News Near You for March 16

This daily column features short news items from the 20 localities that make up the greater Richmond area. On Mondays, we run at least one item from each of the localities. If you have a news item, call 649-6990 or e-mail us at news@ timesdispatch.com

NEWS NEAR YOU

Amelia The Amelia County Board of Supervisors will meet Wednesday at 7 p.m. in the general district courtroom. Among the items on the agenda are preparations for the upcoming Amelia Day Festival.

Caroline Caroline County's Humane Society is sponsoring a "Spay"ghetti Dinner and Dance on March 28 at the Madison Ruritan Club, 18206 Timothy Lane, from 5 to 9 p.m. Tickets are $10 at the door; all proceeds go to animals in need. For information or tickets in advance, call Karen Jenkins at (804) 994-4657 or Arlene Mills at (804) 448-0268.

Charles City The Charles City County School Board will meet tomorrow at 7:30 p.m. at the Government and School Board administration building, 10900 Courthouse Road.

Chesterfield The Council of VMFA is sponsoring Chesterfield Day at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, 200 N. Boulevard, on Wednesday to recruit volunteers from Chesterfield County. Free tours at 11:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. that day will concentrate on art with ties to Chesterfield County and Virginia.

Colonial Heights Drop-off recycling will be closed at Lakeview Park, the main library and Shepherd Stadium effective today. Colonial Heights residents can continue recycling by using the weekly curbside recycling service.

Cumberland Cumberland County dispatchers received 309 calls -- many from seniors seeking assistance -- in a 24-hour period during the recent snowstorm, Sheriff Darrell Hodges said. Volunteer firefighters followed the deputies out on calls, using chain saws to clear downed trees from the roads, Hodges said. Shelters at several of the county's fire departments offered food and showers. Board Chairman William F. Osl Jr. said that for residents wanting to see their tax dollars at work, "Here it is. When you need it, this is what you get."

Dinwiddie The Dinwiddie County Board of Supervisors will hold a special workshop meeting tomorrow from noon to 2:45 p.m. at the Eastside Enhancement Center, 7301 Boydton Plank Road. The board's regular meeting will continue at the same location starting at 3 p.m. A public hearing will follow at 7 p.m. at the Dinwiddie County High School auditorium, 11501 Boisseau Road.

Goochland The Goochland County Board of Supervisors will meet tomorrow at the county administration building, 1800 Sandy Hook Road. At a work session at 5 p.m., the board will discuss issues related to Hidden Rock Park and soccer fields and hear a budget update from the interim county administrator. Public hearings will be held at 7 p.m.

Hanover Hanover County's economic development department has done an initial draft of its updated Economic Development Strategic Plan, and the public is invited to comment on it March 23 at 7 p.m. at the Richmond Times-Dispatch meeting room, 8460 Times-Dispatch Blvd. County officials and members of Hanover's Economic Development Authority will be present at the meeting. A draft of the plan can be seen at http://www.co.hanover.va.us/econdev/strategicplandraft.pdf. For details, call the economic development department at (804) 365-6464.

Henrico The Henricopolis Soil and Water Conservation District will hold its annual spring tree-seedling giveaway for Henrico County residents Friday in the Hermitage High School parking lot, 8301 Hungary Spring Road. Trees will be given away free, beginning at 8:30 a.m. until supplies run out. The conservation district will offer 13 species of bare-root seedlings, including red bud, white and red osier dogwood, bald cypress, red maple and white oak. Information about individual species and guidelines for planting seedlings are available on the district's Web site, http://www.co.henrico.va.us/swcd. For details, call 501-5175.

Hopewell Experts will teach a workshop on the topic of budgeting, savings and building credit worthiness on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Hopewell Department of Development, 209 E. Cawson St. Call Kevin Wyne at (804) 541-2220 to register or e-mail him at kwyne@hopewellva

King and Queen The King and Queen County School Board will hold a public hearing on the proposed 2009-2010 budget on Wednesday at 7 p.m. at the county's meeting room, 242 Allen's Circle.

