Category: Caroline County

Weekly News Media Briefs – Week Ending March 22, 2008

From the Caroline County Sheriff’s Office: Weekly News Media Briefs – Week Ending March 22, 2008:

On March 18, 2008, Deputy C. A. Heywood stopped a vehicle for a reckless driving speed violation.  During the stop, Deputy Heywood detected an odor associated with marijuana coming from the vehicle, upon investigating further, Scott Anthony, 26, of Fredericksburg, was charged with reckless driving and possession of marijuana.  A court date is set on May 14, 2008.

On March 18, 2008, Lieutenant J. H. Crowder responded to a vehicle in the ditch near 994 Swann Lane, Ruther Glen.  Upon investigating, Bernard McCargo, 46, of Beltsville, MD, was arrested for driving under the influence and refusal to submit to a breath test.  He was held under a $2000 bond and an arraignment date of March 19, 2008 was set.

On March 19, 2008, Deputy M. J. O’Connor responded to a Ruther Glen address for a domestic assault call.  After investigating, Cantrell Green, 19, of Ruther Glen was charged with domestic assault.  He was released on a personal recognizance pending a March 25, 2008 court date.

On March 19, 2008, Deputy G. J. Hamilton responded to a Ruther Glen address for a disturbance call.  After investigation, Lloyd V. Ferguson, 49, Ruther Glen was arrested for being drunk in public and was later found in possession of a metal smoking device containing residue of cocaine.  Ferguson was held on a $1000 secure bond, and a trial date of May 28, 2008 was set.

On March 19, 2008, Deputy C. M. Polliard stopped a vehicle for a traffic infraction.  After investigating, Robert P. McMullen, 37, of Mechanicsville, MD was charged with driving under the influence, open container of an alcoholic beverage and speeding.  He was held on a $1500 secure bond and a court date of March 26, 2008 was set.

Caroline County Sheriff’s Office Wrap Up

According to Sheriff Tony Lippa, Caroline Deputies made 10 drug arrests, 1 DUI arrest, 9 domestic violence arrests, and 45 other criminal arrests during the past week.  The deputies served 200 civil papers, issued 139 traffic summonses, handled 4 motor vehicle crashes, responded to 29 alarm calls, and dealt with 12 juvenile offenders.  The Sheriff’s Office Communications Center dispatched 363 calls for service and handled 1,012 telephone inquiries.  The CCSO also logged 25 calls assisting outside agencies and had 199 self initiated calls.

Crack ****ing journalism from The Free Lance–Star.

From The Free Lance–Star: Overruns still raising concerns at LOW:

“I believe the audit report was clear in noting there was lots of blame to go around,” wrote LOW Association President Eldon Rucker in an e-mail last week. “The board of directors plans to deal with the recommendations and make changes in our processes where appropriate.”

The ad hoc committee’s report was released on March 1 and was reported in The Free Lance-Star the next day. Headlines on the story mistakenly attributed the $320,000 cost overruns to Caroline County Supervisor Bob Popowicz, who was the project manager through most of the construction.

Yeah, and for three months you have been maligning him.

You let someone state he had a relationship that was “too close” with the contractor and now all you can say is “Opps, my bad”?

“Mr. Popowicz was not singled out by the committee and many of us can, and do, share the responsibility for the overrun,” Director Neil Buttimer wrote in an e-mail last week. “We recognize that we experienced some budgetary problems that we are addressing, but no single individual was responsible.”

Popowicz left his job as assistant general manager at Lake of the Woods in early October 2007. Four of the six change orders were approved after he left.

There is general agreement that some of the change orders were necessitated by lapses in design and planning, such as a $96,000 additional cost for a fire-sprinkler system the contractor neglected to get flow and pressure data for, and $54,000 for additional kitchen equipment.

Although Popowicz served as project manager for the Woods Center construction, the Lake of the Woods’ operations manual states that the general manager is responsible for approving the purchase of all goods and services over $5,000.

In two letters to The Free Lance-Star, Popowicz took responsibility for signing four of the change orders, but he noted that they were ordered or approved first by the general manager. He also noted that change orders were often necessitated “by government and regulatory agencies” and were not anticipated by the contractors.

[…]

General Manager John Bailey also declined to comment.

PAYING FOR OVERRUNS

Now that the Woods Center is up and running, a major concern is how Lake of the Woods will pay for the cost overruns. Although the board of directors removed $144,000 from the original contract it signed with Century Construction with the idea that the work would be done in house or by separate contract it neglected to budget the money for that work.

The Russians are coming! The Russians are coming!

Oh wait, it’s just the United States Navy: The Free Lance–Star:

Before a Norfolk-based Navy squadron heads to Iraq, it will be training for combat on the Rappahannock River.

