03/16/2016

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Inside A3 Bluegrass concert raising funds for veterans.

Powhatan, Virginia B2 Lacrosse defeats Monacan in scrimmages.

Vol. XXIX No. 11

March 16, 2016

Grade re-alignments in store during construction By Laura McFarland

22 meeting for plans to move ahead on the renovation and rebuilding of the junior high school into a new middle school. The school project, which is projected to be about $33.9 million in bonds, is the largest item on the county’s 2017 FiveYear Capital Improvement Program (CIP). The junior high will hopefully be demolished this summer, except for the gym and vocational wing, which will be totally renovated, Jones said. This will hopefully keep the district on schedule to open the new school in 2018. For the next two school years, the grade configurations will be: Powhatan Elementary, kindergarten through fifth grade; Flat Rock Elementary, pre-K through fifth grade, Pocahontas Elemen-

News Editor

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OWHATAN – Powhatan County Public Schools have been working hard to address the question of how the district will handle student relocation while a new middle school is being built on the soon-to-be former site of Powhatan Junior High School. During a March 8 workshop of the Powhatan County School Board, Dr. Eric Jones, superintendent, gave a presentation on how fifth through eighth grades will be situated once the district is down by one school. The Powhatan County Board of Supervisors gave the green light at its Feb.

tary, pre-K through sixth grade; Pocahontas Middle, sixth through eighth grade, and Powhatan High, ninth through 12th grade. Head Start, which is currently at Powhatan Elementary School, will be moved to Pocahontas Elementary School. Powhatan Elementary has room for kindergarten through fifth grade with room for a little bit of growth but not for the whole Head Start program, Jones said. Kim Hymel, who represents District 5, asked Jones about how close the schools are to capacity and if the grade re-alignments put any of them close to going over those amounts. The projected enrollment for Pocahontas Middle School in the 2016-2017 school year is 1,061 students, Jones said.

The school has a capacity of 1,200 students, “What is forecast is that we are in a bubble right now of higher enrollment at the middle school and then that’s going to go down,” he said. “The numbers that we have don’t show us going over 1,100 students through 2025 in the middle school. So we’ve got 10 years of capacity based on what our current projections are.” The projected enrollments for the 2016-2017 school year for the elementary schools show they have room to grow, Jones said. The projected enrollments are: Flat Rock Elementary, 660 students (capacity 760 students); Pocahontas Elementary School, 570 students (capacity see GRADE page 8A

Community helps Belmead christen new museum By Laura McFarland News Editor

POWHATAN – Alumni, community members, local officials, and a U.S. senator were recently on hand to celebrate the opening of a newly expanded museum at Belmead Mansion and the people who have helped make it happen. The historic mansion in Powhatan County hosted a special event on Saturday, March 5 that drew a few hundred visitors to see the museum space, learn about changes to the building and talk about the work that has gone into getting it this far. A ceremony held toward the beginning of the event related the purpose behind the museum and honored those who had brought Belmead so far. Among attendees were Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., District 5 board of supervisors and school board members Carson Tucker and Kim Hymel, respectively, alumni and

PHOTOS BY LAURA MCFARLAND

Above, Sister Maureen Carroll speaks during a ceremony commemorating the opening of a newly expanded museum at Belmead Mansion. Right, teen docent Aniya James of Powhatan talks to visitors about the part of Belmead’s history when it was a plantation worked by many slaves.

DELIVER TO: Postal Patron Powhatan, VA 23139

Prsrt. Standard U.S. POSTAGE PAID Powhatan, VA Permit No.19

see BELMEAD page 2A

County to bear cost of redistricting By Laura McFarland

PREVIOUS VIRGINIA CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICTS

News Editor

A three-judge panel on Thursday imposed a new Virginia congressional map. It anchors the 3rd District, represented by Democrat Robert C. “Bobby” Scott, in Hampton 6 Roads. It moves the cities of Richmond and Petersburg from Scott’s district into the 4th District, represented by Republican J. Randy Forbes.

POWHATAN – The financial burden of updating almost 20,000 Powhatan County registered voters as a result of congressional redistricting will apparently fall entirely on the county to the tune of thousands of dollars. The U.S. Supreme Court is set to hear an appeal on Monday, March 21 in the case of congressional redistricting in Virginia. In the meantime, the court has turned down efforts made by Republicans in Virginia’s congressional delegation to block implementation of the state’s new congressional map. For Powhatan County that means it will now be

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9 The new map also moves Hanover and New Kent counties from the 7th District, represented by Republican Dave Brat, to the 1st District, represented by Republication Robert J. Wittman.

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see COUNTY page 3A ILLUSTRATION BY JOHN OWNBY

Board delays advertising real estate tax rate By Laura McFarland News Editor

POWHATAN – The Powhatan County Board of Supervisors held off last week on deciding which proposed real estate tax to advertise as more information continues to come

in that might shape their decision. The board members had said previously that they planned to decide on what rate to advertise as the county’s proposed real estate tax at a special meeting on Wednesday, March 9. Choosing a rate

to advertise does not mean that is the one the board has decided on, but once it is advertised, they cannot set a rate above that amount. After two hours of learning more information about the county’s fiscal year 2017 Five Year Capital Improvement

Program and funding options and hearing recommendations from county administrator Pat Weiler, the board hesitantly decided to hold off their decision to pick a rate to advertise until their budget workshop on Monday, March 21. see RATE page 6A


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