Sgt. Chris R. Whitley of the Hanover County Sheriff’s Office said the deaths of Caroline R. and Madison R. King, who were 3-year-old twins, appear to have been caused by their father, Robert D. King, 40. The girls had lacerations to the neck area.

The investigation indicates that King had channeled the exhaust from his vehicle, which caused a lethal amount of carbon monoxide to have collected inside the residence in the 7900 block of Wynbrook Lane.

After an examination by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, King died as a result of one or more of a combination of these factors.

On Monday, the Richmond Times-Dispatch reported that King’s estranged wife and the girl’s mother, Kristina Hooper, found the bodies in a front bedroom that had been linked to the exhaust pipe of a van parked outside the house.

The Times-Dispatch said a search warrant affidavit and divorce petition records on file in Hanover County Circuit Court indicated she discovered her daughters and husband.

The article also said court records showed Hooper made the call to 911 at 3:36 p.m. She was found in the driveway “crying on her knees and stating, ‘My babies are dead. They’re in the house’.”

The Times-Dispatch said deputies found a van backed up near the residence with flexible duct tubing attached from the exhaust pipe, which continued into the bedroom,” where the three were found.

Court papers also indicated that officers were “initially overcome by fumes and began ventilating the residence” when they tried to enter the house.

Court documents also reported that investigators recovered blood-stained sections of duct tape tubing, a wallet and two notes of unspecified content in the house.

The girls lived in the 5000 block of Pole Green Road in Mechanicsville with their mother.

Speaking on behalf of Col. David R. Hines, sheriff, and the Sheriff’s Office, Whitley extended “our deepest sympathy to the families of the deceased as they mourn the tragic loss of their loved ones.”

Sunday morning, neighbors Tonya and Eric Pegram, whose house is two doors down from the King residence, talked about the loss on their street. The Pegram children – Conner 5, and Blakely, almost 2 — were playmates of the King girls.

“This is so sad, devastating,” Tonya said as she talked of the memories she had of the family. “The girls were always outside playing. They had their swings in their front yard and a trampoline in the back yard.”

She said she would never forget the sight of the father pulling the girls down their street in a wagon. “They were always going somewhere,” she said. “The girls would get in the wagon and off they’d go.”

Tonya said the good times weren’t limited to the father and twins. “When the ice cream truck would come around, we [the neighbors] would all take our kids to the corner to get ice cream,” she said. “They were always there with us.”

When asked if her son understood what was going on and what had happened to the twins, Tonya’s voice cracked and emotions took over. “He knows they are in heaven,” she said. “He knows they are in heaven.”

Senior writer Jim Fields and Bill McKelway of Media General News Service contributed to this report.

The county has experienced five homicides since December, the most recent occurring on Monday, Jan. 30.

Hines’ comment stemmed from messages he has received in the two months since the first incident took place.

“We stand together to comfort the families and friends of the victims. We stand together to assist law enforcement and their efforts,” the sheriff said of the response from the community. “We are a community of caring, compassionate individuals that at a time of need come together.”

Calling the “we stand together” position the strongest message, Hines added, “The second message that I hope has been heard loud and clear by those individuals that would come to Hanover to victimize our citizens is you will be arrested; you will be prosecuted.”

“We are a Sheriff’s Office of dedicated, well trained professionals that do not tire easily. Each person here carries my philosophy and that is a quick arrest is a sure way to prevent crime.”

On Thursday, the sheriff addressed the tragedies experienced in his county over the past two months. Though unrelated, the four incidents – five homicides and a suicide tied to two of the murders – Hines said, “They’re still tragedies that affect the community. They affect the loved ones of the victims, the friends and families and the community that they live in.”

He said the impact on Hanover is because the county is “a community of caring and compassionate human beings that truly have the same goals in mind. And that is safe communities, safe schools, parents that love their children, grandparents that love their grandchildren – a true sense of wanting all young people to make good decisions.”

Hanover “also is a community that respects its law enforcement, all of its public safety. The community has that sense that their law enforcement truly does belong to them.”

The Sheriff’s Office operates with a motto of “ ’Continuing to be a part of, not apart from, the community’ and we practice that every day, and,” Hines said, “the citizens know that.”

