Early April 2016 Warren and Frederick County Report

Warren FREE County Report WarrenCountyVA.com

Volume X1, Issue 7 · Early April, 2016

FrederickCounty.com

Winchester’s historic Fort Loudoun

New life-saving apparatus for Shenandoah Farms area

Local caverns

Page • Warren & Frederick County Report • Early April, 2016

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Historic Fort Loudoun and Winchester, VA

In 1754 at 22 years of age George Washington, with no prior military training or experience, was given command of the Virginia Regiment to lead into the Ohio Valley to drive French forces out of Fort Duquesne at the site of present day Pittsburg, PA. The result of this failed expedition led eventually to the outbreak of what became known as the French and Indian War. In 1756 war erupted into a worldwide conflict known in Europe and Canada as the “Seven Years War”, 1756-1763. The war was ultimately fought on five continents, North America, Europe, Africa, Asia and

South America, a truly “World War”.

The French and Indian War, as the conflict is known in the U.S., is often referred to as “The War that made America” because it set in motion forces that would culminate in the American Revolution. It began in the wilderness of the Pennsylvania frontier and spread throughout the colonies, into Canada and ultimately around the world.

At the direction of the Virginia House of Burgesses in 1756, George Washington began construction of a chain of forts for the defense of the colony’s frontier. Eventually, more than 80 military and settler forts,

2016 Fort Loudoun Day

Join us for the commemoration of the 260th anniversary of the beginning of the construction of Fort Loudoun at the site of the original 1756-1758 fort. Tours of the site will be offered throughout the day. The event will also include historians and interpreters of the history of the era which offer visitors an opportunity to learn about the history of the frontier, the people who settled the Shenandoah Valley and the conditions in which they lived. May 14, 2016 from 10 am to 3 pm at 419 N. Loudoun St., Winchester, VA.

also known as “country forts”, were established on the Virginia frontier that would extend from the Potomac River to North Carolina. Fifty-four of these forts were located within the boundaries of the original Frederick and Hampshire counties of the colony of Virginia. Thirteen of the forts lay within 15 miles of Winchester and provided protection for the settlers in the region from attacks by the French and their Indian allies.

Because of its strategic location in the Shenandoah Valley, Winchester was chosen as the site for a major fortification that would be the center piece of this chain of forts. The fort would serve to protect British colonists against attack during the French & Indian War that lasted from 1756 to 1758. This fort would be Washington’s regimental headquarters from 1756-1758 and would serve as the command center for the chain of forts extending along the entire Virginia Western frontier.

Construction of Fort Loudoun itself was begun in May 1756 and may not have been completed to Washington’s satisfaction by the end of the war in 1758. The fort was designed

by Washington and he personally supervised its construction.

Built of horizontal logs filled with earth and rubble, the fort was designed with four bastions, barracks for 450 men and a well intended to supply the fort with water. The well was dug 103 ft. deep through solid limestone. Fort Loudoun was the largest fort of the period on the Virginia frontier and extended over approximately a city block of what is present day Winchester. The fort was considered so formidable by the French that they believed that it could not be successfully attacked.

The site of the fort is located at 419 N. Loudoun St., Winchester, VA. The only portions of the fort remaining today are the well and remnants of one of the four bastions. On-go-

George Washington, age 42, in uniform as Col. of the Virginia Regiment ing archaeological investigations at the site have uncovered intact period deposits including part of the foundation for the barracks as well as numerous individual artifacts including ceramics, musket balls, bayonet parts and animal bones.

The Fort Loudoun site is being preserved by the French & Indian War Foundation with its headquarters in Winchester, VA. The Foundation was formed in 2002 to increase public awareness of the impact of the French and Indian War on colonial America and to preserve the sites, documents and artifacts associated with the conflict on the Virginia frontier.

In 2002 the foundation acquired the property at 419 N. Loudoun St., known locally as the Baker-Hardy house. The property encompasses what would have been the northwest quadrant earthworks of Fort Loudoun as well as the well. The Foundation plans to use the c1850’s house

for educational purposes and as an interpretive center.

The site is listed on the Virginia Landmarks Registry and on the National Register of Historic Places.

The Foundation is working with the City of Winchester to mark the outline of the Fort with pavement markings to indicate the location of the fort’s walls. Visitors to Winchester can find additional information and an exhibit related to George Washington and Fort Loudoun at the Winchester Visitors Center.

An audio tour is available of the Fort Loudoun site, dial 703-5746110, and on the Foundation website FIWF.org\Explore & Learn. Interested readers can also find information about how they can become involved with the Foundation and assist in carrying out its mission on our website. Free, guided tours of the Fort Loudoun site are available by appointment. Contact us at: fiwf.dsg@comcast.net

Early April, 2016 • Warren & Frederick County Report • Page

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Don’t be a victim of scammers Local law enforcement officials warn about current contractor and IRS fraud

By Carol Ballard Warren & Frederick County Report Susan Smith from Smitty’s Tree Service called us at Warren County Report to send a warning to contractors about a scam targeting local businesses. “They’re getting way more smooth,� she said, describing the methods used to attempt fraud.

She said she has received numerous emails from criminals purporting to be home owners, giving her actual addresses in Front Royal and requesting that the company she and her husband Tony “Smitty� own, send someone to go and cut down trees on properties they claim are theirs.

They promise payment if the work is done and ask for a bank account number in order to pay them. They won’t accept a payment through Paypal, and won’t give any of their contact information, using the excuse that they have a disease or are deaf.

After a while, it starts to sound like the “landshark� from the old Saturday Night Live shows.

This is one example: from “Ian Smith� on January 7. “hello how are you doing today this lansmith i would like to know if you do tree service and accept credit card as means of payment? kindly get back to me asap�

Susan responded to the request: “Hello Ian - yes, we are a professional tree service and we accept credit cards through Pay Pal which charges 2.9% of the total. We offer free, no obligation estimates and can usually meet you at your convenience. Simply leave your address, phone number, and a good time to meet with you so we can schedule to see your work.

This was the message she re-

ceived after responding, “Delivery to the following recipient failed permanently: lansmith33@yahoo. com.�

Next, from January 15 to February 13, she received a series of messages, one supposedly from “Katherine Jones�, but sent from a “paul Hendry� email address.

Several more came, each time changing the name of the person or email asking about tree cutting.

Susan commented, “As you can see, the first email from Ian is very fill-inthe-blank, then they get more sophisticated and include a photo, etc.�

Susan tried to arrange a face-toface meeting to discuss the project, and asked, “When can we meet you to look at the tree/s you want removed? We’re available late mornings, evenings, Saturdays.� “paul Hendry� responded, “Hello Thanks for getting back to me the address is 59 Byers Ln, Front Royal, VA 22630, and for the phone num-

ber you can send me text because I have a problem with my hearing inspired which I need to undergo surgery which will takes 2 weeks so you can send me text on my cell phone number and i will be happy to reply to your tex----- get back with me with the total price now Each time Susan patiently replied with the same requirements for their services, and a comment about Paypal.

After one, she wrote, “Not sure why Paypal wouldn’t work but, unfortunately, it’s the only way we can take credit cards‌â€?

She received several more like this: Hello my name is Katherine Jones ,do you do tree removal service and do you also accept credit card for payments ? if so text me asap. Regard.

Hello how are you my credit card does not work with paypal or square but the other merchants.Thanks!

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download it on your Iphone or Ipad okay I believe everything will work out fine and I accept the credit card fees of 3.5% and tax all will be charge in my credit card Hello Thanks have you checked with the those apps? or anyway let me have your cell phone number so that we can keep sending text to each other I will have love to call but i am an hearing impaired that is why i am doing this via text so can still handle this for me.

Hello..this is Mr “Francisco Eddie�... and I will like to know if you are into tree removal services? “Francisco Eddie� wrote again: Here is my address 314 Shenandoah Valley Dr, Front Royal, VA 22630...go have a look and get back to me with

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an estimate ASAP....I will like to know if you accept credit cards for payment? Cos right now Am currently in the hospital for my lungs cancer and What type of credit card. Do you accept While she could see that it was an obvious scam, given the incorrect spelling and grammar used, and obvious attempt to get her private financial information, she’s concerned that inexperienced contractors may fall for it without calling a real estate agent to verify.

The scammers say they own a particular house which is empty, either waiting to be rented or sold. Contractors who do the work, not only lose money, but will be illegally creating a

See SCAMS,

Page • Warren & Frederick County Report • Early April, 2016 SCAMS, from treeless property.

Smith said that the fill-in-the blanks form has a space that targets other types of building-related businesses such as plumbing.

“I feel there needs to be a place where people can go to check on scams,” she said.

In response to the question of whether there’s a central hotline to report or check on types of scams, Robbie Seal, Community Outreach Officer for the Front Royal Police Department had some good advice.

“If you get a phone call you’re not sure about, call your local law enforcement agency. Also, it’s easy to google it.

He said he, even as a law-enforcement officer, has been targeted, but got help from googling about it.

Correction The Dare to Dream story in the Late March issue states that the Front Royal Women’s Resource Center “also awards the Kim Smith Girl Grant in the fall.”

The name of this grant should be the “Kim South Girl Grant.” This grant is named in the memory of a daughter of one of the members of the group.

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“I typed in, ‘Is this part of a scam?’ and Boom! Had all the information I needed,” he said.

“If your first impression is that it doesn’t sound right, call your local authorities and ask to speak to any officer,” he said, and added, “even if it’s not local in origin, call them anyway.

Even if the call or email comes from another country, it falls under the jurisdiction of where the resident lives.

Officers can check on it and warn others in the community.

“I know a lot of our officers would like to travel and deal with this, but we have to turn it over to the FBI,” he said, with a laugh.

He mentioned the seasonal aspect of scamming, noting that this time of year brings out IRS and home improvement asphalt/paving fraud perpetrators.

Both the Front Royal Police Department and Warren County Sheriff ’s Office have sent out warnings about IRS scams.

Chief Norman Shifflett warned: With income tax filing upon us, the event of becoming a victim of a scam can occur as a result of criminals posing as IRS and calling the general public by telephone. These IRS scams have become very successful in recent years as people are generally fearful talking with the IRS. They become aggressive and often threaten arrest, deportation, freeze on bank accounts, lien on your home or suspension of business or driver’s license, etc.

Thieves who run this scam often: Use common names and fake IRS badge numbers Know the last four digits of the victim’s social security number Make caller ID look as if the IRS is calling Send bogus emails to support the bogus calls Call a second time claiming to be the DMV or police with caller ID again supporting their claim If you receive a call from someone claiming to be from the IRS asking you to pay back taxes, here’s what you

Read full issues FREE on www.WarrenCountyVA.com & www.FrederickCounty.com should do: Write down the number and call the IRS at 800-829-1040 or You can also file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission at FTC.gov. Add “IRS Telephone Scam” to the comments of your complaint Contact your local police or sheriff ’s department Sheriff Daniel T. McEathron’s office sent out the same basic information, but added this: The IRS will never do the following: Call to demand immediate payment or call about taxes owed without first mailing you a bill Demand that you pay taxes without giving you the opportunity to dispute the amount owed Require the use of specific payment methods for owed taxes Ask for personal information over the phone (ex. Social security numbers, banking information, date of births, or credit card numbers) Threaten to have local police or other law enforcement groups arrest you for not paying You can report the IRS scam to Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration at www.treasury.gov/ tigta The Frederick County Sheriff ’s Office has encountered another kind of scam that plays on people’s fear.

Sheriff Lenny Milholland sent out a warning about a local Warrant Scam.

The warning states, “If you receive a call from someone stating they are with the Frederick County Sheriff ’s Office Warrant Department, be aware! Individuals are making calls stating you have missed court, and/or have an active warrant.

They are requesting you purchase re-loadable bond cards and send to them in order to not be arrested. They are leaving a phone number of (540) 204-7599, which does not belong to the Frederick County Sheriff ’s Office, or Winchester Police Department.

This is a fraud. Hang up with the individual(s) and contact the Frederick County Sheriff ’s Office at 540-

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The Frederick County Sheriff ’s Office will not contact you and request funds be sent through re-loadable money cards.”

When researching the multiple kinds of scams on the internet, it would be easy to become paranoid, but some safety factors are basic to them all.

Trusting your first instinct is key, but instinct can become compromised when fear is involved. As stated by Chief Shifflett, many fear talking to the IRS. Others may be financially burdened and fear bill collectors, some may fear deportation. There is another kind of fraud that plays on grandparents’ fear for the safety of their grandchildren.

A type of elder fraud targets older adults in which attempts are made to deceive with promises of goods, services, or financial benefits that do not exist, were never intended to be provided.

Cybercrime, financial fraud, Identity theft, Mass Marketing/Telemar-

keting Fraud, sweepstakes fraud, and any other type of scam can be found on the internet under the specific kind.

Keep in mind legitimate organizations would never request the following information through an e-mail: Credit Card Number Social Security Number Account Number Password To contact local law enforcement agencies: Front Royal Police Department, Call 540-635-2111. Warren County Sheriff ’s Office, call 540-6354128. Call Frederick County Sheriff ’s Office at 540-662-6162.

To report to the FBI, call 202.324.3000 or visit https://tips. fbi/gov. For Elder fraud, visit www. justice.gov/elderjustice. For financial fraud, visit www.justice.gov/usao/ find-your-united-states-attorney for a list of the 93 United States Attorney’s Offices and links to their websites.

– carol@areaguides.com

Frederick

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State House and Senate Republicans target nonpartisan elections Town Council members voted on resolution to Governor to veto the legislation

By Timothy Ratigan Warren & Frederick County Report Some of the Front Royal Town Council members want Governor Terry McAuliffe to veto legislation that would make Town elections partisan.

Such a measure would more than likely end Mayor Timothy Darr’s career as Front Royal’s mayor. Many Front Royal residents remember the battle waged back in 2013 when the council tried unsuccessfully to persuade the General Assembly to allow the town to amend its charter by moving its town elections from May to November.

Another part of those charter changes was to ensure that Front Royal’s Town elections would remain nonpartisan.

In the 2013 Mid-April edition of the Warren County Report, an article was published outlining the attempt made by Webert and Gilbert, two Warren County Delegates. The article describes how the delegates moved to totally alter the intent of the proposal – even-year November and non-partisan elections – sent to them by the town for consideration in the 2013 session of the General Assembly.

After Webert and Gilbert got the town council charter change request,

a 180-degree turn-around seems to have been enacted, moving the elections from even years to odd years and to make the elections partisan.

After the outrage from town council and private citizens, Delegate Gilbert withdrew the Webert-sponsored (and altered) charter proposal from consideration in the 2013 General Assembly session.

Now it appears that another attempt is being made to move towards partisan town elections.

Senate Bill 767, if passed, will inject partisanship into local elections. The resolution states in part, “Filling potholes, responding to fires or a burglary call, appropriate zoning and local real estate, paying teachers’ salaries, providing public water and sewer utilities, and trash collections are not partisan issues, yet those are the most important issues that local governments across Virginia confront, and are the issue most important in the daily lives of Virginia’s citizens.”

The resolution goes onto say, “If Senate Bill 767 is enacted into law, federal employees, including federal law enforcement members, and members of the United States Army, Navy, Air Force, and Coast Guard, who are stationed and reside in Virginia, would be discouraged, and possibly prohibited, from running for

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and serving in local elected office pursuant to the Hatch Act and Department of Defense Directive 1344.10.

These men and women serve their country, frequently at the risk of their lives, and should be allowed to serve the communities in which they live, pay taxes and send their children to school, and should not be disenfranchised from the local political process for raw partisan purposes which serve no demonstrable local purpose; and the Town of Front Royal is only 70 miles west of Washington, D.C., but has not qualified for exemption from the Hatch Act. Many residents of the Town of Front Royal are employed by the federal government, including the current Mayor of the Town of Front Royal.”

Councilman Eugene Tewalt went on record at the previous council work session, saying that he is in favor of keeping the town elections non-partisan and keeping Republicans, Democrats and Independents out of the town council/mayor elections.

Vice Mayor Hollis Tharpe said at the last council work session that Virginia Municipal League had encouraged the council to ask the governor to veto the legislation. He also stated that the council needed to stand by Mayor Timothy Darr and encourage the governor to veto the bill.

Councilman John Connolly commented at the end of the March 28 Council meeting about why he was supporting the resolution for the veto of the SB767.

“There is a recent court case cited in the resolution that makes the constitutionality of the bill very questionable. For it is going to impact local government. It is not taking into account unintended consequences, which is something that happens often with government. Things are put in place by higher forms of government to the lower government and the populace that don’t point to every consequence and this is one of them.

One of them being, we could lose our Mayor because of this. It has no connection to anything that is going on in the statehouse. It has no connection to anything that is going on in Front Royal. Our town attorney Doug Napier has put a lot of work in this, tracking this bill. This is something that has questionable constitutional-

Letters to the Editor are welcome but must include the author’s name and town and should be emailed to: editor@warrencountyreport.com

ity and it should probably be vetoed,” he said.

I spoke with the Chairman of the Warren County Democrat Committee Tom Howarth who also commented on the resolution.

“I think the consensus of the Democratic Committee is that the Town Elections should remain non-partisan. I had an extensive exchange with the Virginia Municipal League over the weekend and I know that only two Democrats in the state voted with the Republicans. Here in Front Royal if you are a Federal employee and you want to contribute to the community and you want to serve on the town council you should have the right to. According to the Municipal League, the option of running as independent would be excluded if this bill is passed. You would have to run as a Democrat or a Republican.

I think our community is saying ‘let’s leave things as they are’. I really think the Governor is going to veto it. I really can’t see why he would not, given the overwhelming Democratic opposition to the bill,” Howarth said.

State Senator David R. Suetterlein, R-Roanoke, filed the bill. Sen. Mark D. Obenshain, R-Harrisonburg, voted in favor of the legislation.

The House delegates passed the bill with an amendment that states that the law applies except where the provisions of a local charter provide to the contrary to the requirement.

Front Royal/Warren County’s representatives in the House, Del. Christopher Collins, R-Winchester, and Del. C Todd Gilbert, R-Woodstock, voted in favor of the legislation. However, on the Virginia Legislative website, Del. Michael Webert, R-Warrenton, is recorded as not voting but intended to vote against the bill. The Resolution also pointed to a close vote leading to the possibility of legislatures having serious doubts about the bill.

At the March 28 Council meeting, they voted 4-0 to send the resolution to Governor Terry McAuliffe urging him to veto SB767.

Interestingly enough, all three Republican committee members on the Town Council, Vice Mayor Hollis Tharpe, Councilmen Connolly and Councilman Meza voted along with Egger to send the resolution on to the Governor. Councilmen Eugene Tewalt and Bret Hrbek were absent from the meeting.

– tim@areaguides.com

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Town Council announces new position filled Felicia Hart will begin her role as Front Royal’s first Community Development director on April 1

Mayor Timothy Darr congratulates Warren County Seniors, Joseph and Robert Rutherford for each receiving $500 scholarships from the Town of Front Royal to further their education after high school

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• “Spring sports are in full swing for us, and we definitely still use the slow cooker. I often double recipes to freeze when I cook. When the recipe allows, I thaw the dinners for the week in the fridge. After school but before sports, I put the thawed meal in the slow cooker to heat up while we’re out. It works great for spaghetti sauce with meatballs, cooked chicken, meatloaf or cube steak and stews, etc. Coming home to a warm, almost-ready meal is a blessing after being out on the field.

