News

Near Riot in Wboro Wednesday Night
A stabbing,shooting and someone dragged by a vehicle Wednesday night in Waynesboro.Two groups of approximately 10 to 12 people each allegedly were involved in an altercation in the 700 block of Sherwood Ave. No life threatening injuries but one man,a 23 year old from Verona, was stabbed in the leg and taken to Augusta Health and then released.The bullet fired didn't hit anyone but a 20 year old Waynesboro man was dragged by one of two vehicles involved. -Investigation continues-If you have any information please call Central Valley Crime Stoppers at 1-800-322-2017.

Scary Email Scam in Stn
Do NOT open an email from the USPS! It is not from the U.S. Postal Service- It contains a computer virus. Staunton PD Public Information Officer Lisa Klein says a number of folks in Staunton have complained to the police but there is nothing they can do except educate the public not to open this or any suspicious email. Klein suggests checking with snopes.com before opening any unknown email.

VA LOTTERY Winner in Afton
A 4 million dollar check was presented to a 70 year old retired hairdresser from Afton Thursday morning by Virginia Lottery officials.Gloria Carter won the top prize in last week's "Decades of Dollars" drawing. Carter bought the ticket at the Royal Mart on E Market St in Waynesboro. The store received $10,000 for selling the winning ticket.

Meth & Bomb Lab Busted
Police in the upper end of the valley say they have shut down a meth lab. In addition to reportedly finding a meth lab operating out of a home on King Street in Strasburg, investigators say they also came across materials that could be used to make bombs.

United Way Celebrates Successful Campaign
The United Way of Harrisonburg and Rockingham County did more than service work during yesterday's day of caring..they also celebrated a very successful 2011 campaign. The campaign brought in 1.1 million dollars...the fourth straight year the agency has been able to raise more than a million dollars.

Healthcare Costs = New Car
More of your money than ever is going towards health care. The recently released 2012 Milliman Medical Index says annual healthcare costs for American families have exceeded $20,000 for the first time.

SUV Hits Motel
It's a hotel, not a drive-thru. A Harrisonburg woman has been charged with reckless driving after crashing her SUV into the Motel 6 yesterday.

Grand Jury Gets Robbery Case
A man accused of robbing a Harrisonburg convenience store will fight the charges in a higher court. Forty-six year old city resident Hector Rivera waived his preliminary hearing, sending two counts of robbery to the Circuit Court to be heard by a grand jury.

Whopping Cough Still An Issue
April did not bring the valley a respite from an outbreak of whooping cough. Numbers from a new state report show five more cases of pertussis were recorded in the Central Shenandoah Health District last month.

Mt Solon Moped Driver Badly injured
A 42 year old Mt Solon man was taken to RMH and then airlifted to the University of Virginia Medical Center with serious injuries after an accident in Harrisonburg this afternoon. A 57 year old woman from Shenandoah, Carol Kellum,was entering S. Main Street near South Ave from a parking lot. A driver motioned Kellum into the roadway and unfortunately into the unseen moped. Kellum was

$1,100,244 FOR United Way
The United Way of Harrisonburg and Rockingham County has raised $1,100,244 in the 2011 annual campaign. This is the fourth year in a row that the local group has raised over one million dollar. $770,000 will be allocated to 34 local non profits- Today was the United Way Day of Caring with focus on the Plains Area Day Care Center. Dr Fred Fox was selected the honoree of

5 in custody in Culpeper
Police say five people are in custody after pointing a gun at two Culpeper County Schools. Culpeper County Sheriff's Office says they received a call just after 8am today that someone had pointed a gun at A.G. Richardson Elementary School and Pearl Sample Elementary School.Deputies made contact with the 5 individuals and determined the gun was a pellet gun.No students were indangered and the

