News for New Kent County and Charles City County, Virginia | November 6, 2025
News Archives for 2008
Track lists 2008 stakes races
Colonial Downs is running 17 stakes races worth a combined $2.52 million during its upcoming 45-day summer thoroughbred meet, the longest in the New Kent County track’s history. The meet opens on June 9 and runs through Aug. 16. Racing will generally follow a Friday-Tuesday schedule with post time at 12:55 p.m. on weekends and 5 p.m. on weekdays. Purses are expected to average $200,000 per day. Topping the stakes race list is the $750,000 Virginia Derby on July 19. The 11th running of the 1.25-mile turf test for three-year-olds will be broadcast live from 5-6 p.m. on CBS. The…
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Tabb prevails 7-2 in Bay Rivers tennis
Carter Gilland won his singles contest and the team of Richie Johnson and Nick English prevailed in doubles, but visiting Tabb swept the other matches for 7-2 Bay Rivers District tennis win on April 2. Singles: Rhew (T) d. Johnson 6-0, 6-0; Harris (T) d. English 6-1, 4-6, 10-4; Manuz (T) d. T.J. Otey 6-0, 6-0; Gilland (NK) d. Dooley 6-3, 6-4, 11-9; Yankoski (T) d. Chris Sickal 6-2, 6-3; Johnson (T) d. Tommy Phipps 6-1, 6-2. Doubles: Johnson-English d. Rhew-Manuz 8-5; Harris-Yankoski d. Otey-Gilland 9-7; Dooley-Gardner d. Sickal-Phipps 8-3.
Perfect game halts Lady Trojan losing skid
Standing on deck to bat in the second inning, New Kent pitcher Becca Mills got some advice from first base coach Ken Otey. If she hits the ball in the air, Otey told her, make sure it goes over the fence. “Don’t jinx me,” a slightly perturbed Mills shot back. He didn’t. Mills drove a pitch from Warhill hurler Amanda Bordon high in the air, clearing the left field fence for a two-run homer. The blast ignited a 10-run frame that vaulted the host Lady Trojans to a 20-0 shutout over the Lions. On the mound, meanwhile, Mills and reliever…
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NK records 1st goals in loss
Grafton’s visiting Clippers scored early and often in handing New Kent’s Trojans their second straight Bay Rivers District soccer loss last Thursday, but on a positive note the Trojans (0-3 overall) broke through with their first goals of the season as the final read 11-2. The unbeaten Clippers, meanwhile, registered their first goal less than two minutes into the contest and racked up points on six of their first seven shots. One shot was a penalty kick that helped Grafton take a 6-0 lead with only 15 minutes gone in the first half. “We definitely started slow, but we haven’t…
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Lady Trojans fall 6-0 in BRD
Visiting Poquoson scored three goals in each half and didn’t afford New Kent’s host Lady Trojans many scoring opportunities in claiming a 6-0 Bay Rivers District soccer win. The March 31 contest was New Kent’s first in 11 days as spring break interrupted the schedule, and Lady Trojan coach Chad Honeycutt was not pleased with his team’s effort. “It’s tough to come back from spring break and jump right into a game,” he said after his team fell to 0-2 in the district and 2-2 overall. “I think this was a district game we could have been competitive in, but…
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New Kent outlasts Warhill 17-13 for first baseball win
Winning the hard way best sums up New Kent’s grasp of its first Bay Rivers District baseball victory. The host Trojans trailed Warhill’s visiting Lions 8-0 in the second inning, but a pair of seven-run frames put the hosts in command on the way to a 17-13 triumph. The April 2 decision ended New Kent’s five-game losing streak, handing the Trojans a 1-5 record. “It wasn’t pretty,” New Kent coach Ronnie Cox said. “It was a messy game. But the kids have been playing hard against good competition and they really wanted to win. I’m real proud of the kids.”…
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New Kent girl puts her eggs in Habitat’s basket
Easter egg hunts are a daily activity for one special young girl in New Kent County. Each morning, eight-year-old Catherine Peterson rises bright and early to care for her 10 chickens before school. Although some might call it a chore, for Catherine it’s a labor of love. She feeds her small flock and gathers freshly laid, warm eggs while cooing “good morning” and “thank you” to the nesting hens as she gently feels under their rumpless seats for a prize. On a good day, she’ll find two or three blue and green eggs hidden in their nests. Catherine raises Araucana…
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Prison term imposed in CC
Charles City man must serve a one-year prison term stemming from a police chase the covered 10 miles at speeds over 80 miles an hour over county roads. Ronnie Sylvester Mabry Jr., 21, of 7641 Ruthville Road, Providence Forge, received the sentence on March 21 in Charles City Circuit Court. Judge Thomas B. Hoover imposed five years in prison with all but the one year suspended for the next 10 years. Mabry must also pay a total of $3,000 in civil remedial fees over the next 26 months unless the state takes action to repeal the fees. As part of…
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NK man’s death labeled as ‘unfortunate accident’
Authorities in New Kent are labeling the death of a county man “an unfortunate accident” after the victim apparently became pinned when the car he was attempting to start lurched forward and struck a tree. Joseph J. Ritzenthaler, 30, of 8950 Piney Branch Lane near Providence Forge, had walked outside his home just after 5:30 a.m. on March 30 to warm up the engine on a car belonging to his fiancé, New Kent Sheriff F. W. “Wakie” Howard said. “The next thing she heard was him calling for help,” Howard said. Investigators theorize Ritzenthaler opened the driver’s side door and…
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Rifle hunting options up for discussion at CC hearing
h high-power rifles safer and to possibly limit the length of rifle season will be on the table when Charles City’s Board of Supervisors hosts a public hearing on the fate of the county’s rifle law. The April 22 hearing is to solicit public input on the issue of retaining county law as it now stands or doing away with rifle use, except for muzzle-loaded firearms, during general deer season. Those are the extremes under consideration. Compromise measures are also in the works whereby the existing law could be modified to prohibit rifle fire within 1,000 feet of any residence…
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