Navy Lt. Michael Quaresimo, a training officer with Little Creek Naval Amphibious Base, said a 12-person team will conduct exercises on the river Tuesday through Thursday.

Quaresimo said training would occur within 21/2 miles east and west of the Port Royal bridge on U.S. 301, as well as at Fort A.P. Hill in Caroline County.

[…]

He encouraged people boating on the river not to approach the Navy gunboats, for safety reasons.

Yeah, I would recommend staying away from the *cough*SEALs*cough*.

UPDATE: For those doubting my SEAL conclusion, according to Wikipedia:

Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek, a naval base in Virginia Beach, Virginia, is home to SEAL Teams 2, 4, 8 and 10.

Crime down in Caroline County!

Richmond Times-Dispatch reports:

The Times-Dispatch analyzed data for Type 1 offenses — homicide, aggravated assault, rape, robbery, burglary, larceny, auto theft and arson — for the 24 counties, cities and towns in the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area that report crime separately.

Total incidents Crime rate per 100,000
Locality 2006 2007 2006 2007
Caroline County 565 501 21.8 18.8

That’s a 11.3% decline!

Talk about hitting the nail on the head…

From a recent letter to The Free Lance–Star:

I recently discovered the FredTalk feature of this paper’s Web site, fredericksburg.com. I was excited to find that there was a place to discuss my views on letters to the editor.

However, I soon bailed out when these replies consisted, for the most part, of the worst epidemic of flaming I have seen anywhere on the Web.

For those who don’t know, “flaming” is the act of insulting and demeaning others online.

Fredericksburg.com seems to have become a breeding ground for flamers from every walk of life. There are the radical liberals and the radical conservatives. There are the most ridiculous conspiracy theorists I have seen anywhere, and I witnessed a post by at least one anarchist.

All these people had one thing in common: They refused to listen to any opposing views, and thus started “flame wars” that quickly engulfed the posts of the few calm, logical, respectful members on the site.

I abandoned my quest to voice my opinions and left these self-destructive bigots to their pointless arguing.

Still, it’s a pity that fredericksburg.com has become a haven for these sorts, who have quickly turned a respectable source of news into a battleground.

Don’t I know it.

And for another case in point, just check out the insults directed towards Danny Carter, a respected member of the Caroline County community:

“franne64”, 03/21/08 11:41 PM:

I was told that Danny Carter (Village Self Storage)and a few people he knows was opening Iverson’s. It has been in the making for 3-4 years. Not heard about any bar, but was told that it will be a high class (proper attire), pricey place that would require reservations.

“blulady”, 03/21/08 11:46 PM:

Chuckle… chuckle….

“hopeful47”, 03/21/08 11:58 PM:

Franne, you mean you know the mayor of Ladysmith way over on that side of the county

“blulady”, 03/22/08 12:00 AM:

I cant help but laugh…..

“franne64”, 03/22/08 12:05 AM:

From working in the field of construction for all these years, not many I do not know.
But he can be quite the character

“blulady”, 03/22/08 12:08 AM:

Quite the ladies man, huh girls ?

“franne64”, 03/22/08 12:09 AM:

Yeah right…….lol.

“hopeful47”, 03/22/08 12:10 AM:

danny – ladies man…thats putting it mildly….
about the restaurant, what I was told that the name Iversons is what Tom named it after his deceased father.
heard danny among others are investors in the restaurant.

“blulady”, 03/22/08 12:12 AM:

In his own mind, lol
Who is the old guy that tans all the time in hollywood & wears the gold?? Mayor Dan is Ladysmiths version.

“hopeful47”, 03/22/08 12:13 AM:

he really is a nice guy.
and if you don’t believe it – just ask him he will tell you the same thing lol

“franne64”, 03/22/08 12:16 AM:

Got the name of the tip of my tongue……Hamilton?
That is who Danny reminds me of.
He is a nice guy, but he does portray himself as a person he isn’t. But then again this forum has a few of those floating around here.

“blulady”, 03/22/08 12:19 AM:

I agree ,

“hopeful47”, 03/22/08 06:41 AM:

right, Hamilton — George Hamilton. Always tan and dripping in gold jewelry…..
yep lots of them floating around

Susan Sili aka “oharascarlett”, 03/22/08 06:46 AM:

yall are killing me on Danny, I am rolling, rolling rolling rolling.
Yall better hope he don’t read this cause he is one preeening peacock! None of us will get in Iversons.

Interesting way to talk about someone that volunteers his time to organize a event which is the largest source of income for Caroline County Little League.

