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Warren County ReportIndependent Local News for Front Royal & Warren County, Virginia www.warrencountyreport.com

Vol 1 Issue 4 Late Nov, 200650¢

Macacahappens!Page2

MitchelljumpstocountyPage5

Valleythreatened Page3FrankWolfreactstoelection Page7NewTownManager Page7Garbagedisposalascrime Page5,29Town’selectricalmess Page8,15Tattoosandyou Page11Redskins(ugh!) Page25FrontRoyalMap Centerfold

Page � Warren County Report Late Nov. �006

Apersonalnotefromthepublisher WhenRonaldReaganwasquestionedaboutleavingtheDemocraticPartyfortheRepublicans,hefamouslysaid,“Ididn’tleavetheDemocrats,theyleftme.” Twistingthatphrasearoundbestde-scribesthesentimentIheardfrommanyRepublicansintheweekspreceedingtheNovember7thelection.Morethanadozenpeoplesaidsomethinglikethis: “Dan,IhavealwaysvotedRepublicanbutwejustcan’tgoonlikethis.ThereisnoplantowintheIraqwar--oratleastnonethatseemstobeworking.American’saredying.Forwhat?Tostabilizeacountrythatwillimmediatelyturnchaoticwhenwe leave?What will we have gained?The entire world has turned against usandPresidentBushstubbornlyrefusestochangehisstrategy.TheonlythingwecandoisvotefortheDemocrats.” Andtheydid. Allpresidents,fromLincolnon,havesufferedmid-termlossesduringwartime.Andthisyearwasn’tasbadassomeoth-ers have been for Bush’s predecessors.But both parties have gotten better atgerrymandering in thepast century andsofewerseatswerevulnerable. Americans are generally moderate.TheDemocratsdiscoveredthisandnomi-natedanumberofcentriststhathadappealtobothparties. Ann Coulter, a very intelligent andwittyfoaming-at-the-mouthrightwingerreferredtoTennesseeDemocraticSenatecandidateHaroldFord,Jr.as“myfavoriteDemocrat.” DemocraticSenator-electJimWebb’shistoryas a formerMarineandReaganNavy Secretary certainly appealed tomoderate and conservative Virginianswhoweredisgustedwiththepresident’shandlingofthewarinIraqbutdidn’twanttovoteforaJohnMurthaleft-wingerwhowouldpullusouttomorrow. Wehaveamesstocleanup-butwewantitdonequickly. TheDemocratsfinallyfiguredouthowtonationalizeanelectionandhowtowinonebymovingtothecenter. Whethertheygovernthatwayremainstobeseen. Isuspectthatyouwillseesomedegreeofcooperationonbothsides.Bushiswor-riedabouthislegacyandtheDemocratswanttokeepandexpandtheirlegislativemajorities andhopefullywin theWhiteHousein2008. Endless investigations would be afailure-orientedstrategy.Andtheyknow

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it.TheAmericanpeopledemandthattheirgovernmentsolvetheIraqcrisisanddosoquickly. Let’shopethattheysucceed.

Inthemeantime,Ihavesomeobserva-tionsonthreefigures.Oneisapoliticianwhowasnarrowlydefeated.Anotherisapoliticianwhowonbig.Andthethirdisanewandinterestingfigurehereinourtown.

George Allen

GeorgeAllenwasapopularstatesena-tor,congressman,governor,andUnitedStatessenator.Afewmonthsago,hewaswidelyexpectedtoclobberJimWebbandwasconsideredatop-tiercandidateforthepresidency. Myfirst indication that thiselectionwasgoingtobeclosewaswhenIdidanewsstorythispastsummer. AllenhadcriticizedWebb’sstandonthewarinIraq.WebbrespondedbycallingAllena“cowardwhosatouttheVietnamWaronaduderanchinNevada.” Wow. Webb wasn’t going to be apushover. Thenthemacacawhitthefan.AllenwasvideotapedreferringtoaWebbvol-unteerofIndiandescentasamacacaw,ormonkey,andwelcominghimtoVirginiaandVirginiavalues. Publicly picking on the only littlebrownguyinacrowdofruralcoalminersdoesn’t representVirginia values.And,ironically,theyoungvolunteerwasaUVAstudentwhowasborninVirginia,unlikeAllen.Hehadarighttobeinsulted. SomefolksthoughtAllenwasaracistbasedonthatincidentcombinedwiththeconfederateflag lapelpinheonceworeandhisinfamousnoosethatusedtohanginhisoffice. “Itwasalasso,”anaidesaidwithastraightface. I can’t judgeAllen’s inner-thoughtsabout people of a different color. But Icansaythathisbehaviorthatdayseemedmean-spirited.. ButAllen’slast-minuteattackonJimWebb’sbookswasprobablythebiggestmistakehemade. JimWebbhassomeprettygrossscenesinsomeofhiswarnovels.Butthatdoesn’tmeanthathesupportsthebehaviorofhischaracters.Anauthorofafictionalworkabout Germany inWorldWar II wouldprobablydescribeNaziatrocities.Would

thatmeanthattheauthorisaNazisym-pathizer? Themostcontroversialpassagewasagraphicsceneaboutafatherandhisyoungsoninawar-torncountry. Webbexplainedthatthiswasasceneheactuallywitnessed. Certainly that isn’t something wewouldexpecttoseeinaHallmarkTheaterTV movie. But JimWebb writes aboutwarandtragedy.Andwarsaremessyandhorrible.AndheisagoodwriterwhoseworkshavebeenpraisedbythelikesofU.S. Senator John McCain, BraveheartauthorRandallWallace,andauthorTomWolfe. Allenwasaskedifhehadreadanyoftheworkshewasattacking.Herespondedthathedidn’thavetoreadthemtoknowtheywereunsuitable. Did GeorgeAllen wear his helmetwhenheplayedfootball? Book burning isn’t aVirginia valueeither.

Frank Wolf

Unlike GeorgeAllen, 10th districtCongressmanFrankWolfwon,andbyaprettywidemargin. FrankWolf isn’t flashy or sexy.Heisn’t on Meet the Press once a month.Andhedoesn’tseemtowanttoseekanyhigheroffice. Butheisprettywelltunedintothelo-calconcernsofhisdistrictandisaprettyseriousthinkeronnationalissues. Heisalsoreallypopularforhisrecordoffrequentandeffectiveconstituentser-vice. Recently,CongressmanWolfauthoredtheprovisionthatcreatedthebi-partisanJamesBakerIraqCommission,whichwillhopefullyofferaconcretesolutiontothecurrentwarinIraq. IntypicalWolfstyle,hewasn’talloverthe SundayTV shows seeking nationalnotoriety. He would rather talk abouttraffic congestion inNorthernVirginia,theShenandoahRiver, andother issuesofdirectconcerntohisconstituents. FrankWolfdoesagoodjob.Helikesdoingitandhewillprobablybeourcon-gressmanforaslongashewishestodoso. Itisexciting,ashetoldtheWinchesterStar, to watch 60 Minutes on Sunday,seeaproblem,andbeinapositiontodosomethingaboutit.

Michael Graham

ThismonthIalsometJ.MichaelGra-ham,whohasleft theworldofrightingsinkingcorporateshipstocomehometoFrontRoyalasTownManager. MichaelGrahamisatallmanwithbigideas. Historically,hethinks,cityandtownleaders across the country have fallenvictimtoa“municipality”mindsetandhaven’tbeenquicktoadoptabusiness-typeapproachtolocalgovernment. Listeningtohimonandofftherecord,onecannothelpbutbeimpressedwithhisideas,insight,andenthusiasmforwhatisprobablythelowestpayingjobhehasheldinrecentmemory. Butitisn’taboutmoney.It’saboutanewchallenge. Whatfunitmustbetoreturntoyourhometownasthetopadministratorandbeaskedbytheelectedleaderstobeanagentofchangeandtoapplyhisskillslearnedthroughouthiscareerasacorporateturn-aroundexpert. Front Royal is facing big decisionsabouthowtohandletheprospectofmajorgrowthandisconfrontedwiththethreattoMainStreetbythearrivalofbigboxretail. Perhaps this tallmanwithbig ideaswillnavigateusintherightdirection.

DanMcDermottPublisherandEditor-in-ChiefWarrenCountyReport

Page �Warren County ReportLate Nov. �006

Ernest, a driver for Mohawk Trucking, lamented over sideswiping an illegally parked tractor trailer on I-66, saying “I don’t know how I kept that thing from turning over. I just kept a hold of that wheel. One thing, they’ll know I wasn’t asleep [at the wheel].”WCR photos by Roger Bianchini

Pollution,Pg.4

“The Shenandoah Valley isgoing to be a barren place”ArealegislatorsponderpollutionsolutionsByROGERBIANCHINIWarrenCountyReport

Respondingtoremarksby26thDis-trict State Senator Mark D. Obenshainabout thechallengesofmergingprivatefarming, industry and environmentalconcerns into a cohesive whole fromwhichtoapproachenvironmentalregula-tion,18thDistrictCongressmanCliffordL. “Clay” Athey Jr. expressed concernaboutthefutureofhisdistrictanditsen-vironment. “Wearegoingtohaveaprettycriticalsituation around here when you coupletheseexistingfactorswithlandusepat-ternsthattendtoproducemoreandmorewellsandmoreandmoresepticsystems.WearegoingtogetintoasituationwhereoneofthesedayswhatIthinkisoneofthemostbeautifulplacesintheworldtolive–theShenandoahValley–isgoingtobeabarrenplace.” Athey’scommentcamenearthecon-clusionoftheannualGeneralAssemblyPre-LegislativeReportsponsoredbytheWarrenCountyChamberofCommerce.

Senator Mark Obenshain and Del. Clay Athey recently addressed environmental concerns. Courtesy photo.

And whileAthey added that he agreedwith Obenshain that farmers, environ-mentalistsandindustryandstateofficialshadestablishedmoredialogueinseekingcommongroundrecently,headdedthatmuchmoreneedstobeaccomplishedto

headoffanenvironmentaldisaster.“Therealityisthatthereisabout75percentof

thepollutionthatisbeyondourabilitytodoanythingaboutunlesstheseparticulargroupsgettogetherandstartworkingto-gethertosolvetheproblem.” Athey’sgrimvisionof thepotentialend resultofacontinuationofenviron-mentallyunsoundfarmingandindustrialpractices, coupled with increasing resi-dential wastewater pollution making itswayintotheShenandoahRiverandotherVirginiawaterwayswasmadeasboththestate and environmentalists grapple tofindanswerstowhyfishinbothforksoftheShenandoah, thePotomacandotherriversthroughoutthestatehavebecomeincreasingly susceptible todisease,mu-tationandmasskillsinrecentyears. QuestionedfollowinghisandOben-shain’s public presentations,Athey saidhe favored the state’s becoming moreproactive on environmental issues butacknowledgedthedifficultyinachievingalegislativeconsensusonthematter. “Well, if it were left up to me wewouldtakethelead,”Atheysaidofregu-latoryeffortstocontrolpollutioninVir-giniawaterways.“Thedifficultyisthere

areanawfullotofspecialinterestgroupsherethataregoingtohavetogettogeth-erandcompromisetogeta[legislative]majoritytomovethisissueforward.Thereality is, with agencies like the FarmBureau for example, which representsthe farming industry, they are resistanttochanges in theuseof fertilizeralongstreams,whicharepollutingthestreams.Additionally, industry is very nervousaround people who are interested inconservationbecausetheyseeeveryad-ditional regulation tobe something thattakesawayfromtheirprofits.Andafinalfactor is allowing growth in ways thatmakeabsolutelynosensefromaconser-vation standpoint. Creating more septicsystemsiswrong,whatitdoesiscontrib-utetotheproblem,notthesolution. “Nowthebottomlineis thatwearebeginningtoseeintheShenandoahVal-ley and specifically in the ShenandoahRiveradegradationofourwatersourcesand eventually what that leads to is acommunitywatersystemthateventuallynoneofuswillbeabletodrinkfrom.


OPENHOUSE

Dec.2nd

10A.M

.-4P.

M.

Pollution(frompg.3)

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“Iamencouragedthatoverthelastcoupleofyearstherehasbeensomediscus-sionamongthesedifferentinterestgroups.Butuntilthesegroupsreachaconsensusyoumayhavethisdelegate’svotebutitsgoingtobedifficulttogetamajorityintheGeneralAssemblytoagreetomoveforwardwithcontrollinglegislation,”Atheyconcluded.

‘Little’ Washington stinks?

Responding toaquestion fromHappyCreekSupervisorTonyCarteron theroles of municipalities and the state on sweeping environmental issues like thecleanupoftheChesapeakeBayandthestateriversandstreamsthatcomprisetheBay’sheadwaters,Obenshainpointedtoaspecificexperienceinhisdistricttoil-lustratesomeoftheobstaclestoachievingaconsensusonenvironmentalissues. “TheTownofWashingtoninRappahannockCountyhasasepticfieldforthattownthatwasprobablylaidoutwhenGeorgeWashingtonlaidout[theplansfor]thattown–itisinappallingshape.Theyhadrawsewagerunningdowndrainsys-temsbehindsomeofthosefantastichomesintosomeofthosepicturesquepondsinthattown. “AndIwenttothestatewatercontrolboardthiswinterbecausethetownwant-edtobuildasewagetreatmentplant,andtheyweregoingtospendanincredibleamountofmoneytobuildoneofthenicestsewagetreatmentplantsofanyplaceinVirginia.Andtheyhappentohavetheluxuryofbeingaprettywealthylittletownwith the resources tobeable todo it.But therewerepeople in thatcommunitywhowereopposedtoitandtryingtostopthemfromdoingitonthegroundsthatitwoulddischargeintotheriver.Well,letmetellyouwhat–thewatercomingoutofthatsewagetreatmentplantissocleanthatasinglecowstandingintheriverpro-ducesmorepollutionthanthatentiresewagetreatmentplantwould–andwehadtofighttomakesurethattheywereabletocleanupthatonelittleenvironmentaldisaster. “We’vegotgreatenvironmentalchallenges,”Obenshaincontinued,“butwe’vegotgreatdeterminationonthepartoffarmersandonthepartoftheenvironmentalcommunitytomeetthosechallenges.IwenttoaCleanWaterForumacoupleofweeksagoandsomeofthetrustthat’sbeenbuiltupbetweencleanwateradvocatesandindustryhasbeenreallyexciting.They’verealizedthattherearesomecom-monthingstheycanworkontogether,andthatagricultureandconservationarenotmutuallyexclusive.”

But who pays?

Obenshainnotedthathis26thDistrictisthenumberoneAgriculturalDistrictinVirginia.“ThreeofthetopfiveAgcountiesinVirginiaareinmydistrict–andofcourseWarrenCountyused tobeoneof the topfiveAgcounties inVirginia–butagriculturalisgettingsqueezedout,”Obenshainsaidofdevelopmenttrendsinsomeareaswithinhisdistrict. Pointingtoissueswithpoultryplantclosingsimpactingsmallerpoultryfarmersinhisdistrict,Obenshainsaidthatameasuredgiveandtakewasnecessarytoreachthekindofcompromisethatwillallowprogressatthestatelevel. “IfyoumandatethatthefarmsintheShenandoahValleyofVirginiaimmedi-atelyimplementbestmanagementpractices–immediatelyfenceoffwaterways–andthat’sagreatgoalandeverybody’sinfavorofit–buttheaveragefarmerwouldhavetospend$120,000tocomplywithbestmanagementpracticesonhisfarm.Andifyoutalktoanyofthosefarmersandtheysay,‘Yea,Ireallywantto,’butifyourannualgrossprofitis$50,000–itdoesn’tcompute. “Andwhat’sgoingtohappenifwe’renotcarefulaboutfiguringouthowwe’regoingtodothisandhowwe’regoingtodoitaneconomicallyresponsiblemanneriswe’regoingtocreateeconomicburdensthatfarmerscannotbare.Andwhataretheygoingtodo?We’regoingtohavehundredsoffarmersgoingoutofthemar-ket,”Obenshainsaidofthedilemma. Virginiansliving,farmingorworkingforindustrialoperationsnearVirginia’sendangeredwaterwaysarelefttowonderwho,ifanyone,willsteptotheplatewiththemoney,initiativeandleadershiptomakeadifferencebeforeDelegateAthey’sdarkvisionofabarrenfuturelandscapecomestopassfortheShenandoahValleyandotherthreatenedlandscapesthroughouttheCommonwealth.


FrontRoyal’srevolvingdoor keeps swingingBlairMitchelljumpsshiptocounty

ByROGERBIANCHINIWarrenCountyReport

Youcan’ttellyourplayers–ortheirteams–withoutaprogram. Andwhilethat’sbeenthecasetosomeextentinrecentmonthsincountygov-ernment,andforacoupleofyearsat townhall, thesituationbecamesomewhatmore convoluted, and in a municipal sense – incestuous – the second week ofNovember. OnNov.9,onedayafterFrontRoyalTownAttorneyBlairD.Mitchellturnedin his resignation to the mayor,Warren County announced Mitchell’s hiring ascountyattorney,effectiveJan.8. Mitchell’sunexpectedmoveabout fourblocksacross town is liable to raisesomeeyebrows,asdidhiscountypredecessor,DougNapier’s,Aug.11“effectiveimmediately”writtenresignation. ButwhileNapierlefthisemployerofoveraquartercentury,somemightsaylikeaskulkingparamourinthenight,Mitchellhanddeliveredhisresignationtothemayorandgavehisemployerofsixyearstwomonthsnotice.Mitchell’sresigna-tioniseffectiveJan.7,thedaypriortohisstartwiththecounty. Itwon’tbeasifMitchellismovingintounchartedlegalwaters.SinceNapier’sdeparture,atthecounty’srequestMitchellhassatinasthecounty’slegalrepresen-tativeatavarietyofgovernmentalmeetingsashisscheduleallowed.Mitchellhasalsorepresentedthetown’sinterestsinmatterssometimesinvolving,orwiththepotentialtoinvolvethecountyineitherapartnershiporadversarialrole.Mitchellsoughttoeasehiscurrentemployer’smindoveranylegalimplicationsofhismoveduringaNov.9interview. “Toassureanybody’sconcerns,asanattorneyIhavespent30yearstrainingandlearningtocategorize,separatedifferentclientsfromeachotherandkeeptheconfidenceofanyclientthatIhave.So,anythingthathashappenedinthetowninprivilegedcommunicationsorinconfidenceisgoingstaywithinmyhead,itwillnotbediscussedorsharedwiththecounty,”Mitchellsaid. Askedifstaffinginstabilityattownhallinrecentyears–includingsixtownmanagers(includingthreeinterim),twoplanningdirectorsandanumberofotherturnoversatdepartmentalheadpositions–impactedhisdecision,Mitchellfilibus-tered. “I’vebeenhereforalittleoversixyearsandseenquiteafewchangesinthetown,obviously in thepersonnel. I’ve seena lotof improvements in the town,evenhere inmyofficeasfaraseffectiveness in trafficenforcement,collectionsofdebtowedtothetown,alotofproceduralthingssuchascreatingstandardized

