News for New Kent County and Charles City County, Virginia | October 31, 2026
Local News
Study reveals substantial percentage of New Kent, Charles City population at risk for hunger
A recent study concludes that a substantial portion of the population in Charles City and New Kent counties stands at risk for hunger. In Charles City, 14.4 percent of the county’s population (1,040 individuals) and 12.4 percent of the county’s children (160) fall into the at-risk category, according to the study. In New Kent, the figures are 7.8 percent of the county’s population (1,450) and 11.9 percent of the children (490).
The study is dubbed Map the Meal Gap 2014 and was conducted by Feeding America, the nation’s network of food banks that includes FeedMore, which coordinates efforts in 36…
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Colonial Downs ends relationship with VHBPA, offers $2 million loan to new horsemen’s group to hold thoroughbred racing
(Editor’s Note: The following is a press release issued this afternoon by Colonial Downs’ officials relating to the state of negotiations with the VHBA and the Virginia Racing Commission’s mandate that a 25-day thoroughbred racing contract be reached by May 19.) Colonial Downs continued its commitment to Virginia’s thoroughbred racing industry and provided the Virginia Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association (VHBPA) a new 25-day racing proposal in response to the Virginia Racing Commission’s order of 25 days of thoroughbred racing for 2014. Similar to the VHBPA’s response to Colonial Downs’ earlier 25-day proposal, the VHBPA rejected the new proposal. As…
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More charges piled on suspects linked to meth lab/marijuana grow operation
Three suspects arrested yesterday in the aftermath of a New Kent Sheriff’s Office/DEA raid at a suspected methamphetamine lab in the county now face additional charges. None of the charges, however, relate to the meth lab/marijuana grow authorities discovered. (See related story on this website.) Authorities originally charged Jason Andrew Meade, 25, of the 6300 block of Hopewell Road, New Kent, and Whitney Renee Marciniak, 23, of the 200 block of North Ivy Ave., Highland Springs, with one count each of burglary and larceny. Additional charges, six for Meade and seven against Marciniak, were added before the pair appeared today…
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UPDATE: New Kent Sheriff’s Office, DEA take down meth lab, marijuana operation
New Kent SWAT team officers and agents from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) swooped down early Monday afternoon on a ramshackle trailer parked at a New Kent County campground, taking down a methamphetamine lab along with a marijuana growing operation found inside. In custody are two adults, a male and a female, who are being held at Henrico Jail East. Authorities have charged Jason Andrew Meade, 25, of the 6300 block of Hopewell Road, New Kent, and Whitney Renee Marciniak, 23, of the 200 block of North Ivy Ave., Highland Springs, with one count each of burglary and larceny. No…
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VRC orders contract to be signed by Colonial Downs, VHBPA by May 19
Virginia Racing Commission (VRC) has placed a deadline for Colonial Downs and Virginia Horseman’s Benevolent and Protective Association (VHBPA) to sign an agreement for a 25-day thoroughbred race season. Commissioners ordered that both parties reach an agreement by a May 19 deadline during their meeting today (May 7). At issue is the stalemate between VHBPA and Colonial Downs over the length of the thoroughbred season. While Colonial Downs pushed for fewer races with bigger purse money averaging $500,000, VHBPA lobbied for a longer season with more races and purses in the $200,000 range. Negotiations between the parties began last September,…
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Convicted felon indicted on firearm possession in Charles City
A Colonial Heights man was indicted by a Charles City Circuit Court grand jury during May 6 proceedings. Dallas James Anthony, 23, of the 2700 block of Tipton Street, received one indictment for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. On Jan. 12, Anthony allegedly trespassed on a shooting range after hours and used a firearm to shoot at the range. Anthony’s trial is tentatively scheduled for June 20.
Alleged teen car thief captured after three-hour manhunt in New Kent
A teenager accused of stealing a car in James City County and driving the vehicle into New Kent County is in custody following a three-hour manhunt conducted today (Tuesday) by New Kent sheriff’s personnel and units from the state police. The teen, a male age 14 and said to be from James City, eluded authorities in a wooded area in the eastern part of the county until New Kent Detective Sgt. Donald Mehalko spotted the youth near the Stage Road/Kent Flats Lane intersection and made the arrest. Deputies, meanwhile, recovered the stolen car, a late model Oldsmobile, behind the Circle…
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Eltham 7-Eleven robbed at gunpoint
New Kent Sheriff’s Office is seeking information on an May 6 early morning armed robbery at the Eltham 7-Eleven store on Route 33 (Eltham Road) in New Kent County. At approximately 1:08 a.m., two men entered the store and approached the clerk. One suspect displayed a handgun to the clerk while the other took an undisclosed amount of cash. The clerk was the only person inside the store at the time of the robbery, but was not harmed. The crime lasted only a couple of minutes before the suspects escaped on foot. No vehicle description was given. The two suspects…
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Update: North Courthouse Road to shut down for construction May 12-15
North Courthouse Road (Route 155) in New Kent will be closed to thru traffic next week. Starting May 12 and concluding May 15, VDOT will commence replacing drainage pipes between the intersection of Courthouse Road and Pocahontas Trail (Route 60) up to the Charles City/New Kent border. Motorists are expected to use Route 618 (Adkins Road) as a detour during this time.
Marengo Management pulls out of Historic School renovation project
New Kent Supervisors are headed back to square one on converting the county’s Historic School into an elementary school in the wake of the project’s contractor pulling out. In an April 28 letter to county administrator Rodney Hathaway, Marengo Management Corporation president E. Taylor Moore Jr. announced his company is withdrawing from the renovation project. Supervisors at today’s work session accepted Moore’s letter. The company president cited two major factors playing into the decision to terminate. First, Moore complained that the project scope has changed frequently. He noted the first layout called for an upper elementary school housing grades 3-5,…
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