County residents are receiving a mailing from the Virginia Sheriff’s Institute that includes a letter with Smyth County Sheriff David Bradley’s name at the top. Bradley is joining other sheriffs across the state to help the non-profit institute raise money that supports public safety and criminal justice.

National news headlines suggest John McCain, the presumed Republication nominee for president, will take the spotlight from the quibbling Democratic contenders. Closer home, a big political race in Saltville will be the one to watch this spring as six candidates, including two incumbents, run for three council seats and the mayor faces the only challenge to that office in the county.

In a week of three community events raising money for his medical expenses, Virginia State Trooper Kris Chapman continues to improve as he undergoes “rigorous” physical therapy, his mother, Joanie Russell, said Friday.

A mixed-breed bird dog spent at least a day and a presumably sleepless night on a narrow, sloping limestone ledge in the cliffs along Interstate 81 between Chilhowie and Seven Mile Ford.

If you have a tract of forest on your property, it might be a good idea to go have a look at it. And make a habit of it, the Virginia Farm Bureau Federation advises.

People offered favorable comments about a proposed $2.1 million upgrade of the Exit 47 interchange at a hearing this week, a Virginia Department of Transportation planner said Thursday.

The Sunny Daze saga added another chapter last week as Judge Josiah T. Showalter Jr. granted a continuance of the convenience store owners’ Wythe County Circuit Court jury trial that was scheduled to take place last Thursday morning.

A partnership between Johnston Memorial Hospital in Abingdon and Mountain States Health Alliance won’t change plans to build a new hospital in Smyth County, according to Smyth County Community Hospital CEO Lindy White. 

“Where’s the Best Trout Water in the State? Southwest Virginia!”

Moving to Florida and finding a job was something C.T. Eagle Sr. planned to do later in life. A recent turn of events, though, made it sooner than expected for the town of Wytheville employee.
An assistant town engineer, Eagle has been hired as the public works director for Lady Lake, Fla. He begins his new job on March 17.