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Today's Features

  • VFW Post 1115 celebrates 75 years

    HILLSVILLE — 1935 proved a busy year in the Twin Counties.

    Construction wrapped up on the Blue Ridge Parkway and tourists got to drive on the scenic national park road for the first time starting in the fall.

    Fiddlers gathered in a convention for the first time in Galax to play some old-time tunes.

    And, on May 15 of that year, 29 men who had served their country in the military mustered together to create the Grover King Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1115.

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  • 'Save Green' in Grayson this weekend

    INDEPENDENCE — A veritable 'Who’s Who' of renewable energy speakers will be featured and a variety of earth friendly vendors will demonstrate energy saving, carbon footprint reducing products and services at Saturday’s 3rd Annual Independence Earth Day and "Save Green: Money and Energy" Expo at the 1908 Courthouse.

    The event is sponsored by Grayson Land Care and the Town of Independence Special Events Committee.

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  • A Scout Is...

    Local author and Eagle Scout Todd Shaw said Boy Scouts is a game with a purpose, where boys can learn life skills, have fun and carry on the values and principles throughout a lifetime.

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  • Bluegrass Gravy & River Quilts

    With the 75th anniversary of the Blue Ridge Parkway just around the corner — and as many as 20,000 people expected to visit the area this year as part of the parkway's celebration — the Crossroads Institute will host a series of events, starting tomorrow, Thursday, to get locals in touch with the area's heritage.

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  • Upward Mobility

    Being a lineman means having a career where people look up to you, Eddie Reavis of TCR Management likes to say.

    Twenty years working with utility companies in the field has given Reavis a bird's eye perspective on the industry, and he knows there's a high demand for these kinds of skilled laborers.

    That led to the creation of TCR Management at the Crossroads Institute to start with the basics for groundsman training, the first step on the way to become a lineman.

    It's hard work, but good opportunities are available for those willing to tackle it.

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  • Parkway anniversary plans taking shape

    Plans are underway for the Blue Ridge Parkway’s 75th anniversary weekend celebration during Sept. 10-12, marking the anniversary of construction on Sept. 11, 1935.

    The Blue Ridge Music Center (milepost 213), the Cumberland Knob Recreation Area (milepost 217), and neighboring communities of Fancy Gap, Hillsville, Fries, Independence and Galax will be among sites for this multi-day, multi-venue celebration.

    Included will be regional music, crafts, storytelling, children’s activities and foods from the Blue Ridge.

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  • Masters of Mountain Music

    As a young boy growing up in Kentucky, local music legend Willard Gayheart, scraped up $3 to purchase his first guitar, and even though he didn't do much with it then, when he moved to Galax in 1962 he got hooked on learning bluegrass and old-time music.

    Gayheart, now a renowned musician and pencil artist, shared his story with a crowd at last Thursday's first Bluegrass Gravy & River Quilts event at the Crossroads Institute in Galax.

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  • Up in the Air

    HILLSVILLE — Juggling just isn't for the clowns and the circus. It's for artists, athletes, hobbyists and just about anyone — and the Flanagans can attest to that.

    As local Glen Luke Flanagan swirls a handful of bean bags through the air and tosses them behind his back, showing off his juggling skills, he explains how the hobby has become about sharing, showing and coming together.

    He never misses a beat as he demonstrates his tricks, manipulation skills and choreography.

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  • Hanging their hopes on art

    The creative economy being developed throughout the area is one industry that can't be exported overseas, said Chris Shackelford, director of Chestnut Creek School of the Arts.

    CCSA has and will continue to bring new businesses into the area, add jobs, create mixed-use buildings and improve the quality of life as Galax works toward transitioning into a place of entrepreneurial development and tourism, Shackelford said.

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  • Memories of the Blue Ridge Parkway

    In the “Memories: The Blue Ridge Parkway in Retrospect” juried art show at Chestnut Creek School of the Arts, a watercolor painting by local artist Jarrod Wilson depicts a classic Plymouth pulled to the side of the road on the parkway with a blanket spread out on a grassy knoll.

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