Foster care classes begin Oct. 16

Classes on the eligibility requirements for foster parents, which include the types of children in foster care as well as their behaviors, begin Oct. 16. The county's foster care program currently has a significant need for single people or couples who can open their homes to siblings, toddlers and infants.

If approved for the program, potential foster parents are provided with 27 hours of mandatory training over a nine-week period. At the completion of the training, foster parents also are approved to be adoptive parents.

For more information on the foster care program, call Nancy Hamacher, senior family development specialist with the Chesterfield/Colonial Heights Department of Social Services, at 748-1103.

Capt. Jim Stanley is now serving as the interim police chief in Hopewell. He will retire from the Chesterfield Police Department after 28 years of employment on Oct. 1. Stanley is using his accumulated leave time to start his new job in Hopewell early. He is expected to serve 4-6 months during the search for a permanent chief.

Melissa Proffitt has been named manager of the Dedicated Division of VHI Transport in Chester. Proffitt came to VHI with 15 years experience with a third-party distribution center. The company recently moved to Chester from its longtime Richmond location.

Geoff Watkins has been named human resources manager for more than 300 employees and 4,600 real 4,600 real estate agents in the midAtlantic region for Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage. Watkins is a graduate of Thomas Dale High School, and a 2002 graduate of Virginia Commonwealth University with a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration.

Dr. Jeffrey S. Hanzel has stepped down after 13 years as a member of Chesterfield County Public Schools' School Health Advisory Board where he served as both chair and vice chair. Hanzel helped author position statements on children's backpacks and nutrition in the school lunch program, and served as a member of Chesterfield schools' Community Taskforce on Core Values.

Sandy Smiley has joined Union Bank & Trust after working as a former personal and small business

begin Oct. 16

financial specialist with Wachovia Bank. She is the market manager of the bank's three Chesterfield County locations - Sycamore Square, Genito and Harbour Pointe. Danny Bowles has been promoted to branch manager of the Harbour Pointe branch after four years with the bank. He has a Bachelor of Science degree from Averett University.

At the International Children's Games in Bangkok, Thailand, several children from Chesterfield County competed against youth from 82 cities around the world. Kristen Greene placed 4th in the shot put, and Katea Jammot placed 5th in the 100 meter race and 7th in the 60 meter race.

Mukarram Ahmad, a student at Clover Hill High School, has been nominated as a member of the National Society of High School Scholars.

Jim Triesler, a history and government teacher at Clover Hill High School, has been selected as one of eight Virginia 2007 Regional Teachers of the Year by the Virginia Department of Education. A panel will interview Triesler and the other finalists on Oct. 20 to select the 2007 Virginia Teacher of the Year.