Features

Beginning on May 21, the Galax Recreation Center is offering a new exercise program designed to improve the health of current and former breast cancer patients.
Leading the class is cancer exercise specialist Renee Stoneman, a fitness guru who is dedicated to improving and maintaining cancer patients’ health.

Randall Zelmer Warf, a World War II veteran who had seen the world past “the Ridge,” had a dream of getting out of the Gossan mines for his family’s sake after returning to the Carroll County community.
Warf never got to fulfill that dream because he died at 27 in a mining accident in the early morning hours of May 1, 1947, according to family members.

Gossan Mines shaped life in the Iron Ridge community of Carroll County for 57 years, while workers hauled pyrrhotite ore out of the ground for General Chemical.
Mine superintendent Fred E. Johnson oversaw the day-to-day operations at Gossan as part of an international mining career.
Always associated with the extractive industry in his professional life, Johnson earned the moniker “Hardrock.”

Virginia Tech article, reprinted with permission
BLACKSBURG — International agriculture education may be a tool for national security, according to research by Austin Larrowe of Woodlawn, a junior at Virginia Tech.
Larrowe is one of 72 students representing 66 U.S. colleges and universities and selected by the Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress to be part of the Presidential Fellows program for 2012-13.
Each student has worked on an individual research project throughout the year and will turn in their completed paper in May.

WYTHEVILLE — The RFD-TV show “Tough Grit” will feature the Erica Greer of Austinville giving advice, all the while clad in her red work vest, on the proper ways to work with sheep.
Greer, store manager for the Wytheville Tractor Supply, is a resident of the Carroll side of Austinville.
The show, a partnership between the retail chain and Grit Magazine  — yes, the same Grit that used to depend on youth to sell subscriptions door-to-door — provides tips on all the chores rural Americans face on a regular basis.

By SHAINA STOCKTON, Staff
FANCY GAP — In 2005, Mark and Cheryl Manning decided to make their life-long dream of owning their own campground a reality.
Soon after, they found the perfect place to start: a campground on Fox Trail Loop in Fancy Gap, off of the Blue Ridge Parkway in Carroll County, that had been there since the 1950s.
Along with help from the rest of their family, they set to work turning it into the campground they had always imagined.

By SHAINA STOCKTON, Staff
The semi-circle of children gathered around Sarah Largen were at full attention as the Galax Public Library’s new youth services coordinator animatedly led them into the wacky world of Dr. Seuss.
As the whimsical rhyming continued, several small gasps were heard from the audience. Small fingers pointed towards the door, where the Cat in the Hat stood, waving.

By SHAINA STOCKTON, Staff
Five years ago, a seed was planted that started the process of turning Noel and Peggy Belcher’s dream of owning a winery into a reality. Three years ago, the foundation was put down and the walls went up, creating a home for that dream. Two years ago, Mt. Vale Vineyard’s doors finally opened.
Today, the founders’ dream continues to grow and thrive. After Peggy Belcher’s passing in 2012, each success becomes a fitting tribute to her memory.

By SHAINA STOCKTON, Staff
It all began when John Ayers of Galax visited a brew pub in Charlotte, N.C.
He was used to beer that can be found in any grocery store, such as Budweiser, Coors and Miller, he said. But when he tried a variety of samplings at the restaurant, his enthusiasm for craft beer began.
After traveling and sampling the hundreds of brews that are available, he began crafting his own styles in preparation to start his own brewery back home.