A full day of horsing around awaits at the 45th running of the Foxfield Races. The historic steeplechase event, born out of the tradition of fox hunting, features seven full race cards over flat tracks, hurdles, hills, and obstacles for the jockeys and their thoroughbreds. Live music, local vendors, and a variety of food trucks combine with derby-style fashions, enthusiastic tailgating, and friendly side wagers at this outdoor affair.
Walter Korte leaves court August 8, 2017, after a judge holds off accepting a plea agreement.
Staff photo
Korte sentenced to 12 months
With a handful of UVA colleagues sitting in the courtroom, film studies professor Walter Korte, 74, was sentenced to five years in prison with all but 12 months suspended after pleading guilty to two counts of possession of child pornography.
Korte was busted in August 2016 when he was spotted dumping thousands of porn images in a UVA dumpster. His lawyer, Bonnie Lepold, argued that despite his predilection for pornography, the images were all “lawful pornography and erotica.” He did not engage in any inappropriate behavior with children and had no criminal record, she said, and in the two years since his arrest, no one came forward to allege such behavior.
“He was not a child pornographer and had no interest in that,” she said. Lepold asked that he be sentenced to the five weeks he’s already served in jail or home incarceration with electronic monitoring.
Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Amanda Galloway said Korte was not a threat, and she acknowledged his lack of criminal history. But she wanted a year to send a message that child porn possession will be punished regardless of one’s age or position in the community.
Judge Humes Franklin added 10 year’s good behavior to Korte’s sentence, and when asked about the home incarceration, he said, “I want to sleep on it.”
“We’re looking for a middle ground of security in the future.”—Interim City Manager Mike Murphy at the August 20 City Council meeting, on the topic of security for August 12, 2019.
Anthem returns
After dumping the Charlottesville area individual marketplace last year and leaving Optima as the area’s sole insurance provider, Anthem says it’s re-entering the market here and in 41 other Virginia localities in 2019. And in related news, Charlottesville couple Steve Vondra and Bonnie Morgan joined a federal lawsuit filed by Chicago and other cities suing President Donald Trump and his administration for intentionally and unlawfully sabotaging the Affordable Care Act.
Foxfield feud
Plaintiffs challenging the Foxfield Racing Association’s plan to sell the 179-acre Marianna de Tejeda property, bequeathed to perpetuate horse racing in Albemarle, were in court August 17. They were represented by William Hurd, the same attorney who thwarted plans to close Sweet Briar College. The judge will issue her ruling August 28.
MoJo’s first day
There’s no getting away from the Confederate statue issue, as former city manager Maurice Jones discovered August 20 on his first day on the job as town manager in Chapel Hill, where protesters at the University of North Carolina toppled Silent Sam.
Charlottesville has its own Silent Sam. file photo
GoFundAlbemarle
The county has approved plans for a boat landing and trailhead on the Rivanna River at Rio Mills Road, as well as plans to crowdsource the $700,000 needed to open the 20-acre park, according to Charlottesville Tomorrow.
Pipeline halt
A federal appeals court nullified two permits for Dominion Energy’s $6 billion, 600-mile Atlantic Coast Pipeline, which has temporarily ceased construction. One of the authorizations that judges with the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals threw out was a right-of-way permit for the pipeline to run underneath the Blue Ridge Parkway.
Back to legislate
Governor Ralph Northam has called for a special session of the General Assembly to convene August 30 to redraw districts of the House of Delegates. A panel of federal judges ruled June 26 that 11 districts were racially gerrymandered and must be redone by the end of October.
New Hoos
file photo
Though the majority of the University of Virginia’s Class of 2022 will consist of white girls from right here in the Old Dominion, it’ll be the most diverse class in UVA’s history.
Along with “record high” racial diversity at 34 percent—or 1,294 minority students compared to 1,247 last year—the university is also “particularly pleased” that 11 percent of the incoming class are first-generation college students, said UVA spokesperson Wes Hester.
The 96 groups that have adopted highways in Albemarle can't keep up with the trash tossers.
Hawkins Dale
Spring cleaning
As the weather warms, more people are outside and noticing just how trashy our scenic highways are. That’s when local groups that have adopted a highway under the Virginia Department of Transportation don their orange blaze vests and go clean up after their filthy neighbors.
Groups that volunteer are asked to take care of a two-mile stretch of road at least two times a year. After two pickups, the group is eligible to put its name on a blue Adopt-a-Highway sign. VDOT supplies orange trash bags, vests and roll-up signs to warn vehicles a pickup is in process, and will come remove the bags.
Some adopters have been known to abandon their highway, and resident VDOT administrator Joel DeNunzio says if a group hasn’t picked up in a certain amount of time, it can lose its blue signage. “Certain groups may be more interested in having their names on highway signs,” he concedes.
Fortunately that’s the exception, and volunteers are welcome. “I will let anybody adopt any highway I think is safe,” says DeNunzio. “They’re only denied if I don’t think it’s safe. We don’t want to have inexperienced people or kids on dangerous roads.”
96 groups have adopted roads in Albemarle County
192 miles of road are adopted
189 bags of trash have been picked up by volunteers so far this year
Source VDOT
“If the administration remains loudly silent in the face of white supremacy, it will perpetuate the University’s painful and pervasive history of racial violence.”—Petition from UVA students to President Teresa Sullivan and the Board of Visitors April 27, the same day the university issued a no trespass warning to Jason Kessler.
