This daily column features short news items from the 20 localities that make up the greater Richmond area. On Mondays, we run at least one item from each of the localities. If you have a news item, call 649-6990 or e-mail us at Amelia Work has begun on the visitors center at Amelia County’s Sailor’s Creek Battlefield State Park. The $1.1 million center is expected to be completed next summer.

Members of the Hopewell Optimist Club are hosting their annual barbecue sale from 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 1, 2008 at the Optimist Club building, 1310 Lynchburg Street. The meal includes barbecue pork, baked beans, coleslaw and rolls. Meals can be eaten in or taken out. Cost is $5 per plate, $6 per pound, and $10 for family packs.

The Petersburg Breakfast Rotary Club is scheduled to present new dictionaries to fourth-grade students in the Petersburg public school division. The presentation will be Oct. 22 at 10 a.m. at Walnut Hill Elementary School.

Petersburg—Results of a comprehensive archaeological survey conducted this summer at Battersea, the 1768 estate of Col. John Bannister in Petersburg, will be revealed at a public program on Thursday at 9:30 a.m. at Battersea. Banister was Petersburg’s first mayor, early industrialist, lawyer, and Revolutionary War leader. Josh Duncan, project archaeologist with Cultural Resources, Inc., will discuss new insights from the study including how the site evolved from prehistoric time to today, Native American use of the site, early industrial and agricultural efforts, slave quarters, other early uses of out-buildings and landscape changes.

U.S. History classes at Peabody Middle School in Petersburg learned about Native American culture this month. Grace Jones, Peabody inclusion teacher, brought in her personal collection of Native American clothing and artifacts. Students then used classroom resources to create their own versions of the materials. The presentation also featured discussions of Native American contributions to the nation’s past and present history. Jones and Patricia Smith, a Peabody sixth-grade history teacher, invited students to travel with them on an imaginary trip that explored customs, tools and names that originated from Native American culture. At the end of the discussion, students were involved in hands-on experiences with the collection.

In appreciation for their services and in recognition of Fire Prevention Month, Firefighters and EMS personnel in Colonial Heights will be treated to breakfast at Dunlop House Assisted Living Facility, 235 Dunlop Farms Boulevard in Colonial Heights at 8 a.m. on Thursday, Oct. 16.

Ann M. Ford, who serves as truancy case manager at Petersburg High School, earned a Ph.D. in educational administration and supervision earlier this year from Virginia State University. She previously earned her master’s degree in the same field from VSU. Ford is a 1972 alumnus of Petersburg High School and a native of the city. She has worked in the Petersburg public school system since 1989.

The Oct.3 Virginia School Boards Association Leadership Conference in Charlottesville promoted 21st-century learning in the classroom. The focus of the conference was 21st-century living and working skills. City of Petersburg School Board representatives Kenneth L. Pritchett, Steven L. Pierce Sr., Kenneth W. Lewis and Fred B. Wilson Sr., and Superintendent James M. Victory attended and earned six points of VSBA Academy credit for their attendance.

HOPEWELL—Osage Bio Energy of Glen Allen will have a groundbreaking ceremony today for its new ethanol plant. The 10 a.m. ceremony for the Appomattox Bio Energy ethanol plant will be held at South Main Street and LaPrade Avenue near downtown.

A North Carolina trucker has died from injuries caused by a fiery Sept. 20 crash on Interstate 95 in Colonial Heights. Virginia State Police Sgt. Tom Cunningham said David Bowens died Monday at VCU Medical Center, where he had been listed in critical condition since the crash. Cunningham said Bowens was driving a 2003 International tractor-trailer just before dawn when he swerved to avoid a wreck that had just occurred near the Temple Avenue exit.

Getting to Petersburg football practice in the afternoon is a lonely drive. Grass grows ankle high around empty driveways. Salons have hand-painted signs advertising over dark windows. No cars are parked at the gas pumps. Streets are blocked off in the middle of the day, but no one is working on them. Making it to the football field isn’t necessarily easy for the kids that live there, either. The dropout rate for Petersburg High School is more than four times the state average. Of those who stay in school, 60 percent qualified for free or reduced-price lunch this year.

The Central Virginia Chapter of the Virginia Breast Cancer Foundation will present the 12th annual Breast Cancer Awareness Dinner on Oct. 27, 2008, in Petersburg. VBCF’s Central Virginia Chapter strives to educate Virginians about breast cancer and to advocate for those affected by breast cancer. The event will take place at Brickhouse Run, 407-409 Cockade Alley in Old Towne, Petersburg, across from the Farmers Market. Seating will begin at 5 p.m. and will be available throughout the evening.

“Who calls in our audibles?“ the Dinwiddie receiver asked back. “Nah, that’s just Adam.“ Adam Morgan, Dinwiddie’s quarterback, not only has arm strength but backs it up with intelligence. He’s Peyton Manning on the line, calling off audibles when he sees a blitz and adjusting his receivers’ routes on the fly. And unlike most high schools and some colleges, there’s no coach behind the curtain.

Richmond Sixth Mount Zion Baptist Church, 14 W. Duval St., will hold a historic-preservation seminar on Monday. The seminar will focus on the importance of preserving black heritage and will be held in conjunction with the annual conference of the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities. The seminar will include a panel discussion, lunch and a walking tour of Jackson Ward in downtown Richmond. The cost of the seminar is $35, and it is open to the public. To register, call APVA, (804) 648-1889, or the church, (804) 648-7511.

Pamplin Historical Park & The National Museum of the Civil War Soldier will open a new exhibition, “Beyond Brady: Photography in the Civil War Era,“on Oct. 4. This 1,500 square-foot interactive exhibit features more than 130 artifacts and images and covers all aspects of photography during the mid-1800s: how photographs were made and used, what they meant to people then and what they mean now, and who the pioneer photographers were in that period.