We’re usually starved.” — E.I. in New York • Things from the kitchen you can add to your vegetable garden: leftover chamomile tea, black tea leaves, coffee grounds, banana skins, the water left behind when cooking vegetables, etc. Also, look up how to make your own compost pile. It does not have to be big! You can find information on the Internet or at the library.

• If you’re chopping a lot of tomatoes and need to remove the seeds, this tip will leave you spinning. Get out your salad spinner, add chopped tomatoes and give it a whirl.

• “My mom bought me a beauty blender — a foam makeup brush that’s really good for contouring and blending. Then my grandma saw it rolling around my vanity, dropping on the floor (gross). She gave me an egg cup to use. I’ve never used one for eating a boiled egg, but it fits my makeup brush perfectly!” — J.J. in Florida • Give your computer a spring cleaning by updating your browser and critical programs, changing to a fresh password and perusing your security and privacy settings. While you’re at it, run a backup and offload a copy of your photo collection and/or music trove to an external hard drive, just in case.

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A little over three years ago, the Front Royal Town Council began a journey to find that one person whose job it will be to help promote the town.

After several failed attempts, the council, along with the Front Royal Independent Business Alliance, the Chamber of Commerce and other organizations and individuals, revised

April 4, 2016

By Timothy Ratigan Warren & Frederick County Report

the attempt and began the hunt again about five months ago. According to Town Manager Steve Burke, officials received several responses to the advertised position.

During his report, Mayor Timothy Darr announced that Felicia Hart will begin her role as Community Development Director on April 1 and that her office will be located in the Front Royal Administration Building on Main Street. He said that Hart has had a long career in Civic Action and noted Hart’s time at American Woodmark Corporation as marketing communication manager and as a marketing assistant at First Bank as some of her qualifications. He also mentioned her time spent as assistant director of First Night Winchester and as marketing director developer for the Community Foundation for the Northern Shenandoah Valley. Most recently, Hart served as the downtown coordinator for the town of Strasburg. Her salary will be $45,000 a year.

“The town is looking forward to Mss. Hart working with our staff and local merchants and the various community organizations to enhance the business climate and the community spirit. This position is another positive step in working together in

making Front Royal an even better community. I am looking forward to having her on board,” said Darr.

Councilwoman Bébhinn Egger commented as well, saying, “I just wanted to say that I am excited about this. This has been a long road. I was part of the committee that went through all the applications we had to go through. We had to read a number of really exciting applications. We got to interview with some really qualified people and we landed with one person and I am very excited about the future with Felicia here to help us. I think we have a bright road ahead and she is going to help us get there and she will be a part of that bright future for us. Congratulations to you Felicia and I am looking forward to what lies ahead for us,” she said.

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The motion to approve Hart’s appointment passed on a 4-0 Vote with Tewalt and Hrbek absent.

During the public comments portion of the meeting, town resident and Economic Development Authority board member, William Sealock addressed the Council.

“I have some personal concerns that I have been hearing about the 14 cent tax rate. I am very concerned that we’re proposing an $8 million police department with no reserve set aside,” he said.

He urged the town leaders to consider increasing the real estate tax rate to 14 cents per $100 of assessed value which would allow the town to obtain more revenue that could be used to cover the town’s future spending needs.

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Read full issues FREE on www.WarrenCountyVA.com & www.FrederickCounty.com Adopted, on the second and final reading, an amendment to the town’s flood plain ordinance as requested by

the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation.

Adopted, on the second and final

reading, an ordinance to amend the town code to allow business and professional offices, technology businesses and schools in the I-2 District by right without the need for a special-use permit. Councilman John Connolly said the action was forward thinking and a way to assist the town in staying competitive for certain businesses. Egger added to that by saying the change would prove to be a business friendly move.

Adopted, on a second and final reading, an ordinance to amend the town code by replacing the current deer management plan with urban archery hunting.

Approved an extension of a contract with Mattern and Craig for the final design of the Criser Road Bridge replacement project in the amount of $153,720. Egger commented that she was looking forward to seeing the much needed project move forward, although she had hoped the construction would start this summer.

She asked the public for patience and cooperation as the project begins.

Council postponed action on two items. They moved a curb and gutter item to a future work session, and decided to table reorganization of the town’s finance department. They will discuss eliminating the finance director position. This would shift the oversight of the daily operations of the department to the finance man-

Early April, 2016 • Warren & Frederick County Report • Page

Felicia Hart will become Front Royal’s first Community Development director on April 1 ager. They also will establish a full time budget manager.

Other changes included eliminating the financial analyst position and renaming the accounting technician positions to “customer service specialists”. They will establish a senior customer service technician position and add two account technician positions.

Vice Mayor Hollis Tharpe request-

ed that the council refer both items back to a council work session.

The Mayor presented $500 scholarships to two high school seniors.

The scholarship is a new program implemented last year. They selected Joseph and Robert Rutherford as this year’s recipients of the scholarship awards. Both graduating seniors are active in civic clubs and athletics. Joseph is planning on majoring in engineering and business management and Robert is considering electrical engineering as his major.

“We are looking forward to being able sometime in the future to increase the amount of the scholarship funds. The town received a total of nine applications from graduating seniors within the town limits. All of our applicants were outstanding and it is reassuring that the future of Front Royal is very bright,” said Darr.

The last item for the night was the council appointment of two Front Royal citizens to the planning commission. They were Connie Marshner and Thomas McFadden.

With no further business, Mayor Darr adjourned the meeting.

– tim@areaguides.com

Notice Notice is given to you, the public, that on March 23, 2016, I, Kristi Woods, have filed Petition for Change of Name in this court, asking the Court to change the present name of Chloe Elizabeth Iler, a minor, to the name of Chloe Elizabeth Iler Woods, a minor.

Notice is given to you, the public, that on March 23, 2016, I, Kristi Woods, have filed Petition for Change of Name in this court, asking the Court to change the present name of Jeremiah Jason Iler, a minor, to the name of Jeremiah Jason Iler Woods, a minor.

Kristi Woods 31 March 2016

Page • Warren & Frederick County Report • Early April, 2016

Read full issues FREE on www.WarrenCountyVA.com & www.FrederickCounty.com

Warren County Republican mass meeting gets a closer look Is Warren County Republican committee leadership guilty of delegate slating and rigging chairman’s election?

Former Committee Chairman Steve Kurtz informs the committee at the last possible moment at the Mass Meeting that he is unable to run for a second term

Scott Sayre stands alone as the candidate for 6th Congressional District Chair after former State Senator Ralph Smith withdraws from the race

By Timothy Ratigan Warren & Frederick County Report

be elected as delegates to the 6th congressional district and state conventions. The secretary of the Mass Meeting would then file these selectees as State Delegates or as 6th Congressional District Delegates.

According to two anonymous sources, it took almost three full days for Connolly to turn over the pre-file forms collected at the Mass Meeting, something that should have been done either during the meeting or immediately following it.

This is where the breakdown seems to have occurred, and it was similar to how it happened back in 2012.

In 2012, when the Warren County Republican Committee held their Mass Meeting, a rogue group of Republicans attempted a takeover of the committee. Some of the key players in that takeover attempt were committee members Mike McHugh, Dennis Fusaro, Nick Bukowski and Town Councilman John Connolly.

Dennis Fusaro was elected as the Mass Meeting chairman and was successful in grabbing the State Convention Delegate pre-file forms and holding onto them.

That action eventually led to the Warren County Republican Delegation failing to be seated at the state convention in 2012. The takeover was eventually thwarted and Domi-

Politics are all around us.

To the average citizen, the thought of politics usually brings to mind a picture of the local town councilperson, county board of supervisors’ member, congressman, senator or, at the top of the pyramid, the president of the United States.

But what goes on behind the scenes? How do you get to be a congressman or senator? How do you get to be on the ballot? The most common way, and one that is in the news lately, is through the primaries.

Republican and Democratic candidates are voted on at local and stateheld primaries. But what happens at conventions?

Yes, you heard right-conventions.

You’ve probably heard of the national conventions and how presidential candidates on both sides of the aisle are scrambling for votes that will get them the magic number of delegates to win the nomination. And it is the fight for state and congressional district delegates and the process of selecting (electing) them which is where this story begins.

The fight for delegates to the State Republican Convention and the Sixth Congressional District Republican

convention is taking place all across Virginia and the Sixth Congressional District.

And just a couple of weeks ago, a seemingly quiet one-sided battle was being waged in Warren County at a Republican mass meeting.

The majority of the attendees of that Mass Meeting (and that includes this reporter) never realized what was going on behind the scenes, but in front of their very eyes. It was so quiet that no one heard about it until the whistle was blown. What I am about to tell you is the story told from the point of view of several anonymous sources who asked that their names be withheld.

The Warren County Republican Committee (WCRC) held their Mass Meeting on March 11, and those in attendance elected town councilman and Republican Party Committee member John Connolly as temporary chairman for the meeting, and Dr. Mary K. Clark, longtime Republican and director of Seton Home Study School, was appointed as secretary.

According to the meeting’s rules, temporary chair John Connolly was required to hand over all documents (originals) to the secretary.

The documents would have included the original pre-file sheets filled out by committee members wishing to

nic Rippici was allowed to assume his rightful position as Committee chairman. The reason for this takeover attempt? Reason number one was the opportunity for Warren County State Convention Delegates to elect National Convention Delegates that would vote for Ron Paul as the Republican Presidential Nominee at the National Convention. The second reason was a Mike McHughled attempt to raise awareness to a growing dissatisfaction of Warren County’s Representative in the U.S.

Congress, Congressman Bob Goodlatte at the 2012 State Convention by wearing a “Fire Bob” T-shirt on the floor of the convention.

One possible answer for the delay/refusal is that the Warren County GOP leadership may be guilty of something that is called “stealth slating”.

As recently as 2013, with contested races for the statewide ticket driving turnout, Warren County certified 238 delegates for the statewide nominating convention. Yet, this year the committee appears to have limited its 2016 delegations to 63 primary delegates and 60 alternate delegates, respectively. The Republican Party of Virginia (RPV) party plan allows for the election of up to 315 delegates in each class in Warren County, per the 6th District Convention call.

Only 144 registered voters pre-filed to be delegates for the State Republican Convention.

It looks like the Mass Meeting Leadership has reduced the number of delegates from 144 to 63, and that raises this question; Has the Committee run afoul of the recent “anti-slating amendment” that was adopted as part of the RPV party plan set forth in December of 2015?

The RPV Party plan clearly states in Article 1, Section A, Paragraph 10.

Read full issues FREE on www.WarrenCountyVA.com & www.FrederickCounty.com “If the number of persons seeking election as a member of a unit committee or as a delegate to a unit, district or state convention does not exceed the total number allowed by the State Party Plan, all candidates for such office who meet the requirements of Article 1 of the State Party Plan, and where required, any pre-filing requirements, shall be deemed elected.”

The Committee Leadership had

split the number of pre-filed candidates to 63 delegates and 60 alternate delegates to the Statewide Convention and the Sixth District Convention.

When they chose to reduce the number of delegates, by electing fewer than the total number allowed, it appeared they were in violation of the RPV Anti-Slating rules.

According to an anonymous source, almost immediately follow-

ing the meeting a few members of the committee quietly called for an explanation.

They have begun to speculate that it is being driven by intra-party motivations, and some have pointed to the 63 delegates selected as having strong ties to the campaigns of Scott Sayre, running for 6th District Chairman and Cynthia Dunbar, running for Republican National Committeewoman. An attempt to oust 11th

Early April, 2016 • Warren & Frederick County Report • Page Term Congressman Bob Goodlatte seems to be in the works as well.

This action excludes other delegates who might support a different candidate.

At the March 28th town council meeting, this reporter asked Connolly about the concerns raised over his delay in turning over the paperwork/ pre-file forms to the Mass Meeting secretary and the reasons for the reduced number of delegates selected to attend the conventions.

He said that there was no refusal to turn over the paperwork/pre-file forms. He and Clark had difficulty in arranging a time for the transfer due to some of their work-related and personal issues. He said that the paperwork/pre-file forms have been turned over and that all the committee members wanting to be delegates have been certified and will be seated at both the State and the 6th Congressional District Conventions. As far as the concerns raised about the possible stealth slating of delegates he claimed a misunderstanding of

the RPV Rules and that it had been corrected.

But several questions still come to mind.

Did Connolly have the RPV rules with him during the meeting? If not, why not?

Wasn’t he responsible for leading the meeting and electing delegates to the state and congressional district?

Wouldn’t it have been prudent to have the rules of such a task present in case a question was raised?

The Rules were there. And the Mass Meeting did have a Rules Committee but sadly, there was either no one there to raise the alarm by shouting the stop-all action phrase, “Point of order, Mr. Chairman!” or if there was someone there he/she didn’t want to attract unwanted attention.

And this is probably the reason the two anonymous sources wish to remain anonymous.

We know of only one reason for possible delegate slating and that is GOP, from

Mountain Mystic Trading Company

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Page 10 • Warren & Frederick County Report • Early April, 2016 GOP, from to maximize and to tightly control the number of votes for one specific candidate or candidates.

But why target the 6th Congressional District and the State Convention for such an event?

For the State Convention that answer is easy. The election of certain National Convention Delegates and the National Committeewoman is the prize of the day.

Regarding the National delegates for the National convention, Donald Trump won the primary election in the State of Virginia. This means that he should get all the delegates’ votes.

But what happens if a majority of Cruz supporters vote for their people at the state convention and fill the Virginia delegation with Cruz supporters at the National convention?

Will those Cruz supporters vote for Trump? What guarantee do we have that Trump will get the delegates he is owed? It is no secret that the Republican establishment does not want Donald Trump as the Republican presidential nominee.

Now why the slating attempt at the 6th Congressional District Convention?

After all the research, I keep coming up with the same name and the same possible reason. Sixth District Congressman Bob Goodlatte, our 11th term Congressman, is getting ready to run for his 12th consecutive term. Could he be the target? Could some county committees from the 6th Congressional District be looking for a new candidate and could one of those factions be located right here in Warren County? Has Goodlatte’s time run out as a congressman?

Remember back in 2012, the fight for the delegate seats at the state convention was an attempt to grab as many National Convention seats for the then Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul-an attempt that was staged in county mass meetings throughout the nation including Warren County, Virginia. And don’t forget McHugh’s crusade to unseat Goodlatte. Could we be looking at an attempt to unseat 11th Term Congressman Bob Goodlatte? The primary for that battle is scheduled for June 14th 2016 and Goodlatte does have a primary opponent, Harry

Griego, a retired Air Force veteran.

Making sure you have your people in places of power can mean the difference of winning or losing an election.

New information from the 6th Congressional District race for the Chairmanship became available March 23rd when it was announced that former State Senator Ralph Smith, a candidate for the 6th Congressional Committee unexpectedly quit the night before as a candidate for chairman of the 6th Congressional District.

He released this statement during his announcement about leaving the race.

“The outcomes of recent local unit chairmanship races and the degree of turnover within those units makes it abundantly clear that the gap within the Republican Party that I saw earlier has continued to expand rather than shrink. This divide has resulted in grabs for power by certain elements who are using “Slating” to exclude and limit other Republicans from participatingin party decisions.

I believe many of these same people wish to throw out current Republican office holders, and replace them with “their own people.” While that might be an acceptable goal for Democrats, I do not feel we should do that to ourselves as Republicans. If an incumbent is not performing, let the people themselves decide at the ballot box. in party decisions. I believe many of these same people wish to throw out current Republican office holders, and replace them with ‘their own people’. While that might be an acceptable goal for Democrats, I do not feel we should do that to ourselves as Republicans. If an incumbent is not performing, let the people themselves decide at the ballot box.

“The Sixth District is but an indicator of what’s happening on the national scene. Donald Trump’s rude, crude, and obnoxious campaigning has made him the frontrunner in the race for the Republican nomination for President. The “gap” that existed when I began this race has unfortunately expanded to a chasm. Not only does this divide affect elements within our party, but it also reflects an even greater disconnect between our party and the electorate itself! For example, while so many of the newly

Read full issues FREE on www.WarrenCountyVA.com & www.FrederickCounty.com elected unit leaders apparently support Congressman Bob Goodlatte’s primary opponent, clearly a substantial majority of the voters within the district support our responsive and effective Congressman. The ideological zeal of this newly emerging leadership is losing sight of practical electability,” So as it stands right now the only candidate running for 6th Congressional District Chair is Scott Sayre.

The Sixth District is but an indicator of what’s happening on the national scene. Donald Trump’s rude, crude, and obnoxious campaigning has made him the frontrunner in the race for the Republican nomination for President. The “gap” that existed when I began this race has unfortunately expanded to a chasm. Not only does this divide affect elements within our party, but it also reflects an even greater disconnect between our party and the electorate itself! For example, while so many of the newly elected unit leaders apparently support Congressman Bob Goodlatte’s primary opponent, clearly a substantial majority of the voters within the district support our responsive and effective Congressman. The idealogical zeal of this newly emerging leadership is losing sight of practical electability.

Realizing that the environment has changed significantly since I entered this race for Chairman, there is nothing to make me want to work in a caustic environment that essentially wants to run a new candidate for every current Republican officeholder in the District and the Commonwealth. Consequently, I have decided to re-direct my energies and efforts to helping proven conservative leaders who have been serving their constituents well.

In another interesting turn of events, Steve Kurtz, who is running for 6th District North Regional Vice Chairman, announced at the WCRC Mass Meeting that he is not running for Committee Chairman for Warren County.

This reporter received a text message from a committee member asking me to look at the filing requirements for the seat that Kurtz was so interested in. I did and found one very interesting note.

The filing deadline for the position he is cur-

Town Councilman John Connolly and the Republican Party Committee Member who was elected as the Mass Meeting Temporary chairman rently seeking was January 31st of this year. During that time forward to the day of the Warren County Mass Meeting on March 11, there was an executive committee meeting and a regularly scheduled meeting for the entire committee.

The one big question is why Kurtz didn’t announce that he was not running for a second term at either of those meetings.

In the Mid-November’s Edition of the Warren County Report Kurtz went on the record saying that he would seek another term as committee chairman. Why didn’t Kurtz make the announcement that he was unable to run as committee chairman at the regularly scheduled meeting in February, giving other committee members a chance to put their names in?

I reached out to Kurtz for an answer and his reply early Easter Sunday was this. “My plan was to run for both positions until I found out that I could not, due to a provision in

the 6th District bylaws. At that time, I contacted Daryl and he said he would. It was not until after the Feb 25th meeting that I found this out.”

I also heard from Committee Chairman Daryl Funk regarding the circumstances for his run for the position.

“As I recall, Steve called to tell me that he would not be eligible to serve as chairman due to his candidacy as North Region Vice Chair of the 6th Congressional District. I do not remember the date. I told him that I needed some time to think about it, and ultimately, I decided to serve.

