News Near You for March 30

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 NEAR YOU

Amelia The renovations to the historic Hillsman farm house at Sailor's Creek Battlefield Historical Park in Amelia County can be seen Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. during a commemorative weekend recognizing the last major battle of the Civil War in Virginia. Historians will reflect on the house's role as a federal army hospital during and after the battle. Park manager and historian Chris Calkins will talk about the battle and discuss the historic furnishings for the interior of the farmhouse and plans for developments of the park.

Caroline Supervisor Floyd W. Thomas is leading a committee that is exploring how to make high-speed Internet access available

Charles City Story time for toddlers is held at 10:30 a.m. Mondays at the Heritage Public Library, 10780 Courthouse Road in Charles City County.

Chesterfield Deanna Castelvecchi, a physical-education teacher at Chester Middle School in Chesterfield County, will be honored as the Southern District Middle School Physical Education Teacher of the Year by the National Association for Sport and Physical Education at its weeklong convention in Tampa, Fla., which starts today. The Southern district represents a 13-state area from Virginia to Texas. Castelvecchi, who has taught for more than six years in Chesterfield, will vie with four other district winners for the national award.

Colonial Heights Colonial

Cumberland The Cumberland County School Board will meet Thursday at 7 p.m. at the Middle/High School. The board is scheduled to approve its 2009-10 budget.

Dinwiddie The 13th annual Southside Virginia Heritage Days will be held Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Historic Fork Inn, an 1803 plantation home that has been restored as a showcase of early-19th-century life. Exhibitors and living-history demonstrations will show what life was like in Southside Virginia before and during the Civil War. The event in the Sutherland area of Dinwiddie County commemorates the anniversary of the Civil War Battle of Sutherland Station that took place at the site on April 2, 1865. Admission and parking are free. For details, call (804) 304-4200, or e-mail .

Goochland The Goochland County Board of Supervisors will meet tomorrow at 7 p.m. to hear from the public on the proposed fiscal year 2010 county budget, the schools budget and the tax rate. The meeting will be held at the county administration building, 1800 Sandy Hook Road.

Hanover The Primrose School of Atlee Commons will hold its annual Spring Fling on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Ashland school, 9650 Atlee Commons Drive in Hanover County. This event is a charitable fundraiser for Reach Out and Read and ASK (Association for the Support of Kids with cancer). The event will include an Easter egg hunt, carnival games, silent auction, car-seat safety checks and food. For details, call (804) 550-3400.

Henrico The county's proposed budget for 2009-10 and the opening of the Henrico County Employment Transition Center will be topics on the agenda at a town meeting by Varina District Supervisor James B. Donati Jr. The meeting will begin tonight at 7 at the Henrico Theatre, 305 E. Nine Mile Road. School Board Chairman John W. Montgomery Jr. will join Donati to discuss the budget and how it has been affected by the economic crisis. Officials from the county government and the school system also will be on hand to answer questions.

Hopewell The Hopewell Board of Equalization will hold reassessment hearings tomorrow, Wednesday and Thursday from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. The hearings will be at the Municipal Building, second-floor conference room, 300 N. Main St. For information, contact City Clerk Ann M. Romano at (804) 541-2249.

King and Queen Applications for real estate tax exemptions for elderly and disabled residents are due Wednesday to the King and Queen County commissioner of the revenue. Eligible residents have income that doesn't exceed $35,000 and capital assets not exceeding $60,000. For details, call Helen H. Longest, commissioner of the revenue, at (804) 769-5002 or (804) 785-5976.

King William The King William County Parks and Recreation Department is planning its 11th annual Easter Egg Hunt and Children's Festival on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Hamilton-Holmes Middle School, 18444 King William Road. The event will feature egg hunts, rides, community booths, vendors and more. Details are available at http://www.kingwilliam

Louisa The Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries' safe-boating course, Boat Virginia, will be offered through the Louisa County Parks and Recreation Department on the second Saturday of each month through November. The course is taught from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Betty J. Queens Intergenerational Center, 522 Industrial Drive. For details, contact Dave Aitken at (540) 894-0441.

