The Beautification Committee thanks all the volunteers who showed up on Saturday May 18th to help out with River Ridge Clean-Up Day. Everyone worked hard all day and enjoyed a lunch of pizza and hot dogs.

The electrical upgrade for Groundhog Village was successfully completed on Friday May 17, 2013. The transfer of service went smoothly and everyone that was ready and had work orders issued were connected to the new service. There were approx. 60 lots connected and electric meters set by 4:00 PM. A very special thanks to Alan & Steve who worked all day to make this happen. They did an excellent job as did the rest of the maintenance staff helping with the removal of old pedestals and meters. The next village to be upgraded is Moose with work scheduled to start this fall.

Winners of the May 4, 2013 Horseshoe tournament:

• 1st place ..... Robert and Jerry
• 2nd place ..... David and Steven
• 3rd place ..... Sherry and Sexy Jeff

Please check the Upcoming Events page for the next Horseshoe Tournament.

The "drop dead" date for Groundhog Village is fast approaching. At 8:00 AM on May 17, 2013 the existing electrical service for Groundhog will cease and power will be provided via the newly installed service.

It is the responsibility of the property owner to complete trenching and installation of any lines to the new pedestals. If you have not done so by the "drop dead" date you will find yourself in the dark. Many of the property owners in Groundhog have already completed this part and will be ready to have their service hooked into the new system.

Your are required to have a building permit from Mecklenburg County prior to starting this work. You will also need to have a signed and notarized Electrical Service Agreement on file at the River Ridge Association office before your service will be connected.

If you need any help or have any questions please contact Pat Markham. Visit the Electrical Upgrades forum for complete details and to download the necessary forms required and/or to ask questions regarding the upgrades.

The law requires that you call Miss Utility prior to any digging. Failure to do so will make you responsible for damage(s) to any pipes or lines damaged during excavation. Line marking may take a few days to complete so please do not wait till the last minute to call.

• In Virginia - call 811
• Outside - call (800) 552-7001

The audio file for the special board meeting held on April 30, 2013 is now available. Click here to listen to the audio file. This file is 6.67 MB in size and approximately 29 minutes long. The minutes for the March board meeting have also been posted and can be viewed by clicking on the RR Docs & Board Mtgs. button in the blue menu column to your left.

For weeks I've been hearing different information given at board meetings and via email regarding the boating safety courses with prices varying from $15.00 to $35.00. I've also had people tell me that there was a charge for the test or that the test was free and you had to pay for the certificate. There are many websites that charge for this course and/or the certificate but this is not the case on the GrapevineNow website!

The course I have offered on this website is ABSOLUTELY FREE including your certificate. It is NASBLA approved and recognized by the U.S. Coast Guard. I know this is true because I took the course at my leisure, received my certificate and it did not cost me one single penny! I even posted my certificate on this page as proof.

If you are interested in obtaining the mandatory boating safety certificate for FREE please click here to read the details and take the test. By the year 2016 the state of Virginia will require completion of an approved boating safety course by all motorboat operators, regardless of age.

A special board meeting was held today to fill the vacancies on the board left by the three resigning members. The resignation submitted by Al Freer was accepted by the board this afternoon. The board appointed Robert Frazier and Tom Lowder to fill two of these vacancies. Positions were not assigned to these individuals today, they are currently voting members on the board until the next regularly scheduled meeting at which time the positions will be announced. The third position will most likely be filled at the May board meeting also. It was also announced today that Pam Pierce may be submitting her resignation from the board due to health reasons. This will leave 5 board positions to be filled at our next election in August 2013.

Click here for the audio file of this meeting. The file is 1.61 MB in size and approximately 7 minutes in length.

As of yesterday evening three of our board members had submitted their resignations in writing; Pam Gaitley, Peggy DePuy and Al Freer. These letters were read at the board meeting today and the board voted to accept the resignations of Peggy DePuy and Pam Gaitley. The entire audio file of the board meeting is available online. The file is 25 MB in size and approximately 1 hour and 54 minutes.

