WYTHEVILLE, Va. – Wythe County water officials say some residents in the Ivanhoe area will be without water Thursday, for four to six hours, as workers transfer the county’s water to newly constructed lines.

The affected areas will include all water customers in the Slabtown area, as well as those who reside along Ivanhoe Rd. within approximately one-half mile of the Slabtown intersection.

County officials say that despite the inconvenience, the temporary outage is necessary in order to ensure the waterline remains in top working order for years to come.

Many of the waterlines being replaced in the Slabtown area date back to the 1960s.

Over the past several years, Wythe County has launched a series of infrastructure projects, all aimed at updating the county’s utilities.

Tim Reeves, chairman of the Wythe County Board of Supervisors says that these updates are necessary in order to bring additional jobs into the county.

“In order for Wythe County to be competitive on a global market, updates to our infrastructure must be made – not just for businesses and industries, but also for residents,” said Reeves.

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WYTHEVILLE, Va. – Members of the Wythe County Board of Supervisors are calling upon local residents to serve on a number of committees and boards.

County leaders say several vacancies exist on various committees and ask citizens who have interest and expertise to make application to assist in filling these gaps.

In addition to groups with vacancies, local officials say many previous appointees are nearing the end of their terms on a handful of committees; creating additional opportunities for other local residents to serve.

The Board of Supervisors appoint representatives to serve on the following committees and boards: Community Policy & Management Team, Emergency Planning Committee, Fire & Rescue Board of Directors, Industrial Development Authority – County & Towns, Mount Rogers Community Services Board, NR/MR Workforce Investment Board, Planning Commission, Recreation Commission, Smyth-Wythe Airport Commission, Social Services Board, SWVA Emergency Medical Services Council, Tourism Advisory Committee, Wall of Honor Committee, Wythe/Bland Joint Public Service Authority, Wythe/Grayson Regional Library Board and Wytheville Community College Board.

Residents interested in serving on any of the above mentioned committees or boards are encouraged to fill out a committee application, which is available at the county administrator’s office (340 S. Sixth St., Wytheville, VA). Though not all committees and boards presently have vacancies, filling out the application will give local residents an opportunity to express their interest should a future vacancy occur.

“Much of the groundwork of local government is performed by engaged citizens,” stated Wythe County Public Information Officer Jeremy Farley, who added, “These committees provide county residents with a very real opportunity to make a big difference in their communities.”

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WYTHEVILLE, Va. – Emergency officials at the Wythe County Consolidated 911 Center will be performing a test of the countywide citizen notification system next week.

The test, which is scheduled for Thursday, October 16 at 2 p.m. will be the second such test of the year and is anticipated to serve as the final one for some time.

“Since we performed the first test in July, we have registered hundreds of additional mobile devices into the system and we simply want to make for sure that it is still operating as it should,” said James Copeland, Wythe County’s Director of Emergency Communications.

According to Copeland, residents and businesses will receive a call on their landlines, informing them of the system test.

Copeland added, “Residents who have registered their mobile devices will receive a phone call, text message or email, depending upon their registration preferences.”

Throughout the summer, local leaders have encouraged citizens to register their mobile phones in order to receive special notifications from emergency officials regarding extreme weather and other dangers. Residents who wish to sign up their mobile devices can do so by visiting filling out the forms available at the administrative offices of the Town of Wytheville, Wythe County and the Town of Rural Retreat.

Emergency officials say most residents have expressed a sincere gratitude for the alert system, which is designed to notify local residents in the event of catastrophe.

In addition to emergency alerts, citizens can also sign-up for optional weather alerts, supplied by the National Weather Service.

The mass notification system was funded by a grant from the Wythe-Bland Foundation and is part of a cooperative effort between the towns of Rural Retreat and Wytheville, along with Wythe County.

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WYTHEVILLE, Va. – This month, Wythe County residents will be receiving their personal property tax tickets from the county’s treasurer’s office.

Unlike in previous years, this year’s tax tickets will include an assessment for all vehicles titled in an individual’s name, not just those which are registered – per the Code of Virginia.