Mitchell,Pg.6


The town ordinance changes that willcriminalize some aspects of impropertrashdisposalasdefinedbythe townisnotdesignedtocreateacitation-wieldingtrashGestapotownofficialssay.Andwhilethechangesanticipatedtobeenactedinmid-Novemberwillallowev-ery towncitizen tobecited forClass3misdemeanorsat thediscretionof towngarbagemen, it is rathera fewhabitualandblatantoffendersthenewstatutesaredesignedtoimpact.“Wearen’tlookingtooverreacttoprob-lems,againwe’resimplylookingfortheabilitytobringsomepeople,whoareha-bitualoffenders intocompliance,” townPublicWorks Director Steve Burke ex-plainedoftheproposalgeneratedbyhisdepartment.“Rightnowallwecandoissimplysaypleasestopandifyoudon’t,we’llaskyouagain.Ifcounciladoptsthefines associated with those infractions,thenwe’llbeable tosaypleasestoporyouwillbefined.“Idoknowthatwe’vehadfrustrationonthe part of both the citizenry and staffthat there was nothing more we coulddotobringpeopleintocompliancewiththe rules that arecurrently inour code.Idon’tknowthatwe’recreatingasepa-rategarbagepolice.Ourcrewsactveryprofessionally and I don’t believe thatwewouldbetaggingcustomersthattrulyweren’tincompliancewiththerules.“Ourcustomersare thecitizensandweareseekingtoactinaprofessionalman-nertoprovideaservicetoourcitizensasbestwecan.Andthisissimplyamecha-nismthatwillallowourcrewstopickuprefuseand recycling inamoreefficientmanner. When there are stops we havehabitualproblemswith,ittakesaddition-altimejustbecauseoftheamountofcarethat needs to be taken where we knowthere’suncontainerizedglass,whereweknow there’s habitually a garbage canwherethereareratsorlargenumbersoffliesdue to loose refuse, or someotherimpediment toour crews safelyoperat-ing. And that’s additional time on theroutethattakesawayfromusworkingto

Town not looking formasscitationsontrashChanges will allow crews to dealwith the few serious offenders

ourpeakefficiency.”As with trash collection, recycling as-pectsofthenewordinancesaredesignedtoincreasetheefficiencyoftheprocess,thus reducing costs to the town and itscitizens,Burkesays.“Theproblemwe’retrying to correct is we have customerswho simply dump their loose recyclingmaterials into their garbage cans, allcommingled,whichagainaffectstheef-ficiencyofourcrews.Wehavefourbinsin the truck we separate the materialsintoandifit’sallcommingledthenwe’rehavingtospendfiveor10minutesgoingthroughonestoptotryandfishthroughallthoselooseitems.”Burke says the goal for recycling is tohave separate bags for cans and plasticbottles with papers layered or baggedseparatelyaswell.“Wedorecognizethatthereisavague-nessinthereferencetothefinesconcern-ingrecycling.Wearegoingtorefinethattospecifyrecycledmaterialsintherecy-cledcontainers,”Burkeexplained.Not recyclingwillnotbeaviolationaslong as those items are bagged alongwiththerestofthetrashinthegarbagecontainers, he said. “If your not recy-cling that’s not a problem though wewouldliketogetahigherparticipation.We’re not trying to dissuade you fromrecycling.” Burke said, noting that re-cycling materials can be placed in anycontainerthatisidentifiabletocrewsasseparatefromrefuse.However,recyclingcontainersareavailablefromthetownatacostof$6,Burkeadded.Of the coming holiday seasons’ impacton refuse crews, Burke said, “If youhave a Christmas party and you’ve got30 or 40 bottles and you had 30 or 40cansthatyouusedinpreparationfortheparty,thatvolumeofmaterialcutsdownonourefficiencyifitsjusttossedinthetrashcontainers.Wewouldask that thecitizenry, after their party, maybe use aseparatecontainerfortheirglassbottlesanda separatebag for thecansused inthepreparationfortheparty.”BurkeencouragedcitizenstocontactthePublicWorksDepartmentwithanyques-tionsorissuesrelatedtothenewpolicy

Trashoffenders,Pg.6

Warren County Report Late Nov. �006

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contracts,standardizeddeedformsandproceduresfortheworkingsofthetown.AndIthinkthetownasawholehasgottenmoreefficient. “ButIthinkithascometimeformetomoveonbecause–it’safreshoppor-tunityandit’salsoachanceforthetownwithitsfairlynewcouncilandnewman-ager,tohireanew,freshattorneyandbegintheprocessofbuildinganewfutureforthetownthattheycanallembraceandmoveforwardwith.” Movingfromtherealmofthepasttothefuture,Mitchellsaidhisfamiliaritywiththecountygovernmentanditspersonnelfromhisinteractionwiththemastownattorneyshouldmakehistransitionasmoothone. “OverthesixyearsI’vebeenhereinthetownattorney’soffice,I’vegottentoknowthestaffmembers,theboardmembers,planningcommissionmembers,theConstitutionalOfficersandvariousotherpersonnel.Andalotofthesamepeoplethataredevelopers,customers,etc,ofthetownare[such]withthecountyaswell.So,Ithinkit’llbeafairlysmoothtransitiongoingfromthetowntothecounty.” Mitchelladdedthathelooksforwardtorevisitingsomecountyattorneyrolesthatdifferfromhistownjob.“Iworkedfor15yearsinacountyattorney’sofficeinStaffordCountybeforecomingtothetown.So,I’mveryfamiliarwiththecountyprocessesanddifferencesbetweencountylawandtownlaw.”Mitchelladdedthatthemovewouldallowhimtorevisitwhatheconsidersoneofhislegalstrengths–dealingwithdepartmentssuchasfireandrescue,parksandrecreationandCon-stitutionalOffices. “Ihaven’tdonethatfor thelastsixyears,soI’mlookingforwardtogettingbackintothosesortofrelationshipsthatIhavenothadhereinthetown.IhavetheutmostrespectforcountystaffandIlookforwardtoservingthepeopleofthecountyforyearstocome,”Mitchellconcluded. “We appreciate Blair’s years of service to the town, we wish him well andweknowhe’lldoagoodjobforthecounty,”MayorJamesM.EasthamsaidofMitchell’smove. BoardofSupervisorsChairmanRichardTraczyksaidthecountyreacheditsdecisiontoofferMitchellthejobafterinterviewingthreequalifiedcandidates. “Theboardfeltverycomfortablewithhisabilities,qualificationsanddemean-or.Hehasanexcellentbackgroundinlocalgovernmentandhiseasygoingmannershouldfit inextremelywell inworkingwiththeboardandcountystaff.Wearelookingforward toworkingwithMr.Mitchellon the issues facing thecounty,”Traczyksaidinapreparedstatementissuedbythecounty. Adeterioratingrelationshipwiththetownoverwaterserviceissuesrelatedtogrowthdecisionsonbothsidesofthetown-countyline,willbeamongtheinterest-ingchallengesthecountyanditsnewattorneywillfaceas2007rollsaround.

Mitchell(fromPg.5)


Bya4-2voteonOct.23, theFrontRoyalTownCouncilapprovedacompro-miseofanearliersuggestedcompromiseonitsrecentlyabandonedlargeitemandlargequantityspringandfallrefusecol-lections. Earlierthisyearthetownabandonedthescheduledfallandspringcleanupstopare$40,000fromthe2007budgetinor-dertobalancethenewfiscalyearbudget.Perhaps ironically, at the sameOct. 23meetingcouncilapprovedtheadditionof$12.55milliontoits2007budget,raisingthecurrentfiscalyearbudget to$49.47million. While$10.49millionoftheaddition-alfundingisfortheplannedexpansionofthetown’swaterplant,$2.06millionwasapprovedforavarietyofotheritems. The approved large-item collectionordinance change, opposed by EugeneTewalt and Tom Sayre, will grant citi-zensone freeon-callcollectionof suchitems, with any subsequent collectionschargedat$25percollection,$40iffre-onorothercoolantsareinvolved. Following a lengthy debate earlierthis month, council seemed poised to

re-instituteonetown-widespringorfalllarge-itemcollection.However,DirectorofPublicWorksSteveBurkeexplainedthat the town’s refuse collection super-visor felt thefreeon-callservicewouldplacelesstime-managementstressonhisstaff. Tewalt, a former town director ofpublic works, disagreed, saying hethought the townwasopening itself uptothenecessityofmoremanpowerhoursbeing devoted to large item collectionfromthepotentialofconstantlyfieldingcallsforscattered,isolatedpickups. Afterhearingfromtwocitizenswhotermed proposedweekly trash collec-tionordinancechanges“immature”and“ridiculous,” the FR council tabled theissuetoafutureworksession.Thepro-posedchangeswouldcriminalizeviola-tionsoftowntrashcollectionguidelineswithfinesupto$500.Citizensfacefinesfrom$10to$25perdayforongoingvio-lationssuchaslooseitemsincontainers,puttingcansoutafter6:30a.m.oncol-lectiondays,havinga trashcanconsid-eredunsanitary,foulsmellinganddirty,puttingouttoomuchtrash,disrespectfultreatmentofgarbagemenandplacementofcontainersonthesidewalk,ratherthaninthestreet(seerelatedstory,column).

Splitcouncilabandonstown-wide scheduled collections

asitisadopted.“Wewillreinforcetoourcrewsthatwearenottryingtocreateadifficultsituationforourcustomers.We’llprobablyhavetogothroughatransitionperiodwherewearetraining.Andagain,ifacitizenreceivesawarningtagthattheyfeelisunwarranted,ourphonenumberisonthetagandtheyaremorethanwelcometocontactPublicWorksat635-7819andwewillworkwiththemtoseethattheprogramisworkingforboththecustomerandthetown.”

Trashoffenders(fromPg.5)


10th District Republican Congressman Frank Wolf was interviewed by Dan Mc-Dermott live on The News at Noon (95.3 FM & 1450 AM) on Wednesday, Novem-ber 8. Note that at the time of the inter-view, the Virginia Senate race was still up in the air and President Bush had not yet announced the firing of Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld.

TranscriptbyRoyaMilotte

Dan McDermott: Congressman Wolf,congratulations.

Congressman Wolf: Thank you verymuch,Iappreciatethat.

DanMcDermott:Iguessthisisabitter-sweetvictoryforyou,becauseyoulostalotoffriendsandcolleaguesontheHill,butyou’regoingback?

CongressmanWolf: Well,Idid. Thereare a number of people that are goodfriends that will not be going back anditisdifficult,butIappreciatethesupportofthepeoplefromtheShenandoahVal-leyandfromthe10thDistricttogivemeanopportunitytoserveandhopefullywecanhavemorebipartisanshipandbringthecountrytogetheronalotofthetoughissuesthatthiscountry’sfacing.

DanMcDermott:Thiswaspredictedforsometime,thattherewouldbeavictoryin the House and the Senate was closetocall;still that’snotadonedeal. TheRepublicans lost everything in ’76 buttheybouncedback4yearslaterwiththeelection ofRonaldReagan. In ’94 theDemocratstookabeatingandreallynow12 years later they’re bouncing back.DoyouthinkthiswillbeabumpfortheRepublicansordoyouseethatthisisatrendthat’sgoingtobealittlebitlongerthanthat?

Congressman Wolf: Well, I hope it’sjust a bump. I think what the Repub-lican Party should do is to come backandbe thepartyofhonesty. Thepartyof integrity. The party of very aggres-siveandtoughethics.Thepartythatre-allyisgoingtomakesuretheeconomy

J. Michael Graham was interviewed by Dan McDermott live on The Valley To-day (95.3 FM & 1450 AM at 12:30 pm.)

TranscriptbyRoyaMilotte

Dan McDermott: I want to welcomeMichael Graham who is the newTownManagerforFrontRoyal.Welcome,sir,howareyoudoing?

Michael Graham: Doing good, thankyou.Thankyouforinvitingme.

DanMcDermott:Mypleasure.Youhada reputation before you came as a cor-poratefixitguy.TellmeaboutMichaelGraham’s experience and what kind ofthingsyou’vedonebefore?

Michael Graham: Well, actually I wasborninFrontRoyal,Idon’tknowwheth-eralotofpeopleknowthatornot.IwasbornandraisedhereandwenttoWarrenCounty High School, graduated, thenwent to James Madison University andthen I think the day after I graduated IleftandnowI’mbackafter30years.

DanMcDermott:Weknewyou’dcomecrawlingback...

Michael Graham: I’m kind of like asalmon,Iguess.Ittakesme30yearstocomebackhomewhereyou’reborn,butI’mrealexcitedabouttheopportunity.I

Corporate fix-it guy returnstoFrontRoyalMeet new town manager J. Michael Graham

think a lot ofmy skill setwill tie rightintowhat the town’s trying todo. TheTown Council and the Mayor had kindof challenged me a little bit, said theywere looking for a change agent. Notthat there was a lot wrong with FrontRoyal,buttheyfeltthatinordertogrowtothefuturetheyneededsomechanges.DuetomyexperienceandmyjobsetthatwhenthisopportunitycameupIwasap-proachedandIfounditveryintriguing,because I think a lot of municipalitiesacross the country are transitioning orarechangingthewaythattheydobusi-nesstoleanmoretowardbusinessorien-tationthenjustamunicipality.

DanMcDermott: Okay. You said thatCouncilindicatedtheywerelookingforanagentofchangeandFrontRoyalhaschangedandis,Iguess,atthecuspofahugechangeastheformerstatusofFrontRoyalbeingthefrontierofgrowthfromtheD.C.area,nowit’sinit.Centexhasaproposalthatwasactuallyscaleddownto1862homes,Ithink.There’sstillsomequestionastowhetherthatnumber’sgo-ingtobeaccurateasthehousingmarkethasslowed.

MichaelGraham:Sure.

DanMcDermott:Describethesituationin Front Royal and what you see in 10

Wolf laments rise ofnegativecampaigningHas track record of workingwith new house leadership

staysstrong.ThepartythatreallyhelpsdevelopaconsensusonhowdowedealwiththeissueofIraq.Thepartythatre-allywants tomakesure thatwe’reabletodealwiththiswholeissueofterrorism,

becauseasyouknowAl-Qaedaisstilloutthere.Theyhave4-6,000websitesthatareprettymuchsayingwhatthey’rego-ingtodoiftheygetanopportunity.ButIthinkit’simportantforthepartytosortoftakethisasamessageifyouwill,anditwasaprettybadclimatebasedonthewholeIraqwar.Ifyouknow,IwastheauthoroftheprovisiontosetuptheIraqstudygroupwhichismadeupoffiveRe-publicansandfiveDemocrats.SecretaryofStateJimBakeristheRepublicanco-chairmanand formerCongressmanLeeHamilton,headofthe9-11commission,is the Democratic co-chairman. But tolook at what they’re recommendation’sgoingtobeandtrytodevelopaconsen-sus in the countrywhereby the countrycanbetogether.

Dan McDermott: What do you thinksgoingtohappeninIraq?Iguess,there-portthatcommitteecameupwithwastosplititinthreeparts--

CongressmanWolf: No, no, they havenotmadetherecommendation.Theypur-posefullymadeadecisionnottohavea

U.S. Senator George Allen was defeated by Democrat Jim Webb. Frank Wolf crushed his opponent, Democrat Judy Feder, but by a smaller margin than usual. WCR pho-to by Roger Bianchini

Graham,Pg.22 Wolf,Pg.18



It’snosecret–ifyouliveintheTownofFrontRoyalyourelectricbill issky-rocketing. For at least two years coun-cilmenhavebeendebatinghowbest tophase in what was initially forecast tobeathree-year,70-percentrateincreaseto electric customers. But whether it’sphased in smaller increments duringelectionyearsisreallyofnoconsequence–excepttothoserunningforoffice.Theendresultisthatthetownneedstocoveritsincreasedcostofprovidingpowertoitscitizensandeventuallythoseconsum-erswillhavetofootthebill. Since federal power deregulation inthelate1990s,thetownappearstohavebeen slow to appreciate pricing impli-cations–thoughtheywerefelt inotherstatesthatderegulatedsooneraroundthenation. Consequently, Front Royal hasfound itself ina reactiveposition,mostrecentlyguessingwrongonthetimingofsigninganewcontractitnowwantsoutof and paying for consultants’ opinionsmany town officials no longer seem totrust(seerelatedstory). WhiletheFrontRoyalTownCouncilmay come under fire for past decisionsleadingtoa20to30percenthigherpur-chase price on power for the town, thebottomlineisthatFrontRoyalfindsitselfbyhook,crookorbadgamble ina tinyminorityofstatemunicipalitiesbeinghit

withtheworstconsequencesofpowerin-dustryderegulation.Those14municipalelectricityprovidershavefallenthroughthecracksofstateeffortstohaltrampantprice increasesassociatedwithmultiplechargesforthepurchaseanddeliveryofpowerinthewakeofpowerindustryde-regulation. So, while councilmen may be fac-ing hard election year questions aboutwhatinformationormisinformationwasusedtoreachpastpowerprovisiondeci-sions,thatpositionisalsopartofamuchgreaterutilitypricingiceberg–industryderegulation.

Theory vs. Practice

SomelocalitieslikeFrontRoyalhavebeenhit exceptionallyhardduringhighenergy usage periods due to the waytransmission/congestion fees are im-posedbytransmissionproviders,inthiscasetheregionalconsortiumPJM(Penn-sylvania,Jersey,Maryland).Municipali-ties in the geographical area of majortransmissiongridconnectionsarebeinghitwiththebulkoftransmissionconges-tion fees, rather than thehigherdensityurbanareaswheremuchofthepowergo-ingthroughthoselinesisbeingsent. “We’vegotbothaprotestandacom-plaint, two different kinds of actions,filed at the federal Energy RegulatoryCommission (FERC) challenging someofthetransmissionratesthathavebeen

imposedonusbythetransmissionown-ers,” Front Royal TownAttorney BlairMitchellexplained.“InadditiontoFrontRoyal – Chambersburg, Pa., Williams-port,FairmontandHagerstown,Md.andAllegheny Power itself, have filed pro-tests to FERC over the congestion linechargeswehaveallbeenhitwithandweareallseekingrelieffromtheseaddition-alchargesthathavebeenimposedonus.Ourpositionisthattheelectricitycomingthroughthelines,eventhatwhichcomesthrough the Bedington-BlackOak Lineisnotjustservingourcommunities,itisservingtheentireEastCoast.Therefore,theentireEastCoast,everybodywhoisa customer that draws electricity fromthatlineshouldpaysomeportionofthetransmissioncongestioncosts.” Thatseemslogical,butthensoisthepremise that industry deregulation willdrivepricestoconsumersdownthroughincreased marketplace competition.However, Mitchell explains that a duetoavarietyofstate,regionalandfederalfactors, theory and reality have yet tomerge. “It’s somewhat similar to telephonederegulationfromthe1970sand1980s,in that the federalgovernmentpassedastatute and then many states have alsoadoptedstatutesthatrequirethebreakingup of utilities. In the past a single util-itycouldownageneratingplantandthebigtransmissionlinestogettothelocali-ties,andthenthesmalldistributionlineswithinalocalityitself.Theywouldowneverything from the beginning of theprocesstoyourmetersatyourstructure.“Deregulation is now requiring thatgeneratingplantsbeoneentity, the [re-gional]transmissionlineownerbeadif-ferententityand the [local]distributionlineownerbeathirdentity.Indoingthatit is putting all of them eventually intofreemarketcompetitionwitheachother,which theoretically can result in lowerpricesforthecustomers–butthat’snotwhat’shappening. “In practice it isn’t happening be-cause different states are deregulatingatdifferentrates.Withthe[old]regionalutilitymonopoliesmost,ifnotallstateshave autility commission– inVirginiait’s the state corporation commission –thatregulatesrates,thattellstheutilitiesinVirginiathisiswhatyoumaycharge,youmaynotachargeapennymorethanthis.So,regulationhaskepttheratesfair,haskeptthemwheretheyarecompetitive

and they are such that utilities such asDominionPowermakeprofits,but theydon’tmakeexorbitantprofits,”Mitchellsaidoftheoldregulatedsystem. Initially,deregulationledtothestrip-ping of federal and then state govern-mentaloversightofpricingbasedonthetheorythatincreasedcompetitionwithinthemarketplacewouldself-regulatepric-es.Liketheanticipatedspring2006pric-ingdecreaseFrontRoyalhadwaitedon– itdidn’thappen. In fact, theoppositehasoccurred.

