Olivia Whitehouse
Reporter
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Olivia is from Hampton, Virginia. She graduated from George Mason University in 2022 with a major in Communications with a double concentration in Journalism and Media Production & Criticism.
While at George Mason, Olivia worked for their on-campus television station, Mason Cable Network at MCN. Olivia reported about on-campus events and served the station as General Manager her senior year.
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George Vazquez, President of Local 946 UAW Winchester, PDC, said they are on strike to seek economic justice. they are hoping to get back some of the concessions the U.A.W gave up during the 2008 recession when the auto industry was struggling.
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Morgan Dean, AAA Mid-Atlantic Spokesperson said it is important to be mindful of the fact the daylight can be changing dramatically from day to day this time of the year.
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Mike Wilhelm, Assistant City Manager for Public Safety said the city has acquired a decibel meter and he has been conducting sound tests with event venues around the city.
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”This improvement provided a travel area down to the river with a turn around point so you can off load your canoe, your kayak, and get real close and then we put in an actual formal boat launch that does not get affected by erosion,” said Wells.
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Zoning Administrator and Senior Planner Rodney Rhodes said in 2018 Staunton adopted a Bike and Pedestrian Plan to add bike lanes and shared roads throughout the city.
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" The building is going to be a total loss. We did have major collapsed and probably three quarters of the building is collapsed in,” said Chief Schacht.
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Michael Parks Director of Communications with the City of Harrisonburg said they are working with the Northeast Neighborhood Association and the Shenandoah Valley Black Heritage Project to reconnect the Northeast Neighborhood to Downtown.
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“The reporting of the transfer records will allow for timely data collection an will ensure that the most accurate data is reported to the Chesapeake Bay Program of the Environmental Protection Agency.”
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Recent data shows the agriculture sector is still the most dangerous in the United States, according to a Virginia Farm Bureau report.
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Director of Public Works, Jeff Johnston said they expect water levels to drop in the summer and while there is no indication water levels could worsen, if they do the city will keep residents updated.
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Assistant Fire Marshal David Nichols said the Waynesboro Fire Department is prepared to respond to any type of emergency. Firefighters can be exposed to very traumatic incidents such as deaths or serious injuries.
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Waynesboro man who was charged with animal abuse was scheduled to appear in Augusta County General District Court Monday morning.
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This memorial is in memory of campus police officer John Painter and Campus Safety Officer J.J. Jefferson who were killed in the Bridgewater shooting that occurred on February 1, 2022.
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Carol Johnson Raymond, Chair of the African American Festival said after a three-year hiatus due to the pandemic, they are happy to be back. This year would have been the 30th.
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" You will find those in our picnic areas, our campfires, and a couple of our facilities like huts and shelters. Those are the only places fires should be built, in those established fire grates,” said Comer.
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An update on the construction of Riverheads Middle School and Buffalo Gap Middle School was given at the School Board meeting Thursday.
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Flu season traditionally begins around the holidays and ends in March, but it can begin in early Fall.
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Les Sinclair Communications and PR Manager for the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank said the this initiative by Feeding America provides hunger relief organizations platforms to talk about food insecurity.
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Farm Operator with Waynesboro City Public Schools, Ryan Blosser said there is an abundance of food grown at the Education Farm through programming with Project GROWS, Farm Camp, and the Kate Collins Middle School Garden Club.
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Hensley said the Parks and Recreation facility is scheduled to be complete in January, once it the department moves out of its old facility, renovations will begin to move two other departments.
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”I am pleased to be able to name this Paul Hatcher Day since I have known him for over 50 years and know what a fine man he is. He is definitely deserving of this honor,” said Mayor Claffey.
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Dr. Laurie Forlano, State epidemiologist with the Virginia Department of Health said this is a rare disease that can lead to Meningitis or Sepsis.
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Marc Sweigart, Principal of East Rockingham said " We scored a level 3, which is below standard. Our chronic absentee rate, when it is above 25% of the student population you get graded as below standard.”
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“It happened essentially overnight, they lost everything, I know an individual who put 39 years with the company and they gave a lot before the company went out of business. They gave up pensions they gave up some of their pay,” said Jeanette Donald, a small business owner who was contracted by the company.
