Inside A6 Woman’s Club of Powhatan prepares bags for local seniors
Powhatan, Virginia
B1 Announcer signs off after 20 years
Vol. XXXV No.. 21
November 24, 2021
Library staff steps up until new director hired Charles Joynes comes on board as librarian By Laura McFarland Managing Editor
P
OWHATAN – The mark of a hardworking staff is how little outsiders realize everything is not as it should be because they are keeping it together that well. Despite being without a director since September, Powhatan County Public Library has continued to serve patrons and begin to add back programming that had gone away during the pandemic, said Joanne Fico, chair of the library’s board of trustees. Fico and the other trustees recently gave full credit for that feat to administrative assistant Fran McCreight and library systems technician Anne McKinley, who have stepped up to co-manage the library until a new director is hired, and all the other staff who have also pitched in to help. “We are working closely with them. I am over there a fair amount and so are Susan Ash and some of the other library board members so they have backup if they have a question about anything. But
functionally, you don’t even notice we don’t have a library director. That is how good those two women are,” Fico said. The library board is currently accepting applications for a new library director, she said. Applications are due to the board before its Dec. 8 meeting, at which point they will review them and set up interviews, probably in January. Fico hopes to have a new director in place by February. The library has also hired a new full-time librarian, Charles Joynes, who began work on Nov. 15 and was exactly what the library needed at this point, Fico said. “I really like him. I find he is very enthusiastic. He seems to have good people skills. He is a very flexible person, so I think he will be good with programming and seeking out connections in the community,” she said. Transition period McCreight said the teamwork effort was already strongly in place before September, and with a little more guidance from the board, they have been stressed but making it work. She said it was wise for the board to make her and McKinley co-managers because they each see LIBRARY, pg. 5
PHOTO BY LAURA McFARLAND
Powhatan County Public Library staff members Anne McKinley, left, and Fran McCreight are co-managing the library until a new director is hired.
Teen promotes diabetes awareness Fletcher joins RSN as sports editor By Laura McFarland Managing Editor
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POWHATAN – In hindsight, all of the signs that something was seriously wrong with Davis Bean were there. The teenager was constantly tired, complained of always being thirsty and was rapidly losing weight. “The first sign I noticed was I was very weak. I had no energy to do anything. When I would stand up I would be like, alright, time to sit back down. And I had no appetite whatsoever,” Davis said. Davis’ mom, Paula Bean, saw the symptoms but honestly thought they were aftereffects of a surgery her son
Staff Report
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
Davis Bean was diagnosed at age 14 with Type 1 diabetes and has spent the last three years managing his condition and trying to live as normal a life as possible.
had for a broken collar bone a few weeks earlier in October 2018. “But then it just kept going on. He just never felt better. He actually told one of my co-workers that he had lost a lot of weight. I see him all the time. I noticed he lost some but I didn’t notice how much,” said Paula, a first grade teacher at Powhatan Elementary. Finally, enough was enough. The Beans took Davis, a 14-year-old Powhatan High School freshman at the time, to see a pediatrician. When he was weighed on Nov. 19, 2018, he had lost 30 pounds since his surgery several weeks earlier. He had
bloodwork drawn and the next day, the family received a call with the results – Davis was showing signs of having developed Type 1 diabetes and his blood sugar level was so elevated that he needed to go to the hospital immediately. “When they checked him at the hospital, his blood sugar was 768 and a normal blood sugar level is 70 to 120. … We were very fortunate. The nurse told us when we got to the hospital if his numbers did not improve quickly he would go into ICU. He was at coma level. That was very scary to hear, especially since he
POWAHTAN – Robby Fletcher has joined Richmond Suburban News as the sports editor for The Goochland Gazette and Powhatan Today. He officially assumed the position on Nov. 15. Fletcher comes to RSN from working remotely with two sportsbased Los Angeles publications. He also brings with CONTRIBUTED PHOTO him additional experience as the Robby Fletcher joined sports editor of the the staff of Richmond Virginia Tech Col- Suburban News on Nov. legiate Times 15 as the new sports ediwhen he was a stu- tor for Powhatan Today dent there. He and The Goochland graduated in 2020 Gazette. with a Bachelor of Arts in multimedia journalism with a sports journalism concentration. Fletcher said it is a privilege to join the staff of the Powhatan and Goochland newspapers and cover the wide range of sports that are vital to community life in those communities. “My dream job has always been to be a professional sports writer, and it’s easy for me to forget that I’m now living that dream,” he said.
see DIABETES, pg. 6
see FLETCHER, pg. 3
Churches to hold Thanksgiving meals By Laura McFarland Managing Editor
POWHATAN – Three local churches are opening their arms and their kitchens this week to make sure those who want to have a hearty Thanksgiving meal can get one. Unity Community Church, Graceland Baptist Church and Passion Community Church will all hold events on Thanksgiving Day at their respective locations to offer a holiday destination to those who want it. All of the events are free and open to the public. Some ask for registration or notice to make sure they can provide enough food. All three churches are giving people who come to partake in a meal the option of either picking up food to go without having to get out of their car or staying to enjoy some fellowship with others on the holiday. Unity Community Church kicks off
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
Graceland Baptist Church is one of three local churches that will hold a Thanksgiving meal that is open to the community. The church will offer to-go meals but people will also be welcome to come inside and break bread together, as shown here at the church’s 2020 meal.
the day of feasting with its annual Unity Around the Table event from 11 a.m. to 2
p.m. The church will be operating out of see THANKSGIVING, pg. 8