UMW Athletes Have Direct Connection to Fredericksburg Nuisance Violations
Almost all 23 of the nuisance and noise ordinance violations that have written reports since the summer of 2011 have been to University of Mary Washington students, and most are athletes. Most of the violators only got a warning from the judges.
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Nearly all of the written violations of Fredericksburg's nuisance or noise ordinance since mid-2011 are against University of Mary Washington students and most are for athletes, including a group of repeat offenders who will be evicted from their apartment.
Fredericksburg Patch reviewed each written violation to the city’s nuisance and noise ordinance to determine what happens once the cases reach the judicial system and to find out how often the violations are connected to university students.
Almost all 23 charges involve University of Mary Washington current or former students. Most—15 of 23—involved athletes in the basketball, tennis, field hockey, track and field, soccer and lacrosse programs, according to court records and documents requested from the city and the police department. Of all of the cases filed since the summer of 2011, only one resulted in an outright guilty plea and the female student was fined $10 plus $94 in court fees for the charge on Oct. 30, 2011. One other student, a former soccer player, prepaid his $84 court fees.
The rest of the cases either remain active or the judge gave a deferred disposition for the case after issuing a warning when the students pleaded guilty. A deferred disposition basically means that the judge does not make a ruling in the case and will dismiss the charge if the student is on good behavior for a period of usually six months. Most of the students have not been charged again since the first incident and effectively avoided any punishment other than paying $84 in court fees.
UMW Vice President of Student Affairs Doug Searcy wrote a response to Fredericksburg Patch late last night. He said the university does listen to community concerns and it has taken numerous steps to ensure off-campus students are behaving, and a majority of the students are behaving.
It is important to note that filing the charges has changed the behavior of some students who live off campus.
Santiago D. Sueiro and his roommate, Colin Gannon, both live in a rental on Dandridge Street. They were charged for violating the noise ordinance on Oct. 22, 2011. Sueiro said it was Homecoming and they had a party in the home with about 30 people. He said a neighbor knocked on the door because the neighbor needed a parking space for a handicapped relative, but he was unable to find the owner of the vehicle. Shortly after, the police arrived and cited them with violating the noise ordinance.
"It was about 10:15 p.m. and the 30 people who were there when the neighbors showed up had mostly left when the police got there," he said. He said because there was a prior noise complaint filed on the home, the police cited them for a violation. Sueiro said they pleaded guilty and the judge gave them a warning and deferred their cases to April 17, when the charge will be dismissed.
"He didn’t want to see us there again," Sueiro said.
Sueiro said they haven't had any parties at the house since then and that the citation did change their behavior. He said it has become a pattern that UMW as a whole is taking the brunt of the criticism.
"I guess we’re used to it at this point," he said. “There was a bit of a misunderstanding perhaps. We understand that it might be a little bit of a pain to have 30 kids next door when you are trying to have relatives come in or whatever.”
Working Together?
Tonight at 7 in Lee Hall Room 411 the UMW Student Government Association is having a town-hall style meeting where students and local residents can discuss and air their concerns. Lee Hall is off Campus Drive on the left and directions are attached with this article.
Monique dela Cruz, SGA vice president, said she hopes students and residents can peacefully and constructively discuss the issue and solutions, and build a greater understanding of both perspectives.
“Should students be more conscious of their actions? Yes. Are some members of the community stereotyping students as a whole? Yes," dela Cruz said Tuesday. "The school and the students, we do good things for the community. I think both sides could be more open minded and ask ourselves, how can we work together?"
Evictions Pending at 1503 Stafford Ave.
One of the biggest problem homes is 1503 Stafford Ave., rented by Ryan E. Farrar, Craig Stephen Silverthorne and Thomas A. Dickman. Farrar and Dickman are UMW basketball players and Silverthorne is a former player. The UMW basketball program is still reeling from last week's arrest of UMW basketball head coach Rod Wood on charges of refusing to submit to a breath or blood test, DUI and reckless driving. Farrar also has prior charges of underage possession of alcohol and a DUI charge stemming from a traffic stop on March 18, 2010. He was found guilty of the DUI charge and the other charge was dismissed after he paid a $350 fine and $174 in court costs.
These three students have been cited twice—on Jan. 28 and on Sept. 24, 2011—for violations of the city’s noise ordinance. During the Jan. 28 incident, Nicholas Shepherd, a 19-year-old UMW soccer player, and Samuel Wichlin, a 20-year-old UMW tennis player, were also cited with charges of underage possession of alcohol. Police said Shepherd allegedly used false identification to avoid arrest.
