Category: Caroline County

"Marine Killed During Training At Fort A.P. Hill"

From NBC 4 in Washington, D.C.: Marine Killed During Training At Fort A.P. Hill:

A Marine was killed in a training accident Friday at Fort A.P. Hill in Caroline County.

Authorities said the Marine died after a Humvee overturned at about 9 a.m. during training. Four others in the vehicle suffered minor injuries.

A spokesman said the incident occurred on the post’s Convoy Live-Fire Range.

The victims’ names have not been released.

All five Marines were with the 1st Fleet Anti-terrorism Security Team — or FAST — Company based out of Norfolk. That company falls under the Second Marine Expeditionary Force based out of Camp Lejuene, North Carolina.

*Snicker* The poor woman…

From The Free Lance-Star: Theft case moves to feds to prosecute [emphasis mine]:

A Caroline County woman accused of stealing money from the private law firm of Caroline’s chief prosecutor is now under federal indictment.

Shelia [sic] Boone, 49, is charged with two federal counts of bank fraud and one of aggravated identity theft.

As a result of the federal charges, state embezzlement charges were dropped yesterday, said Richmond city prosecutor Sangeeta Darji.

Darji said the identity theft charge would carry a mandatory two-year minimum jail term if Boone is convicted.

Boone was a secretary for Harvey Latney, who is Caroline County’s commonwealth’s attorney and also runs a private law firm in Richmond. She is accused of stealing money–at least $271,000–from clients at Latney’s private law firm. She has charges in Caroline County.

Latney is not suspected of any wrongdoing. Boone no longer works for him, although she is still listed as his secretary on Caroline County’s government Web page. Boone is alleged to have forged Latney’s signature on checks to herself from an estate account.

The fraud was discovered when the commissioner of accounts, who oversees estates in escrow like this one was, did not receive reports from Latney on what was going on with the estate.

[…]

Boone’s federal court date has been set for Nov. 5 before Judge Henry Hudson.

Port Royal Volunteer Fire Department establishes Relief Fund for Captain Yvonne Reedal

From the Caroline County Sheriff’s Office: Port Royal Volunteer Fire Department establishes Relief Fund for Captain Yvonne Reedal:

Port Royal Volunteer Fire Department Assistant Chief David Jenkins announced today the establishment of a financial relief fund for fire and rescue volunteer Yvonne Reedal. Yvonne has suffered a cancer relapse and cannot return to work for an indefinite period. Yvonne has actively volunteered in Caroline for over 20 years. Additionally she serves the County as an emergency 911 communication officer, working for Caroline for eight years. Yvonne has given unselfishly of herself to others, now her Department is asking for others to aid her in her time of need.

Persons interested in offering financial support may send donations to the:

Relief Fund for Yvonne Reedal
C/o Union Bank and Trust
P.O. Box 98
Bowling Green, VA 22535

Donations may also be made at any branch of Union Bank and Trust.

For more information, contact J.P. Wilkerson with the Port Royal Volunteer Fire Department at (804)742-5509, David Jenkins, Assistant Chief, Port Royal Volunteer Fire Department Phone: (804) 742-5505, or Sheriff Tony Lippa.

Caroline County has the lowest SAT scores in the region…

From The Free Lance-Star: Local Sat Scores Drop College Boards Area Schools Behind State, U.S. Average:

Average SAT scores dropped this year for Fredericksburg-area school divisions, all of which received lower marks than the state and country as a whole.

[…]

Culpeper County was the only local school division to see improvement in all three of the Scholastic Aptitude Test’s categories: math, critical reading and writing.

[…]

Meanwhile, the private Fredericksburg Academy in Spotsylvania County increased its scores for the fifth straight year. It’s average of 1760 is 240 points higher than the state’s.

[…]

Administrators from Spotsylvania, Caroline and King George could not be reached for comment on SAT scores.

Not only were they the lowest, but they were 25.06% off of Fredericksburg Academy’s average, 13.22% off the Virginia average, and 12.71% off of the national average. Meanwhile they’re paying $7,952.68 per student (operating budget only) and they have the lowest SAT scores in the area.

Here’s a .XLS (Excel worksheet) with the scores since you can’t see the image at fredericksburg.com.

Bowling Green murder trial begins

From the Richmond Times-Dispatch: Bowling Green murder trial begins:

Jury selection continues this afternoon in the murder trial of a Caroline County man charged in the fatal workplace shooting of his boss.

Thomas E. Monroe, 67, is charged with first-degree murder in the Nov. 17 slaying of David Ganoe, a well-known county school-system maintenance supervisor. Ganoe, 51, also coached youth sports.

