Gloucester, VA Property Tax Abuses?

Are there abuses going on in the Gloucester County Tax offices?  We are starting to ask that question right now.  In our last story about Jeff Stillman and his questionable involvement in an animal cremation business, we started looking at property maps and taxes.  The cremation business is not listed with an address.  We had our Arizona staff look up and cross reference records.  They were surprised that a personal property with a new business such as this has had it's property taxes lowered.  With a large percentage of county residents mostly seeing tax increases on their properties over the last few years, how could this location have it's property taxes lowered?

  I asked them to dig deeper.  Once again, the property that Jeff and Crystal Wilkinson Stillman are on is owned by one John Wilkinson.  Crystal's father.  The Arizona team looked at the properties around 6464 Ark road to look at the tax structures there as well.  Properties owned there by John Wilkinson went down in the most recent tax assessments while neighbors had their taxes raised for the most part.  Not in every situation, but in the majority.


  So we asked them to dig some more.  Since Holli M Cohoon has recently been in our spotlight, we asked them to see what they could turn up there.  More very disturbing news.  Holli's husband is one Christopher Ellis Cohoon.  They live on Bellamy Lane in Gloucester.  Here is what our Arizona staff gave us.  The Cohoon's tax liability has gone down $47,000.00 on the last tax assessment.  Let's look at some other issues on this.  What we also have learned is that the Cohoon family did some extensive renovations and additions to their home before the tax reassessments.  The old assessment was 409,600.00 dollars and the new assessment after renovations is now 362,400.00 dollars.  Over a 47,000.00 dollars drop.  



View Larger Map  Location of the Cohoon residence.  


All of this is a matter of public records.  So we are not reporting anything at all a secret at any level.  This is a neighborhood where property values should be up, not down.  Now of course this has given us a whole new area of further investigations.  Our next person to look at was Steve Baraneck.  10377 West View Hills Road.  His property taxes went up.  From 269,000.00 to 302,800.00 dollars.  That's over 33,000.00 dollars in an increase.  We are wondering who he ticked off.  His neighbors did not see this type of a dramatic increase in tax value assessments.  Not even close.


  Now here is yet another question.  How can someone who works for Animal Control, a notoriously low paying job, afford a house valued in this price range?  Sugar momma or income from undisclosed sources?  Either way, our team in Arizona now have a list of more properties to start investigating and a lot of questions to start asking.  

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Jeff Stillman of Gloucester Animal Control Hits Our Spotlight Again

I  have lived in Gloucester Virginia for as long as I can remember. I live on a farm that I grew up on, with my husband and 2 great kids with our horse, goats, dogs, bunnies ,and a cat. We love being around animals and want to help in any way we can. We decided , after talking with my husband to start our own animal cremation service not long after my sheltie , Shadow, I had for 11 years past away due to cancer. We had him cremated back in 2004. That is when we realized that there was not many places local that offered this service.  

We want to be able to help other animal lover with their 4 legged family members passing needs


The above are the words as found on a website named Shadow Farms Animal Cremation Services.  The site and the cremation services are provided right here in Gloucester County. On the property of Jeff Stillman's wife's father, one John Wilkenson, where both Jeff and his wife Crystal live.  Great, these folks own a business.  More power to anyone who owns a business.  I'm all for it, that is as long as it has no potential to possibly interfere with one's job.  


  This is where the story begins.  Jeff Stillman is an Animal Control Officer right here in Gloucester County.  With this particular job, there is a very real chance for a conflict of interest and in multiple ways.  Does Jeff contract with the county to burn road kill that in the past was just taken to the dump?  Does Jeff put undue pressure on animal owners around Gloucester to use his services?  



View Larger Map
Location of the cremation services is 6464 Ark Road.  

 Another area that really bothers us is the question of this being a great place to get rid of evidence.   Exactly how is the County allowing him to have ownership in a business that is clearly a serious conflict of interest concern?  Did his wife or someone else lie on county records as to ownership of the business?  Look at the statement above once again.  Jeff is actively involved in this business and as an Animal Control Officer.  That means there is a very real potential for some serious conflicts of interest.  

The above is a screen shot of the site.  Click To Enlarge The Image.