Legislative perspective

Questioned about the situation inVirginia,StateSenatorMarkObenshain(R-26th)saidratherthanbreakuputilitymonopolies,deregulationseemstohavecreated more of them in a vacuum ofgovernmentalcontrol. “Wewent in thisdirectioninthehopesthatacompetitivemarketplacewasgongtobetheoreticallybetter than a regulated monopoly. Butwhatwehavegottenisnotacompetitivemarketplace. It looks likewe’reheadedtowards an unregulated monopoly andthat has tended to be very problematicforconsumers.” Obenshainsaidhebelievesboth thejudicialandlegislativebranchesofstategovernmentshouldhavearoleinseeingthatderegulationworksforconsumersasit isdesigned to, rather than inpracticebecome a tool of additional industrialmonopolies free of any governmentaloversight. “ThisiswhathappenswhenyouhaveanunregulatedmonopolyandIthinkev-erything is going to need to be on thetable. I think the legislaturehasagreatdeal of responsibility and the ability tomakesomesignificantchangesindirec-tion,”Obenshainsaid. Obenshainagreedthatsmaller juris-dictionsbeinghitwithexorbitant trans-missionfeesneedsomeprotections. “Absolutely, and I think that’s partof the deregulation debate in Virginia.We have some looming deadlines withderegulationand these typesof chargesaren’tattheheartof[thediscussion]buttheyarepartofit,”Obenshainsaid.“De-regulationinVirginiahasnotworkedasit was predicted to.We really have notseen the competition develop that hadbeenpredicted . . .andthenewentities

FrontRoyalandelectricity –no future foryou?Deregulation leads to industry-wide profit taking free for all

Electricity,Pg.9

The former Grayce Decker and her new husband Evan Benson relax after their Oct. 28th wedding. The Bensons live in Front Royal and the reception was held at the Front Royal Moose Lodge. WCR photo by Dan McDermott


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Warren County Report is look-ing for some talented advertis-ing sales folks! Full or part-time. Please call Paula for informa-tion:

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areincreasingpricesateachlevel[ofservice]andthatisofsignificantcon-cern.”

Mysterious future

TownAttorneyMitchelladdedthatthe reality of deregulation has led toconfusion and consternation acrossstateandregionallines. “Deregulation was designed tomake pricing more uniform through-out the entire country. Now, for cus-tomers in New England, New York,the industrial Northeast, it’s a goodthing because in theory it will bringtheirprices,amongthehighestinthecountry,down.However,forcustom-ers in the Southeast – Virginia, theCarolinas,intoFlorida,it’sgoingtobea bad thing because we traditionallyhavesignificantlylowerratesthantheNortheast. “As deregulation fully kicks inratesintheSoutheastaregoingtorise,rates in the Northeast and Midwest,theoretically,willfall.Butwhoknows– that may not even be the case,”Mitchelladds.“ViceMayorDarrandIwereataVirginiaMunicipalLeagueconference and in one session theytalkedaboutderegulationandwhatthefuture holds and somebody from theState Corporation Commission said‘Frankly,wedon’tknow.’” Is a plan to artificially stabilizerates between regions justified andwhy is there not better regional co-ordination between states in dealingwiththechanges? “I don’t know the logic behind itandIcertainlydon’tknowwhyCon-gress adopted it in the first place, Ionly know that’s what’s happening,”Mitchell replied of laws that beganchanginginthelate1990s,firstatthefederal,thenatstatelevels. “[Theconsequenceshave]beenfelteversincethefederallawwentintoaf-fect–therehavebeenpriceincreasesevery timeFrontRoyal, for instance,has gone out to get a new contract.YousawwhathappenedinCaliforniaseveralyearsago,so ithit themthenharder than it did us. But the periodofadjustmentstartedwhenthefederalgovernmentpassedthelawanditwillcontinue–well,youtellme–whenistheperiodofadjustmentgoingtoendwith telephones?” Mitchell ponderedoftheongoing,decades-longimplica-tionsofderegulationinthatindustry.

Electricity(fromPg.8)

Bret W. HrbekInvestment RepresentativeHolly Hill Professional Center986 John Marshall Hwy Suite CFront Royal, VA 22645(540) 635-8229

Richard L. MasonInvestment Representative115 North Royal AvenueFront Royal, VA 22630(540) 635-6830


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Crystal Ann Schuster and Ronald Austin Williamson, both of Front Royal, were united in marriage on September 23, 2006, at Historic Fort Collier in Win-chester , Virginia . The wedding was set in a Civil War-era style. The bride wore a Southern Belle ball gown and the groom wore a Gentleman’s dress suit. The bride is the daughter of Carl Farrell, Jr. or California , Maryland , and Al-ice Farrell of Great Mills, Maryland . The groom is the son of Donald and Elaine Williamson of Front Royal, Virginia. The bridesmaids were Jessica Megeath, daughter of the groom, and Rebec-ca Schuster, daughter of the bride. The bride was given away by her son, Jacob Schuster. Best man for the groom was his son, Brandon Williamson. Crystal is currently working on obtaining an Accounting degree from Shenandoah University and Ronald is currently Chief of Police for the Town of Front Royal. The couple has plans for a postponed honeymoon sometime in the near future. They will reside in their home here in Front Royal.

Warren County ReportLate Nov. �006


ThewearingoftattoosinAmericancul-turehascomealongwayfromthedaysof its identificationwith rogue, outsideelementsof society.No longer the loneprovince of bikers thumbing their skinattheworld,sailorsandmerchantmari-nersmarkingtheirtravelsandgirlfriendsaround the globe, or criminal gangsmembersclandestinelyidentifyingthem-selves to their peers, tattooing has be-comeastatementaboutpersonalidentityand acceptance into social groups nearto, aswell as far from the socialmain-stream.At the Cool and Selective Tattoo andArtStudioat650W.11thStreetinFrontRoyal, 35-year-old shop owner LuisTorres and fellow tattoo artist MichaelWalker, 20, ply a trade they were bothdrawntoatanearlyage.Torresexplainsthatashedevelopedaninterestindraw-ingandartasayoungstudentinhisna-tiveNewYorkCity, anearly encounterwithtattooingcreatedafascinationwiththe human body as the artist’s canvass

thatwasneverfarfromhismind.“The first time I saw tattooing I waseight, it was the actual old form wherethey picked the skin, and I found thatveryinteresting,”Torressays.“So,fromthere on out I kept studying and goingaroundanddoingresearchontattooart-ists,machinesandcolorsandallsortsofthingsjusttogetreadyforwhenIwas21andIcouldmakeacareeroutofit.At21Torresdidhisfirst tattooand theresult sealed the deal. “That first tattooI did for someone was a half sleeve, itgoesfromtheelbowtotheshoulder,andafterthatwhenIsawIcoulddoit,Iknewthatwasmypassion,theformIwantedtoconquerandenjoyasanartist.”Though removed by centuries, perhapsmodern body artists like Torres andWalker have intuitively grasped whatanother artist of some renown put intowordsseveralhundredyearsago–“Andwhoissobarbarousasnottounderstandthatthefootofamanisnoblerthanhisshoe,andhisskinnoblerthanthatofthesheep with which he is clothed?” saidMichelangelo.

TattooYou!Bodyarthasevolvedintomorethan just a rebel skin flick

Tattoo,Pg.24

Cool and Selective Tattoo Parlor proprietor Luis Torres works on wife Donna’s leg art. WCR photo by Roger Bianchini.

Isabella the chiwauwa was a big hit at the Warren Heritage Society’s 2006 Festival of Leaves. She even went on a 7 hour bike ride the weekend before!Photo by Elke Kees

Billy Clemens and the Pickers jam under the Main Street gazebo during the 2006 Festival of Leaves.WCR photo by Paula Conrow

The great clam caper of 2006! The Warren County Sheriff’s Office reports that on Oc-tober 12, 2006 at approximately 12:07 a.m. Investigator Jason Poe observed a 2007 BMW in the east bound lane on I-66 speeding and running off the road. The driver of the vehicle was Lin Bao, a 20 year old male from New York , NY . Passengers included Lin Zhong, a 48 year old male, from New York , NY and Zhang Bao Zhu, a 48 year old female, from Hickory, NC. Before Investigator Poe searched the vehicle, Lin Bao stated he might have something illegal in the car. Upon searching the vehicle, Investigator Poe discovered approximately 500 pound of clams. Sheriff McEathron advises that the Virginia Marine Resources Commission Criminal Investigations Division located in Newport News , VA and the Food and Drug Administration located in Norfolk , VA assisted. The clams were confiscated and are currently being held as evidence. The investigation continues and federal charges are pending. Sheriff courtesy photo.

The Linden Volunteer Fire Department got a 2007 F-450 ambulance with an Excellance box. It was purchased with help from a federal grant. The Linden Volunteer Fire Depart-ment could always use money to help place this unit in service. Photo by Joe Woodall

� Warren County Report Late Nov. �006

Australia 30Austria 3Belgium 2Brazil 2Bulgaria 2Canada 59Chile 2China 2Denmark 2England 92Ireland 6Scotland 2Wales 3Estonia 4Equador 4France 14Germany 11Georgia 2HongKong 3Iceland 1India 6Israel 8Italy 6Japan 5Korea 5Malaysia 5Mexico 2Netherlands 26NewZealand 2Norway 8Philippines 4Romania 3Russia 6Singapore 4Slovenia 2Spain 2Switzerland 8Thailand 3

FrontRoyalTourismReportFolksfrom44statesand29countriescheckedinlastmonth!

Oct2006 Oct2005FromtheU.S.A. 1,712 1,051Fromothercountries 351 413

This data was compiled by Front Royal Tourism Coordinator Don LaFever from the guest registry. You can find Don and a wealth of information at the Visitor’s Center on Main Street. (540) 635-5788

Visitors entering ShenandoahNational Park in Front Royal

Sep2006 Sep2005

36,348 34,613

Visitors entering ShenandoahRiverStateParkinBentonville

Sep2006 Sep2005

10,908 11,384

AL 5AK 4AZ 8AR 17CA 86CO 10CT 24DE 28DC 36FL 112GA 33HI 3ID 2IL 31IN 20IA 2KS -KY 17LA 11ME 20MD 183MA 32MI 32MN 12MS 19MO 15MT 10NE 6NV -NH 13NJ 49NM 2NY 80NC 78ND 2OK 25OH 56OR 13PA 146PR 2RI 7SC 24SD 6TN 11TX 44UT 3VT 4VA 317WA 29WV 7WI 16WY -

Whatpromptedyourvisit?AAATravelGuides 2AppalachianTrail 24Bed&Breakfast 4BicycleTour 2BillBryson 1BusinessTrip 7CampingDirectories 4DinosaurLand 6Drivingthrough 233FestivalofLeaves 17Friends 45FrontRoyalVisitorsGuide 2Geology 2Genealogy 16History/CivilWar 71HogTalesMagazine 4Jimbo’sRestaurant 4LocalResident 12LongBranchBalloonFestival 2LurayCaverns 2PreviousVisit 23QuiltShop 2RandolphMaconAcad. 2RCICondoExchange 6RegionalResident 68Relatives 113Relocating 17SkylineCaverns 12SkylineDrive/SNP 994Uncertainornoreply 135U.S.MarinesMarathon 4Vacation 185Visiting 133Wineries 16

�Warren County ReportLate Nov. �006

Blue Ridge Shadows Golf ClubThe Blue Ridge Shadows Golf Club is now open for play Thursday through Sunday! It is a world-class championship 18-hole course occupying 173 acres and playing over 7,300 yards from the championship tees. Designed by the prestigious architects at Ault Clark and Associates, Blue Ridge Shadows is located in the hills just north of Front Royal, just north of I-66 and seven miles east of I-81. A rolling tract with magnificent views of the Blue Ridge Mountains in the heart of historical Civil War country, the property is an upscale semiprivate course that offers a limited number of memberships as well as daily fee play for the general public. For more information on membership, outings, our hotel, or just to see updated course information, visit www.blueridgeshadows.com

Now open Thurs-Sun • 7632 Winchester Road • Front Royal, Virginia 22630 • www.blueridgeshadows.com

Directions:LocatedjustnorthofI-66Exit6onUS340/522


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InthewakeofaNovemberworkses-sionwithpowerprovisionconsultantICFInternational,twofundamentalquestionsremain for the town’s power customers–whyhasthishappened?andhowhighwillratesgo? However,oneevenmorefundamen-tal question remains for the Town ofFrontRoyal–whatdowedoaboutourpredicament? For residential customers the pur-chaseprice for akilowatt hourof elec-tricity climbed from about 6.5 cents to10.5 cents or more three months agowhencouncil’s40percent rate increasekickedintohelpcoverthenewcostofitsnewpowerpurchasecontractthatbeganinJuly(seerelatedstory). Buttheharshrealityisthatevenwiththe ratehike to its customers, the townhaslostapproximately$1millioninthefirstthreemonthsofitsnewcontractandaccording to consultants will depletethe remaining $4.5 million of its Elec-tricFundsurplusbalanceby theendofthisfiscalyear,sendingthatbalanceintothe red by approximately $9,000 in thefirstyearofitstwo-yearpowerpurchasecontract with American Electric Power(AEP)Ohio. AttheNovemberworksession,pow-erconsultantICFInternationalestimatedthe town’s Electric Fund deficit wouldsink to $500,000 in the second year ofthetown’scurrentpurchasecontractwithAEP-Ohio and transmission contractwith PJM (Pennsylvania, Jersey, Mary-land),before“optimistic”industrytrendsbegintoreverse,sendingcostsdownandrestoring the town’s ability to rebuilditsElectricandGeneralFundsurpluses,while lowering rates to customers backtothesixtonine-centrangeperkilowatthourbetween2008and2010.

Rose-colored glasses?

However, following ICF’s presenta-tion to council, town Electric Depart-mentDirectorJoeWaltz told townoffi-cialsthatinpredictingastablereturntoabundledpurchase/transmissioncost inthe$50range,only$7abovethetown’slast Dominion Power contract price of$43.55 per megawatt hour, the consul-

Town grapples with diminishing power optionsConsultant’soptimisticindustryscenariosquestioned

tant may have painted a rosier picturethanrealityandthefuturecouldholdfortheindustry. “I wouldn’t put any money on it,”Waltz said of lower prices. “There aretoo many variables, another war, whoknowswhatcouldhappentokeeppricesup?” With its back currently against thewallfinanciallyandfacinganuncertainfutureinwhichitnowfindsitselftheoddmunicipalityoutbetweenspiralingpost-deregulation prices and state efforts toprotect itsconsumers, the townis look-inghardat itsoptions.Thosediscussedin November include the selling of the

town electric department to a privateprovider;attemptingtogetoutofthecur-rent two–year contract with AEP-Ohiothathasseenitsmonthlycostsmorethandoublefromabout$691,000inJune(thelast month of its old contract), to $1.7millionand$1.6millioninthefirsttwomonthsofthenewcontract;increaseitsowngeneratingcapacities;ortrytolockin current lower “bundled” prices, es-timated at $50 per megawatt hour, in along-termcontractthatwouldnotbeginuntil2008.

Shrinking leverage

AtitsNovemberworksession,Waltzalsotoldcouncilthatanattempttobuildaconsortiumthatinvolved11ofthe14state municipalities that own their ownelectricdepartmentshad“splintered”as

eightoftheparticipantslefttopursuefa-vorable long-termcontractoptionsnowavailable. One group of four localitieswaspursuinga20-yearcontractwiththeAppalachian subsidiary of AEP-Ohio,andanothergroupoffourmunicipalitieswas pursuing a six-year contract withAMP-Ohio,Waltzsaid. “Front Royal will be the only [Vir-ginia] municipality that will be out foranother[power]contractin2008,”Waltztoldcouncilof the town’svanishing le-verage on the issue. Waltz pointed outthat even considering all 14 Virginiamunicipalitieswiththeirownelectricde-partments,thetownwasinaverysmall

minority representing 750,000 people,orabout10percentof thestate’spopu-lation,whosepowerissuppliedbylocalgovernment. With at least 11 of the other 13 lo-calpublicpowerprovidersoptingoutofattempts to formaprotectivemunicipallobby, FrontRoyal finds itself virtuallyalone in Virginia and increasingly vul-nerabletothenewpowerindustrystan-dardsandtrends. Councilman Stan Brooks was criti-cal of the state for jumping back intothe frayafterderegulationbecamestatelaw.“Theyderegulatedtheindustry,butwhathappenedisthestatejumpedbackin and started regulating again. Maybeiftheyhadn’twe’dhavea[pricing]bal-ancebynow,”Brookssaidofthepoten-tialprivately-suppliedconsumerspriceswould have continued to rise without

stateinterference.Brooksalsowascriti-cal of theGeneralAssembly for allow-ingVirginia’s14municipalproviderstofallintoavoidofregulatoryprotection.However,Brooksacknowledgedtheslimlikelihood of state legislative action tosee that the electric rates of 90 percentofVirginia’spopulationwouldbelegis-latedupwardintolinewithFrontRoyalandothermunicipalproviderscosts. “What are we going to do, ask [thestate] to raise everybody else’s rates?”Brooksponderedof the town’soptions.“Clay (Del.Athey) represents a districtwhere amajority are protectedby statemovestokeepratesdown,hecan’tverywell vote to raise their rates to help usout.” But Brooks tried to remain positiveabout the possibility of declining ratesdue to potential impacts from litigationchallenging transmission/congestionfees(seerelatedstory)andconstructionof additional transmission lines to easetransmissioncongestion. “Wecouldendupwiththebestratesofanyone–that’sthewayIlookatit,”Brookssaidfollowingdiscussionofcon-sultantprojectionsandpossibleindustrytrendsoverthenextfouryears. However,MayorJamesM.Easthamsounded a note of caution, stating thatthe“oldmodel”ofmunicipalpowergen-eration“isdead.” “Youcan’trideonehorsetillitdies,you’vegot to lookatallyouroptions,”the mayor told council and town stafffollowing discussion of consultant pro-jections. Councilman Brett Hrbek said hephilosophicallyopposedthetown’scon-tinued roleasanelectrical supplierandaskedifavoterreferendumonthesaleofthe electricdepartment couldbe sched-uled for May despite the lack of townelectionnextyear. Near the conclusion of the publicportion of its November work sessiononpoweroptionsandtrends,councilin-structedstafftoresearchtheissuesothetowngovernmentwillbeinapositionbylateFebruaryorearlyMarch toreachadecision on the sale, reorganization orfurther contract negotiations regardingthetown’sfuturesupplyofelectricitytoitscustomers.

