Staunton News Leader - 08/22/2020 Copy
SATURDAY, AUGUST Reduced
22, 2020 to 70% from original to fit letter page
| NEWSLEADER.COM
Chicano Boy Taco
reopens after flood
Chicano Boy Taco may still have sandbags along its storefront, a result of the Aug. 8 flash flood, but as the
the graffiti says, the taquería is open and ready to serve customers. PHOTOS BY LAURA PETERS/THE NEWS LEADER
Taquería reopens less than two weeks after 4 feet
of water flooded inside of restaurant
Laura Peters
Staunton News Leader
USA TODAY NETWORK
Sandbags are stacked in front of Chicano Boy Taco
off Central Avenue in Staunton. About four bags high,
they press against a piece of plywood covering up the
front window that reads, “We’re back” in graffiti writ-
ing.
The sandbags continue down the strip mall, lining
the other stores that have started to pick back up after
the flash flood that devastated downtown Staunton
Aug. 8. The mud that had coated the entire parking lot
the day following the flood has faded and mostly
washed away.
Workers hustle inside Chicano Boy on Thursday
morning as they prepare for the lunch rush. It’s their
second day back after closing for a week and a half
due to a flash flood that dumped nearly 4 feet of water
into the restaurant.
Owner Justin Hershey, staff and other workers
spent that time ripping his Mexican-American taque-
ría apart then putting it back together after the flood.
The flood caused widespread damage in Staunton
washing away sidewalks, destroying numerous busi-
nesses and properties and turning Staunton’s Histor-
ic Wharf District into a large lake.
According to the National Weather Service, a spot-
ter stationed in Staunton reported 3.59 inches of rain
fell that night. The city saw damage to 164 public, resi-
dential and commercial properties totaling $3.1 mil-
lion in damages.
Hershey was among many who were left picking
up the pieces and mopping up the mess the flood left
Copyright � 2020 Staunton News Leader 08/22/2020
August 24, 2020 8:58 am (GMT -4:00)
Chicano Boy Taco Owner Justin Hershey reopened
the taquería Thursday where it left off before the
flood. Hershey said, “I didn’t want to roll out half a
menu. I wanted to pick up right where we left off.”
behind. He’s also among the large majority having his
insurance not cover the damage or loss of business.
He said that he tried to get money with insurance, but
all his claims have been denied. He doesn’t have flood
insurance in place, but was hoping he could use other
insurance to file claims. He hasn’t been successful so
far, but remains hopeful.
See TACO, Page 3A
#1 in product selection^^
Page
PART:OF
A01
THE USA TODAY
An algae bloom is on the Caloosahatche
the W.P. Franklin Lock and Dam in Flor
2018. LYNNE SLADKY/ASSOCIATED PRESS
Harmful
algae bloom
in Lake An
Toxic cyanobacteria can ca
skin rash, gastrointestinal
Laura Peters
Staunton News Leader
USA TODAY NETWORK
Certain branches of Lake Anna are un
ming advisory due to harmful algae bloo
The Middle Pamunkey Branch of Lak
Upper Pamunkey Branch, Terry’s Run an
North Anna Branch of Lake Anna in Ora
and Spotsylvania counties are experienc
gae blooms.
The public has been told to avoid cont
lake in these areas until algae concentra
to acceptable level, a release from the V
partment of Health said.
The toxic algae, which is called cyanob
cause skin rash and gastrointestinal ill
upset stomach, nausea, vomiting and d
release said.
Virginia and several other states saw t
The toxic algae had been the contributi
See ALGAE, Page 3A
COVID-19:
Where are th
new area cas
Leanna Smith
Staunton News Leader
USA TODAY NETWORK
With August more than halfway over
find a zip code in the SAW region that has
at least one new coronavirus case this m
July was the worst month to date f
VID-19 cases in Staunton, Augusta C
Waynesboro. After a decrease in area cas
week of July and the first week of August,
area are rising again.
Every locality that had at least five cas
of July reported new cases by Wednesda
that have between one and four cases ar
“suppressed” by the Virginia Departmen
and exact case numbers are not publicly
five cases are reported.
Here’s a look at the number of new ca
See CASES, Page 3A
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#1 in customer service #1 in ease of purch
possible run for months while raising money through terms. McAuliffe’s successor, Gov. Ralph Northam, is paperwork with the Virginia State Board of Elections
his old political action committee. set to leave office at the start of 2022.
