Stafford Elementary Schoolers Collect 2,000 Cereal Boxes for Food Bank

by Adele UphausMANAGING EDITOR AND CORRESPONDENT Grafton Village Elementary’s second annual cereal box drive for the Fredericksburg Regional Food Bank started slowly, but by the end of last week, the shelves of the local Giant’s cereal aisle were cleared out and the school’s hallways, stairwell, and gym were filled instead. Students and staff collected more […]

Easter Sunday and the Search for Peace

This is the time of year where Easter Sunday becomes the center for many. Here’s what it means to me. by SHAUN KENNEYColumnist (and Penitent Easter Catholic) My Lenten traditions start with a tiny little book I keep above the fireplace consisting of a hardback edition of St. Thomas Aquinas’ Lenten Reflections. These reflections begin right […]

Stafford Supervisors Can’t or Won’t Answer School Board Questions

As financial situation for school district grows more dire, questions arise about extent to which the Board of Supervisors are hearing the district’s needs. by Adele UphausMANAGING EDITOR AND CORRESPONDENT The Stafford County Board of Supervisors indicated this week that it could not, or would not, answer most of the questions posed earlier this month […]

Fredericksburg School Board Approves Budget

by Adele UphausMANAGING EDITOR AND CORRESPONDENT Fredericksburg City Public Schools expects to receive more funding from the state of Virginia for next fiscal year than originally anticipated, but there is still a gap of about $1.5 million between proposed revenues and expenditures. The School Board on Friday morning approved the budget for fiscal year 2025, […]

Environmental Cents

by Bruce SallerWRITER Heating and cooling our homes is the source of our greatest energy use according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.  There are two efficiency ratings for a heat pump: SEER – Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio – is the number that represents the average cooling output in British Thermal Units per Watt-Hour (BTUs/WH).  […]

Chronic Absenteeism on the Spotsylvania School Board

by ADELE UPHAUSMANAGING EDITOR AND CORRESPONDENT Spotsylvania School Board members April Gillespie, Berkeley district representative, and Lisa Phelps, Lee Hill district representative, have either been absent or left early from nine out of the 10 meetings the School Board has held so far this year. Both board members left the January 8 organizational meeting early […]

Resignations, Vacancies Trouble King George Fire Department

by ADELE UPHAUSMANAGING EDITOR AND CORRESPONDENT Just three months into 2023, the King George County Department of Fire, Rescue, and Emergency Services has seen nine employees resign. Chief David Moody communicated this information to the county human resources department, members of the Board of Supervisors, and Norm Risavi, part-time senior advisor to the Board, in […]

Spotsy Schools’ Maintenance Issues Threaten Buildings, Instruction

A decade’s worth of neglected maintenance and underfunding, paired with rapid growth and unprecedented demographic change, has left Spotsylvania County’s school system crippled, and facing an uncertain future. by Martin DavisEDITOR-IN-CHIEF Down in the bowels of Chancellor Middle School sits a relic from 1987. A roughly six-foot tall metal box with rows of black fuse […]