By Taylor Boyd
The Patrick County Board of Supervisors unanimously chose Richard Cox to serve as the interim Smith River District representative at a March 13 meeting.
Cox, 83, will serve in the position until after the Nov. 4 special election. The top vote-getter in that election will serve the remaining three years of the position’s current term.
Cox, former supervisor Crystal Harris, and Planning Commission member Kurt Bozenmayer were the three candidates who submitted applications for the role.
During the meeting, the three were individually called into the closed session portion to answer questions.
Cox‘s appointment was announced when the board returned to open session.
In addition to being the first one to apply for the role, Andrew Overby, board chairman and of the Dan River District, said Cox was selected because the board has worked with him in the past.
“I have dealt with him in the past, other supervisors have dealt with him in the past, and we felt he would be the best qualified candidate for what we need right now to get through to November and the next election,” he said.
Overby said the board had three really good candidates from which to choose.
“One thing that Mr. Cox did bring up is giving the district an opportunity to select a candidate or a couple of candidates to go ahead and run for the board without having the influence of being on the board or having to deal with that right now,” Overby said. This will provide residents in the district an opportunity to pick another candidate.
Vice-chairman Clayton Kendrick, of the Mayo River District, said Cox was chosen because of his resume, history of volunteerism and work for the county.
“He served the seniors with the Southern Area Agency on Aging for six years, volunteered, he’s been with the Veteran’s Honor Guard, and all that is volunteer,” he said.
Kendrick said Cox also indicated he wasn’t interested in seeking the remainder of the term in November’s special election.
“He said he doesn’t want to fill the vacuum for the people in Smith River, so they could decide on a good candidate for November,” he said.
Cox said he has no aspirations to go beyond the temporary term he’s been appointed for on the board of supervisors. He added that while he was waiting to see how the board vacancy would be resolved, he didn’t hear anyone in the Smith River District express an interest in filling the interim position.
“So I said, ‘well, maybe I can contribute in some way.’ I put my application in shortly after the public notice was made,” he said.
Cox said his intent was simply to be a neutral party on the board, and do what he could in the few months he was on the board.
“This would give the citizens of the Smith River District an opportunity to get together in a proper manner and determine who would be the most appropriate candidate for the full-time position. It was my view that if I were appointed it would be for the temporary appointment, but it would also give the citizens time to get together and decide who they really wanted to serve them in the upcoming election in November,” he said.
While he’s only on the board for about six months, Cox said one issue he wants to focus on is improved infrastructure “so that we would be able to attract some businesses, commercial or private, into the area.
“I’d like to focus on public safety issues. I think our sheriff has done an outstanding job, and he needs the support of all the citizens of Patrick and not just the board of supervisors. I would encourage the board to whenever possible make some rulings in their favor so to speak,” Cox said.
Other issues Cox wants to focus on are health care and senior issues.
“That’s a primary concern for me since I’m a member of that group, although I won’t admit it,” he said with a chuckle. “There’s some opportunities that the senior citizens may not be aware of in the county, and I think perhaps the county should explore some more avenues of announcement regarding senior services,” he said.
Cox said he learned from Parks & Recreation Director Luke Williams’ report at the meeting that the department has excellent resources in providing services to senior citizens.
“I wasn’t aware of those till last night, and I’d like to see those continue and if possible upgraded to be even better for the senior citizens,” he said.
Cox also wants to try and focus on the county’s broadband issue. During the meeting, Kendrick discussed the delays in RiverStreet Networks’ broadband installation.
“I was really disappointed to learn that we were told we would be getting broadband coverage by 2026, and of course that didn’t materialize. Now this company is saying 2028, and to me they’re not giving valid reasons for the increased delay. They’re making excuses,” he said.
Cox said that while he doesn’t know what efforts can be undertaken to encourage RiverStreet to follow its original plan for broadband services, “one of the issues is if we don’t have effective broadband service in Patrick County. Many businesses now depend on that.
“How can we attract new business if we don’t have adequate communication facilities for them to utilize,” he said.
Cox worked as a deputy sheriff for Guilford County, North Carolina for four-and-a-half years before working in corrections with the City for Martinsville for eight years. He then worked as a magistrate serving Patrick and Henry counties and the City of Martinsville for 13 years before retiring.
Cox received his Associates degree in law enforcement from Davidson County Community College and his B.A. in Administrative Science with an emphasis in administration of justice from Guilford College.
Cox said he started his volunteerism career 25 to 30 years ago when joined Patrick Residents Opposed to Unnecessary Dams (PROUD), a group opposing the restructuring of Philpott Lake.
“It would have taken significant amounts of homeowners land down near the lake area. We were successful in getting the core of engineers to change their mind, and that was my first community experience here in Patrick County,” he said.
From there, Cox said he was a charter member and organizer of the Smith River Rescue Squad before branching out in the early 1990s to form the Old Dominion Search and Rescue Team.
While he was a magistrate, Cox served as the regional representative on the Magistrate Association’s Executive Board and as a magistrate representative on the Supreme Court Administrative Board.
Cox also served as the chapter manager for the Stuart chapter of the American Red Cross for three years before the chapter merged with the Martinsville chapter.
Cox will complete his six year tenure on the Southern Area Agency on Aging in June and is currently a member of the Patrick County Honor Guard.
“I’ve been active in community service for two-thirds of my adult life,” Cox said.
In other matters, the board:
*Heard from Norma Bozenmayer, who discussed the county’s volunteers and others who work to better and take care of the county and its residents.
“There are many, many people that care about Patrick County and how to make it better. They don’t complain to you. They step up and do what’s needed for the community. We lost a good supervisor that was in this category,” she said.
Bozenmayer said she is disappointed when the board supports people that don’t care about the community.
“They have other motives that aren’t clear, and they generate fear. You know who they are. I think it’s time to put your focus on the people that work hard and care to make Patrick County such a wonderful place to live,” she said.
*Heard from Galen Gilbert, who asked when another public hearing on the proposed closure of a section of Dogwood Road in front of Hardin Reynolds Memorial School would be held.
“I know they said they would have to redo that (hearing), and we’ve not heard anything yet about it. If you all can elaborate on that whenever, I’d appreciate it because we need input and information and to go from there,” he said.
*Held a public hearing on the proposed fiscal year 2026-27 budget. The board did not take action on the proposed budget following the public hearing.
*Approved the secondary six-year highway plan for fiscal year 2026-27 through 2031-2032.
*Recognized the Clark family as the March Patrick County Partner.
*Recognized Deputy Animal Control Officer Wanda Vaden for 24 years of service to Patrick County.
*Approved the easements for the Virginia 8, State Highway project.
*Appointed Penny Vasquez as the CMTP County Administration representative.
*Awarded a contract to Robinson, Farmer, Cox Associates to do the county’s audit.
*Awarded a contract to ClearPoint to handle the county’s accounting.
*Heard an update on the Stuart Rotary Club from president Kristie Bentley.
*Read a proclamation recognizing April as Child Abuse Prevention Month.
*Read a proclamation from the Virginia State Board of Social Service recognizing April as Child Abuse Prevention Month and the critical role local family service workers play in supporting families.
*Approved a resolution opioid settlement.
*Approved the March 9 and March 26 meeting minutes.
*Approved the bills, claims, and appropriations.
*Heard an update from the Southern Area Agency on Aging.
*Heard an update on the Stuart Library from Blue Ridge Regional Library Director Melissa Chapman.
*Heard a building inspections update.
*Heard an update on the parks & recreation department.
*Heard an update on the Patrick County Senior Citizens Group.
*Heard an update from county maintenance.
*Heard the administrator’s report.
*Heard the supervisors’ reports.
