Inside A3 Powhatan couple weds despite COVID-10
Powhatan, Virginia B1 Powhatan football’s Carroll receives first college offer
Vol. XXXIII No. o. 44
April 29, 2020
PCPS evaluates progress of distance learning By Laura McFarland
meeting held on Tuesday, April 14 about the progress that has been made with distance learning since the closings, the challenges they still face, and how they continue to evaluate and readjust. Dr. Tracie Omohundro, assistant superintendent for instruction, talked about educators transitioning from review and enrichment-based activities in the first few weeks of the closures, which she called Phase 1, to launching Phase 2 on April 14, after students returned from Spring Break. Phase 2 involves providing new content for students to learn and work being graded on a pass/fail basis. Continuity of instruction is important because, at some point, most students will return to the classroom, and educators need to make sure they are ready for that future learning, she said. Staff has worked to identify the essential skills students would be missing during this timeframe “so that when they return to our classrooms, they are ready to pick up where they left off or we have a plan in
Editor
POWHATAN – For Powhatan County Public Schools, transitioning to a distance learning model in the last six weeks has been all about constant re-assessment. When Dr. Eric Jones, superintendent, initially made the decision on March 12 to close the schools in light of growing concerns about COVID-19, it was for two weeks. He was just as surprised as many in the county when Governor Ralph Northam made the call on March 23 to keep schools closed for the remainder of the school year. In the intervening weeks, school staff has spent countless hours trying to figure out the logistics of making a distance learning model work for Powhatan, especially in light of how many families struggle with poor or no internet connectivity. Staff gave a presentation to the Powhatan County Board during their virtual
see DISTANCE pg. 4
Parents share trials, triumphs of teaching from home Editor
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see PARENTS, pg. 6
Duncans fight off COVID-19 By Laura McFarland Editor
ramp up, the Duncans flew to Orlando to celebrate Sandy’s 60th birthday at Walt Disney World. When they arrived, they found out their trip would be cut short because the park would be closing. So they crammed five days of activity into three and still had a wonderful time together. However, when they were on their way home and were eating dinner at the Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport, a man behind David
POWHATAN – Just as Dr. David Duncan was recovering from one of the worst weeks of his life, his wife Sandy was about to start hers. Over about two weeks at the end of March and the beginning of April, the Powhatan couple fell victim to COVID-19, which has seen 13,535 people test positive for the disease in Virginia and killed 458 as of Monday, according to the Virstarted coughing and was ginia Department of making no move to cover It is not a Health. his mouth. While he can’t hoax. It is not The couple, who be positive, in retrospect, are both now back to that is where David thinks fake news. It is work at Powhatan he was probably exposed. real, and I can Family Physicians, After arriving home, agreed to share how the doctor went back to understand they suffered on March 18 and why people are work through and surtwo days later was asked dying from it. vived the virus in to evaluate three cases of part because they suspected COVID-19, believe too many one of which ended up Sandy Duncan people are still not testing positive. He was taking it seriously. fine for the next few days, While obviously only a small percentage of patients and nothing was amiss when he who tested positive have died, living worked a full day on Monday, March through full-blown symptoms is like 23. nothing they had ever experienced beBut that night, he developed a fefore. ver, chills, sweats, and a nonproduc“It is not a hoax. It is not fake tive cough and realized he immedinews. It is real, and I can understand ately needed to go into quarantine. why people are dying from it,” Sandy David said he was finally able to prosaid. “And while I understand the eco- cure a COVID-19 testing kit two days nomic climate and that we need to get later. But that Thursday, he realized people back to work, there is also the he also had a tick embedded in him situation of there are folks on the front and he had to start treatment for Lyme lines that are risking their lives and disease. their families’ lives to take care of While all of the symptoms were people.” horrible, what most shook David, who is a cancer survivor with no spleen, was how much trouble he had First exposure breathing for one 12-hour period, Back in March, when national at- which Sandy would also find later. tention on the disease was starting to see DUNCANS pg. 8
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By Laura McFarland POWHATAN – Just as in a normal school setting, distance learning during a pandemic in Powhatan County hasn’t been a one-size-fits all process. Every household is a little bit different and may be dealing with their own challenges – internet access, working parents,
PHOTO BY ANJIE KAY
Dr. David Duncan and his wife Sandy sit outside their home in Powhatan. The couple shared their individual experiences of suffering through COVID-19 back-to-back in March and April.
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
Freshman Brigham Wiedrich works on his school work in the library parking lot because he cannot get an internet signal at home while his sister Heidi works in the front seat.
Powhatan woman killed in two-vehicle crash Contributed Report A Powhatan woman was killed on Friday afternoon in a two-vehicle crash after a truck hauling a trailer hit her car head-on. A preliminary Virginia State Police investigation reveals that at about 4:30 p.m. on Friday, April 24, Jason Talbott, 19, of Powhatan was driving a Ford F-550 hauling a trailer with a skid-steer loader westbound on Huguenot Trail (Route 711). Talbott braked to avoid striking a vehicle in front of him and then veered left, crossing the center of the highway and into the eastbound travel lanes near the intersection of Route 711 and Judes Ferry Road, state police said. A Volkswagen SUV driven by, Rebecca M. Wolf, 56, of Powhatan was see CRASH, pg. 7
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Families share their porch time By Laura McFarland
Porches of Powhatan
Editor
P
OWHATAN – Welcome back to the Porches of feature Powhatan. In a world where series life usually seems to be going a mile minute, porch time is a world Photos by Anjie Kay of its own. And at time when the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic is changing the way Americans live and interact, that time has never been more important. Beginning with the April 15 edition of the Powhatan Today, we introduced our readers to a new feature series called the Porches of Powhatan. Inspired by freelance photogra-
pher Anjie Kay’s portraits of local families, the series offers snapshots of Powhatan families doing the best they can to live their daily lives in extraordinary times. Last week, you met a doctor feeling the effects of wanting to protect his family while still upholding his calling, a grieving mother finding solace in painting rocks to help remember her late daughter, and an outgoing business owner missing the hugs of friends and customers. They talked about how their families are coping in hard times, the necessary adjustments to their everyday routines, and the comfort they find in their time together with family. While “porch time” isn’t the same for all of them, they all agreed they have come to fully appreciate the value of their relationships and the time they are spending together. This week, several more local families agreed to share their stories, which are simultaneously unique and ordinary. So once again, we invite you to come spend a little time with some of your neighbors and take a look at a worldwide pandemic through the lens of the Powhatan experience. See stories Pages 5A and 6A.