Hurricane Isabel destroyed many peoples’ homes on October 18th but it also damaged something that affects us all, Yorktown Beach. Isabel’s storm surge raised water all the way into the Yorktown Pub, Waterstreet Landing, and Nick’s Seafood. It broke windows and other structures but the beach itself received the most damage. The sand was misplaced and dragged away leaving only bare rock and tidal pools. The water also left tons of debris from tree branches to pieces of a roof. Isabel also had the strength to move almost all of the granite slab benches that line the newly built riverwalk. Also, the riverwalk itself was destroyed as thousands upon thousands of bricks were washed from there place and drifted as far as the Pub parking lot. After the Hurricane was over the beach was closed to the public and the National Guard assisted in protecting the area.

After Hurricane Isabel was over many of the area youth wondered about one their favorite hangouts. Many attempted to visit only to find the beach closed or roads stopped by fallen trees. York County Government, realizing the need for speedy clean-up, called upon volunteers and paid contractors alike to fix the beach. The call for volunteers was answered by the York County Youth Commission.

The Youth Commission is a body of 15 high school students from the county that act as a liaison from the youth of York County to the Board of Supervisors. If you or your friends ever have an issue with the way york County Government is run these are the people to contact. The Board of Supervisors respects and values the word of the commission. They hold monthly meetings where they discuss county issues and present ideas to the Board. If have any questions or concerns contact your York High School Youth Commissioners, Aneesh Venkat (Sr.), Julia Divito (Sr.), Jocelyn Shook (Sr.), Phillip Burns (Sr.), Ian Gallagher (Sr.), and Patrick Hart (So.).

In order to clean up the beach commissioners were given the task of either cleaning the debris off the beach or stacking bricks for the masons to lay later. The task was more than most bargained for but every one stepped up to the task. The debris movers stacked four large piles of various types of material. The brick stackers,numbering about 10, stacked more than 10 columns of five hundred bricks each making more than 5000 bricks stacked . The hard work paid off and the reconstruction is underway and the work done by the volunteers saved thousands of labor dollars for the county. None of the citizens will forget the repercussions of this disaster. Hurricane Isabel affected us all with the damage done to Yorktown Beach, thanks to the York County Youth Commission and other youth from around the county the beach is its way to being the beach we all know and love.