Some think it is a good idea, some think oh my God, someone is going to get killed. Some say, I would not ride on that thing if you paid me. These someones are speaking of the new bike lanes on West Hundred Road through Chester. The concept was bandied about some four-and-a-half years ago. The idea was not actually conceived at that time but was included in the Board of Supervisors approved Chester Village Plan some 12 years ago. The idea of a pedestrian/bicycle friendly Village was a major item in the plan. Fast forward from 2004 and the…
Browsing: Commentary
One medical condition that is being diagnosed more frequently is sleep apnea. This is probably because doctors and the public are becoming more aware of the problem. It is estimated to affect about 18 million Americans and it is seen more often in men and people who are over 40 years old, but it can affect anyone at any age. People who have sleep apnea stop breathing while they are sleeping. These periods of not breathing can last for 10 to 30 seconds at a time and can happen up to 400 times every night. With each episode the individual’s sleep is…
Perhaps some of you are asking “what is a Master Gardener?” First, it is not a self-imposed title. Official definition: Master Gardeners are trained volunteer educators who work within their local community to promote environmentally sound horticultural practices. As an educational outreach component of Virginia Cooperative Extension, the Master Gardener program brings the resources of Virginia’s land-grant universities – Virginia Tech and Virginia State University – to the people of the commonwealth. Translated, and speaking only for myself, I have a passion for gardening and I want to help others make their corner of the world a little brighter. The…
As you read this article, I am either in my final preparations to leave, or I am boarding a plane, bound for South Africa. This trip will mark my seventh journey to Africa since 2009. Every trip has contained it’s own unique characteristics and this one is no exception. I will depart with a team from Mt. Pleasant Baptist Church on Wednesday evening, around 5:40 p.m., from Dulles. We should arrive in Johannesburg at about 5:30 p.m. their time on Thursday evening, 11:30 a.m. our time. This trip will start like most others, but will take on a new look,…
To the Editor: I got a call from my sister last Wednesday who was at Sunset Memorial Park with a friend. She went to my husband’s grave and his bronze vase plus flowers were gone. I called the office and told the man what happened. He got the info and would contact police to make a report and said someone would call me from the office. I got a call about an hour later and was told to replace the vase would cost $300 to $400, but I could get it for $193. This person who stole the vase has…
To the Editor: Two weeks ago, my husband happened to see a Richmond Times-Dispatch (RTD) article that the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) was having a meeting that night about the Shoosmith landfill on Route 10, expanding into the nearby rock quarry. The meeting was to address how the quarry would be lined to make it usable as a landfill. It’s too bad the DEQ didn’t see fit to send a notice to the surrounding neighborhoods and homeowners associations, so that more people would have attended that meeting. The few Chesterfield residents who did attended were told that permission…
To the Editor: On Sunday, July 19, my husband, Ray, was cutting grass in the ditch in front of our house when he had a heart attack. Someone passing by saw him lying in the ditch and called 911. They did not leave a name, but I want that person/persons to know how much I appreciate them taking time to care. I am sure others rode by without doing anything because Harrowgate Road is a busy road. Whoever called that day saved his life and I just want to say thank you. Thank you doesn’t really say enough. When the…
Hello and welcome back to the wonderful world of the Dogpound where we are continuing our journey down memory lane of our time with Max. Before we get started, I wanted to take time to thank Elizabeth French for the nice card and kind words that were much appreciated. Now, as I have said, Max was a lover not a fighter, but there were a few times when he was not so loving. Max, like most dogs, wanted to protect his territory, and for the most part Max was satisfied with just barking and sometime growling as an offending dog…
Everyone has a dream: a dream of how they want to move though life and where they will be at their end. Maybe it is a lifelong bucket list. When I was young and left the first rock ‘n roll concert I had attended, (the Doors and Janis Joplin) I wanted to be a rock star or at least a rock ‘n roll guitar player. I also dreamed of having a great wife. When I was married to her and Linda and I had our children, my dream was for their success, for them to reach adulthood as someone better…
If you recall, a while back I informed you all that we had gotten some chicks. We purchased four little fluffy babies at Boulevard Flowers back in March and were happily tending them in a plastic tub that was sitting in the corner of my den. Now, I am a tad OCD and having little baby chicks, as cute as they were, living in my house was almost more than I could handle. I literally vacuumed daily, cleaned out their living quarters almost by the hour (the smell), and dusted by the minute, chickens love to scratch you know. Unfortunately,…