| Coming this Father's Day:Â A daughter follows her dad's flight path
Since before Payton Hancock can remember, she has had a bird's-eye view of the world from the cockpit of a private plane flown by her dad. When she wasn't flying shotgun, she was greeting retired Cmdr. Richard Hancock on the flight line at a U.S. Coast Guard air station after he returned from providing hurricane relief or supporting a drug interdiction mission. Now 22, Payton will be commissioned Tuesday in Smithfield as a Coast Guard officer. It will culminate four years of volunteer operational training and a lifetime with her head in the clouds, yearning to become a military aviator like her father. "It's a little surreal â it doesn't feel like I am going to be an ensign next week after dreaming about it for so long," Payton said. Her earliest memories are of flying from Jacksonville, Florida, where the Hancock's were stationed, to visit their grandparents in Virginia Beach. A Coast Guard aviator, Richard had a private pilot's license and took his children flying as often as possible.
"I remember my dad saying, 'Do you want to fly?' Of course I wanted to fly, so he let me hold the sticks. It was the coolest thing to me, being up in the clouds," Payton said. Those memories cemented Payton's passion for flying. From that point on, her mission was to find a career that would put her in the sky. Read more in the Sunday Main News section
City officials this week shared the next steps and timeline for redevelopment of the Ocean View site that was the longtime location of Greenies bar. Phase one of the project is an expansion of Ocean View Beach Park, said Chuck Joyner, assistant city engineer, as he presented during Tuesdayâs City Council work session. It factors in public comments from Ocean View residents, and will feature a half circle of green space bordering the beachfront, a food truck area, paths to the beach and a public shower and footwash.
The city purchased the infamous bar and another nearby restaurant for $2.3 million and demolished it in 2018. The lot has sat vacant since then. Joyner also outlined future plans for the area, which would include upgrading the intersection where 1st View Street meets Ocean View Avenue. Overhead cable and electrical would be undergrounded and the intersection updated, a process which is estimated to cost $3.3 million. Read more inside Sunday's Main News section. Coming in Sunday's Daily Break section ... There's nothing quite like a best friend, whether the two buddies are polar opposites or peas in a pod. Buddy stories are one building block of childrenâs literature, and there are as many ways to tell them as there are friendships. We'll provide some great books that provide fun (and funny) takes on partnerships. Read more in the Sunday Break section Note To Readers: A reminder that Parade magazine is now only found along with your e-edition of either The Virginian-Pilot or Daily Press each Sunday morning. Print copies of Parade magazine ceased after the November 13th issue.
Matt Dillion
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