My Community: Henrico
Tell us what's happening in Henrico County! Maybe there's a community event planned at your child's school, or youth recreation signups are under way. Is your club recruiting new members? Have you - or someone close to you - received an honor lately? Maybe your church is looking for volunteers for a service project. Let us know by posting your news. Send us your photos too. Click here to submit your post. Please keep your post related to the county.

8500 Jesse Senior Drive
Richmond, VA 23229
(804) 282-1276
April 14, 2007, 7 am - 1 pm

The customers of Regency Self Storage are having a Yard Sale on April 14, 2007 from 7 am until 1 pm. The public is invited to attend.  Various items including furniture, children’s clothing, household items, nick-naks, and tools will be for sale. The facility is located at Parham Road and East Ridge behind the 7-11 and Bullets(see MapQuest link below for exact directions). For additional information call Diana at Regency Self Storage at 282-1276 during office hours (9 am to 5 pm Monday through Friday and Saturday 9 am to 2 pm)

Hi, My name is John Cox. I am starting programs for youth in Eastern Henrico County to steer them away from gangs. The programs are youth karate and little league wrestling. The program is open for boys and girls to train. It’s hard to find good coaches to train kids. So I came out of retirement.

The programs will be at Highland Springs High School from monday thur Thursday at 6:30 pm it’s stresses Concentration, Discipline, Confidence and Fitness. My web site is http://www.martialartkids.com or my number is 804-243-9386.  Thanks.

My kids are way into trains. We’ve been working on diversifying their interests, and the Virginia Aviation Museum was a great place to start.

I was pleasantly surprised at the offerings of the museum. I expected all of the displays of historic flights and air battles and the multitudes of airplanes, but I didn’t expect to see all of the fun stuff for kids. My son, Mitchell, was able to climb into the Piper Cub plane and pretend to fly, play with a flight simulator and many interactive learning tools. He’s a little young (almost 4) for many of the displays, but that’s for another day. He really loved the kids “Ready Room,” which was full of puzzles, books and toys themed around airplanes. That allowed me some time to see more of the museum and for him to get a really thorough outing. My favorites were the Wright Brother’s displays and the World War I and II panoramas. Of course, there are more than 20 planes and helicopters on display and thorough information for all of them.

The museum far exceeded my expectations, and I think we’ll be going back soon (especially while it’s cold outside).

We have a video and a new slideshow of the best features of the museum.

Phil Riggan
DiscoverRichmond.com

Today’s Times-Dispatch reports that Henrico County is planning to buy 205 acres of land in the Short Pump area to build a new high school.

Click here to read the whole story.

Let us know what you think about this proposal by commenting here.

Last night, the Henrico County Board of Supervisors approved plans by Gumenick Properties to redevelop 79.5 acres between Staples Mill Road and Libbie Avenue.

The Henrico-based developer plans to spend $434 million to build Staples Mill Centre, a compact, urban-style community where homes would be mixed with businesses. Plans call for 2,090 condominiums, town houses, homes and apartments, plus about 165,000 square feet of stores and offices. Officials say it is the largest revitalization project in Henrico history.

Supervisors praised the project’s detailed design and said it would help efforts to revitalize The Shops at Willow Lawn nearby.

“It takes people to serve that retail, and this brings the people for that area,” Glover said.

Much of the property is the site of the former Suburban Apartments, a post-World War II complex that was demolished more than four years ago.

Gumenick plans to tear down 225 apartments that remain along Crestwood Avenue and Yorkshire Drive, plus about 20 homes the company owns along Libbie and Bethlehem Road. The apartments and homes are not expected to be vacated before July 2008.

The Henrico County Board of Supervisors meets Tuesday night to discuss scrapping the vehicle decals.  If it goes through (as expected), what do you plan to do with your vehicle decal? 

Read the full story on TimesDispatch.com.

Diona Vakili, daughter of Karol Akers and Hassan Vakili, and resident of Henrico County was recently named to the Fall 2006 George Mason University Dean’s List.  To receive the distinction, one must have a 3.5 out of 4.0 GPA for the semester.  Diona graduated from Godwin High School in 2005 and is currently a sophomore at George Mason University.

Play Lacrosse!  Registration for the West End Lacrosse Club 2007 spring lacrosse season is now underway.  All boys in 6th through 12th grades are eligible to participate.  No experience is necessary.  Season begins in early March.  Registration forms are available at http://www.westendlacrosse.com.  E-mail questions to .

Matthew Akers, son of David and Gail Akers of Glen Allen, has been selected to be a member of the Lynchburg College Theatre production of Oklahoma!, as a member of the ensemble. The classic Rodgers and Hammerstein’s musical will be February 22-25.

Akers, a graduate of Hermitage High School, is a junior theatre major at Lynchburg College, a private college in central Virginia enrolling 2,400 students in the liberal arts and sciences, and professional and graduate studies.

More than 130 Henrico County Public Schools (HCPS) students earned Regional Scholastic Art and Writing Awards last month for their outstanding artistic and literary creativity. The Scholastic Art and Writing Awards are the largest national annual assessment of creativity among secondary students in the United States. Nationwide, 250,000 submissions are reviewed, including drawing, painting, photography, dramatic script, short story, poetry and sculpture. As a region, Henrico County competed against Chesterfield, Hanover, Goochland, Powhatan Counties and Richmond City students.

