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September 5, 2018
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Police: Brother admits to drowning sister By Karen Chaffraix and Jill Palermo Times Staff Writers
The Fauquier County Sheriff’s Office was called six times over the past year to the home of Angie A. Walls, the 53-year-old woman authorities say was intentionally drowned in an inflatable backyard swimming pool over the Labor Day weekend at the hands of her 51-year-old brother, who family members say suffers from a mental illness. The six calls, all made since September 2017, included reports of at least two “domestic situations,” according to Sheriff’s Office spokesman Sgt. James Hartman.
Still, no arrests were made as a result of the previous calls for help because deputies found no criminal wrongdoing, Hartman said. In Virginia, law-enforcement agents must make an arrest in cases of domestic violence where there is evidence of a physical assault and a clear assailant. But that wasn’t the case when deputies previously responded to the home in the 6700 block of Riley Road, where Walls lived with her brother, Ashton Dunlap Berry, known to family and friends by the nickname “Leon,” and her fiancé, Fred Dove. “The two domestics were verbal in nature. There was no physical assault,” Hartman said.
As a result, the deputies offered the residents only advice about how to deal with their situation, Hartman said.
Police: Brother confessed to drowning
The situation turned deadly Saturday, Sept. 1, when Berry, 51, allegedly held Walls’ head under water in the inflatable backyard pool two times after the two got into an argument over Berry’s medication, according to affidavit attached to a search warrant filed in the Fauquier County Circuit Court.
See MURDER, page 4
Fauquier schools’ scores dip on latest state tests Change reflects results among schools statewide By Karen Chaffraix Times Staff Writer
HISTORIC MOMENT FOR LOCAL DAR CHAPTER
PHOTO BY RANDY LITZINGER
Sonja Addison (center), her daughter Stephannie Addison-Mudd (left), and granddaughter Brooke (Addison) Moore (right) were the first three African American women inducted into the Warrenton Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) chapter, after proving their descent through an unbroken paper trail from European American Revolutionary War veteran/patriot William Eustace. Looking Back, page 21 INSIDE Business.............................................19 Classified............................................35 Communities......................................30 Faith...................................................34
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Fauquier County schools passing rates on Virginia’s Standard of Learning tests dipped in three of five subjects tested in 2018, but Superintendent David Jeck said school division officials are mostly satisfied with the results, calling test scores “only one piece of the puzzle” when it comes to student achievement. “The raw scores don’t mean all that much,” Jeck said Thursday. “We have calculated the final scores as we expect them to come in (later this month), and we’re happy with them.”
See SCORES, page 2
Obituaries...........................................10 Puzzles...............................................18 Real Estate..........................................29 Sports.................................................13
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FROM PAGE 1
Fauquier Times | www.fauquier.com | September 5, 2018
Fauquier schools’ scores dip on latest state tests SCORES from page 1 “We feel like if you are building relationships with the kids, and you are teaching innovatively, and you are incorporating some project-based learning, then the scores will take care of themselves,” Jeck added. “The good scores will come.” On tests students took at the end of last school year, Fauquier County students scored an 80-percent passing rate in reading and a 79-percent passing rate in writing, scores that remained unchanged since 2017. Passing rates dipped three points in mathematics, with 75 percent of students passing math tests compared to 78 percent in 2017. Fauquier students’ passing rate on science tests also came in three points lower this year, 82 percent of students passed those tests in 2018 compared to 85 percent in 2017. The 2018 scores won’t spur any particular curriculum changes, although Jeck said the school division has added several new skills-oriented courses, facilities and programs over the year. However, when scores indicated an achievement gap in early education at one point, intervention programs were added, he said. “We have placed so much emphasis on test scores, and some people think they are the most important way to judge a school, but it’s only one piece of the puzzle, amongst many pieces, and there are more authentic ways to measure learning,” he said. In general, Fauquier County schools avoid “teaching to the test” but are careful to cover all the concepts that are tested at each grade level and adapt when the tests change, Jeck said. “We want to avoid trying to teach to the test, but it’s kind of tricky because when the state changes the test significantly, then you don’t have a choice; you have to prepare for those differences,” he said. “More and more as a country, we are moving away from this stan-
“More and more as a country, we are moving away from this standardized testing evaluative model, especially in Virginia. We are adding more non-conventional courses, and we are trying to add more courses that appeal to the way kids learn best, which is typically by doing.” dardized testing evaluative model, especially in Virginia,” Jeck added. “We are adding more non-conventional courses, and we are trying to add more courses that appeal to the way kids learn best, which is typically by doing.” What’s most important to Fauquier teachers, he added, is getting to know students individually and what they need. “Let’s figure out what equitable instruction looks like,” he added. “When the kids leave us, we want
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DAVID JECK Superintendent
them to have a certain skill set. No one is really going to care whether or not they passed a multiple choice SOL test.”
