INSIDE Husband and wife team give new meaning to working “side by side.” > page 4
Volume 60, Number 15 • April 17, 2014
Kansas gunman spread message in Goochland Sheriff recalls man’s fury after he was told he could not drop leaflets in county neighborhoods By Roslyn Ryan Editor
Eight years before allegedly killing three people in what many are describing as an anti-Semitic shooting spree, Frazier Glenn Cross had made an effort to spread his message of hate to Goochland County residents. Goochland County Sheriff James Agnew said he recognized Cross instantly when he saw the initial news reports coming out of Kansas City, Kansas, where Cross allegedly opened fire at two separate Jewish facilities. The reason he remembers the man so clearly after nearly a decade? Not only did Cross and members of his group drop leafAgnew lets in the driveways of several Goochland neighborhoods, but Cross spent the next several days lobbing vicious personal attacks at Agnew via his organization’s website. Agnew recalls that Cross, whom the Southern Poverty Law Center has called “a long-time anti-Semite,” was furious with him for refusing to allow the leafleting, and that Cross claimed it was his First Amendment right to distribute the information. When Agnew pointed out that there was a law against throwing paper or trash of any kind in people’s driveways, Cross threatened to sue. Agnew wasn’t overly concerned he said, but he still has the news clippings and other paraphernalia related to his run-in with Cross. Cross, a former Green Beret in the United States Army, is facing hate crimes charges as could face the death penalty. With the latest developments, Agnew couldn’t help but wonder at the sad turn of events that he’d seen the roots of so many years before. Said the sheriff, “It’s a strange world we live in.”
‘Gathering’ for good Food drive represents partnership between three area pantries By Roslyn Ryan Editor
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eeing the need to feed more than 1,800 Goochland County residents in need, local food pantries are working together to launch a community-wide food drive. “Hunger Hurts, Goochland Gathers” will run Saturday, April 26, through Saturday, May 3. “With government food stamps decreasing the past few months, there has been an increased demand on the local food pantries, which, in turn, rely heavily on donations from the community,” Terry Smith, food pantry manager for Goochland Free Clinic and Family Services, said. According to Smith, nearly 75 percent of Goochland families in need (which
includes nearly 500 children) often skip meals or eat less because of lack of food. The Federation of Virginia Food Banks considers western Goochland to be a “food desert” — an area where populations live more than 10 miles from a supermarket or large grocery store if in a rural area. see Food drive > 2
Parking in a fire lane? It’s going to cost you quart of milk, a word of warning: In the very near future, those few minutes could siphon more than a few dollars out of your wallet. Thanks to a new ordinance, the Goochland County Fire Marshal now By Roslyn Ryan has the power to ticket drivers for several Editor offenses, including parking in a fire lane, blocking the entrance to a fire station, For those who may have gotten accus- and blocking rescue crews’ access to an tomed to using the fire lane when pop- accident scene. ping into the grocery store to grab a According to Goochland County Fire
New county ordinance means drivers can be ticketed for offense
Marshal Doug Davies, penalties range from $10 to $50 and violators have 10 days to pay their tickets. While Davies has not started writing tickets just yet — there are still a few kinks to work out when it comes to processing the payments — he should be up and running in the next few days. Davies said the county is used to hearing from both residents and busisee Fire lane > 3