Several months ago we had to implement some changes to the registration process on the forum due to the massive number of new accounts being registered for the sole purpose of spamming. The moderators and I try our best to catch the legitimate new accounts and activate them but sometimes a few get shuffled in with the spammers and accidentally deleted. The main job of the moderators is to keep the advertisements and porn off of the forum and they are doing a stellar job however we receive an average of 100 new accounts per day so mistakes are inevitable.

To help insure that your account gets activated in a timely manner please send me a quick message and let me know that you are waiting for activation. Be sure to include your user name so I will know which account to activate.

I have added a contact button to the blue menu column making it simple to send me a message. This is checked throughout the day and will net a much faster response than sending me an email. When you send a message via the Contact Webmaster button you will see a gold star on top of the menu column on the Home page. When this star is gone you can check your email account for your reply.

Several people approached me after the last meeting and informed me that they were receiving a message stating they are not authorized to read the forum when trying to access the Public Posting forum. If you are seeing this message and already have an account you DO NOT need to re-register. This was part of the change made to the registration process and only requires a quick change to your forum profile. Click here for instructions to update your account and have it reactivated.

If you have any problems with registration or re-activation please do not hesitate to contact me or one of the forum moderators. We will be happy to help you any way we can.

What's this? By now most of you have noticed a new button below the menu in the blue column to your left. Viewers can now submit events to the Upcoming Events page of this website. Anyone may use this form to post any event of interest to the River Ridge community. You can post such events as dances, tournaments, kids activities, festivals, fireworks displays, Adopt-a-Highway cleanup, fund raisers by local agencies like the fire department and rescue squad, tournaments at other golf courses, etc. If you know of an upcoming event in or around River Ridge or if you are sponsoring an event please post it to share with others.

Simply fill in the form with details and you are done. This will publish an announcement on the Upcoming Events page and also automatically create a banner for your event which will start scrolling across the main page of this website 5 days prior to the start date of the event.

There are only 5 required areas of the form but space is allotted for much more information. Brief instructions are provided under each blank to help you along. If you don't need to use that blank just leave it empty. Required blanks must be filled in however it is always best to include as much information as possible.

5 Required Fields:

1. Event Title (color option)
2. Start Date
3. Start Time
4. Location (color option)
5. Contact Information

When you click the Preview button you will see exactly how your announcement will appear along with the banner. If there are mistakes in your input you will be alerted to these and can make corrections prior to submitting.

You may play around with the form by clicking on the View Demonstration button at the bottom of the instructions. The demo will show you what the announcement will look like with all fields (blanks) filled in. You can change or delete information and change the color selection(s). Don't worry, you can't mess up anything and if you do find a way please let me know so I can fix it.

You cannot submit the demo form. If you decide to submit a bogus event to see how this works from start to finish please type something into the last box on the form (Message To Webmaster) like Test or Do not submit or something to that effect so it will not get posted.

Please check the Upcoming Events page prior to submitting an event to make sure it has not already been posted. If you have information you would like added to an existing announcement please use the Contact Webmaster button in the menu column and I'll be happy to add it for you.

In order to get the 100 AMP service in lieu of two 50 AMP services you must marry your lots and have the composite plat recorded at the Mecklenburg County Courthouse. Each lot is entitled to no more than 50 amps at 120/240 volts. Once married the lots can never again be divided.

If you wish to get the two lots married the process is quite simple. It costs around $140.00 to do a composite plat for the two lots. You need only send copies of the deeds for both properties along with lot numbers, etc. and contact information. The property does not need to be surveyed. When the composite is complete you can pick it up or upon payment have it mailed to you. To obtain a composite plat please contact:
Take the composite plat to the Zoning office in Boydton and have the Zoning Administrator approve it (no cost) and then go to the courthouse and record the plat. The cost to record the new plat is about $23.00.

You would then give a copy of the recorded plat to Rita Southerland at the Association office. At the appropriate time Rita will write the work order authorizing maintenance to install a 100 amp 2-pole breaker in one pedestal serving the married lots. You must provide a copy of the recorded plat.

If you need assistance or have any questions please contact:
Click here for complete details of the electrical upgrades from start to finish, necessary documentation, questions or comments.

I try my best to research all information posted on this website and in reviewing the online boating safety course from my earlier post I became intrigued with the information and decided I would attempt to obtain MY certificate. Keep in mind I do not own a boat nor am I what I would consider a boat person. Most of my boating experience has been as a passenger when invited by friends to join them on their boat and the best I can do is find out how many people will be aboard so I can pack a picnic lunch large enough to accommodate everyone.

