Thanks to a “significant multi-jurisdictional response,” the incident was cleared by midnight with no injuries, police said.

Officers responded to the amusement park about 10 p.m. for a disturbance “within a crowd of several hundred park guests,” said James City County police spokesman Tayleb Brooks. It began as a verbal dispute between two large groups, primarily involving juveniles and young adults, near the park’s entrance at the France turn-around area.

The incident escalated, prompting the call for more police than the officers already working security. James City County police, along with officers from the Williamsburg Police Department and deputies from the York-Poquoson Sheriff’s Office, arrived to disperse the crowd, Brooks said.

At one point, some park guests indicated to police that someone had a gun, Brooks said. Another dispute broke out in the France parking lot “but quickly subsided as more law enforcement resources arrived,” he said.

Officers at one point detained a juvenile who was acting as though he might have a gun, but no weapon was found, Brooks said.

Brooks reiterated that “guests who fail to adhere to the park’s code of conduct disrupt the experience for others, create unnecessary safety risks and may face expulsion/banishment from the park and/or legal repercussions.”

“We are committed to ensuring Howl-O-Scream is a safe and fun event for all, and guests play a cooperative role in achieving this goal,” Brooks said.

Kim O’Brien Root, kimberly.root@virginiamedia.com

The updated plan will guide future investments and county work plans for coming years, setting out priorities to be incorporated into future budgets and capital improvement plans, as well as new initiatives.

County residents are invited to provide input at an open house, scheduled for 6 p.m. on Sept. 9 at Legacy Hall, 4301 New Town Ave. Registration is encouraged but not required.

For more information or to register, visit jamescitycountyva.gov/strategicplan. If you can’t attend the in-person meeting, an online survey will begin shortly after the open house. Sign up online to receive the survey link.

To learn more, watch the county’s podcast explaining the strategic plan update on YouTube or listen online.

Kim O’Brien Root, kimberly.root@virginiamedia.com

The fox was involved in an incident in the 100 block of Reflection Drive, in Mirror Lake Estates, according to a news release from the Hampton & Peninsula health districts. The release did not say what the incident was or when it took place.

Rabies is a fatal, but preventable, disease carried by mammals, according to the health districts. The local office of Environmental Health Services will contact immediate neighbors in Mirror Lake Estates as well as any civic or homeowner’s association that serves the community, the release said.

Anyone who has had an exposure to the fox — including bites, scratches and contact with saliva — should contact the Peninsula Health District Environmental Health Office at 757-594-7340. Exposures also include direct contact between a pet and the rabid animal.

After hours, please contact local Animal Control in Williamsburg and James City County at 757-565-0370 (daytime) and 757-253-1800 (evenings, weekends, holidays).

The meet — held at the 757swim Aquatic Center — capped off a season that saw the First Colony Flyers, the Wellington Waves and the Village Green Patriots winning first place in their divisions. There were several meet records broken as well, said meet coordinator Amy Kuzemka.

The First Colony Flyers took top honors at the championship meet Saturday as well as at the VPSU Summer Awards meet at Queens Lake on July 27, marking a perfect season.

“When you combine fun with winning, it becomes even more thrilling,” said Lisa Evans, president of the First Colony Flyers. “Our team consistently performs at a high level, and this year we elevated our success with a flawless season.”

The summer swim league, which began in 1969, includes 18 neighborhood teams scattered throughout the Williamsburg area. Divided into three divisions, the teams compete with one another in June and July, ending with the championship meet. More than 600 swimmers competed on Saturday, with the Kingswood Klams taking second place and the Ford’s Colony Killer Whales coming in third.

For many families, summer swim is a tradition, with parents as volunteers running the meets. The teams that make up the summer swim scene come from neighborhoods in the city, surrounding counties and upper Newport News. Swimmers range in age from 4 to 18.

For Evans, whose family joined the Flyers last year, summer swimming is “truly infectious,” offering “a perfect blend” of physical activity, skill development, social interaction and physical growth for all ages. Former swimmers and high school-aged swimmers often coach, ensuring the younger kids learn while having fun.

