A man wanted for escaping police custody Monday in Goochland County was arrested Wednesday in South Richmond. Derick K. Hewlett, 30, of Highland Springs was found at a house in the 1700 block of Decatur Street and taken into custody without incident at 2:05 p.m. Hewlett was apprehended by a group that included the Virginia State Police fugitive unit, the U.S. Marshals Service’s regional fugitive task force and Richmond police.

Secret-agent guinea pigs and costumed military commandos will do battle with evildoers in an open field in Goochland County tomorrow night. Nightlife out west just got more interesting. The event in question is the grand opening of Goochland Drive-In Theater. The rodents and heroes come courtesy of “G-Force” and “G.I. Joe: The Rise of the Cobra,“ the outdoor theater’s opening-night double feature.

Where: 4333 Old Fredericksburg Road (just south of I-64 at the Hadensville exit)
  When: Gates open at 6 p.m., and double features start at dusk
  Cost: Adults, $7; kids younger than 12, $3; babies, free
  Details: http://www.goochlanddriveintheater.com
Moonlite Theatre, Abingdon
Starlite Drive-In, Christiansburg

Four people were transported to VCU Medical Center yesterday with non-life-threatening injuries as a result of a multivehicle collision in Goochland County. State authorities shut down a 2-mile stretch of the westbound lanes of Interstate 64 for about five hours as they dealt with the injured and cleared vehicles. The crash occurred about 10:30 a.m. near mile marker 171 when a tractor-trailer hit a pickup truck and a van that were stopped on westbound I-64 because of construction.

The Virginia Department of Transportation says this afternoon that Interstate 64 west is closed at mile marker 171 in Goochland County because of a wreck involving a van and three commercial trucks, one of which dumped concrete across the highway.

An early-morning thunderstorm dumped up to 6 inches of rain in some parts of the Richmond region but caused little damage, authorities said. The heaviest rain the Richmond area has seen this summer left more than 6,000 Dominion Virginia Power customers without electricity in the region at one point, but power to most residents had been restored by afternoon.

A 78-year-old Cumberland County man drowned yesterday morning while fishing in a private Goochland County farm pond. Goochland Sheriff James L. Agnew said Harold G. Sutton of Ampthill Road in Cartersville, was fishing with a friend when their canoe capsized about 25 yards from shore. Sutton attempted to swim to the shore. His companion, a 20-year-old Goochland man, tried to help him but was unable to prevent him from going under the water.

An 80-year-old Cumberland County man died early this morning in a private Goochland County farm pond after his canoe capsized, tossing him and another fisherman into the water, according to the Goochland County Sheriff’s Department. Sheriff James L. Agnew said Harold G. Sutton, 78, of Ampthill Road in Cartersville, and his friend launched their 17-foot canoe around 7:30 this morning at the pond off Sandy Hook Road in central Goochland County.

When: 5 to 8 p.m. Monday
  Where: Richmond SPCA, 2519 Hermitage Road
  Registration: available through tomorrow at http://www.richmondspca.org

The Richmond SPCA is doing what it can to make it easier to reunite lost pets with their owners. On Monday, the nonprofit organization will hold a three-hour clinic during which dogs and cats will have a tracking microchip injected under their skin for $20. Typically, animals adopted from the SPCA are implanted with chips, but the group wanted to broaden the program to include other pets.

There is nothing quite like grabbing your mask and snorkel, plunging into the refreshing James River and coming face to face with a huge catfish.

Quick tips for snorkeling in the James River

The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality has declared Goochland County’s Hidden Rock Park soccer fields safe for play after a new gas-extraction system was installed to bring methane levels from the landfill beneath the fields into compliance with state standards. A letter sent last week from the state agency to Goochland County Administrator Rebecca T. Dickson stated that meter readings at the park since the new system was installed in March were satisfactory.

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.

Area farmers markets Ashland Farmers’ Market, 101 Thompson St., Ashland, (804) 798-9219. 9 a.m.-noon Saturdays through November. Byrd House Market, behind William Byrd Community House, South Linden Street and Idlewood Avenue, (804) 643-2717. 3:30-7 p.m. Tuesdays through October. Chester Farmers’ Market, Chester Village Green, Village Green Drive and Centre Street, (804) 748-9650. 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturdays through October. Goochland Farmers’ Market, 2955 River Road West, Goochland, (804) 332-3144. 8 a.m.-noon Saturdays through October. Huguenot-Robious Farmers’ Market, Great Big Greenhouse, 2051 Huguenot Road, (804) 320-1317. 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Thursdays through October. Lakeside Market, 6110 Lakeside Ave., (804) 262-6593. 8 a.m.-noon and 3-7 p.m. Wednesdays and 8 a.m.-noon Saturdays through November. Market Emporium at Bryan Park, Hermitage Road between Bryan Park and Bellevue avenues, (804) 513-3100. 3-7 p.m. Tuesdays through November. St. Stephen’s Farmers’ Market, St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, 6000 Grove Ave. (804) 288-2867. 8 a.m.-noon Saturdays through October. 17th Street Farmers’ Market, 17th and East Main streets, http://www.17thstreet farmersmarket.com or (804) 646-0477. 8:30 a.m.-4 p.m. Thursdays, 4-8 p.m. Fridays (through Sept. 4) and 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays through mid-December (except as noted). South of the James Market, Forest Hill Park, Forest Hill Avenue and 42nd Street, (804) 513-3100. 8 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturdays through December. West End Farmers’ Market, Gayton Road and Ridgefield Parkway, http://www.westendfarmersmarket.com or (804) 564-9989. 8 a.m.-noon Saturdays and Wednesdays through mid-December. Whole Foods Market Farmers’ Market, in front of the store, 11173 W. Broad St., (804) 364-4050. 4-7 p.m. Wednesdays through October.