BACK BAY — This is a look back at some of the images from our newspaper in 2020, a tough year for many of us. Better things are ahead.
Thank you to David B. Hollingsworth for his exceptional work this past year. Some of his photography appears here.
Please have a safe, happy New Year. Thank you for supporting our little newspaper. I don’t take it for granted.
We return in print on Sunday, Jan. 3. Here’s to 2021. Onward.
Pungo's Pastor With A Pen
The Rev. Walter Whitehurst, a beloved pastor and writer known for his Pungo Tales book series, died on Saturday, Jan. 4, 2020. His book series contained stories about his home town, his neighbors and sometimes his own life here in Virginia Beach and beyond. This photograph was taken in 2015, shortly before the Pungo Strawberry Festival that year. [John-Henry Doucette/]The Princess Anne Independent News]
2A Resolution
City Councilmember Sabrina Wooten, who represents the Centerville District, reviews a resolution supporting Second Amendment Rights at City Hall. On Monday, Jan. 6, amid a wave of such controversial local resolutions, the resolution passed in Virginia Beach in a 6-4 vote. Wooten was among those in opposition to the symbolic measure. [John-Henry Doucette/The Princess Anne Independent News]
Gun Violence Memorial
Visitors are shown at a temporary memorial to gun violence at the Virginia Beach Municipal Center on Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2020, amid ongoing debate about gun rights in a city that in 2019 suffered a mass shooting here at the center. Shirts symbolized people lost each day to gun violence and carried messages. [John-Henry Doucette/The Princess Anne Independent News]
New School Board Chairperson
School Board Member Carolyn Rye became the new chairperson of the Virginia Beach School Board on Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2020. Rye represents the Lynnhaven District. [John-Henry Doucette/The Princess Anne Independent News]
Winter Wildlife Festival 2020
Matthew and Stephania Olson attended the Winter Wildlife Festival for their first time this year with daughter Celeste, 4, on Saturday, Jan. 25, 2020. Here they encounter an eastern king snake in the exhibit hall at the Princess Anne Recreation Center. Celeste didn't say much to a reporter about the snake, one of the animals that help educate people about wildlife, but her mom posed this question: "Do you like the lollipop?" She nodded yes. [John-Henry Doucette/The Princess Anne Independent News]
Winter Wildlife Festival 2020
Five-year-old Axl Khwanoon of Virginia Beach, shows his creation during a crafting session held by members of the Princess Anne Area Library and volunteers during the Winter Wildlife Festival on Saturday, Jan. 25, 2020. The festival offers activities for people of all ages each year. [John-Henry Doucette/The Princess Anne Independent News]
Remembering A Hero
Dan Smith, who handles maintenance for the U.S. Postal Service in Virginia Beach, and Joseph A. Croce Jr., the Virginia Beach postmaster, install a plaque commemorating the naming of the post office in Courthouse for the late Ryan Keith Cox on Friday, Jan. 24, 2020. Cox heroically helped others during the mass shooting in Virginia Beach on Friday, May 31, 2019. He was among the people who died that day. [John-Henry Doucette/The Princess Anne Independent News]
Red For Ed
Rosetta Jones, a kindergarten teacher from Petersburg, holds a sign in one hand and, in the other, her 5-year-old grandson Arthur Banks during a rally organized by the Virginia Education Association on Monday, Jan. 27, at the Capitol in Richmond. [John-Henry Doucette/The Princess Anne Independent News]
Lunchtime
Two ibises hunt for lunch at Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge in Virginia Beach on Sunday, Feb. 16, 2020. [John-Henry Doucette/The Princess Anne Independent News]
Pungo Ridge Closes Retail Spot
Tom Moore of Pungo Ridge in Creeds is seen at the retail location of the family run business during an auction and sale in February 2020. The retail space has closed, but the business continues online via westernbootsales.com. [John-Henry Doucette/The Princess Anne Independent News]
