Wednesday, February 29, 2012

State police continue investigation of fatal crash on I–95


State police continue investigation of fatal crash on I–95

A Virginia State Police crash team is investigating a recent deadly crash involving a tractor–trailer hauling a mobile X–ray clinic.
The driver of the truck, 47-year-old Thomas Allen Persons, died shortly after the big rig ran off Interstate 95 in Spotsylvania County on Feb. 23, according to Sgt. Les Tyler.
At 12:05 a.m., the southbound Volvo tractor–trailer ran off the right side of the interstate near the Thornburg exit, hit an embankment and rolled onto the driver’s side, according to Trooper R.A. Aldrich’s report.
Persons, of Waynesboro, Pa., was taken to Mary Washington Hospital, where he died about two hours after the crash.
The state police accident reconstruction team went to the scene and continues to look for a cause of the crash.
Tyler said it could have been anything from a medical emergency to fatigued driving.
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source: freelancestar

Town to be sued for shooting?


Town to be sued for shooting?

BY DONNIE JOHNSTON
Neither Culpeper Mayor Chip Coleman nor Town Manager Kim Alexander has heard anything new regarding a possible lawsuit by the husband of a woman shot and killed by an unidentified town police officer.
On Feb. 15 the town received a letter from David B. Kendall, a personal injury lawyer from Charlottesville, stating that he and Gregory Webb, also from Charlottesville, are representing Gary Cook, widower of Patricia A. Cook, the woman killed  Feb. 9.
There have been published reports saying that Cook may sue the town of Culpeper over the shooting death of his wife but to date no suit has been filed.
“We’re in a holding pattern until the state police conclude their investigation,” Webb said. “Once that is done, we’ll know where to go from there.”
Patricia Cook was shot in her car during an incident with an officer in a parking lot outside a Catholic school.
The 54-year-old woman was unarmed and had no criminal background other than a single traffic ticket a number of years ago.
Police say she rolled up her car window and trapped the unidentified officer’s arm as she began to drive away. At least one witness has said that the officer’s hand was on the door handle, not in the window, when the first shot was fired at point blank range through the glass.
The officer fired several more times into oncoming traffic on East Street as the car rolled to a stop against a utility pole. Cook was pronounced dead at the scene.
Fauquier County Commonwealth’s Attorney Jim Fisher has been appointed as special prosecutor for the case.
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Source; Freelancestar

1.8 magnitude aftershock felt early today


1.8 magnitude aftershock felt early today

Did you feel it? Tell us about it on our facebook page.

Yet another aftershock occurred near Louisa shortly after midnight today, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
This comes on the heels of a 2.70-magnitude aftershock that occurred in the same area on Feb. 19.
It was the latest in a long sporadic series of aftershocks that have occurred since the August 5.8-magnitude quake that was centered near Mineral.
A 2.5-magnitude aftershock occurred Jan. 18, for instance, 5 miles southwest of Mineral and 6 miles south-southeast of Louisa. Another 2.0-magnitude aftershock occurred about an hour after that one.
The region has experienced more than 80 aftershocks since the original quake.
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Source: Freelancestar

Woman punched, in serious condition


Woman punched, in serious condition

BY KEITH EPPS

A 29-year-old woman was knocked unconscious and seriously injured Friday when she was punched in the face outside a Fredericksburg nightspot.
City police spokeswoman Natatia Bledsoe said the incident occurred about 10:40 p.m. outside Central Station at 1917 Princess Anne Street.
The woman, a Stafford County resident, was heading toward the front door with her boyfriend and nephew when they were approached by another man.
A witness said that after a brief discussion, the man punched one of the woman’s companions in the face.
The woman intervened and was also punched in the face. She was knocked out immediately, and her head struck the ground.

The assailant then punched the second man before getting into the passenger side of what a witness described as a “boxy” car, possibly a Honda Element or a Toyota Scion, and leaving.
The woman was rushed to the hospital and admitted to the intensive care unit with life-threatening injuries, including bleeding on the brain.
Bledsoe said Monday that she didn’t have an official update on the woman’s condition, but she said she had heard that the victim was improving.
It was unclear what led to the punches being thrown. Police said the two men with the victim were highly intoxicated and unable to offer a lot of information.
A bouncer saw the incident, but the woman was already unconscious by the time he reached the scene.
The man who punched the woman was described as a light-skinned black man in his late 20s or early 30s, 6 feet tall and 230 pounds. He was clean shaven, with short cropped hair.