“As parents, we appreciated the support and interaction from the older kids and the involvement of parents as volunteers,” said Evans, whose two daughters, ages 8 and 9, are on the team.

Dillon Delaney, the Flyers’ head coach, said this summer has been “one of the most memorable seasons out of my eight years coaching with the Flyers.”

Delaney, who joined the Flyers at age 6 and is going into his junior year — where he’s on the swim team — at Liberty University, said he learned to love the sport of swimming especially because of a former coach who helped to make swimming fun.

“Summer swim should be the perfect balance of fun and competition,” he said. “The kids enjoy the swim meets and always get pumped up and have fun swimming against other teams and seeing how they improve but they also want to win. I focus more on the fun part than the winning as swimming while having fun is way better then swimming to win.

“While winning is fun,” he added, “I never remember whether we won a season or lost a season; I remember the memories I made with the team and how the kids improved over the years.”

According to the Patriots, summer swim is “the best way to get plugged into the neighborhood during the summer.”

“The children grow friendships that last through the years and the parents gain a great sense of community,” the Patriots’ website says. “On meet nights you will hear every parent cheering for each other’s kid, no matter if the child is winning their heat, or if it’s a 6-year-old just making it to the end of the pool. We grow as a team and as a community.”

For results on all the VPSU meets this season, visit vpsu.swimtopia.com.

Kim O’Brien Root, kimberly.root@virginiamedia.com

Troop 103, which recognized its 100th anniversary of continuous operation this year, is holding an anniversary celebration on Saturday.

Scoutmaster Donald Reeves is calling on Scouts, parents, grandparents, family members, leaders, alumni, scouting professionals and friends of Troop 103 to join the anniversary event scheduled from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at First Colony Clubhouse.

“In some shape, form or fashion you have participated as a member of, or have helped Troop 103 be successful over the years, and we would greatly appreciate your company as we celebrate our anniversary,” Reeves said.

In May, as part of the year of celebration, the troop received a visit from former U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who once served as an assistant scoutmaster to the troop when he was at William & Mary in 1961. The troop, originally flagged as Troop 1 of Williamsburg, is the oldest in the Colonial Virginia Council.

On Saturday, the troop will be providing the main courses (kosher hot dogs, burgers, pork and brisket) and beverages. Other attendees are asked to bring a side dish or dessert. The event will include games and swimming.

For more about Troop 103, visit scouttroop103.org. To sign up for the anniversary event, visit shorturl.at/e9mJ0.

Kim O’Brien Root, kimberly.root@virginiamedia.com

The summer swim league is made up of five swim teams with swimmers from throughout the Middle Peninsula. The league finished up its season with a championship meet on July 20. The Dolphins beat out the Indian Creek Yacht Club Stingrays, Deltaville Sharks, Rappahannock River Rats and the Middlesex Makos.

Begun in the 1980s, the West Point Dolphins Swim Team is run through the Country Club of West Point. The team is self-supporting and open to all community members, drawing swimmers from West Point and New Kent, King William and Gloucester counties.

Alexis Hardy, the Dolphins’ coach for the past 10 years, said she was very proud of the Dolphins’ accomplishments. Her co-coaches were Jessie Allen and Kevin Kurek.

Allen pointed out that in swimming, age, gender, race, religion, political beliefs or background doesn’t matter, because the water treats everyone the same. Swimmers and parents on summer swim teams say the experience is like no other, instilling a sense of community and pride among everyone.

“Being apart of summer swim team isn’t just about racing in water; it’s about forging friendships, building resilience and driving into the shared thrill of striving and achieving together,” said parent Lauren Garbett.

Summer swim also helps children work on their confidence and consistency while learning an important life skill, pointed out parent Jarmila Poorman, whose sons swim on the Dolphins.