Three HCPS students were awarded Gold Key Awards, the highest recognition a body of work can receive. As Gold Key winners, Deep Run student Jeanne Howe, and Moody students Katelyn Hebel and Cynthia Andrianjatovo will now go on to compete on the national level. Howe and Hebel also won the prestigious American Visions and Voices Awards given to a select group of Gold Key recipients named “Best in Show.” Howe and Hebel are two of only ten students, regionally, to whom this honor was awarded.

The following students also received recognition.

Deep Run High:
Tini Duong
Michelle Walker
Lauren Albee
Kristin Joseph
Andrew Kim
Lindsay Ferrari
Mandy Fitzgerald
Hyung Kim
Michelle Kotwas
Geohan Lee
Jessie Obeck
Katharine Wright
Anthony Fields
Randi Lawrence
Alyson Aversa
Hayden Grisak
Kara Noble
Pari Valad
Christopher Duvall
Jacqueline Buff
Kathryn Minock
Alexander Fox
Meghan Kitten
Cara Livingston
Tiana Ramos
Matthew Reynolds
Elise Stein
Kelsey Zimmerman

Moody Middle:
Mary Ellen Burnette
Hadley Froelich
Sriram Ramkumar
Veronica Duong
Kinsey Miller
Maddy Lloyd
Kathryn Marqueen
Caitlin Secrist
Mariarosa Marinelli
Maddy Lloyd
Aileen Bi
Cynthia Andrianjatovo
Brandon Booth
Imani Marks
Ishani Premaratne
Chelsea Stokes

Godwin High:
Hannah Luedecke
Ashley Boice
Samantha Denney
Chris Hill
Kathyrn Kuzel
Justin Tien
Philip Vuong
Sam Dietz
Oksana Mikutin
Marian Neal
Kevin Wu
Natalie Wittmayer
Richard DiCicco

Hermitage High:
Samaria Lofton
Dylan Burton
Robert Gibson
Katrina Moore
Lewis Slusher
Sarah Stevenson
Danielle Zaremba
Natasha Lucke
Robin Cummings
Sara Melby
Jeromyah Jones

Henrico High:
Riley Arthur
Allison Jones
Sarah Nelson
Virginia Driggers
Eva Duong
Nicole Kappatos
Suzanne Reidelbach
Josh Williams
Kellie Dreelin
Danielle Lily
Elizabeth Gray
Sarah Virginia Smith
Alicia Hagy
Marshall Hawthorne
Matthew Clegg
Mingye Zho
Ryan Fauber
Leigh Burnett
Matthew Clegg

Brookland Middle:
Omar Gales
Judy Tat
Brittany Tuck
Santiago Vinueza-Palacios
Linnie Tong

Tuckahoe Middle:
Nathan Manley
Peyton Williams

Short Pump MS:
Heather Jones
Marie Kuzemchak
Emma Newins
Chris O’Neill
Ellen Park
Nicol Ridout
Madison Swart
Mardoqueu Valerio
Emma Nero
Abbie Winters
Hahn Nguyen
Brooke Obeck
Emily Watlington

Demolition is underway at the former Viasystems Technologies Corp. plant at 4500 S. Laburnum Ave., which closed in 2001. The demolition should be completed by late May. The contractor is Ecor Solutions Inc. Plans call for putting up a retail development on the 136 acres off South Laburnum Avenue just south of I-64. Construction on the 900,000-square-foot shopping center, called The Shops at White Oak Village should begin this summer. 

My favorite attractions to visit in Henrico County are Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens (naturally) and I’m partial to Dorey Park (I play soccer there). So far, my favorite park we’ve toured for DiscoverRichmond.com is Three Lakes Park, especially the three excellent play areas (best in the Richmond area that I’ve seen). I’m still looking forward to the reopening of the Nature Center (it was supposed to be Fall 2006, and it is behind schedule. Anybody heard the new reopen date?).

Of the following tourist spots in Henrico, which would you suggest we visit and explore? Is the stretch of attractions along Mountain Road in Glen Allen the best concentration? Dabbs House and the sites around Sandston in eastern Henrico? Is there anything at all worthwhile in the Far West End and Short Pump?

We’ve been to plenty of county parks, but I still have never visited Echo Lake Park or Dunncroft/Castle Point Park.  Dorey Park will be coming soon. Give us some pointers!

Phil Riggan
DiscoverRichmond.com

A heart benefit will be held at Daddio’s Grill, 13485 Gayton Road, Richmond, VA 23238 for Lee Patterson, a Godwin High School Sophomore on Saturday, February 10, 2007.  Lee has a defective heart valve and will be undergoing his second open-heart surgery at UVA Cardiac & Vascular Center on February 15, 2007.  A classic rock band, ‘Black Rose’ will be playing that night starting at 9:00 p.m..  Proceeds from cover charges, etc. will go to the family. 

Several Henrico students at Hampden-Sydney College were named to the Dean’s List for the first semester of the 2006-2007 academic year. To earn this distinction, students must achieve at least a 3.3 semester grade point average out of a possible 4.0.

Benjamin William Beasley, a freshman, graduated from Deep Run High School and is the son of Mr. and Mrs. William Beasley of Glen Allen.

George W. Drudge III, a senior, graduated from Hermitage High School and is the son of George and Jodie Drudge of Glen Allen.

Richard Cory Saunders, a sophomore, graduated from Patrick Henry High School and is the son of Doug and Pam Saunders of Montpelier.

Jonathan Tyler Schaaf, a senior, graduated from Hermitage High School and is the son of John and Lisa Foster of Glen Allen.

Matthew S. Strader, a senior, graduated from St. Christopher’s School and is the son of Mr. and Mrs. William R. Strader, Jr. of Glen Allen.