Ararat, VA

A Jonesville man has been arrested on charges on drug trafficking and other charges after he led officers on a chase that ended when he crashed into a creek bank, authorities said Friday. Patrick Ryan Vestal, 48, is charged with two counts of trafficking methamphetamines, two counts of trafficking fentanyl...

The Patrick County Library is scheduled to fully reopen on Monday, June 21. Branches in Martinsville and Henry County also are scheduled to resume pre-pandemic operations, according to Rick Ward, director of the Blue Ridge Regional Library system. “All branches of the Blue Ridge Regional Library will go back to...

HILLSVILLE, Va. (WSET) — The Carroll County School District wants to set the record straight on several curriculum misconceptions. In a statement posted on social media, the school district said the critical race theory is not a part of their adopted curriculum. The Superintendent says that’s because it’s not mandated by the state.

DOBSON, N.C. — Transportation barriers can make solving problems incredibly challenging – especially for those struggling to get to the places where resources to combat an opioid or substance abuse addiction can be found. Surry County is working to alleviate that barrier with a new transportation program, bringing people in...

A vehicle stop lead Yadkin County deputies and Jonesville police on a chase in pursuit of a vehicle which lead to the arrest of a Jonesville man. While conducting an investigation on June 14, deputies attempted to stop a vehicle driven by Patrick Ryan Vestal, age 48. Vestal lead officers on a chase from Ralph Road in Boonville to Evans Road in Jonesville. The pursuit ended when the Vestal crashed his vehicle into a creek bank. Multiple controlled substances and drug paraphernalia were located in the vehicle.

Four new cases, no net hospitalizations and no deaths: That was the impact this morning of COVID-19 in the data report for the West Piedmont Health District. The Virginia Department of Health recorded those statistics as of 5 p.m. Wednesday. VDH reported statewide that there were 166 new cases and only 6 deaths. In the health district, Patrick County reported 2 of the cases and a new hospitalization. Henry and Franklin counties each had a new case, and Franklin County saw its number of hospitalizations reduced by 1. Such deductions happen based on geography or clerical error or reclassifications. There were no changes in data for Martinsville. The 4 cases represented the greatest number of cases in a day this week. The health district's 7-day average is down to 2, and its rate per 100,000 population is 1.8. You have to go back to May 2020 to get to rates that low.

A new building-codes policy adopted through a 3-2 vote three years ago this spring has not been the godsend it was touted as in addressing both residential and commercial structures posing problems in Mount Airy. And now the International Property Maintenance Code (IPMC) itself is being relegated to the scrap...

Mount Airy City Schools teachers and staff members recently gathered for their annual end-of-year picnic. (Submitted photo) Mount Airy City Schools ended its academic year with the return of its annual district picnic, and with naming the city Teacher of the Year. Seventh-grade math teacher Marie Hauser was named as...

FLOYD — A Floyd man entered guilty pleas Monday on attempted murder charges that could bring multiple life sentences in prison for a 2019 incident when he fired multiple shots at Floyd County deputies. Samuel Wayne Hale’s pleas came without an offer or deal from the Commonwealth Attorney’s office on...

Patrick Henry Community College’s Industry 4.0 Advanced Manufacturing Training program recently won two awards in two consecutive days. During a recent virtual ceremony PHCC received the Workforce Development Award from Community Colleges of Appalachia, one of three colleges honored this year across the Appalachian region. The CCA 2021 Awards ceremony can be viewed at www.ccofapp.org/videos.

DANBURY — At Monday night’s County Commissioners’ meeting, representatives from the new solar energy farm near Walnut Cove tried to explain fencing to the owner of a major fencing company, and it did not go well for the visitors. At issue was a request by Pinegate Renewables, the Asheville-based company...

One driver succumbed to injuries after a two-vehicle accident at 3:51 p.m. on June 10 at the intersection of Grayson Parkway and Delhart Road, according to a report released by the Virginia State Police. A 2008 GMC Sierra, driven by Hannah R. Eller, 37, of Mouth of Wilson, was traveling...

Ever since I started spending the majority of my days in Floyd during the winter, I’ve been looking forward to the spring — not only for what I knew would be beautiful, blossoming flowers and trees, but also for the liveliness of people — on the streets, in their yards, walking into and out of the shops across town that are filled with treasure.