The violations cited to Farrar, Dickman and Silverthorne from the Sept. 24, 2011, incident were deferred to May 1, 2012 after the judge gave them a warning. Silverthorne is the only one who had three violations of the city noise ordinance, including one from Oct. 19, 2010. He pleaded guilty and was fined $300 plus $84 in court costs. He was also found guilty of being drunk in public on April 9, 2010, but it is unclear what his punishment was for the incident.
The home at 1503 Stafford Ave. is owned by Bill Vakos of WJ Vakos and Company, which developed the Courthouse Village in Spotsylvania County. Fredericksburg City Attorney Katherine Dooley twice informed Vakos that the city has been getting complaints about the tenants of this home. But the city did not get any response back from Vakos until Dooley sent a second letter on Feb. 13 notifying him that the tenants were charged with violating the noise ordinance again. Two days laters, Vakos wrote back.
“My apologies for the inconvenience caused by the tenants at the above address,” Vakos wrote. “Please be advised that we have retained R. Scott Pugh, Attorney, to begin the eviction process against all tenants currently residing therein.”
Vakos did not return a message seeking comment for this article.
The three tenants of 1503 Stafford Ave. were scheduled to be in General District Court on Tuesday, but their cases were continued to March 13. Attempts to reach the students for comment were unsuccessful.
Community Complaints
UMW is limited in what it can do with students who live off campus, but Searcy said there is a judicial process for students who misbehave. Some students move off campus in the first place to get away from the rules and disciplinary measures. For example, it is easier to smuggle alcohol to an apartment off campus than it is on campus. But what's also difficult for the university is that even with its new student dorm complex in Eagle Village, there still aren't enough rooms to house every student.
Many students laugh at the notion that UMW is a party school, because comparitvely speaking it isn't. What complicates the issue is that off-campus housing in home rentals can be scattered among long-established neighborhoods. In the case of 1503 Stafford Ave., an elderly widow and a family with a young daughter are the two closest neighbors and Living Word Fellowship Church is directly across the street. Most people on that street own their homes and have for years. A few party houses in different neighborhoods can adversly impact the university's image, and they have in Fredericksburg.
A lot of the landlords of these rentals don't live in the city and they are less inclined to respond to community concerns, let alone maintain the homes in good condition, which is a complaint residents have made to City Council.
Rodger Provo, a resident of the College Heights neighborhood, wrote an opinion editorial to The Free-Lance Star that was critical of the university for not wanting to acknowledge "the damage that their students are doing to College Heights" and criticized the police department for what he called a "passive response to concerns in the community."
Provo recently met with college officials and said he thought the meeting went well. He said they discussed the university conducting a housing study to better determine where students live off campus and some specific steps that could be taken to help solve the problems. UMW's Searcy also mentioned some of the steps the university has taken and that he gave the list to Provo to review.
"It is important to note that the university has implemented ongoing support for community concerns as issues have been brought to our attention," Searcy said. "For example, two years ago the University instituted the off-campus judicial policy to address student behavior concerns within the local community."
Police Respond
Fredericksburg Police spokeswoman Natatia Bledsoe said the police chief plans to attend tonight's SGA meeting. She said the police responses to these concerns have been almost entirely complaint driven.
"Any arrests stemming from these complaints have always been and will continue to be discretionary, based on the circumstances present at each incident," she said. "For example, if a tenant has already received a warning about noise for a previous party at his house and the police respond there again for the same problem, the tenant will then be arrested for violation of the noise ordinance. Alcohol violations do not need a prior warning, but they also must be handled with reasonableness. A party with 50 guests, all of whom have some level of intoxication, will not result in 50 arrests."
Bledsoe said the city has had an increase in complaints related to UMW student behavior off campus since the beginning of this school year. Most of the complaints focus on noise, trash and alcohol consumption. In response to the increasing number of complaints, the police department now:
- tracks addresses that are the source of complaints and refers those with repeated violations to the City Attorney’s office for action,
- notifies the UMW administration of all arrests of UMW students, including the type of offense and the circumstances surrounding the offense. The University then refers the involved students for administrative review.
- Started a special overtime detail consisting of one or two officers who patrol areas known for disruptive student activity. The patrols have been working on Friday and Saturday nights primarily in the College Heights neighborhood, but they are expanding to include Thursday nights and other neighborhoods where complaints are highest. The University has agreed to share funding for this enforcement.
