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While ice cream is the main theme at Swirlie’s, the Corbins offer another foodie creation on Saturdays—porky taters, a baked potato with fixings stuffed with pulled pork. Hawaiian shaved ice, technically known as TropicalSno, is another big seller. As light as cotton candy, with the icy airiness of snowflakes melting in your mouth, this specialty treat is shaved from a large block of ice. But unlike traditional snow cones, these shaved ice confections are flavored through and through—no juice falling to the bottom—just heavenly snow mist available in a rainbow of juices like blue raspberry, lemon, mango, strawberry, grape, and orange. Additionally, the Corbins created gelatos—a frozen confection of shaved ice with ice cream in the middle. The combination is divine, lovely to look at and deliciously wonderful to consume.

Other specialty flavors include cookie dough, warm apple pie sundae, New York cheesecake sundae, and banana split. Suzanne makes her own praline nuts and brownies, and enjoys offering seasonally themed treats like pumpkin whoopie pie ice cream sandwiches in the fall, and Easter egg baskets in spring. And let’s not forget your canine companions: there are pup cups for them.

Going through several hundred gallons of ice cream a week, David is a stickler for the little details that make all the difference, like keeping their ice cream machinery in meticulous working order with daily cleanings. Both the Corbins have an unwavering commitment to serving their community through Spirit Nights, and hosting sport teams and groups like the Boy Scouts, with a portion of the proceeds benefiting those organizations.

The Corbins are hands-on owners and are on site every day. While Suzanne manages their staff of nearly 20, David concentrates on the grounds, the landscape, the collection of nostalgic objects he has on display, and whatever else is necessary to keep things running smoothly.

Together, they’ve built Swirlie’s—open Sunday through Thursday, 11:00 a.m.-10:00 p.m. and Friday and Saturday, 11:00 a.m.-11:00 p.m.—a business big on ice cream, atmosphere, quality and good service. 

“To be a lineman, you need mental fortitude, physical strength, technical skills, and a true desire to help others when the power goes out,” says Skip Hollcroft, manager of NOVEC’s Construction department and our line technicians. “Not everyone can be a lineman. Their hard work, bravery and dedication deserve to be recognized.”

Fortunately some of these bee and butterfly species have already found refuge in NOVEC’s right-of-way areas, where wildflowers have continued to grow naturally underneath power lines. The pollinator project works to restore valuable wildflowers to additional right-of-way areas in an effort to boost native pollinator populations. 

Similar projects have been initiated throughout the country. Several cooperatives, including a few in neighboring North Carolina, have begun the process of creating “butterfly highways” in their right-of-way areas. These “highways” provide a valuable route for migrating butterflies and create a healthy habitat for other pollinator species in the region. NOVEC hopes to join the growing number of cooperatives using right-of-way areas as a tool to help protect these invaluable pollinators. 

Applications and all required materials must be submitted online by March 13. Failure to submit a complete package by the deadline will disqualify students from consideration. 

NOVEC’s Application Requirements:

 ·  Be a college-bound high school senior whose home is currently served by NOVEC.

·   Have at least a 3.5 grade-point average on a minimum 4.0 scale. A transcript that includes first-semester grades can be attached to the online application or mailed to Cindy Fithian, NOVEC, P.O. Box 2710, Manassas, VA 20108.

·   Submit SAT scores. Unofficial SAT scores will be accepted.

·   Demonstrate a wide range of participation and leadership in extracurricular activities, community service, and/or work experience.

·   Two letters of recommendation — one from a high school official (teacher, counselor, school coach, etc.) and one from a member of the community (house of worship, Scout or club leader, community sports coach, supervisor, etc.) These letters may be attached to the online application.

·   A 350-400 word autobiographical essay. The theme should describe experiences that have shaped the applicant’s life, present activities, and future aspirations. List colleges, universities, technical or trade schools the student applied to or the one the student plans to attend. NOVEC representatives will present scholarships at award ceremonies at the students’ schools. The names of recipients will be listed on NOVEC’s website and in the August 2018 edition of Cooperative Living magazine.

Giving Back

In 1995, an Aflac agent was approached by a mother of a child fighting cancer and asked for a donation of $25,000 to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta.  Aflac CEO Dan Amos did donate, but instead gave $3 Million and the center was renamed the Aflac Cancer and Blood Disorders Center of Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. Since then, the company has shown that this giving spirit and fight against pediatric cancer is important to everyone at every level.

They have raised and donated over $100 Million to the center, which is recognized as one of the largest children’s cancer centers in the US. It is a national leader in hematology, childhood cancer, blood and bone marrow transplant programs and serves infants through young adults and has cared for more than 2,300 children with cancer and 4,200 children with blood disorders annually.  Aflac’s spirit of giving isn’t just at the corporate level; it reaches all levels of the organization. Much of the funds donated come from independent Aflac insurance agents who contribute from their monthly commission checks.  Additionally, all employees are given the opportunity to regularly contribute with payroll deductions.

