Today's News

At the non-profit Free Clinic of the Twin Counties, volunteers stay busy filing patient paperwork and working the front desk and the new lab at the 2,200-square foot facility.

The Free Clinic had been on Oldtown Street in a 1,200-square foot facility since 2007, but has now relocated to an office building at 140 Larkspur Lane in Galax and re-opened June 1.

“We were running out of space and could only have so many in the office,” said Dina Slusher, executive director of the clinic. “We just needed more office space to accommodate everybody.

For hours, Judith Nunn Alley and her brother John Nunn would sit in the center of hundreds of pictures and notes that covered every inch of the room, sorting and trying to find the perfect images that would capture the first 50 years of Galax for their new book, slated to be released today, Friday.

It is part Arcadia Publishing's “Images of America” series, which celebrates the history of neighborhoods, towns and cities across the country.

Once again, it takes out-of-towners to remind us how good we have it in the Twin Counties.

After last week's "familiarization tour" for tourism officials from all over Virginia, the visitors couldn't find enough good things to say about our underappreciated area. They enjoyed shopping in our unique shops, visiting our attractions, hearing our music and seeing our natural wonders.

Not to be premature, but it looks like a new day might be dawning in the Twin Counties — one that holds the promise of an amicable relationship between the Town of Hillsville and Carroll County.

Though the town and county have cooperated in the past when they expected mutual benefits, it seemed the officials for the two localities did not see eye to eye very often.

An atmosphere of hostility seemed to be the norm, as water and sewer disagreements stretched on for half a dozen years or more.