Powhatan Today –02/08/2023

Finding a Love to Last a Lifetime

LAURA MCFARLAND Managing Editor

POWHATAN –Their love has lasted through distance, hardship, loss, addiction, and, most importantly, the test of time.

They have worked, raised children, doted on grandchildren, seen other relationships come and go, traveled, dreamed of travels, worshiped together, served their country and had plenty of fun along the way.

They’ve been together in the best of times and the worst of times, and even after more than five decades together, they simply dream of more time sharing the lives they have built side by side.

With a week to go before Valentine’s Day, three Powhatan couples – each with more than 50 years of marriage under their belts – agreed to talk about their lives together and why their unions have stood the test of time. Their stories aren’t big flashy romances – although they have shared plenty of romantic moments – but ac counts of walking

through life with someone they could love and depend on. Rather than claiming to know The Secret to making a marriage last, they simply shared their stories, for better or worse. This is a two-part series to celebrate Valentine’s Day. Read more stories in the Feb. 15 edition.

Pat and Ray Dewey

Married since: Aug. 24, 1968

Together since: 1964 First impressions: When 21-year-olds Pat and Ray met on a blind date, he thought she was the greatest thing he had ever seen. At the time, he was living and Richmond and attending the University of Richmond and she was a student at Longwood University.

“I came to Richmond for the weekend with a friend who promised us hot blind dates,” Pat said. “I thought he was obnoxious. But, the evening wore on, the party wore on, and all of a sudden he started looking really good.”

At one point that night, Ray leaned his head over and told Pat, “you know I am going to marry you one day.”

“I said ‘you are just drunk and don’t know what you are talking about.’ Famous last words,” she said with a chuckle.

The One: There was a great deal of pride in Ray’s voice when he said he “sewed it up pretty quick.” He knew within about a month he was willing to “work my butt off to make it happen.”

BSH honors legacy of basketball team

Wednesday, February 8, 2023

School board fine tunes policy

Managing Editor

POWHATAN – The Powhatan County School Board followed through last week on a plan made in 2022 to revisit a policy dealing with parental notification of the use of explicit materials in schools.

Policy IIA was the topic of lengthy discussions at the November and December 2022 regular meetings of the school board. While the members ultimately voted unanimously on Dec. 13 to pass the revision to the policy, there was obviously more they wanted to say and accomplish.

However, because Senate Bill 656, which required all school divisions to develop a policy ensuring parental notification of any instructional material that includes sexually explicit content, also set a deadline to do so of no later than Jan. 1, 2023, the board decided to adopt a policy they could live with and revisit it this year.

That is why they scheduled a workshop on Jan. 30 dedicated exclusively to hammering out language that would accomplish something that they said might better reflect the values of Powhatan County.

This was a workshop with robust discussion by all five school board members, but no vote was taken to approve this policy. The language they agreed on, which might still be tweaked by staff, will now come back before the board in a regular meeting for their consideration and public comment.

The only vote taken at last week’s meeting was about the decision not to add a public

comment period despite some members of the public being there. Newly elected board member Vicki Hurt, who represents District 1, made the motion to add one to the meeting to allow the public to speak but was the only one to support it as the other board members said this was a workshop meant for them to do the nitty gritty work and there would still be time for public comment at regular meetings.

According to Senate Bill 656, the policy is supposed to include information, guidance, procedures and standards relating to ensuring parental notification; directly identifying the specific instructional material and sexually explicit subjects; permitting the parent of any student to review instructional material that includes sexually explicit content; and providing, as an alternative, non-explicit instructional material and related academic activities to any student whose parent so requests.

The board agreed in December that the revision they adopted covered those bare minimum requirements, but some felt they could do more to set clearer and more detailed guidelines for educators that need to follow them and let parents or guardians know those standards and their rights.

Superintendent Beth Teigen and school board members worked through a new proposed Policy IIA in detail during the workshop using two main documents: the current PCPS policy and a much more detailed one Hurt presented.

LAURA MCFARLAND Managing Editor

CHESTERFIELD – A Chesterfield police officer was recently honored with an award named in honor of fallen Virginia State Police Special Agent Mike Walter of Powhatan. On Jan. 23, Officer Harrison Hankins with the Chesterfield County Police Department, was presented with the 2022 Mike Walter Memorial Officer of the Year Award. Hankins is the first recipient of the award, which is named in honor of Walter, who died May 27, 2017, as a result of being shot in the line of duty.

Jaime Walter, Mike’s wife, presented Hankins with the award, describing him as someone who encompasses the values, morals

and the drive to want to do more beyond the badge because he wants to, not because he has to – characteristics also embodied by her late husband.

Hankins is a narcotics detective in Chesterfield and formerly worked for the Goochland County Sheriff’s Office, she said during the presentation. He is also veteran of the U.S. Marines with extensive combat experience who received a Purple Heart for being wounded in Afghanistan.

Hankins also founded a nonprofit called Unit 2 Back Outdoors, which connects first responders who have been in traumatic incidents and sends them on hunting and fishing trips, among other events, to combat suicide and self-harm tenden -

cies and allow for post-traumatic growth. He saw the gap and wanted to help those in need, she added.

“That mission in itself speaks volumes of you Officer Hankins – volumes,” Jaime Walter said.

Before presenting the award, Jaime Walter talked about her husband, who was an 18-year veteran of the state police, a former Richmond Capitol Police Officer and a marine veteran who found in the Persian Gulf War. He was also a husband, father, son, mentor and coach to many. In particular, he dedicated much of his time to the Blackhawk Gym wrestling program and mentoring the youth there.

LAURA MCFARLAND

Hankins of the Chesterfield

was selected as the first ever VALE Mike Walter Memorial Officer of the Year. Shown, from left, are Col. Jeffrey Katz, Chesterfield Chief of Police; Hankins; Deputy Keith Culver, VALE Foundation acting president; and Jaime Walter, Mike Walter’s widow.

PHOTOS BY LAURA MCFARLAND

Josephine and Obadiah Goodman

Pat and Ray Dewey

HORN, Garlen Glynn Jr., 33, a lifelong resident of Powhatan. He left this life to move onto his afterlife on, Tuesday, January 31, 2023. He was preceded in death by his grandparents, rev. Herbert and Joy short and the late Woodrow and Martha Horn. He is survived by his parents, Garlen G. Horn sr. and sharon Lane short Horn; sisters, Christie Griffith (Mark), their two children, Connie Johnson and her two adult children; many aunts, uncles and numerous cousins. a visitation was held Friday, February 3, 2023, from 6 to 8 p.m. in The bennett & barden Funeral Home, where a service was held saturday at 11 a.m. Interment in 5 stone Church on academy road (formerly know as bethesda). all were welcome. Thank you for supporting us all as we must say goodbye to our beloved Glynn. Online condolences may be made at bennettbardenfh.com.

Shop local event benefits nonprofits

Show your support for Habitat for Humanity — Powhatan and the Free Clinic of Powhatan by shopping local on Feb. 10, 11 and 12. During the Heart of the Home Weekend, the Vintage Shack, Three Crosses Distilling Company, Crazy Rooster Brewing, Fine Creek Brew-

ing and Macdaddy’s Event and Catering will donate a portion of their proceeds to Habitat for Humanity –Powhatan and Free Clinic of Powhatan. The Free Clinic also will be offering free blood pressure screenings at the ReStore on Saturday, Feb. 11, from 10 a.m. to noon.

COMMUNITY CALENDAR

WEDNESDAY, FEB. 8

To celebrate the 10th anniversary of their joint fundraising event, the Valentine Gala, Habitat for Humanity – Powhatan and the Free Clinic of Powhatan, for the first time, have created an online auction open to all. The online auction, open to the general public, features a wide range of packages donated by local businesses. you’ll find something for almost everyone’s tastes by going online to galabid.com/onlineauction23.

bidding closes at 8 p.m. Feb 10. auction proceeds will be split between Habitat for Humanity — Powhatan and the Free Clinic of Powhatan. Community Matters is a resource for all 55 and forward interested in learning, staying active and engaging with peers. Challenge and socialization are powerful benefits and crucial at any age! Multiple weekly sessions with a wide range of topics and activities are held at 10 a.m. Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays at the Pocahontas Landmark Center, 4290 anderson Hwy, in the training room of Powhatan Parks and recreation. upcoming programs include: Feb. 9, 16 and 23, Game day Thursdays – Many games will be made available (mahjong, cards, Wii, cards, puzzles, rummikub, boggle, Would you rather, Taco/Cat/Goat/Cheese/ Pizza, etc.) and you’re welcome to bring your own; Feb. 10, 17 and 24, Movers and Pacers – Weekly winter walking in the gymnasium rain or shine; Feb. 14 (Part 2), Inflammation and the brain – Two-part series on the biology of inflammation, how it affects our brains, how to avoid and decrease inflammation and maintain improved brain health. More information on various offerings, activities and topics presented can be found on Facebook: Powhatan County reach for active services.

Program is free; requires independent participation. Call program coordinator Jayne Lloyd at 804-6980438 for more information.

Powhatan County Public Library is open from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Fridays, and from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on saturdays. Meeting rooms are available by reservation; study rooms are available first come, first served.

Civil War Roundtable salutes Max Travis

On Jan. 19, the Powhatan Civil War Roundtable fired a celebratory cannon salute in honor of one of their founding members, Max Travis. Behind Maxey’s Store in the Village, they gathered at the old cemetery and member Mike Hall fired two volleys in tribute. The members of the Roundtable and the residents that lived nearby came out to view the show. Founded in 2003, the Powhatan Civil War Roundtable meets every third Thursday of the month at the County Seat Restaurant and Gathering Place. The members and guests are treated with a great meal and a presentation related to any subject of the Civil War, by a noted author, academic or historian. All persons are welcome. Visit https://www.powhatancwrt.com or contact PowhatanCWRT@gmail.com.

