Fireworks, music and more coming
0Chesterfield County’s annual Fourth of July Celebration, presented by Chesterfield County Parks and Recreation and the Virginia Credit Union, will be held Thursday, July 4, at the Chesterfield County Fairgrounds, 10300 Courthouse Road. Gates open at 5 p.m. and fireworks will begin at dark. This free, family-friendly event features musical entertainment from Shawn Fenner, the KOS Band and the Chesterfield Community Band. In addition to live music, there will be amusement areas for children and teens, and numerous food options will be available for purchase. “People throughout the Richmond region know the July 4 event at the Chesterfield County Fairgrounds…
County approves funding for ‘Superstreet’ project
0The Chesterfield County Board of Supervisors last week approved funding for projects that would widen Route 10 to either six or eight lanes from Jefferson Davis Highway to Bermuda Triangle Road east of Interstate 95. In addition, Meadowville Road would be widened from two to six lanes from Route 10 to Rivers Bend Boulevard. Branscome – which is headquartered in Williamsburg – was the low bidder for the projects: one for $42.59 million and the other for $7.43 million. The company outbid Branch Civil, Curtis Contracting and Allan Myers for the larger contract – which runs from Meadowville to Bermuda…
Torch officials discuss megasite proposal
0Sara Born and Jon Kilberg spoke at Ironbridge Church during a community meeting last week. Slightly more than 100 people gathered at Ironbridge Church last week to learn more about Torch Clean Energy’s proposal for the Shoosmith megasite in southern Chesterfield County. Torch would like to build a solar farm and entice a data center provider to the 1,677-acre property – 1,540 acres which are owned by the Shoosmith Family (Thomas Co.) – located south of the intersection of Bradley Bridge and Branders Bridge roads. The Boulder, Colo., company has requested to rezone the property from R-12 and C-4 to…
Funding approved for Ettrick train station
0There may be hope that the Amtrak station remains in Ettrick after all. After the Federal Railroad Administration recently abandoned without explanation a study that recommended a future Amtrak station be located on the Boulevard in Colonial Heights, a representative of Virginians for Highspeed Rail notes that the Commonwealth Transportation Board has now approved upgrades to the Ettrick station. Danny Plaugher, executive director of Virginians for Highspeed Rail, said the state’s Six-Year Transportation Improvement Plan that was approved by the CTB on June 19 includes $5.7 million to upgrade and modernize the Ettrick station. Also funded, Plaugher said, were $28.4…
Panda Express, Popeyes on the way
0Site plans have been approved for two fast food restaurants on Jefferson Davis Highway. Popeyes and Panda Express received site plan approvals on Dec. 20 and March 20, respectively. The two businesses would be located at 12131 and 12149 Jefferson Davis Highway south of a Dollar Tree store, which is located seven-tenths of a mile north of the Route 10 intersection. Bulldozers were seen on the Panda Express site last week. The site plans call for a 2,200-square-foot Panda Express with a 400-square-foot patio and a 3,185-square-foot Popeyes. Both businesses would be located on a 2.44-acre parcel. Ingenium Enterprises of…
Williams signs with Spurs
0A common comment on the San Antonio Spurs in recent times is that they played “boring” basketball. Fans might form that opinion because San Antonio is big on defense and fundamentals. True to form, San Antonio recently signed a defensive specialist Kenny Williams as a free agent. Williams, a graduate of L.C. Bird High School, is the third Chester-area player to sign as a free agent with an NBA team, joining Robert Johnson (L.C. Bird/Benedictine) and Andrew White III (Thomas Dale/Miller School). Johnson spent the 2018-19 season with the NBA G League’s Wisconsin Herd, an affiliate of the Milwaukee Bucks.…
Rice is VN Player of the Year
0Want to go out with a bang your senior year? Try hitting .600. That’s why Thomas Dale High School’s softball utility player Madison Rice did. She is the Village News Player of the Year. The Knights made a run to the state tournament in 2018, Rice’s junior year, and as a senior she helped guide the team to a 15-5 record. The team battled through injuries and adversity this year, and Rice proved to be a most useful player. “Maddy had to play multiple positions this year,” coach Patrick Sweet said. “She started out at her normal position of shortstop…
Jennings is VN Player of the Year
0Karson Jennings in action on the pitching mound. A big part of having a winning baseball team is pitching. Thankfully for Thomas Dale High School, they’ve had Karson Jennings on the hill. For his performance as staff ace, he is the Village News Player of the Year. After bursting on the scenes with a shutout of First Colonial in the state tournament as a junior, Jennings followed that up with an outstanding senior year. The 6-foot 4-inch hurler had a 7-2 record with a 2.29 ERA. His control was excellent. He only walked eight batters over 55 innings, but struck…