Singer Melissa Chavez (left) relaxes in one of Rappahannock’s many scenic fields last summer with her Castleton Festival roommate and fellow young artist, Meredith Cain-Nielsen. Courtesy photo.

But where do those talented people go when they’re not performing? For a month or more (this year’s festival runs from July 3-28), a performer’s temporary home is either at one of Castleton Farm’s own properties or the permanent home of generous locals, who routinely open their guest rooms and cottages for up to six weeks to welcome in relative strangers.

About two dozen such families have already signed up to accommodate festival performers this year, said Castleton housing coordinator Brad Vernatter. And while that’s “a bit more than usual,” Vernatter stressed that the festival could always use more housing volunteers.

“The Castleton Festival houses young artists in both on-campus housing and with hosts in the surrounding area. The on-campus housing is wonderful, but there is not enough room for all of the young artists,” said singer Melissa Chavez, a performer last summer who will be back again in July. “It’s remarkable how many generous and caring community members welcome young artists into their homes each summer.”

“Staying with hosts is . . . not only a wonderful way to experience a home away from home but to connect with supporters of the festival on a more personal level,” said mezzo-soprano and four-time Castleton Festival alumna Julia Harden.

“Most musicians are funny people to those not in the business. We have bizarre sleep patterns, odd wake times, eating schedules, diets and so forth,” Harden said. “It can be hard to adjust to having someone in your home like that. Of course the artist always feels a bit intrusive coming into someone’s home, but the unfamiliarity passes quickly.”

Harden said last year’s festival was her first time staying with a host family (she had previously chosen to remain on the farm, but switched on the advice of a friend), and she thoroughly enjoyed her experience.

“As an artist it’s so important to have someplace to emotionally relax . . . Music is nothing if not personal, and personal in the way that we give of ourselves wholly when we perform,” said Harden. “I love being able to socialize with those invested in the art form and create lasting bonds that go beyond the festival close dates.”

“I can’t wait for this year’s festival,” exclaimed Beth Hall, a veteran guest-housing host. An opera lover since she was five, Hall, who usually houses seven during the festival, said she decided to start offering her home after tickets to the Washington National Opera became “too pricy.”

“They’re really a benefit to the county,” said Hall, who said she has housed musicians and artists from all over the world, including Sri Lanka, Bulgaria, Malaysia and Canada. “And the quality of the music is very good.”

“I wish I could say I do more for them,” laughs Hall, who noted that the festival provides food and transportation for all its participants, so all she really does for her guests is wash sheets and towels. “I get more from them than they get from me . . . It’s party, party, party for me!”

“As a musician you get used to living on the go,” said cellist and two-time local-housing alum Daniel Lelchuk, who said both years he’s been immediately made to feel like part of the family. “It’s definitely a unique atmosphere [that’s] not at all like the dorm rooms.”

Though the artists can’t request a specific place to stay, all those who are considering “off-campus” housing are presented with an informational survey, which asks personality questions and is used to match the performers with the best house possible.

Cellist Daniel Lelchuk (right) poses last summer with Castleton Festival Orchestra concertmaster Pacalin Pavaci. Courtesy photo.

“They do an excellent job of matching you with a host,” said Lelchuk.

“All the host families homes are amazing at Castleton. Those sponsors who take us in are truly wonderful people and I for one am so grateful to all of them,” agreed Harden. “I know that it’s bizarre to have some stranger living in your house.”

“They have full privileges at my house and they’re just the most marvelous kids,” said Hall. “They’re extremely responsible young adults who take care of themselves . . . Their parents did good!”

“Those that let their house completely to the artist usually encourage us to make ourselves at home,” said Harden. “I was lucky enough to have my own bedroom and bathroom, I was free to use the phone for calls home, I was offered use of the kitchen to cook myself meals should I wish. I know many of the other host families operate the same way – they are the height of generosity!”

“I love to meet new people and spend time with them, so this seemed like a good fit for me,” agreed Chavez, who stayed with Hall last summer. “Her home is beautiful and welcoming, and from the very first moment I walked in the door and met Beth, I felt at ease. She’s a seasoned Castleton host and she was wonderfully supportive and helpful. My roommate, Meredith Cain-Nielsen, and I had a fantastic summer living in her home.”

Most performers have strict and demanding schedules during the festival, which doesn’t often allow them to relax as much as they might like. Hall said her guests are routinely up by 8:30 a.m., and it’s not unusual for them to return at 11 p.m.

Nonetheless, that doesn’t stop either the performers or their host families from enjoying many of the things unique to Rappahannock. Lelchuk said he fondly remembers sitting by the pool reading Anton Chekhov during one of his stays, and would frequently take his breaks at the Laurel Mills Store and chat with the regulars.

“The neighing of horses is now a welcome sound,” added Lelchuk with a laugh.

“Most all of the hosts who were still living in their homes during the festival treat us like members of their family,” said Harden. “I’ve been offered rides, meals on weekends and watching movies together.”

“One of the unique experiences that come from living in a home off of the Castleton property is that you really become a part of someone else’s family,” said Chavez. “After the festival ended, I stopped by to visit with Beth [Hall] when I was in the area and we have kept in touch by email through the past year.”

As far as Hall is concerned, however, it’s the hosts who benefit the most. Hall said she’s been treated to private concerts from the performers as a thank you, including one year where her guests serenaded the 24 Crows restaurant in Flint Hill and another where her guest chorus sang at her church service.

“I get to follow their careers through [music] magazines . . . It’s a whole different way of life and it’s so interesting to see up close,” said Hall. Hall added that many of the performers who stay with her also enjoy seeing snakes and bears in the backyard, one of many sights they may not get to see anywhere else.

Their one complaint? “It’s awfully dark out here,” Hall laughs.

“This coming year will be my second year with the Castleton Festival, and I don’t have my official housing assignment yet, but I’m looking forward to another incredible summer,” said Chavez.

Those interested in providing lodging to performers, either this year or for future festivals, should contact Vernatter at either 540-937-3454 or bradv@castletonfest.org. The deadline to offer housing for this year’s festival is June 1.

At Castleton, it’s homes away from home originally appeared on Rappahannock News on May. 23, 2013.

Our monthly public story conference is at 9 a.m. this Friday (May 24) at Tula’s Off Main – out on the patio, if the weather’s nice. Whether inside or out, we’ll be there to hear your thoughts and ideas for the newspaper – and, since we’re working on some major upgrades this summer and welcome your feedback, our RappNews.com website. The coffee’s on us; the suggestions (complaints, cautions) are your responsibility. Call us at 540-675-3338 or email editor@rappnews.com if you have questions – or just bring them to 311 Gay Street in Washington.

Your stay-cation options

Sticking close to home this weekend and looking for something to do when you can no longer do yard work? There are two options in Sperryville and Amissville to consider.

In Sperryville, you could stop by Coterie between 10 and 6 Saturday (May 25) and check out what’s being created. Craft tents will be set up with handmade pottery, amber jewelry, hand-forged iron, leather goods and unique walking sticks. There’ll be demonstrations of blacksmithing, weaving, leather hand-sewing, sculpture, rustic woodworking and more. Josh Perrot of Savory Smoke will have pork and beef brisket sandwiches and more, Triple Oak Bakery will have gluten-free baked goods – and, next door at the Sperryville Schoolhouse proper, you’ll likely find there’s a new pub in town.

At the other end of the worldwide menu in Amissville, Narmada Winery offers lunch platters this weekend (both Saturday and Sunday) featuring Tandoori chicken or curried spinach and potato. Each will be accompanied by spicy dhal and vegetable pakora, and served over rice with raita on the side. Narmada also begins its summer music-on-the-lake series at 5 p.m. Saturday.

