bottling plant closing
W&L still unbeaten
fall festival time
Northern neck plant to shutter its doors this month after being in the region for 83 years. Page 9
Eagles roll past king william despite being without their top running back. Page 4
Montross is all set to host its biggest event of the year.
Page 6
POSTAL CUSTOMER
T he
Colonial Beach • Westmoreland
Volume 38, Number 40
Wednesday, October 1, 2014 50 Cents
helping you relate to your community
colonial beach elementary saga nears end
Wittman, Mosher to square off Oct. 6 Staff report
Linda Farneth photos
Both high school and elementary school kids, above, who walk home leave school Sept. 27. The Jan. 5 fire at the former elementary school campus has forced the students to share space temporarily this fall until the new elementary school is finished, below.
Kids adjust to temporary home Linda Farneth Colonial Beach students currently are packed into the high school and middle school modular pods, but students, faculty and parents are taking it in stride. “Everyone is working hard; it’s working as well as it could be for a situation that is not ideal,” said Superintendent Kevin Newman. Elementary students are utilizing the middle
school modular pods behind the high school building and some of the high school classrooms. Gates keep grades K-7 separate from 8–12. “You want teachers to have their own classroom and explore the whole building,” Newman said. “But everyone is doing what they have to do.” Students also are kept separate when entering in the morning and leaving in the afternoon, except for the families who have children who
walk to school. Lunch also is done separately, with high school students using the cafeteria, while elementary students have lunch delivered to their classrooms. During times when students are traveling between classes, arrival and dismissal, faculty and staff constantly are monitoring every area of the school, and they are equipped with radios to communicate any needs that may arise.
Security has been heightened the last year. Visitors can only enter the building after being buzzed in by staff, who monitor the doors. Cameras also monitor activity throughout the school. Response has been positive from parents and students, Newman said. Many high school students did not want to comment, but some rolled their eyes about sharing their space with the “little kids.”
New school should be done in few weeks, builder says Linda Farneth If there are no tricks, the town’s elementary school students may get a treat for Halloween by moving into their new home. Steve Cirbee, owner of Trinity Building Co., said he wanted to finish the project a few weeks ago – ahead of schedule -- but some issues out of his control delayed completion of work. “We need the power hooked up,” Cirbee said. “The power company
was put behind schedule due to coordination issues with the modular supplier.” Another delay was created when it was discovered that a large water main had to be relocated. Trinity made sure water testing was done to ensure there was no contamination during the pipe relocation or reconnection, Cirbee said. Another setback came when the modular company raised the levels of the units by 7 inches, creating extra
ramp work for Trinity to ensure the handicapped ramps were within code, since ramps must follow a gradual lift to make it easy for wheelchairs to get to the top. The contract states Trinity has until Nov. 1 to finish the project. After a meeting on Sept. 29, Cirbee said he was promised by both Dominion and Mobile Modular that their work should be done in time to attain an occupancy permit by the middle of October.
Beach man facing 45 child porn counts Richard Leggitt A March 25 trial date has been set for a Colonial Beach man charged with 45 counts of child pornography. Michael Kovach, 36, was arrested earlier this year after police served six warrants on his home and seized his computer and other electronic devices.
Kovach
Kovach is charged with 15 counts of distribution of child pornography and 30 counts of possession of child p o r n o g r a p h y.
Law enforcement authorities allege Kovach was engaged in peer-to-peer exchanges on the Internet involving child pornography. Kovach has entered pleas of not guilty to all the charges and is free on $90,000 bond, pending the trial which is expected to take three days. He appeared Sept. 26 in Westmoreland County Circuit Court in connection
with his March 5 arrest on the charges. Virginia State Police said they have conducted an extensive investigation of Kovach’s Internet activities, including a forensics examination of the computer and other devices seized from his home and gave the results of that investigation to prosecutors. State police are being assisted in the investigation by the Westmoreland
County Sheriff’s Office. Kovach was indicted by a Westmoreland County grand jury after law enforcement authorities seized the devices from his home. Westmoreland County Commonwealth’s Attorney Julia Sichol would not comment on the evidence supporting the allegations against Kovach because the case still is being investigated.
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Republican Congressman Rob Wittman and his Democratic challenger, Norm Mosher, will meet in their second debate Oct. 6 at the University of Mary Washington. Wittman, who has represented the First Congressional District since 2007, is a Montross resident. He coWittman chairs the House Chesapeake Bay Watershed Caucus. Prior to his election to Congress, he served in the House of Delegates for Mosher the Northern Neck. He also was on the Montross Town Council from 1986-96, serving as mayor from 1992-96. Mosher retired from the U.S. Navy with the rank of captain after serving for 26 years. He served on the Irvington Town Council and as chair of the Lancaster County Democratic Committee. The debate likely will touch on many issues, including the economy, unemployment, transportation and international issues, such as the Middle East, said Stephen Farnsworth, professor of political science at the university of one of the debate’s moderators. “All in all, it is a great opportunity for people to learn first-hand about the candidates to represent them in Congress,” he said. “In these days of attack ads and slash-and-burn politics, debates are a great way for the candidates to put their issues out there and give voters a sense of where each would like to take the country in the future.” The First Congressional District is comprised of the counties and cities of Caroline, Essex, Fredericksburg, Gloucester, King and Queen, King George, King William, Lancaster, Mathews,Middlesex,Nothumberland, Poquoson, Richmond, Stafford, Westmoreland, Williamsburg and York, as well as parts of Fauquier, James City, Newport News, Prince William and Spotsylvania. The debate is co-sponsored by the Fredericksburg Regional Chamber of Commerce, The Free Lance-Star, UMW’s Young Democrats, UMW’s College Republicans, The Blue and Gray Press and the university’s Center for Leadership and Media Studies. “This has been a great opportunity for students to experience how to put an event like this together,” Farnsworth said.
If you want to go What: First District Congressional Debate When: 7:30 p.m. Oct. 6 Where: University of Mary Washington’s Dodd Auditorium