News for New Kent County and Charles City County, Virginia | October 30, 2026
Local News
Charles City School Board adopts budget, adjusts salary scale for FY2015-16
Charles City School Board members formally adopted their FY2015-16 budget during a special meeting Tuesday evening. Representatives adopted $4,806,568 in local dollars as part of the total $10.1 million budget. As part of the adoption, school board members went into discussion on how to allocate a two-percent pay raise for teachers and solve issues on compression on the school’s salary scale. Options for application of those funds were first addressed during an Apr. 21 meeting by interim finance director Sheila Minor. She presented four options that included a straight two-percent raise for employees, an option for a one-percent raise at…
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Smith seeks new term in Charles City
Gilbert A. Smith, current Charles City Board of Supervisors chairman, has formally announced his bid for reelection to represent the citizens of District 1 in Charles City. This is Smith’s seventh bid to seek reelection to continue his post on the board of supervisors. “It has been an honor and pleasure to represent, work, and serve the citizens of District 1,” said Smith in a press release. “I will continue to consider the challenges that face the county.”
Few comment on New Kent County’s FY2015-16 budget
Only two people took advantage of speaking during New Kent Board of Supervisors’ public hearing on the FY2015-16 budget Monday evening. County administrator Rodney Hathaway reviewed the amended $56,916,986 budget with supervisors and the public. The budget increased by $204,601 from the original proposal due to schools receiving more state funding to accommodate an increase in enrollment. During the public hearing, speakers addressed the board with comments on issues that they felt affected the county. “I’m concerned with the additional four percent water rate tax in public utilities,” said Mark Daniel. “The past few years the rate has gone up…
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None injured in early morning house fire in New Kent
An early morning house fire in western New Kent resulted in no injuries among occupants or firefighter personnel. On Tuesday morning shortly before 3 a.m., dispatchers received a call of a house fire at the 3000 block of Point Road, located in the Five Lakes subdivision. New Kent Fire Chief Rick Opett said upon arrival of personnel, heavy fire was emerging from the roof at the rear of the two-story building. Firefighters initiated massive water streams, eventually containing the fire to the roof of the building after 20 minutes. The homeowner and two dogs escaped the home without injuries. Opett…
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Scammers continuing to harass area residents, says New Kent Sheriff’s Office
New Kent Sheriff’s Office is urging area citizens to continue to monitor their financial concerns as the entire region continues to experience telephone and email scam attempts. Scammers portray themselves as officials of a federal government agency, such as the IRS or treasury department, or a financial institution and attempt to obtain banking information which would allow them access to a citizen’s bank account. In some cases they demand money be mailed to them with the threat that their business/agency is owed payment. They insinuate that in order to avoid arrest the citizen can forward a payment to them. Financial…
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Gardner to run for New Kent County sheriff
Charles Gardner, a Charles City native who has resided in New Kent for 37 years and is a current captain in New Kent Sheriff’s Department, has announced his candidacy to become New Kent County’s Sheriff. Gardner has spent the last 21 years working in the sheriff’s office, focusing on duties that include overseeing emergency communications center, animal control deputies, courthouse security deputies, and the warrant division. Prior to Gardner’s service in the sheriff’s department, he served in the United States Army with a tour of duty in the Vietnam War, and worked at Dow Chemicals for 21 years. “I am…
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Adkins seeks 74th district bid
Stephen R. Adkins, a former Charles City School Board Member, has announced his bid to seek nomination of the Democratic Party for election of the 74th seat of the Virginia House of Delegates in the June 9 primary election. After retiring from a human resources job in the private sector, Adkins has served as Chief Deputy Director of the Virginia Department of Human Resource Management under the terms of former Governors Tim Kaine and Bob McDonnell. “Education, sustainable, safe economic development, and improvements in secondary roads are paramount importance to me,” Adkins said in a press release. “The roads in…
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Discarded location for NK tennis courts returns as new favorite of school board members
An option that was once discarded as a new location for placement of new tennis courts for New Kent High School has returned. And now, that option is becoming a heavy favorite among New Kent School Board members after the board’s May 7 regular meeting. Superintendent of schools David Myers brought attention to the possibility of placing tennis courts behind the current high school towards the back of the field. While the superintendent didn’t favor the move at first, a recent visit on a Saturday afternoon has caused a change of heart. “Tim [Pollock-Director of Maintenance] and I went to…
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Felony charges incurred during 85-mile high-speed chase certified to New Kent grand jury
Five felony charges, lodged against a man who led police on an 85-mile chase at speeds often in excess of 100 miles per hour over roads in New Kent and Charles City counties, are being forwarded to a New Kent Circuit Court grand jury for possible indictments. Carl Byron Viar Jr., 25, of Amherst County, faced 18 charges in all (six each of felonies, misdemeanors, and traffic violations) in connection with the Jan. 2 incident when he appeared Tuesday for a preliminary hearing before Judge Stephanie E. Merritt in New Kent General District Court. At the conclusion, Merritt certified five…
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Hanover man facing felony sex charges in New Kent found competent to stand trial
A Hanover County man facing three felony sex crimes in New Kent allegedly involving an underage boy has been found competent to stand trial in county circuit court. Results of a psychiatric evaluation of the suspect, Darwin K. Noble, 73, of the 8100 block of Mechanicsville Turnpike in Mechanicsville, were revealed during Monday court proceedings. Noble is charged with two counts of taking indecent liberties with a child and one count of forcible sodomy. The charges stem from alleged incidents on June 6 and 7, 2014 involving an 11-year-old boy, who local authorities say is not a New Kent resident….
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