He also said that the cooperation between the community and his office is evident every day as they serve together to prevent crime.

Dispelling any negative remarks that have been posted on various Internet sites, the sheriff said, “This is one of the safest communities in the Richmond metropolitan area, and it’s because of the relationships that have been developed with public safety, schools and the community – everyone sharing the same goal.”

“Our officers are out there every day and, as much as we want to prevent every crime and as much as the community wants us to prevent every crime, not all crimes are prevented. We work diligently on prevention efforts. But when a crime is committed, part of our prevention philosophy – and it’s my philosophy as the sheriff and it’s been adopted by the men and women of this department – is a speedy arrest and swift prosecution., which prevents further crimes from being committed.”

Resolution to the four separate incidents came at a rapid pace with the Sheriff’s Office. While Hines attributed the success to his office, he also was quick to say that “We didn’t do it alone. We did it with the cooperation of the community and other agencies. As the sheriff, I don’t know how to truly express to the public my gratitude for their assistance in all of this.”

He then praised the efforts of the people his office serves. “Because of the times, I don’t know that the public recognizes how much they do for their law enforcement. We live in a community where someone notices something is a little awry and they call their Sheriff’s Office. And then it’s up to law enforcement to respond. I believe our agency responded extremely professionally, extremely quickly, very diligently.”

“Sometimes,” he continued, “our response and our actions are the only voice that the victims have, and we have to speak for them and that is to bring those that are responsible to a successful prosecution.”

Community involvement, Hines said, is a significant part of his office’s success rate. “We’re involved in our community, but our involvement is with not just the community leaders or the residents in the community, there’s a broader community that we work with every day. That broader community is the schools that we work with through our School Resource Officer Program.” Another program in the school is DARE, “where we are teaching young people at such an early age to try to help them to make good decisions.”

Help extends a broad spectrum, the sheriff said. “We work with not only the commonwealth’s attorney’s office for prosecution but our officers work almost every day with the mental health community, trying to find help for those that are brought to our attention.”

To do what they can in the area of domestic violence, the Sheriff’s Office works with Hanover Safe Place and domestic violence task forces.

Tending to the community’s public safety needs is paramount to the operations of the 24/7 department. “We’ve expanded our Neighborhood Watch Program,” Hines said. They also have increased the Business Watch Program in an effort to reach out to the business community. “We’ve also just started a new program of Crime Watch for civic organizations, where we will be able to put information out to the Rotary clubs, the Ruritans, the Lions Club. The better we can equip our citizens with good preventive measures, the better we can help them.”

Hines doesn’t use the term “community policing agency” lightly. “It is truly a philosophy here. We still work with our senior citizens that need help through our Adopt-a-Senior Program.”

His office spearheads a Motorist Assistance Program that, not only helps motorists, “they help us on our property watches for our citizens that may be out of town.”

Hines said his office has “increased our volunteers dramatically over the past two years to include 10 chaplains.” Each of the chaplains, he said, has played a part in all of these tragedies. “They played a part in supporting the families, supporting the communities in their own congregations and supporting the men and women of this office that deal with those tragedies.”

As Hines said, Hanover County’s strength is that theme of “We stand together.”

Edwin Gaskin will speak at 7:45 a.m. A question-and-answer session will follow at 8:45 a.m.

The breakfast meeting, which includes a hot buffet, will be held from 7:15 to 9 a.m. at Country Inn & Suites at 11600 Lakeridge Parkway in Ashland.

Jennifer Y. Scott, executive director of the HABCC, said, “Our Breakfast Seminars are created to provide a series of pertinent topics for small business owners—keeping us all informed of technologies, policies and tools that could change how we do business.”

Village Bank is sponsoring the Breakfast Seminar. The cost is $17 for members in advance or $20 at the door. Non-members will pay $20.Register online to pay in advance by credit card or Paypal. Payment is accepted at the door with checks or cash. Checks also may be mailed to the HABCC, 9097 Atlee Station Road, Suite 117, Mechanicsville, Va. 23116.

For more information or questions, contact Melissa Miller at the HABCC at 798-8130 or melissa@habcc.com.

