7/2/2014 King George VA Journal

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POSTAL CUSTOMER

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King George

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Volume 38, Number 27

Wednesday, July 2, 2014 50 Cents

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S&P upgrades King George’s financial ratings to ‘AA+’ Phyllis Cook The King George Board of Supervisors got good news last week from Travis Quesenberry, county administrator, who informed them that the financial rating agency Standard & Poor’s has upgraded the county’s bond rating again. The county’s rating has gone up from ‘AA’ to ‘AA+.’ The news was provided at the meeting on June 24, with a credit profile document by S&P distributed by Quesenberry dated the day before. The release from S&P indicated the county’s long term rating was revised to ‘Stable.’ In addition, the S&P upgrades included

the King George Economic Development Authority’s (EDA) lease revenue bonds from ‘AA-’ to ‘AA’ Quesenberry provided the news as part of his meeting report, saying, “I think this is very good news for King George County.” Two supervisors commented on the news. Chairman Joe Grzeika told Quesenberry, “I think you understate the importance of this. These upgrades are critical for our taxpayers and a demonstration of how this county is run and managed.” Grzeika went on to note the details in the assessment, adding, “They dig into things. Robyn (Shugart, director of finance) has to go through a number of questions and responses they ask for. They have a call with

the county administrator, the chairman and the finance director to go through and quiz us on how we’re doing, what we’re doing and where we’re going.” He added, “I think it speaks volumes because here’s a third party with no reason to want to upgrade us. And to do that in this economy, I just think – to our staff and the folks that are maintaining the business, and to the board for having the wherewithal and understanding to make those sometimes tough decisions, but for the right reason and to do the right things. It makes a difference. And this just validates those things. I think we should be very, very proud of these – having two in one year is amazing.” It was only five months ago that Supervisors

got the news that Fitch Ratings had upgraded the county’s bond rating from ‘AA-’ to ‘AA.’ That news was provided at the meeting earlier this year on Feb. 24. Supervisor Dale Sisson also commented, saying, “It might be worth pointing out a couple of sentences in the outlook, which is where the rating agency provides its long term projection. It says, ‘The stable outlook reflects our view of King George’s strong finances supported by a strong economy and financial management policies.’” Sisson added, “They are even talking about stability with the possibility of seeing an improvement in the rating above AA+. For a rural county in the United States, that’s a pretty big deal.”

Grzeika agreed, adding, “At 25,000 people. I’ve looked and there’s not a whole lot of counties at 25,000 people that have their own individual ratings. That’s not a given, that’s not a requirement. So, I think it’s significant.” The S&P Ratings Services summary document provided a review of the following credit factors responsible for the upgrade. STRONG LOCAL ECONOMY It says a strong local economy is “anchored by the Dahlgren Naval Surface Warfare Center.” It notes the base is the county’s largest employer, with 5,000 civilian and military personnel and 4,000 contract employees. It

Eagle returns to King George Released at Lands End Wildlife Management Area Marty van Duyne News Net News King George — An American Bald Eagle found on the side of the road on May 1 was released at Lands End Wildlife Management Area on June 26. The injured eagle was transported to the Wildlife Center of Virginia and assigned Patient #14-0450, designating it as the 450th patient of 2014. In addition to finding dried blood around its left eye, the veterinarians observed some respiratory distress so they anesthetized the raptor and took x-rays to check for internal injuries. Wildlife Center Co-founder and President Ed Clark indicated the staff was a bit perplexed when they first saw the radiographs, as the raptor appeared to have extra bones. However closer examination of the images revealed the bird had a large leg bone in its stomach, possibly from a rabbit. Clark said, “It appears likely that the eagle had been scavenging on road-kill when it was hit by a vehicle.” The eagle sustained a small retinal tear to

