Inside A7 Ending childhood hunger in Virginia
Powhatan, Virginia B1 Powhatan swimming competes in first ever meet
Vol. XXIX No. 49
December 14, 2016
Powhatan Christmas Parade Man’s body Hundreds brave cold for holiday tradition found, details
remain scarce
By Laura McFarland News Editor
OWHATAN – The weather was cold but the smiles were warm this weekend when the 2016 Powhatan Christmas Parade rolled through the historic Powhatan County Village. Now in its 24th year, the parade drew hundreds of spectators to watch an hour-long procession of the community’s churches, school groups, emergency services personnel, civic groups, clubs and businesses decked out for the holidays. With 61 entries who looked great and constantly kept the parade moving at a good pace, this year’s event was a good one despite temperatures in the 40s probably keeping some people away, said John Rothert, who announced the parade along with Carolyn Bishop. “I think it’s just a great community tradition. It brings people together at this time of year. It’s a good thing to do,” he said. “We’ve had a pretty divisive season here before Christmas in America. This
Staff Report
P
PHOTO BY KENNY MOORE
Santa Clause waives to the crowd as he comes down Old Buckingham Road, signaling the end of the 2016 Powhatan Christmas Parade.
is a real example of how hometown, down home America still works. It is really a fantastic get together.” The Powhatan County Sheriff’s Of-
fice is always involved in the county’s parades, either as entries or by helping see PARADE page 8A
Powhatan Republicans take case about political labels in local elections to federal appeals court By Graham Moomaw Richmond Times-Dispatch
Prsrt. Standard U.S. POSTAGE PAID Powhatan, VA Permit No.19
A federal appeals court appeared skeptical on Dec. 7 of a constitutional challenge that seeks to allow candidates for local office in Virginia to be identified by political party on official ballots. The three-judge panel likely won’t rule until early next year, but the case could have significant ramifications for how democracy works at the ground
level in Virginia. The challenge centers on the question of whether the state has a rational basis for requiring nonpartisan ballots for local races but identifying McSweeney candidates for federal, statewide and General Assembly offices as Republican, Democrat or
any other political party. During oral arguments Wednesday, Dec. 7 in Richmond, the appeals judges seemed to lean toward upholding the ballot rules as furthering a legitimate public purpose. “The local dogcatcher — it doesn’t matter if he’s a republican or a democrat. It matters if he can catch dogs,” Judge Paul V. Niemeyer said. A group of Powhatan County Resee LABELS page 6A
C H R I S T M A S M OT H E R F I N A L P R E P By Laura McFarland News Editor
DELIVER TO: Postal Patron Powhatan, VA 23139
POWHATAN – The Powhatan County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the death of a man found on the morning of Friday, Dec. 9 in a Powhatan County neighborhood. At about 8:45 a.m., Powhatan Sheriff’s Office received a 911 call reporting a death in the 2100 block of Flint Hill Road, according to Capt. J. S. Searfoss. Upon arrival, deputies found the body of John R. Rafter Jr., 48. The sheriff’s office has not released the exact location or the conditions in which Rafter was found. A release from Searfoss stated that the case is under investigation and no further information is available at this time. Cause of death will be determined by the Medical Examiner’s Office. There is no reason to believe at this time that there is any threat to the public at large, Searfoss said in the release. On Friday afternoon a sheriff’s deputy car was still parked in front of 2140 Flint Hill Road. According to the county’s Geographic Information System (GIS) database, the house’s property owners are John R. Rafter Jr. and Karina M. Rafter.
POWHATAN – The fellowship hall of May Memorial Baptist Church was an explosion of Christmas cheer last week as members of the Christmas Mother Everyday Committee made final preparations before the big roll out this week. Most recipients of the annual Christmas Mother program were expected to pick up their gifts PHOTO BY LAURA MCFARLAND on Tuesday, Dec. 13 and Shown in the May Memorial Fellowship Hall are today, Dec. 14, which volunteer Lois Schalow, left; the Rev. Michael was after press time. The Edwards, senior pastor; Christmas Mother Teresa remaining gifts will be Whitaker, and Diana Schmitz, church secretary. delivered by volunteers on Friday, Dec. 16, said Teresa Whitaker, the 2016 Christmas Mother. Now in its 49th year, the Christmas Mother program received 192 applications in 2016, which is down from last year’s number of 228 applications, Whitaker said. She did not yet have the breakdown of how many individuals that represented, since an application could represent a single person, couple or family with one or more children. Looking around the packed room where presents were still coming in and being sorted into the right boxes on Friday, Dec. 9, Whitaker became choked up multiple times as she talked about the amazing experience the last few months have been. The room itself is evidence of that. While comfortable in their three donated rooms at Blessed Sacrament Huguenot Catholic School with administrative tasks and some storage, organizers had worried about how to fit all of this season’s presents once they started coming in, she said. So when May Memorial’s church leaders agreed to let the Christmas Mother program take over its fellowship hall for a month to have enough room for all its presents, it truly was a wonderful gift, Whitaker said. see MOTHER page 3A
PHOTO BY LAURA MCFARLAND
Officials were on hand to answer questions about suggested plans for road improvements along Anderson Highway during a citizen information meeting held Dec. 7.
Need to expand Route 60 to six lanes unlikely By Laura McFarland News Editor
POWHATAN – The stretch of Anderson Highway near the Powhatan-Chesterfield county line does not need to be widened to six lanes in the next 20 years, several citizens learned for the first time last week. A citizen information meeting was held on Wednesday, Dec. 7 at the Huguenot Public Safety Building to discuss preliminary recommendations for a Route 60 Corridor East Special Area Plan. On hand to answer citizen questions were representatives from the county, the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) and the Timmons Group, which is the engineering firm than is handling the study. The meeting was an opportunity to present the results of the study and give members of the public the chance to ask questions or give feedback, said Steve Schmidt, senior project manager with the Timmons Group. In talking to residents who attended the meeting, Schmidt said their biggest concern was about the possible future widening of Anderson Highway (Route 60) and what it would do to traffic and see ROUTE 60 page 2A