Kiwi case goes to Feds

On Monday, October 29, Troy George Skinner, the New Zealand man who was wounded while breaking into a Goochland home in June, appeared before Goochland General District Court Chief the Hon. Judge Claiborne H. Stokes, Jr. 

State felony charges filed in Goochland, were Nolle Prosequi—essentailly dropped—to be replaced by federal charges relating to his actions in Goochland on June 22. He will be processed out at the Henrico Jail at which time the FBI will take him into custody.

Troy Skinner, head down, is escorted to transport pending his turnover to FBI custody

Goochland Sheriff James L. Agnew said that he contacted the FBI the day after the incident and they responded immediately. Given the complexity of prosecuting a criminal case with possible international implications, the FBI has the necessary resources to handle the case.

Skinner, who was hospitalized after arrest for the gunshot wound to the neck he sustained during the incident, has been held in the Henrico Jail West—Goochland does not have its own jail—for several months.

Heavily manacled at the hands and feet, Skinner kept his head down as he was escorted to a van by Goochland law enforcement officers.

He was arrested after a Goochland woman called 911 to report she shot a man who broke into her home. The subsequent investigation found that Skinner made the acquaintance of a daughter of the homeowner during online gaming sessions. The daughter tried to sever the gaming connection, but Skinner persisted, according to information distributed by Agnew in late June.

Skinner traveled to the United States from New Zealand via Australia arriving on the west coast, then making his way east by bus. He then somehow made his way from Short Pump, where he purchased a knife and duct tape, to Goochland without having a vehicle.

This is a cautionary tale for parents to make sure they know who their children interact with online. There are real people behind those anonymous identities who may not be harmless.

(Media coverage of the court appearance was interesting. Only WTVR Chanel 6 sent a reporter and camera man. The reporter from the Richmond paper missed Skinner’s perp walk from the courthouse to his jail transport. )

That time of year

Here in Virginia we have elections every year. Soon the annoying robo-calls and commercials will stop—until next year. For those who may have been on the far side of the moon, here are a few comments about the upcoming elections in Goochland.

Winston Forrest, who was appointed by the Goochland Electoral Board to succeed longtime Director of Elections Frances C. Ragland, recently left the employ of the county for reasons that will probably never be publicly disclosed. The Electoral Board, comprised of two democrats and one republican, appointed Ryan Mulligan as General Registrar. Fortunately, Ragland has returned to act as  a Special Senior Assistant Registrar to assist in the transition and ensure that Goochland’s elections are conducted in the exemplary fashion that citizens expect. We owe Ragland a great debt of gratitude for her continued willingness to pitch in and decades of dedication to serving the voters of our county.

This year in Goochland we vote for United States Senator; 7^th District representative to the United States House of Representatives; and two state constitutional amendments regarding local taxation of property.

Voters in District 3 will also have a supervisor election—John Lumpkins, Jr., who was appointed by the Board of Supervisors to succeed the late Ned Creasey until the election is running unopposed. His seat on the school board, to which Vernon Fleming was appointed until the election, is also on the ballot. Fleming and Karen Horn are vying for the 3^rd District school board seat.

Next year, the entire Board of Supervisors and School Board will be up for election.

The amendments (https://www.elections.virginia.gov/election-law/proposed-constitutional-amendment-2018/index.html) deal with somewhat narrow provisions of property tax laws. It would seem that the amendment addressing flood prone land pertains more to Tidewater.

Tax relief for the surviving spouse of a 100 percent disabled veteran is addressed in the second proposed amendment.

Please take a few minutes before you go to the polls to familiarize yourself with these ballot proposals, and decide how you will vote.  Do not wait until you are in the voting to read and decide about these issues. Be considerate of others’ time when you go to the polls and be ready to cast your vote to keep lines moving.

Goochland consistently has high voter turnout. Visit http://goochlandva.us/359/Voter-Registration-Elections for complete more information.

Please note: GOMM will not publish comments relating to specific candidates. There are plenty of other forums for that.

Do you want to know a secret

Do you want to know a secret?

Goochland County’s school division’s relentless pursuit of excellence continues.  So many good things are happening, that it’s hard to keep track of them. By now, everyone in the county should have received Explorations in Learning in the mail.

This was in your mailbox, read it

According to Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Jeremy Raley, GCPS “spent a total of $6,600.58 for the printing and shipping of this report.  Printing cost $4,322.30, mailing $2,268.28, and shipping of copies to our central office $10.00.  The content was populated by our administrative team and Dr. John Hendron did the layout and graphics.”

The high quality of  Explorations illustrates the talented people who work each day to help every student in county schools reach their potential. Raley explained that the report was sent to each mailbox in Goochland to ensure that everyone, especially those who do not electronically access local information, knows what is happening in our schools. As local education consumes a significant portion of county tax dollars, citizens should be aware of how their money is spent.

