Inside A5 Pet supply drive aids animal shelter
Powhatan, Virginia B1 Previewing 2020-21 seasons for PHS, BSH football teams
Vol. XXXIV No. o. 34
February 24, 2021
Thousands in Powhatan impacted by ice storm By Laura McFarland Editor
POWHATAN – Thousands of people in Powhatan County were without power last week as icy weather hit the county causing downed trees and power lines and treacherous roads. Ice storms came through the county on Feb. 13 and 18 and icy weather caused property damage, power outages, business and school closures, and accidents in the days before and after. The first storm was by far the worst, with thousands of people losing power for anywhere from a few hours to almost a week. “What the Weather Service said was going to happen, did. … They were predicting power outages due to limbs fall-
SCOTT DIGGS/ SOUTHSIDE ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE
A tree lays across a power line in Powhatan County.
ing and ice on the road ways, and that is exactly what happened,” said Curt Nellis, the county’s emergency management coordinator. The second storm, while predicted by forecasters to be a devastating weather event, did not hit Powhatan County anywhere near as hard as expected, producing few power outages. During the first storm, first responders, power company personnel, government and private snow plowers and road salters, and fire and rescue were slammed with work. Powhatan County Public Safety Communications handled 762 calls from Feb. 12 to 15, and 261 were calls for service for sheriff’s deputies, fire and rescue, or the 911 dispatchers, said Cindy Gillespie, dispatch operations manager.
PHS wrestling takes 6th at state championship meet
First responders handled 11 automobile accidents and 50 vehicles that ran off the road. Among the accidents was one involving John Jeffers, 19, of Powhatan, who died as a result of injuries from a single-vehicle accident on Feb. 13 on Route 60 when his truck ran off the road and hit a tree. (See full story page 3A.) The communications center also received calls for 37 incidents of downed power lines or trees on power lines or blocking roads, Gillespie said. Throughout the storm, more than 5,500 customers in Powhatan were withsee STORM, pg. 6
More storm coverage Page 3A
County vaccinates 1,000+ people in first community clinic
PHOTO BY LAURA MCFARLAND PHOTO BY NICK VANDELOECHT
Prsrt. Standard U.S. POSTAGE PAID Powhatan, VA Permit No.19
Powhatan High School senior Linwood Hill wrestles Eastern View’s Griffin Smythers in the 170-pound weight-class final during Saturday’s Class 4 state wrestling championships. All six of Powhatan’s state qualifiers, including Hill, earned placements at states. See more coverage on page 1B.
Supervisors agree to compress budget schedule By Laura McFarland
DELIVER TO: Postal Patron Powhatan, VA 23139
Editor
POWHATAN – The Powhatan County Board of Supervisors delved back into the fiscal year 2022 budget last week and came to the understanding that their timeline for adopting it this year will be accelerated. The board met on Friday, Feb. 19 for its second workshop focused solely on the budget and the capital improvement plan (CIP), both of which have been expanded to have a 10-year scope. This is a departure from previous years, which had a
one-year budget and a fiveyear CIP. Once again, the workshop, which lasted about four hours, covered a wide variety of topics dealing with both the budgeting process and the budget itself. Some of the key topics during the meeting included discussing possible new positions, having good year-end projections for the county and school system, and school funding.
Budget timeline The topic that dominated see BUDGET, pg. 4
Shirley and Robert Ward, front, wait the required 15 minutes after receiving their first doses of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine at a clinic held on Feb. 20 in Powhatan.
By Laura McFarland Editor
POWHATAN – The parking lot was constantly full and the line of people was out the door at Powhatan’s first large-scale COVID-19 vaccination clinic serving regular community members in the highest priority groups. Roughly 1,050 people – who were both from Powhatan and outside the county – received the first dose of the Pfizer vaccine at a clinic held on Saturday, Feb. 20 at the Pocahontas Landmark Center. Curt Nellis, Powhatan’s emergency management coordinator, oversaw the clinic, which was aimed at putting shots in the arms of people who are in the 1A and 1B priority categories. This clinic represented a big change in several ways for the county, which is holding clinics to assist the Chesterfield Health District in its vaccination ef-
forts, Nellis said. It was a challenging undertaking that took the cooperation of many people to pull off, but he said the previous clinics did a good job of preparing them for the change and he was thrilled overall with how well it went. “The people here are wonderful people and they are very appreciative,” Nellis said during the clinic. “We have just had fun doing this. We just took the same operation we were doing before and just made it bigger. It was efficient before and it is super-efficient now. There is a line, but it moves fast.” Saturday’s event was the county’s largest clinic to date, necessitating an expansion of the space it used at the Pocahontas Landmark Center gym building. In previous clinics, the staging area was limited to the lobby and a former large band room, but those events averaged 200 to see VACCINE, pg. 8
Blessed Sacrament Huguenot celebrates first 100 days By Laura McFarland Editor
POWHATAN – Blessed Sacrament Huguenot Catholic School recently had some spry centenarians bustling around campus and spreading good cheer. Having the school’s elementary students dress up as their version of a 100-year-old man or woman is an annual tradition to commemorate the 100th day of school, said Paula Ledbetter, head of school. But for a school year like the one all schools have faced – one that was anyPHOTO COURTESY OF BLESSED SACRAMENT thing but normal – reaching that 100th BSH second-grader Allie Baggett day on Feb. 9 and still having all students dresses as a 100-year-old to celin class five days a week was a milestone ebrate the school’s 100th day.
worth celebrating for BSH. “We celebrate it every year but this year it was even more significant because we had been able to be in person for 100 days. Considering this year, that is a major accomplishment,” she said. The 100 days celebration is mainly for the elementary students, who got to dress up in wigs and glasses, walk using a cane, and sport bow ties and muumuus. Focused mainly on the classroom, small parties like these are both a joy in themselves and a reminder of the larger social events that are so noticeably missing from this year, she said. As Ledbetter reflected back on all that see BSH, pg. 6
