Isle of Wight: A county that cares
Supervisors in search of 'true north'
By Ryan Kushner
Staff writer
The Isle of Wight County Board of Supervisors set out last week in search of the county’s “true north.”
They believe they may have found it in “choice” and “care.”
“A community of choice that cares” is the county slogan supervisors settled on at the end of a two-day retreat in Suffolk last week, with “cares” serving as an acronym for Choice, Accountability, Rural, Ethics and Service.
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County's exam policy proposal hits snag
By Ryan Kushner
Staff writer
Isle of Wight County schools Superintendent James Thornton wants to allow the completion of a class project to be eligible to count as a “final exam” for high school students.
However, a School Board policy that permits students to be exempt from final exams under certain circumstances prevents it, mandating that there be an exam that students can be exempt from, according to Thornton.
To overcome the roadblock, the division’s staff submitted a proposal to change the terminology of the existing “exam exemption” policy to instead be called a “culminating activity” policy.
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Decision to sell Rescue's community hall draws reaction
By Diana McFarland
Managing editor
RESCUE — Jeff Knutson has lived across the road from the Rescue Community Hall for 37 years, and for as long as he’s been there, it’s been used for a variety of events, ranging from meetings to wedding receptions.
Recently, the owners of the building, the Rescue Community League, posted a letter to Rescue residents stating that the building will be sold and that the Rescue/Battery Park Ruritans are dissolving.
Knutson is concerned over what comes next — will it be a hectic business with a lot of traffic?
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Woman allegedly had role in Rushmere crimes
By Diana McFarland
Managing editor
A Rushmere woman was arrested on multiple charges in connection with the double homicide of an elderly woman and her son.
A juvenile living in her home was also issued petitions on similar charges in connection with the Sept. 23 murders of Nancy and Kenneth Starnes.
Sharon Galvin, 37, was arrested Oct. 4 on a felony charge of buying or receiving stolen property. She was released on bond, but was arrested again Oct. 11 with conspiracy to commit a felony and obstruction of justice. She was again released on bond.
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The boyfriend didn't do it
DNA test says Singer slayer was Hispanic
By Diana McFarland
Managing editor
The man who killed Carrie Singer was not her boyfriend but an unknown Hispanic man.
That’s the conclusion presented last week by the Isle of Wight County Sheriff’s Office concerning the unsolved 2004 murder of Singer, 28, whose body was dumped in a farm field off Blount’s Corner Road.
The revelation was part of the Discovery Channel’s series, “The Killing Fields,” which will feature the Singer’s unsolved murder this season.
Isle of Wight County Sheriff Mark Marshall said his investigators had tools available to them now that did not exist 13 years ago — namely DNA phenotyping that can pinpoint a person’s ancestry, coloring and some semblance of facial features based on DNA evidence.
That same technology was also able to eliminate Singer’s boyfriend, Robert Dezern, as a suspect. Dezern died in 2013.
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Rabies surge: 10 cases reported so far
By Diana McFarland
Managing editor
A dog got into a fight with a raccoon that ended up testing positive for rabies on Oct. 5 near Morgart’s Beach Road.
The dog, which had been vaccinated against rabies, was given a booster vaccine and will be under a 45-day observation period, according to the Isle of Wight County Health Department.
This is the tenth case of rabies reported in Isle of Wight County this year, according to Jay Duell with the Isle of Wight County Health Department. Other reported cases occurred in Zuni, Central Hill, Days Point Road and Sugar Hill Road and involved four raccoons, two skunks, two foxes and two feral cats. Raccoons usually top the list, said Duell.
The number of rabies cases reported this year is considerably higher than the previous two years, where four cases was reported in 2016 and two in 2015.
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Ball fields complex spurs new business growth
By Diana McFarland
Managing editor
Economic development around the new Joseph W. Luter Jr. sports complex has been predicted ever since the town began planning the facility. That prediction is now coming true.
The Smithfield Recreation Association’s softball commissioner, Tom Dawson, plans to open a brewery across the street from the sports complex. Down the street, Jignesh Nisar is opening the “Main Street Food Mart” in the former Hearn’s Bait Barn building.
757 Brewing Company plans to offer a tasting room for craft beer, live entertainment and food via a food truck, said Dawson.
Nisar plans to operate a mini-restaurant, offering burgers, hot dogs, fried chicken and submarine sandwiches along with convenience store sundries, bait and gasoline.
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