Sunday, March 30, 2014

Bart Hinkle: 'You just can't fix stupid' ... Ohio student with pocket knife in car sent to jail for 13 days


We've heard it over and over but the incidences seem to be growing. Zero tolerance in schools has reached the point of, well, stupid. Bart Hinkle faces it head-on today in the Richmond Times-Dispatch, noting case after case of ridiculous zero-tolerance policy "violations" from honor students,  Boy Scouts, good kids, and little kids, and the narrow-mindedness of school officials who cannot differentiate between the danger in a kindergartner's pop tart gun and the real thing.

The mind, it boggles.

Don't get me wrong. I understand the need for rules about weapons, and I've discussed this with a teacher friend in the past. But zero tolerance should not mean zero common sense.

Hinkle relates case after case of intolerant adults enforcing intolerant rules for behavior that could clearly be seen as an exception to "the rule."

Like the case of high school senior Jordan Wiser of Jefferson, Ohio, "who spent 13 days in jail on a felony charge because he drove onto school property with a pocketknife in the trunk of his car."

Let's take a minute and let that sink in. Thirteen days. In jail. For a pocket knife that wasn't even in his bodily possession but locked in the trunk of his car.

That's not the worst of it. Jordan's pocket knife was in his EMT vest. That's right ... he volunteers as an Emergency Medical Technician. Now his desire to join the Army after completing school is in jeopardy.

As if that wasn't bad enough, it gets worse. A March 18, 2014, article written by Professor Jonathan Turley, a high profile lawyer who has documented extensively about zero tolerance policies and the damage they have done to law-abiding students caught up in the madness, explored the case of Jordan Wiser:
... the school officials called police after searching the trunk of a locked car to find a pocket knife used by a senior in his work as a EMT. He was then fed into a legal system that refused to show discretion in his prosecution. Notably, prosecutor Harold Specht ran for office based on a pledge that he would maintain a “hardline, zero tolerance policy” as a prosecutor. It was the perfect storm for Wiser: zero tolerance administrators handing a student over to a zero tolerance prosecutor. But it gets worse...

Wiser may now be barred from fulfilling his dream of joining the Army. School officials say that he consented to the search but Wiser insists that he declined to give consent and asked to speak to this parents or a lawyer. School officials searched the car and found the small folding knife and an airsoft gun. (The airsoft gun was legal and used in a school club). They say that they had probable cause after monitoring comments Wiser made on an online forum. They specifically referred to videos that Wiser posted on YouTube discussing home defense techniques and self-defense.

The police was called and the school moved to expel him.

He was then charged with an illegal conveyance of a weapon for the knife.

He then spent 13 days in the county jail. That’s right, 13 days.

He now must enroll in a special online program to complete his education.
What the heck kind of message is that sending to our young people? Even more, how can adults participate in such injustice with clear consciences?

The sad part of this case is that Jordan has been barred from seeing his grandfather who is dying:
To make matters even worse, the conditions of Wiser’s bond prohibit him from having contact with his grandfather at his home because of the presence of guns in the home. His grandfather is dying from cancer.
And then this:
The first judge ordered Wiser to be held on a half million-dollar bond and a psychological evaluation. He passed the exam but he was then hit with a $50,000 bond and an ankle monitor on Christmas Eve. It is important to remember that he is not charged with a conspiracy or threat against the school. The charge remains a four-inch folding knife in a vest in a trunk in a locked car in a parking lot outside of the school.
This is just one case. A quick Google search finds dozens of others. Now, however, there are indications that some are beginning to push back against the zero tolerance policy. Sadly, it's too late for students caught up in this failed attempt to make schools safer, the kids who have been suspended, expelled, and in the case of Jordan -- jailed.

Bart Hinkle concluded, "No good deed goes unpunished. And -- as comedian Ron White likes to say -- you can't fix stupid."

Indeed.

Never stop learning....

Valley wakes to second spring snow of 2014

In the past several days, trees in the back yard have begun to bud in my corner of Augusta County. This morning, a gentle spring snow covers those buds as overnight rain turned to snow when the thermometer dropped to freezing.

Friends south and west of Staunton are reporting 3 inches of snow so far, and church is canceled in at least one location. Interestingly enough, meteorologist SWAC son-in-law gave us a heads-up a couple of days ago that we would be seeing more snow even as 70-degree temps approach the Valley for later this week.

Someone shook the snow globe again so I'll just mark it down as a continuing of Winter 2014. It's spring in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia....

