Download Time

Choosing the right Internet Service Provider at Smith Mountain Lake

story by Kate Hofstetter

Those who are savvy about technology roll their eyes in disbelief when they hear you have dial-up Internet access. Even software companies rub your nose in it by sending you messages like: Your program will now be downloaded. This will take 3 minutes over cable or DSL. It will take 27 minutes over 56 Kbs modem (the technical way of saying “Don’t tell me you still have dialup!?)

Having cable access to the Internet increases the speed your computer can download or send information and graphics by 100-200 times that of dial-up service, say the experts. So, considering the reasonable price of high speed today, why would anyone at Smith Mountain Lake who is in their right mind still have dial-up? The answer is obvious and frustrating. Because we can't get high speed!

"If builders will give us 30 days notice and they leave open trenches, we will come in and place the cable and conduit," said Jackie Weller, Construction Coordinator for Suddenlink, the cable company that serves Franklin County and parts of Bedford County. "It will cost them nothing and cable service will be available to the houses in that subdivision." In the meantime, Suddenlink is scrambling to reach the most congested areas and largest developments around the Lake.

If, however, you missed that window of opportunity when your home was built and you aren't within reach of cable, DSL (digital subscriber line) is an alternative. It is available through your local phone company so anyone should be able to get it, right? Wrong! Like cable, a basic DSL plan costs about $30 a month but to obtain the service, your home must be within 3 miles of a telephone junction box (one of those oversized, grayish-green, gym-locker cabinets you see alongside the road).

Great, you think. There's one just a couple of miles from our front door. But not so fast! It must be equipped with DSL capability before you can get the service (whoops). And DSL setup equipment, Embarq spokespersons say, is expensive and must be justified.

In other words, a letter-writing or phone-calling campaign from all neighbors who want DSL might motivate Embarq or Verizon to respond. If you are one of the lucky ones and DSL is already offered in your home, installation is comparatively simple using a modem, filters, cables and software. In addition to increased speed, DSL allows Internet access to multiple computers at the same time, which means a student could be on the Internet doing research while another member of the family is buying or selling something on Ebay.

If DSL is not available but increasing the speed of Internet access is important enough to you, there's satellite service. According to a spokesperson for Direct TV, satellite is 20-25 times faster than dial-up for a basic plan and 30-35 times faster for a "professional" plan ($70 per month). To have satellite service you only need a "clear view of the Southwestern sky."

Depending on the company you go with, satellite service costs from $50 to $110 monthly. Installation will run from $150 to $600 and you will probably have to sign a contract that carries a penalty fee if you cancel service early.

Besides your satellite TV carrier, check with your cell phone carrier to see if it offers satellite Internet service. Lee Frye at RM Communications at Westlake Corner offers WildBlue and said that demand for the service had increased due to recent equipment improvements in the Lake area. Radio Shack at Westlake also offers satellite service through DISH Network.

Along with satellite service, most cell phone dealers also offer wireless Internet  access. Although this service is popular for businesses because of the mobility it offers, it is also available for home use. You'll probably get the best price if you use the same carrier you use for your cell phone service. Expect to pay at least $60 a month for wireless Internet service and plan on signing a contract. If you have a laptop computer, you will be given a card to plug in. Otherwise you will need to install a modem into a port on your computer. There may also be an activation fee and some equipment costs.

Certainly, the best bargain out there is dial-up – available to everyone, but maddeningly slow. Most major Internet Service Providers (ISP) now offer accelerators to increase browsing speed by up to 6 times that of basic dial-up. These technical schemes to increase speed generally come with various virus and pop-up protectors and may not be offered by bargain-basement services. Dial-up service typically runs from $10 to $25 per month for unlimited use although some ISPs advertise packages for as low as $6 a month. A word of caution: Make sure the access number your computer is dialing to is local or you could run up a nasty telephone bill.

Iwo Jima Vets

Lake area plays host to reunion of proud combat heroes

by Jerry Hale

Until a few months ago, Bill Ondo of Huddleston hadn’t spoken to anyone about his horrifying experiences during the 1945 assault on the Pacific island of Iwo Jima.