On Friday, Feb. 3, these groups will sponsor a Soccer Blast. Soccer players will be divided by age, with ages 8 to 12 playing indoor soccer at Hamilton-Holmes Middle School from 6 to 10 p.m. and ages 13 to 19 playing at King William High School from 7 p.m. to midnight (teams will be divided into players ages 13 to 15 and ages 16 to 19). 

In addition to indoor soccer games, participants will receive pizza, drinks and snacks, and have the opportunity to purchase additional snacks, drinks and candies from a concession area.

During times when the participants don’t have a game, they can play games like foosball, ping-pong and board games, watch great soccer goals and movies on DVDs, watch the soccer games, and visit with friends. 

The younger age group will be able to participate in a minute-to-win-it contest while the older age group will have a FIFA 2012 tournament room.
Both ages will have an opportunity to participate in additional soccer skill and fun contests where they can have fun and possibly win a prize.

The cost for the evening is $25 per participant.

More information and a registration form are available on the King William High School website at www.kwcps.k12.va.us/KWHSindex.htm. 

Volunteers are needed for the event. To volunteer, or for more information, contact Beth Dandridge at 769-3974 or dandridge668999@msn.com, Lois Cumber, cumbersrun@gmail.com, or Jennifer Temple, jtemple@kwcps.k12.va.us. 

Dealing with the death of a child is perhaps the most difficult thing that a grieving parent can possibly deal with in a lifetime. No matter what the circumstances, this level of grief is profound and a major life challenge.

There have been several comments made about our son, Brett Wells. The public and the press have rushed to provide their own opinions without knowing all of the facts. As people are making their judgments, what they are failing to recognize is what has happened is a community tragedy.

My family lost a son, a brother, a grandson, a cousin, a nephew, an uncle and a friend. Our lives have been changed forever. This can happen at any time to anyone anywhere. We do not know what our children are doing all the time and if we are naïve enough to believe so, we are only kidding ourselves. I feel like we were good parents. We had a great relationship with our son. If any of you feel like you can pass judgment on our parenting skills, you may want to look at you own before speaking of ours. Matthew 7:1-5 states “Stop judging others, and you will not be judged. For others will treat you as you treat them. Whatever measure you use in judging others, it will be used to measure how you are judged. And why worry about a speck in your friends eye when you have a log in your own?  How can you think of saying, “Let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye, when you can’t see past the log in your own eye ?” Hypocrite! First get rid of the log from you own eye; then perhaps you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye.”

There is only one perfect person that has ever been, that is Jesus Christ!

Our son Brett had touched many lives in special ways, throughout his short, yet very memorable life. Brett’s life would seem too short to many, but for those who were touched by him, understood that the quality of existence far exceeds quantity of time in which he lived it. His gentle smile could melt the hearts of those around him!

With Brett’s passing, we remind others that his life is one to be celebrated, although we will miss him every day, he will always remain forever in our hearts.

With this is mind, I would like to thank each and every one of you who took time to come and share in his remembrance. I would especially like to thank the Hanover County Sheriff’s Office for their determination and continuous efforts to find the responsible persons. I would like to also thank the paramedics that responded to the call and their attempts to do whatever was necessary to try and save my son.

But the compassion and support shown from the community has far exceeded anything I could have ever anticipated.

While this is a sad time for all of us, I find comfort in knowing how fortunate we are to have such a caring community.

The cards, the letters, the love and support we have received are not only a comfort, but a source of strength for my family in this difficult time.

Just two weeks earlier, on Jan. 10, Wilson, in her first year as the school district’s leader, proposed a budget of $191.16 million – with 102.2 jobs being eliminated. Job losses were not addressed at last Tuesday’s meeting.

The classroom would take the biggest hit, with 62.2 positions affected. Wilson said 16.1 vacant positions will not be filled and 14.9 full-time equivalent leadership, transportation and support staff positions, as well as nine secondary senior teacher and family life teaching positions, are being considered for elimination.

