ANNOUNCEMENTS
Christmas Mother seeks help from local businesses

The Chesterfield-Colonial Heights Christmas Mother is seeking businesses and organizations to display gift trees or collection boxes at their locations. Gift trees have ornaments listing specific toys to purchase for a child in need. One can take an ornament from the tree, purchase the gift listed on the ornament and then place the gift beneath the tree.

Gift trees are already at Breckenridge Chiropractic, Chester Perk, Kmart (Hull Street), Knights of Columbus, Midlothian Antique Mall and 60 West Antique Mall, Ski Center (Midlothian) , and Wal-Mart (Chester, Colonial Heights, Midlothian, Hull Street).

Collection boxes where you can drop off toys and gifts are at Alicia's Beauty and Day Spa (Chesterfield Meadows and Woodlake), Slim and Tone (Chester), Victory Lady Fitness and Wilson Graphics and Signs.

Last year, the program assisted over 1,600 families during the holiday season. The goal of the program is to ensure that no family is without food, no child is without toys and clothing, and no elderly person is forgotten during the holidays.

The Friends of Chesterfield Riverfront have received a $4,500 grant from the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) to continue a stream monitoring network for seven stations in Chesterfield County. DEQ gave 21 watershed organizations a total of $106,000.

For the second time in three years, Manchester High School has received the Jobs for America's Graduates' "5 of 5" program award that keeps young people in school through graduation and provides work-based learning experiences. Manchester is being recognized by JAG for achieving or surpassing five of the performance goals.

The Edward Jones office of Bruce Cavey, located at 9844 Lori Road, Suite 101, will be a drop off location for Toys for Tots donations. New, unwrapped toys can be left during normal office hours beginning Dec. 1.

For the third consecutive year, the Manchester Middle School soccer team won the Chesterfield County middle school tournament on Nov. 14, defeating Chester Middle School by a 3-0 score. Manchester also won the regular season for the second year in a row.