garden full of goodness
victorious volleyball
Those late-season vegetables and fruits may be worth a second look.
Washington & lee squad off to undefeated start to season.
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POSTAL CUSTOMER
T he
Colonial Beach • Westmoreland
Volume 38, Number 38
Wednesday, September 17, 2014 50 Cents
helping you relate to your community
Police: CB Elementary School fire arson Richard Leggitt Law enforcement officials have said the Jan. 5 fire that destroyed the former Colonial Beach Elementary School was arson. The Virginia State Police’s Bureau of Criminal Investigation is seeking to talk to two people who were seen in the area about the time the fire started. “During the course of the investigation, we have been able to determine there were at least two individuals near the school just prior to the fire starting,” said State Police Special Agent A.B. Cooke. “We would like to hear from these individuals or from anyone who might help us identify them. The U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives assisted state police with the eightmonth investigation into the fire at the 102-year-old historic school building. Officials said they
Bond issue up in the air The Colonial Beach school division’s insurance settlement postpones a decision by the town on what to do next, Page 4. conducted a painstaking search for all available evidence as to the cause of the fire. There were just a few witnesses to the early morning fire, and they reported seeing two people near the building just before the fire started, officials said. Officials said the witnesses could not provide an estimated age of the two individuals authorities are seeking. Cooke said the fire appeared to have begun in the interior of the brick building, which was declared unsafe in 2011 and was not being used by students. It was, though, being used to house school supplies at the time
New Beach town hall a breath of fresh air to staff Linda Farneth The Colonial Beach town staff can breathe easier. Not only is the physical move to their new home complete, but the air in the new town hall also is so much cleaner, they said. Payment Revenue Manager Adam Schaefer said he is really happy with the new layout and thinks it works well. Town Secretary Cindy Vaughan has a much larger desk and more space. In the old building, she was cramped in a dark corner. “I think it’s great. I feel like a princess at Christmas,” Vaughan said. Colonial Beach Town Hall moved last week to 315 Douglas Ave., allowing town residents to conduct business at the new location. The new location is on the corner of Douglas Avenue and Livingstone Street, formerly the primary building at the old elementary campus. Visitors must access the building from a one-way street by turning onto Wilder Avenue from either Washington Ave. or Lynnhaven St.
The handicapped access ramp is on Douglas Avenue. There, you will be greeted by the receptionist, Cindy Vaughan. Council authorized the move in June after black mold and security issues were discovered by Building Inspector Dexter Monroe. After remediation attempts revealed the central air conditioning ducts were so old they were made of wood, the town determined it would be too costly to repair the building and began plans to move into the vacant former primary school building. Town Manager Val Foulds is very excited the building allows the staff to utilize a large multi-purpose conference room. Town staff, including the police and public works departments, can use the space for training, seminars or conferences. “Operations have been uninterrupted, and many people have visited the new site, Foulds said. “We’ve had very positive feedback.” Foulds added that the new location is not subject to flooding as the old site was, ensuring the town government remains open during storms or flooding.
Linda Farneth
Collections Specialist Tina Saunders accepts a payment from a resident in the new building.
of the fire. The soaring, multi-alarm blaze, which was fought by more than a dozen fire departments from Virginia and Maryland, not only destroyed the old school building, but left nearby modular buildings that were being used by students in a “collapse zone”, forcing the relocation of 280 elementary students to the Oak Grove Baptist Church for the remainder of the 2013-14 school year. New modular units are being installed on the campus of Colonial Beach High School and are scheduled to be ready for the elementary school students in just a few weeks. In the meantime, the elementary school students are using some classrooms in the high school building. Cooke said anyone with information about the fire could contact him by email at allen.cooke@ vsp.virginia.gov or call 804-553-3445. All information received will be kept confidential, Cooke said.
File photo
Police have determined the Jan. 5 fire at the former Colonial Beach Elementary School was deliberately set..
jet ski races canceled
File photo
Colonial Beach has decided to end its annual jet ski races due to the cost of hosting the event, town officials said.
High cost dooms local event Linda Farneth Money was the driving factor for the Colonial Beach Chamber of Commerce’s decision to discontinue hosting the Liberty Cup portion of the UWP-IJSBA Watercross National Tour Jet Ski races. Chamber President Carey Geddes informed members Sept. 12 that the organization decided not to continue to host the races. Geddes told members their responses to survey questions helped the officers make the decision to stop. Geddes said out of 105 surveys sent out, only 13 were returned. The
votes showed four against hosting the event again, four in favor and five undecided. The deciding factor involved reduced contributions from the town by $2,000, NSWC Federal Credit Union pulling their sponsorship and many corporate sponsors cutting their contributions in half. Geddes said thoe moves left the Chamber with a $7,000 shortfall. Additionally, Watercross began billing the town an additional $1,250 fee for the corporate challenges in 2013. The Chamber’s contribution for the whole event has been $9,000 each year.
Geddes said during the first three years of the event, the chamber lost roughly $7,000 per year. In 2013, that loss was reduced to $4,000 because a separate event — Boy’s Toy’s on the hill made money for the Chamber. However, in 2014, the group lost $9,000. Next year would mark the third year of the latest contract, and the Chamber had the option to cancel the deal early. At the 2014 event, A. J. Handler, head of IJSBA told Geddes if the Chamber did not have a decision and a $5,000 check for Watercross by Oct. 1, they would move the Liberty Cup portion to
Tennessee. The Chamber’s next board of directors meeting is scheduled for Oct. 9, past the deadline. “We took everything into account- the loss of $7,000 in funding, the additional monies that would be required to have the corporate challenge, money to repay See RACES, page 4
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