50¢
Powhatan, Virginia
The hometown paper of name of Nicholas Snead
Vol. XXVIII No. 9
March 4, 2015
Schools offer improved budget outlook By Laura McFarland News Editor
POWAHTAN – Possible larger than expected state funding for schools made a presentation of the Powhatan County Public Schools fiscal year 2015-2016 budget seem even brighter than the last outlook. The Powhatan County School Board heard an update on the budget from Eric Jones,
superintendent, and Larry Johns, assistant superintendent for finance and business Jones operations, during its workshop on Tuesday, Feb. 24. The budget seen at the workshop is what will come before the board for approval
at its meeting at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, March 17 in the Village Building auditorium, Jones said. The projected budget is for $44,179,334 which is $819,932 more than the adopted fiscal year 2015 budget the school system is currently operating under. “We have completed work on balancing our budget based on expected revenues and ex-
penditures that we have talked about for the last couple months and throughout the budget process,” Jones said. While the General Assembly had not approved the final state budget by the time the meeting had happened, Jones said staff was fairly confident in terms of what it would receive in state dollars. see Schools page 5A
“The more we can pare that down and lessen that amount, I would say the better. We could use that money toward teachers and students and get a lot more done than having a hand-holding session that I personally don’t need.” Larry Nordvig
The budget presented at the Feb. 24 school board workshop will come before the Board of Supervisors for approval at its meeting at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, March 17 in the Village Building auditorium.
DeHart will run for sheriff By Laura McFarland
Board votes to cancel contract with mediator By Laura McFarland News Editor
L
ess than two hours after a mediator met with the Powhatan County School Board to discuss an upcoming joint budget workshop with the Powhatan County Board of Supervisors, the supervisors decided in a split vote to terminate his services before their purpose was fully realized. Mark Rubin, executive director of the Virginia Center for Consensus Building, talked to the school board in its workshop on Tuesday, Feb. 24, to explain more about his process and address the mem-
bers’ approach to the upcoming meeting. But at a 7 p.m. board of supervisors workshop, which was rescheduled because of snow from Feb. 17, Barry Hodge, who represents Dis-
trict 3, added a resolution to the agenda that would close out the agreement with Rubin’s company. The resolution also authorized the county administrator, Pat Weiler, and county attorney, Tom Lacheney, to “seek a mutually agreeable resolution to the amount owed by the county” to Rubin for the services he had already provided. The original agreed upon amount was $6,000, with each board putting up half of the money. see Mediator page 3A
“We don’t have any problem talking. The problem we had was we didn’t agree. And that’s OK.” David Williams
“So two or three hold the process hostage because you know better and the majority are misguided nitwits.” Carson Tucker
News Editor
POWHATAN – Undersheriff Chris DeHart announced last week he will run for Powhatan County Sheriff in the general election on Nov. 3. DeHart has served the Powhatan community for the past 26 years, the last seven as undersheriff. His current duties include administration, DeHart budgeting, personnel, writing policies, commanding tactical operations and, most importantly, maintaining a safe environment for the residents of the community. He serves as a law enforcement liaison with counsee DeHart page 2A
Tyler running for state senate By Laura McFarland News Editor
administering medications via IV. The county already contracts with the company for two ALS crews, which run out of the Village Station and Fine Creek Station on weekdays, Singer said. “We have those two medic units that are available to han-
POWHATAN – Bruce Tyler recently announced his candidacy for Virginia’s 10th Senate District, an open seat encompassing all of Powhatan County and Tyler parts of Chesterfield County and Richmond City. A lifelong republican, Tyler said he looks forward to bringing his fiscally conservative background to the state senate. “I am running for the Vir-
see Paramedic page 6A
see Tyler page 9A
PHOTO BY LAURA MCFARLAND
The supervisors had a tense debate before voting 3-2 to close out the mediator’s contract.
ALS position explored by supervisors By Laura McFarland News Editor
POWHATAN – A plan to add a new paid Advanced Life Support provider to the county met with pushback from the Powhatan Volunteer Rescue Squad last week. Pat Weiler, county administrator, and Steven Singer, fire and rescue chief, brought
a resolution before the Powhatan County Board of Supervisors at its workshop on Tuesday, Feb. 24. The resolution asked for a $46,300 budgetary transfer from the Fire and Rescue Fund to pay Emergency Services Solutions to staff an ALS provider during nights and weekends, hours typically handled by volunteer
members. That amount would cover the position through the end of the company’s current contract on June 30. ALS providers are licensed individuals who can perform tasks beyond that of an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT). These include situations such as cardiac monitoring, intubation and
Inside
Sports
A2 Rachel’s Challenge had students focus on anti-bullying
B1 BHS boys basketball season ends with loss to Christ Chapel in state quarterfinals
Index Calendar A2 Classified B8-9 Crime Report A3 Letters A6 Obituaries A2 Opinion A8 TV Listings B6-7