The cold temperatures in February took their toll on area roads, and now the drivers are playing dodgeball with the potholes. When dodging isn’t successful, there can be a flat tire, a bent rim, or even worse for area drivers.
Daniel Martinez writes up the repair tickets all day at Power Tire on LaFayette Boulevard in Fredericksburg.
“They said they hit a pothole,” he said. “Basically the suspension of the car, they get messed up quick from the potholes,” he said. Some of the racy cars have a “low profile.” Tires that are easily damaged. “Cracked rims we see, especially when they have low profile tires,” Martinez said.
It’s much of the same over at Firestone Tires said service manager Debbie Smeragulioulo. “We have people coming in here telling me they just hit a pothole,” she said. “A lot of them damage the rims,” she added.
The rims, tires, shock absorbers, ball joints, and tie rods take the hit, and the price tag can get pretty high. Most of the time, the bill is paid out of pocket or through insurance. It’s tough to say who’s fault it is. Depending on the location, both VDOT and the City of Fredericksburg deal with the potholes.
During the colder months, the city relies on a cold patch material until a permanent repair can be made. Once the pothole is reported, the city shop team typically addresses the situation within the same day of the report or within a few days at most. “Repairs are prioritized based on urgency and overall need,” said Sonja Cantu, the City of Fredericksburg communications manager.
The Virginia Department of Transportation also fills potholes as a priority. Crews focus first on patching potholes on roads that carry the most traffic, including interstates, primary roads, and high-volume secondary roads, followed by lower-volume secondary roads and subdivision streets.
Since January 1, 2025, VDOT crews have patched 2,751 potholes on state-maintained primary and secondary roads in the Fredericksburg area, which includes roads in the counties of Caroline, King George, Spotsylvania, and Stafford, said VDOT spokeswoman Kelly Hannon.
On Interstate 95, VDOT’s interstate maintenance contractor patched 997 potholes in the Fredericksburg area between mile markers 101-148 in January- February 2025.
The drivers can help, though. In downtown Fredericksburg, report potholes at 540-372-1023 or under Public Works on the city website. If reporting them through VDOT, go to
Click or call the Virginia Department of Transportation’s Customer Service Center at 800-367-7623 24/7.
The paint job on an antique ambulance that roams the streets of Fredericksburg hints that a story behind this truck is waiting to be told. Was it part of the British Royal Air Force stationed in Lossiemouth, Scotland? Was it connected to Prince Harry?
Did it see time in the Falkland Islands war in the early 1980s?
Answers to these questions aren’t etched in stone, but one thing is for sure: “It drives like a tank,” said owner Hamilton Palmer, a resident of Fredericksburg who owns the ambulance, which has become a novelty of sorts.
What is known about it started with the British Royal Air Force, which used it at their fighter base in Lossiemouth, Scotland, in 1973. They owned this ambulance made by a company called Marshall, but something happened to the wheel structure, so it now sits on a 1983 Land Rover frame. One of the previous owners, Ed Wallis in Stafford County, kept it in his yard near the Stafford Airport, where he was the airport director. He brought it over from Europe and sold it to Palmer.
Palmer does know some things about his ambulance, which has a for-sale sign on the front seat. He’ll sell it to someone who’s serious about buying, but he’s not really advertising it anywhere. He does drive it around town a bit and seems to like the novelty of owning this collector’s item. You better hope Mike Wolfe from the “American Pickers” show doesn’t show up with a wad of cash.
“I’ve seen it around, but I don’t know anything about it,” said a woman passing by on the sidewalk.
When Wallis was the airport director, Palmer was one of the officials there, too, which led to the ambulance transaction in 1989. Somehow, he drove it over from the airport and fixed it up a bit.d
Palmer went into the database of British Military Vehicles, matched the Vehicle Identification Number, or “VIN” as they say around the garage, and became entrenched in his ambulance’s capabilities.
It’s powered by a Land Rover 225 engine, and in the back, there was room for two people on stretchers as well as mounting brackets for two more stretchers. “You could put four people in here and two bodies on top,” he said. There is a NATO-sized plug in the back and the gas tank nozzle is under the front passenger seat. The windows in the back are treated with a substance that makes them “black out” in case it is in combat, and there’s a rack on the front that is used to push airplanes off the runway when needed.
“I drive it once a week,” Palmer added. He did loan it to the Historical Fredericksburg Foundation once but hasn’t entered any parades. Some have asked about refurbishing it but Palmer’s not enthusiastic. There’s NATO camouflaged paint and red crosses on the side, and it’s registered with the DMV. “As far as I’m concerned, it’s preserved,” he said.
Many newly graduated college alumni like the familiarity of the college town, so they stick around after they get the degree for one reason or another. It’s still known as ‘home,’ making escaping hard.
“I love this area,” said Katie Ambrosini, a senior at the University of Mary Washington who is graduating in a few weeks with an English degree and currently works at a nearby Starbucks. I want to try to get a full-time job if I can,” she said, putting her degree to work.
This article is FREE to read. Please Sign In or Create a FREE Account. Thank you.
Multiple agencies gathered at Walker-Grant Middle School in Fredericksburg for a semiannual exercise on Friday, March 7, but the doors were closed to keep plans from reaching the wrong eyes.
