.....Advertisement.....
.....Advertisement.....

Public Safety

  • Two charged with possession of pills, pot

    HILLSVILLE — A 21-year-old Claudeville man has been charged with dealing drugs and 195 Oxycontin pills were seized after a Carroll County deputy initiated a traffic stop Feb. 9.
    Carroll Sheriff J.B. Gardner said that Phillip Christopher Sias, a passenger in the vehicle, faces a charge of possessing schedule II drugs with the intent to distribute after the traffic stop near St. Paul Elementary School.

    Click here to read more...
  • Vehicle hits bus head-on in Galax

     

    UPDATED 2/3/12:

    A car collided head-on with a Galax school bus that was carrying eight students on Thursday afternoon.

    Click here to read more...
  • Sheriff's department makes arrests

    Officers with the Grayson County Sheriff’s Office have made several arrests in the past three weeks, for drug offenses, a weapons charge and larceny.
    According to police reports, Richard Edward Newman, 41, and Christie Diane Glass, 32, of 309 Chestnut Lane in Fries, were arrested Jan. 4 after a search warrant was executed at their residence.
    Both Newman and Glass were charged with distribution of marijuana to a juvenile and contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

    Click here to read more...
  • Citizens can certify to help in emergencies

    A new program in Galax teaches citizens emergency skills necessary to keep their families safe and take care of their neighbors during crisis situations.
    A $6,000 grant from Homeland Security funds the nationwide Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) program, which pays for training for the instructors and equipment to teach the course.

    Click here to read more...
  • Police say man shot while trying to steal car

     

    Click here to read more...
  • Home owner is safe after Tuesday fire

    LAUREL FORK — Firefighters searched into Tuesday evening for the owner of a home at 21 Ivas Lane after his doublewide was destroyed in an afternoon blaze.
    Friends and family did not know the whereabouts of the man after firefighters from Laurel Fork and Hillsville spent much of the afternoon extinguishing the flames.
    Fortunately, the home owner, Kenneth Handy, returned home after being out of town for the day as firefighters were leaving for the night, according to Larry Sykes of Laurel Fork Fire Department.

    Click here to read more...
  • Crouse among five Virginia police officers lost in 2011

    WASHINGTON, D.C.  — Virginia lost five law enforcement officers during 2011, a year when gun violence against police spiked nationwide, according to a report by the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund.
    Preliminary information released Dec. 28 found that 173 officers had been killed in the line of duty in the past year.
    This is up 13 percent from the 153 officers who died in 2010, according to the report.

    Click here to read more...
  • Woodlawn fire destroys home

    WOODLAWN — A Wednesday afternoon fire destroyed a home at 173 Arabian Lane.

    Hillsville and Galax firefighters responded to the scene, but much of the home was already consumed by the flames by the time they arrived.

    Hillsville Fire Chief Donnie Spangler said there were no injuries reported and no one was in the house at the time of the fire.

    The cause is undetermined. The house is a total loss.

    The Gazette will post more details as they become available.

    Click here to read more...
  • Tractor-trailer crashes, explodes on I-77

    A driver was injured and traffic snarled on Interstate 77 in Carroll County on Friday after a tractor-trailer ran wrecked and exploded.
    According to Virginia State Police, the accident occurred around 2:30 a.m. at mile marker 22 on I-77’s northbound lane near the Wythe County line.
    The report said the driver of an 18-wheeler lost control in the curve, most likely because his load shifted. The tractor-trailer went through a guard rail and down the embankment.
    It exploded and caught fire.

    Click here to read more...
  • Wreck results in injuries, fuel spill

    LAUREL FORK — A driver was injured and more than 300 gallons of diesel fuel were spilled around 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday after a tractor-trailer plowed into a vehicle on U.S. 58 in Laurel Fork.
    According to a Virginia State Police report, 54-year-old Randy Bowman of Meadows of Dan had to be airlifted from the scene. Bowman was traveling west on 58 when he stopped his Ford F-150 pickup truck to turn in to the Laurel Fork Post Office.
    As Bowman turned, a tractor-trailer traveling behind his vehicle was not able to stop.

    Click here to read more...