Beating trial begins
Jacob Goodwin
The first of four jury trials in the August 12 malicious wounding of DeAndre Harris got underway April 30. It took six hours to seat a jury for Jacob Goodwin, 23, from Ward, Arkansas. Goodwin’s attorney, Elmer Woodard, admits Goodwin kicked Harris but says that didn’t cause the serious injuries Harris suffered.
Sex trafficker convicted
A trial originally scheduled for five days stretched nearly two weeks before a jury, after deliberating 15 hours, convicted Quincy Edwards, 34, of 10 counts of commercial sex trafficking and of procuring a person for financial gain. The Albemarle jury recommended 22 years in prison. Edwards was arrested in 2015 at the Royal Inn, and his victim said she had sex with as many as 20 men a day for her heroin supply.
Teacher pleads guilty
Richard Wellbeloved-Stone
Popular former CHS environmental sciences teacher Richard Wellbeloved-Stone, 57, pleaded guilty to one count of production of child pornography April 26 in U.S. District Court. He came to law enforcement’s attention while chatting with an undercover agent in the U.K. and describing his fantasies about a prepubescent girl. Police found images of a girl’s vagina on Wellbeloved-Stone’s cell phone.
Garrett’s mandatory minimums
Congressmen Tom Garrett, Jared Polis (D-CO) and Ken Buck (R-CO) introduced the Review Every Act Diligently In Total—READ IT—resolution to amend House rules to establish a mandatory minimum review period for all legislation that is brought to a vote.
Warmbiers sue North Korea
The parents of UVA student Otto Warmbier, who was held in North Korea for 17 months before being returned to the U.S. last June in an unresponsive state, have sued the rogue nation for torturing their son as Kim Jong Un makes nice with South Korea and plans a meeting with President Donald Trump. Warmbier died shortly after his return.
Drugs and horses
Albemarle County Police had a busy April 28 running a drug take-back program at Sentara Martha Jefferson and policing 15,000 racegoers at Foxfield. The number of drugs collected was down from last year, but so were the traffic tickets at Foxfield. Collecting drugs or dealing with drunk UVA students—it’s one way to enjoy a beautiful spring day. Preliminary numbers for those events are:
Foxfield
Spring 2018
15,000 racegoers
5 arrests
31 medical emergencies, 12 known to be alcohol related
The 40th annual running of the horses and the donning of sundresses and hats by UVA students for heavy day-drinking took place April 29 and drew more than 12,000 race fans. With the temperature soaring to 90 degrees, it’s no surprise there were more medical emergencies than usual. Thirty-eight people sought aid, and two were taken to the ER, according to Albemarle police. The good news? Fewer arrests and only one charge for urinating in public.
—Albemarle County Police
In brief
Large percentage, still low wages
City Council voted 4-1 to up its pay from $14,000 to $18,000, a 28 percent increase, and the mayor’s compensation from $16,000 to $20K, with Mayor Mike Signer voting against. The raise goes into effect July 1, 2018, and is the first in 10 years.
Neighborly discord
Fluvanna County Sheriff’s Office
Fluvanna Sheriff’s Office says Little Joe Roach Jr., 45, fired shots into a neighbor’s house April 30, striking a woman, and then had a seven-hour standoff that drew more than 50 cops to the neighborhood near Scottsville. Roach faces multiple felony charges, and was denied bond May 1.
“I didn’t know what a Rolex cost, to be honest. I’m a Seiko and Timex guy and always have been.”—Former governor Bob McDonnell on “60 Minutes” April 30 on the watch that led to his corruption trial
Don’t drink—or swim in—the water
The Shenandoah River is teeming with E. coli from excessive livestock and fowl manure, mainly from Augusta, Page, Rockingham and Shenandoah counties, according to a study from the Environmental Integrity Project. The Virginia Farm Bureau calls the report “an opinion piece.”
Close shaves
At least seven cats in Waynesboro have been reported shaved without their owners’ permission since December, according to the News-Virginian. Police seek information on the unauthorized underbelly, groin and leg-area trims.
Guaranteed she doesn’t have this
For those who want to remember Mom in a way that’s both unusual—and silly—the Jeffersonland Chorus offers a personalized e-serenade that’s uploaded to YouTube and emailed to her. With a $10 discount on orders before May 12, the price is $20, and proceeds go to the nonprofit barbershop quartet organization. Check it out at jlchorus.org.
Troubled teacher sentenced for sex with student
Former Jack Jouett Middle School teacher Amelia Tat was sentenced May 1 to 10 years in prison for two counts of carnal knowledge of her 14-year-old student. She’ll serve only two of those years.
“I lost many firsts that I will never be able to have again,” testified the former pupil, who said he was “manipulated” by the teacher, and has had “numerous problems” as a result, such as anxiety attacks and post-traumatic stress disorder. The victim also said his relationship with Tat in 2015 has affected other relationships he has since tried to form.
A developmental psychologist testified that Tat’s 4-month-old daughter has already begun to attach herself to her mother.
“If mom is in prison, disrupting that relationship that’s already there is going to be injurious to the baby,” he said. Prosecutor Darby Lowe said the judge can’t ignore Tat’s crime and suggested the former teacher have a once-a-week physical visitation with the child while Tat is locked up.
Albemarle County Circuit Court Judge Cheryl Higgins ordered that Tat will begin her sentence December 5 so she can undergo some therapy and spend more time with her baby before she reports to jail.
