The Daily News Leader from Staunton, Virginia • 3

A3 Local local Editor Jody Lawrence 1 213-9182. jlawrencenewsleadef.com Tuesday, March 30, 2010 1 (Pit genu ttabtt www.newsleader.com www.uewsieciuer.fjum 1 GonflftNAor noB fluHjr.on fraud dims Nelson judge clears Staunton man in construction case By Brad Zinnstaff bzinnnewsleader.com LOVINGSTON A Nelson County judge cleared a Staunton man Monday of seven felony charges after he was accused of failing to pay several contractors following an Afton construction project that fell through. Jeff Jennings, 30, was found not guilty on five counts of construction fraud and two counts of forgery. Nelson County authorities charged Jennings also an insurance agent with ProSure in Staunton in May after a dis- crepancy was discovered on a permit application he filed with the state in 2007, according to the Nelson County prosecutor's office. The application was connected to a $305,000 home improvement project in the 9000 block of Rockfish Gap Turnpike in Afton, where homeowners Tammy and Scott Wellborn were building an addition to their home.

Scott Wellborn paid about $251,000 to Jennings, who was working as a general contractor. Wellborn canceled the contract because of the pace of the project. "It was very, very slow," Wellborn said. As the project bogged down, nearly $35,000 owed to the project's subcontractors went unpaid, resulting in the construction fraud charges against Jennings. The subcontractors were paid by Jennings last week.

Following Monday's court hearing, Wellborn said he was behind me. It should have been a civil suit. I felt like I was wrongfully accused." He added, "We actually paid out more on the project than we took in. There was nobody not paid on the project except for myself." Court documents show Jennings paid out more than $270,000 for the project. In court Monday, Jennings lost an appeal on a misdemeanor conviction for contracting without a license.

He said he will continue the appeal. disappointed in the verdicts. "It doesn't really help us out," he said. The home improvement project is still unfinished, although Wellborn said progress has been made. "It's livable," he said.

Wellborn said the only silver lining in the case is the subcontractors were finally paid for their work. "You've got to find solace somewhere," he said. Said Jennings, "I'm glad it's RAIN-DELAYED SPRINT CUP ENDS IN HAMLIN VICTORY 4 I. Illll .1 in ii Police Brief Scotto's robbed in Waynesboro WAYNESBORO A lone gunman robbed the Scotto's Italian Restaurant Pizzeria on Sunday afternoon at 1412 West Broad Street, according to police. Sgt Kelly Walker, spokesman for the Waynesboro Police Department, said the holdup took place about 4:30 p.m., shortly after the suspect finished a meal at the restaurant.

The owner. Tommy Scotto, was among a group of employees and customers forced to turn over an undetermined amount of cash, Walker said. Investigators are still trying to determine if the man fired the gun. "They think he discharged the weapon outside, but nobody is sure," Walker said. The suspect is a white man, about 50 years old and approximately 6 feet, 2 inches tall.

"He had a jacket with the Lowe's emblem on it," Walker said. Anyone with information about the holdup is asked to call the Waynesboro Police Department at 942-6675 or Crime Stoppers at (800) 322-2017. Staunton man arrested in gun assault STAUNTON Police arrested a Staunton man on numerous charges after he reportedly attacked his live-in girlfriend Saturday night and tried hitting her with a handgun, according to the Staunton Police Department. Gregory Ropert, 46, is charged with use of a firearm in the commission of a felony, child abuse, assault and battery, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, carrying a concealed weapon and attempt to commit a non The Associated Press Race fans watch the start of the Goody's 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup at the Martinsville Speedway in Martinsville on Monday. See full coverage of the race on Page B1 FBI: Man threatened Cantor Philadelphia resident arrested after trying to post video capital offense while attempting a malicious wounding.

Ropert is being held at Middle River Regional Jail in Verona. Police said the attack took place at a home in the 700 block of Middlebrook Avenue that Ropert shared with his 46-year-old girlfriend. Police Ropert said Ropert choked the woman with one hand and attempted to strike her with the gun with his free hand. A 17-year-old boy intervened during the attack, according to police. No serious injuries to the boy or the victim were reported.

Ropert suffered self-inflicted wounds, police said. No other details were available. Staff Reports with a cell-phone camera and when Leboon tried to send it, it was flagged, Reed said. The FBI received a copy Friday and investigators said they used law enforcement databases and a recent arrest photo to determine the man in the video was Leboon. After his arrest Saturday at his home, Leboon waived his rights and told investigators that he had made the video, the affidavit said.

He also stated that he had made more than 2,000 other threatening videos. During their research, authorities discovered there was a local bench warrant out for Leboon in Pennsylvania on charges of terroristic threats and other counts, the affidavit said. Leboon's public defender Rossman Thompson declined comment. A tentative bail hearing was set for Thursday, but it is likely to be delayed until next week. Passover begins Monday at sundown.