Evening Flight
A great blue heron, seen in the center of the frame in silhouette against the evening sky, takes flight at Mackay Island National Refuge in Knotts Island, N.C., on Saturday, Feb. 22, 2020. [John-Henry Doucette/The Princess Anne Independent News]
Restaurants Face The Pandemic
Cathy Hock, owner of Monk's Place in Creeds, handles a takeout order on Thursday, March 19, 2020, while President Trump speaks on television. Hock, like many restaurant owners, already was limiting services before Gov. Ralph Northam imposed strict guidelines for restaurants, shutting down dining rooms throughout the commonwealth. Monk's remained open, temporarily converted to to-go orders only. Restrictions loosened later in the year. [John-Henry Doucette/The Princess Anne Independent News]
School Lunches During A Pandemic
Angela Boothe, cafeteria manager at Birdneck Elementary School in Virginia Beach, prepares meals for students to pick up outside the school on Friday, March 20, 2020. [John-Henry Doucette/The Princess Anne Independent News]
The Pilot Leaves
The Virginian-Pilot's iconic office on Brambleton Avenue in Norfolk was sold this spring by Tribune Publishing, and the newspaper moved its news operation to the Peninsula. In recent years, the daily newspaper has closed its bureaus, including in Virginia Beach, and effectively merged with The Newport News Daily Press. Later in the year, Tribune announced the shuttering of its Peninsula office, leaving reporters expected to work remotely. [John-Henry Doucette/The Princess Anne Independent News]
Berry Boom During The Pandemic
D'Mond and Michelle Mason of Foxfire brought their children, D'Mond II and Elijah, to Vaughan Farm's Produce in southern Virginia Beach in May. Here, Elijah shows a berry to his father. Local strawberry growers had an unusually strong growing season and extremely heavy demand despite the novel coronavirus pandemic. [John-Henry Doucette/The Princess Anne Independent News]
Covid-19 Thank You
Members of the Iglesia Ni Cristo, or Church of Christ, thank health care workers on the front lines of the local response to the novel coronavirus pandemic on Friday, May 29, 2020, at Sentara Princess Anne Hospital in Virginia Beach. [John-Henry Doucette/The Princess Anne Independent News]
Drive-Through Farmers Market
Seafield Farm's Jenna Rodriquez speaks with drive-through customers at the Old Beach Farmers Market on Saturday, April 4, after the market near the Virginia Beach Oceanfront shifted to a drive-through model due to the novel coronavirus pandemic. [John-Henry Doucette/The Princess Anne Independent News]
Gathering With Care
Wearing a mask and gloves, Jacob Stout, 11, of Redwing hands over meals during a drive-through community meal on Thursday, April 2, 2020, at Oak Grove Baptist Church. Another volunteer, 14-year-old Joshua Bailey of Blackwater, helped during the event. Communities and houses of worship adapted as best they could this year to restrictions related to the novel coronavirus pandemic. [John-Henry Doucette/The Princess Anne Independent News]
Ending A Campaign
Virginia Beach City Councilmember Aaron Rouse, serving in his first term in an at-large seat, announced on Thursday, Feb. 27, 2020 that he would challenge Mayor Bobby Dyer in the mayoral race, but ultimately ended his candidacy on Saturday, May 30, in part due to the effects of the novel coronavirus upon efforts to campaign. [John-Henry Doucette/The Princess Anne Independent News]
Oceanfront Protest
A young woman holds up her fist after a march against police violence turns off of Pacific Avenue and heads back toward Atlantic Avenue at the Virginia Beach Oceanfront on Sunday, May 31, 2020. [John-Henry Doucette/The Princess Anne Independent News]
Oceanfront Protest
Virginia Beach police deploy teargas to clear the streets at the Virginia Beach Oceanfront after what had started as a peaceful protest grew chaotic and violent on Sunday, May 31, 2020. [John-Henry Doucette/The Princess Anne Independent News].
