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.

The proposed construction of a large lodging facility at Fort Lee has triggered concern among hotel industry leaders and local government officials in the Tri-Cities. The Army is contemplating building a 1,000-room facility at Fort Lee to support a projected student growth at the installation because of the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure Commission process.

This daily column features short news items from some of the 20 localities that make up the greater Richmond area. If you have a news item, call 649-6990 or e-mail us at . Henrico The Keep Henrico Beautiful Committee will honor winners of the 2009 Land Lover and Clean Business awards at tonight’s Henrico County Board of Supervisors meeting at 7 in the Government Center Board Room, 4301 E. Parham Road. The awards recognize one homeowner and one business in each magisterial district for maintaining an outstanding property through landscaping, lawn care, litter removal and recycling.“

PETERSBURG Tourism is up this year in the Tri-Cities area, an encouraging sign for the region that could be somewhat attributed to the economic crisis. The increase may stem in part because Virginians, facing tighter budgets this year, are more inclined to take day trips to local attractions than go on overnight or long-distance trips, local tourism industry experts say.

This daily column features short news items from some of the 20 localities that make up the greater Richmond area. If you have a news item, call 649-6990 or e-mail us at . Charles City The Charles City County Board of Supervisors will meet tomorrow at 7:30 p.m. in the Government and School Administration Building, 10900 Courthouse Road.

James Garcia-Otero loves to read books. In fact, the rising sixth-grader at Colonial Heights Middle School recently set a record in the Colonial Heights Accelerated Reader program. James read about 155 books and passed each ensuing quiz to earn 1,070.3 points by the end of the school year, far surpassing the previous citywide record of 833 points, according to Tussing Elementary librarian Nancy Turner.

The family of slain Petersburg businessman Robert L. Braswell Jr. was optimistic last fall when police announced the arrests of four people in the trusted shopkeeper’s 2006 robbery and shooting. But the closure they hoped for slipped away this week when a prosecutor advised that his case was too weak to proceed. Murder charges were withdrawn Wednesday against one of the suspects, and identical charges are to be withdrawn today against the second suspected gunman.