Photos by Lynn R. Mitchell
March 30, 2014

Opening session of 2014 Green Valley Book Fair

I stopped by the Green Valley Book Fair earlier this week and this was my first stop. Always. LOL. Downstairs to the political section to see what was new.

There were lots of books about past presidents including my favorite. These books? I already have them all. In fact, I've bought extras throughout the years to give as gifts to volunteers who helped at GOP headquarters and working campaigns.

The book fair is open this run until April 13. See the entire 2014 schedule here.

Photos by Lynn R. Mitchell
March 30, 2014

Saturday, March 29, 2014

Ox-Eye presents spring art show


Mark you calendars for next Sunday, April 6, when an art opening will take place at Ox-Eye Tasting Room in the Wharf District of downtown Staunton, Virginia, from 4-5:30 p.m.

Two artists will be featured. Barbara Brothers will display in the Downstairs Gallery while Debbie Caldwell's works will be on display in the Upstairs Gallery. Light refreshments will be served, and Ox-Eye wine will be available for $3 a glass during the reception. Meet the artists while enjoying the ambiance of downtown Staunton in the spring.

Former U.S. House Majority Leader Dick Armey endorses Ed Gillespie, Quinnipiac poll shows Warner is vulnerable



Conservative leader Dick Armey has joined the growing list of those endorsing Ed Gillespie for U.S. Senate. The former Texas Republican Congressman, who served as House Majority Leader from 1995-2003, publicly came out for Gillespie on Thursday:
I first met Eddie Gillespie in 1985 when he came to work for me in my first month in office as a newly-elected member of congress. His hard work and leadership were critical to the success of the 1994 Republican Revolution and our subsequent legislative victories, like balancing the budget and passing welfare reform.

I know Ed will bring those same skills to the table as Virginia’s next senator, which is why I’m supporting him all the way.
With a nod to Gillespie's longtime leadership in the Republican Party, Armey continued:
If you take a look at conservative victories of the last twenty years, you’ll see the fruits of Ed’s labors.

From the groundbreaking Contract with America to President Bush’s historic re-election in 2004 to the Republicans winning control of state legislatures in 2010, Ed has been at the center of these successes.

Conservatives in Virginia have a real opportunity this November. Ed has the principles and the experience necessary to defeat Mark Warner, who has gone to Washington and voted 97% of the time with President Obama, including his critical vote for Obamacare.

Since leaving Congress in 2003, I’ve been working on advancing conservative solutions to our nation’s greatest challenges. This has included founding Freedom Works, one of the nation’s top conservative grassroots organizations. Trust me, I know conservatives--and Ed Gillespie is one of us.
Quinnipiac just released a new poll that shows Virginia's Senator Mark Warner ahead by only 15 points when in a head-to-head contest with Gillespie, numbers that show the very popular Warner is vulnerable because of the unpopularity of Obamacare. With a little over seven months left until the November election, the poll showed Warner at 46 percent, Gillespie at 31 percent, and Robert Sarvis at 6 percent.

An analysis of the poll by Glen Bolger with Public Opinion Strategies can be found at www.edforsenate.com.

Friday, March 28, 2014

Lexington's Bistro On Main ... lunch with Hannah

I spent Thursday in nearby historic Lexington so met up with PEACH homeschool grad Hannah for lunch at the Bistro On Main. The conversation was lively and animated with lots of laughter as we caught up on all the latest news including her recent trip to Ireland. As I pulled out my phone to take her picture, we realized we had matching Otter Boxes.

The food was tasty. Hannah had the Grilled Chicken Caesar Wrap -- grilled chicken breast, romaine, romano cheese, and Caesar dressing with beer-battered fries. I had the quesadilla with black beans and cheese with a side house salad made up of romaine lettuce, carrots, red onion, sunflower seeds, and homemade balsamic vinaigrette dressing.


For dessert, Hannah had this lovely Key Lime pie ...

... while I got the Crème Brulée.


It was a good day but the best part was lunch with Hannah.


On the way out of town, I stopped at Devils Backbone Outpost Brewery on Rt. 11 to get a picture. They're adding on to this location.

House Mountain, the familiar landmark for those who live in Lexington and Rockbridge County.

Photos by Lynn R. Mitchell
March 27, 2014

Thursday, March 27, 2014

If life knocks you down, get up!


Genealogical Society to host Open House at Augusta Library


Mark your calendars....

You're Invited to Our Open House!

