Motorcycle racing approved over potential legal concerns

Opponents to Colonial Downs’ bid for a county conditional use permit to host one day of motorcycle racing showed up for Monday night’s New Kent Board of Supervisors’ public hearing on the matter armed with legal arguments to support their case. Becoming a battle cry of sorts — the county cannot allow motorcycle racing since that activity is not a permitted land use in New Kent. “You cannot condition a use you do not permit,” Jeff Summers, an attorney representing the Brickshire Homeowners Association, vehemently told the board. And when supervisors motioned to go behind closed doors to discuss the…
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CC School Board undecided on coping with budget woes

Charles City School Board members convened for the first time since the county’s Board of Supervisors revealed its budget for fiscal year 2013-14. Needless to say, the local contribution of funds to Charles City schools has not only perplexed school board members, but left them in a temporary stalemate after their Tuesday night work session. Superintendent of schools Janet Crawley spoke to board members about her meeting with county administrator Zach Trogdon on March 27. Crawley mentioned the briefness of the meeting and some of the concerns supervisors had about schools. “Mr. Trogdon came into the office and said the…
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New Kent bed and breakfast carries historical significance

By definition, a vintager is anyone who assists in the harvesting of grapes. For Ken Fisher, it is the foundation for an evolution over 200 years in the making. Fisher and his family own and operate the Vintager Inn, a bed and breakfast establishment on Route 249 near Quinton in New Kent that opened a year ago. Now, the inn is utilizing its wings by operating as an event venue for special occasions such as weddings. Fisher, a retired military chaplain, said he has always had a fondness for the hospitality business. “I’m used to service,” he said as he…
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Quest for $15 worth of gasoline could land defendant in prison

A West Point man determined to pump $15 worth of gasoline at local convenience store will now have to serve time behind bars after he attacked the store’s clerk. Richard Lawrence Fredricks, 44, of 7928 Point Lookout Road, received guilty convictions for felony malicious wounding, misdemeanor destruction of property, and misdemeanor damage to a phone line during Monday’s New Kent Circuit Court proceedings. Commonwealth’s attorney Linwood Gregory introduced surveillance tape from an incident last Oct. 10. Video evidence depicted Fredricks along with his brother in a confrontation with a clerk at the 7-Eleven convenience store in Eltham. The clerk, Sheila…
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Convicted sex offender’s words earn more jail time

A convicted sex offender received significant time in jail for violating a court order that prohibits him from entering school property. Visibly unhappy with the sentence, the defendant failed to curb his mouth, resulting in more time behind bars. Events transpired in New Kent Circuit Court on Monday involving the case of Robert Allen Lawrence, 54, of 2330 Hubbard Lane, Lanexa. The defendant expected to receive only time already served on two counts of entering school property after being registered as a sex offender. And although Lawrence’s plea deal did account for a sentence of five years in jail with…
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NK supervisors take action on parking spaces, road plan

New Kent’s Board of Supervisors has approved an amendment to county law governing parking areas so that new lots with 50 or more spaces found on land zoned for agriculture or conservation must be paved. The old law required paving for 20 or more spaces. In other action, the board approved a six-year secondary road improvement plan that lists sections of three roads scheduled for upgrades. In priority order, the list is Stage Road, Dispatch Road, and Henpeck Road. The board also shifted $18,000 in funding from the Henpeck Road project to Dispatch Road. Supervisors took action on both matters…
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NK, CC to benefit from $143 million in regional road money

Elected officials from the nine localities, including New Kent and Charles City counties, making up the Richmond Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (RAMPO) are using just over $143 million in federal funding to pay for 47 transportation projects in the region over the next six years. Several of those projects are slated for New Kent and Charles City. Officials from the localities met last Thursday in Richmond to allocate the $143.1 million that comes from the federal Regional Surface Transportation Program ($94.6 million) and federal Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality funds ($48.5 million). The allocation decisions are being submitted to the…
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Dogwood Classic

Forensic evidence, defendant’s comments lead to conviction in NK burglary case

DNA and fingerprint evidence along with the defendant’s own words helped a New Kent Circuit Court jury convict a man accused last year of breaking into county businesses. A jury of seven women and five men took only 30 minutes following a 6½-hour trial last Thursday to convict Peter James Guerrero, 36, on two counts of burglary and one count of grand larceny. Jurors, however, returned not guilty verdicts on two other felony charges. In the sentencing phase of the trial, jurors recommended that the defendant serve a total of 6½ years in prison. The guilty verdicts for burglary related…
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Fire crews battle brush fire in NK

A brush fire erupted last Thursday in Barhamsville in eastern New Kent County, burning about a quarter acre of woodland and a shed before being extinguished by fire crews. Fire fighters from the Virginia Department of Forestry, New Kent Fire and Rescue, and James City-Bruton Volunteer Fire Department responded to the fire at 4227 Barham Road, behind the Barhamsville Post Office. Crews had the fire under control in about 10 minutes, and all hotspots had been extinguished within two hours, said VDOF technician Paul Reier. The shed, which contained lumber and windows from the old Barhamsville schoolhouse, was destroyed. An…
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