(Shore Daily News)
(View the list:)
Visit ESVA announces 2022 Locals Choice winners - Shore Daily News
This is The Virginia Museum of History and Culture's 2021 official Christmas ornament ($22.95). Accomack and Northampton County folks have reason to feel a bit overlooked. Note that the map outline doesn't include the Eastern Shore.
(WESR/Shore Daily News)
A local group is working to rebuild Cedar Island.
At one time the target of development similar to Chincoteague Island, Cedar Island, like all the Eastern Shore’s barrier islands, has shifted and shrunk over time. The barrier islands have protected the Eastern Shore’s seaside from major storms and erosion.
In the glory days, these islands were home to inhabitants, hunt clubs, developments and even agriculture. But major storms, including the infamous Ash Wednesday in 1933, drove the few residents left off the islands to the mainland. The final village on the Eastern Shore’s barrier islands, the Broadwater Village on Hogg Island, was the subject of a documentary by the Barrier Islands Center in Machipongo. Constantly shifting, over the years the islands have withered in size.
View full article:
Local group looks to rebuild Cedar Island - Shore Daily News
(Reader comment)
Please note that the shrinking of Cedar Island is because of erosion, not because of sea level rise (of which there is none).
Gather the kids and grab your fishin' poles; free fishing days are here again! This year anyone in the Commonwealth can fish without a license June 1-3. The Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries (VDGIF) the agency which regulates freshwater fishing, would like to encourage Virginians to take advantage of this once a year opportunity to fish for free while spending some quality time with friends and family. 
Leanna Caplan |
Wanted: (Top row) Sheicora Bagwell, Princeton Bragg, Pierre Brickhouse, (Middle) Earl Elder, Johnathan Johnson, Markee Kellam, (Bottom) Deidron Kelley, Norris Malone, Antonio Robinson |
By Candy Farlow
Working to restore the economic viability of Virginia's Eastern Shore communities, Representative Scott Rigell (VA-02) called on Secretary of Interior Ken Salazar to address issues impacting recreational opportunities at NASA/Wallops Flight Facility in Accomack County and the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge. In two separate letters to the Secretary, Rigell called on the Department to work with the Eastern Shore on a land swap agreement as well as preserve vital beach parking that plays an integral role in the local economy.
ACCOMAC -- Todd E. Godwin, a longtime deputy with the Accomack County Sheriff's Office, formally announced his candidacy for sheriff in the November election. Godwin has over 25 years experience in law enforcement and is a 20-year veteran of the sheriff's office.
Godwin, of Parksley, will run as an independent for the post, which has been held by Sheriff Larry Giddens since 2008. Giddens is retiring.
Godwin has been chief deputy second in command with the rank of major in the department since January 2008.
Godwin began his law-enforcement career in 1985 as an officer with the Parksley Police Department followed by employment with the Virginia State Police as a weight-enforcement officer in 1987.
Godwin then joined the sheriff's office in 1990 as a patrol deputy and became the county's first certified K-9 officer in 1994 with his K-9 partner, Nitro.
Longtime deputy for the Accomack County Sheriff's Office Todd E. Godwin has announced his candidacy for Sheriff in the upcoming November election.
SALISBURY -- Two New Church men were charged early today with cocaine possession after their vehicle was stopped for a traffic violation near the Wawa store on South Salisbury Boulevard, Maryland State Police said.The two men were transported to the Wicomico County Detention Center, where they were charged with possession of cocaine and paraphernalia, according to police.
The local news station has named the expected rainfall in the Easter Shore of Virginia area .....
Accomack County Commonwealths Attorney Gary Agar reports the following trials and sentencings took place in Accomack County Circuit Court:
(http://www.easternshorenews.com/)
Craig's comments: "I think this song sums up the way many of us feel. The music is very haunting. The lyric reminds us there's a battle between exploiting our natural resources and protecting our environment; between holding the guilty accountable and yet keeping the jobs these companies provide; between cheap oil and expensive consequences. This war touches the lives of many, but particularly those who are the casualties on the front line, as well as the seacoast itself. "
Thelma Peterson's video can be found on YouTube: I Am At War - Thelma Peterson
What a wonderful way for our sentiments to be sent than through this song.................Vote for Thelma Peterson.......Let's show America how strong the Eastern Shore can be!
The Late Rural Health Secretary
Richard Copes, 31, of Withams was found guilty of robbery, grand larceny and abduction. A presentence report has been ordered.John Marshall Jr., 47, of Horntown was sentenced to five years with all but two years and four months suspended for third-offense assault and battery.
Martese Creekmore, 19, of New Church was sentenced to youthful offender program for robbery, grand larceny and abduction.
Dashon Scarborough, 25, of Atlantic was sentenced to five years with three years suspended for burglary and five years with three years suspended for grand larceny, to serve consecutively. He was also sentenced to five years with all time suspended on each two counts of conspiracy to uttering, to serve concurrently.
