Alex Sharp VIII

To the Rappahannock County community that has raised me as a son and loved me as a brother, I sincerely apologize for my actions. And I am sorry for leaving you so abruptly after such a wonderful year as your reporter at the Rappahannock News.
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A Woodbridge man pleaded guilty in Rappahhanock County Circuit Court last week to leading police on a dangerous chase through leaf-season traffic last October on U.S. 211, a chase in which a state trooper pursued two motorcycles at speeds of 125 to 140 mph, one of them for more than 20 miles. Commonwealth’s Attorney...
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Thirty-seven-year-old Stuart Williams Kasin of Charlotte, N.C., will not serve jail time for embezzlement involving a locally owned coin collection. He was instead handed a five-year suspended prison sentence, five years of probation and must pay $65,238 in restitution.
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Detour signs forbidding commercial truck traffic from Sperryville’s Main Street while the U.S. 522 bridge is under construction were missed or ignored early Friday by a tractor trailer operator, whose failed, illegal right turn from Main Street onto eastbound U.S. 211 tied up traffic and turned off power to the village for about an...
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Not all victories are achieved at the finish line. Twelve-year-old Gabe Beroza of Sperryville came up just .032 seconds short of winning the super stock division of the 2012 Culpeper Soapbox Derby Championship on Saturday (June 23), losing to his new friend, 16-year-old Adam Miller.
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Mayor John Sullivan opened Monday night’s Washington Town Council meeting by recognizing an empty chair at the board table, since former mayor and council member Eugene Leggett II passed away June 8, at age 86. “It doesn’t feel quite right to be bringing this up now, since Gene hasn’t yet been laid to rest,”...
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Few local creatures (except perhaps the eastern mountain lion) are shrouded in more myth and fantasy than snakes. While some are indeed dangerous, experts say many are beneficial and a lot less mysterious than you might think.
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In Rappahannock County Circuit Court June 7, Judge Jeffrey Parker set June 26 as the next court appearance by James Daniel Wines, 28, and July 1 for Ashleigh Renee Baldwin, 22. The two Chester Gap residents are charged with five counts of possession of schedule II drugs and a child abuse charge. Wines is...
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The final suspect in the Grand View arson case, 20-year-old Julious Caesar Lucas of Boston, pleaded guilty to 10 charges in Rappahannock Circuit Court Friday.
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A high-speed chase, stolen weapons, rape and assault on a VDOT worker – last Thursday (June 7) was an eye-opening day in Rappahannock County Circuit Court. The crime wave that former Commonwealth’s Attorney Peter Luke described before passing the torch to Art Goff continues.
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A Castleton couple is being held in the Rappahannock Jail on charges of child abuse, after at least one of them allegedly attempted to starve their two-month-old baby to death.
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Not everyone supported this year’s budget. That includes Piedmont district supervisor Ron Frazier, who voted against Hampton district supervisor Bryant Lee’s motion to approve the 2013 fiscal year county budget.
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Judge J. Gregory Ashwell pointed out to a young defendant in a DUI case that drivers in Virginia are not required to submit to field sobriety tests, including the roadside breathalyzer. If they do, however, the results can be damaging.
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Farming isn’t just a job. For most farmers, it's a way of life, a family enterprise, a connection with the land and a means of making a living Five local farmers spent last year analyzing those motivating forces, and in many cases altering their farming operations to improve profitability, sustainability and the quality...
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More than 10 unhappy public school teachers, and Jackson district school board member Amy Hitt,  squeezed into a single pew in the back row of the Rappahannock County courthouse at Tuesday night’s (May 29) final board of supervisors budget work session.
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Project Healing Waters founder and president, Navy Capt. Ed Nicholson (far right), and several fly fishing guides and veterans, stand by the banks of the Thornton River, where they spent a Friday last month fishing for rainbow trout and smallmouth bass on Cliff Miller’s Mount Vernon Farm in Sperryville.
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In a highly publicized case of betrayal that took unexpected turns – the repeated misappropriation of funds from a school nonprofit made public in February, a plea bargain that included a $25,000 restitution payment rejected by a judge in May – the end was as compelling as the beginning.
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Proprietor George Rosenbaum (behind the counter) prefers to call his newly opened shop on U.S. 211 in Washington a “weapons history museum.”
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Amy Grigsby Dodson of Sperryville stood tearfully before Rappahannock County Circuit Court Judge Jeffrey W. Parker on Monday (May 14), as he rejected the plea agreement the commonwealth and her defense had worked out, giving her a week to decide whether to pursue the case with him or start over with another judge.