Interesting way to talk about someone that volunteers his time on the Caroline County Strategic Planning Review Committee.

Interesting way to talk about someone that received a special invitation for his support of the fair by the Caroline County Agricultural Fair Board.

Interesting way to talk about someone that volunteers his time on the Sheriff’s Business Advisory Team.

You know, I may talk trash about people, but at least I have the fortitude to do it using my real name (and I don’t act like I’m buddies with the people either).

Classy [trashy] as ever folks.

S-bag robs paraplegic, gets arrested, gets charged with four felonies.

The Free Lance–Star: Paraplegic’s prescriptions object of residential heist:

It was about 4:30 a.m. yesterday morning when Robert Newcomb’s front door was kicked in.

[…]

Newcomb, a paraplegic, soon realized what the intruder was looking for: prescription drugs.

The robber made his way through the mobile home, located in the Cedar Ridge Mobile Home Park in Woodford, near Corbin. He then came into Newcomb’s bedroom, which was lit only by the TV.

“He pointed the sawed-off 20-gauge shotgun at me and he asked for my pain medication,” Newcomb said. “Then he demanded oxycontin.”

After getting some drugs he didn’t want the moron came back looking for the “good stuff”.

And he was arrested the next day:

Sheriff Tony Lippa announced tonight the arrest of Joshua Thomas, 20, of Corbin. Thomas has been charged with breaking and enter with the intent to commit larceny; armed robbery; possession of a sawed off shotgun; and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony. The charges stem from a home invasion robbery that was reported to the Caroline Sheriff’s Office on March 19, 2008 at approximately 3 a.m. Case Investigator M. M. Ellett handled the investigation and placed the charges.

Thomas is being held without bond in Pamunkey Regional Jail. As this is still an ongoing investigation, no further information is being released at this time.

And considering the fact that the media loves reporting all the bad things that happens in Caroline County, NBC 4 has ran a story about the crime (but not the arrest) and the crime has also made the Associated Press’s Virginia wire — hooray.

WWBT’s story:

[googlevideo=http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7922909965727967075]

Okay, maybe a couple of people at the General Assembly aren’t complete idiots…

Well, at least a couple of the Delegates and Senators that worked out the budget had some sense. The following was included in the budget that was passed on March 13, 2008, in both the House of Delegates (99-Y 0-N) and the Senate of Virginia (26-Y 14-N):

Administration FY 08-09 FY 09-10
Compensation Board $337,007 $318,907 GF
Language:
Page 53, line 19, strike “$67,102,122” and insert “$67,439,129”.
Page 53, line 19, strike “$67,102,122” and insert “$67,421,029”.
Explanation:
(This amendment provides general funds to convert four part-time Commonwealth’s Attorneys’ offices for Buckingham, Caroline, Charles City, and Middlesex counties from part-time to full-time status in accordance with § 15.2-1629, Code of Virginia.)

Interestingly, this was after the Senate of Virginia had previously decided not to convert any of the offices and the House’s budget only included money for one office — Buckingham County. And that was only because the subcommittee that approved the money had the Delegate (Abbitt) that represents Buckingham County as its chairman.

Looks like the conferees that worked it out had some sense.

I’m still going over the conference report and will post anything else interesting I find.

Weekly News Media Briefs – Week Ending March 15, 2008

From the Caroline County Sheriff’s Office: Weekly News Media Briefs – Week Ending March 15, 2008:

On March 7, 2008, Deputy T. P. Connolly stopped a vehicle for a traffic infraction. After investigating, Lawrence J. Minnick, 27, of King George was charged with driving on a suspended license – 3rd offense. He was released on a personal recognizance bond and an arraignment date of March 12, 2008 was set.

On March 7, 2008, Deputy C. A. Heywood responded to a burglary. After investigating, Ryan K. Kellum, 21, of Richmond was charged with property damage, possession of burglary tools, burglary and grand larceny. His bond and court information were not available.

On March 9, 2008, Deputy T. J. Ketchem stopped a vehicle for a traffic infraction. After investigating, Timothy L. Harris, 32, of Stafford was charged with driving under the influence and refusal to submit to a breath test. He was held under a $2500 bond and an arraignment date of March 14, 2008 was set.

On March 9, 2008, Deputy D. W. Mundie stopped a vehicle for a traffic infraction. After investigating, Arthur L. Carter, 49, of Milford was charged with driving after being declared an habitual offender, driving under the influence, and refusal to submit to a breath test. He was ordered held under a $3500 bond and a court date of March 12, 2008 was set.

On March 9, 2008, Deputy P. E. Ford stopped a vehicle for a traffic infraction. After investigating, Dwight C. Brown, Jr., was charged with driving on a suspended license. He was released on a personal recognizance bond and an arraignment date of March 14, 2008 was set.

