INSIDE Pat Jeffress speaks to Pamunkey Women’s Club
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Volume 57, Number 4 • January 27, 2011
Meeting looks into CRC problems Will Goochland have a Farmers Market this year? By Ken Odor jodor@goochlandgazette.com
The Center for Rural Culture’s Executive Director Lisa Dearden said Saturday that she would not continue under the current board of directors. Dearden is locked in a standoff with the CRC’s board since sending a Jan. 5 email complaining of financial record keeping problems. In the Jan. 5 email which sparked the controversy, Executive Director Dearden alleged a $33,000 disparity between the November CRC treasurer’s report and her own records. She asked in the email for the resignations of the board’s current and past presidents and the treasurer and announced that if her demands were not met she would resign effective Jan. 31. CRC Board members responded by locking Dearden out. “They took my keys and
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changed the locks on the doors,” said Dearden. Dearden has said that in her three years as Executive Director she has never been given access to the organization’s books, even though she is tasked with writing an annual operating budget. But in a statement released Monday, CRC President Kate Sarfaty said Dearden “had access to all CRC financial records and was responsible for all account deposits, including the Pay Pal account.” Sarfaty also wrote, “The board is trying to ascertain whether all such deposit information and financial records were made available to the Board and officers.” The continuing controversy moved some CRC members to call for a meeting, which drew about 40 people to Grace Episcopal Church last Saturday to talk about the dispute between the director and the board. The informal gathering was facilitated by CRC members Paula Barkley Fensom and James Dearden, wife of see CRC > page 4
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Photo by Ken Odor
William Quarles, now in his second consecutive year as chairmen of the board of supervisors, says he will do his best to make sure all members work together in a collaborative fashion.
Quarles plays down board split By Ken Odor jodor@goochlandgazette.com
District 2 supervisor William E. Quarles Jr., elected Jan. 4 to a second consecutive term as chairman of the Goochland Board
SPORTS Cadets stumble in Commonwealth finals > page 11
of Supervisors, thinks talk of a rift on the board is overblown. “There’s nothing that I can say that will please everyone,” he admitted in an interview last week but added that he will “do his darndest to have a collaborative board.”
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The 58-year old Quarles, who recently retired after 32 years with Dominion Power, said the power of the chairman is not as great as some perceive. While the chairman see Quarles > page 5
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