  Agent Miguel Calderon, Supervisor Adam Aviles, Agent  Wilbert Flores
Here is the shocker two of them are agents with the United States Border Patrol normally assigned in Texas and Arizona and it turns out that they were practicing "trailing and tracking." There were others still in the woods. Apparently there is a training facility in Front Royal and they use Mountain Run Lake Park for their exercises because it is a large open area with various types of terrain.
There is a K-9 component to this activity and the two dogs here are very accomplished.  They were not, however, crazy about being in the same picture so I took each team's picture seperately.

                                                               Agent Flores and Prins-e                    

        

                                                                                      

Agent Calderon and Falko  

                                                                      

That turned out to be quite and adventure.  I doubt that very many people know that these excercises take place in our town.  

Here are some more people at summer sport or leisure.

Summer is always great for golfing so I dropped by the Culpeper Country Club and found these two guys hard at it.....well maybe just at it, forget the hard part.  They stopped for a minute for me and were very gracious and fun.  Turns out that Win Carithers on the right is a past president of the Country Club and currently sits on the Board.  He is golfing with Scott Hine who works with him at Integrity Home Mortgage.   It was a great golf day and after sharing a golf story with me they got back to business. 

This is a great lady!  I interrupted her run at Yowell during the midday with the temperature near 90 for a picture.  Most people would have told me to get lost, but she stopped and, as you can see, graciously gave me a beautiful smile.  In the days when I was running I always hated to stop because it broke my momentum and my concentration and it was hard to get it back.  This is Traci Fowler and she is a good sport.  She also reminded me that I took a picture of her with her friends five years ago when I was building my very first Faces of Culpeper photo blog. I believe that this is the fifty fourth of these blogs.

There is nothing on a hot day like a nice cup of ice cream or better yet of frozen yogurt as is the case here. This pair of mother/daughter look alikes, Susannah and Sophie Barnes stopped at Sweet Frog in the heat of the day to cool down a bit. 

IT IS TIME FOR THE BIG FINISH.... REALLY BIG

School days, school days, good old golden rule days!

 Can anyone believe it is time for school to start?  Of course we all know that we are starting school much earlier than normal in Culpeper.  The snow days have just kept pushing us farther and farther into June, but the real advantage is better preparation for the AP and SOL tests. Our kids will have more weeks of instruction to prepare them for these very important tests.  Good call School Board! These two children checking out their school are brother and sister and undoubtedly the cutest elementary students in all of Culpeper.  Of course I am biased in favor of my own grandchildren, Nathan and Charlotte.

Well that wraps it up boys and girls.   I hope you found some things to make you smile.  By popular demand my next blog will be tattoos again.  

Don't forget to look for my piece (it is hard to miss) in the Culpeper Times called,   Rich Crowley's Snapshot of Culpeper.

And finally I have really jump started my Facebook Page called (guess what?) Faces of Culpeper.  It is going like gangbusters and is fun.  Be sure to visit and like it.

Rub a Dub Dub, Three Men in a Tub

I recently had a reader drop me a note suggesting that I feature more local merchants in my blogs.  Although it is rare for me not to have several merchants in each of my "Faces of Culpeper" blogs, I will work on having more.  However, as I thought about local merchants, the nursery rhyme in this blog title came to mind.  It goes: "rub a dub dub three men in a tub and who do you think they be?  The butcher, the baker, the candlestick maker and all rowed out to sea."  I thought it would be a great idea to find those three occupations and feature them as Culpeper merchants.  There were a couple of problems.... I could find no candlestick maker, and I discovered that most meat is delivered to the stores already cut.  Oh, well.... if you look carefully you will find a butcher, a baker and a cheese maker and that will just have to do.  I have also thrown in a few entrepreneurs and some other cool people.  So..... let's get to it.

Summer is here!

First a tip of the hat to summer..... it is here and it is hot!  These two were cooling of by rowing at Mountain Run Lake Park.  I don't think they know that I took this.  If you know them.... please let them know.

The Butcher 

Alright!  Here is the butcher already.  This is Will Gaines and he has been a butcher and now also meat manager for Martins for eleven years.  He has been in Culpeper as long as they have.  I often note Culpeper people that have long commutes somewhere.  In a reversal,  I will tell  you that Will commutes an hour to get here for work every day.

