NEWS BRIEFS
Winterpock will finally open for students

Vaughan

Winterpock Elementary School students will get a day off from school on Mon., Mar. 3, before their new school officially opens for classes the following day.

On Fri., Feb. 29, workers from the school system's facilities department will begin moving administrative offices. Teachers will move in the following day, and will have Mar. 2 and 3 to prepare their classrooms for students.

Winterpock Elementary families received letters via students' backpacks last week about construction progress and the move-in date. There will be an open house for students and parents on Mar. 3 at 6:30 p.m. so they can tour the building.

Since the beginning of the school year, Winterpock Elementary classes have been housed at Spring Run Elementary. Students have been with their teachers and classmates since the beginning of school so that their transition into a new building would be as smooth as possible.

Winterpock Elementary and Elizabeth Scott Elementary, which opened for students earlier this week in the Bermuda District, are part of the bond package approved by voters in 2004.

Amoco station robbed

Police are searching for two men who robbed the Bon Air Amoco station at 8806 Forest Hill Ave. at 5:50 a.m. on Jan. 23. No one was injured during the crime. Police said the two men approached an employee behind the register, pushed the employee to the floor at gunpoint, demanded money from the register and forced the employee to open the safe. The suspects then restrained and forced the employee into a bathroom before they fled with an undisclosed amount of money.

Both suspects are black males, 23-27 years old and 5 feet 10 inches tall. One suspect wore a black hooded sweatshirt. The second suspect wore a blue and purple checked sweater and a black stocking hat. Anyone with information should call the Chesterfield County Police Department at 748-1251 or Crime Solvers at 748-0660.

Contractor's license is revoked

The Virginia Board for Contractors revoked the license of Midlothian-based R.F. Pell & Co. earlier this month. According to reports, the company, headed by Robert F. Pellnitz, "failed to operate in the name in which his license was issued; failed to execute a written contract with all required provisions; failed to execute written change orders; abandoned the project; retained funds related to incomplete contract items; and failed to respond to an investigator."

The company was also ordered to pay $6,600 in penalties. All fines go to the state's Literary Fund, which is used to fund school construction, renovation and retirement benefits for teachers.

Arrest in Thomas Dale threat

A student has been arrested and charged in connection with a text message threat that was directed to Thomas Dale High School on Jan. 22.

Ashley M. Vaughan, 18, of the 2400 block of Malcolm Drive in Chester, is charged with two felony counts of threatening bodily harm to persons on school property and one misdemeanor count of making a false report to police.

VDOT lifts weight restriction

The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) removed the weight restriction for the I-295 south side of the Varina-Enon Bridge last week. Except for some minor touch ups, contractors have completed the repairs and have re-inspected the structure.

During a routine bridge inspection last spring, VDOT found corrosion in one of six tendons located inside the bridge along the southbound approach span. As a precaution, specially permitted loads over 57 tons (115,000 lbs.) were restricted from driving over the bridge at I-295 south until repairs and further inspections were completed. The weight restriction only affected trucks carrying overweight loads, which are required to have a permit from the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles.

VDOT inspects all bridges at least every two years and more frequently if deemed necessary. The 18-year old, cable-stayed bridge spans the James River and connects Chesterfield and Henrico counties. The southbound side carries approximately 17,000 vehicles per day.