VA Gets $115 K from Sketchers
Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli says the Commonwealth will receive about $115,000 from the multistate settlement with Sketchers USA Inc over the company's shoe ads- Lawsuits filed by Cuccinelli and the AG's of 43 other states alleged that Sketchers made unfounded claims in ads for Shape-ups,Tone-ups and Sketchers Resistance Runner Athletic shoes. The ads claimed the shoes

VCU to leave CAA-ODU undecided
ESPN.Com has reported that Old Dominion University officials met this afternoon to discuss conference possibilities- this comes on the heels of a report on CBSSPORTSLINE stating that VCU has already agreed to leave the CAA and join the Atlantic 10. CAA Commisioner Tom Yaegur told ESPN that he was not aware of any decision made by VCU.Where all this leaves JMU remains a big question.

Stn credit card fraud
A woman suspected in three cases of credit card fraud in late April is still being sought by the Staunton Police. SPD Investigator Chad Nestor describes her a a white woman with blonde hair-about 5-3 to 5-6 in height and weighing up to 265 pounds.Nestor says the woman went to three different Staunton stores and used stolen credit cards. If you have any information,please

Cousin Beating
A 26 year old Staunton man was arrested in connection with a November beating of his own cousin.Lavare Johnson,accused of felonius assault,was arrested at the Relax Inn on White Hill Rd accoring to the Newsleader. Johnson,along with his brother,24 year old Tobias Johnson is accused of beating their cousin on November 3,2011 for questioning Lavare's lifestyle/ Tobias Johnson remains at large

Fine Levied For Fouling Shenandoah River
Spilling thousands of gallons of cow manure into the Shenandoah River will cost a Timberville farm thousand of dollars. The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality has entered a final order against Windcrest Holstiens.

Beanery Arson Case Delayed
No plea yet from a Staunton man accused of two thefts and a fire at a Harrisonburg restaurant. Twenty-six year old Todd Moody's hearing has been rescheduled for May 21st according to court records.

Grottes & New Market Hold Budget Hearings
Residents of two valley towns get a chance tonight to speak-up on plans to raise their taxes. Both New Market and Grottoes will hold public hearings on their proposed budget's tonight.

Gas Prices Decline For 5th Straight week
With the start of the traditional summer driving season looming, gas prices have fallen for the fifth straight week. Triple-A Mid Atlantic reports prices in Virginia fell nine cents last week.

BRCC and BC Graduations
A pair of valley colleges have some newly minted alumni. Bridgewater College graduated more than 350-students Saturday. Also Saturday, Blue Ridge held it's 44th commencement.

HHS is # 1101
Harrisonburg High School has been selected the 30th best Public High School in Virginia ,out of 300 and the 1101 nationally out of 22 thousand.US NEWS and the American Institutes for Research made the designation based in how well HHS prepared students for college readiness. Harrisonburg School Superintendant Dr Scott Kizner told WSVA news how proud he was of the designation. Kizner added there

First Lady at VATECH
First Lady Michelle Obama and US Senator Mark Warner helped Virginia Tech celebrate graduation on Friday for 5000 grads and their friends and families.The First Lady urged Hokie Graduates to create new communities and continue to serve others,noting the school's resilience in the face of several incidents of campus violence including the 2007 massacre.

2 injured during truck wreck in Shen Cty
Two drivers were injured early this morning in Shenandoah County on Interstate 81 at mile marker 280. A southbound tractor trailer had run out of fuel and was stopped on the right shoulder. A southbound box truck driven by a 22 year old Stephens City man,ran off the road,struck the tractor trailer and overturned in the roadway. The impact pushed the tractor trailer driver,Sokada Sock of California-He

GMU Staying in CAA
George Mason University announced today that the school will stay in the Colonial Athletic Association. GMU Athletic Director Tom O'Connor says the school,a founding member of the Virginia based league, will not make the rumored switch to the A-10. No word on whether VCU Or ODU,rumored to be leaving the CAA,will stay or go.

