BY JOHN-HENRY DOUCETTE CREEDS — Moments before they formed the heart of a parade through the halls at Creeds Elementary School, soon-to-be graduates from Kellam High School gathered in the elementary school’s library on Thursday, June 14. Randall Baber, 18, of… Continue Reading
Ed. note — The Independent News asked announced candidates for the Virginia Beach City Council Princess Anne District seat to answer an initial set of questions about issues. This appeared in print on Friday, May 25, during the edition distributed at this… Continue Reading
BY JANE BLOODWORTH ROWE PUNGO — This year’s growing season got off to a soggy start with heavy rains that damaged the strawberry crops and delayed planting for both grain and produce farmers. May’s hot, rainy weather damaged some strawberries,… Continue Reading
BY JANE BLOODWORTH ROWE COURTHOUSE — Over the years, the North Landing River has served as a major transportation route and an important food source for local hunters and fishers. Its marshy ecosystem harbors a plethora of wildlife, and, perhaps down… Continue Reading
BY JOHN-HENRY DOUCETTE COURTHOUSE — Four candidates are lined up to challenge Virginia Beach City Councilmember Barbara Henley, the incumbent in the Princess Anne District who has represented the city’s southern communities for much of the past four decades. Five… Continue Reading
Dear Editor: The agricultural reserve program, or ARP, is Virginia Beach’s best idea. It is a mistake to cast this program aside with so little transparency and discussion by reducing it to dollars and cents within the budget. The ARP… Continue Reading
BY JOHN-HENRY DOUCETTE CREEDS — More than 400 people attended the second annual Back Bay-Knotts Island Waterfowl Festival at the Creeds Ruritan Community Complex this past month. The event, organized by Chris Ludford and Jimmy Coppedge, grew in its second year… Continue Reading
Dear Editor: My opponent in the Princess Anne District, City Councilmember Barbara Henley, helped create and voted for the agriculture reserve program, or ARP, in 1995. Many years later in 2013, as a sitting member of the Virginia Beach City… Continue Reading
BY SCOTT MORRIS PLEASANT RIDGE — I am a 12th-generation farmer of land in the Pungo area, and I would like for my son to have the option of being the 13th. We sat at the Virginia Beach Excellence in Agriculture… Continue Reading
Dear Editor: Virginia Beach City Manager Dave Hansen believes that the agricultural reserve program, or ARP, is no longer needed. That statement in itself should set off flares. Remember that City Councilmember Barbara Henley, who represents the Princess Anne District,… Continue Reading