PAGE CO HS BOMB THREAT

Shenandoah 05/15/08 Page County High School students were sent home this morning as police searched the building for a bomb.

Officials said the threat was discovered shortly after classes began Thursday morning, and the school's 730 students were evacuated. The Page County Sheriff's Office says a note was found saying a bomb would go off at 10 o'clock.

Virginia State Police searched the building with a bomb-sniffing dog. Authorities found no explosive device at the school in Shenandoah.

Thursday's threat was at least the fourth in the last eight months for the school. A 16-year-old girl pleaded guilty to charges in an October 31 threat, and a 15-year-old girl pleaded guilty in a November 13 case.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

 

TEEN CHARGED WITH MT. CRAWFORD MAN'S MURDER TO GJ

Richmond 05/15/08 A grand jury will be hearing the case of a 17-year old Richmond teenager charged as an adult in the murder of a Mount Jackson man.

According to a Richmond General District Court clerk, counts of 1st degree murder, two robbery charges and a pair of weapons counts against Howard Reed Scott III were all certified to a grand jury today. The next grand jury hearing date is June 2nd.

Police say Scott and another teen shot and killed 21-year old VCU sophomore Tyler Binsted following a March 27th robbery in a Richmond park.

Binsted graduated from Stonewall Jackson High School.

 

CHARGES SENT TO GJ IN I-64 SHOOTINGS

Charlottesville 05/15/08 A grand jury is set to hear charges against a man believed to be involved in a string of shootings along Interstate 64.

Slade Allen Woodson of Afton waived his preliminary hearing for the 15 felony counts against him during an appearance in Albemarle County General District Court on Thursday.

The charges against 19-year-old Woodson were certified to a grand jury scheduled to meet June 2. Woodson also faces charges in Waynesboro.

Police believe Woodson was involved in the March 27 shootings at five cars along the interstate and at other vehicles and buildings. Two people were injured.

Sixteen-year-old Brandon Dawson of Crozet pleaded guilty to five of the 15 counts against him related to the shootings in an Albemarle court. He also faces charges in Waynesboro.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

 

ROCKINGHAM COUNTY SEEKING MONEY FOR SE CONNECTOR

Harrisonburg 05/15/08 Rockingham County is working to secure funds for construction of the Harrisonburg southeast connector.

The Board of Supervisors has given county staff permission to file a grant application that would bring in nearly four-point nine million dollars of the estimated 35-million it will cost to construct the project.

The project would provide an east-west corridor through Rockingham County by building an extension of Stone Spring Road to Route 33 southeast of Boyers Road.

If the grant is approved, the money will be pooled with about 10-million from VDOT and the rest would be made up by a consortium of developers.

 

ROUTE 42 PLAN PUBLIC HEARING TONIGHT

Mount Solon 05/15/08 Plans for a crooked road in Augusta County will be on display and up for discussion tonight.

The Virginia Department of Transportation will hold a public design hearing for a portion of Route 42 from 4 to 7 tonight at North River Elementary School in Mount Solon.

The project will replace a 100-year old bridge over a Mossy Creek tributary, improve road alignment, shoulders and drainage.

The proposed improvements located about a mile south of the Rockingham County line are estimated to cost 1-point-76 million dollars and will include a detour during construction, which likely won't begin until 2010.

 

CELL TOWER COMING TO MASSANUTTEN

Harrisonburg 05/15/08 Alltell says its customers can expect better coverage at Massanutten Resort in the coming months.

That after the Board of Supervisors gave its approval to a special use permit that will allow Alltell to erect a 90-foot tower disguised as a flag pole just northeast of Resort Drive. A company spokesman says this should help what is currently a very weak signal in that area.

Meanwhile, prior to the meeting a request was withdrawn for a special use permit that would have allowed a motorcycle/ATV training center off Route 11 near the Shenandoah Heritage Farmers Market.

 

I-81 MAINTENANCE HANDED OFF

Harrisonburg 05/15/08 It's a new day on Interstate 81. Early this morning, maintenance duties on the highway from just north of Weyers Cave to the West Virginia line was handed off from the Virginia Department of Transportation to a Pennsylvania company.

The change is part of an effort to have all interstate maintenance outsourced by July of 2009.

The deal with D-B-I Services of Hazelton, Pennsylvania is worth more than 20-million dollars. In addition to I-81, it also covers 13-miles of Interstate 66.

The five-year renewable contract includes litter pickup and pothole repair, mowing, snow removal and incident response.

 

NEW MARKER IN NEW MARKET

New Market 05/15/08 In a precursor to this weekends re-enactment of the Battle of New Market, a special event was held this morning.

The Women's Memorial Society of New Market unveiled a new granite marker dedicated to six of the Virginia Military Institute cadets who were originally buried in Saint Matthews Cemetery behind Reformation Lutheran Church on North Congress Street in New Market. Four of the men are now buried at V-M-I, and two were moved to private family cemetaries.

The re-enactment begins tomorrow afternoon with an artillery duel. The tactical battle re-enactment is set for two Saturday afternoon.

 

CITY OFFICIALS OK LIBERTY EXPANSION

Lynchburg 05/15/08 Lynchburg officials have approved plans to expand Liberty University, as the school aims to reach 15,000 students within the next five years.

A development plan calls for building out along the base of Candlers Mountain. Lynchburg leaders also are being asked to rezone 237 acres to accommodate the expansion.

Lynchburg Planning Commission members approved the plans on a 3-2 vote Wednesday. Their recommendation will be forwarded to City Council for a final decision.

The initial approval followed roughly a dozen revisions.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

 

GMU STARTS WEBSITE FOR HISTORY TEACHERS

Fairfax 05/15/08 George Mason University will receive $7 million in federal funding over the next five years to run a Web site to train elementary and high school history teachers.

Kelly Schrum, director of educational projects at George Mason's Center for History and New Media, said the site is designed to be the most comprehensive resource available for teachers who specialize in American history.

The Web site, which began this week, features a searchable database of state standards and an online discussion with education experts on current trends.

Schrum said seven to 10 staff members and a few undergraduates at the university will keep the Web site up to date with the latest data and state standards.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)