The library offers e-books through Overdrive and materials to borrow in person or by using books to Go. With books to Go, patrons may reserve print materials, dVds, and audiobooks 24/7 online at www.powhatanlibrary or by phone during open hours at 804-598-5670 and can choose to pick up their books inside on the books to Go shelf or outside in the books to Go lockers. books to Go orders are held for three days after notification. The outdoor library book drop is open 24/7 for returning library items; however, patrons must return mobile hotspots to the circulation desk inside the library. The library accepts donations through the Friends of the Library.

The Friends of the Library bookstore is open during library business hours. Visit www.powhatanlibrary. net or call the library at 804-5985670 for more details, and like the library’s Facebook page for all the latest, up-to-date library news, information and program schedules.

Powhatan County Public Library will hold a weekly stor y Time on Wednesdays at 10:30 a.m. Participants will read stories, sing songs, learn finger plays and more! story Time generally meets in front of the fireplace, and occasionally in our outdoor space. business network International (bnI) Powhatan chapter meets virtually from 8 to 9:30 a.m. every Wednesday. Visit Www.bnIVa com for information. To register, visit https://tinyurl.com/bnIOnFire or contact executive director dawne Gulla at dawne@bniva.com or 804690-9220 for more information.

The Free Clinic of Powhatan serves residents from Powhatan, amelia and Cumberland Counties as well as select Chesterfield areas. services include medical, dental, counseling and women’s healthcare by appointment. eligibility requirements on website www.freeclinicofpowhatan.org/patients. registration for new patients by appointment Mondays 5-8 p.m. or walk-in Tuesdays from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. For more information or to make an appointment, call (804) 598-5637.

THURSDAY, FEB. 9

Just Kids, an affordable clothing shop selling gently used children’s clothes, sizes newborn to 8 plus, and warm coats, is open. The store is open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesdays, Thursdays and saturdays. The shop is located in the Memorial baptist Church youth House, 3926 Old buckingham road. Just Kids is a ministry of May Memorial baptist Church. Clothes cost $2 per bag.

The Powhatan Food Pantry is open from 10 a.m. to noon on Thursdays, saturdays and Tuesdays at 2500 batterson road. Contact the pantry at 804-372-9526 or powhatanvafoodpantry@gmail.com.

a Caregiver support Group will be held from 10 to 11 a.m. the second Thursday of every month at May Memorial baptist Church, 3922 Old buckingham road, Powhatan. build a support system with people who understand. For more information, contact Jayne Lloyd at 804-6980438. Visit alz.org/grva to learn more about caregiver programs

and resources.

Powhatan stars Cancer support Group, formerly known as Powhatan supporting the alliance and respecting survivors (sTars), meets at 6 p.m. on the second Thursday of the month at The County seat restaurant in the back room. The group is for survivors, caregivers and family members to listen and support each other. For more information, contact sue bird at 804-2128651 or Patty Hicks at 804-375-3499. extension specialists and industry experts share timely topics for farmers in the Virginia Cooperative extension ag Today, held virtually at 9 a.m. every Thursday. These updates are relevant and brief and are recorded for folks who can’t join on that day and time. Podcasts (audio only) are posted on Westmoreland VCe webpage and youTube video recordings can be found at https://www.youtube. com/ playlist?list=PL7_2QuVzrPXdpysV2Hy11CH8KbrluifyO. Contact stephanie romelczyk (sromelcz@ vt.edu) for information on joining the meeting live. Watched or listened to VCe aG Today? Let us know how we are doing! Find our survey here: https://vce.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/ form/sV_6fiybb914ayrdn7

The original Powhatan aa meets from 7 to 8 p.m. every Thursday in the Powhatan Village building.

The Powhatan rotary Club meets at 7:30 a.m. every Thursday at the County seat restaurant.

The Powhatan republican Committee’s monthly meeting will be held on the second Thursday of every month at rosa’s Italian restaurant. social time is at 6:30 p.m. and the meeting starts at 7 p.m.

FRIDAY, FEB. 10

show your support for Habitat for Humanity — Powhatan and the Free Clinic of Powhatan by shopping local on Feb. 10, 11 and 12. during the Heart of the Home Weekend, the Vintage shack, Three Crosses distilling Company, Crazy rooster brewing, Fine Creek brewing and Macdaddy’s event and Catering will donate a portion of their proceeds to Habitat for Humanity – Powhatan and Free Clinic of Powhatan.

The Free Clinic also will be offering free blood pressure screenings at the restore on saturday, Feb. 11, from 10 a.m. to noon.

Graceland baptist Church will hold a Family Movie night with dinner at 7 p.m. and a showing of “enchanted” to follow.

SATURDAY, FEB. 11

Powhatan County Public Library will have Craft Time! from 10:30 to 11 a.m. elementary school aged children are invited to participate in this arts and craft program. registration required. In February, participants will make paper flower bouquets for Valentine’s day.

Habitat For Humanity — Powhatan depends on volunteers and donors. Habitat is blessed with the community’s helpful and generous participation. The Habitat restore at 1922 urbine road will be open every saturday, come november 2022, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. The office is located upstairs at the Habitat restore and the office number is 804-594-7009, ext. 2. Call and volunteer. Help us at the restore, perform critical repairs and/or with our upcoming builds. Powhatan aa meets at 8 p.m. every saturday at Manakin episcopal Church on Huguenot Trail.

SUNDAY, FEB. 12

Powhatan Fire and rescue’s Junior emergency Technician program meets at 1:30 p.m. on the second sunday of each month at different locations in the county. The program is free and open to 12- to 15-yearolds from all parts of the county interested in learning about their local fire, rescue and emergency services organizations. applications may be picked up year-round at the fire administration office in the Village building. Contact the office at 804-598-5646 or sarah Zobells at szobell@powhatanva.gov for this month’s location.

MONDAY, FEB. 13

Powhatan County Public Library has a wonderful line up of adult programs to get you out of your house on those wintery days. every second and fourth Monday throughout the winter at 11 a.m., the library will hold retro Movie Mondays. Come in and enjoy some popcorn, watch a classic movie and reminisce. On Feb. 13, come watch the 2022 historical comedy-drama film “Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris.” rated PG. Light refreshments will be provided. For details, contact Powhatan County Public Library at 804-598-5670 or library@powhatanlibrary.net.

a Grief support Group meets from 10 to 11 a.m. on the second Monday of each month at Powhatan united Methodist Church. all are welcome to attend. This group is facilitated by Judy Cain-Oliver, licensed clinical psychologist. Powhatan Pastor’s Fellowship provides pastors in the county with fellowship, joint worship experiences and ways to serve the needy in the community. The group meets at 11:30 a.m. on the second Monday of the month at angela’s restaurant. The group is open to any pastor; newcomers welcome. For more information, call Michael edwards, pastor of May Memorial baptist Church, 804-598-3098.

relay for Life south of the James meets at 7 p.m. on the second Monday of the month online. For more information, contact Pat Johnson at 804-241-1161 or pjj804@icloud.com.

a Powhatan Hope narcotics anonymous (na) meeting will be held from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. every Monday at PCC Church, 4480 anderson Highway, Powhatan, room 102. It is an open discussion meeting. Wheelchair accessible.

TUESDAY, FEB. 14

Lonesome dove equestrian Center, which is located at 6137 Old buckingham road, provides yearround therapeutic horseback riding exclusively for veterans with special needs and disabilities. Focusing on veterans in Central Virginia, the goal of this program is to improve the quality of life for the participants through activities that are positive to their cognitive, physical, emotional and social well-being. as of Jan. 1, 2021, the program is also welcoming first responders to come ride with the program. From January through March, volunteers are asked to arrive at 10 a.m. and the riding sessions begin at 11 a.m.

upcoming dates are: Feb. 14 and 22; March 7, 14 and 22. From april through september, volunteers are asked to arrive at 9 a.m. and the riding sessions begin at 10 a.m.

upcoming dates are: april 4, 18 and 26; May 2, 16 and 24; June 6, 20 and 28; July 11, 18 and 26; aug. 1, 15 and 23; sept. 12, 19 and 27. From October through november, volunteers are asked to arrive at 10 a.m. and the riding sessions begin at 11 a.m.

upcoming dates are: Oct. 3, 17 and 25; nov. 7, 14 and 29. There are no sessions in december. LdeC is able to provide a variety of services to the veterans because of dedicated volunteers. Those who would like to help and have fun at the same time are asked to consider becoming a member of one of these teams. For more information about Lonesome dove, visit http://ldequestrian.com/ or contact 804-356-6327.

The new bridge of reason aa meeting is held at 7 p.m. every Tuesday at Powhatan Mennonite Church, 3549 Old buckingham road, Powhatan. It is an open, decision and literature meeting for Powhatan, Goochland, and Cumberland counties.

aa meets at 8 p.m. every Tuesday at st. Luke’s episcopal Church on Huguenot Trail.

The Powhatan a merican Legion Post 201 meetings are held at 7:30 p.m. on the second Tuesday of each month. Legion members invite all veterans of our armed forces to attend the meetings of Post 201 which are held at the War Memorial Cultural ar ts and Community Center, 2375 skaggs road. For more information, contact david bradley at 804-306-3740.

UPCOMING

Girl scout Troop 3029 is helping the Huguenot Volunteer Fire department achieve a long-held goal of building a memorial to honor the victims of the terrorist attacks of sept. 11, 2001 at the station. The Girl scouts are selling 411 bricks inscribed with the name, rank and company of a firefighter, law enforcement officer or paramedic killed during the attacks. a donation of $23 will cover the cost of one inscribed brick in honor of a first responder. To purchase a brick, visit www.bricksrus.com/donorsite/memorial911. Checks payable to Troop 3029 may also be mailed to Laura baltz at 1510 Holly Hills road, Powhatan, Va 23139. For more information, contact baltz at 804-467-4313 or Ljbal65@aol.com.

aarP Tax-aide volunteers will be offering free tax return preparation again this year at the Powhatan County Public Library. due to COVId-19 restrictions last year, volunteers were only able to provide drop-off services for most of the season. However, this year, the plan is to return to face-to-face appointments. Tax preparation appointments can be made online through a link on the Powhatan Library website. To better manage appointments, volunteers will only be opening a few appointment days at a time. additional appointment times will be added as earlier times are filled. Make an appointment only once you have received all your tax documents. When you come to your appointment, bring the following items: prior year tax return; social security cards for everyone on the tax return and drivers photo Id to confirm your identity; all your tax documents; and copy of a voided check for direct deposit of any tax refund. Free tax return preparation appointments will be in the large conference room of the Powhatan Library between 9:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. every Wednesday and Friday beginning Wednesday, Feb. 1 through Friday, april 14, 2023.