This new level of enforcement has resulted in more arrests. During the first semester, 31 students were arrested for various crimes (mainly noise violation, public intoxication, and underage possession of alcohol). However, since the start of the second semester 36 students have been arrested.
"The most significant difference has been for underage possession of alcohol, which increased from five arrests in the first semester to 14 arrests during the second," Bledsoe said, adding that not all of these arrests are related to house parties. "Obviously the police department has taken the concerns of the neighborhood residents very seriously, and we intend to continue this attention on alcohol and nuisance violations until the problems are abated."
Annoyed Student
10:19 am on Wednesday, February 22, 2012
The people of the Fredericksburg community need to realize they live next to a COLLEGE. We aren't that big, we don't have frats, and for the most part we don't drink and drive - so get over it! Did any of you go to college? Did you have fun? When you were 18 - 21 years old did you drink? If so, please have some sympathy! We want to have fun, but now not only are you hindering our college experience you're ruining it! People are getting arrested for walking with alcohol in their system, people who are not even wasted, just drunk -- at other schools this would not even be an issue! Do you want us to drink and drive? Because we're going to drink no matter what! Would you rather have to deal with a little noise or serious traffic accidents?
Honestly the university should invest in some on campus housing so that the area can be contained, NOT ELIMINATED. The reason people aren't staying here is because it's really annoying that we can't party, and then when we go to the bars we get ARRESTED for walking!
Why would you build a school here if you didn't want kids to have a college experience? We aren't bad people, we all go in to a respectable institution - we just want to act our age.
Dan Telvock
11:18 am on Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Well, now there's a local resident who is trying to control what happens in your bedrooms.
Dan Telvock
11:25 am on Wednesday, February 22, 2012
In November, Rodger Provo emailed council members and staff asking them to amend the zoning laws to prohibit students from having their significant others spending the night. He feels it violates the ordinance that dictates how many people can legally live in a home, even though the subject doesn't live there.
"Mr. Cameron is out of the office for the day. I am writing to ask that you follow up with him and Mr. Ocel about this matter. This is the second UMW male student who has a residence elsewhere in the community who has shared a bedroom in this home with this girlfriend. I think the city should have a zero tolerance about such situations. Likewise, this type of abuse by UMW students needs to be discussed with the university."
UMW Faculty
12:11 pm on Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Dan,
You have too much time on your hand. This is wrong/illegal and you are posting information in which students have been summoned, but not charged. You are on par with 18 year old "UMW Bullet" writers. You should know that putting these kids' names in articles when they haven't even been charged is wrong. Maybe that's why you haven't accomplished anything in your writing career and have to stoop to a Fredericksburg blog that no one even knows exists. I suggest you delete these "kids" names and reassess your career.
Dan Telvock
12:25 pm on Wednesday, February 22, 2012
UMW Faculty, a summons is a charge. As for the rest of your comments, thank you, but I am proud of my accomplishments that include three first-place state awards for investigative journalism, including the top award in the state in 2003 and nearly again in 2004. In 2010, I won the top award in investigative journalism while at the Free Lance Star, and I anticipate that the same quality journalism will be churned out here with Patch, which has more than 800 sites across the nation and more than 10 million visits per month. For Fredericksburg Patch, well over 20,000 people come here for news each month, which is more than the city's population and above 100-percent saturation for the market we are trying to reach. But success is debatable. I will continue working hard and providing readers with quality journalism. Brazen of you to use a real name, too.
Ander
1:09 pm on Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Oh No! Students are fornicating! Heathens. I wonder if we can do anything with the local law enforcement to geld all the male students so they don't reproduce! Hopefully by the end of the semester all the students will have criminal records, preventing them from getting jobs, which makes them move in with their parents, which makes their parents lose all their money paying for some kid who got too drunk one night and college and some old fart got woken up at 9:30 and gosh darnet they just had to call the police! No but seriously, there should be a common ground for both students and permanent residents. A lot of these charges are eliminating students from an extremely competitive job market that is just around the corner for them. Next time you pick up the phone to call the police, think "is this one night of disturbance really worth sacrificing someone's future?" oh yeah, and we'll they'll be paying for us and running our country one day. Important to think about.