Park Workers

It stayed cold here for a long time and the leaves were late in coming out.  My wife and I walk in Yowell Meadow Park almost every day and often comment on how well the park is maintained.  Occasionally we see men on lawn mowers racing across the open spaces, but rarely if ever see the guys who work on the trees and who see that certain areas are nicely maintained.  This morning I discovered these guys at the "Kennifer" memorial, just about to get in their trucks and head out.  They had to have started work very early. That memorial, by the way, commemorates a couple of Culpeper residents who were attendants on the airplane that was crashed in Pennsylvania on 9/11.  These men are:  Shane Breeding who has worked for the city for 15 years, Mike Wright (7 years) and Andy Newman (26 years).  I would love to be able to photograph all the workers who keep that park up, but for now these three will have to represent them.  Thanks, guys!

Presenting Culpeper Photograph

 In March of 2014 I took a great shot (he said humbly) of East Davis Street in the snow.  Here my wife Andrea and I are presenting a framed copy to Group Sales Director, Tom Spargur and Editor, Anita Sherman to hang in the office of the Culpeper Times. 

Wizards at TechBox

I needed something copied off a thumb drive that was invaluable to me and I wanted to be sure to take it to a place that I was confident could handle it.  I decided to try the TechBox and I was not disappointed.  In addition to getting my job done, I had a nice conversation with the store manager, Larry Brown (that is Larry in the middle) and discovered that he is originally from Iowa.  Since I am originally from Idaho we had something to connect us since lots (make that LOTS) of people mix those two states up. I often have people tell me that Idaho is not really a Western state.  What??!!!

Anyway.......the two handsome dudes with him are technicians, Chris Burg on the left and Devin Hopkins on the right.  I am pretty sure that they can fix anything thing computer related.  Know what else is interesting?   They have a part of the store dedicated to products for lefties..... you know, left handed people.  There are things like: a left handed computer keyboard; left handed can openers, left handed scissors and serving spoons, and the list goes on.  One last thing is that they have a children's book about being left handed....very cool. 

The Baker

Moving Meadows Farm on E. Davis Street is a great store to visit.

Right on the premises they mill their own wheat.

Here are the two types of wheat they use.  On the left is Hard White Wheat and on the right is Hard Red Spring Wheat which is higher in protein.

Wally Hudson uses his unique mill to grind the wheat.  Notice it is in the street window so that you can watch the process.  He even posts the times in the window when he will be grinding so that you can plan to be there and watch.
I have known for a while that the Moving Meadows Farm had opened their store on E. Davis.  I finally stopped in and am very glad that I did.  This place is fun.  Wally and Amy Hudson are the owners and they make the very best bread from start to finish right in the store so you can observe it.  Besides they offer free delicious samples of the various kinds of bread. It is a great place to take kids for a fun and tasty bit of education.

They also sell fresh meat that they have raised on their farm.  They have: beef, goat, chicken and turkey plus farm fresh eggs.

New Yoga in the Peper

This woman is a very ambitious entrepreneur.  Her intent is to impact the wellness of the citizens of Culpeper in a positive way.  She has just opened a studio downtown and the name of  her business is Pranapiloga.  The name comes from "pran" (vital energy/life force) and a combination of pilates and yoga.   Her name is Rebecca Elsen and her motto is breathe-believe-become.  Rebecca is demonstrating a couple of traditional yoga positions here.  Note that she is in jeans and a tshirt.  That is because she wants everyone to know that her approach is welcoming and casual.  "This is a studio for everyone... all shapes and conditions ..... yoga is for every 'body'."  At noon on the first Wednesday of each month she offers a "get acquainted" free session.  She is located at 133 East Davis Street, Suite 360 Downstairs.  You can contact her at  info@pranapiloga.com  or just drop in. 

Retiring Teachers

I think that many of the heroes of our time are teachers.  Monica and Kim Williams have given their lives to the children of Culpeper and now they are retiring after long careers in the Culpeper County school system.  Kim has completed 42 years of teaching in public schools with all but three being in Culpeper.  Monica is right behind him with a total of 40 years of service, 39 of them in Culpeper.  Kim has been an art teacher plus a track and field and cross country coach.  Monica has been a kindergarten teacher for thirty eight years.... bless her heart.  Can you imagine how many  Culpeper lives have been touched by these two?   However, there comes a time to move on and now is the time for the Williams.  When they first came to Culpeper they were the first people from out of state (Pennsylvania) to be hired by our school system. They were so unique that the newspaper did a story complete with pictures of them in their apartment creating lesson plans.  In the near future they will be moving to West Virginia where they are going to be ski instructors at the Canaan Valley resort.  That doesn't sound too bad!  Good luck folks and thanks for all you have done for our kids.