Attorneys in the case are expected to make opening statements later this afternoon.

Monroe is accused of shooting Ganoe in Ganoe’s office adjacent to Bowling Green Elementary School. Monroe had lost his job with the school system a day earlier, though school officials and investigators so far have declined to disclose the circumstances.

Monroe also is charged with assaulting Ganoe’s secretary, who witnessed the altercation.

He turned himself in to authorities shortly after the shooting.

Monroe faces a maximum penalty of life in prison if convicted of the murder charge. The trial is expected to continue through the week.

This is rich… Part 2

Part 1

Apparently Damon Gray was told to take a hike by the Caroline County Democratic Committee:

From The Caroline Progress (print edition, September 5, 2007, p. 6): To Whom It May Concern [emphasis mine]:

To Whom It May Concern

Be it known that any Board of Supervisors Candidate wanting to obtain the Caroline County Democratic Party Nomination for the November 6th 2007 Election must have filed the following documents on or before April 13th 2007 at 5:00 p.m.

Candidates to be determined by a Primary Election/Mass Meeting must have filed:

  1. Petition of Qualified Voters (125 signatures of registered voters in the district) (signatures not required for Mass Meeting)
  2. Statement of Organization
  3. Certificate of Candidate Qualification
  4. Declaration of Candidacy
  5. Receipt for payment of Primary Filing fee
  6. Statement of Economic Interests

The documents must be filed with the chair of the political party, the General County Registrar and the Electoral Board. The Primary filing fee must be filed with the County Treasurer.

No candidate filed for the Democratic Party Nomination in the Bowling Green or Madison Magisterial Districts.

And further proof that Damon Gray is an idiot, from the The Free Lance-Star (June 30, 2001): Base builder now facing drug charges [emphasis mine]:

A Caroline County business owner was charged this week with heading to work at Fort A.P. Hill with drugs in his possession, police said.

Damon Lee Gray, 49, is charged with possessing a controlled substance and possession of marijuana, Caroline Sheriff Homer Johnson said.

Gray owns and operates the Sparta General Store, a popular store in the community south of Bowling Green.

He also has a construction business and is one of the contractors working at A.P. Hill in preparation for the upcoming Boy Scout Jamboree. Johnson said Gray has done excellent work on several county churches.

Johnson said a regional drug task force and others began investigating Gray and others after receiving complaints that Gray and his crew were smoking marijuana at the Army base work sites.

The task force, which includes officers from Caroline, Fluvanna and Louisa counties, had Gray and others under surveillance for a few weeks. The Provost Marshal’s Office at A.P. Hill assisted the task force.

On Tuesday morning, Johnson said, Gray was stopped by military authorities on the Army base. Individuals on federal bases are subject to search without a warrant, Johnson said.

Johnson said police found marijuana and Percocet in Gray’s possession. He did not have a prescription for the painkiller, the sheriff said.

Johnson said an investigation into alleged drug activities involving others is ongoing.

Johnson said it is his understanding that Gray won’t be allowed to work at A.P. Hill pending the outcome of his case. But he said it shouldn’t affect the Jamboree.

“The Scouts are coming as scheduled,” Johnson said. “It will take more than this to slow them down.”

What an idiot…

From Percy Ashcraft’s Message from the County Administrator September, 2007:

[…]

All county residents are encouraged to register for the new Caroline Alert System. The system will notify residents of emergencies and other government news through their cell phones and desktop computers. This is a free service offered by the Board of Supervisors. Click on https://www.CarolineAlert.com to register.

“[O]ffered by the Board of Supervisors”? Are they paying for it out of their own pockets? No! The service is being offered (via tax payers) by Caroline County (specifically Director Ed Fuzy and the Caroline County Department of Fire, Rescue, and Emergency Management).

[…]

Here is a capsule glance of other activities that will be happening in County government during the month of September:

[…]

  • Renovations to the Animal Shelter will be completed this month and the improvements will bring the facility into compliance with state regulations.

We’re still waiting on that new animal shelter we been promised for years. Maybe if you laid off the trips to Hawaii, the $1,100,000 visitor’s center [see below], and the $17,460.20 salaries for supervisors we might be able to afford one.

  • Construction of the new Visitor’s Center along Route 207 will continue this month. The developer of Belmont contributed $1.1 million to help construct the facility, with the remainder of the funds coming from TEA 21 appropriations.

Nice use of proffer money that should be going to roads, schools, and public safety (maybe even an animal shelter).

