Free Republic

Police on Friday identified a suspected serial killer in the deaths of at least four people whose remains have been found in Fairfax County and Harrisonburg, Virginia. .... Anthony Robinson, 35, has been in custody at the Rockingham County Jail, more than 100 miles from Fairfax, since late November, police said Friday. .... The man police called the “Shopping Cart Killer” meets victims from online dating sites at motels before killing them and transporting their remains in shopping carts to “their final resting place,” Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis said at a news conference Friday afternoon. ... Police said...

WINCHESTER — The Frederick County Transportation Committee on Monday expressed concerns that the county may not get the Interstate 81 improvements it needs to reduce traffic congestion and accidents. The Office of Intermodal Planning and Investment, the Virginia Department of Transportation and the Department of Rail and Public Transportation are studying the entire length of the I-81 corridor in the Virginia, as directed by the General Assembly, to identify changes that will reduce traffic backups and crashes as well as find the funding to make those changes. The I-81 study team identified 105 projects — valued at $4.25 billion —...

HARRISONBURG, Va. (WHSV) -- A group of 16 Virginia lawmakers has penned a letter to Virginia's Congressional Delegation (comprised of Senators Tim Kaine and Mark Warner and Representatives Bob Goodlatte, Barbara Comstock, and Morgan Griffith) asking for federal assistance to improve Interstate 81. The interstate has long been a source of frustration for people in the Shenandoah Valley, with the Virginia Department of Transportation reporting at least a 12-percent increase in traffic in just the past five years and a 55-percent increase of delays from crashes, construction, or bad weather. In 2014, Delegate Steve Landes introduced a state budget item...

HARRISONBURG — Charges are likely to be filed before Election Day in the case involving a James Madison University student, the voter registration organization he worked for, and the submission of false voter-registration applications. Harrisonburg Director of Elections Debbie Logan, told the city Electoral Board on Wednesday that the FBI had given her that information and the names of the 19 people who were falsely registered, five of them deceased. Previous reports said that all 19 false registration applications were in the names of the deceased.

Harrisonburg officials and the FBI are investigating allegations of voter registration fraud after officials say almost 20 voter applications were turned in under the names of dead people. Harrisonburg Registrar Debbie Logan said Thursday that investigators have found from 18 to 20 potentially fraudulent registrations. The Rockingham County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office confirmed Thursday that an investigation is underway, but offered no additional details on the case. The applications were turned in by a voter registration group called HarrisonburgVOTES, officials said. The group’s representatives could not be reached for comment Thursday. No charges have been filed. The Breeze, the student newspaper...

Many people throughout the Valley and nationwide have expressed outrage after a Valley server got what she calls a “nasty and racist” comment on a receipt. And the entire exchange was caught on surveillance camera. Now, the owner of the restaurant says she doesn’t want the person responsible back in her business. On Monday, August 15, Sadie Elledge served a man and woman two gyros, sodas, and a Greek salad at Jess’ Lunch in downtown Harrisonburg. From the start, Elledge says she felt uncomfortable. […] As the blonde woman signed the receipt (which you can see in the video above),...

Eighteen-year-old waitress Sadie Elledge was working the lunch shift at Jess’ Lunch, in Harrisonburg, Virginia when a couple, in lieu of a tip, left a message on their receipt that said, “We only tip citizens.” Sadie, whose father was born in Honduras and mother in Mexico, is, in fact, a U.S. citizen who grew up in Harrisonburg. “I’ve had people make comments like ‘Go make me a burrito,’ but that’s at school and I don’t pay attention,” said Sadie, adding that the insult wasn’t that big a deal to her. But when her grandfather, John Elledge, heard of the incident...

Friend, I wanted to let you know that Paul Ryan will be in Harrisonburg this Friday at the Rockingham Fairgrounds! Doors will be open at 12:30 pm. To RSVP and get your ticket, please visit: www.mittromney.com/states/virginia Event begins at 2 pm. Address of fairground is 4808 South Valley Pike, Harrisonburg, VA 28801

by John HillStand With Arizona The U.S. economy is suffering its worst bout of sustained unemployment since the Great Depression. Millions of Americans are out of work and hurting. They struggle to pay their bills, pay their rent or mortgage, and find work to feed their families. Meanwhile, millions of illegal aliens take jobs that Americans need , undercut wages, steal identities of Americans to sustain their employment fraud, and illegally collect welfare and social services to which they have no right. As American incomes decline, the amount of cash illegals send back to their home countries is at a...

HARRISONBURG, VA. -- The bottle caps, broken glass and empty plastic cups littering a neighborhood near James Madison University's campus suggested that the events of Saturday afternoon were nothing more than a kegger gone bad. But those who witnessed the party-turned-riot recalled chaos so out of character for this Shenandoah Valley town that by Monday afternoon, it still had the power to amaze. "When you are setting off tear gas and people still aren't leaving, you know it's bad," recalled Lt. Kurt Boshart of the Harrisonburg Police Department. "It was really bad." Each semester, James Madison students organize a huge...