Oceanfront Protest
Keonte Massenburg of Hopewell, Va., seen at center, kneels with others, including some Virginia Beach police officers, on Sunday, May 31, 2020, following a protest march at the Oceanfront. [John-Henry Doucette/The Princess Anne Independent News]
Oceanfront Protest
A Virginia Beach police officer bumps fists with a protestor on Sunday, May 31, 2020, following a protest march at the Oceanfront that ultimately descended into violence and looting. [John-Henry Doucette/The Princess Anne Independent News]
Oceanfront Protest
A number of businesses were damaged and, in some cases, looted by people who remained at the Virginia Beach Oceanfront on Sunday, May 31, after what had been a peaceful protest became chaotic. Hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage were reported, as were injuries to police. Police made several arrests. [John-Henry Doucette/The Princess Anne Independent News]
Oceanfront Protest
Protestors confront police on Atlantic Avenue as a protest at the Virginia Beach Oceanfront grows tense on Sunday, May 31, 2020. [John-Henry Doucette/The Princess Anne Independent News]
Oceanfront Protest
A Virginia Beach police officer interacts with protestors while a young woman holds some people back on Sunday, May 31, 2020, at the Virginia Beach Oceanfront. [John-Henry Doucette/The Princess Anne Independent News]
Covered
The 1905 Confederate monument is covered and behind a locked barrier in the Saturday, June 20, 2020, image while Virginia Beach city officials determine what to do with the monument. [John-Henry Doucette/The Princess Anne Independent News]
Hope For Back Bay And Flooding Worries?
Dr. Sara Sweeten checks the progress of wild celery plants in southern Virginia Beach during a visit in June. Sweeten is researching whether submerged aquatic vegetation can be reintroduced to Back Bay, which may help the city battle recurrent flooding. [John-Henry Doucette/The Princess Anne Independent News]
Setting Up A Rematch
Former U.S. Rep Scott Taylor addresses supporters at Cantina Laredo at Town Center on Tuesday, June 23, 2020, after winning a Republican primary to face U.S. Rep. Elaine Luria, the Democrat who won office two years ago by defeating Taylor. [David B. Hollingsworth/For The Princess Anne Independent News]
Ready To Run
Republican Jarome Bell lost a 2020 primary to run as the GOP candidate in the Virginia Second Congressional District, but he said he plans to run for Congress again in two years, whether or not Scott Taylor won in November. [John-Henry Doucette/The Princess Anne Independent News]
Primary Day
Republican Ben Loyola, standing at right, speaks with supporters on Tuesday, June 23, 2020, following his loss in a primary to run as the GOP's candidate in the Virginia Second Congressional District. [David Hollingsworth/For The Princess Anne Independent News]
Deck Collapse In Sandbridge
A deck collapsed at Sandbridge Beach on Thursday, July 9, and five people were reported injured. [John-Henry Doucette/The Princess Anne Independent News]
Choosing A GOP Chair
Jeffrey Marks, legal counsel for the Republican Party of Virginia Beach, speaks with the candidates to become chairperson of the city GOP committee, Bill Curtis, at left, and Jimmy Frost, at right, on Monday, July 13, during a mass meeting held at the Law Enforcement Training Academy. A vote to determine a chairperson was held but later thrown out after issues involving the voter list. Curtis ultimately became the new chair of the city committee. [John-Henry Doucette/The Princess Anne Independent News]
Virginia Beach's New Manager
Patrick Duhaney was appointed city manager of Virginia Beach in July following a nationwide search to replace Dave Hansen, the former city manager. Duhaney previously served as the city manager in Cincinnati. [City of Cincinnati]
The Green Thumb Behind A Beautiful Home Garden
Joyce Williams, with the help of her husband, Dave, created a lovely garden and certified habitat for wildlife at their Lago Mar home. Writer Jane Bloodworth Rowe profiled Williams' efforts this summer. [John-Henry Doucette/The Princess Anne Independent News]
Monument Moving Day
Workers remove sections of the 1905 Confederate monument on public property at the Virginia Beach Municipal Center on Saturday, July 25, 2020, after the City Council voted to clear the way for the statue to be relocated. [John-Henry Doucette/The Princess Anne Independent News]
A Controversial Project
