At Wednesday’s School Board meeting the board adopted several policies.
Colonial Beach School Board has now implemented its sick leave bank. The bank is a voluntary membership program that allows full time employees to contribute two sick leave days to the bank. Once an eligible member uses all of their sick leave they can draw from the bank to continue to seek treatment without fear of financial burden for up to 40 days. The sick leave can be used for the employee’s illness or if a member of their immediate family such as a child, spouse or parent is ill and requires their help to recuperate.
Another notable policy adoption concerns the sex offender registry. The School Board voted to replace the old policy under file delineation of KNA, which is titled “Violent Sex Offenders on School Property,” with the file KN titled “Sex Offender Registry Notification.”

 When you have trash you want to get rid of you take it to the dump. When you have old clothes, you take them to a thrift store or charity. If you have old dishes and household goods you take them to a consignment shop or Goodwill.
What do you do with an old gun? Well, if you live in Colonial Beach you take it to the police department.
Sometimes people end up with a gun in the house either through a death in the family or other circumstances.
Sometimes the gun is unwanted or there are children in the home, which can become a scary combination.
If you have an unwanted gun in your home, the Colonial Beach police want you to know you can bring it to them no questions asked — provided that you follow a few conditions.
If you wish to bring the weapon in to the police station, you must ensure that it is unloaded and keep it in the trunk of your car. Phone police to let them know you are bringing it and keep it locked in your trunk. When you arrive at the police station, an officer will accompany you to your car to retrieve the weapon.
If you wish to have police pick up the weapon, call to set an appointment. Have the gun unloaded and make sure you are not holding the gun when officials arrive.
By disposing of an unwanted weapon in this manner you avoid the risk of it getting into the wrong hands and, if you are caught with a weapon illegally, other than when surrendering it to the police in this manner, you will be charged.
The police department appreciates your support in their efforts to keep our community safe.
Colonial Beach Police Department is now on Facebook. Constructed with the help of Shane Buzby and Shelly Butler, the department’s Facebook page will keep you updated on crime and other issues within the town.

During a recent Planning Commission meeting to approve the Comprehensive Plan, Colonial Beach Vice Mayor Trish King expressed a desire to see the Comprehensive Plan remain in the forefront of everyone’s mind.
At last week’s Planning Commission Meeting on Jan. 7, before the new Comprehensive Plan has even been approved at the council level, Planning Director Gary Mitchell and the commission have already begun revamping subdivision zoning ordinances to conform to new standards set in the new Comprehensive Plan.

New preschoolers at Colonial Beach Elementary School got a lesson in fire safety on their first day of school.
On Monday Jan. 4 10 students attended the new preschool program in Colonial Beach. By 10:30 a.m. the preschoolers were getting their first lesson in fire drills; but this one was not a drill. At around 10:30 a.m. school officials smelled gas in the gymnasium and in the attached building.
The school evacuated students located in the building attached to the gymnasium. Buses took children to the rescue squad building to wait for the all clear.
The Colonial Beach Fire Department responded and thoroughly checked the gym and the gas was shut off. It is unclear if gas was detected by meters.
The rest of the building is heated by a different heat source so children were allowed to return to class after a few hours.
Principal Newman was out sick, Assistant Principal Mr. Wright took charge of the evacuation and called School Superintendant Dr. Power who was at the school before the fire department arrived.
The preschool students were very excited about their first day and Wright said his students were really excited to be back as well.