The Powhatan Chamber of Commerce’s Food for Thought luncheon will be held from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 16 at County seat restaurant and Gathering Place. The featured speaker will be Teresa Mcbean, enneagram practitioner. The enneagram is a definitive tool that gives us deeply personal (and eerily accurate) insight into who we’re wired to be and why we behave the way we do. register at powhatanchamber.org.

Powhatan County Public schools

will hold a 2023 Career Fair from 9 a.m. to noon Feb. 18 at Flat rock elementary school, 2210 batterson road. There will be in-person and virtual interviews with school administrators. register at www. powhatan.k12.va.us.

Powhatan County Public Library has a wonderful line up of adult programs to get you out of your house on those wintery days. On saturday, Feb. 18, join other participants for Gentle beginner’s yoga with Joanna bartles. Learn breathing techniques, postures and movements to relieve tension and tightness in muscles and joints. bring a yoga mat or beach towel, and if able a firm pillow, block or towel for support. For details, contact Powhatan County Public Library at 804-598-5670 or library@powhatanlibrary.net. saturday under the stars at Powhatan state Park will be hosted by the richmond astronomical society throughout 2023. events are open to the public and held at the equestrian / Trailhead parking area. Visitors are welcome to bring their telescopes and test them out under a dark sky with assistance from our astronomers. This is a great opportunity to try out a new telescope that might have been a holiday gift. no telescope is required, though. you can always check out the views through ours or just bring a comfortable chair. event times are listed below, but volunteer astronomers will be on site before the event to provide telescope assistance. note that the $5 park fee applies at all times; park fees are waived for volunteer astronomers who are sharing their expertise or equipment for the event and volunteer astronomers are welcome to continue to observe through the night after the public hours. astronomers that can help with any of these events, send a message to president@richastro.org. upcoming dates are: 6 to 8 p.m. Feb. 18; 7 to 9 p.m. april 22; 8:30 to 10:30 p.m. July 22; 8 to 10 p.m. sept. 16; and 5 to 7 p.m. dec. 9.

Powhatan County Public Library’s Teen advisory board will meet at 4 p.m. Feb. 21. Help plan and run teen programs, create library displays, suggest ya books and materials and get volunteer hours. For local teens aged 13 to 18 (grades six to 12). application required. Pick one up at the library front desk.

Powhatan County Public Library has a book Club. The group will discuss “We are not Like Them” by Christine Pride and Jo Piazza at the Feb. 24 meeting at 10 a.m. The March book will be “Horse” by Geraldine brooks.

The Powhatan naaCP will sponsor a black History Month program, “Together in unity,” at 3 p.m. on saturday, Feb. 25 at Greenbrier baptist Church, 4731 bell road. The event will feature guest speaker the rev. Terrell Glenn, praise dancers and musical performers. everyone is welcome.

Powhatan County residents are encouraged to “Go Green” with a free recycling event. bring old, discarded tires and appliances for recycling on saturday, Feb. 25, from 8 a.m. to noon. Powhatan anti-Litter Council (aLC) has sponsored this service for more than 15 years. note the change in location for the 2023 event, which will be held at Powhatan County’s Fighting Creek Park, 2505 Mann road in the parking lot of the sports complex. Only standard car and small truck tires will be accepted. They must be off the rims and trash removed prior to drop off. not open to commercial businesses. appliance items such as dishwashers, hot water heaters, stoves, air conditioners, refrigerators, washer/dryers, and freezers will be accepted. Freon will be removed free of charge. Mercury switches will also be recycled. County residency and identification may be required. aLC volunteers reserve the right to turn away residents once the trailers are full. For updates or more information, check out the Powhatan anti-Litter Council Facebook page, or email antiLitter@powhatanva.gov. Powhatan state Park has planned a series of monthly ranger Led Hikes to explore the park throughout 2023. each month, park visitors can join in a hike on a different trail in the park and learn about local history and wildlife. all hikes begin at 10 a.m. registration is required and limited to nine hikers per trip. email Powhatan@dcr. virginia.gov with the subject line “hiking series” including the desired date/ hike to reserve your spot. upcoming events are: Feb. 25: river, Gold dust and Turkey Trail, meet at equestrian Lot; March 25: Cabin Trail/big Woods Trail, meet at the playground area; april 29: Pine Trail, meet at yates Parking area; May 27: Coyote run Trail, meet at equestrian Lot; June 24: river, Gold dust and Turkey Trail, meet at equestrian Lot; July 29: Cabin Trail/big Woods Trail, meet at the playground area; aug. 26: Pine Trail, meet at yates Parking area; sept. 30: Coyote run Trail, meet at equestrian Lot; Oct. 28: river, Gold dust and Turkey Trail, meet at equestrian Lot; nov. 25: Cabin Trail/big Woods Trail, meet at the playground area; and dec. 30: Pine Trail, meet at yates Parking area. Wear comfortable, closed-toed shoes and bring plenty of water. Children are welcome but be aware that some hikes may exceed 4 miles and require navigating uneven terrain in all weather conditions.

Garlen Glynn Horn Jr.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF POWHATAN CIVIL WAR ROUNDTABLE

CONTRIBUTED PHOTOS

Three neighbors from Tilman’s Farm in Powhatan traveled to Barcelona, Spain in November 2022 — Heidi Daniels, Tanya Pavlish and Jodi Wilson. They visited the wonderful creations of architect Antoni Gaudi (including La Sagrada Familia, Casa

Mila-La Pedrera and Park Guell); enjoyed a beautiful bike tour and sailing experience complete with a visit to a winery in the Alella wine region; and marveled at all of the fantastic restaurants, shops and sights. It was an amazing trip that these three friends will remember forever!

STUDENT

PHOTOS COURTESY OF POWHATAN COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Powhatan County Public Schools is constantly challenging and engaging its students in exciting ways. These are a few snapshots of some of the division’s awesome recent moments.

Pocahontas elementary school kindergartners got to learn about groundhogs and shadows on Feb. 1. sweet Pea is from aWare, a wildlife rehabilitation organization, and came a day early as he had a busy schedule on Feb. 2.

Pocahontas elementary school fifth graders participated in a light and sound lab last week that led to fun new experiences.

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Arrests

„ One male was charged on Jan. 24 with driving a motor vehicle while intoxicated (Misdemeanor), traffic: expired rejection sticker (M) and reckless driving –excessive speed (M).

„ One female was charged on Jan. 25 with failure to appear (M).

„ One male was charged on Jan. 25 with driving a motor vehicle while intoxicated (M).

„ One male was charged on Jan. 25 with assault and battery of a family member (M).

„ One male was charged

Policy

From A1

While the discussion flowed in several different directions, James Taylor, District 4, made the point during the discussion about 30 days’ notice and putting extra burden on teachers that the point of the policy wasn’t to villainize them but to acknowledge that “we live in a culture that is progressively sliding in a direction that most people in our county don’t want.”

on Jan. 25 with grand larceny (Felony).

„ One male was charged on Jan. 27 with DUI 2nd/3rd offense within 5-10 years (M) and reckless driving –excessive speed (M).

„ One female was charged on Jan. 30 with county ordinance – prohibit vehicle parking on highways.

„ One male was charged on Jan. 30 with assault and battery of a family member (M).

Weekly incident report Jan. 23-29 – Incident type and total calls

tographs, films, drawings – should be referenced as included under sexually explicit materials but left the definition of the subject matter to be laid out in state code.

“So this is creating greater assurance that we are going to hold the line on certain issues and let parents have the say whether or not they want their child to be under that instruction for that particular thing,” he said. “If there is a timeframe I think it gives them greater assurance as a parent that they can have a say in that situation.”

comes down to how they are defined. Valarie Ayers, District 3, was the most stringent opponent of using the actual definitions in the school division’s policy, arguing for keeping the original policy’s way of only referencing and linking the state code sections. “I don’t want all of this in our policy,” she said, referring to the somewhat graphic terms in the definition. “I’m sorry, our high school children look at policy, read policy. …I have no shame in saying I don’t even know what these fricking words mean. How are my children, our children, our students – what are they going to do? Are they going to go look up definitions of these words and then they are going to be disciplined for violating our computer policy? I am sorry, I don’t want to know what these words mean.”

However, they did add the state’s definition of “harmful to juveniles” to the proposed draft: “Harmful to juveniles” means that quality of any description or representation, in whatever form, of nudity, sexual conduct, sexual excitement, or sadomasochistic abuse, when it (a) predominantly appeals to the prurient, shameful or morbid interest of juveniles, (b) is patently offensive to prevailing standards in the adult community as a whole with respect to what is suitable material for juveniles, and (c) is, when taken as a whole, lacking in serious literary, artistic, political or scientific value for juveniles.

edge that sometimes that much lead time is not possible for varying reasons. They eventually decided to leave it in the implementation section that there should be a “minimum of a 30-day notice unless such review is not technically feasible or is prohibited by copyright production.”

Part of this discussion was the intention not to put extra burden on teachers with their notification. The discussion included pointing out a teacher’s syllabus a the beginning of the year can serve as the initial notice and that the use of sexually explicit materials isn’t a matter of constant use.

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A good portion of the discussion was about word choice, but a few key points they discussed and hammered out at length included:

„ Definitions: One of the key aspects of understanding what is or is not sexually explicit material

Calendar

From A2

reading is Grand, a joint program of Powhatan County Public Library and Powhatan County r each f or a c tive s ervices, will be held at 1 p .m. Feb. 28. t his

Anyone who wants to read the definitions can do the extra work of clicking the link provided in the policy and reading them as written in state code, she continued.

