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Vol. 29, No. 51 | Richmond Suburban Newspapers | April 24, 2013
STOPS AT EVERY HOME IN TOWN
‘This Is My Now’ helped seal Brittany Brooker’s pageant win
Troops to Troops
By Melody Kinser mkinser@mechlocal.com
Photo submitted by Brookie Crawford
Girl Scout Brownie Troop 3024 raised enough money to send 17 cases (204 boxes) of Girl Scout cookies to the U.S. military overseas through Operation Gratitude. The girls also donated bags of candy to send.
Washington Henry continues commitment to environment Contributed Report news@mechlocal.com For the fourth year, Washington Henry Elementary School’s PTA Go Green Committee will host an Earth Day Festival from 1 to 5 p.m. on Sunday, April 28, at the rear of the campus near the new outdoor classroom.
The school and students made a commitment to the environment five years ago and continue to make strides every day. Dawn Neher, WHES Go Green Committee chair, said, “We believe that ‘by leaving greener footprints in our comsee ENVIRONMENT, pg. 14
“This Is My Now” proved to be more than a dance Saturday night for Atlee High School senior Brittany Brooker. It helped pave the way for her crowning moment as the 2013 Miss Mechanicsville. Claire Belfield-Henry, a seventh-grader who is homeschooled, captured the Junior Miss Mechanicsville title. Taylor Strath, a third grade student at Laurel Meadows Elementary School, and Ryley Porch, who is a second-grader at Cold Harbor Elementary School, were crowned Little and Tiny Miss Mechanicsville, respectively. For demonstrating “outstanding dedication to our community,” Isabella Moncure and Rachel Linder received the Community Service Award. Moncure was the winner and Linder came in as first run-
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Brittany Brooker, photo above, receives congratulations from fellow contestants in the Miss Mechanicsville Pageant Saturday night at Atlee High School. She was crowned the 2013 winner. At right, Claire Belfield-Henry is crowned Junior Miss by the 2012 winner, Sloan Minor. More photos on Community, page 9.
ner-up. In the Miss division, Abigail Elliott, a senior at Lee-Davis High School, is first runnerup. The Junior Miss runnerup is Jada Gibson, a seventhgrader at Oak Knoll Middle
School. Emma Belfield-Henry, a homeschooled fourth-grader, and Hope Fischer, a kindergarten student at Washington Henry Elementary School, were named first runner-up in the Little and Tiny Miss categories,
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respectively. This year’s pageant will benefit the operations of MCEF (Mechanicsville Churches Emergency Functions). Lynn Saunders, of MCEF, told the crowd, “Two hundred seniors see PAGEANT, pg. 4