From the Editor

‘The Chase is on, with a few Miles left before its Pohl time’

By Caleb M Soptelean on October 8, 2019 Commentary, From the Editor, Politics, State News

Chase Miles Pohl I enjoy turning a phrase. Being a wordsmith has its privileges. Nov. 5 is right around the corner, and Chesterfield voters could have a big say in which party controls the state Legislature for the next two years. Since the Republicans only have a tenuous one-seat advantage in both the state House and Senate, each seat that could represent a tight margin will be closely watched. Virginia’s off-year election cycle usually doesn’t result in as many voters as even-numbered years – such as 2020 when President Trump will face off with former Sen. and Vice President Joe…

Caleb’s Corner: Creating memories in Northwest Montana

By Caleb M Soptelean on August 27, 2019 Community, From the Editor, Travel

Aksa Soptelean-Rivas, 12, and Vida Soptelean-Rivas, 16, relax next to a creek below a waterfall near Marion, Mont., on Weyerhaeuser land in August 2019. (Caleb M. Soptelean photo) It was a refreshing experience. Last week I was afforded the opportunity to take my 12- and 16-year-old daughters to the place I love: Northwest Montana. I had taken them there for the first time two summers ago, and we watched our first rodeo together in Polson, hiked on the Beardance Trail down to Flathead Lake — the largest freshwater lake west of the Mississippi River — and hiked part of the…

Stonewalled: Smith continues to offer help

By Caleb M Soptelean on July 23, 2019 Commentary, Community, From the Editor

Mike Lainge shows curtain and flooring designs and colors for the new arts center to the EDA on July 18. (Caleb M. Soptelean photo) Richard Smith (Pat Dvorak photo) Last November, Richard Smith and his wife, Monique, installed the largest US flag in the state on their property off Interstate 95 as a way to honor current and retired members of the military and law enforcement. Smith said he offered $100,000 of stone aggregate (crushed concrete) to the Chesterfield Cultural Arts Foundation for use in building an arts center in Chester in 2016. However, art center project manager Mike Lainge…

Caleb’s Corner: Primary day is upon us

By Caleb M Soptelean on June 4, 2019 Commentary, From the Editor, State News

The June 11 primary election is Tuesday. Since Virginia has “open” primaries, most voters in Chesterfield County will be able to vote for at least one race, depending on where they live. Senate District 16 voters will most likely choose their next senator on June 11, since no Republican filed, although the deadline for independent candidates to file is also June 11. Incumbent Rosalyn Dance is nearing the end of her first complete term. She was initially elected to the state Senate in 2014 to serve the remainder of former Sen. Henry Marsh’s term and followed by winning again in…

Editor gives his take on local politics

By Caleb M Soptelean on February 5, 2019 Commentary, From the Editor, State News

The times, they are a changin’, and no more so than in politics. A new redistricting map drawn by a court-appointed special master will result in five Republican state House seats becoming “lean Democrat” and one becoming “swing,” and one Democrat seat becoming “swing,” unless the U.S. Supreme Court – which is scheduled to hear arguments in mid-March – tosses the map. Proceeding with a new map will mean that House Speaker Kirk Cox, R-Colonial Heights, will run in a district that is 32 percent more Democrat. Party registration in the new House District 66 favors Democrats by 6.5 percentage…

Caleb’s Corner: 2018 was good, will 2019 be better?

By Caleb M Soptelean on January 15, 2019 Commentary, Community, From the Editor

Caleb M. Soptelean With the first month of the new year in full swing, I decided to take some time and reflect on 2018 and the new year. 2018 was a good year overall. The economy kept humming along, and we had more money in our pockets, thanks to federal income tax relief. How that plays out in relation to our state income taxes remains to be seen, which is something the General Assembly will be tackling soon. This year’s legislative session began Jan. 9. Concerns about tariffs and a “trade war” with China and other nations didn’t seem to…

Caleb’s Corner: Will supervisors support Miles’ criminal justice reform efforts?

By Caleb M Soptelean on November 13, 2018 Commentary, From the Editor

By Caleb M. Soptelean, editor/reporter Chesterfield voted for criminal justice reform, barely. Scott Miles overcame a Republican registration advantage in the county and pulled off an upset in the commonwealth attorney’s race, but he did it at the same time that Abigail Spanberger was winning the District 7 portion of the county by some 10,000 votes. Miles only won by 2,500-plus votes. He has one year to establish the kind of commonwealth attorney’s office he’d like because the seat is up again next year for a full four-year term. Miles has vowed to not ask for cash bail or jail…

Caleb’s Corner: Colorado visit provides mountain respite

By Caleb M Soptelean on September 11, 2018 Commentary, From the Editor

ABOVE: Caleb M. Soptelean, editor; Baby mountain goat on Mount Evans. The mountains are calling, and I must go. With those words, the naturalist John Muir described my situation recently. Since I was named after the Old Testament character Caleb – who said, “Give me this mountain,” – I believe a love for them is in my blood. I was afforded the chance to reconnect with several friends whom I hadn’t seen in 17 to 25 years. So … off to Denver it was with a relatively cheap flight I found from Charlottesville through Charlotte on American…

Cincinnati, NW Montana are editor’s vacation spots

By Caleb M Soptelean on July 10, 2018 From the Editor

A three-day visit to Northwest Montana last week provided me with some respite from Eastern U.S. humidity. I left Tuesday, July 3, and flew to Ohio to visit a friend and watch a Cincinnati Reds baseball game. It had been a while since I had taken in a Reds home game in old Riverfront Stadium as a teenager. I had yet to visit Great American Ball Park, which opened in 2003. It’s been said that there’s not a bad seat in the house, and from what I could tell, that’s correct. I was up in what some call the “nosebleed…

And for you, we are forever grateful

By VN Staff on March 8, 2018 Community, From the Editor

Twenty years goes by like a flash of lightning that sends your dog jumping into your lap. Linda and I, who started the Village News twenty years ago, have worked toward a deadline every week since August 20, 1998. Linda and I have decided to retire. We will be passing the Village News down to our son, Elliott, who knows the business as much as Linda or me. Nothing will change for the reader; you can still expect the same great coverage of Chester’s news and events. Not every story has been a happy one but everyone has been uniquely…

Browsing: From the Editor