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Young farmers learn a thing or two through ‘Show and Sale.’ Page 3
May 2, 2018
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Polster, Carlos win in Warrenton • Nevill wins race for mayor • Reynolds loses council seat
Warrenton’s police chief retiring Warrenton Police Chief Louis Battle is retiring from his post at the end of May, according to town officials. Battle has served at the helm of the police department since 2012. He was first hired onto the force as deputy chief in 2007. Attempts to reach Battle for comment were not immediately successful Tuesday night. Town Manager Brannon Godfrey expressed his appreciation for Battle’s service. “Our Police Department is emulated as a model of professionalism thanks to Lou’s leadership. The changes that he brought to the Department – modernized technology and equipment, the standard of compliance with policies and procedures, the staffing and organizational structure to provide a high level of service, the outreach to the church community and nonprofit organizations – are the reasons we have attained state accreditation and re-accreditation, as well as the respect of our peer law enforcement agencies,” Godfrey wrote.
By Leland Schwartz Times Staff Writer
Carter Nevill, 47, will be Warrenton’s new mayor, beating a long-shot challenge by 19-year-old Grace Rigby. The vote was 988 to 478. In a surprise upset, veteran Councilwoman Linda “Sunny” Reynolds lost her at-large seat to newcomer Renard Carlos, 998 to 500. Sean Polster Councilman Sean Polster kept his at-large seat, with 1,125 votes. Polster was the top vote-getter in Tuesday’s town election.
See WARRENTON, page 4
PHOTOS BY RANDY LITZINGER Left, Carter Nevill talks with Steve Gordon and his wife Jane outside the Warren Green Building. Right, Renard Carlos watches a voter’s dog while they went to the polls.
TELLER MAKES HISTORY Elated to be drafted by the Buffalo Bills, former Liberty Eagle knows he has work to do to play in the NFL. Page 23 INSIDE Business...............................................7 Calendar.............................................28 Classified............................................33 Communities......................................28
Faith...................................................18 Farming................................................3 Libraries.............................................13 Opinion...............................................10
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Obituaries...........................................16 Puzzles...............................................20 Real Estate..........................................27 Sports.................................................21
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NEWS
Fauquier Times | www.fauquier.com | May 2, 2018
We’re all neighbors Suffield Meadows wins ‘small community’ award It was all glitz and glamour at Suffield Meadows on the crisp spring evening of Saturday, April 14. Dapper gentlemen and women dressed for cocktails arrived at the club house for a festive occasion. “There’s about 70 of us and it’s going to be crowded but we’ll get them all in,” smiled Ann Novak, who, along with her husband Ron, were one of the first residents of the 55+ retirement community in Warrenton constructed some 12 years ago. As the champagne was poured and glasses raised, the current president of the Suffield’s board, John Dunkin, positioned himself near the fireplace. Near him was a framed certificate in a place of honor on the mantel. “We’re here to celebrate,” he said. “It was the first time we applied, and Suffield Meadows has been recognized as the 2017 Small Community Association of the Year…It took all of us to make this happen, this is such a great place to live.” The recognition was given by the Community Association Institute, which represents Virginia, Maryland and Washington, D.C. No shabby feat when competing with that large an area. The 40-page application and essay detailed the events and activities enjoyed by the Suffield Meadows residents, which led to the selection of the award. Dunkin kept his remarks short and sweet as there was a table loaded with
FAUQUIER FOCUS fancy hors d’oeuvres and a large cake, not to mention the eager residents, set to celebrate. According to Dunkin, all of Suffield Meadows’ units, which consist of single-family homes as well as condos and attached houses, are currently occupied. As for Dunkin, he and his wife Kathy moved to Suffield Meadows about three years ago from Purcellville. Kathy had retired as a school nurse from Loudoun County and John from the federal government. They’ve lived in Virginia for more than two decades. “Even though we weren’t ready to retire, Kathy and I visited Suffield Meadows soon after construction began in 2006 and remained interested in this as a retirement option. Little did we know that our daughter was going to move into Brookside with two of our grandchildren…we have three more in Illinois! Once we retired, Suffield Meadows became our number one choice. It didn’t hurt that we love our home and love the community,” said John who has held senior managerial positions in business as well as government. For Dunkin, it took little arm-twisting
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John Dunkin to convince him to step up into the role of president of the Suffield Meadows’ board. “My fellow board members and our management company, NRP Group, work well together and not only keep our community running but have also taken the initiative to complete several projects to enhance the community,” said Dunkin, 72. “I would add that the prior boards worked through the startup issues, and that without their herculean efforts Suffield Meadows wouldn’t be nearly as great a place to live.”
