Claire Marshall Watkins, ASSOCIATE EDITOR
Fredericksburg Free Press
Life forced Caleb Patton to audible, but he refused to be sidelined entirely
By Sean Labar 10/11/2026
On Dec. 1, 2025, the Mountain View senior went to the hospital with a severe headache and confusion. Doctors diagnosed him with encephalitis, a viral infection that caused his brain to swell. He was immediately placed in intensive care and quickly fell into a coma that lasted almost two weeks.
Patton still doesn’t remember anything from that period in his life. But his family does. So does Mountain View head coach Nathan Yates.
The Free Lance-Star
Spotsylvania comprehensive plan update moves to supervisors (paywalled)
By Scott Shenk 10/11/2026
The Spotsylvania County Planning Commission recommended approval of the county’s Comprehensive Plan draft update last week, moving it a step closer to approval.
The comprehensive plan covers the county’s vision for land use, transportation, sewer and water utilities, schools, fire and rescue and sheriff’s office coverage, as well as historic and natural resources.
Woman gets two years for beating pregnant roommate (paywalled)
By Keith Epps 10/10/2026
A Fredericksburg woman was ordered to serve two years in prison on Friday for brutally beating her pregnant roommate last year.
Felicia Lee Rivera, 26, was sentenced in Fredericksburg Circuit Court to a total of 10.5 years in prison, with all but two years suspended. She was previously convicted of malicious wounding, strangulation and three misdemeanors.
Three charged, two injured in shooting, attempted gun robbery in Culpeper (paywalled)
By Allison Brophy Champion, Culpeper Star-Exponent 10/11/2026
Based on video footage, witness interviews and evidence recovered at the scene, investigators determined that two of the men met in the parking lot for the sale of a firearm. During the transaction, a third man attempted to rob the seller, according to the release.
Shots were fired, and one of the men was then assaulted by the other two. All vehicles that left the scene have been located, and evidence related to the incident has been recovered from each.
Potomac Local News
Leadership Fredericksburg seeks Community Action Project proposals for the Class of 2027
By PLN News 10/10/2026
Leadership Fredericksburg is seeking Community Action Project proposals for the Class of 2027, the Fredericksburg Regional Chamber of Commerce said.
Organizations throughout Planning District 16 are invited to submit projects that give fellows the chance to put leadership skills into action while creating a lasting benefit for the community.
Applications are open through Oct. 12.
Friends of the Library October sale: Monday is another chance to support the library
By PLN News 10/10/2026
The Friends of the Library October sale at the Library Administration Center runs Friday, Saturday, and Monday (Oct. 9, 10, and 12), 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., the Central Rappahannock Regional Library said.
Stafford school board members host Oct. 14 town hall on Drew rebuild, sales tax and redistricting
By PLN News 10/10/2026
Dr. Sarah Chase and Susan Randall will host an open town hall Wednesday, Oct. 14, from 6 to 7 p.m. at Edward E. Drew Jr. Middle School, Stafford County Public Schools said.
Chase represents the Falmouth district; Randall represents George Washington.
ADVANCE READS
Monimala Basu, Drew Gallagher, Phil Huber
The Jane Doe I Know
Monimala Basu, SPECIAL to the ADVANCE
I’ve been reading about how former Cornell University student Jane Doe’s gang rape allegations have triggered terrible memories for countless survivors of sexual assault. Many have taken to social media to post: “I am Jane Doe.”
I know another Jane Doe. She, too, was once a high school graduate who left her family and home to start university with the verve for life that is expected of someone embarking on a monumental chapter of her life. She, too, had walked into a local nightclub and was highly intoxicated; tests placed her blood-alcohol level at .349 percent, enough to cause death. She, too, ended up in a fraternity house where she was gang-raped. She, too, was the victim of what Cornell’s Jane Doe has described as a vicious and vulgar act. She, too, dropped out of college, never to be identified publicly.
But she is not Jane Doe to me. I know her name. I know her story.
My Hillbilly Elegy
Drew Gallagher, ADVANCE COLUMNIST
All That’s Unseen: An Appalachian Memoir by Emilee Hackney, a UVA administrative assistant in the English Department, was released in July this year. It’s about growing up in Tazewell, Virginia, then going on to Harvard and the profound disconnect between her life in Appalachia and her life at an Ivy League school. She has no immediate plans to run for vice president.
I have not read Hackney’s memoir, but I have read a few summaries, and there seem to be some recurring themes—Mountain Dew, drugs, and Ivy League educations—that J.D. Vance mined in his earlier Appalachian memoir Hillbilly Elegy, which I have not read either.
Show Us the Election-Fraud Problem
Phil Huber, ADVANCE COLUMNIST
I was born in 1947. My first chance to vote for president came in 1968, when I was away at college. To the best of my memory, I did not vote that year. I regret it.
Since then, I have voted in 14 presidential elections and more state and local elections than I can count. Many ballots were cast by mail, especially while I was on active duty or stationed overseas. President Trump has also voted by mail in Florida this year. Now he urges Republicans to use every lawful option: vote early, vote by mail, or vote in person on Election Day.
I never believed an election was fraudulent simply because my candidate lost. I have had bad mornings after Election Day. Most voters have. That is not evidence of a conspiracy. Democracy does not always consult us first.
This article is published under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND. It can be distributed for noncommercial purposes and must include the following: “Published with permission by FXBG Advance.”