120 had no critical violations during inspections conducted during the 2008-09 school year; and
93 had two or fewer total
critical violations for the year
Here are some examples of critical violations inspectors found at area schools. These
violations were corrected:
Oct. 30, 2008: Employees were observed handling ready-to-eat food with bare hands at

The Virginia National Guard is closing its Dove Street Armory in Richmond because of state budget cuts. The move means about 375 soldiers will report to other Guard facilities in the area for their one-weekend-a-month duty assignments, said Virginia National Guard Maj. Cotton Puryear. The closing, along with the shutdown of the Guard’s Roanoke armory, will save $115,000 a year.

Colonial Heights is joining the list of school systems in central Virginia that are electing not to air tomorrow’s daytime presidential address to students. Last week, controversy erupted across the nation as parents and officials opposed President Barack Obama’s address to schoolchildren. Superintendent Joseph O. Cox Jr. wrote in a brief letter posted Saturday on the school system’s Web site that Colonial Heights won’t show Obama’s address during the school day tomorrow, the first day of school for many metropolitan Richmond localities.

In 1963, as tension escalated over the injustices of segregation in Petersburg, the City Council established a Biracial Committee to promote better race relations in the city. Louis C. Shell, an attorney and former councilman, was named chairman—one of three white residents named to the committee, which was convened to respond to the sit-ins and protests with a resident-led dialogue among community groups.

The number of Virginia schools that made Adequate Yearly Progress goals in reading and math dropped slightly during the 2008-09 school year after the passing rates got a little tougher. But there were some bright spots. A few local school divisions improved despite the higher benchmarks—including Petersburg, which has a long history of low performance on standardized testing.

The race for the city’s commissioner of the revenue post got off to an early, and possibly improper, start. One-term incumbent Marjorie C. DeDanko and challenger Gayle R. Braswell are in a rematch this November. Braswell lost to DeDanko in the same race in 2005. Braswell’s campaign got into trouble for holding a car-wash fundraiser July 25 that was advertised to benefit the local Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

After nearly six months of construction, the Colonial Heights Community Center is reopening today, with new services. The center at 157 Roanoke Ave. underwent a $600,000 renovation and expansion, including a 2,718-square-foot addition for a youth center and assembly area. A grand opening is 2 p.m. today. The former 5,071-square-foot structure also got two new bathrooms, an additional exit, the installation of a new sprinkler system for the entire building and renovations of walls, floors and ceilings.

COLONIAL HEIGHTS—Divers pulled the body of a man from the Appomattox River yesterday, about three hours after he disappeared while attempting to wade across the river with his young nephew. Members of the Chesterfield Fire & EMS dive team discovered the victim’s body about 4 p.m., less than 30 minutes after they began searching for him near Archer Park, just west of the Martin Luther King Memorial Bridge. His name was not immediately released.

Daniel Culler admits that school wasn’t a lot of fun. In fact, the recent graduate of Colonial Heights High School says, with a laugh, that he caught a case of senioritis on the first day of sixth grade. “I have never had much fun in school. School is not my thing,“ Culler said. That doesn’t mean he didn’t excel; he graduated with about a 3.6 grade-point average. And he capped his senior year last month by becoming Colonial Heights’ first-ever gold-medal winner at the national SkillsUSA competition. In 2007, Colonial Heights student Brandon Woody earned a bronze medal at the national competition

Virginia State University yesterday withdrew its offer to lease the city-owned former Colonial Heights Baptist Church property, walking away from a plan that prompted public discontent. The university’s decision came three hours before a scheduled public hearing, during which dozens of residents were expected to speak against the plan.

Virginia State University yesterday withdrew its offer to lease the city-owned former Colonial Heights Baptist Church property, walking away from a plan that prompted public discontent. The university’s decision came three hours before a scheduled public hearing, during which dozens of residents were expected to speak against the plan.

The Colonial Heights City Council is considering leasing the former Colonial Heights Baptist Church property to Virginia State University, in spite of increasing citizen support to turn the site into a courthouse. The official plan is to lease the city-owned property at 231 Chesterfield Ave. for 18 months to VSU for $25,000 a month. The site would be used by VSU’s business school while its campus building is renovated.

The museums and historical attractions visited by the Community Teacher’s Institute seminar:
  U.S. Army Quartermaster’s Museum: http://www.qmmuseum.lee.army.mil/
  Battersea Plantation: http://www.batterseainc.com/
  Petersburg National Battlefield: http://www.nps.gov/pete/
  U.S. Army Women’s Museum: http://www.awm.lee.army.mil/

Henrico The Henrico County Health Department is seeking 100 more volunteers for Sunday’s drill to test the county’s plan to dispense emergency medication in response to a bioterrorism event or a disease outbreak. The exercise will take place from 6-7 p.m. at CVS Pharmacy, 9501 Woodman Road. Registration has been extended to Friday. There is no age limit for volunteers, and participation is not limited to county residents. For information and to register, call 501-4643 or log on to http://www.co.henrico.va.us/health.

Whitlow Chevrolet and Dominion Auto Group’s Southpark Chevrolet and Cadillac franchises are closing as part of General Motors Corp.‘s streamlining of its dealer base. The three are among nearly 2,000 dealerships whose franchise agreements will not be renewed by the bankrupt automaker when they expire in October 2010, according to representatives.