BRIEFS: NEWS NEAR YOU

NEWS NEAR YOU

-- Richmond The Greater Richmond Area Scholarship Program will hold sessions for area students and parents to discuss college options and assist with completing financial aid forms tomorrow and Jan. 17, Jan. 24 and Jan. 31 at the Richmond Public Library, 101 E. Franklin St. For an appointment, call (804) 646-2551.

Henrico Several months ago, the Henrico School Board voted to require high schools to offer honors sections of core courses when advanced placement options are offered. Yesterday, after a discussion with every high school princi pal in the county, the board rescinded its earlier action -- with a caveat. Each school again can offer the courses it thinks best respond to students' needs and parental and community desires but will have to review the offerings annually. In other matters, Varina representative John W. Montgomery Jr. was elected School Board chairman and Tuckahoe representative Lisa Marshall was elected vice-chairman.

Hopewell The Hopewell Library is offering a free class for adults with limited computer experience. The class will be held on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. from Jan. 13 to Jan. 29 so participants will get 12 hours of experience in computer basics. To register, contact the information desk at the Hopewell Library, (804) 861-0322, Ext. 1005.

McKenney On Monday at 2 p.m. the town, in conjunction with Sunnyside Elementary School, will hold a ceremony changing the name of Sunnyside Road to Melvin B. Alsbrooks Avenue. The ceremony will be held at the school. Alsbrooks became a resident of McKenney in 1965 and was principal of Sunnyside Elementary from 1973 until his death in February 2008.

Richmond The Richmond City Health District says a shigellosis outbreak is continuing to affect the city and the region, but the infection rate seems to be decreasing. Sixty-one cases affecting city residents have been reported, including 16 new cases since Dec. 18. Shigellosis is a bacterial infection affecting the intestinal tract. Symptoms may include fever, vomiting and diarrhea with traces of blood or mucus in the stool. Prevention practices include proper washing of hands before handling food and after using the bathroom. Parents, schools and day-care centers should exclude children who are sick, especially those with diarrhea, from attending school.

AROUND THE STATE

Lynchburg Five companies will pay a total of more than $1 million in stream restoration costs for alleged violations of the Clean Water Act during construction of a Lynchburg housing development. The U.S. Justice Department said the defendants also will pay a $300,000 penalty under a settlement that was part of a consent decree filed Wednesday. The companies are Savoy Senior Housing Corp., Savoy Liberty Village LLC, SDB Construction Inc., Best G.C. Inc. and Acres of Virginia Inc. Construction workers allegedly buried 3,765 feet of stream and wetlands at the headwaters of tributaries to the Roanoke and James rivers with silt and sediment.

Orange Virginia Attorney General Bob McDonnell is the keynote speaker at the second annual "We the People" Middle School State Competition tomorrow at Frank W. Cox High School in Virginia Beach. Hosted by The Center for the Constitution at James Madison's Montpelier, the event will feature nearly 200 students from six Virginia middle schools who will field questions on the Bill of Rights and the Constitution posed by a panel of judges in a mock congressional hearing. The competition begins at 8:30 a.m. McDonnell is scheduled to speak at 2 p.m.