Scores dip across the state
Across Virginia, passing rates were down slightly in all five subjects tested: reading, writing, math, science and history and social studies, according to the VDOE report. James Lane, Virginia superintendent of public instruction, said the state’s tests have become more rigorous over the years. “Virginia has challenging standards and assessments, and students are performing at a much high-
ISSN 1050-7655, USPS 188280 Published every Wednesday by Piedmont Media LLC How to reach us ADDRESS: 41 Culpeper Street Warrenton, Virginia 20186 PHONE: 540-347-4222 FAX: 540-349-8676 HOURS: 8 a.m. 5 p.m. weekdays, 24-hour answering service Publisher Catherine M. Nelson, 540-347-4222 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 Web/Copy Editor Amanda Heincer, 540-878-2418 aheincer@fauquier.com
er level today than when the state raised expectations six years ago,” Lane said in a press release. The scores of students who transferred into schools during the middle of the year were also counted in 2018, which was a change from years past. Last year, if a transfer student failed a test, that score was excluded from the aggregate score. This year, all scores were included, thereby possibly lowering scores across all subjects, according to the VDOE website. The commonwealth uses SOL results to identify schools that need assistance, to assess progress over time and to determine levels of accreditation. Overall, Fauquier County schools’ passing rates exceeded the performance of schools statewide in writing, history and science, according to reports issued by the Virginia Department of Education. Among larger school divisions in Northern Virginia, Loudoun County schools posted the highest passing rates, with 91 percent of students passing history and social sciences tests; 89 passing writing tests; 86 percent passing reading tests and 83 percent passing math tests. Arlington County was next with passing rates of 86 percent in writing, history and social sciences; 84 percent in reading and science; and 83 percent in math. Fairfax County ranked third, posting an 88 percent passing rate in history and social sciences; 85 percent passing rate in writing; 84 percent in science; 81 percent passing rate in reading; and 81 percent passing rate on math tests. Prince William County schools posted passing rates of 87 in history and social sciences; 82 percent in science tests, 80 percent in writing, 79 percent in reading; and 76 percent in mathematics. More information about the current SOL testing results can be found on the VDOE website, which includes spreadsheets detailing scores for all Virginia public school divisions. Reach Karen Chaffraix at kchaffraix@fauquier.com
Community Editor Anita Sherman, 540.351.1635 asherman@fauquier.com Associate Editor John Toler, 540-351-0487 jtoler@fauquier.com Staff Writers Karen Chaffraix kchaffraix@fauquier.com James Ivancic, 540-878-2414 jivancic@fauquier.com Jonathan Hunley, jhunley@fauquier.com Sports Editor Peter Brewington, 540-351-1169 pbrewington@fauquier.com Sports Staff Writer Jeff Malmgren, 540-874-2250 jmalmgren@fauquier.com ADVERTISING Ad Manager Kathy Mills Godfrey 540-351-1162 kgodfrey@fauquier.com Classified Sales Consultant Jeanne Cobert, 540-878-2491 jcobert@fauquier.com
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Fauquier Times | www.fauquier.com | September 5, 2018
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Marshall’s Main Street improvements focus of Sept. 11 meeting
TIMES FILE PHOTO Farmers hit by retaliatory tariffs can now apply for a share of the Trump administraition’s $12 billion relief package.
