As Maxwell Smart used to say:  "Missed it by that much"...   We departed North Platte Nebraska this morning at 10 a.m. after our morning deliberations pushed us to target northern Kansas instead of staying in the Cornhusker state.  We wound up in Hill City Ks where we ate a picnic lunch while waiting for convection to start.  When several large storms fired south of us we packed up and headed east and then south to gain position on the developing system. 

Finally one storm dominated the others and took over as the King of the Hill (pun intended) as it robbed the surrounding cells of their energy and morphed into a tornadic supercell.  We finally got into position on it just south of Hays KS on a dirt road that led right into the heart of the mesocyclone.  We parked and gawked for 20 minutes as the storm lumbered directly toward us and tornado sirens sounded all over Hays.  It almost put down a tornado but didn't quite make it but the proximity of the storm (the wall cloud was perhaps a mile from us at closest approach) was breathtaking while we remained perfectly safe, not even getting wet!






We left this position and raced east to Russell KS where we picked up the WDBJ television crew who had finally made it out here from Roanoke and then sped northward to catch back up with the storm.  While we were relocating the cycling storm dropped a confirmed tornado five miles north of the eastbound road we were on but we didn't see it.  I did record a funnel via dashcam video as we rolled northward in a vain attempt to catch back up with the now accelerating storm:

A close encounter with The Lost Cause.

208 Commander Cove, Stafford, VA Amazing Location On A Golf Course Fairway Bedrooms: 3 Bathrooms: 3 full, 1 half Living Area Approx: 2698 List Price: $Get Current Price Lovely 3BR, 3.5 Bath Colonial nestled on a quiet cul-de-sac street and backing to the 4th Fairway on the golf course. Imagine greeting the day from the gorgeous sunroom with your favorite morning beverage, or winding down the day listening to the sounds of nature. Finished basement offers a recreational room that is perfect for a theatre room, as well as two additional rooms that could be a 4th and 5th bedroom (windows not to code for bedrooms.) Beautiful landscaping and much more. Click link to see more photos, school, area information and more: Have questions? Ask me. Schedule a Showing Search All Homes For Sale Homes Close to Where You Work Stafford Homes for Sale What is Your Home Worth? Courtesy:Jeff Edmisten & Ruthie Buck Email Me Now 540-538-7222

Equal Housing Opportunity

11400 Branch Ct, Fredericksburg, VA Luxury and Elegance – Near Historic Downtown Fredericksburg Bedrooms: 5 Bathrooms: 4 full, 1 half Living Area Approx: 4800 List Price: $Get Current Price Beautifully maintained large footprint SFH 1/2 acre premium wooded lot on a cul de sac near historic downtown Fredericksburg. Many premium upgrades in three spacious levels in a quiet, convenient estate community.Fibre optic cable to the house, centralized network distribution panel with coax cable and Cat 5 throughout home, wired for two home offices on 1st and 2nd levels. Dual zone central heating and A/C, humidifier, new A/C compressor. High efficiency insulation throughout reduces heating and A/C costs. Ceiling fans throughout, recessed lighting in Great Room and finished lower level. Fireplace (gas) in Great Room. Beautifully finished, spacious lower level with granite and stainless kitchenette. Large bedroom #5 on lower level with 3/4 bath and kitchenette serves as an ideal private in-law or nanny suite. Spacious game room and workout area on lower level. Landscaping affords a relaxing retreat in this spacious home that is close to historic downtown Fredericksburg with easy access to I95. 1st Level Features: •Spectacular office with with floor to ceiling built-in bookcases, arched windows, Tiffany-style ceiling light and fan, custom wooden blinds •Vaulted ceiling in spacious great room, custom mirrors and molding •Open design to gourmet kitchen. •Granite kitchen, upgraded GE stainless steel appliances, gas range, double ovens, microwave. •Sunroom that flows to spacious deck and hardscaping in rear of home for entertaining. •Hardwood floors in study foyer, hallways, kitchen, eating area, sunroom, powder room •Master bedroom with spacious ensuite, double sinks with cultured marble vanities, jacuzzi tub and separate large shower stall •Bedrooms #2 and #3 on main level •ADA handicap accessible 3/4 bathroom with premium fixtures and tiling •Spacious walk-in closets in master bedroom and bedroom #2 •Tray ceilings in dining and master bedroom •3 piece molding throughout main level •Butlers pantry for additional storage •Laundry room on main level •Convenient two steps to double garage 2nd Level Features: •Fully carpeted, very spacious, well-lit bonus room with premium ceiling fan & light •Full bath •Bedroom #4 with ceiling fan and light Lower Level Features: An additional 1,800 sf of open, well-lit finished living area includes: •Kitchenette with stainless double sink, granite counter tops and bar area •Fully carpeted with premium carpet and padding •Good natural lighting in bedroom #5 •Spacious 3/4 bath with premium tile •Wired for surround sound and video projector •Sparkling, well-lit hobby or toolroom •Two large unfinished storage areas Other: 2 car garage with upgraded automatic garage door opener Click link to see more photos, school, area information and more: Have questions? Ask me. Schedule a Showing Fredericksburg Homes for Sale Search All Homes For Sale Homes Close to Where You Work What is Your Home Worth? Courtesy: Jeff Edmisten & Ruthie Buck Email Me Now 540-538-7222

Equal Housing Opportunity

The National Weather Service office in Dallas/Ft. Worth published their storm surveys today with a total of sixteen tornadoes in their area of responsibility.  "Our" storm - the Alvord/Wise county cell, produced an EF-0 tornado with an estimated peak wind of 80 mph, a path length of only 0.1 miles, and a width of only 25 yards.  I did speak with a local resident in the Decatur Wal-Mart parking lot Thursday morning (5/16) who said that her house was just outside the damage path but they did have some damage to outbuildings and trees.  Nevertheless it is always sobering to hear of major damage, injuries, and deaths from outbreaks like these.

