Charges pending against juveniles in Henrico barn fire
Nuckols Farm barn that was destroyed by fire last night on Feb 24, 2009. Three juveniles have been charged.
Charges are pending against three Henrico County juveniles accused of starting a fire Tuesday night that destroyed a historic barn.
The youths, whose names were not provided by authorities because of their age, have been released to the custody of their parents. Police didn't indicate what charges might be filed.
The barn that caught fire in a huge blaze in Short Pump was part of the historic Nuckols Farm site bought by Henrico County in 2005 to protect it from development.
The barn, built in the late 19th century, belonged to the Nuckols house, believed to be one of the oldest buildings still standing in the county. Israel Nuckols bought the property in 1849, and six generations of the Nuckols family lived there.
The house itself, which dates to 1750, was not damaged, but the family said the barn was an important part of the property. The barn was off Gayton Station Boulevard, near Graham Meadows Court.
"It's a tragic loss. It's an irreplaceable loss to county history," said G. Norwood Nuckols Jr., a great-great-grandson of Israel Nuckols and a member of Henrico's Historic Preservation advisory committee.
Neighbors say they heard an explosion shortly before 6 p.m. that shook nearby homes, then they saw the barn burning.
Three Henrico fire engines and two special-services trucks responded to the fire that started Tuesday about 5:50 p.m., said Henrico Fire spokesman Chris Buehren. He said the cause of the fire appears to be juvenile fire play.
The barn was built as a mule and horse barn and was mainly used for storage. The Nuckols family farmed about 300 acres until the mid-1970s.
In 2005, the county purchased the 3.15-acre site after neighbors raised concerns about the property being developed. The site contains the original farmhouse, outbuildings and the gutted barn, none of which has been open to the public. The structures had been maintained to prevent further deterioration, said Karen Mier, Henrico Recreation and Parks director
"We feel very fortunate that none of the other outbuildings or the house burned and no sparks went into neighboring houses," she said.
County master plans call for the land to be used as a park. It often is used by the community for walking and picnicking.
The barn originally stood on the site of Nuckols Farm Elementary School, Nuckols said, and it was moved near the farmhouse before the school opened in 1997.
Contact Lisa Crutchfield at (804) 649-6362 or
.
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Reader Reactions
This is not a matter of opinion- it is a matter of the law.
There is no excuse for burning down another citizen’s property.
They were wrong pure and simple.
Arson is a crime.
Committing a crime makes one a criminal and criminals are punished according to the law of the land.
All the rest is hyperbole…
dog
was that public or private school?
I guess I should reply colloquially, Ooo man.. I got schooled!
Thank you for your enlightened and deft debating skills.
Your consummate knowledge of my every flaw is astounding and should be applauded.
I would recommend that you find gainful employment as a politican. :-)
dog
i presented facts
you offered nothing to counter…
just condescension
you should vie for time with o’reilly or rather
quotes lifted from your posts that i consider nonsense:
“Would it be too much to assume that these kids are neglected? I don’t mean it in a compassionate way either. Is it safe to assume these kids have parents that both work, want more and will sacrifice family to get there”
these are assumptions made without facts or knowledge
“On average the “struggling” US family that makes “only” 100-200k a year will pay less than 15% in actual fed and state taxes after deductions. The majority of our glorious taxes are rolled up into sales taxes”
completely false as it ignores social security and medicare taxes
“do you pay for private school? Last time I checked public schools are part of these taxes you referred to three times already. Public Schools aren’t good enough for your kids? Then you should have thought of that before having kids.“
complete assumption again on your part
“do the crime and you won’t even get a slap on the wrist the first time, the second time, hmmm maybe the third time…no let’s give them another chance? They are just impressionable kids after all, because their parent don’t have enough time to make a good impression on them. “
undermining parental efforts at discipline
“Food - are you referring to fixing three delicious meals from home a day or are you talking about Maggiano’s?“
“Struggling as a single parent? Was that your choice? If you are struggling, how do you have so much time to write on here? “
not worth a response other than i never stated i was struggling - just a parent trying to raise a child in a situation where i have to work. your attitude that any working parent is a poor parent is
as i said
nonsense
‘
Who has discredit single income families in this grand post-war society? Liberals or Conservatives? Post-war era allowed the flood gates of women to work in industry because they were needed during the war effort. This allowed the glass ceiling to be broken. Hence, the beginning of “modern society”
When did owning a house become a necessity? When did owning two cars become less than a luxury? Was that forced upon us? Did liberalism cause us to buy two cars and own a house? I think apartments are still around and are very nice too. The truth is, I didn’t grow up with two cars in my family and we didn’t own a house until I was 3 or so.
