eagles edge foxes
shop with the sheriff
safety first
King george loses a 12-point first-quarter advantage on its way to a 59-56 defeat. Page 5
local officials, agencies and businesses team up to help 35 kids have a happy holiday. Page 4
check your gun and test your loads before using buckshot this season. Page 7
T he
Volume 38, Number 52
POSTAL CUSTOMER
King George
helping you relate to your community
Wednesday, December 24, 2014 50 Cents
Vandals, thieves strike at Historyland 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. Thieves likely would get much less than that if they attempted to
sell them as scrap metal. The King George County Sheriff ’s office is contacting scrap metal dealers to be on the lookout for stolen vases. They also are contacting other cemeteries in the area to warn them of potential thefts. “I am utterly amazed,” Muse said. “We have never had this extent of vandalism and theft at the cemetery.” Muse said 25 bronze grave vases had been stolen in 2008. Most of back section of the cemetery was affected, along with a few rows of graves at the very back
of the front section. The heist left the ugly effects of the thefts and vandalism in the cemetery just before Christmas, a shocking site to those who come to visit the graves of loved ones. “A lot of people come around this time of year. The families remember their loved ones here and put new flowers in the vases regularly,” Muse said. The sheriff ’s office requests those whose family member’s graves were affected by theft or damage to contact it at (540) 775-2049.
Bronze vases from more than 200 graves were stolen this past weekend from Historyland Memorial Park. Phyllis Cook
Saying goodbye to Howard’s Murder suspect Restaurant and brought back bakery closing after 18 years to face charges Phyllis Cook
Richard Leggitt
Howard’s Bakery & Restaurant in King George has been busier than ever in its lead-up to its closing at the end of the month. Howard’s has been serving up comfort food for 18 years, and crowds of long-time customers have been stopping by to bid farewell to owners Virginia and Howard Burchell at the Route 3 eatery before it closes its doors for the last time at 2 p.m. Dec. 31. “We’re sad to be leaving our connection to the county and with the customers,” Virginia said. “We’re leaving family here, not just friends. Our customers are all family.” Virginia said the decision to close is due to the rough economic times the last three years. Howard, for whom the restaurant is named, has taken a sales position with Bonnie Plants, with Virginia saying she’ll be helping him out until she finds something else. Since the closure announcement was made Dec. 1, the restaurant has experienced overflow crowds, especially Saturday mornings. “Saturdays have always been busy,” Virginia said. “This has just amped up since we announced our closing. Maybe we should have announced it six months ago.” Barbara Macauley and Ron Moon were finishing up breakfast last Saturday, saying they were shocked when they heard the news. “We come here every Saturday,” Macauley said. “This is the best breakfast around and the home fries are great.” Moon said he’s been a regular customer since he moved to the county seven years ago, enjoying the friendly atmosphere and service. John Ritter is another longtime regular. “I’ve been coming here at least once a week since before it was Howard’s,” Ritter said. Customer favorites have included turkey breast with mashed potatoes and gravy, pot roast with potatoes, carrots and onions and meat loaf and mashed potatoes, the Burchells said. Special desserts and bakery products also will be missed, including pecan praline bread pudding, éclairs, cheese cake and
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,
Phyllis Cook
Barbara Macauley and Ron Moon, above, finishing their final cup of coffee at Howard’s Restaurant & Bakery last Saturday. Virginia Burchell, below, working the register behind the counter at Howard’s Restaurant & Bakery.
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. 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.
Project Faith claim denied by county Phyllis Cook
a variety of pies, they added. It’s not just the down-home food that’s attracted the locals. “This has been a real meeting place for county people, where they could come in and get a meal and find out what’s going on,” Virginia said. She knows they’ll miss regularly seeing the friends they’ve made,
“but we’ll keep our Howard’s Bakery Facebook page up to keep some communication going.” She said she is grateful to the community and their loyal staff. “Three of our wait staff have been with us the whole time. Mary, Teressa and Freida will be here until we close,” Virginia said.
“This has been a real meeting place for county people, where they could come in and get a meal and find out what’s going on.”
Virginia Burchell, co-owner of Howard’s Bakery & Restaurant
A claim by Project Faith Inc. for $300,000 against the county unanimously was denied Dec. 16 by the King George Board of Supervisors. An attorney for the group said at an Oct. 21 board meeting the county owes the group $300,000 so it can pay invoices it incurred from its architect for a building never constructed but intended to go on land donated by the county. The claim is part of a legal dispute regarding Project Faith’s failure to commence construction by a contractual deadline of Aug. 1, 2013 on a 5.5-acre parcel of land provided by the county in mid2012 with strings attached. The facility was to house local and state agencies and non-profits providing social service programs. The county issued a notice of default in August 2013 and followed that up by filing a breach of contract suit two months later in an attempt to get the land back since no work on the building had begun. Project Faith’s attorneys have since stated in court and before
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The claim is part of a legal dispute regarding Project Faith’s failure to commence construction on land provided by the county in mid2012. The facility was to house local and state agencies and non-profits providing social service programs. supervisors that the group has no intention to proceed with the project, saying in court it was unable to get financing. The only remaining issue is ownership of the land. The group wants $300,000 before that happens, saying it owes its architects the See FAITH, page 4