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Powhatan, Virginia

A6 Powhatan Tax-Aide group begins training B1 Indians wrestling getting ready for season

Vol. XXIX No. 46

November 23, 2016

Belmead launches new fundraising campaign By Laura McFarland

Pat Weiler announces retirement

News Editor

By Laura McFarland

P

OWHATAN – Belmead on the James Inc. has taken on the ambitious goal of raising $400,000 by Dec. 1 to prove it has the support from the community it needs to keep the historic Belmead property in Powhatan County in local hands. The nonprofit organization formed this summer to preserve as much of the 2,265 acres of land owned by the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament as possible to protect its cultural, historical, spiritual, ecological, and educational legacy. The group wants to acquire and administer the property formerly known as FrancisEmma Inc. After months of focusing on getting organized, the group has set a deadline of Thursday, Dec. 1 to raise $400,000 toward the purchase of the property to help secure financing from a lender, Joe Elton, vice president of Belmead on the James Inc., said. The nonprofit is also working under the tight deadline of needing to have its response to a request for proposal (RFP) that has been prepared about the property turned in by Monday, Dec. 19. Rather than a traditional property sale, the Sis-

News Editor

FILE PHOTO BY LAURA MCFARLAND

Belmead on the James wants to raise money to purchase the historic Belmead property and continue to promote its history, conservation efforts and education opportunities such as a recent field field trip by Powhatan Middle School sixth-graders, pictured above.

ters of the Blessed Sacrament retained Plante Moran Real Estate Investment Advisors as its exclusive real estate asset investment advisor to manage the sale using an RFP process.

Belmead on the James Inc. recently launched a campaign to ask individuals, businesses and organizations in Powhatsee BELMEAD page 5A

PCPS getting kids college and career ready By Laura McFarland News Editor

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

POWHATAN – Powhatan County Public Schools is doing an increasinly good job of turning out students who are college and career ready, the Powhatan County School Board heard last week. PHOTO BY LAURA MCFARLAND During the board’s Jason Tibbs, CTE coordinator, workshop on Tuesday, Nov. talks about student certification. 15, Dr. Tracie Omohundro,

assistant superintendent for instruction, and Jason Tibbs, CTE coordinator and co-principal of Pocahontas Middle School, presented the school district’s annual report showing testing and course performance in the 2015-2016 school year. The presentation touched on topics such as Powhatan High School’s graduation rates, career and technical

education (CTE) credentials, dual enrollment and advanced placement classes and SAT results and trends. “We are very proud of the work that we do to make sure our students in Powhatan County are prepared from a college and career standpoint when they leave us,” Omohundro said. see PCPS page 8A

V E T E R A N S D AY 2 0 1 6

Confederate Cemetery honors veterans By Laura McFarland

DELIVER TO: Postal Patron Powhatan, VA 23139

News Editor

POWHATAN – The ideals that are such an integral part of the U.S. Armed Forces are core values and essential lessons that need to be passed on to children today. Elizabeth A. Dombroski with the American Heritage Girls spoke on the importance or recognizing the military and passing on those lessons when she was the speaker at the 12th annual Huguenot Springs Veterans Day Service. The evening event was held on Nov. 11 at Huguenot Springs Cemetery in northeastern Powhatan County. In her speech, titled “Building with Integrity,” Dombroski spoke about her own experiences in the U.S. Air Force from 2001 to 2004, the opportunities her service as an information manager afforded her and the way it shaped her into the person and mother she became, she said. “They trained me to be a keeper of my

PHOTO BY LAURA MCFARLAND

Master of ceremonies Edwin Ray thanks people for attending an evening Veterans Day ceremony.

home and a trainer of my children. Little did I know that I was living out a set of core values of ‘integrity first, service before self, and excellence in all we do.’ These core see CEMETERY page 3A

Musical tribute for those who served

POWHATAN – Powhatan County administrator Pat Weiler last week announced she will retire on May 1, 2017, after serving more than four years with the county. Weiler, who began working as the county Weiler administrator in February 2013, said her decision to retire after a 40-year career that spanned many different positions in various states was driven both by a desire to spend more time with family and the recognition that it was simply time for the change. She said she and her husband, Greg, started seriously considering retiring about 10 years ago, but while he retired when she left the City of Manassas to work for Powhatan County, she was still not ready. At the time, she assured the board of supervisors she would stay more than two years. In August, the couple learned that they were going to be grandparents twice over with their son and daughter-in-law in Charlottesville, who are expecting a baby girl in March 2017, and their son and daughter-in-law in San Francisco, who are due in May 2017. “Many retirees have told me that you will just know when you are ready to retire. That moment came for me on Oct. 18, the day I returned to work after spending two weeks in California. As I sat at my desk that morning, I knew that I wanted to focus my time on my grandchildren,” Weiler said. Weiler said she chose May 1, 2017 for her retirement for several reasons: it gives the county time to search for her replacement, the fiscal year (FY 2018) budget process will be complete, and it allows her and her husband to be in San Francisco for the birth of their second grandchild. “Greg and I plan to spend our time between Charlottesville and San Francisco, and our bucket list has many places we hope to visit,” she said. The board of supervisors will start the process to hire the new county administrator immediately so that person may begin work on May 1 and therefore there will be no loss in leadership, Weiler said. The county is about to enter a big transition time with a number of Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) projects set to begin in the coming months, but Weiler said they “are currently in the hands of the very well qualified project managers so the change in county administrators will have no impact on the projects.” “Russell Wilson is managing the new middle school and transportation facility projects. Ramona Carter is managing the courthouse addition and ball field improvements projects. Tom Nolan is managing the new radio system and [computer aided dispatch] projects. Randy Buzzard is managing the broadband project,” Weiler said.

Reaction to announcement After an announcement about PHOTO BY LAURA MCFARLAND

During the Veterans Musical Show, hundreds of photos of veterans are displayed for people to see and think about their service. MORE PHOTOS Page 3A.

see WEILER page 2A


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