Today's News

After holding a joint meeting with the Grayson board of supervisors, the county's school board revisited its 2009-10 budget and made minor changes.

The school board met with the supervisors on March 16 to present the $24.2 million budget and requested level funding from the supervisors.

Supervisors, however, felt that in a tough budget year the school system could make a few more cuts — and also questioned why the amount saved from the closure of Elk Creek Elementary School didn't match what was promised.

HILLSVILLE — Don't change the whole subdivision ordinance at once, several speakers told the Carroll supervisors at a public hearing last Monday.

Allen Caudill encouraged the supervisors to avoid a wholesale revision of the subdivision ordinance, meant to guide future residential development.

He'd rather see the county officials identify the problems with the existing ordinance and fix them one at a time.

Several other speakers agreed with that assessment during the 80-minute meeting.

The subdivision ordinance proposal contains language that would:

Before Galax City Schools gained $245,952 in federal stimulus funds for the 2009-2010 budget, newly-named Superintendent Bill Sturgill feared that cuts to staff, programs and even school supplies would have to be made.

“Before the stimulus, we were looking at having to make cuts in areas that would have the least impact on students and the community,” he told The Gazette. “These cuts were not just layoffs, but materials and having to absorb retirement positions.”

The Small Business Development Center at Crossroads Institute has helped gain funding for 100 new and expanding businesses in Galax and the Twin Counties — topping all of Virginia’s SBDC offices.

While a remarkable achievement on its own, despite the downturn in the economy, 96 of these businesses — all started within the past three years — remain open. Some are even expanding.