After much discussion, the board made clear what categories of materials –such as destructions, pho-

intergenerational reading program partners children ages 5 to 10 with adults aged 55+ to practice reading aloud. r egistration is required. strengthening Families from Within: a Free Family Wellness s eminar for a ges 12 +” will be hosted by t he Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day s aints

„ Thirty days notification: The school board members were overall in favor of having schools notify parents that sexually explicit content will be used at least 30 days in advance. Discussion on this topic once again centered around how to acknowl-

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„ Sexual orientation: While it was not a lengthy topic of discussion, the school board did prioritize making it clear that “instructional materials shall not be designated as sexually explicit based solely on sexual orientation of the characters therein.”

„ Parent involvement: Hurt argued for and received agreement about adding a line that encouraged parents they can exercise their right to view any instructional material used as part of their student’s curricula.

2480 batterson road, Powhatan. t he cost is $20 for an outside parking space and $30 for inside the church’s hall with an 8-foot table. For more information or to purchase a space, email a manda Mc d onough at amandamcdonough72@yahoo.com.

Please see CALENDAR, Page A7

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“My parents met her and right away. They were trying to foster the marriage, which tells you they weren’t real happy with my prior selections,” he said. “I went in the army less than a year after we met and went over to Korea. We never saw each other much during my stay in the service. During that time my parents made sure she didn’t have anything else much to do.”

Pat, who transferred to UVA while Ray was gone, said she was aware he was better than his first impression and she did love him, particularly after meeting his parents. Ray was deployed to Korea from November 1966 to December 1967.

“The minute I came home from Korea we went down to Miller and Rhoads and bought a ring,” Ray said.

The couple married two months after Pat graduated from college.

Parenthood vs. being a couple: Pat and Ray were married 11 years before becoming parents. At first they were focused on their careers. Then, when they decided to give parenthood a try, it didn’t happen for them naturally. So, they decided to adopt and give a child a home. That child was 5-year-old Mark and as soon as the Deweys met him, they knew he was their child.

“He has been a wonderful, loving son. It was a challenge after being alone for 11 years that all of a sudden we had a child who walked and talked and did all kinds of things to make sure we wanted a child,” Pat said.

Life did change when two became three, but one goal they set out to achieve was to never let their son get between them as a couple.

“I don’t mean that meanly. I mean if something was going on, if I was having a problem, I would sit down with Pat before we went to Mark and she was the same way,” Ray said.

“Maybe that was a fact of we were being older and we had an established relationship. We were friends, we were partners before we brought another little being into our family,” she agreed.

Building traditions: Pat introduced one of the most cherished traditions into their family – taking trips to the Outer Banks, which was a tradition from her own childhood. Ray grew up in Pennsylvania and New Jersey and was used to the Jersey Shore, but since they went to the Outer Banks the first year of their marriage, they have been going back every chance they got.

“I took her to the Jersey Shore

for our honeymoon. She was not impressed,” he said. “Then she took me to the Outer Banks and I had never seen anything like that.”

Facing problems: Ray was ready to get real and say right off the bat what saved their marriage is he quit drinking in 1991. Pat and Mark sat down with him one day and told him he had a problem, and they wouldn’t continue as a family until he quit.

“What that did was open the avenues of communication. They had started getting a little muddy because it is hard to deal with a guy that is always drunk. They had that talk to me and I quite frankly was comfortable at the end of it and I knew what I had to do. And since then we have had no problems with communication,” Ray said. “If you said, ‘what have you done that you would hold up to other people that are having problems,’ I would say you have to sit down and talk it out.”

To add to that, Pat said the strength of their relationship is that she and Ray are friends. They talked before the interview and agreed they didn’t have any magic bullets or words of wisdom, just their story.

“I don’t think we could have survived 55 years unless we were. Furthermore we liked each other and loved each other,” Pat said. “Sometimes you don’t like what they are doing but you love them. I think the friendship to me is what is very important part of a relationship. And the humor.”

“The one big thing I always

think is I don’t think either one of us has ever spent one second worried about which one of us was the better person, the better provider, the better anything,” Ray added. “She and I are absolutely equal. We always sit down and talk things out if there is a conversation needed. Sometimes we will force each other back into the conversation if we have to.”

Showing their love: “We just do what we do. … At any time, if we feel like something is necessary, we will get with the other person instead of running off. We make sure everything is cool,” Ray said.

“Be there. … He will always make me come back in and talk about it even though I don’t want to,” Pat said.

Being a good spouse: The way society defines a good spouse may have changed, but even in the times when a wife was “supposed” to be in charge of the home and the husband go out and be the provider, the Deweys said they didn’t prescribe to that societal norm.

“We are equal in money as well as all the other things we talked about. There is no mine and his, it is ours, no matter who brought it in or took,” Pat said.

“I think we lived that. I grew up in Jersey with my mom and her two sisters and I had three girl cousins and two guy cousins. Everything was mashed together and we never had an opportunity to assign roles,” Ray said.

The future: Pat wants to live to see their grandchildren graduate from college.

Ray said he had a rough time healthwise recently so his desires have changed. “Right at the moment to live to next year. It is not that harsh. But to make sure what I am doing for my family and my friends the kind of things that make them happy. That is it exactly. I just want to make my friends and family happy,” Ray said.

“Kind of like what we are taught sometimes is don’t worry about tomorrow. Tomorrow will take care of itself when it gets here. Take care of today, do what you like to do and hopefully not make too many mistakes so you can get to tomorrow,”

Pat said.

Best advice for couples: “There isn’t a best one of us about anything. We are totally equal in each other’s eyes,” Ray said.

“That was that little thing I cut out of the Reader Digest’s umpti-billion years ago. It said, ‘Show me a happily married couple and I will show you two people who are not worried about who is the better half,’” Pat said.

“That is really it. I would say our whole life is that,” Ray went on. “I think we work very hard at making sure each other has the best possible day. I get up before she does in the morning. When she comes out my first thing is to make sure she is in a good mood. If that means telling a joke or saying something dirty, that is what it takes.”

“Or a cup of coffee. But I haven’t gotten you to that coffee in bed part. Maybe we can work on that,” Pat says, looking at her husband with a grin.

Josephine “Jo” and Obadiah “Obie” Goodman

Married since: June 8, 1963

Together since: 1960

First impressions: Despite living only 11 miles apart in Powhatan County their whole lives, Jo and Obie met for the first time in high school. Jo readily says she wasn’t into boys at the time – she was a freshman – and that included Obie, who was three years older. But he had a cousin that was her best friend “so he kind of grew on me.” It helped that he was “rather cute” and dressed nice. Obie had actually first spotted Jo a year earlier and asked about her, but never pursued her. But when she started paling around with his cousin, he started flirting with her.

“I wanted to find out whether she liked me or not. She had a bar of candy, a Baby Ruth, and I said ‘I know you got that candy for me.’ She said ‘yes, you can have it,’ and that was it. That is all it took,” Obie said.

The One: Obie graduated in 1960 and went to live and work in New York, but he and Jo carried on a long-distance relationship over the next three years. They communicated via phone and letters. He would fly or drive down for the weekend. Even with all the miles between them most of the time, they got closer and closer.

When he did come back to Powhatan, Obie would usually visit Jo on her family’s farm. Both their parents were strict, so unless he was visiting her at home, the only other approved activity was taking her to his parents’ house – chaperoned by her two sisters, of course.

Jo graduated from high school on a Wednesday in June 1963 and the couple was married that Saturday. The next day, Obie took her to live with him in New York City.

Parenthood vs. being a couple: The first of their five children were twins. Jo said once they got over the initial nervous breakdown the girls were good and entertained each other. Their next child – the third of five – wasn’t born for another two years. Being parents and giving their children the best life they could was important to the Goodmans, who both agreed, “when children are involved, you make a marriage work. You work harder at making everybody happy and giving them things that are necessary,” she said.

“It kept us together because you think about the kids as well as ourselves – getting up in the morning, making sure they are happy, taking them to the park, buying them gifts, things to play with and watching the kids grow up,” Obie added.

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Karen and Charles blankenship

Couples

From A5

Still, the couple made time for each other, Jo said, by getting a babysitter so they could go bowling or for gatherings at friends’ houses.

Building traditions: When they were younger, the Goodman twins wanted to play baseball but weren’t allowed on the boys’ team, so they helped start PYAA girls softball in Powhatan. Of all the traditions they held as a family, Jo and Obie said being involved in sports teams with their children was their favorite.

“All of them were in to sports and that was a family thing. We carried the food and had little picnics,” Jo said.

“Everything we did we made it a family thing,” Obie agreed with a nod of his head.

“To this day it is still a family thing,” she added.

Facing problems: As a couple, the Goodmans lived in New York for nine years, but they always had the plan to return to live in Powhatan. They knew if they wanted to achieve that goal, they had to work together, Jo said.

The Goodmans had their ups and downs but Obie said they used to sit and talk about it.

“I have to get her to see my side and then I see her side. It is a 5050 thing. It can’t be all self; it is 50-50,” he said. “It is not like it used to be in the olden days when the man ruled and what he said goes. I didn’t believe in that because both have to be happy to make it work.”

Showing their love: For Obie, the greatest expression of his wife’s love for him was how she took care of their children, their home and him. Generally the in-

Jaime Walter noted that being a law enforcement officer already asks a great deal of the men and women who wear the badge, so when they “go beyond the badge” to continue to help people, their

side of the house was her domain, but the entire family worked to take care of their land at times, and when they could, they tried to make it fun.

Similarly, Jo said Obie was a good provider and father. Still, she appreciated when he would take her special places either just the two of them or with another couple. For Valentine’s Day or Christmas he would often give her flowers and a huge box of chocolates. “He gave me candy, which he ate most of,” she said and Obie nodded his head in agreement.

Being a good spouse: What it means to be a good spouse has changed, Obie said, which he puts in large part down to some of the hardships people don’t endure because of conveniences. Children especially too often don’t value what they have because they didn’t have to work and struggle to earn it, he said. Getting into a relationship with someone who doesn’t have that value for work and to build a future is a big part of what makes marriages fail, he added.

