STICKS TO STATES: The Kettle Run and Fauquier boys lacrosse teams made states. Page 16
May 29, 2019
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VFW Post 9835 looking for a permanent home Warrenton Visitor Center would meet ‘98 percent’ of post’s needs By James Ivancic Times Staff Writer
TIMES STAFF PHOTO/JAMES IVANCIC Eric Bradley of Hume, right, stopped by the VFW Post 9835 table outside the Giant grocery store in Warrenton on May 24. Jeff Dombroff, post commander, left, and others from the post were selling poppies for a fundraising drive prior to Memorial Day.
Project asks residents to ‘Listen: The Community Speaks’
Members of Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 9835 would like a place to call home. Post meetings are currently held in the Warrenton-Fauquier Visitor Center at 33 Calhoun St. in Warrenton. The space provided by the town, which costs the post $35 in monthly rent, is fine, but post members want their own headquarters. “To my knowledge, we’ve never had a permanent home,” said Jeff Dombroff, current post command-
er, who served in the U.S. Army in Vietnam. Having one “would give post members a sense of belonging.” He said they could have meetings and it would be a place for members to socialize at other times, and perhaps provide space to rent out for other functions. Rental money could fund the post’s work in the community and be used to assist veterans. “It would be a home for us to do various things for the community … in our own brick-and-mortar building. Something that could be our own place,” said John Frederick, a Vietnam War veteran from Warrenton and a member of the post. Post 9835 is hoping a building would be donated or sold for a small sum.
See VFW, Page 8
Congrats Class of 2019!
By Robin Earl
Times Staff Writer
“Listen: The Community Speaks,” an oral history project conducted by the Afro-American Historical Association, will wrap up at the end of June. The PATH Foundation awarded a grant in 2018 to the AAHA so it could capture the memories of African-American residents who were raised in Fauquier County’s black neighborhoods 50 or more years ago. It all started with a roundtable discussion in April 2018 at Mount Nebo Baptist Church in Morgantown. Twenty participants with Fauquier County roots gathered to compare notes on their impressions of the Free State area near Marshall when they were growing up. Angela
See LISTEN, Page 6 INSIDE Business.............................................13 Classified............................................34 Communities......................................29 Faith...................................................27
TIMES STAFF PHOTO/ROBIN EARL Fauquier County’s three high schools graduated more than 900 students this year. Above, Kettle Run High School students celebrated their graduation Friday, May 24. See photos from Fauquier, Kettle Run and Liberty on page 4.
Family Time........................................21 Horse and Field Sports........................19 Lifestyle..............................................23 Opinion...............................................10
Obituaries...........................................32 Puzzles...............................................12 Real Estate..........................................28 Sports.................................................15
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NEWS
Fauquier Times | www.fauquier.com | May 29, 2019
Democratic candidates campaign before June 11 primaries By James Ivancic Times Staff Writer
The June 11 primary election will decide which candidates will be on the ballot in the Nov. 5 general election. Voters choosing the Democratic Party ballot can vote for one of two candidates running for the 18th District House of Delegates seat and between two seeking the 88th District House seat. As per Va. Code §24.2-530 all registered voters are allowed to vote in the primary, however, a voter shall only vote for the candidates of one party, not both. There is no Democrat primary in precincts 101 (Kettle Run), 102 (Catlett), 103 (Casanova), 502 (New Baltimore) and 504 (Vint Hill).
18th District
In the 18th District House of Delegates race, Tristan Shields is making a return bid to win the seat now held by Republican Michael Webert. Shields lost to Webert two years ago. The resident of Rixeyville in Culpeper County faces Laura Galante of Marshall. The two are scheduled to debate at 11 a.m. on Saturday, June 1, at the Warrenton Community Center. The 18th District includes parts of Fauquier, Culpeper and Warren counties and all of Rappahannock County. Shields said he has been listening and talking to voters in the 18th District about the “real problems” facing them. Traffic, education and opioid addiction are the three top concerns, according to the candidate. “If you look at the video of the Route [U.S.] 29 meeting in Remington you see the state kind of abandoned us,” Shields said, referring to an April community meeting during which Virginia Department of Transportation staff explained a plan to redesign the U.S. 29 intersection at Freemans Ford Road. Restricted crossings with U-turn movements would have replaced an existing traffic light. The public turned against the plan once it was recommended for funding, and the county board of supervisors rescinded its request for funding of the R-cut; supervisors are talking with VDOT officials about alterna-
tives. Shields said one option would be an overpass, though at an estimated $30 million, it would be about four times more expensive than the R-cut proposal. Reducing the sheer volume of traffic would help, he said. “We need to get people off the road. We need to seriously consider extending VRE to Haymarket or Bealeton and extend rural broadband so more people can work from TRISTAN home.” SHIELDS Regarding the opioid addiction problem, the district needs more “affordable” recovery centers to help those trying to overcome addiction, Shields said. He said he’d support needle exchange programs in communities where addiction is a particular problem. Shields’ opponent, Laura Galante, is stressing aiding farmers, education in the trades, and broadband infrastructure. “We have top-notch agriculture. I’d like to make sure our farms have the marketing access to get their highest return, so that they can compete at the highest level,” said Galante, whose website and campaign signs carry the message “The Future is Rural.” Coordinated marketing efforts and new supply chain networks can help farmers extend their commercial reach, she said. Galante was active in 4-H as a girl. On the career front, Galante noted, “There are so many jobs that LAURA involve an apprenGALANTE ticeship and a skill needed for success. We have to get people interested in those jobs.” That means exposing students to those type of jobs at an early age — 14 or 15 — rather than just before graduation, she said. It
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also involves improving offerings at community colleges and the technical training programs in public schools. To expand broadband access, Galante proposes “getting specific on a goal,” like laying fiber to extend the reach of internet providers. Virginia should also update existing maps showing what areas need service. The existing maps are outdated and based on commercial data for marketing purposes, she said. As a career, she works on cybersecurity issues. She just returned from Ukraine where there was an election recently. She was working on a post-election review to determine whether there had been any tampering.
