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Today's News

  • 'Serial killer' denied reward

    Convicted killer Frederick P. Hammer struck out again in court last week when a judge ruled that he was not entitled to a $15,000 reward for telling the Ashe County Sheriff’s Department the location of Jimmy Blevins' body.

    Superior Court Judge Edgar Gregory listened to a five-minute summary of the case by David Jolly, a Crumpler, N.C., lawyer who represented the Blevins family.

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  • Galax man arrested with 10 pounds of meth

    A Galax man, along with five others, was arrested in East Tennessee after authorities found 10 pounds of meth, valued at $448,000, according to the Washington County Sheriff's Office.

    Mendoza Ventura Placido, 29, of Galax was arrested last Friday, along with: Guadalupe Granado, 35, of Newport, Tenn.; Marcos Antonio Rivera, 33, and Abel Martinez Tavera, 37, both of Winston-Salem, N.C.; and Elias Mazariegos Perez, 30, of Morristown, Tenn.

    The investigation began in March shortly after the conclusion of a large 2009 drug investigation.

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  • Settlement could lead to annexation

    HILLSVILLE — It looks like Carroll County and Hillsville could be on the verge of an agreement that would settle both the utility billing disagreements and the town's plan to annex land out to Interstate 77.

    The Carroll County supervisors acted on what came out of negotiations first, meeting for about a half-hour first thing Monday morning at Countryside Restaurant over coffee to hear details from County Administrator Gary Larrowe and County Attorney Jim Cornwell.

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  • Wreck claims life of Cana man

    A 45-year-old Cana man died in a single-vehicle accident at about 8:15 p.m. Sunday.

    The victim in the crash was identified as Stanley Keith Collins, in a Virginia State Police report by Trooper Chuck Campbell.

    The incident happened on Parkway Road, about a half-mile east of Mainline Road, when Collins lost control of a 2005 Nissan pickup.

    The vehicle went off the right side of the road, over a small embankment and hit some trees, according to the report.

    Collins was not wearing a seatbelt and he was partially ejected.

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  • Tourism officials get familiar with Hillsville, Carroll

    HILLSVILLE — Within a few minutes of getting off their bus, tourism officials from across Virginia seemed charmed with the sights, sounds and citizens of Hillsville and Carroll County.

    People who make their living helping tourists and travelers disembarked from the big white bus — in the company of locals Donnie Turner and Amanda Bourne — in the parking lot next to the historic Carroll County Courthouse. They were greeted by Town Manager Larry South and Sherry Shaffner of the Carroll County Chamber.

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  • Visitors' center welcomes the world

    Now that the new Galax Visitor Center has been open every day for the past couple of weeks, Ray Kohl, director of the downtown facility, has met visitors from throughout the country, as well as Australia, Germany, France, England, Ireland and Canada.

    Kohl said some, who were here on weekend trips and day-long visits, are now planning to return for Smoke on the Mountain state barbecue championship in July and the Galax Old Fiddlers' Convention in August.

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  • Grayson closer to final budget

    INDEPENDENCE — Grayson County citizens will soon have their chance to voice concerns with the proposed budget as supervisors close in on a set of numbers to advertise.

    Board members met for another budget work session last Wednesday night and began with a brief recap from County Administrator Jonathan Sweet.

    Sweet explained all the reductions made in budgets controlled by the county administration. Overall, the budgets saw a 12.9 percent reduction — which surpassed the goal of a county-wide 10 percent reduction in expenses.

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  • More plead guilty to drug dealing charges

    ROANOKE — Two more defendants facing federal drug charges entered guilty pleas in U.S. District Court in Roanoke last week.

    Stephie Nicole Bean Davis and Michael Samuel Sawyers, both of Galax, filed paperwork with the court changing their pleas to guilty, according to information from Roanoke.

    They join Bobby Dwayne Thompson of Hillsville, who had already entered a guilty plea to a count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.

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  • Thief hits homeless shelter

    “Who on Earth would steal something from a homeless shelter?”

    That's what Marcia Chemelli, a resident at the Hostel of the Good Shepherd on West Center Street in Galax, would like to know.

    The residents of the shelter noticed Tuesday morning that the solar-powered lights were missing from the front yard, and reported it to the Galax Police Department on Wednesday.

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  • Elk Creek man dies in crash

    A 44-year-old Elk Creek man died in a single-vehicle crash Friday on Stones Chapel Road in Grayson County.

    Virginia State Police identified the victim as Arnold J. Brown. According to a report by Trooper J.M. Sowers, Brown was operating a 1993 Chevy S-10 at the time of the accident, which occurred at 6:25 p.m., about 1.5 miles west of Powder Mill Road.

    Brown lost control of the vehicle on a gravel road and ran off the road to the left.

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