In the past year, The News Leader brought to light stories hundreds of years in the making while also reporting breaking news as it happened in our community and at local governments' public meetings. We've helped readers understand how local government works so they could bring their voices to the decision-making processes that have impact on their lives.
Our reporters have worked with citizens who've brought to the table their own unique research, public documents and emails that have helped tell important stories for the community.
Here are some of the stories that had an impact on readers in 2023.
City grapples with response to homelessness
An in-depth look at a local tent city just before its residents were evicted elicited strong reader response and powerful citizen responses at a Waynesboro City Council meeting and connected the dots between the lack of affordable housing and people experiencing homelessness.
'Shadow Ward' story, based on citizen research, inspired more people to run for vacant Staunton council seat
It started with two local citizens of different political persuasions who both believed that Staunton's city council was not enjoying representation from all five city wards due to "at large" voting. It resulted in several applicants for the open city council seat vacated by the mayor who said they were inspired to run when they learned that most city councilors this century lived within a "shadow ward" that left over 70% of residents under-represented or not represented at all.
All aboard! The train puts fun trips on rails
People in the Shenandoah Valley still love their trains. And they prove it by jumping on every new historical train tour that stops at the Staunton station.
The courthouse move that (thankfully) wasn't
When citizens discovered that the city council had quietly made plans to build the new Juvenile and Domestic Relations court on the Hardy Lot at the corner of Market and E. Beverly streets, they demanded transparency. The council responded to citizens' concerns and, following a much more open process, finally decided on a site in the city's West End.
Where there's smoke, there's . . . more smoke (and health hazards)
Before summer got here, the smoke from wildfires in Canada covered the valley. Our reporters covered the smoke and the health hazards it brought. We monitored air quality regularly for our readers and told the story about a neighbor who decided to get an air quality monitor installed so citizens here could get a more local reading of their air.
The murder that shocked the valley
It was the disappearance and murder that shocked the community; and the trial for the couple charged with the abuse and murder of a three-year-old girl started in the summer with hundreds of potential jurors called to the courthouse. The first suspect was found guilty after a two-day trial; within two weeks of the verdict, the second suspect pleaded guilty.
800-year-old infant remains are finally returned to Monacan tribe
Less than two months after we reported on Bridgewater College's possession and cremation of an infant skeleton taken from a Monacan burial mound in what is now Augusta County, Bridgewater announced through a notice in the Federal Register that it was finally returning the infant to its rightful owners, the Monacan Indian Nation.
Covering the passing of a local legend
We helped tell the human stories behind local coaching legend Paul Hatcher, who died in August 2023 at the age of 80, and who was devoted deeply to more than just high school basketball.
AGENDA highlights the role of planning commission, zoning controversies in co*ke factory rebuild
One of our new weekly features in 2023, THE AGENDA, focuses on the meetings of public commissions, city councils and county boards, letting citizens know what's happening in their local government before important decisions get made, so that they can voice their concerns, support or opposition to proposed changes in their communities. Nowhere was this more apparent than in the uproar over the repurposing of the old Coca Cola factory across from the Staunton library.
When the zoo was raided, we got the details
Nobody likes it when animals are mistreated. Throw in an elephant and giraffes and people really want to know what's going on. Our first report on the state's raid on the Natural Bridge Zoo drew readers from all over the Commonwealth and beyond. Our detailed report on the investigation that led to the raid and its aftermath had one of the highest engaged times of any of our stories this year.
County meeting meltdowns were the lowlights of public discourse
A former Augusta County supervisor being escorted by law enforcement out of the Board's public speaking session; a sitting supervisor recommending that parents go back to whipping their kids so they learn respect for law enforcement; the saga of open hostility between a majority of the board and one of its supervisors over an act of his that was perfectly legal in Virginia: those are just three of the many weird moments or ongoing issues that struck the county's governing board like a pandemic in 2023.
Incumbent ousted, but parental rights candidates fail to win majority
Three candidates campaigning on parental rights worked for change on the Augusta County School Board in November. In the end, only one of the challengers — Sharon Griffin — won, leaving the parental rights advocates short of a majority. Griffin's win did cause a major shakeup, however, when she beat six-term incumbent and School Board Chair Nick Collins, ending his 24 years on the board.
