12 The Hampton Roads Messenger


Volume 11 Number 5 Around Hampton Roads Rezoning plan denied by


Chesapeake School Board Chesapeake, Va.- The School Board sat down on January 30 to discuss the zoning boundaries and whether they should be adjusted.


This meeting was held to decrease the population at Hickory Middle School by placing some of the children in other middle schools in the surrounding area. Along with Hickory Middle this decision will affect several middle schools in the area including Hugo Owens, Deep Creek, Great Bridge and Greenbrier Middle School.


Only seven of the nine members voted on the rezoning plan because School Board members Samuel L. Boone Jr. and Christie New Craig did not attend the meeting. The motion to deny this plan was passed by the School Board members 4-3.


Hickory has a history of being overcrowded and is currently over capacity by 20 percent.


Other options have been discussed to solve this problem such as shifting children from the other schools, but none of them have come into action.


From the 16 speakers that addressed the School Board, many ideas were brought forward that may be taken into consideration. Some of the speakers want the board to slow down with their planning process while others are asking for a citizen advisory committee, so that they become more involved in the process.


Chesapeake City Council will consider building an addition to Hickory. This plan will cost nearly $600,000 toward the designing process and is scheduled to be discussed further on February 14th.


City council has also indicated that a rezoning plan could possibly resurface in March.


Hampton VA Medical Center


welcomes new interim director Stephen D. Black, MS, PT, was appointed Acting Director of the Hampton VA Medical Center on January 9, 2017. Black joined the Hampton VA from Durham VA Health Care System where he served as the Associate Director from April 2015 until January 2017.


Prior to that, Black served as the Assistant Director of the Durham VAMC beginning in April 2013. Before coming to the Durham VA in 2013, Steve spent five years working at the Indianapolis VAMC in different roles and capacities: Coordinator of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Chief of Prosthetics, Ethics Consultation Coordinator and System Redesign Coordinator.


Black also spent seven years in private sector, working as a Physical Therapist and Healthcare Administrator before coming to the VA in 2008. He received a bachelor’s degree in biology, with an Athletic Training Certification from Franklin College in Franklin, IN, and a Master’s Degree in Physical Therapy from the University of Indianapolis in Indianapolis, Indiana. He is a member of the American College of Healthcare Executives and continues to be a licensed Physical Therapist in the State of North Carolina.


World’s 1st nuclear-powered


aircraft carrier set for retirement Newport News, Va.- The USS Enterprise will be dismantled today during the Navy’s final farewell.


This warship had a huge impact and played a role in a few world events including the 1962 Cuban missile crisis as well as the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. The “Big E,” as the crew used to call it, has been inactive for several years now and has spent its time defueled at Newport News Shipbuilding where it was built.


The ceremony where the ship was deactivated was held in 2012 in front of 12,000 people at Norfolk Naval Station; however, the decommissioning ceremony will be closed to the public. The navy has announced that the event will be posted on their Facebook page, so that others can view it.


The USS Enterprise joined the team in 1961 and is the eighth Navy aircraft carrier to hold the Enterprise name. After the terrorist attack on Sept. 11, 2001, it was also the first ship to launch an aircraft strike.


There is a veteran’s group doing everything in their power to make sure that others know the history of the ship and that it gets the recognition it deserves.


The last crew of sailors for the carrier has built a time capsule filled with parts of the ship and other mementos, from them and other former sailors, to be opened by the next Enterprise commanding officer.


Students and staff at Old Dominion University affected by


temporary immigration ban Norfolk, Va.- This executive order signed by President Donald Trump is said to affect 52 of the University’s currently enrolled students and one of their faculty members.


This has been a problem with many of the universities across the country. His plan is to ban people from Iran, Sudan, Somalia, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, and Libya. It will affect many students.


Giovanna Genard, a spokeswoman for ODU, said that no one has traveled to the seven countries included in the ban; therefore, no one has been stopped from entering the U.S. or stranded overseas.


Other colleges and universities in Virginia have spoken about whether their students and staff will be affected.


A spokeswoman for Norfolk State University announced that none of the international students is from a banned country. About 100 students and staff could be affected at Virginia Tech. More than 60 people on campus have been advised not to travel until the details have become clear.


Portsmouth emergency workers


will be given $1,000 stipend Portsmouth, Va.- For their continuous hard work throughout the city, each police officer, firefighter, paramedic, and dispatcher will receive $1,000 to continue working in the city.


The unanimous decision was voted on by City Council on January 24th.


The Human Resources Director, Elizabeth Gooden, submitted the proposal and stated that Portsmouth would spend around $860,000 without adding to its operating budget.


The only stipulation in receiving the stipend is that if each of the workers wants to keep the money, they must continue their services at least until the beginning of the next fiscal year, which will start on July 1st.


This could be a tactic to keep the city’s staff on board because staffing shortages for the many emergency worker positions have been vacant for some time. Gooden said that could be because the training for those positions is a time consuming process.


A firefighter spoke to the media about problems with being short-staffed, and cited it as contributing to a fire that broke out in December 2015. Although that firefighter was suspended, other people have come forward to point out that there is a problem with staffing. Councilman Nathan Clark, a retired Portsmouth sheriff’s deputy, has said that the department has not been understaffed until just recently.


February 2017


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