winning ways
the tough got going
picture this
The colonial beach girls’ basketball team is surging down the season’s stretch. Page 5
Cold and windy conditions were not enough to deter some young (and old) duck hunters. Page 8
murals are popping up throughout the area, both as art and advertisements. Page 10
POSTAL CUSTOMER
T he
Colonial Beach • Westmoreland
Volume 39, Number 6
helping you relate to your community
Wednesday, February 4, 2015 50 Cents
Council says farewell to O’Dell Former mayor remembered for his love of Montross Linda Farneth Members of the Montross Town Council honored former Mayor R. David O’Dell Jr. at their meeting last week. O’Del died Dec, 31 after a six-week illness. The long-time mayor, who was the former owner O’Dell Jr. of the former Montross Blue and Gray Food Store, was 71. O’Dell had served as Montross mayor since his election in 1999. He had been a member of the Montross Town Council for 35 years. “There’s a vacancy that we can fill but we will never replace Dave,” Councilman Robert Zimmerman said. “I can’t think of another individual who had such a deep love and passion for the town of Montross,” said Councilman Larry Wheaton. “I believe he did; he held a very deep
Ault to fill O’Dell’s seat Jesse Ault was chosen over 13 other applicants vying to fill out the term of the late Mayor R. David O’Dell Jr. Ault will take his seat as a council member at the February Montross Town Council meeting. The group will then vote to select a new mayor. passion for it.” So deep was his passion that shortly before his death, O’Dell conveyed kind words concerning all the council members and Town Manager Brenda Reamy to Vice Mayor Joseph King. King had the foresight to write down the mayor’s comments, which he shared with the group at the Jan. ?? council meeting. “We know how much he cared about the town,” King said. “His comments usually were spot on. He had the best interest of the town, all the time.”
O’Dell’s term was set to end in 2016 and there are no town elections scheduled before the end of that term. Ault will remain in the seat as an appointed member for the remainder of the original term. Currently Vice Mayor Joseph King is taking on the duties of mayor until a new mayor is chosen. Councilman Ferdie Chandler took trips with O’Dell and the two had lunch together at least once a month. “There was hardly a time that we went out somewhere that he didn’t have some mention of the town,” Chandler said. O’Dell’s message to Councilman Clinton Watson had a particularly emotional impact on him. O’Dell described Watson as an “awesome” pick for the town council, quiet and methodical. Watson, overcome with emotion, struggled to say, “I have just one word. Impressive. That’s it.”
Like many business ventures that started in Montross, O’Dell was very supportive of Councilman Terry Cosgrove and his wife when they opened their business, The Art of Coffee. “I’ve learned a lot from Dave; I’m fortunate to have the opportunity to serve on council and all of that time was under his leadership and I’m grateful for that,” Cosgrove said. “It’s been really hard for me.” Brenda Reamy said through tears. “Dave gave me opportunities with this position probably nobody else would have. I had no background of government other than working on the town audit.” O’Dell was described as a strong supporter of business, a strong leader and a good friend. “I feel very honored to have served with him,” Zimmerman said. “Being the youngest member of council. I wasn’t sure if I was going to be taken as just some new kid. Never ever did I feel like my comments weren’t being respected. He was a great leader for this town.”
Linda Farneth
Colonial Beach police probe a shooting death on Hamilton Street.
Colonial Beach woman charged in shooting death Richard Leggitt A Colonial Beach woman is being held in the Northern Neck Regional Jail in lieu of $80,000 bond after being charged with involuntary manslaughter and reckless handling of a firearm in connection with a fatal shooting Jan. 27 at a Colonial Beach residence. Sierra Seantaine Dillon, 44, is charged with causing the death of Sharon Dickerson Smith, 58 of Colonial Beach. Smith’s body was found about 5:30 a.m. by officers responding to a 911 call from a home at 100 Hamilton St.
