Top 10 Local Stories of 2011, and more notable news [The News & Advance, Lynchburg, Va.]

Dec. 30--1. Earthquake shakes Central Virginia

A 5.8 magnitude earthquake shook Central Virginia on Aug. 23, knocking photographs from walls and setting off a multitude of alarms in Lynchburg.

The earthquake, centered in Louisa County, was felt from North Carolina to New York. At its epicenter, hundreds of homes were damaged.

In Washington, D.C., the earthquake caused a crack to form in the Washington Monument; the National Cathedral suffered damaged to three of its spires.

The North Anna nuclear plant shut down after off-site power was disrupted. It returned to the power grid in late November.

Locally, no significant damage or injuries were reported, but calls from concerned residents flooded Lynchburg's emergency communications center -- 188 calls in less than 40 minutes.

Heritage High School was evacuated due to known structural problems, although it suffered no damage.

Brooke Haiar, an environmental science professor at Lynchburg College, said in August the quake was sizable since Virginia is not located along a plate boundary. It was widely felt due to its shallow nature -- only 3.7 miles underground.

"That's what made the shaking so intense," Haiar said. "That, plus the higher magnitude. It's a very rare event."

The quake was just shy of Virginia's largest recorded earthquake -- 5.9 magnitude -- that shook Giles County on May 31, 1897.

2. Year of change, transition for Lynchburg City Schools

A few key developments in 2011 will set the course for years to come in Lynchburg City Schools.

Over the summer, Superintendent Paul McKendrick left the division after more than six years as schools chief and took a job at the helm of city schools in Tuscaloosa, Ala. He was replaced first by Acting Superintendent Al Coleman, then Interim Superintendent Larry Massie.

In December, school board members picked McKendrick's permanent replacement: Scott Brabrand, an assistant superintendent in Fairfax County. He begins April 1.

Also, after eight months of research and discussion, the Heritage High School Task Force recommended in September Lynchburg build a new or mostly new school for the Pioneers.

That recommendation came based upon broad consensus among task force members, who drew on the work of five subcommittees and dozens of volunteers. The task force's 88-page report now rests with school board members, who will make their own recommendation in the year ahead to City Council, which has final say on the project's funding.

3. Wesley Earnest gets life in prison for murder

After two jury trials and two convictions, former school administrator Wesley Earnest finally was sentenced in January to life in prison.

Earnest first had been convicted in a spring 2010 jury trial of the first-degree murder of his estranged wife, Jocelyn Earnest, who was found dead in her Forest home on Dec. 20, 2007. The results had to be thrown out, though, when it was discovered that Bedford County jurors deliberated using excluded evidence. He was convicted again in late November 2010. That trial had to be moved to Amherst County with jurors from Nelson County due to pretrial publicity.

The case is before the Court of Appeals of Virginia, where a judge denied the first appeal in December. It is now set for consideration by a three-judge panel.

Earnest is housed at the Sussex I State Prison near Waverly.

4. Blue Angels wow Lynchburg, problems mar show on ground

The Blue Angels made its first visit to Lynchburg in three decades in May for a two-day air show that drew tens of thousands of visitors.

The event ran into serious trouble at the end of the first day as bus transportation to shuttle sites descended into chaos, stranding people for hours in unseasonably warm weather and causing dozens to be treated for heat-related illnesses.

On Sunday, the second day of the show, transportation logistics had improved but the team cut its act short when the planes came out of a maneuver too low. That prompted the grounding of the elite flying unit the next day, a move that led to the cancellation of several shows, including one at the U.S. Naval Academy graduation. The team's commander cited the botched maneuver and "other instances of not meeting the airborne standard that makes the Blue Angels the exceptional organization that it is," in his subsequent resignation.

In December, the team announced its plans to return to Lynchburg on Memorial Day weekend, May 25-26, 2013.

5. Liberty University student dies as train surprises group of students on trestle over James River

A Norfolk Southern train surprised five Liberty University freshmen who were stargazing on the Riverside Park railroad trestle Nov. 17, killing one student and leaving another critically injured.

Liberty freshman Hannah Emmaline Williams, of Sanford, N.C, was struck by the train and died at the scene. Julianne Ashbaugh, 18, of Temple, Ga., survived a 90 to 100 foot jump to the river bank, and was treated at Lynchburg General Hospital before returning home to Temple, Ga. for the holidays. Liberty officials said Ashbaugh is expected to make a full recovery and return to Liberty in the spring.

The three other students, all freshman, received minor injuries.

The trestle spans approximately 1,800 feet across the James River from Lynchburg to Madison Heights, and stands about 200 feet above the water at its highest point. About 15 trains cross it each day.

