ASHLAND Lorie Foley takes on PR role with Main Street board
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NATIONAL NIGHT OUT Hanover County communities take part in observance with deputies, Fire-EMS PAGE 3
Vol. 3 No. 4 | Richmond Suburban News | August 9, 2017
Davis vs. Style Weekly dismissed Council OKs relocation permit By Jim Ridolphi for The Mechanicsville Local
By Logan Barry for The Hanover Local ASHLAND — Two action items and one public hearing were the focus of the Aug. 1 Ashland Town Council meeting. The action items included the approval of a conditional use permit (CUP) that was issued to a business, Select Recovery Agents, for relocation. Also, council gave the green light for some sidewalk priorities on construction. In the public hearing, council approved an ordinance that dealt with drainage on public property. In addition, Councilman Steve Trivett was elected vice mayor. He replaces James Murray, who resigned to attend TRIVETT law school. Select Recovery Agents (CUP2017-0413) The applicant, Nicholas Ficarra, filed the application for a CUP to relocate his business, which sits at 12270 Maple St., to a vacant property on Hill Carter Parkway. That parcel of land is zoned as “limited industrial” (M-1). It has proffers and requires a CUP for automobile-distribution only uses, which is what Select Recovery Agents is classified as. Ficarra’s company doesn’t fulfill the town’s technology zone recommendation for business type. Town staff did recommend approval with 11 conditions see HEARING, pg. 5
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ANOVER — The hall outside a Hanover County courtroom was packed with potential witnesses for the defense in a defamation suit brought by Hanover supervisor Sean Davis against Style Weekly and Peter Galuszka, a former reporter for the publication. The group, many of them members of a group formed to protect Hanover County Public Schools teachers from undue political influence in their classrooms, clapped as Style Weekly lawyer Conrad Shumadine exited the courtroom and told the group the case was dismissed. “You were my star witnesses,” he told them. But, as it turned out, he didn’t need a single one of them as Stafford County judge Michael Levy accepted a defense motion to dismiss the case. It’s standard practice for defense teams to seek summary judgments once a plaintiff’s case is completed, and Levy
Jim Ridolphi for The Hanover Local
Sean Davis, right, who represents the Henry District on the Hanover County Board of Supervisors, and his attorney, Stephen Biss, enter the Hanover County Courthouse on Friday, July 28, as Davis’ civil trial got underway. He sued Style Weekly for a 2015 article that accused him of abuse of power. The case was dismissed last week.
addressed each statement in the article and ruled in favor of Style and Galuszka. Shumadine had no official comment for the press, but did provide background on how the judge ruled. He described the motion to strike and not
allow the case to proceed to a jury as normal procedure. In a defamation case with a public official, the burden of proof is higher than normal requiring clear and convincing evidence. Also, the plaintiff has to
prove malice on the part of Galuszka, meaning he knew the story was untrue when he wrote it. Judge Levy ruled that some of the statements contained in the story were not defamatory, some did not refer to Davis and others were opinion, and there was no actual malice on the part of the reporter. Reached by phone after the decision, Davis was brief, but expressed no regrets regarding his right to defend his reputation against what he considered false allegations expressed in the story. “I am extremely grateful for the many witnesses who, while under oath, testified that the information contained in the article wasn’t true,” Davis said. Davis also expressed concern regarding the abrupt outcome of the trial. “I do feel the jury should have been able to render a verdict — let the people decide,” he said. “Holding the media accountable is tough. For those who think the system was short-circuited, I say ‘Don’t be discouraged’.”
Kelly-Wiecek to lead Greater Richmond Partnership Contributed Report news@mechlocal.com
KELLY-WIECEK
RICHMOND – Angela KellyWiecek, chair of the Hanover County Board of Supervisors, representing the Chickahominy District, has been appoint-
ed chair of the Board of Directors of the Greater Richmond Partnership, the regional economic development group serving the City of Richmond and counties of Chesterfield, Hanover and Henrico. Buck Stinson, senior vice president of Small Business Card of Capital One, was
named vice chair. Ukrop’s Homestyle Foods’ President/ CEO Bobby Ukrop served as chair of the Partnership for two consecutive years, while Kelly-Wiecek served as vice chair of the Partnership. “We cherished Bobby’s leadership and
consistency during the past two years and are thrilled that Angela has succeeded him in the position,” said Barry Matherly, president/CEO of the Partnership. “Her experience as a marketing professional see KELLY-WIECEK, pg. 2