Wilderness expansion a done deal

Sierra Club notified me with the message pasted below. Some of you will want to call in with expletives rather than thanks, but I think that on the whole this is a win for the CV/Davis/Thomas community. Seems there is often a lot of belly aching about federal designations as they are passed, but quite often the belly achers themselves are the long term beneficiaries. More tourism, more people deciding this is the area to live, more revenues to businesses, more ways to make a living in the mountains, higher land values since all can be assured that the shared lands will be protected, and so the cycle goes....There is always some way to bitch about things not decided locally. I definitely don't like being excluded from mountain biking the northern section of Dolly Sods and I don't understand the rigidity of not permitting bike trails at all. But nonetheless I wouldn't deny the designation.

What does this mean for Davis? Larger protected area means more visitors in the long term, displacement of several recreation categories to areas with lower protections, higher land values. Bottom line: Davis businesses and real estate will benefit.

Anyhow, here is the news flash:

Last week Congress passed a wonderful wilderness bill, expanding protected Wilderness in the Monongahela National Forest by 37,000 acres. All 5 of our folks in Congress were on board to make this Wilderness expansion possible.

Please take a moment to put in a quick call to your Representative and Senators, thanking them for their leadership and support for the Wild Monongahela Act. Tell them which places in Wild Mon you especially care about, and why Wilderness designation for these areas is important to you!


Rahall 3rd-Big Draft, Spice Run, Cranberry Expansion

Capito 2nd - Roaring Plains West

Mollohan 1st - Otter Creek Expansion, Dolly Sods Expansion

The Honorable Robert C. Byrd: (202)-224-3954 The Honorable John D. Rockefeller IV: (202) 224-6472 The Honorable Nick J. Rahall II: (202) 225-3452 The Honorable Alan Mollohan: (202) 225-4172 The Honorable Shelley Moore Capito: (202) 225-2711


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Sierra Club 85 Second St., 2nd Floor, San Francisco, CA 94105

Solar for Riverwalk building

Looks like we're going with a 2.4KW system, which will appear as 14 panels on the south facing (river side) roof. Each panel is roughly 60" x 30".

The Department of Energy provides a good basic overview of these systems.

Help Wanted (overalls provided)

Position: Market Master
Pay: what?
Mission: Cultivate and supervise an open air market on some or all Saturdays of the warm season. Responsibilities: identify and work with farmers, food crafters, artisans to create an open air market in downtown Davis. Find publicity opportunities around Tucker County and online to ensure both residents and visitors know about the market days. Report to the board of directors on revenues, feedback, member status.
Support: Incorporation, insurance, board of directors, prime parking lot location near Hypno Coffee.

Well, that's a start, huh? Really, this looks promising...imagine: 9am on a summer Saturday morning. Folks are grabbing coffee or kicking it on the Hypno deck. Highland Prospects garage is flung open and the summer sale is on. A tent or two in the parking lot...fresh green beans, potatoes, lettuce, strawberries, carrots, turnips -- all grown within 50 miles of Davis, and some right here in town! Maybe you'd see some locally made soaps, jewelry or other crafts as well. Residents who must survive on Shopnsave produce or find their own channels would be elated, and second homers could cook with fresh naturally grown produce. Local produce and crafted foods are a unique and important resource in this community but unless you'll do the research and the driving, it's not happening.

There is a Women, Infants and Children program and Senior's programs that provide for food from farmer's markets. Once the market is certified, then the certified farmers in the market can accept program coupons for produce.

The WVU Extension Office for Tucker County provides extensive informational and advisory support for getting our community market up and running.

Much has yet to be learned and done to make this happen but the way forward looks pretty clear so far. Other than our farmers, cooks and artisans, the players in this story will be the town, the health department, the Extension Office for certification in their aid programs.

Heat fans

Suite 3 of Blackwater Overlook - Highlands Prospects space. Implementing these simple uni-directional 5-speed fans to push hot air off the ceiling and mix the air for higher average temperature where people will be. They are 56" wide and have greater blade angles and are able to move more air than residential fans. They may be useful in summer but are primarily intended to mix air during the heating season.

