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Open House activities for Kersey Creek are scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 1, with two sessions: one for students whose last names begin with A-K from 3 to 4:30 p.m. and one for students with last names beginning with L-Z from 4:30 to 6 p.m. Students may bring their school supplies to their classrooms on that day. Supply lists are available on the school’s
website at http://www.hcps.us/ kces/. School fees ($4 art fee for all students and $5 recorder fee for students in grades 4 and 5) may be paid in the cafeteria. Lunch money also may be deposited into students’ accounts. Agendas ($4) for students in grades 2 through 5 will be on sale. The 2011-2012 Yearbook also will be on sale for $ 18.
The PTA will be enrolling members ($5 per person) and selling student spirit wear at Open House. PTA members also will be available to help you sign up online with various businesses (such as Food Lion and Kroger) that support KCES by donating a portion of sales to the school’s PTA. The school nurse will be available to receive students’
medication in the clinic. Appropriate documentation (parental form authorizing medication to be administered and physicians’ orders) must be completed in order for medication to be administered at school. For more information, email Dr. Deborah Waters, principal, at dwaters@hcps.us or call the school office at 723-3440.
IRENE
“We had trees and power lines down, people without power, and 21 roads are still blocked. There were 60 houses that suffered tree damage and 10 were destroyed.” Most of the houses destroyed were in the Mechanicsville and Black Creek area. “We had several houses destroyed by trees falling on them,” he continued. “The trees were so big that they just split the houses in half.” Jones said there were no serious injuries, but some people were transported to Memorial Regional Medical Center as a precautionary measure. Two of those transported were overcome by carbon monoxide Monday morning as a result of an emergency generator they were using at a home on Midnight Drive. They had signs consistent with exposure to carbon monoxide, including flu-like symptoms and were extremely lethargic. “They’re lucky to be alive,”
Jones said. “They had lost power at their home because of Irene and were using a gasolinepowered generator to supply electricity. The generator was placed outside an open window, and the exhaust fumes were carried inside the house.” The county is dispensing free ice and bottle water at Cold Harbor Elementary School and Montpelier Civic Center. There is a limit of two cases of water per family. Plans are to give away ice and water through at least Friday. Hydrants also are open at Patrick Henry High School and Cold Harbor Elementary for residents needing water for farm and other animals. “Our emergency response teams, fire and sheriff ’s office all responded well to Irene,” Hanover County Administrator Cecil R. “Rhu” Harris Jr. said on Monday. “We had extensive preparation before she arrived, including bringing in extra paid and volunteer help. It was all worth the effort.”
“As of this time,” Harris said, “we have some roads and streets that are impassable. As far as I know, we had some homes destroyed and property damage but no fatalities. I believe those people transported for medical reasons were only minor problems.” Across Virginia, four deaths were caused by Irene, including an 11-year-old boy in Newport News who died Saturday when a tree crashed through his apartment. The Town of Ashland made it through Irene in good shape. “At the height of the hurricane, I believe we only had about 20 percent of the town residents without power,” said Ashland Town Manager Charles W. Hartgrove. “We have a couple of streets with downed power lines blocking them, and we are waiting for the power company to come clear the lines so we can reopen the street. All in all, Ashland came through Irene in pretty good shape.”
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of Distribution Operations for Dominion Virginia Power. “We hope to have the power back on for all of our customers by the end of work Saturday.” In Hanover County, the number of homes that lost power was estimated at 38,000. The Spring Meadows and Meadow Gate areas are under a boil water alert from the Virginia Department of Emergency Management. Homeowners should empty icemakers and then discard the first batch of ice made. When using water from the tap, they should let it run before using. If your refrigerator dispenses water, run it until it is empty and then let it refill. Dirty dishes should be wasted with soap and hot water or run through a dishwasher. “We answered 1,183 Fire and EMS calls Saturday,” Hanover Fire and EMS Battalion Chief Willie Jones said on Monday.
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The Mechanicsville Local
August 31, 2011
❍ We have received few stimulus funds and receive a relatively low amount of funding for human services. ❍ Many local governments that are not under review have far greater numbers of federal workers, businesses with federal contracts and/or receive higher direct federal funding.
The ratings likely will have no immediate effect on Hanover because no further debt will be issued by the county this fiscal year. Neither Standard and Poor’s or Fitch, the two other primary rating services, has issued comments on Hanover’s existing AAA rating. “The county’s debt payment is structured to be paid off quickly,” Casey said. “Rating agencies like that, and it increases our ability to issue debt. When debt is
issued, the county doesn’t defer principal payments, which remain level throughout the debt’s term.” Despite the status change by Moody’s, Casey said he believes Hanover will maintain its triple AAA ratings. He cited the county’s long-term, conservative financial plans as a key reason. Casey also pointed out that housing values had remained high in the county and foreclosures low.