In chatting with several of the residents, it’s clear the myriad of activities offered are enticing. Women’s luncheons, a men’s lunch bunch, bunco, hand-in-foot and poker night, to name a few, are part of the regularly scheduled activities. The social committee plans at least one community-wide function each month. “Last year they hosted over 15 functions, including our annual holiday party, Valentine’s Day Brunch and the Fourth of July Barbeque. Once the pool is open, our activities shift to outside and include the weekly Friday Night on the Porch gathering,” Dunkin said. The porch, which boasts small tables, chairs and rockers, has a pastoral view. Several gathered there in the soft glow of the setting sun. Conversations ranged from books to bass fishing. “We’re just very excited to receive this honor,” said Ann Novak. “It’s amazing and we’re very pleased.” — Compiled by Anita Sherman. Reach her at asherman@fauquier.com
U.S. 29 and Freemans Ford Road at issue in Remington forum By James Ivancic Times Staff Writer
Proposals to make travel safer in Remington will be discussed at a town forum today, Wednesday, May 2, at the Remington Volunteer Fire and Rescue station at 200 E. Marshall St. The 7 to 9 p.m. forum was requested by Lee District Supervisor Chris Butler, who represents Remington. Representatives from the Virginia Department of Transportation will seek public comment about options to make the intersection of U.S. 29 and Freemans Ford Road safer. It’s been the scene of two fatal accidents over the last two years. N. Mark Nesbit, engineer in charge of the VDOT office in Warrenton, said an analysis of the intersection was done after the accidents. One option would create a restricted crossing, or R-Cut, and re-
move the traffic signal at the Freemans Ford Road intersection. An R-Cut bars a left-turn movement. Traffic uses a U-turn lane instead. A lower cost option would be to move traffic along existing streets as alternate routes. VDOT isn’t committed to any option at this point and nothing has been funded, Nesbit said. There is a June 1 deadline to file an intent to apply for funding through the state’s Smart Scale funding program. Aug. 1 is the deadline to submit an application. The county supervisors on April 12 approved a resolution of support for projects to be submitted for Smart Scale funding in the next round. The R-cut proposal for the Remington intersection was among them. The Commonwealth Transportation Board will make a decision on funding in June 2019. Reach James Ivancic at jivancic@ fauquier.com. Classified Sales Consultants Jeanne Cobert, 540-878-2491 jcobert@fauquier.com Evelyn Cobert, 540-878-2492 ecobert@fauquier.com
ISSN 1050-7655, USPS 188280 Published every Wednesday by Piedmont Media LLC How to reach us
Community Editor Anita Sherman, 540.351.1635 asherman@fauquier.com Associate Editor John Toler, 540-351-0487 jtoler@fauquier.com
ADDRESS: 41 Culpeper Street Warrenton, Virginia 20186 Staff Writers PHONE: 540-347-4222 James Ivancic, 540-878-2414 FAX: 540-349-8676 HOURS: 8 a.m. 5 p.m. weekdays, jivancic@fauquier.com 24-hour answering service Jonathan Hunley, jhunley@fauquier.com Publisher Catherine M. Nelson, Leland Schwartz, 540-351-0488 540-347-4222 lschwartz@fauquier.com cnelson@fauquier.com NEWSROOM Editor in Chief Christopher Six, 540-212-6331 csix@fauquier.com Managing Editor Jill Palermo, 540-351-0431 jpalermo@fauquier.com
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Chairman Emeritus George R. Thompson To place Classified and Employment ads: Call 540-351-1664 or fax 540-349-8676, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday — Friday or email fauquierclassifieds@fauquier.com SUBSCRIPTIONS Call 540-347-4222 Help with your subscription? Call 540-878-2413 or email CirculationFT@fauquier.com Missed your paper? Call 540-347-4222, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursdays Subscription: $69.68 per year within the United States. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: Fauquier Times, 39 Culpeper St., Warrenton, VA 20186. Periodicals postage paid at Warrenton, Va. and at additional mailing offices
FAUQUIER FARMING
Fauquier Times | www.fauquier.com | May 2, 2018
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Young farmers learn a thing or two through the ‘Show and Sale’ By Leland Schwartz Times Staff Writer
