Month: May 2021

A “lunch bus” will deliver meals to children in Clermont County’s New Richmond Exempted Village School District this summer, officials said. It is the first bus of its kind in the district.

New Richmond typically hands out 300 to 500 meals a week during the summer months, according to a district news release. Officials believe that this number will increase with the Traveling Lions lunch bus.

For subscribers: How can you help students catch up after COVID-19 disorder? Schools focus on children’s emotions

The Clermont County School District serves more than 2,300 students in New Richmond Villages, Moscow Village, Monroe Township, Ohio Township, Pierce Township, Tate Township, and Washington Township, according to its website. Approximately 40% of the district’s students are eligible for free or discounted lunch.

“Thanks to the support of many individuals, we have arrived at this moment,” said the director of the student union John Frye in the press release. “Over two years ago, the Board of Education got a retired school bus for the unique second act as a Ride Lions Lunch Bus.”

The bus debuted at the Education Committee meeting in New Richmond on Monday. The district has been distributing prepackaged summer meals at dispensing points across the community for a number of years, but this is the first time food service staff have been able to collect and serve food from the bus, the statement said.

Meals are provided by the Ohio Department of Education Summer Food Service Program, and the district used a $ 10,000 grant from Connect Clermont to remodel the repurposed school bus and purchase equipment it needed, including a hand washing station.

Connection Point Church volunteers also helped with the project.

“They are selfless men and saw volunteering to remodel the bus as an opportunity to ‘serve the least of them,’” Connection Point Church pastor Robert Wooten said in the press release. Wooten is also a member of the New Richmond School Board.

May 21st marked the final day of school for New Richmond students, according to its website.

ROCKINGHAM – A groundbreaking senior season on the soccer field led Jayla McDougald to want to pursue her playing career at the college level.

That dream came true this week for the prospective Richmond Senior High School graduate who announced her oral engagement for Shaw University.

In her post on Twitter, McDougald said this was “an opportunity I couldn’t miss” and that she is “100% committed to Shaw University this fall to play the game I love most.”

McDougald has been a striker for the Lady Raiders since midway through their sophomore season and is the youngest Richmond student athlete to survive the pandemic storm to be recruited into a college program.

She joins her senior teammate Caroline Whitley (Methodist University) as the second Lady Raider soccer player in this year’s senior class who is committed. Before joining Shaw for football, McDougald wanted to attend North Carolina A&T State University.

“I had a great season this year and I wanted to keep playing football,” said McDougald. “I think I decided to join A&T too early and didn’t want to regret not having played when I got the chance.

“I was able to get a full scholarship between academics and athletics and it was something I couldn’t miss,” she added. “What made me play there the most was that it was an HBCU, which was very important to me.”

McDougald also received interest from Johnson & Wales University in Charlotte, The Citadel, Hampton University (VA), and Jacksonville State University (Fla.). Following her decision to attend NC A&T on May 1st, McDougald said two people really helped her move on to Shaw.

The first was former teammate and current Bears player Jayana Nicholson, who graduated from Richmond in 2019. McDougald said that in addition to being “one of my best friends”, Nicholson told her a lot about Shaw’s program that got her to play there.

The other was Shaw’s head football coach Randy McClure, who has been in close contact with McDougald over the past month. McDougald said McClure made her feel it was a really good program and that she could “be part of the family” there.

In 15 games for Richmond this spring, McDougald led the Lady Raiders by 14 goals and added five assists.

McDougald scored two goals three times in one game. They won against Jack Britt, Hoke County and Purnell Swett High Schools, and they found the end of the net at least once in 11 games.

McDougald’s 14 goals were the fifth best at the Sandhills Athletic Conference that year, which helped her get into her first all-conference team.

During her four years in Richmond, McDougald also played basketball and volleyball, and was appointed to the All-SAC basketball team as a junior and senior. She said her time as a Lady Raider student and athlete with the help of multiple trainers helped her prepare her for the next level.

“I also love basketball and volleyball, but soccer was the sport I wanted to play the most in college,” said McDougald. “I’ve been going to camps and playing travel soccer since middle school.

“Coach (Chris) Larsen, Coach (Bennie) Howard, and Coach (Michelle) Denson all believed in me enough to get me to college in 10th grade,” she added. “They’ve all taught me a lot, but Coach Howard really stayed on top of me to help me reach my full potential. Richmond Soccer and my teammates made me a better player all round. “

McDougald will join a Bears team that played a shortened spring season in 2021 after failing to play in the fall due to COVID-19. Shaw went 2-4-1 and will return to a full 21-game schedule this fall.

