News for New Kent County and Charles City County, Virginia | November 2, 2026
Local News
Goodwill accepting donations at New Kent Envirothon
Goodwill and New Kent County are partnering to provide the New Kent community with a convenient, free, and tax-deductible way to get rid of gently used household items, including computers and peripherals. Area residents can bring items to the fourth Annual Envirothon/Earth Day event on April 13. The Big Blue Goodwill truck will be parked at the Old Courthouse parking lot. Goodwill donation attendants will be on-hand 9 a.m.-2 p.m. to accept donations, answer questions, and provide donation receipts. Goodwill accepts clothing and accessories, desktop and laptop computers (working or not, any brand), shoes, printers, housewares, collectibles, cell phones, small…
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Former NK School Board member succumbs
Cynthia L. Gaines, a member of the first elected school board in New Kent County, died Sunday, March 17. The Rev. Dr. Gaines, 61, served three terms on the New Kent board starting in 1995 when Virginia made the change from appointed to elected boards. That year, she defeated Will Wallace 579-273 in the race for the District 3 seat. She won reelection in 1999 and 2003, running unopposed both times. While in office, she served several one-year terms as the board’s chairman and vice-chairman. In January 2007, she announced plans to retire, but changed her mind and submitted voter…
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Upcoming highway work on Interstate 64, Route 33
Over the next few days, motorists can expect traffic problems on Interstate 64 and Route 33 through New Kent County. VDOT has scheduled the following projects: –Monday-Friday, March 18-22, 9 p.m.-5 a.m. motorists can expect closures on the eastbound right lane of I-64 for pothole repair. –Tuesday, March 19, 9 p.m.-5 a.m. the ramp from Route 249 to I-64 westbound at the 205 mile marker (Quinton/Bottoms Bridge interchange) will be closed for pavement repairs. Motorists seeking to travel west toward Henrico/Richmond should use Route 60. –Wednesday, March 20, 8 a.m.-5 p.m. shoulders on both eastbound and westbound lanes of I-64…
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Close to $1.5 million shortfall in $28.1 million school budget
As New Kent School Board members mulled over a 16-page document consisting of justification sheets for budget requests, it became evident by the silence in the room– tough times lie ahead. School finance director Ralph Westbay and superintendent of schools Rick Richardson presented the document and fielded questions from board members during Monday’s budget work session. Discussion over balancing a proposed $28,127,900 FY2013-14 budget, that includes a two percent across the board pay hike for employees, became keen. The bottom line results in a net revenue shortfall of $1,463,656 that board members may have to face. In a recap of…
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Charles City school officials ask supervisors for money
Charles City’s School Board made its first budget request to county supervisors during supervisors’ quarterly work session on March 6. School board chairwoman Barbara Crawley asked supervisors to assist in making up a $485,041 shortfall that schools are facing for fiscal 2013-14. That amount has been trimmed from the previous $987,702 deficit schools originally faced. (School officials have since reduced the deficit to just over $155,000. See story on page 1.) The amount requested by Crawley is to cover the county’s share of a two percent pay raise for teachers being offered by the state, textbook funding to help with…
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Supervisors, committee at impasse over CC library
Charles City’s Library Campaign Committee has been pursuing a goal of establishing a physical building in the vicinity of the county’s government offices. But with an apparent stalemate between committee members and Charles City’s Board of Supervisors, committee members are taking other steps toward their goal. Committee vice-chairman Alton Washington presented two resolutions for supervisors’ consideration during the board’s March 6 work session. Both aim at constructing a new facility that will host both a library and the county’s Center for Local History. Charles City is the only county in Virginia that does not have its own library. The first…
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School budget deficit down to $155,000 in Charles City
With projected revenue of $10,723,619 for the 2013-14 year and a potential shortfall of $485,041, Charles City School Board members began making preliminary cuts on their projected budget. And even with the proposed cuts from a budget work session on Monday, more than $155,000 still remains to be addressed. Board members are tasked with finding ways to reduce the budget. With that at hand, members listened to public input on issues and concerns on addressing the budget. Reductions are also contingent on a request by school board members for an additional $157,716 to cover a textbook fund and aid with…
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Woman’s actions nearly put company out of business
A West Point woman who spent nearly $25,000 using credit cards in the name of her former employer’s company and a fellow coworker will now spend the next three years in prison. Lisa Ann Jordan, 37, of 202 Patriots Village Court, received a total of 30 years in prison with 27 suspended during sentencing in Charles City Circuit Court on March 5. She received 10 years on each of two credit card larceny charges and 10 years on a lone charge of credit card theft. Jordan worked for Servpro, a water damage restoration company with an office in Charles City….
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Burglaries, arrests on rise in New Kent, report says
Based on figures supplied by New Kent Sheriff F.W. “Wakie” Howard Jr., activity within the county sheriff’s office is on the upswing. Howard detailed statistics for 2012 Monday night during his annual report to the county’s Board of Supervisors. “The bad news is, residential breaking and enterings are up,” he told the board. “The good news is, 88 percent of those B&Es have been solved.” The sheriff attributed the burglary clearance rate to hard work by his detectives, advances in technology for gathering evidence, and vigilant residents working through Neighborhood Watch programs. Last year, 1,863 crime incidents were reported resulting…
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New Kent supervisors approve park land swap
Giving up a 100-acre site for a county recreation park in exchange for space just over half that size may seem odd, but for New Kent’s Board of Supervisors it was an offer they couldn’t refuse. Supervisors agreed Monday night to exchange the 100-acre location off Criss Cross Road for 39 acres on Pine Fork Road. Also in the mix is another 15 acres that the county accepted, located next to the Pine Fork site. That gives the county 54 acres of flat land that has easy access from Pine Fork Road. Only about 60 of the 100 acres at…
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