WCR photo by Dan McDermott


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Two locations to serve you:230 N. Royal Avenue& 113 South Street inFront Royal, Virginia

540-635-7133Warren County Sheriff’s Deputy Joshua Seal was working stationary radar on 522 South in the area of the Conservation Center when he conducted a traffic stop of a 1997 Cadillac for speeding 83 mph in a 55 mph zone. The operator/owner of the ve-hicle, Kenneth W. Hanna of 144 Running Bear Court , Front Royal 23 years of age was charged with speeding, possession with intent to distribute marijuana and posses-sion of methadone. Also seized was $4,790 in cash along with digital scales. Hanna was released on November 7, 2006 after posting a $15,000 secured bond. Sheriff’s department courtesy photo



The economic devastation wrought byHurricaneKatrinareachedacrossAmer-ica’scentralGulfCoastdestroyingmuchofNewOrleans alongwith entire ruraltowns from Louisiana toAlabama.Thesocialconsequencesof that2005StormoftheCenturyarelikelytocontinueforyears,alongwiththedebateoverthelackof political direction at the local, stateandfederallevelsandconsequentfailureanddelaysofdisasterresponses.ButonelocalenotyetregisteredonKa-trina’s hit list is Front Royal, Virginia.PerhapsitistimeforthatomissiontoendandfortheTownofFrontRoyaltoapplyforstateandfederaldisasterreliefduetoKatrina impacts and related regulatoryagencydrownings.Butyousayotherthansomeheavyrainsandminorfloodingyoudon’trememberKatrina’simpactsreachingFrontRoyal?–Lookatyourtownelectricbill.YesFrontRoyal,Katrinahasdevastatedyourlocaleconomy,orisatleastisintheprocessofdoingso.Foritislargelythatevilwitch’swindandheraftermaththatledtheFrontRoyalTownCounciltode-cide towait approximatelyfivemonthsfromonetraditionallylowerelectricin-dustrypricingperiodtothenexttosignanewpowerpurchasecontract.Asaresult, the townisexpected toseea$5.5millionElectricFundsurplusgo$500,000 in the red over the two-yearlifeofthatcontract,despiteplanstoraisecustomers’electricratesabout60percentbetween2005and2007.

Katrina moves north

InSeptemberof2005,facingaJune30,2006,endtoitscontractwithDominionPower that had purchased electricity atthebundled(purchaseandtransmission)priceof$43.55permegawatthour(onemegawatt hour = 1,000 of the kilowatthours your home meter is reading), theTownofFrontRoyalwasponderingnewcontractoptions.

Withninemonthstoplaywithandatra-ditionallylowfallpricingperiodathand,the town appeared to be in position tostrikeadealthatwhilebeneficial,wouldlook nothing like the previous contractpriceinthewakeofVirginia’sderegula-tion of the power industry. The knownimplicationsofderegulationnationwidewereescalatingpricesinafirstfederally,thenstatedecontrolledindustry.Addanoil-industry-friendly Executive BranchandCongress, awar andescalatingde-stabilizationof theoil-richMiddleEastandoo-ahh,priceswereclimbing.Nicetime to lock in adeal . . . then comethKartrina.TownAttorneyBlairMitchellwasatthecenter of much of the town’s negotia-tionsonpursuitofanewpowercontract.Heexplains that the town’sdecisiononwhentomoveonanewcontractwastobebasedontraditionalenergycostcyclessurroundinglowerfallandspringprices,compared tohigher summerandwinterratesduetoincreasedpowerusage.However,inthewakeofKatrina’scom-ing to shore on Sept. 29, 2005, townenergy consultants and town officialsbelievedfall2005priceswerebeingar-tificially driven up by the disruption ofoilpipelineserviceandotherKatrina-re-latedfactors.So, logicdictated that fall2005 prices were not as low as normal–aswouldlaterbeevidencedbyrecordprofits American oil companies wouldreportforthemonthsfollowingthegreatstorm–andabetterdealcouldlikelybestruckduringthenextlowpricingperiod,a spring 2006 anticipated to be devoidofnatural(ifnotnecessarilypoliticaloreconomic)disasters.But after failing to lock in a bundledprice of $73 to $75 per megawatt hourin October/November 2005, the con-tract options the town found itselfwiththe following spring weren’t as rosy ashadbeenhopedfor.Thepurchasepricecapped at $76.86 per megawatt hourdidn’t looktoobad,exceptforonefac-tor–uncontrolledtransmissionfees.Thetown’s spring contract options exposedit tomarketfluctuationsintransmission

fees.Theresulthasbeendevastating,tosay the least. In thefirst twomonthsofthenewcontract, transmissionfees lev-ied by regional consortium PJM addedfirst $33 and then $23 to themegawatthourlyprice,raisingthetown’spurchasepriceto$99and$91permegawatthourinJulyandAugust,respectively.Thosenumbersjoltedthetown’smonth-lypowergeneratingcosts fromjustun-der$691,000inJune,thefinalmonthofthe Dominion Power contract, to about$1.7millioninJulyand$1.6millioninAugust,oranaverageincreaseofabout120 percent. Perhaps a more accuratecomparison is to the July and August2005coststothetownof$736,855and$728,425, respectively, still well over100percentincreaseseachmonth.Inthefirstthreemonthsofitsnewcon-tract the townhas lostabout$1millionandconsultantsrecentlytoldthetowntoexpect theremainingElectricFundbal-ance of $4.5 million to be gone by theendofthisfiscalyear,withanadditional

$500,000tobelostin2007-08.Andwhileenergyconsultantspaintedarosierpictureforthepriceofpurchasingpower beginning in 2008, one wondersiftheyweregazingintothesamecrystalballthatwasusedinthefallof2005.So, it appears that the town has takena$6millionfinancialhitdue largely toKatrina–nottomentionthemassemo-tional trauma suffered by town electriccustomers waking up to find late sum-mer electric bills devoid of continuousACuse,equalingearlierbillscalculatedtothecontinuoushumofelectronically-generatedcoolair.Yes, itwould seem time for the federaland state governments to compensateFront Royal for this economic and hu-man disaster created by both Katrinaand the ill-conceived drowning of gov-ernmentalregulatoryauthorityoverwhathasbecomeanewlycreatedmulti-tieredmonopolized industry, where only oneregulated monopoly existed before (seerelatedstories).

Where is Front Royal’shurricanedisasterrelief?Katrina to level Front Royal’s$5.5 mil Electric Fund balance

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recommendation;thatwasSenatorBayhcameupwiththatrecommendation.No,theBakerCommissionwillnotbereport-inguntilprobablyafteroraroundthetime

of Thanksgiving or shortly thereafter.Theyhavebrokentheirsub-groupsdowninto four sub-groups. One on security,oneongovernance,oneontheeconomyandoneonenergy;andthey’restillpull-ingapart.They’vebeentoIraq,they’vedoneanumberofthings,butthey’rere-porthasnotbeenactuallymadeandwillnotbemadetotheAmericanpeopleandto the Congress and the administrationforreallyseveralmoreweeks.

DanMcDermott:DoyouthinkDonaldRumsfeld will be Defense Secretary intwoweeks?

CongressmanWolf:Idon’tknow,that’sreally going to have to be PresidentBush’sdecision. TheIraqstudygroup,I don’t believe, will get involved intopersonnel. They’regoing tobe talkingabouthowdowedevelopaconsensusin

thecountryandwhatdowedo.AsyouknowtherearefiveDemocratsandfiveRepublicans, they’re hopeful to comeup with a 10-0, a position whereby thecountrycancometogether.Becausewe

areatwarand30peoplefromourdistrictdied in the attack on the Pentagon, welostalargenumberofpeopleontheat-tackon9-11.TheFBIcomesbeforemysubcommittee, and I can tell you thereare a numberofAl-Qaeda cells operat-ing. Al-Qaedahas it’splaybookon thewebpage.Basically,wehavetheirplay-book. We know what they’re going todoorwhattheywanttodo. SoI thinkwe need to bring the county together.Whenwearetogetherwe’restrong,justlikewewereabletodefeatcommunism.WhetheryouareaRepublicanoraDem-ocrat,youknowHarryTrumanaDemo-crat, President Kennedy, but PresidentEisenhower Republican and PresidentRegan;wecametogetherandthecoun-trywastogetherandunited.Unitedwewillprevailagainstterrorism,dividedwebecomeamuchweakercountry. It’stimetodevelopaconsensusthen

-- the country knowing full well thatno matter what anyone says Al-Qaedais still out there committed to bringinggrave destruction to a large proportionofcertainplaces.So,we’vegottodeal

withthat,butwe’vegottodealwithitto-getherasacountry.It’stheUnitedStatesandI thinkthere’s toomuchof thisredstate, blue state. I mean, there shouldbered,whiteandblue. Mydad,who’ssincepastaway,servedinthemilitaryinWorldWarII, ifI toldhimthis isaredstate,thisisabluestatehewouldn’tevenknowwhatthatmeans.We’reAmericananduntilyoucometogetherandbegintothinkthatway--andsothat’swhatwe’rehopefulthattheIraqstudygroupwillac-tuallydo.

Dan McDermott: As you look at thatads, there was I guess President Bushand Nancy Pelosi were sort of stars ofthe opposite parties ads, and I knowyou’ve worked with Nancy Pelosi in alot of Republican commercials she hadallbuthornsonherhead,asascarySanFrancisco liberal and then she disap-

peared for the last couple weeks. Andthen she’s talking in moderation now.You’veworkedwiththisperson,whatdoyouthink?

CongressmanWolf:Well,IknowNancyPelosi, I know Nancy very, very well.ActuallyIhavealargenumberofquotesthat Nancy Pelosi said very positivethings about me. We’re actually goodfriends,we’veworkedtogetheroverthewhole years on human rights in Chinaand different things. I think the wholecampaignthoughgotsonegative.Imeanmyopponentranvery,verynegativeadsandputtingpicturesofPresidentBushupandmisstatingandmisquoting. I thinktheAmericanpeoplegottothepoint--Igot to thepoint thatwatchingtheseadsjustmadeyou sick. Imean, Ihaveal-waysrunmycampaignbasedonwhatIhavedoneandhowIhavedone it. Byworking, whether it be for cleaning upAvtexorwhateverthecasemaybeinmycongressionaldistrict.AlsobringingRe-publicansandDemocratstogetherjusttosolveproblems.Thiswholeattack,con-demn,divide,comebackattackagain;Imeanalltheadsagainstmewereallneg-ative. Well my goodness, can’t peopletalkaboutwhatthey’refor?Can’ttheyexplain what their goals, then you candisagree, butyouknow thegolden rulesays do unto others as you would havethemdountoyou.Itdoesn’tsaytoattacksomebody ifyoucan takeadvantageofthem.So I think thewhole toneof thiscampaigninmydistrict,Imean,myop-ponenthadnothinggoodtosayaboutmeatall.Nothing.

DanMcDermott:Ithink,tosomedegreeyou’reavictimofyoursuccessbecauseyou’vedonesowellandyoutendtohaveprettywidemarginsofvictory.I’vebeenwatching you since Millikan in ’88 or’90and,youknow,thebiggestthingI’veheard, even from folks who don’t haveanyideahowyouvoteisconstituentser-vice,youknowCongressmanWolfdoesagoodjobofthatandyou’veobviouslybeenpopularinthedistrict.

CongressmanWolf:Wellwe’veworkedhard. I’ve a good staff and you knowmy best friend in congress is a Demo-craticmemberofcongress. Imeanlastnight at the victory party a Democraticmember, a formermember cameout tobewithmetocelebrate.SoImean,youcanhavedifferenceson issues,butyoudon’thavetoattackandkindofdivide.Secondly,Ihavearecordofhonestyandintegrity. I send out my entire voting

Wolf(frompg.7)

Congressman Wolf held a press conference on March 15 announcing the creation on an Iraq Study Group which evolved from his idea of “Fresh Eyes On Target”. Pictured with Congressman Wolf at the press conference, from left to right: Senator Christopher Bond (MO), Senator John Warner (VA), Congressman Tom Davis (VA 11th), Congressman Christopher Shays (CT-4th), former Secre-tary of State James A. Baker III, and former Congressman Lee Hamilton (IN-9th), co-chair of the 9/11 Commission. Courtesy photo


FrontRoyalPoliceDepartmentReportChiefRonaldA.Williamson

COMPLAINTS RECEIVED BY Oct 05 Oct 06Patrol 975 1037Criminal Investigation Division 1 0Dispatch 39 26Traffic Stops 722 Types of Complaints Oct 05 Oct 06 Reports 331 303 Calls for Service 684 760

EMERGENCY VEHICLE KEY ASSIST 2 5

EMERGENCY COMPLAINTS 35 61

NON-EMERGENCY COMPLAINTS 980 1002

TELEPHONE CALLS INTO DISPATCH 4357 4300

CALLS RECEIVED VIA 911 146 121

PROPERTY CHECKS 4 4

ALARMS 50 20

COMMUNITY POLICING PROBLEMS IDENTIFIED 47 65

ZONING COMPLAINTS 12 9

VOLUNTEERS IN POLICE SERVICES (VIPS) HOURS 146.5 266 Volunteers 89.75 184.75 Coordinator 56.75 81.25

TRAFFIC ARREST SUMMARY Oct 05 Oct 06 Adults 143 224 Juveniles 14 19 DWI 8 18 Speeding 79 152 Parking Tickets/Notice of Violations 113 87

CRIMINAL ARRESTS/ADULTS: Oct 05 Oct 06 Felony 14 10 Misdemeanor 77 62 Zoning 1 0

*Note these totals are for the month of October 2005/2006 and are in no way indicative of annual increases or decreases.

record fromevervote that I castor it’sonthewebandyoumentionedJohnMil-likin,Imean,JohnMillikinwrotemeacongratulatorynotetheotherday.IgotanawardforhelpingoutwithregardstoDullesAirport.AllthepeoplethatIrunagainstortheyrunagainstme,weusedtogoonandbecomefriends,itwasnot

-- this year it was just -- I don’t know.Imean,youcouldseeitifyouwatchedtheads.ImeannationwideIthinkitjustbecamesoviciousandyouknowunderthelawyoucansaywhateveryouwanttosayabutsomeoneevenifitisn’ttrue.Because under the FCC laws once youget in the arena, if you will, there’s nowaytostopit.Soyoucansayanythingaboutanybodyanditdoesn’thavetobetrue.

DanMcDermott:Oneofthe--

CongressmanWolf:Ofcoursethemon-ey that came inthis district fromoutside, most ofmy money wasraisedfrompeoplethatliveinWarrenCounty, Frederickand Winchesterand Fairfax andLoudoun. Myopponent’smoney,most of it, I think80 some percentcame in fromout-side, not only thedistrict, not onlythestate,butfrom

California, Massachusetts and placeslikethat.ButoverallIthinktheAmeri-can people want to say to both parties,comeon,knockitoff.Cutitout.Telluswhatyou’refor,butlet’sbringthecoun-trytogether.AndIthinkthat’sprobablygoingtobethebigissue. Sohopefullythe Republicans will use this as an op-

portunitytoparticipatetomakesurethatwe govern appropriately, have a recordof honesty and integrity, are very, veryopen,passverytough,verygoodethicsbillandtrytobringthecountrytogethersowecandealwiththiswholeissueofterrorism.

Dan McDermott: Congressman FrankWolf,oneoftheniceguysinpolitics.Weappreciateitontheheelsofabigvictoryforhiminyesterday’selections.Thankyouverymuchforbeingwithus.

CongressmanWolf:Thankyou.

Congressman Wolf, Marine Lance Cpl. Travis McNutt of Tennessee and young Iraqi boy in Al Kut. Courtesy photo.

Page �0 Warren County Report Late Nov. �006

Page �1Warren County ReportLate Nov. �006

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years and what are some of the issueswhen you say an agent of change thatyou’redescribing?

Michael Graham: Well, it’s a couplethings.OnethingisjustwonderfulaboutFrontRoyal,which Igrewup in, like IsaidIhaven’tbeenbackforalongtime;isthefactthatthenaturalbeautyandyouknowthebeautyofthemountainsandthetworivers,itputsitinaveryuniquesitu-ationbecausethosearebordersthatkindofrestrictusinourabilitytogrow.Theotherchallengethatwehaveisweonlyhavereallytwoavenuestocomeintothetown which is somewhat restricted inmanyways.Soit’sverycriticalthatwebeverycautiousandreallythinkoutandplanoutandbewellplannedoutonhowwe want to handle growth, because weknow it’s coming. We know that rightnowthat,youknow,asthebabyboomersmoveintoretirementthatFrontRoyalispositioneduniquelyinthestatetoattractalotofthesebabyboomersthatwanttogetouttothequieter,peaceful,lowerpaceoflifeandthat’safloodofus.Imean,I’moneofthebackendofthebabyboomers,Iknow,becausethat’soneofthereasonswhy I’m here is because of the naturalbeautyandpacethatFrontRoyaloffers.Sowe’llhave tobeveryprudent,we’llhave tobeverycarefulandwewant tomanagegrowth.Wewanttoprotectthequalityof life,wewant tokeep it safe.One of the guys askedme at the tour-ism,hesays,“HowwouldyoudescribeFrontRoyal”?Isaid,“Reallyit’skindoflikeblendingthebestofthefuturewiththebestofthepast.”So,thatwasreallypickedupkindofataglinethatIthinkaboutnowastakingwhat’sinstoreforusfutureandblendingitwiththebestofthepastandprotectingthat.

DanMcDermott:Now,thisisyourfirstgovernmentjob,right?

Michael Graham: Yeah, I don’t thinkofitasagovernmentjob.WhatIthinkof it is a challenge that I thinkgovern-ment jobs from the municipal level isvery similar to business. The uniquething about Front Royal is they havewhat’s called enterprises and these areenterprisebusinesswhichstandontheirown.Youknow,oneiselectrictheotherisyourwaterandsewerandyourrefuge.Sotheseareindependentbusinessesrunby thecitywhichgenerates,youknow,aproduct and thatproducthas tobeofhighqualityand ithas tobe somethingthatourcitizensgettheirmoniesworth.

Soontopof thatI thinkamunicipalityisverymuchlikeabusinessandshouldbeabletokindofberununderthesameguidelines.

Dan McDermott: Now, your positionsupervisestheheadsofalltheotherde-partments. I think it was described astheTownCouncilhas--theonlypeoplethatactuallyreporttotheCouncilaretheTownManagerandtheClerkofCouncilandtheneveryoneelseisundertheTownManager.

MichaelGraham:Well,youhavetheat-torney.

DanMcDermott: TheTownAttorney,ofcourse.

MichaelGraham:Yeah,yeah.

DanMcDermott:Okay.Sothisisprob-ably a pretty interesting jobbecause somany different facets of the town, youknow,likepublicworks,yougotthepo-lice department and all these differentthings that you’re kind of reporting toCouncilon?

Michael Graham: Well, it’s no differ-ent;mypreviouslifehadbeentoeitherturning around companies, changingcultures, taking companies that were introuble,youknowrebuildingtheculture,returningtheprofitability.I’vedonethat,you know, about three or four times inmycareerandImanagedanywherefrom$5millioncompaniesto$1billioncom-panieswithmultiplelocations,15or20different locations. So I find that anyplaceIgoit’sprettymuchthesame,youknow,peoplemake thebusiness. IcanhavebadqualityofequipmentbutgreatpeopleandItellyouwhatIwilltakethatalldayovernewequipmentandpoorat-titudes.Sothat’skindofwhereweare.Whatmakesitreallyexcitingisthefactthat I have run multiple different busi-nesseswithinabusinessandIgottotellyou, I am absolutely intrigued. We alltake, I know I take for granted all thetime that you know if you look at cus-tomerserviceandthequalityofservice;every morning I get up and my alarmgoes off I never think that there’s noelectricity’snotgoingtodrivethat.AndImustsaywhenIlookedattherecordshere it was almost 365 day record thatelectricitywasprovidedtothecitizensofthis town consistently. That’s 100 per-centdelivery.

