REVENGE BELONGS TO KETTLE RUN: Liberty’s boys fell in hoops last Friday. Page 16
January 22, 2020
Our 203rd year | Vol. 203, No. 4 | www.Fauquier.com | $1.50
City of Alexandria police commander named new Warrenton Police chief Michael Kochis looking forward to providing stability for town’s law enforcement officers By Robin Earl
Times Staff Writer
Michael Kochis, newly appointed chief of the Town of Warrenton Police Department, met his officers for the first time Wednesday, Jan. 15.
He said it’s the first step in his listening campaign to get to know the members of his department and the people of the town of Warrenton. He’s coming in with no pre-conceived notions, he said, “I’ll come in on day one and listen.”
Gold Cup chair Al Griffin named president of National Steeplechase Association
He added that he is looking forward to providing stability for the department. Lt. Tim Carter, who has been serving as interim chief since October of 2018, is delighted with Kochis’ appointment. “I feel like it’s the night before Christmas. The chief is our present. We can’t wait to unwrap him and see what happens next.” He added that “Feb. 3 [Koch-
is’s starting date] can’t come fast enough. I’ve worked under four chiefs already and I’m looking forward to the next phase.” He added that he is eager to get back to his role as a patrol leader. Carter said he’s learned a lot as interim chief; then grinned, “I was just starting to get good at delegating.” See POLICE CHIEF, page 9 TIMES STAFF PHOTO/ROBIN EARL
During a Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. remembrance event Monday at Highland School in Warrenton, Tiana Minor, a 12th grader at Fauquier High School and a member of Mount Zion Missionary Baptist Church, reads the essay that earned her a youth award from Mount Zion’s Martin Luther King Jr. Committee.
Fauquier dentist becomes first Virginia horseman to hold the reins since 1970s By Betsy Burke Parker Special to the Times
Co-chair of the Virginia Gold Cup and longtime Fauquier horseman Dr. Alfred C. Griffin Jr. was elected president of the National Steeplechase Association at the group’s Jan. 17 board meeting. Al Griffin becomes the first Virginian to rule the governing body of American steeplechasing since the late Randy Rouse was NSA presiAL GRIFFIN dent in the early 1970s. Griffin, a resident of Marshall, succeeds three-term NSA president Guy Torsilieri. Torsilieri is long-time chairman of the nation’s richest steeplechase meet – the Far Hills Races in New Jersey. Torsilieri will replace Beverly Steinman as chairman of the group’s board of directors. Tennessee horsewoman Virginia Lazenby was elected vice-president, Upperville’s Robert Bonnie as secretary and Georgia-based Mason Hardaway Lampton as treasurer. The executive ballot marks a notable first for NSA – the leadership is 100 percent from the “South,” with three of the four having started their steeplechase See GOLD CUP, page 3
Monday’s MLK celebrations explore King’s legacy By Coy Ferrell
Contributing Writer
“Injustice is not an option. Vote!” was the theme of the “community celebrations” organized by Mount Zion Missionary Baptist Church to honor the life and legacy of The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on Monday, Jan. 20. The first event was at INSIDE Business.............................................13 Classified............................................36 Communities......................................29 History................................................21
Highland School and the second at Lord Fairfax Community College. About 175 people attended the 1 p.m. event at Highland, including many local elected officials and numerous clergy members from the area. In addition to prayers and remarks by clergy, there were recitations of essays and a poem written on the day’s theme and a presentaLifestyle..............................................23 Opinion...............................................10 Obituaries...........................................33 Sports.................................................15
tion of awards by the Martin Luther King Jr. committee of Mount Zion. At the later event at LFCC, about 100 people filled the event space at “The Barn” at the Fauquier campus. Underscoring the day’s theme, the Afro-American Historical Association of Fauquier County provided an See MLK, page 4
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