The Augusta County Library and the 

Augusta County Genealogical Society 

Invite You to Join Us 

at an Open House

Celebrating the new ACGS Library

Monday, April 14th, 4:00 - 6:00 p.m.

Augusta County Library
1759 Jefferson Highway
Fishersville, VA 


Join Us to Celebrate ACGS's New Location!

U.S. House schedule for Thursday, March 27, 2014

From U.S. House Leader Eric Cantor's office....

THURSDAY, MARCH 27TH
On Thursday, the House will meet at 9:00 a.m. for legislative business.
First and last votes expected: 10:30 - 11:15 a.m.

One Minute Speeches

H.R. 4302 - To amend the Social Security Act to extend Medicare payments to physicians and other provisions of the Medicare and Medicaid programs, and for other purposes (Suspension, 40 Minutes of Debate) (Sponsored by Rep. Joe Pitts / Energy and Commerce Committee / Ways and Means Committee) 

H.R. 4278 - To support the independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity of Ukraine, and for other purposes, as amended (Suspension, 40 Minutes of Debate) (Sponsored by Rep. Ed Royce / Foreign Affairs Committee)

Special Order Speeches

COMMITTEE ACTIVITY OF THE DAY
Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies hearing on “Environmental Protection Agency” (Thursday, March 27th, at 9:30 a.m.)

Printable PDF

Wednesday, March 26, 2014

UVa student sues; ABC agents should be reminded of Alicia Showalter Reynolds tragedy

 Elizabeth Daly

From the Roanoke Times:
A University of Virginia student charged with assaulting two Virginia ABC agents attempting to arrest her for the underage purchase of beer that turned out to be sparkling water has filed a $40 million suit against the state and seven agents.
I don't agree with frivolous lawsuits. However, I support this lawsuit and hope Elizabeth Daly, who was 20 at the time, prevails because no law-abiding student should have to endure what she encountered the night of this scary incident. Here's a repeat of the post I wrote last summer about this incident. I feel just as strongly about it today as I did then because, as I look at her tear-streaked face, it brings home that something similar could have happened to my daughter....

Tuesday, July 02, 2013

Charlottesville ABC agents should be reminded of the Alicia Showalter Reynolds tragedy

I had no intention of writing about the Charlottesville ABC agents who apprehended a UVa student in the false belief she was underage with beer. Her "beer" turned out to be sparkling water but a series of events led to her arrest and she was thrown in the slammer overnight. ABC agents thought their lives were in danger, and the young lady thought her life was in danger, and it ended up in a big mess.

The actual incident occurred in April but came to light at the end of June when the Daily Progress reported on it after charges were finally dropped against Elizabeth Daly. Reporter K. Burnell Evans wrote "Bottled-water purchase leads to night in jail for UVa student:"
When a half-dozen men and a woman in street clothes closed in on University of Virginia student Elizabeth Daly, 20, she and two roommates panicked.

That led to Daly spending a night and an afternoon in the Albemarle-Charlottesville Regional Jail. Her initial offense? Walking to her car with bottled water, cookie dough and ice cream just purchased from the Harris Teeter in the Barracks Road Shopping Center for a sorority benefit fundraiser.

A group of state Alcoholic Beverage Control agents clad in plainclothes approached her, suspecting the blue carton of LaCroix sparkling water to be a 12-pack of beer. Police say one of the agents jumped on the hood of her car. She says one drew a gun. Unsure of who they were, Daly tried to flee the darkened parking lot.

"They were showing unidentifiable badges after they approached us, but we became frightened, as they were not in anything close to a uniform," she recalled Thursday in a written account of the April 11 incident.
And then there's this:
Prosecutors say she apologized profusely when she realized who the agents were. But that wasn't good enough for ABC agents, who charged her with three felonies.
She was charged with two counts of assaulting a police officer and one count of eluding police.

What stands out to me is that half a dozen agents closed in, at night, on several young college students. The agents were in street clothes, unrecognizable as law enforcement, and apparently their quick flashing of badges was not enough to be seen or confirmed. It was dark, the agents banged on the windows and jumped on the hood of the vehicle. The girls fled, terrified they were being assaulted. Stopped a short distance away by another police officer, Ms. Daly was told the car-jumping, window-banging shadows in the night were actually agents, and she apologized profusely. They slapped the cuffs on her and hauled her to jail.

Local and national news outlets have picked up on it.

