Braves vs. Nationals – Bus ride to the game!
Community Events
Reaching Out Now Kicks Off Safe At Home: Join Us in Raising Awareness for Mental Health
538 Villa Ave| Front Royal
VA 22630
The week has finally arrived, and Reaching Out Now is thrilled to launch the Safe At Home event! We want to extend a heartfelt thank you to Dr. Chris Ballenger, Warren County Schools, and the Warren County Athletics Department (Mr. Cupp, Mr. Hall, and the varsity baseball and softball coaches) for joining us to promote mental health awareness and its impact on our community. We warmly invite you to be part of this important event.
Nationwide, individuals and organizations are raising awareness of the challenges faced by those living with mental health conditions. Learn more about these efforts at the National Council’s Mental Health Awareness Month page: National Council – Mental Health Awareness Month.
We’re advocating for expanded access to mental health and substance use care while highlighting the value of mental well-being. Here’s how you can get involved:
JOIN US:
- Bring your families
- Sign up to play in one of our alumni games
- Volunteer or share information on how to contribute
Helpful Links:
Event Tickets:
Volunteer Opportunities:
Alumni Games:
The weather looks perfect for baseball on the 11th, so bring your friends and family. Let’s raise our voices, support mental health awareness, and make a positive impact together.
See you at Safe At Home!
Regional News
House Votes to Consider Bill to Add Citizenship Question to Census
538 Villa Ave| Front Royal
VA 22630
WASHINGTON – Since 1790, the Census Bureau has taken a head count of every person, regardless of citizenship, in the United States so Congress can determine how votes are distributed among members of the House of Representatives and Electoral College.
House Republicans want to make this process a thing of the past.
The House Tuesday voted 205-195 along party lines to consider a bill that could add a citizenship question to the decennial census and exclude non-citizens from the population used to calculate congressional district representation.
Then, President Donald Trump pushed to add the citizenship question to the 2020 census but was blocked by the Supreme Court in 2019 due to concerns about dishonest disclosure of the reason behind asking the question.
The census last asked the entire population about citizenship status in 1950. Since then, the government has presented a citizenship question to a sample of households through the American Community Survey and an occasional added survey to the census.
The census is not only used to determine the number of House members and Electoral College votes per state but also to decide how to distribute federal resources across the country.
Democratic lawmakers, including New Mexico Rep. Melanie Stansbury, said the citizenship question could make non-citizens afraid of filling out the census, decreasing federal funding and representation.
“These counts would have devastating implications for not only our electoral system but the well-being of our families and communities,” Stansbury said Tuesday during a debate on the House floor.
Republicans, such as New York Rep. Nick Langworthy, argued that including non-citizens in the population for apportionment rewards illegal immigration and is unfair to U.S. citizens.
“Allowing non-citizens to vote dilutes the voice of the American citizen and opens the door for manipulation and exploitation of our electoral system,” Langworthy said.
Removing the weight of non-citizens in federal representation distribution could change the House’s party divide.
States with large immigrant populations – namely California, Texas, and Florida – would each have had one less representative if “unauthorized immigrants” had been excluded from the post-2020 census apportionment, according to a 2020 Pew Research Center report.
The 14th Amendment states that the apportionment of representatives is determined by a count of the “whole number of persons.”
Rep. Jamie Raskin, D–Maryland, said during a House Rules Committee meeting Monday that the bill was unconstitutional under the 14th Amendment, adding that the bill would exacerbate the undercount of the Hispanic population.
“This bill would destroy the accuracy of the census,” Raskin said.
According to Census Bureau reports, the 2020 census had a statistically significant undercount of Hispanics in the United States, with almost 5% not counted. This undercount has been attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic and fears that answers to census questions could be shared with other agencies.
The Census Bureau cannot legally share identifiable information with anyone, including law enforcement.
However, Rep. Erin Houchin, R–Indiana, said Tuesday that since the proposed legislation would still allow counting non-citizens in the census, the change would not greatly impact federal assistance or an accurate population count, calling such claims a “red herring.”
A 2019 Census Bureau report said a citizenship question is sensitive for non-citizens and could affect the self-response rate.
