CHESTERFIELD — El Juguetazo, an annual toy drive for Three Kings Day, will be held from 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 5, at L.C. Bird High School, 10301 Courthouse Road. Three Kings Day is observed in many Latino and Asian communities around the world and commemorates the arrival of the Three Kings or Wise Men (Gaspar, Melchior and Balthazar) to visit baby Jesus, bearing gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. During the event, the “Three Kings” give one new, unwrapped toy to every child who attends, ages 16 or younger. El Juguetazo is primarily for needy families who are…
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All state parks will offer free parking all day, Jan. 1, 2019, and the first 100 visitors to each park will receive a special bumper sticker. Two contests give visitors two opportunities to win gift certificates valued at up to $500. Participants can be eligible to win prizes by registering, hiking and then recording the hike Jan. 1. An annual photo contest is also an opportunity for visitors to win gift certificates that can be used for camping and cabin reservations or to purchase annual passes. For complete contest details, visit vasp.fun/2019firstdayhikes. Pocahontas State Park in Chesterfield offers an adults-only…
A girl and boy enjoy the music at ‘Christmas on the Green’ Saturday, Dec. 15. Mission Community Church hosts the annual event.
On Dec. 4, a group of volunteers from the Chester Civitan Club braved the cold to volunteer at Greater Richmond ARC’s Camp Baker location in Chester. The Civitans spread mulch and removed fallen trees from the property. From left: Patty Grimes, Larry Grimes, Matthew Johnson, Peter Schoultis and Anudee Schoultis.
Joe Casey speaks Dec. 12 about the ‘state of the county.’ Chesterfield County is a great place to live. That’s the word from county administrator Joe Casey, who spoke to a large crowd at the Chesterfield Career and Tech Center last week. Casey highlighted a number of items in his 25-minute “state of the county” speech, including the fact that the county was the only one in the region to reduce its real estate property tax rate this year. The tax was reduced by a penny to 95 cents for $100 of assessed value. In addition, he noted that the…
Conservation officer Alberto Medina inspects some trout. Jon Hart follows the same routine he has followed for the past 18 years. He dresses in his crisp, clean uniform, puts a bulletproof vest on and heads out the door to work. Hart is a conservation police officer with the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries. He has served in Chesterfield for the past two years after moving from the Mecklenburg area. Officials say that conservation police officers patrol the vast and diverse geographical expanses of the commonwealth. They are ever-vigilant in enforcing the laws related to hunting, fishing, and boating,…
Everything’s coming up roses, economically speaking, county officials say. In a quarterly key financial indicators report that was presented to county supervisors Dec. 12, senior budget analyst Gerard Durkin said the county is partaking in the second largest economic expansion in the nation’s history (114 months). The county’s unemployment rate is 2.7 percent, he said, and noted that the sales tax revenue for the year is up 5.4 percent from last year. “We expect strong performance throughout Fiscal Year 2019 and heading into Fiscal Year 2020,” he said. Durkin sounded a note of caution, however, and noted that corporate and…
The consent agenda approved last week by the Chesterfield County supervisors contained several items of note representing various interests.School safety Those concerned about school security may be pleased to learn that the county accepted a $500,000 federal grant that will result in electronic access control being added to 26 elementary schools that do not currently have it, along with nine elementary schools that have limited electronic access technology. The grant requires a $220,500 local match that will come from Chesterfield County Public Schools Safety and Security Capital Improvement Plan funds. The federal funds are from the U.S. Department of Justice…
ABOVE: Travis Akins shakes the hand of a recruit for the county’s new Growth Through Opportunity Academy during an event Dec. 4. Chesterfield County’s public safety and general services departments recently kicked off the inaugural 16-week Growth Through Opportunity cadet academy, the first such academy in the Richmond region. The program will provide five adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities the opportunity to learn job skills from county employees. The goal is to enhance safety and understanding among the cadets and first responders, and to help cadets develop transferable knowledge, skills and abilities to earn competitive employment upon completion of the…
On Nov. 29, preschoolers and kindergarten students from Primrose School at Ironbridge Corner helped count and box up 767 non-perishable food items to donate to Chesterfield Food Bank to help families in need. The students created detailed shopping list and shopped at Lidl. As part of the school’s Caring and Giving program, the event helps students understand the value of generosity while creating a hands-on approach to math, nutrition and planning skills.