194 returns filed through free tax-prep program

As part of MetroCASH, a regional free tax-preparation program, 26 IRS-certified volunteer tax preparers with the Chesterfield-Colonial Heights Department of Social Services spent more than 580 hours completing and filing 194 returns for taxpayers Jan. 27-April 7. The Chesterfield-Colonial Heights Department of Social Services is a member of the Greater Richmond Earned Income Tax Credit Coalition and offers free tax preparation assistance each year to individuals and families with incomes of $49,000 or less, with the help of volunteers.

“We were fortunate to have a dedicated group of volunteers who made this program possible and really seemed to enjoy the challenges and long hours,” said Lucy Rodriguez, assistant director of the department’s benefit programs.

Highlights from the Chesterfield-Colonial Heights site:

• The average annual income for taxpayers who were assisted was $17,979.

The 13U TSI Titans won the USSSA Open Tournament at the April ShowDown in Fredericksburg. Players included (front row from left) Van Dempster, Dan McCarthy, Mason Kannon, Justin Link and Hampton McClellan. Middle row: Corey Anderson, Cameron Magill, Taylor Griffin, Korey Singh, Kyle Hasforth and Grant Keller. Coaches: Almer Magill, Chad Kannon, Jon Keller, John Anderson and Tim Dempster. Photo courtesy of Jenn Kannon • A total of $344,257 in federal tax refunds was returned to those assisted.

• A total of $33,481 in state tax refunds was returned to those assisted.

For more information about free tax preparation through the Greater Richmond Earned Income Tax Credit Coalition, call the United Way at 211 or visit www.yourunitedway.org.

Government

Condrey Barry Condrey, chief information officer for the Chesterfield County Information Systems Technology Department, recently was named to Government Technology magazine’s “Top 25 Doers, Dreamers and Drivers in Public- Sector Innovation.”

Chesterfield County’s Senior Advocate held a reception to honor 34 volunteers who provided nearly 600 volunteer hours during 2010, valued at $12,156. Those volunteers recognized included Belinda Miller, office services; Betty Ford and Debbie Preston, Grandparent Connection; Bill Boyd, Lois Buchanan, Vicky Carter, Kit Ericson, Betty Frankhouser, Linda Hammer, Peggy Jones, Ralph Jones, Karen Little, Miller, Marty Schleigh, Phil Wallace, Jane Wilkinson and Gynelle Worley, Harrowgate Elementary reading program; Barbara Blair, Helen Bloomfield, Gracie Burwell, Carter, Janice Daniels, Lynn Frasher, Hammer, Anne Kalemjian, Peggy Logan, Schleigh, Margaret Speights, Allan Trosclair, Linda VanAken and Rita Williams, Telephone Reassurance program; Deborah Brooks, Preston Curry, Barbara Ettner, Rebecca Farthing, Jo Ellen Hetherington, Valerie Luther, Skip Stanley and VanAken, Disability Services Board; and Boyd, Senior Ambassador.

Clover Hill High School won its recent “Battle of the Brains” match against Cosby High, 295-195. Clover Hill’s team included (from left) Bobby Jacobs, Thomas Delgado and Eric Stahl. Photo courtesy of J. Patrick Porter The 11U TSI Titans won the Division 2 Tournament at the St. Patty’s Day Slugfest in Prince George County. Players included (front row from left): Cole Driscoll, Maddison Furman, David Hanson, Connor Kannon and Parker Mason. Back row: Jared Orr, Mikey Krongarrd, Jacob Massanopoli, Lane Kelly, Cameron Unger, Hunter Simmons and Ryan Clawson. Not pictured: Kyle Sims. Coaches: Chad Kannon, Troy Unger, Todd Driscoll and Taylor Clawson. Photo courtesy of Jenn Kannon The Chesterfield County Police Foundation, Chesterfield County Police Department and Uno Chicago Grill raised more than $2,000 at a pancake breakfast to benefit Bike for the Blue, a 115-mile bike ride to Washington, D.C. A contingent of Chesterfield County police personnel will make the trip in May to attend the National Police Memorial gathering of officers from around the country to honor law-enforcement officers who have died in the line of duty. Contributions may still be made to the Chesterfield County Police Foundation, P.O. Box 1684, Chesterfield, VA 23832. Note that the contribution is for Bike for the Blue.

George E. DuVal III has retired from the Chesterfield Utilities Department after more than 21 years of service.

Candidate Jamie Radtke held a grand opening for her U.S. Senate Campaign Headquarters at Governor’s Square, 9840 Midlothian Turnpike, Richmond.

