Quarrel over a quarry: Supervisors nix Shoosmith’s request to use quarry as a landfill
0ABOVE: Residents listen to public comment at 11:55 p.m. July 25 during a county board of supervisors meeting. The Chesterfield County Board of Supervisors unanimously denied a request from Shoosmith Bros., Inc. to use its granite quarry as a landfill during a July 25 meeting that lasted more than seven hours. Thirty-four people spoke for almost 90 minutes during public comment that began at 11:55 p.m. Only three were in favor of the request. Supervisors were swayed by fears that a liner that would encase the 83-acre, 200-feet-deep quarry could fail due to heavy rainfall, an earthquake and other reasons. Andrea…
County to pay $700K for land for revamped park: Rebuilding Harrowgate Park would cost $5M
0The Chesterfield County Board of Supervisors unanimously voted last week to proceed with the $700,000 purchase of 21.2 acres for a revamped Harrowgate Park. The purchase of land from Harrowgate LC should close within 30 days, county parks chief Stuart Connock said. He added that some wetlands on the perimeter of the site could allow for educational opportunities for students at Carver Middle and the future Harrowgate Elementary. He said county staff would finalize a development plan and bring that to the supervisors in September. The land purchase and the relocation of Harrowgate Elementary could pave the way for a…
BARD plans to form citizen advocacy group
0To the editor: As a result of the recent megasite proposal, the Shoosmith landfill expansion application, other zoning cases and school issues, the leadership of Bermuda Advocates for Responsible Development realizes there is a need for a county-wide citizen advocacy group. Our experience with the county Economic Development Authority’s lack of transparency, communication, processes and timelines has led us to believe that a coalition of Chesterfield County citizens and community groups would benefit the citizens, county staff and our elected officials. The purpose of this group, first and foremost, will be to communicate with and connect all interested groups and…
In the Alaskan bush: Local reading specialist and son summer up north
0Most of the year, Andrea Sisson works as a reading specialist in local schools, but during three recent summers, she has traded her laptop and headphones for salmon nets and gardening tools, trekking to a homestead on the Yukon River in Alaska with her son, Nick, a rising freshman at Virginia Tech. After their second summer in the Alaskan bush in 2015, the mother and son returned home to Chester with a former sled dog, Donner, who made the transition from sled dog life to suburban life look easy. For Andrea, coming home was a different story. “Coming back to…
McLaughlin gets rezoning approval for industrial site
0ABOVE: A vehicle passes by on Ware Bottom Spring Road, near where Barney McLaughlin plans to relocate his home construction business and house a stone-cutting operation. The buildings would be located on the left behind a 50-foot tree buffer. It looks as though Barney McLaughlin will be able to relocate his home construction business after all. The county supervisors unanimously approved McLaughlin’s request to rezone a 2.2-acre property at 1701 Ware Bottom Spring Road from I-1 light industrial to I-3 heavy industrial. The supervisors’ approval came in spite of the Planning Commission voting to recommend denial of the rezoning request by…
Board of supervisors delays consideration of new school at Magnolia Green
0A proposed new elementary school at the Magnolia Green subdivision in the western part of the Matoaca district has been postponed at least a year following the Board of Supervisors’ actions July 25. The Chesterfield County school board voted 4-1 during a special meeting July 11 to ask the supervisors to add some $36 million to the school district’s Capital Improvement Plan to allow for an elementary school to be built at Magnolia Green and open in the fall of 2020. On July 25, a motion by Matoaca District supervisor Steve Elswick to place the Magnolia Green Elementary School in…
County to fund three attorneys for body camera review, misdemeanor prosecutions
0The hullabaloo over funding review of police body cameras may be coming to an end after Chesterfield County supervisors last week voted unanimously to spend $125,000 to hire three additional commonwealth’s attorneys. The county’s previous commonwealth’s attorney, Billy Davenport, clashed with supervisors earlier this year over the issue and ended his office’s prosecution of most misdemeanors as of May 1. But Davenport is no longer in the picture, having resigned July 1. Interim Commonwealth’s Attorney Ken Nickels negotiated with county staff and has agreed to resume most misdemeanor prosecutions effective Aug. 1 even though the new positions likely won’t be…
GOP to hold canvass to select nominee for commonwealth’s attorney
0The Chesterfield County Republican Committee will conduct a canvass to select its nominee for commonwealth’s attorney following the July 1 resignation of Billy Davenport. The canvass will be held Saturday, Aug. 11 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at six locations throughout the county. Republican candidates who have filed with the county registrar as of July 26 were Chesterfield County chief deputy commonwealth’s attorney John Childrey and Henrico County assistant commonwealth’s attorney Stacey Davenport (no relation to Billy). Democrat Scott Miles, a Chesterfield defense attorney, has also filed. The candidate elected to the position Nov. 6 will…