Federal officials say they are investigating an explosive device that was set off on train tracks near a college campus in Harrisonburg, Va. Rich Marianos, a spokesman for the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearm, said local residents reported hearing a boom about 6:30 a.m. Thursday. He said local police have investigated and determined there was an explosive device on train tracks near the campus of James Madison University at Cheapeake Street and Cantrell Avenue. He said there were no injuries and terrorism is not suspected

HARRISONBURG, Va. (AP) — Eight persons are charged with conspiring to obtain bogus Ohio identification cards for illegal immigrants in Virginia and elsewhere, a federal prosecutor said yesterday. U.S. Attorney John L. Brownlee said the fraudulent IDs apparently were intended to help the illegal immigrants obtain employment and avoid deportation. "There is no terrorism at all," Mr. Brownlee said. "This is an immigration case." Four defendants are from Ohio: two employees of a state Bureau of Motor Vehicles office in Columbus and two interpreters who served as brokers for the conspiracy, according to an indictment handed up by a federal...

Putting Faith into Action The Forum invites you to participate in the following three events next month aimed at promoting faith, family, and freedom in our communities. It's a great way to start the New Year. For further information and reservations, email family@valleyfamilyforum.org or call 438-8966. · “Capstone” (Jan. 10 – March 13): This is a series of seminars on how to help reverse the moral decline in our culture and promote Biblical values in public policy. Resources include materials from Focus on the Family and field trips to Richmond and Washington. Sessions are held at Lake Shenandoah each Thursday...

SARASOTA COUNTY -- It was spring break on Siesta Public Beach, and these college students were living it up. Shirts were off. Bikinis and sunglasses were on. Lounging on their towels after a long game of Frisbee, a few of them reached into their cooler for some nice, cold peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, apples and carrots. "It's my last one," said Steve Christner, 21, a senior on spring break from Eastern Mennonite University. "So I'm really trying to soak it up." Sarasota gets a small share of Florida's spring breakers, and many are Mennonite students looking for a good...

HARRISONBURG, Va. (AP) - A 200-pound black bear charged into a home and went on a 40-minute rampage, attacking a dog and damaging a basement guest room as it tried to claw its way out. Rosie, a 3-year-old blue heeler, was treated by a veterinarian for puncture wounds, but her owners were not injured. Karla Irving said that when she let Rosie out Saturday night, she heard the dog barking and caught a glimpse of something small scurrying in the darkness. Her eyes followed a bear cub up a tree, and when she looked back down she saw more movement.

HARRISONBURG, Va. - A 200-pound black bear charged into a home and went on a 40-minute rampage, attacking a dog and damaging a basement guest room as it tried to claw its way out. The dog, Rosie, was treated by a veterinarian for puncture wounds, but her owners were not injured. Karla Irving said that when she let Rosie out Saturday night, she heard the dog barking and caught a glimpse of something small scurrying in the darkness. Her eyes followed a bear cub up a tree, and when she looked back down she saw more movement. "I think the...

HARRISONBURG - For years, the signs literally had been everywhere.Violent street gangs were gaining a presence in the Shenandoah Valley, and members were scrawling signature graffiti on buildings and bridges. But esoteric markings of letters and symbols meant little to local police beyond vandalism.Then, last year, authorities discovered in Shenandoah County the body of a young woman with ties to a violent Central American gang.Brenda Paz was a member of the violent Mara Salvatrucha or MS-13, living in witness protection last year and set to testify against members of MS-13 in a Northern Virginia murder case. Paz was abducted from...

E&P has learned that two major newspapers, both in the stable of William Dean Singleton, will do "flip-flops" on Sunday: the Denver Post, which backed Al Gore in 2000, will endorse President George Bush, while the Los Angeles Daily News, which backed Bush in 2000, will come out for Kerry. This reflects Singleton's stated avowal that local papers in his MediaNews empire can make up their own minds on endorsements. Singleton is known to be a strong supporter of Bush. The fact that he has become publisher of the Post probably explains it's change of heart since 2000. But this...

Christian college to discuss firings for homosexual acts By the Associated Press Published April 12, 2004 HARRISONBURG, Va. -- Eastern Mennonite University President Loren Swartzendruber has agreed to meet students to discuss the dismissal of two professors for homosexual acts and the resignation of another in protest. Swartzendruber agreed to attend the forum Tuesday at the request of a small group of students at the Christian school. "We will not tolerate bigotry, poor language, inappropriate comments about persons of any sexual orientation," he said. Eastern Mennonite is a private school founded in 1917. Most of its 1,400 students are...

Church relief agency disburses last of 9-11 grants From "NewsDesk" Date Fri, 24 Oct 2003 17:27:04 -0500 Oct. 24, 2003 News media contact: Linda Bloom7(212) 870-38037New York ALL-RM-I{509} By Linda Bloom* STAMFORD, Conn. (UMNS) - The terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, have given United Methodists a new awareness of what it means to be prepared for a disaster. That's why one of the last round of grants to be approved from the denomination's "Love in the Midst of Tragedy" fund will be invested in the Seminars on Trauma Awareness and Recovery (STAR) program sponsored by Church World Service...