BRIEFS: NEWS NEAR YOU

NEWS NEAR YOU

Hopewell One man has been arrested and two others are wanted in connection with a bomb threat made at Hopewell High School on Dec. 18. The school was closed for nearly three hours while authorities searched the building. No explosive device was found, but surveillance video showed four men trespassing. As a result of tips from the public, police arrested Donald Gene Gray Jr., 23, of Ettrick, who was charged with disorderly conduct and trespassing. Police are seeking Timothy Charles-Nicholas Gray, 18, of Ettrick, and Troy Antione Morgan, 21, of Petersburg, on similar charges. Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call the Hopewell Police Department at (804) 541-2284 or Hopewell-Prince George Crime Solvers at (804) 541-2202.

Richmond An opening reception with live music is planned for tonight from 7 to 10 p.m. for an art show titled "Positive Exposure: The Spirit of Difference" at Art Works, 320 Hull St. in South Richmond. The exhibit is described as celebrating human diversity and "exquisitely displays the beauty endowed to individuals with genetic differences." This afternoon, Rick Guidotti, the founder of Positive Exposure, is scheduled to give a presentation from noon to 1 p.m. at the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Nursing's Younger Auditorium.

Petersburg The annual Ghost Watch tours are scheduled at the historic Centre Hill Mansion tomorrow starting at 6 p.m. Since the late 19th century, Jan. 24 has been the night of "ghostly activity" at the mansion. The tours, which focus on ghost stories at the house, run every 15 minutes until 8:45 p.m. Reservations are required; tickets can be obtained at the Petersburg Visitors Center in Old Towne. For more details, call (804) 733-2400. The mansion is at 1 Centre Hill Ave.

Richmond On Sunday at 2 p.m., Sara Ginaite-Rubinson will speak to guests at the Virginia Holocaust Museum, 2000 E. Cary St. During World War II, Ginaite-Rubinson was a Jewish partisan living in the Lithuanian city of Kaunas, where museum director Jay M. Ipson and his family also are from. Ginaite-Rubinson will speak about her experiences fighting the Germans and living in Kaunas through its liberation in 1944, detailed in her book "Resistance and Survival: The Jewish Community in Kaunas 1941-1944."

Hanover The Pamunkey Regional Jail was reaccredited this month by the American Correctional Association. The three-year reaccreditation process included an on-site review and inspection in October by corrections professionals from across the country.

AROUND THE STATE

Portsmouth A 19-year-old Navy man who admitted he struck and scalded his girlfriend's 8-month-old daughter has been sentenced to up to 15 years in prison. Matthew A. Simon pleaded guilty in November to two counts of malicious wounding and one count of child cruelty.

Alexandria Federal prosecutors say a jury has convicted a man who was a leader in the MS-13 gang of conspiring to commit murder in aid of racketeering. Erick Turcios-Lazo, 21, was convicted yesterday. A sentencing hearing is set for

Fredericksburg An investigative hearing has been scheduled this week at Fort Bragg, N.C., for seven paratroopers charged in the death at Fort Bragg of a soldier from Fredericksburg. The 82nd Airborne Division said the Article 32 hearing in the death of Pfc. Luke Brown, 27, was scheduled to start this morning. Master Sgt. Thomas Clementson said the hearing is expected to last several days. Under military law, involuntary manslaughter carries a maximum prison sentence of 10 years. Brown was an intelligence analyst who was found unresponsive July 20 in a car on the Army post.