Standoff stuns quiet farm area

By Cleve Wiese

Published: April 22, 2008

MILLBORO — A heavily armed Churchville man shot himself Tuesday night in a fortified gazebo in Bath County following a six-hour standoff with police.
An armored state police truck and SWAT teams clad in bulletproof vests and armed with M-16 rifles had surrounded the property, where Don Rice, 49 or 50, was holding authorities at bay after an earlier exchange of gunfire.
“He has an arsenal, at least one high-powered rifle, a shotgun, many weapons,” Bath County Sheriff R.L. Norfleet said earlier in the afternoon.
But before authorities moved in, Rice turned a gun on himself. He was pronounced dead at the scene, said Maj. Richard Chestnut of the Bath County Sheriff’s Department.
Rice, whose family owns the Scotchtown Draft Road property, suffered from bipolar disorder, said Essie Heffler, a member of the Millboro Area Rescue Squad who for about two years has worked for the Rice family on the 300-acre spread just outside Deerfield. She said Rice had not been taking his prescribed medication.
Rice probably set fire to the two-story farmhouse on the property, known as Scotchtown Draft Farm, earlier in the day, before retreating to the gazebo atop a steep hill behind the house, Norfleet said.
As deputies in a cruiser approached the gazebo, he fired two shots at their vehicle, Norfleet said.
After Rice fired the shots, police laid down a steady field of fire for about 90 seconds, according to Pete Minetree of the Millboro Area Rescue Squad.
Firefighters were pulled back from the scene after shots were fired, but were kept on standby throughout the evening. The farmhouse was completely destroyed.
The eight-sided gazebo was lined with sandbags and logs, Heffler said. Someone who had been staying in the farmhouse noticed bags and guns inside the gazebo on Monday, Heffler said.
Rice had lived in the farmhouse until his father’s death about a year ago, Heffler said. The gazebo had been a place of refuge, she said.
Nearby neighbor Phillip Booth, 66, said Rice regularly took guns to the gazebo, firing aimlessly into the surrounding trees.
“He’s probably shot 5,000 to 6,000 rounds from up there,” Booth said.
Rice has a history of suicide attempts, Heffler said, including an incident earlier this month when he retreated to the gazebo after writing a note in which he threatened to kill himself.
Scotchtown draft Road was blocked off throughout the night. Near the farmhouse are two more homes and a hunting camp. Hunters were advised earlier in the day not to venture into the woods, said Andy Seabolt, emergency services coordinator for Bath County.
A couple from Nantucket, R.I., had been staying in the farmhouse, Heffler said. She had advised them to leave Monday after one of them unwittingly entered the fortified gazebo and encountered Rice, Heffler said.
The Rice family leased the farmhouse for $250 a night for couples, $300 for groups of six to 12, according to the Web site http://www.scotchtownfarm.com. The property is valued at more than $500,000, according to state records.
Responding agencies included the Augusta County Sheriff’s Department, the Staunton Police Department, the Allegheny County SWAT Team, an ATF unit, the U.S. Forest Service, the Churchville, Covington, Hot Springs and Williamsville fire departments, and the Deerfield Valley Rescue Squad.
Deerfield is roughly 18 miles west of Churchville.