The Defense Logistics Agency Installation Support Police Force has been named DLA Police Unit of the Year for 2010.

The Chesterfield Sheriff’s Office participated in the annual “Tip-A-Cop” event to benefit Special Olympics. Officers served guests and collected tips at Red Robin’s Chesterfield Towne Center location.

Richard Claytor, environmental engineer with Defense Logistics Agency Installation Support at Richmond, won the 2010 National Military Fish and Wildlife Association Award for Conservation Partnerships. The award recognizes those who develop fruitful partnerships benefiting natural resource conservation on military installations in support of the military mission.

The Chesterfield-Colonial Heights Social Services Department ranks fourth in what Commissioner Martin D. Brown of the Virginia Department of Social Services recently announced as the VDSS Sweet 15 for Benefit Programs. Chesterfield-Colonial Heights was the only Level III agency in Central Virginia on the VDSS Sweet 15. Agencies were placed in one of three categories by their size and their number of full-time employees: Level I (1-20), Level II (21-80) and Level III (81 or more). The top five performers for each level were identified based on the Performance Indicators Monthly Report. Indicators included the timeliness of processing applications for SNAP and TANF benefits, timeliness of Medicaid reviews and quality assurance, as well as the percent of Virginia’s Initiative for Employment not Welfare clients employed, their average hourly wage and their retention rate.

The board of supervisors has appointed Sandra Mitchell from the Matoaca District to the county’s Disability Services Board.

Children and volunteers planted 650 pinwheels at Mimms Drive and Government Center Parkway as part of Pinwheels for Prevention, a nationwide campaign to raise awareness about the importance of prevention programs, healthy child development and families. Each pinwheel represents a family served during the past 15 years by Chesterfield Colonial Heights Families First, a program of Chesterfield County’s Department of Mental Health Support Services. To learn more, visit www.preventchildabuseva.org.

Robious Middle School seventh- and eighth-graders participated in the Virginia Future Problem Solving State Bowl in Franklin. For the written competition about “Water Quality,” the team of (above from right) Celia Wilson, Natalie Weinberg, Shanthi Hiremath and Michael Benos received first place, and the team of Tallie Hausser, Matthew Guyer, Emma Arents and Maiya Booker won second place. These two teams will compete at the FPS International Conference at the University of Wisconsin – Lacrosse in June. The team of Haley Randall, Joanna Shaw, Killian Jackson and Habeebah Vohra received second place in the Global Issues Presentation category. Photo courtesy of Greg Weinberg Retired Lt. Col. Charles “Robbie” Robinson was honored by the General Assembly for his years of service as a Virginia State Trooper.

The Department of Defense awarded a Secretary of Defense Environmental Award to the Defense Logistics Agency Installation for accomplishing goals, such as reducing energy costs by $20,000 and replacing older lamps with more efficient ones.

Hubert Urban and James Lumpkin were approved by the board of supervisors to serve another term on the Camp Baker Management Board. Robert Mills has also been approved for a term on the management board.

Lt. Steven V. Taylor has retired after 38 years of service to the Chesterfield County Fire and EMS Department.

Weddings

Erica Dawn Suda and Nathaniel Eaton married in the Salt Lake City Latter-Day Saints Temple on April 23. Suda is the daughter of David and Catherine Suda of Chesterfield.

Business

Northrop Grumman employees held a two-week clothing collection for the Chesterfield Colonial Heights Alliance for Social Ministry Career Clothes Closet for Women and Cottage for Men last month. Employees donated more than 260 items in all sizes, including pants, suits, skirts, blouses, slacks, shoes, ties, jewelry, blazers, belts, dress coats, purses and scarves. CCHASM will distribute the clothing to residents in Chesterfield County, Colonial Heights, Hopewell and Prince George County who are in need of business attire for job interviews.

The Bank of Southside Virginia, with a location in Chester, has been named to the 2010 Seifried & Brew Honor Roll as one of Virginia’s Top 10 Safest Community Banks. The index ranks all community banks for capital risk, credit risk, earnings at risk and liquidity risk based on its proprietary risk modeling. BSV scored well below the national average risk rating. In another recently published ranking, SNL ranked the Bank of Southside Virginia No. 33 out of the nation’s community banks with $500 million to $5 billion in assets. This ranking puts BSV in the top 4 percent of community banks in the United States.

Kevin Morris has been named as a 2011 Master Agent by Virginia Farm Bureau Insurance Services. The Master Agent title recognizes agents for excellent overall performance in every aspect of their jobs. Morris works out of the Chesterfield County office and has served as an agent with Virginia Farm Bureau for 22 years.

