call of champions
more tourism sought
new laws coming?
the KG boys’ and girls’ swim teams win conference crown at meet in warrenton. Page 5
area officals are hoping to attract more tourists to king george county.
state legislature mulling several bills that would impact outdoorsmen. Page 7
T he
Volume 39, Number 7
Page 4
POSTAL CUSTOMER
King George
helping you relate to your community
Wednesday, February 11, 2015 50 Cents
Despite protests, school still to start earlier School board members defend their decision Phyllis Cook There will be no change to the approved school calendar for next year. School will start Aug. 24 and end June 3, 2016. King George School Board members received some complaints
after their unanimous vote Jan. 26 to start and end the school year earlier than in the past. Chairman John Davis and school board member Ken Novell each said they received eight complaints. Those two were on either end of the spectrum Feb. 9, with Davis adamant about wanting to keep the new calendar and Novell making a failed motion to change it. Three parents spoke during the meeting, each with a different view. Cindy Myers specified several studies citing “no academic benefit to an early school start date.”
Myers urged reconsideration, adding many people were unaware of the calendar survey of potential dates that the division did. Dana Sevier said she didn’t get the message about the survey, though she receives other messages though the system the division uses to contact parents. Sevier also said the August start would be a problem for their family vacation. Justin Grimes said he was angry about the decision because it was one of the reasons his family moved from Maryland after it tried an early
start date. “My children have plans that week and will not go to school,” Grimes said. “You need to correct it.” Davis said he asks every year if the division is eligible for an earlier start. He said it gives more instructional time before standardized tests and two more weeks of instruction before advance placement exams. He also said it lines up better with dates for summer college programs for students wishing to participate. Board member Mike Rose said he preferred having school
love is all around
Local couples have found the secret to success
Middle school will be enlarged Phyllis Cook The King George School Board has made a decision to enlarge the King George Middle School to accommodate shifting the sixth grades from the division’s three elementary schools. The plan is to free up space for growth at the elementary schools for students in kindergarten through fifth grades and postpone the need for a fourth elementary school for a few more years, officials said. Two options have been considered for more than a year with talk of having a study done to help officials decide. The rejected option – first broached in 2005 and discussed every couple of years -- was to renovate and expand the former middle school building, which closed in 2009, into a singlegrade school for sixth-graders. The unanimous decision to instead expand the current middle school was made Jan. 26 after a recommendation from Superintendent Rob Benson. “I do believe it would be more prudent for the school division to advocate to expand the current middle school to house sixth-grade classrooms division-wide,” Benson said. Benson said it would be far less costly to expand the middle school instead of incurring higher annual costs for personnel and utilities at a separate building. He also suggested the former middle school building continue to be utilized by the county’s Parks and Recreation Department and held in reserve until it is needed for renovation into a fourth
Love. Exciting and new. Or inspiring and familiar. Either way, Valentine’s Day is a day for people in love to express that emotion to those most dear in their lives. Whether that couple are newlyweds or closing in on their golden anniversary, their stories can serve as inspirations to the rest of us. Our region is home to several such Valentine’s-themed stories; here are a few. lifetime of love
See LOVE, page 10
it. I feel bad about that.” Board member Kristin Tolliver said she agreed with all points made. “I sympathize with plans and challenges people have for the first year because it is new,” Tolliver said. “The majority of people did vote for that pre-Labor Day start.” Board member T.C. Collins said he believed there is an academic benefit to an earlier school start. “I researched all the data that was available on the Internet I could locate,” he said. “I have to base it on what I feel is best for the children.”
Sixth-grade classes will be shifted to it
Richard Leggitt and Phyllis cook
Young couples looking for the secret to a long and loving marriage this Valentine’s Day could take a few tips from Tony and Peggy Loconti, of Colonial Beach, who will celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary this year. “The secret is our faith and perseverance,” Peggy said. “And, tolerance and understanding each other,” Tony added. The Loconti’s have made that formula work and built a successful life together since they met as high school seniors in Utica, N.Y. “Tony’s friend was dating my sister, that’s how we met,” Peggy said. “And, now we are brother-in-law and sister-in-law and both couples are still together,” Tony said. The Loconti’s married five months after graduating from high school. Tony attended community college and took a job as a patrolman with the Utica Police Department. The couple lived for seven years in Utica and both their son and daughter were born there. Tony then accepted a job in Northern Virginia, where he worked for the Fairfax County Police Department for 21 years before retiring as a lieutenant. “I did just about everything,” Tony said. Peggy raised the family while working as a secretary for the same firm for 26 years.
get out earlier in June. He also addressed charges about something underhanded with the survey. “As for accusations in some e-mails we got that this was all rigged, that’s absolutely ludicrous,” Rose said. “This board tries to be as transparent as possible.” Novell asked to have the topic back on the agenda. “I think there are a lot of good reasons to move this to pre-Labor Day,” Novell said. “However, we did this quickly. I personally would like to apologize for not asking we consider this again before voting on
elementary school in a few years, maybe with an expanded pre-school program at the same location. Adding onto the existing middle school will place sixth-grader in the same school with the seventh and eighth grades, a traditional organization in Virginia. The decision was announced to the board of supervisors Jan. 27 during a joint meeting; they were in full agreement. Supervisor Joe Grzeika was glad division officials jettisoned the previous idea for the closed school building. “The idea of only making it a sixthgrade school really made no sense,” he said. The expansion project is expected to be discussed by the school board again prior to adding it to the division’s capital improvement request list. That will occur sometime this spring for the coming year’s submission to the county administrator. There currently are 12 classes of sixth grade in the elementary schools, with five at King George Elementary, three at Potomac and four at Sealston. Those classrooms average about 25 students each. The number of classrooms must be decided, along with what else might be included for renovation. Benson said the re-use of the former vocational building could be an option. School board members discussed potentially placing a new wing on the north side of the building where modular classroom trailers previously had been placed when the building was a high school.
Phyllis Cook Photo courtesy of Trusted Exposures Photography
Elizabeth Taylor, head of the King George YMCA, and her husband, Barry, met at a YMCA executives summit.
A plan to renovate and expand the former middle school, which closed in 2009, into a school for sixth-graders only was rejected.
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