Daily News-Record

Presgraves Wins Luray Mayor's Race
Luray -Councilman Barry Presgraves emerged the winner in a two-way race for mayor on Tuesday by a 20-percent margin. Unofficial results announced Tuesday night showed Presgraves earning 566 votes, or 60 percent of those cast. His opponent, Councilwoman Nancy Lee Shifflett received 368 votes, or 39 percent. “I’m excite...

Blazers Drop Tri-Meet, Pick Up Wins At EMU
HARRISONBURG — Turner Ashby swept a boys and girls tri-meet against Massanutten District rivals Spotswood and Harrisonburg last Wednesday. The TA girls topped Harrisonburg, 73-51, with Spotswood in third place with 47 points. Brianna Mitchell, Jessy Moubray, Meghan Clark and Melinda Laycock earned event victories for the Bl...

Stonewall Finds Win Column
Quicksburg - It’s hard to keep focus in any sport when starting a season 0-13, however that’s just what the Stonewall Jackson High School softball team did. Following competitive Shenandoah District outings at Riverheads and Page County, Stonewall won its first game of the season 8-4 over Buffalo Gap last Wednesday. Then, aft...

Annual Festival Of Spring Planned For This Weekend
The fourth edition of downtown Luray’s Festival of Spring will be back and bigger than ever this coming Saturday, when nearly 150 vendors will converge downtown. After last year’s turnout of about 5,000 visitors, event organizers are expecting an even larger crowd in 2008. One of the event’s perennial highlights...

Two Incumbents Win Re-Election To Luray Council
Luray - Incumbent councilmen Leroy Lancaster and Earl “Rock” Racer won re-election to four-year terms on Tuesday, with former town manager and police chief Jerry Schiro winning the third available seat on council. Lancaster finished with 691 votes, Schiro earned 621 votes and Racer received 596 votes. The fourth candidate, H....

Shenandoah Elects New Councilman; Two Incumbents Retain Seats
Shenandoah - A six-way race for three seats on the town council saw two incumbents win re-election — and a first-time candidate in town elections win the most votes of anyone. R.J. “Russ” Comer Jr. was the highest vote-getter with 261 votes. Councilmen Keith Sampson and Richard Pierce earned 240 and 203 votes, respectiv...

Again, Mrs. Neal, Resign
For some reason no mere mortal could divine, Becky Neal, the suspended city treasurer, seems fixed on putting Harrisonburg through the high drama of a court battle to keep her office just weeks ahead of her scheduled trial on multiple felonies. ...

Reading First?
Well, that was a cool $6 billion down the drain. The nation learned this week that the federal government spent that amount — $6 billion, can you believe it? — on a reading program whose effect on the skill level of America's young has been, at best, negligible. ...

A Day On The Course
For the members of the Harrisonburg Disc Golf Community, their organization came together just as casually as they play the game. "All we did was just kind of group people together because there's already so many people playing," said Ben Earman, one of the founders. In early February, Earman, Tim Brady, Johnny Griffin and John Marr orga...

Alternative Fuels
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Dinner Theater Shows To Benefit McGaheysville Baby
What happens when a superstitious singles cruise ship captain is forced to set sail on the anniversary of the day his teenage love moved away? "He's expecting bad things to happen and of course they do ...  it becomes a mess," says Teresa Stewart, who plays the ship's purser in the Crimora Players production of "Anchors Aweigh."...

EMU Prep Music Celebrates 20 Years
It's been 20 years of making youthful melodies, with no end in sight. The Preparatory Music Program at Eastern Mennonite University will celebrate its 20th anniversary with a group concert at 4 p.m. on May 11 in EMU's Lehman Auditorium. More than 100 string students, ages 3-18, will perform music from the Suzuki repertoire. The group inc...

Neal Pleads Guilty
HARRISONBURG — Rebecca Neal pleaded guilty today to the felony offense of misusing public funds, said Commonwealth's Attorney Marsha Garst during a press conference. Neal was ...

Say What
This months' winner is Peter Calvert. Calvert, 47, of Grottoes, works in technical support at James Madison University. He and wife Bobbie live in Grottoes with their son. Runners Up: n "My...

Obama Can Withstand A Battering
ROCKY MOUNT, N.C. THE PRIMARIES IN North Carolina and Indiana, which gave Barack Obama a decisive push toward the Democratic nomination, were wrapped in two i...