Dempsey updates info on damage from lightning strike

his left eye. But the bird, who was described as “feisty” when brought into the Center, healed rapidly during the rehabilitation process and was released back into the wild in less than two months. Lands End is only a few miles from where the Bald Eagle was found. The eagle was banded like all birds treated at the Center. However, it was not fitted with a transmitter. Clark said batteries are only supposed to last for two years, but one previously released eagle is still transmitting four years later. Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries (DGIF) Region 1 Land and Facilities Manager Stephen Living said, “The Wildlife Center has been a critical resource for Eagles here in Virginia.” “Some of the eagles released have been tracked as far away as Long Island (New York),” said Living. Land’s End hosts the densest Bald Eagle breeding population in the lower 48 states. “We currently have two active Bald Eagle nests at Lands End,” Living said. Clark said, “In most cases we try to release the rehabilitated birds as close as possible to the area in which they were found.” Eaglets raised in captivity are released into areas where they will have the best chance of See eagle, page 3

Phyllis Cook

©Marty van Duyne/News Net News

Ed Clark hangs onto American Bald Eagle Patient #14-0450 as Stephen Living closes the bird’s crate.

Supervisors approve quarterly budget appropriations with adjustments expected Benson could be asked to explain retaining raises after state revenue reduction Phyllis Cook The King George Board of Supervisors approved appropriations to all county departments, constitutional offices and the school division for only the first quarter of the new fiscal year, which starts this week on July 1. The reason for the partial appropriation action at the June 24 meeting was due to adjustments expected in various lines and categories once the changes to the state budget are fully explored. The state budget had been signed into law much later than usual, only the week prior to the board meeting. Robyn Shugart, county director of finance, told the board that the School Board had agreed only the previous night, on June 23, to make major adjustments to its budget to reflect a reduction in state revenue of

Richard Leggitt A joint preliminary hearing in King George Circuit Court last week resulted in charges of murder, attempted murder, and the use of a firearm during the commission of a felony going to a grand jury against Tennage Michel Shanks of King George and Anthony William Goodman of Upper Marlboro, Md. Judge James Ventura sent the charges to a grand jury after hearing from two witnesses, including Gregory Gaines, Jr., who was a surviving victim of the April 28 shooting and murder. A third person, Michael Andre Clinton of Bladensburg, Md., is being held on other charges in Maryland and will have a hearing at a later date. The shootings occurred in a rural area of King George County. Prosecutors said Goodman, 30, and Clinton, 28, bound and shot two

Fun in the mud

$316,509. Less state funding is due to the use of a new methodology by state officials to calculate the amounts for divisions receiving funding for the K-3 Primary Class Size Reduction program. OTHER REDUCTIONS COMING Shugart said in addition to the known state reductions for the school division, she is also anticipating a reduction of about $24,000 from the state Compensation Board for constitutional offices, along with other potential reductions for Social Services, the library and the voter registrar’s office in addition to others. She said budget amendments could be expected to be made by the July 15 board meeting and presented at that time for action and additional appropriations. SCHOOL DIVISION TO ABSORB $316K STATE CUT, RETAINING RAISES What was surprising to Supervisors was that the

Case moves forward in KG double shooting and murder King George men, Ronelle Davon Johnson, 20, and Gaines, 20. Johnson died at the scene; Gaines was treated at Mary Washington Hospital and has recovered. Gaines testified in court that the defendants tied the two victims up with duct tape, forced them on their knees and then shot them multiple times. Both Gaines and Johnson, who was Gaines’ cousin, were robbed of their money and cell phones. According to testimony, Shanks, 42, stayed outside during the shootings and then drove away with the suspects. A brief disturbance between relatives of the suspects and the victims broke out in the courtroom during the hearing. Circuit Court bailiffs separated the two groups and removed them from the courtroom. There were no arrests in connection with that incident.

See S&P, page 3

See budget, page 3

Leonard Banks

It was a muddy festival of outdoor challenges! On Saturday, during the One-Mile Leo Mud Run, at Eagles Nest, kids 6-13, pushed through a series of tires, a retaining wall, fields, a pool of mud, and the Potomac.

