Inside A3 National Guard helps cleanup efforts
Powhatan, Virginia B1 Powhatan wins rematch over Manchester
Vol. XXXV No.. 30
January 26, 2022
Powhatan schools transition to optional masks By Laura McFarland Managing Editor
POWHATAN – While many school districts around the state are grappling with how to respond to Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s order regarding masks in schools now being optional, Powhatan County Public Schools had its course set weeks in advance. On Day 1 in office, Youngkin signed nine executive orders, including one empowering Virginia parents in their children’s education and upbringing by allowing parents to make decisions on whether their child wears a mask in school. This was one of Youngkin’s campaign promises – one the Powhatan County School Board decided to be proactive about instead of waiting to react to it if and when it happened. Dr. James Taylor, interim District 4 school board member, suggested in November 2021 that, given the governor elect’s stated intentions, the board go ahead and decide in December whether
it would comply with making masks optional if he followed through on the campaign promise. At the Dec. 7 school board meeting, the members proactively voted unanimously to approve making masks voluntary inside school buildings once the Virginia Health Commissioner’s Order was lifted. This gave the school division the ability to make plans immediately without having to wait for another school board meeting vote. So a day after Youngkin’s Executive Order was announced, Dr. Eric Jones, superintendent, sent an email to PCPS families that the school division would begin complying when the it became effective, on Monday, Jan. 24. Two exceptions to masks being optional would be on school buses and for students and staff in the Head Start program, both still falling under a federal mandate making masks required. Masks are also required for five days after returning from a positive case or quarantine and/or isolation. PCPS will continue to supply masks
PHOTO BY LAURA McFARLAND
Monday was the first day Powhatan students and staff had the option of whether they wanted to wear masks in school buildings. Powhatan Middle School saw a mix of decisions, as shown above in Phillip Nusbaum’s eighth-grade math classes.
to students who wish to wear them and make N95 masks available to all staff
who want to wear them. see MASKS, pg. 8
County promotes outdoor recreation
PHOTO BY LAURA McFARLAND
LEFT PHOTO BY LAURA McFARLAND/ RIGHT ILLUSTRATION COURTESY OF POWHATAN COUNTY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
DELIVER TO: Postal Patron Powhatan, VA 23139
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Local retailer Mulberry Layne is one of several businesses that agreed to display a QR code sticker promoting the county’s Outdoor Recreation Story Map. The sticker is displayed on the door. Shown are store owner Beth McDaniel, right, and sales associate Debbie Holt.
By Laura McFarland Managing Editor
POWHATAN – The Powhatan Economic Development Department is working to help people discover – or rediscover – the county’s outdoor recreation potential. The department has launched the new Outdoor Recreation Story Map to provide an interactive digital gateway to the different opportunities Powhatan has in outdoor recreation, whether it is hiking, boating, zip lining, golfing or horseback riding.
And to help get the word out in its first stage, the department has been partnering with local businesses to bring attention to the map, said Roxanne Salerno, economic development manager. “I think one thing it brings is awareness of what the county has to offer. There are a lot of people who just don’t know some of the things Powhatan is great for,” she said. “Outdoor recreation in a rural county like this is pretty easy and it is huge. Also at the same time the cross collaboration of businesses
to these outdoor recreation opportunities is one of the other best things about it. It is being able to cross promote everybody and get collaborative efforts on it.” Currently, the best access to the map is via a QR code found on a sticker that businesses are displaying around the county. Businesses are displaying them in a variety of ways, such as on their doors or near their cash registers. If someone sees the code, they can hold their
Powhatan’s youth services librarian Anne Blankman is also an author with four published books. Her latest book, ‘The Blackbird Girls,’ has won numerous awards in the United States and recently earned a prestigious literary award in Italy.
Librarian enjoys success of fourth children’s book By Laura McFarland Managing Editor
POWHATAN – Author Anne Blankman wanted to write “The Blackbird Girls” for more than 20 years. On her first day of high school, she met a new classmate originally from Ukraine who had recently emigrated to her small hometown in upper New York. The two became fast friends – a friendship that lasts see BLANKMAN, pg. 6
see RECREATION, pg. 5
SNOW DAYS ... AGAIN CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
While the snowfall that landed in Powhatan on Jan. 16 wasn’t as heavy as the Jan. 3 snowstorm, it offered enough for local families to enjoy. Shown here, Makenna Carter, 4, and brother Mitchell, 1, enjoyed sledding at their home in eastern Powhatan. See more snow day photos on Page 8A.
Nellis to retire from emergency management By Laura McFarland Managing Editor
POWHATAN – Curt Nellis spent his entire career getting ready for things he hoped never happened. From his start in 1976 as a firefighter to his later transition into the realm of emergency management, Nellis’s public safety-centered career saw him constantly faced with the task of preparing for the worst and hoping for the best. If the worst did come, he could only hope that the plans, procedures, training and exercises actually come see NELLIS, pg. 4
CURT NELLIS