Mixed News for Science Students
Mixed news for the Old Dominion's 8th grade science students-bad news for West Virginia's and the nation's. The National Assessment of Educational Progress results released Thursday showed only 40 per cent of the Commonwealth'ss 8th grade science students achieved proficient scores in 2011. This was better than West Virginia's rate of 24 % and the national rate of 31%

Shen County Drug dealer sentenced
Shenandoah County drug dealer Thor Matson III has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for selling heroin out of his Strasburg home. 17 years of Mattson's sentence has been suspended. The case had been delayed several times after he showed up to a hearing with a blood alcohol level of point 11. Mattson had previous convictions of dealing both cocaine and marijuana.

Greenville Man Indicted
A Greenville man has been indicted on two counts of allegedly beating his girlfriend to the point she jumped out of a moving car to escape the attack.38 year old Joseph Blackwell will return to court on May 21st on charges of assault and abduction.

Dead Shen County Driver ID'ed
24 year old Amber Dove of Rhoadsville was driving that 2008 Kia Spectre that crossed the solid line on US211 and struck a 3 axle feed truck head on . Dove was taken to RMH where she later died. The driver of the truck,24 year old Ricky Thompson of Mt Solon was unhurt. State Police are still investigating.

Home Sales Drop in April
Local home sales hit a rough patch in April. Scott Rogers with Harrisonburg Housing Today reports sales of single family homes,condos and townhouses slipped nearly nine per cent compared to April of last year.Sales for the year however are still running two per cent ahead of 2011.

Wboro recount
Waynesboro will have a recount of their recent Ward "A" City Council election in which Timothy Williams won by only 23 votes over Jim Serba. The Newsleader reports that Serba had petitioned for the recount two days after the election.Judge Humes Franklin has appointed the elections officers and set the ground rules for the recount but has not selected a date.

Brady breach but no Damages
JMU Men's basketball coach Matt Brady breached his contract with Marist when he left that school to become head coach of the Dukes. But Marist was not financially damaged by the move.The Poughkeepsie Journal reports that Marist Attorney Paul Sullivan won't appeal the decision by a jury today.Coach Brady told WSVA NEWS that he made a mistake in the first place by not having an attorney or agent

Death on 211
A fatal two vehicle crash on US211 about a mile west of Runaway Lane in Shenandoah County late yesterday morning. A 2008 Kia Spectre was westbound on 211 when it crossed over the road and hit a three axle feed truck head on. The driver of the Kia was transported to RMH where they later died. The driver of the truck,24 year old Ricky Thompson of Mt Solon was unhurt. Speed has been determined to

BAth Salts Escapee
Remember the guy who stole a school bus and crashed it into a closed Waynesboro business looking for bath salts?? Authorities claimed he was high on bath salts at the time. He escaped from Western State Mental Hospital in Staunton late Monday night. WPD SGT Brain Edwards says his department received the call about Joseph Henschel's escape early Tuesday. Edwards said it is unclear why the 34

Wboror City Council Special Meeting
There will be a special meeting called by Waynesboro City Council tomorrow morning at 9am to discuss the performance or disciplining of a council member. The NewsLeader reports that the meeting was called by Waynesboro Mayor Frank Lucente. Days before the May first City Council election,Councilman Mike Harris publicly criticized Lucente for the way the mayor negotiated a deal to buy land off South

Bath Salts Cases Make Way to Federal Court
Even though they are a fairly new problem, cases involving bath salts have already made their way to the federal courts. This week in Harrisonburg U-S District Court, a Craigsville woman is expected to plead guilty to distributing bath salts.

Ag Promotional Tour Brings Gov to Valley
A statewide tour to promote agriculture will bring Governor Bob McDonnell to the valley later this week. According to the governor's office, the "Virginia: Growing Strong" statewide tour is aimed at highlighting private-sector growth around the Commonwealth.

