GLOUCESTER-MATHEWS THURSDAY, JANUARY 30, 2020 VOL. LXXXIII, no. 5 NEW SERIES (USPS 220-560) GLOUCESTER, VA. 23061 | MATHEWS, VA. 23109 three sections 38 pages 75 CENTS Ceremony Saturday to honor Irene Morgan BY SHERRY HAMILTON Supreme Court decision, in Morgan v Virginia (1946), that The late Irene Morgan of found the segregation of pas- Gloucester is being honored sengers in interstate trans- Saturday morning in a cer- portation unconstitutional. emony dedicating a highway A ceremony to unveil the marker that commemorates highway marker will be held her historic act of defiance at 10 a.m. at 2425 Hayes Road in 1944, when she refused to in Hayes. It is sponsored by give up her seat on a Grey- the Friends of the Gloucester hound bus to a white pas- Museum, which also spon- senger and was arrested in sored the purchase and in- Saluda. stallation of the marker. The incident predated Rosa Dr. Dorothy Cooke will give Parks’s similar action by over a decade and resulted in a SEE IRENE MORGAN, PAGE 17A ‘Hidden Figures’ figure to speak at Black Men Cooking CHARLIE KOENIG / GAZETTE-JOURNAL One of NASA’s “Hidden Fig- ures,” featured in a movie about human “computers” Polar Plunge whose mathematical work A total of 28 brave men, women and children (as well as a couple of dogs) took the plunge early Saturday morning, jumping into the chilly waters at Haven Beach in helped launch men into Mathews Organized by Lee-Jackson Elementary kindergarten teacher Amy Ashberry, the Polar Plunge was held to raise money for the Snack Pack program which space, is scheduled to speak sends nutritious snacks home on the weekends to help students in Mathews schools Each plunger chipped in $10 and a number of other donations were made, in Gloucester on Saturday, raising a total of $710 Here, some of the participants run back to the beach after taking a dip Even before this year’s plunge was over, there was talk about making Feb. 15. Dr. Christine M. Darden will this an annual event be the guest speaker at Black Men Cooking, an event featur- ing about 30 chefs who pre- pare and serve favorite dishes in a fundraiser for scholar- Gloucester looking forward to new park this year ships given by the Epsilon Eta Some exciting new devel- “This is really exciting for The Conservation Fund to the deal with some major capi- Chapter of Iota Phi Lambda NASA PHOTO opments are in store for our community, and it’s been (state) Department of Con- tal improvement issues, Sorority, Inc. Dr Christine Darden Gloucester County residents a long time coming,” said servation and Recreation and especially with the school The event will be held from in 2020, including the open- Gloucester County admin- opened by late summer or fall system. This includes de- 1-4 p.m. at the Moody Event ing of Machicomoco, the long- istrator Brent Fedors, who of this year,” said Tom Smith, veloping ways to fund Center in White Marsh Shop- sional Gold Medal, Darden awaited state park slated to shared some information Deputy Director of Operations major-scale renovations of ping Center, located at 4888 had a 40-year career at NASA, be built along the shores of about what’s ahead for the for the Virginia Department of Gloucester High School. George Washington Memorial starting her work at the Lang- the York River. The 645-acre county this year. Conservation and Recreation. Fedors said a focus of Highway. ley Research Center in Hamp- site is located at what was tra- “If the weather permits and Also looking forward, his recommendations re- This is an annual Black ton. ditionally known as Timber- construction continues on Gloucester will face some garding next year’s bud- History Month event for the A NASA biography states neck Farm, in the Wicomico schedule, we hope to have unique budgeting challenges, chapter. area of the county. the property transferred from said Fedors, including how to SEE LOOKING AHEAD, PAGE 10A A recipient of the Congres- SEE BLACK MEN COOKING, PAGE 17A Residents object to proposed board procedures in Mathews BY SHERRY HAMILTON the board concerning the also tabled any decision on matter, their remarks repeat- its code of ethics for 30 days Residents packed the his- edly met with applause and and on the rules of procedure toric courthouse for Tues- comments of approval