Inside A3 Company 1 honors services of firefighters
Powhatan, Virginia
B1 Powhatan Middle School baseball went unbeaten in 2021
Vol. XXXV No.. 1
July 7, 2021
Powhatan strives to expand broadband efforts By Laura McFarland Editor
POWHATAN – Firefly Broadband President and CEO Gary Wood likened getting quality broadband connections to all of Powhatan County to sewing a patchwork quilt – there are many different pieces that have to come together to create a finished work. Right now county staff, the board of supervisors, and the internet provider are working to bring those pieces together and are hoping the result will be countywide connection to those who want it in the next three years with an emphasis on getting it done faster where possible in Powhatan. “I would love to say we will get people on in the first year. We will get some people on and we will keep working as fast as we can, but Powhatan is well positioned because of the county taking the initiative to put some of the funding forward and our ability to build underground in that area,” Wood said.
The quilt they are piecing together is a complex one made up of local, state, federal, and private funds. Some avenues are guaranteed while others hang in the balance. “All of it will be fiber to the home connections. All of it will be Firefly retail internet service. All of it would be under our standard rates and terms, but it may be funded in multiple different ways,” Wood said. Currently, Powhatan only has a few of the pieces guaranteed. In December 2020, through its partnership with Firefly, Powhatan was awarded a FCC Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) Auction worth $1.75 million. The amount, which will be paid out over 10 years, will serve roughly 1,300 homes in Western Powhatan. Additionally, the county plans to set aside $2 million in local dollars from fiscal year (FY) FY 2022 to FY 2025 earmarked for broadband; the American Rescue Plan includes in its eligible uses investing in broadband infrastructure, and Firefly has made its own com-
mitment to make up the difference where funding cannot be attained. But there are several other pieces where Powhatan has set its sights. Wood said he is optimistic about the chances of a collection of four counties, including Powhatan, receiving roughly $14 million in grants from the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Rural Development Broadband ReConnect Program. In Powhatan, the ReConnect funds would focus on areas in Western Powhatan not covered by RDOF funds. Powhatan and Firefly are continuing to seek Virginia Telecommunications Initiative (VATI) funding, which extends broadband service to currently unserved areas. And the newest endeavor has seen Powhatan enter into a regional broadband partnership that is connecting localities with Firefly and two energy providers to expand the reach of fiber connections in rural localities. “I feel very positive. We are going to get this project see BROADBAND pg. 5
Olive’s compassion could ease the Board of supervisors way for victims, witnesses of crime accepts $6 million in regional, federal funds
By Laura McFarland Editor
POWHATAN – Olive’s compassion took people by surprise, but now it is redefining her life. When the Cerullo family agreed to take in Olive, a roughly 1-½ yearold bull mastiff who needed to be rehomed because of a tragedy in the family, in fall 2020, it was supposed to be a temporary situation. But it didn’t take long – a week at the most – for the sweetheart to worm her way into their hearts and find a new permanent home with the Cerullos. Rob Cerullo, deputy commonwealth’s attorney in Powhatan, was well known in the courthouse area for bringing Tater, the family’s cane corso mastiff, to the office to laze around and make new friends. Olive had already proven herself to be well mannered and friendly, so he began to bring her as well. One day, about a month after
By Laura McFarland Editor
PHOTO BY LAURA McFARLAND
Rob Cerullo takes his dog Olive through therapy dog training at REACH K9 in Powhatan. Cerullo’s goal is to have Olive become a certified courtroom therapy dog in Powhatan.
Prsrt. Standard U.S. POSTAGE PAID Powhatan, VA Permit No.19
see OLIVE, pg. 8
POWHATAN – The Powhatan County Board of Supervisors amended the fiscal year (FY) 2021 operating budget last week to adjust for more than $6 million in new federal and regional funds. During the board’s meeting on Monday, June 28, the supervisors voted unanimously to pass a resolution that budgeted and appropriated the combined funds. The largest portion of the money is $5,759,553 in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds. The county already
see MONEY, pg. 7
County to begin testing land mobile radio system By Laura McFarland Editor
DELIVER TO: Postal Patron Powhatan, VA 23139
appropriated $800,000 of that money during the FY 2022 budget process in anticipation of the funds, so the June 28 resolution appropriated the other $4.96 million that was awarded. The board also appropriated $1,082,256 from the Central Virginia Transportation Fund (CVTA), which is in its first year but will now be an ongoing source of revenue for the county. Charla Schubert, finance director, said those funds represent collections through March 2021. By the end of the fiscal year, the county is expected to receive a total of about $1.3 million in CVTA funds. The board has not yet
POWHATAN – The second half of July will be a critical period for Powhatan public safety as county staff members assist with the three-week testing of the new land mobile radio (LMR) system. On Monday, July 12, L3Harris, the company contracted to build the system, will begin countywide testing to make sure it can deliver on the promise of countywide coverage at the agreed upon levels, said Tom Nolan, director of public safety communications. On a grading scale of 1 to 5, the system’s coverage needs to meet at least the industry standard of a score of 3.4 in 95% of the county in the street (outdoors). Over the three-week period, the com-
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
Starting July 12, vehicles marked with the sheriff’s office logo will begin testing the county’s new land mobile radio system.
pany will test first the noise floor (interference levels), the bit error rate (how many errors there are in data they transmit), and the digital audio quality, he said. Testing
the digital audio quality in the third week is a crucial step as it will ensure messages can be clearly understood by people on both ends of a transmission. “We want to hear that there is no digitalization or modulation. Each word is clearly understandable. It may not be like you were in the same room but you should be able to know exactly what they said,” Nolan said. During the three weeks of testing, residents may notice vehicles marked with the Powhatan County Sheriff’s Office logo traveling the county and sometimes stopping to do testing. “We are trying to bring awareness that we will have vehicles conduct testing of our new public safety radio system throughout the county. I didn’t want people see RADIO, pg. 5
Powhatan County
Students in the Powhatan County Public Schools’ Ceramics summer camp show off the favorite project they made during the camp. PCPS offered a wide variety of camps in the first two weeks with more to come. See photos page 8A.
PHOTO BY LAURA McFARLAND