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Source: Freelancestar

Wednesday, February 22, 2012


Police investigate attack in Mayfield


A 51-year-old Fredericksburg woman was attacked with a metal object, possibly a gun, while visiting a friend in her neighborhood Friday night, city police said.

The incident occurred about 8:20 p.m. in the 1600 block of Airport Avenue in the Mayfield subdivision, police spokeswoman Natatia Bledsoe said.
The victim was getting into her car when a man ran up from behind and struck her in the head with what she believed was a handgun.

The woman fell to the ground, Bledsoe said, then got up and ran to the door of the nearest house, where she was assisted by the homeowner and 911 was called.
Nothing was taken from the victim, and she declined medical treatment.
The suspect was described only as a tall black male in his 20s wearing all black.

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Source: Freelancestar

Robbery ‘victim’ now a suspect

A man who started out as a robbery victim is now a suspect in the same robbery, police said.
Stafford Sheriff’s spokesman Bill Kennedy said the robbery took place Friday at a trailer on Dudley Lane in southern Stafford County.

Two men came to the front door about 4 p.m., displayed a handgun and ordered two people to the floor. They then got an undisclosed amount of money and left.
Sgt. Joe Bice’s investigation led to two suspects, and both were later arrested. Jason Ohr, 24, of Partlow Road in Caroline was arrested at a restaurant in Fredericksburg. While searching Ohr, Kennedy said, police found drugs and drug paraphernalia.

The second suspect was arrested a short time later at a home in Spotsylvania County. Both Ohr and 22-year-old Alexandros Kitreos of Stafford were taken to the Stafford Sheriff’s Office for questioning.
Kennedy said the during the ensuing investigation, police learned that one of the victims in the trailer, 26-year-old Jason Mitchell of Kellogg Mill Road in Stafford, was involved in setting up the robbery. Kennedy said he wasn’t sure exactly what role Mitchell played.

All three men were charged with robbery, conspiracy to commit robbery, possession of illegal drugs with the intent to distribute and conspiracy to possess illegal drugs.
 Kitreos was also charged with possession of drug paraphernalia.
All three were placed in the Rappahannock Regional Jail under no bond, and Kennedy said more charges are possible.

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Jury to decide Huguely’s fate


Jury to decide Huguely’s fate

CHARLOTTESVILLE (AP) — Jurors in the murder trial of a former University of Virginia lacrosse player began deliberations Wednesday, deciding whether he battered his ex-girlfriend to death in a drunken, jealous rage or if his intent to simply talk spiraled out of control, leaving her bleeding and dying in her bedroom.
The jury has been presented those two versions of what happened on the night of March 2, 2010, hearing from nearly 60 witnesses over nine days.
George Huguely V, of Chevy Chase, Md., could face life in prison if convicted of murder in the death of 22-year-old Yeardley Love, whose body was found in the early hours of May 3, 2010. Jurors can also consider lesser charges, including manslaughter and second-degree murder.
Love, a suburban Baltimore woman and lacrosse player on the women’s team, was found face down on her pillow. Her right eye was swollen and bruised, she had marks on her chest that suggested she was grabbed and had injuries around her jaw, inside her mouth and neck. A coroner concluded she died of blunt force trauma. Jurors heard several potentially lethal consequences of such injuries.
The final 15 minutes the two seniors spent together likely will be critical to the jury’s deliberations.
Huguely, in a police interrogation video viewed by jurors, said he went to Love’s apartment to talk about their sputtering, two-year relationship and she “freaked out” when he broke into her room. Their encounter quickly turned physical, with Huguely admitting he may have shook her but insisting he didn’t grab her neck or punch her. He also claimed she repeatedly banged her head on the bedroom wall.
A medical expert for the defense testified that Love likely smothered, her face buried in her own blood-dampened pillow. Huguely’s defense team has also suggested Love’s death was the result of drinking and a prescription drug she took for attention-deficit disorder. A coroner said both substances were in her body but not in potentially lethal doses.
The prosecution paints a much more sinister scenario.
Huguely, now 24, went to her apartment less than one week after he sent her a threatening email about her relationship with a North Carolina lacrosse player.
In the email, Huguely wrote that when he found out about the relationship, “I should have killed you.”
Prosecutor Dave Chapman portrayed Huguely as intent on controlling Love.
He came to her apartment to physically impose his will, kicking a hole in her bedroom door and reaching in and unlocking the door, the prosecutor said.
“That’s the beginning of terror, ladies and gentlemen,” said Chapman, who seemed to sob as he began closing arguments Saturday. “It’s just unimaginable what that woman went through and you know it.”
Then 210 pounds and nearly a foot taller than Love, Huguely battered her face and likely held her down by her neck and covered her mouth, the prosecutor said, explaining her injuries.
Prosecution medical experts said her death, which came about two hours after Huguely left, could have been caused by a loss of blood flow from the critical carotid artery. They also testified of bruising on her brain — the result of her brain striking the interior of her skull — and blood pooling near her brain stem. The latter was likely caused by a wrenching or torqueing of the head, experts testified.
Chapman said Huguely left Love’s apartment with her laptop computer, tossing it in a trash bin in an apparent attempt to hide incriminating emails.
The alleged computer theft is critical because Chapman is seeking a conviction on felony murder for Love’s death while in the process of robbery.
In his closing arguments, defense attorney Francis McQ. Lawrence described Huguely as hulking, hard-drinking jock but no killer. He acknowledged Huguely had an unintended, accidental role in Love’s death, arguing for a finding of involuntary manslaughter and a 10-year prison term.
Huguely, a member of a well-to-do Washington family, was a “boy athlete” and he and Love lived in what Lawrence described as a “lacrosse ghetto” where drinking, sexually charged relationships and emotional outbursts were the norm among elite athletes.
Huguely now bears little resemblance to the stocky 6-foot, 200-pound Division I athlete of nearly two years ago. He is now about 30-40 pounds lighter and pasty from his time in jail awaiting trial. He did not testify during the trial.
Besides the first-degree murder count, Huguely is charged with two counts of felony breaking and entering, theft and murder in the commission of a robbery.
If jurors return guilty verdicts, the trial will shift almost immediately to the sentencing phase. It will include opening statements, witnesses and closing arguments.
The jury will then deliberate the sentence.
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Source: fredericksburg.com