Steve Barnes, a farmer who represents the Princess Anne District on the Planning Commission, is seen during a joint meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 25, of the Virginia Beach City Council and Planning Commission. Barnes was among those who opposed the controversial Wolfe Bros Events project to turn land zoned for farming into an event venue in rural Virginia Beach. After the Planning Commission flip-flopped an early vote recommending against the project, over opposition from Barnes and other farmers, the City Council approved it. [John-Henry Doucette/The Princess Anne Independent News]
Choosing A GOP Chair
Bill Curtis, seen speaking with supporters, defeated Jimmy Frost to become the new chair of the Republican Party of Virginia Beach. in voting on Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2020, at the Virginia Beach Sportsplex. [John-Henry Doucette/The Princess Anne Independent News]
Choosing A GOP Chair
Jimmy Frost, who ran to be chair of the Republican Party of Virginia Beach, is seen on Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2020, at the Virginia Beach Sportsplex, where a revote was held. Frost lost in a close vote to Bill Curtis, who had been vice chairperson of the city committee. Frost had advocated for more involvement by the city GOP committee in nonpartisan local races. [John-Henry Doucette/The Princess Anne Independent News]
Seeking Higher Office
Virginia State Del. Glenn Davis, R-Virginia Beach, in September 2020 announced he will, for the second time, seek the Republican nomination to become Virginia's lieutenant governor in 2021. Davis is seen photographed in Richmond in January 2020. [John-Henry Doucette/The Princess Anne Independent News]
Plow Day
The second annual Plow Day event started early on a cool Halloween morning — and with a backdrop of dramatic clouds in the sky above Bonney Bright's Farm in Creeds in Virginia Beach on Saturday, Oct. 31, 2020. [David B. Hollingsworth/For The Independent News]
Plow Day
Dallas Belcher uses an old tin can to knock off dirt from his plow before taking another run on Plow Day in Creeds on Saturday, Oct. 31. Belcher, who lives in Portsmouth, calls himself a "city farmer." [David B. Hollingsworth/For The Independent News]
Luria Wins
U.S. Rep. Elaine Luria, seen above visiting a farm in rural Virginia Beach earlier this year, won reelection in the Virginia Second Congressional District in Tuesday, Nov. 3, general election. [John-Henry Doucette/The Princess Anne Independent News]
First Full Term
Virginia Beach Mayor Bobby Dyer defeated two challengers to win his first full term in office on Tuesday, Nov., 3, 2020. Dyer became mayor after winning a special election in 2018. [David B. Hollingsworth/For The Independent News]
Challenger
Jody Wagner challenged incumbent Bobby Dyer in the Virginia Beach mayoral race, though Dyer prevailed in a race with three candidates. [David B. Hollingsworth/For The Independent News]
A School Board Challenger Wins
Jen Franklin, at right, defeated longtime incumbent Dan Edwards in the race to represent the Kempsville District seat on the Virginia Beach School Board on Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2020. She is seen here with fellow members of the Students First VB ticket, Joanna Moran, Luis Cortes and Victoria Manning, at Town Center on Election Day. [John-Henry Doucette/The Princess Anne Independent News]
Farming Dreams
Ben Morris, 11, harvests collard greens for his family's farm stand on Pleasant Ridge Road in southern Virginia Beach on Sunday, Nov. 22, 2020. Morris manages the stand, and he hopes to farm someday, as 12 generations of his family have done before him. [John-Henry Doucette/The Princess Anne Independent News]
Farming Dreams
Ben Morris helps his grandfather, Nelson Morris, gather heads of cabbage for an order on Sunday, Nov. 22, 2020. [John-Henry Doucette/The Princess Anne Independent News]
Fire On Mill Landing Road In Back Bay
Virginia Beach rescue officials responded to a serious fire at a house on the 1700 block of Mill Landing Road in rural Back Bay early Friday, Dec. 11, 2020. The fire department reported that one person died in the blaze. [John-Henry Doucette/The Princess Anne Independent News]
Fire On Mill Landing Road In Back Bay
Virginia Beach Fire Department personnel are seen at the scene of a house fire on Mill Landing Road in rural Virginia Beach early Friday, Dec. 11, 2020. One person died in the fire, according to the department. No injuries to rescue personnel were reported. [John-Henry Doucette/The Princess Anne Independent News]
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