On Jan. 24, the School Board agreed with Wilson’s recommendation that four more weeks of workshops be scheduled before the budget is adopted. Workshops are planned for 7:30 p.m. on Jan. 31, Feb. 7, Feb. 16 and Feb. 21 at the Central Office at 200 Berkley St. in Ashland.

The next regular meeting will be held at 7:30 p.m. on Feb. 14.

Now, adoption is targeted for vote during the workshop on Feb. 21. It was announced that more workshops will be conducted if necessary. “The extra time will give the board more time to ask questions and our staff more time to answer them,” Wilson said.

After School Board chairman John F. Axselle III reminded members that they could vote to revise the schedule again, they unanimously agreed to the new schedule.

Dr. Michael Thornton, assistant superintendent of business and operations, presented a budget history for the school system. He referred to the budget of Fiscal Year 2009-2010 when a deficit of more than $19.1 million was faced. He said the total for the four years leading to — and including the current budget deficit of $13.9 million — is more than $60.1 million. He said the deficit for the four years was balanced by using $28.6 million in non-recurring revenue and $31.5 million in expenditure reductions.

Thornton also said 85 percent of the current proposed budget was personnel costs, with two-thirds being for the classroom.

Over the four-year period, 95 percent of cuts to balance the budgets were implemented in an effort to not increase classroom size.

The activities also will focus on teaching children about playing well with others and accepting each other’s differences.

“Bullying is extremely prevalent in our community,” Kathy Denunzio, co-owner of the Goddard School of Mechanicsville, said.  “According to Stompoutbullying.org, one out of every four children is bullied. In order to prevent this, it must begin with early teachings and practices. We look forward to our events, so we can play a part in Virginia’s efforts to combat it.”

The Mechanicsville school will host the Goddard Community Games, Feb. 6-10, and the schedule includes:
- Monday, Feb. 6: Friendship Day.
- Tuesday, Feb. 7: Play Along Day.
- Wednesday, Feb. 8: Goddard Good Deed Day.
- Thursday, Feb. 9: Goddard Cares Day.
- Friday, Feb. 10: Community Hero Day.
- Friday, Feb. 10: Goddard Community Games (5 to7 p.m.).
“
We don’t have a serious problem with bullying at our school,” Denunzio added. “For us, it would be kids doing things to one another that you would classify as not being nice. Most of them are verbal, and we want to teach our students that words can hurt. We’re trying to teach them now that little things hurt and how they affect people.”

The program has been in existence since l949 and has been operated by the Doswell Ruritan Club for 23 years.

One reason Cross has such a big smile is the fact that last year’s Christmas Mother drive raised enough money to pay for everything needed. For 2011, $77,000 was spent, helping 865 families, including 83 seniors and 1,773 children. The totals were an increase of 82 families and 134 children.

“The Ruritans will accept donation for the Christmas Mother Program year-round,” Cross said. “However, most of the work is done from about the last week in October when the person who will be the Christmas Mother is announced until the middle of December when distribution occurs.”

She said education and the involvement of more young people were two reasons the program was so successful this year.

“The Ruritans do a great job of getting the word out about the program,” Cross said. “They run newspaper ads starting in September telling people about the program and how to apply, and every time I had an event to attend, I always took some time to talk about the program and its history.”

“I think they are seeing a lot more young folks involved,” she added. “I’m talking about elementary, middle and high school children doing school projects, church and club projects. They contributed canned food, mittens they’ve made, money they’ve raised and other items.”

Each year, Cross said, a county Ruritan club is asked to invite someone to reign as the Christmas Mother.

“The Courthouse Ruritan Club asked me,” she said. “Our family had made donations to the Christmas Mother Program over the years but had never really participated.”

Cross said the Ruritans operate like a well-oiled machine when it comes to running the program.

“They literally get truckloads of canned goods,” she said. “They have to sort them according to product, and then bag the items or put them in boxes. They have a system they use to sort everything from food items to toys to prepare donations for distribution.”

The people helped by the Christmas Mother Program come from applications people fill out and from recommendations by social services organizations.

Cross said there were two memories from her time as Christmas Mother she will remember a long time.