After my faith and family, my service as Clerk of Court is my primary responsibility, and I would never let any other responsibility interfere with that, this one or any other. I do not see my role as Republican chairman as any different as my service as President-elect of the Front Royal Lions Club or any other activity,” he responded.

– tim@areaguides.com

Early April, 2016 • Warren & Frederick County Report • Page 11

Read full issues FREE on www.WarrenCountyVA.com & www.FrederickCounty.com Governor McAuliffe Statement on the Passing of Virginia State Trooper Chad Dermyer Governor Terry McAuliffe released the following statement after Virginia State Trooper Chad Dermyer was killed in the line of duty today in Richmond: “Dorothy and I are heartbroken by the senseless death of Virginia State Trooper Chad Dermyer, who died serving in the line of duty today in Richmond. Like so many brave Virginia men and women, Trooper Dermyer put on a uniform and risked his life every day to keep us safe, first as a U.S. Marine and then as a police officer. He was a husband, a father and a hero who was taken from us too soon.

“This is a loss that impacts us all. It should inspire prayers for the family, friends and fellow troopers who are mourning tonight, and gratitude for those who protect and serve. And as we grieve, we should also reflect, yet again, on how we can come together as a Commonwealth to end the

senseless violence that costs the lives of too many mothers, fathers, husbands, wives, sons and daughters.”

Sharon & Victoria Daniels Team Daniels Joins Coldwell Banker Coldwell Banker Premier Properties is pleased to announce that Sharon and Victoria Daniels have joined their firm as Sales Associates. This award winning mother-daughter team ranks among the top producing agents in the region.

Sharon Daniels has earned the Accredited Buyer Representative (ABR), E-pro Internet Specialist,

and Military Relocation Professional (MRP) designations; and is licensed as a Broker in both Virginia and West Virginia. She has over 18 years of experience as a Realtor®, and for the past 7 years has also managed a real estate office. Victoria Daniels gained real estate experience assisting Sharon with administrative duties for several years and then became licensed in Virginia in 2011. She holds the Military Relocation Professional (MRP) designation as well. The team has expertise in new construction and property renovation, with multiple generations of home builders/ contractors in their family.

“Team Daniels is a staple in our local real estate community,” said Steve DuBrueler, President and CEO of Coldwell Banker Premier Properties & Premier Homes. “Sharon and

King Features Weekly Service

April 4, 2016

Heart-Shaped Happiness HOLLYWOOD — The way we watch movies may change if directors J.J. Abrahms, Ron Howard and Peter Jackson have their way. Theater owners rake in almost half of the box-office take, while producers take a lion’s share of the DVD and Blu-ray sales. Now these directors and other industry big wigs are aligning themselves with the company Screening Room. They propose to offer films the same day they open in theaters, at $50 for 48 hours. However, in order to view the films you must rent an encrypted set-top box for $150. To entice theater owners to their plan, they will give them $20 of the $50 rental. Will the theater owners go for that, and will movie fans pay $200 to turn their living room into a screening room? *** You can see Michael Keaton in “The Founder” come Aug. 5 as he brings Ray Kroc, the man responsible for putting MacDonald’s hamburgers into your mouths since 1954, to life.

Laura Dern plays his first wife, Ethel Fleming. The $7 million film has Jeremy Renner, Oscar-nominated for “The Hurt Locker” (2008), as one of its producers.

“Downton Abbey” fans may enjoy producer Julian Fellows’ latest, a three-part film “Doctor Throne,” with Tom Hollander (“The Night Manager”), Ian McShane (“Ray Donovan”) and Allison Brie (“Madmen”), which has been acquired by The Weinstein Company for U.S. distribution. *** Gerard Butler had two big films open a week apart, only to see the first, “Gods of Egypt,” sink from its $140 million cost to $108 million at theaters, while “London Has Fallen” earned $101 million against its $60 million cost, which in Hollywood is considered a failure. Both films have a chance to recoup losses when they quickly hit the DVD/Blu-ray racks.

Butler will try again in January with

Depositphotos.com

Michael Keaton the sci-fi/action thriller “Geostorm,” co-starring Abbie Cornish, Jim Sturgess, Ed Harris and Andy Garcia, as he tries to save the world from a storm of epic proportions caused by climate-controlling satellites. It will be followed later next year by “The Headhunters Calling,” with Willem Dafoe and Alfred Molina. *** Bradley Cooper took time off to produce the criminal comedy-drama “War Dogs,” written and co-produced

by Todd Phillips, who wrote “The Hangover” trilogy. Bradley will be heard and not seen, first in the title role in “A Dog’s Purpose,” with Dennis Quaid and Peggy Lipton (yes, “The Mod Squad” star), coming Jan. 27, and “Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 2,” in May 2017. Chris Pratt, Zoe Zaldana, Dave Bautista and Glenn Close all return in the sequel, with Kurt Russell being added as Peter Quills’ father.

Don’t know about you, but if I was a good-looking star I’d rather be SEEN and not heard, a la Matthew McConaughey in his ads for Lincoln! © 2016 King Features Synd., Inc.

It’s strawberry season, and time to stock up on one of America’s most cultivated berries. Technically, they aren’t a fruit or a berry, but the enlarged receptacle of the flower. We have a French naval officer who found a large flowering strawberry plant in Chile in 1714 to thank for the selective breeding process that has resulted in the flavorful strawberries we enjoy today. The Chilean strawberry plant was sent to a French horticultural center where, by chance, it was cross-pollinated with a North American species. The result was the development of the pineapple strawberry to which our modern, large-fruited strawberries can be traced.

The red color and heart shape of a strawberry are a good indication that the fruit is beneficial to your health. Eating strawberries helps to protect your heart, increases HDL cholesterol (the good kind), lowers blood pressure and guards against cancer.

Strawberries also are full of vitamins, fiber and high levels of antioxidants known as polyphenols. It’s a sodium-free, fat-free, cholesterol-free, low-calorie food that can be used as part of your meal plan in a variety of ways. They’re among the top 20 fruits in antioxidant capacity and are a good source of manganese and potassium. Eight strawberries, the recommended daily serving, provide more vitamin C than an orange.

Choosing Strawberries: Pick medium-sized berries that are firm, plump and deep-red in color; once picked, they don’t ripen further. Flavor varies with variety and ripeness.

How to Keep Strawberries: Remove strawberries from the basket. Place the strawberries, unwashed, in a single layer of paper towel on a plate.

Victoria share our core values. With their commitment to excellence and their reach to Northern Virginia clients, they were a natural fit for us.”

You can reach Sharon & Victoria Daniels at Coldwell Banker Premier Properties’ Front Royal office via phone: (540) 636-7700 or email: TeamDaniels@PremierMove.com.

The office is located at 415 South Street, Suite C in Front Royal.

Warren County Kindergarten registration Kindergarten Registration will be held April 11-15, 2016 at Warren County Community Center, 538 Villa Ave. on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 9-4 and Tuesday and Thursday from 9-6.

Bring your child’s birth certificate, Cover and refrigerate. Use within three days.

FUN FACTS: • Strawberries are actually members of the rose family.

• The real fruits of a strawberry are the tiny yellow seeds on the outside, which provide a good source of dietary fiber. On average, there are 200 seeds on each strawberry.

• Cultivated varieties have more sugar than wild varieties. The natural sweetness of a strawberry comes from sugars, fructose and glucose.

• The most popular strawberries are Selva, Pojaro and Parkers.

My recipe for grilled garlic and herb shrimp with strawberry salad

Depositphotos.com

showcases the strawberry in a fresh, delicious way that’s perfect for a light, spring supper for four.

HERB GRILLED SHRIMP WITH STRAWBERRY SALAD Marinade and Salad Dressing: 1 pound large shrimp (16-20 per pound), peeled and devined 1/2 cup olive oil 1 tablespoon fresh minced garlic 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice 1 tablespoon brown sugar, packed 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning 1 teaspoon ground paprika 1 teaspoon chopped basil leaves or mint 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper 1. Whisk the olive oil, garlic, lemon juice, brown sugar, Italian seasoning, paprika, basil or mint and the pepper together in a bowl until thoroughly

social security card or number, physical and updated immunizations, proof of residency (utility bill, lease agreement, or mortgage bill). If you are living with someone we require a notarized residency affidavit. Please register your child even if you do not have all of the documents.

Outstanding Students In recognition of her outstanding performance during the 2015-16 winter sports season, Haley Clingerman of Middletown has received the Most Valuable Swimmer Award for the Randolph-Macon Academy junior varsity girls’ swimming team.

Haley, the daughter of Anthony and Danielle Clingerman of Middletown, is a seventh grade student at RanSee BRIEFS, 12 blended. Set aside half of the marinade in the refrigerator to make the salad dressing.

2. Stir the shrimp into the remaining marinade and toss to evenly coat.

Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours, turning once.

3. Heat an outdoor grill or a grill pan over medium-high heat. Lightly oil the grill. If using an outdoor grill, place grate about 4 inches from heat source.

4. Remove shrimp from marinade, shake to remove excess marinade.

Discard marinade. Place shrimp on the heated grill and cook, turning once, until opaque in the center, 5 to 6 minutes.

Strawberry Salad: 2 cups strawberries (about 1 pint), hulled and sliced 2 cups baby spinach, rinsed and dried 1 cup chopped romaine, rinsed and dried 1 cup arugula, rinsed and dried 2 ounces crumbled goat cheese 3 tablespoons walnuts, almonds or pecans, toasted and chopped 2 small green onions, roots removed and discarded, white and green parts sliced Salad Dressing: 1/4 cup of the reserved marinade 1/2 tablespoon balsamic or sherry vinegar 1/2 teaspoon honey mustard 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper 1. Combine strawberries, spinach, romaine, arugula, goat cheese, nuts and green onions in a large bowl.

Toss gently. Divide salad among four plates. Arrange grilled shrimp on top.

2. Mix the 1/4 cup of reserved marinade with the balsamic or sherry vinegar, mustard, salt and pepper until well-combined. Drizzle over each salad and serve. *** Angela Shelf Medearis is an award-winning children’s author, culinary historian and the author of seven cookbooks. Her new cookbook is “The Kitchen Diva’s Diabetic Cookbook.” Her website is www. divapro.com. To see how-to videos, recipes and much, much more, Like Angela Shelf Medearis, The Kitchen Diva! on Facebook. Recipes may not be reprinted without permission from Angela Shelf Medearis. © 2016 King Features Synd., Inc., and Angela Shelf Medearis

Page 12 • Warren & Frederick County Report • Early April, 2016 BRIEFS, from 11 dolph-Macon Academy.

Humane Society of Warren County to host Rabies clinic

The Town will be flushing fire hydrants throughout the commu-

Donald Trump has made his first threat to sue over the procedures for selecting delegates to the Republican convention. It surely won’t be his last.

The Wall Street Journal reported that Ted Cruz may come out of Louisiana with as many as 10 more delegates than Trump, even though the mogul narrowly beat Cruz in the popular vote there. In a tweet, Trump pronounced it “unfair,” and worthy of litigation.

The Louisiana delegate picture isn’t evidence of anything untoward.

Trump and Cruz both won 18 delegates on election night. Marco Rubio, since dropped out, won five, and another five are uncommitted. The Cruz campaign has done the nitty-gritty work to see that those delegates are likely Cruz supporters.

The only scandal here is that the Cruz campaign, built on grass-roots organizing muscle, knows the process and is working hard for every advantage.

Trump’s plaint is a little like showing up at a cricket match and crying foul because the opposing team knows the rules and all you know is that you swing a bat.

The Louisiana flap is a window into the intricate, state-by-state process of picking delegates to a convention in Cleveland where the allegiance of every last delegate might matter. If there is an open convention, Trump will argue that the voters should rule, not delegates no one has heard of, selected at obscure precinct, county,

Dear Stewart: Hi Stewart, can you explain the term “agroforestry”? What do trees have to do with agriculture?

– Curious Cow Hey Curious Cow!

Ask Stewart

“Agroforestry” is the integration of trees into an agricultural system, incorporating knowledge of forestry, ecology and traditional agriculture to improve the productivity of the land and manage natural resources sustainability.

Agroforestry practices come in many forms.

For example, you may have seen lines of trees planted around corn, wheat and soybean fields – those trees serve as windbreaks, sheltering crops from damage by wind and snow. Trees are also important for controlling soil erosion, which is why you sometimes see lines of trees planted along ditches and river banks. Tree roots hold the soil together, helping the soil

© 2016 by King Features Synd., Inc.

to absorb more water, reducing soil and nutrient run-off into streams and lakes. This helps keep agricultural fertilizers and pesticides from leaching into our water sources, thus improving water quality as well as retaining nutrients in the crop fields. Some trees also fertilize the soil naturally – for example, a study in Zambia and Malawi found that farms that planted nitrogen-fixing leguminous trees in corn fields had stable and relatively high yields over many years. Trees can even be planted as “saltbreaks” in coastal areas to allow crops to be grown closer to the sea, as well as provide protection against tide surges and storm waves.

Another form of agroforestry is growing trees on pasture land, or “silvopasture”.

Choosing the right trees for silvopasture is important, as fast growing, deep-rooted, drought tolerant trees, are most likely to thrive in a pasture environment. Trees will provide shade and shelter for grazing livestock in hot weather and from cold winter winds, reducing their stress and improving their performance.

Customers may experience periods of low water pressure and/or discoloration of water during flushing. If you experience discolored water, run your cold-water tap until it clears.

During periods of discoloration, postpone washing clothes and limit your use of hot water until the cold water clears.

Hydrant flushing also results in water on the roadways. Motorists are

King Features Weekly Service

Yes, the Delegates Can Decide

district and state meetings. He will, in short, declare the entire exercise of a contested convention illegitimate.

Is it? We are used to the voters directly deciding, and should Trump perform strongly enough to win a majority of delegates, 1,237, they, in effect, will. But if he falls short, the delegates enter the picture.

If Trump has only won a plurality of delegates, a badly divided party would be nominating a candidate who couldn’t reach a majority and, so far, has shown no general-election appeal.

In this circumstance, delegates would be justified in looking to someone else better suited to win an election and protect the party’s interests.

It’s not unheard of for top vote-getters in America to fall short of the top prize. Otherwise, there would have been a Gore administration. Al Gore won the popular vote in 2000, but still fell short of George W. Bush, who won the Electoral College.

If you count Michigan, where Barack Obama’s name didn’t appear on the ballot, Hillary Clinton very narrowly won the most votes in the 2008 primaries. That was good enough for an appointment as secretary of state — under President Obama, who understood the delegate-allocation rules much better.

Trump has thrived so far without an extensive, traditional political operation. But politics isn’t only about TV interviews and big rallies. There is a reason that the system also rewards candidates who can motivate and muster people to do the grass-roots activism involved in winning small victories at local meetings. This is literally getting people involved in the process, and it could take on an outsized significance in deciding the immediate future of the Republican Party.

Trump would be well-served to complain less about the rules, and learn more.

Rich Lowry is editor of the National Review.

King Features Weekly Service

© 2016 King Features Synd., Inc.

Fire Hydrant Flushing

nity the weeks of April 4 -15, 2016 between the hours of 7:00am and 3:00pm. Hydrant flushing helps to keep water lines free of deposit buildup and to check the mechanical operation of fire hydrants. Bi-annual flushing is necessary to provide better water quality and fire protection.

Daytime flushing allows crews to perform minor repairs to hydrants to provide continued operation.

April 4, 2016

1. MATH: What Arabic number doesn’t have a counterpart in Roman numerals?

2. THEATER: What is the longest-running musical in performances in Broadway history?

3. ASTRONOMY: What is a blue moon?

4. TELEVISION: Who played the lead in the drama “Perry Mason”?

5. LITERATURE: Who wrote the books “Ethan Frome” and “The Age of Innocence”?

6. GEOGRAPHY: What major city lies on an island in the St. Lawrence River?

7. U.S. STATES: What is the state capital of Idaho?

8. MOVIES: Who was the voice of “The Iron Giant” in the movie?

9. MEASUREMENTS: What is the name of the unit used to measure energy in food?

10. MUSIC: Who had a 1985 hit with the song “Saving All My Love For You”?

Answers 1. Zero 2. “The Phantom of the Opera” 3. When there are two full moons in the same month 4. Raymond Burr 5. Edith Wharton 6. Montreal 7. Boise 8. Vin Diesel 9. Calorie 10. Whitney Houston

3 year vaccine you must have a previous Rabies certificate.

All dogs must be on leash and all cats in carriers. The clinic is first come, first served so please plan on arriving early.

April 4, 2016

Protect your pet at the Humane Society of Warren County’s spring rabies clinic. The clinic will be held Saturday April 30 from 10am-2pm at the Julia Wagner Animal Shelter: 1245 Progress Dr. in Front Royal.

The cost for a rabies vaccination is only $12.00. 1 year and 3 year vaccinations will be offered. To receive a

Read full issues FREE on www.WarrenCountyVA.com & www.FrederickCounty.com

Wives and Other Candidate Victims What a presidential-election choice we have, America! That is if you enjoy political tactics that are so low, they would be better suited for a limbo contest than a campaign. We are choosing many candidates who, instead of representing our aspirations, are demonstrating our asinine worst.

For once, the latest example wasn’t started by Donald Trump. In fact, this one is from an anti-Trump PAC, “Make America Awesome.” It’s not officially connected to the Ted Cruz organization, but that’s a distinction without a difference. Who among us believes there’s truly no coordination just because it’s illegal? Judge for yourself with this social-media ad that features the now-famous, very revealing photo of Melania Trump posing for GQ magazine back in her days as a model. It’s accompanied by text that reads “Meet Melania Trump. Your next first lady. Or, you could support Ted Cruz on Tuesday.” That was the Utah primary, a state dominated by Mormons, of course, with their strict rules of modesty.

That ad is a cheesy cheap shot. Cruz ritualistically denied any connection to the group that put it out, but he’s no stranger to sewage politics. So the Trumpster ignored the claims of innocence to throw some Twitter trash right back: “Be careful, Lyin’ Ted, or I will spill the beans on your wife!”

He may or may not have been referring to a 2005 incident where Heidi

In turn, animal manure helps return nutrients to the soil. Moreover, these trees can generate supplementary income for farm-owners via timber harvests (thinning also increases light availability for forage grasses) or continuous harvest of secondary products, like nuts.

In addition to supporting livestock, trees also support wildlife by providing shelter, shade, and forage space in the midst of vast agricultural landscapes. Don’t forget that trees can also provide food and fuelwood for humans – not only do many fruits and nuts like apples, cherries, avocadoes, and pecans grow on trees; but coffee beans, cocoa, and maple syrup also come from trees!

These are just some of the ways trees can be beneficial to farmers and the land. Of course, as with every tree planting plan, one should always keep in mind to “put the right tree, in the right place, at the right time” for a successful agroforestry project!

- Stewart

asked to use caution while driving during these times.

Road Closure The Virginia Department of Transportation will be closing Route 603 (Oregon Hollow Road) at the above noted location in the Linden area of Warren County, Virginia beginning on Monday, April 4 at 7:00 a.m. EsCruz was taken into custody by the side of a road during an episode of depression. Trump didn’t let up, so Cruz, seeking any campaign advantage he could, worked up some outrage: “Donald, you’re a sniveling coward,” he thundered for the cameras, “Leave Heidi the hell alone.” Whoa!