Megan Day and her sister Meredith bought their four piglets for $75 each at the beginning of the year when they each weighed about 50 pounds. In a perfect world, the not-so-little pigs — named Lindsay Loham, Michael Straham, Megham Markle and Hamlet (get it?) — now weighing in at nearly 250 pounds, will sell Monday night at the annual Fauquier County Show and Sale for $7 a pound. Do the math. Ag heaven. True, the prices are inflated because the buyers are there to support one of the county’s leading agricultural educational nonprofit events. But for the 9- to 18-year-old students who have nurtured their animals for this day, the math is one of the enticing forces behind what the 50 young 4-H farmers have put their hearts into for the past several months. Many buyers will recover more than half their bids by simply selling the animal they won at Tuesday’s professional livestock auction in Marshall. The Show and Sale is as much a lesson in business economics as it is in animal husbandry. The event committee raises about $10,000 from roughly 80 local companies, families and individuals, nearly every one of whom has been written to or visited by the students. Their mission? “The youth of Fauquier County is learning about agriculture and how to raise the products and follow through all the way to selling them,” Megan Day said. The whole experience of feeding and nurturing the nearly 100 steers, pigs, goats and lambs they have grown to love comes with the sobering life lesson of what has to happen to the animals soon after the auctioneer points at the winning buyer. This is what is called a terminal sale, which means Megan and her sister, Meredith, know that Lindsay Loham and her siblings are headed for breakfast, lunch and dinner. “It’s really hard to watch it, especially since you spent so much time with the animal. You don’t see any point that’s violent, but we all
Meredith Day, left, and her sister, Megan Day right, with the four pigs they raised for the Show and Sale. TIMES STAFF PHOTOS/LELAND SCHWARTZ
Fauquier County Show and Sale Sunday, May 6 and Monday, May 7 Fauquier County Fairgrounds
know what happens after the animal leaves the ring. Most animals come to this end, and we do get used to it,” said Megan Day, a 16-year-old student at Liberty High School. First, it’s the steers, lambs and goats that will be judged for marketability, and their owners for their showmanship Sunday at the Fauquier County Fairgrounds. Then it’s the hogs on Monday, followed by the auction and the awards dinner for the winners, the buyers and the show’s sponsors. Make no mistake about it. This is a competition. To the registrants,
this is right up there with the Stanley Cup and NBA playoffs. Every student dreams of one of their animals emerging as grand champion. Meanwhile, they are learning actionable intelligence. For instance, the industry target of 1.1 square inch of ribeye for every 100 pounds of live weight means most of their steers are going to be in the 12- to 15-inch range for a ribeye. Students learn to estimate the ribeye area by how high that animal stands in the back. They also learn the optimum target is four-tenths of an inch of back fat, because a carcass cannot hang in a cooler without fat on it or it will lose water and dry out. The students keep diaries on each animal with the intricate detail of a ship’s log, tracking everything from the amount, cost and type of feed, to what kind of medicine is administered, for what and when. They learn if they need to give a subcutaneous injection, or sub-Q, it goes under the skin in the neck. If it’s an intramuscular (IM) shot, it goes in the neck muscle. If given an option, it’s always a sub-Q. They learn to watch medicines’ withdrawal dates, so it’s administered long enough before the animal is killed to leave no remaining resi-
due when it’s sold and eaten. To make it into the sales ring, the students must carefully calibrate the amount each animal eats and how much exercise it gets — especially when it’s getting close to show time — so it qualifies in its weight class. In the case of pigs, for instance, one ounce over 300 pounds and forget about it. “When he walked on the scales,” Megan Day recalled about one of her hogs, “I was on my hands and knees and had my hands crossed, and when Tim said 299, I jumped up and down, I was so excited!” She was referring to Virginia Cooperative Extension Agent Tim Wise, the Show and Sale’s manager and advisor, who says the thing about the whole process is that “it tries to mirror the real world.” Out in that real world, Megan Day said she hopes to be an ag teacher in a middle or high school, or an extension agent. For now, she says she and her colleagues have a hands-on, frontrow seat learning how they might someday take what they’re doing on a miniature level to a real-life scale. Reach Leland Schwartz at lschwartz@fauquier.com.
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