A snapshot of Godwin news, local occurrences, and national updates to keep our readers informed.

 

EAGLE NEWS

Baseball coach John Fletcher helps low income Richmond team

Recently, an influx of students at John Marshall High School have shown an interest in playing baseball for the school. Before, John Marshall only had a varsity baseball team, but now, they have been able to create a junior varsity team for the first time in many years.

However, John Marshall’s baseball coach Brent Butler faced the problem of not having enough supplies, especially mits, to field a team.

Butler contacted John Fletcher, math teacher and head coach of the Godwin Varsity Baseball team, in an effort to get donations of gloves and other supplies for John Marshall’s team.

Fletcher, in response, posted on social media about the John Marshall team needing supplies.

Donators contacted Fletcher and he quickly collected 20 gloves for Butler to use for his team on their first day of practice. Since the first day of their practice, approximately 20 more gloves have been collected.

“The power of good people continues to amaze me. I must admit that the baseball glove drive that I had undertaken for a school in need has been incredible,” said Fletcher.

In total, about 35 gloves and $650 have been collected for the JV John Marshall Baseball Team.

 

LOCAL NEWS

Potential gun threat made to three Henrico high schools

Late in the evening on Thurs. March 8, pictures of a threatening message sent on SnapChat to a student began circulating throughout social media.

The message included threats telling students of Glen Allen, Godwin, and Deep Run High Schools not to attend school the next day because the message sender will open fire on the schools. The Parkland High School shooting in Florida was also mentioned.

Once the message was received, pictures of the threat immediately hit social media. Students spread the word to quickly inform the community.

Overnight, the Henrico police, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Homeland Security worked to track down the origin of the message.

By morning, a 16-year-old student was found to be the source of the threat and schools were deemed safe to open on time, but with additional police protection.

Godwin Principal Leigh Dunavant gives credit to the community for helping take care of the situation and ensure safety.

“We join the hundreds of families who shared timely information which assisted in this investigation. This was a collaborative effort between the community, law enforcement, and schools,” said Dunavant.

 

NATIONAL NEWS

School shooting impacts Florida high school

On Feb. 14, in Parkland, Fl., a gunman opened fire with an AR-15 assault rifle, killing 17 people. The shooter, 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz, used smoke grenades to set off the fire alarm and lure the students into the hallway.

Cruz’s weapon was similar to the guns used in the Las Vegas concert shooting, the Orlando Nightclub shooting, and the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Connecticut.

In response to the shooting, Florida’s governor Rick Scott said, “This is just absolutely pure evil. This state does not tolerate violence. We have law enforcement that will always show up to defend our safety.”

The shooting has resparked the gun control debate with the victims of the Parkland shooting calling for Democrats and Republicans to cross the aisle and put laws in place intended to decrease the chances of school shootings.

The students of Parkland have also planned a “March for Our Lives” on March 24 as well as a protest in state capitals on April 20. A national school walkout took place on March 14.