Woodturners of the Virginias member Starke Smith of Fishersville makes a cut into the fallen Jackson Prayer Tree. Local lore says that the oak tree near Weyers Cave was used by Civil War General Stonewall Jackson to pray under during the 1862 at the end of his Shenandoah Valley Campaign.
(Nikki Fox/Daily News-Record)

Nathan Hawkes of Charlottesville counts the number of rings from a branch about 15 feet from the base of the of the fallen Jackson Prayer Tree Thursday morning. He counted 204 rings.
(Nikki Fox/Daily News-Record)

Members of the Woodturners of the Virginias load cut pieces of the fallen Jackson Prayer Tree to haul away. The wood will be used to make items to sell and benefit veterans.
(Nikki Fox/Daily News-Record)

(6/9/11) – (Weyers Cave)
Pete Johnson of Mount Jackson cuts the top of the Jackson Prayer Tree into manageable pieces to haul away the wood.
(Nikki Fox/Daily News-Record)

Stonewall Jackson prayer tree before a summer thunderstorm blew down the historic oak tree.

Playground fun at the Dream Come True Playground.
(Nikki Fox/Daily News-Record)

On the job today . . . . photographed Brad DeLeeuw, a wind turbine service technician from Michigan, as he climbs up a turbine he is installing at CrossKeys Vineyards. The wind turbine is supposed to make frost hard to form during freezing nights before grape harvest.
(Nikki Fox/Daily News-Record)

I spent some time today with Virginia “Ginny” Mays today. She takes care of her 34-year-old son, Jason, 24/7. Area churches, organizations and people donated nearly $80,000 to build a home to accommodate him, who is permanently disabled.
(Nikki Fox/Daily News-Record)

An SUV driven by Lynn Griffith, of Harrisonburg is comforted by his son, Greg Griffith, while his mother, Betty, is being treated by emergency personnel. Lynn Griffith lost control of the vehicle and drove thru a garage, pushing a Nissan 350Z through the wall, before stopping Wednesday morning.
(Nikki Fox/Daily News-Record)

On July 12, around 9:15 a.m., Michael Smith of Harrisonburg walked into the Wachovia Bank branch and attempted to withdraw a large sum of money from his account. It’s unclear what happened inside, but bank employees called 911 and evacuated the building.
Shortly after the call, a SWAT team surrounded the building and Smith walked out the front door about an hour later with his hands up after talking to crisis negotiators. Bomb-squad technicians determined that the package strapped to his back was not an explosive device, but didn’t say what, if anything, was found inside.

Workers erect the big top Wednesday morning for the Cole Bros at the Rockingham County Fairgrounds. The tent measures 136 feet wide by 231 feet long.
(Nikki Fox/Daily News-Record)

Working Thanksgiving Day. Here people hold hands while everyone at the table says what they’re thankful for before eating a community Thanksgiving meal at OCP.