“Distribution Day was Dec. 18,” she said. “I got up that morning and drove to the Mechanicsville Fire Station. When I arrived, there was a line stretching outside the building, and it never got any shorter. People were there with their letters to pick up their boxes. I went around saying hello, speaking to a lot of them. Everyone was so thankful and wanted to tell me why they were there. I was surprised at the number of young couples there with children because they had lost their job and hadn’t been able to find work. Some of the people in line handed me thank you letters and notes. They all seemed so grateful for what they were receiving.”

Another memory she shared occurred when she went to the Doswell Community Center for the lighting of the Christmas tree.

“They actually had two trees decorated, one inside the building and one outside,” Cross said. “When I got there, I was directed to sit next to a little girl dressed like a snow princess.
She was 4, maybe 5 years old, and had a wand that turned on either one, or both trees, when she waved it.”

If someone is in need at Christmas, she said the Ruritans never say no. They had people come to them on Distribution Day and ask for help. “They gave them an application and told them to fill it out and where to bring it a few days later,” Cross said. “Then they were also taken care of.”

Cross said she would recommend to anyone asked to be the Christmas Mother to accept.

“It’s a wonderful experience,” she said. “I would welcome the opportunity to someday do it again, but I think once you’ve done it that they don’t ask you a second time.”

It was announced during the supervisors’ regular meeting on Wednesday, Jan. 25, that the due date for the first-half real estate tax payment is June 5.

In 2008, the Board of Supervisors moved the due date for the second half tax payment from Dec. 5 to Oct. 5.

County Treasurer Scott Miller said the county could lose about $409,000 annually in investment earnings if the date is put back to Dec 5.

After Miller’s presentation concerning the financial considerations of the move, the supervisors decided they needed more time to evaluate the information before holding a public hearing on the possible change.

“We just received the information,” Henry District representative Sean Davis said. “I think the prudent thing would be to wait to make a decision.”

Miller said the county receives $49 million in real estate tax twice a year and that pushing the due date of the second half payment back to Dec. 5 could cost the county $159,000 per year in investment income.

If the county moved $15 million from long-term investments to short-term investments to make sure the county had enough money to pay bills, Miller said it could cost Hanover another $250,000 a year in investment income.

“I have never been a change for change’s sake person,” Angela Kelly-Wiecek, who represents the Chickahominy District, said. “I think it’s important when we consider matters that we consider the long-term consequences of these changes.”

In other business, county attorney Sterling E. Rives III presented a legislative update and David Maloney, acting planning director, held a workshop on updating the Comprehensive Plan.

One piece of legislation, House Bill 1242 concerning dangerous wild animals, was introduced by Del. Chris Peace, R-97.

The bill would make it a Class 1 misdemeanor to privately possess, sell, transfer or breed dangerous wild animals, which are identified by taxonomic classification.

The bill would grandfather in the ownership of any existing dangerous wild animals. However, the owner of such animals would be required to meet certain conditions in order to maintain possession of the animals.

The bill limits the possession of dangerous wild animals to certain types of entities and facilities.

The legislation sets out the procedures to be followed in the impoundment and forfeiture of dangerous wild animals.

The House of Delegates referred the bill to the Committee on Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources.

Rives said Senate Bill 549, which classifies certain machinery and tools as intangible personal property, would only be subject to state taxation if purchased on or after July 1, 2012, that have not been in service for more than three years.

The bill has been referred to the Senate Committee on Finance.

Since most of the depreciation of tools and machinery that are subject to taxation occurs in the first three years, Rives said there would be little value for which counties could tax after that.

Maloney said the Comprehensive Plan was last updated in 2007 and that it is reviewed, not necessarily revised, every five years.

One issue the planning commission staff will assess is suburban residential land use policies.

Maloney said that density questions as to whether an area can be developed with one to two houses or three to four houses frequently were an issue, depending on where the property is located.

“Builders will tell you that there are some areas where one to two houses per acre are not desirable because of the costs to put in water, sewer and other infrastructures,” Maloney said.

Beaverdam District supervisor Aubrey M. Stanley said there was property in some urban areas of the county that already had some infrastructure in place and could be developed.

