Browsing: Commentary

How many calories do you burn if you drive to work? Not many, even if you drive while listening to your favorite exercise CD and find the closest parking space to your building before you sit on your butt all day. Physical jobs are much better for you. Just check you Fitbit. How many steps does it take to burn 100 calories? According to doctor internet, the average 150 pound person burns about 75 calories walking for 10 minutes. Add to that those 25 calories burned, when you are wearing comfy shoes and clothes, and you have just cut 100…

To the Editor: We moved our business, the Beverage Equipment Company, to Chester over 35 years ago. We employed eight people and serviced three states from our Chester location. Through the years, my wife Jeanne and I have transitioned our business from service to retail, moving from a location in the lower level in our building to the upstairs retail location. When we opened The WeekEnd Brewer – Home Wine and Beer Supply in 1988, we never knew the impact we would have on the wine and beer community. Our involvement with helping start the Chester Community Association and the…

What a glorious summer day we were given this Sunday. After weeks of intense heat, apocalyptic thunder storms and one dreary Saturday, Sunday showed up with brilliant blue skies, low humidity and a cool breeze. In a word, perfect. I spent the day getting reacquainted with my yard and my kitchen.  The family and I have been blissfully lounging away the last week at the beach. We returned very late Friday evening, with all fingers and toes accounted for – no shark sightings for us thank goodness. I spent yesterday unpacking and running to the library and grocery store, but…

What brought you to Chesterfield? I moved here with my family in 1992. Like many others, we moved here because of the high reputation of Chesterfield schools and then never left. We seem to have been correct in our assessment of the school system, as both our daughters were  lateraccepted to and graduated from good Virginia colleges. But now the kids are grown, and the normal response to that is to take stock. Among our acquaintances in the local area are a couple of families who have moved out of Chesterfield and into Richmond. They told me that they moved…

When the storms hit Doswell last night, wouldn’t you know it, we were there. We took our students to King’s Dominion/Kingsfest, as a “fun” culmination to a week of hard work and heat. We all know that when it gets this hot that big storms are coming. This was the epitome of those storms. It started around dinnertime with a small storm. It was still raining, but we made our way over to the amphitheatre, where Tenth Avenue North was performing. Three songs later, they stopped the concert, stated that storms were coming and evacuated everyone to the pavilions. We…

Hello and welcome back to the wonderful world of the Dogpound.  As I have stated in past articles, Max has very bad arthritis and has recently been diagnosed with blood pressure and heart issues, as well.  So the number of meds he is on has tripled.  I only mention this since I believe they have had an impact on his recent change in behavior.  Max, for a long time, has slept on the far side of my bed on a big, super soft mattress, which in my opinion would be great for his sore hips, however, he has recently decided…

Hello and welcome back to the wonderful world of the Dogpound social media.  I must say I am really thrilled to announce that my Dogpound twitter account is growing by leaps and bounds.  I now have over 1,500 faithful pack members who receive the regular morning joke, and are able to follow the daily antics of their beloved dog Max and the adventures of his handsome Master – me.  Now some of you could care less about my Twittering…you are not on Twitter or Instagram…or anything else.  However, there are a number of you that do use these social media…

Bike and walking trails were part of a sales pitch for Hallsley, an upscale development with homes starting at $400,000. With a number of Chesterfield residents lining up to make comments at the planning commission last week, there were enough stating there were concerns with the trail running near their property. Crime and devaluation of their property was a common comment, while others endorsed the draft plan with enthusiasm. With real estate companies and developers touting biking and walking trails, as communities work to put in place bike lanes, it’s obvious that these amenities actually increase the value of homes.…

Hello Readers, I am Larry Newman, Master Gardener with Chesterfield County Cooperative Extension. Perhaps you are thinking, “another garden dude telling me how to grow big tomatoes and go organic.” Not so fast, my fellow garden enthusiasts. The intent of my column is similar to the cooperative extension service, to share with you land-grant university information: information that can improve your landscape, reduce pests and yes, cause tomato envy at the next family picnic. I will also pass along dos and don’ts based on my successful and not-so successful endeavors. It is now late June, but it is not too…

Many ailments have an increased likelihood of occurring in the summer.  This is true of swimmer’s ear, or otitis externa.  It can be contracted at any time during the year, but the heat, humidity and extra moisture of summer and pool activities make it more likely to occur in the summertime. Otitis simply means an inflammation of the ear.  An inflamed ear canal is called otitis externa.  The canal ends at the eardrum.  Inflammation beyond the eardrum, in the middle ear, is called otitis media.  Otitis media is the infection that plagues many younger children and in a number of…

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