Features

The coordinators of the local Toys For Tots campaign are working to raise money and collect toys to serve 1,038 needy children in Galax, Carroll and Grayson this year.
Bob Hines and Kendy Sawyer said they anticipated serving 500 children, but the need was greater than expected.
On Wednesday, they bought a carload of toys at Roses department store in Galax, enough for 174 children from ages 0-3.

Friday

The Galax Christmas Parade is at 7 p.m. on Dec. 7. The route is from North Main Street to Felts Park.
Prior to the parade, the city Christmas tree will be lit at 6:30 p.m. at Police Plaza on North Main.
Any groups or individuals wishing to participate in the parade need to complete an application, available from A Place in Time Antiques or the Galax Downtown Association office. For more information, call 236-0668.
There will be a $10 fee for business entries, and all entries will be judged.

HILLSVILLE  — A large network of Carroll County volunteers has already mobilized to help deserving families have a merry Christmas, according to organizers.
As soon as the calendar turned to November, Dennis Ward sent out a letter to Carroll Christmas Fund volunteers, asking them to do their thing again this year.
The letter stood in for an organizational meeting. Ward noted it’s difficult to get people together for a meeting this time of year.

WOODLAWN — Voting can work up an appetite for the many people who come to the precinct at Woodlawn School, members of the United Methodist Church just across the road have long understood.
For around 15 years, serving a spaghetti lunch at the Woodlawn church has been an Election Day tradition for food, fellowship and fundraising.

Cliffside estate and property set for auction Nov. 8-9, including the mansion, cottages, furniture and other items.

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.

When Galax High School alumnus Harold Eugene Leonard passed away last year, he left a list of generous bequests to several organizations, including the Galax Foundation for Excellence in Education.

By SHAINA STOCKTON, Staff

The members of the Galax Volunteer Fire Department take their motto to heart.
“Pride in Our Past, Dedicated to the Future” is emblazoned on signs and trucks, but it’s more than words.
As for the pride in the past, firefighters speak reverently of those who came before, building the organization from a bucket brigade to a fire company in 1912, after much of the city’s wood buildings were destroyed by fire.

Take a video tour of the Devil's Den cave in Carroll County with guide Michael Gravley, in this video produced by The Gazette's Shaina Stockton. (Video link is at end of story.)