“It was a matter of security,” said Jack McGovern, the exercise director with the Fredericksburg Fire Department. “That was spelled out for media,” he added.
This article is FREE to read. Please Sign In or Create a FREE Account. Thank you.
In mid-February, Peter Mealy headed to the Walker Grant Middle School PTA meeting in Fredericksburg to speak about his latest venture teaching guitar to students after school at Walker Grant and hopefully enlarging the program in one form or another.
Mealy is a well-known musician around Fredericksburg, and if he can use the guitar in a positive fashion then so can students who learn it in middle or high school. “Then they have a skill for life,” he said, stressing that it’s not going to cost the school system a huge chunk of money for something that might deliver a huge chunk of benefits for the students.
This article is exclusively for our Locals Only members. Please Sign In or upgrade to become a Locals Only Member today!
Your support helps us continue delivering more in-depth community news that matters to you.
This combination of musicians is called "Big Fat Doug Belford Experience," they rocked out a healthy list of covers for the appreciative crowd. The band was a combo of three members of a band called “Big Fat Daddy,” featuring Meri Schaefer, Brian Curtiss, John David Coppola on bass, and three others from Doug Belford Experience, which featured Doug Belford, Meri Schaefer, and Brian Curtiss. Meri Schaefer and Brian Curtiss play in both bands.
Sure, some of the songs are well-known covers from the heyday of rock and roll, but people dig those songs anyway. A beer or two feeds that love the staples in their rock list, including “Maneater” from Hall and Oates, “Psycho Killer” by the Talking Heads, and “Cinnamon Girl” by Neil Young. The tempo of the night stretched far and wide.
This article is FREE to read. Please Sign In or create a FREE account today. Make the smart choice for staying informed about your community. Thank you!
Fredericksburg is taking another step forward to become a more walkable community with the recent start of construction off LaFayette Boulevard, which is part of the city’s Twin Lake Drive and Kensington Pedestrian Connector project.
This $2.4 million project includes extending a 10-foot wide paved shared-use path along the north side of Lafayette Boulevard between Twin Lake Drive and St. Paul Street in the City of Fredericksburg. The path will be accessible, with ramps and crosswalks built where the route intersects with Twin Lakes Drive, Springwood Drive, Kensington Place, and St. Paul Street.
This article is exclusively for our Locals Only members. Please Sign In or upgrade to become a Locals Only Member today!
Your support helps us continue delivering more in-depth community news that matters to you.
Officials gathered on Thursday, January 30, 2025, to cut the ribbon on the new Westwood Center office just east of I-95.
“When we started Mr. Rooter here in Fredericksburg, we set out to create not just another plumbing service, but a local business that our community can trust — whether it is for routine plumbing repair, an emergency fix, or a major installation,” said Gilbert Mwenedata, owner of Mr. Rooter Plumbing of Fredericksburg. “We’re proud to be part of this wonderful community, and we look forward to building lasting relationships with our neighbors, customers, and other local businesses,” he said.
This article is FREE to read. Please Sign In or Create a FREE Account. Thank you.
“I saw on the Ring doorbell, a guy with a big check and flowers,” said Shelly’s daughter Vicky. They are now $10,000 richer.
Shelly entered the Publishers Clearing House a few times before and won small prizes but continued to enter their drawing. This time it paid off – hefty, $10,000. However, PCH has given away bigger prizes in the past and continues to have drawings in the millions.
At the doorstep, there were many smiles and some tears as Guja explained how they drew her name, all while a cameraman hired by the sweepstakes filmed the excitement.
Since the temperature was nearly freezing, everyone migrated inside, as Guja explained further, and got some paperwork out of the way. Included with the check, champagne, and flowers were a few PCH tee shirts, which also brought on smiles. “I’m going to wear this to bowling tonight,” said Shelly.
The check couldn’t have come at a better time. Shelly’s husband, Joe, died on New Year’s Eve, and Vicky has a child due in April, so the money will be handy. Vicky had doubts about the contest.
The commercials on TV and the past promotions didn’t convince her, but now they have pictures, a full bank account, and an oversized check to show their friends. “I always thought it was a scam,” Vicky said.
“Good job, Mom,” Vicky added.
Publishers Clearing House was founded in 1953 as a magazine subscription agency but has now branched out as an “interactive media company,” a description on its website states. They were known as the company the late Ed McMahon was affiliated with, but that was American Family Publishers, which is no longer in business. They said company revenues fund PCH prizes, and no purchase is required to enter.
Guja lives in New York City, and he flew to Richmond with his cameraman, rented an SUV, and drove to the Fredericksburg area for the presentation. First, they stopped to pick up some flowers from Giant Food, where Christina Milstead, the florist, helped them with a bouquet.
They weren’t roses, though. “We try to mix them up,” Guja said. Milstead had a brush with fame before working at the Giant floral section in Woodbridge. “Dan Akroyd came in the store,” she said. After the event, they jumped back in the SUV, went to Richmond Airport, and returned to New York. It’s all part of the job, he said.
At Thursday’s check presentation, the WFLS radio station van was also on-site with their morning show host, Grayson Williams, helping the Hansens celebrate the day.
“Don’t give up,” Shelly advises people who have played in the past.