Rolling Thunder

I guess everyone knows that each Memorial Day there is a gathering of motorcyclists at the Vietnam Memorial in DC.  Many of the participants are veterans of the Vietnam War.  I was lucky to catch these two returning from the event and pulling into their driveway.  I asked if they would let me get a shot of them to commemorate that activity and they graciously agreed.   They are Dwight and Desiree Cox and they have been going to Rolling Thunder since 2001.  They told me that the best part of it is how appreciative and emotional people are.  Dwight is a union electrician.

Sweet Frog

Linda Kidd came to Culpeper to open  a store and the store she picked is a winner! She opened Sweet Frog four years ago and it has been part of the buzz ever since.  If you are not familiar, Sweet Frog is a premium frozen yogurt bar with several flavors and endless toppings.  You create your own combination.  If you haven't been..... what are you waiting for?  It is located in the strip mall right next to the Suntrust bank.


Trolley Bus

I am making this one extra large because I think one of the fun quaint things about Culpeper is that our bus system consists of trolley car facsimiles.  AND....... because I have wanted to get a picture of one of them and the driver forever so now having it, I am making it big!  This is Austin Faulkner and he has been driving for Culpeper the last three years.  Before that he was a union crane operator for thirty five years.  He and his wife, Sheila have been married for forty nine years!  That is a pretty good life I would say. 

Coupon Tease

Just a little tease about a product that will become available in the near future.  I can tell you that it is called Coupon Crank and that it will be a money saver for merchants and customers.  This is DJ Moberley who is the creator  and entrepreneur
. 

The Cheese Maker

This rounds out my three men in a tub scenario.  There are many talented people in the Peper and this guy is certainly one of them. He is Jeffery Mitchell and in actuality he is the owner of the Culpeper Cheese Company which really makes him a wine and cheese merchant and a major Culpeper entrepreneur.  Before entering this business Jeffery worked for Kodak and also was a very skilled photographer in his own right, who worked providing stock photos for the news media. I asked him to hold one of his photos for my "faces blog".  This shot  of the Capital is the only one he had in his store, but it is a goodie.



Now for the BIG FINISH!!



Mellifera Homestead

This is one of the most enlightening visits I have made while creating this blog.  Chris and Vy Goddard are most interesting people.  They are in the process of following a "back to basics" concept of living and product creation.  They are the creators and entrepreneurs of Mellifera Homestead.  In their brochure they say that "we try our hardest to do what is healthiest for us, our animals, our bees, and our environment."  They keep bees and chickens plus they grow a garden.  They estimated that fifty percent of their summer veggies come from their garden.

These guys have five beehives and that number is growing.  After they harvest for themselves, they sell the surplus at the Culpeper Farmers market and upon request.  They are members of the Northern Piedmont Beekeeps Association. 

Vy is engaged in making products made from natural sources.  Some of these are: Beeswax Lip Balm, Beeswax Lotion Bar, Beeswax and Tallow Balm, and Homemade Soap.  

To learn more about them and their products you can contact them at:  vy@melliferahomestead.com

That does it for this edition....number 52 of the Faces of Culpeper series.  You may find it interesting to know that to date we have had over 44,000 visits to this blog!  

My  Faces of Culpeper Facebook page is rapidly building quite a following... so be sure to check it out.  I just started a "Face of the Week" feature that is already proving to be a draw.  Let me know if you would like to be a featured face. 

AND

Don't forget that every single week I have a large picture in the CULPEPER TIMES NEWSPAPER.  My piece is called "Rich Crowley's Snapshot of Culpeper" and is the first thing you see when you open the cover page. 

