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Volume 57, Number 9 • March 3, 2011
Retired correctional officer enters Examination of CRC race for District 1 supervisor seat books completed By Ken Odor jodor@goochlandgazette.com
Retired Virginia Department of Corrections official Phil Hunnel has filed papers to seek the Republican nomination for supervisor for Goochland’s District 1. Hunnel, who retired in January after a 37-year career with the Virginia Department of Corrections, will challenge Tea Party activist Susan Lascolette for the right to run against incumbent Andrew Pryor in November. Hunnel served 14 years at the old state penitentiary on Spring Street in Richmond during his career, which ended with posts as Assistant Warden at James River and Powhatan Correctional Centers. “We need a spokesperson for this end of the county,” said Hunnel in an interview at his home on Davis Mill Road last week. “They don’t get representation until election year.” Hunnel, 61, grew up in south Richmond but has always had strong family ties to Goochland. “I’ve been coming here ever since I was a child,” he said. He said he doesn’t mind being called a “come here, rather than a been here and haven’t done very much.” Hunnel attended J. Sargeant Reynolds College and graduated from Bluefield College with a degree
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By Ken Odor jodor@goochlandgazette.com
Photo by Ken Odor
Phil Hunnel will run for the Republican nomination for the District 1 board of supervisors seat.
in the Administration of Justice. He is an Elder at Mizpah Christian Church where he also is a Sunday school teacher. Hunnel said the west end of the county has been neglected while investment goes into the east end. “The people here need as much as those at the other end,” he said. Married with three grown children, Hunnel lives on a house he
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built on a former VFW Post site. His wife Kay is retired after a 41year career with the MCV and the Department of Fire Programs. The aspiring supervisor said he had been mulling over a run for supervisor for awhile but that the recent arrest of county treasurer Brenda Grubbs was the catalyst for see Hunnel > page 2
SPORTS Local runner starting second 50-state circuit > page 12
Center for Rural Culture (CRC) Treasurer Keith Flannagan said last week that a report received from accounting firm Keiter Stephens revealed no major discrepancies in the organization’s financial records. “We had allegations raised against us and they have now been resolved,” said Flannagan. “We are finished with this ugly incident and are moving forward. I appreciate the support the CRC has received from the community and it has really helped us get through this.” Controversy began Jan. 5 when then executive director Lisa Dearden sent out an email alleging a $33,000 “discrepancy” between her personal records and the November treasurer’s report. In her email, Dearden demanded Flannagan’s resignation as well as the resignation of the current and past presidents of CRC. She said if her demands were not met, “I will be resigning as Executive Director of the CRC effective January 31st, 2011, and turning over the matter to law enforcement.” CRC accepted her resignation. Keiter Stephens’ report, though
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not an audit, states that “…no material transactions came to our attention that would support a claim of misappropriation of funds.” The accounting firm did recommend that the Board of Directors of CRC “consider implementing written policies for various portions of its accounting function, including the process and procedures for making deposits, recording deposits and disbursements, and monthly bank reconciliations.” CRC president Kate Sarfaty said Friday the organization would adopt the firm’s recommendations to improve its accounting practices. The Center for Rural Culture had a difficult year in 2010, according to Flannagan, who provided the Gazette with the cover page of his Dec. 14, 2010 treasurer’s report. That document showed that the CRC had a current balance of $39,665.21 and that the center received only $2,000 from a certain grant where they had hoped to obtain $20,000. Flannagan noted a drastic drop in income and said the CRC business model had failed and needed see CRC > page 2
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Library book sale is a big hit with local readers