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Today's News

  • Public record for 5/19/10 edition

    Editor’s Note: This information is taken from open court records and is a matter of public record. The listings are complete. The newspaper, as a matter of fairness, will not honor requests to omit any listing. 

    For information on this column or questions, call at 236-5178, ext. 213.

    Land Transfers

    These land transfers were recorded Feb. 1-25 in the office of Carolyn H. Honeycutt, clerk of the Carroll County Circuit Court, Hillsville:

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  • Grayson seeks $18.3 million for school facilities

    INDEPENDENCE — After months of discussion, the Grayson County Board of Supervisors decided to seek funding above the originally approved $16.3 million for Phase I of the school system’s long-term facilities improvement plan.

    Construction was nearly halted on the school system’s initial phase after contracted amounts exceeded the allowed $16.3 million approved by the supervisors. Included in that phase are additions and renovations to Fries Middle School and a new facility in western Grayson.

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  • Bassist killed in Elk Creek crash

    ELK CREEK — The traditional music world suffered another loss last weekend.

    James Alan Mastin, 55, of Fries was killed in a single-vehicle accident on U.S. 21 near Elk Creek on the morning of May 2.

    Mastin was the bass fiddle player for popular band Big Country Bluegrass. He had been with the group for more than 20 years and was the son of old-time fiddler Bruce Mastin.

    Mastin and the band played the Grand Ole Opry in 1999, and he played bass on their numerous albums.

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  • Houston Caldwell: A Life Cut Short

    Houston Caldwell was a leader, and a person who did everything he put his mind to, according to close friend Stevie Barr, Caldwell's first banjo teacher and the manager at Barr's Fiddle Shop in downtown Galax, where Caldwell worked during the summers for the past few years.

    Caldwell, 18, of Galax — a 2009 graduate of Carroll County High School — died as the result of a motorcycle accident last Friday.

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  • Carroll IDA seeks school financing

    HILLSVILLE — Carroll educators will try to finish up a 12-year-old facilities program with a $25 million expansion of the high school and $5.55 million renovation of the intermediate school.

    Pinnacle Architects' Randy Baker and Frank Phillips briefly described the plans and presented a detailed feasibility report to the Industrial Development Authority on Monday.

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  • Another kind of 'drug deal'

    A National League of Cities prescription discount card program, already used in Grayson and Carroll counties, may soon be offered in Galax.

    The card allows individuals without insurance or those underinsured to save money on prescriptions.

    City Manager Keith Barker told Galax City Council last week that the city would pay $950 to become a member of NLC, which would allow the locality to receive updates about the program and other benefits not pertaining to the prescription discount program.

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  • Newcomers elected to Galax, Hillsville councils

    HILLSVILLE — A new member will join Hillsville Town Council in July, after winning a seat in Tuesday's municipal election.

    In the only contested race, Billy Walls Sr. bested incumbent Frieda Jessup to become the Sulphur Springs Ward representative on town council.

    Walls got 59 votes, or 56 percent of all ballots cast, compared to the 45 votes that went to Jessup, according to unofficial results from the Carroll County Voter Registrar's Office.

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  • Write-in candidate wins seat in Independence

    INDEPENDENCE — A surprise write-in candidate won one of three Independence Town Council seats in the May 4 election.

    Independence residents elected a mayor and three council members last Tuesday.

    Of the 86 write-in votes cast by citizens, 42 wrote in votes for Jeremy Walters.

    That was enough to oust council member Cecil Adams, who received the lowest number of votes, 36.

    Also elected were W. F. “Buddy” Halsey, former vice mayor, with 43 votes and Tom E. Maxwell, current vice mayor, with 44 votes.

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  • Man attacked while sleeping

    HILLSVILLE — Armed robbers broke into a home on Bronco Road early last Thursday, assaulted a resident and took $300 after a struggle, according to Carroll Sheriff Warren Manning.

    Police have 27-year-old Kimberly Ann Edwards, no address given, in custody, but are still searching for 31-year-old Chris Robert Childress of Hillsville in connection with the incident, the sheriff said.

    The break-in occurred during the early morning hours at the home of Robert Caldwell, according to a press release. At the time, Caldwell was at home sleeping.

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  • Grayson considers 49 tax levy

    INDEPENDENCE — Grayson County residents will likely see a 44 percent increase in their real estate taxes next year, a decision that came last Wednesday as supervisors began winding down the budget process.

    The board of supervisors welcomed Corbin Stone of Robinson, Farmer, Cox Associates — the firm completing a financial forecast for the county — to its budget work session on May 5.

    Stone presented the board with a draft of the county’s financial forecast, which projects Grayson’s fiscal health over the next five years.

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