88th District
In the 88th District, Jessica Foster of Remington is running against Kecia Evans of Stafford County for the Democratic Party nomination. The June 11 winner will face Republican Mark Cole, who doesn’t face a primary challenge. The 88th District includes parts of Fauquier, Spotsylvania and Stafford counties and part of the city of Fredericksburg. Foster is a defense attorney with an office in Manassas. “I’ve been doing a lot of door knocking. That’s how I got the most important feedback,” she said. “Many don’t know who their delegate is, which is unforJESSICA tunate. Some of FOSTER what I do is educating people about what the General Assembly does — that it has two chambers like Congress. “For the most part, people are saying they think health care is too expensive and they feel that education is not a priority. They are also sitting in traffic,” said Foster. Foster backs expansion of health insurance coverage to lower-income Virginians, regulating the prices of life-saving drugs and action by Congress to provide universal health coverage. Foster supports better pay for teachers, job training and apprentice-
ships for students who are not college bound and reducing the cost of college for those who are. Rather than expanding the road system, Foster supports greater investment in public transportation options. Her opponent, Kecia Evans, says education, affordable housing and transportation are the key issues she talks about on the campaign trail. She notes that Stafford County recently gave its teachers and school staff 5 percent pay raises. “We need to make sure they are even across the board” in other counties, she said. Higher pay puts affordable housing within reach. “A f f o r d a b l e housing is not low-income housing. It’s housing that public ser- KECIA EVANS vants like firefighters, police and teachers can purchase,” Evans said. Special education is of importance to her. Evans serves on a special education advisory committee in Stafford. “We talk a lot about class ratios,” she said, referring to the balance of students per teacher and how that can be improved so that teachers can spend more time with individual students. On the economic front, Evans said the minimum wage should be raised from its current $7.25 per hour level to put more money in the pockets of workers. Evans wants to look at ways to provide mass transit options to the 88th District. “If we could bring OmniRide to Aquia that would be great,” she said, referring to the Potomac and Rappahannock Transportation Commission. “We’d be getting more cars off the road. If Metro came to Prince William County that would be great.” She pledges to be “fiscally responsible” with taxpayer dollars if elected. “Not raising taxes is my goal,” Evans added. Reach James Ivancic at jivancic@ fauquier.com.
