Amanda S. Creasey

Local hair salon reopens under Phase I guidelines
Studio B first opened its doors on April 18, 2017. Not quite three years later, salon owner and master stylist Bethany Yurachek found herself closing them, under orders by Gov. Northam in an effort to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus. “I was totally shocked in the beginning,” Yurachek said. “I did not realize the magnitude of the virus, but quickly realized that the safety of our clients and staff was first and foremost.”
The temporary...

When R.M. “Dickie” King, Jr. opened King’s Korner Catering and Restaurant in 1982, at the corner of Matoaca and Hickory roads in southern Chesterfield County, he had no idea of the challenge his business would face 38 years later.
The restaurant, which normally operates out of the Chesterfield Airport, employs six full-time staff members with a combined 125 years’ experience and, according to King, “on any given day, 25 additional part-time staff to accommodate corporate events, government ev...

Local emergency nurse, Marine serves on COVID-19 medical team in New York City
In these days of self-quarantine and stay-at-home orders, amid a pandemic unprecedented in modern times, Fred Rogers’s advice to “look for the helpers” has proliferated social media, as well as everyday conversation. Chesterfield resident Joey Shelton has taken the advice a step further. He is not only looking for helpers; he is among them.
Previously, Shelton worked at the emergency department of Chippenham Hospit...

Congratulations to our Excellence-in-Craft Photography Winners!
VOWA is pleased to present the winners of our 2019-2020 Excellence-In-Craft photography contest. Due to the Coronavirus pandemic we did not get to celebrate with these winners at our Annual Meeting. VOWA offers sincere congratulations to each winner and celebrates their outstanding work in this showcase.
Outstanding Published Photos
1st Place: Alvin Finchum
“Chincoteague Ponies”
Alvin Finchum’s lovely photograph of Chincoteague’s...

Annual Meeting
DoubleTree Hotel, Charlottesville
**OUT OF CONCERN FOR OUR MEMBERS AND GUESTS REGARDING EXPOSURE TO THE CORONAVIRUS THE VOWA 2020 ANNUAL MEETING HAS BEEN CANCELLED.
Details Here
*Note: Our Website has recently undergone a major software update. We are still tweaking the design and reloading images in our archive pages, so we appreciate your patience. Soon our pages with websites for active, supporting and corporate members will be updated and added, along with our VOWA News pag...

It's remarkable how a change in perspective can turn your life around. Your attitude is one of the most powerful tools you have, and anyone can access that power. The 101 personal, revealing stories in this collection will show you how you can use positive thinking in all aspects of life, from the everyday to the extraordinary. Deborah Norville has teamed up wtih Chicken Soup for the Soul to provide you with relatable role models — people from all walks of life — who have harnessed the power ...

Retired Marine, former director Chesterfield County Department of Public Affairs, releases debut novel
If social distancing as a result of the current coronavirus pandemic has you down, Don J. Kappel has a suggestion to help mitigate the possible boredom: Buy his new book, Lifetime Benefits, and escape to a world where a former Marine officer returns home to Richmond, to begin a second career as an insurance agent.
Kappel explained his book’s plot: “The unexplained death of a client and frien...

New Year’s Eve has come and gone, and we are well into the start not only of a new year, but of a new decade. One way to increase the quality time you get to spend with your dog this year is to resolve to include him in more of your adventures. Planning dog-friendly trips so Fido doesn’t have to stay home while you explore is a good place to start, but here at Everyday Dog, we’re taking dog-friendly travel to a whole new level: dog-centric. We’ve scoured the calendar and the country for some ...

Local musician-writer publishes third book, urges people to ‘tell their stories’
When Charles R. Hodge Jr. graduated from high school, he didn’t know how to write. “I come from a poverty-stricken area of nothing,” he said. He was one of a few black students at a formerly all-white high school. “They put me in nothing but domestic classes,” he explained. He managed to find a job driving a school bus, and recalls hearing the “kids talking about gerunds and verb tenses. I didn’t know what they w...

It was mid-June. School had just let out for the summer. All year, I’d been looking forward to this time with my dogs, Jack and Sadie — trips to the river, after-walk naps together, sunset strolls in the Outer Banks of North Carolina. That is what my summers had been made of for the last thirteen years — my entire adult life. My entire teaching career. My entire marriage. But this summer was different; Jack and Sadie had passed away. On this June afternoon as I turned my key in the backdoor, ...

Huge light display brings neighbors together
This time of year, Chester residents driving down Route 10 might be surprised to notice a large, white cross glowing above the tree line behind Thomas Dale High School. As the wise men of old are said to have followed the star to the manger, an inquisitive motorist might follow the cross in the sky to the home of Gary and Deanna Smith, where it perches 100 feet up in the boughs of a pine tree in the family’s front yard.
Said motorist would be well ...

Local handyman builds wheelchair ramps to improve neighbors’ lives

In the summer of 2005, Pete Adler attended a meeting of the Chester Rotary Club. A guest speaker from Project:HOMES attended to explain the group’s program and to recruit volunteers to build wheelchair ramps. The mission of Project:HOMES, as Adler explains it, is to “help keep people in their home as long as possible by providing accessibility through wheelchair ramps and other home improvements.” The Rotary Club in Chester “e...

By day, Tim Horne works as a mechanic. But when he’s not at work, he’s brewing up something spooky for neighbors near and far.
Many people who vacation in August do so at the beach, but not Horne. Beginning on Aug. 1 each year, he takes off one day a week until Oct. 22, his birthday. He uses these days off to prepare his property for Halloween.
From Oct. 22 through Nov. 5, Horne takes a full-time break from his day job to devote his time and energy to preparing for and cleaning up after his f...

We all know it’s true: Everything’s better with a dog. Vacations, beach days, morning walks — they’re just a lot more fun with your dog along. Because we take this fundamental fact to be self-evident, we’ve scoured the nation to find dog-friendly cities for you and your best friend.
Check out our list of the dog-friendly cities to visit in the US!
Tucson, Arizona
John Nachazel and his 2 ½ year old rescued American Staffordshire Terrier/Boxer/Chow Chow/Rottweiler/ “and a lot of other stuff” mi...

This piece details seven ways dog owners can celebrate and practice responsible dog ownership.