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The very latest Fauquier County business and technology news ... in brief
Wednesday, May. 16 | 8:14 AM
Warrenton car dealer spends money to make money
In the hyper-competitive world of car sales, Andy Budd believes that appearances count.
That’s partly why he decided to plow $1.3 million to $1.5 million into the remodeling of his Country Chevrolet dealership in Warrenton under a General Motors program that effectively pays owners to upgrade their buildings.
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Friday, May. 11 | 8:05 AM
Southeastern’s school symposium stresses healthy choices
A cluster of blue, yellow and green balloons and a rainbow of handwritten signs dot the driveway of Southeastern Alternative School near Midland.
“When was the last time you exercised?” reads one poster.
“Did you skip breakfast?” asks another.
“What kind of healthy choice have you made today?” states a third.
Indeed. The placards served as an introduction and as guideposts to Southeastern’s third annual symposium, which this year asked the bigger question: “How do my choices and the choices of those around me affect my overall health?”
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Thursday, May. 10 | 5:09 PM
New building means more services at Old Town Athletic Club
Mike Forsten squints, looks at his wife Kim for help and taps his temple.
“This was in our heads five years ago, wasn’t it?” he said of the planned 18,000-square-foot building off Walker Drive in Warrenton where the couple will move and expand a portion of their Old Town Athletic Club operation. “Maybe even longer.”
Kim nods in agreement.
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Wednesday, May. 9 | 3:36 PM
Scam alert
The Fauquier Times-Democrat is gathering advertising orders for the annual Fauquier Guide, but has not contracted with an out-of-state company to gather information -- nor to collect money.
Some advertisers and readers have reported getting out-of-state phone contacts through which callers are identifying themselves as representing the Times-Democrat to discuss ad sizes for the Guide and to collect money for them.
These calls are not authorized by the Times-Democrat nor associated with this company in any way.
Do not send any money based on these solicitations. Please call your ad rep to let us know if you are contacted in this manner, (540) 347-4222. – .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
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Tuesday, May. 8 | 2:06 PM
Orlean’s Providence Baptist dedicates addition
Cost of addition to Providence Baptist Church
Thank God James Brooks never knows when to quit.
Literally, in the view of Pastor Jewel Simmons and the members of Providence Baptist Church near Orlean.
Without Brooks’ laser-like focus and the Lord’s will, the church’s new addition would have remained little more than a dream, Simmons told about 200 people who attended the building’s dedication on Saturday.
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Friday, Apr. 27 | 9:20 AM
Alternative calendar proposal means earlier return to school
Under an alternative school calendar proposal, Fauquier County students would return to the classroom three weeks before Labor Day.
They now crack the books two weeks before the holiday.
School system spokeswoman Karen Parkinson outlined the proposal during the school board meeting on Monday, noting that key instruction benefits call for students to take end-of-first-term exams and SOL tests before, rather than after, the winter break.
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Wednesday, Apr. 4 | 8:58 AM
Iron Bridge’s distant location makes potential buyers wary
After a while, the two-hour drive to the Iron Bridge Wine Company of Warrenton began to wear on owners Steve and Rob Wecker.
In the beginning, when the brothers opened the Old Town Main Street restaurant in June 2007, they made the trip from their suburban Maryland homes six or seven days a week, said Steve, who focuses on “overall operations and marketing” while Rob takes care of the “wine program.”
The challenge of managing the original Iron Bridge in Columbia and the Warrenton operation got increasingly demanding, especially after the Weckers last November opened a new restaurant in Maryland called Mutiny Pirate Bar & Grille, which they hope to franchise, Steve said.
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Wednesday, Feb. 29 | 5:04 PM
County tech grant program targets small businesses
Jane Eckels, owner of Cheesecake Heaven near New Baltimore, wants to do a better job of tracking her business.
Eckels wants to get a better handle on what “we have in stock (and) basically everything we need as a given time.”
Eckels believes greater efficiency will allow her to expand the business and perhaps her four-person staff.
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Wednesday, Feb. 29 | 4:59 PM
Two county groups offer free income tax preparation service
For some people the price of commercial income tax preparation service can make a big dent their household budget.
