LONG TIME COMING After two decades of debate, a 2020 referendum, and $5.9 million worth of renovations, the Harris Memorial Armory reopened in September. Blackstone Town Council at year’s end was still trying to come up with a rental policy.
NOT PICTURED: The biggest story of the year: Nottoway County’s 22% increase in tax rates on real estate; and 27% increase in personal property tax rates. They came just one year after 20% increases in real estate and 19% increases on personal property in 2024. What rates will 2026 deliver?
NEW DIVISION LEADER In a 3-2 decision in May, Nottoway educator Dr. Marcia Martin became the first Nottoway High School graduate hired as Division Superintendent.
HISTORIC SELECTION Lafayette Dickens (left) in May was appointed Mayor after the April resignation of Ben Green following a sexual harassment complaint filed by a Town Hall staffer. Those developments occurred shortly after Treasurer Brittany Morgan resigned, citing a hostile work environment — saying some members of Council ask to be addresses as “The Honorable” and are given privileges of being notified when their utility accounts are past due or approaching past due.
WALKING MIRACLE Supervisor John Roark suffered a stroke in February and walked into a Board meeting in May. Roark made great strides and then, in a series of Facebook Live posts in September, he said he was leaving office but later announced he would serve the rest of his term and also run for re-election in 2027. “Dr. Roark” also diagnosed a new disease that he said is afflicting a handful of his critics: RDS, or “Roark Derangement Syndrome.” Roark said it’s contagious but can be cured if patients “simply demonstrate kindness.”
STILL NO ANSWERS A high speed chase down Rt. 153 in August ended with a crash at 460 & 153…and the fatal shooting by police of Michael Woodson of Brandermill in Midlothian. A Nottoway deputy sheriff was wounded by gunfire. The probe continues.
FINALLY! After being closed for more than two years — since April 2023 — the Rt. 46 bridge linking Nottoway and Brunswick counties re-opened in June after a $9 million replacement project.
PICKETT RETURNS After being renamed “Fort Barfoot” in 2023, Fort Pickett was returned by the Trump Administration to its former name — not in memory of Confederate General George Pickett but, instead, WWII hero Vernon Pickett of Louisiana.
TELL’EM HOW YOU REALLY FEEL Nottoway Supervisor Dicky Ingram remains an outspoken opponent of industrial solar operations (“solar farms”) in rural areas. He was outvoted, 4-1, in early 2025 when the Board relaxed the County’s solar farm ordinance. A major battle is shaping-up in 2026 over a proposed 780-acre solar facility along Rocky Ford Road and other nearby roads.
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