Tubular sky lights

For Blackwater Overlook it appears that 18" tubes will be best. There may be as many as three in Highland Prospects, with each one blasting 1,400 watts max depending on the time of day, the season, the weather, and which side of the roof. The principle here is to take sunlight into a reflective cylinder, bounce it around the silver plated aluminum cylinder until it maximizes, and pour it into the interior through a diffuser or a prismatic lens.

Each skylight costs about $300 and of course several hundred to install. The payback is lower energy use during daylight hours, plus a very pleasant spectrum of natural light in a space that normally would be using florescent.

Placement is important for maximizing light. The angled flashings allow placement on north facing slopes (the front side of the building) while having a chance to grab some modicum of sunlight. The south facing roof slope (backside) of the building is the perfect location for Photovoltaic panels, but also the the tubular skylight exits. Hopefully next week we will get that valuable 'real estate' divvied up and there will be room for a couple of these sky lights. The company is run by a buddy of mine and is located in Arizona. Super helpful VP named Elios gets these things properly configured and shipped. The company is NL Tubular and here is the product spec.

Build A Volleyball Court

Building a Sand Volleyball Court

Net Height: Net height is 7' 11 5/8" for men and 7' 4 1/8" for women. Co-ed competition is played on a men's height net. The official height measurement is made in the center of the net. The height of the net at the sidelines can be no more than 3/4" higher than the official height. If you're playing on sand, the measurements are made with the sand raked level, and no accomodation is made for your feet sinking in the sand. If you're playing on grass, the measurements are made to the ground, and not the top of the grass.

The Site: The dimensions of a volleyball court are 29'-6" wide by 59'-0" long, measured from the outside edges of the boundary lines. In addition, you should have 10' (more is even better) clear around the boundaries. The result is a complete playing area of 49'-6" wide by 79'-0" long.



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Court Dimensions

The pole may need to be longer in the northern climates. In northern climates footing should be located below the frost line. Locating the footing of the pole below the frost line will prevent "frost heave" of the footing. Check with the local building code for the frost depth.


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When planning the layout pay special attention to the direction of the court. The court should run lengthwise North/South. If the court runs East/West, the court will be virtually unusable in the early morning say, for the start of a tournament and early evenings, such as playing after work. In the morning, the team on the West side of the court stares at the morning sun and in the evening, the team occupying the East court is blinded. The area above the playing surface should be clear and free of all obstructions such as tree branches and power lines.

To keep the sand in the court, where it belongs, and grass and dirt out, there are several schools of thought. The most popular solution is to line the perimeter with railroad ties. The railroad ties establish a very durable boundary, keep the sand in its place, and holds back the encroaching grass. On the downside, they pose a serious safety hazard. Some recommend padding the railroad ties with various materials such as foam pipe insulation, etc. I personally believe the simplest way to deal with the hazard is by establishing a ground rule: "If during the play of the ball, or the continuation after playing the ball, the player touches the railroad ties or leaves the playing area, the ball is dead." This is much like an indoor rule that prevents a player from wildly chasing a ball that enters an adjacent court.

Preparing for the excavation

In most areas, excavating to a depth of 3 feet will be necessary. The first and foremost safety precaution is to call your local "Diggers Hotline" and have them locate any buried power lines and utilities. Be sure to call them ahead of time, as they may need a few days notice.

The best tool for the dig is a front-end loader or "bobcat" which can excavate the base evenly, remove the dirt, and also haul and spread the stone and sand. This equipment can be rented for a few hundred dollars for a weekend. If you're not up to the task of handling heavy equipment, a good landscaping company can be contracted to excavate and haul the stone and sand. Excavate the playing area to the desired depth and pitch the base to one end or corner. A drainage ditch should be dug leading away from the court at its lowest point. Once the base is excavated you can begin laying the drainage pipe. The closed end of the drainage pipe should be placed in the highest point of the excavation and should zig-zag with the open end of the pipe terminating at the lowest point. The drainage pipe should be laid with the perforated side down. This allows water to wick-in from the bottom and sides and be carried away. It is an extremely good idea to wrap the drainage pipe with landscaping fabric before laying the pipe. The landscaping fabric prevents the eventuality of sand and dirt clogging the pipe.