Guitarist Laurence Juber

Celebrated guitarist Laurence Juber returns to the Theatre at Washington at 8 p.m. next Saturday, (June 1) for a solo concert during his tour of the East Coast from his home base in California.

Acoustic guitarist Laurence Juber performs at the Theatre June 1.

Juber is a two-time Grammy Award-winner, including one for his arrangement of “The Pink Panther.” He received his first Grammy as a young musician when he was lead guitarist for Paul McCartney’s “Wings.” Acoustic magazine recently wrote that “when a guitarist has played with Paul McCartney for two years, naturally, it’s the aspect of his career that tends to stand out. It shouldn’t though, because in terms of his overall career output, Laurence Juber’s time with McCartney’s post-Beatles band Wings represents a fraction of what he has done, and continues to do.”

Since those far off days with Wings in London, Juber moved to California, where he composes, arranges and performs extensively, recording at least 22 solo albums.

Juber’s annual concerts at the Theatre attract an audience from far afield. “The Theatre is one of my favorite venues to play. It has just the right combination of intimacy and pure acoustics. I always look forward to my return visits,” Juber said recently.

Tickets for the concert are $25 ($10 for students 17 and younger). For reservations, call 540-675-1253 or email TheatreVA@aol.com.

June’s ‘Beauty Around Us’

“Pretty in Pink” by Jo Levine.

Photographer Jo Levine and painter Nancy Brittle are the featured artists at Sperryville’s Middle Street Gallery from May 31-June 30. Their exhibition, called “Beauty Around Us,” is inspired by a Native American invocation, “Beauty before me, beauty behind me . . . beauty around me.”

A free reception is 3 to 5 p.m. Saturday, June 8. At the end of the month (June 28), both artists host a reception at the gallery and talk about the processes involved in their work from 6 to 8 p.m. as part of Sperryville’s monthly Fourth Friday events.

The works by Levine, a photographer from Washington, D.C. and Sperryville, feature atmospheric images of flowers and leaves. Many were taken during a project last summer that involved taking and posting for comment at least one photo a day.

“The pressure to produce something every day really stretched me creatively,” Levine says. Levine’s photographs have won several awards and hang in private collections throughout the greater D.C. area and across the country.

Detail of “Forsythia Girl” by Nancy Brittle.

Remington artist Brittle chose the garden, early summer landscapes and figures with flowers in interpreting the show’s theme. The daughter of a farmer and herself a lifelong gardener, she has always believed that beauty can be found everywhere. Having painted most of her life, Brittle has studied in France several times, as well as with instructors at American University, the Pennsylvania Academy of Art and VCU.

Her work can also be seen at the Back Door Gallery in Fredericksburg, the ZigZag Gallery in The Plains and Crossroads Art Center in Richmond. Her paintings are in private and public collections in the U.S., Europe and South America.

The Middle Street Gallery is located at 3 River Lane in Sperryville. The gallery is open 10 to 5 Friday-Sunday. For more information, call 540-987-9330 or visit middlestreetgallery.org, which also has directions to the gallery.

RAAC’s open casting call

Have you wondered what it was like to act in a play, but weren’t sure you could memorize a lot of lines?

Well, the RAAC Community Theatre is holding open auditions for a staged reading, in which actors use scripts. Auditions are scheduled 1 to 3 p.m. this Sunday (May 26), as well as 2 to 4 p.m. next Saturday (June 1) at the theatre (310 Gay Street, Washington).

This all-female play, “Love, Loss and What I Wore,” by Nora and Delia Ephron, is based on the bestselling book by Ilene Beckerman. Director Patty Hardee is looking for five to 10 adult women of all ages and experience levels.

“The play is a series of monologues and scenes that can accommodate flexible casting,” said Hardee, a local actor who has appeared in numerous RAAC Community Theatre productions. “I hope women from across the community will come to auditions for this funny and poignant play.”

“As a community theatre, we welcome anyone interested in working with us,” says Peter Hornbostel, the theatre’s artistic director. “This play is a great chance for those who want to dip a toe in theatrical waters.”

Because monologues feature prominently in the play, Hardee has enlisted Amissville resident Charlene James Duguid to coach the cast members in approaching their monologues. “This is an excellent play for actors to hone their monologue skills,” says Duguid. “It has variety and juicy possibilities for the actor.” Duguid, an experienced actor and acting coach, also leads a monologue workshop for area actors interested in improving their craft.

Auditions will consist of readings from the script. Rehearsals are scheduled to begin in mid-June, depending on cast schedules. At auditions, please be prepared to note any schedule conflicts between mid-June and the performance dates, which are slated for the weekend of Sept. 20-21.

For more information, contact Hardee at 540-675-2506 or pahardee@gmail.com.

The Rapp for May 23 originally appeared on Rappahannock News on May. 23, 2013.

It could be – but it’s not – the sound of our representatives in Congress 60 miles away loudly arguing about the nation’s farm bill, which has taken almost a year to get out of committee. Rather, it’s the sound of something more in the natural rhythm of things:

The so-called Brood II cicadas, which emerge from their underground hermitage every 17 years to propagate. The sound you hear is the chorus of thousands upon thousands of males wooing potential mates.

For serious foodies, of whom there are an ever-increasing number here in Rappahannock, the cicadas offer a rare delicacy. Or so I’ve recently discovered. At first I thought my neighbor was surely joking when he compared the crunchy arthropod to Cajun shrimp, Maine lobster or Chesapeake crab – all fellow arthropods (as are Rappahannock’s ubiquitous ticks).

But it turns out there’s even an online cookbook called “Cicada-Licious: Cooking and Enjoying Periodical Cicadas.” The author is an entomologist named Jenna Jadin, who compiled the recipes while a University of Maryland graduate student.

When eaten raw or boiled, cicadas apparently have an asparagus-like flavor. Blanched and tossed like chunks of chicken into a leafy green salad, the bugs can be especially yummy. Sauteed or candied, served in a craft cocktail or mixed in a cake batter are other tasty possibilities.

When roasted, cicadas are said to take on a “nutty” flavor, mixing well with spicy sauces – which in turn pair well with either red or white wine or even a good craft beer.

Most important, cicadas are low in fat and gluten-free. Plus they provide a good source of protein – about the same amount per pound as red meat.

Maybe we should mix up a nice batch and take it down to Capitol Hill to cater Congress – and, who knows, maybe even get an agricultural subsidy. If tax dollars can copiously flow to Big Ag’s corn and sugar, why not a trickle to little family farmers’ cicadas?

Walter Nicklin
Publisher

Editorial: The sound you hear, the food you eat originally appeared on Rappahannock News on May. 23, 2013.

Michelle White, Emma Fisher and Emily Pearcy (left to right, in Panther jerseys) close down a Madison player’s line of attack during the Lady Panthers’ hard-fought 1-0 victory over the Mountaineers in Monday’s Bull Run District girls soccer quarterfinal. Photo by John Berry / BerrySports.com.

Sophomore Emily Massie scored the dramatic game-winning goal just before the first half ended. “There were 17 seconds left in the half when Emma Endre ran the ball up, went to score and it bounced off a defender. It bounced to me, and I took two touches to the side. I kicked it, and it went straight through their goalie’s hands into the upper part of the net. It was so cool. My entire body was covered in goose bumps!”

In the second half, Massie added, “we went back out and totally held them off.” It was the first time in memory that the Panthers defeated a Madison team in a district girls soccer playoff.