Fracking webinar next week Phyllis Cook Those interested in learning more about fracking can tune in online next week to an hour-long webinar (web seminar) on July 9 from noon to 1 p.m. Those wishing to tune in can do so by getting on a computer and keying in the following web address: http://connect.ag.vt.edu/ vmn_at7/. The webinar is entitled, “Hydraulic Fracturing for Natural Gas in Virginia.” The presentation will focus on hydraulic fracturing in Virginia and the laws, regulations and agencies governing its use. It will be presented by State Geologist David Spears of DMME, who provided a similar presentation at a meeting in King George on Feb. 4. The King George Board of Supervisors was informed of the online opportunity by Eric Gregory, county attorney at last week’s

meeting on June 24. FACT FINDING Gregory is linked into the topic of fracking on behalf of the county Board of Supervisors by his membership on two state committees. That activity is part of the county’s fact-finding as a lead-in to address amendments to the county’s ordinances in regard to fracking. Gregory is a member of the Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy (DMME) new regulatory advisory panel, whose second meeting takes place this week on July 2 at the Richmond state capitol building. DMME organized the regulatory advisory panel to perform a review of the DMME gas and oil regs to recommend amendments to address recent concerns regarding fracking, chemical disclosure, local impacts and authority and

other matters under the regulatory purview of DMME. The first meeting was conducted on June 4 in Richmond and a third meeting is scheduled for July 23 in Abingdon, in southwest Virginia, where most of the oil and gas drilling activity in the state is currently taking place. People interested in the activities of the regulatory advisory panel can go to the DMME website and find further information. There is also a page on the county’s website devoted to documents on fracking. The other state-wide committee on which Gregory is involved is the VACo Environment & Agricultural steering committee, which held a meeting last Friday, June 27, to discuss the DMME regulation panel and the authority of localities in regard to drilling, along with the limitations on that authority. See webinar, page 3

Now you can follow local breaking news daily on our website at www.journalpress.com

Sheriff Steve Dempsey provided the King George Board of Supervisors with information regarding some of the numerous damages caused by a recent lightning strike at the Sheriff ’s office earlier this month. A lightning strike had occurred late on the afternoon of Friday, June 13. Dempsey told Supervisors at last week’s meeting on June 24 they were not able to determine the exact location of the strike. He added that the strike was close enough to be felt and heard, along with what sounded like a loud explosion. Dempsey said communication systems were affected throughout the Sheriff ’s office building, and the phone system was partially destroyed. Since the damage, the phone system has been entirely replaced. Dempsey noted that when the 911 system went down, they immediately transferred that responsibility to Caroline County. He added, “Caroline took the burden of our 911 calls throughout the night until our 911 was restored.” By the next day, Saturday, June 14, a KGAlert message went out to all subscribers informing residents that normal administration phone lines were out of service, but that 911 is working. It further informed subscribers to dial 775-2591 or 7752592 to reach the Sheriff ’s office, adding the office only had the ability to call out to 775 exchanges. By the morning of June 18, another KGAlert message went out informing subscribers that the familiar Sheriff ’s office number, 775-2049, was back in service and operational. OTHER DAMAGE In addition to the damages to the phone and security systems noted, three servers, two in records management systems and one in the mapping system, were damaged. But that’s not all. Dempsey recounted that door security systems were affected and the fire alarm system was damaged. Camera systems throughout and other security systems throughout the building were affected. He praised the county’s information technology staff under Chris Dines for their outstanding job and long hours put in to get services restored. He also said that Motorola had been on-site almost daily since the event to work on restoring systems and said they have been in continual communication with the VACoRP insurance adjuster, adding they were getting good response. Dempsey added they expect to identify further damages as time goes by, but also said, “At this time, we don’t feel like the county is being affected from outside service any way at all.”


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