Home Care In Chesterfield, VA

Stella’s Grocery is headed to Chesterfield.

The popular local chain of neighborhood markets has signed on to open a location at 14310 Winterview Parkway in Blackwood Development Co.’s Winterfield Crossing project.

Known for its hot and prepared meals, gourmet grocery items and wine and beer selections, Stella’s Grocery is a spinoff of the Giavos family’s Stella’s restaurant on Lafayette Avenue.

The concept has grown to seven locations throughout the region, most of which are in or near the city limits. The Winterfield Crossing store will be the first in a suburban setting.

Dean Giavos and Blackwood Vice President Marc Greenberg confirmed the deal, with both saying they’ve often heard from folks asking for a Stella’s in that part of town.

“We always hear the type of tenants that people want us to try to get, and Stella’s was one that was asked for on a pretty regular basis,” Greenberg said.

“We’ve had a lot of interest from customers to head out that way and this opportunity made the most sense for us,” Giavos added. “We really loved the feel of Winterfield Crossing with the water, the walkability and the overall setting of the development.”

Winterfield Crossing’s development dates to 2012, when Blackwood bought the property. The company began plotting the 25-acre development in 2015, and two years later the county approved the project, which includes 250 age-restricted apartments and 100,000 square feet of commercial space. It’s anchored by an Aldi grocery store and also houses office users like coworking space Gather.

Stella’s is leasing a 2,300-square-foot space next to running store Fleet Feet that was previously home to fitness studio CycleBar. Colliers International’s Peter Vick and Harrison Hall represented Blackwood in the deal, and Thalhimer’s Annie O’Connor represented the Giavos family.

Giavos said the family hopes to open the Chesterfield Stella’s sometime next year.

Along with national chains like Mason’s Famous Lobster Rolls and Cinnaholic, Winterfield Crossing has also landed plenty of local operators for its food-and-beverage spaces with tenants like Wong’s Tacos, Roots Natural Kitchen, Triple Crossing Beer and Four Seasons.

Only one commercial space remains available for lease in the development: the 2,000-square-foot space that until last year was occupied by Carytown Bicycle Co. But more leaseable storefronts are on the way as Blackwood is planning an additional 13,500-square-foot retail strip just to the west of the Stella’s space.

Greenberg said there are no definitive dates on when construction of that strip will begin but Blackwood is preparing to submit for building permits and put it out to bid.

“The plan is to build that sooner rather than later,” he said.

The move to Chesterfield continues a busy year for the Giavos family. They recently struck a deal to bring Stella’s products to the new Commonwealth Café within the Virginia Museum of History & Culture. They’re also opening a new restaurant, Lafayette Tavern, at 1011 Lafayette St., which Giavos said should open this fall.

CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) — Lifeguards that worked at Pocahontas State Park are speaking out after they said they experienced heat-related emergencies on the job on Friday, July 25.

8News spoke to some of the five lifeguards that said they had medical incidents while working at the park’s pool in extreme heat.

They said the heat was unsafe to work in, and that their concerns were ignored. But the Department of Conservation and Recreation, and the pool’s management, said no concerns were raised, and all appropriate procedures were followed.

Ethan Ocheltree was a lifeguard at the park. He claims that shortly after 11 a.m. on Friday, a coworker was on duty in an area of the pool without an umbrella. He said after about 30 minutes, she wasn’t feeling well. He said he witnessed her have to be carried into the guard room to cool off.

Ocheltree said he and other lifeguards later found out this coworker had heat exhaustion.

A statement from DCR references this as an “initial incident,” and said “it may have been heat-related.” It continues that the individual asked to go home, and the request was approved.

Christos Anson was another lifeguard at the park that day. He told 8News after the first incident, he was also working at the same post, and started to feel woozy. He alerted management, and was taken off duty.

“I felt like I was in early heat exhaustion at that point,” Anson said. “I was trying to focus on not falling down into the water.”

This incident lines up with what the DCR statement refers to as “an additional complaint,” that was “managed internally.”

Ocheltree said after this, all guards returned to their posts. An hour or so later, he went to trade positions with another lifeguard, who will be referred to as Jane in this story for her privacy. He claimed when Jane was climbing down from her stand, she fell unconscious into the pool. He said he then jumped in to save her.

DCR’s statement said “the individual was immediately pulled from the water and attended to, and 911 was called. EMTs arrived to the park, attended to the individual and transported them to a local hospital.”

Ocheltree said he saw Jane be removed from the park in a stretcher. He said she was in the ICU until early Monday, experiencing seizures for the first two days.

He said at this point he and some other lifeguards felt it wasn’t safe to be on stand anymore. He said park rangers refused to close the pool.

He returned to his post, but it wasn’t long after that before he himself passed out on the stand.

“I was looking at the pool, I felt super hot,” Ocheltree said. “I literally just woke up and everyone was around me.”

Ocheltree said other guards told him he had been unconscious. He was examined and cleared to leave the park by EMS, and then, he left his job.

Neither Anson or Ocheltree has been back to work at the pool since Friday. Ocheltree said he is waiting on a call to put in his official resignation later today.

“I think it’s negligence,” Ocheltree said. “I think after the first incident, we should’ve closed.”

DCR said following the second incident and while the pool was closed, the contracted management company, SwimMetro, addressed the lifeguard team and confirmed their readiness to resume duty. The statement said no concerns were raised.

It also said lifeguards had access to umbrellas, 30 minute breaks and were able to cool off in the water, protocols consistent with previous hot days.

Anson said during his incident he was in an area without an umbrella. Both lifeguards told 8News they were discouraged from going into the water outside of break times.