Beyond the impacts of political representation, Johnny Zuagar, president of the American Federation of Government Employees Census Council 241, told Capital News Service that the bill, even if not passed, could complicate the jobs of census employees and the underfunded Census Bureau.
Bringing up the possibility of a census citizenship question again, Zuagar said, will likely make immigrants unsure if they can trust the Census Bureau not to report them to immigration authorities.
Census workers would have to take time to explain the citizenship question and the safety of the responses, Zuagar said, complicating their work.
During the 2020 census, he said, census employees had to work with immigrant communities to regain that lost trust.
“We’re just here to measure the country and follow the Constitution. You can trust us,” Zuagar said.
The House will likely vote on the bill this week. If passed in the House, the measure would move to the Senate, controlled by the Democrats.
By KATHARINE WILSON
Capital News Service
Local News
Marco Beach Breaks Track Record at Shenandoah Downs with a 1:51 4/5 Mile
538 Villa Ave| Front Royal
VA 22630
Alexandra Goldin’s pacer Marco Beach not only wired the field in Sunday’s $8,000 feature at Shenandoah Downs, but he shattered the previous track record by two-fifths of a second when he crossed three lengths the best in 1:51 4/5. The track’s previous mark of 1:52 1/5 was authored by John’s Dream in 2016 — Shenandoah’s initial season — and was equaled earlier this meet by Aflame Hanover.
Eric Davis drove Goldin’s 8-year-old Somebeachsomewhere gelding and was one of four wins he had on the ten-race program. Marco Beach left from outside post five and maintained a 1½ length cushion on the front end through the first three-quarter panels, which were cut in:27 3/5, 56.0, and 1:23 4/5. Davis opened up by two at the top of the stretch and held off a rally by Cole Olsen’s Lyons Stealth, who finished second. Olsen’s Volley Ball Beach was third.
The victory was Marco Beach’s 26th lifetime score, pushing his career bankroll to $285,240. The pacer had previously won in 1:51 2 at Rosecroft in January and in 1:50 2/5, a lifetime best, at the Meadowlands last year.
Davis, who surged into third place in the driver standings behind Fern Paquet, Jr. and Corey Braden with a solid afternoon, also connected Sunday with Scott Woogen’s KJ Devil, P T Stables’s Make Some Waves and Spencer Goldin’s Lucky Streak, who won his third straight in Woodstock and fourth of the meet.
Week four competition in the U.S. Harness Drivers Club continued Saturday with a pair of races. Stacey McLenaghan, second in the overall trainer standings, maintained her lead in the Club standings with a win aboard her gelding pacer Etbauer, who prevailed for the second straight week. Reinsman Jack Mcneil took over second place in the Series with a win aboard Ben Mcneil’s I’ve Got Hootspa. Heading into action this Saturday, McLenaghan has 46 points, while McNeil is four back with 42. A series of checks will be presented to local non-profits this weekend because of the Series – where drivers donate their share of monies earned to charity.
Only two weekends remain in the Shenandoah Downs spring season. Action will continue on Saturday, May 11, and Sunday, May 12, with cards on both days at 1:05 PM. The Woodstock Oval will host Foiled Again’s 20th Birthday Party on Saturday. Join the celebration as harness racing’s richest horse turns 20 years old. Retired for six years now, the legendary son of Dragon Again bankrolled $7.6 million from a stellar career in which he won 109 races from 331 starts. Win number 104 came at Shenandoah Downs on September 29, 2018. Foiled Again will be on site, and fans can take their picture with the legend, sing Happy Birthday, and get a slice of birthday cake. Fans can also enjoy live music all afternoon with The Skillbillys. More details are at shenandoahdowns.com.
