Free Republic

Dear Friend, You know me. I am not a “Born Fundraiser.” In fact, this is the first such letter I have sent out in my entire three years as a United States Senator. But the time has come for me to begin thinking seriously about what it will take if I decide to run for re-election in 2012. And it is important for me to know the extent to which you and others are willing to help. I began my 2006 campaign on February 8th of that very year, only nine months before Election Day. On that day I had...

Authorities investigated the mysteries surrounding the death of U.S. Senate aide Fred Hutchins on Wednesday, a day after his body was found beside his sport utility vehicle on U.S. 220 near Fincastle. "We're just working to let the evidence go wherever it goes," said Botetourt County Sheriff's Maj. Delbert Dudding. One of his deputies obtained a search warrant to look through the downtown Roanoke apartment of Hutchins, who was 26 and ran U.S. Sen. Jim Webb's office in Roanoke County. According to the search warrant, potential evidence was sought that might exist in Hutchins' computer, his cellphone, his answering machine...

** Originally published January 12, 2007 ** The Botetourt County kid who handed out political business cards as a grade schooler is now the local face for U.S. Sen. James Webb in the Roanoke and New River valleys. Fred Hutchins, who has spent the past several years as state Del. Onzlee Ware's legislative aide, has been hired by Virginia's new Democratic senator to run his Roanoke-based U.S. Senate office. For the time being, it will be in the same place as former U.S. Sen. George Allen's, in an office complex off Virginia 419 near the Roanoke County Administration Building. "I'm...

Authorities in Botetourt County this morning discovered the body of a well-known Democratic operative and U.S. Senate aide along U.S. 220, dead from an apparent gunshot wound. The body of Frederick W. Hutchins Jr., 26, of Roanoke was found shortly after 7 a.m. along southbound U.S. 220 by a Botetourt County deputy who had stopped to check on a vehicle parked on the highway's shoulder, according to the sheriff's office. Hutchins was an aide to U.S. Senator Jim Webb, D-Va. Hutchins had been shot in the head, and a gun was found beneath his body, Sheriff Ronnie Sprinkle said. The...

An aide to U.S. Sen. Jim Webb was found dead alongside a Botetourt County road yesterday, according to a Richmond newspaper. Frederick Wayne Hutchins Jr., 26, apparently had been shot once in the head and a gun was found under his body, the Richmond Times Dispatch was reporting. The body was discovered outside his vehicle on an embankment on U.S. 220 near Fincastle.

REFUGIO - A Refugio County grand jury Thursday indicted Precinct 4 Commissioner Raymond Villarreal on three charges of tampering with a government document, a state jail felony, and four counts of illegal voting, a third-degree felony, stemming from the March Democratic Primary, said District Attorney Mike Sheppard. Villarreal received 293 votes in the election to unseat the incumbent, John Reyna, who received 272 votes. The charges allege illegal preparation and voting by mail-in ballots, the district attorney said

At a recent White House reception for freshman members of Congress, Virginia's newest senator tried to avoid President Bush. Democrat James Webb declined to stand in a presidential receiving line or to have his picture taken with the man he had often criticized on the stump this fall. But it wasn't long before Bush found him. "How's your boy?" Bush asked, referring to Webb's son, a Marine serving in Iraq. "I'd like to get them out of Iraq, Mr. President," Webb responded, echoing a campaign theme. "That's not what I asked you," Bush said. "How's your boy?" "That's between me...