Today's Features

A Dugspur woman was known for six months as "No Nails" as she trudged and climbed the 2,178 miles of the Appalachian Trail — despite her bad back, hurt ankle and fear of heights — and recently returned home triumphant.

Following the tradition of trail hikers, Cathy Shouse adopted a colorful nickname to go by while slogging from Springer Mountain in Georgia through the Mid-Atlantic and New England to Katahdin, the trail's northern terminus in Maine.

Tanya Gonyo was just seven months old when her grandfather Kyle Creed, a local old-time music legend, passed away in 1982.

But when Gonyo, now 27, of Richmond, stepped into the Stringbean Coffee Shop on Sept. 12 and saw hundreds of old pictures and banjos her grandfather made, the overwhelming feeling brought tears to her eyes as she realized what his banjo playing and instrument making has inspired.

Most every Friday night, the sounds of the mountains ride the radio airwaves down the backroads of Virginia and North Carolina, from the Blue Ridge Mountains down to the Piedmont.

For a decade, that traditional string music has been broadcast from Galax on WBRF-98.1 FM, which sends out 100,000 watts of old-time and bluegrass music from the stage of the historic Rex Theater in downtown Galax.

The powerhouse radio station, along with a group of dedicated volunteers, will celebrate a decade of promoting and presenting the traditional string music that Galax is known for.

HILLSVILLE — Carroll County farmers have found fertile ground in partnerships with Virginia Produce and Food City, and that's strengthening the local agricultural sector.

Farmers who supply these fall crops to the grocery chain with locations in Virginia, Tennessee and Kentucky know they will make enough to be in the black at the end of the growing season, said Moir Beamer of Virginia Produce.