Canines of Culpeper and Their Humans (Dogs and People, People and Dogs)

Once again here I am downtown and I do not have a dog with me..... that is because I am one of seven people in Culpeper who doesn't own a dog.  Maybe it is twelve without a dog, but whatever it is, it appears to be a small number.  When I saw someone that I wanted in this blog I quit asking if they had a dog and started asking what kind of dog they had.  This is the honest truth: of those I asked that question to ..... not one did not own a dog.  My son suggested that I do this blog on Culpeper people with dogs and here we are!   I have blogged about beards and tattoos before and the number of folks with those two items pales compared to those with dogs.  I found interesting dogs and fun dogs, not so friendly dogs and lots of dogs......  enough that someday I will do a second dog blog....  I like that little rhyme!  This project has been alot of fun!   So let's get right to it and meet some of these dogs and check out the humans who claim to own them.

Norah Manus is a Type 1 Diabetic.  That means that she was born with diabetes.   Diabetes is a disease of the pancreas which is the insulin producing organ.  The purpose of insulin is to cause cells to accept the glucose or sugar that is the fuel for our bodies.  Without insulin a person can starve to death even while consuming large amounts of food, because the glucose never gets to where it can be burned.  Diabetic symptoms are high blood sugar and excessive thirst and unusually frequent urination.  Left unchecked, major organs are damaged and often blindness is a result.   If left unattended it is life-threatening.   I  have Type 2/Adult Onset Diabetes.  Norah and I each take approximately five insulin shots a day to keep our bodies in balance.  High or low blood sugar can cause a variety of unpleasant symptoms that occur and in the extreme can be life threatening.  I can self report when I get the symptoms, but it is much more difficult if not impossible for a child to do the same. Clover, a Golden Lab, is a highly trained service dog and he can tell when Norah's sugar is rising or falling to dangerous levels.  When that happens Clover bumps Norah.... repeatedly if necessary until she receives insulin if the sugar is too high or glucose if the sugar is too low.  He is an amazing animal and it is a great thing that dogs like this are available.




On a very cold day in the park I found Bradley Bennet, his daughter Ava and Huck, their Toy Poodle.   Bradley runs a marketing business called Big Bamboo Marketing. He is a very engaging guy.

I used this group picture as the "Big Finish" in my last blog and the teaser for this blog about people with dogs.  So they get double exposure from me.  Vicky Hale and sons Hunter, and Jackson are here at Wash and Wag  with Clementine.  She has just been all spruced up and really shows it.... glued on earrings, painted nails and all.  Clemintine, of course is a Bloodhound.... a great big bloodhound!  Vicky told me that Clementine looks "regal"  in this picture.... ummmmmmh.  She, (Vicky not Clementine), is a dentist who lives in Culpeper and practices in Orange.

This was fun!  These big old St. Bernards were among the best behaved dogs I have shot for this blog.  Burkley, on the left is just one year old and weighs 175 pounds.  Bernie on the right,  is three and weighs a mere 135!  That is like two extra people in the house and in the car and in the... whatever!  As I said though, they were well behaved.  Their owners are Pat and Leigh McPartlin.  Pat is a Deputy Sheriff in Fairfax County.  Leigh is (hang on now) the Executive Assistant to the CEO of Ortho Virginia which is the largest orthopedic group in NOVA and Richmond.  These guys  have lived in the Peper for the last five years and came from Northern Virginia by way of Warrenton.  They told me that they had always been small town people in their hearts.  Now they are small town people in their bodies and their minds.

 Andrew  and his Doberman,  Dieter

Here we have Julie Mies Asst Manager at Wag and Wash.  She is grooming her mom's dog, Kona who is a Poodle.  Kind of cute how her eyes disappear in all of that fluff.   Julie helped me on this blog.  She put me in touch with some of the people here.

Leighann Leary and Olive

I often say that if I want a specific kind of picture I will always be able to find it in Yowell Meadow Park.  This is another example.  One day I was looking for  people in the Peper and their dogs ..... especially the more exotic dogs for a picture.   My wife and I were walking in Yowell and lo and behold here comes a couple with a pair  of big frisky dogs.  Perfect!  The dogs have Celtic names: Ciara and Keili.  Their breed is Bouvier des Flandres.  Pretty cool!  As for the owners, they are Pat and Richie Rose.  Richie recently retired from British Airways and Pat is a Phlebotomist at Fauquier Hospital.  Oh, Phelbotomist means that she is a medical professional who draws blood from people for a variety of tests.  Anyway these dogs were certainly well mannered and Pat and Richie are very interesting people.

Shawntell Grayson and her friend, Cairo.   Shawntell works as a finance officer in Reston and so has a long commute every day. Cairo is a Shitzu.