Jo agreed: “Even going back to when we were younger, we didn’t feel like it was a hardship. This was life. You made do with what you had and appreciated it, and I think our kids did appreciate everything we could give them.”

Being a good spouse is also about compromise, Jo said. “You have to show empathy and put yourself in the other person’s shoes.”

The future: Jo wants to travel and is especially excited about a cross-country trip to California one of their daughters is planning for them. Obie isn’t as excited.

“I don’t want to but that is where the 50-50 comes in,” he said pragmatically.

Obie said he loves Virginia and

sacrifice needs to be recognized.

Col. Jeffrey Katz, Chesterfield Chief of Police, said that while he never met Mike Walter, he has heard “so many wonderful things about him.” Turning to Hankins, he told him “what you bring to this profession, what you bring to this community is reflective of everything I’ve heard about Mike.”

Powhatan in particular and is content right here. He would be happy taking his wife on their trips to casinos. “She loves the slots.”

Best advice for couples: “You have to be compassionate and understanding. You have to have patience and you have to listen,” Jo said after a brief pause.

“That is the key – listen,” Obie picked up the thought. ”If you listen then you can hear the other side. If you don’t listen, you can’t hear the other side; it is just your side. I think that is very important.”

Karen and Charles Blankenship

Married since: Oct. 8, 1965

Together since: 1959

First impressions: The couple actually went to school together from first grade on but apparently it was in third grade that Karen went home and told her mother “that Charles was so smart” because he could anticipate the words on the spelling test (hint: the teacher called them in the order they were on the spelling list).

Charles said he liked Karen from Day 1, but the pair didn’t start dating until he was 16 and able to drive and take them to movies or dances at school.

The One: When they graduated from high school, Charles went to Vietnam and ended up doing two tours. They wrote to each other while he was gone, and a year after he got back, they got married. Charles said he always hoped they would get married. Karen was nice and talented and he doesn’t know “anybody to this day who can play the piano better than she could.” He event joined their high school marching band (he played clarinet) because Karen was in it playing the bells.

“We pride ourselves in having a staff that is humble and hungry and smart, and all of those things, Harrison, you embody. I am so monumentally proud of you,” Katz said, adding that he embodies the aspects of what they want not only as a police officer but as a community leader.

Deputy Keith Culver, VALE

Parenthood vs. being a couple: About five years after they were married, the Blankenships, who didn’t think they could have children, adopted their son Todd. They did have two biological children as well but said they never saw them as any different.

“We were very family-oriented and still are,” Karen said. After the children were grown, Karen and Charles started doing more activities as a couple that they couldn’t do with children, including some travels. They especially liked going on cruises with friends.

Building traditions: Disneyworld is a favorite spot for the whole family and going there became an important tradition for them that the children later adopted with their own families. But really they appreciated the value of travel in general.

“Our summers were spent traveling up and down the East Coast, the middle of the United States,” she said. “Charles was in education and I was in education, so we had a lot of time in the summers that we could travel. It was just spending time close together and seeing new things, letting them see a different part of the country and learn more about our country. It was fun.”

Facing problems: One of the biggest trials the couple faced was losing Todd to a genetic disease when he was 17, something that came as a devastating surprise to the whole family. But whether it was huge problems or little problems, they usually dealt with them together, Karen said.

Showing their love: As a whole, the biggest way Karen said Charles showed his love for her was by being a good provider for the family and taking care of them. “I never paid a bill. He did all of

Foundation acting president and public information officer for the Henrico County Sheriff’s Office, presented Hankins with a plaque, a $200 donation to Unit 2 Back Outdoors and a few other gifts. The Virginia Law Enforcement (VALE) Foundation, is a nonprofit organized and founded in May 2020 with the purpose of

that and I took care of the kids.”

He also showed his love with his consideration, she said. When Karen’s father died, they knew her mother could not take care of herself. Charles said they should turn their dining room into a bedroom for his mother-in-law.

“That was for eight years and it wasn’t always easy,” she said.

Charles simply loves that she is always there for him.

“I guess I am probably one of the luckiest men on earth. I can’t put it into words but I just hit the jackpot,” he said with a grin.

Being a good spouse: When they were a younger couple, it was the norm in society for men to go to work and consider paying the bills their only necessary contribution. Charles was not like that, his wife said.

“He would come home and help take care of the kids. For a lot of people that was the way they lived, but we never had that problem,” she said.

Charles was also an athletic director in Powhatan for a number of years. Karen would often insist he take turns taking their children to different games so they could spend time together.

The future: As far as couple goals, Karen simply said she would like to live long enough to celebrate her 75th anniversary with her husband. He nodded agreement.

Best advice for married couples: Have a great deal of patience and be slow to anger, Karen said.

Charles said he is lucky his wife is slow to anger, “because I have given her through the years a lot of reasons to be angry.”

But he tacked on: “I think luck has a lot to do with it. I have always considered myself lucky. The luckier you are the better your chances are.”

remembering and honoring fallen Virginia law enforcement officers and assisting officers in times of financial need.

Hankins said his nonprofit is “not about me, it is about paying it forward.”

Laura McFarland may be reached at Lmcfarland@powhatantoday.com.

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OPINION

Protecting against the unthinkable

LAURA MCFARLAND Managing Editor

The shock that overtook my body when the first gunshots sounded floored me. Moments earlier, I was talking lightheartedly with a member of Powhatan Fire and Rescue and asking a few questions about what I might expect in the minutes to follow.

I had already attended an active shooter training event last summer on a much smaller scale involving the breach of a single classroom at Powhatan Middle School, but that experience, while impressive, didn’t begin to touch the breadth of involvement of the event held on Jan. 29 at Powhatan Elementary School.

In reality, nothing he said would have given me the full scope of what was to come over the next hour.

A little after 9 a.m., the call came over the school’s announcement system that the active shooter training exercise being put on by Powhatan Sheriff’s Office and Fire and Rescue was about to start.

Knowing where the “shooter” was, and seeking to observe and

photograph with as little impact on the exercise as possible, I stationed myself nearby where two hallways intersected, entirely visible no matter where deputies might be coming from and clearly set apart in a bright blue safety vest with Observer written on it.

I was there at that intersection with a safety helmet on and my camera at the ready, looking down at the empty school hallways with bright, joyful art on the walls. Then the shots rang out and everything in my body revolted at THAT sound in THIS place, regardless of whether it was only a training exercise.

Don’t get me wrong; I am glad our local first responders were there that Sunday morning running through a full scenario of responding to a mass casualty event. I pray to God they never need to take those actions in real life, but the fact that they were willing to participate – to gain that experience, to look for the areas of response and cooperation that need to be tightened up – is amazing and deserving of the entire community’s respect. No, it was the act itself, the

idea of another shooter at another school, especially a school in my community where I know so many teachers and students, that hit so hard in that moment.

But then it was moving forward, as I watched the initial responding deputy attempt to eliminate the shooter and end up incapacitated/killed in the scenario instead. Minutes later, a group of deputies came down the same hallway, rounded the same corner and were able to eliminate him.

For many people, in their minds, that is where the exercise stops. But of the hour-long exercise that was held, that took well under 10 minutes. The work wasn’t done. It was a single-shooter exercise, but they didn’t know that. Nor would law enforcement in a real situation know for certain that the entire threat had been eliminated.

Volunteer actors who also gave up their mornings to participate were assigned to classrooms and bathrooms in that section of the school that the deputies then started to sweep. Some were unharmed and were simply hiding from the threat. As the deputies cleared the

Local journalism is still a good bet

JIM RIDOLPHI

Contributing Columnist

It’s hard not to cringe when you hear continuing details emerge regarding George Santos, newly elected House of Representative member from New York.

Now, Long Island is a long way from Richmond, but the implications of poorly vetted candidates has the potential to affect every election held in the United States.

Like many, I am astounded at the extent of deception uncovered regarding Santos’ biography and finances, but I was also surprised that some media commentators attributed that failure to reveal those potentially damaging details on local newspapers and news outlets.

While thorough research is essential to effective and accurate journalism, truth be known, few local outlets have the staff, time or money to conduct extensive background searches on local candidates. Even with those limitations, in Santos’ case, some local news outlets did question some of his claims.

Perhaps, media should have screamed louder when Santos’ story didn’t seem viable, and details didn’t seem to add up.

But, what about New York GOP officials who also didn’t catch the red flags and continued to support what some knew was a

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Board that doesn’t seek public input isn’t representing

Dear Editor, Powhatan needs candidates for school board who are willing to actually listen to and act on behalf of citizens. The board scheduled a workshop on policy IIA for Monday, January 30 at 10 a.m. This meeting was scheduled at a time inconvenient for most citizens to attend and wasn’t even initially posted on the Powhatan County Public Schools’ website calendar. I previously had emailed my

flawed candidate? Nor did a detached Democratic local organization who assumed the race would not be close, refusing to supply funds for opponent research, and ignoring warnings of Santos’ fraudulent claims.

While some may point to the failure of local media to expose Santos, I welcome the apparent realization that local media is vital to transparency in government, and local reporters play a vital role in monitoring proceedings that are too often ignored by public eyes.

It’s not a new concept, witnessed by our founding fathers’ desire to include protections for a fourth estate, established as a watchdog to the first three.

According to Northwestern University, more than a fourth of newspapers have ceased operations since 2005, and 7% of counties in America have no local news outlet.

Studies have confirmed and common sense reaffirms that communities with strong local media presence enjoy an increased citizen involvement in all aspects of local government. Conversely, communities who are underserved by local news often incorporate less inclusive government and limited citizen participation in their processes.

Dedicated media coverage and an informed citizenry en-

board representative in order to find out the time and place of the workshop. Despite this inconvenient time and lack of notice, members of the public were present and prepared to comment. Ms. Vicki Hurt from District 1, proposed an amendment to the agenda, to add a public comment time. The other 4 representatives opposed her amendment and the workshop proceeded without any input from the citizens these members are supposed to represent. It was quite disappointing to discover that Ms. Smith, Ms. Ayers, Dr. Taylor, and Ms. Hymel are not interested in the public’s opinion

sures the system in which we place our trust daily operates in full sunlight and voters have all the information to make well reasoned choices.

