Election Day in SWAC area ... ongoing updates

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8jj4EZIaBRTzmY0S1p6zcxvD-GTkkxhB98dC7CybLP1ChSotCZRvnXlPMPoOWBEA7iiOtSpMZM6rEm6ppGzPXUYk5sToF7tHAokkyiHIde6lELSFZbkNT2IcybM6NwPhxuX9m5vZcREDa/s1600/voting+booth+graphic.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8jj4EZIaBRTzmY0S1p6zcxvD-GTkkxhB98dC7CybLP1ChSotCZRvnXlPMPoOWBEA7iiOtSpMZM6rEm6ppGzPXUYk5sToF7tHAokkyiHIde6lELSFZbkNT2IcybM6NwPhxuX9m5vZcREDa/s1600/voting+booth+graphic.jpeg" /></a></div><br />It's Election Day 2013 in Virginia. The polls are open ... voters are voting, candidate supporters are greeting them, and volunteers are sending them out the door with "I Voted" stickers.<br /><br />The weather is good ... a cold, frosty start to the day with temps in the 20s is expected to lead to a high in the 50s under overcast skies.<br /><br />What an odd year it has been with some newspapers <a href="http://www.swacgirl.blogspot.com/2013/11/no-gubernatorial-endorsements-from.html">refusing to endorse anyone for governor while others encouraged write-in votes for Lieutenant Governor Bill Bolling</a>. Many are happy to see this election cycle finally come to an end.  For many, it marks the finish of the daily barrage of campaign emails, robocalls, and television ads.<br /><br />Virginia is being considered a bellwether for the country. The tea party and Libertarian wings of the Virginia Republican Party have their dream team of candidates in Ken Cuccinelli, E.W. Jackson, and Mark Obenshain for governor, lieutenant governor, and attorney general. Four years after the Republican team led by Bob McDonnell and Bill Bolling swept into office with historic leads, will it happen again?<br /><br />This is a notoriously red area of the Commonwealth so what's going on in the central Shenandoah Valley area that includes Staunton, Waynesboro, and Augusta County? I'll pass along news as I hear it.<br /><br /><b>10:15 a.m.:</b> Churchville precinct had light but steady turnout. The voting location within Churchville Elementary School had been moved with only one table for check-in as opposed to the usual two. About half a dozen people were in line to sign in; two machines were in use. Interestingly, there was a card table set up with a McAuliffe sign and materials but no presence from the Republicans.<br /><br /><b>2:00 p.m.:</b> Wilson Precinct. Steady, light turnout continued.<br /><br /><b>7:10 p.m.:</b> Polls have closed and the wait begins for returns to be posted and announced.

Augusta County Bill Bolling Bob McDonnell E.W. Jackson Election 2013 Ken Cuccinelli Libertarians Mark Obenshain Shenandoah Valley Staunton SWAC tea party Waynesboro Election Day in SWAC area ... ongoing updates

It's Election Day 2013 in Virginia. The polls are open ... voters are voting, candidate supporters are greeting them, and volunteers are...

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2004 Bush-Cheney campaign sticker

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTOFooDb7sJZdOFs-xNmNJ-ZjxofqAQpSXIlM_4c9V8QxYqq4vKD9oETxBjRZvB-JKZ8ENrmjuMTSv_9uWkE6C3Ia5UFyOtasEZ3Qys-d_Hkrup3cyeN5SwvUSsLjPhr5RR4mvlYKMH7ux/s1600/14.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTOFooDb7sJZdOFs-xNmNJ-ZjxofqAQpSXIlM_4c9V8QxYqq4vKD9oETxBjRZvB-JKZ8ENrmjuMTSv_9uWkE6C3Ia5UFyOtasEZ3Qys-d_Hkrup3cyeN5SwvUSsLjPhr5RR4mvlYKMH7ux/s400/14.jpg" width="270" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I saw this Bush-Cheney '04 bumper sticker yesterday in Fishersville. It brought a smile to my face ... what a campaign! People practically fell in the door of GOP headquarters in Staunton trying to get yard signs and bumper stickers, and headquarters was constantly full of people from the community stopping by to talk or vent about the war, terrorism, and the state of the country. We ended up opening HQs seven days a week to accommodate everyone.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Yes, that bumper sticker brought back happy memories of a successful campaign. Cheers!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>Photo by Lynn R. Mitchell<br />August 26, 2013

2004 presidential campaign Augusta County Bush-Cheney 04 Dick Cheney George W. Bush political headquarters Staunton SWAC Waynesboro 2004 Bush-Cheney campaign sticker

  I saw this Bush-Cheney '04 bumper sticker yesterday in Fishersville. It brought a smile to my face ... what a campaign! People practic...

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SWAC area localities benefit from state tourism grants

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJtZ2ca0mg0HMaBCnQt-OopN7ox2YZ-30J6mlwIxalGw-R3DFxolNlBMMxOPnXy4nlEkL1PjOaRadaljl2OEQatafMSXjpZ_ZbC_NEtUSdBUPHJ1iOC0HR3bcAoOziAQuXIXFpfBiEhN04/s1600/LOVE+sign.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJtZ2ca0mg0HMaBCnQt-OopN7ox2YZ-30J6mlwIxalGw-R3DFxolNlBMMxOPnXy4nlEkL1PjOaRadaljl2OEQatafMSXjpZ_ZbC_NEtUSdBUPHJ1iOC0HR3bcAoOziAQuXIXFpfBiEhN04/s320/LOVE+sign.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><b>Staunton's Convention and Visitors Bureau</b> got the lion's share of Virginia Tourism Corporation’s Marketing Leverage Grant program for the Staunton-Waynesboro-Augusta County (SWAC) area, <a href="http://www.governor.virginia.gov/News/viewRelease.cfm?id=1941">announced on Thursday by Governor Bob McDonnell</a>, with $50,000 destined for use in tourism destination marketing, research, and planning.<br /><br />Tourism is a $20 billion a year revenue generator for the Commonwealth, generally providing 5:1 return in tax revenue and supporting 207,000 jobs. Dollars invested in tourism are proven to provide a 5:1 return in tax revenue for Virginia, and the grant awards and matching funds provide a stimulus to localities seeking to increase tourism visitation and revenue. <br /><br />Other SWAC localities receiving tourism grants are $3,466 to the <b>Stonewall Jackson Hotel and Conference Center</b> in downtown Staunton to increase bus tour business; $3,881 to the <b>Artisans Center of Virginia </b>for website development; and $5,000 to the <b>Waynesboro Tourism </b>for their Mountains to Main Street marketing campaign.<br /><br />Virginia's tourism industry is marketed as <a href="http://www.virginia.org/">Virginia Is For Lovers</a>, promoting love at the heart of every Virginia vacation.

Artisans Center Bob McDonnell Lynn R. Mitchell Staunton Convention and Visitors Bureau Staunton-Waynesboro-Augusta County Stonewall Jackson Hotel SWAC tourism grants Virginia Is For Lovers SWAC area localities benefit from state tourism grants

Staunton's Convention and Visitors Bureau got the lion's share of Virginia Tourism Corporation’s Marketing Leverage Grant program f...

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