No Kanye West, Fergie, Britney Spears or Maroon 5.
Yes Lester Flatt, Earl Scruggs, Bill Monroe and the Clinch Mountain Boys.

Toss in the trash; take out the treasure.
Commonwealth Recycling Services, an Ivanhoe-based business, is considering the purchase of an “in-vessel” composting system to help make Wythe County’s trash into useful material.
On Thursday, the local business hosted a representative from X-Act Systems, a Canadian company that sells industrial-size composters.
The machines take organic waste and convert it into compost material that can be used for gardening, farming and erosion control.

More space will soon equal more recess fun for Rocky Gap Elementary School students.
Early in February, a residence near the school that the Bland County School Board purchased last year from Bobby and Mary Woody was demolished.
With the additional space, the school plans to expand its playground.

The name has changed but the mission hasn’t. The National FFA Organization, formerly the Future Farmers of America, remains committed to agricultural education.
Since the FFA organized in 1928, it has prepared students for successful careers in various fields. The organization, which is celebrating its 80th anniversary this year, also evolved to expand the traditional view of agriculture.

Close your eyes and imagine a simple gift that allows someone access to history, to fantasy worlds, to everyday news, to maps, even to products at the grocery store.
Now imagine that the gift costs nothing to give and doesn’t diminish your own assets one bit. 
Open your eyes.
It’s time you taught someone to read.

The economy is making sawdust of the timber industry. A local business is being splintered by overseas manufacturing of furniture.
“The timber industry was already depressed,” noted Jim Belcher, general manager of Walker Mountain Sawmill Inc. “We had trouble moving lumber and then the economy took a nosedive. We got a double whammy.”

Duane Farthing left his farm in Russell County for greener pastures in Wythe County. The Richlands native became the local animal science Extension agent on Jan. 25.
“This is a very agricultural oriented county,” Farthing remarked last week. “That’s what really attracted me.”

Carl and Ruth Kitts Newberry took their marriage vows seriously on their wedding day of Feb. 15, 1937. The Bland County couple still believe – 71 years later – in the foundation of love, honor and trust until death parts them.
“People were supposed to stay together,” 91-year-old Ruth Newberry stated. “It wasn’t like it is today with so many people getting divorced. We’ve had our share of disappointments and disagreements but we always worked them out together.”

A woman accused of stabbing her live-in boyfriend during a Memorial Day brawl in Bastian had her case sent to a grand jury on Tuesday.
If she’s indicted on a felony malicious wounding charge, Elizabeth Ann Holtschneider’s scheduled to plead guilty to the crime March 10, the commonwealth’s attorney said Tuesday.

Goins settles in to new role as treasurer