King William Citizens for King William will have its next community meeting Thursday at 7 p.m. at the Upper King William Senior Center on state Route 30. Among the agenda topics are the King William County motocross proposal and Spring Fest.

Louisa The Louisa County Board of Supervisors is scheduled to meet today at 5 p.m. The agenda includes a presentation on the "Buy Local First" campaign for Louisa. At 7 p.m., a public hearing is scheduled on a request for rezoning of about 105 acres on the north side of U.S. 250 (Three Notch Road), about a half mile west of state Route 208 (Courthouse Road).

New Kent The New Kent County Board of Supervisors will hold a special joint meeting with the New Kent School Board today at 4:30 p.m. in the Historic Courthouse, 12003 New Kent Highway, followed by a meeting with members of the New Kent Economic Development Authority.

Petersburg The Petersburg Public Library will hold a special workshop on Thursday on how to read and improve personal credit scores. The class will be held from 1 to 3 p.m. It is free and open to the public, but registration is required. To register, call (804) 733-2387. The Petersburg Retail Alliance will be giving the presentation and will offer suggestions on how to improve credit scores.

Powhatan Powhatan County's Transportation Study Group will meet Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. in the auditorium of the Powhatan Village Building at 3910 Old Buckingham Road.

Prince George The second Clergy Symposium at the Fort Lee Army base in Prince George County will be tomorrow from 8:30 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. The event will focus on post-traumatic stress disorder in soldiers. The program will provide area clergy with information about how common PTSD is in soldiers, problems that soldiers experience with the disorder, how it affects relationships, and treatments that are offered for soldiers and their families who are battling PTSD. For information about this or other programs in the series of clergy symposiums, call the Fort Lee Memorial Chapel at (804) 734-6494.

Richmond Citywide preschool registration begins Thursday. It runs 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. at every elementary school except for George Mason and Fairfield Court. It will also be open from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on following Thursdays at Bellemeade, Bellevue, Blackwell, Broad Rock, Carver, Clark Springs, Fisher, Fox, Miles Jones, Mary Munford, Oberby-Sheppard and Ruffin Road elementary schools and Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School. For information, call (804) 254-6181.

Sussex The Virginia Forest Landowner Education Program is offering a daylong workshop March 27 from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at Airfield 4-H Center, 15189 Airfield Road near Wakefield. The workshop, offered by the Virginia Cooperative Extension service, is designed to help property owners increase forest productivity and biodiversity, conserve soil and water, and improve forest health. The $10 registration fee includes lunch, refreshments, a field guide and transportation. For details, call Patrick Vincent at the South Centré Corridors Resource Conservation and Development Council Area at (804) 732-4375 or e-mail

AROUND THE STATE

Leesburg Loudoun County authorities said a man recently convicted of rape is going to be charged with another sexual assault. Police said Arnold Mancia-Morales, 25, will be charged with rape and other offenses in connection with an April attack on a 51-year-old woman in an area of Sterling Park. He was served warrants Saturday at the county jail. Mancia-Morales was sentenced last week to life in prison for breaking into a 75-year-old Sterling Park woman's home and raping her at knifepoint in August. Police said Mancia-Morales is an illegal immigrant from Honduras who has five prior convictions.

Lawrenceville Robert L. Satcher Sr. will be inaugurated as the ninth president of Saint Paul's

Bristol An employee at Line Power Manufacturing Corp. died Saturday in an accident that occurred while he was testing a piece of electrical equipment, authorities said. Joel W. Gobble, 38, of Bluff City, Tenn., was pronounced dead at Bristol Regional Medical Center at 11 a.m., about three hours after the accident, said Randy Grimes, director of safety with Electro-Mechanical Corp., which owns Line Power. Grimes said the incident is being investigated by the company and by Virginia Occupational Safety and Health officials.

Afton Afton Mountain Vineyards on state Route 631 in Nelson County will hold the first weekend of its Spring Open House Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. The farm winery will offer samplings of the first of its vintage 2008 white wines, including gewurztraminer, riesling and unwooded chardonnay. Complimentary hors d'oeuvres will be served. Admission is free. For details, call (540) 456-8667 or e-mail finewines@aftonmountain