Williams' death was the latest of several that have occurred on the trestle through the years; at least nine people have been struck by a train and killed while on the span.

6. Militants kidnap Campbell County mom, son in Philippines

What started out as a family vacation to the Philippines took a tragic turn in July, when suspected al Qaida-linked militants kidnapped Gerfa Lunsmann and her 14-year-old son Kevin and demanded ransom in exchange for their safe return.

For months, family and friends heard little and hoped for the best. Brookville Middle School, where Kevin had finished eighth grade in June, kept a message of encouragement on its website, hoping for his "swift and safe return."

Abu Sayyaf released Gerfa Lunsmann in early October, reportedly after a ransom was paid.

Then, amid great surprise, Kevin was found safe in mid-December. Reports stated he tricked his captors by saying he was going to bathe in a river, then escaped and survived for two days barefoot in the jungle until he made contact with nearby villagers.

Said his father, Heiko Lunsmann, as he awaited his son's return home before Christmas: "It's amazing. It's amazing. It's amazing."

7. Financial turmoil rocks the Greater Lynchburg Transit Company

In June, the Greater Lynchburg Transit Company made an emergency request for $280,000 in city aid. The unexpected appeal came just one month after the city gave it a $283,000 cash infusion and one week after GLTC's board was told the bus company was on solid financial footing.

A few hours before City Council was set to consider the request, GLTC withdrew it, saying a second review of the books revealed it was unnecessary.

This whiplash chain of events sparked concerns about GLTC's financial oversight and stability. The following months ushered in a rocky period of deep service cuts, fare hikes, board clashes and waning confidence in GLTC's management firm, First Transit.

To date, GLTC has slashed its spending by close to $390,000, including downsizing three people, combining routes, eliminating all Sunday service and curtailing Saturday and night hours. Most of the service cuts won't take effect until mid-January.

GLTC also instituted a fare hike, which is expected to generate more than $110,000, bringing its total budget adjustments up to more than $500,000.

More changes may be ahead for the bus company as its board has agreed to search for new management in 2012.

8. Two fatal fires killed four Lynchburg residents

Two separate fires killed four people in 2011 in Lynchburg -- the deadliest year for fires in the city in a decade.

Since the beginning of 2000, 20 people have died in 15 fires, according to the Lynchburg Fire Marshal's office. In most years, there is only one fire-related fatality.

The deadly year began with the blaze at Princeton Circle West Apartments that killed Rachael and Aaron Horton on April 8. Officials determined an electrical malfunction was to blame, and found one of the apartment's smoke detectors had been disabled.

Then a month later Victor Kwatemba and Philemon Abayo Onyango died in the blaze that consumed their Valleydale Drive apartment. Janae Bryant, Onyango's fiancee, was in the apartment at the time, but escaped.

The two deadly blazes had fire officials urging residents to make sure their smoke detectors work. Both blazes happened in the early morning while the residents were sleeping.

"The number one way that someone can help save their family and friends from a fire in the home is to ensure that they have working smoke alarms," said Greg Wormser, fire marshal at the time.

9. $20 million lawsuit claims autistic student abused on Bedford County school bus

A Bedford man filed a $20 million lawsuit in October for alleged incidents of physical abuse of his 11-year-old autistic son on a county school bus in 2009.

Graphic video taken on the bus show the boy being hit with a fly swatter and sprayed with an aerosol can, among the actions by the supervising adults on the bus. Superintendent Doug Schuch called the footage "disturbing" and said the school bus driver and her former assistant were dismissed shortly after the incidents.

Thomas Kilpatrick, of Bedford, filed suit against the county school officials, the driver and her assistant. The school board filed a motion requesting dismissal from the suit.

In wake of the case, the Virginia Department of Education said it would review the school division's training procedures for special education school bus drivers and aides.

10. Brookville, Gretna win state football championships

In a game that came down to the final seconds, the Brookville Bees capped a perfect season and defeated James Monroe 34-33 to take the Group AA, Division 3 State Championship at Liberty University'sWilliams Stadium on Dec. 10. Hours later at Salem City Stadium, the Gretna Hawks defeated Goochland, 21-16, to claim the Group A, Division 2 title -- the school's fifth state championship.

The Bees avenged a 2008 state championship loss to Monroe with the dramatic win. Said the Bees' senior wide receiver Chris Anderson: "This is what everybody dreams of."

Honorable mentions

--The fatal shooting of Virginia Tech police officer Deriek Crouse on Dec. 8 -- in an ambush that shut down the campus for four hours -- brought back memories of the April 16, 2007 massacre of 32 Tech students and faculty members by gunman Seung Hui Cho. Ross T. Ashley, 22, a Spotsylvania County native, shot himself to death several minutes after walking up to Crouse's car and shooting him during a routine traffic stop of another person on the Tech campus. A motive has not been determined. Thousands of students turned out for a vigil after the attack, and a fund has been established to help Crouse's family.

