Monthly Archives September 2013

Earlier this month, a small portion of the county’s water system experienced quality issues.  The concerns were minor and affected only 110 customers.

The affected customers were limited to the Wythe County – West Water System, which includes West Lee Highway and Radio Drive, as well as the spurs connecting to their respective lines.

Per Virginia Department of Health regulations, the water department took additional precautions in order to ensure the county’s water quality was adequate for all customers.

The action included, flushing the entire water system along West Lee Highway and the associated lines which branch from the line, thoroughly inspecting the water system, and slightly raising chlorine residuals to help prevent any future problems.

Additionally, the Wythe County Wate...

Wythe County gridiron fans have long been familiar with the name Daniel Hamm, the Fort Chiswell graduate who rushed for nearly two-thousand yards, last year, in his senior year of high school.

Over the weekend, ACC fans from across the nation became acquainted with the walk – on freshman tailback, as he rushed for 136 yards and scored two touchdowns in his debut game at the University of Virginia.

Immediately following the game, the eighteen-year-old Wythe County graduate was overwhelmed with local well-wishers, who flocked to his Facebook page offering congratulatory remarks.

Hamm provided an interview with WytheTheNews.com Monday afternoon, stating, “It was such a blessing and honor to come in my first game and perform the way that I did...

Wythe County residents are encouraged to bring their hazardous waste to the transfer station located at 169 Kents Lane (south entrance to Progress Park), this Saturday, between 9 a.m. and noon.

The annual hazardous waste day event will provide local citizens with an opportunity to dispose of their hazardous waste in a safe and environmentally conscious method – completely free of charge.

Acceptable waste items include household cleaners, pool chemicals, all automotive fluids, mercury products, herbicides, insecticides, all types of batteries, fluorescent lights, paint thinners and a variety of other products (a complete list of acceptable and unacceptable products may be found on the county’s official website: www.WytheCo.org).

The event is open to Wythe and Bland County residents onl...

Earlier this summer, Wythe County officials established a partnership with the New River Valley Regional Jail in order to secure inmates for weekly trash pick-up duties throughout the county.

Two months into the effort, Sheriff’s officers say the program is responsible for collecting approximately 11,130 pounds of litter along county roadways.

To put that number into perspective, it is equivalent to the weight of nearly 50 newborn elephants, 450 car tires, and 162,498 paper cups.

In addition to being responsible for cleaning the trash from at least one interstate exit, inmates are also tasked with picking up debris that collects along county roadways.

Keith Dunagan, Chief Deputy for the Wythe County Sheriff’s Office, says the project has been an overwhelming success.
“The program has b...

Residents of Wythe County will have a full slate of recreational events to choose from this Saturday, as local organizations bid farewell to summer by offering a full litany of events.

The Max Meadows Heritage Day, sponsored by the Max Meadows Ruritan Club, is set to begin at 10 a.m. at Max Meadows Community Field.

The free-admission event will provide numerous live displays, including antique tractors and tools, black smith demonstrations, soap making and apple butter production.

Event organizers say in addition to live displays, visitors to the festival will find numerous venders, as well as food and drink concessions, offering “everything from pinto beans and corn bread to hot dogs and hamburgers.”  Games and children’s events have also been scheduled.

In addition to Max Meadows ...

Today, Wythe County’s Progress Park provides over 750 jobs to local citizens and delivers millions of additional dollars in revenue to the county each year; however, local officials are being proactive in seeing those numbers grow.

Thanks to a four-year project that moved approximately 3.5 million cubic feet of dirt, southwest Virginia’s top industrial park has taken its place as the premier manufacturing site in the entire southeast.

Speaking to an audience of community leaders and businessmen, Mary Rae Carter, deputy secretary for the Virginia Department of Commerce and Trade, applauded Progress Park’s newly completed mega-site known as Lot 24.

Describing the 232 acre lot as being “second to none,” Carter stated, “You are all a model for rural Virginia communities...

Last month, county officials tasked the Wythe County Rescue Squad with serving the Lead Mines Rescue Squad’s former coverage area; mandating that qualified emergency responders be based out of the Wythe County Emergency Services Building, located along Fort Chiswell Road, in Fort Chiswell.

 With responders being ready to go, around the clock, data from the county’s emergency communications center is proving their decision was for the betterment of the people.

 According to the E-911 center’s data, emergency response times in the area have been cut by a total of more than three minutes since the Board voted to dissolve the Lead Mines Rescue Squad...

The Wythe County Department of Parks & Recreation has scheduled Judy Moore-Gist, an experienced and certified Bob Ross Instructor, to provide local residents with lessons in painting landscape scenes.

The program, entitled, “Experience the Joy of Painting,” is scheduled to be held at the Max Meadows Ruritan Building on Sunday, September 22, 2013 (lasting from 1:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.).

Students will learn the “wet-on-wet” painting technique used by Bob Ross, the PBS-TV host who inspired millions each week with his television show, The Joy of Painting.

“This class has always been a great attraction for the area. Judy Moore-Gist is an amazing artist and first time students are always blown away by their masterpiece,” says Tina Brown of the Wythe County Department of Parks & Recreation...