BRIEFS: NEWS NEAR YOU

NEWS NEAR YOU

Colonial Heights Fire officials have determined that a house fire Friday in the 400 Block of Lyons Avenue in Colonial Heights was started by a faulty electrical cord to a lamp. Firefighters responded to the blaze before noon and found heavy fire in the front living room. No one was at the house during the time of the incident, officials said. Damage to the house is estimated at $15,000. Officials said there were no smoke detectors installed in the home.

Richmond The Virginia Department of Historic Resources has approved 11 historical highway markers in Virginia. They include four

Caroline A new interpretive sign at Mill Creek informs visitors of the American Indians who once lived there and the plant and wildlife species that cohabited with them. The area of Essex, Caroline and King and Queen counties was part of the Rappahannock tribe's territory. Chief Anne Richardson said her tribe's ancestors also lived with the Nandtaughtacund and other tribes after being moved by the English to a town in the area of the U.S. Army's Fort A.P. Hill. Volunteers cleaned up the area surrounding Mill Creek in September to return the land to its natural state. The sign was unveiled this month to coincide with National Public Lands Day 2008.

Chesterfield Debbie Burcham, chief deputy commissioner for the Virginia Department on Aging, has been hired as Chesterfield County's Community Services Board executive director, effective Jan. 26. Burcham was hired after a national search that drew applications from about 30 applicants from 11 states. She holds a bachelor of science degree from Old Dominion University and a master's degree in nursing from the Virginia Commonwealth University.

AROUND THE STATE

Fincastle A Virginia man is recovering after being bitten by a black bear while hunting in the Jefferson National Forest in Botetourt County. Conservation Police Officer Shannon Smith with the state Department of Game and Inland Fisheries said the 55-year-old from the Fincastle area was attacked on Saturday morning. Smith said the man was with a party of bear hunters when the incident occurred. The bear was chased up into a tree and shot by the hunters before leaving the tree and attacking the hunter. The man suffered a severe laceration to his leg and was taken to Roanoke Memorial Hospital for treatment. The bear was fatally shot by one of the other hunters.

Norfolk Virginia Ballet Theatre and Todd Rosenlieb Dance in Norfolk are planning to merge. The Norfolk Arts Commission says the two arts groups will consolidate their operations, programs and facilities on Friday.

Chesapeake Chesapeake officials have ordered Allied Terminals to drain a large liquid fertilizer storage tank because it has welding defects similar to those that caused another tank to collapse last month, injuring two workers and spilling 2 million gallons of fertilizer. In a letter to city building officials, Chesapeake Fire Chief Steve Best said the tank was an "imminent threat to public safety." The tank can store more than 2 million gallons of liquid fertilizer and is within 250 feet of nearby homes.