As I read yet another account of the incident, I thought about Alicia Showalter Reynolds who was abducted and murdered 17 years ago on Rt. 29 north of Charlottesville, reportedly by a man who had a flashing police light on the roof of his truck and pulled her over. She went missing for two months until her body was found in Culpeper. The murder was never solved ... the case is still open.

That incident was an alarming event for women in the area. Still unsolved, Virginia State Police issued a statement in March of this year:
CULPEPER – Apprehending the person responsible for the disappearance and death of Alicia Showalter Reynolds remains a priority for the Virginia State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation’s Culpeper Field Office.

March 2, 2013, marks 17 years since Ms. Reynolds was abducted in Culpeper County on Route 29 while traveling from Baltimore, Md., to Charlottesville. Since then the Virginia State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation’s Culpeper Field Office has received more than 10,040 tips relating to the ongoing case, with 27 of them coming in within the past 12 months. State police continue to ask the public to come forward with any information related to the investigation.

According to witnesses who observed Ms. Reynolds’ vehicle parked on the southbound shoulder of Route 29 on March 2, 1996, a white male, approximately 35-45 years old with a medium build and light to medium brown hair was stopped out with her vehicle. The man, described as between 5’10’ to 6’0 tall, was driving a dark colored pickup truck, possibly a green Nissan. Ms. Reynolds’ remains were found two months later on May 7, 1996, in the Lignum area of Culpeper County.

As news spread about Ms. Reynolds’ abduction, several other female subjects came forward advising that a white male had either stopped them or attempted to stop them while they were traveling along Route 29 in Culpeper County.

Despite the passage of time, state police continue to pursue this case. “Within the past year, the investigation into Ms. Reynolds’ murder was the focus of review by State Police violent crimes investigators from around the state,” said Capt. Gary T. Settle, commander of the Virginia State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation Culpeper Field Office. “These investigators poured over the entire case file, leads, witness statements, interviews, suspect profiles, evidence, etc., to strategize and pursue any new evidential or technological avenues that could benefit and, ultimately, advance the progress of this ongoing investigation.”

Anyone with information pertaining to the abduction and murder of Alicia Showalter Reynolds is asked to contact the Virginia State Police Culpeper Division toll-free at 1-800-572-2260, or the Bureau of Criminal Investigation toll-free at 1-888-300-0156 or by e-mail at bci-culpeper@vsp.virginia.gov.
At the time, police advised women who were apprehended by a "police" vehicle to find a safe area before stopping, and were assured real officers would know they were not fleeing.

With that in mind, perhaps ABC officers, especially those working in college towns, should be reminded of the Alicia Reynolds tragedy.

UPDATE: A number of newspaper editorials have questioned the validity and wisdom of ABC agents' actions during this incident including the Richmond Times-Dispatch, posting the editorial, Drunk on power? 

Roger Jarrell elected Rockbridge Republican chairman

 Roger Jarrell II with son Trey, 17, driver with Trey Jarrell Racing

Well over a hundred people turned out Monday night at the Virginia Horse Center in Lexington where Roger Jarrell II won the chairman's race for the Rockbridge area Republican Committee, defeating incumbent chairman Cher McCoy 94-34. Three candidates had vied for the position but Al Tucker dropped out prior to the meeting.

Rockbridge Republican Committee is part of the 6th Congressional District that is represented by Congressman Bob Goodlatte.

Jarrell, a Lexington native who attended local schools, is well known in the area and had won support from residents and the business community. After graduating from Lexington High School and Virginia Military Institute, he went on to earn his law degree at Washington and Lee University and now is in private practice. His involvement in politics began 20 years ago when he worked on Goodlatte's campaign for Congress as well as campaigns for Oliver North and John Warner.

Jarrell is an adviser with his son Trey who is a NASCAR driver for Trey Jarrell Racing Team.

Attending Monday night's meeting were  Delegate Ben Cline who drove back from Richmond's special session on Monday to give a General Assembly update before returning for Tuesday's session, as well as incumbent Wendell Walker and challenger Vance Wilkins who are candidates for 6th Congressional District Chairman at the convention to be held April 26 in Daleville.

Photos: Early spring snowstorm in Shenandoah Valley ... how did mountain settlers handle winter?

Tuesday was a snow day in the Shenandoah Valley. White flakes began falling at daybreak and continued until dark, piling up accumulations that were a little higher than expected with anywhere from 4 to 7 inches and more. Friends who live in the shadow of Shenandoah National Park in the northeastern part of Augusta County reported receiving more than 7 inches.