Staunton
McAuliffe, onceNews
bestLeader
known -as08/22/2020 Copy Reduced to 79% from original to fit letter pagegovernor. STEVE HELBER/AP, FILE
a top Democratic
Taco
Continued from Page 1A
The night of the flood
Hershey woke up to the sound of rain hitting the
roof of his downtown Staunton apartment. It was Sat-
urday, Aug. 8 around 9 p.m. He had just taken a nap
and stepped outside to see Beverley Street backing up
with water.
That’s when he checked in with the restaurant.
His employees said everything was fine. Then 10
minutes later they called back and said the water had
reached the door and was coming in the restaurant.
So he started driving to the restaurant, but couldn’t
get there. He ended up parking near Hardee’s on Cen-
tral Avenue. One of the managers was on the roof of
the building, while the remaining staff had crossed
Lewis Street to a higher embankment for safety.
He credits his manager Carter Raab for shutting off
the breaker to the restaurant, which ultimately saved
many of their appliances.
Hershey called the fire department for assistance,
but since everyone was accounted for they had to
move onto other rescues. The water eventually reced-
ed from the streets, but there were still feet of water
inside the restaurant. Hershey was able to survey the
damage Saturday night and began coming up with a
game plan for the following day.
“I think I was in shock more than anything,” he said.
“I have a strong fight or flight kind of response, so I was
having an adrenal overload.”
The next day he had made a number of calls to get
rehabilitation crews in, dry wall installers, people
bringing by food and drinks for the staff and crews and
more.
Algae
Continued from Page 1A
killing pet dogs in North Carolina, Georgia and Texas.
The blue-green algae was found in Virginia counties,
including Albemarle, Orange, Louisa and Spotsylvania
as well. Dogs would have been exposed to the algae by
swallowing water, then later developing health issues
like liver damage.
In 2018, authorities closed public access to Chris
Greene Lake in Albemarle County due to the algae.
Within the past decade, outbreaks have been reported
in every state, a trend likely to accelerate as climate
change boosts water temperatures, an Associated
Press story said in 2018.
Warm water conditions and nutrients combine to
make favorable conditions for algae bloom. While
most algae species are harmless, waters that are dis-
colored or have scums that are green or blueish-green
should be avoided because there is a higher potential
they contain toxins.
The areas to avoid can be seen on an interactive
map at SwimHealthyVA.com.
People and pets should avoid swimming, windsurf-
ing, stand-up-paddle-boarding and other activities
that pose a risk of ingesting water, the release said. Ad-
visory signs will be posted in areas of the lake.
On Aug. 11, samples collected at two sites — Middle
Pamunkey and Upper North Anna Branches — indicat-
ed swimming advisories were necessary due to unsafe
levels of cyanobacteria densities, the release said.
CasesCopyright � 2020 Staunton News Leader
Crimora ..................................... 5
Fishersville
08/22/2020 ...............................
August 24, 2020 8:58 am (GMT -4:00) Verona .......................................
Continued from Page 1A Mount Sidney .......................... 2
listing himself as a Democratic candidate for
“You don’t want to lose momentum,” he said. “I was
not shy about asking for help and I got it.”
Cleaning up the mess
Most of his equipment was saved. Since Hershey
helped build the store, he knew what needed to be
fixed and immediately started coming up with lists of
tasks.
“I was such a part of building that restaurant, so I
had the experience of doing that prior,” he said.
Hershey started out in 2015 where he worked under
a tent outside of a van. That later transformed into to a
storefront in 2016. He expanded his business in 2019,
offering a separate to-go storefront down from his res-
taurant for people to pick up to-go orders completely
contactless. That model ended up working out for him
as COVID-19 swept the country.
Hershey originally opened his storefront with then
business partner Bill Willett. Hershey now has a new
business partner — Roger Peterson — and new busi-
ness ventures. Peterson owns eight Dairy Queens in
Virginia, Maryland and West Virginia, the Kline’s in
Staunton and Peterson’s Soft Cloth Carwash in Staun-
ton under his company Peterson Enterprises.
Moving into the week following the flood, Hershey
reached out to his staff and told them they all had jobs,
except the job description had changed — they would
be doing manual labor in order to get the place back up
and running.
“I knew I could sustain a week or week and a half of
losses, but not much longer,” he said.
His staff would come in and work their normal
shifts, while Hershey was tackling 16-hour days. He
kept contractors on a constant rotation, tapping them
out for new ones once they reached hours.
“It was rigorous,” he said. “There was a line of peo-
ple to keep efficiency.”
