Will continue to use Chesapeake location for meetings, education

CHESAPEAKE — Riverside Recovery Services, which opened a local drug and alcohol rehabilitation center in Chesapeake, have moved its outpatient offices to a location in South Point.

The center recently remodeled a church across from Casa Grande, where it has moved its main offices, executive director Amy Smart said.

The center will keep its old location, located on Second Avenue in Chesapake, which will be used for meetings and education efforts.

Smart said she also hopes the Chesapeake building can be used as a warming station during the winter, something she said the village of Chesapeake needs.

Riverside is still working on opening a men’s treatment house at home they purchased on Riverside Drive in Chesapeake.

Smart said she was aware of rumors that the former church in South Point was going to be operated as a women’s home.

“There’s no women’s house,” she said.

She said the group would like to operate at some point down the line, but no plans have been made and they want to get the men’s home operating first.

The opening of the men’s home in Chesapeake was the subject of debate at a village council meeting in March, with mayor Tommy Templeton and others criticizing the plan.

The council voted last week to approve an ordinance which would require new businesses to apply for a permit and show an auditor’s license, council member Paul Hart said.

“It let’s us know what’s coming into the village,” he said.

Hart said, while there had been some talk of the need for such an ordinance for a while, the opening of the treatment house had prompted the vote by council.

While the measure was approved, amendments will still need to be made and paperwork extended, Hart said.