“For 61 years, nobody seemed interested,” he said. “Besides, people who weren’t there could never understand. They’d think I was making it up.”

Ondo had even kept his family in the dark. “My daughter was 15 before she knew I had lost my left eye,” he said. 

Like other Iwo Jima veterans, Ondo feared talking about the landing and the weeks of bloody fighting that followed might seem boastful. “Plus, there was always the ‘survivor guilt’ thing.” Tragically, 6,824 valiant Marines were killed during the 30 days of fighting on Iwo Jima where troops were tasked with establishing a safe-haven airstrip for bombers that were unable to limp back to their departure bases.

But over the past year, Bill and five other area Iwo Jima veterans have gathered every few weeks at the Westlake Dairy Queen to share their wartime memories. Besides Ondo, the group includes Warren Tuck of Huddleston; John Fowler of Moneta; Jahue Mundy of Vinton; James “Swanson” Rigney of Penhook; and Wes Dixon of Roanoke. All six experienced the horror of the beach landing at Iwo Jima — strangers at the time but forever united by the Marine “Semper Fi”(Always Faithful) spirit they share. Don Temple, a Park Place resident who met Warren Tuck at Radford Baptist Church, facilitated the nostalgic reunion of these WWII veterans.

“I joined the Marines in 1950 precisely because of guys like Warren. They were my heroes,” Temple recalled. When he subsequently encountered Rigney at Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital, he invited him and Warren to for a breakfast chat. Serendipitously, Temple later spotted John Fowler wearing a Marine cap at the Westlake CVS. Someone else from church met Jahue Mundy at a showing of ‘Flags of Our Fathers’ and alerted Temple. And a neighbor’s friend had served at Iwo as a Navy corpsman attached to a Marine platoon. That added Wes Dixon to the group.

“Marines had the highest regard for Navy corpsmen because they risked their lives to save so many injured,” Temple explained.

Don Temple’s patriotic match-making was more recently inspired by a visit to Russia where he saw veterans being “truly honored.” He emphasized his point with a favorite quotation: “Poor, indeed, is the country that has no heroes; poorer still is the country that has them and forgets them.”  

With arrangements made by Dick Beatty, another of Temple’s neighbors, the Iwo Jima veterans recently enjoyed a VIP tour of the new Marine Corps Museum in Quantico. Dick and his wife Susan are intensely proud of their career Marine son Scott, who has served overseas tours in both the African Horn and Felujia, Iraq. Currently posted to the Naval Post Graduate School in Monterey, Calif., Capt. Beatty’s Marine experience has shown the family how deeply the “Semper Fi” spirit permeates Marines.

Dick also observed that spirit at work as he escorted the vets during their visit to the museum — a destination of great importance to them.

“A young Marine captain was also there with his troop — part of the mental preparation for an approaching deployment,” Beatty said. “They were absolutely thrilled to meet these Iwo Jima veterans, men who survived the battle generally regarded as the defining moment for the Marine Corps.”

As a result of their museum visit, the “SML DQ Veterans Group” has come to the attention of the Marines. Bob Taglianetti, an Oral Historian with the Marine Corps University’s History Division – who met SML’s Iwo Jima veterans as they toured the museum – recently traveled to the Beatty’s SML home to record their stories.

In one-on-one interviews, Taglianetti heard Wes Dixon tell of getting wounded at sundown on landing day (Feb. 19, 1945), being ferried to the hospital ship a mile off shore, and returning six days later – after the famous hilltop flag raising — to help tend wounded from the ongoing fight for the airfield.

He listened intently to John Fowler, who proudly wore a 1952-issue dress uniform that still fits his trim frame. Besides his Master Gunnery Sgt. stripes (the highest Marine NCO rank), the uniform displayed several Distinguished Marksmanship medals that testify to Fowler’s place among the Corps’ most proficient pistol and rifle marksmen.

