A former Harrisonburg High School football player accused of selling prescription painkillers to teammates in the high school’s locker room has been charged with a dozen drug-related felonies according to police documents released last week.

Harrisonburg police arrested Ronnell Brandon, 18, of Harrisonburg on Sept. 25 and charged him as a juvenile because the alleged crimes were committed before he turned 18. Prosecutors plan to seek indictments against Brandon as an adult. He is scheduled to appear in Rockingham County Circuit Court on Oct. 20.

Brandon also faces an armed robbery charge stemming from an accusation made last Halloween. While an investigator started looking into the alleged robbery, police learned of allegations that Brandon sold prescription drugs to HHS football players in the locker room before games. The claim sparked investigations by both the Harrisonburg Police Department and the city school division.

Farmers market pavilion nearly complete
A new pavilion for the Downtown Harrisonburg Farmers’ Market will be ready in time for grand opening on Saturday, Oct. 25.

The $300,000 multipurpose facility was funded from a variety of sources, including several large private donors. The city pledged $50,000 to the project, and Rockingham County contributed $5,000. With the pavilion in place, the market will be open on the three Saturdays before Christmas, as well as the second and fourth Saturdays of January, February and March.

According to a report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the number of farmers markets in the country has grown by 6.8 percent during the past two years, to nearly 4,700.

Lottery pays off
As the Virginia Lottery celebrates its 20th anniversary this year, lottery officials say the program’s track record shows it’s been a success. Since its inception in 1988, the lottery has grossed about $20 billion in sales and given back about $10 billion in prize money, about $1 billion to lottery retailers and about $6 billion to the state.

The lottery has earned $4 billion for education in Virginia since voters approved a 1999 referendum designating lottery funds exclusively for K-12 public education.

About $20 million has gone to Harrisonburg City and Rockingham County schools, according to the Virginia Department of Education. Last fiscal year alone, county schools received about $1.7 million in lottery money and city schools received about $543,000, according to the state.

Colleges take a hit
State budget cuts announced by Gov. Timothy M. Kaine last week will result in reductions of 7 percent, or $5.4 million, at James Madison University and 5 percent, or $495,000, at Blue Ridge Community College.

JMU will extend a hiring freeze already in place, continue limits on equipment purchases and travel enacted earlier this school year in the face of impending cuts and consider other adjustments, said Don Egle, campus spokesman.

Blue Ridge is taking similar steps, said BRCC President Jim Perkins. This is the second year that the college has reduced spending by 5 percent, even as the number of students increased, Perkins said.

The state cuts do not affect Rockingham County and other school divisions, according to the governor’s office. But Rockingham County Director of Finance Cheryl Mast said that local K-12 funding could be affected in the 2010 fiscal year, which starts July 1, 2009.

Rivals meet for debate
At a forum in Harrisonburg last week, congressional candidates for the 6th District seat criticized the current House membership for its lack of leadership. With less than a month before the election, challengers Sam Rasoul, a Democrat, and Janice Lee Allen, an independent, and incumbent Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-Roanoke, met to field questions on issues facing the next Congress, including the economy, energy and taxes.

The candidates articulated their differing views on several issues, including healthcare, energy and the financial bailout recently approved by Congress.

Goodlatte voted against it twice, saying that he favored a solution that involved but did not reward corporations that had failed. Allen agreed. Rasoul has supported the bailout but has been critical of special interests and lobbyists he says led to the mortgage-debt-related problems that required a government rescue.

Gemeinschaft caught in state budget cuts
Budget cuts announced last week by Gov. Timothy M. Kaine eliminated approximately $1 million in state aid to Gemeinschaft Home Inc. Gemeinschaft, a transition home for nonviolent criminal offenders, had a total budget of $1.5 million.

Gemeinschaft Board President J.D. Glick said that the funding cut would force the home, which employs 38 people and currently has 60 residents, to reinvent itself to survive. The state plans to cut the funding in 60 days, said Gemeinschaft. The cut is part of broader budget reductions because state revenues have fallen short of projections. According to Gemeinschaft figures, the home on Mount Clinton Pike has served 2,100 people in its nearly 25-year history.

Executive Director Jennie Amison will seek federal funds to replace the lost state money, and has planned a community meeting for Nov. 5. “I am going to try to sustain it and put up a fight because I believe it’s worth it,” she said.