Inside A4 Community Breakfast with a free hot meal on the first Saturday of each month
Powhatan, Virginia
B1 Young head coach reinvigorates YMCA swim team
Vol. XXXIII No. o. 6
July 31, 2019
VDOT holds meeting on Route 60 study By Laura McFarland News Editor
P
OWHATAN – A meeting meant to gather public input on a new multi-county study of Route 60 took a contentious turn last week when some citizens made it clear they didn’t think it was enough. About 100 people attended one of two public meetings meant to seek public comment on a study authorized by the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) of a 103-mile stretch of the Route 60 corridor. The meeting was held on Wednesday, July 24 at Powhatan Middle
School. In addition to these public meetings, citizens may provide written comments by Aug. 3 to Darrel Johnson, VDOT Project Manager, 1401 East Broad St., Richmond VA 23219 or via email to Darrel. Johnson@VDOT.Virginia.gov. Reference “Route 60 Corridor Study” in the subject line of any e-mail correspondence. During the Powhatan meeting, citizens listened intently to a 25-minute presentation by Brad Shelton, director of planning for Michael Baker International, the study PHOTO BY LAURA MCFARLAND consultant, as he outlined the parameters Powhatan resident Cecil Youngblood, who moved to the county in 1971, see VDOT, pg. 3
said a proposed study’s focus on four-lane portions of Route 60 won’t help residents living on and traversing the two-lane stretch.
Motions made in the Karina Rafter murder trial By Laura McFarland News Editor
PHOTO BY LAURA MCFARLAND
Powhatan resident Jim Siemens has spent over 35 years in the live event merchandise industry. He is currently traveling with The Rolling Stones on the band’s 2019 No Fllter tour.
Jim Siemens back on the rock n’ roll trail By Laura McFarland News Editor
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POWHATAN – Jim Siemens is back on the rock ‘n’ roll trail, but it’s merchandise that is keeping him traveling across the country this summer rather than music.
Through the end of August, Siemens of Powhatan is working on the merchandise crew for The Rolling Stones’ No Filter 2019 tour. The job will have him traveling around the nation pulling a merchandise trailer to 14 of the 15 cities on the band’s tour. You can’t miss him. The 45foot trailer is decorated on one side with a giant “STONES” and the band’s signature mouth with its tongue out. The other side has the words and symbol set against brightly colored backgrounds and the tour name, No Filter. Siemens has been working in the live event merchandise industry for 36 years – a career that until
this summer could be divided into two distinct periods – 16 years of following live bands and about 20 years on motorsports circuits. But in joining The Rolling Stones’ tour, Siemens said he is coming full circle in his career, which he still loves. “What stands out? I got to see the world and I didn’t have to work 8 to 5, five days a week for 36 years. I don’t even know what it would be like,” he said. This gig is slightly easier than when Siemens worked as a merchandising live event manager in the past, he said. Then he could exsee SIEMENS, pg. 5
Summer camp in its 3rd week
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
This group of Powhatan County Public Schools summer campers recently participated in Yarn Crafts Camp. For more photos, see Page 8.
POWHATAN – A Powhatan judge ruled on several motions last week in the case of the estranged wife of a Powhatan County man killed in his home in 2016 who has been charged with his murder. Circuit Court Judge Paul Cella issued a written opinion last week to address several motions made by the defense and the Henrico Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office, which will be handling the case after the members of the Powhatan office recused themselves. The decisions were based on arguments the two sides made in a motions hearing on Tuesday, July 16. Matthew Ackley and Susan Parrish, special assistant commonwealth’s attorneys, represented the prosecution, and Craig Cooley is Karina Rafter’s defense attorney. Karina Rafter is charged in the death of her husband, John Richard Rafter Jr., 48, who was killed on Dec. 9, 2016, at his home in the 2100 block of Flint Hill Road. Rafter’s body was discovered on Dec. 9 by his teenage son, who found him in his bed with what appeared to be a gunshot wound to the head. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner released on Dec. 14, 2016, that Rafter’s death was a homicide. John and Karina Rafter were married but in the process of a divorce at
RAFTER
the time of his death. After a two-year investigation, indictments were issued on Feb. 6 against Karina Rafter for one count of first degree murder and one count of use of a firearm in the commission of the a felony. In his written opinion, Cella denied one motion each of the defense and Commonwealth, said the decisions on two more motions would have to wait until the trial in October, and ruled certain information introduced by the Commonwealth was admissible. One overarching theme that ran through the proceedings was to determine how much of the Rafters’ history – both as individuals and a couple – could be used in the trial. Cella had to address issues of past drug use, statements of fear by John Rafter made to a witness, and evidence regarding a case of assault by the defendant against the victim almost a year before John Rafter’s death. On the matter of the assault, Cella denied the Commonwealth’s motion to enter this as evidence. One of the Commonwealth’s motions addressed the alternative theories regarding John Rafter’s death that Coolsee TRIAL, pg. 4
Powhatan native supports navy’s nuclear deterrence Contributed Report A 2016 Powhatan High School graduate currently serving in the U.S. Navy is supporting the nation’s nuclear deterrence mission. Powhatan native Petty Officer 3rd Class Darian Vaughan is a naval aircrewman (avionics) serving with Fleet Air Reconnaissance Squadron 4, a versatile com-
mand capable of operating E6-B Mercury aircraft under USSTRATCOM operational control providing a survivable and endurable airborne communications link to the nation’s strategic forces. Vaughan is responsible for maintaining communications and in-flight maintenance on aircraft. He credits success in the
navy to many of the lessons learned growing up in Powhatan. “I try to treat everybody with kindness,” said Vaughan. “Powhatan is a small town and we learned to treat everyone with mutual respect.” The mission stems from the original 1961 Cold War order known as ‘Take Charge see NAVY, pg. 4
PETTY OFFICER 3RD CLASS DARIAN VAUGHAN