Help on the way for farmers hit by tariffs Applications for federal aid will accepted this week
By James Ivancic Times Staff Writer
Applications for a share of the $12 billion available to farmers hurt by the trade dispute between the U.S. and foreign nations can be submitted as of Sept. 4. The Trump administration raised tariffs on foreign trading partners several months ago, prompting retaliatory action that hit U.S. soybean and hog producers, among others, hard. The Trump administration authorized the U.S. Department of Agriculture to provide up to $12 billion to U.S. farmers to ease the pain. There are 2,755 farmers in Fauquier County, according to Charles Bennett, county executive director for USDA covering Fauquier, Prince William, Loudoun and Fairfax counties. Just how many local farmers are eligible to apply for the new aid isn’t known, Bennett said. The process for applying for aid was still being worked out as of Friday. A USDA press release said that
starting Sept. 4 applications can be submitted online at www.farmers. gov/mfp. They can also be field in person, by email, fax, or by mail. The aid will be dispersed through three programs: The Market Facilitation Program will provide payments to corn, cotton, dairy, hog, sorghum, soybean and wheat producers. The Food Purchase and Distribution Program will purchase up to $1.2 billion in commodities for distribution to the Emergency Food Assistance program and the child nutrition programs. The Foreign Agricultural Service’s Agricultural Trade Promotion Program will get $200 million to develop foreign markets for U.S. agricultural products. The Virginia Farm Bureau reports that when Mexico retaliated against U.S. steel imports this summer, it “squashed” a rebound for American dairy prices. “In today’s dairy economy, exports are critical,” said Tony Banks, a commodity marketing specialist for the Virginia bureau, in a news release. “Each of the past few sig-
nificant declines in U.S. farm milk prices have been the result of a disruption in dairy exports.” Dairy exports hit a record in 2014. The following year, the U.S. dollar gained value on the world market, making American dairy exports more expensive and pushing down sales. In June, Mexico imposed a 15-percent tariff on fresh cheese and grated, shredded or powdered cheeses, as well as a 10 percent tariff on hard and semi-hard cheeses from the U.S. Those tariffs rose to 25 percent for the first category and 20 percent for the second category by July 5. Dairy farmers have also been hurt by a decade-long decline in milk consumption in the U.S. Zippy Duvall, president of the American Farm Bureau Federation, says the federal aid will provide “welcome relief” to farmers but it will be temporary. What would really help, he said, is a solution crafted at the negotiating table with foreign countries. Reach James Ivancic at jivancic@fauquier.com
The community is invited to an upcoming presentation about Marshall’s Main Street improvement project, hosted by the Marshall Business & Residents Association on Tuesday, Sept. 11. The meeting will be held from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the Marshall Community Center Auditorium, 4133-A Rectortown Road. Design plans for Main Street improvements will be part of the presentation. Marshall District Supervisor Mary Leigh McDaniel and representatives from Land Planning and Design Associates will attend. The estimated $4.5 million project includes paving and pavement markings, signs, streetlights, curb and gutter work and storm-drainage improvements. The project is expected to go out for bid in November.
Sheriff to hold Marshall town hall meeting Thursday Fauquier County Sheriff Bob Mosier will hold a town hall meeting at the Marshall Community Center Thursday, Sept. 6. Mosier (R) holds regular town hall meetings at locations across the county. This week’s meeting will be held Thursday at 7:30 p.m. at the Marshall Sheriff Bob Community Center, Mosier 4133-A Rectortown Road, in Marshall. Topics of discussion usually include local traffic issues, investigation updates, crime-prevention tips and whatever else attendees ask Mosier about during the question-and-answer period, said sheriff’s office spokesman Sgt. James Hartman. The meeting is open to the public.
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