INSIDE Goochland resident named a member of LEAD VIRGINIA’s 2010 class. > page 3
Volume 56, Number 23 • June 10, 2010
County government audit reveals longterm mismanagement By Amy Condra editor@goochlandgazette.com
year ago. He was scheduled to graduate with the 2010 class. Ball also asked the 2010 class and those present to remember one of the school’s teachers, Helen Thurston, who passed away in April. Musical interludes were provided by the
Mismanagement has plagued Goochland County’s financial health for years, according to a fiscal 2009 audit released this week. Rob Churchman of KPMG, an auditing firm hired by the county over a year ago, presented a final audit report to the Board of Supervisors Tuesday. Churchman said the report reveals two weaknesses in the county’s financial reporting practices: Flaws in accounting practices, and a lack of checks and balances. In order to issue a clean audit report for 2009, said Churchman, the auditing firm had to restate fund balances and net assets that were reported in 2008. The most glaring errors involved assets and debts that were reported inaccurately or were omitted altogether. In the case of governmental activities, for example, a $3.5 million economic development agreement in 2001 had never been recorded. And $1.1 million in disposed capital assets, such as county-owned vehicles that were no longer operable, were recorded, while other county-owned assets were never recorded. Churchman said that some of the restatements spanned multiple prior years and affected various financial accounts, including problems related to governmental
see Graduation > 2
see Audit > 5
GOOCHLAND SENIORS BID HIGH SCHOOL FAREWELL Photo by Ken Odor
Sean Haikeem Peyton Snead waves his diploma last Friday night at the Goochland High School Class of 2010 graduation.
By Ken Odor jodor@goochlandgazette.com
On a hot, humid Friday night, almost 200 students received their diplomas on the football field at Goochland High School. After each student was provided with a welcome bottle of water pre-placed by maintenance
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staff (and Athletics and Activities Director Bryan Gordon) under their chairs, the soon-to-be graduates heard brief remarks from principal Francie Ball as well as Valedictorian Nathan Longest and Salutatorian Courtney Beasley. A somber note was struck when Ball presented an honorary diploma to the mother of Darius Athey, who was killed in Richmond almost one
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SPORTS Glen Dandridge gets paid to play > page 9
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Children’s Museum Short Pump branch opens