County honors those who died on 9/11

We will never forget those who perished 20 years ago this morning, and the first responders who gave their lives that others might live. The County held a 9/11 remembrance ceremony at the historic Hanover Courthouse on Friday. Among those paying honor with their remarks were County Administrator John A. Budesky; Board of Supervisors Chairman Sean M. Davis; Fire/EMS Chief Jethro H. Piland III; Lt. Col. Thomas M. Woody of the Hanover Sheriff’s Office; and Chief Douglas A. Goodman Jr. of the Ashland Police Department. Other public safety and elected officials read the names of each of the public safety personnel whose lives were lost on 9/11. The ceremony can be viewed here.

Board approves filing of grant for universal broadband coverage throughout the county

On September 8, the Hanover Board of Supervisors approved a resolution enabling the County Administrator to finalize a grant application for universal broadband coverage. This application will be filed by September 14. Under the “Connect Hanover” program announced on July 28, Hanover County has joined in a partnership with All Points Broadband and CenturyLink to seek funding from the state’s Virginia Telecommunication Initiative (VATI) grant program. The project seeks funding for All Points Broadband and CenturyLink to provide broadband service to about 8,900 homes and businesses in the county that lack such service. Read the full story here.

Hanover begins redistricting process for elections

With the 2020 Census having been completed, Hanover’s Board of Supervisors now must adjust its seven voting districts to ensure a roughly equal population in all. Hanover’s 2020 population of 109,979 must be equally divided seven ways, meaning that each district should have a population of about 15,711. A variance of 2.5% from that target population is allowed. This election district redistricting, which takes place every 10 years, has no impact on school district boundaries. Staff will finalize data and come up with proposals for new voting districts over the next month or so. Once alternatives have been developed, the Board plans to hold public meetings at each of the four high schools in November to seek input. The Board must adopt its redistricting plan by the end of this year.