11/05/2014

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Powhatan, Virginia

The hometown paper of Mathew Yates

Vol. XXVII No. 34

November 5, 2014

Ruritans dedicate military banner

SUBMITTED PHOTOS

The Powhatan Ruritan Club invited soldiers from Fort Lee to visit the Lonesome Dove Equestrian Center to dedicate a banner for veterans. Ruritans present were Jake Berman, Bill Nunnally, Harold and Polly Gregg and Ewell Flippo.

SUBMITTED PHOTOS

Martin Madert prepares to interview Bill Jervey, a World War II veteran, for the Witness to War Foundation.

V E T E R A N S S H A R E S TO R I E S

Halloween in Powhatan

By Laura McFarland News Editor

T

PHOTOS BY ANJIE HENLEY

elling the story of his experiences during the Vietnam War changed Clyde Childress’ life. Before he wrote his autobiography several years ago, Childress, of Powhatan, said he never talked about his two tours as a helicopter pilot in Vietnam serving in the U.S. Marine Corps.

Left, Clementine, 5, Chip, 2, and and Charleigh Galyon, 4, were on the hunt for candy on Halloween night. Right, Kaylee Mawyer, 2, was out scaring up a good time.

Ruth Boatwright, left, and Chubby

see VETERANS Garrett at the Witness to War event. page 7A

Powhatan County takes hard look at utilities By Laura McFarland News Editor

P

owhatan County officials have a better understanding about some of the county’s needs for the next two decades after the results of a Water and Wastewater Master Plan were presented to them last week. On Monday, Oct. 27, a joint meeting was held with the Powhatan County Board of Supervisors, Planning Commission and county staff to explore some of the highlights of the study on the county’s water and wastewater systems conducted by Dewberry Engineers Inc. in Glen Allen. Dan Villhauer, project manager, presented Dewberry’s findings, which looked at options ranging from agreements with surrounding counties to what upgrades or new construction might need to be done either relatively soon or to accommodate population

growth in the county as far out as 2035. The study only represents the first step of understanding what the issues are that face the county, Carson Tucker, board of supervisors chairman, said. County administrator Pat Weiler stressed that the county isn’t making final decisions now on these topics, which have a long way to go before they could become a reality. At this point, all of these options are still “high level conceptual ideas” and have to be looked at more in-depth by the planning commission and board of supervisors in public hearings, she said. “We have a consultant that came in and made some conceptual recommendations,” Weiler said. “They just looked at potential available places where we could get water or treat wastewater. We have no agreements with anyone to do this.”

The study looked at three main water and sewer service areas – the Courthouse, Flat Rock and Route 711 service areas, Villhauer said. Currently, the courthouse service area centers around Route 60 from

VILLHAUER

Bell Road to Maple Cottage Road, where the Flat Rock service area picks up and runs along the highway to the Chesterfield County line. The proposed Route 711 service area focuses on a stretch of land in the northeast section of the county. It is new and currently has no county water or sewer services.

Planning for the Future Creating a Master Utilities Plan involves a great deal of studying upcoming development trends and expected population growth projections to understand what the county’s needs will be going forward, Villhauer said. The five- and 10-year projections are the most accurate when looking at a 20-year planning period, he said. The county population is projected to increase by about 1,987 people between 2015 and 2020, but only 11.3 percent of those residents are expected to live in the water and wastewater service areas looked at in the study, he said. These projections were made using figures from the Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service and known planned developments. Over the next 15 years, the projected population growth hovers around an

increase of about 1,800 people in each five-year period, he said. But the percentage of estimated growth that falls in the service area is expected to rise dramatically: 64.7 percent, 2020-2025; 83.6 percent, 2025-2030, and 84.8 percent, 20302035. “They are definitely dependent on the actual rate of growth. These are based on our best projections. So keep that in mind,” he said during his presentation. Dewberry and county staff met to evaluate where development will occur in the proposed service areas versus outside of them and at what rate, he said. The meetings also served to make sure the utilities master plan stayed in line with the county’s Comprehensive Plan and took into account the zoning ordinance, March Altman, deputy county administrator-community development, said. see COUNTY page 4A

JOHNS

Schools eye salary disparities By Laura McFarland News Editor

The Powhatan County School Board is taking a frank look at salary compensation for school staff district-wide and will start considering what, if any, steps they plan to take to address the issue. At a workshop on Tuesday, Oct. 28, Larry Johns, assistant superintendent for finance and business operations, gave a salary comparison report that had been requested see SCHOOLS page 2A

Inside

Sports

Index

A8 Veterans Day musical shows appreciation

B1 Powhatan varsity field hockey gets first playoff win of conference tournament era

Calendar A3 Obituaries Classified B6-7 Opinion Crime Report A5 Property Crossword A7 TV Listings

A8 A6 A2 B4-5


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