Southwest Virginia Blogs

I meant to post on this a couple days ago, but have been very busy.

Not Larry Sabato, a blog that I have recently started reading, has a good post dealing with politics here in SWVA. Basically is shows that the GOP has a strong foothold in SWVA that isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.

If I’m reading and understanding the numbers right, Smyth County has a large Republican base. From my knowledge, I can say it is very rare for Smyth County to vote Democrat in a Virginia or Federal election. The only exceptions are Mark Warner for U.S. Senate in 1996 and him again for Governor in 2001. With all this Republican base, I still can’t figure out why Smyth votes Democrat in local elections. My scenarios are that maybe the local Democrats here do a better job at getting candidates with name recognition or people simply just don’t care about political affiliation locally.

Now, the next question I have is that if the GOP is so powerful here in SWVA in voting, why is Rick Boucher still the Congressman? If all these GOP voters turned out and were unified, we no doubt would have a different Congressman. Maybe that will happen in November

According to today’s print edition of the Smyth County News & Messenger, within 1 year the Code of Smyth County will be published online. This is long overdue–maybe they got the idea from that letter to the editor I wrote several months ago.

Smyth County has hired Florida based Municipal Code Corporation for $20,000 to re-codify and publish the code both in print and online.

Most localities in Virginia have local codes that incorporate various aspects of the Code of Virginia dealing with local matters, local ordinances, zoning plans, etc. If you want to see what are in these codes, it usually means you’ll have to take a trip to the local government offices or library to request copies.

This is a positive move and I hope Smyth continues to do such. Now if we could just get a full copy of the county operating budget online.

According to today’s edition of the Smyth County News & Messenger, the Smyth County Board of Supervisors took some positive action at their Tuesday meeting on the courthouse security/renovation project. Supervisors on a 5-2 vote (Blevins-(D), Neitch-(R), Dishner-(R), Slemp-(R), Clark-(D) in favor and Roberts-(D), Perry-(D) opposing) endorsed courthouse “concept 3″ with a $16 Million price tag. Supervisors apparently came to the realization if they did not endorse a plan the “sky would be the limit on the cost” if the judges took over the whole process. Still, according to the paper, the judges will have to sign off on all that the county does at this juncture.

Concept 3 (the most expensive of the plans) will entail a full renovation and northward expansion of the Smyth County Courthouse. This will almost double the courthouse in size. Under the plan the existing 30 year old former Smyth County Jail building will be demolished. The plan will add a 4th courtroom to the building and maintain/expand offices for the sheriff, 911 center, commissioner of the revenue, treasurer, and Commonwealth’s attorney in the courthouse. Security issues will also be addressed by having only 1 public entrance and prisoner holding facilities/sally-port in the courthouse.

However, concept 3 has flaws. According to the report it will only meet projected needs for the Smyth courts for 20 years. This troubled Supervisors Roberts and Perry in that they did not like the 20 year time frame or how the project is going to be paid for (which remains to be seen). According to Supervisor Perry in the article, who was around as I believe Smyth County Administrator in the 1970’s when the last renovation was done, that renovation was supposed to outlive him.

One other critical problem not addressed in concept 3 is what to do with parking and temporary office spaces during construction. If the courthouse expands northward, almost all of the precious and limited parking spaces around the courthouse will be no more. On any given court day it is very difficult to find a parking space around the courthouse or Downtown Marion. In addition, new shops and businesses, are opening around the courthouse and taking up parking. During the construction phase parking and access to the courthouse will be more troubling. It is likely temporary office and courtroom space will have to be acquired elsewhere.

I’m glad the Supervisors took some decisive action. At least they have taken a stand and decided on a plan of their own choosing and not being forced by the judges to take one. What remains to be seen is how to pay for it and what to do with its flaws. Something needs to be done because the courthouse is in bad, if not terrible, condition.

An initial hearing in the lawsuit filed by the Town of Saltville against Shirley Bailey over refusing to allow workers and town employees on the abandoned rail line near her property was held Thursday in Washington County Circuit Court. Here is the BHC report and my initial post on the suit. The RT-D also has an article on the trail dispute here. The judge ordered Bailey not to interfere with the workers and development. Further hearings are set later on the suit in which Bailey’s attorney says he will prove that the property owners have a claim to the abandoned rail line.

Saltville’s attorney Chip Burkholder continues to make statements I find disturbing with regard to the citizens opposed to the trail. In the above linked BHC article, Burkholder has this to say:

“The message is that if folks take down their ‘posted’ and ‘no trespassing’ signs, they have greatly reduced the chance of becoming a defendant.”

Seems like to me this suit is a scare tactic. All I will say is that Saltville better be sure it owns this rail line, or all the adjacent property owners will have a claim against the Town far in excess of what Saltville is making monetarily with the track removal.

Further hearings will be held on the suit after Bailey’s attorney files an answer.

In a somewhat surprising move, the Town of Saltville has filed a $600,000 lawsuit against Shirely Bailey over the “rails-to-trails” squabble. Bailey is the most vocal opponent of the group of residents who live along the abandoned rail line Saltville wants to turn into a trail. For the past couple months, the rails have been being removed along the approximately 9 mile rail bed. Here is the BHC report. Bailey has refused the contractor entry to his property to remove the rails and has called the sheriff’s office numerous times accusing the workers of trespass.

I think this is troubling in some respects. Sure, this thing did need to go to court, but why in this manner? Why did Saltville need to sue one person (the leader) of the group and for such a large sum? Saltville is only getting around $300,000 out of selling the rails for scrap. They are pretty much asking for double in this suit against one person. I personally think it is a scare tactic to try and make the opponents back down. I’m not a lawyer, but I think Saltville could have taken this to court if they wanted a judgment in a fashion that didn’t single out one person or ask for such a large sum of money.