The incident still is being investigatied by Colonial Beach police and Westmoreland County sheriff’s officers, according to Colonial Beach Police Chief Bruce Hough. Hough declined to discuss what may have touched off the fatal shooting or provide further information about the incident. Funeral services for Smith were scheduled for Monday at the Monroe Bay Assembly of God Church, where she was a member. Smith is survived by her husband, Richard Smith of Colonial Beach, a son and a daughter. She was a member of the Colonial Beach Rescue Squad.
high schoolers giving back to beach Kovach trial set for March
Kadera Lybrun, McKenzie Conway and Brooke Payne, left to right, serve dinner to people in need during the summer of 2014 as part of their Pay it Forward program. Colonial Beach High School juniors are required to perform 30 hours of community service and seniors 40 before they can receive their diplomas.
CB man charged in child porn case Richard Leggitt
Submitted photo
Program teaches students benefits of community service Linda Farneth Colonial Beach High School seniors Brooke Payne and Kadera Lyburn have turned community service into a passion. I love the program. I love being able to come and see how happy I can make somebody just with a meal. It’s crazy how much it means to somebody,” Payne said Colonial Beach High School juniors are required to perform 30 hours of community service and seniors 40 before they can receive their diplomas. Principal Jennifer Grigsby said the community service requirement can be met in any number of ways, including, volunteering at animal shelters, helping at school functions, helping organizations that raise money for charitable causes, volunteering in
“Even families who couldn’t afford to give, wrote thank you cards at the end of summer and made small donation if they could. It just meant the world to us.”
Colonial Beach High School senior Brooke Payne
the town or school community for beautification purposes, working with the fire department or rescue squad or aiding local churches with events. “Our goal is to help students understand the need to truly become one with the community in which they live,” Coates said. “Service to that community only adds quality to the lives of all members. Caring, benevolent graduates that have experience and willingness to help others is part of what CBHS strives to accomplish when sending young adults into the world.”
Payne began helping her mom, school board member Michelle Payne, with the boosters working athletic games. “But then I realized to do all that, I would be working my butt off to get those 70 hours,” she said. Payne talked with her mother about issues in the school and learned that about 70 percent of students were on free or reduced lunch. “So I couldn’t think about anything other than what is happening when school isn’t there to give them lunch or breakfast,” she said.
That’s when she teamed up with her friend Lyburn and created “Pay it Forward.” The girls started off paying out of their own pockets, along with help from their mothers, creating simple hot meals for anybody who needed one. The program operated every Thursday evening throughout the summer beginning in 2012. “At first, we did easy meals, such as pancakes, soups and salads,” Payne said. The girls sought donations, but “nobody wanted to help us at first,” Payne said. Eventually people started to see the difference the program was making and started to donate. “Even families who couldn’t afford to give, wrote thank you cards at the end of summer and made small donation if they could,” Payne said. “It just meant the world to us.”
Payne said she saw people of all ages taking advantage of the program. The girls handed out fliers and went to churches and food banks to raise awareness of the program. They even talked with a homeless shelter in Fredericksburg, inviting them to bring folks to Colonial Beach to get a meal, sit, socialize and have a night away. “I love doing community service because we’re so small (a town),” Payne said. “I’m not going to have that when I leave. “Colonial Beach is such a tight-knit community, you can’t get that anywhere else. It’s not the same in King George or W&L. It’s small and tight-knit and everybody is looking out for each other. I like that a lot.” She is modest about her achievements. “I just like being able to look around and see the difference that I made, even if it’s a small one, it’s a start.”
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Michael Kovach, a Colonial Beach man facing charges on 58 counts of pornography, indecent liberties with a child and sodomy, is now scheduled to go to trial on 45 of those charges March 27 in Westmoreland County Circuit Court. Kovach, 36, who has been free on $90,000 bond since his arrest in 2014, is scheduled for trial on the 13 additional charges July 16. The second trial will focus on allegations Kovach had sexual relations with a juvenile under the age of 14. Kovach has entered pleas of not guilty to all of the charges against him. He was arrested early last year after Colonial Beach police and Westmoreland County sheriff ’s officers served warrants on his home and seized his computer and other electronic devices. Kovach was charged with the 45 counts of child pornography at the time of his arrest. The additional charges of having sex with a minor came after an extensive investigation by the Westmoreland County Sheriff ’s Office and Virginia State Police. The charges against Kovach, which will be heard by a Westmoreland Circuit Court jury in a three-day trial in March, include possession of child pornography, reproducing child pornography and distribution of child pornography.