The victory propelled the Lady Panthers into Wednesday night’s semifinal game at traditional powerhouse George Mason. (Results of that game will be in next week’s newspaper.)

Panthers goalie Jane Purnell seemed fully recovered from an injury the week before and made many great saves, and her teammates seemed inspired by a significant contingent of Rappahannock fans in attendance.

“Later, I heard one of our fans said, ‘She’s a rocket,’” Massie said. “That was such a nice feeling. I haven’t scored the entire season, so I was really excited. We all worked together better and talked more than usual. I think we just came out wanting to win more than they did.”

Lauren Light, a Panther senior, confessed that the team came in “feeling a little discouraged for a couple of reasons. Not only was it by far the hottest day of the year, but it was a Monday. Believe it or not, it’s hard to come in and play your best off of a weekend. As we began to play, it was evident that it would take a lot of willpower and even more heart to get through the heat. From the start, we knew how important this game was, and we certainly left it all on the field.

“Michelle White played a fantastic game on the defensive line,” Light said, “while Keelee Armor and Lily Endre hustled on offense. Emily Massie was our hero and scored the winning (and only) goal of the match off of a cross that I sent up from the midfield.

“Moving on in the district is such a blessing,” Light said, “and getting to do so with such an amazing team is a truly perfect way to end my senior year and final soccer season.”

Massie’s goal in Madison advances Lady Panthers originally appeared on Rappahannock News on May. 23, 2013.

Virginia State Board of Education president David Foster visited Rappahannock County High School last Thursday (May 16) and was treated to a tour and presentations on the school division’s programs, including the well-known Farm-to-Table program sponsored by the schools and the Headwaters Foundation. Foster admired RCHS’ wall of college acceptance letters (with, from right to left, Farm-to-Table coordinator Jen Rattigan, school board member Amy Hitt, state board member Winsome Sears and interim superintendent Kathleen Grove. Rattigan also narrated a brief tour of some of the F2T gardens (with, from right to left, school board members Hitt and Aline Johnson, school board chair John Lesinski, County Administrator John McCarthy, Grove, Sears, nutrition services director Trista Grigsby and Headwaters director Jane Bowling-Wilson).

Photos: Presidential visit originally appeared on Rappahannock News on May. 23, 2013.

Courtesy photo

“Deak” Deakins of Rock Mills introduces his first grandchildren – Jeremiah of Nelson County and Wren of Woodville – to the simple pleasures, if not comfortable seating, of a good ol’ Ford tractor.

Photo: Family outing originally appeared on Rappahannock News on May. 23, 2013.

Courtesy photo

Angus youth, including Courtney Pooton of Sperryville, gathered at the 2013 National Junior Angus Association Raising the Bar Officers Training earlier this month in Blacksburg. Twenty-four officers and advisors from seven state junior Angus associations participated in the course, which was geared toward building stronger leaders while forming important regional relationships. Pictured in front (from left) are Meghan Blythe, Sarah Harris, Courtney Pooton, Lindsey Fenster and Daniel Brown; second row (from left) are Caroline Maxey, Helena St. Clair and Morgan Alexander; third row (from left) are Sally Yon, Kendra Merriman, Katelyn McCoy, Catie Hope and Virginia Tech professor Dan Eversole; fourth row (from left) are Jake McCall, Cody Boden, and Michael Cropp. In the back row (from left) are John Knight, Shane Heizer and Mark Alexander.

Photo: Mooving on up originally appeared on Rappahannock News on May. 23, 2013.

Photo by Hazel Zinn-Day

A pink lady slipper orchid blooms in the wilds of Rock Mills last weekend.

Photo: Beautiful lady originally appeared on Rappahannock News on May. 23, 2013.

On Friday, May 15, Lt. Gen. Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson’s last earthly journey came to an end. After lying in state in the governor’s mansion in Richmond, his coffin covered with the newly-approved “Stainless Banner” consisting of the Army of Northern Virginia battlefield on a field of white, Gen. Jackson’s remains were conveyed by rail and riverboat to Lexington, his pre-war home, where they were received at the Virginia Military Institute before being taken to the cemetery in town for interment.

In Mississippi the following day, May 16, Maj. Gen. Ulysses Grant’s Federal army advanced from Jackson toward Vicksburg and threatened to cut the feeble Confederate lines of communication out of the city. This was the only link between Lt. Gen. John C. Pemberton’s troops in Vicksburg and Gen. Joseph E. Johnston’s army to the north.

In an effort to cut Gen. Grant’s lines of communication, Gen. Pemberton’s Confederates moved east and came in contact with Union troops at Champion’s Hill. There the two forces clashed in hard-fought combat; Gen. Pemberton’s troops faced overwhelming odds and retreated to Vicksburg, leaving behind nearly 4,000 casualties. Federal losses in the battle at Champion’s Hill numbered a little more than 2,400 casualties.

The next day, May 17, one of Gen. Pemberton’s divisions, cut off from the retreat to Vicksburg, marched quickly to join Gen. Johnston’s command. Gen. Pemberton’s troops, waiting near the Big Black River Bridge for the missing division to return, were attacked by Union troops. The Confederates burned the bridge across the river during the withdrawal to Vicksburg, halting the advance of Gen. Grant’s troops, who had to rebuild the bridge to get across the swamps and river. Federal losses in this engagement numbered 280, while some 1,700 Confederate soldiers were captured.

On May 18, one of the great campaigns of military history ended when Gen. Grant’s triumphant Union army crossed the Big Black River on hastily constructed bridges and moved in to surround Vicksburg on the three land sides. Gen. Johnston ordered Gen. Pemberton to evacuate and leave the city to the Union troops. Gen. Pemberton, however, looked at his options to escape with his army intact, and, mindful of what the loss of Vicksburg meant to the Confederacy, decided to remain. The siege of Vicksburg had begun.

In Richmond, President Jefferson Davis called for civilians and local militia to join Gen. Johnston’s troops in Mississippi and then to come in and attack the Union army from behind. He urged Gen. Johnston to link with Gen. Pemberton and attack the Federal forces.

In Great Britain, the House of Lords in Parliament debated the decisions of American prize courts (ruling on valuables and cargo seized on the high seas) and demanded that Britain actively defend the rights of her shipowners. Lord John Russell stated that the Crown had no objections to the prize courts’ proceedings, and that Britain had no wish to interfere with the American conflict.

In Mississippi, Gen. Grant was determined to end his campaign with Vicksburg’s surrender. His troops now completely surrounded the city on three sides: Maj. Gen. William Sherman’s troops were on the north or right of the city; Maj. Gen. James McPherson’s troops occupied the center; and Maj. Gen. John McClernand’s troops occupied the left. The first assault on Vicksburg took place, but the Confederate lines were too strong and the Union attacks failed. A second assault took place three days later, with the same results. The Confederate lines were too strong and Gen. Grant decided not to try to assault the city again. Instead, Gen. Grant laid siege to the city, with the intent of starving the Confederates into surrender. It was going to be a long siege.

150 Years Ago This Week: The siege of Vicksburg begins originally appeared on Rappahannock News on May. 23, 2013.

Photo by Tesa Leon.

Both teams played hard, and with strong defense, and the difference was the goal scored by Rapp’s Emily Massie with 17 seconds remaining in the first half. That ended the scoring for the day, although both teams came close several times.

Rapp goalie Jane Purnell, who seeemed fully recovered from an injury last week, made many great saves, including one ball that would have gone in that was accidentally kicked by a teammate. Her teammates saved her a lot of work by keeping the action at the other end of the field through much of the game, especially in the first half.

A hard-fought game by both teams, played cleanly, and having a nice crowd from Rappahannock there was surely morale boosting for the team.

