The Shadow
Welcome back, Shadowers. Holy moly! January and February are already in our rearview? Last week, you were probably as excited as I was to hear about the $5K refund check from Elon Musk’s DOGE. But as you know, I’m a fact-checker, so I did some research. Seems like we’ll only be getting $5K if, and only if, Musk is able to save a full $2 Trillion dollars. Right now, the full refund check amount to every American household is right around… as my best friend would say… “a buck-two-ninety-eight.” Apparently, they’ve given themselves until summer 2026 to find it.
Now, if you have your money in crypto, you made serious bank last weekend after President Trump said he would move forward on a crypto strategic reserve that includes Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, Ripple, and Cardano. What blows my mind is, since all these assets are ‘virtual,’ meaning they’re not ‘physical’ assets like gold or silver, this means a Crypto Fort Knox would be about the size… of a USB thumb drive that could hold those trillions of dollars in assets. Now, that’s true downsizing!
Speaking of economics, Ray’s Sweet Shoppe closed its doors temporarily last weekend until sometime in May due to owner Fran Burton’s professional commitments. She’s also using the time to revamp Ray’s into version 2.0 with a streamlined menu. Seeing how I’m a huge fan of Ray’s, owner Fran’s honest assessment of her business and the local food/restaurant industry was a much-needed eye-opener.
Fran wrote, “When you eat out, including dine-in, carryout, and delivery, you pay the 5.3% sales tax and also pay a food tax. Every city can set its own food price percentage. The highest they are allowed to go is 8%. Covington has an 8% food tax. So eating out costs you an extra 13.3%. The 5.3% plus the 8%. I did a little research and found that Roanoke’s food tax is 5%, so a total of 10% with the sales tax. Richmond food tax is 7.5% plus the sales tax. Why is a small town like Covington charging more than big cities like Roanoke and Richmond? Why is Covington charging the most they are allowed to charge?”
Speaking of restaurants, looks like we’re getting two new restaurants in town. Yamato’s Steakhouse (out of Fairlea, WV) is going into the old Wendy’s building, and “Garcia’s Bistro” (out of Salem, VA) is moving into the old Applebee’s building.
While we’re on the subject of favorite food shops, C&OH Ice Cream in Clifton Forge has blown to the top of my list. With super yummy treats and “Shy Baby Caveman” Tim running the humor department, what’s not to love? A couple of days ago, they posted, “Tim finally rolled out of the cash drawer and is going to sit outside at our new seating area and enjoy an RC and a Moon Pie…” This is a shop after my own heart. Take my money!
Some residents in Clifton are still complaining about the continued acts of lawlessness still riling up the town. One resident recently put new tires on their car, only to find out that someone had slashed them. Another resident complained about a stray cat plague. Last year’s theme was snakes and vapes, this year, cats and slashes.
How about an alternate, less glamorous theme? Like… Law and Order?
In the Damage Control department, Covington City Manager Allen Dressler proudly proclaimed in the December 10th, 2024, Council meeting, “We were up for nomination again for top water in the state of Virginia, but due to the fact that we were short on Class 1 certified operators, we had to renege on that. That’s okay. I enjoy our water, and I live pretty close to the plant, so it’s good water, and we’ve got great people.”
What he didn’t tell you was that, allegedly, the City has been potentially withholding two serious violations. A routine inspection conducted on March 8, 2024, by the Virginia Department of Health (VDH) “found significant deficiencies with the Pocahontas Storage Tank. We were required to take action to correct these deficiencies. However, we failed to take all actions by the deadline established by this office.” They finally served the public notice of this on Feb 15, 2025, almost a year later.
The Second one was a Jan 17, 2024, violation, “Failure to Monitor for Inorganic Chemicals, Volatile Organic Chemicals and Physical Constituents.” The City had one year to give citizens notice, but it seems many folks either didn’t get it or they couldn’t remember. We’ll FOIA the records to find out if the City complied with the law. Stay tuned.
Now for some eyebrow-raising. Back in May 2024, the Virginian Review FOIA’d all violations for the past 12 months for the water plant. The Notice of failure to monitor inorganic chemicals violation was included in the documents provided by the city. The Pocahontas storage tank issue that happened two months beforehand was not. Why did the City leave the storage tank violation out of the FOIA response?
Does it seem like the City prefers a reactionary solution over implementing what the law dictates to keep problems from happening? Safety laws were created for a reason—someone’s already “been there, done that.” So why are they apparently embracing a medieval royal food “Beef-Eater” taster approach to our safety?
Take, for example, our water. The citizens take a sip, and if nobody keels over, we’ll call it good? Feeling bad? Stomach turning? Just drop the City a note, and maybe—just maybe—they’ll consider complying with State and Federal laws. Even our City Manager uses this same Beef-Eater assumption on himself personally, “I enjoy our water, and I live pretty close to the plant, so it’s good water.” Do you realize what he’s saying here? Mr. Dressler is apparently telling you that because he drinks the water and lives close to the plant, everything’s fine. Medieval science at its finest.
Now, here’s a modern thought. Isn’t it time the Cov City Council and administration stopped enjoying the sound of their own voices and started following the law like the rest of us commoners are required to do? And all this ballyhoo makes me wonder; perhaps this “Beef-Eater” reactionary strategy is being applied elsewhere in the Highlands?
The gas leak investigation continues at AHPS Covington Middle School (CMS), and the school is still closed. Over the weekend, AHPS announced, “At this time, we are awaiting additional guidance from the state and will delay our return to classroom instruction for at least one more week. We will continue with virtual classes Monday through Wednesday and will close for spring break Thursday and Friday as originally planned.”
However, the bombshell that surfaced last week was a new Commonwealth Fire Marshal report dated Feb 5, 2025, containing another 14 violations. These violations were more egregious than the previous inspection done in April 2024. Major violations included: Portable fire extinguishers are out of date with the annual inspection; documentation could not be provided to show that the rated fire doors have been inspected annually as required; a kitchen lab oven has been relocated without the approval of the local building Official; Gym main entrance foyer exit corridor used as a storage area; Cooking equipment in the library not approved by local building Official.
Parents are also questioning other similar issues. One parent writes, “Can you look into why or if the 3rd floor on CMS does not have their own fire escapes? My son said on fire drills, they have to walk down to the 2nd floor. It sounds fine, but if the fire is on the 2nd floor, how do they get out? I’ve emailed the superintendent about it, and she didn’t have an answer, but someone else was supposed to email me and never did.”
Another parent wrote, “My question is, why doesn’t the school system take care of basic maintenance in a timely manner? For example, right now while everyone is looking at the middle school, the heating system is not working in some parts of the building at the high school.”
Come on, CMS, AHPS, and the City of Covington. Why do you wait for the sirens and flashing lights before deciding to follow the law? What’s it going to take to get your full attention? Dead children? An E. coli outbreak? Lawsuits?
I’m out of time, out of coffee, but want to remind you St. Paddys and the Ides of March are coming up, so get ready. I’ll leave you with this, and hopefully, our leaders will read and take action: “You can ignore reality, but you can’t ignore the consequences of ignoring reality.” – Ayn Rand
