Karate class for children with special needs brings joy to students, instructors alike
0Instructor Mary Setzer, on right, helps student Avery Allen position his arms for a stance. (Radiant Snapshots) Corey Setzer leads exercises. (Radiant Snapshots)Branden Rivadeneira practices a karate move during a Parts of Me Are Excellent karate class. (Radiant Snapshots) When Mary Setzer was 4, she began taking karate classes alongside her brother, Justin, who was 2 1/2 years older. “Justin and I were inseparable,” Setzer said. “I wanted to do everything Justin did.” The classes were no ordinary martial arts experience. Part of Southside Virginia Police Karate Association, they were designed with special needs in mind and known as Parts…
Going solar? Colorado firm has designs on south Chesterfield megasite
0The ‘megasite.’The site contains several bodies of water. If a rezoning application is approved by county officials, some 900 acres in the Bermuda District could become a solar farm with an estimated 300,000 solar panels in about three years. Torch Clean Energy of Boulder, Colo., recently submitted the application to the Chesterfield County Planning Department and has options to purchase 1,677 acres, including 1,540 from the Shoosmith family (Thomas Co.) and 137 from the estate of Joseph Hotz, according to Brennen Keene, a local land use attorney. The solar farm – which is being called the Chester Solar Technology Park…
Dump truck spills load on Nash Road
0A dump truck spilled wood chips. (Billy Spivey) A dump truck crashed in the 11400 block of Nash Road on Tuesday, May 28. The truck overturned after the driver lost control around 1:30 p.m. Officials said the driver was able to get out of the vehicle on his own while rescuers were on the way. Some diesel fuel spilled, along with a load of wood chips. There were no injuries, and the driver was not charged. The road was closed for several hours for clean up.
Firefighters respond to chemical spill
0Firefighters, medics and two hazardous materials teams responded to a chemical spill at the DuPont Spruance Plant at 5401 Jefferson Davis Highway on Saturday, June 1. “The incident began at 6:11 p.m. when 400 gallons of a flammable liquid spilled,” Chesterfield Fire and EMS spokesman Jason Elmore said. “Workers around the area were evacuated.” The spill was contained and vapors suppressed, he said. A contractor was brought in to clean up the spill. No injuries were reported. “Due to DuPont’s proprietary regulations, we are unable to disclose the exact substance,” he said. Chesterfield crews were on scene for about four…
Caleb’s Corner: Primary day is upon us
0The June 11 primary election is Tuesday. Since Virginia has “open” primaries, most voters in Chesterfield County will be able to vote for at least one race, depending on where they live. Senate District 16 voters will most likely choose their next senator on June 11, since no Republican filed, although the deadline for independent candidates to file is also June 11. Incumbent Rosalyn Dance is nearing the end of her first complete term. She was initially elected to the state Senate in 2014 to serve the remainder of former Sen. Henry Marsh’s term and followed by winning again in…
The Sinning Saint: West pens book about overcoming life’s struggles
0Lamar West (Samantha Tieng) “In this darkness, my demons and scars seem to be the only things that understand me.” Such is a poem on page 6 of Lamar West’s new book, “The Sinning Saint.” His response from Scripture is: “And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.” (2 Corinthians 11:14). West, 23, recently published his second book, which opens with him questioning his faith in God, anxiety and childhood trauma, including “a lot of things growing up that I didn’t hear Christians talking about,” he said. The book then shifts to West falling in…
School bus driver charged with reckless driving
0There may have been some scary moments for motorists at the intersection of Iron Bridge Road and Deerfield Drive on May 28 when a school bus went out of control and crashed at 1:39 p.m. The bus “which did not have any students on it, was traveling east on Iron Bridge Road approaching the intersection with Deerfield Drive,” police spokeswoman Liz Caroon said. The vehicle in front of the bus stopped quickly for a red light. The bus driver swerved to the right, Caroon said, and struck a sedan and a minivan and a street sign. The driver then swerved…
Plan derailed: Federal agency halts study for new train station
0A study on where to build a new railroad station in the South Chesterfield area has ended for the time being with no conclusion. The Tri-Cities Metropolitan Planning Organization received word from Federal Railroad Administration official Marlys Osterhues in an April 4 letter that the study begun in 2014 had been discontinued. Last June, David Hyder, transportation director for the Crater Planning District Commission, said that a Finding of No Significant Impact should be complete by sometime in July 2018. That finding was to come on the heels of the completed environmental assessment, he said. Last week, Hyder said the…