(Danville, Va.) — Averett University laid off 11 employees this week and reduced one full-time employee to part-time status.

Cassie Jones, Averett’s Director of Marketing and Communications, confirmed the decision.

The layoffs happened on Monday afternoon and were blamed on a decrease in enrollment by adult students in Averett’s Graduate and Professional Studies program and an increase in higher-achieving students.

Jones said the decision was painful but is part of an effort to reorganize and make the university more efficient. The cuts represent a 2.5% reduction in the overall budget.

She said that half of the affected employees worked in the GPS program and rest are spread throughout the campus.

 

Bergdahl judge weighed complex leniency factors

(FORT BRAGG, N.C.) (AP) — Legal experts say Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl’s brutal captivity by Taliban allies carried significant weight in a judge’s decision to spare him prison time for leaving his post in Afghanistan. Criticism by President Donald Trump also appeared to push the judge toward leniency. Army Col. Jeffery Nance didn’t explain how…

 
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15-year-old suffers gunshot wound to the chest

(Danville, Va.) — A Danville teenager was shot in the chest Friday night.

Danville Police were called to SOVAH Health just before 10 p.m. after receiving a report of a gunshot victim. The 15-year-old was transferred to the hospital by private vehicle. He was later taken by helicopter to Carilion Roanoke Memorial, where he is being treated for a gunshot wound to the chest.

It was determined that the shooting occurred in the 500 block of South Woodberry Avenue.

Danville Police are continuing their investigation.

 

 
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Bergdahl judge weighed complex leniency factors

(FORT BRAGG, N.C.) (AP) — Legal experts say Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl’s brutal captivity by Taliban allies carried significant weight in a judge’s decision to spare him prison time for leaving his post in Afghanistan.

Criticism by President Donald Trump also appeared to push the judge toward leniency.

Army Col. Jeffery Nance didn’t explain how he formulated his sentence that also included a dishonorable discharge. But the judge had to consider complex arguments for and against leniency.

Prosecutors unsuccessfully fought for a prison sentence. They cited soldiers who were injured when they searched for Bergdahl. But the defense argued that Bergdahl had suffered enough. He spent five years as a captive of the Taliban and also suffered from mental illnesses.

Former Army lawyer Eric Carpenter says an unusual amount of factors were in Bergdahl’s favor.

President Donald Trump called the sentence “a disgrace.”

 
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