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Local News

  • Delegate calls for 'price gouging' investigation

    MARTINSVILLE — Did Virginia drivers face illegally pumped-up gas prices in the wake of Hurricane Ike?

    That's what Del. Ward Armstrong (D-Henry County), who represents Carroll citizens in the General Assembly, wants to know.

    He has asked Attorney General Robert McDonnell to investigate possible violations of gas “price gouging” in both his district and in the state.

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  • GED the key to new jobs

    INDEPENDENCE — It used to be that undereducated adults were able to get into high-paying jobs in the Twin Counties through fields such as manufacturing, construction and agriculture.

    Today, those jobs are in short supply or have moved offshore, making a high school diploma or equivalent that much more important.

    The Mount Rogers Regional Adult Education Program has set out to change the high percentage of residents who do not hold a high school diploma by offering General Education Degree (GED) classes frequently and at no cost to residents.

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  • Delays driving up construction costs

    HILLSVILLE — Delays on construction efforts to improve facilities for grades sixth through 12 in Carroll schools could cost millions of extra dollars, according to a recent study by Construction Control Corporation presented to the Carroll School Board.

    The first Phase III Planning Team meeting is Sept. 29 at Woodlawn School.

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  • Murder trial pushed to 2009

    INDEPENDENCE — A man facing more than a dozen charges in connection with the killings of three people at a Christmas tree farm near Mouth of Wilson has waived his right to a speedy trial.

    Freddie Hammer, 48, of Crumpler, N.C., appeared before Grayson County Circuit Court Judge Brett Geisler on Sept. 12 for a pre-trial motions hearing.

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  • Company donates $25,000 to free clinic

    The Free Clinic of the Twin Counties is struggling to remain in operation due to lack of funds. But at a critical point, Vaughan-Bassett Furniture Company donated $25,000 to the clinic—the biggest single donation and something the clinic’s executive director Dina Slusher is calling a “blessing.”

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  • Carroll trying to lock down new prison

    HILLSVILLE — With the state developing more new prisons in the future, Carroll could possibly lock one of those down, says the chairman of the county's Prison Study Committee.

    In the process of gathering information on the long-term plans of the Virginia Department of Corrections, J.B. Gardner has learned that state officials see the need for as many as five new correctional facilities in the future.

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  • Fries teen injured in crash

    FRIES — A 17-year-old was in critical condition Monday after a single vehicle accident near Fries that morning.

    According to Virginia State Trooper J.A. Vaughan, Phillip Matthew Norman of Fries was airlifted by helicopter to Johnson City, Tenn., Monday morning after his vehicle collided with a tree.a

    Norman was traveling west on Virginia 274 (Riverside Drive) towards Independence when his 1998 Ford Taurus veered off the left side of the road and struck a tree, according to Vaughan.

    The accident happened just before 8 a.m.

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  • Carroll fire leads to arson charge

    HILLSVILLE — One day after the Hillsville Fire Department responded to a call at a mobile home at 243 Knob Hill Lane, a Carroll County grand jury indicted the man who lived there for arson.

    In addition to the direct indictment against Travis Ray Hall, 25, he also has been charged by the Carroll Sheriff's Office with making a felony threat to burn the home he shared with Ashley Hall, according to Investigator Shannon Goad.

    Hall's wife took out a warrant against him, charging him with misdemeanor assault and battery.

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  • School board begins superintendent search

    The Galax School Board announced that it will begin the search for the next schools superintendent.

    After 43 years as an educator and more than 12 years with Galax City Public Schools, Superintendent Sam Cook, who will turn 65 in November, will retire at the end of 2008 and return to his hometown in Franklin County.

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  • Closed meetings standard practice in Carroll

    HILLSVILLE — Closed session practices by Carroll County governments have been called into question recently, but county boards are not necessarily meeting behind closed doors more than they have in the past.

    With concerns about use of closed sessions persisting in Carroll County, The Gazette recently checked into the record of executive sessions.

    State law allows governmental bodies to meet behind closed doors in some situations where the hearing of matters in public meeting would be detrimental to a board’s position.

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