A number of school divisions in central Virginia will open late today after this week’s heavy rains and flooding. The following county school districts reported two-hour delays: Amelia, Dinwiddie, King and Queen, New Kent and Prince George. Also, Sussex County schools are closed today. For an updated list of delays and closings, visit TimesDispatch.com.

Several school divisions in central Virginia are reporting delays tomorrow after this week’s heavy rains and flooding. The following county school districts are reporting two-hour delays for Friday: Amelia, Dinwiddie, King and Queen, New Kent and Prince George. Also, Sussex County schools are closed Friday.

Newport News has formally scrapped a proposed $300 million reservoir in King William County that drew opposition from environmentalists.

Newport News called an end yesterday to its two-decade effort to build a reservoir in King William County. Opponents had long considered the lake an affront to Indians and the environment. A memo from acting City Manager Neil A. Morgan recommended ending the project, and Mayor Joe S. Frank said yesterday afternoon that it is indeed dead.

Newport News Mayor Joe Frank said today the city’s two-decade-long effort to develop a reservoir in King William County is dead.

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

King William County resident Judith Gwathmey has filed suit to stop developers from doing any work on an easement that runs over her property. Gwathmey is at the heart of a nearly two-year legal dispute with developer KW Morrison LLC that involves a proposed motocross park off state Route 30 near Central Garage. She filed the suit Friday in King William Circuit Court.

At West Point High School, where he retired as associate principal in 1993, easygoing Charles Herbert “Herb” Brown Jr., also a band-choral director and teacher, was in charge of discipline. “He found good in everybody. He loved everyone. It didn’t matter who you were or where you lived,“ said his wife, Margaret Hill Brown. Since his death at age 72 from multiple myeloma on Tuesday, “many kids have come by and said that Mr. Brown would suspend them and they’d walk out of his office smiling,“ she said.

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.

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.

Don’t think that farming isn’t a high-tech business. The Virginia Agriculture Expo in Hanover County yesterday had some of the latest trends and research on display, including a highly engineered wetlands-restoration project, new methods for reducing pollutant runoff, and equipment with GPS devices that help farmers squeeze ever more efficiency into their operations.

PROJECT: Driveway entrance TIME: One weekend to build; a day to install COST: $100 HOW THEY DID IT: Mary and Jearl Cauthorne wanted to replace the plain, rickety driveway entrance to their King William County home with something more inviting. “It’s an adaptation of a garden gate,“ Mary Cauthorne said. “We wanted something a little fancier” to enhance the entry and provide a warm welcome to visitors.

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.

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.

Newport News’ King William reservoir project is coming to a halt after the Army Corps of Engineers suspended its permit. City Manager Randy Hildebrandt said the decision was prompted by a recent federal court ruling that said the Corps “acted arbitrarily and capriciously” when it issued a construction permit for the 13-billion-gallon reservoir in 2005.