RCHS faces the winner of today’s George Mason/Manassas Park game on Wednesday (May 22) in the tournament semifinals.

Lady Panthers best Madison, 1-0, in soccer quarterfinal originally appeared on Rappahannock News on May. 20, 2013.

RICHMOND – It was nearly 12 years ago that Michael Maupin lost his voting privileges and other rights in Virginia because of a felony drug conviction. But Maupin has hope for the future because he just received a letter from Gov. Bob McDonnell restoring his civil rights.

Michael Maupin. Photo by CNS/VCU.

In 2001, Maupin was arrested and convicted of an attempt to violate the Drug Control Act. He tried to buy what he thought was acid – the hallucinogenic drug LSD – from an undercover federal officer. Maupin was sentenced to eight years in prison and 14 on probation. He ended up serving only six months in jail. But as a felon, he lost his right to vote.

A decade later, Maupin applied to the commonwealth to have his civil rights restored. He said his main priority was to be able to vote again.

“My one vote maybe doesn’t make a difference, but it does make a difference to me. It would have been nice to have voted for Obama and be a part of a big moment in history,” Maupin said.

In 2010, McDonnell changed the previous policy for restoring the rights of felons who’ve served their time: He reduced the three-year waiting period to two years and shortened the time for processing restoration paperwork.

“We have now established the fastest and fairest restoration of rights process in modern Virginia history. I believe that when we restore offenders as full participants in our society, it helps them become more productive citizens, and it helps make our commonwealth a safer and better place,” McDonnell said in a press release shortly after he took office.

Maupin applied to have his rights restored last fall and received confirmation about a month ago that he had been approved.

“The governor sent me a letter stating he was giving me my rights back. Basically, he thinks after everything that had happened, I would still be a good asset to the community if I had my rights back,” Maupin said.

Maupin, a Richmond native, said that since he was released from jail, he has done everything he could to make a better life for himself, his wife and his stepson. He has been employed with Batteries Plus for two years. Maupin said it was difficult in the beginning trying to obtain employment because of his felony conviction.

“Companies won’t give you the time of day because they know you have a felony,” Maupin said. But he persisted until he was given an opportunity to prove himself to his employers. Maupin believes it was this persistence that helped him reach his goal of restoring his civil rights.

McDonnell and some state legislators would like to make it even easier for nonviolent felons to get their rights back after they have completed their sentence. During the General Assembly’s 2013 session, more than a dozen proposals were filed regarding the issue. But they all died in committees.

For example, Delegate Betsy Carr, D-Richmond, introduced a constitutional amendment to automatically restore the civil rights of felons after they have completed their sentence, including parole and probation, and paid all fines. It died in the House Privileges and Elections Committee.

Similar constitutional amendments were proposed by Democratic Sens. Donald McEachin of Richmond, Chap Petersen of Fairfax and Louise Lucas of Portsmouth. Those amendments were combined and passed the Senate, but the measure later died in the House Privileges and Elections Committee as well.

Most states make it easier for felons to get their rights back than Virginia does.

Maine and Vermont allow convicted felons to vote from prison by absentee ballot. Thirteen states and Washington, D.C., allow restoration of voting privileges after felons complete their prison sentence. Twenty-three states restore felons’ rights after they have served parole and/or probation.

Virginia is among the dozen states with the harshest laws regarding the restoration of felons’ rights. About 450,000 Virginians – 7 percent of the state’s voting-age population – can’t vote because they have a felony record, according to The Sentencing Project, a criminal justice reform group.

Maupin hopes legislation to restore the civil rights of nonviolent offenders in Virginia will pass in the future. He said getting his rights back helps him become a productive member of society.

“My individual vote may not make a big difference, but my vote may also be the one vote that makes the difference,” Maupin said. “Regardless of what happened in my past, my future is undecided.”

Capital News Service is a student news-gathering program sponsored by the School of Mass Communications at Virginia Commonwealth University.

On the web

ProCon.org, a nonprofit, nonpartisan group, has posted a “State by State Chart of Felon Voting Laws”:

http://felonvoting.procon.org/view.resource.php?resourceID=286

Ex-felon’s voting rights, and hopes, restored originally appeared on Rappahannock News on May. 17, 2013.

RICHMOND – In the film “The Shawshank Redemption,” Morgan Freeman’s character, Red, appeared in front of the parole board and explained why he should be released from prison after serving 40 years of a life sentence for killing a man:

“There’s not a day goes by I don’t feel regret. Not because I’m in here, or because you think I should. I look back on the way I was then: a young, stupid kid who committed that terrible crime. I want to talk to him. I want to try and talk some sense to him, tell him the way things are. But I can’t. That kid’s long gone, and this old man is all that’s left.”

In the movie, Red gets parole. In real-life Virginia, the system could not be any different: Even old men – prisoners in their 70s and 80s who have served decades behind bars – are routinely denied parole.

“My husband has been in jail for 25 years. He was told he would be eligible for parole 12 years ago, which means for the past 12 years, we have gotten our hopes up and have been let down time and time again. He is in his 70s, and he just wants to come home,” said the wife of 73-year-old prisoner. She asked that her name not be published.

The Virginia General Assembly abolished parole in 1995 under then-Gov. George Allen. So criminal defendants sentenced to prison after 1995 have no opportunity for parole at all.

But more than 3,500 people in Virginia’s prison system committed their crime before 1995, and they are eligible for parole under the old system, according to William W. Muse, chairman of the Virginia Parole Board.

At least, those prisoners are theoretically eligible for parole. In practice, they rarely get it. In 2012, the Parole Board decided 3,156 cases and granted parole to just 116 prisoners, according to Virginia CURE, an advocacy group for criminal justice reforms.

In other words, prisoners up for parole had just a 3.7 percent chance of getting it. In 2011, the odds were even worse – 3.5 percent.

The Parole Board members are appointed by the governor and serve terms of four years. Muse said the board itself does not interview inmates.

“The parole examiners do the interviews in person or by video conference. We look at the examiner’s as well as Department of Corrections’ data on the original offense and how he has acted since he was incarcerated. After that, the decision is basically done by the computer,” Muse said.

An inmate goes up for parole once a year; if denied, he (the vast majority of prisoners are men) gets a list of reasons based on data entered into computers by the Parole Board.

In January, for example, the board denied parole to an 82-year-old man. The reasons: “Serious disregard for property rights” and “Serious nature and circumstances of offense.” (The documents on the Parole Board’s website do not indicate the crime.)

That same month, a 75-year-old man was also denied parole. The board gave four reasons:

1. “Considering all of the offender’s records, the Board concludes that the offender should serve more of the sentence prior to release on parole”
2. “History of violence – indicates serious risk to the community”
3. “Risk to the community”
4. “Serious nature and circumstances of offense”

The inmate’s wife said the reasons for denial are overly vague and serve no constructive purposes.

“The inmates get trapped with ‘Serious nature of the offense’ quite often, which essentially means in the eyes of the Parole Board, you haven’t served enough time. There is no clear knowledge of what these inmates need to do to have their parole granted. They need a definite goal,” she said.

She also said the Parole Board’s five-member staff may not be large enough to process the near 4,000 inmates eligible for parole.

“With only two full-time members, it is impossible for the board to personally meet with every prisoner. It would be nice if they could meet with the prisoners themselves so they could at least know who they are talking to rather than base their decisions off of words on a computer screen,” the woman said.

Capital News Service examined the Parole Board’s decisions for December and January. During those two months, the board denied parole in 536 of 547 cases – 98 percent. Parole was denied to every prisoner over age 51, including 21 prisoners over 70.