Igor Ibernov
1:13 pm on Wednesday, February 22, 2012
This makes no sense... Overtime detailing to arrest "noisy" college students, who, in turn, end up paying next to zero funds back to the Commonwealth? What a waste of tax payers' money! Does not law and order work together? Those 50 kids could equate to 50 pleas, bringing in lots of money and deterring such behavior in the future. That's what these residents want, right? Instead, said Fredericksburg beat cop says, "No thanks" to all of that (several pages worth) paper work, and since cases come in so sporadically, the judges don't see this as a major deal, and almost always let the kid off with a warning. The Judges are right. Maybe law and order need to have a town meeting. This good old boy town's governing body is extremely hypocritical in nature - UMW is the single largest employer in the greater Fredericksburg area! Embrace the student population - stop fighting its very existence. For the most part, UMW's student population is well behaved, courteous and school-oriented.
The hand which suppresses will always be met with resistance, simply for the nature of its ignorant, undeserving intent. The hand which cradles and embraces fosters growth, and the long term benefits are endless. Until then, Fredericksburg remains as its motto goes: "Timeless." Which so ungracefully reads: stuck in the past, unable to accept change.
Paul Randall
3:04 pm on Wednesday, February 22, 2012
@Annoyed Student and others:
Nothing is stopping you from registering to vote here in the city. If you want council members who listen to students instead of creeps like Rodger Provo, then VOTE here. Vote people like Fred Howe and Brad Ellis who only care about your neighbors out of office. You'll be doing us all a favor. Oh, and hardly anyone votes in local elections. If you get a couple of hundred students to vote, that should be enough.
Priorities People
3:17 pm on Wednesday, February 22, 2012
While I understand that residents would like to see a little more enforcement of such behaviors from the Fredericksburg Police Department, having these cops stationed throughout the neighborhood on weekends is a waste of time and money. Are they stopping and getting students? Yes, ones who realized they had too much to drink, and are walking home to go to bed. Is that really what we want to happen? Scare people away from walking home so instead they end up driving drunk out of fear an unmarked cop will stop them on their way to bed? College kids aren't going to stop drinking, so instead with this added enforcement they're just going to end up putting themselves and others at risk by drunk driving home (which would cause even more parking issues that Mr. Provo's Free Lance Star article insisted was a keynote issue in College Heights). For years Fredericksburg has been one of the largest drug capitals on East Coast. In July 2011, 5 people are arrested on the same day for distributing. In 2007, over $100,000 worth of crack was seized in one bust. This past August, police found a house with over $15,000 worth of cocaine inside it. Our police officers' time and tax payer money should go towards fixing that, which I think we all would agree is a lot more dangerous than a 20 year old having a beer with his 21 year old friends.
jerdone
6:46 pm on Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Yes let's get down to the real issues
Concerned Athlete
10:28 pm on Wednesday, February 22, 2012
I'm an athlete who happens to be straight-edge. I don't even really go to parties. Thus, it's really upsetting that the athletes are being targeted here in an overarching and overgeneralizing sweep.
That's not it though. Demonizing UMW athletes seems like a wrong step to be taking. Almost all of the athletic teams at UMW are the ones volunteering for service projects, most notably on the MLK JR. service day. We helped with the recent special Olympics run here in the Fall too.
We are the ones reaching out to the community, while the community continues to push us away. It's like the community thinks we can do no good for them. And when we do, as soon as one person gets a violation for one thing, the entire UMW community becomes villains.
And that's messed up.
Dan Telvock
10:38 pm on Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Your perspective is in the story and I appreciate you providing more context about the good deeds a majority of students do. But this story does not overgeneralize athletes in any way. The facts are the facts and a majority of the noise violations, which are actual charges, are against athletes and almost all of them pleaded guilty and the judges gave them warnings. Anyone who reads this and thinks that every UMW athlete is a partygoer, noise violator they would be overgeneralizing and overarching. I went out of my way to be extra fair and to provide a perspective in the article that some homeowners may not have or see, one of them being that it's a joke to label UMW as a party school because it is far from it.
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Monique dela Cruz, SGA vice president, said she hopes students and residents can peacefully and constructively discuss the issue and solutions, and build a greater understanding of both perspectives.
“Should students be more conscious of their actions? Yes. Are some members of the community stereotyping students as a whole? Yes," dela Cruz said Tuesday. "The school and the students, we do good things for the community. I think both sides could be more open minded and ask ourselves, how can we work together?"