DanMcDermott:Notinthecounty,let

metellyou.

MichaelGraham:Wellcounty--

DanMcDermott:Iknow,becauseIseePFonthemicrowavemoreoftenthanIlike.

MichaelGraham:Ican’tmakeanycom-ments on the county, I don’t know toomuch about themyet. But primarily ifyoulookatelectricandthenwhenIusu-allygetupIwalktothekitchen,Iturnonthis littlefaucetandIgetmeaglassofwater. I thinkthere’sbeenprettymuchnon-disruptive service to the 99 to 100percentlevel.Thenofcourseyougototheotherroomafteryougetyourdrinkofwaterandyouflushandnormallyyouhaveverygoodserviceonthat.Sothesearethreebasicthingsthathappenaroundusthatwetakeforgranted.OnceIgotinto it Ifind it extremely intriguing thequality standards of the water that thestatemakessurethatwehave,thequal-ityofthewatergoingouttheotherendisvery,verytechnicalandvery,veryre-strictedandwehavetohavethebestofequipmentthere.Andeventheelectric-ity,Imeanwhenthesnowcomesinandknocks a line, you know our crews getout there very quickly and I think thatservice isgreat. So theseareall enter-prises that Inever thoughtaboutuntil Igot involved with it. But there’s someexcitingthingsthatwecouldtalkaboutalittlelaterdownthelineofwhatwecandotoimprovethoseservices.

DanMcDermott: Okay. Iwant to askyou, we’re going to talk about changeandallthatstuff. Arethetownandthecountygoing tocometosomecompro-miseonwater?I’lldescribeit likethisand you correct me if I’m wrong; thetown’sviewis, ifyou’regoing tobuildadevelopmentinthecountythenwe’regoing tohave to supplywater to it andif we’re going to do that then the nextthey’regoing towant trash, they’rego-ing towantall theseother servicesandwe want to have that development in-corporated into the townifwe’regoingto provide services for it. We want tobe apart of theprocess from thebegin-ning.Thecountyissayingthat’scrazy,you’retryingtoaffectgrowthorcontrolgrowthorpreventgrowth in thecountywhichisoutsidethetownlimits.They’relookingattryingtogetwatersomewhereelseandthisseemskindoflikeweneeda compromise, because it seems crazyfor these twoentities tobefighting. Ifthere’swaterinFrontRoyalitwouldbe

insaneforthemtogoelsewheretogetitandspendallthisextramoney.Whatareyourthoughtsonthis?

MichaelGraham:Well,Imean,IthinkI’m going to probably not talk about itin too much detail because our Mayor,whichiscomeoutwiththewaterpolicyisgoingtohaveatownmeetingIthinkprobablyThursday of this week to talkabout that issue. We think we have apretty well thought out policy and he’sgoingtogointoalotmoredetailaboutexactly what you just asked. We wanttoworkwiththecountyofcourse.Frommystandpoint,becauseI’mmoreofanoperator,tacticalimplementor,isthatwehave to talk about whatever they do Ihavetohaveenoughtimetobuildagoodfoundation tobeable tohandle it. Thelastthingwewanttodoisgettoomuchgrowthinhereandwedon’thavethein-frastructuretobeabletosupportit. SoI’mmoreconcernedabouttheactualtac-ticaland the implementationandbuild-ingthefoundationtohandlethatgrowth.I’lllettheMayorandtheCouncildebatewith the Board of Supervisors on whatthepolicy is. Iwill say this; it is veryexpensivetogetintothewaterbusinessand sewer business. Very, very expen-sivetryingtobuildplantsandbeingabletosupportthatkindofgrowth,sojustgottohavealotofmoneytodoit.

Dan McDermott: Well it’s interestingbecause both view points are valid andlegitimate. I mean, they both have apointsoit’sgoingtobeinterestingtoseehow that happens. You said you havesomeideas--

MichaelGraham:Oh,yeah.

DanMcDermott:--forchangestocopeforthefuture.Let’sgetintothatalittlebit.

Michael Graham: Well, probably acoupleofdaysago,maybelastweekendbefore last, the USA Today had a veryinterestingarticleaboutwherewe’rego-ingtolive.Whatthey’reexpectingisthepopulationoftheUnitedStatesincreasedby100millionpeople,andtheysaidwhatwe going to do with them. There wasthreemainthingsthatwasveryinterest-ing I found about it. Had the concernwiththechangeandtheattitudeofwhatpeople want and what they see qualityof life is all about. And they basicallysaidthatcheapenergy,andcheaplandisgettingscarce.Youknow,wheretheold

Graham(frompg.7)

Graham,Pg.23

Page ��Warren County ReportLate Nov. �006

daysyougooutandbuy10or15acresorwhateverandyouhavecheappower,thosedaysaregone,especiallyaswetryto absorb these100millionpeople thatareeithercomingorbeingbornorwhat-ever it is. More importantly is that thelifespanofusboomersaregoingtobealotfurtherthaniseverhasbeeninthehistory of the United States. So we’relivinglonger,we’rehealthier,andwe’redemanding so we’re not leaving; we’rekindofhangingaroundforawhile. So with this we have an atti-tude or an idea what we like life to belike and actually it’s almost describing

FrontRoyalinaveryscenicplacewherethere’s a lot of walking trails and biketrails where you can walk down. Youdon’thave toget in trafficallday longand maybe you never even have to getin the car. You can walk down to thegrocerystoreorjustwalkdowntownandshopordowhatever it is. Sowhatwefindisthosearethethingsthatweknowiscomingandsincewelivesoclose toWashingtonIthinkwehavetogetreadyforit,becausewedonotwanttogetina place where we turn into, you know,wall to wall traffic. That’s why I leftAtlanta. We lived ina little town rightoutsideAtlanta called Roswell. I livedon the two lane highway and 15 yearsnowpassed,nowit’sasixlanehighwaywithallsortsofdevelopmentsdownthesideandittakesme45minutesjusttogoacrosstown.Wedon’tlikethatanymore.Ilikebeingabletohearthechurchbellsthroughoutthetown.Ilikebeingableto

walktoworkandIthinkalotofpeoplearelookingforthattypeofenvironment. Now,thatkindofgivesyouaninsightonwhat’sgoingonandwhatpeo-plegoingtobeexpecting.Asfaraswhatwe’regoingtobedoinginthetownthereare exciting things likeourwater treat-mentplant.There’snewtechnologyoutthererightnowwhereit’scheaper,fasterandbetternowtobuildnaturalmarshesaroundyourwastewatertreatmentplantsnow and let the natural environmentclearout a lot of the impurities that gobackintotherivers.Chicagohasoneofthemostmodernonesoutthere.RightinthemiddleofChicagothey’vedonethat

and really they found tobemuchmoreefficientthenbuildingmulti-milliondol-larplants.

Dan McDermott: I think that’s whathappenedwiththisguyinHarrisonburg,thechickenwasteprocessingplant. Hewantedtoput it inmarshesorspreaditoutover the landand theywouldn’t lethimsohewaspumpingall thisstuff intheriver,whichhedidn’twanttodo.

MichaelGraham:Right.

Dan McDermott: But that’s what thegovernment toldhimtodobut itwasaviolation of government quotas so likethere’sthisbigthing.Itjustseemslikealotofredtapethewaspreventinghimfrom doing something pretty common-sensical. You’ve got to do somethingwithit.

MichaelGraham:Sure.WelllikeIsaiddowninNewOrleanswasnowdoingitbecauseeverythingwasdestroyeddownthere, Chicago, you got some places inFlorida already started doing this. TheEverglades is really one big scrubberanyway and that’s disappearing. Theyrealized that when waste water comesoff the land there the Everglades reallypurified it before it go to the ocean, sotheykindoftookthatideaandsaidwhathappensifwestartbuildingthemaroundourwaste treatment centers? There’s alotofexcitingthings,we’rebuildingouraddition on our water treatment plant,

youknow.Thegovernmentregulationsonthatareevengettingstricternowbe-cause another new thing that’s comingout is theamountofdrugs thatwetakein the United States, believe it or not,you’refilteringbackintothewater. Sonowwe’relookingatwaystobeabletohavenewfiltersontherethatwillkindofscreenoutsomeofthatnewtypepollut-antwhichwe’rejustlearningmoreabout.Someother things,you’reelectricalen-ergy.Imean,weallknowthatelectric-ityandpowerhasgoneuptremendouslyoverthelastyearsanditmightleveloutbut I very seldom see energy decreasethatmuch.Whatwe’relookingat,there’sa new thing that the State ofVirginia’spushingrightnowcalledgreenenergyinwhichwewilllookatburningrefugeandsludgetogeneratepowertotierightintoourpowergrid. So theCouncil’s beenwise enough to look into those type ofthingsalsoandwe’relookingforfuturenow of how we can be able to provide

thecitizensofFrontRoyalsomelowcostenergysources.

DanMcDermott: Iguessthere’sanewtrashpolicyorthat’sintheworkswhereyou’re going to have to bag everythingup and they’re going to fine you afterthreewarnings.Wehadathingwhereitdidn’tmakesensetotakelikea12packofPepsiholderthatbiodegradesinafewmonths and put it into a bag that takesyears to biodegrade. What’s the ratio-nale for that, it seems like you’re justaddingmorestuffintothelandfillbytak-inglargeitemsandforcingyoutoputitinabaginsideatrashcan.

MichaelGraham:Well,youknow,that’sprobablyoneofthemostinterestingde-bates that I’ve seen happen since I’vebeen inFrontRoyal about this. I havetwo filters; everything goes throughthesetwofiltersformetomoveforward.Numberone,doesitimprovetheservicetothecitizensofthecommunity?Num-ber two, is it cost effective and have aRLIrateofreturnonit?SothosearethetwofiltersbeforeImoveforwardonany-thing.Ithinktheoriginaltrashprogrammade a lot of sense from the improvedservice to the community because in-stead of just having two times of year,youknow,wereallyallowedthecitizenstodoitanytimetheywant.Sonowyoudon’thavewaituntiltheendoftheyearorwhenever it is, you can actually callanytime. What that did to our abilitytopick itup, it reallyhelpedus fromaRLI return because you know now wecan have our regular crews do it on anongoingbasis,kindofspreads itout. IknowIcameinbeforeIevenconsideredthis job, I came in and visited my dadthis year, trash day in March and whatwashappeningisitwasallovertheplacebecauseyou just couldn’tkeepupwiththepaceoftheamountthatwasoutthereanditreallydetractedfromthecommu-nityifyouwerejustlikeridingthroughandseewhatwasgoingon.Alsoittaxedourcrewsbeingabletodoitbecausewehadtopulloffourstreetcrewsandyouknow around March what happens youhavepotholes. Sowejust felt that thatgaveabetterservicetothecitizensofthecommunitybeingabletohavethisabil-itytodoitanytime.

DanMcDermott:Okay.AndIremem-berthefunnyquotefromthatwasIthinkEileneGradysaid,“Okay,soletmegetthisright,youcanfillyourentirelawnupandit’s25bucks?”Thankyousomuch,MichaelGraham.

Graham(frompg.22)

J. Michael Graham was interviewed on The Valley Today, aired live weekdays at 12:30 pm on WZRV 95.3 FM and WFTR 1450 AM. WCR photo by Dan McDermott


AndwhilethatRenaissanceartistismorenotedforhisworkonotherlessthantra-ditional canvasses, such as the roof ofRome’sSistineChapel,asharedartisticintuition has led others like Torres andWalker to the human body as the can-vassofpreferencefor theirownartisticimpulse.OrasVictorian-erawriterOscar

Wildeputit,“Onemustbeaworkofart,orwearaworkofart.”In high school, Torres did art for theyearbook, including cartoon characters,aswellasdesigningartforT-shirtsandotherapparel,whileatthesametimeex-pandinghisknowledgeoftattooing.“Itooktherouteofteachingmyselfandstarted from making my own machinetowhere I am today,”he said,pointingto the equipment he and Walker haveat their disposal. The improvement inthe technologyof tattooinghas led toacleaner,more lastingand less traumaticproduct,Torressays.“These machines are designed to dropin at a certain level andas longasyoustaywithinthatlevelthere’snoreasontoscarorcreatedamagetotheskin.So,thetattoowillalwaysremainvibrantfortherest of your life – and that is the maingoal.”Since pursuing his artistic passionthrougheight statesover13years,Tor-resfeelshehasdevelopedastablehomebase in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley.“I’vebeenhereforsixyearsandthere’snogettingmeout–unless they tellme

Tattoo,Pg.26

Tattoo(frompg.11) to–otherwiseI’mhere,”hesaysofhisFront Royal home base. “But travelingisoneofthethingswedo,wegototat-tooconventionsandIliketoinviteprettymuch anybody and everybody, just sotheycanseewhatatattooconventionislike – people buy magazines that showitbuttheyhaveneverphysicallyseenatattooconvention.I’dliketohaveoneinthistownandI’dalsoliketohaveanart

showinthistown,soeveryonecouldex-periencewhat I’veexperienced throughmytattooyears.”If Torres developed a reputation as aself-starter and passionate advocate ofbodyartasayoungman,the20-year-oldWalkerisfollowingsuit.“I started learning about it when I was15, but I started tattooing when I was17,”Walker,whohasworkedinTorres’studio for about 10 months, says. LikeTorres,Walker’sinterestintattooingandartdevelopedsidebyside.“I tookart classes through school, thenIgotmyfirsttattooandfellinlovewithit – it’s awesome art, it’s forever art,”Walkersaysoftheformhe,likehisboss,embracedearlyinlife.Andwhileatattoomaybeforever–withoutarathermorepainful removal process – Walker alsopointstotheabilityahumancanvasshastoconstantlyexpandonthethemesaper-sonhaschosentoexpressthroughbodyart.“Itcangoonforever,youcanchangethemforever,”Walkersays.HisobservationisechoedinaUniversityof Pennsylvania website on tattooing,

whichnotesthatforsomereceivingtat-toosinAmericanow,asithasbeenovercenturies in other cultures around theworld, “tattooing can be a process thattakesyears,andthetattoos,whichcovermostoftheirbody,becomeakindofliv-ing‘workinprogress’orrecordoftheirlife.”

Timeless art

“Ithinkit’sacceptedmoreasafreedomofexpression,”Torressaysofcontempo-rary tattooing inAmerica. “It’s not like10yearsagoorevenfiveyearsagowhenyouhadtohideeverytattooyougotfromeithermom,dadortheworkplace.Nowtheworldhasacceptedandrealizedthattattooing is a form of art, and just likeanythingelseittakestimeforittogrow.Butonceitgrewthepopulationrealizedthattattooingismorethanforjustbikersandoutlaws,it’sforeveryonenowadays.Ifyoudon’thaveone,you’renotpartofaclique,sotospeak.”Cliquesmarkedbybodyartdate to theoldestknowncivilizationon theplanet,ancient Egypt. In cultures around theworld,tattooinghasbeenamarkofno-

bility, or special membership of somekind.ThewordtattooitselfisofPolyne-sianorigin,relatedtotheTahitianwordtatauandtheMarquesanwordta-tu.“In all ages, far back into prehistory,wefindhumanbeingshavepaintedandadorned themselves,” visionary authorH.G.Wellspointedout.“Tattooing’s been around as long aspeoplehavebeenaround,”Walkersays,echoing Well’s observation of over acenturyago.“It’salwaysbeenapartofcertainculturesbutnowthecolor’sgot-ten better, the artists have gotten betterandthat’sonereasonIthinkmorepeoplegetthem–beforetheyweren’tassharplooking.Itusedtobethatwomendidn’tget tattoos and now it’s more womenthan men, at least it seems that way tome,”Walkerobservesofthefairersex’sgrowing attraction to the tattoo as self-expression.“Our job is to bring out the vision thatpeople are looking for,” Torres says,“andwetrytocreatethatimageandthatvision so they can always look in themirrorandremain impressedwithwhattheyhave.Theymaynotbeabletodraw

There’s more than initially meets the eye on William Rowlee’s back art done by Luis Torres - a dragon from one perspective, a mysterious face when viewed upside down. WCR photo by Roger Bianchini


Del. Clifford L. “Clay” Athey, Jr.18th District House of Delegates

Serving Fauquier, Frederick, and Warren County

Stacey & I thank you for the opportunity to serve.

If I can be of any help, please contact me at (540) 635-7917, in Richmond at: (804) 698-1018, by E-Mail at: [email protected], or by mail at: PO Box 406, Room 510 Richmond, VA 23218

ByPHILIPSWANSON

It has been another dismal month forRedskins fans. October was not espe-cially kind to the Redskin faithful, butNovemberstartedout tobewhatmightas well have been the Super Bowl inWashington.Whiletheincreasinglyfrag-ileplayoffhopesfaded intoacomatosepipedream,thefirstSundayinNovem-berbroughtthebiggestremaininggameoftheSkinsallbutlostseason.AfterthedrubbingtheSkinstookinBigDinSep-tember, Dallas came to town hoping toruinthebeautifulweatherbybeatinguponWashington one more time – not inourhouse!TheRedskins,thistimewithhelp from their defense and that oh-so-specialteamsplayatthegun,beatDallastoeven the scorebetween the two, sal-vagingsomeaspectoftheseason.Thatsaid,onethingthathasme,aswellas legionsofotherRedskin football fa-natics, concerned is that Mark Brunellhasplayedjustwellenough–atleastinthe coaching staff’smind– tokeephisstartingjobanotherweek,thusdelayingthe development and appraisal of whatmosttaketobetheSkinsquarterbackingfuture – Jason Campbell. That was thecaseagainwhenBrunellledtheoffense

intoPhillyonSunday.Butitdidn’ttakelongforthewellrestedandrejuvenatedEagles to start beating up the Redskinsearly.TheEaglesjumpedouttoanearly10-0 lead on the back of an 84-yd TDpass from Donovan McNabb to DonteStallworth. The Skins had an earlyopportunity to score but kicker NickNovak’s leg just doesn’t have enoughfor those longer-range field goals. Hemisseda48-yardattempt,albeit inhor-rific weather conditions. Not that theweatherisanexcusemindyouheisonly3for7ontheyearandhislongestisthe47-yardgamewinneragainst…yupyouguessed it DALLAS – thanks for thatone,Nick. TheSkinsdidget threeoutoftheladbeforethehalfendedinPhilly,though just a 32-yarder.That would betheonlyscoringtheRedskinswoulddo,unless you count Mark Brunell’s 70-yardinterceptionthatwentforanEagletouchdown.TherewereveryfewbrightspotsfortheHallofFamecoachandhisseeminglyall-starcastofcharacters.Thetruth is the Skins owner Daniel Snydertriedtobuyachampionshipandthat,asIhavesaidbefore,isnothowyoudoit.Ihatetoonlywritethenegativeaboutthisyear’ssquad,sobeforeIdoIwilltrytoshedsomelight.Firstofall,itcan’tget

anyworse and if it cangodhelp them.Butatleastafterthispastweek’sperfor-mancebyBrunellmaybe theonceverysuccessfulHallofFamecoachwillrec-ognizethatthisveteranQBneedstoac-cept a teaching spot and let number 17takethereins.Iamnotsayingthat it isan instant cure or answer for success.However,Ithinkhehaslearnedwhathecanbywatching– in factwatching theBrunell-led offense much longer mayhaveanegativeimpactonhistransitionintotheNFLgame.IsGibbswaitingforhim to become a veteran before lettinghimplay?Itbogglesthemindtotryandunderstandwhatisgoingon.Thesecondreason for putting in the young guy isthatatleasttheoffensewillstarttomesharound him, and they’ll have longer todoit.Nowtothenegativesideofthings:sinceourlastissuetheRedskinshavegone1-2 and scored 47 points. They have al-lowed82points.Theyhavefailedmiser-ablythisseasonattakingawaytheball.Washingtonhasaveragedovertheyearsaround25-30takeawaysperseason.Thisseason through nine games they havefivetotaltakeaways.Thatshouldsickenany football fan let alone a Redskinsfanwhowatchedthedefensepropeltheteamintotheplayoffslastseason.Theirkicker(s)can’tkickwithanyconsistency

Football ordistance,theirquarterbackbelongsintheNFLretirementhome,andthelargesthumblepieeverservedisbeingeatenbyone of the most all star coaching staffsin the league.And just to add insult toinjuryClintonPortisbrokehisrighthand–whenitrains,itpours,doesn’tit?Thebrightersideofthatiswehavetworeallygoodbackups tocarry the load. LadellBetts and T.J. Duckett, who are estab-lishedrunningbacksanddidwellyester-dayinrelief.Ihavesaiditallseasonlong–theWash-ingtonRedskinsneedachange.Iamnotsureifitisjustatquarterbackor–pleaseforgivemeforeven thinkingit–butatthecoachinghelmaswell?Isthisseasonsomesortofsciencefictionaberrationorhas theoldHallofFamecoachandhissuperstafflosttheiredgeorperspectiveorwhatever,afterlastyear’splayoffrun?I,likeotherSkinfans,wanttowakeupfrom this nightmare, we want answersandwewantsolutions–ANDwewantthemsoonerthannextyear!

