NURSES CELEBRATE 50TH REUNION
THE HOMETOWN NEWSPAPER OF THE COLONIAL HEIGHTS AREA
PAGE V4
Friday, July 10, 2015
LOCAL
Barbecue fundraiser
COLONIAL HEIGHTS — Dunlop House Assisted Living & Specialized Dementia Care is partnering with Texas Roadhouse to sponsor a barbecue fundraiser to benefit the Colonial Heights Fire and EMS. The fundraiser will be held from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Thursday, July 23, at Dunlop House. Tickets are $10 in advance or $15 the day of the event. Dinner will be provided by Texas Roadhouse - pulled pork, baked beans, pasta salad, drinks, dessert - and live bluegrass music will be provided by Partners and Friends. This outdoor event will be held rain or shine. Tickets may be purchased in advance at Dunlop House Assisted Living, located at 235 Dunlop Farms Boulevard; or call Colonial Heights Fire and EMS at 804-520-9387.
Farmers' Market
COLONIAL HEIGHTS — The Farmers' Market at Dunlop House, 235 Dunlop Farms Boulevard, is now open on the first and third Tuesday, 4-7 p.m., through October, with fresh food, fun and activities for the whole family. It is being sponsored in part by Dunlop House, the City of Colonial Heights, the Colonial Heights Chamber of Commerce, VSU, and Colonial Christian Church.
Summer branch library
COLONIAL HEIGHTS — The Colonial Heights Public Library has opened a summer branch library at the Community Center. The branch will be open until August 24. The Community Center is located at 157 Roanoke Ave. The library branch will serve youth 6 through 18 years of age, and will be open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. For more information, contact the Library at (804) 520-9384.
Dive-in movie
COLONIAL HEIGHTS — Colonial Heights Swim and Yacht Club, 1225 Duke of Gloucester St., will host a dive-in movie on July 18. Gates open at 8:30 p.m.; Movie begins at 8:45 p.m. This event is open to the public. Bring a float and relax in the pool while watching "Despicable Me 2" or bring a lawn chair and sit on the pool deck. Lifeguards will be on duty. Admission is free, concessions available on-site. No outside food or drink is allowed. For more information, call (804) 520-9390.
Back to School Festival
COLONIAL HEIGHTS — A Back to School Festival is scheduled to be held from 6-8 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 18, at the Soccer Complex, 1000 Yacht Basin Drive. This event is free and for Colonial Heights residents only. Rain date is Aug. 25. Activities and prizes will include: School supplies, raffles, face painting, inflatables, pony rides & carnival games, free Back-to-School T-shirts to the first 100 students to attend. Participants can register in advance or at the event. Extra items can be purchased for a nominal fee. For more information, call (804) 520-9390. INDEX Opinion ......................... V2 Things to do.................. V3 Classifieds .................... V6
Vol. 12, No. 42
FORMER KMART DEMOLISHED PAGE V5
FREE
COLONIAL HEIGHTS
Family devotes life to Special Olympics By Leah Small Staff Writer
COLONIAL HEIGHTS — The Lowerys have devoted over 15 years to helping local special needs athletes to recognize their potential. Special Olympics recognized the family for their dedication by presenting them with the Outstanding Family of the Year Award for 2014 for Virginia during the Summer Games last month. The family even had the honor of taking down the Flame of Hope following the completion of the games, which took place at the University of Richmond at the Robins Center from June 12-13. The games brought over 1,500 athletes to compete in bocce, swimming, softball, track & field, bowling, powerlifting and tennis. Before the Lowerys had the honor of taking down the flame, it was delivered by law enforcement officials following a 1,900-mile, eight-day trek across the state in the Law Enforcement Torch Run. Tracy and Fred Lower y and their daughters Mackenzie Taylor, 27, and Courtney Harrison, 33, got hooked on volunteering for the organization when Taylor was in the sixth grade. Taylor had previously volunteered for a program for special needs children formerly run by Colonial Heights Parks and Recreation. Since she started working with Special Olympics, her parents couldn’t just limit their contribution to driving her to participate. The whole family has jumped in head first with volunteering. "It was the high you felt," Fred Lowery said. "You felt so blessed to be in their company." All of the Lowerys spoke about the freedom they felt from being around a nonjudgemental and fun-loving community. Taylor and Tracy Lowery are so die hard, that they both have Special Olympics tattoos. Fred Lowery coaches bowling for the Colonial Heights Special Olympics Chapter, while Tracy Lowery serves as the chapter’s coordinator. Harrison and Taylor also serve as coaches. Harrison, who is a registered nurse, monitors medications
