An armed retired officer in every school?
0A man who served 21 years with Chesterfield County Police Department has an idea to make schools safer. Mark Bowen, who worked as a school resource officer for 13 of 21 years with the police department, has been a mentor for at-risk students at Bellwood Elementary School since February. He is paid through a Title I grant. Bowen, who said he is married to a teacher, spoke April 10 during public comment at the Chesterfield County Public Schools board meeting and requested the school district put an armed retired law enforcement officer in every school. “We have cameras, secured doors,…
EDA makes pitch for megasite, citizens’ objections heard
0Mike Uzel, spokesman for Bermuda Advocated for Responsible Development, speaks at a community meeting April 11. The second recent informational meeting about a proposed megasite in the southern part of the county was more orderly than the first, according to two people who attended both. The first meeting was held on the evening of April 10 at Carver Middle School with the second the following morning at Second Baptist Church. People were talking over each other at the April 10 meeting, said Todd Haymore, an economic development consultant working for the Chesterfield Economic Development Authority. Haymore made a presentation…
Recently deceased
0Bacon, Mr. Harris Joseph “Harry,” 74, of North Chesterfield, husband of Paula Bacon, Bolton, Ms. Cathy A., 55, of Chesterfield. Bruce, Mr. Cannon Lee, 20, of Chesterfield, Cottom, Mrs. Renee Loving, 66, of Chesterfield, wife of Van P. Cottom. Gagliano, Ms. Marion Jane Mainelli, 84, of Chester. Hansen, Mrs. Josephine, of Chesterfield, widow of Thomas Hansen Sr. Hastings, Mrs. Jean C., 89, of Chesterfield, widow of Oscar S. “Boots” Hastings Jr. Jackson, Mrs. Sophia Lee Dandridge, 93, of Chesterfield, widow of Woodridge Jackson. James, Mrs. Tina Ruth, 62, of Chester, wife of Nord D. James. Jessup, Mrs. Verna Irene Thomas, 84, of Chesterfield, widow of Roy Jessup. Jones, Mrs. Julie Skiles, 60, of…
Gifted program planned for Carver Middle for 2019
0The Chesterfield County Public Schools Board approved an expansion of its gifted child program last week and a change order related to construction at a new Beulah Elementary School. The school district plans to expand its gifted child program to Carver Middle School for the 2019-20 school year that would include students from Carver and Elizabeth Davis middle schools. The district currently has a gifted child program at four middle schools (Matoaca, Manchester, Midlothian and Robious) with plans to expand to Swift Creek Middle School this fall. In other action, the board approved a change order for $304,000 to cover…
Supervisors approve FY19 budget
0The Chesterfield County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a $711 million budget last week that will result in a 1-cent reduction in the real estate property tax rate, a 3.5-percent utility rate increase and a 4.1-percent increase in the utility connection fee. Chairwoman Dorothy Jaeckle said that some $25,000 was added to the budget for the Jefferson Davis Association as a result of pleas by residents who live along North Jefferson Davis Highway. “It shows the impact of coming out to meetings,” she said. “After the Jefferson Davis Special Area Plan is approved, the steering committee will come up with…
Diversity director retires, reflects on progress
0CHESTERFIELD – After a storied career spanning more than 35 years in civil service, Harold McManus retired at the end of March from his post as director of Defense Logistics Agency Aviation’s Office of Equal Employment Opportunity and Diversity. The times are always changing, and McManus has ridden on the crest of the wave that swept in changes to the way women, minorities and individuals with disabilities are treated in the workplace. In that time, McManus has seen changes, subtle and overt, that have come with equal opportunity rulings affecting the workplace. Perhaps the greatest of these for the agency…
Murder, firearms charges forwarded to grand jury
0Three murder and use of a firearm in commission of a felony charges each were certified over to Chesterfield Circuit Court last week against Christopher Gattis. A grand jury will consider indictments on May 21. Gattis, 58, has been held in the county jail without bail since he was arrested Thanksgiving Day at his residence at 14955 Dogwood Circle, where police found the bodies of his wife, his stepdaughter and her boyfriend: Jeanett L. Gattis, 58, Candice L. Kunze, 30, and Andrew E. Buthorn, 36. Juvenile and Domestic Relations and General District court judges found probable cause to certify the…
Drop or stay
0I watched a news report this morning about a rapidly progressing fire in a dance studio in New Jersey. Thankfully, no one lost their life, but some of the building occupants had to escape from a second-floor balcony. A rapidly advancing fire will cause people to jump from the second floor or the 80th floor. The fire in New Jersey was reported to have started on the first floor. There are many things that I do not know about the building, like layout, the presence or absence of smoke alarms, a fire alarm system or a sprinkler system. Let me…