Less than 4% of federal funding is earmarked for pediatric cancer – and that just isn’t enough. Aflac created a donation program where cash gifts are welcomed and accepted, but also, a mere mention on social media will garner a donation to the cause.

 Ringing the Bell to Fight Cancer

Children fight each and every day through tough, lifesaving treatments at the Aflac Cancer and Blood Disorders Center of Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta.  When a child completes their treatment, it’s cause for celebration.  Aflac has a tradition, the child who finished treatment gets to ring the “End of Treatment” bell.  Doctors, nurses and medical staff line the hall while a child rings the bell along with his or her family, to signify the closing of a difficult chapter and to celebrate that they beat cancer.

 Aflac Duckprints

Aflac has a national grassroots organization called “Aflac Duckprints” with the primary goal of raising awareness and donations by honoring those who have left their footprints in the fight against childhood cancer.

Aflac is working hard not just to protect patients with quality healthcare and comprehensive insurance, but they are active participants in the fight against cancer.  Together, we can all fight to cure children’s cancer.

Rob Cavaleri is a Special Projects Coordinator with Aflac, a supplemental and voluntary benefits program.  Contact him at [email protected] or 703-328-1561   Follow him on social media at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rob-cavaleri-50b6b and  https://www.facebook.com/AflacCavaleri

4) Keep cell phones charged.

5) Have a chimney sweep clean a wood-burning fireplace and flue before storm season arrives to help keep you safe when using it. The fireplace may get used more during an outage.

6) NOVEC’s right-of-way crews work year-round to trim tree branches that might fall on power lines.  If a NOVEC customer sees a tree or tree branches that look like they could fall on power lines, contact NOVEC’s right-of-way department at 703-392-1661 or call customer service.

7) Post emergency phone numbers near the phone for quick access.

8) Pick one out-of-state relative or friend for family members to call if they become separated during a storm. It is often easier to call out-of-state than within an area that’s experiencing a storm. Post the contact person’s name and phone number near the phone. 

Emergency Kit for Cold-weather Outages

·  Non-perishable food

·  Manual can opener

·  Bottled water — Date the water and replace it every six months. Don’t store it in sunlight.

·  Lanterns

·  Flashlights

·  Fresh batteries

·  Battery-operated radio or charged smartphone

·  Canned fuel and matches for heating food in a chafing dish or fondue pot

·  First-aid supplies

·  Enough pet food, baby-care items, and prescription drugs if applicable

·  Plenty of firewood for a wood-burning stove or fireplace. Cover it with a tarp to keep it dry, or put some in a carport or garage.

·  Blankets or sleeping bags

·  Cash — ATMs don’t work without electricity.

·  Snow shovels

·  Ice-melting crystals for home entrances

Throughout the country, utility companies are leveraging the renewable resources around them to provide power to customers. While these resources vary from region to region, the goal is the same — to provide cleaner power to customers at an affordable cost. Many local utilities are able to take advantage of abundant sunlight, consistent wind and large waterways that are available to produce hydropower. For much of Virginia, though, these natural resources aren’t available in quantities sufficient for reliable and economic power generation. What Virginia does have plenty of is wood waste — perfect for biomass power production.

So how does NOVEC’s biomass power production work? Loads of leftover wood waste, typically left in forests to decay, are chipped and delivered by truck to NOVEC’s Halifax Biomass plant. The wood waste is then burned to create energy that can be used by up to 16,000 homes. The process adds no new source of contaminates to the environment, and unlike coal-burning power plants it does not emit mercury and sulfur into the air. The facility has an electro-static precipitator that traps particulates in the exhaust stream and reduces them to a permitted level.  The final collected matter, also known as fly ash, is then distributed to local farmers as a liming agent.

NOVEC’s Biomass facility is located in Virginia’s Southside region where acres of forests and commercial logging create abundant wood waste that can be used all year. The plant has been operational since 2013 and can generate up to 49 megawatts of electricity. To give you an idea of just how much energy that is, a 160-acre solar installation located in central Virginia is expected to produce 17 megawatts, or enough to power about 4,250 homes.

“Being good stewards of the environment has always been a priority at NOVEC,” said Co-op President and CEO Stan Feuerberg. “Before 2013, we distributed green electricity generated by hydropower and landfill gases. We had been actively seeking an appropriate way to increase the amount of alternative energy in our resource portfolio. The biomass power plant is helping us meet our goal.”

In addition to providing renewable energy from its biomass facility, NOVEC works with customers both large and small to set up solar installations throughout its territory. The Co-op’s net metering program provides customers the opportunity to produce their own solar energy and feed excess power back to the grid. The program has grown each year and some of its larger solar customers produce as much as 190 kilowatts of power.