Return to story

TWISTER'S CARNAGE TOPPED 2008 NEWS

January 1, 2009 12:35 am

We asked fredericksburg.com users to rank the area's top 10 stories of 2008. Here are the results:

1. TORNADO RIPS UP HOMES IN REGION

On the night of May 8, an F2 tornado packing 120-mph winds smashed through the area, causing the most damage in southern Stafford County. The storm damaged 711 homes and businesses, 40 of which were condemned by the county. Incredibly, there were no fatalities.

Since that time, houses have been rebuilt and lives have gotten back on track. Most agree that while it was a tragedy for the people involved, it inspired acts of courage, selflessness and goodwill. Faced with the unexpected, concerned neighbors and attentive county officials helped turn a community's darkest hour into perhaps its finest.

--Jonas Beals

2. RIPKEN PICKS CITY FOR BASEBALL COMPLEX Last January, the Cal Ripken Sr. Foundation announced that it had chosen a 48-acre site on the Rappahannock River near Fredericksburg's Bragg Hill neighborhood to build a youth baseball complex.

That complex is just one part of a comprehensive program the foundation has brought to the area to help at-risk youths. In 2008, the foundation began working with area schools, law enforcement and recreation groups to spread its educational programs to area youths.

This year, the foundation plans to start a more public fundraising campaign for the field complex, which is expected to cost in excess of $2 million.

--Emily Battle

Fredericksburg landed Kalahari Resorts' third U.S. water park resort and hotel after the City Council approved an incentives package that includes a 47.5 percent rebate on all the park's local taxes for 20 years and more than $3 million in upfront fee waivers. The planned resort--which includes a 700-room hotel, spa, "family-fun center" and the featured 200,000-square-foot indoor water park--will be built at Fredericksburg's Celebrate Virginia South.

Kalahari has struggled to obtain financing for the $250 million project due to tight overall credit conditions, but President Todd Nelson remains optimistic that ground will be broken in 2009.

--Bill Freehling

In one of the biggest finds of its kind, archaeologists located remains of George Washington's boyhood home at Ferry Farm.

The discovery, announced in July, confirmed what researchers suspected all along--that the property overlooking the Rappahannock River in southern Stafford County contained that vital link to the nation's first president.

Now that the foundation of the dwelling, cellar and some outbuildings have been found, The George Washington Foundation plans to re-create the 1740s structures, including the Washington house, for educational purposes.

--Rusty Dennen

It was a risky move, even for a veteran football coach of a team coming off seven straight playoff seasons. But James Monroe's Rich Serbay, playing a preseason hunch, shifted quarterback DeVontae Atkins to receiver and inserted John Jackson under center.

The result? A 13-1 record and the Yellow Jackets' fourth state championship, capped by a 50-46 victory over Brookville in the Division 3 final. Jackson justified Serbay's faith by throwing five touchdown passes in the game-- a state record that was broken later in the day. Two went to Atkins, who also returned a punt for a score and sealed the win with an interception in the final minute.

--Steve DeShazo

6. CITY POLICE OFFICER KILLED IN AMBUSH

The shooting death of city police Officer Todd Bahr stung the community this past summer. Bahr was the first Fredericksburg officer killed in the line of duty in more than 40 years.

Bahr was shot at close range June 6 while on the lookout for 47-year-old Gregory Berryman, who had been making threats to an ex-girlfriend. Moments later, while surrounded by police, Berryman took his own life.

Authorities believe Berryman was on his way to the woman's apartment to do her harm that night, and Bahr's actions, along with those of other officers, may have saved her life.

--Ellen Biltz

Yong Hui Zhang, the 24-year-old delivery driver for his parents' Chinese restaurant, was abducted, brutally beaten and stabbed to death in July.

Authorities spent Independence Day weekend tracking down an out-of-town couple who used Zhang's stolen credit card in Spotsylvania County and then again in Sussex County.

Two days after his abduction, Zhang's body was found in a rural part of Sussex. He had been tortured and stabbed in the chest, authorities said.

Marcey White pleaded guilty to taking part in his abduction and robbery, and is expected to testify against her boyfriend, Jermaine Lamonte Montgomery. Montgomery is scheduled to be tried on capital murder charges in August in Spotsylvania.

--Ellen Biltz

The Fredericksburg area was hit hard by the housing slump in 2008. Median sales prices in the area have dropped nearly 30 percent since the end of 2007.

Foreclosure rates have gone up, and the inventory of homes on the market has remained high. That has led to a sharp decline in new building permits, which has made life tough for many area home-builders and contractors.

The housing slump has also affected many businesses dependent on housing--such as those selling furniture, flooring and appliances. Consumer spending has dropped as a result, pushing up the unemployment rate and leading to the closing of numerous stores and restaurants.

--Bill Freehling

After nine years of planning, Mary Washington Hospital took a major step in providing emergency care for the area by being officially designated a Level II trauma center this past summer.

Fred Rankin III, the president and chief executive officer of the hospital's parent company, called it a "transformational" moment for MWH. He compared the new service to the hospital's first open heart surgery or its first brain surgery.

Meanwhile, MWH moved ahead on a 100-bed hospital in Stafford County, which it hopes to open in February. And HCA broke ground on its 126-bed hospital in Spotsylvania County, which is expected to open in 2010.

--Jim Hall

10. OBAMA VISITS AREA ON MARCH TO VICTORY

President-elect Barack Obama broke 44 years of Republican dominance in Virginia's presidential races, capturing the Old Dominion en route to his national victory over GOP nominee John McCain.

Virginia played a key role in the election. Democrat Obama campaigned 11 times in the state, including a Sept. 27 rally at the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg that drew an estimated 26,000 spectators. Sarah Palin, the GOP's vice-presidential candidate, appeared at Fredericksburg's Hurkamp Park and drew 8,000 on a wet, cold October Monday.

--Chelyen Davis