Please take  a few minutes to find out what our schools are doing to help our kids obtain the tools they will need to grab their part of the American dream. Pay particular attention to “The profile of a Goochland Graduate” on page 10. Life skills, in addition to scholastic achievement, are important attributes for material success and personal satisfaction.

It is clear that our school division understands that students have differing gifts, each of which has value in our complex society.

Word has been getting out, around the region and nation, about the good work our schools are doing. On Monday, October 15 GCPS  hosted 39 representatives of eight school divisions from Ohio to Louisiana. The day’s program included a glimpse of many  aspects of education Goochland style. According to Raley, everyone was at their best and our visitors were impressed by the overall commitment to excellence and talented people who take pride in their work and make it all possible.

On Tuesday, October 16, the Goochland Education Foundation, hosted a friend raising event. It was held at the exquisite new Richmond Audi dealership, whose owner Larry Page, is a longtime county resident and generous supporter of the community.

Dr. Megan Healy, Chief Workforce Development Advisor in Governor Northam’s administration, spoke briefly to the gathering. Fixing the mismatch between skill sets and job openings is a serious challenge for the Commonwealth, she contended. Figuring out how to ensure that students have skills to hold jobs that do not yet exist is one of the most pressing challenges facing educators. Healy collaborates with educators at all levels and business leaders to find solutions for current problems and craft strategies for the future.

 

Dr. Meghan Healy

Equipping our children with technical and “soft” skills, not just the ability to collect data, but to make that information useful and collaborate with a wide range of individuals to reach shared goals is also vital, she said.

Healy explained that Raley is part of her taskforce and that Goochland is already doing things that other school divisions are just talking about.

The GEF is a local non-profit that provides resources to enrich education outside of the school budget For more information about GEF, visit its website, Gooclandedu.org. If you have an extra bean or two that you would like to plant locally and watch grow, GEF is a 501 (c) (3) organization. In addition to scholarships, GEF awards strategic innovation grants to allow teachers to explore concepts outside the curriculum.

The excellence of Goochland schools is too well kept a secret, tell all of your friends how great they are! (Visit http://goochlandschools.org/ to learn more.)

October Board notes

October Board notes

Goochland Supervisors’ October 2 meeting addressed routine matters. They approved a resolution declaring October Domestic Violence Awareness month and recognized local agencies working to eradicate this social scourge.

County Administrator John Budesky reminded all of the upcoming Town Hall meetings, the first of which was held on October 3. Two more are scheduled, one for District 1 at the Hadensville Company 6 Fire-Rescue station on October23, the other for Districts 2 and 3 on October 29 at the Central High School Cultural Arts and Education Center. Both begin at 7 p.m.

Budesky also said that the county fall festival will be held on Saturday, October 27 at Goochland Elementary School from 12 to 4 p.m. Volunteers are still needed, call 556-5854 for more information.

Fire-Rescue Chief Bill MacKay once again reported that call volume for his agency rose approximately 15 percent from last year. He said that, although Goochland is actively recruiting new fire-rescue employees, filling vacancies is difficult and volunteer participation continues to decline. Fire-rescue and Goochland are not alone in this dilemma, MacKay said. The Sheriff is also having difficulty filling vacancies and public safety and law enforcement agencies cross the country are in the same boat.

October is fire prevention month. Fire prevention week begins on October 8, the anniversary of the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. Please visit https://www.nfpa.org/Public-Education/Campaigns/Fire-Prevention-Week/About for a lot of great information about fire safety presented in video form.

MacKay said that while there are virtually no fire fatalities at American schools, our homes are a different story; our country has a “terrible track record” for survival or house fires. Every home should have at east one working smoke alarm that is checked often to ensure that its battery is operable. Family fire drills, where escape routes are identified and practiced, also save lives. Given that materials used to build and furnish homes are very flammable, MacKay said that there is a three minute time frame in which to safely escape a home after the smoke alarm sounds. Do  not take chances, if your smoke alarm  goes off get everyone out and call 911.

The chief said that the EMT class underway has 14 students, most from other jurisdictions. Used in the past as a recruitment tool, this class now provides a cost effective way for others to obtain certification, with little or no benefit to Goochland fire-rescue. The Chief suggested that it may be time to rethink offering this course.

Three Goochland Fire-Rescue members have been chosen by the Richmond Retail  Merchants Association to receive the Bronze Medal of Valor for their actions during a water rescue event Dean Dunn, Christopher Ferguson, and Kevin Hatcher will be recognized at an event in November. This is the first time that any member of Goochland Fire-Rescue has earned this award.

Although Hurricane Florence brought only rain to central Virginia, the county’s emergency response team was ready. MacKay thanked county staff for its hard work and the Sheriff’s Office for coordinating activities at the new emergency  operations center. The supervisors approved a resolution  ending the state of emergency preparedness declared last month.

Installation of the traffic signal at the intersection of West Creek Parkway and Route 6 is in progress, according to the monthly VDOT report. It should be operational soon. Improvements to the Rt. 288/Broad Street Road interchange are on track for completion sometime in the next three to four years.

