Mathews County Planning and Zoning Director Thomas Jenkins stepped down last month from his position with the county. After nine years in the planning and zoning department, five of them at the helm, he has accepted a position as a principal planner with Chesterfield County. Senior Planner James Knighton will serve as Mathews County’s interim director.

Jenkins said that his wife Colleen works in Richmond and commuted there prior to the pandemic. But now, with a new baby girl, 3½ month-old Spencer, the commute is more challenging, and “it makes sense to live and work in one place.”

On Feb. 28, Jenkins was celebrated at a meeting of the Mathews Main Street Committee, with members heaping praise on him for his service to Mathews and presenting him with an etched glass recognition trophy and a cake as tokens of appreciation.

“Main Street began long before Thomas came to Mathews,” said committee chair Bette Dillehay, “but once he became involved we moved along in a steady fashion ...