Caroline county couple remembered

From NBC 12 in Richmond, Virginia: Memorial service to honor deputy and girlfriend :

A memorial service on Friday night in will honor the lives of a Caroline County sheriff’s deputy and his girlfriend.

Authorities say 23-year-old Leonard Reel took his own life on Wednesday, just days after arriving at the scene of a deadly car crash, only to discover the victim was his girlfriend, 23-year-old Elizabeth Ryan.

The combined memorial service begins at 7 p.m. at the Bowling Green United Methodist Church.

[googlevideo=http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8819286613838011159]

From NBC 12 in Richmond, Virginia: Caroline county couple remembered :

A somber ceremony last night in Caroline county where dozens of people gathered to remember Deputy Leonard Reel and his fiancé Elizabeth Ryan.

Elizabeth was killed in a car crash on Monday; Reel was one of the officers called to the scene.

He was so overcome by the tragedy, that he took his own life two days later.

Last night’s service honored the lives of the young couple, on the verge of starting a new life together.

It’s a loss Elizabeth’s sister says she can’t make sense of.

“I truly don’t know where to begin,” she said “Your death has left me go numb so much. you truly were my best friend.”

Elizabeth Ryan leaves behind a three year old daughter.

In lieu of flowers, the sheriff’s office is asking the public to donate to a special fund set up to care for the child.

Donations can be sent to Union Bank and Trust, P.O. Box 220, Ladysmith, Virginia 22501.

[googlevideo=http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8265628563877809778]

Some pictures:

Reel_memorial

092807_18342

092807_18351

More pictures at the Caroline County Sheriff’s Office website.

Funeral Arrangements for Deputy L. W. Reel

From the Caroline County Sheriff’s Office:

Caroline County Sheriff’s Office
P.O. Box 39 118 Courthouse Lane
Bowling Green, VA 22427
Phone (804)-633-1120 Fax (804)-633-1124
E-Mail: sheriff@carolinesheriff.org

Sheriff A. A. “Tony” Lippa, Jr.

For Immediate Release – September 27, 2007

FUNERAL ARRANGEMENTS FOR DEPUTY L. W. REEL

The Caroline County Sheriff’s Office has received the following information on the funeral of Deputy Leonard W. Reel, age 23, and Elizabeth C. “Liz” Ryan, age 23.

A combined memorial service will be held on Friday, September 28, 2007 at 7 p.m. The service will be located at Bowling Green United Methodist Church, 112 South Main Street, Bowling Green.

In lieu of flowers, a request has been made from the family for contributions to the fund for Elizabeth’s daughter, Ciarra Blount-Ryan. The fund has been established at Union Bank and Trust, P.O. Box 220, Ladysmith, Va 22501.

Following the memorial service, a reception will be held at Bowling Green Town Hall located at Courthouse Lane and Chase Street.

Anyone with questions about the arrangements is encouraged to call Major M. W. Hall at (804)633-5400.

Deputy Reel

From WTVR 6 in Richmond, Virginia: Deputy Death :

It’s a tale of two hearts connected by the graveyard shift.

A deputy meets his sweetheart 7 months ago. She was a clerk at at a Ladysmith gas station he frequently stopped in to buy a drink or use the restroom.

The two hit it off and had everything going for them until Monday. Deputy Leonard Reel was on his way to meet his girlfriend Liz Ryan, when he got a call to respond to Nelson Hill Road for a fatal traffic accident. Fourty minutes later, the deputy finds out that the victim is his girlfriend. Her three year old daughter Ciara was also injured and taken to Mary Washington Hospital.

Two days passed and the stress was just too much. Shortly after Reel’s sister leaves his house, Reel uses his service weapon to kill himself. Sheriff Tony Lippa says his deputy left a note behind saying in part that he couldn’t live without Liz.

A memorial service will be held for both Deputy Reel and Liz Ryan at Bowling Green United Methodist Church on Friday night.

[googlevideo=http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-394525410269740214]

I just want to say thanks to WTVR for their story on Deputy Reel’s passing.

You can leave comments on Storke Funeral Home’s website for Deputy Reel and his late fiancée Liz Ryan.

"Marine Killed During Training At Fort A.P. Hill"

From NBC 4 in Washington, D.C.: Marine Killed During Training At Fort A.P. Hill:

A Marine was killed in a training accident Friday at Fort A.P. Hill in Caroline County.

Authorities said the Marine died after a Humvee overturned at about 9 a.m. during training. Four others in the vehicle suffered minor injuries.

A spokesman said the incident occurred on the post’s Convoy Live-Fire Range.

The victims’ names have not been released.