Pitiful, right? But it didn’t compare with the reactions of the same candidates to the deadly terrorist attack in Brussels. In this case, they demonstrated how both dangerously play to our worst instincts. Trump, as he has before, advocates torture, telling CNN’s Wolf Blitzer that the newly captured mastermind of the Paris attacks might have been persuaded to “talk a lot faster with the torture.”

Cruz had his own brutality in mind, with his statement that law enforcement should single out, “patrol and secure Muslim neighborhoods before they become radicalized.” A spokesperson later elaborated that police “all have divisions that target threats like drugs, gangs, human trafficking and organized crime.” Apparently Cruz has decided that Islamic worshipping is the equivalent of “drugs, gangs, human trafficking and organized crime.”

Of course, our way of life is supposed to include freedom of religion, but hey, let’s not quibble.

The point is that the two leading candidates for the Republican nomination are shamelessly pandering to our harsh, simple-minded anger by panicking the voters they aim to impress.

They are not just demagogues, but dangerous ones, because they stoke the fears that can lead to violent vigilante action against fellow countrymen and -women who simply want to practice their faith.

Perhaps all this spousal playground bullying is useful because it’s relatively harmless. In this case, their wives are the collateral damage. If their husbands ever get the chance to implement their terrorism policies, millions would be. Ultimately, we’d all be. © 2016 Bob Franken Distributed by King Features Synd.

The Front Royal/Warren County Tree Steward program began in 1997 with volunteers dedicated to improving the health of trees by providing educational programs, tree planting and care demonstrations, and tree maintenance throughout the community.

The group now consists of over 30 active members with several interns working toward becoming certified tree stewards from our annual “All About Trees Class”. Each month Stewart will answer a question from our readers. Please forward it to “Stewart” in care of: frwctreestewards@comcast.net and we may publish it in a future issue. Please visit our website at:

www.treesfrontroyal.org

Early April, 2016 • Warren & Frederick County Report • Page 13

Read full issues FREE on www.WarrenCountyVA.com & www.FrederickCounty.com

Engle’s Angle: “Sorry Brian”

By Kevin S. Engle Twice a year, once in the spring and once in the fall, my wife and her best friend go to a big Craft Show. I like to call it the Crap Show.

Flash back to last spring when her friend’s husband and daughter #2 came as well, and so I tagged along.

Over the years, the wives have been buying tie dye shirts and other stuff from one ‘crafter’ who’s always there. As a result, we now have quite the tie dye collection.

When we caught up with them, that’s where they were. Looking through tie dye.

My wife had picked out a dress she liked and handed it to the woman who’d made it.

“It’s on sale for $35,” Mrs. Tie Dye told her. “It’s ‘gently used’,” she added. “I wore it a few times.”

I raised my eyebrows and wondered what my wife would say, or do. Especially after the woman had finished telling her about Mr. Tie Dye who was always at the Crap Show, but not this year.

Sadly, his health was failing and this Crap Show would most likely be their last.

My wife paid for the dress and we walked away without saying a word, although we did exchange that look.

A moment later, “Oh my.”

That was a year ago.

My wife hasn’t worn the dress yet.

And I doubt she ever will.

Growing up, she had more than her share of hand-me-downs from older brothers and other relatives.

And now? She prefers her own clothes.

I don’t think I ever got any ‘gently used’ stuff since my brother was five years older than me. If I did, I don’t remember.

Plus, he was a bigger kid than I was.

Flash back to last week.

My wife and I were out doing errands. One of those was buying new work boots for me. Not that

I work very much, or very hard, but I needed new ones when I’m out in the yard doing whatever it is I do when I’m out in the yard.

I figured we’d look, but I didn’t think we’d come home with any.

That’s not how I roll. It typically takes me a long time to buy something and this was early on in the process.

I actually found boots I liked, but of course my size wasn’t available. I needed 9 or 9 ½.

They had two pair left. 8 ½ and 10 ½.

“If I order them,” I asked the sales associate, “can I still get the sale price?”

“Yes.” “Let’s do it!” I said, surprising both myself and my wife.

“What size do you need?”

I told him.

He found a 9 ½ in another style and had me try it on.

“It’s made similar to the one you want,” he said.

It was too small.

“Why don’t you try the 10 ½.

It may fit.”

And it did.

I wouldn’t have to order them after all. I could take these. Today.

As I was taking them off, my wife spotted it.

“What’s that?” she asked, pointing to something in the box.

It was a light gray envelope.

I picked it up and read the handwritten words.

“Happy Birthday Brian.”

“That’s why they’re on sale,” she said a second later.

“Huh?” “Someone returned them.”

“Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.” These boots had belonged to someone else. Brian, apparently.

Now what?

I bought them anyway.

My very first hand-me-downs.

And from someone I don’t even know.

And as soon as the author sprays them with disinfectant, he’ll be wearing them. Sorry Brian.

– kevinengle456@comcast.net

timated completion date is Thursday, April 7 at 7:00 p.m., weather permitting.

Detour: Southbound traffic will travel West on Route 643 (Howellsville Road) to South on Route 624 (Morgan Ford Road) to East on Route 647 (Dismal Hollow Road) to End of Detour at Route 603 (Oregon Hollow Road).

Northbound traffic will travel West on Route 647 (Dismal Hollow Road) to North on Route 624 (Morgan Ford Road) to East on Route 643 (Howellsville Road) to End of Detour at Route 603 (Oregon Hollow Road).

The reason for this closure is for pipe replacement. Virginia Department of Transportation will be performing this work. The cooperation of the affected citizens is appreciated.

Annual Salvation Army Dinner Tickets are now on sale for the Salvation Army Annual Dinner to be held on Friday, April 15 at 6:00 pm at Shenandoah Valley Golf Club.

This fundraiser features dinner, a silent auction, trivia contest, and door prizes. Tickets are $50 each and may be purchased by contacting the Salvation Army at (540) 635-4020 or visiting them at 357 Cloud St., Front Royal. The Front Royal Salvation Army serves the people of Warren, Page, and Rappahannock Counties.

Kings Dominion “Good Any Day” Discount Tickets Warren County Parks and Recreation Department are offering “Good

Any Day” discount tickets for Paramount’s Kings Dominion. These tickets are good any regular Park operating day in 2016; park opens March 25. The cost is $42.00 per ticket, for ages 3 and older. Ticket information can be obtained by contacting the Warren County Community Center at (540) 635-1021.

Pick-Up Pickleball This program will be held on Wednesdays, beginning May 4, at the Bing Crosby Tennis Courts, 50 Stadium Drive, Front Royal, from 9:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. for those ages 55 years & up. This program is free to all participants.

Pickleball was created with one thing in mind: fun. It was designed to be easy to learn and play whether you are five, eighty-five or somewhere in between. Pickleball is all the fun of tennis with none of the running.

Playing on a badminton sized court makes the game much more strategically based.

Additional information can be obtained by contacting the Warren County Community Center at (540) 635-1021.

Major League Baseball Pitch, Hit and Run This program will be held on Saturday, May 7 at Bing Crosby Stadium, 1 Stadium Drive, Front Royal at 10:00 a.m. for those ages 7-14 (age determined by July 15, 2016). Pitch, Hit & Run™ is the official skills competition of Major League Baseball®.

This grassroots program is designed

Hours: Mon - Fri 5 9:30am to 5pm

to provide youngsters with an opportunity to compete; free of charge, in a competition that recognizes individual excellence in core baseball/ softball skills.

The individual Pitching, Hitting and Running Champions, along with the All-Around Champion in each age and gender group at the Local Competition will be awarded and advance to the Sectional Level of Competition.

Registration information can be obtained by contacting the Warren County Community Center at (540) 635-1021.

Yard waste, chipper, and large item collection The Town’s Department of EnviSee BRIEFS, 22

Gifts That Aren’t Appreciated DEAR PAW’S CORNER: My mother has a 3-year-old mixed Shitzu/poodle. He is very spoiled and loves to go with her everywhere.

The problem is that when she leaves him (it doesn’t matter what house he’s left at), he leaves a large, smelly “present.” I can see this is in defiance, but what can we do? Please reply; I’m desperate. — C.L, via email DEAR C.L.: Your first move should be to erase the word “defiance” from your vocabulary. Yes, your mother’s dog (let’s call him “Fluffy”) is getting upset when he’s left behind, but he’s not being angry or defiant or petulant.

The term here is “separation anxiety,” and many pets suffer from it.

Fluffy is very attached to your mother. And your mom keeps the dog close by at all times, bringing him along on most of her errands, as well as to your house, where she occasionally leaves him while she runs out.

The length of time she is gone doesn’t matter. When your mother leaves Fluffy behind, he becomes very anxious. Like many anxious pets, he engages in destructive behavior — in this case, soiling. Some pets chew up their owners’ shoes or destroy the living room.

Yelling at Fluffy, rubbing his nose in his own mess or confining him will not stop the behavior. His anxiety has to be addressed.

Fluffy needs independence training, possibly combined with an anti-anxiety drug. The veterinarian is the first step in the process. An obedience trainer can put together a regimen that gradually increases Fluffy’s ability to be left alone.

If your mother follows the vet’s (or trainer’s) program faithfully, Fluffy will improve immensely. And your carpet will look much, much better.

Send your questions or tips to ask@ pawscorner.com. © 2016 King Features Synd., Inc.

Page 14 • Warren & Frederick County Report • Early April, 2016

Read full issues FREE on www.WarrenCountyVA.com & www.FrederickCounty.com

Skyline Caverns is priceless, timeless “It’s just meant so many things to so many people,” says Front Royal’s Mayor Darr

By Mario Orlikoff Warren & Frederick County Report Tom Sawyer and Becky Thatcher get lost in Indian Joe’s cave and fear for their lives in the literary classic, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. The cave that inspired the author actually exists in Hannibal, Mo., and of course it is called Mark Twain Cave.

In J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, when Smeagol is corrupted by the One Ring and becomes Gollum, he goes to dwell in a cave located in the depths of the Misty Mountains, close to the Great Goblin’s cavern.

The Indiana Jones movie series opens in a South American cavern, where Indy escapes the greatest boulder in film history but not his nemesis in Raiders of the Lost Ark.

In fact, all three of the original Indiana Jones movies feature prominent caves or caverns.

In Season 7, Episode 5 of The XFiles, FBI agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully travel to fictional Pittsfield, Va., to investigate strange happenings in a cave in which teenagers step into a bizarre shaft of light and gain the ability to move faster than normal vision can detect.

And when the Dark Knight takes refuge, he goes down to the … Bat Cave.

In real life, explorers have gotten trapped and lost in them. Treasure has been buried in them. Secret meetings have been held in them.

Bones and artifacts have been found in them. Native Americans, pioneers and Civil War soldiers have taken

refuge in them. Mystery, fascination and amazing discoveries are commonplace in them even to this day.

Caverns and caves are deeply embedded in our popular culture.

In Front Royal’s case, Skyline Caverns – a series of geologic wonders discovered by Winchester geologist and mineralogist Dr. Walter S. Amos in 1937 – has helped form and define a town and region. Skyline Caverns may be 260 feet below, but its impact and effects are still felt at ground level every day.

“I think it has defined tourism in this area for a long time,” Front Royal Mayor Timothy W. Darr said. “It’s been around for a long time. It made it part of the conversation where people associate it with Front Royal. My sister worked there as a tour guide.”

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for the Caverns, which are privately owned by a local group of shareholders.

“For any of the locals, for people who grew up around here, this place has been such a constant, for as long as it’s been opened,” she said. “Just having the individuals who grew up in the community owning it, and the economic factor, and the teen-agers – you know what, they’re working here in the summer. They’re having a great time meeting people.”

“It’s been here since 1937, you know, so there have been a lot of people who have worked here,” said Brooks Bolen, the son of one of the local share-holders, James Bolen, Sr. People have flocked to Front Royal and the surrounding areas because of its climate, its accessibility to the

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It’s been good to the tourists and good for the locals. Darr recalled the time when Front Royal residents could be admitted for free.

“It’s just meant so many things to so many people,” he said.

“Skyline Caverns has been such a fixture in this community going back so far,” said Janet Tinkham, one of the area’s foremost cavers and one of the founders of Front Royal Grotto, a chapter of the National Speleological Society. “I think most of the local people who grew up around here have worked here at some point. …

There are just so many community threads with the caverns, and so much history.”

Tinkham herself worked as a guide at Skyline Caverns and has done consulting and conservation in the past

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Early April, 2016 • Warren & Frederick County Report • Page 15 on and we know they’ve been to Skyline Caverns,” Antonelli’s wife, April, said. “We’ll get the busloads of kids, too.”

“People here sometimes ask me where they can go to eat, and I always tell them Spelunker’s,” Jeff Miller, one of the supervisors at Skyline Caverns, said. “Mainly, it’s because I know they have good food. I know people will get a good meal there.”

The ‘Sky” below

Rare anthodite clusters, named by the discoverer of the caverns, Dr. Walter S. Amos

Michele Modrzynski leads the hour-long tour Washington, D.C. area, and its natural wonders. There are basically four significant things that have been drawing visitors (and residents) since at least the 1950s, not necessarily in this order: The Shenandoah National Park, the Shenandoah River (home to the “Canoe Capital of Virginia”), Skyline Drive, and Skyline Caverns.

It could be argued that Skyline Caverns, which draws around 75,000 people per year, deserves to be foremost among them because it’s the only one that contains things so rare and amazing that they could be considered world-famous. (But more on that later.)

Formation of Spelunker’s You don’t need to look much further than the menu at a Front Royal dining institution, Spelunker’s, to get an understanding of the cultural and economic impact of Skyline Caverns and other caves in the area. First of all, there’s the restaurant name, which means “someone who explores caves as a hobby.” There’s the signature, made-to-order offering – the Cavern Burger and all of its variations. There are the rich concoctions of custard and toppings ground and mixed together that are called formations.

And out front, there’s a mini-rockwaterfall that Spelunker’s owner

Georgia Rossiter Attorney At Law 31 South Braddock Street

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Steve Antonelli says is an homage to Skyline Caverns and its five underground streams and waterfall, which are unique to Virginia commercial caverns. For many, it’s somewhat of a tradition to pair a tour of the caverns with a meal at Spelunker’s.

“The name itself was basically just trying to tie it in locally,” Antonelli, who has visited Skyline Caverns at least three times that he can remember, said. “Everything around here is Skyline this and Skyline that so we were trying for a name that is kind of unique but still fits in locally and that people would remember. So I came up with the name, and everyone hated it. Everyone hated the name. They thought that was terrible. We had like a family meeting and everyone was voting on ones they liked, and this one, nobody liked. So we hired some restaurant consultants to kind of help us because we had never run a restaurant before. And they thought ‘Spelunker’s’ was fantastic. So that’s how the name stuck.”

Skyline Caverns and Spelunker’s, which are separated by 1.3 miles, have a lot in common. In relative terms, both took a long time to become what they are today. Skyline Caverns took

around 60 million years. Spelunker’s took around 60 million years in restaurant time – almost 14 years – to become successful.

“I hear people, sometimes in reviews and things, talk about us being a Front Royal institution,” Antonelli said in the humblest of tones. “That’s a far cry from where we started, when it was just myself, my wife and one other person working, and no one’s coming through the doors. From a growth standpoint, it took place because of reviews. So the tourists were writing reviews. Initially, the business was a lot more tourist-driven. It took the locals a long time, seemingly, to really look at this place as a viable option to get lunch at. We were not an overnight success, at all. It took a long time.”

Antonelli said he gets a lot of tourist business from the Shenandoah River canoeists and tubers, and from the Skyline drivers. But he added, “I see so many people from the caverns.

Occasionally, I have someone come in and they say I had someone from Skyline Caverns who recommended you. Yeah, it’s a natural tie-in.”

“Oh yeah, we’ll have kids who come in here with the cave helmets

It’s more than a bit contradictory that Virginia’s second-deepest cavern has the name “Skyline” in front of it.

But if you understand the region’s modern history, it’s easy to make the leap from 260 feet below to 3,680 feet above, which is the highest elevation of Skyline Drive, the 109-mile road that runs the entire length of the National Park Service’s Shenandoah National Park.

You see, Amos, who was retired in 1937, was contracted by several private and government agencies to search for caves and caverns to open in conjunction with Skyline Drive.

(The 32-mile stretch of Skyline Drive, then called Blue Ridge Parkway, that ran from Thornton Gap to Front Royal was opened to the public in 1936. The entire road was completed in 1939.) Amos analyzed the local topography in Front Royal and came across a sinkhole located just about where the current Skyline Caverns parking lot is now. When he saw that there was no water in the sinkhole, he suspected that he had discovered a cavern because, after all, the water has to drain somewhere.

Skyline Caverns tour guide Michele Modrzynski, who has been leading groups on the hour-long, 1 1/8-mile tours for almost three years, picked up the story at the entrance: “Upon further examination of the ledge, Dr. Amos discovered a colony of camel crickets,” she explained.

“Crickets are small insects who like to live in dark, damp places. So with the discovery of the sinkhole and the crickets, Dr. Amos had enough evidence to start digging.”

See CAVERNS, 16

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Page 16 • Warren & Frederick County Report • Early April, 2016 CAVERNS, from 15 According to many sources, Skyline Caverns is the only one in Virginia and perhaps anywhere known to have been discovered this way.

Seeing, still not believing Caverns and caves may be a geology lover’s dream-come-true, but they are a writer’s worst nightmare. Words can’t accurately describe or put into human perspective the spectacle of all the stalactities, stalagmites, columns and flowstones. You can look at all of the pictures and watch all of the videos and read all of the articles and books you want, but nothing can prepare you for something like Skyline Caverns’ largest room, Cathedral Hall. You try to comprehend the gi-

BS

gantic flowstone that appears to defy the laws of gravity. Why doesn’t it just instantly fall and crush me and the nice people on this tour? You try to make sense of the “drapery” speleothem. How in the world did tons of sheets of rock get folded like that?

And so neatly! It’s easy to understand why so many reunions, marriage proposals and weddings have occurred here.

“I always call it the magic of the cavern,” Modrzynski said. “People get engaged down here. The last wedding was like two years ago. There was this couple – 50 years ago, they rode the train on their honeymoon and they came back yesterday to ride it again. So cute! People remember this place.”

(Modrzynski was referring to one of the above-ground diversions, the

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Nancy Wilson of Boyce took the tour with her husband and three grandchildren on a beautiful and busy late-March afternoon – there were two school buses and many cars in the parking lot – at Skyline Caverns.

“It’s been a lot of years – maybe 10, 12 years” since she last visited Skyline Caverns, Wilson said. “We brought our youngest daughter then. Now we’re bringing the grandkids up here. … They like the effects, they like the whole being in a cave thing. I mean, it’s not something that’s commonly seen. You have to be in a special place at a special time to actually enjoy one of the wonders.”

Her impression of the hour that had just passed?

“It was good. It was informative.

Not too strenuous. It’s an easy walk.

It’s not long and drug out. I think if it were a real long tour, I don’t know if it would keep the kids’ attentions.

They don’t appreciate stuff like this until they get older. They enjoyed it, but they don’t appreciate it until they get older. Like our older daughter – she remembers when we drug her down here, and now she wants to come back because the memory is there.”