The Skins schedule over the next twoweeks

11/19@TampaBay11/26 Carolina – they better win thatone,it’smybirthdayandI’llbethere


but theycansay,‘That’sexactlywhatIwanted.’“We also recommend that people bringusviewsandvisionsofwhattheywant.We break on their vision, lay it out on

paper,theyviewitacoupletimes,wesetitupsotheyseewhat’sgoingtohappen,howtheimageisbrokendownandwegofromthere.”“Whenyougotoashoptomeetanart-istandyou’re looking togetwork,youhavetodeveloparelationshipwiththatartistsothatyourdream,youridea,yourimagination can come out through thatrelationship,” friend and co-workerT.J.Johnsonsays.

Sense of self, sense of place

Thepersonalinspirationforatattoocancome fromanywhere– from inside themind’s eye or from an object in natureortheworldthatismeaningfultothein-dividual,Torres,hisstaffandcustomerspoint out.And while the individualisticaspect of body art is of undeniable im-portance, particularly as it has risen inpopularityintheWest,sotraditionallyisthesocialelement.“For centuries in cultures around theworldithasbeenatribalwayofshowingmaturityandthepowerofchiefsandoth-erimportantpeopleinthegroup,”John-son notes. “When the females maturedandwerereadytomarrytheywouldgetfacial tattoos and body tattoos. So, tat-tooing throughout whole cultures andwith man in general has always been asign or way of showing where you be-longinthegroup.

“And ina shop likeours,orany legiti-mate shopyou’re able togo in andgetwhatyouwantatwill,it’salmostthera-peutic for a lot of people, I think, likeTroy’stattoos–hiswholetophalfisgo-ingtobejunglearrangements,thatsingle

theme.”With very little prompting, shop cus-tomer Troy Williams displayed thetheme Johnson spokeof. “It’s all abouttheanimalswithme,”Williamssaysoftheinspirationforhisevolvingcanvass.“Otherpeoplelikeskullsandcrossbonesor dragons but when I was growing upmy bedroom was always done in wild-life,Africansafaris,tropicalrainforests.“ButmyfirsttattooIgotwhenIwas18wasaskullwithwings,whichisnowun-derneath thegorilla. Icovered itupbe-cause Ididn’t like itanymoreandoncewedidthatwestartedgoingwiththeani-maltheme.I’llbringMichaelapicture,liketheoneoflions,Ibroughtittohimandhedidtherest.Hesaid,‘Youwanttodoitthisway?’andIjusttoldhimtogowithitanditturnedoutexcellent,samewaywith the leopards. Ibroughthimapicture of a momma leopard and twolittleleopardsandhedidtherest,thetreeandalltherestwerehisadd-ons.“You’ve got to trust the person – afterall,they’vegotaneedleandinkandareworkingonyou.Oncehedidthefirstoneon me, we became friends,” Williamssaid of his relationship with his tattooartist.“IknewLuiswhenhefirstcamearound,we always talked and had a good rela-tionship,” another customer, WilliamRowlee,saidofTorres.“AndwhenLuisstarted painting tattoos real hard then

Tattoo(frompg.24) formethatwasjustthemantosee,theonlymantosee.Idon’treally trust toomanypeopleandlikeTroysaid,they’vegotaneedleandit’shittingyouquiteafewtimes.I’veonlyhadoneothertattoodone by another person,” Rowlee said,indicatingoneonhisarm.“Andthatonehurt worse than Luis doing almost myentire back. He’s real light handed andhedoesrealgoodwork.”KatieAllenagreesabouttheimportanceof the relationship between the personseekinga tattooand theirartist.“Ikindofalwayswantedoneandmyfirsttattooisanauticalstar,it’salwaysbeenasym-bolformethatIjustloved.Andhedrewitupanddid it andhewasmakingmelaughthewholetimeanditwasn’tatrau-maticexperienceatall,”AllensaidofherfirsttattoodonebyWalker.“Mysecondtattoo,IcameinandshowedhimanotherdesignIlikedandsaidIwantsomethinglike this but not this exact one. So, headdedhisownviewonwhathethoughtwouldlookgoodandIlovethemboth.”

First decision, final decisions

A polling of staff and clientele at theCoolandSelectiveTattooandArtStudiozeroedinon18asaminimumviableagetoacquireafirsttattoo.Andallreiteratedthatthemotivationshouldbemoreinter-nal, than simply keeping up with whatone’speersaredoing.Torresnoted that

parental consent is legally required forchildren 16 and under, “Because any-thing younger, they really don’t have atruegrounding tounderstandwhat theyaredoing.”The 42-year-old Williams agreed, not-ing his own experience at 18 when heacquiredhiswingedskulltofitinwithapeergrouphelateroutgrew.“AtthetimeIhadtohavethatskullwithwings–15yearslaterIcovereditupwithsomethingthatcamefrominsideme.”“Ihave tattoos thatarealmost15yearsoldandI’mstillshowingthemoff,”Tor-resadds.“Andweallsitaroundshowingoffour tattoos, lookingatwhatspecificstylesareout,whatdifferentcolortonesyou used for certain things. It’s a bigworld,”Torres saysof the tattoo indus-try.“It’sgrownsofastinthelast10yearsthatit’shardtokeepupwith.“ButIhonestlythinkthatifyou’regoingto get tattooed, make it about who youare,notwhatyouwant–doesthatmakesense?–Becauseit’salifechoice,”Tor-ressays.“Idoitona lotofsoul,whenI touch the skin and when I touch thethought, it starts. It’s not a matter of,yea,thisisanotherpicture,I’lltakeitforgranted,layitdownandnotworryaboutit when they leave here. It’s more thanthat.”AdditionalinformationonTorres’studiomay be accessed at www.coolandselec-tivetattoos.com

Cool and Selective Tattoo Parlor proprietor Luis Torres came across this tattoo of a fireman saving a child at one of the many tattoo conventions he attends. The dramatic portrayal illustrates the concept of tattoo art as life chronicle, this one perhaps memori-alizing a firefighter lost on 9/11 in NYC. WCR photo by Roger Bianchini

Outside the Cool and Selective Tattoo and Art Studio, from left, are tattoo artist Michael Walker, William Rowlee, T.J. Johnson, Donna and Luis Torres and Troy Williams.WCR photo by Roger Bianchini


Harry Joseph “Joe” Dodson

Harry Joseph “Joe” Dodson, 59, ofFront Royal died Monday, September18,2006atWarrenMemorialHospital. AfuneralservicewasheldonThurs-day,September21,2006at2:00p.m.atDynamicLifePraiseandWorshipCenterat 1600 John Marshall Highway, FrontRoyal, conducted by Pastor CarltonRogers and Rev. Teresa Sharp. Burialfollowed at Bennett’s Chapel Cemeterywith military honors conducted by theU.S. Army and Winchester VFW Post2123. Mr. Dodson was born February 7,1947 in Page County son of the lateJohnThomas“Tom”DodsonandSarahFrances Deavers Dodson. He was a U.S.Armyveteran andwas apainter andelectrician with Giles Henry, Jr. He at-tended Dynamic Life Praise and Wor-shipCenterandwasaformermemberofCalvaryDeliveranceMinistriesandNewCovenantChurch. Surviving are his wife of 32 yearsBarbara Foley Dodson of Front Royal;twodaughtersJoyceBlevinsandDawnDodson both of FrontRoyal; five step-children Douglas Blair of California,Sarah Smith , Brenda Smoot, LindaWhitmer,andThomasJonesallofFrontRoyal; four sisters Emma Jean BooneandMary“Pootsie”BakerbothofFrontRoyal,BettyAnnChamberlainofHay-marketandEvelynMaeGainesofCul-peper; fourbrothersJohnWilliam“Bil-ly”Dodson,Sr.ofMiddletown,CharlesThomas“Buck”DodsonofLuray,Roger

ObituariesLeeDodsonandGalenVance“Bimbo”Dodson both of North Carolina; twograndchildren Miranda Blevins andAprilDodson.HewasprecededindeathbytwosistersLouiseFaye”Sissy”JonesandNannieGeneva“Pud”Dodson. Pallbearers were Gary Smoot, Vin-centBurke,Jr.,CarltonHarper,EdwardLawson, Donald Lawson, and DanielLawson. Honorary pallbearers were ThomasJones, Hollis Tharpe, George Whitmer,RobertDonivan,SidneyDonivan,JasonDonivan,andAngieCaison. Arrangements were by Maddox Fu-neralHomeinFrontRoyal.

Benjamin Hunter Mark“Raccoon” Gibbs

Benjamin Hunter Mark “Raccoon”Gibbs, 42, of Linden, died Saturday,September 23, 2006 in Prince WilliamCounty. A funeral service was held on Sat-urday,September30,2006at1:00p.m.at St. John the Baptist Roman CatholicChurchinFrontRoyalconductedbyTheRev Edward C. Hathaway. Burial washeld in the Gibbs Family Cemetery inLinden. Mr.GibbswasbornMay23,1964inFront Royal,VA son of Elizabeth Mar-garet“Bessie”JohnsonGibbsofCincin-nati,OhioandthelateH.RayGibbs.Hewas a songwriter, street musician andfolkhero. Survivingalongwithhismotherareninebrothersandsisters. Pallbearers were brothers andfriends. Memorialcontributionsmaybemadeto Catholic Relief Services, P.O. Box17152,Baltimore,MD21297-1152.

Richard J. McDermott

WORCESTER-Richard J. McDer-mott,67,of21DillonStreet,diedThurs-day, October 26th, in Autumn VillageNursing Center. He leaves a son, RyanP.McDermottofWorcester;2brothers,James H. McDermott of State College,PA,andJohnE.McDermottofStephensCity, VA; a grandson, Ryan P. McDer-mott II of Worcester; nephews, niecesand cousins. He was predeceased by a

brother,FrancisMcDermott,in1978. HewasborninWorcester,thesonofAugustine H. and MadelineY. McDer-

mottandlivedhereallhislife.Mr.Mc-Dermottwasasupervisoratseveralareaplasticscompaniesbeforeretiring. A graveside service was held Tues-day, October 31st at 1:00 PMTuesdayin Worcester County Memorial Park,Paxton. Contributions may be madeto Autumn Village Nursing Center, 25Oriol Drive, Worcester, MA 01605.Oâ€™CONNORBROTHERSFUNER-ALHOME, 592 ParkAvenue, directedarrangements.

C. Lyle McFall

The lifeofC.LyleMcFallwascel-ebrated in a memorial service at 11:00a.m. on November 6th. Coach McFallwasalong-timeresidentofFrontRoyalandabelovedcoach,teacher,andathlet-icdirectoratRandolph-MaconAcademyfor35years.HepassedawayonOctober7,2006attheageof91.TheservicewasheldatBoggsChapelontheR-MAcam-pus.

Thomas Jonas Peachey

ThomasJonasPeacheydiedWednes-daymorninginhishomeatage62.Tomissurvivedbyalargeandlovingfamily,including TheresaAnn Marks Peachey,hiswifeofalmost40years;threedaugh-tersandsons-in-law:ElizabethRebeccaPeachey;JenniferPeacheySchaeferandJames Michael Schaefer, Susan RoseMarks Peachey and Ryan David Ken-ney,andChristopherThomasWood;hisgranddaughter Jill Peachey Schaefer;his sisters and brother: Donna Staples,EvelynAnderson, Marlin Peachey, andLydia Penrod; and his mother, GoldieEvelynPeachey. Tom was born to Goldie and Milo

RudyPeachey (deceased)onDecember14,1943inStrasburg,Virginia.HewasapastmemberoftheBucktonPresbyte-rianChurch,theWarrenCountyMentalHealthAssociation, and Board memberandtrainerforConcernHotline. Tom spent a year at the ColegioQuinzedeNovembroinGarahums,Bra-zil as he considered a career as a mis-sionary.HereceivedaB.A.inHistoryatVirginiaTechin1967andwentontore-ceiveaM.A.inPsychologywithaminorinEducationfromEastTennesseeStateUniversityin1969. ImmediatelyfollowinghisgraduationfromETSU,Tomspentayear teachinghistoryatthe15thStreetSchoolinFrontRoyal.Hethenspentseveralyearswork-ingas a counselor andpsychologist formentalhealthagenciesinSouthCarolina,NorthCarolina,andWestVirginia.TomthenbeganhiscareerwithNorthwesternCommunity Services in 1981. Duringhis25yearswith theagency,Tomheldmanypositions,andheservedasActingDirectorontwooccasions.HeretiredasClinical Director in December of 2005at which time the Northwestern Com-munity Services Center for Health andDevelopmentwas renamed theThomasJ.PeacheyCenter inhishonor.Hewasalifetimeadvocateformentalhealthis-sues, and he always received great joyfromhelpingothersbettertheirlives. Inhis spare time,Tomenjoyedmu-sic. He recently learned to play hisfiddle (named “Frenchie”), cello, andviola (“Gypsy Dan”) and spent the lastfew months teaching his granddaughterto bang on the keyboard and strum onFrenchie.One ofTom’s longtime goalswastowriteacookbookentitled“Livin’Lard,” to include his highly demandedrecipes includinghis friedpotatoes,ap-plepancakes,sausagegravy,potatosoup,andthefamousPeachey“JesusGravy.” AmemorialservicewasheldatMad-doxFuneralHomeat11a.m.onSatur-daythe28th Inlieuofflowers,memorialcontribu-tionsmaybemade toBlueRidgeHos-pice,NorthwesternCommunityServices,orSt.Luke’sCommunityClinic.

Liane Rosel Theoharis

LianeRoselTheoharis,76,ofWarrenCountypassedawayonMonday,Octo-ber16,2006atWarrenMemorialHospi-tal. Mrs.Theoharis was born December16,1929inCamden,NewJerseydaugh-ter of the late Kurt R. and Johanna S.

Obituaries,Pg.29


It was smooth sailing at the Bentonville firehall on election day as election officer Tancy Seal shows folks how to use the fancy machines. WCR photo by Dan McDermott

For the fourth year, South Warren Ruritan Club member Lloyd G. Baltimore worked the polls for the Democrats at the Bentonville fire hall. WCR photo by Dan McDermott

84 year old World War II veteran Edgar Baldwin stood in the rain for the Democrats. He got interested in politics fifty years ago because he is concerned about social security, medicare, and the working man. He is a former chairman of the Warren County Demo-cratic party. WCR photo by Dan McDermott.

Richard Radi has been a volunteer for the Republicans since George W. Bush was elected. He considers Bush a great president. “If we don’t fight the terrorists over there, “ he said, “we’ll be fighting them in the streets. WCR photo by Dan McDermott.

New Front Royal Town Manager J. Michael Graham takes a break from a radio interview to read the latest news in a snazzy new copy of Warren County Report. :-) WCR photo by Dan McDermott.

Rose Terry and Pat Hollenbaugh finally got hitched. WCR photo by Dan McDermott


Bachmann Muench. She worked forSafeway in the meat department andwas the owner of a house cleaningservice. She was married to the lateChristG.Theoharis. Surviving is one daughter Chris-tinaJ.“Tina”VarnauandherhusbandKenneth Wayne Varnau, Sr. of FrontRoyal; two grandchildren; and onegreat-grandchild. Arrangements were by MaddoxFuneralHomeinFrontRoyal.

Nancy Hunter Ambler Urbanski

Nancy Hunter Ambler Urbanski,82,ofFieryRunRd.,Linden,VA,diedathomeTuesday,Oct.17,2006. A memorial service was held onMondayat11:00a.m.atLeedsEpis-copalChurch inHumeconductedbyFatherAlexDarby. Mrs.Urbanskiwas bornOct. 19,1923, atMt.Welby Farm in Linden,daughter of the late James MarkhamMarshallAmblerandNancy“Nannie”Hunter Dulany deButts Ambler. Shewas a graduate of Alexandria HighSchoolandtheWashingtonSchoolforSecretaries.ShewasalegalsecretaryinFrontRoyalandasecretaryfortheWashingtonNationalAirportAirTraf-ficSafetyControlOfficer.Since1969,she and her husband have ownedand operated Willow Run KennelsinLinden.Shewas amemberof theWarrentonKennelClub,theAmericanBrittanyClub,andtheRappahannockBrittanyClub.Shewas amemberofLeedsEpiscopalChurch. She is survived by her husbandSgt.Maj. JohnFrancisUrbanski,Sr.,USMCRet.;adaughterSusanU.Simarof Mercersburg, PA and her husbandRon;asonJohn“Jeff”FrancisUrban-ski, Jr. of Linden; five grandchildrenEricAmblerMercer,MillicentAmblerUrbanski, John Francis Urbanski IV,MatthewLouisSimar,andSetonRossSimar; threegreat-grandchildren;andthreenieces. Inadditiontoherparents,shewasprecededindeathbytwosistersJuliaAmbler Cox and Mary Ambler Fea-gans. In lieu offlowers, donationsmaybe made to the Hospice of the Rapi-dan, P.O. Box 1715, Culpeper, VA22701.Maddox Funeral Home handled ar-rangements.

