INSIDE Goochland’s Parks and Rec gets a fresh look. > page 3
Volume 57, Number 8 • February 25, 2010
Proposed 2011 budget down 7.3 percent Goochland still facing a budget shortfall of nearly $1.5 million By Amy Condra acondra@goochlandgazette.com
County Administrator Rebecca Dickson’s proposed plan for 2011 is down 7.3 percent from this year’s operating budget of $43.7 million. Dickson is scheduled to present her recommended budget of $40.5 million at a workshop session of the Board of Supervisors Tuesday night. The proposed budget includes a reduction in the county’s workforce, including the elimination of funding for 11 full-time positions, six of which are currently filled. Four part-time positions are also being eliminated, and two department head positions-- the county assessor and the purchasing agent-- will be reduced to part-time status without benefits. Administrative and support staffing will be cut, and county employees will be subjected to three-day furloughs during the upcoming fiscal year. Of changes being proposed in Goochland County administration, Dickson wrote in an e-mail, “Some of the changes are being proposed due to the economy and the unprecedented budget challenges. Other changes are being proposed because I believe the changes will help us to run more efficiently and serve the citizens and businesses of this county better.” The proposed budget will eliminate curbside recysee Budget> page 3
INDEX
Feature Calendar Classifieds Politics News
2 13 14-15 3 4
Letters Opinion Sports TV Listings
6 6 10 11-12
Photo by Ken Odor
Chelsea Pleasants (far left) with members of the “Princess for a Day” team. Patsy Woodson, Jordan Brenner and Rachel Vogel, Barbara Fleming, Melissa Petersen and GHS principal Francie Ball display some of the dresses which will be available April 1
Dress exchange cuts prom costs Exchange, held April 1, will benefit Relay for Life By Ken Odor jodor@goochlandgazette.com
As many a family with teen-age daughters has learned, prom night can be an expensive proposition for a young lady, with the price of a formal ensemble soaring into the hundreds of dollars. So Chelsea Pleasants and the Purple Heart Team Relay for Life team from Mt. Gilead Baptist
SPORTS Local baseball players abound in college ranks. > page 10
Church decided to do something about it. They’ll hold a dress exchange April 1 at Goochland High School, where young ladies can check out a selection of formal wear, shoes, jewelry and accessories for prom night and other formal occasions. Dubbed “Princess for a Day, Dress and Formal Wear Exchange,” the event is designed to make it possible for anyone to afford formal wear for the prom or other events. A dress for the Prom will go for a $10 donation to Relay for Life.
T H E
That’s right - $10! Shoes and other accessories will go for $5. Pleasants, who describes herself as a willing worker but not one who is comfortable in a leadership role, came up with the idea. “I’ve never initiated anything,” she admitted. But with three teenage daughters, she knows how expensive prom night can be. Now she’s heading up a mushrooming fundraising project. She’s already storing more than 150 see Prom page 1
L O C A L
west SERVING EASTERN GOOCHLAND AND WESTERN HENRICO
Tuskegee Airmen visit Tuckahoe Library.