The Marine historian also heard Jahue Mundy describe his remarkable survival of four beach landings: Iwo Jima, Guam, Okinawa and Peleliu. He recorded Medical Corpsman Wes Dixon’s tale of scurrying from one fallen Marine to the next, surviving the shelling only because duty took him where shells had already landed. He heard Warren Tuck describe watching the first crippled B29 land while a skirmish with a holdout Japanese patrol was still underway.

Their stories, finally told after so many years of being bottled up, were all different. But each reflected the same sense of patriotism and the proud Marine tradition of “Semper Fi.” And each veteran offered high praise and respect for the dedicated men and women who today are carrying on the proud tradition of military service to their country.

Breakfast with the President

Another recent visit — this time to the White House – held extra special for Swanson Rigney who, as a member of the platoon that raised the American Flag on Iwo Jima, was invited to breakfast with President George W. Bush and First Lady Laura Bush. Tears well in Rigney’s eyes as he reflects on the honor of being thanked for his service by the current Commander in Chief – and being saluted by the Marine Corps Commandant. On a side note, President Bush personally intervened to help Rigney begin receiving disability benefits he had previously been denied.  

What's Developing?

The Forum

by Andie Gibson

Smith Mountain Lake has certainly seen a boon in construction of commercial property over the past few years in the Westlake area. While other projects seem to be struggling to fill the space, The Forum on Rt. 122 has quickly leased to near capacity.           

About 70 percent of the 30,000 available square feet has been leased, according to project manager Erik Plyler of The Plyler Group, an umbrella company for Watermark Realty and Plyler Homes and Docks.

“It’s been steady throughout the building process,” said Plyler, whose company will move to The Forum in July. “When Goodwill came in, that was a positive for us. They would certainly be considered our anchor. … We’ve been renting a space every month or so. I anticipate being fully leased by the end of the summer.”

In addition to Goodwill, current tenants include Hot Tub Heaven, SML Flooring, Mountain Treasures, RM Communications (Verizon), Outreach Construction and Realty Executives Exceptional. Artfully Framed at the Lake will relocate to the Forum in July. The project also includes a drive-up Wachovia ATM.

Plyler attributes the project’s success to resourceful design and a quality location.

“It has prime road frontage and a configuration where you can see every business from the road,” he said. “A lot of professionals still want that exposure, not just retail businesses. It’s also directly across from Capps [Home Building Center] and there’s always traffic coming through there.”

Artfully Framed owner Karen Maynard said she chose to move her business from Westlake Commons, where she’s been the past four years, to The Forum primarily because of the location.

“My biggest reason for moving is the visibility from the road,” she said. “That’s what retail businesses definitely need. … I’ll also have a slightly larger space with a small office area to hide the paperwork.”

Plyler said the building was constructed completely of steel with no wood used except for the doors.

Artist Robin Rowe 

By Karol Armbuster 

The Accidental Artist Laker Robin Rowe has turned her talents into a diverse career                 

Artist Robin Rowe believes that everything happens for a reason. “Everything I’ve ever done has been totally circumstance,” she said, referring to her successful business career. “I never meant to do any of this. It was just meant to be, I guess.”               

Robin has been painting and drawing since she was a young child. She enjoyed it so much she decided to major in Fine Arts at Lynchburg College where she spent many hours in the studio, working in various mediums – from painting and oils, to drawing, perspective, and even advertising.               

After graduating, Robin moved to Oklahoma City where her “accidental career” began to take on a life of its own.               

“A friend got me interested in needlework while I was pregnant with my daughter,” she said. Unsatisfied with available options while attempting to beautify the new baby’s nursery, Robin decided to make her own decorations. Her “Crewel Critters” were born. The owner of the store where Robin bought her needlework supplies liked her work so much she asked Robin if she would consider silk screening her patterns to sell in the shop. She has been creating and selling her works of art ever since.               

When the family relocated to High Point, N.C., Robin continued to design her own needlework patterns. After several years of creating freelance designs for a company called Paragon, Robin journeyed to Europe and became interested in counted cross-stitch.                

Her renewed interest in needlework became the circumstance out of which she decided to launch her own company with a partner, called Graphic Needle Arts. Robin did all the design work and pattern books, while her partner handled the business side.                 

