Inside A3 School board honors student musicians
Powhatan, Virginia B1 Goalkeeper Stephenson commits to Virginia Wesleyan for lacrosse
Vol. XXXIII No. o. 45
May 13, 2020
Fire and rescue reaches out to community By Laura McFarland Editor
P
OWHATAN – In a time when so much about daily life has changed, Powhatan Fire and Rescue is trying to keep things as normal as possible. Now more than two months into the restrictions that have severely impacted Virginia in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, fire and rescue chief Phil Warner said he is proud of the way the men and women of his department, as well as other first responders in the county, have continued to serve the community. They have had challenges along the way, but they are also making great strides to stay connected to residents. Overall, he said, the system is working. One challenge the department has
PHOTO BY LAURA MCFARLAND
David and Alicia Amos and their daughter, Beauly, wait in their neighborhood for a ‘quarantine drive-by” by the Powhatan Volunteer Fire Department.
Blessed Sacrament Huguenot names Teachers of the Year By Laura McFarland Editor
POWHATAN – Two Blessed Sacrament Huguenot Catholic School educators got a huge surprise last week when members of the school’s administrative team showed up at their front doors to recognize them as Teachers of the Year. The small delegation went out on Tuesday, May 5 to honor art teacher Mary Jane Newbill as the lower school’s Teacher of the Year and English teacher Martha O'Brien as the upper school’s Teacher of the Year. Both teachers said they thought their coworkers were visiting as part of Teacher Appreciation Week and were shocked to hear the yells of congratulations and the signs saying they had been named Teacher of the Year. O'Brien said as she saw the small bus pull up and the administrators descend, she was
Prsrt. Standard U.S. POSTAGE PAID Powhatan, VA Permit No.19
see TEACHER, pg. 8
ABOVE CONTRIBUTED PHOTO/ RIGHT PHOTO COURTESY OF CHRISTINA DOWDY
Blessed Sacrament Huguenot Catholic School recognized Martha O’Brien, above, as the upper school’s 2020 Teacher of the Year and Mary Jane Newbill as the lower school’s 2020 Teacher of the Year.
Powhatan High School sets tentative date for live graduation
DELIVER TO: Postal Patron Powhatan, VA 23139
Staff Report Powhatan High School sent out a message to the Class of 2020 on Friday letting students know that a graduation ceremony is tentatively set for Saturday, July 25. Dr. Mike Massa, principal, sent a letter to seniors and their families assuring them the school division wants to honor the Class of 2020 and the graduation committee has met several times to consider options for graduation and recognition of senior accomplishments. Among all of the groups involved in the discussion about commencement exercise there was a consistent desire to provide seniors with “as close to our traditional program as possible,” Massa said. “Details on the ceremony will
be forthcoming as we receive updated safety guidelines. Our goal is to host a live ceremony with the fewest alterations possible while maintaining a safe environment for students, staff, and family members,” he said. PHS staff also announced a Senior Celebration Day for June 6 at the high school. The format will be a car parade for the senior class and their parents/guardians. Seniors will be asked to wear their cap and gown to the event. There will be many stops along the route to include: pictures of each senior in front of the building to be added to the official Class of 2020 portrait; senior class gifts; senior awards; graduation regalia for national honor and service organizations and many clubs; scholarships, and pictures
faced came in mid-April, when a volunteer with the Macon Volunteer Fire Station tested positive for COVID-19. The volunteer was tested at work, the Virginia Department of Corrections, and a week later, a roommate who is also a volunteer tested positive, Warner said. When the station’s president reached out to notify Warner about the positive case, they worked together to close the fire station for 36 hours to do a deep cleaning before returning to normal service. Warner announced in March that his department had reduced its response to non-life threatening medical emergencies to just a medic unit, and that system is still in place. The department has three different levels of medical response. Priority 1 calls involve life-threatensee FIRE, pg. 3
Social services collaborates to help local families in need Contributed Report Powhatan Department of Social Services, in cooperation with the Community Action Agency, Feeding Powhatan, Powhatan County Public Schools, Ride Assist Services, and a network of 60+ volunteers and donors, is currently serving 140+ seniors and families in need due to economic challenges created by the COVID-19 pandemic. These allies serve the public by providing food for families in need and through a brand-new program for mortgage and rent assistance. Seniors receive food and prescription delivery, supportive calls, and letters or artwork from local children through a new program called Grandpals.
The number of seniors requesting assistance through the senior food and prescription delivery increases almost daily, as does the number of volunteers ready to help them. Jayne Lloyd, Ride Assist Services program coordinator and instrumental organizer of this wide-reaching plan for seniors, said, see SOCIAL, pg. 4
CONTRIBUTED PHOTOS
Above, Heidi Golden and daughter Lillian help prepare fresh foods for distribution to seniors at home. Bottom, Phyllis Morris and sons Matthew and Phoenix deliver groceries to Arthur Clarke, a Powhatan senior.
see GRADUATION, pg. 3
Families share their porch time
Porches of Powhatan feature series
Photos by Anjie Kay
POWHATAN – Welcome back to the Porches of Powhatan. In a world where life usually seems to be going a mile minute, porch time is a world 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 feature series called
the Porches of Powhatan. Inspired by freelance photographer 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 couple seeing a surprising boon to their business as they worked to provide food and farming supplies to local residents and a busy family with three members working and see PORCHES, pg. 5