on the rise wrestling in King george is getting a boost from a parks & recreation program. Page 4
T he
Volume 39, Number 1
coming to a town near you many positive changes are in store for our region in 2015. Page 8 POSTAL CUSTOMER
King George
helping you relate to your community
Wednesday, December 31, 2014 50 Cents
Group helps feed local kids in need Phyllis Cook Whoever said there’s no such thing as a free lunch never met the “Summer Lunch Bunch.” The volunteer organization is dedicated to meeting the nutritional needs of King George children during the summer break by providing a free lunch to kids who might otherwise go hungry. This past summer, about 250 children were provided free lunches twice per week. Potomac Elementary School teacher Julie Boucher initiated the program in 2009 with a $2,000 grant from the Virginia Conference of The United Methodist Church and lots of help from members of her church. The school board endorsed her desire to distribute a permission slip to all students at Potomac Elementary, near the Dahlgren United Methodist Church, where lunch was served that first summer, with about 25 children attending each week. The program expanded to twice per week in 2012, with more churches — Dahlgren United Methodist Church, Peace Lutheran Church, St. John’s Episcopal Church, Trinity United Methodist Church and Two Rivers Baptist Church — taking part. The program now incorporates students from all three of the county’s elementary schools. Lunches are prepared in the King George High School cafeteria and bagged for delivery starting at about 9 a.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays. Volunteers deliver the lunches to several community distribution points throughout the county. Supervisor Jim Howard hopes to encourage more churches to take part in the program next summer. “It seems to me we can do this every day. That’s my goal,” Howard said. “Lunch bunch needs people. If we’re going to increase this to another day, and then to five days per week, it’s going to take 30 people and might actually take another board.” The group’s board of directors administers the program and members are on hand to help ensure things go smoothly. Annie Cupka, director of fundraising for the group, agrees
The King George Board of Supervisors has OK’d an extension to an option agreement for the county to purchase 343 acres in the Sealston area. The land is comprised of four large parcels owned by Plentiful Farm Family Limited Partnership and Mount View Family Limited Partnership, known as the Taylor property. The option is being renewed until Jan. 30, 2016 at a cost of $4,000. The property was first optioned in 2007. The latest agreement recognizes a recent property settlement agreement between the parties for the county to purchase acreage and resell it to Commercial Metals Company. That was announced in early December when the board inked a deal with Commercial Metals Company for it to relocate and expand its manufacturing operations in the county by building a 75,000-square-foot facility on the Taylor property. The Taylor property is on the north side of Route 3 at the intersection of Route 605 and is contiguous to the King George Industrial Park. The plan is to incorporate the land into the industrial park after property transfers are completed by any approved buyer wishing to establish a business on all or part of the land.
“Lunch bunch” volunteers needed In order to increase the program to more than two days per week, more volunteers are needed. People are needed to prepare and deliver the food; some positions require training. The school division backs the potential expansion of the program, said Superintendent Rob Benson. “As a school division we are very happy to support the generosity and hard work of the Lunch Bunch program,” he said. “Many of our students who rely on the school nutrition program during the school year continue to have their basic nutritional needs met in the summer months through the dedication of Lunch Bunch volunteers. This is a great opportunity to partner with a local organization and another example of the King George community stepping up to meet a need that would otherwise go unmet.” The group’s website has complete information about volunteer commitments for each job. Go to kgsuummerlunchbunch.org for more details, email kgsummerlunchbunch@gmail.com or call Annette Ashton at 540-663-3317. more money is needed. “The major source of funding last summer was a ‘Youth In Philanthropy’ grant from the Community Foundation of the Rappahannock River Region,” Cupka
said. “We are also privately funded by individuals, local businesses, corporate grants, and supplemented by church door offerings. “I would like people to give local. To me, giving locally is very
Industrial park land option is extended
Organizational meetings for boards set for Jan. 6
Photo courtesy of the King George Summer Lunch Bunch
The King George Summer Lunch Bunch program helped feed about 250 children last summer, above. The sandwiches are prepared by volunteers, below, in the King George High School cafeteria. important. I write the grants for lunch bunch and we need and appreciate those donations.” Cupka said to expand the program to a third day per week or more also takes human resources. “Your time is sometimes the
greatest gift you can give,” she said. “We would love to have more people come out. There are so many people in need in King George. These kids go to our schools. We all should want better for everyone in our community.”
a washington christmas celebration The George Washington Birthplace National Monument hosted a demonstration Dec. 28 of a Washington Family Christmas. Festivities traditionally included extravagant feasting, drinking, games, fireworks, dancing and music. Hospitality included open houses and decorations, including candlelit windows and door wreaths and garlands. The event featured a variety of living history demonstrations, with volunteers and staff in period clothing recreating the crafts of the time -- cooking, blacksmithing, spinning and weaving, music and more. “Colonial Virginians vigorously celebrated Christmas for 12 days, stretching from Christmas Eve and New Year’s Day to Twelfth Night. The holiday season was widely celebrated in Virginia, unlike its northern neighbor colonies or New England,” said park ranger Dick Lahey. Photo courtesy of the George Washington Birthplace National Monument
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The King George Board of Supervisors will have its annual organizational meeting at 6 p.m. Jan. 6 in the ground floor board meeting room in the Revercomb Administration Building behind the courthouse. The organizational meetings for the service authority and the wireless Authority are set for the same time. The boards will convene with Cedell Brooks, Joe Grzeika, Dale Sisson, Ruby Brabo and Jim Howard to elect a chairman and vice chairman and adopt a meeting calendar, rules and procedures and a code of ethics.
County audit for 2013-14 is now available online The results of the county’s audit are available online after it recently was presented to the King George Board of Supervisors. The audit, which covers the period of July 1, 2013 through June 30, 2014, showed the county had a surplus of about $1.35 million for fiscal year 2013-14, including the schools returning $344,480 to the general fund. The school division received $545,913 more in state revenue than originally budgeted due to higher enrollment numbers. Supervisors have already utilized some of the surplus. On Dec. 2, the board approved $45,000 to pay for 2 percent raises for county employees in January. County officials have said they want money available as needed to fill in gaps from expected cuts in state aid for fiscal year 2015-16. The audit is available at http:// www.king-george.va.us. Simply enter “CAFR” in the search box at the top right side of the page. Annual audits going back to 2004-05 are available.