eagles edge foxes
dare to be different
safety first
Washington & Lee erases a 12-point first-quarter deficit on way to 59-56 win. Page 5
program teaches Elementary school children how to say no to drugs and alcohol. Page 4
check your gun and test your loads before using buckshot this season. Page 7
T he Volume 38, Number 52
POSTAL CUSTOMER
Colonial Beach • Westmoreland
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Wednesday, December 24, 2014 50 Cents
Colonial Beach police chief resigns Her last day will be Jan. 2 Linda Farneth Colonial Beach Police Department Chief Elizabeth Legg is resigning at the start of the year, ending her nine-month tenure as the town’s top cop.
Colonial Beach Mayor Mike Ham said Legg gave the council a resignation letter dated Dec. 18 that said she would step down Jan 2. The town council is scheduled to have a special meeting in early January to determine its next move and likely appoint an interim chief. Ham said in an email dated Dec. 15 to council: “Chief Legg and I had a meeting today, and she informed me she has been offered a position
with the Buena Vista Police Department. She has decided to accept the position and will be leaving the Colonial Beach Police Department Legg in early January. Chief Legg has done a great job in a short period of time, and she will
be greatly missed.” Legg was unavailable for comment, but in her resignation letter, Legg wrote that her job has been extremely challenging and eventful. “I appreciate your support throughout the past nine months and feel that the police department is in far better shape than it was on my arrival,” she wrote. “It is my hope that you all will release
the terms of my contract. I feel that I have fulfilled my part; there have been many long days, nights, weekends and holidays covering shifts and meeting the needs of the department and community.” Legg’s contract, which began March 31 at a salary of $65,000, is open-ended and does not have an expiration date. Legg made history in Colonial Beach as the first female police
chief. She beat out more than 30 applicants for the job, including interim chief William Seay. She was a former police chief at Ferrum College, just south of Roanoke, and had more than 20 years experience in law enforcement with the Roanoke Police Department. Legg was Roanoke’s first female lieutenant. Town Manager Val Foulds declined to comment .
fire destroys boat in monroe bay Historyland
cemetery hit by vandals, thieves Phyllis Cook Historyland Memorial Park was the site this past weekend of a robbery of numerous bronze vases from headstones, police said. The theft of more than 200 vases is believed to have occurred sometime between late Saturday and Monday morning at the cemetery on U.S. 301 in King George. The wreckage of strewn flowers and tipped over and broken grave ornaments was left in the wake of what appeared to be a systematic
heist with one or more thieves going from grave to grave to heft the bronze vases, weighing 5 to 7 pounds each. Susan Muse, long-time office manager at the cemetery, said she was called the morning of Dec. 22 by the groundskeeper who had been notified by a family member of the thefts. Muse said the bronze vases sell for about $250, making the value of the theft upwards of $50,000. See CEMETERY, page 4 Bronze vases from more than 200 graves were stolen this past weekend from Historyland Memorial Park. Phyllis Cook
Murder suspect brought back to face charges Richard Leggitt
Linda Farneth
On Dec. 18, fire crews from Colonial Beach, Oak Grove and King George responded to a boat fire. The Reel Handy II was adrift and on fire on Monroe Bay in Colonial Beach, officials said. A local resident who lives near the dock where the boat was moored reportedly told officials he heard an explosion at about 1:20 p.m., looked out the window and saw the boat on fire. The fire burned through the mooring lines, and gusty winds began moving the boat along the bay toward the inlet to the Potomac River, officials said. Fire crews tried to extinguish the blaze from the pier as it drifted along the bay and near other docked boats. A fire boat pulled alongside the Reel Handy II, and a crew member went aboard to extinguish the fire. No one was injured, officials said.
Churches seeking food pantry locale Linda Farneth Some area churches are seeking a facility to consolidate food pantries in Colonial Beach. By combining resources, St. Mary’s Episcopal Church officials said the community will be better served. A pantry that allows visitors to receive food by shopping grocery store-style would benefit the recipient more effectively and reduce waste, said Kristine Guido of the church.
Guido, administer for the outreach ministry at St. Mary’s, recently approached town officials. Guido wanted to know if the town would be willing and able to provide a space so area churches could consolidate their food pantries into one unified pantry for Colonial Beach. St. Mary’s food pantry served 1,231 people from January through October, she said. St. Mary’s has approached other churches in town to gauge their interest, Guido said.
Guido said her church receives food from the Northern Neck Food Pantry at 19 cents a pound. “We’re not asking for money; we just need a place to pursue this,” Guido advised. The plan is to set up a food pantry that would allow visitors to pick out foods that meet their needs, she said. For example, if a visitor is diabetic, they could choose foods that are low in sugar, or someone who is allergic to peanuts could avoid foods that
contain them. Councilman Tommy Edwards suggested the Lions Club as a potential site because he said it is underutilized. Mayor Mike Ham asked Councilwoman Wanda Goforth to approach the Lions Club to see if they would be willing to provide space for the food pantry. Ham also asked Town Manager Val Foulds to look around for a town-owned location that might meet the churches’ needs.
A Maryland man sought in connection with the April 29 slaying of a King George man and the wounding of another man had a hearing Dec. 18 in King George Circuit Court after being extradited to Virginia. Michael Clinton, 29, of Bladensburg, Md., was returned to King George by sheriff ’s deputies Dec. 15. In the hearing before Circuit Court Judge Herbert Hewitt, Clinton was ordered held without bond on charges of murder and attempted murder. Clinton entered a plea of not guilty and said he would hire a private attorney to represent him. Hewitt gave him 30 days to do so. Clinton also is facing felony armed robbery charges in Maryland. Clinton, Anthony Goodman, 30, of Upper Marlboro, Md., and Tennage Michel Shanks, 42, of Colonial Beach, are charged with the shooting death of 20-year-old Ronelle Johnson, of King George, and the wounding of Johnson’s cousin, Gregory Gaines, 20, also of King George. Both men were shot eight months ago at a home on Winston Place in what police allege was a botched drug deal.
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Gaines reportedly told police the defendants tied the two victims up with duct tape, forced them on their knees, and Goodman shot them multiple times. Both Gaines and Johnson were robbed of their money and cell phones, police said. Shanks stayed away from the actual shootings, but then drove away with the other two suspects, police said. Goodman and Shanks have entered pleas of not guilty and are scheduled to go to trial Jan. 27 in King George. Both are being held without bond in the Rappahannock Regional Jail. No trial date has been set for Clinton, who was ordered to return to court with an attorney Jan. 22. Hewitt noted the seriousness of the charges against the trio. In addition to murder and attempted murder, the three suspects are charged with eight other felonies, including robbery, malicious wounding and multiple firearms charges.