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Today's News

  • Textile plant fights for trade equity

    HILLSVILLE — Parkdale Mills officials worry that a treaty negotiating fewer barriers to international trade could further diminish the already challenged domestic textile industry.
    Steve Mauck, a plant manager at Magnolia in Hillsville, expressed his concerns to the town council members at their June 10 meeting, hoping to get more signatures and support for the petition that company officials are circulating.

  • Suicide rate high in city

    Galax ranks fifth-highest in Virginia for those taking their own lives. Experts blame the area’s high numbers on a poor economy, lack of acceptance for some social groups and limited mental health services.

  • IDA looks at interim funds for school work

    HILLSVILLE — County officials might want to move at “hyper speed” to get additional improvements to Carroll High School done as soon as possible, but they don’t expect the heating and air conditioning updates to be completed by the beginning of classes in the fall.
    The Carroll Industrial Development Authority didn’t hesitate to do its part, approving 14 items relating to a $4 million interim loan idea while county officials await the $5 million low interest loan from Rural Development.

  • Stars & Stripes Forever

    HILLSVILLE — Members of the Grover King VFW Post 1115 and Ladies Auxiliary held a special ceremony on Flag Day to honor a beautiful symbol of the United States’ national pride, according to organizer Don Dobbins.
    The Stars and Stripes is the fourth-oldest banner in the world, older than even the flags of Great Britain and France.
    “Their countries might be older than ours, but our flag is older than theirs,” he said.

  • City wins multiple awards in poll

    Several activities and sights in Galax have won awards in Blue Ridge Country’s 2013 regional “Best of the Mountains” poll.
    Readers chose the Blue Ridge Music Center as a gold winner for the best place to hear mountain music, the Galax Old Fiddlers’ Convention for silver for best music festival, and New River Trail Cabins for gold for best cabin rentals.
    Galax’s historic downtown Rex Theatre won silver for best restored theater.

  • MMA fighter has eyes on the prize

    CJ Cochran, an MMA fighter trained at Elite Combat Martial Arts and Fitness in Galax, took home his first win on April 27 at “Ring of Dreams” in Winston-Salem, N.C., and is preparing for his next fight.
    Unlike some fighters, Cochran isn't battling for gold or glory.
    He’s doing it for his mom, and for his future.
    Master trainer Heather Pyles of Elite Combat said that Cochran,18, is focused on continuing his training and studying business so that he can one day open his own gym.

  • Hikers found safe at Grayson Highlands

    MOUNT ROGERS — A search party assembled at Grayson Highlands State Park on Friday morning following the disappearance of two unidentified hikers, according to a spokesperson from the Grayson County Sheriff's Department.

    The hikers were said to have been missing since Thursday.

    Rugby Fire and Rescue was dispatched to assist at the scene that morning

  • Gone with the wind: 'Tall structures' ordinance topples

    HILLSVILLE — County officials at their Monday meeting put the final nail in the coffin of a proposal that one Carroll supervisor called “a Trojan horse” intended to keep electricity-generating wind mills out of the locality.
    Not long after a company named EDP Renewables began researching Stoots Mountain for a wind farm, the supervisors directed the county attorney to come up with an ordinance controlling placement of tall structures on ridge tops.

  • Carroll races will be on November ballot

    HILLSVILLE — The first Carroll County election to be held after staggered terms go into effect will feature a race for the Fancy Gap school board seat and a contest for Pipers Gap supervisor.
    Two candidates with experience on the Carroll School Board will compete to represent the Fancy Gap District, according to information from the voter registrar’s office. Incumbent Joey Haynes will face former school board member Phillip Berrier in the fall election.
    School board races are non-partisan.

  • Livestock regulations corralled in Carroll

    HILLSVILLE — If Carroll County needs a loose livestock ordinance, a citizen asked that it only target “habitual offenders.”
    Myra Leonard was one of six speakers who shared their reactions to Carroll County’s loose livestock proposal as written by County Attorney Jim Cornwell.
    The proposal would make it a misdemeanor for a person’s livestock or fowl — not companion animals — to leave their owner’s land and get onto someone else’s property or onto the roads.