SWAC Husband had shoveled a path to the bird feeder to keep our feathered friends fed and happy during the storm but a late afternoon micro-burst of big, fluffy snowflakes quickly covered any cleared areas and added up to 2 additional inches to the previous 3.5 inches.

In almost whiteout conditions, the late-day dumping after 12 hours of continuous snow gave the illusion of watching from inside a vigorously-shaken snow globe. It was beautiful -- big, fat flakes of white obscuring the mountain ridges in a kind of defiance as if it was winter's last hurrah. One can almost imagine Mother Nature with her flower-gilded broom sweeping the icy old man out the door with his blast of cold and swirling snow even as she opened a window to allow warm breezes to sweep in so that a greening can begin for winter-weary Virginians. 


For a last hurrah, however, it was a beautiful winter wonderland with snow-flocked evergreens and ice-edged ponds.

The Appalachian Mountains can normally be seen in the background but the storm obliterated long-distance views of the surrounding ridges.

With the mountains obscured in the background, I often think about the mountain pioneers who settled western Virginia and how difficult winter weather must have been for them. With no forecasters to give a heads-up of incoming storms, what were the signs they looked for to know they must prepare for wintry precipitation? How long were they isolated during the long winter months, cut off from neighbors and towns by impassable routes that were not plowed and cleared immediately after (and often during) storms? How cold was it in cabins heated by fireplaces and wood stoves that worked overtime to push back at the howling winter winds and frigid temperatures that crept through uninsulated walls and floors? They were certainly hardy individuals who endured those difficult conditions while living on stored-up supplies and firewood from months of preparation for the cold.

My grandfather was born in a cabin on "The Knob" in Grayson County, Virginia ... a three-room rough structure typical of thousands of others in the mountains. It had two rooms downstairs -- kitchen lean-to and main room -- and a big room upstairs. The walls were chinked with clay and the floor was several feet above the ground with stones around the foundation. A stone fireplace in the main room was the central heat in this little home perched on a mountain. My grandfather's brother, my Uncle Isom Osborne, married and raised his family in the shadow of "The Knob," but when he was first married, they lived with his parents on "The Knob" until settling in their own place. His wife was my Aunt Okie, and years after he died and Aunt Okie was up in age and when my son was an infant, I talked with Aunt Okie about that cabin.


We were all piled into my cousin's pickup truck as we had done since I was a kid only this time, instead of riding in the bed of the truck as I always did, I was seated in the cab with my cousin, Aunt Okie in the middle, and me with a baby on my lap. I was full of questions about life back then, and she told of having an infant during winter in the cabin. I couldn't imagine having to go about daily activities with my baby in winter in a drafty, freezing-cold house with only a fireplace to heat it and water hauled from the spring tucked just under the hill.

"How in the world did you survive?" I asked her as we jostled up the familiar rutted mountain road that had been part of the isolation of "The Knob."

She just smiled in a patient kind of way and matter-of-factly replied, "We just did. We managed." No complaints, no blaming anyone else, no excuses. They managed, they survived, they raised their five children, and all five live not far from the shadow of "The Knob."


When my children were young, one of our favorite books to read out loud was Laura Ingalls Wilder's The Long Winter. When cold winter weather limited outdoor time, we often sat near the wood stove as my kids listened while I read about Laura and her family living through the historic winter of 1880-81 that was full of blizzards and hardships. Without a national weather bureau, Pa looked for weather signs in nature and that summer he noticed that the walls of a nearby muskrat den were the thickest he had ever seen. He took it as a sign that winter was going to be especially harsh.

A Native American also warned that there would be seven months of blizzards in South Dakota that winter and, sure enough, the first one hit in October and they continued through April. Whiteouts kept children from attending school, supplies dwindled and became scarce, and the Ingalls family ended up burning twisted straw to heat their house after they ran out of wood. Feet and feet of snow piled up on the railroad tracks and blocked trains that carried food and other provisions and, by the time spring finally arrived, some settlers were nearly starved.

We never tired of the story because it was fact. Real people faced real hardship and survived.

This February 2014 newspaper article from the Star Tribune remembers the winter of 1880-81 as it notes, "Forty degrees below? Storm after storm? Months without respite from the cold? Sounds familiar. But at least you could get to the grocery store."

Flocked evergreens, farm gates, and stark winter woods. The storm offered one last chance to listen to the quiet, muted by a layer of insulation that won't be back until next winter. Although it's not out of the question to see snow in April (and some even remember it in May), the jet stream is shifting into a more seasonal spring pattern that will bring warmer temperatures to the Shenandoah Valley and Virginia. Since I couldn't stand to just sit inside and watch, I took the opportunity to get outdoors and capture the rural beauty of my neighbors' fields and woods.

