Author: Mike Salmon

Features

Fredericksburg resident and UMW alumna wins on Jeopardy!

By Mike Salmon

Betty Barnhardt Hume, University of Mary Washington Class of 1971, is a retired library reference assistant from Fredericksburg. She entered Final Jeopardy! in the Religion category trailing four-day champion Erica Doornek. The clue referenced John Calvin and the Holy Sudary. Hume answered correctly—“What is the Shroud of Turin?”—wagered $5,000, and finished with $21,000 to claim the win and end Doornek’s streak.

Hume joins other University of Mary Washington alumni who have competed on the show. This is her first appearance. She returned as champion on Friday and won again, bringing her two-day total to $27,800. She is scheduled to go for a third win on Monday.

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Features

The Tunes Come Easy by “2 Girls and a Guitar”

By Mike Salmon
Dani and Emy of 2 Girls and a Guitar on Caroline Street in Fredericksburg. Photo: Mike Salmon / Potomac Local News

Music has a way with forging paths with people and two teenagers, Dani and Emy, started out musically with a few guitar lessons at Pickers in Fredericksburg where they learned the basics on a six-string guitar. Next thing they knew, they were strumming the six-string and hammering out familiar lyrics in front of their fans on Caroline Street in Fredericksburg, a venue that’s always been a busking favorite for local musicians.

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Fredericksburg

Pizza Box Bins in Fredericksburg Make Recycling Easy

By Mike Salmon
Pizza boxes only recycling bin in Fredericksburg
A pizza-box-only recycling bin outside a downtown Fredericksburg restaurant. Credit: Mike Salmon / Potomac Local News

Downtown Fredericksburg has a new place for used pizza boxes. The city partnered with a couple of local pizza restaurants on a recycling system that starts with screened receptacles right outside the shops, labeled “pizza boxes only, no trash.”

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Features

Virginia Beach filmmaker’s “No Grace” lands in Tackett’s Mill horror fest

By Mike Salmon
Clearbrook Artist Collective Horror Film Fest poster
Poster for the Clearbrook Artist Collective Horror Film Fest at Tackett’s Mill in Lake Ridge. Photo: Clearbrook Artist Collective

The Horror Film Fest at Tackett’s Mill is set for Oct. 16, and one of the shorts on the slate was shot in Virginia Beach.

Kendra Louka of LoukaRound Productions submitted No Grace. She told Potomac Local’s Mike Salmon the film will screen at the Clearbrook Artist Collective program inside the shopping center arts space at 2230 B Tackett’s Mill Drive.

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Business

Fredericksburg Veteran’s App Aims to Cut Food Waste

By Mike Salmon
Kevin Barr, who has roots in Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania. [Submitted photo]

Believe it or not, the struggle to minimize food waste can begin with an app. Kevin Barr of Fredericksburg has just the app—and the energy—to do something about it when he launches “Health Barr” on August 30, just before Food Waste Prevention Week, September 28–October 4.

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Fredericksburg

Lobster, Pasta and Chef Ype Were Big Hits at Fredericksburg’s Silver Diner

By Mike Salmon
Chef Ype von Hengst (far left) and Fredericksburg Mayor Kerry Devine (far right) join other local leaders and dignitaries for a ribbon-cutting ceremony celebrating the Silver Diner’s one-year anniversary at its Central Park location on July 26, 2026. (Photo: Mike Salmon)

It was a lobster fest at the Silver Diner in Fredericksburg on July 16, 2026, led by a well-known chef and founder in the Silver Diner world, Ype von Hengst.

He knew the exact portions by memory — except for the fresh tarragon that he threw in there for taste. “I hate measuring,” he said as he shook the pans over a gas flame in front of a large audience that had eyes on the lobster.

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Breaking News

Fatal Plane Crash Near Shannon Airport in Spotsylvania County

By Mike Salmon

There was one person on board the single-engine plane. Rowland A. Babcock, Jr., 78, of Ruther Glen, Va., died as a result of injuries suffered in the crash.

The aircraft came down in the parking lot of Greenline Service Corporation, a John Deere dealership located across the street from Shannon Airport on Tidewater Trail. The plane had taken off from Shannon Airport around 10:49 a.m. and was airborne for approximately 16 minutes before the crash.

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Prince William

DWR Operation Dry Water Ride-Along on Occoquan River

By Mike Salmon
Screenshot

Alcohol impairs judgment, balance, vision, and reaction time, with effects intensified by sun, wind, noise, and motion on the water. The risk of death in boating incidents is similar for drinking operators and passengers.

In 2025, DWR officers arrested 10 individuals for boating under the influence, issued 255 citations, gave 160 warnings, and contacted over 3,500 boaters.

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Fredericksburg

End of an Era: Billikens Smokehouse Says Goodbye to Caroline Street

By Mike Salmon
Is it the place in town where everybody knows your name? [Photo: Mike Salmon]

It looks like this will be the last summer of barbecue and live music on Caroline Street as Billikens Smokehouse opts not to buy the antique house it operates from and closes the restaurant when the lease expires in November.

It’s a loss for everyone — including the diners, the bands that play in their outdoor venue, and especially the Shalawylo family: Greg, Sharon, and Ashlie — who have put the final touches on their special barbecue for more than 10 years.

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