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NEWS
Fauquier Times | www.fauquier.com | May 29, 2019
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Fauquier Hospital scores a B on Leapfrog safety measures For the second time in a row, Fauquier Hospital in Warrenton has earned a “B” safety rating from The Leapfrog Group, an organization that assigns safety grades twice a year to hospitals around the country. CEO Chad Melton said that the hospital was “so close” to the “A” label for the spring 2019 release. The hospital’s overall score was 3.1442. In order to earn an “A,” the organization needed to achieve a score of 3.151, said Melton. Inova Health hospitals in Fairfax, Fair Oaks and Loudoun, as well as Novant Health facilities in Haymarket, Culpeper and Prince William all earned As, as did the University of Virginia Medical Center in Charlottesville. Mary Washington Hospital in Stafford and Winchester Medical Center earned Bs. Melton pointed out in an interview May 20 that the score to aim for changes each year. The score that earns an “A” is based on a percentage of hospitals that are performing at a certain level. And, he says, hospitals everywhere are upping their game. “The bar becomes higher every year.” He added that the requirements Leapfrog uses to judge hospital performance do not remain static. “Every year new requirements are put in place, he said. Leapfrog letter grades take into account objective data relating to
How Leapfrog arrives at safety scores Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grades are assigned to more than 2,600 general acute-care hospitals in the U.S. twice a year. The Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade uses national performance measures from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the Leapfrog Hospital Survey and other supplemental data sources. Some of the data used to tally a score is from 2018 measures; other data goes as far back as 2015. SOURCE: HOSPITALSAFETYGRADE.ORG
patient outcomes as well as patient surveys, which are more subjective. Letter grades are based on a combination of both types of data. It’s a complicated formula. The University of Virginia, for instance, earned an A overall, but its infection scores were below those of Fauquier Hospital, which scored a B overall. This spring was the first time since the spring of 2016 that UVA scored an A. The hospital earned Bs the previous six cycles. Another “A” hospital with a strong regional reputation, Inova Fairfax earned an A in the fall of 2018 but Bs for the previous five cycles. The Leapfrog website shows that some of
Fauqiuer Hospital earned a “B” safety rating from The Leapfrog Group for the Spring 2019 cycle. TIMES STAFF PHOTO/ ROBIN EARL
its surgery safety numbers are still below the national average. Fauquier Hospital scored well on infections and safe administration of medication. Several below-average areas fit under the heading of communication — communication with doctors, communication with nurses and responsiveness of hospital staff, for instance. Melton said the hospital is always working on communication. As examples, he cites the consistent use of white boards in patient rooms to share information with patients and families; bedside shift reports (a purposeful transfer of information — with the patient — during nursing shift changes), and leadership
rounding (managers and directors meet with patients to ensure patients are being updated about their care, to answer questions and address any issues). Melton said that Fauquier Hospital has a team in place to address patient care and patient satisfaction, which are tracked in real time. “In late April and May,” he said, scores started to improve. “We are doing a better job of communicating the ‘whys’ to patients and sharing information about follow-up plans.” He added that the hospital is fully staffed with nurses and that its use of agency nurses — nurses who work on a temporary basis and are not on staff — is down from 30 to nine.
Ten alcohol-related arrests over Memorial Day weekend
Fauquier County Sheriff’s Office deputies arrested 10 people over the Memorial Day weekend for offenses involving driving while intoxicated or being drunk in public, according to Sgt. James Hartman of the sheriff’s office. Three of the incidents resulted in car crashes. On Friday night, May 24, deputies found two people fighting in a driveway on Kelly Road in Warrenton. Madison Danza, 21, of Arlington, was arrested for being drunk in public, said Hartman. A few hours later, at 12:22 a.m. on Saturday on Alleghany Street in Warrenton, Hartman said, Brady Dixon, 22, of Warrenton was arrested for being drunk in public and felonious assault. Luke Frazier, 25, of Linden, was arrested for being drunk in public. Hartman said that deputies determined Dixon had assaulted Frazier and was also
found to be wanted by Warrenton Police for destruction of property. At 3:12 a.m. on Saturday, a sheriff’s deputy stopped a vehicle on the Eastern Bypass for speeding, said Hartman. Aizar Mendoza Mendoza, 41, of Reva, was arrested for driving under the influence. Marcos Hernandez, 29, of Culpeper, was arrested for being drunk in public, the spokesman said. Richard Schraf, 21, of Gainesville was arrested for being drunk in public just before 1 a.m. on Sunday on Vint Hill Road, Hartman said. On the evening of Sunday, May 26, Hartman said that a single-vehicle crash resulted in Stephen Ulrich, 30, of Manassas being arrested for DUI after he crashed a Jeep into a guard rail on Ashville Road in Delaplane. At about the same time, deputies arrested Jer-
emy Smith, 47, of Albany, New York, for being drunk in public in the area of Vint Hill Parkway and Farm Station Drive, Hartman said. He added that deputies were responding to a report of an individual jumping in front of moving vehicles. Kevin Matheny, 39, of Remington, was charged with DUI and reckless driving after side-swiping two vehicles traveling northbound on Remington Road on Monday night at 5:37 p.m., Hartman said. The three-vehicle crash was near Norfolk Southern Railway tracks and delayed train traffic until the crash was cleared, said Hartman. On Monday, May 27, at midnight, Hartman reported that Victoria Fredericks, 25, of Fairfax was arrested for DUI, refusal, and failure to maintain proper control after swerving to miss a deer and striking a guard rail on Beverley’s Mill Road in Broad Run.
The Plains residents asked to shelter in place Sunday night About 7:30 p.m. on Sunday, May 26, the Fauquier County Sheriff’s Office asked those who live on Bunker Hill Road near Featherstone Lane in The Plains to “please stay inside your house and shelter in place until further notice.” The FCSO commu-
nicated to residents through social media, the Everbridge Emergency Alert System and personal visits. Sgt. James Hartman explained that when deputies responded to a call to check on a resident regarding a medical issue, “the individual
was uncooperative and went inside the residence and would not come out. To preserve the safety of those living in the immediate area, deputies secured the area around the residence,” he said. Deputies, assisted by the Virginia
State Police, eventually were able to work with the individual, who was taken to receive medical assistance just after midnight, Hartman said. Residents were notified that the situation was resolved just after midnight. No criminal charges were filed.