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Powhatan, Virginia
The hometown paper of Mary E. Ownby
Vol. XXVIII No. 45
November 12, 2015
Powhatan shows up to polls
By Laura McFarland News Editor
P
OWHATAN – A little more than half of Powhatan County registered voters came out to the polls last week to in an Election Day that yielded a few surprises and challenges but overall ran smoothly. Of the 19,548 registered voters in Powhatan County, see POLLS page 5A
PHOTOS BY LAURA MCFARLAND
Left, Heidi Diggs brought her son, Parker, 1, with her to vote on Tuesday, Nov. 3. Above, poll worker Wayne Hamrick explains how the new paper ballots need to be filled out to voters.
The Winning Candidates Valarie C. Ayers
Faye G. Barton
Angie Cabell
Richard R. (Rick) Cole
Richard K. “Dickie” Cox
Teresa Hash Dobbins
Kenneth Hatcher Sr.
Kim M. Drew Hymel
James L. Kunka
William E. “Bill” Melton
Larry J. Nordvig
Brad W. Nunnally
Glen H. Sturtevant Jr.
J.B. “Jamie” Timberlake II
Carson Tucker
R. Lee Ware Jr.
Joseph W. “Joe” Walters
Tom Walton
David T. Williams
By Laura McFarland News Editor
P
OWHATAN – After a rigorous few months of campaigning, Powhatan County’s 2015 general election was marked by a number of fairly close races but few upsets. A diverse field of 35 candidates were in the running for the 19 state and local races, with 10 of the races having two or more people running for office and some as many as four candidates.
But when the results were in at the end of the day on Tuesday, Nov. 3, only four new faces were declared winners, three of whome ran in races with a spot left empty because the current elected official had decided not to run again. Of the 19,548 registered voters in Powhatan County, 10,055 voters, or 51.4 percent, actually voted, Karen Alexander, director of elections, said. The results from the 13 precincts in Powhatan County were released by the Powhatan County Registrar’s Office and declared official on Friday, Nov. 6.
The number of people on the ballots and the voter turnout were huge, reflecting well on the county, she said. “I expected the interest to be high. I was excited to see that people did get out and vote,” she said. With some tight races now behind them, the men and women who won in the contested races agreed they are ready to get down to business.
Glen H. Sturtevant Jr. A big victory with Powhatan County voters helped republican candidate Glen
H. Sturtevant Jr. win the 10th District seat in the State Senate. Sturtevant received 7,318 votes in Powhatan County and 27,651 throughout the district. This gave him a fairly narrow victory over his main challenger, democrat Daniel A. Gecker, who received 2,205 votes in Powhatan County and 26,173 votes district wide. The race was rounded out by independent Marleen Durfee, who received 262 Powhatan votes and 1,136 votes across the district, and libertarian Carl see WIN page 2A
M I S TA K E L E A D S TO T U R M O I L By Laura McFarland News Editor
POWHATAN – A vote on a procedural oversight by Powhatan County staff that might have been a minor issue at any other time of the year was escalated last week at the Powhatan County Board of Supervisors meeting because of its proximity to Election Day. Two resolutions dealing with almost
$4.3 million in amendments to the fiscal year 2016 budget that were approved by the board in June were at the center of a controversy at its meeting on Monday, Nov. 2. Pat Weiler, county administrator, explained that because each of the resolutions dealt with amounts that exceed 1 percent of the total FY 2016 adopted budget, Virginia code dictates they should have been handled in public hearings. However,
both resolutions passed in a regular meeting without a public hearing being held. The resolutions dealt with $2.5 million for capital improvement program projects and $1,750,750 for other capital improvement program projects and passed unanimously at the board’s meeting on June 15. None of that money has been spent yet, Weiler said. But the resolutions only passed in a narrow three-two vote when they came
Inside
Sports
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B1 Indians season ends against Mustangs in season finale
back before the board in a public hearing on Nov. 2 and were the subject of a lengthy discussion that left many people in the audience noticeably riled by the end. Chairman Bill Melton, who represents District 4, Larry Nordvig, District 2, and Carson Tucker, District 5, voted to re-adopt the resolutions on Nov. 2. David Williams, District 1, and Barry Hodge, District 3, see MISTAKE page 7A
Index Calendar Classified Letters Obituaries Opinion TV Listings
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