“I love summer swimming because it gives kids time to have fun and interact while exercising,” said 10-year-old Blake Milby, a Dolphins swimmer. “I learn useful information on how to swim different kids of strokes.”

Summer swim teams draw children ages 4 to 18, with older children helping the younger ones and former members coming back to coach. For many families, summer swim is a tradition, with parents as volunteers running the meets.

The Middlesex Makos, a reinvention of the former Urbanna Barracudas, came in second place in their inaugural season, just 57 points behind the Dolphins.

“I’m not sure I could be prouder,” head coach Shannon Sears wrote on the Makos’ Facebook page the day of the championship meet. “The Mako swimmers rocked the day! I asked the swimmers today to leave it all in the pool and that is exactly what they did.”

At the end of the day, summer swim isn’t just about winning, said Dolphins swimmer Waylon Lewis.

“It’s about being there for another person and your team,” he said, “making friendships and building each other up, struggling together and winning together.”

Kim O’Brien Root, kimberly.root@virginiamedia.com

The 17th annual festival is held in the name of Jenna Grace King, a 17-year-old New Kent teen who died in a car accident in 2008. Proceeds from the event support Proclaiming Grace Outreach, which provides food, clothing and other services to disadvantaged people in New Kent County and upper James City County.

The festival will be held from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at LifePointe Christian Church in Toano, featuring live music, kids’ games, inflatables, a water slide, a silent auction, a bake sale, food by Holy Smoke and vendors. The New Kent Humane Society will be on site with adoptable pets. There will also be a butterfly release.

A $5 parking donation to support the food pantry is appreciated.

Proclaiming Grace Ministries is supported by churches, civic groups and multiple individuals to offer a food pantry, thrift store, home repairs, car repairs and scholarships to the community.

LifePointe Christian Church is located at 8841 Richmond Road in Toano. For more information or to adopt a butterfly, visit pgova.org/jenna-bash-festival.

Kim O’Brien Root, kimberly.root@virginiamedia.com

The signal will be installed at the I-64 interchange with Route 33 (New Kent Highway) in September, the Virginia Department of Transportation announced last week. At the same time, the westbound loop ramp to I-64 from Route 33 north will be closed. The closure will be in place until early 2027.

The measure is being done as the I-64 Gap Segment Widening project continues. The latest segment of the project, which began in November, will widen about 10 miles of interstate from two to three lanes in each direction from mile marker 205, just west of the Bottoms Bridge exit, to mile marker 216, just east of the New Kent Courthouse/Providence Forge exit in New Kent County.

The project is the first of three segments that will widen I-64 from four to six lanes from mile marker 204.9 in New Kent County to mile marker 233.3 in James City County. When the $756 million project is completed, there will be no two-lane sections of interstate between Richmond and Hampton Roads.

With the ramp to I-64 West closed, motorists will make a left turn at the temporary signal from Route 33 north to enter the interstate. The adjustment is intended to eliminate a short acceleration lane and provide a safer work zone, according to VDOT.

The work is the latest in a flurry of activity along I-64 in New Kent. Within the 10.7-mile stretch of interstate being widened is Exit 211, off of which an eventual Buc-ee’s and an Autozone distribution center will be located. New Kent County recently requested about $44 million from VDOT for expanding the interchange at the exit.

The widening project has slowed plans for Buc-ee’s, which has not yet broken ground for the mega convenience store/gas station but still plans to open in 2027.

While a new interchange at the intersection is unlikely to be completed until 2030, an interim configuration proposed by Buc-ee’s should be sufficient, the county planning director has said.

The highway expansion project, meanwhile, is expected to be completed by summer 2027.

For more information on the widening project, visit virginiadot.org/projects/richmond/i-64-gap-segment-a-widening.asp or call VDOT’s customer service center at 800-FOR-ROAD (800-367-7623).

Kim O’Brien Root, kimberly.root@virginiamedia.com

The charges are on top of the charges Andrew Francis Susalis, 35, received Wednesday, which included two counts of attempted second-degree murder, two counts of using of a firearm in the commission of a felony, two counts of reckless handling of a firearm, destruction of property and shooting into an occupied dwelling.