Dan Telvock
10:47 pm on Wednesday, February 22, 2012
But I have a job to do and that job requires me to examine issues impacting this community and that's what I did here. I am sorry that this has offended college students, but it doesn't take away the fact that relationships are strained right now and this is why. Go on a police ride some day and see how long it takes them to address a noise violation, the paper work, dealing with underage drinkers, increasing patrols, taking them away from serious crime. Complaints were on the rise and the City Council and police reacted to the complaints. I was challenged by a local politician to take a deeper look at this issue and examine what happens when the noise ordinance cases go to court and how many charges have been filed and against whom. And I presented that story because it matters to the community, of which UMW students are a part of. Killing the messenger is not going to improve the situation and using an anonymous name doesn't provide any weight in any one person's argument. Tonight's meeting put together by the SGA was impressive, but there seems to be a lot of work that needs to be done before things are back to normal based on my observation.
Katie Locke
11:08 am on Thursday, February 23, 2012
Dan, your story is called "UMW Athletes Have Direct Connection to Fredericksburg Nuisance Violations" which could make the impression that you are generalizing.
My comment is in response to this:
"Anyone who reads this and thinks that every UMW athlete is a partygoer, noise violator they would be overgeneralizing and overarching"
Igor Ibernov
9:03 am on Thursday, February 23, 2012
You have a job to do, you just don't do it that gracefully.
It would have been a lot wiser to make your heading a sub heading, so it doesn't appear that the athletes are the centerpiece of your story. They're not - students violating noise ordinances and trespassing while intoxicated, is. But your title spins the words so they read as such. Tact and tone.
Dan Telvock
10:57 am on Thursday, February 23, 2012
A majority of the incidents involved athletes. Hence, the headline.
Katie Locke
11:09 am on Thursday, February 23, 2012
I posted before I saw this. So yes, what Igor said.
jerdone
10:52 am on Thursday, February 23, 2012
I agree with Mr. Ibernov, it's a headline, the press trying to spin something as usual. I would also point out that if you keep reading Dan's remarks and comments he must have gone to college at a convent.
Katie Locke
11:11 am on Thursday, February 23, 2012
I am not one to insult the press or anyone trying to do their job, and journalists (or people who call themselves journalists) frequently misquote and make mistakes.
However it does not appear to me that Dan Telvock is a journalist. More like a glorified blogger. And I think that this Patch has turned into a glorified blog.
Michael Theis would probably not like the direction this site has gone.
Katie Locke
11:21 am on Thursday, February 23, 2012
Also, is tacky journalism a thing? Because including a picture of the students' house is tacky. Usually that sort of thing is reserved from meth lab busts.
Dan Telvock
11:11 am on Thursday, February 23, 2012
@Katie Locke, I understand. A majority of the cases involve athletes. UMW Athletes have a direct connection to the cases. Not all UMW athletes have a connection, or the headline would have been "All UMW Athletes Have Direct Connection to Fredericksburg Nuisance Violations"
Katie Locke
11:18 am on Thursday, February 23, 2012
Cool excuse.
Anonymous
11:19 am on Thursday, February 23, 2012
I guess it's safe to say that Dan will not be attending the boys and girls basketball games tonight. I doubt the local homeowners would approve of this move and would probably remove the funding they gave for this story to run.
Mark G.
12:08 pm on Thursday, February 23, 2012
you're a goofball. Get to class!
Mark G.
11:22 am on Thursday, February 23, 2012
wow
Anonymous
12:10 pm on Thursday, February 23, 2012
you're illiterate...I'm not a student - and how old are you? Who even says goofball anymore?
Mark G.
11:24 am on Thursday, February 23, 2012
Geez, Katie and the other college students attacking Mr. Telvock here. Get a grip. This is a story that needed to be told, especially for a local news site. If you do a little research you will find that Mr. Telvock is a bit of a local legend here in journalism and his work has resulted in some signficiant changes in the communities here. Through that solid journalism, he has made enemies. But your comments are completely out of whack and a bit disturbing. A glorified blogger? Do you think he cares that you're saying this about him? He's one damn good glorified blogger if that's the case. I think it is unfortunate that we have a local journalist with his experience in this city and he takes the time to review these cases and let the community know what is happening and college students get their feelings hurt and visciously attack him here because he named three college students who have habitually violated the laws and rules. Mr Telvock didn't do anything wrong here. You're complaining about a headline that's part of an investigative story that's 1000 words? Whether you like it or not, the headline is correct. UMW Athletes are connected and you are generalizing when you claim it's meant to say every single athlete is involved. Get real. I get it. You're mad. You're protective of your friends. But throwing out baseless attacks on the journalist makes you and your co-students look silly, petty and childish. Stay safe!
