OK, imagine this. You’re tired of your life in sunny California, so you sell the house, pack up the fifth-wheel camper and start traveling East.  You tour national parks, climb a few mountains and keep moving.  In the back of your mind you are looking for a place to settle down and plant your roots (literally).  Your goal is to find that perfect place to start an organic produce farm.  Along the way (40 states and 50,000 miles later) you stop at a small rural community in Southwest Virginia, and it captures your attention. Friendly people, seasonal climate, you like it here but keep moving on.  Traveling Northeast into New England you see beautiful country but tough, cold winters. All the while a small voice inside you keeps whispering “Virginia.” You know, that nice place, Wythe County I think it was called. 

The call for help echoes clearly in the mind of Natasha Wood. Whether it’s the sound of children’s laughter or images of their love-starved lives, a strong urge is tugging at the 17-year-old Wytheville resident.

Rural Retreat is known as the home of the famous Dr Pepper soft drink, but a new business in town is trying to carve out its own niche with a healthier form of liquid refreshment.
Boyer Milk Co. opened its doors at 439 Gienow Road behind Rural Retreat’s Food Country USA in early July.
The family-run business is owned by matriarch Debra Boyer who has been operating a dairy farm in Crockett for 40 years.
All of the milk sold at the store is farm fresh – locally produced and packaged on the same day.

One of Wytheville’s former upscale dining spots will soon be home to a daycare center and attorney offices. Scrooge’s on Holston Road is undergoing renovations to accommodate the new tenants.
“I’d kind of been looking for property,” noted J.D. Morefield, an Abingdon attorney who also has an office in Wytheville. “It was priced reasonably and well built.”
He bought the property at auction on March 26. Morefield closed on the deal at the end of April.

While cancer takes its toll in many obvious ways, it also creates various other problems for patients and their families. One of these is often transportation to and from treatment centers for an extended time.
This is where the American Cancer Society’s Road to Recovery program provides a much needed service. At no cost to the patient, Road to Recovery offers certified volunteer drivers to take cancer patients for treatment and doctor’s visits.

Several Wythe County musicians won awards at the 73rd Old Fiddlers Convention held Aug. 4-9 at Felts Park in Galax. A Rural Retreat resident also placed in the dance competition.
“I was pretty excited,” said 11-year-old Kali Taylor of Barren Springs, third-place winner as old time fiddler in the youth competition. “I was surprised I placed. I’d been in it for two years before and hadn’t placed.”

Preliminary results from the latest round of Standards of Learning testing and updates on the county’s burgeoning gifted education program headlined a busy Wythe County School Board meeting Wednesday morning.

Although Wytheville Town Council considered several issues at Monday evening’s regular meeting, members seemed preoccupied with a 6 a.m. Tuesday session. Council members and staff are taking required courses of the National Incident Management System for responding to natural disasters and emergencies including acts of terrorism.
The three training courses last three to four hours and require participants to pass an examination upon completion for accreditation. The first course was held last Thursday, Aug. 7, at 6 a.m. with the final course on Thursday, Aug. 14, also at 6 a.m.

Although Wytheville Town Council considered several issues at Monday evening’s regular meeting, members seemed preoccupied with a 6 a.m. Tuesday session. Council members and staff are taking required courses of the National Incident Management System for responding to natural disasters and emergencies including acts of terrorism.
The three training courses last three to four hours and require participants to pass an examination upon completion for accreditation. The first course was held last Thursday, Aug. 7, at 6 a.m. with the final course on Thursday, Aug. 14, also at 6 a.m.

The name has changed and so have the colors. The mission is somewhat refocused, too, but saving babies remains the goal.
The March of Dimes has renamed its WalkAmerica fundraiser to March for Babies. Its colors are now purple and the focus is on cancer research for babies.