The last of nine co-defendants charged with murder by mob in the 2007 death of a teenager at a Sweet 16 party in Caroline County pleaded guilty yesterday to a reduced charge. Deon Kirk Jeter, 18, pleaded guilty to felony malicious wounding and was sentenced to 20 years in jail, with all of that time suspended, in a plea agreement.... Full Story »
Culpeper seeks help on robbery at motel Culpeper town police are on the lookout for two men who robbed two construction workers at gunpoint yesterday morning.... Full Story »
The Culpeper Town Council is considering hiring a financial and utility consultant in an effort to determine just how much a proposed regional water and sewer authority will need to pay the town in subsidies. "We don't have the time and expertise to do it right," said Town Councilman Jim Risner. In preparation for its joint meeting with the Culpeper County Board of Supervisors tonight (regarding ... Full Story »
Orange Town Council members heard from the public Monday night about a plan to turn Round Hill Farm into a mixed-use community. But the council took no action on the proposed rezoning to allow the Uptown North Orange Traditional Neighborhood Development district. The application for the project calls for approximately 750 dwelling units and about 200,000 square feet of commercial, retail and ... Full Story »
coming TIRE STORE ROLLS INTO SPOTSYLVANIA... Full Story »
This time every year, women who joke that they've been around almost as long as Santa himself become elves in a workshop. But instead of making toys, they turn boxwood branches and bows into green centerpieces.... Full Story »
RICHMOND-- Gov.-elect Bob McDonnell and a leading House Republican budget writer both told reporters yesterday that any tax increases Gov. Tim Kaine puts in his outgoing budget are dead on arrival. Speaking separately to a group of journalists, McDonnell and Del. Kirk Cox, R-Colonial Heights, said they hope Kaine does not follow through on hints that his budget may roll back the car-tax cut or ... Full Story »
The Stafford County School Board last night discussed providing midyear raises to all employees instead of bonuses to some. The School Board had not voted as of The Free Lance-Star's deadline. Member Robert Belman, who leaves the School Board in January, proposed the raises, and Doreen Phillips seconded his motion.... Full Story »
Marion E. Hicks' five-decade-old farm on Hudgins Road off U.S. 1 in Spotsylvania County will soon be a residential subdivision, after he won approval for his rezoning yesterday. The public hearing on Summerfield, which is what Hicks is calling the 34-acre project of 44 single-family homes and 83 detached homes, was on Nov. 10. Supervisor Benjamin Pitts had asked that the vote be postponed to ... Full Story »
A Stafford man who shot and killed his wife in front of their son pleaded guilty yesterday to first-degree murder. Francisco Escobar, 46, entered the plea in Stafford Circuit Court just before a scheduled three-day jury trial was about to start.... Full Story »
Culpeper town police are asking for the public's help in finding a man who stole a bag of money from a convenience store Sunday night. Store clerk Maggy Johnston said she was closing out her shift at Speedy Green's Amoco about 10 p.m. when a man came in the South Main Street store with his girlfriend.... Full Story »
A traffic stop Sunday morning led to a drug arrest for the Culpeper town police. According to a news release, Officer Andy Berry stopped a 2000 Dodge Dakota pickup on North Main Street about 4:30 a.m. because he suspected the driver was drunk.... Full Story »
Fredericksburg's Planning Commission will sit down tomorrow with a task force that has been working for three years on a preservation plan for the entire city. At the meeting, which will be held at 7 p.m. on the second floor of City Hall, members of the historic preservation task force will go over their draft of the plan with commission members.... Full Story »
The University of Mary Washington has finally received its first shipment of H1N1 vaccine and will be offering shots to its students this week. The university received 1,000 doses of the vaccine from the Rappahannock Area Health District last Wednesday. Students 24 and younger can get either the injectable or nasal-spray versions at a daylong clinic today and an evening clinic tomorrow in the ... Full Story »
With a month left to complete her nursing school applications, Carley Rodick can cross one thing off her list of things to worry about. Paying for school.... Full Story »
A Fredericksburg man was arrested Friday after he kicked in a man's door and tried to drag away his former girlfriend, police said. City police spokeswoman Natatia Bledsoe said the incident took place about 4:40 p.m. in the 1600 block of Charles Street.... Full Story »
CITY SCHOOLS Hugh Mercer Elementary... Full Story »
Bereaved families set memorial service The Fredericksburg chapter of Compassionate Friends will be part of a worldwide memorial service on Sunday to remember all children who have died.... Full Story »
Passenger killed after driver is stricken A Spotsylvania woman was killed in a single-vehicle crash Saturday morning after the car's driver suffered a heart attack and lost control of the vehicle, according to the Spotsylvania County Sheriff's Office.... Full Story »
Sheet after sheet filled with fat, golden cookies came out of the professional ovens at the Spotsylvania Career and Technical Center. The scent of sugar permeated the air. Students pressed cookie cutters into flattened disks of pale dough, creating trees, bells, wreaths and angels.... Full Story »
A state delegate is trying again to overturn a rule forbidding state police chaplains from praying to Jesus Christ at public police events. Del. Charles Carrico, R-Grayson, a former state trooper himself, is reintroducing a bill that would prohibit the state police from regulating the content of chaplains' prayers at events.... Full Story »
LEISURE CLASSES American Red Cross Baby-sitter Training Course: Dec. 19, for ages 11-15. Registration deadline Friday. Fee: $50.... Full Story »
Chamber Chorale's Christmas concert The Chamber Chorale of Fredericksburg's annual Christmas Concert and Candlelight Carol Sing is Dec. 19 at 7:30 p.m. and Dec. 20 at 3 p.m. at Fredericksburg United Methodist Church, 308 Hanover St. The choir and guest brass quartet will perform Daniel Pinkham's "Christmas Cantata," plus an array of seasonal holiday favorites. The program will close with the ... Full Story »
Robert Newton can't stand to see a hungry child. In the past 25 years, he has seen quite a few. They come to the emergency aid office he runs, when their parents ask for help.... Full Story »
Enrollment in Spotsylvania County schools increased by 16 students over the previous school year, but included 210 more students than expected. The unexpected increase was apparently due to economic issues as the school division absorbed students who previously attended private schools, maintenance and transportation director Scott Worner recently told the School Board.... Full Story »
Christmas decorations illuminate Berlin's main shopping streets. AP Photo/Franka Bruns
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