INSIDE Family still making music after 50 years > page 2
Volume 58, Number 41 • October 11, 2012
Elk Hill School makes difference for student By Tim Davis Special Correspondent
Photo by Ken Odor
Marshall Bowden indicates areas in western Goochland on a map in his office where few residents have access to broad band internet. The Goochland High Speed Internet Committee presented its report to the Supervisors last week with suggestions to bring high speed internet to more Goochland residents.
Committee presents short, long term ideas on broadband access By Ken Odor jodor@goochlandgazette.com
After six months of study, 15 public meetings, including two town halls, the Goochland High Speed Internet Committee presented its findings to the Board of Supervisors at last week’s evening session. Committee Vice-Chairman Marshall Bowden made the presentation after an introduction by Committee Chairman Manuel Alvarez, District 2 Supervisor. “Our mission was to promote high speed internet
INDEX
Calendar 21 Classifieds 22-23 Letters 6 Sheriff’s Report 11
Obituaries Opinion Sports TV Listings
availability to all citizens and businesses of Goochland at a reasonable cost,” began Bowden. Committee member James Dearden provided a separate three-page report which stressed that a fiber network is the key to any long-range solution that would provide widespread access to high speed internet in the county. In its final recommendations, the committee focused on both short and long term goals.
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see Internet > page 5
Before attending the Harambee day school at Elk Hill, then 17-yearold Angela Carr found school to be a waste of time. “It wasn’t sticking with me. My mom used to ask, ‘what did you learn today?’ And I couldn’t tell her a thing.” In the crowded classrooms at her public high school, Angela was not getting the individual attention she thought she needed. For example, she wanted step-by-step instructions for solving math problems but teachers did not seem to have the time to provide Angela that level of detail. Angela’s problems were more than just academic. “I had a reckless attitude—the worst,” she admitted, explaining how she would curse at anyone who either crossed her or picked on someone else. “I always got in trouble. My entire life in school was spent arguing for myself, or somebody else, and protecting other kids who wouldn’t speak up.” Angela identified with the underdog, feeling like one herself. Angela’s father has been in prison her whole life. With contact limited to infrequent phone calls and family visits, she barely knew him. Her mother, a single par-
Photo by Tim Davis
Harambee day school graduate Angela Carr credits Elk Hill with turning her life around.
ent struggling to care for twelve kids, had more than she could handle and sent seven-year-old Angela to live with Angela’s namesake, her aunt. Angela said she knows now that her mom had wanted her to have a better life than she could provide. She also understands that Aunt Angela gave her what was needed at the time. “I love both of them a lot,” she said. When she was 12, Angela moved back in with her mother. The upheav-
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Goochland volleyball rolls to 14-0
County approves bond refunding
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