INSIDE County administrator presents revised budget projections. > page 4
Volume 57, Number 4 • January 28, 2010
GES students celebrate past By Jim Ridolphi news@goochlandgazette.com
Goochland Elementary School turned back the hands of time last week, giving its students a glimpse at how life in Goochland looked years ago. Young Explorers teacher Glenda Hawk and fourth grade teacher Zoe Parrish organized the event, which featured historical interpreters, vintage demonstrations, colonial music and a visit from Lord Cornwallis. “I like to call it, “Goochland Once Upon a Time,” because it focuses on what life was like in the past,” Hawk said. The teachers thought Colonial Day was an effective method of giving their kids a hands-on look on everyday life in past centuries. Marilyn Long and Melinda Gammon from Field Day of the Past showed students the intricacies of ironing clothes and baking biscuits with utensils that were less sophisticated than those we have today. Keeping an iron hot, for example, was something many of the students took for granted before a demonstration convinced them otherwise. The event featured eight stations, each displaying a lost trade or a historical note. Postmaster George Smith displayed items from past eras and Sandra Barkley showed the kids how to make colonial pop-up books. Pope Reed ran a corn sheller on the stage in the cafeteria while Howard Mayo displayed items from an
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Calendar Classifieds Features Letters Education
Schools host roundtable Answer questions submitted by parents, citizens By Amy Condra acondra@goochlandgazette.com
Last week the school board hosted a roundtable meeting in order to address questions raised by parents over the past few months. At the meeting, School Superintendent Linda Underwood reconvened a public hearing on the budget, which had been continued from Jan. 12. At that meeting Underwood and the school board asked citizens to submit questions that would be answered publically last week. “We received lots of questions, and some were very similar,” said Underwood as the meeting began, “and a large number were on insurance.”
How many school system employees that do not meet fulltime standards are receiving fulltime benefits?
Photo by Jim Ridolphi
Bruce Venter portrays Lord Cornwallis as part of the Colonial Day celebrations at Goochland Elementary School last week.
old tobacco barn, and Mabry’s Blacksmith while Julia Price and Calvin Hopkins told Shop offered the students a first hand the story of the Second Union School, look at the lost art of blacksmithing, the complete with photos and recollections. “These are all community people,” old fashioned way. Sophia Pryor from the Historical see GES > page 5 Society displayed items from the past
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SPORTS Goochland swimmers prepare for postseason. > page 9
“School divisions are different than businesses,” said Underwood, explaining that they consider whether an employee is regularly contracted rather than how many numbers are worked each week. Professional staff on teacher contracts, bus drivers, cafeteria workers and part-time cleaners are covered under the school’s health insurance plan. Staff with teacher contracts receive full benefits if they work at least half-time. The schools pay a lower portion of health insurance premiums for ther part-time workers. “Our health insurance practices are common see Schools > page 1
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Henrico Seniors join the Police Academy