Broadway Taxes and Fees to rise!
A new tax,increases to existing ones and several fee hikes are all included in the proposed 4.6 million dollar budget for the town of Broadway.The public hearing will be held May 21st.,The new cigarette tax will be 15 cents per pack-Broadway's budget also includes a 15 per cent water rate increase,upping water and sewer connection fees and a dollar increase in curbside trash and recycling

Crime Down in VA
Virginia State Police says homicide and other violent crime in the Commonwealth are declining but drug offenses continue a two year climb. The annual Crime in Virginia report released today say the homicide rate fell from 4.61 per 100 thousand in population to 3.77 in 2011. Robberies fells 4 per cent. Burglaries,motor vehicle theft and other property crime declined 2.2. per cent. Drug offenses

Abbott Labs fined $1.5 Billion
Abbott Laboratories has pleaded guilty and agreed to pay $1.5 Billion over allegations that it promoted the anti-seizure drug Depakote for uses that were not approved by the Food & Drug Administration. The case includes a criminal fine and forfeiture of $700 million and civil settlements withe the federal government and 45 states and the District of Columbia.

Sentencing Set in Elder Abuse Case
A sentencing date has been set for a woman accused in the death of an elderly Staunton man. Fifty year old Jeannette Hymes has already plead guilty to an abuse charge and could get up to 10-years in prison for the crime. Court records show she'll be sentenced September 6th.

Police Probe Saturday Robberies
Harrisonburg Police begin this Monday with work leftover from the weekend. Officers continue to investigate a pair of Saturday robberies.

HHS Grad Takes Command of USS Houston
Harrisonburg High School graduate Paul Davis probably won't spend much time looking for Sean Connery, but he is now the commanding officer of a submarine featured in the film "Hunt for Red October."

Primary Primer
With last weeks local elections in the rear-view mirror, area registrars want to make sure you're ready to head to the polls in June. A deadline is quickly approaching if you want to participate in the upcoming primaries.

Shen County Taxes to rise!
Shenandoah county Schools may get an additional $1.8 million from their Board of Supervisors. THE NVDAILY reports that the Supervisors are expected to vote on the proposed $53,8 million county budget at their regular meeting on Tuesday. Earlier this year,Shenandoah County administrator Doug Walker proposed a $54.2 million budget which is 11 per cent greater than this years.

UVA STudent Arrested
University of Virginia student Ryan Fenton has been charged with assault and breaking and entering after an incident at a residence hall last Sunday morning. Two UVA students were allegedly pushed by Fenton who then followed them to their residence and attempted entry through an occupied first floor room.NBC29 reports that a residence hall staffer assisted two male occupants with removing the

Radford Tuition up
In state tuition and fees at Radford University are going up! The increase is lower than those adopted at several other public universities in Virginia.The Roanoke Times reports Radford's Board of Visitors voted 8-6 to raise in state tuition and fees by 3.2 % in the coming year. Mary Washington increased in state tuition by 5 per cent,College of William and Mary by 3.3 % and UVA by 3.7%.

ER Deal at Aug Health
A last minute deal between Anthem Blue Cross/Blue Shield means patients will be covered for doctor costs at the Augusta Health Emergency room. Dr J Scott Just, President of Shenandoah Emergency Medicine sent a release that the ER docs would continue to participate in Anthem's PAR/PPO Networks. Without the new deal the doctors 15 year contract with Anthem would have expired later

Retired cop pleads Guilty
A retired law enforcement officer pleaded guilty to grand larceny this morning in Rockingham County Circuit Court. 53 year old Monte Oubry Dean of Elkton was accused of stealing more than $200 in merchandise from the Elkton Food Lion. That crime was captured on video and Dean received a five year suspended sentence and two years of probation

Cville man apprehended after CHASE
A 28 year old Charlottesville man faces multiple charges following a vehicle and foot pursuit through Augusta and Nelson Counties this morning. Trevis H Johnson has been charged with 1 count each of speeding,reckless driving,drug possession and one felony count of eluding police. A Va State Trooper tried to stop Johnson's 2004 Ford Explorer for speeding on rt 664 in Augusta County early this