On March 12, 2008, Deputy T. J. Ketchem responded to an incident in the courthouse. After investigating, David M. Wood, II, 18, of Fredericksburg was charged with damage to property. He was released on his own recognizance and a court date of March 19, 2008 was set.

On March 12, 2008, Deputy B. N. Doucet responded to a disorderly person at a business in Ladysmith. After investigating, Lloyd V. Ferguson, 49, of Ruther Glen was charged with being drunk in public and felony petit larceny – 3rd offense. He was ordered held without bond and a court date of March 28, 2008 was set.

On March 14, 2008, Deputy C. M. Polliard stopped a vehicle for a traffic infraction. After investigating, Jeffrey J. Stone, 46, of Ruther Glen was charged with driving under the influence and driving on a suspended driver’s license. He was released on his own recognizance and a court date of March 26, 2008 was set.

On March 14, 2008, Deputy C. M. Hall was made aware of a situation in the middle school. After investigating, a juvenile was charged with distribution of marijuana. The juvenile was ordered detained pending a court hearing.

Caroline County Sheriff’s Office Wrap Up

According to Sheriff Tony Lippa, Caroline Deputies made 3 drug arrests, 4 domestic violence arrests, and 30 other criminal arrests during the past week.  The deputies served 197 civil papers, issued 263 traffic summonses, handled 3 motor vehicle crashes, responded to 40 alarm calls, and dealt with 8 juvenile offenders.  The Sheriff’s Office Communications Center dispatched 413 calls for service and handled 1,006 telephone inquiries.  The CCSO also logged 29 calls assisting outside agencies and had 211 self initiated calls.

Guess she voted for it before she voted against it…or something…

The esteemed member of the Bowling Green Town Council Susan Sili (and the wife of Jeff Sili [Bowling Green representative for the Board of Supervisors]) really needs to get her story straight. Here’s what she said on November 28, 2007 on FredTalk using the alias “oharascarlett”:

Visitor Center is grant Money/cannot be used for anything else BUT a Visitor Center/TJ [Tom James] and Corran [my “alias” on FredTalk] have been told this over and over again but still keep spewing the same nonsense

Of course, in the same post she said that the “courthouse greenery” (Victory Park) was in the “architectural committee level to decide if it will even be done at all”. That very day [November 28th], The Caroline Progress reported the old jail had already been torn down that week as part of the “courthouse greenery” plan under the headline of “Old jail leveled for scenic Victory Park”.

Of course, again, in the same post she said the YMCA wasn’t a done deal, when the Board had already been voted on it way back in June of 2005.

Here’s what she said on December 10, 2007:

The visitor center/new office for Wilson was premature and will it ever be completed?

Here’s what she said on February 17, 2008:

The grant money and proffer money was given for the visitor center, cannot be traded for public safety or schools. Its not an either/or proposition as has been explained MANY times before to TJ, you can’t trade it in for another project.

Here’s what she said on March 14, 2008:

BigheadA, I had said along time ago, Why cant the BOS decide what to do with the Proffer Money? Could we have not said “thank you for your Donation, we will put this in our school system or Fire & Rescue” I am still upset that we wasted money on a visitors center, we have so many things that were more IMPORTANT !!!!!

Of course, the only reason she changed her tune was because the consensus of everyone on the message board was outrage at the current conditions of the schools (and the lack of use of proffers for the schools) in Caroline County. Guess she didn’t want to be odd-man (woman) out.

Wow, such amazing leadership we have here in Caroline County…

I’m just glad I don’t live in the town of Bowling Green…

So why did Caroline and Stafford Counties fail to meet ozone standards but Spotsylvania County and Fredericksburg didn’t?

As noted previously, Caroline and Stafford Counties failed to meet the EPA’s new ozone quality standards but Spotsylvania County and Fredericksburg didn’t. Care to guess why?

It’s because Spotsylvania County and Fredericksburg don’t have any ozone monitors!

In fact, there are only 26 ozone monitors in 21 different jurisdictions in all of Virginia:

ozone.png

It’s amazing that the AP and the Richmond Times-Dispatch actually published a news story when the whole basis of the story is government data whose methodology is so flawed it would be laughed at by anyone doing scholarly research. They only have data for 21 jurisdictions (out of 134 jurisdictions [95 counties and 39 independent cities]) but that doesn’t stop them from writing a story about the terrible ozone in the 14 jurisdictions (out of the 21 jurisdictions that have monitors) that failed to meet the EPA’s standards!

Thanks to commenter Larry Gross on Fred2Blue blog for pointing this out.