Christopher Phillips, 27, of Parksley was sentenced to 10 years with seven years and three months suspended for grand larceny. He was also sentenced to three years with all time suspended on each five counts of obtaining money by false pretenses, to serve consecutively.
Thomasena Capers, 39, of Oak Hall has had his probation revoked.
Robert Paskill Jr., 33, of Onancock has had his probation revoked.
Tony Linton, 48, of Sanford has had his probation revoked.
A grand jury in Accomac on Monday indicted 15 people, including three Painter men who police say have admitted involvement in a string of break-ins in that town in March and April.
James Phillips Johnson, 37, and Spencer Lee Sample, 53, both were indicted on eight counts of burglary and grand larceny related to a string of break-ins in March and April at two Painter residences and the Gravities Light clothing store.
Michael Lee Sample Jr., 25, was indicted on six counts related to break-ins at the residences.
Also indicted were:
Troy Wayne Beacham, 43, of Cheriton, maiming.
Storm Carter, 59, of Keller, grand larceny.
George G. Gaskill Jr., 45, of Onley, unauthorized use of a motor vehicle.
Keenan S. Goodwine, 18, of Atlantic, robbery and use of a firearm.
Leroy Handy, 63, of Bloxom, grand larceny.
Shawn Lamont Harmon, 24, of Onancock, possession with intent to distribute cocaine, possession of a firearm while in possession of a controlled substance.
Wanda D. Stratton, no age or town given, seven counts welfare fraud.
Keith Leander Parker, 41, of Onley, grand larceny.
Victor Manuel Scott, 20, of Bloxom, carnal knowledge.
Devric Jamar Hinmon, 25, of Temperanceville, attempted burglary, felony property destruction, maliciously shooting at an occupied dwelling.
Jennie Net Tumblin, 58, of 25241 Estate Lane, Parksley, shooting at an occupied dwelling.
Joseph Lamont Washington, 33, of Exmore, grand larceny.
ACCOMACK — Murder charges against a man accused of killing Johnny Strand, a popular local restaurant manager, were certified to a grand jury at a preliminary hearing in General District court here.Fernando Carrillo Sanchez, a 23-year-old immigrant from Guatemala, stands charged with killing Strand, 49, the manager of the Onley Pizza Hut.
Commonwealth’s attorney Gary Agar presented evidence that showed that the black Ford Expedition that was stolen from Strand’s Melfa home was found several days later near the residence of the accused man.
He said also that Carrillo Sanchez made and signed a confession the night he was picked up by the police and that there was a previous unspecified relationship between the two men. Investigators found Strand’s telephone number on the defendant’s cell phone.
Gladys Church, a relative of Strand’s, answered Agar’s questions about May 1, the day she found Strand lying naked, face-down and covered with blood in his bed at his Melfa home.
Church said she became concerned about Strand when he failed to pick her son up from his late- night job at Perdue. She picked up her son herself and drove to Strand’s house.
“We went there at about 2 a.m.,” she said. There were no lights on and his SUV was not there.
“The next morning, we kept calling and calling and he didn’t pick up,” Church said, adding she was nervous because Strand never missed work.
Church told the court she made repeated calls to Strand’s telephone and went to talk to some of his friends to ask if they knew where he was. No one did, she said.“I told them my Uncle Johnny was not answering his phone.” Church and her son drove to Strand’s home again.
The door was locked and his vehicle was not there. She said she and her son used a credit card to gain entrance to the trailer.
She began to sob almost uncontrollably as she described the horrific scene.
“We walked in. I got halfway down the hall.” Her son, ahead of her screamed, “‘Oh, no, Don’t come in here.’ I said, ‘I am coming in.’”
“He was lying on his stomach, face to the wall,” she said. “I could see blood splattered up the headboard, up the wall and on the floor.”
“I was screaming. We went back outside. I said, ‘Somebody killed him. Why, why.’”
Beverly Jacks, a volunteer emergency technician with the Melfa Fire and Rescue, was the next to arrive on the scene.
Jacks described the scene just as it had been told by Church. She said it looked like Strand had been dead for some time.
Tom Hedge, an investigator for the sheriff’s department at the time, described the murder scene. He said Strand had trauma to his head from multiple blows.
There were no signs of forced entry or a struggle, he said.
He said the wounds were consistent with the victim being killed where he lay, describing him as “unaware.” He found a blue Little League baseball bat covered in blood under the bed where Strand lay.
Strand’s vehicle was not located until four days later. The sheriff’s department received a tip that it was in Dreamland One mobile home park. They found the vehicle and asked neighbors to which trailer it belonged.
A person was seen running to that trailer, he said, and then refused to answer the door when police knocked. Finally three men came out and all were taken into custody.
Investigator Anthony Bright, with the help of an interpreter, questioned the suspect for several hours. He described Carrillo Sanchez as “very calm.”
“He began to cry and then made a confession,” Bright said. The accused man said he was forced into sex with Strand, Bright said. He claimed that Strand hit him with the baseball bat. Bright said he saw no wounds or bruising on the defendant’s body.
Carrillo Sanchez was defended by attorney Garrett Dunham.