All five Marines were with the 1st Fleet Anti-terrorism Security Team — or FAST — Company based out of Norfolk. That company falls under the Second Marine Expeditionary Force based out of Camp Lejuene, North Carolina.

*Snicker* The poor woman…

From The Free Lance-Star: Theft case moves to feds to prosecute [emphasis mine]:

A Caroline County woman accused of stealing money from the private law firm of Caroline’s chief prosecutor is now under federal indictment.

Shelia [sic] Boone, 49, is charged with two federal counts of bank fraud and one of aggravated identity theft.

As a result of the federal charges, state embezzlement charges were dropped yesterday, said Richmond city prosecutor Sangeeta Darji.

Darji said the identity theft charge would carry a mandatory two-year minimum jail term if Boone is convicted.

Boone was a secretary for Harvey Latney, who is Caroline County’s commonwealth’s attorney and also runs a private law firm in Richmond. She is accused of stealing money–at least $271,000–from clients at Latney’s private law firm. She has charges in Caroline County.

Latney is not suspected of any wrongdoing. Boone no longer works for him, although she is still listed as his secretary on Caroline County’s government Web page. Boone is alleged to have forged Latney’s signature on checks to herself from an estate account.

The fraud was discovered when the commissioner of accounts, who oversees estates in escrow like this one was, did not receive reports from Latney on what was going on with the estate.

[…]

Boone’s federal court date has been set for Nov. 5 before Judge Henry Hudson.

"Police: Argument Over Remote May Have Caused Double Murder"

From WUSA 9 in Washington, D.C.: Police: Argument Over Remote May Have Caused Double Murder [emphasis mine]:

Police say an argument over a TV remote control may be to blame for a double murder last week in Fauquier County.

Eighty-three-year-old Robert Hawkins Senior and his son, 35-year-old Robert Hawkins Junior died last Thursday after the altercation at a house near Goldvein.

Anthony James Poole, who is Hawkins Senior’s son-in-law and the younger Hawkins’ brother-in-law, has been charged with two counts of first degree murder.

[…]

That’s where Fauquier County Sheriff Charlie Ray Fox says the men got into an altercation triggered by anger over who was using the remote control and sitting in certain chairs.

Police believe the argument had been brewing for a while before police were called to the home at 8:11 that night. They found both victims dead of gunshot wounds to the body.

Poole is being held without bond.

Fox says police believe Poole “just snapped.”

Uh-oh, they’re not being politically correct…

From NBC 4 in Washington, D.C.: Despite Ban, Va. Tech Fans Shout Out Chant [emphasis mine:

In a year of profound sadness, perhaps fans of Virginia Tech football can be excused for a playful protest.

Despite a ban by the administration, thousands of fans Saturday yelled out a cheer deemed offensive by some.

By whom? Can you provide some names, please, instead of using weasel words? “Many claim that NBC 4’s stories are written by morons.” See my point?

As the players neared the end zone, thousands of Tech students moved their hips and yelled three times, “Stick it in.”

Then the rest of the stadium cheered.

School officials have been promoting “Hokie Respect” and sportsmanship in recent years. The ban on the suggestive chant is part of that effort.

But after the April 16 massacre on campus, some said it was time to get silly.

Tech won, by the way. The score over Ohio was 28-7.

Anti-Semite/racist James "Jim" Moran opens his mouth again…

From The Washington Post:

Rep. James P. Moran Jr. (D-Va.) has again come under fire from local Jewish organizations for remarking in a magazine interview that the “extraordinarily powerful” pro-Israel lobby played a strong role promoting the war in Iraq.

In an interview with Tikkun, a California-based Jewish magazine, Moran said the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) is “the most powerful lobby and has pushed this war from the beginning. I don’t think they represent the mainstream of American Jewish thinking at all, but because they are so well organized, and their members are extraordinarily powerful — most of them are quite wealthy — they have been able to exert power.”

Moran’s remarks were criticized by the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington and the National Jewish Democratic Council. Ronald Halber, executive director of the first group, said Moran’s remarks are anti-Semitic and draw on ugly stereotypes about Jewish wealth, power and influence.

“He uses several age-old canards that have been used throughout history that have brought violence upon Jews,” Halber said this week. “He uses clearly anti-Semitic images such as Jewish control of the media and wealthy Jews using their wealth to control policy.”

Ira N. Forman, executive director of the National Jewish Democratic Council, said in a published statement that there is nothing wrong with criticizing the pro-Israel lobby but that Moran’s statements go beyond that to defamation by making a “phony” connection between AIPAC and the Iraq war.

“Rep. Moran’s comments are not only incorrect and irresponsible,” Forman said. “They are downright dangerous.”

