By Taylor Boyd
Mayo River District resident Ed Anthony believes the September 8 vote by the Patrick County Board of Supervisors to close a portion of Dogwood Road between Hardin Reynolds Memorial School (HRMS) and its gymnasium is null and void.
At the December 15 Board of Supervisors meeting, Anthony said the law requires that all items to be voted on must be published in at least two local newspapers for a period of two weeks before a final vote is pursued.
“The only paper that had published a single announcement was The Enterprise weekly publication. That was posted on August 27, 2025. It appears that your department failed to legally advertise this intention,” he said.
The legal ad was published in The Enterprise on Aug. 13 and Aug. 27, as requested by the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT). However, a publication outside of the county failed to get the ad in the print edition as required.
At a previous meeting, Anthony said Patrick County Schools Superintendent Dr. Jason Wood requested the board to close the road section to ensure safety for children crossing the road when going to and from the gymnasium.
However, he noted the resolution filed by the county on this matter states the road closure is for reasons other than the safety of children.
“It reads as follows: Whereas, the county has notified the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) of its desire to discontinue a position of Dogwood Road, Route 694 depicted within the sketch related to the road no longer provides sufficient public convenience to warrant maintenance at public expense which sketch is incorporated herein by reference, and whereas, this portion of road identified to be discontinued, is deemed to no longer serve public convenience warranting maintenance at public expense,” Anthony read.
“This failure to advertise the intentions in two local papers, two weeks prior to the voting, and the incorrect reasoning for closing the road filed by the Patrick County Administration office, has made this resolution an illegal document,” he said.
In the 100-plus years since the school opened, Anthony said no human has been struck or injured while crossing this road.
“Our community signed a petition opposing the road closure and offered good alternatives that will safeguard our children. We collected 466 signatures opposing the closing, however our community’s request fell on political deaf ears. The matter was immediately voted on, and the decision to close the road was made before even looking at or considering our alternatives,” he said.
VDOT also presented alternatives, some of which were presented by community members along with their petition. Anthony said the alternative solutions were not reviewed or considered.
“The board of supervisors and the Patrick County School Board have done their best to silence and disenfranchise 3,700 Mayo River District voters through bringing in outside persuaders from other districts to disillusion the people of Patrick County,” he said.
Anthony added he believes this matter should have been voted on by Mayo River District residents and not the board.
“This entire push for our road closing has all been for personal gain. We are pursuing help to correct this matter to higher authorities,” he said.
