Press Rewind podcast
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The week’s top stories
-More than 90% of students who participated in recent protests of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement at Spotsylvania high schools returned to class within 10 minutes, county schools Superintendent Clint Mitchell said last week. They were marked as tardy, but, overall, Mitchell said the events were peaceful. That doesn’t mean parents were pleased, though. One contacted the Free Press, saying some teachers wrongly expressed support for students who walked out of schools. Taft Coghill Jr. has the story.
-The King George County Board of Supervisors last week approved a data center project that calls for 13 buildings on approximately 300 acres at the northwest intersection of State Route 3 and Bloomsbury Road. The supervisors voted 3-2 to approve a rezoning for the project, and 3-1 to OK a special exception permit allowing buildings to exceed the county’s height limit of 50 feet, Coghill reports.
-We do like our grocery stores around here. After news of Trader Joe’s coming to the area kind of broke our corner of the Internet recently, Harris Teeter fans rejoiced last week when the Stafford Board of Supervisors voted to sell the former site of Anne E. Moncure Elementary School to a developer who plans to bring that retail chain to the county. Bill Freehling has more details on this news and other business happenings in Biz Beat Roundup.
-Fredericksburg’s School Board has approved the hiring of Cody Goode as James Monroe High School’s new head football coach. It will be the first head coaching gig for the 31-year-old Goode. But he’s gained a wealth of experience and knowledge from a standout collegiate career as a player and a pair of impressive stints as an assistant coach at King George and Spotsylvania,
-Fairview Baptist Church in Fredericksburg and River Club Church in Spotsylvania County are hosting the 41st Annual Benefit Oyster Roast on Feb. 28 in conjunction with the McClung-Logan Equipment Company. The event typically assists a family facing overwhelming expenses due to a medical condition. This year, proceeds will go to a Fauquier County single mother raising a daughter with cerebral palsy, Coghill reports.
Go figures (numbers in the news)
50 — As in, 50 years, a half-century. That’s how long Picker’s Supply has been open in downtown Fredericksburg. It’s a music store, sure, but it has the feel of a museum. Kathy Knotts tells the retailer’s story in Free Time, our weekly arts and entertainment newsletter.
What they’re saying
“It has nothing to do with the congressional redistricting.” -Jacob Lane, Spotsylvania supervisor. He was talking about a resolution the Board of Supervisors adopted last week stating that it will not allow county facilities or resources to be used for early voting on a controversial referendum about redistricting unless authorized by a court.