Obituaries(frompg.27)

OpinionFrontRoyalTownCouncil’strashylogicGarbage collection as law enforcementByROGERBIANCHINI

IftheFrontRoyalTowngovernmenthasitswaygarbagecollectionispoisedtobecomeanarmoftownlawenforcement.Whilecuriousinitsownright,thatmaybeademotioninsomewaysbecauseitseemsthatFrontRoyal’sgarbagemen–Godblessthemandtheverycrucialsocialfunctiontheyperform–havealreadybeenelevatedbycounciltothelevelofpolicymak-ersfortowngovernment.Butwho’stosaythatmaynotbeastepintherightdirection. Forwhileproposedordinancechangesregardingtheweeklycollectionoftrashintownmaybearesultofinputfromgar-bagemenanddesignedtomakethetrashman’sjobmorepalatableandtimeefficient,onecanhardlyimaginethediscussiononthebackofagarbagetruckbeingasinaneasthatheardinthehallsofgovernmentwhentheFrontRoyalTownCouncilgatherstodiscussthelocalresultsoframpantconspicuousconsumption. AmongthependingoffensesleadingtoClass3Misdemeanorcitationswithfinesvaryingfrom$10to$25perdayandupto$500forviolationsofthetowntrashcollectionpolicyare:non-baggingofalltrash,settingyourtrashoutafter6:30a.m.oncollectiondays,notkeepinganodorandvermin-freecontainer,disposalofmedicalwasteandverbalharassmentofgarbagemen. Anotherpendingviolationisthenon-separationofrecyclableitems–cans,plasticsandpaper–thoughafailuretorecyclewillremainlegal.Whilethegoalmaybemoreefficienttimemanagementforcrews,onewondersifcriminalizingthemixingofrecyclableswillreallyhelpachieveanotherpublicworksgoal–increasedparticipationinrecycling. Butperhapsmostbaffling,particularlyfromasafetypointofview,isthelegallymandatedplacementofthetown’slovelyblue96-galloncontainersinthestreetratherthanonthecurb. ThependingcriminalactofputtingyourtrashcanonthecurbperhapsbestillustratesthelackofcommonsensedisplayedbyFrontRoyal’slawmakers.Thisconditionhasbeenproposedbecauseof“numerous”citizencomplaintsabouthavingtowalkaroundgarbagecontainersblockingsidewalks,councilsays.Yes,walkingaroundalargegarbagecontainerthetownforcesitscitizenstopossess(nowwithaproposed$55deposit)anduse,surelyimpactsthecomfortlevelofpeoplebothtoolazyandtoodistractedtosteparoundthemsafely.ButIthoughttheCommunistslosttheColdWar–whendidFrontRoyal,anAmericantown,becomeadictatorshipoftheproletariat?Ithoughtthatinarepresentativedemocracy,whichtheU.S.usedtobe,thein-formedpopulouselectedofficialstomakedecisionsbasedontheiraccesstoinformationnotasreadilyavailabletothegeneralpublicandthatsuchdecisionsbebasedonthecommongoodwithoutregardforfactionaldiscontent. Questionedaboutthe“inthestreet”aspectoftheproposedordinance,FrontRoyal’smayorrecalledoneoutragedcitizenwhokeyedacarparkedonaservicestationlotinretaliationforhavingtowalkaroundthebusiness’strashcontainers.Nowthere’saninterestingtheory–legislativechangeasadeterrenttocriminalbehavior.Ifafewphonecallsandoneangrywomanwithakeycangetthelawchanged,wellIseelimitlesspossibilitieshere. Butmoreseriously,onewondersifthefirstpersonforcedtoexittheirvehicleinthestreettomovetowngarbagecansblockingparkingspaceswhoisstruckdownbyadistracted,perhapscell-phonechattingdriver,willbeabletocalltownstafftoexpresstheirdispleasurewiththetown’sin-the-streetgarbagecanordinance?Hascouncilorstaffponderedtheinsuranceliabilityofthatpotentialcase?Butnottoworry–nofatalities,orcallsfromthatside...yet.So,we’llgowiththeflowofpublicopinionandcriminalbehaviorratherthanattempttothinkthisonethroughlogically...afterall,itworksfortheplacementofstopsignsonsecondarystreetintersectionsinrandomsequencesthroughouttown. “Ridiculous,”“amusing,”thecreationof“anotherlayerofbureaucracytoaccomplishwhatexistinglawsalreadyshouldachieve,”wereamongthecolorfuldescriptionsoftheproposalofferedbytwocitizens,SuzanneSilekandBonnieGabbert,atthepublichearingontheproposedordinancechange.Fromthisperspectivethesecitizensappeartohavegivenmoreconsid-eredthoughttotheproblemthancouncilhas. “AmIgoingtobefinedifsomeonewalksbyandthrowsabottleorsomeloosetrashinmycontainer?Atleastit’sinacanandnotthrowninthestreet.Buthowwillyoudeterminewhoputitinthere?”SuzanneSilekaskedcouncilaboutitsenforce-mentpolicies.“Itremindsmeofalittleboysclubthatgatherstohandoutpunishmentsforrulestheymakeupbecausetheydon’thaveanythingelsetodo,”Silekobserved. Butperhapswearesellingourtownfathersshortandthenewgarbagerulesaresimplypartofawell-conceivedplanthatwillallowthetowntobalancefuture,spiralingbudgetsbygougingthepublicovereverymissteptakenoutsidethesafetyoftheirownhomes. Elsewhereinthisissue,townPublicWorksDirectorSteveBurkeputsforthafairlyconvincingargumentforatleastsomeoftheproposedchanges.IfthosechangesworkasBurkeenvisions,thenewpolicymightworktothebenefitofboththetownanditscitizen.However,ifcitationsbecomeplentifulforminorinfractionsthatannoyourbelovedgarbagemenwhentheyarehavingabadday,thenwewouldsuggestcounciladoptanalternatestrategytopunishblatantoffendersunderexistinglawsandputthiswholetrashcollectioncriminalizationpolicyinthetrash(baggedofcourse). Opinion,Pg.30


Opinion(frompg.29)

Opinion,Pg.31

TheScourgeoftheBac-N’FinA bedtime Fable: Front Royal as the center of the universe. All local delicacies are national brand standards. Nature is replaced with cities as the norm Thelifeofajourneymanjournalisthasonceagainledmetopickupmypencilandpadandstrikeoutforanewcity,anewpaper,andanewadventure.Thechallengeofmakingitinthebigleaguesmakesthisagrandventureindeed.Whatstringerhasn’thopedtolandabeatinsidethenation’scapitalbeltwayinthefabledMountainMetropolisofFrontRoyal? I’vefollowedtheInterstateseastfor2daysnow,tracingthesamepaththatCarsonMcLauderdidinthe1950sashedrovehisBac-N’FinmobileeastonU.S.55inthedaysbeforeI-66.JustasheknewopportunitylaidsomewheretotheeastbeyondtheAlleghenies,sodidI. I’dsustainedmyselfonmorethanafewMcSaumburgers,luredoffthehighwaybytheinvitinggoldenarches.ButnowtheyseemedtotastebetterthecloserIgottotheircorporateheadquarters,fornowhereelseonearthhastheperfectbalanceofmountainstreamsfilledwithacidrainmetthehormonallychargedchickenexcrementfoundintheShenandoahRiver,thathasallowedthespawningofthatmostuniqueofcommerciallyviablelivestockaquaculture–theBac-N’Fin. SureI’ddonemyresearch,asallgoodjournalistsdo,andhadreadtheWikipediaentryonthepork/smallmouthbasshybrid.LikesomemythicalKirin,thisbeastiehastheheadofapig,thetailofafish,andtheappetiteofahundredoffensivetackles–butinsteadoftriplewhopperswithcheeseandmilkshakeswithsteroidchasers,thesecreatureslustedforrivergrassandgarbage.They’dstrippedtheSouthForkoftheShenandoahofmostgrasseswithinafewyearsposthybridization,andthenthetroublebegan. ForagingherdsofwhatappearedtobedroolingmermaidswithRosieMcDonald’sfaceandamaniacallustforleftoversbecameanightlyspectacle.Theirinitialforaysresultedinbloodyandviciousencountersasthevalley’sblackbearsdefendedtheirturfintheAndyGuestShenandoahStatePark.IfthevalleyhadbeeninMontana,andthebearshadbeen12-footGriz-zlies,perhapstheycouldhaveheldtheirown. Butournative,350-poundblackbearswereforcedtoretreattothemountains,wheretheBac-N’Finscouldnotfollow,leavingthevalleytoanewking.TheascentoftheBac-NfinleftBentonvillelargelyabandoned,asthebeast’snightlyforaysfromrivertothedump,theirfavoredfeedingground,provedtoodangerousformosthumanhabitation. Butlikeanygoodstory,thisonehasitsgallantprotagonist,savingthetownanditsinhabitantsfromMotherNaturerunamok. BraceNoelwasasimpleman,witha legendarylovefor theriverandanunmatchedprowesswith theflyrodandpaddle…..anditwasherethattheBac-N’Finmetitsmatch. Likebreakingahorse,itwaslessabattlethanasimplematterofestablishingwhothemasterwas.Bracehadspenthislifemasteringtheriver,andallofitscreatures.Halfhorsewhisperer,halfAquaman,Braceexertedhiswillovertheabominationthatwastheproductofallhehadfoughtagainstduringhislife.However,thegreatironybecamemoreevidentashisdomes-ticationoftheBac-N’Finresultedinoneofthefastfoodindustry’smostprofitablecreationssincethesquarecod. Butthatstorywillhavetowaitfornexttime... -JadoJack

ByDaveZirin

WhenPatTillman,formerNFLplay-erandArmyRanger,diedinAfghanistanin2004,itunleashedadramathatmovedfromtragedytoobscenitytomystery.FirsttherewasPat’sdeath.BecauseTill-manwasn’tthekindofanonymousfallensoldier the Bush administration couldblithelyignore,weallborewitnesstothetearsofhisfamily–includinghisbroth-er,bestfriend,andfellowArmyRanger,Kevin. Pat’s death - like every last deaththat’s resultedfromthishorrificMiddleEastern escapade – was tragedy. Thencame obscenity: it came out after Pat’sfuneral,thathehaddiedatthehandsofhisowntroopsinacaseof“friendlyfire.”This bit of information was suppressedfromeveryoneoutsidethePentagonandOvalOffice, even from Pat’s family. It

Pat Tillman’s Brother Breaks his Silencewas even kept from Kevin, serving inPat’sbattalion.Eulogists like JohnMc-Cain-knowinglyorunknowingly–toldliesoverPatTillman’sbodyaboutdeathin combat. Bush gave a speech aboutTillman over the jumbotron at footballstadiums. From the perspective of thisadministration, Pat died for the noblecauseofPR. Finally from obscenity sprung mys-tery. For Pat’s parents Mary and Pat,Sr. there were unanswered questions.Why were they fed lies? Why werePat’s clothes and equipment burned atthe scene? Why wasn’t Kevin told thetruth at the scene? What happened toPat’sjournal,thathehadkeptwithhimfor years? To pressure army investiga-tors,MaryandPat,Sr.wentpublicaboutPat’struefeelingsaboutthewarinIraq(hethoughtitwasillegal)andhisgrow-ingquestioningabouttheBush“waron

terror.”NowPat’sbrotherKevinhasbro-kenhissilenceaswell.Kevinhaswrittenabrilliantpiecethatshouldbedistributedinfrontofeveryarmyrecruitmentcenterandsenttoeverypersonwhowearstheuniform.Idon’tagreewitheveryword,but that’s hardly the point: Kevin, likePat, represents a growing surge in thiscountry against the machinery of deathand the lies that grease its wheels. Wehavepaiddearlyforthoselies.It’stimetobringthetroopshomenow.

After Pat’s BirthdayBy Kevin Tillman It is Pat’s birthday on November 6,and elections are the day after. It getsme thinkingabout a conversation Ihadwith Pat before we joined the military.He spoke about the risks with signingthepapers.Howoncewecommitted,wewereatthemercyoftheAmericanlead-ershipandtheAmericanpeople.Howwecouldbethrowninadirectionnotofour

volition.Howfightingasasoldierwouldleaveuswithoutavoice...untilwegetout. Muchhashappenedsincewehandedoverourvoice: Somehow we were sent to invade anation because it was a direct threat totheAmericanpeople,ortotheworld,orharboredterrorists,orwasinvolvedintheSeptember11attacks,orreceivedweap-ons-grade uranium from Niger, or hadmobile weapons labs, orWMD, or hadaneed tobe liberated,orweneeded toestablishademocracy,orstopaninsur-gency,orstopacivilwarwecreatedthatcan’tbecalledacivilwareventhoughitis.Somethinglikethat. Somehow America has become acountrythatprojectseverythingthatitisnotandcondemnseverythingthatitis. Somehow our elected leaders weresubvertinginternationallawandhuman-ity by setting up secret prisons aroundthe world, secretly kidnapping people,secretly holding them indefinitely, se-cretlynotcharging themwithanything,secretly torturing them. Somehow thatovertpolicyof torturebecame the faultofafew“badapples”inthemilitary. Somehowbackathome,supportforthesoldiersmeanthavingafive-year-oldkindergartener scribble a picture withcrayonsandsenditoverseas,orslappingstickers on cars, or lobbying Congressforanextrapadinahelmet.It’sinterest-ing that a soldier on his third or fourthtourshouldcareaboutadrawingfromafive-year-old;orafadedstickeronacarashisfriendsdiearoundhim;oranextrapadinahelmet,asifitwillprotecthimwhenanIEDthrowshisvehicle50feetintotheairashisbodycomesapartandhisskinmeltstotheseat. Somehowthemoresoldiersthatdie,the more legitimate the illegal invasionbecomes. Somehow American leadership,whoseonly credit is lying to itspeopleandillegallyinvadinganation,hasbeenallowed tosteal thecourage,virtueandhonorofitssoldiersontheground. Somehowthoseafraidtofightanil-legal invasion decades ago are allowedtosendsoldierstodieforanillegalinva-siontheystarted. Somehow faking character, virtueandstrengthistolerated. Somehowprofitingfromtragedyandhorroristolerated. Somehow the death of tens, if nothundreds,ofthousandsofpeopleistol-erated.

Page �1Warren County ReportLate Nov. �006

Opinion(frompg.30)

Revenue maneuversEditor,Ronald Mabry told three local news-paqpersandaradiostationthatourWar-ren County Commissioner of the Rev-enueJohnH.SmedleySr.,toldhimthathewouldnotrunforre-electionin2007.IfwelookatthatstatementinthemostfavorablelightforMabry,ifwebelievewhatMabrysaid,thenwhydidn’tMabryallowSmedley theopportunity tomakehis own statement about hhis futureplans?ItwaspresumptuousofMabrytoannounce Smedley’s retirement. I don’tremeberthiseverhappeningbefore.Did Danny McEathron announce War-renCOuntySheriffLynnArmwentrout’sretirement?DidJenniferSImsannounceClerk of COurt Bill Hall’s retirement?Did Wanda Bryant announce TreasurerDorisMiller’sretirement?Ibelieve . . . [Mabry’srecruiters]knewSmedleywasrunning-thatiswhytheyrecruitedMabrytorun.I see Smedley several times a week. IknowSmedleyalwayswaspreparingtorunnextyear.HowdoIknow?Heaskedformysupportafterhislastelectionsohewouldbeeligibleforhisfullretirementbenefits as were Armentrout, Hall andMiller.Actually,59iskinddofyoungtoretire.After27yearsinlocalgovernmentwouldn’tyouwantyourfullbenefits?

RichardCampbellFrontRoyal

“AMessagetoBoth Parties”(Note, this letter was sent October 28, 2006. This was after our pre-election is-sue.)Editor, Weneedtosendamessagetopoliti-ciansofbothparties thatwhat isgoingonandnotgoingoninWashingtonisun-acceptable.IhaveworkedthepollshereinFrontRoyalfortheRepublicanPartyandIhaveprovidedsomefinancialsup-port-meagerthoughitmayhavebeen.TwoyearsagoIwasdissatisfiedwiththeprogressofthewarinIraq(particularlytheAbu Ghraib scandal) and made myfeelingsknown tomy localRepublicancontactsaskingthattheybepassedonuptheline. Surprise! Surprise! They weren’tpassedupthelineorthepoliticiansdidn’tpayanyattention.SoIvotedDemocrat-icforthefirsttimelastNovembertosendamessagetotheRepublicanleadership.Andtheygotthewrongmessage–whenKainewaselectedgovernorofVirginia,Republicanssaidtheylostbecausetheyhadnotbeen“conservative”enough. I need help (lots of it) to let politi-ciansofbothpartiesknow that the fol-lowingarenotacceptable:Noaccount-ability - the Defense Department wasresponsibleforAbuGhraibandthefactthat therewasnopostwarplanningforIraq(nottomentioncountlessothermis-

SomehowsubversionoftheBillofRights andThe Constitution is toler-ated. Somehow suspension of HabeasCorpusissupposedtokeepthiscoun-trysafe. Somehowtortureistolerated. Somehowlyingistolerated. Somehowreasonisbeingdiscard-edforfaith,dogma,andnonsense. Somehow American leadershipmanaged to create a more dangerousworld. Somehowanarrative ismore im-portantthanreality. SomehowAmerica has become acountrythatprojectseverythingthatitisnotandcondemnseverythingthatitis. Somehow the most reasonable,trusted and respected country in theworldhasbecomeoneofthemostir-rational, belligerent, feared, and dis-trustedcountriesintheworld. Somehow being politically in-formed, diligent, and skeptical hasbeen replaced by apathy through ac-tiveignorance. Somehow the same incompetent,narcissistic, virtueless, vacuous, ma-liciouscriminalsarestillinchargeofthiscountry. Somehowthisistolerated. Somehow nobody is accountableforthis. In a democracy, thepolicyof theleadersisthepolicyofthepeople.Sodon’tbeshockedwhenourgrandkidsburymuchof this generation as trai-torstothenation,totheworldandtohumanity.Mostlikely,theywillcometoknowthat“somehow”wasnurturedby fear, insecurity and indifference,leaving thecountryvulnerable toun-checked,unchallengedparasites. Luckily this country is still a de-mocracy. People still have a voice.Peoplestillcantakeaction.ItcanstartafterPat’sbirthday.

BrotherandFriendofPatTillman,KevinTillman

[Dave Zirin is the author of “’What’s My Name Fool?’: Sports and Resis-tance in the United States” (Haymar-ket Books) You can receive his column Edge of Sports, every week by e-mail-ing [email protected]. Contact him at [email protected]]

takes)butRumsfeldhasnotbeenfired;inequitabletaxpolicies;scandalsgaloreincluding but not limited to Abramoff,“NoChildLeftBehind,”ValeriePlame,William Jefferson, Curt Weldon, MarkFoley,HarryReid,etc.(Andthebiggestscandal of all, the fact that nothinghasbeen done about thismess); fiscal irre-sponsibility; no straight talk, only eva-sivenessandspin;lackofactiononSo-cial Security, immigration, health care,global warming, energy independence,etc.; and finally, general incompetence,for example, the administration’s re-sponse (or lack thereof) with regard totheravagesofHurricaneKatrina. Allof thishashappenedon theRe-publican’swatchwhentheywereincon-trolofboththelegislativeandexecutivebranchesofourgovernment.Theyneedtobeheldaccountable.Weneedtosendan unmistakable message from the true“grassroots”ofAmericathatwhatisgo-ingonisnotacceptablenomatterwhoisrunningtheshow. IfandwhentheDemocratsareincon-trolinWashingtonandtheyfailintheirresponsibility to us, I will vote againstthem. ButthisyearIamgoingtoholdtheRepublicansaccountable.IamgoingtovoteDemocratic

Help!

