Cape Prepares for Irene

Our Cape community columnist reports on what the area is doing to prepare for the big storm.

After being rattled from this week’s East Coast earthquake, the Cape is now changing gears to prepare for Hurricane Irene. We didn’t invite her, but it looks like Irene is coming!  Around the Cape, residents are pulling their boats out of the water (half gone by 3 p.m. Friday afternoon), stocking up on food, and testing their generators. Others are bringing in lawn furniture or any other yard items that could blow away or cause damage in 50 MPH winds.  While this storm is not expected to be like Hurricane Isabel (fingers crossed), many Cape residents are remembering how so many community members volunteered to help each other and work together during the storm, especially with boats.  With most of the Cape on well water, stocking up on …

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In Irene’s Path

Locals stock up, prepare for hurricane to hit.

The Cape St. Claire Shopping Center was a busy place Thursday afternoon as local residents stocked up on groceries and supplies and prepared to ride out Hurricane Irene. As reported earlier today by Patch, the National Weather Service currently predicts that the center of Irene will approach Maryland early Sunday morning, with wind gusts between 74 and 110 miles per hour. The Weather Channel says the powerful storm churning at 14 mph up the East Coast has the potential to be the strongest to hit the northeast in a couple of decades. Yikes. Chris Timko of Cape St. Claire is among those taking the forecast seriously. He was standing in line at Cape True Value just after lunchtime with a 5-gallon gasoline container in his hand. He already had…

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The Cape Connection

Cape True Value Celebrates 10 Years

Women owned business focuses on community ties.

When their video store tenants left in 2001, Lee and Melissa Wade who owned several storefronts in the Cape St. Claire shopping center knew exactly what the Cape needed - a hardware store.  It was Melissa's job to find tenants for the commercial properties they owned.  Her initial plan was not to run a hardware store, but to interview and find someone who would. Melissa and Lee met with several people who were interested in renting that spot and making a go of a hardware store, but none of them seemed to have a proven track record or the wherewithal to pull it off.  After several months, she thought, "Why don't we just do it ourselves?" She told Lee, who was supportive, and that's how Cape True Value first became a part of our community. …

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