However, R. Rushton Paul Jr. does have a consulting firm that carries his name, and he spent time on Thursday, Jan. 26, at a breakfast meeting talking to the Hanover Business Council of the Greater Richmond Chamber about the pros and cons for businesses in using social media.

“If you’re in business today, you probably have a website or maybe you’re on Facebook and Twitter,” Paul said. “If you have employees, you need social media policies.”

“You have to manage your brand,” he said. “You need to know what your employees are saying about your business through social media and what your customers are saying. You need to listen to them.”

Paul used the Gap logo change as an example of the power of social media.

“The Gap customers didn’t like it and they used many, many social media outlets to let their feelings be known,” he said. “Within a month of the change, the Gap reversed itself and went back to the old logo.”

Paul talked about defining expectations for employees.

“You need to make it clear to them who speaks for the company. Define for them what they can and can’t do when it comes to social media and what is considered appropriate,” he said.

“You’ve got to protect your reputation,” Paul added. “Remember the old saying that what happens in Vegas, stays on Twitter, forever.”

Dr. Jamelle S. Wilson, superintendent of Hanover County Public Schools, talked about Paul’s presentation.

“I’m sure we’ve all heard his message many times,” she said. “It was good to hear it again and be reminded.”

Wilson said the school district is not that active when it comes to social media.

“I think, after today, it’s a topic we certainly will have discussions about to determine if there are ways we can utilize it,” she added.

Hanover Fire/EMS was represented by Cris Leonard, volunteer membership coordinator.

“When I came here, I was a little skeptical,” he said. “I’m 56 years old and haven’t done a lot with social media. To me, it’s a generation thing that younger folks use.”

After the meeting, Leonard said he had some thoughts as to how Hanover Fire/EMS could benefit from more exposure through social media.

“Twitter,” he said. “I think using Twitter might have some benefits for us.”

Sgt. Chris R. Whitley of the Hanover County Sheriff’s Office also said that investigators are working with the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner to determine the official cause of death.

Brian S. Mallory, 42, of the 15100 block of Dunn Road in Hanover County, was arrested in Florida just before 1 a.m. today by the Jacksonville (Fla.) Sheriff’s Office for grand larceny of an automobile belonging to Hakopian. The vehicle had been reported stolen from her residence. 

Mallory is being held at the Duval County Pretrial Detention Facility in Jacksonville without bond. 

Whitley said the Hanover investigators are en route to Florida in an effort to further their investigation. The preliminary investigation indicates that Mallory was Hakopian’s boyfriend. 

The Sheriff’s Office responded to the Beaverdam Road residence around 5:30 p.m. after receiving a report about a suspicious death.

Investigators continue to work with the families affected, as well as evaluate all evidence gathered in the case in an effort to bring it to a final resolution. 

Investigators are actively following up on any and all leads in this case.

Anyone with information regarding this incident is encouraged to contact the Hanover County Sheriff’s Office at 365-6140 or the Metro Richmond Crime Stoppers at 780-1000.

Speaking on behalf of Col. David R. Hines, sheriff, Whitley said, “The Sheriff’s Office joins the community in mourning the death of Sarajane Hakopian. We ask that the community keep the Hakopian family in their thoughts and prayers during this truly difficult time.”

He also expressed “our sincere gratitude to our media partners and the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office for their efforts in making such a quick apprehension possible in this case.”

The Cookie Sale began on Jan. 13 and will end on April 1. 

Girls can take orders through traditional door-to-door sales and make sales at Cookie Booths, which will be available beginning in March throughout the region. 

Each box sells for $3.75. 

The Girl Scout Cookie Program is the premier financial literacy program for girls and generates immeasurable benefits for the girls, their councils and communities in the central Virginia region.

The Cookie Program is a unique and valuable way that Girl Scouts learn goal-setting, decision-making, money management, people skills and business ethics skills.
Nationally, 80 percent of women business owners were Girl Scouts.

This year, Girl Scouts will celebrate 100 Years of Girl Scouting in America with a new cookie, Savannah Smiles.

The eight cookie varieties available this year are: Thin Mints; Do-si-dos; Samoas; Tagalongs; Dulce de Leche, Savannah Smiles; Trefoils; and Thank U Berry Munch. 
For more information, call 746-0590, ext. 326, or 1-800-472-6884, ext. 326. 

