Chesterfield County names Hughes community corrections services director
0Gary Hughes Chesterfield County recently named Gary Hughes its new director of community corrections services. Hughes has 20 years of experience in the community corrections services field. He has been director of Henrico County’s community corrections services department since 2016. Hughes has overseen Henrico’s probation, pretrial and adult drug treatment court operations. Prior to Henrico, Hughes was with Chesterfield County’s community corrections services for 10 years. He first joined Chesterfield in 2006 as a probation officer, and he became a probation supervisor in 2010, overseeing a staff of 10. Before coming to Chesterfield, Hughes was an adult probation officer in…
Stith enjoys challenge of teaching in low-income area
3Every morning as students get off the bus at Falling Creek Middle School, Cecelia Stith greets them with a hug because she said that, for some, that will be the only hug they get all day. “It’s just rewarding … to be able to give them a hug and give them the love and support and confidence by praising them and … helping them to see that what they’re capable of doing,” she said. Stith is a seventh-grade English teacher. She chose to work at schools in high-poverty areas because those students have a greater need, she said, noting that…
County not following court’s recommendation on cell phones: Two remedies already in place, officials say
0Storage lockers are located outside the courthouse. A recent recommendation from the Virginia Supreme Court that would allow electronic devices in courthouses will not be followed in Chesterfield, but a couple of proactive steps have already been made, county officials said. In a press release dated Dec. 14, state Supreme Court Chief Justice Donald W. Lemons said that he and his fellow justices adopted a “model policy” for use in courthouses across the state. The policy recommends that portable electronic devices – including cell phones, personal computers, tablets, e-book readers and smart watches – be allowed in courthouses, subject to…
Veterans honored at Sunset Memorial Park wreath laying
0Thomas Dale High School’s lacrosse team attended a wreath laying ceremony at Sunset Memorial Park at 2901 W. Hundred Road in Chester on Saturday, Dec. 15. From left, Trent Akins, Jacob Brooks, Drew Honn, Joe Short, Colin Lilly, Adam Martin, Charles Posey, Cameron Brink, Coleton Kuebler, Ryan Masi, Michael Rodriguez, Megan Reilly, Lindsay Field and Tori Pakurar. Saturday, Dec. 15, began cold and rainy. But that didn’t dampen the spirits and resolve of the people who came to take part in the annual Wreaths Across America wreath laying ceremony at Sunset Memorial Cemetery in Chester. A large group of adults…
CSI comes to Chesterfield: Police promote product to help identify, return stolen items
0Police officer Tim Lamb is one of two officers who are helping to promote SmartWater CSI. Chesterfield County police are trying to help theft victims get their valuables back. SmartWater CSI – a Fort Lauderdale, Fla. company – provides a liquid that, when placed on an item, glows when exposed to ultraviolet light. Chesterfield police chief Jeffrey S. Katz knew of the product because the police department in Boynton Beach, Fla., began using it when he was there. In a quote attributed to Katz on Smartwater CSI’s website, he cited “…a noteworthy 38 [percent] reduction in burglaries,” referring to a…
Teacher remembers old Enon Elementary School
2There are a lot of memories about the old Enon Elementary School. Evelyn “Emmie” Billings has claim to some of those memories. She taught for 27 years at the school.. “I started in 1962,” Billings said. “Things were different then. Everything was handwritten, no cell phones, no computers, no SOLs and no teachers’ aides.” School size was also different compared to today. During the 1960s, there were two additions to the school and 14 teachers made up the faculty. The first addition in 1961 added six new classrooms to the lower hall. In 1969, a “hall of glass” was added,…
The Christmas tree stand
0By Jim Harris Louis Corde and I have had many hunting adventures, but the longest lasting with a piece of equipment has been with a simple platform deer stand (without a seat). I nicknamed it “the platform.” Mom – Nell Fitzpatrick Harris – ordered it for me as a Christmas present in December 1992 when she was 80 and had it delivered to her home near Hampden Sydney, Va. I assembled it in her living room as an English Setter or two stormed through the house. She always had two bird dogs. I mentioned something about setting it up and…
El Juguetazo celebrates the Three Kings: Toy donations being accepted Jan. 5
0CHESTERFIELD — 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…