As the Santos saga continues, it’s hard to imagine how this candidate cleared the lowest of moral hurdles to gain his party’s endorsement, and I , for one, think many knew of these impending problems long before the press broke the story after his election.

Some of those party officials claim they simply believed that Santos was telling the truth when he claimed his mother had died in the Sept. 11 attacks in New York, or his 3.9 GPA at schools he never attended.

Newly elected Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy likened Santos’ claims to the usual embellishments often found in the resumes of political candidates. I hope not.

If that’s the case, the mission of local journalism continues as demands on its services increase and resources continue to dwindle; and good local reporting is still the best oversight to ensure transparent and responsible government.

Is the work important? I suggest that answer may best be found in an angry group of Long Island voters who when polled recently voiced a decided majority to remove Santos from office.

on policy IIA. The time they took defending their decision took longer than allowing the citizens to speak would have taken. Board members who vote against citizens having a chance to speak publicly about important issues deserve to be replaced. This fall, Powhatan will elect a new school board and board of supervisors. I hope to see changes to both boards. The status quo is not good for Powhatan. I encourage citizens to consider running for these offices to improve the management of our county.

Sincerely,

Jacqueline Anderson Powhatan

rooms, those victims were evacuated.

Other actors played victims with wounds of varying degrees.

Rather than go for full makeup of fake wounds, cards attached to each victim described their wound and its level of severity. When triaging patients in real life, their wounds would be categorized by color: red (immediate), yellow (delayed), green (minor) and grey (deceased).

After clearing the rooms and centralizing the victims, the firefighter/EMTs were allowed to come in and begin working on taking care of patients and transporting them. They put them on rolling gurneys or carried them out in Reeves stretchers to waiting ambulances, where they went all the way through the exercise of loading them to be taken to a hospital. Some of the deputies helped, carrying patients to safety.

Even if I were a trained first responder capable of offering real insight on how this training exercise played out, I wouldn’t use this column to point out any issues or problems I saw. Were there issues? Yes. How do I know? They said so.

Calendar

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After the scenario was complete, the entire group met in the cafeteria to debrief. They went through step by step to talk about everything from setting up a mobile command to eliminating the threat to communication among the agencies to triaging the patients to evacuating the patients. They even brought over 911 dispatchers who were taking part in the scenario by fielding emergency calls and dispatching aid.

They talked about what worked well and where they saw issues. They gave feedback in the discussion and in forms they filled out, and all of that information plus the observations of controllers in the exercise will go toward creating an after action report that will hopefully help the local agencies know where to focus some of their attention and efforts.

They did the work and made the mistakes now so that if the worst ever happened, they would do it better when it really mattered. How on earth could I criticize that level of dedication?

Laura McFarland may be reached at Lmcfarland@powhatantoday.com.

vt.edu for details about the 4-h opportunities listed, and/or information on starting new 4-h clubs or programs.

ONGOING

agricultural lands in Goochland and Powhatan counties continue to be eligible for conservation assistance funds from Monacan soil and water Conservation district (swCd) for stream exclusion fencing, establishing rotational grazing fields, developing water resources, wells, springs and stream access points, reforestation of critical areas and establishing or enlarging buffer areas along waterways. Funds are also available for nutrient management plan development and implementation, cover crops and numerous other conservation practices. Monacan encourages producers to explore options now since program options have recently been revised and significantly improved for the producer. the district has highly skilled employees who are well trained in both the technical aspects of conservation management and program delivery. staff members assist producers in developing conservation plans that work for their operation and navigating program opportunities. not all programs are created equal and staff members assist applicants in understanding the options and choosing the program that suits their farm’s needs. anyone interested in exploring the many benefits of conservation planning can contact district conservation specialists betty McCracken at (804)5560935 or Colton sullivan at (804)556-0143. the Coalition of Powhatan Churches has available resources to help people who would like assistance in learning to manage their finances. If you know of anyone who needs or would like to have this service, or to get more information, call robin Cupka at 804-801-9851. backpacks of Love, a nonprofit committed to eliminating hunger in school-age children by providing nourishing food for their weekend, needs help. bPoL is looking for delivery drivers that would be available to deliver on thursdays. they are in immediate need of a driver to deliver to Cumberland County and or amelia County. these are great jobs for students looking for community hours. always accepting food donations of single serve raviolis, spaghettios, apple sauce, cereal, cookies, crackers and more. Contact Kevin hardy at 804-350-1127 for more information. young people in the 4-h community learn leadership, citizenship, and a vast array of life skills that benefit them for the rest of their lives. through school-based, after-school, and community clubs as well as camp settings, 4-h members pledge to build a better community, country, and world. the new 4-h year starts oct. 1 and runs through sept. 30, 2022, so this is a great time to join a 4-h club! In Powhatan County, 4-h sPIn and project clubs include the following designed for youth ages 9-18: Livestock, archery, equine, dairy Judging, and shooting education (waiting list).

For our younger youth, ages 5-8 years old, we’re seeking new club leaders interested in starting a second Cloverbud 4-h Club in Powhatan. 4-h school enrichment programs are also available for homeschool groups. reach out to Cathy howland, Powhatan 4-h extension agent, at 804-598-5640 or chowland@

WE WANT TO PUBLISH YOUR ISSUE-DRIVEN LETTERS

Powhatan Food Pantry is currently seeking volunteer drivers who can pick up food from the local Food Lions on different days between 8:30 and 10 a.m. and transport them to the nonprofit at 2500 batterson road. Contact the pantry at 804-372-9526 or powhatanvafoodpantry@gmail.com.

Feel the love from Powhatan County Parks and rec and check out the February schedule of programs. special needs basketball (18+), Monday 10 — 11 a.m. Pickleball (18+), tuesday, thursday 9 — 11:30 a.m. and wednesday 12-2:30 p.m.| Community Matters (55+), tuesday, wednesday, thursday 10 a.m.- 12p.m. Movers & Pacers Indoor walking Group (55+), Fridays 9 — 10 a.m. — Preschool Playtime (ages 2-5), Fridays 10 — 11:30 a.m. — Fast Feet schools out (grades K-8), Friday, Feb. 20 6 a.m. — 6 p.m. — open Gym basketball, Friday, Feb. 3 (youth under 18) 4 — 6 p.m. and (16+) 6 — 8 p.m. — Cupid’s arrows: Couples archery Lesson (8+), Friday, Feb. 17 6 — 8 p.m. ($10 per person) — open Gym basketball, Friday, Feb. 24 (all ages) 4 — 6 p.m. holiday Closure: Monday, Feb. 20. unless noted, activities are free for residents and county employees/ $10 non-residents. Minors under 14 must be accompanied by an adult. Pocahontas Landmark Center Gym is located at 4290 anderson highway. For more information, call the rec Center at 804-598-5275. Follow us on Facebook @ Powhatan County Parks & recreation. the Friends of Powhatan County Public Library’s bookshop is open during library hours and accepting donations again. the bookshop accepts books, movies, audiobooks, Cds, and magazines. Materials can be given to a library staff member or placed in the book shop corner (tuck them by the file cabinet in the back), which is at the end of the passageway once you come in the front door. Proceeds from the book sale are used for additional library programming. the Powhatan County Cooperative extension Master Gardener help desk is here for yet another growing season. although office hours are reduced because of CoVId-19 restrictions, the help desk is still ready and available. email questions and detailed photos of your stricken plants to gpmastergardener@gmail.com and volunteers will try and find a solution for you. you can also directly call the Powhatan County extension at 804-598-5640 and leave a message. the help desk will be in touch. If a real-life diagnosis or determination is needed, large plant samples including root, stem and leaves can be dropped off at the Powhatan County extension’s office after consulting with Master Gardener volunteer. If you have plants/shrubs/trees needing identification in your yard, or are new to the Powhatan or Goochland area, we also offer free one to two-hour site visits. available now emergency housing relief funds to assist with rent, mortgage or other housing concerns. Powhatan Community action agency has received funding for housing relief for families in Powhatan County who have been affected by CoVId-19. Contact renee Van natter at valerie.vannatter@ dss.virginia.gov or via cell at 804 814-5332.

Sports Editor Robby Fletcher rfletcher@powhatantoday.com

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Powhatan today welcomes your Letters to the editor on topics of concern to you and the community. Letters, which should be no longer than 400 words, must include the name, address and telephone number of the author. the deadline is noon the thursday before publication, but letters may be held until the following week upon the editor’s discretion. the publisher or editor of Powhatan today reserves the right to edit or withhold from publication any letter for any reason whatsoever. once received, all letters become the possession of Powhatan today. Letters reflect the opinion of the author, not necessarily that of Powhatan today or its staff.

Indians and Hawks meet before region championship

ROBBY FLETCHER Sports Editor

Powhatan and Hanover shared the pool at Burkwood Swim & Racket Club in Mechanicsville on Feb. 3 for a late-season dual meet as they prepared for postseason play and a shot at a region title.

The Hawks were in fine form on Friday, finishing with 239 team points to the Indians’ 91. Of those, 121 came from the girls team, who were consistently first to touch the wall in a majority of the meet’s races.

Powhatan wasn’t without its highlights despite the loss, including a victory in the 100-meter backstroke from senior Cole Malkerson (1:09.24). Malkerson is primed to be a standout yet again at the regional championship meet after a 56.88-second run placed him fifth last season and made him the first Powhatan swimmer to qualify for states since 2016.

BSH honors championship basketball team’s legacy

ROBBY FLETCHER Sports Editor

Past and present collided in the gym of the Blessed Sacrament-Huguenot Knights on Feb. 4. With the Knights of today leaving the floor at halftime in a matchup against the Fuqua Falcons, athletic director Chuck Thomas turned the attention to members of the 1973 Huguenot Academy Rebels, who were celebrated for their VAAC championship season from 50 years ago.