Cantor's office said he had received religious-based threats before, but the affidavit does not say why Leboon wanted to kill Cantor, the House Republican whip. Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Reed said the threat against Cantor does not appear to be connected to the health care reform bill, though it's not yet clear if Leboon was upset about other issues. "From all appearances Mr. Leboon seems to suffer from a major psychiatric illness," Reed said during a brief court hearing.

Before the video was produced, a bullet was shot through Cantor's campaign office in Richmond. Police determined it was a random act, Cantor spokesman Brad Dayspring said. Law enforcement told Cantor about the video over the weekend. The video was made Wednesday The Associated Press PHILADELPHIA A Philadelphia man charged with threatening the No. 2 Republican in the House was ordered held without bail Monday pending a mental evaluation after authorities said he tried to post an Internet video that also called the congressman the devil.

Norman Leboon, 38, made a video last week that threatened Rep. Eric Cantor of Virginia, according a sworn statement. In the video, Leboon called Cantor "pure evil" and made threatening statements about Cantor's wife, authorities said. He also called the congressman "Lucifer" and goes on to say, "Remember Eric. judgment time, the final Yom Kippur has been given," authorities said.

Cantor is the only Jewish Republican member of Congress, and Briefly Stair climbers train for competition fThey look at you and think, That guy's a little loopy. But it's just another sport. Trevor Folgering, founder of the Canadian Stair Climbing Association Virginia governor donates inaugural surplus to charter school RICHMOND Gov. Bob McDonnell plans to donate $25,000 left over from his inaugural funds to a fledgling charter school in Richmond. McDonnell spokeswoman Taylor Thorn-ley said Monday that the funds from his inaugural committee will go to the Patrick Henry School of Science and Arts in south Richmond.

I lis total inaugural surplus was $100,000, and state law dictates that surpluses must be donated to nonprofit organizations. Thornley says that where the rest of the funds will go has yet to be determined. The Republican governor pushed for legislation making it easier to open public charter schools and he chose a charter-school advocate as the state's secretary of education. McDonnell will attend a fundraiser at the school on Tuesday and plans to hold a reception at the Executive Mansion before that event Kings Dominion says speedy roller coaster is ready DOSWELL Kings Dominion says its $25 million Intimidator 305 roller coaster is ready. The amusement park plans to show off the ride to the media on Thursday.

The ride is set to open to the public a day later. Kings Dominion's steel roller coaster is named for NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt and its 305-foot-high lift hill. Kings Dominion says the Intimidator 305 will be the tallest and fastest of its type on the East Coast. The roller coaster was designed by Intamin AG of Wollerau, Switzerland. The Associated Press The Associated Press NORFOLK And you thought you knew how to climb stairs.

Sure, you may know enough to get yourself upstairs to bed every night, or to get to your desk in your second-story office. But if you want to go beyond practical stair climbing and move on to stair-climbing-as-sport, you're going to need some lessons in technique. That's where Trevor Folgering steps in, so to speak. "Oh, these are nice stairs," Folgering said, surveying the stairwell of Dominion Tower on a recent weekend. "Great tread, awesome.

You can definitely go two at a time on these." Folgering, the founder of the Canadian Stair Climbing Association, along with fellow stair climber Ken Myers, held a boot camp for aspiring climbers on a recent weekend to help prepare them for a race up either 25, 50, or 100 flights of stairs at Dominion Tower in April. Stair races have been around since at least the 1950s, butitwas 1978 when the world of stair climbing entered the modern era, with runs up the Empire State Building and the CN Tower in Toronto, acpording to the stair-climbing Web site association. They plan to have their first event indliami next March, and hold their championships in Vegas. Folgering and Myers offered stair-climbing tips: Climb by putting your heels down first, instead of your toes easier on the knees. Use the landings between flights to rest your legs, but "always pass on the up," Myers said, because passing on the landings requires too many steps.

On handrails, Myers and Folgering differ. Myers has a sort of "whatever it takes" approach. But Folgering says they should be considered a last resort; he considers them a hindrance to efficient climbing. Janel Holt, 30, of Norfolk, did leg crossover exercises and practiced relaxing on the landings. She will compete in the 25-flight race in April, and, she said, she feels ready.

"I just wanted to try something towerrunning.com. Today there are more than 100 stair-climbing events held across North America. To the uninitiated, stair climbing may seem odd. It has none of the "communing-with-nature" appeal of running or biking. Instead, it takes place inside, in what can sometimes be the darkest, dingiest, dustiest spaces in a high rise.

Several boot camp attendees who had just finished a practice climb of 21 flights returned to the main workout room coughing. Folgering, a Canadian from just outside Toronto, knows his hobby of choice can sometimes be eyed askance by other active types. "They look at you and think, That guy's a little he said. "But it's just another sport." Folgering said he wants to make the sport mainstream, partly through founding a U.S. counterpart to his Canadian.