Dale City, Va. –– A teacher at a Dale City middle school faces charges after a student said he inappropriately touched her during class.
The 12-year-old victim told police the incident happened at 2:58 p.m. Friday, at Beville Middle School at 4901 Dale Boulevard, while the girl was in the teacher’s care.
The teacher was arrested without incident, said Prince William police spokesman Jonathan Perok.
Lawrence Eric Lucchetti, 33, of Alexandria, is charged with taking indecent liberties by a custodian and aggravated sexual battery, said Perok.
He was held without bond and his court date was not released.
Triangle, Va. –– Women donned in pink t-shirts banded together for a cause at the Holiday Inn in Quantico –– to empower area business women.
On April 30, the Pink Lipstick Women Empowered group held their first meeting at the hotel.
It brought together women in the area who own small businesses in the Prince William area in an effort to bring together all women, from mothers, career professionals and business owners, according organizer Yahaira Stewart.
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By Tracy Kennedy
Capital News Service
Richmond, Va. –– Now that the governor has approved the General Assembly’s redistricting plans, the State Board of Elections must find millions of dollars to implement the new maps.
“They split over 500 precincts, and we have to equip them,” said Charles Judd, chairman of the State Board of Elections. He estimates that it would cost about $20,000 to equip each of the 500-plus new precincts. That would put the total price tag at more than $10 million.
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Woodbridge, Va. –– There are some major changes coming to Potomac and Rappahannock Transportation Commission buses.
You know them as OmniLink and OmniRide. Click here to learn about the changes which will take effect in two weeks on May 23.
Volunteers needed at government center
Stafford is looking for a few good volunteers to help at the county’s government center.
Volunteers work at the visitor’s desk at the administration center at Jefferson Davis Highway (U.S. 1) and Courthouse Road (Va. 630), from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. or 12:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays.
Volunteers answer questions from visitors face to face or on the telephone, monitor visitors to the government center and keep staff aware of any questions or concerns.
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It’s not often we get to cover stories about renowned pop stars coming to the Potomac Communities. It’s even less often the stars don’t appear and we are forced spend our afternoon speaking with record label public relations people, radio station program managers and a school principal asking “What happened? Where is Usher?”
Erroneous reports that Usher would appear Friday at Woodbridge Middle School turned into utter confusion.
A teacher hoping to bring the singer to the school for a celebration apparently spilled the beans that he would appear, but had not spoken with the singer or his representatives.
It turns out Usher and pop star Prince Royce, who was also rumored to make an appearance, was never scheduled to appear.
While it’s important that if you’re planning an Usher concert you might want to make sure he knows he’s supposed to show up, it’s also important we remember the reason for the school’s celebration.
The students at Woodbridge Middle School did very well on Virginia’s Standards of Learning exams this year. Their scores reflected progress over the previous year’s scores and earned them the title “school of excellence.”
Looking at the photos captured by our chief photographer, the students were smiling and seemed to have enjoyed their special day. There was a moon bounce, professional football players, motivational speakers, local politicians, and a singer (though not as well known Usher) who came to perform in the school’s gymnasium.
All of that should not be forgotten just because the pop star (who was never supposed to show) didn’t stop by.
It’s also a lesson for us a community news organization to be sure that we continue to report the news and how it affects the communities we serve.
We will also reaffirm our commitment to checking and then double-checking our sources, verifying we have the most accurate information before posting the story to our website.
We weren’t wrong to report the rumors of Usher coming to Woodbridge, but we could have done a better job understanding why the school was having a celebration and just who was supposedly bringing Usher to the school.
By Will Flemming
For PotomacLocal.com
Kinston, N.C. –– The Potomac Nationals gutted out a 2-1 victory in extra-innings in Kinston to snap their five-game losing streak and salvage the finale of the four-game set at Grainger Stadium. Steven Souza’s sacrifice fly in the eleventh inning capped off a seesaw win that showcased special efforts by several of Nationals.
The Nationals (11-18) took the lead in the first inning, saw the game tied in the sixth, and escaped two huge jams to set the stage for Souza’s winner.
Justin Bloxom singled in Hood in the opening inning to get the Nats on the board and snap a string of 17 scoreless innings. Danny Rosenbaum took the lead and ran with it. The lefthander kept the Indians off the board until the sixth – and even then, the K-Tribe tied the game amidst some controversy.
After a leadoff single by Tyler Holt, Casey Frawley popped out to first. On a 2-2 pitch, Rosenbaum appeared to strike out Bo Greenwell with a fastball on the outside corner. It was called a ball, Greenwell eventually walked and Paul Menhart was ejected for an argument with home plate umpire John Bacon. Rosenbaum struck out Chase Burnette for the third time (which would have ended the inning) before Jason Smit hit a ground ball through the left side of the infield to score Holt and knot the score.
It would stayed tied through nine innings – though not without some harrowing moments for the Nationals. In the eighth inning Rob Wort, who relieved Rosenbaum after seven outstanding innings, walked the first two batters. Josh Smoker was summoned from the bullpen, and retired the Tribe in order, including a fourth strikeout of Burnette. Smoker retired the Indians in the ninth as well.
Marcos Frias entered in the tenth inning, and got into hot water right away. He walked Holt and hit Frawley to open the frame; Greenwell sacrificed them to second and third. After Burnette was walked to load the bases, Frias struck out Smit and got Doug Pickens to hit a ground ball back to him and end the threat.
The Nats broke the tie in the 11th, with a little help from Smit. After Cutter Dykstra walked and moved to second on Jeff Kobernus’s sacrifice bunt, Destin Hood hit a popup to right field. Smit lost the ball in the sun and dropped it, allowing the Nationals to put two men in scoring position with one out.
Souza then hit a two-strike line drive to medium right; Smit made an excellent throw to the plate but an even better slide from Dykstra broke the tie.
Pat Lehman pitched a perfect 11th for his seventh save, and the Nats avoided the sweep. Frias (2-2) got the win, while Jose Flores (0-3) was saddled with the loss.
Potomac looks to make it two in a row tomorrow night in Winston-Salem. Mitchell Clegg takes the bump for the Nats against Joe Serafin at 7:05 p.m.
Will Flemming is the broadcast director for the Potomac Nationals.
Falmouth, Va. –– Two kayakers were rescued late last night on the Rappahannock River.
Stafford sheriff’s deputies spotted two people on a small island just west of the Falmouth Bridge.
The two became stranded on the island after their kayak overturned and one of them suffered a head injury, said Stafford fire and rescue spokesman Mark Doyle.
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Update 9:20 a.m.
A crash on Interstate 95 at mile post 148 is to blame for serious delays on the highway and U.S. 1, Stafford sheriff’s officials say.
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By Uriah Kiser
In Stafford, sheriff’s deputies use words like probable cause, indicators and articulate.
