07/20/2016

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Inside A6 Powhatan quilters honor local veterans

Powhatan, Virginia B1 Woodson wins fourth State Open in playoff

Vol. XXIX No. 29

July 20, 2016

County sells $49.4 million in bonds to fund CIP By Laura McFarland News Editor

P

OWHATAN – Powhatan County recently received a better-thanexpected package deal on $49.4 million in lease revenue bonds to help fund capital

improvement program projects, an outcome that is estimated to cost the county about $9 million less than projected over the life of the bonds. The bonds sold on the open market on Thursday, June 30 and closed last week, at which point a total of almost $55.4

million was transferred to the county, said Pat Weiler, county administrator. The $55.4 million included the $49.4 million in bonds that was purchased and a net premium of almost $6 million from Wells Fargo, which was the winning bidder on the bonds.

The bonds will be used to finance projects such as the renovation and rebuilding of Powhatan Junior High School, a public safety radio system, and a joint transportation system for the county and the school district, she said. Weiler credits the favorable

market conditions and excellent credit ratings Powhatan recently received from Moody’s Investor Service and S&P Global Ratings as the major reasons behind the county receiving an all-in interest cost of see SAVINGS page 9A

Solar farm project to create 250 local jobs By Laura McFarland News Editor

tent buddy. Hill was shot and killed right next to Morrison, and to this day, the latter wonders why enemy combatants picked his friend and not him. So finally seeing Hill’s name on the wall dedicated to those who were killed or missing in action in the Vietnam War, even if it wasn’t the permanent memorial in Washington, D.C., was powerful, he said. “It was kind of humbling, especially with Cpl. Hill, because I was with him when he got word his wife gave birth to a son. He never saw his son,” said Morrison of Henrico County.

POWHATAN – Hundreds of local jobs in the construction trades will be filled in the coming weeks as Dominion Virginia Power prepares to build three separate large-scale solar energy facilities in Virginia, including one in Powhatan County. The construction of a solar farm on 180 acres in Powhatan County will create 250 positions for electricians, general laborers, carpenters, solar panel installers and heavy equipment operators, according to Daisy Pridgen, Dominion Virginia Power spokesperson. Hiring is also underway for 350 workers in those fields for a solar farm in Louisa County, she said. The Isle of Wight project, which created a total of 200 jobs, has already begun hiring and construction and needs another 100 to 120 workers. “The ones for Powhatan and Louisa counties, construction has not begun at those sites. We are looking to fill those openings before we begin construction. Once we begin construction, it is going to take about six months to complete,” Pridgen said.

see WALL page 3A

see JOBS page 5A

PHOTO BY LAURA MCFARLAND

Powhatan High School teacher Jeanie Jones, left, and her summer school class making rubbings on the Vietnam Traveling Memorial Wall for a class assignment where students wrote a letter home from the soldier’s perspective.

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

Vietnam Traveling Memorial Wall offers a place to share memories, honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice

By Laura McFarland News Editor

POWHATAN – Jim Morrison searched for the names of three men on the wall – three men he watched lose their lives. Standing in front of the Vietnam Traveling Memorial Wall last week in Powhatan County, the U.S. Army veteran said he knew all too well the sacrifice it represented having lost several of his comrades in arms in the 2nd Battalion 8th Cavalry Recon Platoon. One name in particular was important for Morrison to find – Cpl. Eddie Hill, his

By Laura McFarland News Editor

POWHATAN – After more than four decades of helping people on their road to wellness, the Gregg family has sold their two Powhatan-based pharmacies to CVS. The pharmacies will close for the last time as family-owned, independent businesses at the end of day on Friday, Aug. 5, undergo a transformation over the weekend and re-open on Monday, Aug. 8 as CVS pharmacies, said owner Carol Gregg, who started Powhatan Pharmacy with her late husband, Jim Gregg Sr., in 1975. For the entire family, but espe-

cially for Carol Gregg, the decision to sell was not an easy one. “This was our baby. That’s the way we thought about it. I guess we lived it 24-7. When you own a business, it stays with you 24-7,” she said. Scott Gregg, one of Carol Gregg’s two sons and the general manager, said it has been gutwrenching for him to say goodbye to the business built up by his mother and his father, who died on Dec. 2, 2015. “For 40 years my family has been associated with it, and my PHOTO BY LAURA MCFARLAND father has always been associated with it. To see that end is very raw. Powhatan Pharmacy and Plaza Pharmacy have been sold to CVS. Shown are owner Carol

see PHARMACY page 2A Gregg, and her son, Scott, general manager.

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Longtime Powhatan pharmacies sold to CVS


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