Nelson County’s emergency services coordinator has been charged with embezzlement after authorities say he kept a donated big-screen TV for himself. Ray Uttaro is accused of keeping a 46-inch Sony Bravia TV, valued at $1,200, that was donated in January to the county's new emergency communications center by Charlottesville-based Crutchfield Corporation.
Two judges were appointed to serve with Chief Circuit Court Judge Mosby Perrow on the panel overseeing the recount in the Nelson County sheriff’s election. Nine votes separated the top voter-getter, incumbent David Brooks, a Democrat, from Mac Bridgewater, a Republican.
Nine votes separate the top two candidates in the race for Nelson County Sheriff, but David Brooks, the Democratic incumbent, is not officially the winner yet. Mac Bridgwater, the Republican candidate and runner-up in the election, said Wednesday he plans to file for a recount.
Larry Saunders was elected to the South District seat on the Nelson County Board of Supervisors in Tuesday’s election, beating Johnny Ponton and incumbent Joe Dan Johnson. Saunders, the Republican candidate from Arrington, received 468 votes, or about 45 percent of the total. Johnson, the current Board of Supervisors’ chairman, received 314 votes and Ponton received 257.
Election Day is Tuesday. While it is an “off year” — in that there are no congressional, gubernatorial or presidential contests — there still is plenty on the ballot. Statewide, all 40 seats in the state Senate, and all 100 seats in the House of Delegates, will be on the ballot, though many candidates are unopposed. There are all sorts of contested races at the local level.
A Nelson County Circuit Court Judge made the injunction against Gladstone Volunteer Rescue Squad permanent last week, days after the squad was officially dissolved by the Nelson County Board of Supervisors. Judge J. Michael Gamble authorized Lovingston-based attorney Thomas Berry to place all of the squad’s assets, totaling more than $150,000 in checking accounts, savings accounts and certificate’s of deposit, into a trust fund only accessible by Berry. Gamble also authorized Berry to use the funds to pay any outstanding bills for the squad. County Attorney Phil Payne filed for a temporary injunction on July 6 after supervisors voted unanimously to dissolve the rescue squad after issues with the squad’s finances came into question.