Inside A3 Fire department acquires Polaris Ranger
Powhatan, Virginia
B1 Previewing wrestling, girls basketball teams for 2020-21
Vol. XXXIV No. o. 25
December 23, 2020
Family of fallen officer has mortgage paid off By Laura McFarland Editor
P
OWHATAN – The silence after Jaime Walter heard the words “we are going to pay off your mortgage” seemed to stretch for hours. Sitting in her home in Powhatan County talking to a representative from New York-based Tunnel to Towers Foundation on Nov. 13, Walter was in shock. Yes, she had filled out the paperwork the organization sent aimed at finding out how they can help the families of fallen firefighters and law enforcement officers, but at most she hoped they would help with a school loan bill or car loan. Never in Walter’s wildest dreams did she imagine the foundation would pay off the mortgage to her house, effectively giving her and her three children a forever home. Hence
PHOTO COURTESY OF VIRGINIA STATE POLICE
The Tunnel to Towers Foundation paid off the mortgage of Jaime Walter, in honor of the sacrifice made by her late husband, Virginia State Police Special Agent Michael T. Walter, who died in the line of duty in 2017. Since the pandemic kept foundation representatives away, the state police helped with a ribbon cutting ceremony on Dec. 9.
the reason it took a few minutes and a little prompting before the news sunk in enough for her to have a reaction. “When she told me I just honestly started crying. I was not sad, just there was hope. There was something good that I could tell my kids and restore their hope in people that there are good people and there are people that do pay it forward and there is hope in the world,” she said. What made the moment even more poignant for Walter was knowing the relief and joy the news would have brought her late husband, Virginia State Police Special Agent Michael T. Walter, who was shot in the line of duty on May 26, 2017, and died several hours later. Michael Walter, 45, an 18-year state police veteran, was a U.S. Marine who participated in Operation see MORTGAGE, pg. 4
Fire companies spread Christmas cheer Supervisors renew
Agricultural and Forestal District program By Laura McFarland Editor
PHOTO BY LAURA MCFARLAND
Powhatan nonprofit buys historic home
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Local residents gather to greet Santa on his Santa Run with Powhatan County Volunteer Fire Department Company 4 on Dec. 17. Company 1 and Company 4 both held Santa Runs in local neighborhoods. See more photos page 3A.
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
Belmead on the James Inc. has purchased the historic Rosemont House to use as the future site of the Drexel-Morell Center.
Staff Report The officers and board of directors of the nonprofit Belmead on the James Inc. last week finalized the purchase of the historic Rosemont House, which they say will house a place of cultural, historical, spiritual, ecological and educational significance in Powhatan County. The historic property, which is located at 4747 Cosby Road, will be the future site of the Drexel – Morrell Center and continue the work started by Belmead on the James Inc. (BOJI) when it was founded in 2016, said Sister Maureen T. Carroll, executive director of the organization. Rosemont was purchased from
Mr. G. Swift Williams, who had owned, cared for and preserved this historic treasure for the past 55 years. The sale was finalized on Tuesday, Dec. 15, Carroll said. Carroll called the purchase “a significant event for the community and for our nonprofit organization founded in 2016.” The work of this nonprofit organization is rooted in the social justice legacy of St. Katharine Drexel and Edward and Louise Drexel Morrell. The Drexel sisters had inherited great wealth in the 19th century that was used to support numerous schools dedicated to educating African American and Native Amerisee ROSEMONT, pg. 6
POWHATAN – The Powhatan County Board of Supervisors recently affirmed its commitment to conserve and protect the county’s agricultural and forestal lands. During the board’s meeting on Monday, Dec. 14, the four supervisors present voted unanimously to continue Powhatan’s participation in the Agricultural and Forestal District (AFD) program. Chairman David Williams, District 1, was absent. Under the Powhatan program, a landowner or group of landowners puts a large area of land into the program and agrees not to convert the farm, forestland, or other open space into a more intense commercial, industrial, or residential use for 10 years. In exchange, the properties in the program qualify for an agricultural or forestal usevalue tax assessment. The board spent a good deal of time during the meeting considering the renewal of the program, which was originally scheduled to expire on April 12 but was temporarily extended by the board through Dec. 31. In addition to their own discussion, the board heard a presentation from Carson Tucker, the chair of the county’s Agricultural and Forestal District Advisory Committee. A public hearing was also held in which six people spoke. Currently, Powhatan has nine AFDs that are made up of 5,640 acres of land, Tucker told the board during his presentation. Since Powhatan started using the program in 1991, the most participants it has had at one time is 11 AFDs, according to Tucker. Each AFD must have a core of at least 200 acres,
which may consist of a single parcel or multiple contiguous parcels. A parcel that is not part of the core may be included within the district if the nearest boundary of the parcel is within one mile of the edge of the core. Along with the board’s decision to renew came recognition that the AFD program has not been promoted well among landowners in recent years. The AFD program is supposed to be renewed every 10 years, but it has been 13 years since the board last considered it. However, several people pointed out that with the risk of losing AFDs came a greater awareness of their importance and the need to promote them among landowners in the county. After the board unanimously renewed the AFD program, the supervisors then also voted unanimously to initiate an indepth review of each current AFD to make sure they are in compliance with the program’s requirements.
Understanding AFDs Powhatan created the first AFDs in 1991 in its response to the explosion of interest in one of the county’s greatest assets – its land, Tucker said. There was also the concern of an aging population of farmers tempted or even pressured to sell out to developers and the repeated requests from residents to protect Powhatan’s rural nature. “The AFDs allow us, the locality, to essentially purchase the development rights of a piece of land for a specific period of time in exchange for a land use tax levy that helps the farmers or the foresters keep their land,” he said. see AFD, pg. 6