INSIDE TCSD land use becomes issue > page 2
Volume 57, Number 40 • October 13, 2011
Noise ordinance sent back to staff By Ken Odor jodor@goochlandgazette.com
would ask the question is something going to be a liability to the county or make money for the county? Peterson and District 4 candidate Bob Minnick both noted that the TCSD payout each year by the county represents 4 percent of the total yearly budget. “The problem is that in the next 10 years that percentage payout figure will double and then in another 10 years it will double again,” Peterson noted. “There isn’t one answer, one solution as to what we can do to get more money into
Goochland supervisors sent the county administration’s latest attempt to create a new noise ordinance back to county staff for another do-over last week. After his presentation and a public hearing that involved 20 speakers, the board voted 4-0 to send it back to County Attorney Norman Sales for more study. Goochland repealed its old noise ordinance at the February Board of Supervisors meeting. The current proposed ordinance would have made the enforcement of violations of the ordinance a civil matter, an option made possible by the General Assembly in 2010. Under the new law, a citizen would request a local magistrate to issue a summons for an alleged violation, which could carry a maximum penalty of $250 for a first offence and $500 for subsequent offenses. The new ordinance would have been based on a “plainly audible” standard, a phrase that Sales said has not been defined. Although the first paragraph of the ordinance referred to noise at any time of day, the thrust of the law would have applied to the period between 11p.m and 7 a.m. A list of specific violations was listed, including one for animals, which read: “Allowing any animal, except farm animals in agricultural districts, to cause any sound or noise between 11:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. such that it is plainly audible (i) inside the confines of a detached dwelling unit of another person at least once a minute for ten (10) consecutive minutes or (ii) at one hundred (100) or more feet from the animal at least once a minute for ten (10) consecutive minutes.” The ordinance exempted a number of activities, such
see Forum > page 4
see Noise > page 3
Photo by Ken Odor
Yvette McDermott welcomes candidates and visitors to the NAACP Political Forum Thursday evening. The forum, held at the Goochland Recreational Center, drew more than 50 listeners as well as 21 candidates.
NAACP Forum draws 21 candidates By Jim Fields jfields@mechlocal.com
The Goochland County chapter of the NAACP held a political forum Oct. 6 at the Goochland Recreational Center, and the people in attendance got an “ear full” from the candidates seeking their votes. A total of 21 of 29 candidates were present to try and sell themselves to approximately 50 voters interested in their views. All of the Board of Supervisors’ challengers were present while the incumbents were at a function at the J.S. Reynolds campus for the formal renaming of the site to J.S. Reynolds
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Calendar 21 Classifieds 22-23 Letters 6 Local Exchange 12
Community College Goochland Campus. As for the five School Board races, the three incumbents running for reelection and all seven challengers were present. The common topic for all Board of Supervisor candidates was what is the county going to do about the looming financial disaster of the Tuckahoe Creek Service District (TCSD). Every candidate had something to say about the TCSD. Ken Peterson, running unopposed for the District 5 Supervisor’s seat, talked about his financial background which he said would let him look at all financial issues before the supervisors. He said he
Obituaries Opinion Sports TV Listings
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SPORTS
NEWS
Goochland runs to another victory
Michelle Nixon makes headlines
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