Modrzynski, 21, one of around 20 or so personable and knowledgeable guides who lead the tours, took Wilson’s group past wonder after wonder and had a lively presentation ready for each one: The Capital Dome, the Rainbow Trails, the Painted Desert, the Wishing Well, the Grotto of Nativity, the Shrine, Fairyland Lake, the Eagle, the 37-foot Rainbow Waterfall, and many others. There were even some human highlights. One

Anthodite chandelier-around 120,000 years old curious young man hit his head (not seriously) on a ledge, which meant he had received what they call a Cavern Kick. His little sister felt a drip on her head and received a good-luck Cavern Kiss.

What visitors don’t see, or feel, may be even more spectacular.

“With the tour that we give, we’re only showing them around 20 percent,” explained Miller, who also leads his share of tours. “We’re not showing the whole thing. As far as I know, the property is about 45 acres.

There’s a section of the caverns – of course it’s been explored out – that is not open to the public because it’s so wet and muddy, and some of the rooms down there are really tight to get into. You actually have to crawl through on your belly.”

The anthodites And then there were the anthodites, the rock stars of Skyline Caverns, which, even when seen, can’t

quite be believed. Skyline Caverns is the only cave system in the U.S., and one of only four in the world (viewable by the general public) where anthodites can be observed. Often referred to as the orchids of the mineral world or cave flowers, they are pure white in color no matter what color light is shined on them, and usually consist of radiating bunches of needle-like crystals made of calcium carbonate. They are so rare and valuable – it takes around 7,000 years for one cubic inch to grow, according to the latest theories - that they are protected by netting, grating and Virginia state law ($5,000 fine for every piece broken off ).

Modrzynski stood before a wooden door and prepped the group, which consisted of 11 adults and seven children ranging in ages from six to 12, for the spectacular sights they were about to see above their heads.

“What Dr. Amos found in this next room is one of the rarest things on Earth,” she said. “He was the first to

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Read full issues FREE on www.WarrenCountyVA.com & www.FrederickCounty.com find them so he had the pleasure of naming them. So he called them anthodites. He took the Greek word ‘anthos’ meaning ‘flower-like’. … Anthodites are made of pure calcite and they are a perfect, six-sided crystal.”

The rock star of all rock stars was the anthodite chandelier – estimated to be around 120,000 years old but none the worse for wear, seemingly dripping with elegance and glamour.

Perhaps just as wondrous, on another level, is the fact that Skyline Caverns is open every day of the year.

And whether it’s Christmas Day or the Fourth of July, this place is just plain cool. Literally. The temperature in the caverns is always 54 degrees.

Wondrous. Astonishing. Spectacular. Amazing. Stunning. Cool. Any other superlatives from the Thesaurus? As was stated before, this place is a writer’s worst nightmare. You struggle for the words and all you can come up with is a cliché expression that somehow seems to work best: “You had to be there.”

What’s up underground The origin of Skyline Caverns and other such area caverns and caves is intimately related to the geological history of the Appalachian Valley. On its web site, The Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation explains the formation of what most of you reading this live on now: “Between 570 million and 320 million years ago, the geographic area now occupied by the eastern United States was predominantly covered by

Early April, 2016 • Warren & Frederick County Report • Page 17

Spelunker’s in Front Royal offers the Cavern Burger and “formations” of custard ice cream a calm, shallow, tropical sea. The sea was populated by microscopic (and larger) organisms that lived, died, and sank to the bottom of lagoons, or were washed into deeper parts of the basin by storms. Over the eons, the deposits of calcium-rich shells and skeletons solidified into the bedrock that we call limestone, dolomite and gypsum. These rocks are soluble in dilute acids. Water becomes slightly acidic when it takes up carbon dioxide while passing through decaying organic debris in the surface soils.

The interaction of acidic water with soluble rocks such as limestone produces the characteristic landscape known as karst.

During the series of mountainbuilding events in the central and eastern U.S., rocks were alternately

buried, uplifted, faulted, folded, and fractured. The geologic stresses of mountain-building and subsequent erosion created cracks and fissures in the rock through which rainwater and groundwater entered and actively dissolved the organic limestone.

Within the past 10 million years, caves, conduits, and underground drainage systems have been dissolved into this rock by moving water.”

To summarize: After the sea dried up and exposed the bedrock made of limestone, mountains formed and earthquakes happened, warping the bedrock. Then water seeped into the gaps, carving out the caverns.

Cavern-mania It’s worth noting that Skyline

Fairyland Lake Caverns is just one of many such geological amazements in Virginia.

And all of the caverns have claims to underground fame. Some people try to rank them, especially pitting Skyline Caverns against one of its closest competitors, Luray Caverns.

But they’re all special, different and unique. They’re all worth seeing: Luray Caverns, the largest and arguably the most popular in Eastern America, contains cathedral-sized rooms with ceilings 10 stories high, and the Great Stalacpipe Organ. Luray Caverns has been called a “fairyland in stone” by National Geographic and a place of “infinite diversity of beauty” by The Smithsonian Institution.

Grand Caverns, discovered in 1804

and appropriately located in the town of Grottoes, is the oldest continually operating show cave in the U.S. It features rare shield formations and signatures of Civil War Soldiers. Yes, history runs deep there.

Shenandoah Caverns in Quicksburg, which runs along the foot of the Massanutten Mountain range, is the only such place in Virginia with elevator service. It is famous for its Bacon Formations and, like Skyline, has a Capital Dome formation.

At Endless Caverns in New Market, visitors can regularly see colonies of little brown bats along the tour route.

The Natural Bridge Caverns, featuring the Colossal Dome room, goes down 368 feet, making it the deepest in Virginia open to the public.

The time of anybody’s life So what could possibly be new about something that is tens of millions of years old? Well, everything and nothing, depending on your perspective of time. Pretty much everything down in Skyline Caverns and other caverns of its type is changing, but it’s happening at an imperceptible rate of time. If you had, say, 2,000 years to kill, you could observe one of the stalagmites from the floor meet one of the stalactites from the ceiling to form a column. Then again, you’re walking into a time capsule.

You’re seeing, minus the lighting, rails and pathways, pretty much what Dr. Amos saw when he first broke through 79 years ago, what existed long before he or any other humans walked the Earth. (Of course, without the lighting, it’s the blackest of blacks a human being could ever experience. And yes, for a few disconcerting seconds, that’s part of the Skyline Caverns tour.)

It costs $20 for adults and $10 for children to tour Skyline Caverns but the chance to see what goes on beneath the seemingly solid ground you live on and take for granted every day would seem to be worth – apologies to Batman - the cost of a couple of movie tickets. You could say it’s priceless, timeless. The experience at any of the caverns in Virginia is a rare opportunity to observe what the forces of nature can do when they have all the time in the world.

– mario@areaguides.com

Page 18 • Warren & Frederick County Report • Early April, 2016

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Front Royal resident explores caves, helps community After a rocky, squishy start, Janet Tinkham has “mud in her blood”

Nikki Fox explores a nearby cave

By Mario Orlikoff Warren & Frederick County Report Janet Tinkham first stepped into a cave in 1982 when she was a student at George Mason University. A couple of people in the GMU Outing Club were cavers, and they took her to Nut Cave in Pendleton County, W.Va. “My first cave trip, I wore my de-

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signer Sassoon jeans,” she recalled.

“And I carried my extra water and snack in my t-shirt, tucked into my jeans, with the sweatshirt over it instead of carrying a pack. They were really good cavers and they were kind of keeping an eye on me, letting me kind of learn from my mistakes, and then the error of that was that the entrance was like a six-foot crawl, so I proceeded to smash my snack and

Janet Tinkham of Front Royal has been caving for more than 30 years water into my t-shirt.”

Despite the rocky, squishy start, Tinkham got hooked on caving. Instantly. She’s had “mud in her blood” ever since. Now, 34 years later, Tinkham is a Front Royal resident who is not only exploring caves but helping her community in ways that perhaps a lot of people don’t realize. The

Front Royal Grotto, a chapter of the National Speleological Society that she helped create along with her

husband, Rex, and some other core members in 1991, explores, educates and works to conserve and protect the 82 caves in Warren County, the 19 caves in Frederick County, and some of the other 4,378 caves in the state.

Members regularly help to clean caves. They install gating on cave entrances where it’s needed. They build karst trails. They help landowners with sinkholes. They educate people about groundwater.

“It’s so important,” she said of the work that the Front Royal Grotto does. “A lot of people don’t realize the connection truly between above ground and below ground, especially in a region like this with the limestone, the karst topography. The Shenandoah Valley is probably the easternmost point for this type of geology.”

Karst topography refers to a landscape that is characterized by numerous caves, sinkholes, fissures and underground streams. Karst topography usually forms in regions of plentiful rainfall where bedrock consists of carbonate-rich rock, such as limestone, gypsum, or dolomite, that is easily dissolved. In other words, it’s the stuff people in Warren and Frederick counties live on.

“The thing with the karst geology, limestone, is that it’s very soluble rock,” Tinkham said. “We have a lot of sinking streams, caverns. You have almost a direct route from anything above ground to anything below ground, so when you look at something as simple as when you change

Read full issues FREE on www.WarrenCountyVA.com & www.FrederickCounty.com the oil in your vehicle – where you’re dumping it. You look at when roads are developed, any type of run-off from, say, the chemicals that are used during the winter, you have to really be careful about knowing where the drain-off is going to go, because that could really have potentially a direct impact with the groundwater that becomes our drinking water.”

Sinkholes Sinkholes - depressions or holes in the ground caused by some form of collapse of the surface layer - are found around the world. They are not necessarily caves, but the Front Royal Grotto members still get involved with them because of their relationship to the underground and the ecosystem. Sinkholes have been historic trash dumps. Landowners, especially in a rural area such as this full of farming, cattle and crops, would, in the past, put their debris in sinkholes, not realizing that it could potentially filter down to their groundwater.

Tinkham emphasized that the Front

Royal Grotto does not play the blame game. They’re all about helping and educating.

“We’re really raising awareness, and we’re offering free labor to landowners to clean out their sinkhole,” she said. “We have resources. We have funding, and we are available to assist. There are programs, in some situations, the labor hours that we provide can give credit for any type of partial funding the landowner would normally have to put into a program. … For these types of conservation projects, the caving community, they just come out of the woodwork. Even the worst, nastiest type of conservation project, we always have plenty of people who help. And that’s just one thing I’m so proud of about my fellow cavers.”

For the upcoming Virginia Cave Week (April 19-25), the Virginia Cave Board will be promoting an understanding of Virginia’s caves and the surrounding karst. The week is used to encourage educators of all subjects to actively engage their students from kindergarten through

high school using in-class activities and by visiting one of the state’s numerous commercial caves. Every year, the board puts a special emphasis on one aspect of the caving/karst world. This year, it will be sinkholes, Tinkham said.

Bat Girl During an interview for this story, it was hard not to notice that Tinkham was wearing bat earrings, a bat pendant, a bat bracelet, and she carried a handbag adorned with bats.

Oh, and she has a bat tattoo on her ankle. She loves bats just about as much as she loves the caves in which they dwell.

“They’re so beneficial to the environment,” Tinkham said. “They eat the insects. They pollinate. They’re actually very cute if you give them a little time and look at them close.

They’re adorable little critters.”

A single adorable little critter can eat 1,200 mosquito-sized insects an hour. Without bats, farmers and growers would face a terrible ripple

Early April, 2016 • Warren & Frederick County Report • Page 19 effect that would possibly force them to use more insecticides and chemicals.

Tinkham’s beloved bats, the only mammals that can sustain flight, are a big issue among the cavers because of the recent White-Nose Syndrome, a mysterious, white powdery fungus which has caused catastrophic declines in hibernating bats in the U.S. and Canada. The disease has spread quickly among bats since it was discovered around 10 years ago.

Tinkham and her fellow cavers are

“really being pro-active about education on bats and doing what we can to help them survive.”

Bats aren’t the only living things down there and in there. Cave-dwelling animals – they are all called troglodytes – are species of organisms that include insects, crustaceans and fish. They are specially adapted to living in total darkness and cannot survive outside of a cave. It’s a fascinating but fragile habitat, full of inSee COMMUNITY, 20

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Page 20 • Warren & Frederick County Report • Early April, 2016 COMMUNITY, from 19 teresting creatures, formations, fossils and other prehistoric markers.

Caves vs. caverns Caves and caverns are commonly confused with each other. The two words are often used interchangeably. Caves and caverns are indeed very similar but there are certain differences that separate them. All caverns are caves, but all caves are not caverns. A cavern is a cave of large or indefinite extent. A cave, on the other hand, is a large hole that was formed by natural processes in the side of a cliff or hill or underground.

For the purposes of this story, a cavern is commercial. A cave is wild.

“Probably the thing with the wild caves is you don’t have the gravel walkways and the lighting,” Tinkham said. “You have to be independent, self-sufficient. You have to bring in your own sources of light. You have to dress properly for the cave temperature. You have to have the right footwear for the uneven floors.

Sometimes, you may be crawling.

There are some caves, wild caves, that are huge. The difference is that you have to bring your own equipment. You have to be aware of the On Funk, Trump and the ‘Grand Old Party’ Editor: One can only wonder: What planet does Daryl Funk inhabit?

Funk, the new chairman of the Republican Party in Warren County, is quoted in your late March edition as saying “We are the party of Donald Trump, we are a big tent and we have always been.”

He’s kidding, right?

Donald Trump has smeared women, insulted Latinos and socked it to the Muslim religion and African Americans.

Meanwhile, Funk’s colleagues in the GOP have enthusiastically embraced gerrymandered districts and enacted unnecessary restrictions on the right to vote.

(Parenthetically, their voting rights nonsense suggests a total lack of confidence in the ability of their very own poll watchers to do their jobs.)

If this is indeed Funk’s version of “...a big tent...” his skewed take on the non- inclusiveness of the Republican Party makes it obvious he is incapable of understanding what a big tent really is.

Since Funk can’t tell the difference between truth and political fiction, maybe he should enroll in a political science class at Lord Fairfax to help him understand what’s so very wrong with Trump.

Lester Shapiro Browntown Road Warren County

environment. And you don’t have a guide that’s provided.”

As the National Speleological Society points out, “Caving is not a spectator sport.” It can be cold and muddy.

Tight passages and long crawls can be part of the experience. And yes, you can fall, drown or be crushed by rocks, and can get lost and trapped.

But those are the extremes, the horror stories, the exceptions. Experienced cavers like the Tinkhams understand the pitfalls, and they know the ways to minimize the risks.

“It is physically challenging,” Janet admitted. “In some cases, you can be crawling. But when we take people on their first caving trip, we don’t take them into a small cave. We’ll take them into a larger cave where they can get the feel for it. We won’t send them through that small crawl right off the bat. We do have a number of people who say or think they might be claustrophobic, but we say, ‘You know what – let’s just try it and see.’

And so many of them find that they aren’t claustrophobic in that environment. But really you just look at it as you’re in a room, a dark room, but you do have your sources of light.”

After caving for more than 30 years, the Bat Girl knows her comfort level.

But that doesn’t mean she won’t rely on her fellow cavers for some help, and some comic relief.

“And even with crawls – I don’t particularly like them - I have a couple of friends who are much larger than me, so if they go first, and I know they fit, I’m okay with it.”

Members of the Front Royal Grotto recently took some newcomers to Ogdens Cave Natural Area Preserve, which is normally closed to the general public, in Frederick County.

For anyone interested in trying what Janet calls “wild caving,” the Front Royal Grotto, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary, invites people come to their meetings or to contact them by e-mail through the Front Royal Grotto web site. They will take you through the safety and conservation aspects that you have to know before you get into it.

The Front Royal Grotto meetings are held on the second Saturday (10 a.m.) of every other month, unless otherwise noted on their web site, at the Skyline Caverns Mirror Maze Building. The next meeting is sched-

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Front Royal Grotto members work to explore and conserve caves in the area uled for May 14.

This love runs deep When you say that Tinkham, originally from Nebraska, has a love affair with caving, that she owes a lot

to caving, it means more than one thing. She met Rex, originally from Texas, in a cave.

“We had a mutual friend who had an interest in caving,” she said. “So he just organized a cave trip. Actually, Rex showed up with his girlfriend.

And we were there. We didn’t start dating until a year later, but, I mean, I waited. Because I knew. Yeah, it was the cave. We met in the cave.”

To have and to hold from this day forward … with mud in our blood.

– mario@areaguides.com

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Early April, 2016 • Warren & Frederick County Report • Page 21

Call in a tip on a crime and you may Receive a reward of up to $1,000 *You will remain anonymous* www.crimesolvers.us

540-665-TIPS

CRIME OF THE WEEK

Winchester City Crime of the Week - March 21, 2016 The Winchester Police Department is investigating a Breaking and Entering and Grand Larceny that was reported on March 14, 2016. Sometime between March 11th at 4:00 p.m., and March 14th at 7:00 a.m., an unknown suspect(s) entered the former Coca-Cola Bottling Company located at 1720 Valley Avenue, and stole approximately $5000 worth of construction equipment. The building is currently under construction and being renovated.

If you have any information regarding a suspect or a suspect vehicle in this incident, please contact the the Crime Solvers Hotline at (540) 665‑TIPS (8477).

Information leading to the arrest of a suspect may result in a reward of up to $1,000. Incident #16010155 Detective J. Hardt Frederick County Crime of the Week - March 21, 2016 On February 18, 2016, Frederick County Deputies were dispatched to 100 Block of Proclamation Drive in reference to a burglary and grand larceny. The victim reported that his residence had been forcibly entered and unknown suspect(s) had removed a large amount of jewelry consisting of several rings, a watch and a necklace. He also reported that some U. S. Currency and a container of change was taken.

If you have any information regarding a suspect or a suspect vehicle in this incident, please contact the Frederick County Sheriff’s Office at (540) 662-6162, Investigator C. T. Streit (540) 504-6524, OR the Crime Solvers Hotline at (540) 665‑TIPS (8477). Information leading to the arrest of a suspect may result in a reward of up to $1,000. Incident #16000799 Investigator C. T. Streit

Page 22 â&#x20AC;˘ Warren & Frederick County Report â&#x20AC;˘ Early April, 2016 BRIEFS, from 13 ronmental Services (DES) will begin the Wednesday Yard Waste/Chipper Collection on Wednesday, March 30, 2016. The weekly collection will continue every Wednesday until January 2017, except holiday weeks. Large Item Collection information, as well as the rules and regulations for these services, are listed in the attached Notice.