New Kent A lecture on "The True Story of Pocahontas: The Other Side of History" by author Angela L. Daniel "Silver Star" will be presented Friday at 1 p.m. in the New Kent Middle School auditorium. The program, sponsored by the New Kent County Historic Commission, is free and open to the public. For details, call (804) 966-9690.

Petersburg Starting Wednesday the Petersburg Public Library, at 137 S. Sycamore St., will offer free notary public services, including acknowledgment of signatures, administering of oaths, and certifying true copies of nongovernment documents. The services will be offered from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. For details, contact the library at (804) 733-2387.

Powhatan The Powhatan County School Board is scheduled to meet in special closed session tonight at 7 at the school administration office, 2320 Skaggs Road. The purpose of the meeting is to discuss personnel matters.

Prince George Public-school kindergarten registration for the fall is set for today, tomorrow and Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the school where the child will attend. Registration also will be available Thursday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. To register, the child must be 5 on or before Sept. 30. For details, call the Prince George County School Board office, (804) 733-2700.

Richmond City Council Vice President Ellen F. Robertson has been elected chairwoman of the Capital Region Workforce Partnership, Richmond Mayor Dwight C.

Sussex The Sussex County Board of Supervisors and the Planning Commission will hold a joint public hearing tonight on a proposed update of the county's floodplain ordinance and a series of zoning changes designed to square the county's zoning ordinance with its comprehensive plan. The hearing is to begin at 7 p.m. in the General District Courtroom.

AROUND THE STATE

Lansdowne About 200 Lansdowne residents held an early-morning march yesterday to the place where one resident was killed and another was attacked in Loudoun County a week ago. Beverly Bradford, a resident who organized the march, said participants wanted to show that they're not intimidated by the violence. William Bennett, 57, was found dead along Riverside Drive near Rocky Creek Drive on March 22. His wife, Cynthia Bennett, 55, was discovered severely injured across the roadway. The couple had suffered blunt-force trauma. Cynthia Bennett remains in critical condition and is unable to talk about what happened, police said. Authorities say they are looking for as many as three assailants.

Blacksburg Virginia Tech is holding a Run in Remembrance on the anniversary of the campus massacre in 2007. The April 16 event is free and open to all runners, joggers and walkers. The 3.2-mile course starts at Alumni Mall near the North Main Street campus entrance and finishes on the Drillfield near the school's April 16 memorial. Classes will not be held on that date, two years after a student gunman killed 32 people and himself.

Chesapeake Residents who live near a golf course that was built in part with coal ash are seeking more than $1 billion in damages. Attorneys representing nearly 400 people filed a lawsuit in Chesapeake Circuit Court on Friday. The suit claims Dominion Virginia Power sent 1.5 million tons of fly ash to the site despite a consultant's conclusion that the ash eventually would pollute drinking water of nearby homes. Dominion Virginia Power spokesman Dan Genest declined to comment. The developer of the golf course and Dominion Virginia Power's coal-ash management consultant also are named as defendants.

Roanoke Two men have been indicted on federal charges related to the use of counterfeit credit cards in western Virginia. U.S. Attorney Julia C. Dudley said a grand jury in Roanoke returned the indictments Thursday against Osmiel Vasquez Rodriguez, 26, and Javier Rodriguez, 39. Both men are Cuban nationals living in Hialeah, Fla. The indictment alleges that the pair used credit cards to buy merchandise and gift cards at a Wal-Mart store in Christiansburg. Prosecutors say Osmiel Rodriguez had 11 counterfeit credit cards and a fake Pennsylvania driver's license when he was arrested. Javier Rodriguez had three phony credit cards, authorities said.

Suffolk "Freaks and Geeks" actor James Franco is looking for bit players with a backwoodsy look. Casting VA is holding a casting call