Samples collected by the VDH and the Virginia
Harmful Algal Bloom Task Force Results within these
areas contained cyanobacteria, which exceed safe
swimming levels, the release said.
Two sites currently have algae densities that are
within safe levels — Upper Pamunkey and Terry’s Run.
Additional samples will need to be run at those sites in
order to find cyanobacteria within safe levels before
the advisories there may be lifted, the release said.
Maintaining the advisory through an additional sam-
ple ensures the bloom does not rebound between sam-
ples.
Routine monitoring will happen above Route 208 on
Lake Anna. The next testing date, weather permitting,
will be Sept. 1.
Swimmers should avoid discolored water or scums
that are green or blueish-green because they are more
likely to contain toxins. Be aware of algae blooms and
avoid water that smells, is discolored, or where there
are dead fish present, the alert said.
The sites currently under advisory include:
Pamunkey Branch
h Upper – From the upper inundated waters of the
Pamunkey arm of the lake downstream to the conflu-
ence with Terry’s Run
h Terrys Run – from the upper inundated waters of
the lake downstream to the confluence with Pamun-
key Cree
h Middle – From the confluence of Terry’s Run with
Pamunkey Creek downstream to Rt. 612 (Stubbs
Bridge)
North Anna Branch
h Upper – From the upper inundated waters of the
4
4
Across the state, the current
seven-day average percent positiv-
ity rate for coronavirus tests is
6.7%, At the end of July that rate
Page : A03
He wanted to make sure when he opened back up he
was coming back exactly where he left off, like he
hadn’t missed a beat.
“I wanted to make sure that we were at full func-
tionality before we opened,” he said. “I wanted conti-
nuity in the concept (of the restaurant). I didn’t want to
roll out half a menu. I wanted to pick up right where we
left off.”
He also didn’t jump on the group fund effort to spe-
cifically target his restaurant. Instead, he wanted peo-
ple to donate to the larger pool that the Staunton Cre-
ative Community Fund set up with GoFundMe, which
goes to help all the downtown businesses recover. As
of Thursday afternoon, the fund had almost $130,000.
“We have a pretty stout business, so I knew I had the
resources,” he said. “Basically I knew that I was going
to be OK.”
The fast turnaround was like a personal competi-
tion for Hershey. He wanted to get it done, get it done
right and get it done in a timely manner.
“Chicano Boy was meant to be more of a peoples
restaurant with a small imprint, to serve the masses
and less about serving the bourgeoisie,” he said. “Chi-
cano Boy has become a part of people’s weeks. I felt
like I had some social duty to return that comfort and
normalcy.”
Hershey said he doesn’t want to be seen as the win-
ner of some competition to reopen after the flood. In-
stead, he hopes it provides some hope to others that
it’s possible to overcome yet another thing that 2020
has thrown our way.
“As much people project on me ... that I’m not very
smiley, I do care very deeply about my staff and I have
empathy for other small businesses,” he said. “It is per-
sonal. Small business is personal. I want this to be
good.”
Contact reporter Laura Peters at
lpeters@newsleader.com. Follow her @peterslaura.
North Anna arm of the lake downstream to the Rt. 522
Bridge.
According to the VDH, to prevent illness, people
should:
h Avoid contact with any area of the lake where wa-
ter is green or an advisory sign is posted, “When in
doubt, stay out!”
h Do not allow children or pets to drink from natural
bodies of water.
h Keep children and pets out of the areas experienc-
ing a harmful algae bloom and quickly wash them off
with plenty of fresh, clean water after coming into con-
tact with algae scum or bloom water.
If you or your animals experience symptoms after
swimming in or near an algal bloom, seek medical/vet-
erinarian care.
To ensure fish fillets are safe to eat, properly clean
fish by removing skin and discarding all internal or-
gans, and cooking fish to the proper temperature.
If you suspect you experienced health-related ef-
fects following exposure to a bloom, contact the Vir-
ginia Harmful Algal Bloom Hotline at 1-888-238-6154.
The VDH and the Virginia Harmful Algal Bloom
Task Force, which includes the Virginia Department of
Health, Virginia Department of Environmental Qual-
ity, and the Old Dominion Phytoplankton lab, will con-
tinue to monitor water quality in the lake, the release
said.
Advisories are generally lifted after two consecu-
tive test results with acceptable levels for algal cell
counts and/or toxin concentration, the release said.
Email reporter Laura Peters at
lpeters@newsleader.com. Follow her @peterslaura.
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