A mixed-development project for downtown Hopewell has city residents and officials hopeful. The city has been waiting for a project to begin a transformation of downtown from a deserted area into a livelier district and a walkable community with modern shops, restaurants and living spaces, city officials said. The City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved a development agreement between the city and developer Butterworth’s Lofts LLC, a Richmond-based group that plans to restore the former Larkin Hotel at 245 E. Broadway St., most recently used by Butterworth’s Furniture, and an adjacent warehouse and lot, built in 1916.

Led by David Copeland (22 points, five rebounds, six assists), Clarence Hextall (28 points), and Juhan Robinson (16 points), No. 9 Chesterfield Community cruised to its second straight Tri-Rivers District championship with a win over Windsor. Windsor was paced by Kwandrea Harris’ 17 points. CHESTERFIELD COMMUNITY 89, WINDSOR 48
WINDSOR (0-12 Tri-Rivers, 0-21)

David Copeland scored all 30 of his points in just three quarters and sat out the fourth as Chesterfield Community routed Charles City in a Tri-Rivers District game. Richard Smith had 20 points and 10 rebounds, Clarence Hexstall (seven points) pulled down 13 boards, and Juhuan Robinson notched 10 assists for the Eagles. Michael Jefferson and Trevor Jones scored 21 and 15 points, respectively, to lead the Panthers.

CHARLES CITY 55, APPOMATTOX RGS 48
CHARLES CITY (4-5 Tri-Rivers, 8-7) Jefferson 10, Wallace 4, R. Williams 1, T. Jones 27, Spruill 7, Smith 0, W. Jones 2, C. Williams 0, William 4, Harris 0, Cotman 0, D. Jones 0. Totals 17 19-33 55.
APPOMATTOX RGS (2-8, 4-13) Presley 2, Bland 0, Nixon 12, Crawley 14, Ross 19, Boudali 0, Thomas 0, Richardson 0, Jones 1. Totals 18 9-18 48.
Charles City————————————- 16 12 12 15—55
Appomattox RGS————————————- 12 17 4 15—48

SUSSEX CENTRAL 71, WINDSOR 30  WINDSOR (0-8 Tri-Rivers, 1-12)  Harris 6, Jordan 2, Bullock 0, Bowers 0, Walton 6, Clements 0, Copeland 10, Rawls 0, Horne 6. Totals 14 0-4 30.  SUSSEX CENTRAL (5-3, 7-11) Johnson 12, Shaw 2, Felts 12, Taylor 3, Hinton 0, Harris 8, Moore 4, Ford 10, Baker 0, Cooper 8, Barner 8, Holmes 4. Totals 34 0-5 71.

CHESTERFIELD COMM. 69, SUSSEX CENTRAL 67
CHESTERFIELD COMM. (6-1 Tri-Rivers, 12-4) Able 13, Elliston 0, Best 3, Johnson 17, Robinson 13, Copeland 10, Hexstall 11, Brown 2. Totals 26 10-17 69.
SUSSEX CENTRAL (4-3, 7-10) Johnson 5, Felts 15, Taylor 5, Harris 12, Moore 0, Ford 9, Cooper 13, Holmes 8. Totals 29 2-4 67.
Chesterfield Comm. 19 19 16 15—69
Sussex Central 13 19 15 20—67

Fort Lee’s growth in the next two years has the potential to bring economic and population growth to Richmond and other localities outside the Tri-Cities, a Fort Lee official told a small group of war veterans and Richmond-area residents last night. The 2005 Defense Base Realignment and Closure Commission plan is expected to bring nearly 15,000 new residents to the Tri-Cities and surrounding communities by 2011.

Gangs such as the Bloods, Crips and Gangster Disciples might seem far off and irrelevant to the lives of most central Virginia residents, who typically equate such groups with big cities like New York, Los Angeles and Chicago. But offshoots of those gangs are living and committing crimes in our cities and counties, area law-enforcement officials say. And the degree to which those gangs have taken root here might surprise many law-abiding local residents, they say. “I don’t think there’s any national-flavored gang that’s not here,“ said Mindy Grizzard, a board member of the Virginia Gang Investigators Association.

CHESTERFIELD COMM. 86, CHARLES CITY 37
CHARLES CITY (2-3, 6-5) Jefferson 6, Wallace 0, Doan 0, R. Williams 10, T. Jones 12, Spruill 0, Smith 4, W. Jones 2, C. Williams 3. Totals 14 7-12 37.
CHESTERFIELD COMM. (3-1, 9-4) Able 11, Tate 0, Elliston 9, Best 9, Johnson 10, Robinson 12, Copeland 19, Hexstall 6, Brown 10. Totals 37 11-17 86.
Charles City 4 8 8 17—37
Chesterfield Comm. 21 24 21 20—86

FRANKLIN 57 , SUSSEX CENTRAL 56 FRANKLIN (2-1 Tri-Rivers, 6-2) Shearin 25, Grant 0, Smith 6, Britt 0, Lee 8, Thompson 14, Pope 0, Smith 3, Newsome 0, Frazier 1. Totals 17 21-37 57.
SUSSEX CENTRAL (3-2, 5-9) Johnson 17, Shaw 0, Felts 13, Taylor 9, Moore 0, Ford 7, Brown 8, Cooper 0, Barner 0, Holmes 2. Totals 23 6-7 56.
Franklin 17 7 13 20—57
Sussex Central 8 17 20 11—56

APPOMATTOX GS 55, CHARLES CITY 29  APPOMATTOX GS (3-1 Tri-Rivers, 8-4)  Presley 20, Gore 24, Scott 4, Rowe 4, Wilson 0, Williams 0, Yenkevich 0, Pritchett 2, Jones 0. Totals 21 13-17 55.  CHARLES CITY (1-2, 3-8)  Harris 4, Spruel 0, Charity 0, Wynn 2, Bradby 0, Brown 2, Al. Adkins 14, Braxton 7, Am. Adkins 0, Binford 0, S. Adkins 0. Totals 10 5-13 29.

A 100-foot-long wooden pier off Appomattox Street in downtown Hopewell was completed last week. The pier was the latest accomplishment by the Friends of the Lower Appomattox River, a nonprofit group that works to protect the river and promote its natural beauty and history. The 5-foot-wide, $25,000 pier - paid for with $12,000 from the city and private grants - is expected to be used by city residents for fishing and recreation, but FOLAR and city officials also hope to use it as an educational tool.

Granville Lee “Hank” Bilyeu, sports editor of The Hopewell News, began a 50-year career at the newspaper while serving in the Army at Fort Lee. Rising from reporter to news editor and managing editor, the Krum, Texas, native later found his niche as sports editor. He was an unabashed fan of local teams, sending flowers to the girls’ players for a good game or buying dinner for the boys.

With plans to form an independent governing authority at Tri-Cities Regional Airport grounded by uncertainty, city leaders plan to seek another source of financial protection. Bristol is one of six local governments sharing ownership of the Blountville, Tenn., -based airport, but the only one not covered by Tennessee’s tort liability insurance. In the event of a judgment in a catastrophic accident or other lawsuit, the city could be found liable for an unlimited amount of money. State insurance caps damages for Tennessee-based governments at $450,000.

With plans to form an independent governing authority at Tri-Cities Regional Airport grounded by uncertainty, city leaders plan to seek another source of financial protection. Bristol is one of six local governments sharing ownership of the Blountville, Tenn., -based airport, but the only one not covered by Tennessee’s tort liability insurance. In the event of a judgment in a catastrophic accident or other lawsuit, the city could be found liable for an unlimited amount of money. State insurance caps damages for Tennessee-based governments at $450,000.