16-year-old Reaghan Porterfield asked to be dismissed early from her lifeguard shift on Friday.

“I was just thinking we shouldn’t open back up the pool,” Porterfield said. “It was just really traumatic to see someone you care about go down like that.”

She said she was stressed out, crying and hot after witnessing the day’s events.

“I was walking back to my car, and I just couldn’t take it anymore,” Porterfield said. “I was breathing heavy, I was having a panic attack.”

DCR’s statement said EMTs attended during this incident. Porterfield said she was taken to the hospital.

The lifeguards 8News spoke to felt the severity of the heat was not taken seriously.

“There’s kids out there, on stand,” Ocheltree said. “It’s not the same as an adult. We’re out in the heat for hours at a time, so on days like this or on days like that where it’s 113 heat index, it’s not safe for anyone.”

“Despite the day’s heat and an active heat advisory, operational protocols remained consistent with those followed on other hot days this summer,” DCR’s statement said. “Guards were not assigned any duties outside of the normal scope of operations, and no unusual expectations were placed on staff.”

DCR said it cannot comment further on any of these incidents.

Chesterfield Fire and EMS said it treated three patients for heat-related calls that day, but could not confirm patients were lifeguards.

In a separate statement to 8News, SwimMetro President Kurt Schuster said DCR had accurately accounted the events that occurred on Friday.

He added that SwimMetro operated more than 40 other pools in the Richmond area, and has received no additional reports of possible heat related illness over that weekend.

CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. — Three separate medical incidents involving lifeguards occurred at Pocahontas State Park during extreme temperatures, according to the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR).

The DCR reported one of those incidents may have been heat-related.

The incidents occurred at the park's swimming pool, where lifeguard services are contracted through SwimMetro.

According to DCR, the first incident may have been heat-related and EMTs were not called to the park. The individual asked to go home as they were not feeling well and the request was approved.

Shortly afterward, a second lifeguard fell from their stand into the water. They were quickly rescued and given immediate medical aid before being transported to the hospital by Chesterfield EMS.

A third incident occurred later when a lifeguard, who had permission to leave early, experienced a medical emergency in the parking lot. EMTs responded and attended.

"The safety and well-being of both our staff and visitors is our highest priority," DCR officials wrote in a statement. "All appropriate procedures were followed on July 25, and we remain committed to maintaining a safe environment at all of our facilities."

DCR officials said safety measures were in place for both visitors and lifeguards, including 30-minute breaks after every 45-minute lifeguard rotation, access to umbrellas, training on the importance of hydration, a break area with air conditioning, and the option to cool off in the water as needed.

Officials indicated that the pool temporarily closed twice during the medical incidents on Friday but later reopened. Some pool operations were scaled back to reduce staffing needs, and additional supervisory support was provided.

DCR did not provide an update on the status of the hospitalized lifeguard. SwimMetro could not be reached for comment on Sunday.

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CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) — A Chesterfield County woman pleaded guilty on Tuesday to embezzling nearly $200,000 from Truist Bank customers, including churches and a children’s museum. She then faked her own death in an attempt to avoid consequences.

On Tuesday, July 22, 35-year-old Ahshah Dior Martin, of Chesterfield County, pleaded guilty to charges of embezzlement and making false statements in connection with her time as an employee with Truist Financial Corporation, according to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ).

Martin began stealing customers’ banking information in 2023, per court documents. She then used that information to charge customer accounts and withdraw money from them.

“For instance, Martin repeatedly initiated payments from customer bank accounts to a child support payment processor, through which Martin paid herself,” the DOJ said.

In total, Martin stole about $195,000 from at least 70 Truist customer accounts. This included accounts belonging to several churches, a children’s museum, an eye tissue bank nonprofit, multiple manufacturing and construction companies and the North Carolina Wing of the Civil Air Patrol, per court documents.

She then spent this money on things like cosmetics, clothes, dining, travel expenses and a hookah bar.

According to court documents, Martin was confronted by management about “improper customer account access” on Feb. 7, 2024. She then left for lunch and never returned to work again. On April 14, 2024, Martin was officially terminated from Truist Financial Corporation.

“Repeated attempts” were made to retrieve Martin’s work laptop, but she did not turn it over. Instead, she faked her own death.

“On April 17, 2024, in response to an email from Truist asking for the computer, Martin responded, ‘Sorry to inform you, she has passed away,'” the DOJ said.

Martin will be sentenced on Nov. 20. She faces up to 30 years in prison — however, actual sentences for federal charges are typically less than their maximum penalties.

CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) — A Chesterfield County roadway is closed on Saturday following severe flash flooding throughout the metro Richmond area.

Severe thunderstorm warnings and flash flooding alerts led to extreme rainfall across the Richmond area on Saturday, July 12.

Chesterfield Fire and EMS announced that Arch Road at Redbridge Road was closed at around 3:20 p.m. Sunday.

The road will remain blocked off to everyone except residents in the area, pending inspection from the Virginia Department of Health (VDOT) crews.

VDOT will also bring new rocks in to help aid with the flooding, according to Chesterfield service aid crews at the scene.

“The creek has risen and flooded the road,” a spokesperson with Chesterfield Fire and EMS said. “Firefighters are on scene checking nearby homes to make sure everyone is safe.”

8News spoke with residents who said it floods like this all the time in the area. However, they haven’t seen flood waters like this in years.

“This is the second time this year Arch Road has been backed up.” Homeowner Nic Clinch said.

Clinch said his garage flooded in 2020.

However, the spokesperson with Chesterfield Fire and EMS added, “They did not have to rescue anyone.”

Authorities are urging residents to avoid the area.

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