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Local News

  • Hillsville man charged in N.C. attack

    DOBSON, N.C. — A 56-year-old Hillsville man faces multiple charges in a September attack at a Surry County residence, according to the Surry County Sheriff’s Office.
    Sheriff Graham Atkinson identified those charged in the Sept. 16 incident at 800 Oak Grove Road as Rebel Steniner Akers and Jennifer Dawn Hayes, 31, according to a news release from the Surry County authorities. Both face charges of first-degree kidnapping.

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  • Carroll youth recovers after shooting

    A 13-year-old boy sustained a flesh wound after a Saturday morning hunt near the Little Vine section of Carroll County.
    Carroll County authorities responded to the scene where the boy was reported injured on Peacock Road,  according to officials with the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries.
    A father and son had been hunting and returned to their pickup at about 9:30 a.m., said Randy Hurst, the conservation officer investigating the incident. They were loading their vehicle after the hunt when a gun went off inside the vehicle.

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  • Galax optometrist passes away at 60

    It was rare to see Dr. Henry Ford without a smile or a story to tell, and those facets of the late optometrist’s upbeat personality will be celebrated with a party in his honor on Saturday.
    Ford passed away Nov. 17 after suffering a heart attack. He was 60 years old.
    Ford is remembered by family, friends and patients as a positive, friendly and talkative person, and having a party instead of a funeral is what he wanted, family members say.
    “Bring your stories for a night of laughs and good memories,” they wrote in his obituary.

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  • Fire damages Independence Lumber

    INDEPENDENCE — One of the buildings at Independence Lumber Inc. was badly damaged in a fire early Saturday morning.

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  • Cliffside sells for $1.3 million at auction

    A Florida couple bought the historic Cliffside mansion in Galax, along with five cottages and six barns all situated near the New River Trail State Park, during an auction on Nov. 9.
    The sale to Don and Liz Bortniak of Lake Worth, Fla., largely keeps intact some of the most visible properties and structures along the trail, a 57-mile biking and hiking route that follows a former rail line from Galax to Fries.
    The Bortniaks bought the buildings and about 21 acres for $1,267,350.

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  • Supervisor asks for conflict investigation

    The request involves rental property once held by the county administrator

    WITH VIDEO

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  • Warner would have advantage in governor's race

    If U.S. Sen. Mark Warner decides to run for another term as Virginia’s governor, he would start the 2013 campaign as an overwhelming favorite against either Republican candidate for the job, according to a new statewide poll released Wednesday.

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  • Birding trail takes flight

    FRIES — The Town of Fries owns a large parcel of spectacular park land directly on the New River that begins near the dam of the old textile mill and continues for about 1.2 miles down the river.
    Five acres of this beautiful land has long been designated as a future birding trail.
    The site lies between the popular New River Trail State Park and the river itself, and is adjacent to Fries School. It offers spectacular views of the river and interesting vegetation that includes massive old growth sycamore and silver maple trees.

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  • Blight could spread through Christmas wreath trade

    Agriculture officials have warned nurseries not to spread the boxwood blight through the Christmas wreath trade.
    A fungus that kills boxwoods was found in October 2011 at unidentified nursery businesses in North Carolina with fields in Virginia. That was a first in the region, according to a report from the Virginia Cooperative Extension.
    The fungal pathogen known as Cylindrocladium buxicola causes severe dieback and defoliation in boxwood leaves and branches.

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  • Community helps pay church's $12,200 water bill

    HILLSVILLE — Community members have been moved to help relieve the pressure on a  Hillsville church drowning in debt, according to the pastor there.
    An outside water spigot was left on for an extended period at Hillsville Pentecostal Holiness Church. No one realized it because the water went straight into the town’s sewer system.
    As a result, the church ended up with a $12,200 utilities bill with the town, after a $2,100 discount from Hillsville Town Council.

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