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Powhatan, Virginia
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Vol. XXXIII No. o. 29
January 15, 2020
Ted Voorhees complies with board’s resignation request By Laura McFarland Editor
POWHATAN – During the new Powhatan County Board of Supervisors’ first meeting of 2020, newly-elected board chair David Williams announced the members’ unanimous decision to ask for and receive the resignation of county administrator Ted Voorhees, effective immediately. Williams made the announcement toward the end of the board’s short organizational meeting on Monday, Jan. 6, in which the board chose their leadership for the coming year and approved nominations to different committees and boards. Williams read a press release that was sent to all county employees a little over an hour and a half
before the meeting started. It stated that: “In the November election, the citizens of Powhatan made it TED VOORHEES clear they wanted a change of leadership for the county. As part of the transition, the newly elected Powhatan Board of Supervisors has requested and accepted the resignation of the county administrator, Mr. Ted Voorhees, effective today, Jan. 6. Mr. Bret Schardein, assistant county administrator, will assume the duties as county administrator until
a replacement for Mr. Voorhees is in place.” Williams, who represents District 1, and vice chairwoman Karin Carmack, District 5, both declined to comment beyond the release other than agreeing that the decision to ask for Voorhees’ resignation was unanimous. Larry Nordvig, District 2, Mike Byerly, District 3, and Bill Cox, District 4, also declined to comment further. The board was sworn in Jan. 2, took no public vote, and held no recorded closed session before Williams made the announcement on Jan. 6. Voorhees had worked as the county administrator since May 1, 2017, when he succeeded retiring county administrator Pat Weiler. see RESIGN, pg. 7
Sheriff’s office embraces new K-9 unit on patrol By Laura McFarland Editor
POWHATAN –The Powhatan County Sheriff’s Office has a new team patrolling the streets, and they are both thrilled to be there. Deputy Kaitlyn Crane and her new K-9 partner Argie started their first shift working together in Powhatan on Christmas Day 2019. A week later, after Crane had recovered from an unexpected bout
of flu, they clocked their second official day on duty as partners on New Year’s Eve. Despite the brief setback, Crane said the first days on the job as a K-9 handler have been good, although it has required some adjustment for her 1 ½-year-old Belgian Malinois partner. Argie loved the excitement and constant activity of training, so he is adjusting to the slower pace of being on patrol for 12-hour see K-9 pg. 6 PHOTO BY LAURA McFARLAND
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Deputy Kaitlyn Crane was recently certified as the Powhatan County Sheriff’s Office’s newest K-9 handler to work alongside her partner, Argie.
DAVID WILLIAMS
KARIN CARMACK
Williams elected new board chair By Laura McFarland Editor
POWHATAN – The newly-elected Powhatan County Board of Supervisors last week choose David Williams to serve as board chairman in 2020. Williams, who represents District 1, was elected in a unanimous vote at the board’s organizational meeting on Monday, Jan. 6. The board then voted in a 4-0-1 vote to elect Karin Carmack, District 5, as the vice chairwoman. Larry Nordvig, District 2, said he abstained from the vote because he had nominated Mike Byerly, District 3, for the vice chair position. Byerly immediately withdrew his name from consideration. Williams, who has been on the board since 2012, has previously served as vice chairman but never chairman. He said it felt good to have
the “confidence of the people on your team.” The supervisors as a team have discussed some items they want to focus on during their first six months as a board, Williams said. He said one of the first tasks facing the board is to recruit and hire a new county administrator. The board unanimously decided to ask Ted Voorhees to resign earlier in the day on Jan. 6. The board will also be working with interim county administrator Bret Schardein and finance director Charla Schubert to bring forward the fiscal year 2021 budget and a capital improvement plan (CIP), he pointed out. He added that the board will likely not be able to bring forward the 10-year CIP they want to have this year. “We are going to focus on what we have to do in year one, knowing that we probably won’t get to see LEADERSHIP, pg. 4
While fighting for her life, Vania Gross is also focusing on helping her family’s future By Laura McFarland Editor
POWHATAN – Vania Gross is hoping for a miracle, but she is at peace if she doesn’t receive one. Reclining on the couch of her Powhatan home on Jan. 9, the 27-year-old woman was obviously exhausted. Who wouldn’t be in similar circumstances? The day before, she finished the last treatment in a six-week regimen of chemotherapy. Two days before that, she completed her 30th radiation treatment. At that point, it had been just under two months since Vania Gross’s world came crashing in when she received a devastating diagnosis on Nov. 15, 2019, of a stage 4, inoperable brain stem glioblastoma tumor. From the beginning, surgery was not an option – the tumor is growing into her brain stem and even a biopsy to diagnosis her condition was unimaginably dangerous, she said. So she underwent chemotherapy and radiation, and on Jan. 20, she goes back for more testing to see if it helped shrink the aggressively-growing mass. Until then, despite her obvi-
ous fatigue, Gross was more upbeat than might be expected as she talked about her life and possible death from the comfort of her living room couch. She is still praying for a miracle. She loves her life with her husband and high school sweetheart, Scott, and two young sons, Colton, 2, and Austin, who turned 1 the day after the interview. She said she is unbelievably happy with her marriage and her babies and desperately wants to grow old with Scott and watch Colton and Austin grow up. She and Scott were high school sweethearts who spent the bulk of their early relationship in a long-distance relationship while he attended college in North Carolina. The couple married on Aug, 2, 2014. “Obviously not every relationship is perfect, but Scott is the best man/father/husband ever. We grew up together, and I’m so happy we did. He’s my best friend,” Gross said. “It’s a deeper connection because we’ve been together for 10 years. We literally grew into adults together, so our relationship is special.” But it is that same love for her family that has Gross working past the pain and tiredness
PHOTO COURTESY OF THE GROSS FAMILY
Vania Gross is shown with her husband, Scott, and children Colton and Austin.
and other side effects to make sure they are taken care of if her time with them has to end soon. She said her entire family has stepped up to help, especially her parents Franco and Florella Marannano and two brothers Franco Jr. and Giovanni. Friends and co-workers have also been a huge asset. Her best friend, Ashley Murtha, is helping her plan her memorial service and get her important documents in order. Gross is making recordable books for her sons and writing cards for them to open at differ-
ent milestones in their lives if she isn’t there to share the events with them. She is having her heartbeat recorded and made two stuffed bears with recordings of her voice. “I’ve seen way too much suffering as a nurse. Death is a beautiful part of living and should be treated as such. Don’t be scared to die. We literally all have to die at some point,” Gross said. “Some of us just get ‘timelines,’ but what a blessing because we technically get time to get our affairs in order prior see GROSS, pg. 3