Inside A3 Program will teach kids about beekeeping
Powhatan, Virginia B1 New school record set at track meet
Vol. XXXIII No. o. 26
December 25, 2019
Top 10 Stories of the year
TOP 10 STORIES 2019 1
Supervisors eliminate R-C zoning district
General Election sees 59 percent voter turnout
6
#1 By Laura McFarland Editor
2
Karina Rafter found Powhatan 911 goes live in new center guilty of killing husband in 2016
7
3
Curtis family donates $400K to Powhatan schools
8
A change in fire and rescue chief
9
5
Large development Community rallies project denied behind Cooper Stuart
10
#2 Karina Rafter found guilty of killing husband in 2016 The body of John Richard Rafter Jr., 48, was found in his Powhatan home on Dec. 9, 2016, having died from an apparent gunshot wound to the head. A few days later, his death was declared a homicide. However, it would be more than two years before authorities brought charges against John Rafter’s estranged wife, Karina Rafter, indicting her on Feb. 6, 2019, for one count of first degree murder and one count of use of a firearm in the commission of a murder. The case went to trial the week of Oct. 21 to 25 in Powhatan County Circuit Court. The prosecution used 22 witnesses to lay out a case that examined the relationship between the Rafters, a mounting fear John Rafter told friends he had of his wife, and Karina
Huguenot Fire Station holds Santa Breakfast PHOTO BY LAURA McFARLAND
Several hundred people attended the Huguenot Volunteer Fire Department’s annual Santa Breakfast on Dec. 14. Children could sit on Santa’s lap, write a letter to Santa, play games, take photos, and eat a heary breakfast. See more photos Page 10.
DELIVER TO: Postal Patron Powhatan, VA 23139
Prsrt. Standard U.S. POSTAGE PAID Powhatan, VA Permit No.19
4
Supervisors adopt Board adopts Second Amendment comprehensive plan Sanctuary status
P
OWHATAN – The decision by the Powhatan County Board of Supervisors to eliminate the Residential-Commercial zoning district, which existed for 35 years and helped shape the way the county has developed in recent years, is the top story of 2019. The increasing desire by the supervisors to better control how Powhatan develops in the future continued to be a major part of their discussions and debates in 2019. The banner cry on many issues among supervisors and residents – and even in the 2019 General Election – was the desire to keep Powhatan rural and “not let it become another Chesterfield County.” The R-C zoning district was created in 1984 as an economic development tool for the county. But the issue of its effectiveness was discussed at length during previous board meetings and by two special work groups the supervisors appointed to try to find solutions. While the board had removed most of the R-C zoning district’s teeth in 2018 by severely cutting back its allowed by-right uses, it was still seen as an albatross by some that needed to go. The board voted 3-2 in favor of eliminating the controversial R-C zoning district at its meeting on April 24 in a decision that was the culmination of months of work by staff, the planning commission, the supervisors, and the public. The decision affected more than 500 parcels that were zoned R-C at the time. David Williams, who represents District 1, Larry Nordvig, District 2, and Carson Tucker, District 5, voted for the elimination. Chairwoman Angie
Cabell, District 3, and Bill Melton, District 4, voted against it. If the board though the decision to eliminate R-C marked the end of the issue, they were wrong. A lawsuit was filed on May 24 challenging the decision to eliminate the zoning district, brought on behalf of several entities and individuals who had owned land formerly zoned as R-C or had an interest in properties. A judge ruled in August that the case could go to trial, but as of last week, no trial date had been set. However, one of the plaintiffs said last week the trial will be moving ahead.
Outgoing board members recognized for service By Laura McFarland Editor
POWHATAN – Returning members of the Powhatan County Board of Supervisors and School Board recently paid tribute to outgoing members for their years of service to the county. During the board of supervisors meeting on Monday, Dec. 16, three outgoing supervisors were recognized at the last meeting before a new board takes office in January 2020. Chairwoman Angie Cabell, who represents District 3, and Bill Melton, District 4, were presented plaques during the meeting. Carson Tucker, District 5, was also recognized but was not present. A similar presentation was made on Tuesday, Dec. 10 at
PHOTO BY LAURA MCFARLAND
Organizers of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Youth Day Community Breakfast honor Bill Melton, left, and Angie Cabell during their last meeting on the board of supervisors.
the school board meeting, where members honored James Kunka, District 2, for his time serving on the board.
Supervisors honored At the supervisor meeting, see BOARD, pg. 10
see TOP 10, pg. 5
Cumberland landfill to reduce in size By Laura McFarland Editor
CUMBERLAND – The company behind the controversial Green Ridge Recycling and Disposal Facility being proposed in Cumberland County has announced it has altered its plans to drastically reduce the area where waste can be dumped. Jay Smith, a spokesperson for County Waste of Virginia, which will own and operate the landfill, recently held a meeting to brief incoming Cumberland County Board of Supervisors members about the elimination of one of two fill areas from its plans. When the landfill was approved by the current board of supervisors in June 2018, the company planned to use between 500 and 650 acres of the 1,200-acre property in two designated areas – an eastern and a western cell – to dump waste. However, when County Waste moves forward with its Part A application with the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) for the project by the end of see LANDFILL, pg. 8