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Survivor: Deadly avalanche a 'horror story'


SEATTLE—The expert skiers wasted no time after an avalanche hit and swept their friends down a steep slope in Washington state. They immediately turned on their emergency beacons and began searching for signs of life.
Powder Magazine senior editor John Stifter, who witnessed the slide that killed three of his skiing companions Sunday, said one person survived by bear-hugging a tree and holding on as the snow barreled over him. Another skier who was caught in the slide was saved when she deployed an air bag designed to keep her afloat.
"It's an absolute horror story," Stifter said Monday.
The chances of surviving an avalanche once it has you in its grips are slim, experts say.
"The snow doesn't really care how experienced you are. It's not keeping track of experience level," said Mark Moore, an avalanche meteorologist and director of the Northwest Weather and Avalanche Center, which warned of extreme avalanche danger Tuesday. "Once you're in an avalanche, it has you at its mercy."
Stifter identified the victims as Jim Jack, a well-known head judge for the Freeskiing World Tour; Stevens Pass marketing director Chris Rudolph; and Johnny Brenan, a Leavenworth contractor.
The Freeskiing World Tour and Utah's Snowbird Ski and Summer Resort had scheduled a gathering at the resort Monday afternoon to remember Jack, whom Stifter described as generous, smart and influential in the ski industry.
The skiers were equipped with safety devices and kept track of each other as they strayed beyond the boundaries of the popular Stevens Pass Ski resort, about 90 miles northeast of Seattle. But the precautions still didn't save some from getting trapped, highlighting the risks of backcountry activity during a season of heightened avalanche dangers in the West.
Sunday's avalanche was relatively large, Moore said. The Northwest Weather and Avalanche Center rate Sunday's avalanche danger as considerable to high. Heavy snow had fallen in the Cascades on Saturday with widespread avalanches and strong winds, all red flags, Moore said.
"Most of our avalanches here are storm-related, so we get most of our avalanche activity during or immediately after a storm," Moore said. "It's very sad to have accidents like this happen. No matter how good the snow is, you still have to be objective about risk," he added.
Statistics show that 93 percent of avalanche victims can be recovered alive if dug out within 15 minutes, but survival rates drop quickly as time passes, according to the Utah Avalanche Center. After 45 minutes, only 20 to 30 percent of victims are alive. After two hours, few survive. People die because their carbon dioxide builds up in the snow around their mouth and they quickly die from carbon dioxide poisoning.
The Tunnel Creek canyon -- where a snowboarder died in an avalanche last year -- is outside the boundaries of Stevens Pass ski resort, but the area can be accessed by taking one of the resort's lifts to the top and hiking a short distance. The area is not controlled for avalanches.