Nonsense of the highest order—that is the weakest argument yet. In other words, don’t debate me on facts, but rather your raw emotions.
I agree, we don’t know who these kids are, but that was never the point. They should be punished as should the parents—the root of this discussion that so greatly offended you.
These kids are not from Gilpin Court and yes that single mother is a failure as a parent because her kids go astray not because she works, but because she doesn’t know how to get help. There are plenty of program to get you out of Gilpin Court…Take a look at the statics of how many people are on unemployment in public housing. A single mom working isn’t the problem, it is a single mom unemployed. Please don’t tell me there aren’t jobs and programs to help you get back on your feet. That sounds harsh, but I was raised that way. To paraphrase my neighbor, you don’t coddle someone to leave, you give them a kick in the pants.
I can’t be certain that one of these kids does or does not have a stay-at-home mom, but that bares little credence in the fact that their parents aren’t aware of what they were doing. You can be a bad parent at home too.
To clarify, you assume I think they are the idle-rich, are you protecting that? Then you say you would like to struggle in the 100-200k area. So by definition, if you believe I am categorizing that group as the idle rich, then does that mean you want to be idle and rich?
You say a barn cannot be replaced, but when presented with evidence that supports it could be replaced and enjoyed by others, you mock it. You say, incorrectly, that those replacements mentioned were OK because of war.
You never addressed the Lawyer issue; do you have a lawyer fee to pay each month?
Broad strokes are the essence of any opening argument and then the debate reveals the details. I believe you to have no more information than I do which would make you equally a member of the “every other jingoistic commentator society”. Congrats!
20% in taxes? Amazing! That is your actual (effective) tax burden? Wow, you should find someone else!
You mistake everything about me. I am far from a liberal. I believe in free enterprise and the hope that people can succeed and accomplish their goals. I don’t want taxes and the rich shouldn’t have to pay a disproportionate amount because they have succeeded! I also realize that it’s not these parents that will foot the bill to rebuild this barn or any other vandalism caused by kids. It will be the high income earners, the low income earners, the citizens of Henrico.
I believe that the measure of success is not how much house you have, how many cars you have, what vacations you take, but what you can do with your own two hands and the opportunities that you prepare for—and yes, the opportunities that we are lucky to come across. Not in any part of me would I promote sterilizing women or men. I would emphasize good judgment if you are going to have sex before marriage or even within a marriage. If you can’t afford the child, that is your burden.
We have the right to pursue happiness, but that doesn’t mean we will get it today, tomorrow, or ever. If you can’t rise above your situation, than ensures that your child does. Teaching a child family values and a solid work ethic goes a lot further than a few extra things money can buy.
Please don’t lecture me on the requirement of two adults working. You are a single parent. I am married and made that choice to have a single income years ago and still make-do today. I supported 4 kids and a wife and I doubt a single one of them would say I didn’t give them enough by not making their mom work.
Reply all you want… I’m done.
Did I insult you? I am sorry. I do understand that you are struggling—struggling with your history and your facts.
First, I only mentioned one such building that was destroyed by war. The Rotunda was caused by an “electrical war” in 1985. Monticello was gutted to repair the damage of water and decay and remodeled to look better than what Jefferson’s final design was. Monroe’s home was vandalized by teens less than 10 years ago and repaired and replaced original items with replicas to not lose the effect of the historical theme ...the list goes on and on.
I suppose Colonial Williamsburg should have never been rebuilt because of fires, not caused by war, and disrepair, not caused by war, but why try to explain it?
Struggling as a single parent? Was that your choice? If you are struggling, how do you have so much time to write on here? Me? Oh yes, I am that sickening class of people who have paid my dues and sacrificed my ambitions for my family and now enjoy the fruits of my labor.
Food has indeed gone up, but that evades my point which is people eat out too much and don’t know what it means to say NO, I can’t afford it. That 5% eating out, that is incredible you defy every statistic, but I congratulate you on your efforts to cut your budget. We need more people like you! You won’t stay struggling for long if you keep a tight budget and work hard.