Through this process, it has come to the attention of many residents that several vehicles they thought were no longer titled in their name actually are – either they or the person they sold the vehicle to never transferred the tags through the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles.

County leaders are advising any individual who receives a tax assessment for a vehicle they no longer own to go to the Virginia DMV (800 E. Main St., Wytheville) and notify them that they are no longer the owner of the vehicle.

Once an individual has contacted the DMV, they may then notify the Wythe County Commissioner of the Revenue (located inside the Wythe County Court House) and have the vehicle exonerated from their tax ticket.

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WYTHEVILLE, Va. – Nearly all emergency experts agree that effective communication is the key to properly managing any type of disaster situation.

Over the past several years, Wythe County’s emergency management team has feared that the nation was becoming too reliant upon modern communication technologies, including landlines and satellites. Such dependence, they feared, would leave the nation and local residents vulnerable should the region’s communications infrastructure suffer a hit.

As part of the county’s multimillion dollar commitment to emergency management, county leaders reached out to local HAM radio enthusiasts to serve the county in the event of a catastrophic emergency.
Thanks to grant funding made possible by the Virginia Department of Emergency Management, the county has purchased HAM radios, capable of broadcasting anywhere on the globe, to be used in the event of an emergency.

“Virginia’s Emergency Operations Center (EOC) constantly monitors all radio frequencies. Should all phone lines and internet go down in Wythe County, we will still be able to stay connected to emergency leaders in Richmond and in Washington,” said Ikey Davidson, the outgoing Wythe County Emergency Manager.

Overseeing the program is longtime amateur radio specialist, Mike Farris.

Farris has received the highest level of license available to amateur radio operators by the FCC – authorizing him and his team of radio operators to broadcast on all frequencies.

County emergency leaders tested the radio system Tuesday morning, which is stored at an undisclosed location, and were pleased with the radio’s capabilities.

“The radios work as good as any radio I have ever seen,” remarked Farris, adding “We can reach – even without repeaters – way down into Carolina and far north into West Virginia.

With the aid of repeaters and other boosters, Farris has access to frequency allocations throughout the RF spectrum to enable communication across the region, state, country, world, or even into space.

Though emerging technologies are a vital part of their emergency management plans, officials also acknowledge that each new technology is subject to new and more complex threats.

“With all of the technology available to emergency officials, it is fascinating to see a return to the time tested communication methods which date back to the late-1800s,” noted Jeremy T.K. Farley, Wythe County’s Public Information Officer.

“Though we certainly don’t wish for any terrible disaster or attack, in this line, you have be imaginative and prepared,” said Davidson.

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WYTHEVILLE, Va. – As mid-term congressional elections approach, the Wythe County General Registrar is seeking to remind local residents of important rules concerning voting in the county.

According to Carolyn J. King, the county’s General Registrar, the deadline for citizens seeking to register to vote is Tuesday, October 14. Other deadlines King says voters should keep in mind is the deadline to receive absentee ballot applications by mail, which is October 28, and the deadline to vote by absentee ballot in person, which has been set for November 1.

In addition to their Monday through Friday hours of operation, Kings says her office will be open for absentee voting on two Saturdays leading up to the election, on October 25 and November 1 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Polls throughout the county will open at 6 a.m. and close at 7 p.m. on the day of the election, Tuesday, November 4, 2014.

In addition to casting their votes in a contested U.S. Senate race and congressional elections, Virginia residents will be given the opportunity to vote in favor or against of a proposed amendment to Commonwealth’s Constitution, which will allow the General Assembly the right to “exempt from taxation the real property of the surviving spouse of any member of the armed forces of the United States who was killed in action, where the surviving spouse occupies the real property as his or her principal place of residence and has not remarried…”

In a written statement, King also sought to remind county voters going to the polls to bring proper identification.

“The law requires that you show photo ID when voting, either in the office or at the polls. If you do not have a photo ID, you can have a free one made at the registrar’s office Monday through Friday; the office is open 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.,” said King.

King’s office is located at 245 South Fourth Street in Wytheville.

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