Williamsburg Police station evacuated from supposed grenade
A woman carrying a fake grenade into the Williamsburg Police station caused the building to be evacuated and the Department of Defense called Friday morning.
The woman, who has a military background, picked up what was thought to be a de-formed, unexploded, military-issued grenade off of a street near the intersection of Matoaka Court and Richmond Road.
“At 9:50am this morning a civilian arrived at the Williamsburg Police Station with an item she believed might be an unexploded ordnance device,” Williamsburg Communication Specialist Kate Hoving said in a press release.
Hoving confirmed the woman had no intent to harm or scare anyone when she walked into the Williamsburg Police station.
The Williamsburg Police Station was evacuated, Fire Department called and a Yorktown Naval Weapons Station team was dispatched once the Department of Defense was notified of the situation.
“At 11:06am, the team determined the device was not military ordnance, but was instead a novelty item, a cigarette lighter made to look like a grenade,” Hoving said in the press release. “They took the item with them, and the incident is now over.”
There are no reported injuries from the incident.
“Citizens are advised that if they ever find a suspicious device they should call 911,” Hoving said in a press release.
The Williamsburg Police declined to comment on the situation.
“Of course, we don’t want citizens to be picking up dangerous devices,” Hoving said.
Transportation fare increases approved in Williamsburg
While it may not directly affect students at the College of William and Mary, changes to the local bus system marked an important development for the Williamsburg community last week.
Last Wednesday, the Williamsburg Area Transit Authority Board of Directors passed a variety of changes to the area’s bus fares, including increases in the prices of some fares and a pass program intended to save money for the transit system’s regulars.
The increased fares are due to expiring grant funds that comprise 22 percent of WATA’s budget.
“With our grants expiring, we need to supplement the funds we’re losing,” Lindsay LeGrand ’09, WATA Communications Specialist, said. “The pass program is meant to soften the economic blow [of increased fares].”
The board increased the price of daily bus passes from $1.50 to $2 in addition to raising the cost of trolley passes from 50 cents to $1. Middle and high school students, who currently receive free transportation, will have to pay 50 cents for a one-way pass. A regular one-way pass will remain $1.25.
“The goWATA Pass Program offers more flexible and affordable options, especially for frequent riders,” a Williamsburg Area Transport Authority press release said.
This program offers a book of six daily passes and a seven-day unlimited pass, each for $10, as well as a 30-day unlimited pass for $35.
All of these changes to WATA fares will take effect Jan. 3, 2012.
The press release states that WATA held four public meetings in the community to discuss these changes in fares and welcomed feedback from the community. One of these forums was held at the College in September.
LeGrand said that she does not expect the changes to affect the frequency of bus usage.
“That’s what the pass program is for,” LeGrand said. “It has to do with the elasticity of the market. Some people won’t want to pay the new fares, but the passes will soften the blow for people who really depend on the buses. Using the monthly pass can save people 40 percent of their fares.”
While College students do not pay directly for their bus rides, they also are paying more for public transportation with WATA this year: The flat rate students pay for General Auxiliary Services that covers bus transit increased by $1 to $27 per semester.
“The price raises seem to affect commuters more than students,” Kelsey Renoll ’15, a prospective business major, said. “An increase of $1 does not really affect me. Raising funds is better than shortening hours, though.”
BOV member drunk in public
Board of Visitors member Laura Flippin ’92 was charged with public intoxication on Stadium Drive Friday.
Flippin, a lawyer from Northern Virginia who was in town attending the fall BOV meetings, was cited at 12:45 a.m. and charged with a Class 4 misdemeanor. She spent more than 12 hours at the Virginia Peninsula Regional jail.
Police were called to the 700 block of Scotland Street to aid a woman who had fallen; there, they found Flippin unsteady and bleeding. According to Williamsburg City Police Major Greg Riley, the officer on the scene administered a preliminary breath test to Flippin, who registered a blood alcohol content of 0.253. The legal BAC limit for driving is 0.08, but to be cited for public intoxication, an individual must simply appear to be intoxicated.