from a for 60 days. day’s meeting of Mathews large contingent of audience From complaints about County Board of Supervisors members. overreach and intimida- meeting, with many of them In the end, the board voted tion to suggestions that the there to object to proposed to hold a work session to ad- proposed rules were illegal, changes to the board’s rules dress issues brought up dur- residents let the board know of procedure for meetings. ing the meeting, but no date Seven people addressed was established. Supervisors SEE SUPERVISORS, PAGE 17A The 2020 Census is almost here BY TYLER BASS in some remote communities on how to respond, either in Alaska. online, by phone or by mail. The 2020 U.S. Census is For the rest of the na- Both Gloucester and PHOTO BY RAY STUBBLEBINE / GMHS right around the corner. tion, including residents of Mathews had strong partici- The decennial count, which Gloucester and Mathews pation rates in 2010 (Glouces- is used for everything from counties, the first notice peo- ter’s rate was 80 percent; Golden Paws Gala and Auction determining Congressional ple will get will be in March Mathews was 83 percent), The band “Good Shot Judy” performs as guests view the auction items available at the Gloucester-Mathews Humane Society’s apportionment to the distri- when they receive their in- with Gloucester’s Complete Golden Paws Gala and Auction on Saturday at the Abingdon Ruritan Club, Bena While the final tally hasn’t yet been calcu- bution of billions of dollars vitations in the mail. The of- Count Committee hoping in federal funds to local com- ficial Census Bureau mail will lated for the fundraiser, the gala did sell out in three weeks—the fastest time in the event’s history—and was attended by munities, has already begun include detailed information SEE CENSUS, PAGE 10A 280 guests, according to GMHS Executive Director April Martinez INSIDE THIS WEEK TO REACH US: Phone: 804-693-3101 Gloucester 2A Arts 8A Variety 6B Here’s My Card Mathews 3A Schools 11A-12A Days Past 5B A handy reference of local businesses and services can be found this week Fax: 804-693-7844 Gloucester Point 4A Sports 13A-14A Public Record 6B on pages 2C-10C Also, for those working on getting their taxes ready, be Next Door Neighbors 5A Community News 1B Classifieds 7B-10B sure to read our Tax and Financial pages on 15A-16A On the web Editorial 6A Church News 2B-4B Business 1C www.gazettejournal.net *The Wells Fargo Home Project credit card is issued by Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., an Equal Housing Lender. 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Special financing offers or rebates up to $700 valid on Qualifying Equipment SALE only. Offers vary by equipment. All sales must pha4u.com be to homeowners in the United States. Void where prohibited. Y M C K 2A GLOUCESTER-MATHEWS GAZETTE-JOURNAL Gloucester GleaninGs THURSDAY JANUARY 30, 2020 Green Book New director leads programs set for next Gloucester Y BY TYLER BASS has enjoyed his time work- ing to transform lives. week There have been some re- Green’s new position is al- A pair of presentations cent changes to the YMCA lowing him the opportunity on “The Negro Motorist Express at Gloucester. to help impact the people in Green Book,” a publication Those driving through this community in a positive that listed businesses that Gloucester Main Street may way. He’s driven to help peo- served African Americans have noticed new signs ple make positive changes during the Jim Crow era, around Main Street Center to their physical and emo- will be held on Thursday, regarding the recent YMCA tional health. Feb. 6, at the Gloucester Li- changes, and rebranding. “I really believe in trans- brary, Main Street Center, The recently rebranded forming lives,” said Green, and on Saturday, Feb. 8, at YMCA Express at Gloucester who knows that people don’t the Essex Public Library in recently hired Jeff Green, just come into the YMCA Ex- Grant presentation Tappahannock. who is Membership Experi- press to get in shape. Every- The Gloucester Rotary Club presented grants during its Jan. 23 meeting to the Gloucester YMCA, Girl Scout Troop 1018, Boy Published annually by ence Director for both this one has their own goal, but Scout Troop 111, and Baystars FC.