This is Mandy Murphy and her Dutch Shepherd, Gator.  Mandy lives in Orange where her father trains dogs, but she is training Gator.  Not a resident, but a face that often spends time in the Peper.

I have featured David Eddy in this blog before.  The first time I met him at his most interesting store,  I noted that he kept two Standard Poodles with him.  They seem to have a great temperament.  David told me that this summer would mark fifty years that he has been in this same store called, David Eddy's!    That is an amazing accomplishment.  It is a fabulous store.  Right now David is recuperating from a knee replacement but says it is getting better all the time. The dogs are Gabby on the left and Olivia on the right.  If you have not been in this store yet you really owe it to yourself to stop by.

It was not as easy getting pictures of people and their dogs as I thought it would be.  So I took my camera just about everywhere hoping that someone might be out walking their dog in the cold.  One day I was driving down Ira Hoffman and saw this man with his long saw (laying on the ground here) topping off a smallish tree and his dog was with him.  I whipped around and caught up with James Franklin and Chico.  James is a life long resident of Culpeper who moved to Myrtle Beach recently.  He was home for just a brief time when I found him.  Chico is a pure breed German Shepherd.  A couple of years ago James agreed to cut down a pine tree for a man who gave  him Chico in exchange for his work.  Now three years old, Chico was one at the time.  He is a big old friendly dog.

These guys are the kind of people that make me want to keep doing this blog.  Friendly, happy, cooperative and pretty darn interesting besides. They are Justin and Ayern (love that spelling!) Barton.  He is a carpenter who is skilled in working creatively with wood and repurposing old pieces into new creations.  She works for Family Preservation Services and Environmental Systems Services (whew).  I know for sure that she has an important and difficult job, but there is just not enough room here to go into it.  She is also a clothing designer who previously had an interesting online company.  Perhaps one day they will combine their talents and create a combination store featuring both sets of skills. That would be cool!  Right in the front of this group is their Bulldog, Sherman. Since we are dealing about dogs... he is the most important...the star of this picture.  It seems to me that Bulldogs consistently have the greatest names. Sherman (as in Sherman Tank) is a good example.

You can tell from the background that we are in downtown  Culpeper.  In fact, we are on  E. Davis and kitty corner from the Depot.  Amazingly, right there was Ashlee Smith and these two beautiful Siberian Huskies.  That is not something that you see on the streets of Culpeper too often.  These guys are going to be big dogs someday, but right now they are pups.  Nala with the purple scarf is only four months old.  Simba on the right is nine months.  Ashlee is a dog groomer and really had these dogs under control.

Sometimes dogs just don't do what you want them to.   I met Dan Hill and his son, Aiden on my second visit to the dog park at Mountain Run Lake Park.  The dog is named "Blue"  and if you could see his eyes, you would know why.  He is and Australian Shepherd and he has a mind of his own.  Dan wanted Blue to be over by him for the picture and so did I, but  Blue wanted to be a little ways away.  You can see who prevailed.  Dan works in direct mail and he also has an adult child.

My very first visit to the dog park and I ran into this group.  James Clinton and his girlfriend, Alicia Strathman were there with their kids and their Pit Bulls, Luke and Whiskey. They just recently moved to the Peper from the Manassas area.  He is a school bus driver and she is a FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) auditor.  Her daughter, Alyssa Guiffre is standing in front of her and Jordon and Hayden Clinton are James' kids.   They are, as they say,  a blended group.

 I ran into Judy Van Skike and her Great Dane,  Zeus just outside the dog park.  He is a handful, but stood still for this shot.   Judy is an office administrator.

Parker Alexander is a horseback riding instructor and her friend is Missy.  Missy is a Border Collie.

