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‘Shining star': Girls Scouts remember Virginia family killed in Potomac crash

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‘Shining star': Girls Scouts remember Virginia family killed in Potomac crash


Two of the young victims who died in last month’s midair collision over the Potomac River had ties to a local Girl Scouts troop.

The bond Girl Scouts share is undeniable, so losing one of their own is incredibly hard.

“When your kids are that age, and then they have someone their age die, it’s just, it’s so, it’s so shocking and unbelievable,” Troop 70202 leader Helena Welch said.

Sisters Alydia and Everly Livingston – ages 11 and 14, respectively –and their parents, Donna and Peter, were on the American Airlines flight that crashed Jan. 29. They were returning from a figure skating training camp in Kansas.

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The girls were immensely talented, dedicated young skaters who still made time to have fun.

“Donna wanted her daughters to be able to experience everything I think they wanted to experience,” Troop 70202 leader Alexandra Ballin said. “And, even though they had a busy schedule, Donna always said, ‘We’ll make it work. We’ll make it work.’”

Welch and Ballin lead the Girl Scouts troop Alydia was a part of. Their daughters were friends with Alydia, and they were both close with her mother.

When they learned of the Livingston family’s passing, they contacted another troop’s leader, who is a mental health expert.

“She gave us so many tools to use to have our first meeting after what happened,” Welch said. “So, we had the ability to try and discuss it with the girls in a way that they were able to express what each of them felt.”

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Alydia was a member of Troop 70202 for six years. Welch and Ballin say she was their most enthusiastic cookie seller.

“She’s like a shining star,” Welch said. “She just had so much energy and so much fun. She would bring that to the troop meetings, and the girls just loved it.”

Members of the troop will attend Sunday’s Legacy on Ice performance. Welch and Ballin hope the event will allow the girls to share their grief with the loved ones of the others who were lost in the tragedy.

“It’s where we can come together and heal, in a sense, of the tragedy that has happened and have something positive come out of it,” Welch said.

Alydia’s Girl Scouts troop is working on an idea for a memorial for the Livingston family.

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Virginia

Virginia State Police investigates fatal crash on Bayside Road in Northampton County

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Virginia State Police investigates fatal crash on Bayside Road in Northampton County


NORTHAMPTON COUNTY, Va. (WAVY) — Virginia State Police is investigating a fatal crash that happened on Bayside Road in Northampton County Saturday morning.

On March 28 at around 10:52 a.m., a 2016 Nissan Quest was traveling southbound on Bayside Road when it crossed the centerline, ran off of the road’s left side, and hit a ditch and a tree.

The car’s driver, Exmore resident Waylon M. Turner, 42, was seriously injured due to the crash. He succumbed to his injuries after being transported to a local hospital. He wore a seatbelt at the time of the crash.

The crash is now under investigation.

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Continue to check WAVY.com for updates.



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Goochland residents sue county over Technology Overlay District approval

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Goochland residents sue county over Technology Overlay District approval


GOOCHLAND COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) — Four Goochland residents are taking the county’s board of supervisors and planning commission to court, alleging officials failed to lawfully and clearly explain their approved Technology Overlay District (TOD).

In November, the board adjusted zoning rules and approved the TOD and a Technology Zone (TZ) to incentivize data centers and high-tech businesses to be in eastern Goochland.

That approval came after months of community meetings and public comment periods where neighbors shared concerns about the environmental impacts, noise emissions and the county’s rural character.

Plaintiff Cynthia Haas and informal legal advisor John Gessner both live near, but outside, the zone and believe their concerns could lead to unknown impacts of data center development and operations.

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“Water, power: nobody knows. It borders on reckless to approve these — or make it easier for them to be built — without knowing exactly what the impacts are,” said Gessner, who also built a career as a zoning lawyer.

“[Data center development] is coming one way or the other,” Haas said. “You’re throwing all this stuff into the TOD without considering the consequences.”

After public hearings, the county made some changes to the project, such as increasing buffers around homes and reforming noise limits.

“It is true there were all sorts of public meetings, but there was never an opportunity to find out really what they were thinking and the reasoning for it,” Gessner said.

The lawsuit claimed Goochland did not properly advertise the project, violated zoning regulations and made last-minute changes to the district without hearing from residents.

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Around 300 people have donated to support Haas’s and the plaintiff’s filing, in hopes of reversing the TOD.

A Goochland County spokesperson says its leadership stands by its approval process. In February, its board of supervisors approved a $250,000 fund for the county’s defense. If the county’s defense is less than $250,000, the spokesperson said the additional funds will be returned to the county’s unassigned general fund.

Another $100,000 is being used for the county’s defense, part of a public officials’ liability policy through the Virginia Association of Counties Self-Insurance Risk Pool.

County administration told 8News last year that revenues from businesses in the district would help lower residents’ taxes and help pay for a water and sewer service debt.

The county spokesperson said in part, “Adoption of the TOD and TZ establishes standards and expectations. It does not approve any specific project. Any proposed technology development must still comply with all applicable requirements…”

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“We’re going to continue to fight this. We’re not going to let a group of men pass illegal legislation and get away with it,” Haas said. “That’s not the way this is going to working in Goochland anymore.”

A hearing is set for Tuesday, May 26, in the Goochland Circuit Court, where the court will decide which of the 8,500 documents filed will be submitted for the record.

Goochland has asked the court to throw the suit out, but a hearing for that has not been scheduled.

Learn more about the TOD and Goochland County’s full statement on the pending litigation here.

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West Virginia State Police searching for missing woman last seen in Kingwood

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West Virginia State Police searching for missing woman last seen in Kingwood


Shania Moser (WVSP Image)

KINGWOOD, W.Va. (WBOY) — The West Virginia State Police are asking communities to keep an eye out for a missing woman last seen in Preston County.

According to a Facebook post by the WVSP, 29-year-old Shania Moser was last seen Thursday, March 26, at around 11 a.m. in the Albright Avenue area of Kingwood.

Moser is described in the post as having blonde hair and brown eyes, being 5′ 2″ tall, and was last seen wearing a purple hooded sweatshirt, dark pants and white Nike shoes.

At the time she was last seen she was driving a 2015 blue Ford Escape with a West Virginia registration reading 1G5016.

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Those who have any information on the whereabouts of Moser are urged to call the WVSP at 304-329-1101.



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