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Germanna to begin quake repairs in April

By PAMELA GOULD
Repairs on the earthquake-damaged academic building at Germanna Community College’s Spotsylvania campus will begin in April, just as a new academic building there is being finished.
The magnitude-5.8 quake on Aug. 23 did significant structural damage to the V. Earl Dickinson Building. It is expected to be ready for use by January for the spring 2013 semester.
The cost for repairs is between $1.8 million and $2.2 million, but the total impact of the quake could be as much as $3.5 million when associated costs such as off-site leases, and architectural and engineering work are added, GCC President David Sam said.
All but a $5,000 deductible will be covered by the state’s insurance, college spokesman Mike Zitz said. The college hopes the Federal Emergency Management Agency will pick up that amount.
The quake occurred on the second day of the fall 2011 semester, sending students scurrying out of the three-story Dickinson building at the campus off the U.S. 17 Bypass near Massaponax. It was the only building on Germanna’s two campuses and two centers to be badly damaged.
College officials had to come up with a plan for handling classes that met in Dickinson.
Classes resumed for nursing students on the Locust Grove campus on Aug. 30. All other students resumed Sept. 6, after what students dubbed “quake break.”
College administrators had to determine how to address the 321 classes that were to have been held in Dickinson, which is the Spotsylvania campus’s main academic building.
Some of the 4,400 students signed up for those classes went to other locations, and others shifted to a combination of classroom and online instruction.
Staff members were relocated from the Dickinson building to whatever space could be found. Some moved their belongings into temporary rental storage pods.
The biggest expense was the cost of leasing space at eight locations, which totaled $446,464. Architectural and engineering studies cost another $305,158, according to preliminary figures provided by the college.
NEW ACADEMIC BUILDING
The college’s third academic building on the Spotsylvania campus is a three-story, 50,000-square-foot structure with science and engineering labs and a multistory library.
The $25.4 million building is expected to be completed by the end of March.
By the end of April, Sam hopes to have all equipment and furniture in place and for staff to start moving in. The goal is to hold classes there for the summer semester beginning in mid-May.
A three-story parking deck will be built behind the new building and should be finished by the fall semester.
The building will house four biology labs and two labs each for engineering, chemistry and physics.
A portion of the third story has an outdoor space with a garden that is to be used for science studies.
The building also will have a two-story library with a glass front aimed at providing a welcoming environment rather than the feel of a sterile industrial building.
“I think students, faculty and staff are pretty excited about it,” Sam said.
DICKINSON REPAIRS
The Dickinson building had damage to all three of its stairwells and a crack on the first floor that runs from floor to ceiling.
However, the Workforce Development and Technology Building nearby was mostly undamaged. The third academic building, which was under construction when the quake rumbled, also was undamaged.
The Dickinson building was built to 1997 standards, the year it opened. The other two are built to newer standards.
Engineers have questioned whether the position of the buildings may have played a role in the impact. The Dickinson building is situated in a north–south alignment. The other two sit on east–west alignments.
Repairs to the Dickinson building will include installation of steel supports that will run vertically and diagonally to prevent similar quake damage, Sam said.
“It will be much stronger and safer than it was,” he said of the building.
Bringing the building up to today’s international building codes would have required demolishing the structure, a cost Sam said would have been prohibitive.
‘BETTER THAN EVER’
Sam said it appears the quake has impacted enrollment for this semester, making it the first time in years the number of students hasn’t grown.
Population growth in the area has leveled off, he said, and improvement in the state and national economy would slow the number of people seeking retraining or skill improvements. But he said the environment on the Spotsylvania campus can’t be overlooked.
“One of the keys to student success is to feel connected to people,” Sam said.
Since August, staff members have been sharing offices, leaving little space for them to meet with students.
And students have had to eat in their cars since there has been nowhere to sit to socialize or study together.
All of that will soon change as students begin moving into the third academic building in May and then gradually into the Dickinson building starting this fall.
Soon, they will also have outdoor areas designed to enhance interaction. Broad walkways that connect the three buildings are being installed, and they have concrete benches and outdoor ports for electronic devices.
Once repairs to Dickinson are finished—hopefully by the end of August—workers will begin renovations that had been scheduled before the earthquake.
Those will include turning the old library into an expanded bookstore and improving the space for student activities.
When the Dickinson project is completely finished in January, Sam hopes students and staff will be pleased with the repairs and remodeling.
“The building should be better than ever on both counts,” he said.

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Source: Freelancestar.

Spring-blossom fever starting early in D.C.



Spring-blossom fever starting early in D.C.

