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Volume 39, Number 22
POSTAL CUSTOMER
King George
Wednesday, May 27, 2015 50 Cents
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King George water, sewer rates may rise Phyllis Cook The King George Service Authority authorized advertising 8 percent rate and fee increases for the coming fiscal year. That unanimous action was taken on May 19. A public hearing on the proposed rate and fee increase is scheduled at 6 p.m. June 30 in the board room of the Revercomb Administration Building. If adopted, the new rates will take effect July 1. The proposed 2015-16 Service Authority budget also will likely be adopted at that time. There was no discussion on the proposed increases prior to the unanimous vote at last week’s meeting. The discussion of the proposed rates had taken place during a May 13 budget meeting when five scenarios previously presented by staff and financial consultants got a second review. Authority member Ruby Brabo urged selection of Scenario Two. “One the largest complaints that I hear from customers is the amount of debt fee in relation to the actual rates they pay,” Brabo said. “Scenario Two allows us to still achieve our end goal, and I would rather go with a scenario that would have the least number of complaints.” Member Joe Grzeika wanted the same option. “I think Scenario Two is better approach across the board,” he said. “It does incentivize people to go to minimum usage.” The current minimum residential bill for customers with both water and sewer service for up to 5,000 gallons per two-month billing period is $118.20, including debt-service fees.
That minimum bill would go up by $9.48 to $127.68 per two-month billing period. The county’s current average residential bill for both water and sewer service is $175 based on usage of 9,000 gallons per two-month billing period, including debt-service fees. That average bill would go up by $14.07 to $189.04 per two-month billing cycle. Service Authority member Dale Sisson also agreed with Scenario Two. “I often compare these bills to what it takes to deliver satellite TV, for example. That’s a dish on somebody’s house and obviously it costs money to put a satellite in space. But they’re not running pipes to the folks’ front door,” Sisson said. Sissson said there are “defined requirements” to meet state health standards to deliver a safe, quality product to customers. The proposed increase in the minimum bill would equate to an increase of $4.74 per month. The proposed increase on the average bill would equate to $7 per month. Bulk water sales, unusual wastewater fees and the septic disposal rate will also increase by 8 percent. Fees for new connection fees will remain unchanged. The proposed Service Authority budget is $5.2 million, including $2 million for a capital projects fund. It includes costs for a 1 percent salary increase and 6.9 percent increase in health insurance costs. Revenues are based on the proposed rates increases, along with an estimated 50 new residential water/sewer connections, five wateronly residential connections and four commercial connections.
Photo by Marty Van Duyne/News Net News
Thousands came to the Fredericksburg National Cemetary on May 23 for the 20th annual lighting of the luminaries, which comemorate not only those died in the Civil War Battle of Fredericksburg but all who made the ultimate sacrifice in defense of freedom.
America’s war dead honored with luminaries Marty van Duyne News Net News FREDERICKSBURG - “Taps” echoed throughout the National Cemetery on the half hour from 8-11 p.m. as 15,300 luminaries flickered against the night sky Saturday. The bugle call used to close the troop’s day is an integral part of the National Park Service’s annual luminary at the Civil War battlefield. The 24 notes played at funerals,
wreath-layings, and memorial services were first sounded during the Civil War at Harrison’s Landing, VA following the Seven Days Battle in July 1862. On the evening of May 23, candles seemed to dance in step to the strains of the emotion-evoking melody as it wafted across Marye’s Heights in gentle tribute to American soldiers who have given their lives for their country. Park rangers were poised throughout the cemetery to relate
stories of soldiers who died in battle at the site and now rest on the steppes above Sunken Road. Area Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts spent hours setting up the paper bags and then lighting the candels to honor America’s war dead. This was the 2oth year that the National Park Service, in conjunction with local volunteers, has put on the light show to honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice on behalf of American freedom.
Thousands of people ascended the steep, winding pathway to the top of Mayre’s Heights to take in the spectacle. Quiet conversations took place as visitors walked between the illuminated graves, each of which was decorated with a small American flag - a silent testament to the bravery of the soldier resting beneath. A hush fell across the crowd each time the solumn notes of “Taps” echoed acrossed the cemetary.
Supervisors advised to proceed with fracking regulation amendments Phyllis Cook The King George Board of Supervisors has received legal advice from County Attorney Eric Gregory for local rule changes contemplated in regard to fracking. “Based upon the attorney general opinion and our prior analysis, and given the Department of
Mines, Minerals and Energy’s ongoing regulatory process, I would recommend staying the course and proceeding with the draft ordinance amendments presently under consideration,” Gregory said during the board’s May 19 meeting. He was addressing a May 5 opinion by Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring stating that localities may
use their zoning authority to prohibit fracking, “but only to the extent such regulations are reasonable in scope and are not inconsistent with the provisions of the Virginia Gas and Oil Act, or regulations properly enacted pursuant to that Act.” Gregory said the opinion is “helpful” and largely affirms prior legal advice given to the board and
the county’s approach to the issue of fracking. Fracking is a method of drilling for natural gas that involves highpressure injection of chemicals and water into rock formations thousands of feet underground, creating cracks in the ancient shale beds, and allowing the extraction of natural gas.
Fracking critics cite the potential for pollution of the aquifers, along with disruption to the character of rural areas by large scale industrialization bringing high volumes of truck traffic, as well as potential noise and light pollution. “It was very gratifying to receive the opinion that sets forth what we’ve already said at various points,
citing the same authority that we’ve relied upon,” Gregory said. “In that sense it was very good for the county. Generally speaking, the opinion holds that Virginia localities in the exercise of their land-use and zoning authority may restrict fracking, even to the point of See REGS, page 8
Port Royal listed as one of Virginia’s most endangered historical sites Richard Leggitt
Photo by Richard Leggitt
The Brockenborough-Peyton House in Port Royal is one of many deteriorating historic homes that has caused Preservation Virginia to list Port Royal as one of the most endangered historic sites in the commonwealth.
Preservation Virginia, the private non-profit preservation organization that has been working for 125 years to save important historical properties in the Commonwealth of Virginia, has listed the town of Port Royal as one of Virginia's most endangered locations. The preservation organization said Port Royal, established in the 1650s by the Algonquian Indians, is losing many of its historical buildings to deterioration and placed the Caroline County town on its 11th annual list of Virginia's most endangered sites. A photograph of the Port Royal's 1924 state historical marker, one of Virginia's first, graces the cover of the four-color, 12-page pamphlet that Preservation Virginia recently published about the 2015 sites. The town organized Historic Port
Royal, Inc. in 1995 to help with restoring historic structures in hopes of keeping the town's legacy alive. But fundraising to save its history has been halting and many of the community's historic structures are in trouble. The town was built at the site of a ferry crossing the Rappahannock from Port Conway on the north side of the river. A tobacco warehouse and a tavern were among the first buildings constructed. The ferry and the river brought the town commerce, trade and economic prosperity in the 18th century and that led to the building of a number of homes, churches and other structures that are deteriorated but still standing today. Among the homes built in the 1700s is the Brockenborough-Peyton House where John Wilkes Booth sought shelter just days after he had
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assassinated President Abraham Lincoln 150 years ago. Sara Lane Peyton turned Booth away and sent him instead to the Garrett Farm where he was captured and killed by union troops two days later. Preservation Virginia said it hoped shining a light on the need for preserving structures in Port Royal, like the BrockenboroughPeyton House, would stimulate and motivate interest in the restoration necessary in the community to help officials save the town's proud, but failing historic structures. More information can be found at preservationvirginia.org.