Ashland-Hanover Local – 09/20/17

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EDUCATION

COMMUNITY

J. Dontrese Brown new executive director of R-MC’s The Edge

Scouts paint Ruritans’ shed PAGE

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Vol. 3 No. 10 | Richmond Suburban News | September 20, 2017

Rail status: least objectionable but not preferred By Jim Ridolphi for The Hanover Local ASHLAND — The silence was almost deafening when Department of Public and Rail Transportation director Jennifer Mitchell asked for comments following a short meeting of its Community Advisory Committee on Monday, Sept. 11, at Randolph-Macon College. This was the final in a series of meetings that tasked the committee with identifying alternative routes for a proposed high speed rail project from Washington, D.C., to Richmond. One committee member described the final session as anti-climactic as only two members of the community panel spoke when it came time for recommendations. With a scheduled Commonwealth Transportation Board meeting less than a week

away, the final meeting of the CAC was billed as the final step in the local decision-making process, but the final step left some scratching their heads. At the last meeting, committee members eliminated some of the studied alternatives, but did not reach final conclusions. The paths of the proposed Ashland section of the DC2RVA project have splintered a community, pitting town residents against those who own property in the path of a proposed western bypass option. “I know this has been an emotional, difficult topic for a lot of people because we do realize how much it affects all of the communities,” Mitchell said. “We are here, most importantly, to keep moving forward and talking about the least objectionable alternatives that are still out there regarding the eastern bypass and western bypass

Hanover schools fully accredited By Jim Ridolphi for The Hanover Local ASHLAND — A final review of student achievement data for 2016-2017 reveals that Hanover County Public Schools students are performing above state averages in all areas. Director of Accreditation and Accountability Nancy Disharoon delivered an annual update to school board members last week. Earlier figures revealed that all Hanover schools are accredited, but delving deeper in the numbers shows some encouraging results.

“The students of Hanover County are achieving at high levels on all SOL (Standards of Learning) tests administered in the spring of 2017,” Disharoon said. The director indicated the above average numbers are not the only indicator of successful instruction in Hanover schools. “It is important to note that scores and numbers aren’t everything. In our classrooms, we measure success in multiple ways,” Disharoon said. “Behind every number there’s a story.” see HCPS, pg. 16

alternatives and to talk about what our next steps will be.” At the conclusion of the August meeting, the committee reached a consensus on the least objectionable options for above grade and below ground through town options. A plan to construct a three-track trench through the center of Ashland and partially bury the passing freight and passenger trains was deemed the least destructive of the options. Major Jim Foley told his fellow board members that the least objectionable above ground option was a 3-2-3 plan that does not disturb the current placement of tracks through Ashland. Mitchell asked board members to supply a preferred option regarding the bypasses. “What we’d like to do is carry that forward to the CTB so that they will have that information as they are looking at making a recommendation on

a locally preferred alternative,” Mitchell said. She specifically asked Hanover County representatives if they had arrived at a preferred bypass option. County administrator and committee member Cecil R. “Rhu” Harris Jr. spoke first. “We have considered the remaining eastern bypass options and do not feel — given the high cost and impacts to the community — that any of these are viable,” Harris said. After meeting with DRPT officials, Harris said his delegation was faced with the hard decision of selecting one of four possible western bypass routes. He noted that the panel studied detailed maps that identified affected properties. “Our review of these maps indicates that the number of develsee RAIL, pg. 7

Hanover citizens stop to remember 9-11 By Jim Ridolphi for The Hanover Local HANOVER — Sixteen years later, the memories of September 11, 2001, are still fresh in the minds of many Americans, and, last week, a group of Hanover County citizens gathered to reflect and remember the terrible tragedies of that day, and the heroes who emerged in those desperate hours. In an annual ceremony held at the courthouse, Hanover County Board of Supervisors chair Angela Kelly-Wiecek told the assembled group that cerJim Ridolphi for The Local emonies like the one in Hanover Among dignitaries attending the ceremony that memorialized the events of September 11, 2001, are taking place across a grateful were, from left, Canova Peterson, Wayne Hazzard, Aubrey “Bucky” Stanley, Scott Wyatt and see 9-11, pg. 5

Angela Kelly-Wiecek, Hanover County Board of Supervisors, and Greg Sager, director, Hanover County Parks and Recreation.


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