Virginia
Bristol’s Virginia Intermediate School prepares for first student class
BRISTOL, Va. (WJHL) — The new Virginia Intermediate School is about ready to welcome its first class of students. This latest addition to Bristol Virginia Public Schools (BVPS) will house the school system’s second through fifth graders.
Virginia Intermediate School l is the result of a consolidation process. The school system closed three elementary schools: Highland View Elementary School, Washington-Lee Elementary School and Stonewall Jackson Elementary School.
“Over the past decade, as we’ve looked at the cost of keeping our aging schools renovated and up to standard, the decision was made several years ago to align our resources and work towards having a brand new school that would consolidate all of our students into one elementary campus,” said BVPS superintendent, David Scott.
Virginia Intermediate School is located in Sunset Park, next to Van Pelt Elementary School.
This elementary school is also undergoing changes. It has been renamed Virginia Primary School and houses the school system’s pre-kindergarten through first graders.
The intermediate school will have pieces of the three former elementary schools in its framework, educating some former students and having brick pieces from the schools.
A brick from each school was placed at the corner of the new building.
“As we have come into this new building, one of the things that we wanted to make sure that we took stock of was the history that we’re bringing with us,” said Scott. “Even though we are beginning a new chapter, we’re very proud and very fond of the history that we’ve had in those other schools.”
The intermediate school is the first new school in BVPS in the last 50 years.
Scott is excited for students to experience the new building and have new learning opportunities, such as a rotation in the STEM lab. The intermediate school is handicap accessible, including the playground between grade wings. Plus, the building includes safety features such as a two-entrance process and special locks on the doors.
Sullivan County Schools launches virtual academy
Scott hopes the school can be seen as an opportunity to provide the best education to all students in the city.
“We have brought together so many resources,” said Scott. “We have such great new technology in place in our school. And I think there’s something special about walking into a new school and feeling that the community believes that your education is important.”
Teachers continue to put the final touches on their classrooms before students arrive for their first day on August 14. Scott said the school system is communicating with parents about the best traffic route to take to the school on the first day.
The city council decides on the future of the closed elementary schools. Council member Neal Osborne told News Channel 11 that the properties were discussed in a meeting Tuesday, but no decisions have been made yet.
Virginia Intermediate School will host a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Aug. 8 from 4 to 5:30 p.m.
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Virginia
Honking on the highway: Family of geese escorted off I-66 in Virginia
Those honks you heard on I-66? They weren’t from cars.
Police officers in Northern Virginia herded a family of Canada geese off the highway Thursday afternoon, as lanes were shut down to keep everyone safe.
The geese were spotted on I-66 westbound near the exit for Sycamore Street. Metro Transit Police got to them first, and Arlington County officers and Virginia State Police also responded to help, acording to Arlington County Police.
Video shows police vehicles slowly following the geese — two adults with a cluster of fuzzy yellow goslings — as they waddled along the far right shoulder toward milemarker 69.6.
Lane closures were put into effect about 1:30 p.m., and police were able to escort the geese off the highway within about 15 minutes.
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County police quipped on Facebook: “What’s good for the goose…is probably to stay of I-66. 🪿 Virginia State Police , Metro Forward Police Department, Virginia Department of Transportation and ACPD officers worked together to assist a family of geese off a busy highway in a feat so great it gave us goosebumps!”
Virginia
More than 300 pounds of marijuana worth $1M seized in Bristol, Virginia State Police says
BRISTOL, Va. (WCYB) — More than 300 pounds of marijuana worth more than $1 million were seized this month in Bristol, according to the Virginia State Police.
Multiple search warrants were executed this month by VSP and the Holston River Regional Drug Task Force in at various areas across the city between May 1 and May 13.
On May 1, a search warrant was executed at a business on Euclid Avenue. Around three pounds of marijuana was seized with a street value of $13,500. The location was within a school zone and a childcare facility.
On May 6, another search warrant was executed at a warehouse in Bristol. Virginia State Police seized 250 pounds of marijuana (street value of $1,135,000), 192 marijuana plants ($576,000), 50 pounds of THC edibles ($22,700). Charges are forthcoming, police said.
Another search warrant was executed on May 13 at a business on West State Street. Around 25 pounds of marijuana was seized with a street value of $112,500. Additional evidence was also seized.
In addition, another search warrant was executed on May 13 at a business on Paulena Drive. About 30 pounds of marijuana was seized with a street value of $135,000. Additional evidence was also seized.
The Office of the Attorney General is reviewing the investigation for any possible applicable civil enforcement actions.
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The Holston River Regional Drug Task Force includes the Town of Abingdon Police Department, Bristol Police Department, the Russell County Sheriff’s Office, and the Town of Lebanon Police Department, as well as Virginia State Police.
Virginia
Va. governor concerned redistricting battle could make voters reluctant to cast ballot this fall – WTOP News
Days after Virginia Democrats filed an emergency appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court as part of their ongoing redistricting battle, Gov. Abigail Spanberger said she’s focused on the fall midterm elections and ensuring voters are motivated to turn out.
Days after Virginia Democrats filed an emergency appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court as part of their ongoing redistricting battle, Gov. Abigail Spanberger said she’s focused on the fall midterm elections and ensuring voters are motivated to turn out.
After a bill signing at Inova Schar Cancer Institute on Wednesday, Spanberger made her most extensive public comments about the state’s redistricting plan. She cited the state’s May 12 deadline for any map changes, and said as a result, this year’s elections will proceed under the current map.
Spanberger’s remarks came a few days after Virginia’s Supreme Court struck down the Democrat-led redistricting push. Primaries in the state are scheduled for Aug. 4, with the November general election to follow.
“What needs to happen is we need to focus on the task at hand, which is winning races in November,” Spanberger said.
“I believe, somewhat doggedly, that we will win two to four seats in the House of Representatives. … That is my goal. That is what I know is possible.”
The map Democrats proposed, experts said, could have resulted in a 10-1 Democratic majority representing Virginia in the U.S. House. But Republicans challenged the process Democrats in the General Assembly used to put the constitutional amendment before voters.
In a 4-3 opinion issued Friday morning, Virginia’s Supreme Court sided with the Republican challengers.
U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts gave Republicans until Thursday evening to respond to Democrats’ request for the emergency appeal.
Spanberger defended the process the General Assembly used, adding: “I think I certainly would have wanted to, and did want to, see a different outcome with the Supreme Court ruling.”
Over three million people participated in the rare April special election, and Spanberger said she’s concerned those voters “have had the experience of casting a ballot in an election that was very important to them, including those on both sides of the referendum vote, only to have it be overturned, essentially, by the Supreme Court of Virginia.”
Elected officials, she said, will have to work to ensure “that people know that their votes do matter, and that when it comes to the ballot they’re going to cast — whether it’s for a primary over the summer or for the general election into the fall — that they shouldn’t feel depleted or defeated, that their votes matter.”
Spanberger called the appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court “important, but when it comes to the execution of elections, no matter the outcome in that case, we will be running our elections beginning next month with early voting on the current maps that we have.”
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