Town Talk
CHEO Garden Committee Cultivates Community Spirit with New Growing Season
538 Villa Ave| Front Royal
VA 22630
Town Talk is a series on the Royal Examiner where we will introduce you to local entrepreneurs, businesses, non-profit leaders, and political figures who influence Warren County. Topics will be varied but hopefully interesting. Let us know if you have an idea topic or want to hear from someone in our community. Send your request to news@RoyalExaminer.com
Local Government
FREDA Accelerates While Town Council Hits the Brakes
538 Villa Ave| Front Royal
VA 22630
In a 5-0 vote to expedite the transformation of the Baymont Inn into an apartment complex aimed at servicing young professionals, the Front Royal Economic Development Authority (FREDA) determined that with the appropriate conditions, this is a worthy project and set it on a course to be considered by the Front Royal Town Council before the council’s next regular meeting. That very same day, Monday, May 6, in a work session that began at 7 p.m. in the Front Royal Town Hall at 102 East Main Street, the Town Council assessed a request from the applicant and owner of the Baymont Inn for a special use permit and delayed it for further examination to a June work session.
Not everyone on the Town Council is in favor of the delay. Councilman Glenn Wood is in alignment with FREDA. He carefully delineated the benefits of this project for his fellow council members. One of the chief reasons this project is so exceptional is the opportunity it would afford young workers starting without large families in this community to live locally, enjoy the amenities of Front Royal while being close to their workplace, and keep the blood vessels of our workforce from being drained into a bedroom community like Winchester. Mayor Lori Cockrell heartily agreed with this point. Keeping our teachers in the school system locally is something she cares about deeply, perhaps partly because when she is not wearing the mayoral hat, she is known as having been a teacher herself.
However, there seems to be a bureau of reasons why this item requires more study, presented forcefully by Councilwoman Amber Morris, who did not receive an invitation to tour the proposed conversion site at Baymont Inn and would like the opportunity to do so before voting in favor of the special use permit. Is the housing truly going to be affordable for everyone? Tied to that, will the owner succeed in reaching the demographic of young professionals? How will the cost of utilities be handled? Will the loss of the lodging tax be an irremediable harm to the town? What about the displacement of school-attending children whose parents can only afford to house them in a motel room? Until these spider webs are swept away, the council will not be voting on this proposed SUP and the corresponding request for relief from Town parking standards, and it will be postponed to a work session in early June.
Capable of cleaning house, Planning Director and Zoning Administrator Lauren Kopishke explained how this looks from the staff’s perspective in an interview. “This application, as a whole, aligns with the comprehensive plan. The implementation matrix makes the case that high-quality development can be achieved with redevelopment and specifically calls out the conversion of hotels as a potential means of providing housing. In this instance, the Town needs housing for its citizens, and this project offers that.” She also said: “Council should be considering the use only; rent rates are typically not a consideration because this property is not subject to rezoning with proffers. There is no negotiation aspect here for them to wrestle with. A special use permit determines if a use that may have a higher impact on an area is appropriate at a location.”
Though not a point-by-point response to all of Morris’s concerns, Kopishke addresses perhaps the most important point: will the apartments offered at the former Baymont Inn truly be affordable? According to Kopishke, that is truly the applicant’s concern. Red for a comet approaching, it does not take the queen’s astrologer to predict that the town of Front Royal is on a collision course with serious change. One might ask in this connection what a truly laissez-faire policy is. Here, Ayn Rand’s statement on the final page of Atlas Shrugged rings ominously true: “Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of production and trade.” Neither should the town council in crafting an ordinance or transacting a vote. Hopefully, this will only be a delay, and the freedom of independent business owners to fulfill the comprehensive plan will not be abridged.
Obituaries
Tammy Lea Bohlman (1983 – 2024)
538 Villa Ave| Front Royal
VA 22630
Tammy Lea Bohlman, 40, of Front Royal, Virginia, passed away on Sunday, May 5, 2024, at INOVA Fairfax Hospital.
A graveside service will be held on Saturday, May 18, 2024, at 11 a.m. at Panorama Memorial Gardens, 4917 Strasburg Road, Waterlick, Virginia, with Sammy Campbell officiating.
Tammy was born on June 29, 1983, in Alexandria, Virginia, to Francis Jospeh Houck Jr. and Dawn Lea Houck. She was a truck driver, ordained minister, a culinary school student, and a fantastic cook.
Surviving along with her parents are her stepmother, Peggy Sue Houck; brother, Joe Houck III; and daughter, Morgan Clatterbuck.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Maddox Funeral Home, 105 West Main Street, Front Royal, Virginia 22630, to assist with funeral expenses.