News for New Kent County and Charles City County, Virginia | October 7, 2026
New Kent School Board sounds off on 2027-28 CIP, calls on county leadership to step up funding
Even though the 2026-2027 school year just began, New Kent County Public Schools are already looking into improving campus property and infrastructure for the next fiscal cycle. New Kent Assistant Superintendent of Operations Jonathan Hochman presented the first draft of the school system’s Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) for FY2027-28 year. Hochman said, “We want to protect our investments. We have lots of stuff; schools, systems, lots of buses and things like that. We spend a lot of time and money on those things, and we want to make sure we take care of them. “We also want to move to…
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Opett departs position as New Kent Fire Chief for new role with VDOT
Rick Opett, who has served as fire chief for New Kent Fire and Rescue, stepped down on Sept. 24 to accept a position with the Commonwealth of Virginia. Opett will serve as the new director of Virginia’s Department of Transportation (VDOT) Safety, Security, and Emergency Management. Opett began his tenure on Jan. 16, 2013, following in the footsteps of his father. Prior to his tenure in New Kent, he was a battalion chief for Loudon County. Opett’s tenure marked a transition of New Kent Fire and Rescue, especially with growth. With New Kent having one of the fastest rising populations…
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Youthful Lady Trojans continue to improve as win total reaches double digits
One of the benefits of playing a team twice in a season is seeing the progress a team can make. For the New Kent Lady Trojans’ volleyball team, a lot of the questions about the future they had in the earlier part of their campaign had clearer answers following the Oct. 1 home contest against the visiting Poquoson Lady Islanders. New Kent swept the visitors 25-12, 25-12, 25-15 in the Bay Rivers District contest, upping their season record to 10-1. The Lady Trojans rode the wave of momentum in the first set, easily capturing it 25-12. In the second set,…
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New Kent High School golf dominates to win Region 3A Championship
New Kent High School’s Golf Team dominated the Region 3A Championships to capture the title during the Sept. 30 competition at Dogwood Trace Golf Course. The team compiled a cumulative score of 307, winning by more than 20 strokes to win the regional championship. Bay Rivers District Rivals Tabb (330) and York (331) finished in second and third, respectively. All six of New Kent’s golfers placed in the top sixteen in the competition. Rylan Opett’s score of 74 led the Trojans and placed him second overall, finishing three strokes behind Tabb’s Cooper Guldin who was the top individual performance with…
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Draft guidelines for data centers in New Kent presented, but remain at standstill pending executive order
Two months ago, New Kent County leaders asked county staff to begin to find ways to address the continuous battles regarding the establishing of data centers within the locality. Since then, Governor Abigail Spanberger issued an executive order regarding data centers, with the expectation that guidelines would be established by January 2027. Still, concerns linger from public perception about the data centers, which was addressed as part of Tuesday morning’s work session. New Kent Director of Community Development Joshua Airaghi presented the first set of recommendations for data center development to county supervisors, citing the process as a “temperature check”…
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