--The U.S. Department of Justice issued a scathing report in February accusing Virginia of harming residents of Central Virginia Training Center by keeping residents in the institution instead of providing small, community-based homes where they could integrate into mainstream life. In response, Gov. Bob McDonnell and the General Assembly doubled the state's budget appropriation to $60 million for new, smaller homes for intellectually disabled people who live at CVTC in Madison Heights and four training centers in other parts of the state. Negotiations continue between federal and state officials on ways the state can speed up its transfer of residents into smaller homes.

--The U.S. Supreme Court decided not to hear Liberty University's lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of President Barack Obama's health care overhaul, putting Liberty on the sidelines of a landmark legal battle. Liberty filed an appeal with the Supreme Court after its suit was dismissed in September by the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Virginia. Though the Supreme Court will not hear Liberty's case, the justices took up a related lawsuit and are expected to decide by late June whether it's constitutional for Congress to require all Americans to have health insurance by 2014 or pay a penalty.

--Officials had no idea a woman who walked in the Amherst County Courthouse one Thursday afternoon in March was carrying a tiny monkey in her bra. The marmoset, named Cara, was just seven weeks old at the time she made waves at the courthouse, dressed in a pink dress and white diapers. No one noticed Cara until the woman made reference to her daughter to a court official and when a puzzled worker asked where her daughter was, the woman pulled Cara out of her bra. When asked who let the monkey through the metal detectors, the deputies working courthouse security quipped: "It wasn't armed."

--The Bedford community was stunned in October when E.W. Grubbs, a sheriff's deputy and resource officer at Liberty High School, was arrested. He was charged with 12 counts of taking indecent liberties with a minor by a person in a custodial relationship and Sheriff Mike Brown fired him. After he was released on bond, he fled the area with 16-year-old Audrey McCombs. He was arrested in Kentucky with McCombs. He faces an additional charge of abduction and is being held at the Lynchburg Adult Detention Center without bond.

--Five high-profile Republican political figures -- four of them presidential candidates -- visited the Liberty University campus during 2011. Current front-runner Newt Gingrich spoke to a conference of conservatives on April 8; Texas Gov. Rick Perry addressed a convocation Sept. 14 when he was leading the polls; Rep. Michele Bachmann spoke to about 10,000 students on Sept. 28 as she was sliding down in the polls after leading them a month earlier; Herman Cain, who would later lead the GOP polls before withdrawing, signed books in the university's Barnes & Noble store Oct. 8. On the same day, Sarah Palin, the 2008 vice-presidential candidate, spoke to a women's conference on the LU campus.

--The General Assembly drew up new district boundaries, as required after the 2010 census, and the results were confusing to many voters. In Lynchburg, the city was split between two state Senate districts after being represented solely by Sen. Steve Newman, R, for 16 years. In the House of Delegates, the Hill City also was divided, with Dels. Scott Garrett and Kathy Byron now teaming up to represent parts of Lynchburg and adjoining counties, including Bedford County.

--In November, Republican candidates won all the General Assembly seats on the ballot in Lynchburg and its surrounding four counties. Sen.-elect Tom Garrett, R-Louisa County, defeated Lynchburg Democrat Bert Dodson for the newly created 22nd District Senate seat, which extends from northern Lynchburg to Goochland County, in Richmond's suburbs. Del.-elect Matt Fariss of Campbell County won a hard-fought race for the House of Delegates against Democrat Connie Brennan of Nelson County and independent Linda Wall of Appomattox. The campaign included disclosures that Fariss had four misdemeanor convictions related to hunting offenses about 10 years ago, and he had been the subject of a protective order issued for a Lynchburg woman.

--Campbell County supervisor and lifelong county resident Hugh Rosser officially retired his post in December after 52 years as a county supervisor. Rosser was voted into office for 13 consecutive terms, earning the title as the longest-serving supervisor in Virginia. Now 84, he was just 32 when he was first elected to office. Over the last five decades, he helped lead the county through six re-districtings, construction of a new courthouse and several new schools, the adoption of a zoning ordinance and the creation of a master plan for a county park system.

--Liberty University now allows visitors, students and staff who have concealed weapons permits to carry guns on campus. The new policy makes Liberty one of the most gun-friendly campuses in Virginia. Visitors are now permitted to store their weapons in locked cars, while students can apply for permission from campus police to carry a gun on the outdoor grounds or in a locked car. The policy permits some faculty and staff to carry weapons inside buildings, with permission granted on a case-by-case basis by campus police.

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(c)2011 The News & Advance (Lynchburg, Va.)

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