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Local News

  • Rescue squad giving assets to non-profits

    HILLSVILLE  — Officers with the Hillsville Rescue Squad have decided how to proceed with the agency’s last act  — disbursing its remaining cash assets.
    The rescue squad has been shuttered since a controversy involving a former captain using an ambulance to move furniture, but the organization lingered as members hoped to resuscitate it.
    After clearing out the station on Main Street and selling the equipment and supplies, the rescue squad has set up the process to grant funds to other community organizations.

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  • Hospital reports progress in merger's first year

    The April 1, 2012, change that made Twin County Regional Healthcare part of the Duke Lifepoint hospital system has pointed the Galax hospital toward expanding its physician base and seeking new medical office space.
    The changeover also led to four times the typical annual investment in new clinical equipment and facility improvements.
    Those were among highlights of a review of 2012 and look at 2013 that TCRH Chief Executive Officer Jon Applebaum outlined last Thursday at a meeting of its community advisory groups.

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  • Man dies in farm tractor accident

    By SHAINA STOCKTON
    Staff

    The Galax Fire Department and the Pipers Gap Rescue Squad responded to a call Thursday evening when a tractor reportedly flipped over and killed Robert L. “Buster” Coomes of Galax.
    Coomes was found dead at the scene, said Fire Chief David Hankley.
    According to an incident report, Coomes was operating an enclosed cab tractor with a front end loader when the accident occurred.
    “Mr. Coomes was ejected from the tractor, but he was not pinned,” said Hankley.

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  • Trailer fire under investigation

    By SHAINA STOCKTON
    Staff
    Carroll County authorities are investigating a trailer fire that occurred on Pecan Drive, off of Malibu Drive, early Tuesday morning.
    The fire appeared to have originated on the front porch of an abandoned trailer, according to Investigator Donnie Spangler.

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  • Family of 9 loses home to fire

    By SHAINA STOCKTON
    Staff
    The Galax Fire Department responded to a house fire on Cricket Lane in the Oldtown Community of Grayson County on the afternoon of Dec. 30.
    The home, rented by the immediate and extended family of Andres and Christy Mendoza, was completely destroyed by the fire, according to Galax Fire Chief David Hankley.
    The home was occupied by seven adults, a three-year-old child and a two-week-old infant.

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  • New year, new plans for New River Trail

    With visitation to the New River Trail State Park topping the 1 million mark again last year, 2013 could be the year when the 57-mile-long linear facility becomes the most-used park in Virginia.
    That’s not a New Year’s resolution on the part of park manager Sam Sweeney — it’s more of a long-term goal.
    While that milestone might not happen in 2013, the park has a lot of work planned for the next 12 months to prepare for even more public use.

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  • Training offered for job seekers

    By SHAINA STOCKTON
    Staff

    Valley On-The-Job Training, a program offered by the New River/Mount Rogers Workforce Investment Board, will help find jobs for people who are capable of working in manufacturing or healthcare, but may lack a skill or two they could learn quickly.
    The program seeks to offer more employment opportunity, while protecting the financial security of potential employers.

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  • Red Cross director retiring after 23 years

    Maybe Joan Isom can go back to enjoying snow again after the New Year arrives, instead of fearing the worst of traffic snarls happening on Interstate 77.
    In the past, Isom — as executive director for the Woods River Chapter of the American Red Cross and as the manager for disaster services — had been responsible for finding places for the stranded motorists to stay if the interstate got shut down and if their vehicles broke down.

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  • Regional jail members want more state funding

    DUBLIN — It has been two years since the eight localities that are members of the New River Valley Regional Jail authority stopped paying for state-responsible inmates. And now they’re asking state legislators to move those inmates out of the jail or pay up.
    Until December 2010, the localities — consisting of the counties of Pulaski, Giles, Carroll, Wythe, Grayson, Bland and Floyd and the city of Radford — were paying for state inmates that were being housed in the jail because state facilities did not have room for them.

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  • Many living without basic needs

    By SHAINA STOCKTON
    Staff
    To make sure all area residents have the opportunity for a healthy living environment, Rooftop of Virginia offers help through an Indoor Plumbing and Rehabilitation Program.
    The goal is to provide assistance to locals who either do not have indoor plumbing or have failing water delivery or waste disposal systems.
    “We believe that everyone should be entitled to a home that fulfills basic human needs,” said program coordinator Opal Kegley.

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The Galax Gazette is your source for local news, sports, events and information in Galax, Grayson, Carroll, and surrounding areas.