Browsing: Community

CHESTERFIELD — Chesterfield County has launched a new Speakers Bureau to better reach residents, businesses and community groups. The process is quick and easy for requesting speakers for your next meeting or program. The Speakers Bureau features a variety of topics on current and timely subjects. The speakers, who are subject-matter experts, are a great resource to groups or organizations when it comes to information about county services and programs. Presentation topics will change quarterly, and presentations can be tailored toward a group’s needs, time constraints and interests. To top it off, there is no charge to have a speaker…

CHESTER – Ernest Pleasants Gates, a man of great respect and admiration with deep family roots in Chesterfield County, died Monday, June 18, at the age of 94. He will be remembered as a man who loved his community, and was a dedicated public servant who worked to make Chesterfield a better place. An advocate for preserving the county’s history, Gates was one of a small delegation of community members to walk a piece of land overlooking the James River over 30 years ago. The group went to work on the preservation, reconstruction, and interpretation of the Citie of Henricus,…

Chesterfield County’s public schools and libraries are teaming up with No Kid Hungry to feed children for free this summer. No Kid Hungry is a national campaign run by Share Our Strength, a nonprofit working to solve problems of hunger and poverty in the United States and around the world. “We first heard about the summer lunch program in 2015 from the USDA and the Library of Virginia,” said Jennifer Shepley, manager of Community Services at the Chesterfield County Public Library. “The program was established to ensure children continue to receive healthy meals when school is not in session. Meals…

CHESTERFIELD – Rickey H. Booth is the first winner of Ivey Memorial United Methodist Church’s scholarship. The $1,000 scholarship recognizes a deserving member of the church who is working toward educational opportunities at colleges, universities or technical/trade schools. There are four areas used as the selection criteria: involvement in Ivey Memorial Church activities, academic achievement, scholarship committee interview and letters of recommendation. Booth grew up in the church and has a long record of supporting numerous church activities, including Vacation Bible School and the church stew. He said he has always enjoyed tinkering with things, and that interest led him…

CHESTER – Students, families and staff from Primrose School at Ironbridge Corner demonstrated their commitment to giving back recently by raising $3,690 for local and national charities through a Spring Fling event held April 28. The funds raised will be split between Muscular Dystrophy Association and the Primrose Children’s Foundation, the not-for-profit organization that supports national charitable partners. “At Primrose, we’re committed to teaching our students about helping others and giving without expectation,” said Georgia Wiley, owner of Primrose School. “Our annual Spring Fling event is one way we do this. Not only are we able to give back to…

An urban garden was recently planted at Virginia State University to help combat “food deserts.” The garden, which was built and planted June 11, is located at the Summerseat historic house. Fifteen Sabra Dipping Co. employees joined VSU faculty and staff in the effort, a press release states. The project is a joint effort of VSU’s Sustainable and Urban Agriculture Cooperative Extension program and Sabra’s “Plants with a Purpose” program. The urban garden project is designed to transform the 2.2-acre historic land parcel known as Summerseat into a food and agricultural hub to address food security issues within local schools…

David Banks and his wife, Katrina, started Brothers’ Keeper Inc. in Richmond in 2002. The business was focused on mentoring children in foster care and those coming out of the Department of Corrections. It branched out in 2007 to include counseling of youth and families. The company relocated to 4800 W. Hundred Road in September 2016, David Banks said. The business, which is licensed through the state Department of Behavioral Health, was recently authorized to begin offering services to children in Chesterfield County Public Schools. It has grown from two employees to 85 and currently serves various rural areas, including…

Sabra Dipping Co. plans to expand its South Chesterfield operations. The company has filed site plans with the county to add 37,816 square feet to its 220,560-square-foot factory in the Ruffin Mill Industrial Park at 15900 Sabra Way between I-95 and the Appomattox River. A loading dock with eight doors will be attached to the new building. Site plans for what Sabra is calling the “Jesse Light 2.0 project” were submitted May 16, county planning manager Greg Allen said in an email. Sabra opened the facility in May 2010. The building later received Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)…

Mary Runnels holds a 1956 Series E war bond that she recently found. Her mother, Floris Blankenship, purchased the bond for her for $18.75. It is now worth $188.59, Runnels said, noting it stopped accruing interest after 30 years. Her mother bought the bond for her as a life lesson about saving, Runnels said.

Rachel Watson was a finance major in her third year of college when the tragic events of Sept. 11, 2001, occurred, and it made her stop and think about her life. She had always wanted to be a teacher, but changed her mind after she had been talked out of pursuing it. Watson decided to finish her finance degree. After graduating and working at a mortgage company, she realized she still wanted to be a teacher so she went to Temple University and eventually got her master’s degree in secondary math. Watson teaches eighth-grade algebra at Elizabeth Davis Middle School,…

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