“There was a strong odor of alcoholic beverage that was coming from her person, and her speech was slurred,” Riley said. “Medics were called to the scene, and she refused medics.”
According to Riley, police are required to take persons found to be intoxicated in public to a hospital or a jail. Because no local hospital has a detox center, Flippin was taken to jail, where she spent 12 hours before being released.
“She spent however long they determined was necessary for her to sober up,” Riley said.
BOV Rector Jeffrey B. Trammell ’73 expressed support for Flippin.
“I do want to say Laura is a devoted alumna of the College and a tireless member of the Board,” he said in a statement. “This is a legal matter, and that process must proceed accordingly. It would be inappropriate at this time to comment on the specifics of this unfortunate situation.”
Flippin did not return phone calls left Monday afternoon.
Flippin’s General District Court date is Oct. 17. State Senator Tommy Norment will be her lawyer.
Forum focuses on cases of domestic violence
The College of William and Mary Women’s Law Society hosted a community discussion Thursday about
women’s safety in domestic violence cases in honor of Domestic Violence Awareness Month.
Entitled “How to Keep Women Safe,” the discussion featured Virginia State Senator, defense lawyer and adjunct law professor Tommy Norment, Virginia Secretary of Public Safety Marla Decker, Virginia Attorney Jane Sherman Chambers J.D. ’92, and Executive Director of the Avalon Center for Women and Children Sarah Meacham, all of whom spoke on the prevention and handling of domestic violence cases.
According to Decker, prevention not only includes public awareness, but also police and attorney training in the handling of victims as well.
“You can never make that victim whole. The only way to make that victim whole is for them not to be a victim,” Decker said.
According to Chambers, when police or attorneys handle victims incorrectly, a victim often recants or withdraws from the case. When a victim recants, officials sometimes charge him or her with filing a false police report.
“If a victim gets convicted [of filing a false police report], you can use that against them any time they may make it into trial again,” Chambers said. “Sometimes you just have to salvage what you can and hope that next time things turn out differently.”
The speakers also discussed the best methods for prevention. Decker and Norment stressed the importance of taking self-defense classes and being willing to use what you learn.
“I think the best prevention method is an aggressive education campaign,” Decker said. “You are teaching the potential vulnerable victims how not to be vulnerable.”
Norment offered a father’s perspective, saying, “If you are out at night, know where the little blue phones are.”
If an instance of domestic violence is not preventable, the speakers agreed that the proper handling of and aid to victims is essential. Avalon provides these services.
“[We ensure that] no matter who a woman is, or where in the Commonwealth she lives, that she has a safe
place to go and an opportunity to make a life for herself and her children,” Meacham said.
Lastly, the speakers stressed that domestic violence is not gender exclusive and that men should be educated about prevention as well.
“We have to make it open and receptive for [men] to contribute,” Meacham said.
Six-year plan aims to increase salaries
The Board of Visitors voted last month to include faculty and staff salary increases in its six-year plan, subject to approval by the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia.
In a presentation before the BOV, Vice President for Finance Sam Jones said the proposed salary increases were primarily an attempt to retain and attract top-notch faculty at the College of William and Mary. Jones confirmed that under the plan, faculty would receive a 5 percent annual salary increase, while staff would receive a 4 percent increase.
As part of the Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2011, an initiative of Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell, all public universities are required to submit six-year plans to the council by Oct. 11. If the six-year plan is approved, the College will not adopt operating budgets until the spring semester, when the state announces its financial support for the 2012-14 biennium.
Faculty and staff have not received base salary increases since November 2007. Consequently, according to the College, faculty salaries currently rank in the seventh percentile of the school’s peer institutions — the state would like to raise them to the 60th percentile.
