Help Wanted - Southside VA

I have noticed since I moved here that everyone seems to have a home based business. I have actually learned about a few new ones in the last few months. What I would like to do is take a couple of posts a week to introduce local people and their home businesses.

This idea came to me when I broke my Pampered Chef spatula and realized that I didn't know anyone down here who sold Pampered Chef. If you know of someone, give me a shout!

If you have a home business such as Avon, Pampered Chef, Tupperware, Mary Kay, etc, and would like some free publicity email me with a description of your business, website, pictures, whatever you would like and I will add you to Southside Living.

I will get the introductions started this week. My email address is bloginfo@notagainfarm.com.

Extreme Makeover: Home Edition comes to Rice

On Monday December 10, 2007, the Lucas family will return home to see their new house in Rice, VA. Extreme Makeover Home Edition began working on their new house on Monday with the help of local volunteers.

The home which is being built on the site of the important Civil War Battle of High Bridge . The Lucas family purchased the property less than a year ago with plans to build an new house, according to local newspapers. Before it could be finished, Michael Lucas was deployed to Iraq.

View the full story at the Southside Messenger and more in the Farmville Herald.

This edition of Extreme Makeover will air sometime in 2008 on ABC News.

Ethanol Plant Brings More Controversy to Mecklenburg County

Osage Bio Energy’s proposal to build an Ethanol Plant in Mecklenburg county is bringing plenty of controversy to a small town. Located just outside of Chase City, VA, residents are worried that the plant will bring noxious odors to the rural town and pollute a tributary of Kerr Lake. While it will bring needed jobs to the county with the highest unemployment rates in the state, the environmental and quality of life issues have prompted over 900 people to sign a petition opposing it.

Osage is now requesting a grant that would fund the water line to the plant. According to a New Dominion article, in full production Osage would be using 1.5 million gallons of water a day or enough water for 7500 homes. While under normal weather conditions this amount is deemed acceptable to the Roanoke River Basin Association, the drought in the last few years has already brought water consumption warnings and limits to the region. The question remains whether in years of drought, the water will be available to run the plant and at what cost to other water consumers in the region.

The National Research Council has recently issued a report that ethanol plants could negatively impact water quality and availability. The report cites that water for both plant consumption and water for increased crop production could produce more pressure on water resources.

In addition to water consumption, the report expressed a concern about runoff from the fertilizers and pesticides required to grow crops. The report states

“A possible metric to gauge the impact of biofuels on water quality could be to compare the amount of fertilizers and pesticides used on various crops, the committee suggested. For example, corn has the greatest application rates of both fertilizer and pesticides per acre, higher than for soybeans and mixed-species grassland biomass. The switch from other crops or noncrop plants to corn would likely lead to much higher application rates of highly soluble nitrogen, which could migrate to drinking water wells, rivers, and streams, the committee said. When not removed from water before consumption, high levels of nitrate and nitrite -- products of nitrogen fertilizers -- could have significant health impacts.

The report goes on to list ways that these negative effects could be mitigated such as using waste water, optimizing fertilizer use, injecting below soil surface but all of them seem to be expensive and time consuming. Have we not learned that fast and cheap methods will be the ones used until so much damage is done that it forces government regulation? The hard cold fact is that farmers are so hard pressed that these expensive measures are not financially feasible.

It seems that where ethanol and other bio fuels are concerned, there are as many questions as there are answers not only locally for Mecklenburg County but nationally as Congress continues to support it as an alternate fuel source. For the people locally, it seems a choice between the need for employment in the area and what it will cost to put a few of those people to work.

Happy Tails Graduation

Happy Tails Pet Grooming recently held Basic Obedience class for dogs and the following are pictures of graduation. As you will note from the first picture, graduation exercises came complete with their own distraction. Murgle, the cat took great joy in staying just far enough away to make the two young poodles drool with anticipation of the chase. The class was overwhelmingly poodle with Waldo, the bulldog there for comic relief. Waldo is quite a character and was sure that no one could expect him to do anything on command. After all, bulldogs don't do their own thing and sometimes that just happens to coincide with what their owners want done. All in all, class was good. All participants went home somewhat better behaved than when they started.

View from the Front Porch

Sitting on the front porch to drink my coffee is one of my favorite things on cool summer and warm fall mornings. The sun comes up and hits the pond next door and it gleams like a diamond. The deer and turkey apparently enjoy it as well. I often see them slip out of the woods to nip a little hay or take a drink.

Life truly moves to a slower beat here. There is no rush and bustle, things get done when they get done and usually not before. I wonder sometimes if it's because many people who move here to retire. And the rest are like me and trying to get away from the stress of the city. Certainly the native Southsider's will tell you that "it just ain't as rural as it used to be...I barely know anyone at the Food Lion these days."

Sheldon's Restaurant

Sheldon's was one of the first "tastes" of Southside that I experienced. I remember going in the first time on a busy Sunday afternoon and my first impression was how nice the servers were. Everyone had a kind word or greeting and seemed genuinely glad to see you.

For 50 years Sheldon's, located just off of Highway 360 in Keysville, VA, has been feeding both the locals and travelers. Their buffet is usually open and features several meat selections as well the best southern cooked vegetables you can find. If you are lucky enough to go on a day where Banana Pudding is the buffet dessert, be sure to save enough room for a second helping. It's better than I have ever been able to make at home.

Their menu ranges from sandwiches to slow roasted prime rib and hand trimmed steaks. Rumor has it that the Baked Virginia ham is the best you will ever find. It's smoked and prepared by the Sheldons to insure it meets their quality standards.

I was a little hesitant to try the seafood entrees this far inland but the oysters are excellent. Fresh and prepared on site, they rival oysters that I have had on the docks in Charleston.

All in all, the quality of food and hospitality is the reason that Sheldon's Restaurant has remained a local favorite for over 50 years. If you are driving 360 between Richmond and Danville, it's worth stopping by to try them out.

Welcome to Southside Virginia

According Wikipedia, Southside Virginia is the area generally bounded by the James River to the North, the Blue Ridge Mountains to the west and the South Hampton Roads area to the east. Most of Southside is gently rolling Piedmont and very rural. It is beautiful country and I sometimes think that I have stepped back in time to a kinder, gentler era where politeness counts and you still know your neighbors. Life is slower here and after moving from the fringes of Northern Virginia, I can see why people feel that it should be a different state.

Amish Farmer plowing field, Photo Credit to Elizabeth at Macbeth, 2007