Through May 21, Old Navy shoppers can deposit their used flip-flops into specially marked collection bins. TerraCycle will then recycle the flip-flops into playgrounds to be donated to communities around the country. TerraCycle is an international upcycling and recycling company that encourages consumers to rethink waste and makes it easy to have a positive impact on the environment. Several county schools participate in TerraCycle’s upcycling programs, including Salem Church Elementary, Woolridge Elementary, Bettie Weaver Elementary and James River High.

Martin’s Food Markets customers and associates raised $106,382 for the American Red Cross Japan Earthquake and Pacific Tsunami Relief Fund. Also, Martin’s donated $1,151 to O.B. Gates Elementary through its A+ School Rewards program. The program donated 1 percent of participating customers’ total purchases to designated schools.

The Goddard School in Midlothian received special recognition at the company’s annual convention in San Diego. Owners Jim and Debbie Womack received several business awards.

Clinton Sirles has been named store manager of JoS. A. Bank Clothiers in Sycamore Square.

Traci Davis has become an independent consultant with Tastefully Simple, an easy-to-prepare foods company.

Jorman D. Granger, vice president of client accounts at Northrop Grumman, and Carl W. Levander, president of Columbia Gas of Virginia, have been re-elected to a second term on the board of directors of Lead Virginia. Chris Griffin, manager of customer efficiency programs at Columbia Gas of Virginia, has been named a member of Lead Virginia’s 2011 class. Lead Virginia is a statewide leadership program for recognized leaders within their professions.

Bon Air Yoga is hosting its official grand opening on Saturday, May 14, and Sunday, May 15. The grand opening will include free classes to introduce Svaroopa® Yoga to the community. Bon Air Yoga is located at 2730 Tinsley Drive, Suite 204, Richmond. Advance registration is required. For more information, visit www.bonairyoga.com or the business’ Facebook page.

Individual achievements

Amanda Werner, 12, of Moseley, is a winner in the first ever Disney Magic of Healthy Living essay contest. Her essay about how she makes exercising fun earned Werner and her family a trip to Walt Disney World.

Midlothian artist Robert Caldwell, who specializes in painting wildlife, recently painted a picture for a live audience at Art-Haus Visual Arts Studio in Midlothian. The painting was donated to Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden’s Cheers to Art to benefit the children’s garden there.

Holton Alex Holton from Boy Scout Troop 1810 has achieved the rank of Eagle scout. He earned 27 merit badges – six more than the requirement. For his service project, Holton built a turtle rehabilitation pond for Area Rehabbers Klub, a nonprofit organization that helps injured and orphaned wildlife. Holton is a junior at Monacan High School.

Gail Johnson, founder of the Rainbow Station private school system, was named Entrepreneur of the Year by the Richmond chapter of the National Association of Women Business Owners. The award is given to women who have demonstrated an exceptional ability to overcome adversity, brought innovation to their businesses and achieved goals.

Meredith Axisa, a professional counselor and faculty member at John Tyler Community College, ran the Ukrop’s Monument Avenue 10k in memory of her husband, Jon, who battled a rare form of metastatic liver cancer last year. She raised funds to benefit the VCU Massey Cancer Center where Jon received care.

Midlothian residents and Hampden Sydney students Dylan Bishop and Allen Luck won the National Guard FLW College Fishing Northern Division event on Smith Mountain Lake. Their school was awarded $10,000.

Chester resident Krista Hutchins and her family have won an Orlando vacation makeover by Visit Orlando. The makeover will solve the Hutchins family’s previous vacation issues, namely the long drive to Florida.

Terrence L. Graves Jr. and Christopher Michael Pitek, both of Troop 2822, and Thomas James Newsome, of Troop 876, have attained the rank of Eagle Scout.

Curtis Marshall Welch has attained the rank of Eagle Scout.

Phillip W. Powell has been named as a “Volunteer of the Year” by Dominion Virginia Power. For the past 25 years, Powell has volunteered with Bainbridge Community Ministry, distributing food to the working poor, and with Engineers Without Boarders, installing solar panels at a school in Uganda.

Education

Jenn Myer, an art teacher at Matoaca High School, is one of 15 U.S. teachers selected to participate in a weeklong Art Educator Institute at the Anderson Ranch Arts Center in Colorado this summer.

Announcements can be emailed to news@chesterfieldobserver.com, faxed to 744-3269 or mailed to Chesterfield Observer, Attn: Announcements, P.O. Box 1616, Midlothian, VA 23113.