Donna McIntyre and her employees have been serving coffee and food to customers for around 10 years now. And in that decade, she’s learned a good many things. Most of all, though, she’s learned that the building the Wild Flour Bakery is located in is small.

Vance Whiteaker shuffles with a bent back, a green rubber band holding his slipper to his foot, through the living room, past the small kitchen and into the hall. The lime green walls of the hall silhouette his tall, dark figure.
He turns and disappears.
“What you need this time, hun,” he says in the next room.

More than $5.7 million was earmarked last week for criminal justice improvements across the state.
The money, a good bit of which is bound for the Southwest Virginia region, will fund projects help victims of domestic violence, among other things.
“Virginia is committed to ensuring that our criminal justice system is effective and responsive,” Gov. Tim Kaine said in a press release. 

It’s not the state’s largest or oldest Veterans of Foreign Wars post, but Abingdon’s VFW Post 1994 has ample reason to be proud.
Each year, according to Bill Meade, the post participates in two national essay programs, Voice of Democracy and Patriot’s Pen, as well as the VFW National Citizenship Education Teacher award. This year, the post set a district record.

Nobody knew how bad the drought was for farmers until last week.
A survey of producers, conducted by county extension agents, found that the 13 counties in Southwest Virginia need some 13,000 tons of hay.
Washington County needed the most. County Extension Agent Phil Blevins said 160 producers who returned surveys in Washington County showed that Washington County farmers are about 3,300 tons short this year.

It just might have been a first, according to Travis Staton, executive director of Washington County’s United Way.
“I don’t think in the history of United Way that we’ve met our goal before Christmas,” he said.
But it did this year. As of Tuesday, the organization has actual and pledged money in the amount of $514,000.

Payday lending, sports complex committee appointments and county finances were some of the issues at the forefront of discussions last week at the Washington County Board of Supervisors meeting.

Ray Mullins hadn’t expected to live in Washington County. Even when he took a trip up from Florida to visit some friends in Mendota. But then he walked into the Mendota branch of the library and overheard the librarian saying she wanted to retire.

Drugs apparently played a role in the shooting of a Tazewell County deputy and the armed robbery of two stores in October.
Evidence presented during the Dec. 14 preliminary hearing for Scottie Stinson, 27, of Bandy, Wallace Kinder, 34, of Cedar Bluff and Tracy Coxton, 32 of Tazewell, indicated that the need for money to buy pills was a motive for the robberies. 

A Smyth County radio station owner was indicted Dec. 11 on child pornography and child solicitation charges.
Jeffrey L. Raynor, owner and operator of WXMY radio station on Valley Road between Saltville and Chilhowie, was charged with using a computer to solicit minors and possession of child pornography.