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Forrest Atwood, Natural Resource Field Manager with the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation said while some parks allow open hunting, managed hunts are the most popular with the state parks that allow hunting.
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Luanne Goodloe, who was accused back in January of embezzlement and obtaining money under false pretenses pleaded no contest, which means, she does not plead guilty, but will accept what the court decides.
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“Augusta Health’s mission is promote the health and wellbeing of all people in our communities and we understand that one of the barriers to access is actually financial burden,” said Katie Adams, Administrative Director of the Revenue Cycle with Augusta Health.
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”What we learned from this campaign in which we feature seven entrepreneur who run a side hustle is that starting small and keeping things simple is really key in getting your feet under you as an entrepreneur,” said Horn.
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" This is the first year for us to be in the pet stores. The motivation behind that is the shelter is closed on Sundays, so we can’t do adoptions on Sundays. With the help of volunteers and a couple of staff members, we will be at the pet stores on Saturday from noon to 4 p.m. but also on Sunday from noon to 4 p.m.,” said Nawaz.
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Evan Childress, Branch Chief for Natural Resources, Shenandoah National Park said this species has been listed under the Endangered Species Act since 1989.
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”I think it is a way of celebrating both the relationships we have with the community and also the relationships between the institutions to have four different higher education institutions all in this one space that’s really important to what makes this community so special,” said Dr. Bushman
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" Even though it is a different variant you should anticipate some of the same symptoms you would with other COVID variants in the past like fevers, loss of taste or smell, cough, sore throat, respiratory symptoms,” said Dr. Baroco.
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Trey Steigman, Vice President of Development for Management Services Corporation said at the meeting the 20 proposed units would be added to the basement of existing apartments.
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Medical wait times can vary, depending on the practice, when trying to set up an appointment.
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Stephanie Duffy, Project Manager, Economic Development and Tourism, said the goal of this grant is to support new marketing efforts for events and initiatives that bring people into Waynesboro from outside a 50 mile radius.
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Luanne Goodloe, owner of Rask Florist is accused of embezzlement and obtaining money on false pretenses, according to court documents.
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" We overall gave it a fresh new look, we simplified the content so it is easier to understand, we changed the layout a bit so it is faster to navigate,” said Lackey.
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“The big BLM was three friends who started it with their last names. and we all like the sport of rodeo and we decided we wanted to start producing rodeos and having rodeo bulls and it had grown long beyond what any of us has expected,” said Lamb.
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Mark Frondorf, Shenandoah River Keeper, said the lower waters that often result from a drought makes it harder for wells to draw ground water from the river.
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Frank Stressler Executive Director of the Staunton Historical Commission said it is not uncommon for businesses to open in historic buildings while keeping the character of the building.
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Assistant County Administrator for Augusta County, Candy Hensley said the construction drawings are 95% complete.
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"The buildings are not in great shape so we want to make sure we keep it a safe and secure space,” said Johnston.
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" For the most part, we will have just shoulder closures, toward the end of the project, as they are tieing in the new lanes and getting traffic moved onto them, we will have some lane closures out there that people will need to look out for,” said Slack.
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A bomb threat was investigated on Saturday after the Augusta County Emergency Communications Center received the threat, authorities say.
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The 18th annual Route 11 Yard Crawl is a popular yard sale with vendors lined up and down Route 11 from Stephens City to Harrisonburg.
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Saturday marked the end of Virginia Farmers Market Week, which recognizes the farmers markets across the Commonwealth.
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Doctor of veterinary medicine Bruce Bowman said the tick was discovered when conducting research on a new disease called Theileria Orientalis Ikeda that can affect cattle.
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Candy Hensley, Assistant County Administrator for Augusta County said they are 85% complete with the construction plans. She added there are several different steps to projects like this.
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Kristi Williams President and CEO of United Way Staunton, Augusta, and Waynesboro said this year’s Stuff the Bus was the best year they have ever had.
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DeWayne Moore, Executive Director of Operations with Waynesboro City Public Schools said there is still a shortage of bus drivers and has caused adjustments to the bus routes to be made.
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