DELIVER TO: Postal Patron Mechanicsville, VA 23111
PRSRT. STANDARD U.S. POSTAGE PAID Mechanicsville, VA Permit No.141
Vol. 26, No. 18 | Richmond Suburban Newspapers | September 5, 2012
STOPS AT EVERY HOME IN TOWN
L-DHS welcomes freshmen Kick-Off Mentoring program eases students into high school life By Ben Orcutt for The Mechanicsville Local
Ben Orcutt for The Local
Brian Berkey, left, vice president of Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer, and Richard Thalhimer, first vice president of the firm that is leasing the property for the owner, are shown in front of the newly renovated Clocktower Office Building in Brandy Hill Plaza in Mechanicsville.
To help make incoming freshman feel more comfortable when they arrived for their first day of high school on Tuesday, Lee-Davis High School introduced its firstever Kick-Off Mentoring program a week in advance. The program is designed to put freshmen into groups where they’re paired with junior or senior mentors to assist them throughout the school year. Ben Orcutt for The Local Other upperclass- Junior mentor Andy Ordaz, who is a member of the Confederates football team, enjoys dancing see L-DHS, pg. 18
with other mentors as they help incoming freshmen get acclimated to Lee-Davis during the school’s Kick-Off day on Tuesday, Aug. 28.
Clocktower gets new VACo honors owner and a facelift HCSO efforts By Ben Orcutt for The Mechanicsville Local The Clocktower Office Building in Brandy Hill Plaza, a Mechanicsville landmark, is getting a facelift. Built in 1987 and located on Mechanicsville Turnpike across from Lee-Davis High School, the property was purchased by a partnership headed by Robert Y. Shasha in October. Shasha is the president of
The Cotswold Group Inc. of Harrison, N.Y., the operating company for the partnership. He said his company is spending more than $1 million to upgrade the Clock tower Office Building and Brandy Hill Plaza. “Well, we like Richmond very much,” Shasha said. “We have another property in Richmond called Midlothian see CLOCKTOWER, pg. 17
with motorists
The Hanover County Sheriff ’s Office recently received the 2012 Virginia Association of Counties (VACo) Achievement Award for the Motorist Assistance program. Held annually, the VACo Achievement Awards is a competitive program open to local government members that recognizes local government programs in several award categories that are assessed according to their innovation, cooperation and model practices.
Photo submitted by Sgt. Chris R. Whitley
Col. David R. Hines, center, sheriff, is shown with some of the Motorist Assistance volunteers and a couple of the vehicles utilized in the program.
As part of a growing volunteer initiative, the Sheriff ’s Office currently has 24 trained Hanover residents participating in the Motorist Assistance patrol program. These volunteers work in pairs and drive well-marked Ford Explorers
equipped with yellow emergency lights. Their duties include helping stranded motorists, directing traffic, assisting with traffic hazards, and providing guidance see HCSO, pg. 4