Mild weather has gardeners, cherry-tree watchers eager



With cherry-blossom time less than a month away, tiny buds are forming on the 1,678 cherry trees around the Tidal Basin. (Barbara L. Salisbury/The Washington Times)
The region’s roller-coaster temperatures might be wreaking havoc with wardrobe choices, but they’ve done nothing to hurt or confuse the pink-and-white blooms of D.C.’s beloved cherry trees.
The peak bloom time for the 1,678 trees around the Mall’s Tidal Basin will be announced March 1, the first day of what the National Weather Servicepredicts will be a warmer-than-normal month, a coda to an unseasonably mild winter.
The National Park Service’s rule of thumb is “unless it’s extreme and prolonged warm or cold weather, there’s nothing to worry about,” said Danielle Piacente, spokeswoman for the National Cherry Blossom Festival. “Once [the trees] start blooming is when the weather change really affects them. We should be OK for now.”
Weather Service meteorologist Matthew Kramar said Monday the long-range forecast for March shows temperatures “well above” the average highs and lows of 55.9 degrees and 37.6 degrees, respectively.
Though spring officially begins March 20, the temperature swings are not surprising for this time of year, Mr. Kramar said.
Pansies behind the Smithsonian Castle brighten the Mall on Monday, and cherry blossoms shouldn't be too far behind, thanks to a mild winter and forecast for a warm March. Peak season for the cherry blossoms will be announced March 1. (Barbara L. Salisbury/The Washington Times)Pansies behind the Smithsonian Castle brighten the Mall on Monday, and cherry blossoms shouldn’t be too far behind, thanks to a mild winter and forecast for a warm March. Peak season for the cherry blossoms will be announced March 1. (Barbara L. Salisbury/The Washington Times)
“We’re seeing springlike patterns,” he said. “This type of temperature volatility is not unusual. This is something you might see in March or April. Spring is coming a little early, but that’s not atypical.”
The trees, a gift from Japan in 1912, have endured much worse, including a February 2010 storm with subfreezing temperatures and heavy snow that Park Servicespokesman Bill Line said inflicted the most damage he’d seen in nearly a decade.
Branches as thick as 6 inches were split, and canopies were sheared off the tops of some trees, but the trees rebounded in time for the festival, March 20 to April 27 this centennial year.
They also survived 11 inches of snow that fell March 30, 2003.
Normally this time of year, the blossoms are still protected inside their green buds and remain there until early March.
Park Service horticulturist Robert DeFeo says the Yoshino cherry trees around the Tidal Basin bloomed as early as March 15 in 1990 and as late as April 18 in 1958, the result of unseasonably warm and cool temperatures.
Park Service planters are staying busy with the upcoming festival, and the same goes for the average gardener, said David Martin, assistant general manager for Johnson’s Florist and Garden Centers in the District.
Though some customers have been disappointed to find their local nursery isn’t on the same schedule as the weather, growers are pushing product early because of the mild winter.
“Pansies came in early,” he said. “Those usually come in the last week of February, and we’ve had them two weeks. People are wanting to get a kick-start on their lawn. They’ve started on weed preventatives and preventatives for crabgrass. It’s warm, and people who don’t necessarily want to be doing planting have been getting their gardens ready.”
Mr. Martin said people are also starting to get “seed fever,” and fortunately the gardening materials in stock are “very cold-hardy.”
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Source: http://www.washingtontimes.com

Monday, February 20, 2012

2.7-magnitude aftershock felt this morning


2.7-magnitude aftershock felt this morning

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U.S.G.S. image showing the intensity of this morning's aftershock. Click the image for more details.
A 2.7 aftershock occurred this morning near Louisa, according to the U.S. Geological survey.
It was the latest in a long sporadic series of aftershocks that have occurred since the August 5.8-magnitude quake that was centered near Mineral.
A 2.5-magnitude aftershock occurred Jan. 18, for instance, 5 miles southwest of Mineral and 6 miles south-southeast of Louisa. Another 2.0-magnitude aftershock occurred about an hour after that one.
The region has experienced more than 80 aftershocks since the original quake.

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Suspect sets off explosive in Salem Fields subdivision


Suspect sets off explosive in Salem Fields subdivision

Spotsylvania County fire marshals are trying to track down a suspect who reportedly set off a homemade explosive in the Salem Fields subdivision on Saturday afternoon.
Assistant Fire Marshal Chip Hart said a man got out of an SUV traveling northbound on Rappahannock Drive and placed the explosive on a sidewalk at about 4:45 p.m. The suspect lit it, and it exploded.
Nobody was injured, though residents did report hearing the explosion. Hart said the explosive was small.

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