News for New Kent County and Charles City County, Virginia | November 3, 2025
News Archives for 2010
Lady Trojans strengthen grip on 2nd place in Bay Rivers
It wasn’t supposed to be this easy. Tabb’s Tigers invaded New Kent’s gym with a 6-3 Bay Rivers District volleyball record and a chance to knock the 7-1 Lady Trojans out of sole possession of second place in the league standings. But the hosts put together a series of scoring runs in all three games of Tuesday night’s best of five encounter, dominating play on the way to an unexpectedly easy 25-12, 25-16, 25-17 triumph. The victory upped New Kent’s record to 8-1, 9-2 overall, solidifying the Lady Trojans’ hold on second place, one game behind undefeated Grafton. “No way,”…
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Holly Fork Pumpkin Patch offers family entertainment
For the first time, Stephanie and Mike Ripchick and Stephanie’s dad, Richard Dean Jr., are hosting the “Holly Fork Pumpkin Patch” on the family farm at 4901 Holly Fork Road, Barhamsville. The attraction, that opens today (Oct. 7), offers visitors games, a picnic area, a small corn maze, hayrides, a straw toss, and a lot more for the fall and Halloween season. “We’re very basic,” Stephanie Ripchick said. “We’re family-friendly and there’s nothing scary. We also have chickens and pot-bellied pigs.” There is no admission charge and all activities (except hayrides) are free. Hayrides are $1.50, but there’s no charge…
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Charles City student plans mission to Mars at academy
Allen Black spent a week of his summer planning a mission to Mars. Black, a Charles City County resident and student from Appomattox Regional Governor’s School, was one of 48 rising high school seniors from across the state selected to take part in the Virginia Aerospace Science and Technology Scholars (VASTS) academy. The academy was held June 26-July 2 at NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton, and was hosted by NASA Langley in a partnership with the Virginia Space Grant Consortium. Prior to the academy, students completed a six-month interactive distance-learning program on aerospace exploration that prepared them for their…
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New Kent schools improve on graduation, dropout rates
New Kent school officials are beaming about statistics showing over the past two years a significant upswing in county students’ on-time high school graduation rate and a marked decline in dropouts. Virginia’s Department of Education released the data last week. New Kent School Board members perused the findings, labeled “very good news” by school superintendent Rick Richardson, during their meeting Monday afternoon. On-time graduation and dropout statistics track high school students beginning with their freshman year. New Kent’s Class of 2010 boasted an 88.4 percent on-time graduation rate. The figure is above the state average of 85.5 and a vast…
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Charles City, DEQ working on 50-year water plan
Charles City officials and the state Department of Environmental Quality are creating a draft plan aimed at outlining the county’s water needs for the next 50 years. The goal is to have the plan in county Board of Supervisors members’ hands by the board’s next meeting on Oct. 26. A public hearing is scheduled for that night. At the same meeting, supervisors are expected to approve the plan in order to beat a Nov. 2 deadline for having a final document submitted to DEQ. And Charles City is not alone. DEQ is requiring all localities with less than 15,000 residents…
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New Quinton medical center opening to patients Oct. 18
Pouring rain and a power outage failed to stop last Thursday’s private tour of the new Chickahominy Family Physicians’ 15,000 square-foot New Kent Medical Center. Located at 1850 Pocahontas Trail (Route 60) in the Bottoms Bridge area of Quinton, the center opens to patients on Oct. 18. Dr. Dennis Thomas, one of the center’s partners, told the invitation-only crowd that the new building has been 12 years in the making. “We think of this as a one-stop medical care facility,” he added. “The people of New Kent are such great people, and we think they deserve the best in medical…
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Burglary rash labeled ‘worst’ by NK sheriff
Seven individuals comprising three separate suspected burglary groups have been arrested in recent weeks in the wake of a rash of home break-ins in New Kent County. “This is probably the worst I’ve ever seen it,” Sheriff F.W. “Wakie” Howard Jr. said last week, commenting on the 23 burglaries that have occurred between July 1 and Sept. 27. “In the past when we’ve made an arrest, break-ins have slowed down over the next few weeks,” he said. “But now we’re just being bombarded. There’s no rest or break in between.” Howard pointed to the state of the economy, drug dependency,…
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Crashing into police cruiser nets prison
A Hopewell man facing a long list of felony charges in connection with an incident last year that totaled a Charles City Sheriff’s Office police cruiser and heavily damaged another is headed to prison. Nasir Karim Goode, 25, of 2001 Warren St., faced two counts each of attempted murder of a police officer, attempted malicious wounding, and malicious wounding along with single counts of eluding police, hit and run, and destruction of property. The charges stemmed from a Nov. 8 chase which ended when the pickup truck Goode was driving crashed into the back of a Charles City cruiser, sending…
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NK officials out to avoid past redistricting controversy
New Kent Board of Supervisors members are looking ahead to the task of redrawing boundary lines for the county’s five districts, once population data is received from the 2010 Census. That information is due sometime in February and will serve as basis for a task that must be accomplished every 10 years. But next year’s process won’t involve a committee made up of county officials and volunteers from the community, as recommended last week by county administrative staff. Supervisors shot down that concept during their Sept. 29 work session. Instead, board members have opted to follow procedures used in 2001…
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Pair accused in NK daytime home burglaries indicted
A New Kent Circuit Court grand jury has indicted 16 people on at least one felony charge each, including a Henrico County pair accused in a recent string of daytime home burglaries in the county. A joint investigation by authorities in New Kent, Goochland, Henrico, and Hanover counties led to the arrest of Laura Anne Yonon, 22, and Derrick Brandon Graham, 27, both of 2320 Kenwood Avenue, in connection with a rash of burglaries occurring since July in the four localities, including three in New Kent. On Monday, a New Kent grand jury indicted the pair on three counts each…
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