The Rebels were honored with a new championship trophy that is to be included in the school’s planned Hall of Fame, as well as a plaque honoring the team’s legendary head coach Jim Davidson, who passed away in 1979 due to brain cancer at the age of 33.

The halftime recognition was followed by a reception in the school’s library, where former teammates, school cheerleaders and rivals from opposing schools came together to reminisce about the historical moment forever etched in the school’s history.

The championship run was a storybook finish for the Rebels, who the year prior fell to Surry Academy by two points in the tournament finals. Losing key seniors and needing multiple players to step up, Davidson and his balanced,

depth-laden group charged forward with just three losses by a combined six points and a revenge victory over Surry in the tournament semifinals to set up a meeting with Isle of Wight, the eastern region division champions.

Isle of Wight was one of the three

teams to defeat Huguenot that season. They wouldn’t be able to do it a second time, and the Rebels would be named the VAAC conference champions in boys varsity basketball for the first time in school history with a 55-46 win. It was the first of three titles under Davidson in his five-year coaching tenure, with the team also winning in 1974 and 1975.

The celebration was sparked by a desire to tie the histories of Huguenot Academy and Blessed Sacrament Huguenot together in a more concrete fashion. Huguenot Academy merged with Blessed Sacrament at Belmead in 1998, and Paul Mitchell, a former Huguenot Academy student-athlete who put the event together, likens the previous relationship of the two schools to a divorce.

Mitchell has assumed the role of a local historian since he retired, spending time gathering old newspaper clippings, replacing trophies that were previously discarded at the school and tracking down the surviving members of the Rebels team to bring them back to their old stomping grounds.

“Trophies can be replaced, they’re replicable,” Mitchell said. “We need to right this wrong.”

Malkerson’s other individual event against Hanover was in the 200-meter individual medley, where he finished in 2:30.89, placing second just behind Hanover freshman Colin Eliason (2:25.88).

Eliason later won the 100-meter freestyle with a time of 59.01 seconds, just ahead of senior teammate Ben Morgan and his 59.50-second finish.

Powhatan’s other big win came from freshman Elizabeth Vallent, who pulled out a close first place finish against Hanover senior Cere Duplissey (5:06.08) with a time of 5:04.31. Earlier in the day, Vallent also finished second behind Hawks junior Jordyn Dillard, who cruised to a 2:36.83 time that was just past her seed time by 0.18 seconds.

Aside from those wins, Hanover seemed to be in complete control in both individual and relay events.

In the boys and girls 200-meter medley relays that started early in the meet, the results prove eerily similar, with Hanover’s top quartet of swimmers just pulling in front late in the race to win. Hanover’s boys team won with a time of 2:06.99, just ahead of Powhatan’s admirable 2:07.44 finish. Hanover’s girl relay team placed first with a final time of 2:21.13, again giving the team a remarkably close finish against Powhatan, who finished in 2:22.26.

Performances like senior Nathaniel Eliason’s 25.63-second mark in the 50-meter freestyle or Campbell Derrico’s 100-meter freestyle time of 1:04.01 had challengers like Powhatan’s Brandon Vallent or Hayden Russell close behind, but the Hanover swimmers were able to claim the wins at the end of the day, and take some significant confidence into their quest for regional glory in the process.

DeBord shines on senior night to defeat Clover Hill

Editor

Sports

Jack DeBord has only been with the Powhatan Indians for two seasons, but the impact he’s left as a deadeye 3-point shooter, ball-handler and on-the-floor leader is not soon to be forgotten from the Powhatan faithful that have watched him from the stands as he has torched defender after defender with his shooting touch.

On his senior night alongside fellow soon-to-be graduates Paul Bonner, Oscar Whitely, Austin Hurt and Tanner Wyatt, he gave the fans another spectacular showing against the Clover Hill Cavaliers, lighting up the scoreboard with 22 points in a 75-66 victory on Feb. 3.

Powhatan has been on a roll as of late, with the senior night win being their fourth victory in the last six games, moving them to 8-11 with the regional tournament approaching later this month.

Entering the fourth quarter with a 49-41 advantage, DeBord help put the Cavaliers away for good, knocking down three triples and scoring 11 of his 22 points in that eight-minute stretch to send the Cavaliers packing with their 15th loss of the season.

The Indians received a boost defensively from Bonner, Hurt and Whitely, all of whom have developed over the years into consistent stoppers on the defensive end. They helped keep Clover Hill’s best scoring threats

in Brandon Hill and Mikea Lewis at bay by contesting shots, grabbing rebounds and protecting the paint whenever the Cavaliers attempted to get aggressive going to the hoop. Bonner added three points, all in the fourth quarter, that came from the charity stripe, hitting on three of his four attempts from the line to keep the Indians in front late in the game.

Wyatt also chipped in six points in his senior night performance, drilling threes in the second and fourth quarter to make the Cavaliers pay for bringing additional help on players like DeBord or sophomore Matt Henderson, who also added 18 points on the night.

Please see debOrd, Page B2

C&F Bank’s Athleteof the Week C& FBa nk AthleteoftheWeek

WRESTLING ALL-STAR

WHO: GAVINUTLEY

WHATHE DID:

PowhatanHighSchoolplayedhostto 13schoolsfortheArrowheadInvitational onJan.28andcameawaywithathird placefinishinthewrestlingtournament.

ThreePowhatanwrestlerswontheir weig ht class esinthrillingfas hion,including GavinUtley,whotookfirstplacehonorsin the138-poundbracket.

Utleyhadmultiplerematchesonhis waytoafirstplacemedal,butironically hadtotakeonsomeoneentirelyunfamiliar inthechampionshipinWilsonMemorial’s BraydenEstes.

Utleywonbypininhisfirstthree matchesandbeatAtlee’sBraytonCrews ina4-1decisionheadingintothefinalwith Estes,whoUtleycontrolledwithanearly takedownonthewaytoa4-0decisionwin. Inthesecondperiod,alatereversalgave Utleytheconfidencetomaintainthelead andholdoffEstes’last-ditchattemptsat stealingthechampion sh ipmed al

PHOTOS BY ROBBY FLETCHER

Huguenot Academy graduate Rick Fleming (center) holds up the new VAAC championship trophy next to former teammates Butch

Dandridge (left) and Scott Hinchman (right) at halftime of a Blessed Sacrament Huguenot basketball game on Feb. 3.

ROBBY FLETCHER

ROBBY FLETCHER

Senior Jack DeBord scored 11 of his 22 points in the fourth quarter on his senior night against Clover Hill on Feb. 3.

A poster on the wall of the Blessed Sacrament Huguenot gym highlights the history of the 1973 Rebels team that won the VAAC championship 50 years ago.

Legacy

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Mitchell succeeded on all fronts, bringing back Dr. Robert Bass from Manassas, Butch Dandridge of Keysville, Gary Fralin and Rick “The Rock” Fleming of Chesterfield, Charlie Harper of Kitty Hawk, Gene Hatcher of Powhatan, Scott Hinchman from Charlottesville, Billy Hupp of Richmond, and manager Alan Stein from Shacklefords. The family of Davidson was also in attendance.

Not everyone was able to attend though. Players like Blane Wilton, Gary Beck, Chris Plummer, Kirk McNiel and Mark Harris were unable to make it for the ceremony, while both Brooks Moore and John Glisson passed away in 2015.

Hatcher, a senior on the championship team and a Powhatan local, was grateful to be with his former teammates. A Virginia Tech graduate and retired engineer with the Timmons Group, Hatcher suffered a near-fatal brain bleed in 2015 that put him in a coma for a day. Hatcher miraculously survived and says over 200 people came to visit him during his time in the hospital. Making slow but steady progress since then, Hatcher was able to walk to the center of the BSH court and cherish the moment along with his fellow Rebels.

Four speeches were made at the reception: one by Davidson’s son Scott, another by team MVP Scott Hinchman, then Billy Hupp and lastly Mitchell.

Hupp recalled matching up with Hinchman every day at practice, noting how the two constantly came to blows due to their physical styles of play and how those practices molded the team into a hard-working unit that could punish opponents as much as they could outclass them.

“Nobody beat him up like I beat him up,” Hupp joked. “All joking aside, when it was crunch time, he was the guy.”

Though every speech talked about the team and its accomplishments, every conversation seemed to direct course to the impact of Davidson and the profound influence he left on the student-athletes he coached.

You’d be hard-pressed to find a coach more influential in such a short amount of time as Davidson, who took over the team before the 1971-72 season. He was known as a leader that could turn great individuals into an even greater team, and a coach who emphasized endurance and demanded full effort in every practice drill to ensure his team was never out-hustled on the floor.

“What’s evident is coach Davidson was an instrumental part of everybody’s life,” Hinchman said. “The confidence he instilled in all of us with what he put us through and his leadership style created a winning culture. We expected to win.”

After two more VAAC championships and another western region division title, Davidson left his position as coach and teacher in 1976, accepting a position as the school’s assistant headmaster.

Scott, who was 7 years old at the time of his father’s death, remembers the love his father had for his community and the work he did for the school. At the end of his speech, he gifted the game-used 1973 championship basketball to the school to place in its Hall of Fame.

Mitchell intends to continue the trend of honoring the great athletes of the school’s history, with plans to honor the 50th anniversary of the 1974 championship basketball team next year, tying the histories of the Knights and the Rebels together even more.

robby Fletcher can be reached at rfletcher@powhatantoday.com.

Swim

From B1

After getting some final laps in against talented opposition, the Hawks and the Indians now look ahead to regional play starting on Feb. 10, with both teams hoping to see their swimmers trek on through the later parts of the season with appearances in the state championship swim meet that’ll start on Feb. 18 at SwimRVA.

robby Fletcher can be reached at rfletcher@powhatantoday.com.

Powhatan State Park hosts 5K event

CONTRIBUTED REPORT

Powhatan locals will get the opportunity to support a local soccer team while getting active at Powhatan State Park for the upcoming No Frills Some Chills 5K on Saturday, Feb. 25.