Muse said the high number of elderly denials in that stretch was a coincidence.

During this year’s legislative session, Delegate Mark Sickles, D-Alexandria, proposed a bill requiring the Parole Board to give inmates “specific reasons” why they have been denied granted parole. The General Assembly unanimously passed House Bill 2103, and Gov. Bob McDonnell signed it into law.

“It is an unjust situation. It is hard to move any legislation on this topic in Virginia, but small steps are still celebrated. This bill was a no-brainer,” Sickles said. “How are these prisoners supposed to know what to do and what they are doing wrong with no clear insight at all?”

In Virginia, being tough on criminals is a popular, easy stance for politicians to take, Sickles noted. But in reality, there are flaws in the way the criminal justice system processes criminals.

“In politics, if it takes time to explain an issue, you are losing. No one takes the time to learn the facts. Saying you are tough on crime may go over well on the campaign trail, but in reality, crime isn’t lower now than in 1995 before parole was abolished. In many cases, new prisoners are committing the same crimes as old prisoners, and are getting out of jail faster than the pre-1995 inmates,” Sickles said.

Virginia CURE, a non-profit group, supports inmates and families in the criminal justice and prison system. Carla Peterson, the organization’s director, said Sickles’ bill is a step, albeit a small one, in the right direction.

“A previous bill required the parole board to put grant rates on the Internet. Once that happened, we started to see the same three or four reasons,” Peterson said.

“What Delegate Sickles’ bill will hopefully do is provide a more individualized look into why an inmate has not been granted parole. Bills related to parole have to be small in scale, because there is no way a powerful bill would ever pass in Virginia.”

Stephen Northup, the executive director of Virginians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty and a retired lawyer, dedicated a portion of his career to parole reform

“I have represented a number of prisoners before the Parole Board with some success. At one point, I was asked to work on the problem with parole in Virginia. We filed a class action lawsuit in February of 2010 in an attempt to open up the process. Unfortunately, the case was thrown out by the District Court in a 2-1 decision,” Northup said.

He said the high denial rate for parole in Virginia has an effect on more than just the inmates and their families.

“Many model prisoners are getting turned down for ‘Nature of the crime.’ The door has been slammed on ‘old law’ prisoners. Many of them have good records but are made to rot in prison at the taxpayer’s expense. It isn’t cheap to keep a 70-year-old in jail. It has gotten to the point where the governor is the only person that can change this,” he said.

HB 2103 wasn’t the only criminal justice reform bill before the General Assembly this year.

McDonnell called on legislators to pass a law to automatically restore the civil rights of nonviolent felons who have served their prison sentences. Democrats and some prominent Republicans, including Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, supported the idea; however, House Republicans killed it.

Sickles, Northup and Peterson all agreed that HB 2103 is a small but important step toward fixing the parole problems. However, Muse said he does not think the bill will have any effect.

“Letting prisoners know the reasons for their denial has been part of our policy for years. Some might argue the reasons aren’t specific enough, but our board has been pretty good about giving multiple reasons and a better feel for what our thinking is,” Muse said.

Sickles’ bill will take effect July 1. The wife of the 73-year-old inmate said she is hopeful that the bill will enable her husband to figure out exactly what he needs to do to come home.

“I applaud Gov. McDonnell for all he has done for felons. He has done a lot for re-entry, but mostly for ‘new law’ inmates. I recently came across the commonwealth’s attorney who prosecuted my husband, and he was astonished when I told him he was still in jail,” she said.

Capital News Service is a student news-gathering program sponsored by the School of Mass Communications at Virginia Commonwealth University.

On the web

The website for the Virginia Parole Board is www.vadoc.state.va.us/vpb/. At the bottom of the page is a link to the board’s monthly decisions.

The website for Virginia CURE is http://vacure.org/

Data and a chart about the Parole Board’s decisions are at http://tinyurl.com/va-parole-decisions

For Virginia inmates, little hope of parole  originally appeared on Rappahannock News on May. 17, 2013.

That across-the-board raise was one of two major focuses of this year’s school budget, which was originally proposed as a $445,932 increase over last year’s budget, but was cut down to $300,000 by the supervisors May 6. The budget now stands at $12.47 million.

The other major focus was replacing the school division’s aging bus fleet, which, according to the school system’s administration director Robert Stump, is one of the oldest in the state. Ten of Rappahannock’s 27 buses are at least 15 years old, and 11 are between 14 and 20 years old. The school board had built $155,022 into the budget to allow them to start replacing two school buses every year, with help from a federal grant program.

Interim superintendent Kathleen Grove recommended the board comply with the supervisors’ bottom line by cutting half of the money for the two replacement buses ($77,511) and eliminating an unnamed central office position ($133,024, including benefits and insurance costs).

Those cuts would actually be more than what the supervisors required; Grove suggested the money could be used to repair the school’s 14-passenger bus as well as update the high school’s math and chemistry books.

Grove further suggested the board modify the athletic director position to include acting as a facilities supervisor ($13,868), a recommendation the board agreed with and approved at its regular meeting Tuesday night (May 14). The board also unanimously agreed to cut the administrative office position.

Jackson district board member Amy Hitt offered an alternative strategy, however. Hitt agreed with cutting the central office position, but advised leaving the transportation funds intact, instead cutting $35,158 previously reserved for state-mandated adoption of new textbooks; Hitt suggested that cost could be covered by the board’s end-of-year funds this year.

Hitt then proposed a novel solution to replace the school system’s buses, presenting the board with a quote from Sonny Merriman, a Virginia bus dealership. Hitt said she spoke to Fauquier County transportation director Cheryl Fisher, who placed an order with Sonny Merriman for more buses than the county can use after Fauquier’s Board of Supervisors only approved funding for eight.

Hitt said Rappahannock could lease the remaining 10 “top of the line” new Thomas buses for $134,000 (less than the $155,000 already in the budget). The school system would be locked into that rate (a yearly fee, which includes a 1.8-percent interest rate) for the next six years, but could also replace half its fleet in time for the start of the school year in August.

“If we only replace two buses a year, the fleet will be old before it’s ever new,” Hitt said.

Even if Rappahannock received funding from the federal bus grant, those buses wouldn’t be available until December. Furthermore, Hitt said, the grant is run off a lottery system, meaning Rappahannock might not even win. Meanwhile, the grant may not be available in future years (it is renewed on a year-by-year basis).

Hitt also suggested that, with the money the board would save on maintenance and fuel costs with new buses, in six years they could potentially have enough money to lease another 10 buses for the same price, replacing the entire fleet in just six years. The current replacement model, Hitt and board member Chris Ubben pointed out, would take between 10 and 18 years to fully replace the fleet.

“Buying one bus a year leaves us no better off than we are right now,” said Ubben.

Though the other board members agreed it was an attractive offer, board chairman John Lesinski and Paul Brown expressed some concerns over the proposal. Brown pointed out that most of the projected savings from the new buses relied on decreased maintenance costs, which would actually rise after the first year as the buses accumulated more wear and tear.

“We’re not not going to save $40,000 [in repair costs] every year,” Brown said.

Lesinski also pointed out that potentially replacing the whole fleet at once means the buses would all age at the same rate, putting the school division’s future stewards in the same predicament as the current board, requiring another mass replacement down the line.

“I just want to make sure this is the wisest way to spend the taxpayer’s money and do what we need to do with it,” said Lesinski. “I’m intrigued by the opportunity . . . [but] I think replacing five might make more sense than 10.”

Lesinski and Brown also expressed concerns over being locked into paying $134,000 every year for the next six years, citing increased future health care costs.