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After a tight-lipped, high-stress Sunday afternoon of editing, the film “Rappahannock Girls,” was submitted to the judges with one minute to spare.
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Grand jury indicts 43; Sheriff Smith warns of increase in area thefts.
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Trucks should not be in Sperryville while the U.S. 211 bridge is being rebuilt. How you and your camera/phone can help stamp out commercial truck-driver illiteracy and make the village, and its guardrails, safe again.
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No one left happy from Monday afternoon’s monthly Rappahannock County Board of Supervisors meeting – as several of its members had predicted – after the supervisors approved what the county would spend on schools for 2012-2013.
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After 10 months in the local jail on charges of possessing child pornography and molesting two young boys, 48-year-old James Carlton Benkelman of Amissville made a tearful apology in Rappahhannock County Circuit Court before he was sentenced.
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Virginia State Police Capt. Gary Settle presents Peter Luke with a plaque honoring Luke’s nearly 30 years as Rappahannock County’s commonwealth’s attorney. (Luke remains the county attorney, so Settle knew he could surprise him at Monday night’s board of supervisors meeting.) The award was given on behalf of the Virginia State Police to thank...
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Manuel Chapman, aka Cowboy, is three-quarters Cherokee Indian – and some may tell you he’s one-quarter horse.
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An "open-eye meditation" at Confluent Gallery; pianist Audrey Andrist plays it again (Schumann's "Carnaval") Sunday at the Theatre; your award could be a reward for your mom at the Inn at Little Washington; award-winning filmmakers in town this weekend to make a 48-hour impression; a new Junior Master Gardener Club.
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A last-second joint work session with members of the Rappahannock County School Board and Board of Supervisors was planned at the end of Monday night’s (April 30) public hearing on the county’s proposed $22.1 million fiscal-year 2013 budget – after Piedmont supervisor Ron Frazier insisted that both boards address school budget-related concerns raised by...
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Hale pleads guilty, date set for animal cruelty trial, and more from Tuesday's Circuit Court calendar.
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In a year marked by rising expenses and falling state funding for public schools, setting aside tens of thousands of dollars in the county budget for a new playground was out of the question. However – as is characteristic of a county famous for its charitable organizations and fundraisers – the time, talent and...
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The Washington Town Council Monday night this week approved spending up to $3,000 to purchase trees, plants and shrubbery for the Washington Nature Trail project – an expense it expects may be covered by by local organizations that have expressed interest in providing funding for the project. Mayor John Sullivan said that, while he...
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Former Virginia governor, senator and U.S. Senate hopeful George Allen came to town last Wednesday evening to shake hands and address a spirited crowd at Gray Ghost Vineyards in Amissville.
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Taxes going up? Stonewall-Hawthorne polling place changed, loan for the regional jail approved, and bids to be sought for window replacement at the schools.
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After being honored by the county supervisors (and General Assembly), Rappahannock County Treasurer Frances Foster chats about some of her 50 years of experience -- and service to the county as its treasurer and deputy treasurer.
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In Rappahannock County, as in most of Virginia, spring has sprung early.

Fruit buds are blossoming, flowers are in full bloom, leaves are appearing on trees and shrubs, grass is popping up thick and dark.
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Benjamin Thomas Hale of Castleton and Julious Caeser Lucas of Boston appeared in Rappahannock Circuit Court on Tuesday.
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After Scott Jenkins left the Rappahannock County Sheriff’s Office (RCSO) to take over as the sheriff of Culpeper County this January, the former second-in-command to Sheriff Connie Smith has hired four full-time RCSO employees to work for the Culpeper County Sheriff's Office.
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The following comments were recorded by Rappahannock News staff reporter Alex Sharp VIII during Tuesday night’s (March 20) public work session of the school board and board of supervisors at Rappahannock County High School auditorium.
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So far, two of the four teenage defendants in the Grand View arson case – Cameron MacArthur and Erick Rodriguez – have pleaded guilty to charges related to burning down the home of William Rowland last summer, causing an estimated $300,000 in damage. Commonwealth’s Attorney Art Goff said this week that he expects 18-year-old...
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School superintendent Al Boone introduces a budget that calls for an additional $559,854 in county funding for 2012-2013 at a school board/supervisors work session Tuesday, and many of the 50 present speak out for and against.
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