Front Royal spring reminders ~FREE Mulch. Mulch is available FREE of charge from the Town. You will need to load yourself and cover before leaving. Please call the Finance Department for more information at (540) 635-7799. ~High Grass & Weeds. Property owners are required to keep their lawns mowed between May 1 and September 1 of each year. Questions or complaints can be addressed by the Department of Planning & Zoning at (540)635-4236. ~Pools. You should contact the Finance Department before filling your pool. There is a $15 charge. New Pools require a zoning and building permit. In addition, permits are also required for most other types of structures. Please contact the De-

â&#x20AC;˘ â&#x20AC;˘ â&#x20AC;˘ â&#x20AC;˘ â&#x20AC;˘ Smoking

partment of Planning & Zoning for permitting questions. ~Backyard Chickens. All lots in the Town that are less than 1 acre are required to obtain a zoning permit before keeping backyard chickens. Rules also apply for beekeeping and for keeping other types of agricultural animals. Please contact the Department of Planning & Zoning for permitting information. ~Yard Sales. A permit is required to have a yard sale in the Town. The licensing fee is FREE for the first two yard sales, but $5.00 per sale thereafter, limited to six a year. Renters must have property ownerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s written consent. Please contact the Finance Department for more information. Yard sale signs are not allowed within the public right-of-way. ~New Business Startups. A zoning permit and business license is required for ALL new business startups. This requirement for a permit also applies to home based businesses, food trucks, and other mobile businesses operating in the Town limits. For more information please contact the Department of Planning & Zoning. ~Pruning. If you notice that a tree needs to be pruned within the Townâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Right-of-Way please call the Department of Energy Services at (540)635-

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Read full issues FREE on www.WarrenCountyVA.com & www.FrederickCounty.com 3027. Please do not prune yourself. Topping of trees in the Town is discouraged in the Town of Front Royal.

April Youth Services programs at Samuels Public Library Saturday, April 2 10:10 Books and Barks. Come to our extremely popular monthly program that gives developing readers the chance to read and relax with a trained therapy dog. For beginning readers and up. Please register.

2:00 Aspiring Artists: Mixed Media Madness. Let your imagination fly as we use mixed mediums such as acrylic paint, fabric, and buttons to bring our three birds to life on canvas. For children 7-11 years old. Advanced registration required.

Tuesday, April 5 11:00 Time for Baby. What do books, scarves, puppets, music, and babies have in common? They are all part of Time for Baby. Join us as we use all of our senses to explore the world around us. Meet with your baby up to two years of age. Siblings

welcome.

Saturday, April 9 11:00 Think Spring! Garden Program. Please join us as we add some wonderful springtime blooms to our childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s garden. Afterwards we will go on a butterfly hunt armed with magnifying glasses and butterfly guides. See how many butterflies you can identify! For ages 6 and up.

Advance registration required.

Tuesday, April 12 4:30 Big Kids Story time for Kindergarten and up. Please join us for our S.T.E.M. program, Springtime in

New apparatus for Station 6

Warren County Fire and Rescue Services continues to move forward in itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s service to the Shenandoah Farms area and southeastern Clarke County by placing two new pieces of emergency apparatus in service at Station 6.

In mid-January, the Department put a 2016 Ford 4 x 4 F450 Horton Advanced Life Support ambulance in service at the station. The Department purchased the new ambulance using a Virginia Office of Emergency Medical Services grant, combined with the Department of Fire and rescue capital improvement program. The OEMS grant contributed $128,000, the CIP program added $50,000, with Station 6 putting in remaining $19,500 of the $197,500 paid for the unit. We estimate this unit should last the citizens of Warren County approximately 15 years. This new unit replaces an older ambulance that will be converted into the Departmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Special Operations response unit, responsible for water rescue and high angle and rope rescues, etc. Station 6 responds to approximately 450-475 incidents a year. Additionally, after training and installing new equipment, we placed a new engine at the station as well. Station 6 placed a 2015 Smeal Sirius 2000 gallon-per-minute pumper with 750 gallons of water in service last week. This new engine replaces an 18-year-old engine that will be assigned to the Department as a reserve engine for use by any of the Countyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s stations when their primary engine goes out of service. The new engine carries 1,000 feet of 4â&#x20AC;? and 1,000 feet of 3â&#x20AC;? supply hose, 800â&#x20AC;&#x2122; of attack hose and a full complement of ladders and equipment. It cost the Department $410,000. Warren County Department of Fire and Rescue members welcome all of our citizens and neighbors to stop by the station at 6363 Howellsville Road to take a look at our renovated station and the new apparatus assigned there.

Read full issues FREE on www.WarrenCountyVA.com & www.FrederickCounty.com the Garden!

Wednesday, April 13 10:15 Toddler Story time. Our story time will feature the lovely stories of Margaret Wise Brown. Siblings welcome.

11:00 Preschool Story time. Our story time will feature the lovely stories of Margaret Wise Brown. Siblings welcome.

Thursday, April 14 10:15 Toddler Story time. Our story time will feature the lovely stories of Margaret Wise Brown. Siblings welcome.

11:00 Preschool Story time. Our story time will feature the lovely stories of Margaret Wise Brown. Siblings welcome.

Tuesday, April 19 4:30 Big Kids Story time for Kin-

dergarten and up. We love picture books! Join us as we celebrate and appreciate our favorite illustrators!

Wednesday, April 20 10:15 Toddler Story time. Our stories, poems, and crafts will be about friends. Siblings welcome.

11:00 Preschool Story time. Our stories, poems, and crafts will be about friends. Siblings welcome.

Thursday, April 21 10:15 Toddler Story time. Our stories, poems, and crafts will be about friends. Siblings welcome.

11:00 Preschool Story time. Our stories, poems, and crafts will be about friends. Siblings welcome.

Saturday, April 23 2:30 Spring Into Dance. Bring the whole family to this performance by Connect the Dots Dance Ensemble

which will include ballet, contemporary, and jazz dance. There will also be self-choreographed solos by the students.

Tuesday, April 26 4:30 Big Kids Story time for Kindergarten and up. Our stories and crafts will feature the largest land mammals-elephants!

Wednesday, April 27 10:15 Toddler Story time. Moo! Oink! Baa! It’s time for Fun on the Farm! Siblings welcome.

11:00 Preschool Story time. Moo! Oink! Baa! It’s time for Fun on the Farm! Siblings welcome.

Thursday, April 28 10:15 Toddler Story time. Moo! Oink! Baa! It’s time for Fun on the Farm! Siblings welcome.

11:00 Preschool Story time. Moo!

Early April, 2016 • Warren & Frederick County Report • Page 23 Oink! Baa! It’s time for Fun on the Farm! Siblings welcome.

Saturday, April 30 2:00 Chess and More. Meet other kids and teens who love the challenge of chess, checkers, and other board games. Bring your favorite game with you. Ages 6 and up. Registration begins March 30.

Samuels Public Library Press Release ~English as a Second Language: Register and attend the English as a Second Language course. This course will be every Tuesday and Thursday from 10:00 A.M. – 12:00 P.M. The ESL course is completely free. Learning English will not only enhance your quality of life but open many doors and present new opportunities. ~General Education Development: Register and attend the General Edu-

Relocation Scammers Get Slap on Wrist The acting principal deputy undersecretary for benefits at the Department of Veterans Affairs has been suspended for 15 days for letting two of his underlings work the system.

The two had forced others to move and transfer to different jobs and then grabbed the newly vacated posts for themselves.

For this he only gets a 15-day wrist slap?!

Adding to the debacle was that the VA’s Office of the Inspector General had unearthed over 20 hefty relocation-scam cases wherein senior executives were relocated to new positions and given fat raises during a time when others were blocked from salary increases. The new deputy replaced the one who’d had to retire after all the allegations came out, so he should have known exactly what was going on and stopped it.

The official bio for the new acting deputy says that he’s in charge of 20,000 employees across the 56 regional offices and is responsible for $90 billion in benefits to veterans and their dependents. These involve the whole list of benefits, including compensation, home loan guaranty, vocational rehab, education ... all of it.

And what of those two regional directors who abused their authority and pushed others out of their jobs?

They were demoted ... not fired, not sent to jail, just demoted. And now they’ve apparently been reinstated, although with a 10 percent cut in pay.

The Merit Systems Protection Board gave them their jobs back because their bosses at the time had allowed all the mischief.

Nowhere is there any talk of their having to pay back the $400,000 in moving expenses they received, even though one of them only moved 140 miles and netted $300,000 in travel expenses, which included reimbursement for $76 for alcoholic beverages. © 2016 King Features Synd., Inc.

See BRIEFS, 24

King Features Weekly Service

April 4, 2016

cation Development course. This course will be every Tuesday and Thursday from 10:00 A.M-12:30 P.M (except on school holidays or closings). The GED course is completely free. Let this course be the stepping stone to your success. ~Crochet Group: Come out and learn how to crochet or share your talents on Wednesday, April 13th and 27th at 10 A.M. The group will meet on the second and fourth Wednesday of the month. All ability levels welcome. ~The Shenandoah Valley Civil War Era Dancers: Join us in learning early American period dancing! The dances include line, circle, square sets and waltzes. The dance class will be on Wednesday, April 6th, music starts at 5:00 P.M. and dancing starts at 6:00 P.M. No prior experience is necessary. Young folks and those with two left feet are most welcome! ~Substance Abuse: Attend an educational series addressing addiction offered by Northwestern Community Services (NWCS) and the Friends of Samuels Public Library (FOSL).

Thursday, April 7th at 6:00 P.M.: Why Does This Happen to Someone I Care about? Learn about the causes of addiction, including cultural and social, the stages of addiction and the im-

Page 24 • Warren & Frederick County Report • Early April, 2016 BRIEFS, from 23 pact of efforts to legalize marijuana.

Thursday, April 21st at 6:00 P.M.: What Did I Find in My Closet? The Substances Around Us: Learn the signs of substance use that might be found in the household.

Thursday, April 28th at 6:00 P.M.: How to Survive Addiction; Where Do I Go Now: The Treatment of Addiction: Learn about the available resources when someone is seeking help for their own addiction or for a family member. Resources for adults and teenagers will be covered. ~Introduction to Android Devices: Tired of hitting the wrong buttons on your Smart Phone? Are you constantly coming across things on your phone that you have no idea how to use? Samuels Public Library invites you to learn the ins and outs of your Android device with one-onone assistance for all phone carriers on Tuesday, April 12th at 5:30 P.M. During the course for beginners, you will learn email setup, use of the play store, sending pictures and videos, and much more! Registration is required and don’t forget to bring your Android phone. ~A Taste for Mysteries: This program is centered on mystery books and the theme is our version of the game CLUE. The Library will be magically transformed into a 1920s mansion, complete with a Ballroom, Conservatory, Billiard Room, Lounge, Dining Room and Study. Guests will become Detectives to solve The Tale of the Missing Portrait. Put on your Sherlock Holmes cap and breakout the pipe and magnifying glass to look for clues on Saturday, April 16th at 6:00 P.M. To solve the mystery, you’ll find two or three clues in each room of the Mansion. Could it have been Colonel Mustard with the rope in the Conservatory, or perhaps Miss Scarlet in the Lounge with the wrench?

Once you’ve figured it out, take your completed game card to the Police Station - at the end of the night, three winners will be drawn from the correct entries to receive a prize. Come

enjoy delicious food, twirl around the ballroom, pose for pictures and discover new mystery books as you solve the case! Costumes encouraged - think Gatsby, with pearls, feathers, spats and hats! ~ Books and Beyond Book Club: Attend the Books and Beyond Book Club! On Wednesday, April 20th at 10:00 A.M., Fates and Furies by Lauren Groff will be discussed. Every story has two sides. Every relationship has two perspectives and sometimes, it turns out; the key to a great marriage is not its truths but its secrets.

At the core of this rich, expansive,

Read full issues FREE on www.WarrenCountyVA.com & www.FrederickCounty.com layered novel, Lauren Groff presents the story of one such marriage over the course of twenty-four years. At age twenty-two, Lotto and Mathilde are tall, glamorous, madly in love, and destined for greatness. A decade later, their marriage is still the envy of their friends, but with an electric thrill we understand that things are even more complicated and remarkable than they have seemed. ~Alzheimer’s Association: Understanding & Responding to Dementia-Related Behavior: Join Bob Bell for an educational program on Understanding & Responding to De-

mentia-Related Behavior. Behavior is a powerful form of communication

& is one of the primary ways for people with dementia to communicate

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Early April, 2016 • Warren & Frederick County Report • Page 25

Read full issues FREE on www.WarrenCountyVA.com & www.FrederickCounty.com their needs & feelings as the ability to use language first is lost. Join us to learn to decode behavioral messages, identify common behavior triggers, & learn strategies to help intervene with some of the most common behavioral challenges of Alzheimer’s disease. Find out more on Wednesday, April 20th at 6:00 P.M. Registration required. ~Vibes at the Libes: Acoustical Guitar with John Kovak and Bill Dykes: Enjoy a free lunch time performance. Join us for a special musical lunch break with John Kovak and Bill Dykes. Bring your lunch, tell a friend and spend some time listening to some tunes on April 22nd at 12:30 P.M. Annual Spring Concert The Front Royal Oratorio Society presents its free, annual spring concert. The 40-person choir will perform Antonio Vivaldi’s thrilling

“Gloria” and Gabriel Faure’s inspiring “Requiem” with orchestral and organ accompaniment. Bring the entire family. Childcare is provided. The program lasts 70 minutes and is open to the public with a freewill offering taken.

For more information, email us at FrontRoyalSings@yahoo.com or call us at (540) 635-4842 or visit www. frontroyaloratoriosociety.org Saturday, April 16, 7 pm - Braddock Street United Methodist Church, 115 Wolfe Street Winchester Sunday, April 17, 4 pm - Front Royal Presbyterian Church, 115 Luray Ave, Front Royal Rotary Club Community Service Grant Application The Rotary Club of Front Royal announces its Annual Community Service Grant Competition. The club is now accepting grant applications from not-for-profit organiza-

tions whose activities promote and enhance the quality of life for the citizens of Front Royal or Warren County. The winning grant could receive up to $8,500.

To obtain an application, write to the Rotary Club of Front Royal at PO box 85, Front Royal, VA 22630; email debra.morfit@bankunion.com, or visit frontroyalrotary.org. Applications will be accepted until April 15.

Mental Health First Aid A free Mental Health First Aid course will be held April 22nd and 23rd, 8am-1pm at the Warren County Public Safety Building. Sponsored by Mental Health AmericaWarren, Mental Health First Aid teaches participants about common warning signs and risk factors for mental health problems and provides a five-step action plan and resources for helping someone in crisis. Attendance is required both days. Break-

fast and snacks included. Register by April 15th. Call (540) 671-0461 or email htgilbert@embarqmail.com.

Emmy-Award winning actor, singer, comedian, and television personality, Wayne Brady, to serve as 2016 White House® Foods grand marshal It is with the utmost pleasure that Shenandoah Apple Blossom Festival® President, Jim Douglas announces that the charming, versatile and amazingly quick-witted Wayne Brady will visit the Apple Capital this spring to serve the 2016 Bloom as the White House® Foods Grand Marshal. A fixture in multiple entertainment genres, Wayne Brady is the fifth in a line of top-quality Grand

Marshals made possible for the Festival through the generous support of White House® Foods, and David and Paige Gum. He is preceded by: 2012 – Mario Lopez; 2013 – Scotty McCreery; 2014 – Sean and Catherine Lowe; and, 2015 – Kevin Jonas.

Festival Organizers have made a conscious effort in recent years to attract contemporary celebrities; and, they are most grateful for this “hometown” help in securing what has become an impressive series of Grand Marshals!

For Wayne Brady, music and comedy have always been at the center of his wildly successful and diverse career. Wayne has been entertaining audiences with his singing, acting and unmatched improvisational skills for well over a decade. This diversity has See BRIEFS, 26

Page 26 • Warren & Frederick County Report • Early April, 2016 BRIEFS, from 25

• It was award-winning Canadian novelist, poet, essayist and literary critic Margaret Atwood who made the following sage observation: “Your romantic tragedy when you were 19 becomes a funny anecdote by the time you’re 45. And then, 30 years later, you can’t remember their name.”

• In 1819, some Native peoples in the United States got quite a surprise.

Fearing trouble from tribes, a group of western river explorers traveled in a steamboat that had been modified to resemble a fire-breathing serpent.

• After the disaster of the Exxon Valdez, the oil tanker’s former captain, Joseph Hazelwood — who evidently had been so drunk that he was passed out in his bunk when the devastating collision occurred — was hired by the New York Maritime College. His job?

Teaching students how to stand watch.

• At one time in New York City it was against the law to play pinball.

• Tombstones weren’t always used to record information about the deceased’s life; they were originally just large, unmarked slabs of stone placed atop a fresh grave — a barrier to ensure that no undead creature or ghastly spirit could escape to trouble the living.

• The woman who was declared the female winner of the 1980 Boston Marathon had the title stripped from her after officials noticed her absence from any of the photographs or video footage from the middle of the event.

It seems she veered off course, killed a little time around town, then rode the subway a spot less than a mile from the finish line, rejoining the race at the very end. *** Thought for the Day: “A man who has never gone to school may steal from a freight car; but if he has a university education, he may steal the whole railroad.” — Theodore Roosevelt

© 2016 King Features Synd., Inc.

Over the years, Festival Organizers have reported, at times, that they were thrilled that certain celebrities were finally coming to the Bloom after years of effort on the Festival’s part. To say that this national hero fits in that category would be an understatement. In achievement of a goal at the very top of the Festival’s “Wish List” for a generation, Festival President, Jim Douglas, is pleased and proud to announce that the Ironman himself, Cal Ripken, Jr., will serve as the Sports Marshal for the 2016 Shenandoah Apple Blossom Festival®. Cal will, of course, be the Featured Speaker at the Partlow Insurance Sports Breakfast presented

by Grange Insurance.

Calvin Edwin “Cal” Ripken, Jr.,

By Samantha Weaver

© 2016 King Features Synd., Inc.

(born August 24, 1960), nicknamed “The Iron Man,” played shortstop and third baseman for 21 seasons in Major League Baseball for the Baltimore Orioles (1981–2001). One of his position’s most offensively productive players, Ripken compiled 3,184 hits, 431 home runs, and 1,695 runs batted in during his career. He won two Gold Glove Awards for his defense, was named to the American League All-Star Team 19-times, and was twice named American League Most Valuable Player. Ripken is best known for holding the record for consecutive games played, at 2,632, surpassing Lou Gehrig’s streak of 2,130 that had stood for 56 years and that many deemed unbreakable. In 2007, he was elected into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility, and currently has the 4th highest voting percentage of all-time (98.53%).

On September 6th, 1995, baseball fans worldwide tuned in to ESPN to watch Ripken surpass Lou Gehrig’s 56-year-old record for consecutive games played (2,130 games). The game, between the Orioles and the California Angels, still ranks as one of the network’s most watched baseball games. When the game became official after the Angels’ half of the fifth inning, the numerical banners that displayed Ripken’s streak on the wall of the B&O Warehouse outside the stadium’s right field wall changed from 2,130 to 2,131. The crowd in the stands, the opposing players and all four umpires gave Ripken a standing ovation lasting more than 22 minutes, one of the longest standing ovations for any athlete, in any sport, ever. To their credit, ESPN did not go to a commercial break during the entire ovation. During the ovation, Ripken did a lap around the entire Camden Yards warming track

to shake hands and give high-fives to the fans. A poll of fans by MLB.com ranked Ripken’s 2,131st straight game the “Most Memorable Moment” in MLB history, surpassing such moments as Gehrig’s farewell speech in 1939, and Jackie Robinson’s breaking of the color barrier in 1947. Ripken voluntarily ended his 17-year streak at 2,632 games in 1998. In 2001, his final season, Ripken was named the All-Star Game MVP and was honored with the Commissioner’s Historic Achievement Award. Ripken is considered one of the best shortstops and third basemen in baseball history. At 6’-4” tall and 225 pounds, he pioneered the way for the success of taller, larger shortstops. He is a member of the 3,000-Hit Club, trailing only Derek Jeter and Honus Wagner for most hits by a shortstop.

