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Today's News

  • Are we ready for the 'Frankenstorm'?

    Hurricane Sandy.
    The Frankenstorm.
    The Snoreastercane.
    Whatever you want to call it, the storm hitting the East Coast this week is a freak of nature, says Kevin Myatt, weather columnist for The Roanoke Times.
    For Southwest Virginia, the merging of two extreme weather systems likely will mean high winds, heavy rain and possibly a record October snowfall.
    Anything is possible, Myatt says, but the storm is bringing more tricks than treats.

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  • Hillsville takes aim at deer

    HILLSVILLE — Conservation officials don’t want to stand in the way of Hillsville’s aim to control deer, but it’s not as easy as granting a town-wide kill order, said Department of Game and Inland Fisheries representatives.
    Allen Boynton, regional wildlife manager, and conservation officer Ryland Cox gave the town options in addition to targeting deer by hunting, including going after deer on public property and the state issuing more kill permits to individual land owners.

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  • Police, family organizing search for missing man

    FRIES — Family members of Samuel Joseph Sheehi are asking for community assistance in finding the missing Fries man.
    The family is working with Twin County law enforcement to find Sheehi, who has been missing for two weeks.
    Family members say 32-year-old Sheehi was last seen Oct. 10.
    He is about six feet tall and weighs 180 pounds, with a medium build, blue eyes, and buzz cut blond hair. He wears oversized clothing and has several tattoos.

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  • Scam involves sweepstakes, debit cards

    INDEPENDENCE — A legitimate contest or sweepstakes will never ask a winner to pay money in advance to get their prize, cautions Grayson Sheriff Richard Vaughan.
    A local woman almost fell for such a scam, but a family member and the sheriff intervened before any money was lost.
    The Grayson Sheriff’s Office is warning of a scam involving a sweepstakes award and pre-paid debit cards from Walmart.

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  • Hillsville continues search for new town manager, police chief

    HILLSVILLE — Town council continues its headhunting for two leadership positions, and one citizen says the best candidates already work for Hillsville.
    Filling the vacant town manager and police chief jobs received only a few minutes of attention from Hillsville Town Council members during the open session of the Oct. 22 meeting.
    After a 40-minute closed session, Mayor Greg Crowder announced that interviews for the top candidates for police chief will occur at the beginning of November.

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  • Fright nights in Fries at 'Scream Asylum'

    FRIES — Local artist Chad Tate and his crew of maniacs have created a truly terrifying haunted house at the Fries Recreation Center this year.
    The Scream Asylum opened Oct. 19, with a massive “Pumpkin King” greeting visitors outside the rec center, complete with a light-up head Tate carved out of a foam block. The wood and chicken wire monstrosity also billows smoke from its head.

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  • Deputy sues alleged shooter, suspect's wife

    Grayson County Deputy Doug Waller is seeking $500,000 in damages from the Wheatleys, and has filed another suit to keep $4,500 worth of firearms seized from the couple after a shooting that sent Waller to the hospital.

    By LARRY CHAMBERS, Staff

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  • Meth lab clean-up ordinance approved

    HILLSVILLE — At least one person in Carroll County feels good about a new ordinance that calls for methamphetamine makers to clean up their drug labs after conviction.
    The Carroll County Board of Supervisors held a required public hearing on the idea, already approved by places like Galax, at the Oct. 9 meeting.
    When Supervisors’ Chairman Sam Dickson saw that no citizens signed up to speak, he asked Sheriff J.B. Gardner if he wanted to say anything.

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  • Carroll hosts band competition

     

    With fall colors as a backdrop and a chilly wind blowing, Carroll County High School hosted about a dozen marching bands at Tommy Thompson field in a Saturday competition. Bands played for more than five hours. These photographs include A and AA competitors from the first half of the event. “A” schools include Bland County, Twin Springs, Northwood and Rural Retreat. “AA” schools were Fort Chiswell and Chilhowie.

    See Wednesday's print and online editions of The Gazette for more photos.

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  • Va. attorney general finds no conflict

    The Virginia Attorney General’s Office has found no conflict of interest after its review of whether an elected Carroll County supervisor can work for a company inspecting the Fancy Gap water and sewer project.
    This opinion comes after an appeal by Joshua Hendrick, the Laurel Fork District supervisor, who had worked with Nehemiah Engineering.
    The engineering firm had landed a contract with the Carroll Public Service Authority to provide construction inspection services on utility projects before Hendrick won his election.

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