CHRISTMAS
OPINION
Ashland gets ready for Santa Runs throughout the town.
Pow wow coordinator: thanks for sharing in culture and activities.
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Vol. 2 No. 22 | Richmond Suburban News | December 7, 2016
County poverty level shows decrease By Jim Ridolphi for The Hanover Local HANOVER — As Hanover County’s economic environment continues to improve following a national downturn that began in 2008, the number of citizens living below the poverty line is decreasing.
Jim Ridolphi for The Hanover Local
Sheila Crossen-Powell, director of Hanover Social Services, told the Hanover County Board of Supervisors last month that only Goochland County ranks higher in median income than Hanover County.
According to an annual Social Services Report presented last month to the Hanover County Board of Supervisors by Sheila Crossen-Powell Clausen, director of Hanover Social Services, the county continues to post better than state average numbers in figures compiled
over the last 12 months. The poverty threshold is a nationally calibrated number that identifies the number of people living on less money that needed to supply basic needs. President Lyndon Johnson established the benchmarks when he initiated his War on Poverty in the 1960s. The levels are based on the cost associated with providing a person’s food needs for one year, then multiplying that by three. The benchmark is established nationwide without regard to different demographics that affect cost of living, and many communities use a 200 percent of poverty level to illustrate how some portion of the population earns less than enough to provide basic needs. The current poverty level benchmark (figured at 100 percent) is $12,085. That figure is adjusted for the number of people living in a household. Regionally, Hanover County’s poverty figures are lower than its neighbors but still reveal areas of concern, according to Crossen-Powell. “We are doing better than anybody but Goochland, but we still have a 16.6 percent poverty rate at the 200 percent level,” Crossen-Powell said. State averages at 200 percent are about 27 percent and the regional rate is slightly higher. see POVERTY, pg. 122
Ashland lights up the tracks, decks the halls, and sings along
Mikaela Cannon sings “How Many Kings.” She attends Lewis and Clark Elementary School in Caroline County at the Doswell Ruritan event. Below, carolers gather on a stage outside the Hanover Arts and Activities Center in Ashland during the Light Up the Tracks event.
Deck the Halls organizer Carolyn Peart and her husband Jerry host the fundraiser in support of Hanover Safe Place.
Peyton Doughtery, at left, took time to tell Santa Claus what was on her wish list. Above, 2016 Christmas Mother Ginger Stanley and Shelby Winter posed for the camera at the Doswell event.
Photos by Nick Liberante for The Local More photos on page 4
About 150 people formed a community chorus to sing carols during Light Up the Tracks in Ashland.