No more meals at school, bus problems; Grants for flood problems; Antibody treatment

RICHMOND, Virginia (WWBT) – Take a look at our top headlines before you start the day!

Cloudy and Scattered Showers

The risk of rain remains high today but decreases tomorrow and Friday.

Today it will be mostly cloudy with a few scattered showers, starting as early as noon and continuing until the evening.

Peaks in the mid-1970s.

Two nocturnal fires

Teams with the Richmond Fire Department responded to two fires during the night.

The first fire occurred at 1200 Decatur Street between the second and third floors confined to the balcony. The building houses 20 adults with special needs.

No injuries were reported and no one was displaced. There is no word on the cause of the fire.

The second fire occurred in the 1300 block of Minesfree Street inside a vacant apartment. According to the crews, no one lived in the residence because it had already caught fire.

RPS school meals

Virginia Department of Education warned Richmond public schools to take action concerning faulty school meals weeks ago.

The state said it had even communicated too much with RPS to help the district resolve some major issues, but the district initially did not respond.

Now the district stands to lose millions of dollars because it did not follow the necessary protocols that all school districts must follow if they participate in the national school meals program.

Problems in Dinwiddie

Addresses of Dinwiddie County Public Schools problems with bus routes and school meals.

The school district said in an update to parents that the shortage of bus drivers has a big impact on getting children to and from school on time.

To help, school principals have adjusted schedules so that middle and high school students are fired half an hour earlier. The district is urging families to use the “Versa-Trans My Stop” app to track bus locations in real time.

Meanwhile, changes could be made to the school lunch menus this week. The school district says it faces delivery delays as well as product shortages, especially bottled water.

Students are encouraged to bring their own water bottles to school to refill at the fountains.

Richmond flood grants

City of Richmond receives over $$ 1 million in flood relief grants.

The money will go to the McGuire and Chapel Drive drainage improvement project, as well as the Manchester and Shockoe Bottom neighborhoods.

These grants were the first to be awarded by the Virginia Community Flood Preparedness Fund.

The governor and the General Assembly established the fund in 2020 to help communities cope with the impacts of climate change, including flooding.

Henrico professor due in court

Henrico middle school teacher is accused of sexually assaulting a student, and now the authorities are calling for more alleged victims to come forward.

Dean Lakey, 60, who taught at Short Pump Middle, is charged with rape, forced sodomy and indecent abuse of freedoms with a minor during the 2016-2017 school year.

Lakey was arrested in Currituck County, North Carolina on September 2. Her Tuesday status hearing was continued and postponed until Wednesday.

He is also on bail.

AstraZeneca Antibody Treatment

AstraZeneca, the drugmaker who developed one of the first COVID-19 vaccines, asked the United States Food and Drug Administration authorize the emergency use of a unique antibody treatment to prevent disease.

The Anglo-Swedish company said on Tuesday that the treatment, known as AZD7442, would be the first long-acting antibody combination to receive emergency clearance for the prevention of COVID-19.

If allowed, the drug would likely be restricted to people with weakened immune systems who do not have sufficient protection against vaccination.

The U of R extends the term of the mask

The University of Richmond announced that it would be extension of the mask’s mandate until November 5.

There have been 61 cases of COVID-19 reported at the university so far this semester.

Over the summer, the U of R made the COVID-19 vaccine mandatory for all students and staff.

Over 97% of students and 93% of staff are fully immunized.

VCU study

A study from Virginia Commonwealth University found that people under the age of 40 are more likely to recover from loss of taste and smell linked to COVID-19.

The study found that within six months the taste and smell usually returned.

“Among 798 respondents to COVID-19 investigation into loss of smell and taste in progress who had tested positive for COVID-19 and reported loss of smell or taste, participants under 40 regained their sense of smell at a higher rate than those over 40, ”a statement said.

The results of the study were published in the American Journal of Otolaryngology.

Final thought

The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams – Eleanor Roosevelt

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