News for New Kent County and Charles City County, Virginia | October 5, 2024
News Archives for February, 2008
Charge dropped, but alleged drug dealer faces deportation
An illegal alien and alleged drug trafficker, who sat atop the New Kent Sheriff’s Office most wanted list before his arrest last August, will not be prosecuted in county court. New Kent Commonwealth’s Attorney Linwood Gregory announced on Feb. 1 that he has dropped the possession of cocaine with intent to distribute charge lodged against Gilberto Ventura Garcia. Gregory said there is insufficient evidence to proceed in court. “The case would rise and fall on the credibility of a confidential informant,” he said. “I couldn’t vouch for that informant, thus I didn’t feel comfortable to put the case on.” Gregory…
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Trojans stun top-ranked Tabb
Sending shockwaves through the Bay Rivers District basketball world, New Kent’s host Trojans not only beat Tabb’s number one ranked Tigers but thoroughly dominated and frustrated the district kingpins. The Trojans switched defenses often during the Jan. 30 affair, confusing the potent Tiger offense and holding one of the district’s top scorers, Steve Sherwood, to a mere four points. The result was a one-sided 69-51 stunner that handed the Tigers just their second setback in 14 Bay Rivers outings. New Kent, meanwhile, improved to 9-4, 12-4. “The key to this was our defense,” a jubilant coach Ed Allen said. “We…
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Gravely imparts ‘Yes, I can’ attitude to CCMS students
Even though young people today comprise the most technologically gifted generation, information readily available in cyberspace must be combined with staying in school and getting an education. Those words summed up the advice Jack W. Gravely imparted to Charles City Middle School students during the school’s black history program last Thursday. Gravely, the former state director for Virginia’s NAACP, was keynote speaker for “Keeping the Dream Alive: Bridging the Gap Between the Past and the Present.” He opened his remarks to the students by drawing a comparison between getting an education and survival of the fittest on the African plains….
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Parents, students press NK school officials for art time
Parents and students are lobbying New Kent’s School Board, aiming to convince school officials to hire half-time art teachers for both of the county’s elementary schools. Their goal is for all students to have once a week art classes year round instead of the current practice of alternating nine-week grading periods at each school. And school officials are in favor. Problem is as in years past, the art position could once again fall victim to the budget-cutting ax. “It’s preaching to the choir. We want it,” school Superintendent Roy Geiger said after a delegation of parents and students appeared at…
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Charles City man wanted on sex crimes surrenders
A Charles City County man, who has been on the run from police since November when he was indicted on 15 felony sex charges involving underage girls, has surrendered to authorities. Accompanied by his attorney, Forrest Everett “Skeeter” Evans, 74, of 5901 Courthouse Road, was taken into custody on the morning of Feb. 1 at the Charles City Sheriff’s Office. Capt. Jayson Crawley said his office received a phone call the day before from Evans’ lawyer, Oscar Brinson, who said his client would surrender the next day. Evans was formally served with felony indictments and taken to Riverside Regional Jail…
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Budget crunch time in NK, CC
New Kent school officials have a plan to end the county’s bottom-dwelling status among neighboring school systems when it comes to starting pay for first-year teachers. That plan entails proposing 8 percent salary increases for each of the next three school years, but all hinges on whether or not county Board of Supervisors members, who control the purse strings, buy into the proposal. An average 8.1 percent teacher pay raise is part of a proposed $26 million budget for 2008-09 that county School Board members will advance before supervisors later this month. The figure is about $2.7 million more than…
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Wildfires burn NK, CC acres
Woodland and brush fires driven by strong winds gusting over 50 miles per hour kept fire fighting crews scrambling to protect property in New Kent and Charles City counties last Sunday afternoon. More than 20 fires erupted in the two localities combined with fire fighters in New Kent at one point battling 14 blazes at the same time. Luckily, there were no reports of injuries or structural damage relating to fires in either county although more than 400 acres were burned. But two occupants of a vehicle traveling on Route 60 just west of Providence Forge weren’t quite as fortunate,…
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Grafton deflates New Kent
A raucous student cheering section greeted New Kent’s Trojans for “Pack the Gym Night” as the team took the floor for last Wednesday’s critical Bay Rivers District basketball clash with Grafton’s invading Clippers. Too bad some of that student body enthusiasm didn’t rub off on the players, particularly in the first half. New Kent dug itself into a 15-point hole in the first half and spent all of the second trying to extricate a comeback win. It didn’t happen. The Clippers never allowed the Trojans to get closer than five points the rest of the way and hit their free…
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Judge reverses decision, orders defendant to jail
A New Kent Circuit Court judge has reversed his decision allowing a convicted felon to remain free on bond, four days after a jury found the defendant guilty of grand larceny of a firearm. A jury found Joseph M. Moseley II, 43, of 25 Moorings Road in Dendron, Va., guilty of the gun theft following a Jan. 28 trial. Last July 17, Moseley stole a firearm belonging to Troy Leber. The jury, meanwhile, recommended a four-year prison term. Moseley had been free on bond leading up to the trial, and Judge Thomas B. Hoover agreed to allow the defendant to…
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Resolution to protect canine use for hunting passes in NK
Last month, a horde of hunters descended on the Board of Supervisors meeting in Charles City to lobby board members to pass a resolution in support of preserving a longstanding tradition of using dogs to hunt deer in the county. Monday night, it was New Kent County’s turn. Close to 150 deer hunters turned out for New Kent’s Board of Supervisors meeting, filling the 84-seat board meeting room to capacity before spilling over into nearby hallways and eventually outdoors. While supervisors in Charles City quickly complied with the hunters’ request, similar action in New Kent took a bit longer, but…
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