Hello and welcome back to the wonderful world of the Dogpound. Hard to believe we are already cruising through October and that I celebrated another birthday. I know it is better than the alternative, but it is getting to the point that the cake would catch on fire if they lit all of the candles at the same time. With that being said, I celebrated by taking a day off from work; it was a beautiful fall day, and to make it even better, my plumbers came to put in my jet pump/booster pump. Two hours and $600 later, I…
Browsing: Commentary
Bow season began on the first Saturday in October. With hunting season upon us, we must make every effort to take all of the necessary safety precautions. I always thought that I was a safe hunter until a tree stand broke underneath me in November 2002 on the second Saturday of black powder season. An outdoor activity that many people enjoy put me out of work until the middle of January 2003. There was one thing that I did right that day, but there were many things that I did wrong. The right thing was: I signed in and put…
This firefighting crew represented Engine 1- C shift in Chester in 1998. From left, Pete Hypes, Wendy Owens, Angela Roddy, David Lewis and Rob McLean. Pictured is the original “War Wagon,” one of the best shifts that I had the privilege of working. However, the reason for the card is the little girl, Angela Roddy, is with us. This little girl lived close to the fire station and used to ride her bike by the fire station all of the time, but she did not have a bike helmet. One day, she was riding down the sidewalk on Route 10.…
Hello and welcome back to the wonderful world of the Dogpound. As I have noted, my birthday is very near, and I got a very big and surprising birthday gift. My oldest daughter, Tina, flew in from Virginia to surprise me at work last Friday afternoon. I was shocked. I think the last time she was at my house was 15 years ago when she came to Indiana and we went to the Indianapolis 500. It was blistering hot that day, one of the hottest race days on record. In addition to the surprise visit, she also got me a…
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…
Oct. 6-12 is Fire Prevention Week. This year’s theme is: “Not Every Hero Wears a Cape. Plan and Practice Your Escape.” This year’s emphasis is on the life-saving actions of families who develop a home escape plans and practice them with everyone living in their home. Evidence shows that today’s homes burn faster than those built in the 1960s and ‘70s, and that humans can inhale with minimal breaths toxic smoke from home furnishings. I have talked about home escape plans many times, but if one family reads this article and institutes a home escape plan for the first time,…
Hello and welcome back to the wonderful world of the Dogpound. My birthday week is coming up, and I have the next few weekends tied up with travel plans. So, to speed things up and take the pressure off, I am going to skip right to the funnies. Enjoy, and we will catch up next week. SMILES Three sisters ages 92, 94 and 96 live in a house together. One night, the 96-year-old draws a bath, puts her foot in and pauses. She yells down the stairs, “Was I getting in or out of the bath?” The 94-year-old yells back,…
Lashley Dougherty By Gena Lashley Upon meeting Lindsey Dougherty, I thought she was just like the rest of us Chester mamas, other than the fact that she is running for the 62nd House of Delegates seat. Dougherty lives in Chester with her husband and two children, ages 8 and 3. She is around the same age as me, not too young but not yet into her middle-aged years. She wears glasses and was wearing professional, yet comfortable, work attire, and the kicker, she drives the dreaded minivan. She has an easy smile and a calm and patient demeanor. I immediately…
Medical calls constitute 80-to-85 percent of responses for fire departments that do both fire and ems service. In other words, 8 to 8.5 out of every 10 calls are medical in nature. As the population increases and ages, the number of calls for service increases. I can remember, in the late ‘70s to early ‘80s, that Fire Station No. 1 ran 500 calls in a single year, which ranked it as one of the busiest stations in the county. Now, that number is probably 4 to 6 times greater. I will keep the math simple, if the number of calls…
Hello and welcome back to the wonderful world of the Dogpound. You will have to accept my apologies since I am multi-tasking more than usual as I write this article. My middle daughter has taken up physical fitness competition, and happens to be live streaming the competition from Chattanooga, Tenn. So, on one screen I am writing this article, and on another in the background I am keeping an eye/ear open for her appearance on stage. Good news! I got my laptop back. As I mentioned in my previous article, I had to take it in for a compete scan…