The Lowery family of Colonial Heights shows off an award naming them the family most devoted to Special Olympics in the state. Top row from left: Mackenzie Taylor, Fred Lowery, Tracy Lowery and Courtney Harrison. Bottom Row: Carleigh Harrison, Camden Taylor and Celia Harrison. LEAH SMALL/PROGRESS-INDEX PHOTO
and other health needs for the athletes on the chapter’s multiple sporting trips a year. When sports seasons are in an upswing, the Lowerys easily put in well over 20 hours a week volunteering. The Lowerys' grandchildren, Ceila and Carleigh Harrison and Camden Taylor, have also started the family tradition. But the family describes Tracy Lowery as the leading matriarch for all of their Special Olympics efforts. Since the Lowerys have joined, the Colonial Heights chapter has grown from six athletes to 80. Currently, the chapter has about 15-20 permanent parent volunteers, and the Lowerys say that none of their efforts would be possible without their help and that of others. A part of what takes so much time is ensuring that the athletes are competing with others of their skill level, which means that the scores and times of all sporting events must be meticulously logged. The chapter also does its own fundraising. Special Olympics mom, Susan
Coon, met Mackenzie when she volunteered with a former city-run special needs program. Coon fell in love with the rest of the family when her 21-year-old son, Bryan Coon, joined Special Olympics at age 8. Coon was surprised by the Lowerys' dedication, because they have no one with special needs in their family. "The time we put into Special Olympics is because we have a son who is special needs. They do it because they love it," Coon said. Her son suffers from tuberous sclerosis, which causes chronic seizures. He also has some intellectual disabilities. Despite these obstacles, he is working toward obtaining a teaching certificate through the Virginia Commonwealth University ACE-IT in College program, for young adults with intellectual disabilities. Fred Lowery said that whenever parents ask at sporting events which child is theirs, they respond that "they all are." But Special Olympics isn’t limited to just young adults. Harrison said that even older
adults, especially those who have spent much of their lives in group homes, have been touched by the games. "There is nothing like taking someone in their 60s to the beach and they have never seen it before," she said. Even though the family isn't related to anyone with special needs, many of them have experience working with special needs individuals. Taylor takes care of special needs children and adults in her home and Tracy Lowery works with special needs students at Tussing Elementary School. Taylor said that their work is about getting the athletes to realize their abilities. She was determined to do just that when she worked with Bruce, a local athlete in his early 20s with autism, who is also blind. Taylor started working with Bruce four years ago when he said that he wanted to be a competitive swimmer. At the time, he could only dog paddle. "Someone wants to do something and we want to help them
SEE OLYMPICS, V3
HISTORIC RESOURCES
Violet Bank Historic District added to the Virginia Landmarks Register First came the house in 1815, then came development of a neighborhood starting in 1908, with final build-out of the district occurring during post-World War II building boom From Staff Reports
A number of sites, including three in the Tri-Cities, have been recently added to the Virginia Landmarks Register by the Virginia Department of Historic Resources (DHR). The Violet Bank Historic District in Colonial Heights, Pocahontas State Park Historic District in Chesterfield County, and the Trailways Bus Station in downtown Petersburg,
were all historic sites in the TriCities added to the register.
Violet Bank Historic District, Colonial Heights The Violet Bank Historic District in Colonial Heights has two periods of significance, 1815 and 1908-1956. Violet Bank, a Federal-style house, was constructed in 1815 on a large tract in then-rural Chesterfield County. A DHR press release said suburban
development led to the former farm being subdivided, and starting in 1908 development of the Violet Bank neighborhood was underway. By 1956 the final build-out of the district occurred during the post-World War II building boom, making it one of the earliest planned suburbs in Colonial Heights. Violet Bank, which is now a museum, served as Gen. Robert E. Lee's headquarters from June 8, 1864 to Nov. 1, 1864.
Pocahontas State Park Historic District, Chesterfield The Pocahontas State Park
Historic District was originally known as Swift Creek Recreational Demonstration Area and was a project in the Civilian Conservation Corps, a New Deal-era program. It was just one of two RDAs in the state and is known to be the brainchild of the National Park Service as part of the larger Federal Emergency Land Relief Program that began in 1934. Pocahontas State Park, DHR states, is important in Virginia as the only state park specifically designed for use by large groups.
SEE LANDMARKS, V3