Mini-Cakes Are Easy To Make Ahead
It’s time to clean up the patio furniture and dust off the grill for spring and summer entertaining. Grilling is a fast and easy way to prepare the main course and sides. The mini tasty-fill cake pan set makes it simple to prepare elegant single-serving desserts guaranteed to impress your friends and family. What is...

Building Permits and Property Transfers
Property Transfers The following property transfers, for at least $150,000 each, were recorded April 16-22. Rockingham County April 16Sergey Yavny and Irina Yavnaya to KHM Boyers Road LLC, about 1.6 acres southeast of Boyers Road, Central District, $150,000.Li...

Say What?
Make us laugh, keep it clean (this is a family paper), and keep it brief (brevity is the soul of wit). Mail the caption, along with the cartoon and your full name and city where you live to: Say What?Daily News-RecordP.O. Box 193Harrisonburg, VA 22803 You can also submit your entry ...

Obama Delivers A 'Pure Load' On Wright
BARACK OBAMA LOOKED pale and wan at what he called his "big press conference" about the Rev. Jeremiah Wright on Tuesday afternoon. Numb. Chastened. Defeated. Extolled for his eloquence, Obama stuttered and stammered his way through the question-and-answer session. It appeared...

Old-time Smugglers Were Anti-Tax Heroes
WHILE IT'S POLITICALLY popular to impose confiscatory taxes on America's 40 million tobacco smokers, there are a number of consequences one might consider, but let's start out with a quiz. If a carton of cigarettes sells for $160 in New York City, and $35 in North Carolina, w...

What About White, Right Wing 'False Prophets'
NEW YORK DO WHITE RIGHT-WING preachers have it easier than black left-wing preachers? Is there a double standard? ...

Rockingham Male Chorus Hosts Concert At Mount Bethel COB
The Rockingham Male Chorus will perform at 7 p.m. on Sunday at Mount Bethel Church of the Brethren, 8550 Robinson Road, just west of Dayton. The Rockingham Male Chorus, also known as the "Singing Men," consists of 50 members, all volunteers, from various backgrounds and denomi-nations. A husband-wife team of David and Kathy Ma...

Religion Calendar
SATURDAY »BERGTON RECREATION CENTER will host a community gospel sing at 6 p.m. featuring The Promised Land Quartet. The event is sponsored by area churches. Doors will open at 5 p.m. Food will be available. A freewill offering will be collected. »ELKTON CHURCH OF GOD, 102 W. E St. and U.S. 340, will ...

Readers: Replies Don't Always Come But I'm Listening
It's a nice problem to have, and while there may be other ways to address it, I'll give it the ole college try. After all, isn't the Bishop supposed to have the last word? This weekly assemblage of words that somehow comes together, often at the eleventh hour, to form a reasonable sequence of sense (and sometimes nonsense) does a...

The Young And The Pampered
It's 7 p.m. on a recent Thursday and Dayton's Hair Corral is almost empty. In a back room behind the manicure stations, stylist Susie Swecker adds strips of foil to her client's hair. "If I mess up your hair, will you go to school tomorrow?" she asks. "Probably," says Samantha Rubush, 11. "Depends on how bad it is." Sweck...

'Cornbread Nation' Salutes Southern Food
Anyone who has ever split a fresh biscuit or held a steaming cup of Brunswick stew during a chilly outdoor event will appreciate "Cornbread Nation 4," the fourth in the series of books focusing on Southern food. In case you missed them, the others are: "Cornbread Nation 1: The Best of Southern Food Writing," "Cornbread Nation 2: The United State...

Everyone Can Participate In Local Food Movement
Probably most of us are becoming more and more aware of the terrible cost of our modern way of producing food. When I grew up on the farm, we raised almost all of our food. We had large gardens and raised animals to butcher for our meat, eating fresh produce abundantly during summer, and canning or freezing our supply of food for the winter. The...

An Over-The-Top Dessert For Mother's Day
Mother should never wear an apron on Mother's Day. Take Mother out to dinner or serve her dinner at home. What would Mother really enjoy? Although the roast beef may be juicy and tender and the corn pudding baked just right, it's the dessert that she will remember long after dinner has ended. Recognizing that desserts are not known for t...

Yumasetti Recipe Is Quick To Make, Tasty To Eat
By Elizabeth Eicher, Age 13  I am giving Mom a break during this busy spring season of readying the garden. The first garden goodies are already coming up. We have peas, lettuce, radishes, onions and potatoes planted. We were going to plant more on Friday but it rained and the garden was too wet. The asparagus is st...

