Inside A3 Board approves solar project on school roofs
Powhatan, Virginia
B1 Powhatan’s Celiberti talks first season with Randolph-Macon Softball
Vol. XXXII No.. 52
June 19, 2019
Frustrations rise over lack of broadband progress By Laura McFarland News Editor
P
OWHATAN – Members of the Powhatan County Board of Supervisors showed obvious frustration last week during a discussion on the slow road forward to expanding broadband in the county. During their meeting on Thursday, June 13, the supervisors heard a presentation from county administrator Ted Voorhees and IT director John Wood about the county’s current efforts to help bring broadband to residents. The news the board heard was that while there are some potential ideas to help the situation, they won’t be PHOTO BY LAURA MCFARLAND immediate and they aren’t widespread solutions. The Carl Dodson, left, John Wood, and Jeffrey options included seeking state and federal grants and Beekhoo talk to the board of supervisors about exploring the possibility of county-financed or orgaefforts to bring broadband to the county. nized pilot programs.
Several board members and Voorhees also expressed their disappointment and anger that the county’s partnership with internet provider SCS Broadband, which started in September 2016, has not turned out as they had hoped. The broadband initiative that saw the company going live on its first and only tower in fall 2017 – at that point several months behind schedule – has yielded almost no results since that time, the board learned. Wood said he didn’t have recent numbers, but the last he heard the provider had only a handful of customers from that site. The company’s website shows plans for rollout in the county that have not been updated since 2018. Throughout the discussion, several board members showed obvious annoyance and dissatisfaction with the lack of progress. David Williams, who represents District 1, changed see BROADBAND, pg. 7
General Election races set
Belmead property sold
By Laura McFarland News Editor
By Laura McFarland News Editor
POWHATAN – Just over three years after the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament announced the order’s intention to sell the historic property known in Powhatan as Belmead on the James, the sale has finally gone through. The final paperwork was signed on Tuesday, June 11 that saw Jeff Oakley of Prince George County acquiring the 2,265-acre property for $6 million. see BELMEAD, pg. 5
PHOTO BY LAURA MCFARLAND
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Jeff Oakley, shown here with his family, closed on a deal on June 11 to purchase the Belmead on the James property. He is standing with his wife, Ashley, and three young daughters - Bradleigh, 6, Hartley, 4, and Waverly, 2.
POWHATAN – With the passing of June 11, the official ballot for the Nov. 5 General Election now shows seven contested races and one school board seat with no certified candidates at all. On June 11, Ghazala F. Hashmi was chosen in the Democratic Primary for the Virginia Senate District 10 seat to challenge Republican Glen Sturtevant for the seat. This primary was the only race on the ballot for Powhatan voters. As forecasted from an early lack of interest in absentee voting, the primary saw a very low turnout. In Powhatan, the results were: Ghazala F. Hashmi, 297 votes; Eileen M. Bedell, 346 votes, and Zachary P. Brown, 109 votes. There were eight undervotes. The 760 ballots cast on June 11 represented 3.5 percent of the county’s 21,520 registered vot-
PHOTO BY LAURA MCFARLAND
Kathy Sherman casts a vote in the democratic primary on June 11 in Powhatan.
ers, according to Karen Alexander, director of elections. Hashmi ended up winning the district primary with 49.38 percent of the vote, beating Bedell (40.9 percent) and Brown (9.72 percent). Alexander said she was expecting about a 3 percent voter turnout for this primary. see ELECTION, pg. 6
Event to look at risks hidden in plain sight By Laura McFarland
DELIVER TO: Postal Patron Powhatan, VA 23139
News Editor
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
Doctors recently discovered a tumor in the brain of Cooper Stuart, right, shown here with his younger brother Reece, that had to be removed through surgery.
County rallies behind Cooper
POWHATAN – Local agencies are teaming up this month to put on an event designed to help adults wanting to better understand the signs of potential issues and risky behaviors in young people of all age. Groups such as Goochland Powhatan Community Services, the Powhatan County Sher-
iff’s Office and Harbor Point Behavioral Health intend to present “Hidden in Plain Sight: Toddlers to Teens, Treatment, Trends, and Tactics.” The free event will be held from 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday, June 26 at Powhatan High School, 1800 Judes Ferry Road. The program is for adults only. The purpose of the event is to help them recsee HIDDEN, pg. 4
By Laura McFarland News Editor
POWHATAN – People from far and wide recently rallied around an 11-year-old Powhatan County boy who underwent surgery last week to remove a tumor from his brain. Cooper Stuart of Powhatan will turn 12 on Friday thanks to a lifesaving surgery he received last week. Cooper is the son of Renee and Ray Stuart. A medical team at VCU Medical Center successfully removed a mass 5 cm in diameter from Cooper’s brain in a surgery that began shortly after noon on Wednesday, June 12 and finished up after 1 a.m. the next day, according to a post on the Cooper
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
Pocahontas Elementary School faculty and staff meet on June 12 to pray for Cooper Stuart, a student at the school who was undergoing brain surgery at the time.
Strong PVA Facebook page from the family. “The doctors did not have to disrupt the brain matter at all, see COOPER, pg. 8
PHOTO BY LAURA MCFARLAND
Detective Austin Schwartz shows Robin Pentecost some of the items that will be demonstrated at the Hidden in Plain Sight program.