Shaw, a Division II program, participates in the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association. Joerail White, a 2020 graduate from Richmond, also plays soccer for the Bears.

“I’m excited and ready to train more and learn how to be a better soccer player,” said McDougald. “I also hope to put Richmond County on the map.

“Jayana was one of my first friends in college and she has experience that will help me guide me through college,” she concluded. “It would be great to have someone to help me.”

McDougald plans to study mass communication with a focus on broadcasting or public relations.

We are also working to train, inform and, if necessary, make the entire Virginia Emergency Support Team (VEST) operational. VEST is made up of representatives from specialist agencies who work together to support our 133 local governments. When the time comes to activate VEST for a possible storm, we will coordinate the overall response with the governor’s office, state agency partners and locations. We coordinate everything from logistics to finances to public information and resource requests from affected jurisdictions. Should a storm hit the Commonwealth, we will also coordinate rescue activities.

How do you work with communities, public safety agencies, and other related agencies across the country and state?

The VDEM has seven regional offices that regularly work directly with our locations. They plan, train, and train with their local emergency managers and public safety partners to ensure preparedness for all threats.

Our regional employees have extensive knowledge of their legal systems and their needs before, during and after a major event. Before the start of a hurricane season, we host a series of webinars for our communities, elected officials, leaders, and federal government partners to share our current plans, get updates, and facilitate the exchange of information.

Business continuity management is all about building relationships before an incident, and we can honestly say that it is these partnerships and relationships that allow us to streamline our response, lean forward, and get things done on time.

RICHMOND, Virginia (WRIC) – It’s been a year since protests and riots took over parts of Richmond. Hundreds of demonstrators and two policemen were eventually arrested.

It’s been one of the busiest summers in Richmond, and in some ways it’s still not over.

Richmond’s chief prosecutor, Colette McEachin, said Monday she was still awaiting a third party report and could still bring charges against officials accused of poisoning peaceful protesters with tear gas last June.

However, big questions are raised about what could realistically happen in the future. One way to hold these officials accountable expires on Tuesday June 1st.

Tuesday, midnight, the statute of limitations for most misdemeanor charges for the June 1 tear gas incident at the Robert E. Lee Memorial expires under Section 19.2-8 of State Law.

2 RPD officials charged after 18 charges of protest behavior were brought before the grand jury

Videos from the June 1, 2020 incident show protesters kneeling in front of the memorial as they protest the death of George Floyd. Suddenly, RPD and VSP officers arrived and tear gas was used against the group of more than 100 protesters ahead of the curfew that night.

The crowd of protesters fled around the monument to avoid the tear gas and in a video from Public Media in Virginia and shared with 8News, an officer is shown chasing people and spraying them directly with what appears to be tear gas.

What happened that evening caused even more outrage in the community. Will Smith, then Richmond Police Chief, and Mayor Levar Stoney apologized to a huge, angry group outside City Hall the next day. “That should never have happened,” Stoney yelled at the crowd. Smith eventually resigned at Stony’s request after the protests.

The call for accountability grew.

A Richmond man, Jonathan Arthur, filed a lawsuit against 10 Richmond Police Department officers for $ 50,000. He claims the officers violated the protesters’ rights under the first and fourth amendments.

Others asked if any of the police officers were facing criminal charges.

New video, new angle of tear gas incident with RPD, protesters

Back then, Stoney promised action. “Words can’t get this right, and words can’t restore the trust that was broken tonight. Just action. Only action can fix this community, ”he tweeted.

But what has actually happened since then?

Last year police said that some officers involved in the tear gas incident were pulled from the field and disciplined. However, RPD has never provided evidence or details for this.

At the time, Richmond Commonwealth attorney Colette McEachin assured Richmond City Councilor Mike Jones that her office was investigating the matter. Last week 8News asked what was the result.

We learn that McEachin’s office has never investigated.

“My office has no investigators,” she told 8News in an email. “When the CWAO is investigating a suspected crime, we use the RPD as they are the city’s investigative agency. Given the distrust some had of RPD to investigate the tear gas incident, the city hired a third party to conduct an investigation, ”she said.

