Local schools open Monday, authorities urge parents, drivers to be careful
Good morning! WJCC & York County schools resume classes Monday; authorities urge patience and care. After statewide rise in pool drownings, York County takes enforcement steps.
Some 24,000 children return to area schools on Monday, with local and state officials urging both parents and drivers to be vigilant – and patient.
In most James City County school locations, speed detectors with cameras will be operating to capture speeders. That’s in addition to the existing school bus cameras that catch drivers who pass stopped buses (see our first-person account.)
In York County, the ongoing construction on Rt. 17, Victory Blvd. and several key intersections will create traffic backups to test drivers’ patience, York Supervisor Thomas G. Shepperd, Jr. warned. The 5th District representative recalled an incident when a parent impatient at the lines at one school pulled his car out of line and struck a student.
“We do not need that impatience around our children,” Shepperd said. “We’ve got some 13,000 children that are going to school, we’ve got some new bus drivers, everybody’s trying to do their job…have some patience!” Williamsburg-James City County schools expect approximately 11,000 students this year.
The Virginia Department of Transportation warned hurried drivers are a threat to school children boarding or exiting buses, because children are smaller and harder to see.
In Virginia it is illegal to pass a school bus with flashing red lights and an extended stop sign, except for drivers who are on the opposite side of a median or barrier. But that doesn’t mean a child won’t cross the barrier into a driver’s lane, VDOT warned.
VDOT’s tip for drivers:
School buses make frequent stops, so be patient, slow down, and be prepared to stop.
Yellow lights mean the bus is going to stop, so slow down. Remain stopped when lights are flashing red.
Look for students at bus stops and those walking to and from bus stops. Stay alert for students arriving late for the bus as they may dart into the street without looking for traffic.
Watch carefully for students in the morning and afternoon, especially when in the vicinity of school buildings.
Don’t drive distracted. Never use electronic devices while driving and be sure to actively focus on the road and your surroundings.
Parents and guardians also have a role to play in keeping children safe at a bus stop, the transportation department added, by giving children these tips:
Get to the bus stop early. Aim to get to the bus stop at least five minutes before the bus is scheduled to arrive so you aren’t rushing.
While waiting for the bus, maintain a safe distance from the street. Take at least five giant steps back from the curb.
Use sidewalks when possible. If there is no sidewalk, walk on the left side of the street facing traffic.
Cross the street at intersections or marked crosswalks. Look left, right and left again before proceeding.
Always obey crossing guards and pedestrian signals.
Look for traffic when stepping off a bus to ensure no cars are coming.
When walking, keep your eyes on the road and ears listening for traffic. Reduce looking at and volume of electronic devices.
Statewide spike in child drownings prompts York County crackdown on pool safety
More Virginia children drowned in swimming pools in the first month of this summer than in the previous two years, leading York County to take steps to better police swimming pools.
The Virginia Department of Health announced in June that six children under age five drowned in swimming pools in the first month of summer, more than the five that died in 2024 and 2023 combined.
There have been no such tragedies in York over the past nine years, Corian Carney of the department of building safety told supervisors Tuesday, urging them to approve a change to county code that would allow him to investigate violations of pool safety requirements.
The county’s building safety division receives multiple complaints every year about pool owners not maintaining required barriers, County Administrator Mark L. Bellamy, Jr. said.
One young mother who spoke at a public hearing on the change said she had three young boys and worries they will get into the pool behind her house. She said the owner had removed the barrier preventing entry into the pool.
The amendment only requires pool and spa owners to maintain the barriers or covers required under the code under which they were originally installed. They will not be required to upgrade or modify existing barriers, Bellamy said in his memorandum to supervisors.
Supervisors voted unanimously to approve the changes.
York Supervisors hesitate on smaller development tract sizes
York County is running short of large tracts of land that can be developed for housing, but supervisors aren’t sure allowing clusters of homes in smaller tracts is the way to go.
Supervisors voted Tuesday night to table a decision on changes to the code that would lower the minimum size of tracts for new housing from 10 acres to five.
The proposed changes would only permit single family homes, not multifamily housing or attached town houses, said Earl W. Anderson, the acting director of planning and development services.
The number of homes that would be allowed per acre would not change, depending on the zoning, but the supervisors worried that smaller tracts would lack adequate parking or streets.
Cluster development allows homes to be clustered in one area of the tract, with open space in the remainder. This saves developers money by shortening the road, sewage lines and other infrastructure for the homes, Anderson said.
The provision to change the minimum tract size was part of a 12-page memorandum given to supervisors discussing a variety of changes to planned development and cluster development standards.
Zoning staff explained the proposed changes give developers more flexibility on the type of recreational spaces they must provide to better reflect customer preferences, based on feedback from existing developments.
Caitlin Aubut, acting deputy director of planning and development services, said homeowners’ associations complained they are spending money maintaining features like Olympic sized swimming pools or tennis courts that residents don’t use.
The changes also require sidewalks on both sides of a development and sets stricter standards for vegetation to buffer the view of developments from the road.
The supervisors questioned staff repeatedly for specifics on some of the changes, but it was the reduction in tract size that led to tabling the proposal until the September regular meeting.
“We don’t want to over-develop,” District 4 representative G. Stephen Roane, Jr. said. “There’s a lot to digest.”
First district representative Douglas R. Holroyd suggested tabling the matter for a month and asking staff to come back with a better definition for how cluster housing would work, and best practices from other localities.
“I’d like to get more education on what other jurisdictions are doing…what issues they are having,” District 3 Representative Wayne Dewry added.
Supervisor gets pie in face before meeting….but it was all for a good cause
Heather Harmon, Alzheimer’s walk chairman, gives District 1 Supervisor Douglas R. Holroyd a pie in the face for raising $500 for the cause while Board Chair Sheila Noll laughs. Government meetings
York County:
York County School Board, Aug. 25, 7 p.m., 301 Main St., Yorktown.
Williamsburg
Public Art Council, Aug. 25, 3:30 p.m., 412 N. Boundary St. Room 127.
Architectural Review Board, Aug. 26, 6:30 p.m,, 412 N. Boundary St.
Passings
Harold Louis Wallace, 84, Aug. 14.
