Inside A3 Board hears about services for seniors
Powhatan, Virginia B1 Powhatan stars feature in PBR tournament
Vol. XXXVI No. o. 06
August 10, 2022
Powhatan sees marked increase in larceny cases By Laura McFarland Managing Editor
POWHATAN – Local law enforcement has raised concerns about a marked increase in larcenies in recent months in Powhatan County. The Powhatan County Sheriff’s Office has tracked an alarming increase in both petty and grand larcenies over recent months, when numbers had been fairly flat before 2022. Comparing 2022 numbers to previous years, petty larcenies were up by 111% in the first three months of 2022 compared to the same time period a year
earlier and grand larcenies were up 40%, according to data provided by crime analyst Madeline Espigh. Looking at numbers for the last four years from Jan. 1 to March 31, there was a marked increase for both types of larceny. Petty larceny cases went from 17 in 2019 to 16 in 2020 and 18 in 2021 but jumped to 38 in 2022. Grand larcenies were less dramatic, with 21 in 2019, 15 in 2020, 20 in 2021 and 28 in 2022. But if the 111% increase in the first quarter petty larceny numbers was a surprise, the 690% increase in the second
quarter, from April 1 to June 30, from 2021 to 2022 was even more shocking. The second quarter numbers from the last three years combined – 36, 23 and 10 petty larcenies from 2019 to 2021, respectively – did not add up to the 79 larcenies reported in 2022, according to data from Espigh. Grand larcenies during that time period were more level: 23 in 2019; 18 (2020); 25 (2021), and 27 (2022). The slight bump in grand larceny numbers from 2021 to 2022 was only an 8% increase. Espigh noted that these stasee LARCENY, pg. 3
PHS honors summer graduates
PHOTO BY LAURA McFARLAND
Food service employee Barbara Watson helps a student make pound cake during one of the afternoon youth camps held as part of the elementary school’s all-day summer school program.
Strong learning recovery continues for PCPS students By Laura McFarland Managing Editor
PHOTO BY LAURA McFARLAND
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Powhatan High School held a summer graduation ceremony on Aug. 2 to honor 10 new summer graduates and one May graduate who couldn’t attend the ceremony.
By Laura McFarland Managing Editor
POWHATAN – The Powhatan High School Class of 2022 grew by 10 students along with one special guest last week as the school continued its annual tradition of holding a summer commencement ceremony. Although much shorter than the May graduation, the brief ceremony on Tuesday, Aug. 2 in the high school auditorium still embraced the tradition of honoring the graduates in a meaningful way as they reached the end of their K-12 education. A reception was held afterward in the school library. The ceremony honored 11 students in total, although one
was absent. New graduates joining the Class of 2022 are: Finley Grace Breen, Andrew Nicholas Fiore, Kendall Rose Humphreys, Destiny Hope Jasper, Summer Lee Kimble, Farah Amira Kirkman, Sydney Cole Lawson, Audrey Cree Lennon, Gavin Henley Rice and Berkley Grace Richter. Also walking the stage was Leah Katherine Wright, a May graduate who couldn’t make graduation and got the chance last week to have her special walk across the stage. As always, the graduation ceremony honored a mix of students who were graduating early and those who needed a little more time to finish their required courses. These stusee GRADUATES, pg. 8
POWHATAN – Powhatan County Public Schools recently wrapped up another strong summer school session, with hundreds of students in kindergarten through 12th grade participating in some type of summer recovery or summer boost program to help them move forward to their next steps. The summer session, which was held June 27 to July 21, while having high numbers, is lower than the more than 600 students who participated in summer school in 2021, when the need for learning loss recovery across the board was vital. The number of students participating in kindergarten through 12th grade summer recovery or boost programs was lower at all levels, which Tracie Omohundro, assistant superintendent for instruction, attributed at least partly to proactive interventions during the school year. “They were somewhat down. Last year we had so many more because of the hybrid year and the impact that the hybrid had on students being able to successfully finish their coursework,” She said. “We also really focused on making individual plans for students this year that were impacted, whether it was because of COVID quarantine or whatever other attendance issues. We provided some opportunities for remediation and recovery throughout the school year.” She gave the example of Summer School Now, which
is held during the school year to help students avoid taking summer school during the summer. Students took courses and recovered work on the weekends. One of the benefits of that approach, she said, is preventing students from falling behind as new content is taught. This program has been used by the division since about 2014 but “we really tried to maximize it this year so that we could recover students more quickly.” During the actual summer school program, the elementary program once again saw high numbers with 274 students in pre-K through fifth grade participating this year. Various middle school programs had a total of 43 students enrolled, and there were 139 online class enrollments at the high school level and additional students in the inperson classes, though numbers are still being calculated. Overall, summer school went well, with a good number of students now more on track to graduate on time, which is especially important at the secondary level, Omohundro said. Elementary students once again participated in an allday school day, focusing on learning loss recovery from around 8:30 a.m. to noon and then attending enrichment camps, having reading time, and P.E. classes in the afternoons, said Meghan Ellis, elementary summer school coordinator and assistant principal at Flat Rock Elementary. The longer school day assists parents who may struggle with child care for a see SUMMER SCHOOL, pg. 6
Youth market empowers young entrepreneurs By Laura McFarland Managing Editor
POWHATAN – A group of young entrepreneurs has been getting the opportunity to test their creativity and business acumen this summer through the Next Generation Youth Market. Youth participating in the program have had the opportunity to sell their produce and/ or products on the third Thursday of each month during the sum-
mer at the Powhatan Village Farmers Market. The market is open from 4 to 6:30 every Thursday through September at the Bienvenue events center in the Village. The last dates for the youth market are Aug. 18 and Sept. 15. The Powhatan County Extension Office has hosted an entrepreneur program for the last decade that enPHOTO BY LAURA McFARLAND courages Powhatan Customers Katie Clark of Powhatan and her daughter, 8-year-old youth ages 9 to 17 to Kaya, buy a custom-ordered paper dagger from Liam Harris at July’s see MARKET, pg. 5
Next Generation Youth Market.