Another curious area about the Shadow Farms site is the lack of location for these services.  You have to contact them for this.  That's an interesting way of doing business.

Now it is obvious that his wife Crystal Wilkinson Stillman put this site together runs the blog part of it and does the ordering.  Bet it's Jeff that does all the dirty work though.  Look at her writing and it does not seem to be in here to even stomach the dirty side of the business.  CLICK HERE to visit the Shadow Farms Cremation Services, Inc website.

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GVLN - Exposing Obama would reveal the depth of US Government corruption

English: Seal of the President of the United States Español: Escudo del Presidente de los Estados Unidos Македонски: Печат на Претседателот на Соединетите Американски Држави. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

By Lawrence Sellin

The solution for the United States is not to elect more "good" people to government because they are quickly co-opted and compromised by the corrupt political system.

It may sound cynical, but the solution is to make it politically advantageous for bad people to do the right thing.

It is not now politically advantageous for either the Democrat or the Republican Party to tell the truth about Barack Obama; that he is an illegal President and very likely a felon, who has a forged birth certificate, a forged Selective Service registration and is using a Social Security Number not issued to him.

Both parties are steadfastly protecting Obama to protect their investment in the corrupt political status quo.

The formula is simple. To keep themselves permanently in office, members of Congress collect taxes nationwide, they then use the proceeds to repay wealthy financiers with tax loopholes or government loans and buy constituent votes through local tax-funded projects.

The American people have given Congress a credit card with no limit. Rather than themselves being financially penalized for their largesse, members of Congress simply pass the debt along to ordinary Americans and future generations, while they enrich themselves through the power granted them to spend our money.

The larger the federal government, the greater the number of opportunities arise for politicians to benefit from the scam.

Is anyone surprised that 50% of Congress members are millionaires compared to the 1% millionaires in the United States as a whole?

Both Democrats and Republican recognize that exposing Obama will lead to a bloodbath of revelations about their complicity to undermine the Constitution and flout the rule of law, which would jeopardize their comfortable lifestyles. The truth would generate genuine outrage among the American people.

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GVLN - US cities going bankrupt

In past decades, many US municipalities declared bankruptcy. Since 1981, 42 cases were filed. Ten came in the past four years. Given hard times getting harder, what's happening now is unprecedented since the Great Depression. Cities occasionally declare bankruptcy. In America, they're coming more often. Others in dire financial straits may follow.

San Bernardino, CA is the latest. On July 11, The New York Times headlined "Third City In California Votes to Seek Bankruptcy," saying:

Officials have no choice. They can't meet payroll obligations through summer. "Faced with a budget shortfall of $45 million and city coffers that have already been drained, the San Bernardino City Council voted on Tuesday to file for bankruptcy."

Interim city manager Andrea Travis-Miller said: "I am concerned about our ability to make payroll, not only in the next 30 days but also in the next 60 to 90 days. A major restructuring of this organization is needed."

California cities have two Chapter 9 bankruptcy options. They can either hire a third-party mediator to negotiate with unions and creditors or declare a fiscal emergency. San Bernardino chose the latter way. Depression conditions ravage the city. Many others face similar problems. Stockton and Mammoth Lakes declared bankruptcy earlier. Other financially strapped cities and towns around the state and country may follow.

It's hard keeping up with many troubled municipalities, counties, school systems, and other public services potentially facing bankruptcy. In December 2010, financial analyst Meredith Whitney told 60 Minutes that over 100 US cities could go bust in the next year

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GVLN - CDC: Whooping cough rising at alarming rate in US