The funds from the 5K race will support the costs for the U13

FC Richmond Elite girls soccer team’s upcoming Florida tournament trip. The race has a 9 a.m. start and features a mix of grass trails as well as the Cabin and the Big Woods trail loops that are part of the state park.

The top-2 male and female

finishers will also receive custom animal print mugs from Kirsten’s Clay, which is based out of Blackstone, Virginia. Potomac River Running will also be providing raffle and door prizes for guests joining the race.

Online registration for the event will be $25, which includes

a race shirt, or $20 without the shirt. Race day entry will be available at $25, though does not include a shirt. Online entry with no shirt closes on Thursday, Feb. 23 at 11:59 p.m. Results for the 5K will also be posted online by 9 p.m. the day of the race.

Whitely to play football at Bridgewater

ROBBY FLETCHER Sports Editor

After taking his time and weighing all his options, Powhatan multi-sport athlete Oscar Whitely has finally decided which school he’ll represent on the football field.

Whitely committed to the Bridgewater Eagles on Jan. 31 after weighing options from schools like Christopher Newport and Shenandoah University.

“I would like to start off by thanking my family, friends and coaches,” Whitely said in an announcement. “This has been a hard decision, but I will be heading to Bridgewater this fall to continue my academic and athletic career.”

It’s been an eventful final year for the Powhatan senior, who played on both sides of the field at linebacker and tight end as one of a few key senior leaders for a young Powhatan football team, earned a trip to the Big River Rivalry alongside teammates Landon Gibbs and Dylan Trevillian and stepped onto the basketball court as one of Powhatan’s go-to options in the backcourt.

Whitely’s last appearance representing Powhatan football came in the Big River Rivalry, where he lined up at tight end for the south team, playing alongside his trusted quarterback Trevillian while Gibbs also lined up wide at wide receiver.

“It’s really enjoyable and meaningful; it was one last ride with my brothers,” Whitely said after the Big River Rivalry. “I just love the feeling of one last time with them, coming out and showcasing what we can do on the field.”

Throughout the fall and winter sports seasons, Whitely’s been pa-

DeBord

From B1

Additional scoring punch came courtesy of freshman Ryan Flippo, who had one of his best performances of the season, adding 14 points behind DeBord and Henderson. Flippo has carved out a

tient with the recruiting process, gauging interest from a handful of schools and taking multiple visits to Bridgewater’s campus, CNU, Averett University, Hampden-Sydney and Randolph-Macon.

Bridgewater was always a team at the top of the list though, and the interest was reciprocated early.

Eagles head coach Scott Lemn and his staff made a second offer to Whitely after a visit in early Octo-

ber, which Whitely ultimately took them up on.

“A lot went into my decision,”

Whitely said. “I had narrowed it down to CNU and Bridgewater. The relationship I built with Bridgewater over the past couple of months made me feel like I was wanted. It seemed as though they cared about me like family.”

Whitely was impressed by the constant stream of communication the team had with him and his

CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

family, something that made him feel wanted and spoke highly of the Bridgewater culture.

“They would reach out to my parents too, not just me and I thought that was special,” he added. “After my final visit, I knew this was the place for me. It felt like home and a place I could see myself for the next four years.” robby Fletcher can be reached at rfletcher@powhatantoday.com.

nice role for himself within the team’s rotation with his selfless play and ability to put the ball on the deck and drive to the rim. Flippo was at his best in the second quarter, scoring five points and shooting three-of-four from the free throw line.

The Indians are currently playing some of their best basketball

of the season in recent weeks, and the hope is that trend continues on with their final two matchups of the season. The first, a Friday night battle on Feb. 10 against Cosby, will be a shot at revenge for Powhatan, who lost in a close 53-46 finish to Cosby on Jan. 11.

The second will be Powhatan’s regular season finale versus a

talented James River team that’s third in the Dominion District and again was a team that just barely edged past Powhatan previously this season with a 75-72 victory on Dec. 14. That game will be played at Powhatan on Feb. 13.

robby Fletcher can be reached at rfletcher@powhatantoday.com.

Powhatan senior oscar Whitely (left) committed to the bridgewater eagles led by head coach scott Lemn (right) on Jan. 31.

PHOTOS BY ROBBY FLETCHER above, center austin hurt contests a shot in the paint against Maggie Walker on Jan. 10. bottom left, guard oscar Whitely dribbles the ball up the floor in a game against Goochland on dec. 6. bottom right, center Paul bonner blocks a shot against a Maggie Walker player as teammate tanner Wyatt looks on.

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PHOTOS COURTESY OF BRITTANY ROSE PETOGRAPHY

Brittany Ketcham of Brittany Rose Petography LLC visited Powhatan Animal Control on Feb. 1 to provide free Valentine’s Day photos to the shelter pets available for adoption. They also enjoyed pupcakes donated by Clementine’s Dog Bakery for this very special occasion. Visit the shelter to adopt a sweetheart just in time for Valentine’s Day snuggles! If you’d like a Valentine’s Day photo of your pet, visit Powhatan Animal Control on Friday, Feb. 10 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and participate in the photo booth to help raise money for Cash4Kennels. Minimum of a $10 donation (cash or check) per pet. Brittany Rose Petography LLC will be taking photos on the heart backdrop with 100% of the proceeds donated to Powhatan Animal Control.

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Datenoticepostedatestablishment:

1/27/2023

NOTE:ObjectionstotheissuanceofthislicensemustbesubmittedtoABCnolaterthan 30daysfromthepublishingdateofthefirstof tworequirednewspaperlegalnotices.Objectionsshouldberegisteredatwww.abc.virginia .govor(800)552-3200.

PURPOSEOFNOTICE:Toseekpubliccomment on adraftpermitfromtheDepartmentofEnvironmentalQualitythatwillallowthefillingof wetlandsandstreamsinPowhatanCounty, Virginia. PUBLICCOMMENTPERIOD:For30days,startingfromthedayafterthenoticeisinthe newspaper:January2,2023,toFebruary1, 2023 PERMITNAME:VirginiaWaterProtectionPermitissuedbyDEQ,undertheauthorityofthe StateWaterControlBoard APPLICANTNAME,ADDRESSANDPERMIT NUMBER:Hopson,L.L.C.(RayAvery);P.O.Box 397,Midlothian,VA23113;VWPPNo.20-2109 PROJECTDESCRIPTION:Hopson,L.L.C.hasappliedfor anewpermitfortheWalnutCreek Section 7project.Theprojectislocatedsouth ofAndersonHighway(RouteUS60)approximately0.4milessouthwestoftheintersection ofWalnutTreeBoulevardandAndersonHighwayinPowhatanCounty,Virginia.Thepermit willallowtheapplicanttofillsurfacewater wetlandsandstreamsfortheconstructionofa residentialcommunitytoinclude23residential lots,necessaryroadways,andutilityinfrastructure.Theproposedactivitywouldaffect 0.24acresofpalustrineforestedwetlandsand 487linearfeetofstreambed.Thisprojectis consideredcumulativewithDEQEnforcement ActionNo.PR08-0206,whichincludesthepermanentunauthorizedimpactsto1.08acresof wetlandsand3,700linearfeetofstreamchannel.Therefore,totalcumulativeimpactsfor thisfacility,includingthoseauthorizedbythis permitandpreviouspermits,arepermanent impactstonomorethan1.29-acrePFOand 4,187linearfeetofstreambed.Theactivity proposedinthepermitwillaffectunnamed tributariesintheMuddyCreekwatershed.A watershedisthelandareadrainedby ariver anditsincomingstreams.Tocompensatefor thepermanentwetlandimpacts,theapplicant willpurchase0.42wetlandmitigation credit(s). Ascompensationforpermanentstreamimpacts,thepermitteewillpurchase587USM streammitigationcredits.Hopson,L.L.C. agreedtomitigatefortheunauthorizedimpactsbypurchasing1.08wetlandcreditsfrom anapprovedmitigationbank,preserving 19,585linearfeetofstreamwithminimum50’ buffersoneachsidebydeedrestrictions,preserving13.88acresofwetlandswithbuffersby deedrestriction,andpreserving3.53acresof wetlandswithoutbuffersordeedrestrictions. Therefore,incombination,theapplicanthas satisfiedthecompensatorymitigationforthis permit.Ifsufficientmitigationbankcreditsare notavailable,thepermitallowsthepurchase ofwetlandandstreamcreditsfromanin-lieu feefund.DEQ’spreliminarydecisionistoissue thepermit.

HOWTOCOMMENTAND/ORREQUEST APUBLICHEARING:DEQacceptscommentsandrequestsforpublichearingbye-mail,faxor postalmail.Allcommentsandrequestsmust beinwritingandbereceivedbyDEQduring thecommentperiod.Submittalsmustinclude thenames,mailingaddressesandtelephone numbersofthecommenter/requesterandof allpersonsrepresentedbythecommenter/requester. Arequestforpublichearingmustalso include:1)Thereasonwhyapublichearing isrequested.2) Abrief,informalstatementregardingthenatureandextentoftheinterest oftherequesterorofthoserepresentedbythe requestor,includinghowandtowhatextent suchinterestwouldbedirectlyandadversely affectedbythepermit.3)Specificreferences, wherepossible,totermsandconditionsofthe permitwithsuggestedrevisions. Apublic hearingmaybeheld,includinganothercommentperiod,ifpublicresponseissignificant, basedonindividualrequestsfor apublichearing,andtherearesubstantial,disputedissues relevanttothepermit. Thepublicmayreviewthedraftpermitand applicationattheDEQofficenamedbelowor mayrequestcopiesofthedocumentsfromthe contactpersonlistedbelow.

CONTACTFORPUBLICCOMMENTS,DOCUMENTREQUESTSANDADDITIONALINFORMATION:CaraWitte;VirginiaDept.ofEnvironmentalQuality,PiedmontRegionalOffice,4949ACoxRoad,GlenAllen,Virginia,23060;Tel: (804)712-4192;cara.witte@deq.virginia.gov; Fax:(804)698-4178