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Powhatan, Virginia
The hometown paper of Connie A. Ewing
Vol. XXVII No. 28
July 16, 2014
Cozy Acres Campground th marks its year
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By Laura McFarland News Editor
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wning and operating Cozy Acres Family Campground for the last four decades has never been a picnic, but Larry and Jean Daniel said they wouldn’t change a minute. There have been plenty of sacrifices that had to be made to support their family and keep the business going, Lar-
ry Daniel of Powhatan said. Between diversifying what he did with his land and working different jobs in the winter when the campground was closed, he was always busy. But none of the hard times could eclipse the good times that made it all worthwhile and gave them a lifetime of memories, he said. “It was a big struggle a lot of years. I sold firewood and in the winter I got a job,” he
said. “It was a struggle, but it was a lot of fun.” The couple now has another cherished memory to add to their experience with Cozy Acres after family and friends surprised them on Saturday, July 5, with an anniversary party in the campground’s clubhouse. Several hundred people, many of whom have been camping at Cozy Acres for see COZY page 4A
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The Daniel family received a cross-stitch version of the Cozy Acres Family Campground logo that was framed for the business’ 40th anniversary. All the July 4th weekend guests signed the gift.
Late artist’s work featured in city art show Man’s arrest leads to another charge
By Laura McFarland News Editor
By Laura McFarland News Editor
The daughters of a late Powhatan artist are ready to share their father’s work with the world again. “Legacy,” an exhibit of work by the late William Youngblood of Powhatan, goes on display at the end of the month at the Uptown Gallery in Richmond, his daughter Judy Lane of
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ond time that night. He said the school district will have to make cuts in other areas to cover that loss of money because the school board wasn’t going to set aside that much money for the SRP in one year’s budget. Bill Melton, who represents District 4 on the board of supervisors, said that “once the SRP is resolved, then we will look at the amount less and appro-
fair, with vice chairman David Williams, District 1, reading the resolution and the board of supervisors quickly passing it. The supervisors’ resolution pointed out that when the SRP (then called the Early Retirement Incentive Program) was created in 1996, the board of supervisors at that time authorized the school board to manage the plan and the
was shown in a series of statements from both sides of the issue before and after the vote, with three current and one former school board members speaking during the public comments section of the meeting and several supervisors voicing their views as part of board comments. In her comments
Tennessee man arrested for allegedly stealing bronze statues last month is back in jail after his moment in the spotlight led to a Powhatan County couple accusing him of a different crime. Christopher Grady, 49, was arrested on Sunday, July 6, on charges relating to defrauding an elderly couple GRADY using a seal coat scam, according to Detective Jason Tackett with the Powhatan County Sheriff’s Office. Grady was charged with a felony count of obtaining money or goods by false pretense and a misdemeanor for performing work without a contractor’s license in Virginia, Tackett said. The couple reported to the police that, at the beginning of June, Grady came to their home on Mill Road and offered to seal coat their driveway for a bargain price, Tackett said. “In this occasion, after finishing the driveway and doing a really poor job of sealing it, (Grady) demanded $5,000 from this couple,” he said. Once the resident said he couldn’t pay that, Grady informed him he would take $4,500 for the job, which the couple said they felt they were obligated to pay, Tackett said. The couple saw a story in the July 2 edition of Powhatan Today about Grady being arrested for the theft of two bronze statues of jockeys on horseback. He was charged with grand larceny and possession with intent to sell stolen property, both felonies, and released on a $25,000 bond. The couple recognized Grady from the article and called the sheriff’s office about their interaction with him, Tackett said. When Tackett visited the couple’s home, he saw that a “very poor sealant job” had been done on their driveway. He called another reputable company in town that does sealant jobs and was informed the work described would have cost a maximum of $600 to $700. Tackett also checked with the Virginia Department of Professional and
see SRP page 2A
see ARREST page 2A
PHOTO BY LAURA MCFARLAND..
Judy Lane, left, and her sister, Amy Karolt display art by their father William
see ARTIST page 5A Youngblood.
Board of Supervisors takes control of SRP By Laura McFarland final year of employ- actly how much mon- priate the rest of the trust fund. News Editor
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he Powhatan County Board of Supervisors took control of Powhatan County Public Schools’ Supplemental Retirement Program at its Monday, July 7, meeting. The action took place two weeks after the Powhatan County School Board allowed former school superintendent Margaret Meara to participate in the SRP against the wishes of the supervisors. The supervisors voted unanimously to rescind the school board’s power to manage the SRP effective immediately and demanded that any related files and documents be turned over to county administrator Pat Weiler’s office. This came after the school board announced at its June 24 meeting that members were of the opinion that they had no choice but to allow Meara to continue in the program now that she has finished her
ment as of June 30. The supervisors had voted eight days earlier, on June 16, to end the program and prohibit Meara from participating. After taking control of the SRP, the supervisors also voted to hold back $1.4
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million from the school system’s Fiscal Year 2015 budget appropriation while they determine how much will be needed for the year, District 2 supervisor Jason Moore said. “The school board will no longer be appropriating those funds, and, therefore, we have to have an accounting to see ex-
ey we will be taking from the schools’ budget to address the SRP on our side of the ledger for this fiscal year,” Moore said. After both resolutions passed, school board chairman Rick Cole spoke for a sec-
Inside A2 Suspect arrested for string of four home break-ins
The current board money. It is not my intent to hold your money of supervisors has deback.” Other board termined “it no longer desires for the school members agreed. board to manage the SRP or the trust fund” School board members chime in and stripped it of any power to deposit or The actual vote to withdraw money take control of the from the fund. SRP was a simple afThe real emotion
Sports B1 Two Powhatan High School athletes compete in VHSCA all-star jamboree at Liberty University
Index Calendar Classified Crossword Horoscope Obituaries Opinion TV Listings
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