Local musician-writer publishes third book, urges people to ‘tell their stories’ When Charles R. Hodge Jr. graduated from high school, he didn’t know how to write. “I come from a poverty-stricken area of nothing,” he said. He was one of a few black students at a formerly all-white high school. “They put me in nothing but domestic classes,” he explained. He managed to find a job driving a school bus, and recalls hearing the “kids talking about gerunds and verb tenses. I didn’t know what they were talking about.” Later, Hodge joined the military. When he wrote a performance report…

Giving women leaving incarceration a fresh start Victoria McCormick is a person who follows her heart, especially when the mission is to help someone who is facing a big obstacle. And there are few bigger obstacles than joining a community after incarceration. McCormick became the director of Mercy Mall’s reach-out ministry Cases of Hope in 2016. The mission of the program is to provide suitcases, each one filled with toiletries, clothing, a Bible and personal hygiene articles for women the day they leave the jail. “We deliver a suitcase the day they get released,” said McCormick. “Some women have nothing…

The Rev. Johnnie Fleming Jr. and the SBC Chester congregation were able to bless 20 angels from the Chesterfield County Social Services Dept.   During this holiday season, there is no better way than to show love and share love. It was a joy to bless and put smiles on children’s faces that otherwise may not have had gifts under the tree. Fleming has been at SBC for 26 yrs. and the church has adopted the motto “A Loving Church by the Side of the Road.”