Ripken has been active in charity work throughout his career, and is still considered one of the top, if not the top, ambassador of the game.

Cal’s stay in Winchester will be limited to Saturday, April 30th. Tickets to the Partlow Insurance Sports Breakfast and the Grand Feature Parade will go on sale on Monday, April 4th, when the Official Festival Souvenir Store and Ticket Outlet opens; and, a limited number will be offered online at the Festival’s Official web site. Tickets are expected to sell very quickly.

King Features Weekly Service

erbed. Besides, he missed the rest of the point: Oregon’s Dillon Brooks took the shot because the Ducks had too much respect for Duke’s wellcoached squad. The Ducks were not leaving anything to chance.

But it’s not like the NBA is any bastion of civility. Does anyone really care who Lebron James is unfollowing on Twitter? If Stephen Curry tracks the trajectory of every shot he makes, instead of simply turning and running back on defense? He’s busy.

He had things to do. He wasn’t showing anybody up. Besides, they too have problems with little whippersnappers running willy-nilly around the floor of the Garden, demanding hugs from Carmelo Anthony. And just because that happened, it doesn’t mean we have to watch Monica Seles get stabbed again, Nancy Kerrigan get bashed again or the guy in the fan suit crashing into the ring during the Holyfield-Bowe title fight.

Actually, I wouldn’t mind if they showed that helicopter crash into the ring again. But that doesn’t mean we need a grim backstory rehashing the fan man’s life. The story can end with the paraglide into the top rope ... maybe a few seconds of the subsequent walloping he took at the hands of ringside security, but that’s it ... end it there.

I think we should stop with the soap-opera stuff. I think we should let the actual games be what we talk about. I further think that I now stand guilty for contributing to the very thing I’ve been complaining about, but just like the “renew lease?” prompt on the iPad that nobody understands but accepts anyway, it was something that needed to be said.

Mark Vasto is a veteran sportswriter who lives in New Jersey.

Baseball and sports legend, national role model, Cal Ripken, Jr., to serve as 2016 Festival sports marshal

King Features Weekly Service

So, just after the Oregon Ducks did what was right in beating the Duke Blue Devils in the NCAA tournament, legendary coach Mike Krzyzewski summoned the dark side of his personality and yelled at another team’s player.

I’m not quite sure what the rule is when it comes to something like this — everyone knows you’re supposed to talk only to your own team.

I mean, you are supposed to hide stuff from the other team. But this was after the game, so it’s not like you could call a technical on the guy.

And while we all know it’s bad form to denigrate another team’s players, let’s not forget the first thing: They’re schoolkids. They’re there to learn. They can handle a little criticism. Coach K told the other team’s kid that he was too good a player to take a last minute three-point shot to run up the score. The kid replied, “my bad,” adding that he respected Coach K “so much.”

Does that sound like an epic blowup? Doesn’t it actually sound nice in a way? It’s not like they were insulting each other’s wives and girlfriends. All this really said to me was that Coach K will go on to become the retired guy who really likes to take care of his lawn and is not afraid to tell this to groundskeepers and pesky pizza delivery drivers who insist on walking through the flow-

nir Store and Ticket Outlet open at 212 East Cork Street, at 10:00am.

April 4, 2016

I Don’t Care About Coach K

when he joined the all-star cast in the Neil Patrick Harris directed “Rent” at the historic Hollywood Bowl. A stunning vocal talent, Wayne was nominated for a Grammy in 2008 for Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance for his single “A Change Is Gonna Come,” off his debut album “A Long Time Coming.” In addition, Wayne released a children’s album entitled “Radio Wayne” which took the top spot on iTunes and Amazon kids’ charts. Brady has been featured in several films including: “Crossover” and “Roll Bounce,” for Fox Searchlight, as well as the animated film “Foodfight.” An award winning host, Wayne has been tapped to host several high-profile shows including the NAACP Awards, the BET Honors, as well as guest hosting The Late Late Show for a week earlier last year. His hosting role on the iconic “Let’s Make A Deal” has garnered several Emmy nominations. Brady became an official supporter of Ronald McDonald House Charities as a member of their celebrity board.

The amazing Wayne Brady’s Winchester appearances will officially be limited to Saturday, April 30th, as he takes his position at the lead of the 2016 Grand Feature Parade. Excellent seats for the Grand Feature Parade will go on sale on Monday, April 4th, when the Official Festival Souve-

April 4, 2016

led to a career that goes far beyond the term “triple threat.” Recently, Wayne starred on Broadway as Lola in the Tony Award winning musical “Kinky Boots.” He began his career in Orlando working at theme parks and performing in several local theater shows. It was in Orlando that his love for improvisation was ignited as a member of the Orlando improvisational comedy theater, SAK Comedy Lab. In 1998, his career took off with “Whose Line Is It Anyway?” for which he won a 2003 Emmy Award for Outstanding Individual Performance in a Variety, Musical or Comedy Series. Wayne went on to host his own syndicated talk show, “The Wayne Brady Show,” for two seasons.

He was honored with two Emmys for Outstanding Talk Show Host and the show also won Outstanding Talk Show. In 2005, Brady returned to his first love, Music Theater, starring in the Broadway production of “Chicago,” in the role of lawyer Billy Flynn.

Wayne conquered Las Vegas with his hit stage show “Makin’ It Up.” The show has been heralded as “pure genius” and “hysterically funny.” Brady has taken the show around the world – playing in South Africa, Australia, New Zealand and India. Wayne again returned to live theater in 2010

Read full issues FREE on www.WarrenCountyVA.com & www.FrederickCounty.com

Therapeutic Riding spring session

Spring is here! Our 8-week Spring Session begins the week of April 11th at our new location at 644 Lime Marl Lane in Millwood. This session we have several openings for new students. We serve children from age 5 and adults. Lessons are scheduled on Monday through Thursday afternoons and on Saturday mornings.

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Read full issues FREE on www.WarrenCountyVA.com & www.FrederickCounty.com Our certified instructors consult and collaborate with education and health care professionals whenever possible to best address the needs of each student.

BRCTH offers Therapeutic Riding which uses riding instruction to address students’ physical, cognitive and/or emotional needs. We also offer Equine Facilitated Learning (EFL) which emphasizes psycho-social learning to build trust and self-esteem through observation of and interaction with horses during un-mounted activities.

Tuition is $440; a deposit of $200 should be included when returning registration materials. The tuition balance is then due 15 days prior to start of the session. Please contact Margie Youngs, Executive Director, if you need to discuss alternate payment options or financial assistance. For more information or to request a registration packet, contact Ms. Youngs at (540) 533-2777.

Volunteers Gearing up for Spring Stewardship Virginia Campaign Stewardship Virginia, a statewide campaign to encourage and recognize voluntary work that improves Virginia’s natural resources, continues this year with events across the state. The campaign features activities in both fall and spring, and the upcoming portion will run April 1 through May 31.

“Stewardship Virginia gives us all an opportunity to make real contributions to our natural and historic resources. Virginia’s landscapes and waterways are important for their ecological value, scenic beauty, and recreational opportunities,” said Governor Terry McAuliffe. “Stewardship

Virginia projects give volunteers the tools, guidance and structure to continue to enhance these valuable resources. I encourage all Virginians to join in.”

Citizens and groups may get help from the state’s natural resource agencies. Participants in Stewardship Virginia events will receive certificates of appreciation signed by Governor McAuliffe.

“During the campaign, events will be held throughout Virginia with many opportunities for volunteerism in our parks and natural areas,” said Clyde Cristman, Director of the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR). “This year, we’re emphasizing the need to restore habitat for pollinators, which have suffered in recent years.”

DCR coordinates the campaign with help from other natural resource agencies. The 2015 Stewardship Virginia campaign resulted in more than 250 events across Virginia. About 5,000 volunteers conducted 107 waterway cleanups and water-quality monitoring programs, 75 plantings and restoration projects, 40 cleanup and recycling efforts and 28 educational programs.

“With all the great opportunities available, anyone can find a Stewardship Virginia event that’s rewarding both personally and environmentally,” said Secretary of Natural Resources Molly Ward.

“Volunteering is a great way to get outside and make a difference at the same time.”

Stewardship Virginia promotes waterway adoption, trail improvement, riparian buffer plantings, invasive species control, habitat improvement and landscaping for conservation.

Many businesses and groups across

the state have already registered campaign events and provided support to promote conservation.

Individuals, businesses and organizations may register Stewardship Virginia projects with DCR’s Office of Environmental Education. Doing so makes event details available for others to join in. For more information, including a registration packet, call (804) 786-5056.

Visit Stewardship Virginia for details about volunteer projects and a registration form.

Early April, 2016 • Warren & Frederick County Report • Page 27 making the rounds throughout the country. Callers claim to be employees of the IRS, but are not. These con artists can sound convincing when they call. They use fake names and bogus IRS identification badge numbers. They may know a lot about their targets, and they usually alter the caller ID to make it look like the IRS is calling.

Victims are told they owe money to the IRS and it must be paid promptly through a pre-loaded debit card or wire transfer. If the victim refuses to

Jessica Craft Inducted into The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi Jessica Craft of Winchester, Va., was recently initiated into The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi, the nation’s oldest and most selective collegiate honor society for all academic disciplines. Craft was initiated at North Carolina State University.

Craft is among approximately 30,000 students, faculty, professional staff and alumni to be initiated into Phi Kappa Phi each year. Membership is by invitation and requires nomination and approval by a chapter. Only the top 10 percent of seniors and 7.5 percent of juniors, having at least 72 semester hours, are eligible for membership. Graduate students in the top 10 percent of the number of candidates for graduate degrees may also qualify, as do faculty, professional staff, and alumni who have achieved scholarly distinction.

IRS-Impersonation Telephone Scam An aggressive and sophisticated phone scam targeting taxpayers, including recent immigrants, has been

ARIES (March 21 to April 19) Whether a waiting period is taking longer than expected, or just seems that way, the anxious Lamb would do well to create a center of calm within her- or himself, and not do anything rash.

TAURUS (April 20 to May 20) Practical matters dominate the week, but cultural activities also are favored, especially those that can be shared with someone special in the Bovine’s life. Some important news might be forthcoming.

GEMINI (May 21 to June 20) You need to know more about a possible career move in order to see if it offers a real opportunity or just a change.

You’re sure to get lots of advice — some of it good — but the decision must be yours.

CANCER (June 21 to July 22) The arrival of hoped-for good news about a loved one dominates most of the week and provides a great excuse for the party-loving Moon Child to plan a special event to celebrate.

LEO (July 23 to August 22) Leos and Leonas rushing to finalize their plans might want to think about slowing down the pace, or risk overlooking an important consideration that could become a sore point down the line.

VIRGO (August 23 to September 22) The week’s challenges call for logical approaches. But sentiment also has its place. Sharing memories with a special someone, for example, strengthens the bond between you.

cooperate, they are then threatened with arrest, deportation or suspension of a business or driver’s license.

In many cases, the caller becomes hostile and insulting.

Or, victims may be told they have a refund due to try to trick them into sharing private information.

If the phone isn’t answered, the scammers often leave an “urgent” callback request.

Note that the IRS will never: 1) call to demand immediate payment, nor See BRIEFS, 28 LIBRA (September 23 to October 22) A brand-new approach to a problem could have a good chance of succeeding if it’s based on a solid foundation of fact to strengthen its potential for standing up to scrutiny.

SCORPIO (October 23 to November 21) A favorable report should give your optimism an important boost as you confront another phase of a challenge. Don’t be timid about accepting advice from someone you trust.

SAGITTARIUS (November 22 to December 21) You might want to target another goal if your current aim is continually being deflected. But stay with it until you find that first sign of an opening, and then follow through.

CAPRICORN (December 22 to January 19) Although offers of advice might not always please the usually sure-footed Goat, good counsel is always worth considering, especially from those whose experience can be invaluable.

AQUARIUS (January 20 to February 18) Don’t rush to make up for lost time. Your productivity can be measured not only by what you do, but how you do it. Move carefully until the job is done the way you like it.

PISCES (February 19 to March 20) Emerging facts about someone you know might cause you to rethink your relationship. But remember to make judgments in context of a full situation, not just on scraps of data.

BORN THIS WEEK: You are known both for your love of acquiring beautiful things as well as for your generosity to others. © 2016 King Features Synd., Inc.

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Page 28 • Warren & Frederick County Report • Early April, 2016 BRIEFS, from 27

By James Miessler Capital News Service RICHMOND – Two bills that would have expanded gun rights in Virginia were vetoed by Gov. Terry McAuliffe this week.

The measures were attempts to give Virginians more freedom to possess firearms in or around state office buildings. Though the bills made it all the way to the governor’s desk, McAuliffe decided to shoot them

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sold in Virginia liquor stores; given the General Assembly more control over how the state responds to a federal plan to reduce emissions at coalfueled power plants; and allowed home-schooled students to participate in sports and other interscholastic activities at their local schools.

The General Assembly will reconvene on April 20 to consider the governor’s amendments and vetoes

of legislation. Overriding a veto requires a two-thirds majority vote in both the House and the Senate.

Though it usually lasts a single day, the reconvened session can last up to three days and can be extended by up to an additional week.

One of the perks of retirement for many seniors is not having to pay taxes any longer ... except when we do.

And sometimes when we discover that we have to pay taxes after all, it’s a tough situation.

According to a Social Security assistant deputy commissioner in a recent newsletter, one-third of seniors receiving benefits have to pay taxes because of disability and survivor benefits, as well as income that is in addition to Social Security.

You’ll need your benefit statement (Form SSA-1099), which you likely received in January, to calculate whether you need to pay taxes. This document is similar to a regular Form 1099 in that it’s used to send information about your income to the Internal Revenue Service. The amount listed is what you received the previous year.

Specifically, if your benefits and any additional income exceed $25,000 (or $32,000 for a married couple filing jointly), you’ll have to pay tax.

Depending on your income, you might be taxed on up to 50 percent of your benefits. You’ll never pay taxes on more than 85 percent of your Social Security benefits.

If you didn’t get your benefits statement in the mail or have misplaced it, there are two ways to find out the amount of your benefits. You can go to your My Social Security account (if you don’t have one, you can open one online) and select “Replacement Documents” to get a new form, or you can call Social Security at 1-800-7721213 and ask that one be sent to you.

Even if you don’t have to pay federal taxes on your Social Security benefits, beware of state taxes. There are more than a dozen states that may tax that income.

• On April 23, 1564, English dramatist and poet William Shakespeare is born in Stratford-on-Avon. While it is impossible to be certain of the exact day of his birth, church records show that he was baptized on April 26, and it was customary to wait three days before baptizing a newborn.

• On April 20, 1871, Congress authorizes President Ulysses S. Grant to use military force to suppress the Ku Klux Klan. Founded in 1865 by a group of Confederate veterans, the KKK engaged in night terrorist raids against black Americans and white Republicans.

• On April 19, 1897, the first Boston Marathon is held. Women were not allowed to enter the race until 1972, but in 1966 runner Roberta “Bobbi” Gibb hid in the bushes near the start until the race began. In 1967, Kathrine Switzer finished even though race officials tried to physically remove her.

• On April 21, 1918, Manfred von Richthofen, the German flying ace known as “The Red Baron,” is killed

by Allied fire. In a time when 20 air victories ensured a pilot legendary status, von Richthofen had downed 80 enemy aircraft. He was 25 years old.

• On April 18, 1945, syndicated journalist Ernie Pyle, America’s most popular war correspondent, is killed

by Japanese machine-gun fire on the island of Ie Shima in the Pacific. Pyle always wrote about the experiences of enlisted men rather than the battles they participated in.

• On April 24, 1953, Winston Churchill, the British leader who guided Great Britain and the Allies through World War II, is knighted by Queen Elizabeth II. • On April 22, 1978, the Blues Brothers make their world premiere on “Saturday Night Live.” Led by SNL cast members Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi, the band would go on to score three top-40 hits and a No. 1 album.

© 2016 King Features Synd., Inc.

© 2016 King Features Synd., Inc.

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King Features Weekly Service

McAuliffe Vetoes Bills Loosening Gun Restrictions

us to address areas of concern before they are realized.”

As for HB 382, the governor said, “I believe there is a need to establish and enforce workplace violence prevention policies that focus on employee safety and an atmosphere of workplace safety. An essential component of workplace violence prevention is the regulation of the possession, brandishing, or use of weapons on-site and during work-related activities.”

Although McAuliffe vetoed the two gun rights measures, the Democratic governor and Republican lawmakers forged a compromise on the issue during this year’s legislative session.

Under the agreement, people who are under a permanent protective order because of domestic abuse must relinquish their firearms, and the State Police will provide background checks for private gun sellers at gun shows. In addition, Virginia agreed to continue recognizing concealed weapon permits granted by other states.

So far, McAuliffe has vetoed a total of 14 bills from the legislative session that ended March 11. Among other things, the vetoed bills would have allowed stronger grain alcohol to be

April 4, 2016

will the agency call about taxes owed without first having mailed you a bill; 2) demand that you pay taxes without giving you the opportunity to question or appeal the amount they say you owe; 3) require you to use a specific payment method for your taxes, such as a prepaid debit card; 4) ask for credit or debit card numbers over the phone; or 5) threaten to bring in local police or other law-enforcement groups to have you arrested for not paying.

For more information on this and other IRS scams, please contact the IRS directly.

down on Thursday.

McAuliffe vetoed: House Bill 382, sponsored by Del. Buddy Fowler, R-Hanover. It sought to prohibit most state agencies from preventing their employees from storing guns or ammunition in a locked motor vehicle at their workplace. The bill had passed the House on a 65-34 vote and the Senate by 2414.

HB 1096, introduced by Del. Michael Webert, R-Marshall. It aimed to reverse the governor’s Executive Order 50, which disallowed the possession of firearms in Virginia state office buildings. The legislation had passed the House by a vote of 65-33 and the Senate by 21-17.

Webert expressed disappointment in McAuliffe’s decision, chalking it up to the tension that comes from checks and balances.

“As is the course of government, there is always friction between the executive and legislative branches,” Webert said. “I am disappointed in the governor’s veto of HB 1096.”

Webert said McAuliffe’s executive order infringed on the rights of lawabiding citizens and their options to defend themselves.

“Many law-abiding concealed carry permit holders, I am confident, will also share in my disappointment as they cannot defend themselves as they see fit,” Webert said. “As lawabiding citizens, CCP holders are a very law-abiding group, and thus it would only be prudent to work to provide them with the same level of freedom they once enjoyed.”

In his veto message, McAuliffe called the bills “an unnecessary reversal of common-sense efforts to limit workplace violence or accidental injury due to the presence of firearms in state facilities.”

