Archives for May 2023

by Sharon Curran Wright

During a recent interview with Cody Davis, Director/Chief of the Buckingham Department of Emergency Services, Davis said that, as of December of 2020, the Buckingham County Volunteer Rescue Squad had transitioned all of its operations over to the Buckingham County Department of Emergency Services. After 50 years of excellent service by volunteers, the county responded to a dwindling volunteer force and increasing administrative requirements by staffing positions with county employees. A number of those who previously volunteered are now on staff, and three continue
to volunteer with BCDES. 

One of the first orders of business by the county was to remodel, expand, and reopen the Glenmore Station. Doing this drastically decreased response times to the northern part of the county and allowed better services to citizens in that part of Buckingham. 

Two new ambulances – one of which already has more than 100,000 miles on it – serve the county. Through grants and other funding support, BCDES has been able to place new heart monitors into service and new state-of-the-art airway placement technology. A new utility terrain vehicle for accessing remote patients and new ventilators will be placed into service soon. In addition to these new assets, the department is also working on implementing new and improved patient care protocols and unveiling programs and initiatives that will enhance care in Buckingham County. 

At the time that the county took control, there were roughly 1800 calls for service being handled annually. This number continues to increase and is now at roughly 2200-2300 annually. While the number of calls is increasing in general, the biggest reason for the spike in numbers over the last two years is that Buckingham is handling more of its own calls rather than having to request mutual aid assistance. This is a benefit of our increasing number of staffed ambulances in the county.

Davis believes that the county has benefitted from the transition by having more personnel and more medic-level staff as well as by the addition of more reliable and advanced equipment. He points out that the staff is composed primarily of Buckingham County residents, which promotes a sense of ownership, pride, and compassion. Davis hopes that the current department supports and protects county citizens as well as the volunteer force did for so many years. 

Davis gives credit to the Buckingham County Board of Supervisors, County Administrator, County Attorney, and the citizens. Their support of BCDES has been paramount to the department’s  success.

by Sharon Curran Wright

Kathie and Michael Boyce had a dream of leaving city life behind, buying some land, and living a different life. To that end, they bought property in Buckingham County and established KMB Farms, where they keep bees, grow garlic and berry bushes, and will soon be making fruit wines. 

This summer they will open Muddy Paws Winery, its name a tip of the hat to the 17 dogs that they have rescued over the years. Wines will be made, bottled, and sold on site. The Boyces have been making fruit wines for 15 years, having learned the craft by joining amateur wine groups that met monthly, sharing ideas, tips, tricks, and recipes. Among their favorite fruit wines that they have made are elderberry, raspberry, apricot, apple, strawberry, cherry, and pomegranate. Because they are beekeepers, they also make various meads. Stone fruits for their wines will be harvested from an established orchard that they lease in Nelson County; they plan to grow their own berry bushes and some grapevines. 

According to Mike, fruit wines are typically sweeter than grape wines and true to the fruit flavor. A fruit wine will ferment in eight weeks, so a fresh batch will be produced at Muddy Paws every eight weeks. Muddy Paws Winery can do five batches at a time, and they plan to have that many available at the “soft” opening of the winery in late spring. They also plan to open on weekends this summer with a grand opening planned in October. 

In addition to offering unusual wines, Muddy Paws Winery will have a tasting room and outdoor seating in a wooded area so patrons can enjoy the natural setting. A fenced-in dog park area will promote play with pets and interaction among pet lovers. Patrons will be able to stroll through gardens and a nature trail. Unique “Wine and Star Night” events will center around a 600-pound antique Newtonian telescope that is 10 feet long and a foot in diameter, built in Michigan in the 1930s. It is powerful enough to see all the planets and some binary stars.

Muddy Paws Winery is located on KMB Farms, an enterprise already familiar to many in Buckingham County. At KMB Farms, Michael grows garlic and sells garlic products including smoked garlic powder and garlic cooking wine. Kathie started handcrafting soaps from natural ingredients 18 years ago and now includes salves, lip balms, creams, and laundry detergent in her inventory. She makes a soap for soothing poison ivy,
pine tree body butter, and goat’s milk hand
cream. In all of her soaps, Kathie sources shea butter from women in a village in Ghana, a business decision that aids entrepreneurship among women in that country.

Both Kathie and Mike love to experiment with ingredients to come up with new products. After discovering that some cleaning products contain chemicals that are toxic to dogs, they created a spray out of natural ingredients that is safe and actually cleans better.

The motto for KMB Farms is “Right Next Door to Nature.” They use no artificial ingredients, and their products are all natural “with nothing you can’t pronounce,” as Mike likes to say. They don’t use pesticides, herbicides, or fungicides. The packaging they use is biodegradable or reusable. 

KMB Farms products can be found at the Scottsville Farm Market or on the farm itself. The Muddy Paws website and KMB Farms Facebook page will carry announcements about upcoming events.  For more information, call (301) 305-2773.

There were over 30 entries in the 2024 Buckingham Photo Contest. The Grand Prize was $75, 1st place in each category received $30, 2nd places received $20 and 3rd places received $10. All winners received ribbons. The 2024 categories were: Buckingham County Events; Farm Animals & Pets; Wildlife (Animals, Birds, Insects); Nature; Historic and Vintage, plus Youth Entries. Entries in the 2025 contest will be accepted from April 1st to July 15th. The photos must be taken (preferably digital so they can be professionally published) in Buckingham County and both the Buckingham Chamber and Buckingham County must be given permission  to use them.

For an application and/or rules for this years’ contest, call the Buckingham Chamber at
983-2372 or you can download an entry form at www.buckinghamchamberofcommerce.com