The start of school certainly ushered in the beginning of fall early this year. For once, we have a nice, cool, dry start to school. No thickly humid days, having to wear shorts and “summer” clothes to school on the first day. With this beautiful fall weather the new school clothes can be worn right from the start, it’s wonderful. I love this weather. I love having my windows open and my air turned off. Not only does it keep my electric bill down, but it also brings the nostalgic scents of my childhood wafting through my house. People burning…
Browsing: Commentary
Hello and welcome back to the wonderful financial world of the Dogpound. I recently decided to apply for an equity loan to consolidate my credit card balances. The bank was nice enough to consider my request, and they listed all the items they would need: my last two years of tax forms, my last check stub, my 401K report, and my reward report. “My award report?” I asked. “What is that?” The loan officer told me that this was my annual Social Security report. Really?! When did they start calling it that? This is not some credit card where you…
Concerned for Constituents To the Editor: I am a Pharmacist/Owner of RX3 Compounding Pharmacy in Chester. Every politician seems to have their own agenda. In our current political climate it seems like voters are not being heard. However, some representatives, like Delegate Kirk Cox, actually take the time to meet with their constituents to help solve problems and address our concerns with state government. This spring I worked with Kirk Cox’s office to solve a problem I was having with my telephone provider. The phone lines in my pharmacy were out. Many seniors rely on my business to get their…
Hello and welcome back to the wonderful world of the Dogpound. I went down to the basement yesterday and I was hit with a terrible smell. I mean it was bad. I did a quick search for the dead bodies, but the smell was so prevalent I could not zero in on a specific location for the smell. Not finding anything, I gave the basement a full barrage of Febreze and let it sit for a day. The next day was no better, so I opened up the basement patio doors and turned the furnace fan on to try and…
For my final column, I decided it was time to write about organic gardening. The term “organic gardening” at its simplest is avoiding using synthetically produced fertilizers and pesticides. Taken to the next level by many gardeners who are organic only, more “rules” are applicable. Rules include feeding the soil and not the plant, placing the right plant in the right place, scout your garden constantly for insects and disease presence, and avoid planting too many of the same plant instead having plant diversity. Let me say this early on, these are good gardening principles and not organic principles. I…
Barbuda is just a little island of approximately 1,600 villagers in the Caribbean. Hurricane Irma touched down in Barbuda on Sept. 5, ravaging the area with winds of 185 miles per hour. Barbuda is just a little island of approximately 1,600 villagers in the Caribbean. Hurricane Irma touched down in Barbuda on Sept. 5, ravaging the area with winds of 185 miles per hour. One teacher at Curtis Elementary School calls Barbuda home. Deborah Parker, early-learning specialist, started updating all her fellow teachers about the destruction in her home just around the time the storm came into the area. “Please pray for…
A house fire in our area recently displaced two, sending one to the hospital due to smoke inhalation. Let me start by saying that I do not have any details on the cause of this fire or the extent of the damage to the home. I want to talk about the potential causes of a person being overcome by smoke to help you prevent this should a fire occur in your home. Another thing that I will say, though I do not know what caused this fire, is that unattended cooking accounts for the greatest number of residential fires in…
Iam writing this a few days before Hurricane Irma impacts the United States. The track and strength of Irma as it passes Virginia will determine a rain event, a wind event, or both. A high, sustained wind could possibly bring down trees, power lines, or whatever else that wind can do. A heavy rain event could cause flash flooding as well as longer-term flooding of creeks and rivers. The point of this article is to address the aftermath of a weather event. The emergent side of these events is when the wind is blowing and the water is still rising.…
Back to School Food Dear Editor: With the new school year upon us, parents turn their attention to school clothes, school supplies, and school food. Yes, school food! More than 31 million children rely on school meals for their daily nutrition, which too often consists of highly processed food laden with saturated fat. Not surprisingly, one-third of our children have become overweight or obese. Their early dietary flaws become lifelong addictions, raising their risk of diabetes, heart disease, and stroke. To compound the problem, the Trump administration has loosened Obama’s 2010 school lunch rules calling for whole grains, fat-free milk, and…
Speculation is running rampant through this end of Chesterfield. It’s not an exaggeration. The Village News Facebook page could be that case in point. I was surprised to see our posting of the Matoaca Megasite story garnered 26,096 people. I think people are interested in what this will bring to Chester (not Matoaca). If you’re not talking about it now, you soon will be. Many locals are firmly against the facility that will be located on 1,675 acres along Branders Bridge Road. It’s with good reason. They are concerned with traffic, and the building of the East-West Connector that would…