Easter in the dogpound
0Hello and welcome back to the wonderful world of the Dogpound. The year of 2018 is really rolling along. March is almost over. Easter falls on April 1, and that is followed by our friends from the IRS…and I said that last comment with a slight wink….if you get my drift. In today’s world we cannot be too careful with our media….like Facebook. I find it a bit funny to think that anyone would be surprised to know that their information is for sale to the highest bidder (or any bidder in some cases).. and we are even more complicated…
D’Elia creates ‘spark’ at Salem Church Middle
0A typical day in Janine D’Elia’s science class starts off with a warmup to activate her students’ knowledge, segues into the lesson plan of the day, and wraps the day up with an activity. This allows her students to be actively engaged and always moving in the classroom, which she said she hopes is a fun place to be. “I teach through the lens of inquiry. My kids are scientists and they need to be able to figure things out, and I hope I develop those STEM skills. We do project-based learning and problem-based learning, so they have to figure…
FY2019: revenue up, tax rate down
0A proposed Fiscal Year 2019 budget for Chesterfield County contains numerous advances, according to county official Matt Harris. Harris, the deputy county administrator for finance and administration, presented a report on the proposed $711 million budget to the Board of Supervisors on March 14. The budget “is responsive to the information we received” at community meetings last fall, he said. The budget proposes a 1-cent cut to the real estate property tax rate, a 3.5-percent increase in bimonthly sewer and water rates and an increase in the one-time storm water maintenance fee for new residential and commercial development in the…
New Honor Society organizes memorial for 17
0“We have a duty to make our environment safer. Tonight we are making a stand. Enough is enough. We will not be next.” With those words, Thomas Dale High School senior Makayla Callender may have summed up the feelings, thoughts and emotions of some 75 students who stood on the field in front of the school on a cold, windy March 14 evening to commemorate the 17 people killed Feb. 14 at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla. Callender said she was one of the students from the newly-formed National Social Studies Honor Society who organized the…
School board postpones decision on year-round school at Bellwood Elementary
0By Caleb M. Soptelean After much discussion, the Chesterfield County Public Schools board last week decided to postpone a decision about year-round school at Bellwood Elementary. Eleven people spoke during public comment, including several teachers who spoke in favor of the plan and several parents spoke against it. Year-round school would begin in July and include nine weeks of instruction followed by three-week intercessions. Included in the plan are activities for some 150 economically-disadvantaged students to participate in during the intercessions. Principal Jennifer Rudd said 74.6 percent of parents returned a survey in January with 88.7 percent in favor of…
County creates steering committee to address opioid crisis
0The number of fatal deaths in Chesterfield County from heroin or opioids jumped from 10 in 2003 to 39 last year, and there are already four this year. In response, the county has created a multi-department steering committee to combat the ongoing heroin/opioid crisis. “The purpose of our steering committee in Chesterfield County is to come together to coordinate with each other, to collaborate with each other, to look at what our gaps are, what are we missing, what do we need to do in addition,” said Sarah Snead, deputy county administrator for Human Services. “Under that steering committee, we…
Chesterfield names new budget director
0CHESTERFIELD – Chesterfield County announced Meghan Coates as its new director of budget and management, effective March 14. Coates has worked for the county for 10 years, spending the last five years in budget and management, most recently serving as budget manager. Prior to working in budget and management, she worked for the Parks and Recreation Department. In her most recent role, Coates, 32, was instrumental in redesigning the budget process to make it more customer-friendly, and she was a key contributor to the county’s ongoing community outreach efforts through Blueprint Chesterfield. She led the development of the annual operating…
Good Friday Jazz
0A local congregation will be offering something unique for its Good Friday service this year. Second Baptist Church, 5100 W. Hundred Road in Chester, invites the public to its 7 p.m. service on March 30, which will feature four jazz selections led by the church’s music minister, Cory Brown. The Rev. Johnnie Fleming said this is the first time the church will offer jazz at its Good Friday service during his 24 years as pastor. Shillita Moore, an associate minister at the church, will preach a “sermonette” during the one-hour service. Fleming also invites the public to a community sunrise…