Today's News

HILLSVILLE — Fees for fire department services, charged to insurance companies, might be on the agenda in Carroll County in the near future.

Included in the April board meeting packet for the Carroll County Supervisors as an informational item is a draft ordinance written by Emergency Services Director Joe Roma.

The draft states that the idea is to "offset the continued cost of providing emergency fire protection services and to provide funds to equip and operate such services to promote the public health, safety and welfare."

The General Assembly made no appointment to fill the vacant 27th Judicial District Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court judgeship before adjourning this year's session.

That means that no action has been taken to find a permanent replacement for Michael Keith Blankenship, who resigned from that post at the end of last year.

Legislators normally make the judicial appointments, but the state senators and delegates could not come to a consensus on the pool of candidates for the judgeship.

Boucher voting record 'pro-abortion'

At a town hall meeting in March, Rep. Rick Boucher responded to questions about the inappropriately named Freedom of Choice Act.

He stated opposition to radical proee'abortion provisions in question and denied that such a bill existed.

As our ongoing series, "Adapting to the Economy" has shown, local businesses are reshaping the way they do business in order to survive. We've been impressed by their ingenuity.

They're doing it on their own, with their own initiative and creativity, not relying on government handouts or taxpayer dollars.

As the national economy falters, it's encouraging to see our hometown entrepreneurs try new things, scrap what doesn't work and, in some cases, reinvent themselves for today's world.