Category: Harrisonburg Issues
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Townie Summer comes to this college town
At the entrance, a metal sign proclaims, “Townie Summer.” Once a simple bit of local vernacular, some downtown businesses have begun to embrace the phrase. Susan Keeler, creative director at Pale Fire, says it’s about Harrisonburg having “that sleepy, small-town feel again.”
“It’s quiet,” Keeler said. “I think that’s what really sums up Townie Summer: it’s this calm.”
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Council again asks sheriff to consider ditching the jail ‘keep fee,’ also passes 2020 budget
The Harrisonburg city council ratcheted up pressure on the Rockingham County sheriff regarding the $1-a-day “keep fee” at the local jail. After a lengthy discussion about wording and efficacy, the council unanimously adopted a resolution on Tuesday evening to formally ask Rockingham County Sheriff Bryan Hutcheson to “examine the possibility of eliminating the $1-day jail fee.”
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Hoodies, music therapy and pick-up basketball. This school has found different ways to reach students.
For students the Rockingham Academy, a sweatshirt emblazoned with the school’s logo is more than just a token of school spirit. It’s a badge of honor. “In their home schools, they probably … were never seen as part of a team, athletically or otherwise, they weren’t in a group. They were probably disenfranchised, disassociated,” said Scott Bojanich, the academy’s principal.
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In the grip of Harrisonburg’s housing crunch, some families keep getting squeezed
When Shannon Porter, executive director of Mercy House, pictures someone who’s homeless, the mental image that springs to his mind isn’t a loner with gray hair and well-worn wrinkles.
In crossing the road, ICE causes a stir
Local Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) personnel wanted to reconfigure the office in a way that wasn’t possible in their current building. By moving across the street, ICE is getting that new layout – and lots of new scrutiny from community members who say the agency should “have no place in the Friendly City.”
‘I don’t care if you use my name:’ Survivors of abuse find strength in local group
The conversation begins on the condition of anonymity, the topic a deeply personal and painful one for this man – his abuse as a teenager at the hands of a Catholic priest. He’s come to Harrisonburg to meet with a group of fellow survivors of sexual abuse.
School board chooses Nielsen Builders to construct new high school
Harrisonburg is one step closer to building the second high school, as the school board voted unanimously on Tuesday night to seek city council’s approval to develop an interim agreement with Nielsen Builders, Inc.
New report suggests international immigration drove city population growth last year
According to a new study by the Pew Research Center, Harrisonburg’s population would have shrunk last year had it not been for international immigration. Instead, the report says, the city was one of nine localities in the state to realize a population increase – quite small, in Harrisonburg’s case – driven entirely by immigration.