Locate and dig the holes for the net standards. The holes should be dug at least 3' deep and set in concrete. A couple of bag mixes per standard should do the job. Some home improvement centers carry a special "post setting mix" in which all the components for the concrete can just be dumped in the hole without prior mixing. Once the standard is located in the hole, plumb the standard in two opposing directions, and fasten supports so the post cannot move as the concrete is being dumped in the hole. Repeat this process for the opposite standard.

Filling it in

Once the poles are set, cover the base and drainage pipe with gravel and spread uniformly. Roll out and cover the gravel base with landscape fabric. The landscape fabric will keep the sand from filtering its way into the gravel. The final step is to spread the sand, uniformly and evenly throughout the playing area.

Demo complete at Blackwater Overlook

Didn't take long to get all the old wiring, work benches and such out of the building, and get started marking, cutting, footing and piling up the materials. Should be installing the high efficiency furnace and ductwork toward the end of next week.

We found time for creative ideas! That garage door is a little austere...maybe we design a pair of wooden gate doors that would swing wide for market days. I know a fabricator who could make the massive strap hinges, maybe in naturally rusting steel.

We also fancied the idea of a sand volleyball court just outside the deck area of Hypno. This would fit in perfectly next to a new parking lot arrangement we are planning.

Get your bike ready

All the riding is not rocky in Canaan. You can always play polo!

Highland Prospects on track for June opening next door to Hypno Coffee

Work will start this week to build out 2 additional suites within the Blackwater Overlook Building of Davis Riverwalk. Davis' own Highland Prospects, a purveyor of outdoor gear and clothes, will be located in the largest space of the building. The expanded store will have 1,100 square feet, 14ft ceilings, concrete floors and rustic wood walls, and a 12' square garage door for those open air market days. Energy savings are planned with the use of a high efficiency furnace and solar tube skylights capable of lighting at the equivalent of 1,400 watts each during peak hours. The store owners are likely to expand Highland's offerings significantly to attract -- for example -- locals as well as visitors; boaters as well as skiers; and casual walkers as well as backcountry hikers and backpackers. Our construction plan provides for Highland Prospects to start setting up shop in May, and to be fully operational at that location by June.

Suite 2 is only 300 square feet but will have an 8-foot south-facing window with a view of the Blackwater River. Electrical for this suite will be defrayed by photovoltaic system with an array of panels on the back slope of the building's roof. Riverwalk's master plan positions residences and businesses along the east-west run of the Blackwater River, providing a consistently unimpeded view of the southern sky -- crucial for cost-effective solar solutions. I plan to monitor the generation of the PV system and share that information with you through the year, providing a good idea of KW generation possibilities for Riverwalk and Davis overall. Though not confirmed, I suspect that this PV array will be the first, or certainly one of the first, in the Town of Davis.

Getting read for new neighbors next to Hypno Coffee

Bank financing approved...in fact two banks agreed to terms. Highland Prospects is likely to move into Suite 3, more than doubling their existing retail space. Suite 2 is only 300 square, but will be a "suite" surprise nonetheless. There are 3 organizations considering the space, any one of which would be a great addition to Davis and this building within Davis Riverwalk in particular.

The new facade will encompass what is now the left garage door, adding a nice run of rough wood siding, some naturally rusting metal siding, new windows, a store door, and plenty of sign lighting. Highland Prospects will have 14' ceilings and one heck of a garage door for the sales in warmer months.

By June 1st you should see at least Highland Prospects fully installed and open for business. Later this summer, after Hypno and Highland and myself have seen the way traffic flows, we'll likely pour and stripe a new tarmac lot. There will also be a signage monument near William with some creatively rustic and industrial touches...which are still eluding me... And we wouldn't want to do that without installing a cool bike rack in front of the building;)