It can cost $350 to $600, depending on the complexity of a return and whether a CPA does the work, said Bob Helms, who six years ago started a Voluntary Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program in Warrenton that provides free tax preparation for people making $50,000 or less annually.
That expense sometimes means “not paying the rent,” said Helms, one of 15 VITA volunteers. “Sometimes it means not eating.”
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Thursday, Feb. 23 | 5:13 PM
Local company hosts ‘climate change’ presentation
Lori Davidson travelled two hours from Gettysburg, Pa., to attend a presentation on climate change Tuesday night in Warrenton.
Davidson, 56, works as an environmental specialist at a department of defense installation, hoped that in attending the event she would learn more about the subject in ways that could be applied to her job.
“I thought it was a great start,” Davidson said of the presentation. “I don’t think there’s anybody, any thinking person, who could not believe in climate change. I don’t see how.”
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Wednesday, Feb. 22 | 12:56 PM
Sharon Slavin joins Times Community Media advertising team
Sharon Slavin joined Times Community Media as the NOVA Division's advertising manager, TCM Executive Vice President Jack Brady announced today.
Slavin Sharon comes to the Loudoun Times-Mirror with a mix of media experience. She is a veteran sales professional with more than 20 years in the Washington, D.C., market, with a background in sales and sales management in media, encompassing radio and cable.
She has recently come from COMCAST where she focused on building a foundation of solid relationships with clients, leaders, businesses and potential advertisers, Loudoun County being one of her territories.
Slavin lives in Reston, with her husband, Paul Curtin. – .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Tuesday, Feb. 21 | 12:52 PM
Painless pet treatment
Painless pet treatment
In short, quick strokes Devon Settle waves a microphone-shaped laser wand over two large wounds on the back of Bridget, a nine-year-old Beagle mix whose owners believe suffered a coyote attack last month near their Hume home.
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Wednesday, Feb. 15 | 4:32 PM
CrossFit offers intense, group workouts for everyday life
Joy LeBaron leans forward, gasping for air, her brown hair hanging in strands before her eyes.
“It’s really fun and it’s over fast,” the 55-year-old executive director of Hospice Support of Fauquier County explains during a session last Friday at CrossFit, a work-out club in Northrock Shopping Center in Warrenton. “It’s very painful. The first day’s the worst, and then it’s okay.”
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Thursday, Feb. 9 | 12:21 PM
‘Play therapy’ helps children with emotional, behavioral problems
After eight years of working for someone else, psychotherapist Danah McGrath decided to start a practice of her own.
On Tuesday, McGrath, who specializes in child and family services, opened Monarch Counseling and Play Therapy at 15 Alexandria Pike, Warrenton, in the building that also houses the flower shop Designs by Teresa.
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Tuesday, Feb. 7 | 12:48 PM
Despite mixed signals, Realtors encouraged by local housing market
In January 2011, Chuck Cornwell’s real estate agency put contracts on 45 homes.
A year later, RE/MAX Regency of Warrenton nearly doubled that number with 80 homes under contract.
“It’s looking good,” Cornwell said of the local residential home sales market. “We’re getting a really big push.”
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Tuesday, Feb. 7 | 7:39 AM
New county airport director wants to put experience into practice
Dave Darrah calls it his dream job.
On Monday, the 60-year-old Stafford County resident and retired Marine colonel started as the new director of the Warrenton-Fauquier Airport on U.S. 610 near Midland.
“I’m an aviator,” said Darrah, one seven candidates interviewed for the job. “Airplanes are in my blood and here’s where the airplanes are.”
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Friday, Jan. 27 | 4:12 PM
Holiday season yields modest, hopeful gains for Main Street merchants
Amy Leach, owner of Rhodes Gift Shop in Old Town Warrenton, had a good holiday season behind the register.
Leach estimates that her Main Street store did 20 percent more in business for this period in 2011 than in the previous year.
“It was pretty steady,” said Leach, who also sells Orvis gear and accessories. “It definitely had picked up over last year. I think people are getting a little bit more hopeful about things. It’s getting better. We just have to hang on.”
In random interviews, the owners of a half dozen Main Street shops reporter improved 2011 holiday sales compared with the previous season.
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