Local

James Houchins recently assumed the newly created position of Recreation/Tourism coordinator.  James Houchins is working to merge services after being named the Recreation/Tourism coordinator in April. Houchins took on the tourism duties of Sandra Belcher, who resigned as the director of the county’s tourism office in April.  The additional duties...

The more than 160 seniors in the Class of 2022 graduated from Patrick County High School on Friday, May 20. More than 160 seniors in Patrick County High School’s Class of 2022 walked across the stage to receive their diplomas after being told to ‘dream on’ in pursuit of their...

Taysha DeVaughan Taysha DeVaughan, D-Big Stone Gap, has earned the historic 9th Congressional District Democratic nomination for the U.S. House of Representatives.  DeVaughan advanced after the Democratic convention was canceled.  She will challenge incumbent U.S. Rep. Morgan Griffith, R-Salem, in November.  DeVaughan is the first woman to earn the nomination...

A retired librarian with the Patrick County School division recently debuted her book “Library Lin’s Curated Collection of Superlative Nonfiction.” Linda “Lin” Maxie said she felt she needed to do something different after her retirement from the Patrick County High School’s library in 2018, and so she wrote a book. ...

A remarkable five Eagle Scouts graduated Patrick County High School Class of 2022 together, carrying Scouting’s proven mix of hands-on leadership training and character development with them into the next chapter of life. They all have given back to the community in their countless hours of volunteer service not to...

Hundreds earned credentials from Patrick & Henry Community College (P&HCC). (Contributed photos) Recently, 542 students from summer and fall 2021 and spring 2022 graduated with degrees, certificates, and career studies certificates from Patrick & Henry Community College. The graduation ceremony —which was the college’s first in-person ceremony since the pandemic...

Whether it was Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Gimme Three Steps,” Pink Floyd’s “Another Brick In The Wall,” or Ozzy Osborne’s “Crazy Train,” Power House Fallz rocked the streets of Stuart Saturday during the 19th annual Strawberry Festival.  The band, which describes itself as an “up and coming classic, southern, and modern rock...

SRC Productions, Inc. received a $10,000 grant for its Stuart Beach Music Festival, to be held June 9-11. The grant was part of the more than $2.7 million the Virginia Tourism Corporation (VTC) awarded to 259 local and regional tourism marketing programs across the state to help increase visitation and...

The Patrick County School Board and the Patrick County Board of Supervisors will hold a joint meeting on Monday, May 23 at 6 p.m. in the Patrick County Administration Building. The Patrick County School Board is seeking a joint meeting with the Patrick County Board of Supervisors. School board members...

As part of the ongoing project to widen U.S. 58 over Lovers Leap Mountain in Patrick County, blasting is tentatively scheduled to begin the week of May 23. The first blasting will impact traffic in the vicinity of Dehart Botanical Gardens, approximately 1.7 miles east of the Lovers Leap Mountain...