My grandchildren love the Virginia Rock Shop in RVCC! It’s a hit with kids and adults. Beautiful crystals, carved animals, beads, jewelry, objets d’art, something for everyone. Becca Elliott 2019
Virginia Rock Shop is a real treasure with an incredible inventory. David can do most anything you need done! For us, he has made custom earrings and jewelry, replaced lost stones, repaired items and become a favorite shopping stop for our house guests. 981-1897 RVCC #13. Bonnie Jefferson 2017
There is an excellent dog boarding facility in Piney River. Camp Merricks also offers behavior assessments in your home and tailored owner dog training programs. With over 30 years of experience working with dogs through dog training, showing, rescue fostering, and assessments, Denise Merricks understands dog behavior and socialization. More information: campmerricks.com, (434) 981-7538. Submitted by Flower & Ed Vankan
pet-sitter, pet-sitting, kennel
We recommend Steve Drummond owner/operator of Drummond Electrical 434-944-1247. Steve has done all of our electrical work in both our home in Lynchburg and at Wintergreen. The electrician is based in Amherst so Wintergreen is not off the grid for him. Steve was recently recognized by the Amherst County Chamber of Commerce as the 2019 Best Small Business. Submitted by Adrienne Scruggs
Electrician,
Wilber's Handyman Services; Shannon Wilber; 434-989-0333; wilbershandyman@gmail.com. Submitted by Krista Waibel
For housework, handyman jobs, lawn and yard work, and miscellaneous household projects call Thomas Adkins; 571-334-4793. Submitted by Krista Waibel
We had been trying to have our driveway sealed for over a year. It was an extremely frustrating experience. Most contractors did not bother returning phone calls. (We hear this complaint from all our neighbors and friends in the area, no matter what they are trying to have done. And then, it’s as if contractors up their price because you live in Wintergreen!) Our original request to have our driveway repaired and resealed was in the spring of 2018. In the summer of 2018, the paving contractor completed only half the job and had not communicated with us (as of spring 2019) about completing the sealing. We finally contacted R Williams Paving & Sealing. From day one, they were excellent about communicating–whether to make an appointment for an estimate, scheduling the job, or rescheduling when the weather was an issue. We are extremely pleased with the resealing job they just completed, and they were cheaper than other contractors! We highly recommend them. Submitted by Sybil E. Martino
Charles Batchelor also recommends R Williams Paving for asphalt driveway paving.
Scott Franklin just completed installing stone veneer over our foundation, and he and his crew did a fabulous job. He approaches his stonework as if it's a piece of art. He can be contacted at 443-906-9711. With many years of experience, Scott definitely knows what he is doing and takes his job very seriously. Reasonable prices too! Submitted by Bob and Cynthia Turk
I recommend Warner Insurance Agency. Joe Warner and his wife Sarah have recently moved into Stoney Creek. We have been with Joe Warner for 20 years and he has been wonderful with all our insurance needs. Their office is in Staunton. Call them at 540-885-1950. Submitted by Linda Camp
The wildlife hotline that is run by the Virginia Department of Game & Inland Fisheries answers questions when you're not sure what to do when you face issues with wild animals such as racoons, deer, bears, possums and even squirrels. The toll-free number is 855-571-9003. When I called last week Carrie Pomfrey–a wildlife specialist and certified biologist–answered all my questions about bears and the rules about bird feeders in detail. (No bird feeding from April 1 to December 1.) VDGIF answers calls from 8 am to 4:30 pm, Monday through Friday. The phone is staffed by specialists from the wildlife services state office. After-hours and weekend calls are generally returned the next business day. –submitted by Charles Batchelor
I recommend Arclincia Cooke (Clincy) without reservation. She is an exceptional caregiver who cared for both my parents for a year and a half before they passed away. My father suffered from Alzheimer’s Disease and then a broken hip and my mom was very frail with dementia. Clincy is a warm, loving, and very capable caregiver whom the whole family, including my parents, came to love. As you know, when caring for the elderly, many difficult situations arise but Clincy is a problem solver who came up with many amazing solutions. She is honest and trustworthy, and we had no qualms about leaving her alone in our home with my parents and gave her total control of their care, knowing they were in the best hands. She managed to schedule and handling visits from nurses, social workers, aides, and other volunteers from Hospice along with ordering and dispensing medications. Clincy is also very responsible, punctual, and flexible. I don’t think there was anything that I ever asked her to do that she did not happily do. I credit her with keeping my mom’s spirits up after my father’s death with her upbeat and engaging personality. Anyone would be lucky to have her. Submitted by Linda Hobson 540-456-6812
Augusta Dry Cleaners on Main St. in Waynesboro will dry clean carpets. We took a large handmade Oriental carpet there, and they did a good job cleaning it, though of course not as thorough as hand washing. (I had asked Don Land about cleaning our dining room wool Oriental carpet in-home; he said he could do it, but we didn’t go that route since I don’t think that gets it nearly as clean as taking it up and immersing it. Laura Sorenson
Also, multiple recommendations for dry cleaning of fine wool clothing, silk, leather, dry cleaners
We would like to recommend HVAC MD Todd Showalter, 540-271-4955 or cell 540-271-4955. If you have any heating or air-conditioning needs he is the one to call. He is prompt and has come to our mountain home several times. He is excellent, very reasonable and takes the time to make sure everything is correct and working the way you want it to work. He makes sure that you are totally satisfied. Submitted by Susan and Allan Winn
LP, heating, cooling, HVAC
We recommend C & J Landscaping at 434-962-4606. Chuck and Janice Schooley did a fabulous job trimming the broken limbs of several of our trees. They have a long list of services including lawn care, mulching, leaf removal, leaf mulching, window cleaning, snow removal and more. Submitted by Christine & Dennis Casey
landscaping, tree, snow, landscaper
I would like to recommend Scott Franklin for stonework. He and his father did some exterior stone (and faux stone) repair for us and did an excellent job. Scott does fireplaces (interior and exterior), walls, steps, pretty much anything related to stone. He is pleasant to work with and we felt his prices were very reasonable. Becca Elliott
stonework, decks
• We learned (the hard way, unfortunately) that the only septic cleaning company we will EVER use is Bell’s. Very professional, very experienced. Great job. Becca Elliott 2018
Many valley homes have their own septic system which needs maintenance pumping from time to time. We would like to recommend Bell’s Septic Tank Service of Roseland, 434-277-5869. We have used them not only for our home system but also for the tanks at RVCC. They are always prompt and do a thorough cleaning and inspection. The Commonwealth of Virginia advises homeowners to routinely have their septic tanks pumped out every three to five years. However, the frequency with which your tank needs to be pumped may vary depending on the size of the tank and number of people in the household. A typical 1000 gal tank with 2 residents should be pumped every 5.9 years from the chart. Failure to remove sludge over time may allow sludge to overflow and saturate the drain field causing system failure. Ultimately, a new drain field would have to be installed at the cost of thousands of dollars. Submitted by Henri Weems 2016