“We started in my house and garage and were very, very successful – at one time owning two large warehouses,” Robin said. They were looking for something more to do, feeling the popularity of needlework waning, and came up with a project idea to make wreaths out of twisted paper. Just as Robin’s career path had taken many twists and turns, that seemingly simple project led to the design and manufacturing of ribbon designs.               

When she and her partner finally sold out in 1996, Robin again wanted to try her hand at something new. She decided to return to her first loves: drawing and painting.               

Robin’s first attempt at translating her ideas to canvas was with colored pencils, progressing to pastels and now oils, which are her primary works of art to this day. Recently, Robin’s daughter, a commercial interior designer, encouraged her to produce and sell her artwork as Giclee, a French word meaning “fine art reproduction.” Another new business was launched, and led Robin into painting larger pieces in oils.                

“Most of what I do is studio work,” she explained. “I take pictures, then [the painting] develops from a composite of those pictures.”               

Robin has spent a lot of time perfecting her craft. She has traveled extensively to Europe for inspiration, and has taken classes and studied with well-known and influential artists from around the world.               

Current works for sale include pieces inspired by scenes in St. John, Virgin Islands, Venice, Italy, Greece, France and Spain, as well as closer to home at Holden Beach, N.C., and Smith Mountain Lake.               

Since Robin and her husband Charlie, along with their son and daughter, began visiting Smith Mountain Lake in 1984, Robin has felt inspired by its many varied and beautiful scenes. “I just love the water and the mountains. I love painting boats and I’m inspired by cows,” she laughed. 

Locally, Robin’s work can be seen and purchased at The Little Gallery at Bridgewater Plaza, and Interiors by Kris at Westlake Towne Center. In May, she will debut a new web site at rowboatart.com.

Make A Splash!

Creating a decorative water fountain is easier than you think.

by Catriona Tudor Erler

Making a Cobblestone Fountain 

            A cobblestone fountain is a simple water feature that gives the illusion of a natural spring welling up from the earth or paving. It’s easy and inexpensive to install and takes up very little space. It can be as small as 12 inches in diameter or much larger if you prefer. The same concept can be made into an above-ground, self-contained container fountain. 

Materials Needed

Watertight reservoir: The reservoir can be any container made of a non-degradable, watertight material. A small plastic trash can or large tub is ideal. It should be large enough to hold the pump (most small models are about 7 inches wide) with a minimum of 3-5 inches of water over the top of the pump. The larger the reservoir, the less frequently you’ll have to top it off with water. 

Submersible pump: Choose a pump built to circulate 80-100 gallons of water an hour. A larger pump that circulates more gallons per hour will be too powerful, creating a water jet that will overshoot the edges of your reservoir.

Length of hose or rigid pipe: PVC pipe is a good choice. Choose a diameter that will match the pump outlet (generally 2/8 inch for small pumps). If you want a larger diameter for greater water flow, use an adapter to connect the pump to the pipe. The pipe should be long enough to reach from the bottom of the reservoir to a few inches above the ground or to go up through any decorative feature you decide to put on top.

Galvanized wire mesh: Wire lath, available at most building or concrete supply stores, is an excellent material to use to support the cobblestones covering the reservoir. Twenty-five gauge is probably the minimum weight; 9 gauge is strong. A good mesh is 2.5 mm. The gauge you need depends on the diameter of the reservoir and the weight of the stones. When cut into a circle, its diameter should equal that of the reservoir plus at least 5 inches.

            Fountainhead and/or decorative top such as a sphere or large urn (optional)

            Plastic sheeting 15 to 20 mils thick

            Shovel

            Cobblestones

            Wire Clippers

Directions

            1. Dig a hole deep enough to bury the trash barrel so the rim is at ground level. Contour the ground around the hole so there is a slight incline toward the hole.

            2. Bury the trash barrel, and then place a collar of plastic sheeting around the rim of the barrel. Use enough so that the plastic also covers the sloping ground out to about 1 ½ feet away from the rim. This waterproof sheeting will catch any water that sprays away from the fountain and direct it back in to the trash barrel reservoir. Cover the plastic with stones or plants.