“I’m worried it’s going to look like we tried to put one over on the board of supervisors,” Brown said, advocating that more research be done and the supervisors be informed of the board’s new option. Lesinski agreed, adding that it was important the school board “be mindful of that relationship.”

“I agree we need to converse with the board of supervisors . . . [but] tell them this opportunity fell into my lap . . . It won’t be available next year, and we won’t come across it again,” Hitt said Tuesday night, adding that if the board made the loan payments a line item, it would be safe from possible future budget cuts.

“We’re always going to have to find the money for something,” said Ubben. “This is a good deal. I don’t see how anyone could take offense at it . . . We can’t pass it up just because someone might be offended.”

The board members agreed to set up a meeting with members of the board of supervisors; as of Tuesday, a date had not been set. Though the board has until the end of June to formally adopt a budget, Hitt said the offer from Sonny Merriman expires at the end of this month.

School board eyes 10 buses originally appeared on Rappahannock News on May. 16, 2013.

RICHMOND – An 8-year-old girl rides her bike through familiar neighborhood streets, her feet pedaling fast as the ground flashes underneath. She doesn’t notice the car that has been trailing her. It is full of men who were told by her father where and when they could find her. Her father sold her to them.

The car pulls over and men grab her, pulling her into the vehicle. The little girl was Elisabeth Corey. When she was growing up in Northern Virginia, she said, her father would sell her to men and brothels for “entertainment.”

Human trafficking survivors like Corey and their support groups are speaking out and working with state legislators to combat the problem of human trafficking in Virginia.

“I always thought of trafficking to be a problem somewhere else in the world,” said Delegate David Bulova, D-Fairfax.

However, Corey’s story proves it happens in everyday American neighborhoods. Among all states, Virginia is No. 7 in the most reported cases of human trafficking, according to the National Human Trafficking Resource Center’s hotline and the Polaris Project, a group seeking to address the problem.

Experts say human trafficking is prevalent in Virginia because it’s on the East Coast.

“A lot of international traffic occurs here. We have Dulles, Hampton Roads and a major route on the Eastern corridor with 95,” Bulova said. “What makes Virginia rich for commerce also makes it easier for traffickers to operate behind the scenes.”

Until recently, another reason has been the lack of strong laws and coordinated law enforcement against human trafficking, said Sara Pomeroy, founder of the Richmond Justice Initiative, another anti-trafficking group.

But that’s changing as the General Assembly spent the past three sessions strengthening these laws, Pomeroy said.

In 2012, for example, Bulova successfully sponsored legislation requiring strip clubs to put up posters with the national hotline’s number – 888-373-7888.

This year, Bulova secured passage of a law requiring truck stops to display the posters to “alert potential human trafficking victims of the availability of assistance” and help bridge the gap between victims and law enforcement.

“By providing a way for people to anonymously say they think they have seen human trafficking or a victim, it helps close that gap,” Bulova said.

Also this year, Delegate Rob Bell, R-Albemarle County, sponsored a law that added getting money for obtaining a person to a list of crimes that a multijurisdictional grand jury can investigate.

“We have a long way to go before we get rid of human trafficking, but we are ahead of the pack,” Bulova said.

Besides legislators, several groups in Virginia are working to raise awareness and fight human trafficking at the grassroots level.

Carolina Velez works as a sexual violence counselor with Safe Harbor in Richmond. She started working with human trafficking victims a decade ago.

“Ten years ago, it was not a topic people use to talk about,” Velez said. “Now, people are paying attention.”

Although more people are talking about the problem, hard facts and statistics on human trafficking are difficult to find.

“I can’t think of any field in criminal justice where there is more talk and less data,” said Jay Albanese, a criminologist and professor at Virginia Commonwealth University. “Without data, you don’t know the size of the problem. You don’t know whether you are making progress against the problem.”

But Albanese and other experts believe the problem is substantial. “Human trafficking is in the top five of all crime problems,” he said.

That’s because the trade in human beings can be more lucrative than drug trafficking. “Drugs are trafficked, they are used, they’re gone. If you are a human trafficking victim, you are trafficked over and over again,” Albanese said. He said this has a “much higher human cost.”

Advocates like Pomeroy are standing up for those victims.

“It’s everyone’s job to look after those in need, and these are victims who can’t speak for themselves,” Pomeroy said.

Most victims are women age 20-39, according to the Report on the Human Trafficking Services Needs Assessment Survey by the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Service.

The survey said most victims came from the United States or Latin America (or were Hispanics living in the U.S.)

Eighty percent of the victims are forced into prostitution or to be household workers. The other 20 percent are forced to do intensive labor. They work in fields, restaurants and in the food processing industry for no pay.

“It is slavery,” Pomeroy said. “The people have no rights, and they can’t leave.”

Just last week, federal authorities started investigating a case at the home of the Saudi military attaché in McLean, where two women from the Philippines say they were mistreated and kept against their will.

Pomeroy defines human trafficking as an exploitation of vulnerability. Traffickers prey on this characteristic. They usually target people who are undocumented migrants, homeless youth or people who are oppressed or poor.

Traffickers promise victims a better life, work and money. They gain the victims’ trust —and then use physical and psychological methods to control them.

“Most of the time the victims don’t think they are being victims of a crime,” Velez said. “It is so psychologically hard on the victims. (Traffickers) make them perceive they are giving them what they are not able to get at home or in relationships.”

Experts estimate that about 21 million people throughout the world currently are victims of human trafficking. From the people she has helped, Velez believes most victims have something in common:

“What has touched me is seeing the resiliency. It’s amazing how people can survive in those circumstances and still have hope.”

Capital News Service is a student news-gathering program sponsored by the School of Mass Communications at Virginia Commonwealth University.

On the web

The U.S. State Department’s 2012 report on human trafficking is available at state.gov/documents/organization/192587.pdf.

The Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services has posted its Report on Human Trafficking Services Needs Assessment Survey at dcjs.virginia.gov/victims/documents/HTNeedsAssessmentSurvey.pdf.

The state Attorney General’s Office has posted a comprehensive list of Virginia’s human trafficking laws at http://tinyurl.com/va-ag-ht.

Groups, legislators tackle human trafficking originally appeared on Rappahannock News on May. 16, 2013.

In April, the council heard a presentation from Rappahannock Friends and Lovers of Our Watershed (RappFLOW) members which outlined a multi-year plan to renovate and beautify the pond and surrounding areas at Avon Hall, the former estate left to the town by the late William Carrigan.

As council member Dan Spethmann pointed out Monday, those plans are already underway, with much of the grass trimmed and some of it removed (for areas to be seeded with perennial and annual plants). Spethmann said the seeding has actually already begun, with a local contractor hired to properly spread the herbicides.

Spethmann added that additional plans include laying the foundation for a natural meadow and placing aquatic plants in the pond in an effort to help clean the water.

The town received several grants to put toward this project, Spethmann said, including $3,500 from the Culpeper Soil and Water Conservation District to be paid to the town when the project is finished.

“The goal is to do this as cost effectively as possible,” Spethmann said, noting that, after the initial cost of clean-up, the completed project will actually be less costly and work-intensive than to maintain than the current version of Avon Hall.

The council unanimously agreed (7-0) to earmark $3,500 – the amount of the eventual CSWCD grant – for the restoration.

The council also voted to appointed John MacPherson to the ARB in place of Michelle Schwartz. MacPherson, who owns and operates the Foster Harris House with his wife, Diane, was one of two applicants for the position.

“I’m tickled pink that people want get involved,” said Spethmann – a sentiment echoed by the rest of the council members. Mayor John Fox Sullivan “pretty enthusiastically” recommended McPherson for the position.

