News for New Kent County and Charles City County, Virginia | November 4, 2025
News Archives for 2010
Journey Trails begins 7th year
Journey Trails is entering its seventh year of operation and has become New Kent’s largest haunt attraction. An original “truth-based” haunt, the creators have a talent for taking the truths of scripture, and turning them into a thrilling Halloween adventure. Priding themselves on being able to create effective scares without the use of extreme blood and gore, they play on people’s natural, universal and social fears, engaging their imaginations to give them an over-the-top haunt experience. Journey Trails has become so effective using this technique, they have managed to take home first place for two years in a row at…
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Charles City cadets learn ropes at camp
Perhaps the first step in beating the summer heat, or any other of life’s pressures, is to confront it. Nearly 270 high school students from Junior ROTC programs up and down the Virginia, Maryland and Delaware coasts faced up to steamy temperatures and some of their phobias July 16-21 during the Junior Cadet Leadership Challenge Mountain 2010 at Fort Eustis. “It’s a great place to be,” said Jonathan Hambright, a cadet from the Junior ROTC program at Charles City High School. “It’s actually a fun week to be here, and it’s really active.” The high school cadets may have worn…
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Charles City church nearing 200th anniversary milestone
Members of Charles City County’s Elam Baptist Church are busily preparing for the church’s 200th anniversary celebration scheduled for Sept. 23-26. Located in Ruthville, Elam is regarded as one of the oldest black churches in Virginia. The church’s history will be a focal point of the Thursday-Sunday celebration along with guest speakers, a banquet and cookout, and a dedication ceremony. “We are excited, and we want the public to know they are invited,” said the church’s pastor, the Rev. Horace Parham. “We expect to have a grand time,” he said. “We are indeed thankful to God for 200 years of…
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NK grand jury indicts 15
A New Kent man, indicted in July by a county circuit court grand jury and sought for crack cocaine distribution, has been found and arrested by New Kent sheriff’s office detectives. The grand jury, convening on July 19, indicted Johnathan Ladarryl Jones, 30, of 14315 Paige Road, Lanexa, on four counts of crack cocaine distribution. Those indictments were promptly sealed pending Jones’ arrest. But authorities were unable to locate the suspect until Aug. 10. Shortly after 1 p.m., detectives Joey McLaughlin and Donald Mehalko found Jones in a residence at 18005 New Kent Highway in Barhamsville. Jones also faces two…
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Suspended sentence, fine imposed in CC cruelty case
A Charles City dog kennel owner has received a suspended jail sentence and a fine after pleading guilty to 10 counts of misdemeanor animal cruelty in county general district court. Ronald W. Hartman, 61, of 7901 Roxbury Road, had faced 52 animal cruelty counts, but a plea deal reached July 21 dropped most of the charges. Following terms of the plea deal, Judge Colleen Killilea imposed 10 years in jail, all suspended for the next 10 years, and a $10,000 fine with $5,000 suspended. Hartman must pay close to $11,000 in veterinary bills incurred after authorities seized dogs from the…
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Applicants sought in wake of CC board member’s death
A search is on to fill the Charles City County School Board seat left vacant by the sudden, unexpected death of District 3 representative Henry O. Hollimon Jr. Dr. Hollimon died on Aug. 8 as the result of a stroke. He was in his third term on the board having won the District 3 seat in the 1999 election. “It was a surprise, and it’s a great loss,” Charles City school superintendent Janet Crawley said reacting to Dr. Hollimon’s death. “He always did what’s best for the children,” she said. “Even though the decisions were sometimes difficult, his goal was…
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CC facing up to $1.2 million shortfall in landfill revenue
A drastic decline in revenue flowing into Charles City coffers from Waste Management’s landfill is forcing county officials to take steps curbing overall expenses. Board of Supervisors members voted 3-0 during their Tuesday night meeting to place a temporary freeze on all spending deemed “non-essential.” The board is leaving it up to individual county departments and agencies to reexamine respective budgets and determine which expenditures fall into the essential/non-essential categories. County Administrator Jack Miniclier told supervisors that trash deposited in the landfill is currently averaging about 1,500 tons per day. The minimum required under the county’s contract with the firm…
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Defense motion to continue stops clock in Carter case
The clock is no longer ticking. New Kent commonwealth’s attorney Linwood Gregory is out from under a time constraint for bringing John Steven Carter, the accused drug dealer involved in a fatal 2008 shooting in Lanexa, to trial on a list of felony charges. By filing for a continuance in the matter of a preliminary hearing on four of the felony counts, Carter’s new attorney has effectively stopped the clock — permanently. Gregory, meanwhile, can be declared the winner in a legal maneuvering contest with the defendant. That preliminary hearing, originally scheduled for Sept. 8, is now set for Sept….
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Prosecutor proceeding on all felony charges against Carter
New Kent County’s prosecutor has no plans to drop any of five felony charges lodged against John Steven Carter, the reputed drug dealer at the center of a botched robbery and fatal shooting in Lanexa back in October 2008. In fact, Commonwealth’s Attorney Linwood Gregory added a sixth felony count on Monday. As expected on Monday, a New Kent Circuit Court grand jury indicted Carter, 57, on one count of manufacturing marijuana. New to the mix is an indictment on one count of marijuana possession with intent to distribute. And despite Carter’s legal maneuvering to impose a deadline under which…
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Former clerk pleads guilty
A former New Kent convenience store employee, who cashed in winnings from $2,400 in state lottery tickets she took from the place where she worked, has pleaded guilty in county circuit court on a pair of embezzlement counts. Myrtle Grasberger, 41, formerly of 1507 Robin Grey Lane, Richmond, entered the pleas on July 12. State sentencing guidelines in the matter called for probation only and no jail time. Judge Thomas B. Hoover followed the guidelines, imposing five years in prison on each count and suspending all for the next 10 years, but ordered Grasberger to repay $2,400 to the owner…
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