As D.C. sniper John Allen Muhammad awaited execution by lethal injection Nov. 10, about 20 people stood on the southeast corner of Court Square holding a vigil in protest of the death penalty.

“I don’t want to mitigate what he and his accomplice did,” said Larry Thompson, senior pastor at Asbury United Methodist Church in Harrisonburg, who lived in Prince William County at the time. “It impacted the whole area.”

Muhammad, 48, was executed at Greensville Correctional Center in Jarratt just after 9 p.m. Nov. 10 for the death of Dean H. Meyers, an engineer who was shot in the head at a gas station in Manassas.

“I’ve got to stand up for life. I really do,” Thompson said. “By the way, while we were talking, a man just died.”

The vigil, organized by the Harrisonburg Unitarian Universalist Social Justice Committee, was one of several held downtown since Virginia resumed executions in May 2008.

Participants said that because alternatives to the death penalty exist and the system is imperfect, the state should not exercise capital punishment under any circumstances.

“It’s not really about John Allen Muhammad,” said Chris Edwards, a member of the committee. “It’s about us — the citizens of Virginia. When our state government kills a person, we all take part in it.”

Muhammad was the 104th person executed in Virginia since the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty in 1976. Texas is the only state that has executed more inmates.

Ford stepping down as city schools chief
The man who has led Harrisonburg City Public Schools for more than a decade is stepping down.

Superintendent Donald Ford, 60, announced on Nov. 10 his intention to retire at the end of the school year, leaving the Harrisonburg School Board about seven months to find a replacement.

Ford’s retirement date coincides with the expiration of his contract with the division and his eligibility for full retirement under the Virginia Retirement System.

The School Board invited Ford to continue working beyond this school year, but he informed the board he was “respectfully declining.” Ford said he gave the board’s offer much consideration but decided to retire simply because he’s been in education for 37 years and will soon be eligible for full retirement.

“The desire to basically just close this chapter of my life and continue into a new chapter,” Ford said of his decision. He added that he doesn’t have any particular plans for retirement, although he may do some teaching or consulting work.

Ford took the helm of the city schools in 1997 and has seen the division through many changes, including increasing enrollment, growing diversity and expanding accountability measures such as the federal No Child Left Behind Act.

“We really have a leader in education in Dr. Ford,” said School Board Chairman Tom Mendez, who’s been on the board for seven years. “His legacy is certainly going to be one of integrity, professionalism and certainly an endless commitment to excellence in education.”

As part of developing a plan for finding a successor, the board will attend a seminar next week during the Virginia School Boards Association’s annual convention about conducting a superintendent search.

Holiday cheer, from Elkton to Afghanistan
Fondly known as “Aunt Bubble” to one of her nieces, Lindsay Etherton likes to goof around with relatives at family get-togethers.

It’s a sight her mother, Donna Etherton, is going to miss this holiday season.

“We just feel like there’s going to be a piece of us missing,” the Elkton resident said. “That’s the hardest part — not watching her be here.”

Lindsay Etherton of Roanoke is a specialist in the Army Reserves Unit, 811th, and her company was deployed to Afghanistan last month. Stationed at Camp Leatherneck in the war-torn nation’s Helmand Province, the 58 company members are on a one-year deployment.

Her parents, Donna and Steve Etherton, don’t want the troops on the base in southern Afghanistan to completely miss out on holiday cheer, so they’ve begun collecting Christmas cards, letters and e-mails to be sent to the soldiers.

The Ethertons are encouraging “anyone and everyone” to join in the yuletide mailing effort, which is for all the troops, not just their daughter.

“It’s not specifically [for] Lindsay,” her mother said. “We just want everybody to support our soldiers over there.”

Letters, cards and e-mails must be received by Dec. 3 to be included, Donna Etherton said. They will be sent the next day.

Cards can be sent to, or dropped off at, 427 Wirt Ave., Elkton, VA 22827, and e-mails to djetherton5@comcast.net.