House GOP leaders pledge support for bay cleanup: Impact to be felt in Augusta

Chris Graham

The Top Story by Chris Graham   Ken Fanfoni’s eyes are locked on the date … 2010. It’s not a space odyssey that the Augusta County Service Authority executive director has in mind, but rather a bay odyssey. Service-authority customers in Augusta are on the hook for $25 million in improvements to eight wastewater-treatment plants…

A Kerry (Vanessa) stumps the Valley

Chris Graham

Story by Chris Graham The presidential campaign trail is a long, winding, unforgiving road. Indeed, if it weren’t for the letters DQ, Vanessa Kerry might have a hard time staying in between the white lines. “When I think of the words campaign trail, my mind immediately goes to little sleep, lots of coffee and cravings…

Tweaking NCLB: Republican delegation to ask feds to ‘back off’

Chris Graham

The Top Story by Chris Graham When Sen. Emmett Hanger, R-Mount Solon, brought up his concerns with respect to the No Child Left Behind education-accountability initiative during the news conference in 2003 in which he announced his candidacy for re-election to the Virginia General Assembly, it didn’t take long for fellow Republicans to paint a…

An interview with Michael Badnarik

Chris Graham

Story by Steven Sisson Poet Robert Frost wrote, “I never dared be radical when young for fear it would make me conservative when old.” But what about being a … radical conservative? That could be the best description for Libertarian Party presidential candidate Michael Badnarik out there. Badnarik, 50, is a baby boomer – nothing…

Pres. Bush 49, Sen. Kerry 46: Poll numbers show Virginia really is in play

Chris Graham

The Top Story by Chris Graham Virginia wasn’t at all on Scott Rasmussen’s radar screen. The polling-firm head and Fox News Channel regular had been tracking several battleground states in the walkup to the 2004 presidential election. The Old Dominion, which has voted Republican in the past nine presidential-election cycles, wasn’t on that list at…

Study in contrasts: Monroe, Reynolds vying for Ward B council seat

Chris Graham

Story by Chris Graham Tom Reynolds won election to represent Ward B on Waynesboro City Council in 2000 after receiving more than 80 percent of the votes cast in his two-way race with Blue Ridge Area Food Bank chief-executive officer Marty White. On Tuesday, Reynolds, a member of the faculty at Fishburne Military School, is…

Ricketts v. Egleston: Political heavyweights square off in at-large race

Chris Graham

Story by Chris Graham Waynesboro Mayor Chuck Ricketts was unopposed in 2000 – but he wasn’t in 1996, when he came out at the top of a five-candidate race for the at-large seat on Waynesboro City Council. One of the candidates that he defeated in that election was DuBose Egleston, who won a seat on…

Wide open: Six candidates up for four spots on Staunton City Council

Chris Graham

Story by Chris Graham Staunton’s all at-large election system should make for an interesting time on Tuesday. Six candidates – incumbent council members Dickie Bell, Dave Metz, Dick Robinson and Rita Wilson and challengers Doug Manning and James Welsh – are running for the four seats open on the seven-member public body.

Addressing the issues in the Wayne

Chris Graham

Story by Chris Graham The final candidate forum of the 2003 local election season – featuring the three candidates for the Wayne District seat on the Augusta County Board of Supervisors – drew 105 people to the Wilson Memorial High School auditorium Thursday night. Republican incumbent Tom Sikes and independent challengers Wendell Coleman and Larry…