Maid Allassan ’13, a member of the Living Wage coalition, said the organization was informed of the proposal to increase staff wages in a one-on-one meeting with Rector Jeffrey B. Trammell ’73 during the BOV visit.
“I think it’s an honest effort on the part of the administration to increase workers’ wages, even if they’re still not living wages,” Allassan said. “It’s definitely a victory for us, and it’s a step in the right direction.”
College dining staff employees declined to comment on the proposal.
The proposals detailed in the six-year plan would rely on at least $1.8 million in state funding, $8.6 million in additional revenue provided by the College and re-allocated cost savings of $600,000.
The College also would need to raise $8.6 million in new funds for the second year, but the plan assumes the state will provide another $1.1 million in addition to cost savings that would provide $1.2 million.
At the presentation, Jones said that in order to raise the funds, tuition for out-of-state students could be increased by 5 percent annually; for in-state students, by a market-based metric. However, he noted that if out-of-state tuition were too high, it would discourage enrollment.
College student victim of armed robbery
A College of William and Mary student was robbed at knife-point in the parking lot of the Governor’s Inn Sunday, adding one more incident to the list of recent robberies.
The robbery occurred at 12:30 p.m., less than five minutes away from the Williamsburg Police Department in the 500 block of N. Henry St.
“This incident is especially troubling as it occurred in the middle of the day on a busy weekend, just a few blocks from the local police department,” Vice President for Student Affairs Ginger Ambler ’88, Ph.D. ’06 said in a campus-wide email Monday.
Williamsburg police have opened an investigation into the robbery, noting also that it contributes another incident to the trend that has developed this past year.
“We’ve seen a lot more robberies this year,” Williamsburg City Police Major Greg Riley said.
Riley affirmed that the Williamsburg Police office has noticed an increasing trend in crime but did not point to any particular cause for the increase.
“I’m sure there’s ton of reasons,” Riley said. “The biggest problem is that the criminals don’t cooperate with the police in scheduling their crimes.”
According to the police report, three African-American males and one white male approached the victim who had been walking in the N. Henry Street and Lafayette Avenue area.
“One of the subjects presented a knife,” the report read. “The subjects took the victim’s book bag.”
All suspects were described by the Williamsburg police to be between 19 and 25 years old. The subjects left on foot after claiming the student’s book bag, leaving the victim unharmed.
“While we cannot fully insulate ourselves from the acts of criminals, it is helpful to remember those measures we can take to increase our level of personal safety,” Ambler said in an email. “Whenever possible, it is wise to travel with others, particularly after dark.”
Stepping outside for a breath of fresh air
As Catherine Malin ’13 makes her way down the tranquil Shenandoah River, she looks for a place to stop and rest. A change in scenery catches her eye: The line of lush forest and farmland thins to reveal a small park. Steering closer, she is able to discern a swing set, a seesaw and hammocks. Just as she begins to wonder if local farmers built this hidden park for kayakers like herself, her question is answered in the form of a sign bearinga single word: “Welcome.”
Malin is a trip leader with the Outdoor Recreation Program, and recalls this memory from the 2011 Pathways pre-orientation program.
“[The program gives] exposure to different types of outdoor trips,” Malin said.
Malin has been involved with the Outdoor Recreation Program since her own freshman year Pathways backpacking trip.
“It’s a good opportunity to get off campus,” she said.
The Outdoor Recreation Program, a division of the Student Recreation Center, began in 2006 and led its first trip, a yoga day hike, in the spring of 2007. Since then, the trips have been expanded to include rock-climbing at the Manchester Wall in Richmond, kayaking on the York River, caving in the Shenandoah Valley and Moonlight Paddles on Lake Matoaka. Moonlight Paddles take place in the evening, while other trips last between a day and a whole weekend.
“[The goal is] to provide all members of the William and Mary community with recreational opportunities [and to get them] outside, having a good time,” Theran Fisher, the Assistant Director of Outdoor Recreation and Student Development, said.
