rivalry romp
school awards
learning on the high seas
The drifters easily defeat the eagles in a cross-county contest. Page 5
King George high school and its teachers earn state awards. Page 9
students have chance to get their fill of knowledge, adventure. Page 4 POSTAL CUSTOMER
T he
Colonial Beach • Westmoreland
Volume 38, Number 46
Wednesday, November 12, 2014 50 Cents
helping you relate to your community
New CB council has some looking to future Nov. 4 election sees selection of 4 new members Linda Farneth Colonial Beach voters sent a clear message they wanted change Nov. 4 when they elected four new town council members. “The votes demonstrate a town in hope of change,” said Lorraine Blancke, spokeswoman for the Colonial Beach Concerned Citizens. “It’s a win for
Blunt
DiRosario
the residents because their votes were counted, and their desire for new town council members was heard. ” School Board Chairman Tim Trivett echoed Blancke, saying: “The voters sent a very clear message that they were tired of the unprofessional
Looney
Lyburn
behavior of those that claimed to care about our town, but whose actions spoke much clearer than their words while they served on town council.” However, Trivett clarified who he was speaking of by saying he appreciated the “honesty, integrity and the
support” Gary Seeber and Pete Bone gave to the town. “I look forward to putting the past behind us January first,” he added. “I am very confident that the school board will be able to work very well with the new town council members. I believe each one of them will be fair and honest when discussing town and school business and handle issues in a professional way.” Edward Blunt (558 votes), Michael Looney (452) and Burkett Lyburn (414) were eleced to four-year terms on the council. The three will replace Seeber, who chose not run again, and incumbents
Linda Brubaker (291 votes) and James Chiarello (265 votes). Both were originally appointed to fill the seats they tried to defend but were only able to beat out Donald Brown, who did not campaign and received 100 votes. Wayne DiRosario (399 votes) won the special election for a two-year term to fill the unexpired term of Tim Curtin, a spot to which Bone was appointed for one year. DiRosario and Lyburn are returning council members. DiRosario served on the council from 1980-84, and as mayor from 1984-88. In 1991, he was elected to the Westmoreland County Board of Supervisors and served until
2003. In 2007, Lyburn served on the council for seven months. He then was elected a full term in 2008, during which time he served as vice mayor from 2010-12. Carey Geddes, president of the Colonial Beach Chamber of Commerce, saw the results as a plus for the town. “Both Lyburn and DiRosario have been on the council, know what it’s all about and can hit the ground running,” he said. Blancke, however, had some concerns about the returning members. See COUNCIL, page 4
Roberson Scouts collect food for thanksgiving and Lyburn win school board seats Linda Farneth
Month-long drive yields about 2,100 pounds of food to be distributed by CB Baptist Church throughout the years, the group is only equipped to makeup 25 baskets. The program is run strictly on Local Scouts in Colonial Beach and Oak Grove donations from the parishioners and the church’s have collected about 2,100 pounds of food for the Sunday School classes. The group takes the first 25 requests from families needy this holiday season. Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts gathered who frequent the food bank at the church, however the food during an October drive, and it is now lining none of the food comes from the food bank. The the shelves at the food bank at Colonial Beach Baptist group relies on citizens, such as Emily Hall, who donates half the turkeys, as well as monetary donations Church. Forty-seven kids and 23 adults participated in the from parishioners. “The food bank is being tapped out. The need for October food drive, netting more than 160 hours of combined community service. The church is not the food has doubled, maybe even tripled, since we startonly local parish that utilizes area food gathered by ed,” Jessie Hall said. The group will began preparing turkey boxes Nov. Scouts and distributes it to families in the area. Additionally, Jessie Hall heads up a community 21. The group has not yet reached its goal for this outreach program at the church which provides tur- year. Anyone interested in donating can send a check to Budget! Colonial Beach Baptist Church with a subject line key baskets to 25 area Don’t families stretch in need. The Woman’s your Holiday Missionary Union has been preparing holiday box- of “WMU Turkey Boxes.” your list, it twice. just whattoyou AnyBorrow extra food is given the need food bank after es with turkey and allMake the trimmings for count almost 10 for the holidays! Don’t max those highhave ratebeen credit cards!for the the out needed supplies purchased years. Hall said while the need has become greater baskets. Linda Farneth
Local Colonial Beach and Oak Grove Scouts collected food throughout October to be distributed to area families this Thanksgiving. Photos courtesy of Kitty Norris
Vicky Roberson and Patrice Lyburn will return to the Colonial Beach School Board. Roberson originally did not intend to run again, but just weeks before the Nov. 4 election, she told voters she would run as a write-in candidate after no one came forward to run for either of the vacant seats. Roberson had wanted to return to work in the school system, but Colonial Beach prohibits any school board member from working for one year after service on the board. “After experiencing so much after the past 10 months, I feel compelled to remain on this board since we have not finished the work that needs to be done from the devastating fire,” she said. Roberson has worked for 37 years in education. She began teaching, primarily in language arts, in Colonial Beach from 1978 to 2004. During her tenure in Colonial Beach, she coordinated the gifted program. She taught in King George from 2004-12, when she retired. In this next term, she is hoping to bring finality to the permanent location of the new elementary school, as well as address the division’s state test scores and teacher retention. “I’d like to work on getting teachers to stay here, because I think that is what makes your program very valid,” she said, adding that the longer a teacher stays, the more comfortable they are with teaching their students. After four years away, Lyburn is returning to the board. She announced her intentions to run as a write-in candidate just days before the election. She began her career on the school board in 2004, when she was appointed to fill an empty seat. In 2006, she ran for another four-year year term. During this term, she wants to work with the town council to get the money necessary to better educate local children. She also shares Roberson’s views on improving test scores and reducing the attrition rate.
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