JTCC student shares story with legislators
0CHESTER – Elena Brancato wants to be a role model for her son, so she decided to pursue a new career with the help of John Tyler Community College. Brancato says she chose Tyler because she liked its supportive environment. Her story is just one of several that John Tyler Community College students shared with state legislators during this year’s legislative session. The students were accompanied by college president Edward “Ted” Raspiller on trips to the Virginia Capitol. Brancato wants to challenge herself and realize new successes in the workforce. She worked for a while as an office manager at…
The rocky dogpound
0Hello and welcome back to the wonderful world of the Dogpound. I thought I would get a jump on next week’s article while I sit here waiting for my rock to arrive. We are talking about limestone…gravel rock…the stuff that finds a way to hit your car windshield type of rock. I live on a short private lane; a lane that was cut from the main road down to the lake which allowed several houses to be built along the road, of which one is mine. The road obviously does not get a lot of traffic since it is a…
And for you, we are forever grateful
0Twenty years goes by like a flash of lightning that sends your dog jumping into your lap. Linda and I, who started the Village News twenty years ago, have worked toward a deadline every week since August 20, 1998. Linda and I have decided to retire. We will be passing the Village News down to our son, Elliott, who knows the business as much as Linda or me. Nothing will change for the reader; you can still expect the same great coverage of Chester’s news and events. Not every story has been a happy one but everyone has been uniquely…
BARD continues effort to block Mega Site
0“It’s like trying to plan a wedding and there’s a lot to be done with planning a wedding, and obviously the county is not planning this wedding very well.” That’s how BARD member and Glebe Point resident, Amy Cannon, described the county’s handling of the Mataoca Megasite, which was announced last August after Governor Terry McAuliffe revealed the plan to acquire the property off Branders Bridge and develop it as an industrial megasite. Since then it has been an uphill battle for BARD (Bermuda Advocates for Responsible Development) members in their fight to dismantle it. The group, which was formed…
Businessman disagrees with CBA’s support of Matoaca Mega Site
0I have been a member of the Chester Business Association for many years. I do not concur with their board’s letter to the editor that supports the Matoaca Mega Site in a residential area. I initially thought that the Matoaca Mega Site made good business sense to be developed in Chesterfield County as proposed in August 2017 by Gov. Terry McAuliffe. Since last summer there has been a major change on the horizon of Chesterfield County business development, i.e. the implosion of the Tranlin Paper manufacturing site at the James River Industrial Center as reported in October 2017. In my…
Village News welcomes new editor/reporter
0Chester by way of Montana. That’s the route of Caleb M. Soptelean, the Village News’s new editor/reporter. Soptelean comes to the newspaper with 20 years of experience as either a newspaper reporter or editor. He fills the position of founding editor Mark Fausz, who plans to enjoy his retirement years as much as possible. Soptelean, 47, grew up in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains in rural eastern Ohio, about 65 miles of Pittsburgh. He is pleased to be back in the Old Dominion, closer to his daughters in Hampton Roads. He has covered a variety of beats over the…
Harris to lead county’s number crunchers
0Brings demonstrated record of budgetary leadership to new role CHESTERFIELD – Chesterfield County recently announced Christopher “Matt” Harris as its new deputy county administrator for finance and administration. Harris has been serving as the county’s budget and management director. The Board of Supervisors was expected to appoint him at its Feb. 28 meeting. Harris is scheduled to begin his new role effective March 1. In his previous role, Harris, 37, serves as a key advisor to the county administrator and the Board of Supervisors. He was responsible for the development and implementation of the county’s annual operating budget and capital…
High winds claim life of Chester boy
0CHESTER – Winds played havoc with area residents and their homes last week. A six-year-old boy died as a result of injuries sustained after a tree fell onto his bed at about 2 a.m. Friday, March 2. Chesterfield Police confirmed that Anthony Hamilton died later that day after being transported to a hospital. Cindy Marshall, a spokeswoman from the Chesterfield Fire Marshal’s Office, said 11 units responded to 820 Cliffside Drive. Units began arriving at 2:09 a.m. and by 2:44 a.m. they had stabilized the tree and extricated the boy. Fire department personnel used equipment to cut the bed railings,…