Model airplanes will soar and a dilapidated residence will stand – provided promises are kept – after groups representing their respective issues spoke Tuesday night before the Wythe County Board of Supervisors.

Health care issues remain a major concern in Wythe and Bland counties. Since many of the local residents are uninsured or underinsured, access to medical service is limited.

Working at the Mount Rogers Industrial and Development Center in Wytheville for the past two years, James Quick has learned new skills and made new friends. The Wytheville resident is one of 70 employees from Wythe and Bland counties proving that people with disabilities are valuable assets in the work force.

What’s in a name? Politics, if you ask proud new father Mark Ciptak of Elizabethton, Tenn.

Margaret Musser wore a delicate silver cross around her neck and a pink synthetic bracelet around her wrist. The two pieces of seemingly contrasting jewelry—one symbolizing faith, the other breast-cancer awareness—made perfect sense to the nurse of 27 years, who is uniting her medical skills with her worship of Jesus.

October 15, 2008

Saturday’s crisp autumn morning drew a sizeable crowd of Wythe and Bland county residents to the 2008 March for Babies fundraiser at Wytheville’s Withers Park. The excellent weather is credited with much of the success of the day.

When first responders go on a business trip, they wear a suit just like most bankers and engineers.
Well, maybe a suit just like most astronauts.

There’s a lot to take in on the manufacturing floor of Mid-Atlantic Manufacturing & Hydraulics in Rural Retreat.
Machinery whirs, forklifts zip by and workers huddle around their equipment.

Completely immobilized, the helicopter’s rotors whipping through the air were all that I could see. The smell of the aircraft’s fuel filled my nostrils. The noise from the air-rescue vehicle limited any chance of hearing conversation. However, a hand on my shoulder reassured me as the backboard was maneuvered into the almost-claustrophobic patient transport space.