INSIDE Goochland veteran’s journey has been testament to power of faith, perseverance > page 3
Volume 66 Number 44 • November 11, 2021
Board approves salary increase for Fire-Rescue RED WAVE: Conservative candidates carried the day in Goochland. From left to right (with percentage of vote captured in Goochland) District 2 School Board member Angela Allen (53.51 %); Delegate Lee Ware (65.81%); Governor Glenn Youngkin (65.87%); Lieutenant Governor Winsome Sears (66.04%); Delegate John McGuire (61.63%) and Attorney General Jason Miyares (66.10%).
Still on top: Goochland led state in voter turnout By Roslyn Ryan Editor
W
eeks before Election Day, Goochland County Registrar Ryan Mulligan had a feeling the county would see a significant turnout at the polls on Nov. 3. His first clue came when his office ran out of absentee ballots and had to order several thousand more. Having served as Goochland’s regis-
trar since 2018, Mulligan knew full well that the county ranks consistently among the top localities in the state for voter turnout. Still, even he was surprised at what he witnessed on this past Election Day, as turnout soared past the previous non-presidential election tally of 62% on its way to just over 73% — awarding Goochland the top voter turnout number in the Commonwealth. If the day didn’t go totally according to plan — a shortage of ballots in the Manakin and Blair precincts led to
delays as election officials hand-counted around 300 ballots that had needed to be printed and rushed to those polling locations — many residents seemed pleased with the end result. “I am so very proud of our State and in particular our great Goochland County,” said Goochland resident Tom Winfree. “We certainly made a profound statement last Tuesday. And I am hoping this expression of being fed up by our citizen voters will continue to permeate all over the country. Let’s not let it fade.”
Voters overwhelmingly approve bond referendums Contributed report
Goochland County voters have overwhelmingly passed two bond referendum questions to allow the county to issue General Obligation Bonds for schools, fire-rescue and
courthouse construction projects. Preliminary vote tallies show over 85% of voters approved of the bond funding option. “I am pleased that voters agreed that issuing bonds is the most financially prudent funding
option for these projects,” said Manuel Alvarez Jr., interim county administrator. “Bond funding fits our community’s commitment to fiscal responsibility and will ensure that the projects are see Bonds > 2
M aimed at stopping loss of Move firefighters and EMS personnel to higher paying area counties By Roslyn Ryan Editor
It’s a scene most of us have come to take for granted: an emergency occurs — a house fire, or perhaps a serious vehicle accident — and minutes later emergency service personnel respond. But what would happen if they couldn’t? For Goochland County Fire-Rescue Chief Eddie Ferguson, keeping the county’s emergency response teams fully staffed has become increasingly challenging in recent years. And while this is due to a number of factors—including the enticingly higher salaries offered by neighboring localities and the inherent physical and mental pressures of the job itself — Ferguson has recently found himself struggling to maintain adequate staffing. Last Wednesday, the Board of Supervisors unanimously approved an amendment to the county’s FY21 budget that will allow for a 12% compensation increase for the department. Ferguson told supervisors that he hopes the salary boost, which will cost the county around $450,000 annually, will help his department stem the tide of resignations due to Fire-Rescue employees finding similar but higherpaying jobs in other counties. He explained that it wasn’t difficult to see the current challenges coming: back in 2019 Spotsylvania County to the north offered its Fire/EMS staff a significant pay increase, and Chesterfield County recently followed suit for its own fire and police employees. Ferguson pointed out that every time one of his employees leaves the county they take with them, in many cases, as see Salary > 5
