Both Warren and Shenandoah counties had murder cases in court in 2020 that have been delayed by the pandemic.
At the start of the year, Front Royal residents Richard Crouch and George Good were charged in the murder of 20-year-old Warren County resident Tristen Brinklow.
Crouch and Good are accused of assaulting and tying up Brinklow in September 2019 and placing his body in a refrigerator, which was discovered on Dec. 2 at Digs Landing. They are charged with willfully defiling a body, concealing a dead body, abduction by force/intimidation and first-degree murder.
Good is also accused of shooting a man during an assault attempt in Front Royal in November 2019.
The 2020 calendar year began normally enough for Shenandoah County government officials, as newly elected Brad Pollack and Tim Taylor joined the Board of Supervisors on Jan. 1 and preliminary talks began soon after on the budget for fiscal year 2020-21. Then COVID-19 upended the nation, and tragedy struck the board near the close of the year when Chairman Dick Neese lost his life in a vehicle accident.
As the pandemic gained steam in mid-March the county declared a local emergency on March 17, and the virus would become the center of attention for the county for the rest of the year.
Anticipating revenue shortfalls associated with the pandemic, the county began chipping away at its original $80.7 million proposed budget in late March and early April. Significant cuts were made to the budget, including the elimination of a proposed 6-cent increase to the real property tax rate and a proposed 75-cent increase to the business personal property tax rate, before supervisors officially a
It was back to business as usual Thursday afternoon after winter storm Gail dropped several inches of snow throughout Warren and Shenandoah counties Wednesday.
According to the National Weather Service, 9 inches of snow had fallen in Front Royal by 9 a.m. Thursday and 11.5 inches had fallen in Basye by 11:53 p.m. Wednesday. Almost 9 inches had fallen by 3:02 a.m. Thursday in Shenandoah County.
Road conditions were reported by the Virginia Department of Transportation as clear on Interstate 66 in Warren County and on I-81 in Shenandoah County by 11 a.m.
Primary and secondary roads in Warren County were down to bare pavement except for isolated spots of snow, ice or slush, by about 4:15 p.m. VDOTâs website reported âno adverse road conditions for Shenandoah County primary roads by about 6:15 p.m. Route 758 (Woodstock Tower Road) West and East were closed for ice, VDOTâs website reported around the same time.
The Northern Shenandoah Valley saw its first major snowstorm of the season Wednesday, with snow beginning about mid-morning and continuing as a wintry mix of snow and sleet throughout the day.
The region was expected to see about a foot of snow with 14 to 15 inches at higher elevations and snow tapering off about midnight.
Around the area, town and county offices in Clarke, Frederick, Shenandoah and Warren counties and the city of Winchester closed for the day.
Area schools were also closed on Wednesday, opting to take the snow day rather than holding virtual classes.
On Wednesday afternoon, Shenandoah County Public Schools announced a snow day for today. Students will then have virtual classes as usual on Friday as well as Monday and Tuesday before beginning winter break.
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