New Restaurant In Tasley Has Grand Opening

A crowd gathered yesterday for the Grand Opening of Becca's restaurant on Route 13 in Tasley. Becca's is now open serving lunch sandwiches, desserts, pastries, fruit and Becca's famous Smith Island Cakes.

Pictured: Becca cuts the ribbon at the Grand Opening Ceremony hosted in part with the Eastern Shore Chamber of Commerce.

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Nandua High School Student Fatally Hurt in Car Crash

TASLEY — A rising Nandua High School senior was fatally injured Saturday night while attempting to cross U. S. Route 13 on foot.

Shaqeel Marquette Hellins, 15, of Daughterty Road, died after he was struck by a northbound 2009 Nissan truck driven by Carolyn Marie Morgan of Eden, Md., State Police spokeswoman Michelle Anaya said.

No charges were filed against Morgan.

Hellins apparently was crossing the highway from the west side after he got off work. The accident was reported at 9:23 p.m.

Nandua High School Vice Principal George Parker said Monday morning that students at the school for football practice were mourning the loss of Hellins, who Parker described as “a very genuinely sweet kid” who was known for being active in his church, Macedonia A.M.E. Church in Accomac.

Trooper J. J. Renas is the investigating officer.

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Firefighter Injured Fighting Wheat Field Fire

ACCOMAC -- A volunteer firefighter was injured and a Tasley tanker truck was damaged fighting a huge blaze that swept across a wheat field on Folly Farm Lane around 3 p.m. Thursday. Most of the fire companies in the county and two from Northampton spent over three hours fighting the fire in a successful effort to save several homes on the property, including The Folly, a historic home dating to the 1700s.

One firefighter suffered first and second degree burns on his face and arms after the wind suddenly changed direction, causing those fighting the blaze to run for safety. The injured man was treated and released at Riverside Shore Memorial Hospital, Tasley Volunteer Fire Company Chief Jeff Beall said, adding that the injuries were sustained while the firefighter "was making a valiant effort to protect the homes."

Beall said the company's 1994 tanker also was overrun by the fire but was not a total loss and is being repaired.

The conflagration, which Beall estimated consumed over a hundred acres of cutover wheat field as well as part of the nearby woods, started when a combine that was harvesting the wheat caught on fire. The fire quickly spread to the dry stubble and across the field.

Several fire companies responded to the call directly from a structure fire they were battling on Bennett Street in Parksley.

Beall said he could tell immediately that the Accomac fire was a large one. "As I was coming down Route 13 from Fisher's Corner I could see the smoke," he said, and called for additional help.

In addition to the damaged vehicle, some 800 feet of hose, portable radios and other equipment also were lost in the fire, along with the combine, which was a total loss, Beall said.

Tasley was called back to the scene Friday morning to fight a small fire in the woods, which likely resulted from a smoldering ember.

Units responded to the fire from Saxis, Atlantic, Parksley, Tasley, Onley, Onancock, Melfa, Wachapreague, Painter, Community Fire Company in Exmore and Eastville. The Virginia Department of Forestry also was on the scene and Pocomoke City and Stockton, Md. fire departments also assisted Accomack County for the duration of the fire.

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Local Contractor Wins One MILLION Dollars

Pictured: Michael Reagan, President of Local Class A-Contractor M. Reagan & Sons, is presented a $1 million check from Virginia Lottery Deputy Director Richard Williams. Reagan bought the check from the Tasley Oceanway "after having a bad day at work," he said.

Michael Reagan of Harborton pointed to a Virginia Lottery scratch ticket and said, "Yeah, give me that one." With those five words, he won $1 million.

"That one" was a Maximum Millions ticket he bought from Oceanway Market at 24328 Lankford Highway in Tasley. He scratched the ticket and discovered he had won the top prize: his choice of either $1 million dollar in annual payments over 25 years or a one-time cash option of $564,000 before taxes. He chose the cash option.

On June 18, Mr. Reagan returned to the store to receive his prize from Virginia Lottery Deputy Director Richard Williams. The store received a $10,000 bonus from the Lottery for selling the ticket.

Reagan is the seventh player to claim the top prize in Maximum Millions, which means eight-top prize tickets remain unclaimed. Although his win was the talk of the are even before he officially claimed the prized, Reagan took it in stride.

"I didn't jump up and down and I haven't jumped up and down since," he said.

Reagan is the President of M. Reagan and Sons contracting, a local Class-A contractor. When asked what he's going to do with the money he said "Not a whole lot is going to change. I'm going to pay some bills and make life a little easier, but I still went to work this morning and I plan on continuing to work."

At the presentation Reagan was asked how he felt, he responded "OK, you know, honestly OK."

Nearly 95 cents of each dollar spent on the Virginia Lottery by players goes back to the Commonwealth in the form of contributions to education, prizes and retailer commissions. Since 1999, all Virginia Lottery profits have been designated solely to K-12 public school education in the Commonwealth. In that time, the Lottery has turned over more than $4 billion for Virginias public schools. The latest annual profits of $439.1 million currently represent about 7 percent of state funding for public education in Virginia. In 21 years, the Lottery has sold more than $21.1 billion in tickets, awarded more than $1.1 billion in retailer commissions and paid more than $11.6 billion in prizes to players.

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