Trash consolidation test for James City County

Good morning! Today we'll let JCC's administrator explain how the county would phase in consolidated garbage collection. Also, thieves are ramming storefronts with their cars to rob them.

Photo by James Day on Unsplash

James City County will start the first step of consolidating garbage collection next year, County Administrator Scott Stevens told us.

The first step will be to invite garbage haulers to bid for garbage collection and curbside recycling in the Grove community, he said.

Virginia law requires a five-year waiting period before a county can eliminate private garbage haulers and take control of the work. But as long as no one is forced to use the county services, the county can provide its own in competition with private haulers, Stevens said.

His ultimate goal is to eventually require everyone to use the county services.

Four years ago, a survey of county residents found 95% of them were very satisfied with their current trash haulers. And 57% said the cost was appropriate. The county also could not match the price paid by high-density neighborhoods like Fords Colony or Colonial Village, which have a master contract through their homeowners association, Stevens said.

But he said there are other quantifiable benefits to trash consolidation:

He said county roads would benefit from cutting the amount of trucks on the road.

“Five or six providers are traveling 6,000 miles a week...because they’re all running over the same path of road over and over,” Stevens said. “If we go down to one provider, that drops to almost 2,100 miles a week” It would also allow the county to hold the contractor accountable for trash that falls out of the trucks.

The county would bill residents directly,he said. Providing a one-stop shop for customer service. County staff would also handle some bulk collection, he said.

James City County’s neighbors already have master contracts with garbage haulers.

Thieves take the easy way; ram cars in to storefronts

Photo Illustration

Enterprising thieves have come up with a new way to rob stores – smashing their cars through the storefront, loading it up with goods and speeding away.

James City County police said thieves backed their blue Hyundai hatchback through the storefront of the Tobacco and Vape shop on Richmond Road Sunday, loaded the car with merchandise and drove off.

Police recovered the car in Henrico County. The suspects are also believed to be connected to several similar crimes in the Hampton Roads and Metro Richmond areas over the past two weeks, county police said.

The Hyundai had been reported stolen in York County before the incident.

Police are asking anyone with information to call Det. Joshua Ernst at (757) 253-1800, or Crime Line at 1-888-LOCK-U-UP. Tips may also be submitted online at p3Tips.com

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Warhill, Lafayette students take home DECA awards

Left, Warhill High DECA participants, left, Lafayette High. (W-JCC schoools photo)

Students from Lafayette High School and Warhill High School earned 10 top-three finishes at the DECA District Competition, showcasing their skills in marketing, finance, hospitality, and management against students from across the region. Teams from both schools will compete at the state level next.

“Our students demonstrated incredible professionalism, preparation, and leadership. Their hard work truly paid off,” said LHS DECA Advisor Lisa Rodriguez.

DECA, formerly known as the Distributive Education Clubs of America, is an international career and technical student organization that prepares emerging leaders and entrepreneurs for careers in marketing, finance, hospitality, and management.

Preparation involved weeks of practicing role-play scenarios, learning how to think on their feet, and getting comfortable speaking professionally under pressure. In addition to the role-play events, students completed a 100-question exam in 60 minutes that assessed their understanding of key marketing concepts such as branding, promotion, pricing, and customer behavior. Final scores were based on a combination of exam results and role-play performance.

Here are the top rankers:

Lafayette High School

Principles of Finance Series:

1st Place – Osteen Mngeremy

Personal Financial Literacy:

1st Place – Hamilton Juarez

Principles of Entrepreneurship:

1st Place – Hamilton Juarez

Food Marketing Series:

1st Place – Hajar Khadare

2nd Place – Gabriel Maxwell

Warhill High School

Principles of Marketing:

1st Place – Victoria Freeman

2nd Place – Finley Knaul

3rd Place – Emily Harris

Sports and Entertainment Series:

1st Place – Gabriel Palacios

2nd Place – Ryan Hanny

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New Year’s closings

Banks, post offices and federal offices are closed for the New Year’s holiday Thursday.

Here is a list of how our local government services will be affected:

James City County

County Offices:
Closed Jan. 1.

James City County Recreation Center and Abram Frink Jr. Community Center:
Closed Jan. 1.
Closing at 6 p.m., Dec. 31.

Parks:
All County parks are open year-round.

Park Stores and Guest Services Offices:
Closed Jan. 1.

Jolly Pond Road, Tewning Road and Toano Convenience Centers:
Closed Jan. 1.


Garbage Transfer Station:
Closed Jan. 1.


Curbside Recycling:
No collection Jan. 1.
Jan. 1 recycling will be picked up on Jan. 2.

Libraries:
Closed Jan. 1.
Open 9 a.m.-5 p.m., Dec. 31.

Williamsburg:

City Offices:

Closed Jan. 1.

Quarterpath Recreation Center and Waller Mill Park:

Closed Dec. 24-25. Closed Dec. 26 until 4:30 p.m., when it will be open for scheduled programming.

Garbage and recycling will be collected on their regular schedules.

Residential curbside leaf collection:

Red Route: collection will pause on Thursday, Jan. 1, and resume Friday, Jan 2.

York County:

York County Offices, York-Poquoson Social Services, and Waste Management Center Administrative Offices

Closed Jan. 1.

York County Public Libraries

Closed December Jan. 1.

York-Poquoson Courts (Circuit, General District, and Juvenile & Domestic Relations District)

Closed Jan. 1.

York/Poquoson Cooperative Extension

Closed until Jan. 2

Waste Management Operations (citizen drop-off of trash and recycling)

Closed Jan. 1.

VPPSA Compost Facility

Closed Jan. 1.

Garbage will not be picked up New Year’s Day. Collections will be delayed one day until all collections are completed.

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Passings

Ruth Naomi Jack, 98, Dec. 19.

Harriette E. Gritzmaker, 89, Dec. 28.

Katherine Heuvel Stoll,78, Dec. 28.