INSIDE Is robot parenting the wave of the future? Let’s hope not > page 6
Volume 66 Number 48 • December 9, 2021
Low cost retailer could be headed to western Goochland Dollar General reps say store would be good fit, neighbors remain concerned By Roslyn Ryan Editor
Western Goochland is now one step closer to becoming the site of the county’s third Dollar General store, after the county Planning Commission voted 3-2 last week in favor of a rezoning request that would allow the retail giant to set up shop near the intersection of Hadensville-Fife Road and River Road West. The project had previously come before the planning commission in
October, but was deferred after a lengthy meeting during which those living near the site of the proposed store shared concerns about a host of issues ranging from traffic safety to loitering. Despite several updates to the proposal, residents attending the Dec. 2 planning commission meeting appeared skeptical that those changes would serve to make the project a bet-
ter fit for the area, a largely residential and agricultural area already home to two convenience stores. To area resident Charles Purvis, allowing the new store would bring an unwelcome injection of commercial development to an area where residents simply don’t want it. “In reality, people just don’t live in or move to western Goochland to be near a corporate discount retail
Local children enjoy a festive evening with Santa
store development,” said Purvis. In the eastern part of the county that ship’s already sailed,” he said, “but for the western part of the county, that’s not why I moved there, and I don’t think that that’s why people live there and have lived there for years.” The owners of both nearby convenience stores addressed commissioners see Store > 3
County first responder earns award for heroism By Roslyn Ryan Editor
Retail Merchants’ (RMA) 31st Annual Valor Awards was held Thursday, Dec. 2 at the Greater Richmond Convention Center (GRCC) to honor the region’s first responders. And among those singled out for special recognition was Goochland’s own Jared Brooks. Brooks, a firefighter-EMT, was honored for his actions on the evening of March 10, 2021, (see sidebar, page 7) when he pulled a man from the burning wreckage of a car that had overturned in a ditch on Shannon Hill Road. Brooks is a volunteer at Hadensville Station 6 as well as a career firefighter with Chesterfield County Fire and EMS. Created by Retail Merchants and key community partners in 1989, the Valor Awards Contributed photo
Goochland youngsters got the chance to share their Christmas wishes with Santa and Mrs. Claus during the county’s annual tree lighting ceremony on Dec. 3. For more photos from this year’s event, see page 8.
see Valor > 7