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Volume 57, Number 11 • March 17, 2011
CRC cancels Farmers Market By Ken Odor jodor@goochlandgazette.com
Photo by Ken Odor
John Wright addresses Goochland School Board members with his budget concerns at last week’s meeting.
School board ponders more cuts unpleasant options March 8, as Superintendent Linda Underwood presented possible reductions should the county not fully fund the proposed schools’ budget. Ideas on the table include By Ken Odor jodor@goochlandgazette.com reducing the school year to 160 days from 180, staggering Goochland School Board school start times to implemembers pondered some ment double bus runs, elimi-
School year could be reduced to 160 days
INDEX
Calendar Classifieds Letters LEW
14 15-19 6 E1
Opinion 6 Sheriff Reports 7 Sports 10 TV Listings 12-14
nating middle school sports, keeping all four furlough days (two had been proposed to be eliminated), foregoing the hiring of a math specialist and numerous others. The school board has asked for about $1.4 million more than the county has planned to provide in its most recent proposal, although it appears
the gap may narrow. In an email Tuesday to the schools’ leadership team and later forwarded by her to the Gazette, Underwood wrote, “These are not recommendations, but possible areas of reduction. I will not ask the board to make decisee Board > page 2
The Center for Rural Culture (CRC) will not operate a Farmers Market in Goochland this year. “There are just not enough vendors and customers to support two markets in Goochland,” said CRC President Kate Sarfaty Monday. She cited the large number of farmers markets in the Richmond area and the rising price of gasoline as factors in the organization’s decision. Sarfaty said the decision was reached with “tremendous sadness,” but added that it was only for this season. “It’s not to say we won’t do it again but this summer is just not viable,” she said. The fate of the Goochland Farmers Market had been in doubt ever since controversy erupted in January, when former CRC Executive Director Lisa Dearden demanded the resignation of the current and past presidents and the treasurer of the CRC, citing discrepancies in the organization’s accounting. Dearden eventually resigned and the CRC announced last month that a review of its
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Brenda Grubbs update
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books by accounting firm Keiter Stevens had revealed no misappropriation of funds. At that time the CRC said it planned to continue the Goochland Farmers Market at Grace Episcopal Church, beginning in May. But the split between supporters of Dearden, who recently announced she would operate a market this year at a site in Centerville, and her former employer evidently doomed the Goochland Farmers Market, setting up the prospect of two competing markets in the same county. “I’m not pleased that they are not having a market,” said Dearden Monday, adding that she had not originally intended to start a new farmers market. She said she plans to open May 7 and has already signed up 30 vendors for her market, called My Goochland Market, located at 68 Broad Street Road in Manakin-Sabot. Sarfaty said the CRC will continue to operate the Local Roots Food Co-op, managed by Jane Conner and will also operate a community garden to benefit the Goochland see Market > page 2