The horses were inside out of the weather. It reminded me of Tater and Max in warmer weather as they waited to be fed by SWAC Daughter as seen here in April of 2008, and I couldn't help but chuckle as I remembered Tater's encounter with a herd of guinea hens in her field later that year ("Invasion!!").

This is the time of year when it's obvious how many evergreens we have in the Valley.

















The last tracks of winter....?

Photos by Lynn R. Mitchell
March 25, 2014

U.S. House schedule for Wednesday, March 26, 2014

From U.S. House Majority Leader Eric Cantor's office....

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 26TH

On Wednesday, the House will meet at 10:00 a.m. for morning hour and 12:00 p.m. for legislative business. First votes expected: 2:00 - 3:00 p.m. Last votes expected: 4:30 - 5:30 p.m.

One Minute Speeches

Postponed Suspension Vote on H.R. 1228 - A bill to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 123 South 9th Street in De Pere, Wisconsin, as the “Corporal Justin D. Ross Post Office Building,” as amended (Sponsored by Rep. Reid Ribble / Oversight and Government Reform Committee)

H.R. 1459 - Ensuring Public Involvement in the Creation of National Monuments Act (Structured Rule, One Hour of Debate) (Sponsored by Rep. Rob Bishop / Natural Resources Committee)

The Rule provides for one hour of general debate and makes in order the following amendments:

Rep. Rob Bishop Manager’s Amendment (10 minutes of debate)
Rep. Ron Barber Amendment (10 minutes of debate)
Rep. Niki Tsongas Amendment (10 minutes of debate)

Special Order Speeches

COMMITTEE ACTIVITY OF THE DAY
Small Business Subcommittee on Contracting and Workforce hearing on “Barriers to Opportunity: Do Occupational Licensing Laws Unfairly Limit Entrepreneurship and Jobs?
(Wednesday, March 26th, at 10:00 a.m.)

Printable PDF

Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Celebrate Thomas Jefferson's birthday at Monticello

Friday, April 11
At Monticello
Monticello will mark the 271st anniversary of Thomas Jefferson's birth with a celebration and ceremonies on the West Lawn. Held in conjunction with Founder's Day at the University of Virginia, the event will feature remarks by James H. Webb, Jr., former U.S. Senator from Virginia and the 2014 recipient of the Thomas Jefferson Foundation Medal in Citizen Leadership, and the presentation of wreaths honoring Jefferson by local, state, and national organizations. 10 a.m., free and open to the public. (Admission required for house tours.)

Jefferson MedalOther Events
You may also be interested in related events being held at the University of Virginia as part of Founder's Day:

April 11
  • 12:30 p.m. Thomas Jefferson Foundation Medalist in Citizen Leadership The Frank Batten School of Leadersip and Public Policy will host a talk by James H. Webb, Jr., former U.S. Senator (D-Va.) and Secretary of the Navy, decorated Vietnam veteran and successful author, journalist and filmmaker, in Old Cabell Hall Auditorium.
April 12
  • 10:00 a.m. Thomas Jefferson Foundation Medalist in Law: A public talk will be held in the Caplin Pavilion featuring Kenneth R. Feinberg, an attorney who has administered the compensation funds for victims of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, the 2007 shootings at Virginia Tech and the Boston Marathon bombings.
  • 3:30 p.m. Thomas Jefferson Foundation Medalist in Architecture
    The School of Architecture will host a public talk by Toyo Ito, a Tokyo-based architect who combines conceptual innovation with superbly executed buildings, as in his masterpiece, the Sendai Mediatheque, which reimagines what a public museum and library should be in the digital age, in Old Cabell Hall Auditorium.

Photos: Spring snow 2014

We had about 2 inches of snow on the ground this morning as I walked around the yard (now up to 3 inches). The temperature was 28 degrees with steadily falling snow and almost white-out conditions west of Staunton. This may be the last one of the season because forecasters are saying the jet stream will shift and begin ushering in warmer temps and more spring-like conditions.



The tree swing, the woods, and a spring snow. Shortly this scene will be all green....

Still need this trusty heat source.































Oops!

They will bounce back by the end of the week when temps hit 60s and then next week when it will be in the 70s.






Photos by Lynn R. Mitchell
Spring Snowstorm 2014
March 25, 2014