We had our challenges getting this shot.  First the wind was really blowing... not just a little,  but hurricane force winds.  Well...... maybe that is a slight exaggeration or a gigantic exaggeration, but trust me it was blowing.  Second have you ever shot a picture of a family where one member is four years old?  It is an experience.  Cameron is four and he willingly gave me two minutes and eighteen seconds and then he was pretty much through.  Bella, the dog had no use for me or my picture at all.  Thank heavens for India, who is seven and was perfect in every picture not to mention the mom, Jamie Clancey who does not know how to take a bad picture.  All of that said, it came out darn good don't you think?  Unfortuately the oldest child Jayce who is eight was not there.  I would have loved to have all the kids in this picture.  Jamie is one of the most interesting people that I have happened onto in the four plus years I have been producing this blog.  She and her family came to Culpeper the same year that we did and so are going on eight years of Culpeper residence.  She has a private counseling practice AND  she is planning to run for the Town Council!  I am excited for her.  I have to learn exactly what her goals are, but I will tell you that she is sharp!  She comes from a family that has been actively involved in politics.  Her father is James Dyke who was the Secretary of Education for Virginia.  I was working in education at the time he was the State Secretary and I had a lot of respect for him.  So look out, Culpeper.... here comes Jamie Clancey and she is a winner!

I had recently been shooting behemoth size dogs,  some weighing 150 to 180 pounds and was on my way to pick up my cleaning when I saw something that stopped me in my tracks.  Near Chilli's restaurant was Yolanda Chitwood and she was carrying what appeared to be a small toy.  Seriously, the toy appeared to be one of those that you can get out of a machine using a mechanical shovel that you carefully manipulate to grab it  and then drop in the opening.  A task that is the closest thing to impossible, by the way.  Or maybe it was a small toy the kind you win at the State Fair when you knock over just enough milk bottles or pop enough balloons to claim the cheapest possible prize. However, as I watched the toy moved and I rolled down my window and said, "Tell me that's a dog you are carrying."  She told me exactly that because that is what it was.  This dog weighs an amazing 1.5 pounds and is a Havapoo, a combination between  Poodle and Havanese, a rare Cuban breed.  Yolanda breeds these dogs and informed that they are a great family dog, cuddly and non shedding.  If you are interested in learning more about this tiny guy or getting one like him (or her), Yolanda can be reached on email at Yollieroo3@gmail.com



BIG FINISH

This is the tale (no pun) of two dogs and their K9 officers.

The Culpeper Police Department K9 team consists of two officers and their dogs.  First is Officer Eric Grant and Titan, a German Shepherd.  You can see from the pictures below that Titan and Officer Grant have a very friendly relationship.  In the first picture below,  Titan does some face licking and in the second gets his ears scratched.

Officer Eric Grant and Titan.
Officer Grant is a fourth generation policeman.  His great grandfather began it all in Pittsburgh; then his grandfather was a Washington D.C. officer;  his dad was a motorcycle cop right here in Culpeper... and now Eric.  He began his career at age 19 as a community services officer. Eric is a Culpeper "lifer".... he has lived here all of his life. Titan is used primarily for "automobile scans and tracking."  If while scanning, the dog detects drugs then the officer has just cause to search the car.  Officer Grant alerted me to the fact that he and Titan are "more laid back" than the other half of the team.  However he said with a smile,  "Titan bites just as hard!"


Next the other half of the CPD K9 team.
I met with Officer David Cole and his dog, Jackson on a Saturday afternoon in the front parking lot of the police station.  Officer Cole was just as advertised... all business.  When he got Jackson out of the car there was no nuzzling between Officer Cole and his dog.  There could not have been even if Officer Cole wanted  because Jackson was focused and totally ready to do what he was asked to do.  There is a lot of energy in that dog. He is a Belgium Malinois and has shorter hair, a more pointed face and is larger that a German Shepherd.  Other than that, the two breeds resemble each other a lot.  Jackson's job is the same as Titan's and they both have excellent track records.  Officer Cole has been on the K9 team in Culpeper for three years and an officer here since 2007.

Officer David Cole and Jackson

I was impressed with these two men for very different reasons.  Truthfully, I would not want to run afoul of either one.  As I observed them and their dogs it was obvious that they are close to polar opposites.  I kept thinking about Officer Grant's comment about the fact that despite their differences, one dog  bit just as hard as the other.  I thought that was an apt analogy about these two men....one more laid back and one more intense.  But I'll just bet that they both bite hard.


WELL..... THAT'S IT FOR THIS ADDITION.  HOWEVER DOING IT WAS SO INTERESTING AND FUN THAT THERE WILL DEFINITELY BE A PART TWO SOMETIME IN THE FUTURE!!!

In the meantime, don't forget to follow my pictures and words in the Culpeper Times.  My piece is called, Rich Crowley's Snapshot of Culpeper.

Thanks for checking us out here.  If you have comments or questions, I can be reached at richcrowle@gmail.com