INSIDE Turtle power! County department unveils new mascot in time for park celebration. > page 2
Volume 59, Number 33 • September 4, 2014
A brand new place to play and learn
Treasurer’s goal: restore residents’ faith after scandal Johnson says improving office’s efficiency, collecting delinquent taxes remain top priorities By Roslyn Ryan Editor
Contributed photo
Randolph Elementary School students and volunteers clown around as they thank Lowe’s for donating the materials and labor to build a new outdoor learning pavilion at the school The pavilion was part of a three-phase renewal plan for the property.
Randolph project a community effort New pavilion and playground area made possible by donations of material and labor By Roslyn Ryan Editor
Thanks to the efforts of some very dedicated parents, volunteers and businesses, Randolph Elementary School students have a new place to play and learn this year. Earlier this month, the school celebrated the completion of a three-phase improvement plan to renew the school’s playground area. Designed by the
Randolph Elementary School PTA and the Goochland Rotary Club, the plan also called for a new pavilion that now serves as an outdoor learning space. The project was a true community effort, with Lowe’s donating the materials and labor needed to bring the plans to life. Hercules Construction also donated see Playground > 4
After officially taking office in 2011, Goochland County Treasurer Pamela Johnson had several items on her immediate to-do list. Some were simple: Get a phone for the cashiers’ station so employees could answer the phone without running back and forth to their desks — and some, like aggressively pursuing options to collect all delinquent taxes, would take more time. Above all else on Johnson’s list, however, was restoring county residents’ trust in the treasurer’s office, no small feat given the atmosphere when Johnson arrived. Though Johnson would win the election for county treasurer in November 2011, she first assumed the office the previous April after being appointed to take the place of former Goochland County Treasurer Brenda Grubbs. Grubbs was sentenced to serve four years in prison in 2011 after being convicted of embezzling nearly $200,000 Goochland from the county. Treasurer During her trial, it was Pam Johnson revealed that Grubbs was wiring the money to a man on her first days in Nigeria whom she’d met in office. over the Internet.
“This office didn’t need an accountant, it needed a leader.”
see Johnson > 3