REVIEW - Charlie and the Chocolate Factory at King George High School

by Neil Richard

Coming off of the much more serious production of The Diary of Anne Frank, the King George High School Theatre Department swung the emotional pendulum in the other direction by producing a hilarious, kid-oriented, version of the Charlie and the Chocolate Factory book by Roald Dahl.

In what appeared to be an effort to shorten the opening scenes and save those already familiar with the story from hearing it again, the play opened with some overt exposition. In fact, Scene 1 was literally called Exposition. But it was nice to skip over the more depressing and dramatic portion of the story and get right to the comedy. We were introduced to all of the main characters with a special focus on the five golden ticket winners and their families.

The cast, led by Cannon Parker as Willy Wonka and Jayden Wynes as Charlie Bucket, performed as well as they had in the past, with only one line that appeared to be missed but turned out to be funny enough in the moment to be mistaken for a part of the script.

The action, and laughs, started to ramp up as Wonka gave the kids a tour of his Chocolate Room. Watching the chocolate river get unrolled, I was frankly skeptical that it would work well. I was pleasantly surprised when Augustus Gloop, played by Andrew Denton, did a great job of going down the chocolate river and into the pipe at the end.

The props and set decoration continued to play a delightful role in the action as Wonka continued his tour in the second half of the play. The Invention Room was simplistic yet complex and the Squirrel Room was hilarious. The best prop of the night would have to be a tie between the Glass Elevator and the Television Room. Even though you knew it was coming, Mr. Teavee, played by Darrian Hodsen, did great at being sick in the elevator.

For me, the best scene of the night was when Mike Teavee, played by Brandon Thomas, shrunk himself into the television. His mother, played by Natalie Pelto, showed a perfect grasp of the emotions a frustrated mother would have for a son that was suddenly not a pest anymore. And when she shoved her shrunken son into her purse, and gave it a solid whack, it was the great!

Overall, I found the play to be both over the top and subtle in so many ways. From the cast acting in the background while the Oompa Loompas sang and danced to the overwhelming aura of Willy Wonka, the play melded into another production that once again, could be watched several times. As one audience member noted during Intermission, the Riverside may produce great content but the High School produces shows that are much better bang for your buck.

Their next production will be The Little Mermaid from April 29th to May 2nd.

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2020-01-21 - Board of Supervisors Meeting Notes

by Neil Richard

The Board of Supervisors began their meeting at 6:34pm.

There were amendments to the Agenda to add Closed Session.

Kim Dodge was the only speaker for Public Comment. Dodge said she wanted to speak on the part of the taxpayers and said she knew budget season was coming up. She wanted to thank everyone for their work in getting the County out of debt and keeping taxes low and hoped the Board could continue to do that. She said that when the Board increases property taxes, it takes money from each household and many families do not get pay increases. Dodge said she was proud to see a chart of the 2018 budget and that property tax revenue wasn't being used to pay for everything. Dodge said that the schools seemed like an endless money pit and that they'll ask for money and say it's for the children but there needed to be something else that paid for teacher salaries. She said that when she asks the Board to not increase taxes, she's asking on behalf of the poor, the single family households, and those that don't have dual incomes. Dodge said she gets that a lot of citizens in the County would support a tax increase but said it was because they thought it would increase their salary. She said she saw something on Facebook about the Sheriff's Department hiring and the salary was low but people said they would be willing to pay more in taxes if that meant the Deputy's salary would go up. Dodge said that she would rather see more grants used to pay for salary increases. She said we only hear from the people being paid from taxpayers and not the rest of the population and they would like to keep their taxes low.

2020-01-21 - Wireless Authority Meeting Notes

by Neil Richard

The Wireless Authority began their last meeting at 6:29pm.

There were no amendments to the Agenda.

There was no Public Comment.

Jeff Stonehill had no report.

Jeff Bueche began to give his Supervisor's report before once again realizing that meeting had not started yet.

Annie Cupka, Richard Granger, and Cathy Binder all had no report.

The County Attorney pro tempore, Eric Gregory, had no report however he was next on the Agenda and gave the Board a brief overview of the request from both the Wireless Authority and the Board of Supervisors to dissolve the Wireless Authority. Due to that request, he had drafted dissolution paperwork that would result in the Wireless Authority disbanding and all of the remaining funds, almost $40,000, to revert to the County's General Fund. Gregory said the next step after both groups approved of the measure was that he and Dr. Neiman Young, County Administrator, would file the dissolution paperwork with the state and, when approved by the state, the process would conclude.

Bueche asked about any remaining assets and Gregory said the County had already taken over the antiquated equipment some time ago.

With that, the Board approved of the dissolution and the meeting adjourned at 6:34pm.

Meeting Attendees:
Cathy Binder (Chair, Board of Supervisors)
Jeff Bueche (Board of Supervisors)
Annie Cupka (Vice Chair, Board of Supervisors)
Richard Granger (Board of Supervisors)
Jeff Stonehill (Board of Supervisors)
Neiman Young (County Administrator)
Eric Gregory (County Attorney)

Meeting Agenda

Next Meeting:
This was the last Wireless Authority meeting.

Previous Meeting:
Read about the previous Wireless Authority Meeting.

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2020-01-28 - Planning Commission Public Notice

The King George County Planning Commission will hold a public hearing beginning at 7:00 p.m., on Tuesday, February 11, 2020, in the Board Room to hear two cases.

Case Number 19-03-Z02: Request by Darell Hertenstein on behalf of the current owners Alyce J. Jones, David Clare, and Beverley C. Coates, to rezone, with proffers Tax Map 33 Parcels 78 & 79 and Tax Map 33 Parcel 74 from Rural Agricultural (A-2) to General Trade (C-2 Total 17.65 acres) and Multifamily dwelling district (R-3 Total 92.67 acres).

Case Number 20-01-Z01: Amendments to the King George County Zoning Ordinance to revise the Sign Regulations. Amendments to Section 3.11.

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2020-01-21 - Service Authority Meeting Notes

by Neil Richard

The Service Authority began their first full meeting of the year at 5:31pm.

There were no amendments to the Agenda.

Kim Dodge was the only person to speak during Public Comment. She said she has spoken before about the paying the water and sewer bills and just wanted the Service Authority to know that customers that do have to pay both, it's high for them. Dodge said it was a hardship on families with a lot of children, stay at home moms, and those with only one source of income. She knew they were getting into budget season and that there are infrastructure problems that cost money but she wanted to speak up for all customers.

Controlled Burn In King George

by Neil Richard

With wildfires becoming more and more common across the country and around the globe, I was delighted to hear about the Virginia Department of Forestry preparing to do a prescribed or controlled burn in King George. The property owner, Derek Wasser, reportedly promised his friends hot dogs and beer but none were in sight when I arrived. Instead, our small group hung around and traded stories while we waited for the Forestry Department to arrive.

2020-01-07 - Wireless Authority Meeting Notes

by Neil Richard

The King George County Wireless Authority Board of Directors began their first meeting of 2020 at 6:54pm.

In a brief ten minutes, the Board, comprised of the Board of Supervisors, voted to have Cathy Binder serve as Chair, to have Annie Cupka serve as Vice Chair, and to have Dr. Neiman Young, County Administrator, serve as the Board's Secretary and Treasurer. They also adopted a meeting calendar to meet quarterly, the norm for this Board, but would later amend that based on Eric Gregory's advice. Gregory, the County Attorney pro tempore, advised the Board that if they wish to continue to work towards dissolving the Board, the documents necessary should be ready by the next January meeting of the Supervisors and therefore should convene a Wireless Authority meeting then. The Board concurred and made the necessary change.