“All Virginians, including state employees, have the right to feel safe and secure going about their daily lives,” McAuliffe said regarding HB 1096. “Regulations have been authorized to promote safety in public buildings, and prevention requires

Read full issues FREE on www.WarrenCountyVA.com & www.FrederickCounty.com

Read full issues FREE on www.WarrenCountyVA.com & www.FrederickCounty.com

Friday, April 1 Forecast 78° | 53° 10am - 5pm Used Book Sale. Bowman Library. Spring Used Book Sale.

Open to the public. Sponsored by Friends of HRL. 10:30am - 11am Dance Party!

Handley Library. Toddlers, Preschoolers, & their grown-ups are welcome to boogie down!

1:30pm - 2:30pm Education Committee. Chamber Office.

Saturday, April 2 Forecast 61° | 34° 10am - 5pm Used Book Sale - Last Day. Bowman Library. Spring Used Book Sale. Open to the public. Sponsored by Friends of HRL. 11am - 12pm Graduation for 1,000 Books b4 Kindergarten. Bowman Library. It’s Graduation time for those who have completed the challenge of reading 1,000 books before Kindergarten. Everyone is invited to the celebration!

1pm - 2:30pm Family Film. Bowman Library, 871 Tasker Road, Stephens City. Join us Saturdays at the Bowman Library for a Family Picnic and Movie event. Families are encouraged to bring a picnic lunch to the show. Popcorn and lemonade will be served. The movie showing is free.

April 2: Hotel for Dogs.

2pm - 4pm Streets of Winchester talk. Handley Library. Tim Youmans talks on “Streets of Winchester” Cosponsor Friends of HRL and Winchester Frederick County Historical Society. Reception to follow in Benham Gallery.

6:30pm - 9:30pm Bingo. North Fork Resort Associates, 301 North

Fork Road, Front Royal. Doors open at 4:30. Early birds at 6:30. Food available for purchase. Door prizes, progressive games, queen of hearts, progressive pull tab, and brand new electronic pull tab games. Find us on Facebook. (540) 636-7152. Must be 12 to play. No smoking.

for our tweens and teens, but is fun for the whole family.

5:30pm - 6:30pm Manga Art, Bowman Library. Bring your sketch book to create your manga drawings. Get tips from other artists and share your work. For Tweens and Teens at Bowman Library

Sunday, April 3 Forecast 51° | 36°

Tuesday, April 5 10:30am - 11am Baby Story Time.

Handley Library. Bring Infants (birth to 15 months) to enjoy stories, finger plays, and songs. Stay afterwards to socialize and play!

10:30am - 11am Preschool Story Time. Clarke County Library. Hear great stories and fun with Mary!

Clarke For ages 3 and up.

12:30pm - 1pm Tourism Tuesdays.

95.3 - the River radio station. Hear the latest tourism related news and events every Tuesday at 12:30!

2pm - 3pm Ambassador’s Club.

Chamber Office.

6pm - 6:30pm Twilight Tales. Bowman Library. A family event at Bowman Library. Stories, music, finger plays, movement and a craft.

Monday, April 4 10:30am - 11am Preschool Time.

Handley Library. No registration is required. Most appropriate for preschoolers age 3 and up. Free and open to the public.

11am - 11:30am Toddler Story Time. Bowman Library. For those three and under. A program of stories, songs, finger plays, flannel boards and movement.

4:30pm - 5:30pm Coloring Club.

Handley Library. Tweens and teens join us every Monday to color and unwind.

4:30pm - 5:30pm Lego Club. Bowman Library. Calling all elementary and middle school Lego builders!

Design and construction themes are different each week. Free, no registration required.

5pm - 6pm UFAC Meeting. Front Royal Administration Building, 102 E Main Street, Front Royal. The Urban Forestry Advisory Commission (UFAC) meets in the 2nd Floor Conference Room.

5:30pm - 6:30pm Coloring Club.

Bowman Library. Join us for coloring enchanting designs that feature hidden objects and fun mazes. Discover the magic! This program is designed

Wednesday, April 6 8:30am - 9:30am Small Business Committee. Chamber Office.

11am - 2pm AARP Free Tax Help.

Bowman Library. AARP will be offering free tax help. No Reservations needed. Sign-up begins when the library opens at 10 A.M. For more information call AARP At (540) 2476479. This is not a library program.

11am - 11:30am Preschool Story Time. Bowman Library. For ages 2-5.

A lively 30-minute program of stories, puppets, dancing and songs.

12pm - 1pm Make a Joyful Noise.

Handley Library. A Joyful Noise! A Music and Art series featuring artists in the Winchester area. This is a collaborative project with the Friends of HRL and the Winchester area NAACP branch. Jessica Foy Long’s program will feature five Creole Songs arranged by Camille Nickerson, sung in Creole. The second performer will be Alina Krishon Goldman. Alina’s recital will focus on art songs by Israeli composer Paul Ben Haim.

12:30pm - 1pm Warren County Business on the River 95.3 3:30pm - 4pm Stories with a Sheriff. Handley Library. Hear stories read

Early April, 2016 • Warren & Frederick County Report • Page 29

by our very own Winchester Sheriffs!

All ages are welcome!

4:15pm - 4:45pm Spanish with Angela. Bowman Library. Using games, songs, puppets and picture books children and their parents will learn the Spanish language.

6pm - 7:30pm Bull and Bear Club.

Handley Library. Investment club is free and open to the public.

6pm - 6:30pm Pajama Story Time.

Handley Library. Can’t make it during the day? The whole family is invited! Put on your pajamas and slippers and join us for bedtime stories.

Bring your favorite snuggly.

6:30pm - 9:30pm Bingo. North Fork Resort Associates, 301 North Fork Road, Front Royal. Doors open at 4:30. Early birds at 6:30. Food available for purchase. Door prizes, progressive games, queen of hearts, progressive pull tab, and brand new electronic pull tab games. Find us on Facebook. (540) 636-7152. Must be 12 to play. No smoking.

6:30pm - 7:30pm Tour. Handley Library. Staff members and volunteers will give tours of Handley Library, concentrating on the architecture and history of the library. The tours will take you behind the scenes to all floors of the library, including the famous glass floors and the well under the stage. The tours are free, but making reservations is helpful.

Thursday, April 7 10:30am - 11am Preschool Story Time. Clarke County Library. Hear great stories and have fun! For ages 3 and up.

10:30am - 11am Toddler Time.

Handley Library. An Early Literacy program designed specifically for active toddlers, ages 3 and under. This program is a developmentally appropriate transition from our “Baby Time” program to “Preschool Time.”

We are growing readers here! Programs are free and open to the public.

11am - 11:30am Baby Story Time.

Bowman Library. Story time for Infants (birth to 15 months). A program of songs, stories, clapping and tapping.

12pm - 1pm Books & Brown Bag. Barns of Rose Hill, Berryville. Bring your lunch and a friend to Barns of Rose Hill for a book discussion of

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CHOOSE: MANY vets over a WIDE area!

NEW vets added!

Contact Spay Today: www.baacs.org or call 304-728-8330

We thank you as we start this new year.

Your help and support in reaching so many is appreciated by them -- and by Spay Today!

With many thanks and the best of wishes for you in 2016.

Fran Barker

Volunteer for Spay Today

The Bird Artist by Howard Norman.

Friday, April 8 10:30am - 11am Dance Party!

Handley Library. Toddlers, Preschoolers, & their grown-ups are welcome to boogie down!

Saturday, April 9 11am - 11:30am Story Time. Bowman Library. For ages 3 and up. A 30minute program of stories, puppets, dancing and songs.

12pm - 2pm Family Film. Handley Library. Join us for a family picnic and movie event. Families are encouraged to bring a picnic lunch.

Programs are free and open to the public. No registration is required.

April 9: Kit Kittredge (G).

1pm - 2:15pm Paws for Reading.

Bowman Library. Read a favorite book to a reading tutor. It is Paws for Reading! These canine listeners are patient and love kids. Come meet our certified therapy dogs.

2pm - 4pm Gretchen and Piano, Handley Library.

4pm - 7pm Book Launch with John Berry. Handley Library. Local Poet John Berry’s book launch and reception. Sponsored by Friends of HRL 4:00 – 7:00 pm. Chicken Dinner.

Front Royal Church of the Brethren.

106 W. 13th St., Front Royal. $8.00 adult, $4.00 children 5-12, Children 4 & under eat free. Price includes chicken, green beans, parsley potatoes, salad, drink and dessert. All proceeds go to the American Cancer Society. Sponsored by Connie’s Crusaders 6:30pm - 9:30pm Bingo. North Fork Resort Associates, 301 North Fork Road, Front Royal. Doors open at 4:30. Early birds at 6:30. Food available for purchase. Door prizes, progressive games, queen of hearts, progressive pull tab, and brand new electronic pull tab games. Find us on Facebook. (540) 636-7152. Must be 12 to play. No smoking.

Monday, April 11 10:30am - 11am Preschool Time.

Handley Library. No registration is required. Most appropriate for preschoolers age 3 and up. Free and open to the public.

11am - 11:30am Toddler Story Time. Bowman Library. For those three and under. A program of stories, songs, finger plays, flannel boards and movement.

1:30pm - 4pm Joint Archives Committee Meeting. Handley Library.

4:30pm - 5:30pm Coloring Club.

Handley Library. Tweens and teens join us every Monday to color and unwind.

4:30pm - 5:30pm Lego Club. Bowman Library. Calling all elementary and middle school Lego builders!

Design and construction themes are different each week. Free, no regis-

Page 30 • Warren & Frederick County Report • Early April, 2016 CALENDAR, from 29 tration required.

6pm - 7pm Teen Advisory Board.

Bowman Library. Open to Middle and High School students. Plan and present events, advise on library materials, advise on tween and teen library events, assist with other library events and activities.

7pm - 8pm Council Meeting.

County of Warren Government Center. Tonight is a regular Town Council meeting.

7pm - 8pm Council Work Session.

Town Administration Building, 102 E. Main St, Front Royal.

Tuesday, April 12 10:30am - 11am Baby Story Time.

Handley Library. Bring Infants (birth to 15 months) to enjoy stories, finger plays, and songs. Stay afterwards to socialize and play!

10:30am - 11am Preschool Story Time. Clarke County Library. Hear great stories and fun with Mary!

Clarke For ages 3 and up.

12:30pm - 1pm Tourism Tuesdays.

95.3 - the River radio station. Hear the latest tourism related news and events every Tuesday at 12:30!

1pm - 5pm Tapestry Committee.

Handley Library. Tapestry Committee will meet to work on project.

6pm - 6:30pm Twilight Tales. Bowman Library. A family event at Bowman Library. Stories, music, finger plays, movement and a craft.

7pm - 8pm BAR Meeting. Town Administration Building, Front Royal.

Wednesday, April 13 Thomas Jefferson’s Birthday 11am - 2pm AARP Free Tax Help.

Bowman Library. AARP will be offering free tax help. No Reservations needed. Sign-up begins when the library opens at 10 A.M. For more information call AARP At (540) 2476479. This is not a library program.

11am - 11:30am Preschool Story Time. Bowman Library. For ages 2-5.

A lively 30-minute program of stories, puppets, dancing and songs.

3:30pm - 5pm Chamber Board Meeting. Chamber Office.

4:15pm - 4:45pm Spanish with Angela. Bowman Library. Using games, songs, puppets and picture books children and their parents will learn the Spanish language.

4:30pm - 7:30pm Chess. Handley Library Open chess games. 1-on-1 instruction for new players. At 5:30 PM a lecture is available on Chess Basics and Strategy. Families, adults, kids -- all ages and skill levels – are welcome to come and play. Bring your board or just yourself. This event is FREE and open to the public.

For more information, visit Shenandoah Valley Chess Club. http://www. winchesterchess.com 6pm - 8pm Shenandoah Poetry Alliance. Handley Library. Event for all poets. Sponsored by Friends of HRL. 6:30pm - 9:30pm Bingo. North Fork Resort Associates, 301 North Fork Road, Front Royal. Doors open at 4:30. Early birds at 6:30. Food available for purchase. Door prizes,

progressive games, queen of hearts, progressive pull tab, and brand new electronic pull tab games. Find us on Facebook. (540) 636-7152. Must be 12 to play. No smoking.

Thursday, April 14, 2016 10:30am - 11am Preschool Story Time. Clarke County Library. Hear great stories and have fun! For ages 3 and up.

10:30am - 11am Toddler Time.

Handley Library. An Early Literacy program designed specifically for active toddlers, ages 3 and under. This program is a developmentally appropriate transition from our “Baby Time” program to “Preschool Time.”

We are growing readers here! Programs are free and open to the public.

11am - 11:30am Baby Story Time.

Bowman Library. Story time for Infants (birth to 15 months). A program of songs, stories, clapping and

Read full issues FREE on www.WarrenCountyVA.com & www.FrederickCounty.com tapping.

Friday, April 15 10:30am - 11am Dance Party!

Handley Library. Toddlers, Preschoolers, & their grown-ups are welcome to boogie down!

11:30am – 7pm 8th Annual Relay for Life Golf Tournament. Bowling Green Country Club (South). Registration and Lunch from 11:30-12:30.

Shotgun Start at 1pm, awards at 6pm.

5:30pm - 8pm Game Night. Bowman Library. Get Your Game On! Gamers can rotate throughout the electronic, card and computer games.

This program is intended for middle school and high school students. It is free with no registration required.

Saturday, April 16 7am - 11am Country Breakfast.

North Warren Volunteer Fire & Rescue Company 10, 89 Rockland Road,

The Oak Club

We Believe.

We believe the best people in the world work right here. And we believe you could be one of them.

Working Here We believe the words “Welcome to McDonald’s” should apply to our employees just as much as our customers. We’re proud of our food, and we’re just as proud of the jobs we create.

Benefits We strive to hire and keep the brightest and the best. And to do that, we’ve put together perks designed to make you smile - even before you pick up your paycheck. From flexible schedules and competitive wages to management training. Our benefits let you know you’re a valued part of our team.

Apply Online www.mcvirginia.com/12132 or www.mcvirginia.com/2075

Our best seller at lunch comes with chips, salad or fresh cut fries for just $5.95.

So what’s it going to be?

White or wheat?

The Oak Grill in Front Royal

All Sports...

All the time

$5.95

Front Royal Little League & Washington Nationals Baseball

Commerce Ave. across from Southern States Front Royal, Va. 540-635-FOOD

Plus the award-winning News At Noon & Valley Today, local news & sports updates throughout the day and up-to-date weather from local meteorologist Kemp Miller Serving Front Royal and Warren County since 1948

www.facebook.com/SportsRadio1450WFTR

Early April, 2016 • Warren & Frederick County Report • Page 31

Read full issues FREE on www.WarrenCountyVA.com & www.FrederickCounty.com Front Royal. Join us for pancakes, biscuits, sausage, bacon, sausage and chip beef gravy, scrambled eggs, baked apples, coffee, juice, and hot tea. Adults $8, 4-12 years old $4, under 3 free.

8:00am - 5pm 6th Annual 5K Run/ Walk in memory of Heidi Moore.

Skyline High School. Pre-Register by April 1 to get a T-Shirt. Early entry fee- $16 student / $20 Adult; Race day entry: $20 student / $25 Adult.

NEW this year is Kids run for a Cure.

540-635-4734

Ages 4-8 Cost $5. For more information call (540) 327-2680 or maria. bolton08@gmail.com. Proceeds to benefit American Cancer Society Relay for Life of Front Royal/ Warren County.

10am - 5pm Relay for Life Bingo.

Front Royal Vol. Fire and Rescue Department. The First Session starts at 12:00 noon. $70 Admission Minimum. 66 $100 games and two $1000 Jackpots. Tips will be sold starting at 10:00 and will be sold all day. Kitch-

en will be open. Advance tickets will be available from Mon. - Fri. 9am 4pm. For more information contact Fire Dept. Office at (540) 635-2540.

11am - 11:30am Story Time. Bowman Library. For ages 3 and up. A 30minute program of stories, puppets, dancing and songs.

12pm - 2pm Family Film. Handley Library. Join us for a family picnic and movie event. Families are encouraged to bring a picnic lunch.

Programs are free and open to the

public. No registration is required.

April 16: All Dogs Go to Heaven.

1pm - 3pm Telescope Program.

Bowman Library. Members of the Shenandoah Astronomical Society will be presenting a short 30 minute program about telescopes. They will talk about different types of telescopes, how they work, and the benefits of each type. You are encouraged to bring your own telescope if you have one. The presenters will answer questions about how to use your own telescope.

1pm - 2pm Tour. Handley Library.

Staff members and volunteers will give tours of Handley Library, concentrating on the architecture and history of the library. The tours will take you behind the scenes to all

floors of the library, including the famous glass floors and the well under the stage. The tours are free, but making reservations is helpful.

6:30pm - 9:30pm Bingo. North Fork Resort Associates, 301 North Fork Road, Front Royal. Doors open at 4:30. Early birds at 6:30. Food available for purchase. Door prizes, progressive games, queen of hearts, progressive pull tab, and brand new electronic pull tab games. Find us on Facebook. (540) 636-7152. Must be

Now Hiring Ad Sales Reps in Winchester and Frederick County Email: Dan@AreaGuides.com

Humane Society of Warren County

540-635-4734

Monday thru Sunday 10 am to 4 pm - Closed Wednesday • 1245 Progress Drive, Front Royal, VA • 540-635-4734 • humanesocietywc@gmail.com

Walt Disney World Passes & 24” Olaf Raffle 4 one-day hopper passes to Walt Disney World Resort in Central Florida Proceeds benefit the Humane Society of Warren County’s Hand in Paw Fund Only 100 tickets will be sold! Chances to win are $10 each, winner announced no later than May 4, 2016 Molly is a 8 month old hound/pit mix.

She is house trained and does well with other dogs and children. She has a lot of energy and would love to be in a very active home!

Molly’s ad sponsored by:

Spicewood Flats Boarding Kennels & Grooming

125 Spicewood Lane • Front Royal

540-635-8979

spicewoodflats.com

Scooby is a big lovable 4-5 year old Boxer/Hound mix. He is a goofball and absolutely loves everyone he meets! He is great with other dogs, cats and children too!

Allie is a sweet 13 year old Jack Russell mix looking for her perfect home to spend her golden years in.

She does well with cats and most dogs, and would like a home with older children only. She is an affectionate senior that bonds closely with the people she loves.

Scooby’s ad sponsored by:

Allie’s ad sponsored by:

The Front Royal Moose Lodge #829

Hillbilly’s Junkyard Hillbilly has what you NEED! 4381 Stonewall Jackson Hwy Bentonville, VA • 636-2671 hillbillysjunkyard.com

Jessie is a 4 year old Great Dane.

She is house trained, knows basic commands, walks great on leash and loves to go on car rides!

She is a laid back girl and bonds closely with her humans.

Jessie’s ad sponsored by:

Wanda Snead

Property Management

Serving the area for 20 years!

Sam Snead Realty • 540-635-9753

SamSneadRealty.com

With your help we have been able to place thousands of animals in good homes. Contact Alison @ 540-551-2072 if you would like to become a pet sponsor too!

Page 32 • Warren & Frederick County Report • Early April, 2016

Read full issues FREE on www.WarrenCountyVA.com & www.FrederickCounty.com