For Girl Scout Cookie Booth locations, visit www.comgirlscouts.org.

Girl Scouts of the Commonwealth of Virginia serves more than 15,000 girls in 30 counties and the cities of Colonial Heights, Emporia, Fredericksburg, Hopewell, Petersburg and Richmond.

To commemorate the grand opening, the restaurant is celebrating by offering each guest who visits the event a free medium hot coffee (one per day) from Saturday, Jan. 28 through Friday, Feb. 3.

The grand opening celebration will also feature an appearance by NASCAR driver Mark Wertz #55 and his car from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, plus radio personalities from WTVR-Lite 98.

Throughout the event, guests can enjoy games and prizes, including a random drawing for a chance to win free coffee for a year and a Mountain Bike.

The new Mechanicsville location, which will be open from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m., is 1,800 square feet, employs about 20 crew members and seats 21 people.

The restaurant will feature seating, a drive-thru and free Wi-Fi for guest convenience.

“We are proud to serve the hard-working people of Mechanicsville and hope to become a popular destination and an everyday routine for guests looking for high-quality coffee, baked goods and snacks delivered fast in a friendly environment and great value,” said Andy Rod, operator of seven Richmond area Dunkin’ Donuts locations. 

As for the menu, the new Dunkin’ Donuts restaurant will offer menu items that can be enjoyed throughout the day.

In addition to Dunkin’ Donuts’ signature beverage lineup, guests can try Mint Hot Chocolate (a permanent addition to the brand’s beverage lineup), plus hot and iced mocha coffees and lattes. 

Guests can look forward new breakfast sandwich offerings, including the Turkey, Cheddar, Bacon and Ham and Cheese Bakery Sandwiches.

Today, there are 11 Dunkin’ Donuts locations in the Greater Richmond area. 

To learn more about Dunkin’ Donuts visit www.DunkinDonuts.com or on Facebook (www.facebook.com/DunkinDonuts) and Twitter @DDVirginia.

Participants will learn how to develop a feasibility study to determine your potential for venture success and receive step-by-step instructions on the necessary start-up tasks, including the outline for a business plan.

The class will meet from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the Economic Development offices located in the Rutland development. The address is 8200 Center Path Lane, Suite E, in Mechanicsville. 

The first five Hanover County business representatives or residents to register are free (limit one per person per quarter). 

The class fee is $20 for registrants after the first five and the total class sizes are limited to 15. 

To sign up, or get more information, call the Hanover Department of Economic Development at 365-6464. 

“Starting a Business 101” is one in a series of “Business Launchpad Academy” classes offered by the Hanover County Department of Economic Development. They are funded in part through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration/VSBDC Network, and in partnership with the Greater Richmond Chamber and Greater Richmond Partnership. 

Upcoming classes include:

—Google Analytics from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 15.

—Twitter from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday, March 7.

—Facebook Business Training from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday, March 21.

“We will be checking up on people and enforcing this law,” Animal Control Chief Kevin Kilgore said.

A kennel is defined as any parcel on which five or more adult canines are kept.

If you have a kennel with between five and 20 adult dogs, the cost of a kennel license is $35. It costs $50 to get a license for a kennel with 21 to 50 dogs.

A special exception must be obtained from the Board of Supervisors for any kennel containing more than 50 dogs. Anyone found in violation may be fined and/or relocate and possibly have their animals seized. 

The special exception process should only be considered before obtaining more than 50 dogs. This process includes a public hearing, which may take several weeks to schedule.

All dogs within a kennel must have rabies certificates that are valid for the calendar year.

Copies of valid rabies certificates are required before you can receive the kennel license.

A kennel license application can be downloaded from the Animal Control website at www.co.hanover.va.us/anmlctrol/licenses.htm. A list of places where kennel licenses can be bought can be read on the same webpage.

Kennels are not permitted within any of the following residential zones: R-1, R-2, R-3, R-4, R-5, R-6, RC, RRC or RS.

For more information, call the Treasurer’s Office at 365-6050 or Animal Control at 365-6485.