            3. Place the submersible pump at the bottom of the sunken barrel on a brick. By raising the pump slightly, you minimize the chance that it will get clogged with any debris that may collect on the bottom. Connect the hose or rigid pipe to the pump’s outlet pipe. Run the electrical cord out of the top of the barrel to an outdoor electrical outlet. 

            4. With wire cutters, cut a small hole in the center of the metal grid large enough for the hose or pipe to fit through. Feed the hose or pipe through the hole as you place the grid over the buried container. If you have opted for a fountainhead, connect it, following the manufacturer’s directions. Fill the sunken reservoir with water.

            5. Cover the grid and any exposed plastic sheeting with the decorative cobblestones. Now give your new fountain a test run. The water should bubble out of the pipe onto the cobblestones and then flow back into the reservoir beneath. If you are using a fountainhead, adjust the water flow so the water stays within the cobble surround. 

            6. Add water as needed to keep the reservoir full, especially during hot weather or when rain is scarce. Designed for underwater use, the submersible pump will be destroyed if it is allowed to run dry.

Kenny May’s 1965 Proteus Jaguar C Type  

By Charlie Self  

The exhaust burble is surprisingly quiet for a race car, but this Proteus version of the Jaguar C racing car is gentlemanly. The original C Jags, built in the early 1950s, were race cars, pure and simple, first as factory works cars and spreading to a few teams.

Kenny May is Director of Events at Virginia International Raceway (VIR), a job that doesn’t allow him to run his car as often as he likes – he’s usually working during race weekends. Currently, mileage on his C Jag is 4,800, an addition of only 800 miles since he bought it nine years ago.

Kenny traded his 1965 Jaguar with a British friend, who got a containerized 1965 E Jag in trade. Kenny’s Proteus C Jag landed in Baltimore in 1998.

Only 48 to 54 hand-built Jaguar C types rolled out of the factory.  About 75 Proteus built replicas were built to satisfy enthusiasts’ desires. Proteus built about 75 replicas. Kenny’s rolled onto the track a dozen years after the ’53 original. The car has right-hand steering with a single, near weightless door on the driver’s side. The car is completely original, showing some gravel dings below the belt line, with an otherwise near-faultless, and original Ecurie Ecosse blue paint. Grey leather upholstery covers the two lightweight bucket seats. Kenny’s C type turns out 220 horsepower from its 3.8 double overhead cam, six-cylinder liter engine. Kenny explained that the car was built for club racing, but was put in street trim before it was shipped to the U.S. There is no true windshield, but a competition windscreen. The car is also lacking a heater, radio, windshield wipers and any kind of top. A tonneau cover keeps the interior dry, but driving in the rain means assures you’ll get wet.

The car has a superb engine with three Webber carburetors and a four-speed manual transmission, all set inside a tubular space frame chassis. The brakes are modified Girling four wheel discs that stop you right now from almost any speed. The C Jag and its Proteus replica were built to fulfill sports car lovers’ dreams.

Kenny was born and raised in London, but moved to the U.S. about 34 years ago, where he was a principal in a loss analyzing agency. When he sold out and retired a few years ago, he found himself getting very edgy with too much time on his hands, so he looked around for a job. He found a perfect fit as Events Director at VIR.  Kenny’s interest in cars is solid and lifelong, revealed today by the C type, plus an original 1953 XK120 Jag and a Ferrari sitting in his three-car garage. The family cars are relegated to the outside.

The Ferrari is a 308 Quatrovalve GTSI from 1983 that he has owned for about 15 years. It is in as lovely condition as the Proteus Jag. Both cars spend their lives in a heated garage, with special car covers protecting them from airborne dust and debris, even indoors.

Kenny has helped put together a big year of events at VIR, one in which he might be able to drive his Proteus C Jaguar in an event or two himself.  

To check out new and old race cars, motorcycles, and other action, visit Virginia International Raceway online at www.vir.com. See the track layout and learn about local accommodations, events and prices. VIR is an unusual track, offering its own country club, as well as general admission. Two track layouts may be run simultaneously if desired.