We are currently in North Platte Nebraska in position for an even bigger outbreak of severe storms tomorrow.  The Storm Prediction Center has issued a Moderate Risk for severe weather tomorrow with a significant chance of tornadoes.  Being the weekend we expect to see chasers galore but hope that enough storms will fire to spread out the inevitable convergence.  There is another probable center of activity in southern Kansas that may help with that spreading out process. 

Meanwhile a television crew from WDBJ Channel Seven in Roanoke will join us tomorrow with the potential for live television coverage during the chase.  Follow their coverage of our chase as they rendezvous and chase with us.

Buyer’s first step? The answer is almost always to arrange your financing. This will of course help you focus on the proper price range of homes. But it also allows your Realtor to help you develop a strategy to find the home, and to have a tactical approach to the negotiations. Much better to have a plan, than to wing it last minute.

Center of the Universe Brewing in Ashland, VA is announcing the upcoming release of Homefront IPA. Proceeds from sales of Homefront IPA will go to support Operation Homefront, a charity that provides emergency assistance to our military heroes and their families. The efforts of nine participating breweries are coordinated by Hops for Heroes, which was co-founded by Center of the Universe.

In a press release, Center of the Universe announced this year's Homefront IPA ambassador.

HOPS FOR HEROES ANNOUNCES JIM JOHNSON AS AMBASSADOR FOR HOMEFRONT IPA IN THE VIRGINIA/DC/MARYLAND AREA 

Baltimore closer Jim Johnson is proud to support “Hops for Heroes” and Homefront IPA and thanks Center of the Universe Brewing Company in Virginia for their efforts.  

Ashland, Virginia, May 2: Hops for Heroes and Homefront IPA are proud to announce the support of Baltimore closer Jim Johnson and name him ambassador for the charitable efforts in Virginia.  

Center of the Universe Brewing Company, located in Ashland, Virginia will release Homefront IPA on Thursday, May 23rd at the Richmond Flying Squirrels Stadium. They will also hold a special event in their tasting room on Saturday, May 25th with all proceeds benefitting Operation Homefront. 

Other baseball ambassadors will be announced in Washington, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Missouri and Pennsylvania.

Below is an excerpt from a recent article posted by rismedia.com that quotes the April Realtor.com report.  Basically the report states what we in the real estate profession have been seeing for the last month or two, that the real estate market is getting hot.  We certainly have seen this playing out in the Fredericskburg real estate market in recent weeks.  Check out the article excerpt below…

“Realtor.com®, a leader in online real estate operated by Move, Inc., released its April data showing that the U.S. housing market is on its way to a broad-based recovery, an accelerated trend since March. The home-buying season shifted into high gear last month as inventory and home list prices on realtor.com® increased by 4.12 percent and 2.63 percent, month over month, respectively. As of April, homes are on the market nationwide approximately 81 days—a decrease of nearly 11 percent since April 2012—highlighting that while new homes are entering the market they are not available for long.”

See the full article here.

If you’re charged with driving on suspended second or subsequent offense one of the most important jobs we have is to look into all the prior offenses that the Commonwealth claims you have. The driving record from DMV just shows the synopsis of the case and what you are found guilty of. However, records can be wrong and they are in many cases.

One of the first things we do when we get your driving record for a driving on suspended charge is to look for any prior driving on suspended convictions. For every single one, we will do our absolute best to get the actual paperwork from the court to show what happened in the case. Also, we’ll get paperwork from the court to see if you had an attorney or if you waived your right to an attorney.

Once we see that paperwork, I’ll check to make sure it’s in order. Sometimes you weren’t actually found guilty of anything. Sometimes the judge hasn’t signed the form or maybe the box wasn’t checked to say “I find you guilty.”

Another big issue when analyzing the priors is that if you were given any kind of jail time, you have to either have an attorney or have waived your right to an attorney. Waiving your right to an attorney doesn’t just mean there wasn’t an attorney present. It means that knowingly, intelligently and voluntarily waived your right to an attorney. A proper waiver is one of the other issues that we look at if were you given any kind of jail time.

I can’t say that in every case we’re going to find issues with the prior offenses. But I can say that in at least in a good number of cases that prior offense documentation can be very helpful. It frankly disturbs and disgusts me that some attorneys don’t get those priors. I think that’s a lazy way to practice law, and it’s hurting the clients in the end.

Photo by:Stv.

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Originally published at AndrewFlusche.com. © 2013 Andrew Flusche. Driving on Suspended Secret: There may be Problems with the Prior Offenses