VIDEO: Chain of events before tear gas was used in peaceful protests in Richmond

According to the RPD, last week the city hired the Arlington-based CNA Institute for Public Research to investigate the evidence from that day on. When this investigation began and how far CNA is with it is unclear. “I am waiting for the report from this third party. I will then review, like I would review a report from any other facility, and make a decision on the evidence to support a criminal complaint, ”McEachin said, adding that she also does not know when the report will be complete .

In Virginia, the statute of limitations for most crimes, such as assault and assault on tear gas demonstrators, is one year. McEachin noted that there is no time limit to file criminal charges. Federal organizations like the FBI can also bring charges at any time.

8News spoke to local criminal defense attorney Russ Stone about the possible charges based on the tear gas incident. He stated that there are some exceptions to the statute of limitations for offenses.

Stone said in some very rare cases a government official could be charged with a “misconduct in office” offense. This limitation period is two years.

Stone said that misconduct is very rare. An example is a city council that spends money. He stated that if a law enforcement member was charged with the tear gas incident, he or she would most likely be charged with something like assault and assault.

A look back: Governor Northam declares a state of emergency, Richmond curfew until June 3rd

Last year, McEachin’s office announced that a grand jury had presented 18 sealed charges for the actions of eight Richmond police officers during the protests.

A grand jury eventually found no probable cause on 16 of the charges, but went on to charge two Richmond police officers, Mark Janowski and Christopher Brown, of assault and assault after an investigation in an incident on the morning of Jan.

Janowski and Brown are the only known law enforcement officers charged with the summer protests. Although some have speculated about what happened, what they allegedly did has still not been made public by the authorities. The couple will be tried on Wednesday June 2nd.

McEachin told 8News by law it cannot tell whether or not the six other officials were involved in the tear gas incident at the Lee Memorial, now known by some as the Marcus-David Peters Circle.

As of Monday evening, Mayor Levar Stoney’s office hadn’t responded to last week’s 8News request asking about the independent investigation.

It was a summer nobody can forget. After weeks of intense encounters between protesters and law enforcement agencies, dozens of people were arrested and charged. Some protesters are now moving through the judicial system while many others have been dropped by prosecutors.

8News reporter Ben Dennis also contributed to this report.

RICHMOND, Virginia – On a sunny Memorial Day, summer 2019 crowds met in Carytown, three full days after Virginia lifted most of the COVID-19 corporate social distancing and capacity limits.

Small businesses across the region are confident that the moment marks the beginning of a major rebound for retail and hospitality, after more than a year of downturn and uncertainty caused by the pandemic.

Tracey Adler, who owns a health care company in Richmond, brought her daughter and boyfriend, who are visiting from abroad, to Carytown.

“It’s the place you come when people come to visit,” said Adler.

The past year of keeping her own business afloat and paying the staff has been tough enough, so Adler knows the challenges facing stores and restaurants have been immense. She was sad to see that some places were closed on a busy holiday.

WTVR

“It’s really sad to see that some of the places I see have closed their stores, be it due to COVID, which may be the case. But yeah, Carytown is a great place, there are so many great places in Richmond. “

Virginia lifted all capacity and social distancing guidelines on Friday and had previously ended masking requirements for vaccinated Virginians. Unvaccinated Virginians are asked to wear face covering, but companies have no way of knowing who actually received the vaccination.

A Carytown official told CBS 6 that adapting to the policy change and customer responses to it has been difficult.

Some stores are choosing to keep their COVID-19 policies for the time being.

“Even some of those stores we went to said you don’t have to wear a mask. I still wear a mask because I’m vaccinated, but I don’t know everyone else,” Adler said.

Edgar Jerone Melton is a partner of Bands and Batteries INTL. The store had been in Chesterfield city center for 25 years, but Melton said he moved to Carytown a few weeks ago.

The timing for the restrictions to be lifted couldn’t have been better for their move, he said.

WTVR

“I just wanted to be part of Carytown and see how it went and add some new color,” he said. “Since they were lifted, we’ve seen a lot more people out and socialize.”

Less than half of the companies surveyed by the NFIB group of companies in May expected economic conditions to return to pre-pandemic levels by the end of the year, and only 15% said business conditions have returned to normal.

Small businesses like Jerone Melton’s hoping backlog will support the economic recovery, even if the schedule isn’t tight.

“They’ve been staying in the house for so long just to see someone greet them and say hello. I don’t know what it does for you, but I know what it does for me, it makes my day better! ”Said Jerone Melton.