[…]

In 2001, he [Moran] angered groups by saying in an appearance before the American Muslim Council that then-Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon was coming to Washington “probably seeking a warrant from President Bush to kill at will with weapons we have paid for.”

The next year, Moran returned $2,000 in political contributions from a Muslim activist with ties to the anti-Israeli groups Hamas and Hezbollah.

And in 2003, at an antiwar forum in Reston, Moran said: “If it were not for the strong support of the Jewish community for this war with Iraq, we would not be doing this. The leaders of the Jewish community are influential enough that they could change the direction of where this is going, and I think they should.”

Said Halber this week: “There are only so many mistakes he can make before it’s fair to call him an anti-Semite.”

I would say we’re at that point now. And don’t forget his racist acts back in 2000; from The Washington Post via LexisNexis, “Parents File Complaint Against Va.’s Moran; Lawmaker Says Boy Tried to Steal Car”:

The parents of the 8-year-old boy who allegedly tried to steal Rep. James P. Moran Jr.’s car Friday by claiming he had a gun have filed a complaint with an Alexandria magistrate and hired a lawyer, saying that their son did nothing wrong and was cursed and manhandled by the congressman.

The child merely admired Moran’s Toyota, the parents said, adding that Moran (D-Va.) then grabbed the boy by the neck and cursed at him.

Moran, who disputed the parents’ contentions, has not pressed charges against the boy but was obviously conflicted about how to proceed yesterday. Twice he reversed his decision, first telling a reporter he had decided to prosecute, then calling back an hour later to say he would not.

[…]

According to police, the boy approached Moran in the parking lot of Cora Kelly School and Recreation Center, claiming that he had a gun in his pocket and demanding that Moran give up his car keys.

Moran told police that he grabbed the boy and hauled him inside to the director’s office. The boy was not armed.

[…]

The boy’s mother, Melanie Gaitwood, yesterday gave her version of the incident, which occurred as Moran was picking up his children.

Gaitwood said her older son, age 9, came running home saying someone was trying to choke his brother.

Gaitwood said she went immediately to Cora Kelly. “My son was in the office, screaming and crying,” she said. “The director said, ‘This is the man right here that accused your son of trying to steal his car.’ I said, ‘What the hell are you talking about? He’s just 8 years old.’ ”

According to Gaitwood, Moran then insulted her.

Moran said the mother was “just screaming the vilest obscenities at me because I didn’t let him go. . . . And I said, ‘Ma’am, your son said he had a gun. He tried to steal my car.’ And she started with all the f’s. . . . I said, ‘Well, I think we found the problem.’ ”

Yesterday, Gaitwood told a reporter that a witness had seen Moran grab her son, a second-grader, around the neck and the leg. Then the boy’s father, Alonzo Griffen, arrived and referred questions to the family’s attorney, Ted J. Williams.

Also, from the AP via LexisNexis, “Congressman says boy tried to steal car, parents call congressman a thug”:

[Ted] Williams [the parents’ lawyer], who also threatened to sue, called it a case of a “white congressman’s word against that of a young black kid.” He said Moran should apologize and agree to meet with the parents.

[…]

He [Williams] also sent school transcripts identifying the child as Michael Green, an “A” student.

He should know better than to interfere with a media event…

From WUSA 9 in Washington, D.C.: Fire Inspector Faces Possible Action For Pointing Out Dangerous Boiler Room:

Timing is everything. After uncovering a mud and debris filled boiler room at Francis Junior High School in July, Fire Inspector Alan Lancaster told school officials it needed to be fixed.

When he came back in two weeks to check it, it wasn’t repaired, so he went looking for the principal.

He found her leading a tour of the building during Mayor Adrian Fenty’s “Buff and Scrub” media event.

Lancaster diverted the principal and the Deputy Mayor for Education Victor Reinoso to the boiler room.

In an exclusive report, 9NEWS NOW cameras were rolling when they discovered a scene, Reinoso described as “appalling.”

Within 30 minutes of the detour, school engineers and maintenance workers, and some top education leaders swarmed the school to see it for themselves.

It was fixed within days.

But 9NEWS NOW has learned the inspector who brought the problem to light faces possible disciplinary action for the way he handled it.

Sources tell 9NEWS NOW, some of the mayor’s staffers complained about how he pulled them away from the media event.

Lancaster is now on desk duty while fire officials conduct an internal investigation.

His supporters say he was just doing his job, to help the city meet the mayor’s October 15th deadline to have a working boiler in every DC school.

“We have addressed it early and removed all danger to anyone in the building before the cold weather hits,” Principal Stephanie Crutchfield said.

Lancaster isn’t commenting pending the outcome of the investigation.