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Powhatan, Virginia
The hometown paper of J.E. Etheridge
Vol. XXVIII No. 4
January 28, 2015
Daughter shares letters from war By Laura McFarland News Editor
T
hanks to a rediscovered hidden trove of letters found in her aunt’s attic, Barbara Lee Landa of Powhatan was able to meet someone she thought was lost to her forever – her father as a young man. When Raymond Howard Lee died in 1979 at the age of 57, he was a big man with an even bigger personality, his daughter said. The man she discovered in a box full of letters written to his mother and sister during World War II was someone new altogether, and meeting him through the words he wrote seven decades ago was an incredible experience, Landa said. “It was such a revelation to read and get a feeling for what he was like as a young man,” she said.
The experience was so overwhelmingly positive that Landa decided to share it, the result being the publication in November 2014 of “Letters from Raymond, Letters from a Soldier to His Mother and Sister During World War II.” The 386-page, full color book is an introduction not only to a young Raymond Howard but to the world around his family in a time of great strife. Landa self-published the book, which is available on Amazon for $43.65. She had hoped the cost would be lower, but it was the price to pay to have the letters, cards, photos and maps reproduced as she wanted. The box was found in fall 2013 in the attic of Landa’s aunt, Hazel Lee Anderson, by her children. Landa’s mother and siblings agreed to let her take them home to go through them. In the weeks and months that fol-
lowed, Landa immersed herself in the letters. She wanted to preserve them, so she started scanning them into the computer. As she read each one, she became curious about where her father was when he wrote the letters and what was going on around him. “I just started researching about the war. I had very little knowledge of World War II before this,” she said. Landa wrote about the information she learned was going on at the time of the letters to give them context in the book. She also included relevant photographs and other tidbits.
Exploring the letters The book contains 189 letters that
Dorset Road project debated By Laura McFarland News Editor
A proposed road project design for an intersection realignment at Dorset Road and Anderson Highway was debated again by the Powhatan County Board of Supervisors at its workshop on Tuesday, Jan. 21. A resolution for the board to appropriate $260,000 from the Capital Projects Fund for the design last came before the board at its meeting on Monday, Nov. 17 during a presentation by March Altman, deputy county administrator. The proposed project was submitted by
PHOTO BY LAURA MCFARLAND
Barbara Lee Landa published a book that celsee WAR page 2A ebrates letters written by her father in WWII.
the county to the Virginia Department of Transportation for revenue sharing program funds in 2012, Altman said. That means VDOT would put up $130,000 of the money with the county putting in the other half. The project would straighten Dorset Road to align with Anderson Highway with added capacity and safety. Altman said staff recommended moving forward with approving the funding for the designs of the intersection on the basis the improvements address safety concerns, the county will have control of the design to better meet its current and future needs and the county made a commitment to VDOT to fund
the revenue sharing project. But whether the board chooses to move forward or withdrawal from the revenue sharing project, the staff will act accordingly, he said. If the county decides to withdrawal from the revenue sharing program, he recommended that in the fall they submit a request for Regional Surface Transportation Planning funding for consideration by the Richmond Regional Transportation Planning Organization to include the project in the Six-Year Improvement Program. see DEBATE page 4A
Hit and run driver to enter guilty plea By Laura McFarland News Editor
A Chesterfield man indicted last week in a hit and run of a Powhatan resident is scheduled to enter a guilty plea in March in Chesterfield Circuit Court. Carlos Perez-Reyes, 34, of North Chesterfield was indicted on Tuesday, Jan. 20 in Chesterfield with felony hit and run involving a fatality and misdemeanor driving
Early budget expects shortfall By Laura McFarland News Editor
W
ith several months to go in the budget season, the Powhatan County School Board recently heard potentially positive and negative news about the district’s current and upcoming budgets. At the school board’s workshop on Tuesday, Jan. 13, Dr. Eric Jones, superintendent, and Larry Johns, assistant superintendent for finance and business operations, gave a presentation that updated the board on how the district is faring in fiscal year 2015 and introduced initial budget numbers for fiscal year 2016. The school board will continue to hear updated reports on the budget in the months ahead, Johns said. Although Powhatan County is currently through half of its school year, less than 37 percent of its projected $43,359,402 budget had been expended as of Dec. 31, 2014, Johns said. Based on those numbers – which reflect the actual revenue and expenditures received as of Dec. 31 – the projected year-end outcome for 2014-2015 is to be under budget by $18,782, he said. “This compares to almost $25,000 that was left over out of fiscal year 2014. We are cutting to the line just as close as we can,” he said.
PHOTO BY LAURA MCFARLAND
Dr. Eric Jones gave a presentation to the Powhatan County School Board on the fiscal years 2015 and 2016 budgets.
Fiscal year 2015 budget This year’s budget has seen a $4,624 increase in local sources other than county government and $19,388 from state sources, Johns said. But federal revenue has decreased by $36,400. That potential $12,388 deficit in projected revenue was offset by $31,170 in savings through payroll and benefits and other items, he said. A big problem with the school district’s
budget is how much of it is out of the schools’ control, Jones said. In the 2013-2014 school year, the division broke down the budget into different categories to give a better picture of what portion of the budget it actually has control over or has some discretion in how it spends. About 83 percent of the budget is taken up by payroll (61.44 percent) and benefits (21.57 percent), he said. After other fixed plant operations, instruction and vehicle costs, only 4.34 percent, or about $1.9 million, are variable costs the school has some control over. “That has decreased drastically in the last six years. That piece of the pie used to be much bigger, but with the reductions that we have since the recession, that has continued to go down,” Jones said. The school district’s enrollment began steadily declining in the 2001-2012 school year, but that decrease seems to be leveling off, he said. Despite the decline, the district’s overall budget is increasing. Jones pointed out that in the last four years, there have been a number of mandated costs from primarily the state level having the local school district pick up responsibility for an additional $4,256,538 or 10 percent of the 2014-2015 budget. These mandated changes passed onto the localities were in a Virginia Retirement System rate increase, group health cost increase and group benefits, he said. The state also provided Powhatan matching money for a
Inside
Sports
A3 Icy roads caused spike in wrecks
B1 The Powhatan wrestling team hosts Arrowhead Invitational.
see BUDGET page 6A
Perez-Reyes
with no operator’s license, according to Robert J. Fierro Jr., assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney of Chesterfield County. Perez-Reyes allegedly hit Kevin S. Merryman, 28, of Powhatan with his vehicle and fled the scene on Saturday, Nov. 1. Merryman, who lived on Old Buckingham Road, was transported to the hospital where he later died. Perez-Reyes, whose aliases include Carlos R. Hernandez and Carlos Reyes-Hernandez, is currently being held without bond at Riverside Regional Jail, Fierro said. Perez-Reyes’ attorney entered a scheduling order for him to plead guilty to the charges at 1 p.m. on Monday, March 2, Fierro said. There is no plea agreement associated with this case. see HIT page 7A
Index Calendar A2 Classified B8-9 Crime Report A3 Letters A6 Obituaries A2 Opinion A8 TV Listings B6-7