INSIDE Goochland resident enjoys star turn on iconic game show. > page 5
Volume 65, Number 17 • April 23, 2020
VCCW offender dies after battling COVID-19 Contributed Report
Photo by Peter Beliaev
Hill Top Distillery co-founder John Brockenbrough and his family say they found the perfect place to locate their new business. Said John’s mother Sherry of the Maidens area where they chose to build, “It’s a little piece of Heaven.”
In good SPIRITS
For distillery owners, downturn hasn’t dampened enthusiasm
By Roslyn Ryan Editor
As a general rule, the owners of Goochland’s new Hill Top Distillery don’t often find themselves backing down from a challenge. It’s why they decided to pursue the project just over three years ago, and why they kept on looking until they found the perfect location, a 7-acre property off Maidens Rd. It’s why they moved over 100 tons of rock by hand and did much of the work on the new distillery and tasting room themselves. It’s also why, despite having their tasting room essentially shut down by the COVID19 pandemic just two weeks after they opened, they have no intention of giving up
anytime soon. The statewide lockdown has had some impact, admitted Sherry Brockenbrough, who owns the distillery with her husband John, a retired educator, and son, also named see Hill Top > page 3
RICHMOND – An offender from the Virginia Correctional Center for Women in Goochland has passed away at the Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center after battling COVID-19. The 49-year-old offender was admitted to VCU’s medical center on April 4 and tested positive for the novel coronavirus on that date. The offender had underlying health conditions including asthma and Hepatitis-C, and was hospitalized from April 4 until her death. The offender was serving a nine-year sentence for manufacturing methamphetamine, delivery of drugs to prison and larceny. She had an expected release date in mid-2023. For the privacy of her family and the confidentiality of her medical records, the VADOC isn’t releasing the offender’s name. The VADOC, with about 30,000 incarcerated offenders and 12,000 employees, currently has 44 inmates and 32 staff with see COVID-19 > page 2