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Today's News

  • Weststar deeds pump station to Carroll PSA

    HILLSVILLE — An arrangement between developers and Carroll County over a pumping station near Interstate 77 has been reached.

    In a press release Monday, Carroll officials said that the board of supervisors and public service authority have reached “an exceptionally reasonable agreement” regarding the pump station at the intersection of I-77 and U.S. 58.

    The pump station property was located on land that Weststar Investments LLC bought at the intersection.

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  • Board seeks input on school chief hiring

    The Galax City School Board will seek citizen input on the qualifications they desire in a new schools superintendent.

    The board has started the process of hiring a new superintendent to replace Sam Cook, who will retire at the end of 2008. Cook has been a superintendent of Galax schools since July 1, 1996, and is retiring after more than 42 years in public education.

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  • Dog loses leg in bear attack

    TROUTDALE — A family's dog is left with three legs after she was attacked by a bear last week within 500 feet of a popular playground where children were playing.

    Scarlett McGrady of Troutdale said it happened last Friday.

    McGrady was in Galax around 4 p.m. on Oct. 3 and called her house to tell her children she would be late getting home from work.

    “My daughter, Cheyenne answered the phone telling me that something had just happened to Xenia [the family's Siberian Husky] at the playground and she was bleeding,” she said.

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  • VDOT to fix 58 trouble spot

    HILLSVILLE — The fix will soon begin, weather permitting, on a steep spot on U.S. 58 known for car accidents where pooling water causes vehicles to hydroplane.

    That's what the portable electronic message boards on U.S. 58 in Woodlawn mean when they flash that a "federal safety project" will begin soon.

    Johnny Hurst, the Virginia Department of Transportation's contract administrator in the Hillsville residency office, said the project competed with other road safety projects for federal grant dollars and won.

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  • Our House

    The new coordinator of the Mount Rogers Powerhouse Clubhouse plans to match the improvements in downtown Galax with positive changes at the facility on Main Street.

    Rick Whisenhunt, the newly named coordinator and local who graduated from Galax High School in 1996, wants to boost visibility of clubhouse members in the community.

    Powerhouse is a daytime-only service center for individuals who need a little extra support in a friendly family atmosphere, he said.

    “The main thing with us is helping people with the extra challenges they face each day.”

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  • Carroll welcomes AmeriPumps' investment, new jobs

    HILLSVILLE — Virginia economic development officials joined in the celebration of a transportable pump manufacturer and distributor in the Carroll Industrial Park at a ribbon cutting on Sept. 30.

    Virginia Secretary of Commerce and Trade Patrick Gottschalk, representing Gov. Tim Kaine, wielded a pair of scissors to welcome the 125 jobs and $4.5 million investment AmeriPumps will bring to Hillsville and Carroll County.

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  • Clergy denounces chaplain policy

    Echoing recent Republican criticism, about a dozen Christian clergy members in Virginia have denounced a new policy that instructs State Police troopers working as chaplains not to invoke specific deities in public prayers offered at government events.

    The ministers, who claimed to be speaking on behalf of congregations and pastors across the state, called on Gov. Timothy M. Kaine to rescind the nonsectarian prayer policy, labeling it an affront to Christianity.

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  • Arson suspect released

    HILLSVILLE — A 25-year-old Carroll County man charged with burning his own home was released from jail on bond Sept. 29.

    Travis Ray Hall was charged with arson by direct indictment at the September meeting of the Carroll grand jury, one day after he allegedly set fire to the trailer in the Laurel section of the county that his family lived in.

    Hall was also charged with a felony as part of a Carroll Sheriff's Office investigation, for threatening to burn the home he shared with Ashley Hall.

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  • Drive Defensively

    It’s good to know that Virginia Department of Transportation officials are troubleshooting safety problems with Carroll County roads.

    The problem in question has been on the 2,200-foot, steep incline on U.S. 58 in Woodlawn that’s known for hydroplaning accidents during thunderstorms.

    It wasn’t just isolated incidents — 14 such accidents happened on that stretch of road in a two-year period.

    Just imagine driving along westbound in a rainstorm and the tires slip, and in a split second the vehicle goes down an embankment.

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  • Fire destroys historic Elk Creek building

    ELK CREEK — Volunteer fire departments from Elk Creek, Fries, Independence and Galax battled a fire that destroyed a building on Carsonville Road in Elk Creek Monday morning that once housed a branch office of Grayson National Bank.

    Dewey Baldwin, who lived in the building, said he was awakened by two motorists who saw smoke coming from the building. Baldwin and his family escaped from the burning building.

    Firefighters were still on the scene Monday afternoon fighting the blaze in the two-story brick building.

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The Galax Gazette is your source for local news, sports, events and information in Galax, Grayson, Carroll, and surrounding areas.