WallerH.WilsonThePromisedLandFrontRoyal,Virginia

LetterstotheEditor

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(Managing editor’s note: sports fans at every level can relate to the plea-sure/pain/emotional void experience expressed below in the “Strike 3” rumi-nation of a transplanted native Long Is-lander and lifelong Mets fan. The open-ing subject line “Strike 3” is a reference to the final pitch of the National League Championship Series taken by perhaps the Mets’ best player, Carlos Beltran. With the Mets trailing 3-1 with the bases loaded, and two outs, Beltran stood fro-zen with the hearts and minds of the Mets faithful, watching a huge breaking ball drop Icarus-like through the chilly night air at Shea Stadium for a called third strike to send St. Louis to the World Se-ries and the MLB championship. Rob’s Mets angst resurrected old scars from deep inside a transplanted baby boomer and D.C. native’s Major League Base-ball-torn heart.)Action: “Strike 3”

AsIsitherewonderingwhatwillfillthebaseballvoid‘tilApril,IlistentoDi-onneWarwick’sThemefromtheValleyoftheDollsover&over&overonmyMP3 player. I hope maybe to plug theholewithmusic,butIdonotfeelpartic-ularly inspiredbyanything right at thismoment.The theme from theValley oftheDollsover&over&overisaboutallIcandealwith.Itfeelscomfortable. The whole mystique of the Mets isbased around the fact that hope DOESspringeternalinthehumanheart–evenin thedarkestnight.But theMets twistthat theme.Over theiryears, right fromthebeginning,theywilllookgood,thenfalterandseemahopelesscause.Youal-mostgiveuponthem.ThenlikeaPhoe-nix,theyrisemiraculouslyandwhenthepinnacle is within reach, they implodetoflutterbacktomediocrity.ThisNLCSwasamicrocosmofthewholeMetmys-tique.Even in theyearsof theStengle/Thornberry Mets they would have bril-liantlateinningcomebacksonlytolooseinthe9th.Ispentmanychildhoodnightswitha transistor radioundermypillowasanearwitnesstothese. Theywereimpotentwhenthestakeswere high . . . and with or without theplayerswhowereontheDL,theycouldnot get the job done and it will take awinter of bleak dank volumes of vacu-

umvoidwithnobaseballtore-cultivatemyMets-nessbacktowhereitwasjusthoursagowiththewinningrunoninthebottomoftheninth.–Rob

Reaction: A Baby Boomer’s Lament on Baseball and Corporate Culture

What do lawyers, TV sports an-nouncers and commentators all have incommon?I’lltellyouwhattheyallhaveincommon–they’realllikelocustintheheight of plague season. At least mostlawyers don’t invade my home via myTV, the corporate cultural conduit fortheplasticfantasticAmericandreamma-chineassimilator,andtheydon’tactlikethey must use a microphone to kidnapmeduringbaseballplayoffgames. ItescapesmewhyTV’sbaseballan-nouncersthinkitisintheirbestinteresttotortureme,tobeatmerelentlesslywiththeirwordsandwordsofdeadenedinsen-sibilitiesandsillinessaboutagamethatfrequently escapes their futile attemptstoconvey,aswould-beprovocativecom-mentary, the pure joy of the game. Butfornowtheirsilencehasbeenrenderedmercifully complete and the lengthen-ing shadows of the dying season nowenshroudthememoriesofsummer.Robwilleventuallysucceedinexorcisinghisdisappointments and reestablishing his“Metness,” as we will all be nourishedinthesacramentofourbeliefinthehal-lowedcontinuumofbaseball. With further reflection upon Rob’shaunting lament, I am brought back tomy new relationship with MLB – I ama recovering fan. I know I have an ad-dictionbutInowknowbetterthedemontemptress. Having been a childhooddevotee of my beloved Senators sincethemid-1950s,itcanbedifficulttofullycomprehendacrushing loss in termsoflosingachampionship.Myteamalmostalwaysfailedtoapproacha.500seasonandfrequentlyfinishedlastintheAmeri-can League. But I adored them as myteamandtothisdaythememoriesofRoySievers,PedroRamos,CamilloPascual,ClintCourtneystillplayonmyfieldofdreams.AndthenofftoMinnesotatheywent. That first marriage with MLBended sadly. My second installment ofSenatorswasabargainbasementexpan-sion team that eventually brought Ted

Williams,FrankHowardandmanyothermemorablefigurestotown.Butsoonthesecond marriage with MLB would alsoendinbitterdivorce.Regardlessofthosefailedextendedsummerromances,Ihavekept my loyalty to the concept of “myteam”fromthesummersofmyyouth. Being jilted twice by MLB, like awhoringwife,leftmecoldtothemachi-nations of the baseball business. Theseventies, eighties, and nineties wouldleave me calloused further to the teas-ingofthetemptressthatisMLB.Thesedecades since the Senators had left buta mild interest in MLB. But MLB hasreared its ugly head once again in myhometown. She re-arrived with prom-isesofundyingdevotionandloveifwewould consummate another marriagewith her. A more mature and sophisti-cated but no less tempting seductresswasrunningherfingersthroughmyhairwith one hand and searching my pantswithherothertocheckoutthethicknessofmywallet.Ibecameimmediatelyen-thralled and intoxicated with my desireformynewteam,theNationals.Wemetmanytimesinthesummerofourcourt-ship, but it soon became evident thatMLBanditsmerrybandofrobber-baronownerswouldagainbeunfaithfultothefansand the franchise.WeweredeniedownershipfortwoyearsandameanstoeffectivelycompeteuntilMLBhadhaditswaywithus.Eventually,MLBturnedanunprecedentedprofitinthesaleoftheteam,but in themeantimehad turnedafranchisewithimmediatehopeintooneof calculated depreciation. Many of usfelt raped. But now with a third rockyrelationshipbehindus,theNationalsarestillintown,localownerintowandarefinallyreadytomaketheirmarkonmyheart.Butwhatabrotherhoodofbanditstheseownersare.Theiractsofcollusiontomaximize their profit at the expenseof the consumer are only possible withthe sanctions of the U.S. Congress andtheAnti-Trustexemptionstatusofthesethieves. And then we haveAlphonso in hisshopping spree with thoughts of FrankRobinson, the man who mentored histransition into a newer and better star-dom,andhewalksawaywithnoonetotakehisplace–Frank’snorhis...atwo-fer,.one-erforMLBinoldD.C.IncontrasttoRob’sNLCSgame7angst,

imagine a Cardinal fan’s sinking, sink-ing feeling as he watched an atrophiedseasonrunningoffthefumesofwinter’shighhopes...andthefadingintoreal-itytheTigerfanswouldhauntinglycometogripswithasthesummerworeon. .. and then the triumphant NewYorkerswaitinginthewingsforthebitterbiteoftheanti-baseballgrandclimax,theplay-offs,where fortunesof statisticalpurity–the162-gameseasonissacrificedtothegodsofTVuponthealterofthechurchofconsumersaints.Thepurityofstatis-ticsbleedsfromthealtarintoafive-gameseries . . . and then into the throes ofbaseballwintertwobestofsevenseriesplayedatnighttoappeasetheconsumersaintsandtheirwind-chillgods–theTi-gers,YankeesandMetschokedtheevan-gelicalTVtellsme–LIES,LIES,LIESIscreamatthemicrophone-totingbaseballbobble-heads whose images emblazontheidol! Homerunsandaveragesarecompiledoverthelonghaulandhittingisfickle,aminor slump in July is a catastrophe inOctober.Andhowmanytimelyhitsarenecessarytowinacoupleofgames?Andhow often do these pre-winter classicspresent us with the non-star in starringroles.They can’t do it for a seasonbutwhenyou’rehotitcanlastaweekorsoandafewbadgamescanruinaseasoninaweekinOctobernomattertheseasonrecord.I’mremindedofthe1960s–noplayoffs, theseason’stwobestsquaringoff during the light of day. I remembermy mother letting me stay home fromschooltowatchtheseventhgameofthe1960WorldSeries–Yankees-Pirates,9-9inthebottomoftheninth.RalphTerrystarted his windup . . . Bill Mazeroskiwaitedattheplate... Excusethisonandon.Iwatchedal-mostalltheplayoffs–that’salotofTV.Iamstillrecuperatingfromthepyramidofpackagedcontrivancesintheecologyofconsumerspiritualism.Butthestrangestthinghappenedonenight,theelectronicveilwas liftedandIsawtheeyeof thepyramid, I saw it close up in extra in-nings–theeyewasmyTV. Nowwith the seasonswitched fullytothegridiron,maybethisrevelationcansomehow explain the rationale for theBCS.

–ShoelessJoeBazooka

BoysofSummer,Fall fromGrace


Community calendarPlanning Commission Meeting11/15/2006 - 7:00pmThe Front Royal Planning Commis-sion meets on the 3rd Wednesday of each month in the Warren County Government Center’s Board Meeting Room.

Christmas Bazaar11/18/2006 - 8:00am - 2:00pmYou are invited to Browntown for their annual Christmas Bazaar held in the Browntown Community Center. Enjoy the talents of local crafters as well as a tour of the historic Updike Building and a visit from Santa and Mrs. Claus. Lunch and Browntown items will be available for sale.

THANKSGIVING - Town Holiday11/23/2006THANKSGIVING DAY - The Town of Front Royal business offices will be closed today. Trash, Yard Waste and Recycling pick-up for this day will be Wednesday, November 22.

Bluegrass Party11/24/2006 - 7:00pm -10:00pmYou are invited to a Bluegrass Picking Party tonight at the Warren County Senior Center located at 1217 Com-monwealth Avenue. This is a Commu-nity Jam Session where all musicians at all levels are welcome. Acoustic In-struments Only. Coffee and food will be available for purchase. Admission is FREE. Donations are welcome. Proceeds benefit the Warren County Senior Center.

Town Council Meeting11/27/2006 - 7:00pmThe Front Royal Town Council meets in the Warren County Government

Center’s Board Meeting Room on the 2nd & 4th Monday of each month (with the exception of December, when the Council meets the 3rd Monday).

Christmas Celebration12/1/2006 - 10:00am - 5:00pmIt’s “Home for the Holidays - Old Time Christmas Celebration” in Downtown Front Royal at the Gazebo. The fa-mous Kriskindlmartkt (a Christmas Market) opens today. This event is sponsored by the Downtown Busi-ness Association. More information is available at (540)631-0099 or www.downtownfrontroyal.com.

Christmas Parade12/2/2006 - 4:15pmToday is the Annual Christmas parade in historic Downtown Front Royal. This event is sponsored by the Downtown Business Association. For more infor-mation please call (540)631-0099.

Bluegrass Party12/8/2006 - 7:00pm - 10:00pmCome out and listen to gospel and old time music played by acoutstic instruments, at the Browntown Com-munity Center. All levels of musicians are welcome. Food & drinks available for purchase. All proceeds benefit the Browntown Community Center. Please contact (540)778-4777 or (540)636-3588 for more information.

BAR Meeting12/12/2006 - 7:30pmThe Front Royal Board of Architec-tural Review (BAR) meets the 2nd Tuesday of each month (applications permitting) in the Warren County Government Center’s Board Meeting Room.

Caroling12/15/2006 - 7:00pm - 8:00pmYou are welcome to join neighbors and friends singing old favorites ac-companied by a local pianoistin the Browntown Community Center in Browntown. Don’t miss out on the rendition of the “Twelve Days of Christmas”.

Town Council Meeting12/18/2006 - 7:00pmThe Front Royal Town Council meets in the Warren County Government Center’s Board Meeting Room on the 2nd & 4th Monday of each month (with the exception of December, when the Council meets the 3rd Monday).

BZA Meeting12/18/2006 - 7:30pmThe Front Royal Board of Zoning Ap-peals (BZA) meets on the 3rd Monday of each month (applications permit-ting) in the Warren County Govern-ment Center’s Board Meeting Room. The Town Council also meets on this night, therefore the BZA will meet in the Caucus Room, which is adjacent to the Board Room. Please call the Town of Front Royal Planning/Zoning Office for more information(540)635-4236.

Planning Commission Meeting12/20/2006 - 7:00pmThe Front Royal Planning Commis-sion meets on the 3rd Wednesday of each month in the Warren County Government Center’s Board Meeting Room.

Christmas Concert12/22/2006 - 1:30pmEnjoy a wonderful holiday concert at

Randolph Macon Academy Melton Gymnasium today.

Bluegrass Party12/22/2006 - 7:00pm - 10:00pmYou are invited to a Bluegrass Picking Party tonight at the Warren County Senior Center located at 1217 Com-monwealth Avenue. This is a Commu-nity Jam Session where all musicians at all levels are welcome. Acoustic In-struments Only. Coffee and food will be available for purchase. Admission is FREE. Donations are welcome. Proceeds benefit the Warren County Senior Center.

CHRISTMAS EVE12/24/2006Since today is Sunday, the Town of Front Royal will celebrate Christmas Eve on Tuesday, December 26, 2006. Garbage, Recycling & Yard Waste will be picked up on Wednesday, Decem-ber 27, 2006.

CHRISTMAS DAY - Town Holiday12/25/2006Christmas Day - The Town of Front Royal Business Offices will be closed today. Trash, Yard Waste and Re-cycling pick-up for this day will be Wednesday, December 27. The Town of Front Royal wishes you a Merry Christmas!

Town Holiday12/26/2006The Town of Front Royal Business Of-fices will be closed today. Trash, Yard Waste and Recycling pick-up for this day will be Wednesday, January 4. The Town of Front Royal wishes you a Merry Christmas!


Italian Restaurant“Authentic Italian Meals”

· Pasta · Pizza· Steaks · Chicken· Veal · Stromboli· Full Course Dinners· Beer, Wine & Cocktails· Banquets up to 100

A Great Taste from Italy to the ValleyMon thru Thurs 11am - 10pm · Fri & Sat 11-11 · Sun Noon-10pm · Closed Tues

865 John Marshall Hwy · Rt 55E near 522 Intersection

These two cans belonging to the Warren County Government Administration are in violation of not only new ordinances, but old ones that allow the town garbage men to not collect trash that overflows out of the mandated town containers. If you think town-county relations are deteriorating over water issues, let the town stop taking the county’s trash and see how things develop. WCR photo by Roger Bianchini

Cliff Rigney, the new program director for the Northern Virginia 4-H Educational Center in Front Royal, appears on The Valley Today talk show on 95.3 FM and 1450 AM to en-courage locals of college age to apply to be camp counselors for the 2007 season. He can be reached at (540) 635-7171 and promises counselors long hours, loads of fun with kids, and memories they’ll cherish for a lifetime. WCR photo by Dan McDermott

(Above) Governor Timothy Kaine and his entourage arrive at “Andy Guest” Shenan-doah River State Park in Bentonville in a snazzy black Chevy SUV. The governor was at the park to meet with the Shenandoah River Fish Kill Task Force and to announce $150,000 in funding to continue scientific research into the fish kills that have plagued the river. (Inset) Bentonville resident Ciera Shank was a trooper and hung on for a while during the Governor’s speech but eventually gave in to her nap time.WCR Photos by Becky Darnell


PuzzlesSolutions on Page 39


ACROSS 1 Bakery employee 5 Parts of plants10 Ms. McEntire14 Long-running Broadway play15 Depended17 Get even for20 Beginning of Psalm 10723 Distress24 So, on the brae25 Bind26 Ridiculous28 Curve29 Hunter, for one31 Dark color34 Start of many California cities35 “Kiss Me, __”36 Certain NCO39 Big bill40 Aide-de-camp: abbr.41 Did a post-wedding task48 Burr49 Plunder; pillage50 With 120 Across, song from 1958’s Best Picture54 On the house55 Weasels58 Nav. bigwig60 Destruction61 Type of cap62 Barbarian63 Observer65 Systematic analyses of con-science67 Refinery70 “Once __, always a Marine!”72 Foreign appreciation75 Leader’s title, once77 Here in France78 And not81 Patient82 From __ Z84 96286 Nincompoop87 Used up88 Loos and others90 Esbjerg residents91 Hope’s theme97 Mont Blanc’s location

Givingthanks100 Expire101 Nettle102 __ instant; immediately103 Spoil104 Automaton106 Uncertain words107 Copy110 Martin, for one112 Palms off117 Suffix denoting origin119 Liquid meas.120 See 50 Across125 Make certain126 Jeweled accessories127 Does a lawn chore128 Take care of129 Krona spender

130 DaggerDOWN 1 Climbing plants 2 Two decks 3 Limoges seasons 4 Knocking sound 5 Madre’s title: abbr.

6 Circus spot 7 Actress Sommer 8 Cloudiness 9 Clockmaker __ Thomas10 “Hooray!”11 First wife12 Misrepresent13 Prolific poet?14 Parts of psyches16 Female animals18 Ground covering19 Millay and Ferber20 Have obligations21 Tract of wasteland22 Taught27 Suffix for persist or absorb30 Arthur, for one32 Halloween greeting33 Building site35 Barbie’s beau36 Witt & Lipinski 37 Wanderer

38 You: Fr.40 “What __!”; “Alas”41 Float on the breeze42 __ avis43 City in Utah44 Foot part45 Gun owners’ org

46 Make harmless47 Mr. Allen51 Address abbr.52 Negative prefix53 Catholic men’s org.55 New York stadium56 __, Oklahoma57 Canadian prov.59 Foreign appreciation64 Set aside for a special purpose66 VI and VII67 Perfumes68 Glee69 Waist-length jackets71 __-en-Provence72 Krypton or xenon73 Fabled napper74 Beverage76 Script learner78 Prohibited thing79 River in Poland80 Optimistic83 Depart85 Nav. transport86 Barrier89 “__ had a hammer...”90 TV room, often92 Ruckus93 Part of a pen94 Go quickly95 Register96 Dog owners97 Dawns, for short98 Shaping machine99 Pretty oneself104 Musical show105 Honk107 Concur108 Friends109 Letters111 Great in size113 Three-petaled flower114 Cool dish115 Rubber item116 Part of the name of many South African towns 118 Actor Richard121 Sea eagle122 Beatty or Sparks123 Part of Mao’s name124 Mamie’s man

Solution on Pg. 39


From left, WCJHS Show Chorus members Katie Jones, Amanda Franklin and Ericka Carden work on sets for the Christmas Concert. WCR photo by Roger Bianchini

The Midway Towing crew’s scary Halloween theme display at the Mystik Gas Station was the consequences of bad or inattentive driving. From left are, Billy Williams, “in-jured passenger” Ken Zehring and Kelly Thomas. WCR photo by Roger Bianchini

It was pizza with pizzazz on Halloween night at the Melting Pot. Kamikaze bartender Ryan Wines, ‘Lil Pumpkin Katie Allen, angel (or is she a fly?) Ashley Nowell and Shane Robinson, we mean Gene Simmons of Kiss stare down Jimmy Olsen. WCR photo by Roger Bianchini

Red Ranger protects his Trick or Treat companion, Hula Pig, from mauraud-ing photographers on Halloween night. WCR photo by Roger Bianchini

Alice Barlow hangs out on her horse Mickey toward the end of the late October Warren County Community Day at Riverton Church. WCR photo by Dan McDermott

Warren County Report publisher Dan McDermott is seen here with his parents, Pat and Jack McDermott of Stephens City. They were attending the Tyson’s Corner wedding of Dan and Mindy Harman of Falls Church. WCR photo by Kelly Harman.

Royal Broadcasting Inc. President Andrew Shearer discusses the importance of local radio programming to the Front Royal/Warren County Chamber of Commerce Youth Leadership Class following their appearance on The Valley Today, broadcast on WZRV 95.3 FM and WFTR 1450 AM.


SolutionsPuzzles on Pages 36 & 37

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(540)631-8989(540)305-9042(540)305-9678(540)631-8532

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