Katie Locke
11:26 am on Thursday, February 23, 2012
I'm not a student. I am a College Heights resident.
Anonymous
11:32 am on Thursday, February 23, 2012
Nor am I a college student. Generalizations and libel only get one's journalistic careers so far these days.
Mark G.
11:28 am on Thursday, February 23, 2012
And this site is much better since Mr. Telvock started writing for it. It's more balanced and there's more on here than just cop logs and government meetings. I love this site. I liked it a lot when the former writer was here, too. If you actually knew the guy, and saw the passion he has for journalism, you wouldn't be saying this stuff about him. Dan, you should post the traffic numbers here...are you getting an increase in readership? Less?
Katie Locke
11:40 am on Thursday, February 23, 2012
He posts much more sensational items and less "news" than the previous writer, which will always get more traffic. I've also looked at other Patch sites and this one is out of the ordinary. Of course that is my opinion. I mean come on, he has a crew of other bloggers now!
As of today I have "unfollowed" any instance of this Patch (twitter, facebook, bookmark) and don't plan to continue commenting.
Katie Locke
11:30 am on Thursday, February 23, 2012
Moreover, I am not a student, am a College Heights resident, am old enough to be some of these kids' mom, and am not friends with any students.
Dan Telvock
11:35 am on Thursday, February 23, 2012
Mark, I consider Michael Theis a friend of mine and I loved his work here and I worked directly with him on a lot of stories. I loved working with him and have a ton of respect for him. I don't want to get into a contest with who is doing better because I will default and say Michael wins. I wish he was still here. I understand Katie's concerns and I'm fine with her comments. She has a right to speak her mind. As for the traffic numbers, they are going up, and last I checked the site was on pace to beat a six-month traffic record. Fredericksburg Patch is doing well, and I hope more people make this their main site for local news and entertainment. Katie, I am sorry you are upset with the story and headline, but this story was one that needed to be told at a much deeper level than what was currently reported in the press. The article is balanced.
Mark G.
12:05 pm on Thursday, February 23, 2012
Katie, again, sensationalism? There is no evidence of sensationalism on this site-at all. None. I am baffled why any College Heights resident would be upset about this article. Baffled. I highly doubt you are who you claim to be. Your accusations are borderline crazy talk. This site has always been operated by one single person and there's more local news on here than the competing newspaper! I come here for Fredericksburg news before I even check the fredericksburg newspaper website. You'll be misinformed if you don't come here for information about what's going on in the city. I'm still confused at what you're so flippant and angry about. A headline? A headline that's not even wrong? Stop generalizing UMW students and trying to make this into something it's not. The facts are the facts. The city has filed 23 nuisance-noise complaints since the City Council passed the law, and almost all are college students and almost all of the college students are athletes. The article clearly shows that it is a small number of students of the overall population, but it's one neighborhood we are discussing here. The article clearly shows that UMW is not a party school, and the write seems to go out of his way to give the unversity the benefit of the doubt in all of this. This IS a story. If it wasn't, you wouldn't see all of the letters to the editor, there wouldn't have been the meeting last night at UMW and police wouldn't be having xtra patrols. Get a GRIP!
Matt Holden
2:13 pm on Thursday, February 23, 2012
This is all unwarranted.
Matt Holden
2:14 pm on Thursday, February 23, 2012
Ditto what Mark is saying here. I WOULD PAY to have Dan Telvock reporting on Spotsylvania County again and I would pay a decent sum! The disaster that is going on over there ever since he left is unbelievable and his reporting kept the officials there on their toes. The Republicans there now are destroying the fire and rescue system and Dan's reporting on that was the best I have seen in a long time. The criticism here is not warranted and it's juvenile. Most aren't even using their real names. I am Matt Holden, nice to meet everyone. Dan,we miss you in Spotsylvania and the Free Lance Star should have NEVER let you go. Keep up the good work.
Dan Telvock
2:18 pm on Thursday, February 23, 2012
Matt, you posted the same comment twice so I deleted the first one (I assume because you spelled your first name wrong? :) ) How have things been, outside of government speak?
Ed
4:24 pm on Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Just a comment. I don't believe that most UMW students on a 4 year program realize that this student noise/trash/ disrespectful behavior issue has been an ongoing problem for 35-40 years and many long time residents have been frustrated at the lack of meaningful local and college response to the complaints until recently. This isn't a recent issue that is impacting their "right" to party but an ongoing battle between the concerns of the city residents and the seeming indifference (until recently) shown by the college and local government in enforcing rules and regulations.