Sullivan also took a moment to recognize ARB chairman Kevin Adams, who resigned this week since he is moving beyond the town limits and will thus be unable to continue in his current position (his replacement has not yet been found).

“I think being the head of the ARB is one of the hardest jobs in the town because you have a set of standards to maintain . . . [and] you’re dealing with friends and neighbors who’d like to hear the word ‘Yes,’ ” said Sullivan. “You’ve done it with class and grace and you will be missed.”

Lastly, at MacPherson’s request, the council began discussing the possibility of allowing B&Bs to serve dinner to customers who aren’t also currently paying for lodging. MacPherson, who recently renovated his B&B’s kitchen to allow the Foster Harris House to serve dinner to its lodgers, said he spoke to County Administrator John McCarthy on the matter.

McCarthy said that while the county ordinance allows B&Bs to serve dinner to outside guests, the town’s ordinance only allows dinner to be served to overnight guests at that establishment. Changing this would require the council to either recommend the town’s planning commission issue a special-use permit or revise the town’s ordinance.

MacPherson said he had no plans to operate as a restaurant, and would restrict the maximum number of diners (including overnight guests) to a maximum of 10 people. MacPherson said he’d likely use an email chain to inform people of the number of seats available on a certain night.

“We’d like to open it up to the county when we’re not full,” said MacPherson. “I think it’d be great for the town to keep people and give them a chance to settle in a bit more.”

Flint Hill innkeeper Phil Irwin voiced his support of the MacPhersons’ proposal, calling it a “natural extension” of the already-approved purpose of a B&B. Irwin did, however, echo some of the council’s concern that, if approved, the term “bed and breakfast” would no longer strictly apply and a new definition would be needed.

“It’s important not to consider this is isolation,” said council member and Inn at Little Washington proprietor Patrick O’Connell (whose establishment has long been classified as a hotel, which can serve meals to anyone). “Whatever we do for one B&B, we’ll have to do for all of them.”

“It’s kind of like farmland – once you give it up, you can’t get it back,” added vice-mayor Gary Schwartz.

Council member Mary Ann Kuhn (proprietor of the Middleton Inn B&B) suggested the creation of a new category that would allow dinner to be served, but recommended first that the council meet with town attorney John Bennett (who was absent from Monday’s meeting), McCarthy and the planning commission.

A work session on the matter is scheduled for 7 p.m. June 4 at the courthouse.

Town funds cleanup, weighs B&B dinner changes originally appeared on Rappahannock News on May. 16, 2013.

Two days after Rappahannock County Elementary School parents received a letter sent home by principal Cathy Jones April 29 informing them that a child reported that another student, reportedly a fourth-grader, had “said he/she was going to and/or had brought a firearm to school,” another, older student at the high school posted a comment to a social media site. (Facebook is a social media site, though no one will say if that’s where the comment appeared.) A parent reading the post that afternoon interpreted it as threatening and notified the school.

“As a precaution,” said interim schools superintendent Kathleen Grove this week, “just because we had not investigated, both of the schools were secured.”

Locked down?

“I’m not a big fan of the word ‘lockdown,’ ” Grove said, “because of its association with prisons. We instituted our shelter-in-place procedure. The classrooms were secured, and the Sheriff’s Office was called.”

Sheriff’s investigators quickly determined who posted the comment, and that it was not meant to be threatening but was merely a comment on the earlier incident at the elementary school. Sheriff Connie Smith “did speak with the student,” Grove said. “Students need to understand that remarks like this that they post impulsively have repercussions.”

At the elementary school, after a sheriff’s deputy and administrators met the child’s bus on arrival the day after the student’s report of the gun comment, and searched the child’s backpack and found no weapon, “appropriate disciplinary action” was taken. “The child is not present at school,” Jones said in her letter to parents and staff.

Grove, constrained by privacy laws, would not elaborate.

“It’s important to acknowledge that children use poor judgement,” she said. “That’s one of the reasons why they’re . . . in school.”

Gun report, social media post lock down schools originally appeared on Rappahannock News on May. 16, 2013.

Fauquier County prosecutors want a murder suspect with a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head committed to a hospital for 24-hour care.

The Fauquier Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office filed an emergency motion to revoke the bond of Judy Kay Deal and to have her committed to Western State Hospital. A circuit judge will consider the motion today (Thursday, May 16).

Judy Kay Deal

On Nov. 20, 2011, Deal allegedly shot her estranged husband, John M. Deal, 60, in the torso at his home on Crest Hill Road, according to a search warrant. The shot came after a heated argument between the two. Deal then allegedly turned the gun on herself, shooting herself in the head.

At the time, Rappahannock County native Deal was living in the town of Washington.

Late last year, Judge Jeffrey W. Parker ruled for Deal to continue her mental rehabilitation until June before a final decision is made whether or not Deal is fit to stand trial.

But prosecutors believe her rehab isn’t going as fast as it could.

According to the motion filed in circuit court, “The defendant remains incompetent to stand trial at the present time. However, she may be restored to competency through [Dr. Scott Bender’s] recommendation of in-patient treatment at Western State Hospital.”

The Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office believes Deal “may be embellishing her symptoms, but given the severity of her injuries and the complexity of her case, [Bender] cannot affirmatively opine as to her malingering.”

In an attached report, Bender, an associate professor of psychiatry and neurobiological sciences at the University of Virginia, discussed the extent of Deal’s injuries from the gunshot. The bullet went into her head “at the left submandibular region” and exited at the top of the left frontal bone. When paramedics reached her in her home, she was conscious and able to speak.

In the intervening time, Deal has been listless and apathetic, Bender said. Between May and September of last year, she had speech, occupational and cognitive therapy twice a week. But she has had trouble finding words and finishing sentences.

She has had a year of outpatient care from her home, where she now lives with her boyfriend, adult son and daughter, Bender said.

In the report, Bender said Deal “showed behaviors difficult to explain from a purely neurological perspective.”

For example, he said, “while spontaneous speech was variable but also sometimes intact, her speech and comprehension consistently deteriorated when asked about her husband.”

When questioned, Deal said she was unaware that the shooting had taken place, Bender said.

“She also stated repeatedly that she did not know what attorneys, courts, judges or juries are,” he said.

Prosecutors seek to revoke bond in Deal murder case originally appeared on Rappahannock News on May. 16, 2013.

Castleton resident Ethan Cody Newcamp was issued a bond by Judge J. Gregory Ashwell in Rappahannock County District Court Tuesday morning (May 14). The 19-year-old Newcamp, who is charged with one count each of grand larceny and entering a house to commit assault and battery, has a trial date June 4.

Newcamp’s counsel requested a bond for her client, noting that he had never failed to appear for a court date and could return to work as a roofer if released from Rappahannock County Jail. Newcamp said he would be residing with his parents in Castleton if released.

Commonwealth’s Attorney Art Goff recommended Newcamp be released on a $5,000 secure bond, on the conditions that he maintain his employment, undergo pretrial supervision and have no contact with either of the victims in his cases.

Ashwell acquiesced to Goff’s recommendation, releasing Newcamp from jail pending payment of the $5,000 bond.

Lisa Michelle Spencer, 27, of Front Royal, who is charged with one count of grand larceny and two counts of manufacturing a controlled substance, was assigned a public defender Tuesday morning. Her case was continued to June 18.

Grand jury

Four people were indicted by a grand jury convened Monday (May 13) in Rappahannock County Circuit Court, including one direct indictment of Tracy Marie Fincham. Fincham is charged with one count of grand larceny.