Taxes are in everything we buy, but there are no surprises there. We know the cost in advance before we purchase—again, do you need the neat $4 mechanical pencil or the $1 - 10 pack of No. 2 pencils? What’s the difference in tax roughly? $.15 compared to the difference in cost of pencils? $3.00. The tax doesn’t make or break someone, the choice of what to buy does.
also dog
my kids - godwin and freeman
95% of my meals i cook myself
my house assessed at $202,000 last week - westend, 2 bed/bath 1250 sq ft -and ya just can’t raise a full family in a two bedroom house ya know, no matter how much or little the house costs
who’s your accountant? i used h&r block and paid over 20% in state/federal/ss/medicare taxes, not to mention car tax, gas tax, property tax, sales tax
i guess in your skewed logic, the solution is communism, with forced sterilization for any woman over a certain income
dearest dog
a:the instances of destruction you mention as supporting your claims were not instances of vandalism but accidents or times of war(did war get declared on the henrico county park system?)
b:if you actually have raised children, you know full well that very little of schooling is covered by taxes anymore - fees, fees, fees dear dog are prevalent in all public schooling
C:food costs have risen dramatically in the last year - 20-30% on average - from the rawest vegetables to the most processed goods -
d:again, taxes are everywhere, in everything we buy, own, spend
e:your point that a single income can raise a middle class family has been discredited since the 50’s, when modern american post-war society started, and liberalism began both redistributing wealth and preventing parents from disciplining their children.
and
F:i do live on one income -
a single parent raising a child -
an uneducated slob… i mean “non-professional” who would love to struggle by on 75,000 let alone 100,000 to 200,000.
everything you’ve said so far has been nonsense of the highest order.
is a single mother in Gilpin Court a failure as a parent because her kids go astray simply because she works? - well, that’s your argument taken to its conclusion - no peer pressure, no outside influences, no media attacks on the family - just because mom has to work to put food on the table
if you don’t know the families involved, if you don’t know the area or the lifestyle they live, you are just painting with a generalized brush the same as every jingoistic commentator.
give a hundred monkees a typewriter and one will write hamlet
one very important question-how are you so certain none of them has a stay at home mom? plenty of the “idle rich”, as you seem to be characterizing them, do stay home with their kids.
Dear Stevew999,
First, to rebuild a replica for this lost piece of history is better, in my eyes, than sitting their exclaiming it cannot be replaced. The Rotunda at UVA, built by Jefferson, was burned down. Should it not have been rebuilt? Monticello - portions of the portico were either replaced or torn down to make the rest presentable. Should they not have done that? The White House was burned down in the War of 1812. Should they not have rebuilt it? The list goes on…
I was merely illustrating that a barn built in the design of that era, replicating the techniques of that era (i.e. timberframe or post and beam), and looked like the barn should be rebuilt at the parent’s cost!
Rising energy costs? The last I looked we are about $2.00 below our high on gasoline from just a year ago. Yes, Dominion did go up and average of 17%, but you shouldn’t have bought a big house if you didn’t realize that utilities go up with inflation.
Food - are you referring to fixing three delicious meals from home a day or are you talking about Maggiano’s? The cost of living and the cost of having a family should be considered before starting a family!
Schooling - do you pay for private school? Last time I checked public schools are part of these taxes you referred to three times already. Public Schools aren’t good enough for your kids? Then you should have thought of that before having kids.
Lawyers - Do you pay an attorney every month? Why?
Taxes - On average the “struggling” US family that makes “only” 100-200k a year will pay less than 15% in actual fed and state taxes after deductions. The majority of our glorious taxes are rolled up into sales taxes, with the notable exception of personal property, inheritance, capital gains. If you have to pay those taxes, you shouldn’t need two incomes to pay them or else you are LIVING BEYOND YOUR MEANS!
My point - you are not required to both work unless you have chosen a lifestyle that submits to living beyond a single income.
I understand that if you are not educated or skilled in a trade that two incomes are needed at first. College loans can be made as can skilled trade school loans to jump start you to a better income.
To impressionable youth our there—do the crime and you won’t even get a slap on the wrist the first time, the second time, hmmm maybe the third time…no let’s give them another chance? They are just impressionable kids after all, because their parent don’t have enough time to make a good impression on them.
The debate is wide open. Do you think you can live on one income? What would you have to sacrifice to do it? Is it worth more to buy the car/boat/truck that you want or take care of your kids? Don’t mistake this for a sexist argument. If the wife makes more - have at it!
—Give a mouse a cookie and he will want a glass of milk.
Anonymous—I’m going to go ahead and correct you, since you asked to be corrected if you were wrong. The homes in Gayton Station are not in the 400k-600K range. They are mostly 3-4 bed, 2-1/2 bath homes with single car garages. Most of the people who moved into them a decade ago paid around 150k. Hard to say how much they’d go for right now with this goofy market, but probably somewhere between 200k-300k. They’re just average-sized single-family homes, in one of the most reasonably-priced neighborhoods in the far west end.
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