Central Virginia Waste Management Authority, which is contracted to handle the county’s trash, presented an annual update. The CVWMA works with localities it serves to ensure that capacity for handling solid waste keeps pace with population growth. It uses EPA estimates of 4.34 pounds of trash per person per day and population counts based on numbers from the Weldon Cooper Center.

Recycling keeps a significant amount of solid waste out of landfills; 59 percent is recycled in central Virginia, well above the state mandate of 25 percent. There had been a seven percent decline in the volume of trash collected by Goochland’s two convenience centers over the past few years. Goochland’s CVWMA annual operating assessment is 48 cents per capita.

The price of mixed paper and glass, which accounts for approximately 67 percent of recycled materials, has dropped to zero, so the cost of recovery is no longer offset by the sale price. Going forward, this could cost Goochland about $15,960 annually. If and when prices for recycled materials recover, the county could recoup this amount.

Recycled material needs to be clean to ensure highest cost recovery. The biggest culprit is plastic grocery bags, which CVMA does not accept. DO NOT BAG your recyclables, just put the loose items in the bins. Plastic bags are one of the top contaminants at local material recovery facilities; they wrap around sorting equipment and cause damage; prevent materials from being properly sorted; and add additional disposal costs. If you use plastic bags, recycle at local grocery/retail stores. Materials will not be recycled if in plastic bags. Paper grocery sacks are recyclable with mixed paper.

Please visit http://cvwma.com/ for lots of interesting information on recycling and how you can help.

Ask me no questions, I'll tell you no lies

Following almost three hours of public comment and deliberation, the Goochland Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a proffer amendment and rezoning application at its October 2 meeting.

The applications were file by Markel/Eagle Advisors to amend the proffers and expand  Parkside Village, a residential enclave in the northeastern corner of the county behind the Aw Shucks complex.

A conceptual layout that was part of the application approved in 2013, included a central boulevard between Pouncey Tract and Ashland Roads, creating an alternative to negotiating the  cramped intersection of these two roads. Only two homes on that iteration backed up to the boulevard, with all other lots fronting cul-de-sacs accessed from the boulevard

Parkside Village, however, was not built out that way. According to comments from some homeowners, they were never informed about the required connector between the two major roads, and were also unaware of the community’s proximity to a rock quarry, whose blasting shakes their houses. However, looking at the way that Park Village Boulevard was built, it is hard to understand why residents thought it would not connect with Ashland Road.

During a series of well-attended community meetings earlier this year, Parkside Village residents made their objections to the connector road, which, under the ordinance that created Parkside Village, the developer was required to build.  Given the number of large dump trucks and other heavy vehicles that travel the Ashland/Pouncey  Tract corridor, objections to a cut through in  Parkside Village seem reasonable.

An alternative to the road through a residential enclave, including one whose Ashland Road access was via an electronically controlled gate limited to EMS vehicles, was preferred by residents.

After a tie vote at the August Planning Commission, the  application  was deferred for 30 days to allow those involved to devise a better solution. The resulting version, which does connect to Ashland Road via several difficult turns, replaces part of the boulevard with a greenway and only impacts a few houses, which is small comfort to those who live there. The developer proffered installation of lots of landscaping to soften blow. The rezoning also requires the developer to disclose to all buyers the proximity of the quarry; that the property is part of the TCSD, and landowners pay an additional ad valorem tax; and that adjacent property fronting on Ashland Road is zoned B-1.

Fire-Rescue Chief Bill MacKay said that the approved version will help to reduce EMS response times.

Manuel Alvarez, Jr., District 2, pointed out that without the Ashland Road access, Parkside Village is a Henrico subdivision. He also explained that the Planning Commission is an advisory body, with final land use decisions made by the supervisors.

“This is very troubling to me,” said Susan Lascolette, District 1. “This is not the first time that people found out after purchasing homes that they live on private roads or must pay an ad valorem tax.”

Bob Minnick, District 4, who made the motion to approve, observed that there are other residential enclaves that have de facto cut throughs and that the convoluted route would discourage some through traffic.

It is easy to see why the residents of Parkside Village do not want motorists cutting through their neighborhood to avoid a congested intersection. It is harder to understand why they were unaware that the connector road was part of the community since its inception. A quick peek at Google Earth makes it very clear where Park Village Boulevard was headed.  The approved road through the new section includes sharp turns and is somewhat confusing.

Disclosure requirements imposed in the new proffers are a good thing. It’s hard to determine if the lack of communication between home buyers in Parkside Village and realtors was due to ignorance on both sides or a lapse in ethics.  Did no one wonder about the origin of the large trucks in the area?  There is no excuse for failure to mention the additional ad valorem tax on property in the Tuckahoe Creek Service District.

This land use case was a knotty matter with no happy ending for some of those involved. It illustrates the need to ask lots of questions and confirm the answers before signing on the dotted line. Perhaps the county needs to include disclosure requirements in rezoning proffers.