News for New Kent County and Charles City County, Virginia | November 1, 2026
Local News
NK $67.3 million budget, four cent tax hike head to hearing
A proposed $67.3 million budget and accompanying 4-cent real estate tax hike head for public hearing before New Kent’s Board of Supervisors on May 13. Meeting April 16 in a budget work session, board members decided to move forward, giving county residents opportunity to sound off on the proposal. County administrator Rodney Hathaway recapped the budget, as presented during the board’s April 8 meeting, in search of guidance from supervisors as well as their concerns. Hathaway reminded the board that the $67,340,532 bottom line includes not only the real estate tax increase but also an eight percent increase in the…
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CC supervisors pass budget, announce DEQ settlement
Charles City’s Board of Supervisors unanimously approved the county’s FY2013-14 budget at its regular meeting Tuesday night. The $20,951,528 bottom line remains unchanged after minimal comments arose at a public hearing on April 17. County schools will receive $10,906,036, or 51 percent of the budget. Of that amount, $4,801,288 are local funds. Schools had asked for level funding at $4.7 million dollars for the upcoming school year. That figure dwindled to a recommendation of $4.5 million dollars. Supervisors then agreed to an additional amount of just over $200,000 provided that money goes toward helping with Gov. Bob McDonnell’s two percent…
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Five years in prison imposed in NK manslaughter case
“He just didn’t care about the consequences of his act. He just didn’t care.” Those words from Judge Thomas B. Hoover concerning defendant Joshua Earl Apperson played a vital role today (Monday) in New Kent Circuit Court during the sentencing phase of Apperson’s involuntary manslaughter conviction in the death of Alison Taylor Farmer. The judge imposed 10 years in prison with five suspended on the 21 year-old Toano man on the one count of involuntary manslaughter stemming from an accident during a nighttime party at Wall’s Farm on Homestead Road last Aug. 7. The defendant must pay $10,021 in restitution…
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NK School Board makes final plea for additional money
Facing a $700,000 deficit in projected local revenue, New Kent School Board members made one last attempt to justify the shortfall to New Kent supervisors. Both boards convened Wednesday morning in efforts to understand needs for county schools. School board chairwoman Leigh Quick presented a four-page document highlighting those specific needs. “The impacts of the reduction will effect student-teacher ratio,” Quick told supervisors. “We have worked hard and these would be the items we cut if we can not receive additional funds.” Four new teaching positions resulting from growth or restoration are among cuts if the school board works with…
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Reading helps WWE dream come true for NK student
Reading is considered the bridge to foundations for careers and dreams to come true. For one George Watkins Elementary School student, he may never want to wake up after realizing one of his dreams. Joshua Bendle, a fifth grader, won a trip to World Wrestling Entertainment’s (WWE) Wrestlemania at Metlife Statium in New York City on April 7 through the Wrestlemania Reading Challenge contest. The contest, sponsored by WWE, Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), and American Library Association, selected Joshua as the South’s regional winner in the fifth and sixth grade division. The south region consists of 15 states….
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NK school officials finding adjusted figures hard to digest
New Kent School Board members began taking precautions in preparation for receiving a final budget from county supervisors. At their Monday work session, school board representatives listened to recommendations from director of finances Ralph Westbay on the FY2013-14 school year budget. Expressions on board members’ faces resembled that of a group of people trying to swallow a bad meal. New Kent schools’ projected budget is just over $28 million for the upcoming year, but what school officials have penciled in for the county’s contribution is $647,702 short of county administrator Rodney Hathaway’s $12.4 million recommendation for local school funds. Westbay…
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NKMS students ‘mush’ their way through Idita-Read event
Twenty-two New Kent Middle School seventh graders crossed the finish line in the school’s first Idita-Read competition that is patterned after Alaska’s famous Iditarod dog sled race. Students had to put in 998 minutes of reading in order to finish. One minute equaled one mile of the 998-mile dog sled race. Each student received an online account that showed the Alaskan Iditarod map and allowed the student to log in minutes of reading which translated to “miles” on the Iditarod. As students made progress, they could see where they were geographically on the trail. Students began reading on March 2,…
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Controversial two-tier bus system in CC saving money
During the last two years, frequent debate between county school board members and county residents over Charles City’s two-tier school bus system and its efficiency led to no definitive or conclusive answers. But Harold Grimes stepped in to clarify the situation. Speaking at the board’s meeting last night (Tuesday), Grimes, who is president of HFGrimes Consulting, released an efficiency report on the schools’ transportation system that revealed schools have saved $51,000 over the last four years. Grimes’ report reviewed 34 buses and 24 school board vehicles used by Charles City. His report praised the effectiveness of radio communications, a certified…
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Investigation continues into fatal NK crash
An investigation is under way to uncover why a Chesterfield County man drove the wrong way on Interstate 64 in New Kent County resulting in an April 16 two vehicle, head-on crash and two fatalities. For now, authorities cannot say how long the man’s vehicle had been headed in the wrong direction. Investigators say James E. Fred, 54, of the 14000 block of Walthall Drive, drove his 2004 Honda CRV westbound in the eastbound lanes of I-64 and collided head-on with a 1996 Ford Ranger pick-up driven by John J. Keesler, 47, of the 6000 block of Husting Road, also…
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Truck stop proposal heads to NK supervisors for hearing
By a narrow 6-4 vote, a conditional use permit application that would pave the way for building a second truck stop on Route 106 in New Kent near the Interstate 64/Talleysville interchange is headed to the county’s Board of Supervisors with a recommendation for approval. County Planning Commission members took the action on April 15 following a public hearing on the matter. The vote came on the heels of a 7-3 vote to defeat a motion that would have forwarded an unfavorable recommendation to the board. Supervisors’ representative Tommy Tiller abstained on both votes. The Board of Supervisors has scheduled…
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