I decided to take the online course from my post on March 17, 2013. The proof is in the paper! Click on the image to your left to see a copy of the certificate I received upon completion of the course. This course is provided by Boat US and is approved by the NASBLA (National Association of Boating Law Administrators) and recognized by the U.S. Coast Guard.

The course is divided into 6 sections each with a 10 question test at the end. You must score 90% or better to pass each section.

1. Boats and the Marine Environment
2. Boating Equipment
3. Trip Planning and Preparation
4. Safe Boat Operation
5. Emergency Preparation
6. Boating Activities

There is a brief video at the beginning showing you how to register, use the study materials provided, take the test and obtain your certificate. As soon as you satisfactorily complete the course you will have a certificate you can print out on your home printer. All study material is provided (online) at no charge. The best thing about this test (besides being FREE) is you can do it at your convenience. If you need (or want) to stop you can save your place and when you return you will come back to where you left off.

The website states it will take approximately 3 hours to complete the test. I can only assume that time frame is for those already familiar with the material and only need a quick review. As a non-boat person I can honestly tell you it took me longer than 3 hours.

Take The FREE Boating Safety Course Now!
There is NO CHARGE for the course or the certificate!
If you are a boat or jet ski owner/operator interested in taking the FREE Online Boating Safety Course and getting your certificate of completion click here to get started. By the year 2016 the state of Virginia will require completion of an approved boating safety course by all motorboat operators, regardless of age. View my earlier post (scroll down) to see what year you need to have yours.

Even if you are only a full time passenger it's a good idea to at least review the study materials and educate yourself on boating safety and what to do in an emergency situation. Good luck, have fun and safe boating!

River Ridge Rules

Boat stickers were due on January 1, 2013. All boats must have a sticker placed on the bow, portside (left front) of your boat. These stickers must be visible from the security window when entering the back gate.

Also required this year, you must have your lot number on the the tongue of your boat trailer on the left hand side.


New Virginia State Law

Below you will find information on the new law, boating courses, fees, exemptions, contact information and more.

What is the new law?
In 2007, the Virginia General Assembly enacted a law to establish a boating safety education compliance requirement that will depend on your age and boat type. The new law applies to all public waters of Virginia. All motorboat operators using a motor of 10 horsepower or greater (including boats documented by the U.S. Coast Guard) and also personal watercraft operators (i.e. jet ski) are affected by the new law. Sailboat operators do not have to meet the requirement unless the sailboat has a motor that is 10 hp or greater (whether or not the engine is running). A canoeist does not have to meet the requirement, nor does a kayaker, a rower, or operator of other manually propelled craft. See Virginia Code.

When Must I Get My Boating Safety Certificate?
The requirement for boating safety education is phased-in over several years according to the following schedule:

1. PWC operators 20 years of age or younger shall meet the requirements by July 1, 2009.
2. PWC operators 35 years of age or younger shall meet the requirements by July 1, 2010.
3. PWC operators 50 years of age or younger and motorboat operators 20 years of age or younger shall meet the requirements by July 1, 2011.
4. All PWC operators, regardless of age, and motorboat operators 30 years of age or younger shall meet the requirements by July 1, 2012.
5. Motorboat operators 40 years of age or younger shall meet the requirements by July 1, 2013.
6. Motorboat operators 45 years of age or younger shall meet the requirements by July 1, 2014.
7. Motorboat operators 50 years of age or younger shall meet the requirements by July 1, 2015.
8. All motorboat operators, regardless of age, shall meet the requirements by July 1, 2016.

Learn more about the Virginia Boating Education Law.

FREE Online Boating Course!
I found a website that offers a FREE online boating safety course approved by the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries.

The Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries offers an optional Lifetime Boater Card for a fee of $10.00. This is a permanent hard plastic card similar to your drivers license. To get card, click here to download the application from the DGIF (Department of Game and Inland Fisheries).

Boaters who complete a NASBLA (National Association of State Boating Law Administrations) Approved, DGIF accepted online course or meet the requirements are eligible for this card.