Stephanie Penn
Reporter
Harrisonburg, VA
/s3.amazonaws.com/arc-authors/gray/836b1eb9-0eae-4630-8e88-67ef68beea4b.jpeg)
Stephanie joined the WHSV team in June of 2020. She recently graduated from James Madison University where she studied journalism and Spanish and was a part of the student-run newscast, "BreezeTV." She is excited for the opportunity to stick around the Shenandoah Valley!
Stephanie grew up in Northern Virginia and is a die-hard D.C. sports fan. In her free time, she loves hanging out with friends and family and trying new restaurants in the valley. Her favorite part of WHSV is getting to meet and tell the stories of people in the community.
Stephanie is excited to work hard for you!! Thanks for watching and follow her on social media for news updates!
Loved ones say Fitzgerald was a loyal member of the Staunton-Augusta YMCA.
Professor Spencer came up with the idea to teach his class out on the quad last fall and has been doing so ever since.
Two people had minor injuries. The cause of the crash remains under investigation.
Police say they are investigating after a car crashed into the side of Sentara’s South Main Health Center, located on South Main Street in Harrisonburg, on Tuesday afternoon.
COVID-19 protocol restrictions at the plant do not allow walk ins for an open house, so that’s where the idea for a drive thru open house was born.
Scott Rogers with Funkhouser Real Estate Group said there has been an 18% increase in home sales in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County in the first three months of 2021 compared to 2020.
Morgan Rodgers was a Duke University athlete who died by suicide in 2019. Her loved ones are working to share her story and start the conversations surrounding mental health in athletics.
Jim Gochenour with the Page County Farmers Association said tractors and equipment have gotten bigger over the years, which is efficient for farming but makes it harder to find a safe space to pull off the road.
The walking tours looked a little different this year, but Virginia Gillock, President of the Augusta Garden Club said they were grateful just to be able to have the event again.
"We're taking a grassy spot and we're making it beautiful," Everett Brubaker, with the Harrisonburg Redevelopment & Housing Authority, said.
9-1-1 dispatchers at the Harrisonburg-Rockingham Emergency Communications Center (HRECC) and the Page County Emergency Communications Center walk us through a day in the life of an ECC employee.
Brent Stegner with AAA said they are seeing a lot of drained batteries coming in to shops from not being used.
The program will assist families of loved ones who died from COVID-19 with their funeral costs.
FAA officials said a single-engine Piper Cherokee crashed while the pilot was trying to land at the airport around 7:20 p.m. Monday.
U.S. Sen. Mark Warner (D-Virginia) made several stops throughout the commonwealth last week to talk about the new American Rescue plan and how it will affect the Commonwealth.
Questions can be submitted before the town halls to 540-217-5263 or asked during the meetings. The first two town halls will be in Spanish.
This is the second time the clinic has come the Rockingham County Fairgrounds. The last time was in 2019.
It all happened at the Petco in Harrisonburg when they went to pick up the kitten from the Pendleton Animal Welfare Shelter.
The clean up day was cancelled last year due to the pandemic, but those involved were happy to they could be back together this year.
The food bank will be open every Saturday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at 56 S. Carlton St. in Harrisonburg, but Pastor Hott doesn't want anyone to hesitate giving them a call during the week.
“Having to sit on the sidelines with them and see them watch all their classmates play is very heartbreaking, so to finally have this and get some kind of normalcy is great,” teacher Brittany Crabill said.
Dr. Jeffrey Feit, the Population and Community Health Officer with Valley Health, said while the side effects may be uncomfortable, they are how you know the vaccine is working.
It is not definite exactly when younger students may have a vaccine, but all Virginians ages 16 and up will be eligible on April 18th.
The company is in its 41st year, and President and CEO Bill Strang said he knew it was time for him to step down and retire.
Some families in the Strasburg area woke up to find their house was egged... with Easter eggs.
First Presbyterian Church in Harrisonburg had their Easter service through a screen in 2020, but this year they were able to come together.
On Saturday the Easter Bunny took a trip through the Town of Dayton and handed out Easter baskets.
Councilman George Hirschmann was on the tour and said something needs to be done about overcrowding in the jail, but exactly how is the question.
Certain medical services will be available on site like primary medical care, mental and behavioral health, an OBGYN for women, and patients can be referred to local dentists.
On the last day of voter registration in October 2020, the online voter registration system was down for a few hours due to a cut cable.
VFW Post 632 was the first Veterans of Foreign Wars chapter formed in the Shenandoah Valley.
Virginia Governor Ralph Northam declared March 26th Epilepsy Heroes Day in the Commonwealth to spread awareness and promote education about the disease.
The crash happened on August 5th, 2019 along Route 259 after Joshua Morgan crossed a solid yellow line allegedly attempting to pass vehicles in front of him. Rockingham County Sheriff’s Office Employee, Raven Morgan, was struck and killed.
The goal the programs is intervention and prevention of speech, language, or hearing difficulties in infants.
Community members gathered in Staunton on Saturday to speak out against anti-Asian hate and show support for Asian American Pacific Islander communities.
The grand reopening and new music season for the center begins with the band Masters of Soul.
The Pancake Underground, a restaurant connected to Bock's Garage, received mostly smoke damage but had to wait for a new water and power system.
Emma Selby, a third grade teacher in the county, said her first reaction was disbelief.
Jeff Heie said energy burden is a problem many Virginian households are facing, and they are hoping to alleviate the stress on some homeowners with this project.
In Harrisonburg, the local Safe Routes to School program is reminding drivers to be on the lookout for students on their way to school by handing out signs throughout the City.
Bar Manager at Urgie’s Cheesesteaks in Downtown Harrisonburg, Will Freeman, said while they do not see a ton of to-go drink orders, it definitely helps in this tough time.
Many donated blood at the Augusta Expo on Saturday in honor of longtime Augusta County nurse Sandy Trujillo.
“Most of us felt like ‘well we haven’t done this before.’ If you looked to the literature, or you looked to evidence based practice, the roadmap wasn’t there. Never in my career or others have we had that,” Whiteside said.
A steel beam from the World Trade Center is at the center of the memorial surrounded by personalized bricks recognizing and honoring first responders in the community.
There was a lot on the agenda for the Harrisonburg City School board work session on Tuesday evening, including the plan to introduce more high school students back into classrooms.
Some food pantries are also seeing volunteer shortages.
The law extends the deadline for background checks from three business days to five when purchasing a gun.
Charlie Rimel, Assistant Manager at Henry Funeral Home, said the saddest part is seeing families lose loved ones in nursing homes who they hadn’t seen in a while due to COVID-19 restrictions.
Smiley said the weather delays put them back about a month, but they are excited to be underway and hope to have the doors open to the community by July or August.