Today's News

INDEPENDENCE ― A meeting is planned for June 6 to discuss plans to open a prison ministry at the new River North Correctional Center in Independence.
According to reports, neither the Virginia Department of Corrections nor Chaplain Service Prison Ministry of Virginia has funds to place a chaplain at the prison.
The Rev. Terri Gregory, pastor of the Independence United Methodist Church, said plans are to organize a “River North Ministry Council” made up of ministers and laypeople in the surrounding counties of Virginia and North Carolina.

The Gazette is partnering with local police departments to publish photos of suspects arrested and charged.

INDEPENDENCE – Grayson County has managed to close the deficit in next year’s budget without a tax increase, dipping into its reserve account or affecting any core services.
County Administrator Jonathan Sweet said the board’s two favorite words last week when he told supervisors there was a “balanced budget.”
Though the supervisors began budget talks facing a potential $1.4 million shortfall between requested expenditures and projected revenues, the county staff able to close that gap.

By SHAINA STOCKTON, Staff
Last year, the Blue Ridge Crossroads Economic Development Authority (BRCEDA) requested help from the Virginia Tobacco Commission to attract a potential business to Wildwood Commerce Park.
The tobacco commission had offered BRCEDA a $6 million grant to help with the development of Wildwood, contingent upon the unnamed prospect agreeing to locate in the commerce park, located at the Exit 19 intersection of Interstate 77 and Virginia 620 in Carroll County.