Wine Is The Word
According to Shields Hood, this region of the country "is a Mecca for wine geeks ... it's one of the places outside of Napa Valley where you come to hone your skills," he said. And he would know. As a Certified Specialist of Wine, Certified Wine Educator and a Master of Wine aspirant, Hood has spent the last 37 years in the wine business...

FFA Students 'Go Green' With Springtime Project
ELKTON — It’s springtime at Elkton Middle School, and the thoughts of some students have lightly turned to horticulture, and the planting of vegetables and flowers. This was not quite the result anticipated by poet Tennyson, who suggested “love,” not gardening, as the object of springtime attention. But fo...

Cookbooks Offer Original Recipes
ELKTON —  You can tell a book by its cover, goes the old saw. But there are several aspects to the just-published Elkton Centennial Jubilee Cookbook, compiled by Colleen Grady, that don’t quite fit the old saying. Not many would suspect a recipe for “Onion Pie,” submitted by Wanda Billhimer, would be hiding i...

A Better Elkton Holds Its First Public Forum
ELKTON — Trying its wings for the first time at public meetings, the local group “A Better Elkton” held a meeting last Friday night at the Elkton Area Community Center. The meeting was billed as an opportunity for citizens to present their views on town politics. “This is not a debate,” said convener...

Elkton Students Are Dancin' Through The Years
From the Charleston to hip-hop, the Elkton Recreation Dance Program’s annual dance show will cover “Dancing thru the Decades.” The production will be held May 16-18 in the Spotswood High School auditorium. “These kids are ready for a big audience,” says Mary-Liz Humphrey, director of the  progra...

Voice Of Strasburg Case Dead
STRASBURG - The Supreme Court of Virginia has filed a writ decision denying the grassroots group Voice of Strasburg an appeal in the case regarding the rezoning of the property known as the Island Farm. In July 2006, the group filed a lawsuit contending that the town failed to give proper notice to property owners adjacent to the land in questio...

Hutton To Chair The Herald's 2008 Leadership Awards Committee
Woodstock - With managing editor Susan Beaver Thompson new to the job, David Hutton has agreed to again chair The Shenandoah Valley-Herald’s annual Leadership Awards. Hutton lives in Woodstock and is the manager of Woodstock’s BB & T branch. Here are a few highlights about Hutton’s background: • H...

Beyond The Sideline
Two years ago, local high school coaches had to play doctor. Since hiring athletic trainers, Shenandoah County student-athletes have been placed in better hands — and all parties are happier. “We take the stress off the coaches,” Strasburg athletic trainer Abbie Hansberger said. Introducing Teresa Martil...

Is This The End Of Hillary?
One of the more famous lines in cinematic history was uttered by Edward G. Robinson in the 1931 film "Little Caesar." Dying at the hands of police, gangster Caesar Enrico Bandello (Mr. Robinson) mustered the words, "Mother of mercy, is this the end of Rico?" ...

What Is Wright's Motivation
The following thesis has been bandied about in streetcorner-type venues where the issues of the day are hashed and rehashed, but not until earlier this week did we see it actually posited in print. That would be the "real" reason for the Rev. Jeremiah Wright's rather florid defense of his, ah...

Bridgewater Gun Debate Was Great
KUDOS TO THE firearms debate at Bridgewater College ("Bridgewater College to Host Firearms Debate," April 9). This debate ...

Flora Named To Shentel Board
John W. Flora has been elected to the board of directors of Shenandoah Telecommunications Co. Flora is a senior partner with Lenhart Obenshain PC, a Harrisonburg-based law firm. He earned his law degree at the College of William & Mary and focuses his practice on business and tax law. Flora will serve a three-year ter...

Want To Treat Mom Right? Shop Locally
Let's face it. Most Americans have too much stuff. Including your mother. This year we'll spend $15.8 billion on Mother's Day gifts. That's right, billions. Where will we spend it? What will we buy? Who gets our money? Let's start with flowers. Unfortunately, as your mother buries her nose in that beautiful bouque...

FundFest 2.0
If it ain't broke, don't fix it, says conventional wisdom. And, for more than a decade, FundFest, a bi-monthly summer concert series, has done a fine job raising money for area charities and civic organizations, said Scott Heinz of the John D. Eiland Co. Sometimes, however, even the tried-and-true has the potential to grow into something...