Fisher attended and helped organize the yoga day-hike in 2007, but has since made an effort to keep the trips “student-focused.”
Coming up is the Fall Break Sea Kayak Trip to the shore, for those who will be spending the vacation on campus, and a Moonlight Paddle on October 12. A list of all trips for the fall semester, with descriptions and fees for each, is posted in the Recreational Sports section of the William and Mary website. Upcoming trips are also announced in Student Happenings emails. To register for a trip, see the attendant at the front desk in the Rec Center no less than three days before a day or weekend trip, or up until the actual day of for a Moonlight Paddle.
All trips are open to students, faculty, staff and even their guests, and cap at 12 people, so go hiking for the day with some from your freshman hall, or spend the weekend in the mountains with visiting family and friends.
“We’re so focused on the books and academics here,” Malin said. “Leave the books behind for one day.”
Letter to the Editor: Students should continue to oppose coal plant
I applaud the College of William and Mary students in the Student Environmental Action Coalition Surry Justice League who, as reported in The Flat Hat, are working to stop the proposed coal-fired generating plant that the Old Dominion Electric Cooperative proposes to build in Surry County near Williamsburg. This proposed huge plant, if built, would for decades emit countless tons of carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas that is one of the biggest causes of destructive climate change. NASA’s renowned climate expert, James Hansen, has warned that we must stop all new coal plants and phase out existing ones soon if we are to have any hope of avoiding the most dangerous climate-change impacts. Students at the College can and should play a big role in fighting to block ODEC’s planned new coal plant.
Field hockey: College falls to Richmond at home
Despite an impressive second half comeback push, William and Mary fell in a heartbreaker at Busch Field Sunday, losing to Richmond, 2-1.
After a difficult first half for the Tribe (6-4, 1-2 CAA) in which Richmond dominated possession, scored and earned countless corners, the Tribe’s late effort to tie it up came up short, as a Spider goal at the beginning of the second half proved too much to overcome.
“We didn’t give up any corners in the second half, and we made some adjustments,” head coach Peel Hawthorne said. “We used a different structure in the second half. We had two different kinds of presses at the expense of playing more breakaways on defense.”
Richmond got on the board near the end of the first period. After the Tribe’s defense was unable to corral and clear a loose ball in front of net, Spider attacker Katelin Peterson tapped it past senior goalkeeper Camilla Hill, giving Richmond a 1-0 lead.
After the break, the College came out determined to up the intensity on offense. The Tribe took six shots in the second half after attempting half that in the first, also earning four corners in the final period.
But the defense faltered again, and Richmond doubled its lead when Richmond’s Chelsea Davies dribbled around Hill and scored in the 49th minute.
The College wouldn’t go down quietly, though, and freshman forward Lindsey Buckheit brought the deficit back down to one, cleaning up the rebound from a shot by freshman forward Emma Clifton and burying it for her second goal of the season. But the Spiders held the Tribe for the remainder of the half, withstanding a flurry of shots as the clock wound down to secure the 2-1 victory.
The College has been plagued with injuries to a number of its starters, such as sophomore midfielder Sarah Morehouse and junior forward Caitlyn Davies. Hawthorne said this has changed the dynamics on the field.
“We are not at full capacity in terms of our lineup — we are a little banged up right now with injuries and illnesses,” she said. “When we went to Delaware we were missing quite a few. Richmond is very well balanced, and has a very tough structure to beat.”
After starting strong, the team has stumbled with the beginning of the conference schedule. The Richmond game marked the College’s third loss in a row, moving the Tribe down to sixth in the CAA.
“We all knew Richmond was a good team, but we also knew it’s a game we could win,” Buckheit said. “It was all about having a good formation, being aggressive, and to keep positioning yourself.”
The Tribe will head North to take on Drexel Friday and Towson Sunday. Drexel currently sits at third place with a 2-1 record in the conference.