[…]

  • County staff and consultants continue to work on a proposal that will allow the County to withdraw water from the Rappahannock River in the future. The Department of Environmental Quality must grant its approval before water can be withdrawn.

Because it’s a brilliant idea to run water lines across a county from Port Royal to Ladysmith for salt water that will need to go through desalination and be repressurized repeatedly.

[…]

  • Construction is underway on the new Ladysmith Elementary School.

What about the repairs/upgrades for Bowling Green Primary School, Bowling Green Elementary School, and Ladysmith Primary School?

  • Construction is underway of a new skateboard park to be located at the County Park across from Caroline Middle School.

Skateboard park? $45,000 for a skateboard park? Good use of tax payers’ money there.

[…]

  • Officials of the Rappahannock Community Services Board are building a new facility in Caroline County across from Caroline High School. The property was donated by the Board of Supervisors.

Did the Board of Supervisors own the damn property? No! The property belonged to Caroline County!

[…]

  • A cost analysis and design of the new Sparta Fire Station will continue this month.

That was requested and approved last year and you haven’t even finished the cost analysis and design?

  • The Board of Supervisors approved the purchase of the Union Bankshares building in Bowling Green at its June 26 meeting. Moseley Architects will begin final design of the floor plan for the offices which will include housing the Commissioner of the Revenue, Treasurer, County Administration and possibly the Registrar.

First, it’s Commissioner of Revenue, not Commissioner of the Revenue. Second, I don’t see the seventy-five (75) personnel there that you talked about previously. In fact, I only see twenty (20) to twenty-one (21) full time positions period. Meanwhile, the Sheriff’s Office and Emergency Services have eighty-eight (88) full time positions that could have used a public safety building.

  • A Tea 21 grant to fund landscaping improvements in and around the courthouse complex was announced in May by the Commonwealth Transportation Board. The improvements will improve safety for pedestrians walking between buildings and should provide additional parking.

Closing Ennis Street is going to increase safety for pedestrians? How are the prison transport vans supposed to get into the Circuit Court building? Now you’re going to have people that are being held on felonies out in the open where God only knows what could happen.

“[S]hould provide additional parking”? It either is or isn’t; you already paid for it and you don’t know?

Justice in Caroline? Nope, just nolle prosequis. Part 5, apparently it’s okay to assault law enforcement officers.

From The Free Lance-Star (August 23, 2007): Police briefs:

A man who was to be arraigned and tried for a felony assault and battery of a Caroline County sheriff’s deputy yesterday ended up with two months in jail, which he had already served.

John Lamont Walton repeated the words “thank you” over and over after finding out that Commonwealth’s Attorney Harvey Latney would reduce his charges to a misdemeanor assault if he’d plead guilty.

The judge ordered him to serve six months in jail, four suspended with credit for time served and to pay his court costs. Walton had already served two months in jail.

The deputy he was charged with assaulting, J.K. Miller didn’t testify.

  • John Lamont Walton’s partial criminal history (felonies in bold, nolle prosequi by Harvey Latney in italics):
    • August 22, 2007, Caroline County Circuit:
      • Guilty – Assault and battery [knock back from felony assault on a law enforcement officer].
    • June 8, 2007, Caroline County General District:
      • Nolle prosequi – Assault on law enforcement officer.
      • Nolle prosequi – Obstruction of justice.
      • Nolle prosequi – Disorderly conduct.
      • Nolle prosequi – Spitting in public place.
      • Nolle prosequi – Spitting in public place.
    • June 2, 2006, Caroline County General District:
      • Guilty – Assault and battery.
    • December 5, 2003, Caroline County General District:
      • Guilty – Petit larceny.
      • Guilty – Driving on suspended license.
      • Guilty – Reckless driving.

Armed robbery in Carmel Church.

From the Richmond Times-Dispatch: Caroline store clerk wounded:

A convenience-store clerk was shot during an attempted armed robbery in Caroline County this morning.

Three males wearing ski masks entered an Exxon station in the Carmel Church area around 1:50 a.m. and demanded money, Caroline Sheriff Tony Lippa said.

The gunman fired one warning shot at the clerk after his demands were not met, then shot the clerk once in the hand. The clerk was transported to a local hospital for treatment of an injury that was not life-threatening, Lippa said.

The suspects fled in a tan-colored minivan, possibly a Ford Windstar, and headed in an unknown direction. They are described as three males, with the gunman wearing a black hooded sweatshirt with “South Pole” on it.

Anyone with information is asked to call an anonymous tip line at (804) 633-1133.