Simple: Just Sweep
HARRISONBURG - One win would be OK for James Madison. Two would be nice. But to get to where they really want to be, the Dukes would have to beat North Carolina-Wilmington three times in this weekend's baseball series. It would take no less than a sweep of first-place UNCW for second-place Madison to usurp the Seahawks' ...

It's Official Now: Group AA Split
HARRISONBURG - Just as in Group A last season, there will be two Group AA high school basketball champions beginning in 2008-09 - despite opposition from most of the Massanutten District. The Virginia High School League executive committee voted 25-1 Wednesday to split Group AA into a Division 3 and a Division 4 for both...

18-1 Not Good Enough
With his team in the midst of an unexpectedly tight district title race, Luray High School baseball coach Steve Griffith finds himself without five key players. No worries, though: It isn't illness, injury or suspension that has thinned the lineup, but a long-running senior trip to Florida. The quintet - Jeremy Leake, Brad Painte...

Vaccaro, EMHS Advance
HARRISONBURG - Heather Vaccaro was more than a little annoyed in the bottom of the second inning of Eastern Mennonite High School's 15-0 slaughter-rule win over Carlisle in the quarterfinals of the Blue Ridge Conference softball tournament Thursday. Vaccaro, EMHS's starting pitcher, had retired the first six batters she ...

Pitching's The 'Key'
HARRISONBURG - Ronney Cornwell knew he was in for an exodus, but that didn't make things much easier. The Montezuma Braves' 2006 Rockingham County Baseball League championship marked the end of the careers of most of the hitters in their starting lineup. Some left for job reasons. Others because years of wear and tear ha...

Shoe Retailer Closing Doors
HARRISONBURG - Jack Collins Shoe Store, a fixture in downtown for 40 years, is closing May 31. Owner Keith Malos is liquidating the inventory and selling the store fixtures. Malos, who has owned the store for 17 years, plans to retire. "We're an old-fashioned, fitting shoe store," Malos said. "We measure you and ...

Downtown Store Finds New Corner
HARRISONBURG - La De Da Inc., a women's fashion boutique that opened in Harrisonburg last year, is moving to a new downtown location. Owner Carole Hughes is renovating the former Victoria Floral & Baskets and plans to move in by the end of May. Moving from a 1,200-square-foot space in the Keezel Building to 1...

Shelter Serves 68 Homeless During Winter
HARRISONBURG - A 15-week program that provided shelter to the homeless through a network of community churches provided 68 people with a place to go during the winter months, according to the organization that provided the service. Making the Harrisonburg And Rockingham Thermal Shelter program possible were 672 people wh...

Judge Continues Student-Teacher Sex Crime Case
HARRISONBURG - A former Tuner Ashby High School student-teacher accused of having an inappropriate relationship with a student days after she left the school appeared in Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court Thursday. A judge continued the case against Ashley Esposito, 24, of Harrisonburg, to Sept. 11. E...

Workshop Takes Aim At Pond Care
AUGUSTA COUNTY - Rivers, streams and creeks have been in the news a lot lately due to the plague of fish kills and environmental concerns about runoff and its impact on the Chesapeake Bay. But what about Mother Nature's other watery receptacles - specifically, ponds? They need just as much TLC as their aquatic cousins....

Patients In W.Va. Counties May See Slate Of New Treatment Options
PETERSBURG, W.Va. - Cancer and dialysis patients in Pendleton, Grant and Hardy counties may soon have treatment options much closer to home than what is now available. Grant Memorial Hospital in Petersburg has established a once-a-month oncology outpatient clinic, which will be based at the hospital and operated by the W...

Page Plant Rises Again
STANLEY - Page County will be the new home of a recycling plant that will create alternative fuel sources, as well as 60 new manufacturing jobs for the area, county officials announced Thursday. Shenandoah Waste Services will spend $4 million to turn the old Alma Poultry plant into a facility that recycles industrial and...

City GOP Ready For A Ticket
HARRISONBURG - The Harrisonburg Republican Committee is expected to nominate its slate of candidates for City Council at 9 a.m. Saturday morning in the Municipal Building at 345 S. Main St. Councilman Charles Chenault, 55, Planning Commissioner J.M. Snell, 45, and criminal defense attorney Tracy Evans, 31, are expected t...

Food Bank Hopes For A Delivery
HARRISONBURG - With the cost of groceries soaring, demand for help is up while donations are down, leaving the Blue Ridge Area Food Network in a pinch, officials said. On Saturday, letter carriers across the nation will host their annual "Stamp Out Hunger" food collection. It's the country's largest single-day food drive...