Among the three other indictments was Michael Charles Yeoman, 47, of Herndon, who was indicted on one count of possession of cocaine. Rixeyville resident Walter William Taylor, 20, was charged with one count of destruction of property and 23-year-old Lauren Chantelle Pokorny, of Catlett, was charged with one count of possessing heroin.

Arrests

On the evening of May 5, Rappahannock County Sheriff’s Deputy C. Koglin observed a 2003 Ford pickup truck with defective equipment traveling on U.S. 522 in the area of Mountain View. The driver was 39-year-old Yancee Victor Ash of Remington. Koglin found Ash was in possession of marijuana; he is charged with misdemeanor possession and defective equipment. He is scheduled to appear in court June 18.

Crime and Courts for May 16 originally appeared on Rappahannock News on May. 16, 2013.

Walk to honor those who fought, who continue to fight and those who’ve won the fight against cancer at this weekend’s annual Rappahannock Relay for Life, at the high school starting at 6 p.m. Saturday – and going on into Sunday. You can still donate or participate — visit rapprelay.org or call Karen Williams (540-635-4673) or Carolyn Leake (540-635-2073).

The shows go on, on Gay Street

Drama: Friday and Saturday; classical piano, Sunday.

RAAC Community Theatre presents Anton Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya as one part of a busy weekend this Friday and Saturday (May 17-18) at 8 p.m. both nights. There are still seats available for both performances.

Canadian pianist Audrey Andrist

The cast lineup includes two father/daughter pairs. Andy Platt is playing the title role of Vanya and his daughter Erin Switzer appears as Yelena. Howard Coon portrays Doctor Astrov, while his daughter Lakota is playing Sonya. The other actors are Joyce Abell, Steve Carroll, Patty Hardee and Mike Mahoney. Tickets for the play are $15. For reservations, visit raac.org/theatre.html or call 540-675-3193.

Continuing the busy cultural weekend, Sunday afternoon (May 19), Canadian pianist Audrey Andrist returns to the Theatre at Washington at 4 p.m. in a solo recital. Andrist’s performance features two sonatas by Beethoven, as well as works by Bach and Mendelssohn. Tickets for the concert are $25 ($10 for students 17 and younger). For reservations, call 540-675-1253 or email TheatreVA@aol.com.

Public House’s first summer festival

Tastings from several local vineyards and some of Virginia’s top craft brewers, along with three popular country bands are the focus of the Flint Hill Public House Restaurant & Inn’s first “backyard festival” on June 15.

The Speakeasy Boys take the stage as part of the Flint Hill Public House’s first summer festival June 15.

Tastings include many brewers, such as Legend Brewing, Bold Rock Cidery, Devil’s Backbone Brewing, Starr Hill Brewing, 3 Brothers Brewery, James River Brewing and Flint Hill Stout Brewing, as well as samples from participating local wineries (Little Washington Winery & Vineyards, Gadino Cellars, Desert Rose Ranch & Winery, Mountain View Vineyard, Gray Ghost Vineyards, DuCard Vineyards and Rappahannock Cellars).

The Shenandoah Travelers, the Speakeasy Boys and the Gold Top County Ramblers will provide entertainment throughout the day and early evening.

Tickets to the tasting and music are $20 and available online at flinthillva.com/backyard-festival. Tickets at the door, if available, are $30. Non-tasting tickets are $10. Guests must be 21 or older to drink and an adult must accompany children at all times; pets are welcome but must be on leashes. Seating is not supplied, but guests may bring quilts or lawn chairs. Hot dogs and hamburgers are available from the grill at an additional fee; the restaurant’s full menu will be served only indoors or on the patio.

For more information, call 540-675-1700 or email info@flinthillva.com.

R.H. Ballard: No. 3, with a bullet

R.H. Ballard’s was recently voted number three on the “Best Gift Shop” list in Virginia Living Magazine’s reader’s survey.

As the Washington’s own R.H. Ballard gallery and shop dispatched to customers in an email blast this week: The No. 1 spot as central Virginia’s “Best Gift Shop” in Virginia Living magazine annual reader’s survey, Best of Virginia 2013, “would have been wonderful, however . . . with over 25,000 readers participating in this survey, R.H. Ballard’s is elated that the shop, located in ‘Little’ Washington (with a population of 133), is in the same company as two lovely shops located in Richmond (with a population of 210,000), our fair capital and one of the largest cities in the state of Virginia.

“A huge thank you and lots of hugs to all of the special customers and fans who have been shopping there for many years,” wrote Joanie Ballard. “Number 3 is sweet as can be because of you!”

Spicy plum in the Big Apple

The Summer Fancy Food Show on the East Coast is a big deal for the specialty food trade. With its sister event on the West Coast, the National Association for the Specialty Food Trade (NASFT) brings in more than 40,000 attendees from 80-plus countries to see 260,000 innovative specialty food products each year.

For the past two years the show has been held in Washington, D.C., while the Jacob Javits Center in New York was renovated. This year it is back at the Javits Centers, and not only is Virginia well represented, but Rappahannock County’s Virginia Chutney Company is right in the thick of things.

The show dates are June 30-July 2, and Virginia is hosting a large pavilion, with companies exhibiting a wide range of specialty food and beverage products to corporate business prospects from around the world. Twenty-six Virginia firms will be on the show floor, with Virginia foods that include confections, snacks, spices, ethnic foods, hot sauces, peanuts, ham, potato chips, oils, natural and organic products, fruitcakes, sparkling ciders, pasta, pudding, cakes and cookies, gluten free products, frozen hors d’oeuvres/appetizers – and chutney.

One of the highlights of the Summer Fancy Food Show will be the 2013 sofi Awards Ceremony. The sofi awards from the NASFT are the highest honor in the specialty food industry; “sofi” stands for “specialty outstanding food innovation.” sofi award winners and finalists represent the best of the best in specialty food and beverages. This year’s finalists were selected from 1,885 entries from members of the Specialty Food Association. A national panel of specialty food experts selected 109 finalists across 30 awards categories.

The three Virginia finalists include Olli Salumeria, Pepperoni (meat, pate, seafood) of Mechanicsville; Route 11 Potato Chips, Lightly Salted Chips (snack food), of Mt. Jackson and the Virginia Chutney Company, Spicy Plum Chutney (condiment), of Washington.

That’s our Washington.

The Rapp for May 16 originally appeared on Rappahannock News on May. 16, 2013.

The last time such a measurement occurred that was this high, say scientists, happened three million years ago. That was during an epoch called the Pliocene, long before our earliest human ancestors even started using stone tools. The earth’s climate was then far warmer, the world’s ice caps much smaller and the sea level as much as 80 feet higher than today.

The record measurement – of an average daily level above 400 parts per million – is for the heat-trapping gas we know as carbon dioxide (CO2).  

For the past one million years, the carbon dioxide level fluctuated in a narrow band of 180 parts per million (during the Ice Ages) and 280 parts per million (during warm periods). And for the entire 8,000 years of human civilization, the carbon dioxide level had remained relatively constant until the Industrial Revolution, when large scale burning of fossil fuels began.

Releasing the carbon stored in those fossil fuels has caused more than a 40 percent increase in the heat-trapping – and climate-altering – gas. The 400 parts per million record means, in the words of one scientist, “we are quickly losing the possibility of keeping the climate below what people thought were possibly tolerable thresholds.”

“It feels like the inevitable march toward disaster,” says another. “It takes a long time to melt ice, but we’re doing it,” says yet another scientist.

“It’s scary!”

Walter Nicklin
Publisher

Editorial: ‘It’s scary!’ originally appeared on Rappahannock News on May. 16, 2013.