By MIKE STOBBE  AP Medical Writer

AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli Health Video Buy AP Photo Reprints ATLANTA (AP) -- The U.S. appears headed for its worst year for whooping cough in more than five decades, with the number of cases rising at an epidemic rate that experts say may reflect a problem with the effectiveness of the vaccine. Nearly 18,000 cases have been reported so far - more than twice the number seen at this point last year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday. At this pace, the number for the entire year will be the highest since 1959, when 40,000 illnesses were reported. Nine children have died, and health officials called on adults - especially pregnant women and those who spend time around children - to get a booster shot as soon as possible. "My biggest concern is for the babies. They're the ones who get hit the hardest," said Mary Selecky, chief of the health department in Washington, one of the states with the biggest outbreaks. Washington and Wisconsin have reported more than 3,000 cases each, and high numbers have been seen in a number of other states, including New York, Minnesota and Arizona. Whooping cough has generally been increasing for years, but this year's spike is startling. Health investigators are trying to figure out what's going on, and theories include better detection and reporting of cases, some sort of evolution in the bacteria that cause the illness, or shortcomings in the vaccine. CLICK HERE for the rest of the story. For all the latest news, please click on the Home button towards the top of this site. Have a news story? Submit it above. Some of Gloucester's most incredible history is found on this site in detail. Gloucester, VA Links and News – A GVLN Website. We cover what no one else will.

GVLN - NBC - FBI Raids NJ Capital's City Hall in Corruption Probe

The FBI searched offices in the New Jersey capital's city hall Thursday, NBC 4 New York exclusively reported, a day after raiding the home of the mayor in a growing corruption probe. A city hall worker told NBC 4 New York that federal agents were en route to the office of Trenton Mayor Tony Mack and other office. The FBI declined to comment on the investigation, but New Jersey's impoverished capital city has been marred during Mack's two-year administration by accusations of nepotism and reckless spending. Mack denied any wrongdoing just after the Wednesday morning raid of his home.


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GVLN - NBC - Outrage Grows as GSA Probe Uncovers Lavish Ceremony

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GVLN - TSA Agents Allegedly Strip-Search Woman, Fiddle with Feeding Tube

View more videos at: http://nbcdfw.com.

Omar Villafranca, NBC 5 News

A North Texas woman says airport security agents strip-searched her and then swabbed her medically implanted tube for explosives.

A North Texas man says he is outraged that airport security agents at Dallas Love Field strip-searched his wife and handled her feeding tube.

Melinda Deaton has a four-inch medical tube sticking out of her stomach. The medically implanted tube is needed for treatment after complications with a gastric bypass surgery.

Deaton frequently flies from Dallas to Minneapolis for treatment at the Mayo Clinic. She said Transportation Security Administration agents strip-searched her and touched her feeding tube Wednesday morning when she was on her way to three days of treatment.

Her husband, John Deaton, said the incident was unusual.

"They will see it on their screens, ask her what it is, she'd identify it, they may pat it on the outside of her clothing, accept it and go on," he said.

But that didn't happen Wednesday morning.

Even though she was wearing a medical bracelet with a USB drive on it that contained notes from her doctor, TSA agents still searched her.

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GVLN - George Zimmerman Prosecution May Use TV Interview as Evidence

Hannity (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

By COLLEEN CURRY, MATT GUTMAN (@mattgutmanABC) , and SENI TIENABESO (@senijr_abc)

July 19, 2012

George Zimmerman's television interview in which he said he had few regrets about the night he killed teenager Trayvon Martin has been entered as possible evidence in his upcoming murder trial.

In a wide ranging interview with Fox News' Sean Hannity Zimmerman, appearing articulate and calm, said he neither regretted carrying a gun that night nor pursuing the 17-year-old Martin.

"I feel that it was all God's plan," he told Hannity. When asked if there was "anything you might do differently," Zimmerman responded, "No Sir."

This morning the prosecution entered the tape of the interview into discovery as and could attempt to admit it as evidence in Zimmerman's trial on charges of second degree murder.

Zimmerman, 28, has maintained that he shot Martin in self-defense after Martin attacked him in Sanford, Fla., on the night of Feb. 26.

Towards the end of the interview, following commercial break, Zimmerman pivoted towards the camera and addressed it directly, saying he misunderstood Hannity's earlier question about whether he had any regrets that night.

"I do wish that there was something, anything I could have done that would have put me in the position that I wouldn't have to take his life," he said.

Granting the interview will likely haunt Zimmerman, veteran legal analyst and defense attorney Mark Eiglarsh told ABC News. "He has impeached himself publicly, this is going to be a huge problem for him… and the prosecutors must be extremely pleased... He was making inconsistent statements that they can use in a trial against him."

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