Commentary

Sign of the eagle? Megasite, east-west freeway shelved

By Public Comment on January 2, 2019 Letter to the Editor

Mike Uzel speaks at a community meeting in April 2018. Until last year, I was not much of a believer in “signs” and what they might mean. But my mind is changing. Back in November 2017, I attended the first of many Chesterfield Economic Development Authority monthly meetings. The meetings have generally been very short and often involve the EDA members going into closed session, where the public cannot observe, due to “confidential” information being discussed about existing or future projects. Our group, Bermuda Advocates for Responsible Development, was building strong opposition to stop the “Matoaca Megasite,” a large-scale project…

Car manufacturing

By Walter "JR" Wilson on December 24, 2018 Commentary, Dogpound

Hello and welcome back to the holidays in the Dogpound. I have to admit I made a bit of a boo-boo. I thought I was behind a week, but in actuality I was ahead a week, so please accept a belated Merry Christmas! Hope you got everything you wished for. The weekend before New Year’s Day, I will be flying to North Carolina to visit my oldest daughter and her husband, while my other daughter will be flying in from Knoxville with her son so we can spend a few days together. I did get to do one special thing…

Keep Daylight Savings Time year-round!

By Pete Hypes on December 24, 2018 Commentary, Fire & Life Safety

The perfect storm, pun intended, came together last Friday with the pouring rain, lots of traffic and the effect of the time change. People’s driving has become worse and worse, especially on Fridays, due to people in a hurry, people who lack patience, people who take chances at other’s expense and darkness that falls at rush hour. A logging truck apparently lost his load on I-85, causing a traffic snarl at I-85 and Route 1. It would have been a great area to avoid, but I happened to be going right there. When we left, I decided to bypass all…

The Christmas tree stand

By Caleb M Soptelean on December 24, 2018 Commentary, Community

By Jim Harris Louis Corde and I have had many hunting adventures, but the longest lasting with a piece of equipment has been with a simple platform deer stand (without a seat). I nicknamed it “the platform.” Mom – Nell Fitzpatrick Harris – ordered it for me as a Christmas present in December 1992 when she was 80 and had it delivered to her home near Hampden Sydney, Va. I assembled it in her living room as an English Setter or two stormed through the house. She always had two bird dogs. I mentioned something about setting it up and…

The benefits of crying

By Diane Merryman on December 18, 2018 Commentary, Healthy Habits

Feeling stressed during the holidays? Maybe all you need is a good cry. Shedding tears is actually a process your body uses to release pent up emotions that can be caused by sadness, grief, stress, anxiety, frustration or even joy. It signals that you have reached an intense emotional level that your body can no longer handle. At this point, just let the tears flow. It is a healthy and healing response. Crying actually releases a stress hormone called prolactin. Women produce more prolactin than men, which supports the common theory that women cry more than men. There are three…

A fire can happen in a firefighter’s home

By Pete Hypes on December 18, 2018 Fire & Life Safety

I was talking with a retired firefighter recently about a fire that he experienced in his home. He shared that as he and his wife had just laid down the night before when they both began to smell something burning. They got up and investigated and found that the control panel of their dishwasher on fire. He told me that brand of dishwasher has had numerous recalls, but they did not include his. I am certain that they cut the power by shutting off the breaker, and the fire was controlled. He said it was pushing black smoke. He said…

Bowling in the Dogpound

By Walter "JR" Wilson on December 18, 2018 Dogpound

Hello and welcome back to the wonderful world of the Dogpound. December means Christmas and college football bowl games! I counted 39 games that will be played. These began Dec. 15 and continue until the national championship Jan. 7, 2019. Of course, there the familiar bowl names: Cotton, Sugar, Peach, Orange and Rose bowls. (My OSU Buckeyes face Washington in the latter Jan.1). There are some bowls that may be unfamiliar. You can go to the Redbox Bowl in Santa Clara, Calif., if you are in the mood for a movie, or if you want to dress up and party,…

Talking turkey

By Walter "JR" Wilson on December 11, 2018 Commentary, Dogpound

Hello and welcome back to the wonderful world of the Dogpound. So have you finished eating all of your turkey? Me neither, but I am closing in on the final meal. I cooked my turkey on the Sunday after Thanksgiving, and the following Monday night I had the typical Thanksgiving meal along with a glass of wine and a piece of cherry pie with ice cream. Tuesday I decided to change things up a bit and made a turkey casserole. I had chicken rice mix left-over in the cupboard, so I put shredded turkey in the bottom of a dish,…

Intentional steps

By Pete Hypes on December 11, 2018 Fire & Life Safety

It is hard to believe that Christmas is almost here. This is a season of joy and happiness as we celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. In preparing for this celebration, we adorn our homes, inside and out, with decorations. In some cases, folks become part of a “tacky tour.” No matter how many decorations are put up, I cannot stress enough the importance of taking intentional steps to prevent injury or death to you and your family members. Let’s begin with the outside decorations. If you choose to put up lights, check them for proper…

Move over!

By Pete Hypes on December 4, 2018 Fire & Life Safety

You might say, he just wrote an article on this subject and you would be right. The problem is that the first article was the result of a fire lieutenant losing his life when his fire unit was struck by a tractor trailer on I-295. You would think that this tragedy was enough to cause immediate and effective change. The fact of the matter is that our highways present the greatest hazard to public safety workers, whether fire, police or EMS. On Nov. 18, a fire engine was struck on Chippenham Parkway and a police cruiser was struck on a…

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