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Powhatan, Virginia
The hometown paper of L. Leake
Vol. XXVIII No. 1
January 7, 2015
Blessed Sacrament receives $40K grant By Laura McFarland News Editor
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lessed Sacrament Huguenot Catholic School is starting 2015 with a flurry of activity between major renovation work, fundraising projects and a new strategic plan. The school received a big boon in fall 2014 when it was awarded a matching $40,000 grant from the Mary Morton Parsons Foundation to go toward the renovation of W.B. Parker Gym, Kate Chavez, director of development and English teacher, said. “To receive a matching grant from them is awesome because it tells our community that a large Richmond foundation stands behind us,” Chavez said. The school has until November 2015
to raise a matching $40,000 or it loses the entire grant, but with a recent donation of $10,400, that puts the fundraising at 25 percent of its goal, she said. Work has already begun on the gym this winter to make improvements that include a new HVAC and duct system, all new insulation, floor repair, some roof work and a new drainage system, Tracy Bonday-Deleon, chief school administrator, said. The renovation is estimated to cost about $175,000 and be done by mid-January. “We went ahead with the improvements because we feel comfortable the community is going to stand behind it,” she said. There are no dollar amounts yet on possible improvements for the rest of
PHOTO BY LAURA MCFARLAND
During a recent visit to Blessed Sacrament Huguenot Catholic School, see GRANT page 2A Bishop Francis DiLorenzo, right, is shown areas that need to be improved.
Make-A-Wish Greater Richmond gives teen a boat By Laura McFarland News Editor
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hen it’s warm outside, 15-year-old Lee Payne V’s favorite place to be is in a fishing boat on the water. He and his friends like to take a jon boat out on a nearby 40-acre pond in Powhatan and fish for bass, catfish and brim. “I guess you could say it’s peaceful,” said Lee, a sophomore at PowSUBMITTED PHOTO hatan High School. Thanks to a wish granted through Lee Payne V, and his mom, Terry, explore a boat Make-A-Wish Greater Virginia, given to Lee by Make-A-Wish Greater Virginia.
once the weather warms up again, Lee will be heading out into deeper waters on his new Tracker Bass Boat. Lee received the boat in a surprise ceremony on Tuesday, Dec. 9 at Bass Pro Shops in Ashland. Although he suspected he was being given his boat that night, he had no idea how much his wish granters had outdone themselves on his behalf. “I was kind of surprised it was that big,” Lee said. “I was thinking maybe they would get me a jon boat, not an 18-foot bass boat with an outboard motor.” Terry Payne of Powhatan, who
had to know the size of the boat to bring it home in a trailer, said she and her husband, Lee Payne IV, were also thrown for a loop by the magnitude of the gift for their son. “Make-A-Wish is a wonderful organization. They help a lot of children fulfilling wishes and giving the children a chance to ponder things and have something to look forward to,” she said. The family preferred not to discuss Lee’s medical condition, but Terry Payne said her son will start a new therapy in January with possible see WISH page 5A
Powhatan fire victims getting back on their feet By Laura McFarland News Editor
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s shocking as it was to lose almost everything he owned in a house fire in December, new Powhatan County resident Jeff Tharp said he was just as surprised by how the community stepped in to help him and his mom. Tharp and his mother, Linda Boyle, had only been in their new rental house on Old Tavern Road for a week when what is
suspected to be an electrical fire broke out on Friday, Dec. 12. Powhatan County Volunteer Firefighters responded to the call at about 5:30 p.m. and found Boyle outside, having been woken from a nap by a neighbor who saw the fire. Engine 5 arrived to find the ranch house with fire coming out the front door, the living room windows, a side window and through the roof and heavy smoke in the rest of the house, PHOTO BY LAURA MCFARLAND Patrick M. Schoeffel, assistant Jeff Tharp and Linda Boyle. chief, said.
The fire was under control about five minutes after Engine 5 arrived but firefighters remained on the scene until after 9 p.m. extinguishing hot spots, overhauling and assisting the state fire investigator, he said. “The house sustained heavy damage and most of the occupants belongings are a total loss,” he said. Tankers hauled water about 2 miles to the fire scene from a dry hydrant in the 5000 block of Old Buckingham Road. Also responding were Engines 3 and 1,
Tankers 5, 3 and 1 Rescue 2. What wasn’t damaged by the fire itself was ruined by heavy smoke damage, Schoeffel said. On top of that tremendous loss, Tharp said he hadn’t gotten renters insurance yet, which means that while the house may have been covered for the owner, none of its contents were. “I didn’t know about renters insurance. I did but I thought you had to make a list of everything you owned,” he said. see FIRE page 3A
G RO U P F O C U S O N U P L I F T I N G Y O U N G G I R L S By Laura McFarland News Editor
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amela Cousins knows firsthand the difference having a strong positive role model in life can make on a young person. Cousins of Powhatan said that when she was growing up, her mother, the late Annabelle Royal, was a strong leader with a heavy focus on education and helping her two daughters do better in life than she did. “She taught us how to be girls, even a little prissy, but also be strong and independent,” she said. Through the years, Cousins said she couldn’t stop wishing more young people
had that same kind of influence in their lives, hopefully steering them in the right direction in life. The result was Southern Belle Rocks Foundation, a Powhatan-based group she started aimed at working with youth in the community of all ethnicities and backgrounds. To start, Cousins, CEO of the group, said she will focus programming on girls ages 8 to 16, showing them they can be leaders with their own identities, not only followers. “We want to have the group mixed so they can work together because the young SUBMITTED PHOTO girls look to the older girls to be their role Attending a Southern Belle Rocks Foundation tea party are front, left, Kaitlin Long, Ciara Booker, Jayla Tyler, and second row, Jade Davis, Jerriah Crayton,
see GIRLS page 2A Shaniece Morris and Jurnee Brown, and back, Makailla Morris.
Inside
Sports
A8 Christmas Mother program helps families
B1 Blackhawk wrestling snags third place at home tournament
Index
Calendar 7 Classified B6-7 Crime Report A2 Crossword A7 Horoscope A7 Letters A6 Obituaries A2 Opinion A6 TV Listings B4-5