Inside A2 Teen sentenced to 8-plus years
Powhatan, Virginia B1 Indians surge past Hornets in 4-1 win
Vol. XXX No. 18
May 3, 2017
Supervisors approve 88.5 cent tax rate By Laura McFarland News Editor
P
OWHATAN – The Powhatan County Board of Supervisors last week voted 4-1 in favor of adopting a $107 million fiscal year 2018 operating budget that will be supported in large part by a reduced real estate tax rate of 88.5 cents. The supervisors voted on the issues at their meeting on Monday, April 24, with each of the supervisors giving, or attempting to give, the reason for voting the way they intended to on the budget and tax rate. Chairman Bill Melton, District 4; David Williams, District 1; Larry Nordvig, District 2, and Carson Tucker,
District 5, all voted for the reduced rate and the budget they chose. Angie Cabell, District 3, voted against them. The fiscal year (FY) 2018 operating budget the board approved is $80,512,923, which is the total including schools but without transfers. The total budget with transfers is $107,391,393, which takes into account county revenues transferred to support other agencies in Powhatan, such as the Social Services Fund, CSA Fund, Capital Projects Fund, Utilities Fund, the school board, and the schools’ food services fund. The adopted tax rate at 88.5 cents is 1.5 cents less than the current rate of 90 cents. The public hearing on the two issues was held at the board’s meeting on Monday, April 17, and two members
emembering RLonesome Dove’s Clint Arrington
of the public spoke about them then. Several residents also spoke during the public comments period at the April 24 meeting. After months of workshops and evaluation, the tax rate and budget were passed last week with little discussion. Instead, each board member chose to give his or her reasons for why they were casting a vote for or against those issues. The only hiccup in the proceedings came when Cabell was sharing her reasons for voting no on both issues but stopped when she noticed Nordvig and Williams were speaking privately. Tucker, apparently believing she stopped because she was finished, asked if he could prosee BUDGET, pg. 2
County administrator Pat Weiler recognized
By Laura McFarland News Editor
P
FILE PHOTO BY LAURA MCFARLAND
Clint Arrington, left, honors Ricky Jones as Lonesome Dove Equestrian Center’s 2,000th rider in May 2016.
OWHATAN – Residents of Powhatan County and beyond said farewell last week to a Powhatan County man who spent the last years of his life trying to improve the lives of veterans. Clint Arrington, 68, of Powhatan, the executive director and founder of Lonesome Dove Equestrian Center, died on Sunday, April 23 due to heart complications. A Celebration of Life service was held on Saturday, April 29 at see ARRINGTON, pg. 8
PHOTO BY LAURA MCFARLAND
About 125 people came to a special luncheon for outgoing county administrator Pat Weiler.
Fire destroys part of movie sets on State Farm property
By Laura McFarland
By Laura McFarland
Powhatan County fire marshal David Throckmorton said on Thursday, April 27 that he had concluded his investigation into the fire and the cause remained undetermined. Due to the destructive effects of the fire, there was nothing left to look at to help determine the cause, he said. Although it had rained for several days before the fire, Throckmorton pointed out there was no way to determine which parts were dry or wet since the buildings only had partial roofs in some places.
OWHATAN – Outgoing county administrator Pat Weiler was honored last week in her final days of working for Powhatan County. The Powhatan County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to pass a resolution honoring Weiler’s services in the four years she has worked in Powhatan during its meeting on Monday, April 24. Carson Tucker, who represents District 5, read the lengthy resolution that outlined many of the actions Weiler or the staff under her direction accomplished during her time here. Weiler was given a standing ovation from the board and those in attendance during the presentation. Several members of the public also spoke to thank her for her service and say how she had impacted them personally and professionally. The supervisors also threw a luncheon earlier in the day at the Rescue Squad Building to give people an opportunity to recognize and say farewell to Weiler. About 125 employees, citizens, various Powhatan County committee members and even former co-workers from Manassas attended the event, which was paid for by the supervisors, Chairman Bill Melton, District 3, said. Speakers included Melton and Tucker, Del. Lee Ware, Sheriff Brad Nunnally, commissioner of the revenue Jamie Timberlake and Sister Ilene from Belmead. All graciously thanked Weiler for her service and wished her well, Melton said. “It was nice to see Pat’s coworkers, current and past, civic leaders and Powhatan citizens come out and offer a sincere thank you to Pat for her fantastic work and years of service to Powhatan,” Melton said. Weiler, who began working as the county administrator in February 2013, announced last fall that she intended to retire effective May 1. Her last day was Friday, April 28, and Ted Voorhees was hired to be the new county administrator beginning May 1. After hearing comments from the board, Weiler thanked the board of supervisors for the opportunity to
see FIRE, pg. 3
see WEILER, pg. 6
P
News Editor
Prsrt. Standard U.S. POSTAGE PAID Powhatan, VA Permit No.19
POWHATAN – An early morning fire on Wednesday, April 26 destroyed part of a movie set on the State Farm property owned by the Virginia Department of Correction
DELIVER TO: Postal Patron Powhatan, VA 23139
News Editor
PHOTO COURTESY OF POWHATAN FIRE AND RESCUE
A movie set at the State Farm property owned by the Virginia Department of Corrections caught fire on April 26. The final season of “TURN: Washington’s Spies” was being filmed there.
(VDOC) that was being used to film the final season of “TURN: Washington’s Spies” as recently as the day before. Powhatan County Fire and Rescue units were alerted at about 4:53 a.m. on April 26 that there was a fire at the wharf set located on the property, according to Fire and Rescue Chief Steven Singer. When they arrived, they found the movie set of two-story framed buildings was heavily involved in fire. Units protected the exposures and began extinguishment. The fire was under control by about 6:30 a.m.
2017 Silverado #Z258566 Lease for
$459/mo.* *Stock# Z258566 Lease payment based on $2500 down + Tax, Title, Tags. 39 month lease w/15000 miles per year.
(804) 818-7660 • www.haleychevrolet.com