4BETTER OR WORSE- The week in review

Published online 8:00am Thursday Oct 29th, 2009
and in print issue #0843 dated Thursday Oct 29th, 2009

Grimmest week for news: Morgan Harrington remains missing since the October 17 Metallica concert, musician Johnny Gilmore dies in a house fire October 22, and local food activist Kathryn Russell dies in an automobile accident the same day.

Deadliest stretch of highway: Monacan Trail– U.S. 29 south near Plank Road in North Garden– claims three lives in two separate accidents. Kathryn Russell, 54, is killed October 22 when she pulls out onto U.S. 29 and her truck is hit by a southbound van. Two days later, a northbound Dodge van loses control in heavy rain and slams into a tree in the median. Two 13-year-olds from Edgewood, Maryland– Destiny Greene and Joshua Woolmer– are killed.

Deadliest lesson: None of the victims were wearing seatbelts, all three were ejected from their vehicles, and police believe seatbelts could have saved their lives.

Worst dropout news: The number of Albemarle County black students entering high school in 2005 and not finishing nearly tripled over that of the previous class, the Daily Progress reports. About 15.2 percent of the 138 black students who entered the ninth grade in 2005 dropped out. Overall, the county's dropout rate is 5.8 percent, down from 6.3 percent for the class of 2008.

Best dropout news: Charlottesville's rate slightly improved for black students at 14 percent, down from 15.4 percent the previous year. Its overall rate is 11.1 percent.

Best news for Yancey, Red Hill, and Scottsville elementaries: As expected, the Albemarle School Board votes October 23 to keep the three schools open rather than close and consolidate.

Worst news for John Lowry and David Slutzky: Both candidates for the Albemarle Board of Supervisors pick up endorsements from the Progress– Lowry for the Samuel Miller District and Slutzky for Rio.

Most controversial campaign mailing: Cynthia Neff compares 58th District Delegate Rob Bell to a cheating husband: "He acts like a nice guy at home. But he cheats on us in Richmond." Bell dubs the attack ad "a doozy," according to Brian McNeill in the Progress, and the paper's editorial page calls it "indefensible."

Most JADE busts: The Jefferson Area Drug Enforcement Task Force makes eight arrests last week with seizures ranging from 125 to 500 grams of cocaine and 125 grams of methamphetamine.

Biggest speedtrap: Albemarle police target southbound U.S. 29/250 Bypass between Ivy Road and I-64 and write 150 tickets to 127 drivers on Tuesday, October 20.

Best C'ville-Nashville connection: The Wall Street Journal looks at how country star Tim McGraw has reshaped his career by joining Charlottesville-based Red Light Management, where he's personally managed by someone named Coran Capshaw.

Latest Media General loss: The owner of the DP posts a $62.5 million third-quarter loss, or $2.80 a share. A year ago, the company had a profit of $6.1 million– or 27 cents a share, and attributes the decline to no Olympics or major political races.

First area newspaper to charge for web content: The Daily News-Record in Harrisonburg offers $2 a month subscriptions to read stories online.

Worst person to have plan a funeral: Ulisa Mary Chavers, 61, admits October 21 in Louisa Circuit Court to dumping the body of her boyfriend, Reginal Cody Bowles, down a well. She also confesses burying her second husband, Clent Chavers, in the backyard of their Amelia County home in 1994, and later beheading his corpse and throwing it into a landfill. She collected Social Security checks from both men, and faces up to 25 years in prison when she's sentenced January 25.