Authorities said Susalis fired about 100 rounds from a high-powered rifle when they arrived in the 300 block of Mark’s Pond Way just after noon. James City officers had gone to the upper York County address after multiple calls came in reporting that someone in a blue sedan had fired at an occupied car near Anderson’s Corner.

On Mark’s Pond Way, one officer was slightly injured from bullet fragments, but no one else was injured. A York-Poquoson sheriff’s deputy who arrived while the shooting was going on also wasn’t injured, nor was Susalis.

Police did not return fire because they weren’t initially sure where the gunfire was coming from, York-Poquoson Sheriff Ron Montgomery said Wednesday. They took cover while gunfire continued for about five minutes.

Susalis came out of his house and surrendered, authorities said. He’s being held at Virginia Peninsula Regional Jail.

Kim O’Brien Root, kimberly.root@virginiamedia.com

And what’s more — this week’s activities will include a wedding between two ponies from Dream Catchers, a therapeutic riding center in Toano.

Last year saw a record-setting season for the New Kent County racetrack in terms of number of races, race days, visitors, horses in competition, live bets and off-track bets, according to Colonial Downs. This year’s season runs from Thursday through Sept. 7, with live races every Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

The season will feature daily average purses of nearly $700,000. The stakes program consists of 27 races worth $5.7 million.

About 700 horses are expected to stable at the track, which features the 180-foot-wide Secretariat Turf Course, the widest grass racing course in North America. The course is named for the famed thoroughbred who swept the Triple Crown Series in 1973. Secretariat, considered one of the greatest racehorses of all time, was born in 1970 in Doswell and trained in Virginia. A 1.25-mile dirt track — which circles the turf course — is the country’s second longest.

Twelve races are scheduled for opening day on Thursday, with the first three set as steeplechase events. Steeplechase horse racing will be a regular feature at Colonial Downs nearly every Thursday, according to the racetrack.

Then on Saturday, two ponies will get “married” as part of Dream Catcher’s efforts to increase community awareness of its mission and the need for financial support. The charitable organization has been providing equine-assisted therapy to people living with disabilities, veterans and at-risk youth for more than 30 years.

In a 12:30 p.m. ceremony, Lark and Tater will tie the knot. The ponies, which joined Dream Catchers as therapeutic horses in 2008, got “engaged” on Valentine’s Day. Lark, short for Meadowlark’s Song, is a 26-year-old Welsh pony/Quarter Horse cross mare, and Tater, or Tate R. McTavish, is a 27-year-old Welsh pony gelding.

“Whether they become new donors, volunteers, or participants, all are invited to share the love of Lark, Tater, and Dream Catchers, where horse power changes lives,” the organization’s website says.

The wedding will take place in the winner’s circle at 12:30 before the races begin at 1:30 p.m., with a reception will be at the end of the race day in the VIP tent. For more about the ponies and the event, including how to donate to their registry to fund everything from hay, horse shoes and hoof picks, visit dreamcatchers.org/events/lark_and_tater_wedding.

Other highlights of the race season include the Colonial Downs Festival of Racing on Aug. 10, featuring the Grade 1 Arlington Million and the Grade 2 $500,000 Secretariat Stakes and $500,000 Beverly D. Stakes. Churchill Downs brought the three famous races to Colonial Downs last year after the operator of the Kentucky Derby acquired the Virginia racetrack.

Wiener dog racing will be a highlight on Aug. 24, while the Virginia Derby — Colonial Downs’ longtime signature event — will be raced on closing day on Sept. 7.

Tickets and information are available at colonialdowns.com. General admission is free. Each Saturday will feature a different event or promotion along with family-fun activities including pony rides and petting zoos starting at 1:30 p.m.

Races will be also be featured on FanDuel TV, which will be on-site for coverage of the Festival of Racing.

Kim O’Brien Root, kimberly.root@virginiamedia.com