High school boys basketball season outlook
0ABOVE: Meadowbrook point guard Isaiah Richardson moves with the ball. (Rob’s DigiPix) Knights focused on team building With a team that struggled to a 7-16 record last year, Thomas Dale High’s head coach Braxton Byerson is bent on improving the program, and believes his team made strides in the offseason. “We are putting an even bigger emphasis on ‘team’ this year,” Byerson said. “Chemistry and putting the right guys together on the floor will help us win.” The Knights had one player head to the next level in Amari Brown, who’s currently on the roster at Berkeley State University (West…
Recently deceased
0Blankenship, Mrs. Shirley Morgan, 83, of Chester, widow of Clarence “Jack” Blankenship. Constantino, Mrs. Elizabeth “Liz” Mayock, 52, of Chesterfield, widow of Alexander Constantino. Meadows, Miss Julia Nicole “Nikki,” 27, of North Chesterfield. Nelson, Mrs. Shirley Eyler, 79, of Chesterfield, widow of James Nelson. Parks, Mr. Harvey Lee, 71, of Chesterfield, husband of Lisa “Ringo” Karen Sine Parks. Pastorfield, Mrs. Cindy Mae Worsham, 57, of Chesterfield, wife of Gary Pastorfield. Scott, Mr. Richard L., 71, of North Chesterfield, husband of Jane Kilantang Scott. Snead, Mrs. Virginia Morris, 82, of Chesterfield, widow of John L. Snead. Thompson, Mrs. Linda Sue, 72, of South Chesterfield, wife of John M. Thompson. Warren, Ms.…
Intentional steps
0It is hard to believe that Christmas is almost here. This is a season of joy and happiness as we celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. In preparing for this celebration, we adorn our homes, inside and out, with decorations. In some cases, folks become part of a “tacky tour.” No matter how many decorations are put up, I cannot stress enough the importance of taking intentional steps to prevent injury or death to you and your family members. Let’s begin with the outside decorations. If you choose to put up lights, check them for proper…
Waller enjoys teaching math and basketball at L.C. Bird
4Chevette Waller’s classroom and home are a revolving door of alumni. The special education teacher and girls basketball coach has been at L.C. Bird High School for 17 years. She said her former students sometimes spend the holidays with her and play pickup games with the basketball team. Waller is a collaborative teacher in the math department. She focuses on algebra and also teaches self contained coping skills classes. Being a teacher wasn’t her original plan. After graduation from Virginia Commonwealth University, she found her way back to Bird and was a special education substitute teacher. She realized she enjoyed…
Dutch machinery business to open sales office at Chesterfield Airpark
0A food machinery automation company plans to open a sales office in the Chesterfield County Airpark on Whitepine Road. JASA Packaging Solutions, Inc. chose the site over Atlanta, Boston, Chicago and Raleigh, N.C. “Currently, there is a big growth in the U.S. going on in the healthy convenience market,” said Sandra Somford-Pannekeet, owner/president of JASA. She explained that “ready to eat” meals are JASA’s “sweet spot.” The Netherlands-based company has done business in the U.S. for the last 20 years and has existing dealers for their vertical packaging machines used by supermarkets and wholesalers. The company’s facility will include a…
Devon, Honeywell, Fiorucci Foods have projects planned
0A number of commercial developments are in the works in Chesterfield County besides a new Bissell plant that is going up. These developments include:•Project Lightning II, a 303,393-square-foot warehouse and 17,567-square-foot office building planned for 38.7 acres at 1401, 1501 and 1601 Bellwood Road east of Jefferson Davis Highway in the James River Logistics Center. The proposed use is a warehouse distribution center. There are 96.9 acres at the site. The developer, Devon USA, has had two buildings in the center since 2002. According to reports, Devon plans to develop the third site as a speculative project in the hopes…
Christmas Mother raises $55K at annual auction
0ABOVE: Guest spotter, Roy Cox, on left, congratulates winner Rhonda Anderson, on right, during the Chesterfield-Colonial Heights Christmas Mother live/silent auction Nov. 17 at the Cultural Center of India, 6641 Ironbridge Parkway. CHESTERFIELD – The annual live/silent auction for Chesterfield-Colonial Heights Christmas Mother was held at the Cultural Center of India on Nov. 17. Over $55,000 was raised to help the Christmas Mother program with the mission of insuring that no child in the community is without food, clothes, toys and books and that no elder is forgotten during the Christmas holiday. The 300 attendees had a grand time bidding…
Local robotics team advances to state championship
0ABOVE: LibraryBots team member Tyson Tross works on the team’s robot in ‘the pits’ at competition at L.C. Bird High School. The LibraryBots, a robotics team sponsored by Chesterfield County Public Libraries, hosted the FIRST FTC Greater Richmond Qualifier tournament at L.C. Bird High School on Dec. 1. Forty-four teams from across the state competed in the event, with one team traveling from Ohio to compete. The LibraryBots worked at the Central Library Makerspace for three months to build a robot to compete in this year’s challenge, “Rover Ruckus.” Seven of the team’s 11 members joined the robotics team for the…