Today at 7PM was the deadline to file as a candidate in the May 2nd Virginia town elections.

There are now 10 candidates for the 3 open seats on the Saltville Town Council. As mentioned in earlier posts, I will be focusing heavily upon the Saltville election. Here is the list from the SBE of Smyth County towns.

All of the 3 Saltville incumbent council members (Cahill, Hutchins, and Holley) have filed to seek another term.

Since my last update a new candidate, yet another one I personally know, has joined the race. Officially listed as “S. Brandon “Moo” McAllister”. He is a fellow member of the Class of 2003 from Northwood High School. What is interesting about this is that he is only 20 years old and might be the youngest person ever to seek a town council slot in Smyth County or Saltville. Brandon, or “Moo” (his nickname), is particularly concerned about the young people in Saltville and the general state of economic conditions. It can be argued that Saltville’s (and SWVA for that matter) chief export is young people. These young people have to move away after college or high school to find high quality paying jobs. It is a shame. I’ve spoken with Brandon and he is going to focus upon this as well as many other issues.

In Saltville, barring any changes to the official list, Mayor Jeff Campbell will be unopposed seeking his 2nd term as mayor. I found that very surprising. He is a lawyer in Marion and would make a good Commonwealth’s Attorney candidate someday for Smyth County I think.

To wrap up the rest of Smyth County, Chilhowie’s mayor Gary L. Heninger is being opposed by Bobby Jo “Bob” McCormick for a 2nd term. For town council 6 candidates (including 2 incumbents) are seeking 3 council seats. In Marion there isn’t a mayor’s race this time around. For council, 5 people (including 3 incumbents) are seeking 4 seats. See the earlier mentioned SBE list for all the names.

It will be interesting to watch what happens.

Here is BHC report about continued resistance of property owners along the proposed “rails to trails” route from Saltville to Glade Spring. Workers have been removing the abandoned rail line for the past several weeks in the Saltville area.

This week several employees of the Town of Saltville were walking along the railroad outside of town. Property owners responded by calling the Washington County Sheriff and accusing the officials of trespass. Property owners dispute that Saltville has a legal right to the rail line and Saltville claims it was signed over to them by the rail road long ago.

This thing should end up in court and let the courts decided. I was particularly disturbed by a comment made by Saltville’s town attorney in the article:

“The arguments I’m hearing are being made by people who are not attorneys,” said town attorney Chip Burkholder. “I have not heard one that makes sense to me.”

Someone should tell arrogant lawyer Burkholder that these people might not be attorneys, but they are citizens who have the right to protect their property.

In looking at the SBE list now, 3 more candidates have filed to run for the 3 Town Council seats up in Saltville in the May 2006 election. This brings the total number of candidates to 7 for the 3 seats.

Incumbent Councilwoman Emily Hutchins is the only one of the 3 incumbents to file for re-election so far. Joining her in recently filing are Danny Lee Maiden and C. Todd Young. I do not know any of these candidates personally. However, I can say that Hutchins definitely is a Democrat and mighty proud of it after a “run-in,” which I will not get into.

I’m glad to see there is a somewhat decent amount of candidates filing. The deadline is Tuesday and I hope that we see a good many more file in Saltville.

Regardless of where you are, I urge you if you live in a town and do not like the way things are going, consider a run for town council. There still is time to file and you can visit the SBE web site for more details. In most small towns the ballot requirements aren’t that much of a hassle and don’t require those petitions or long drawn out forms.

In looking at the SBE report of mayor/town council candidates who have filed thus far in Smyth County’s towns, I see that Teresa Smith Crawford has filed in Saltville to run for council. This expands the field of candidates to 4 so far for the 3 seats up. The filing deadline is next Tuesday at 7:00PM and I hope many take advantage of it in considering serving the Town of Saltville and getting it on the right track (no pun intended with the recent rail removal) to success. As noted in the previous post on the subject, none of the 3 incumbents (Cahill, Holley, Hutchins) for council have re-filed as of yet. From what I hear about their conduct on the council, maybe they’d be wise not to seek re-election. However, I do predict they will file again almost at the deadline time in Marion.

I also know Teresa Crawford. She is the mother of a fellow Class of 2003 graduate from Northwood High School.

It appears the Smyth County’s General Registrar Sandy Elswick has released the list of candidates in Smyth County’s towns (Chilhowie, Marion, and Saltville) for the May 2nd Town Elections. The list is available here from the SBE. These are the candidates who have filed thus far. The deadline to file as a candidate is next Tuesday, March 7 at 7:00PM for Smyth County’s town elections.

Since I live near Saltville, it is of particular interest to me. On the list I see that incumbent mayor Jeff Campbell has filed for re-election with no opposition thus far. For town council, none of the three incumbents (Cahill, Holley, and Hutchins) have yet filed. Newcomers Andrew Bresnock, Jr., Terry N. Hunt, and Ronald Neil Johnson have filed. Of those three I personally know Neil Johnson, who served as athletic director when I was a student at Northwood High School. I also believe that Bresnock is the pastor of the local Friends Community Church in Saltville. I do not know who Hunt is.

I encourage all those who can run to do so in Saltville. Something has got to change and I can say that if I lived in Saltville I would definitely be running.

Here Jerry, From On High, has an interesting post about how SWVA is helping subsidize mass transit in NOVA.

I agree with him that the only mass transit in Smyth County is the U-Haul trucks headed for the county line.

Here is an article from the Smyth County News & Messenger that discusses the decline of new homes being built in Smyth County and the age of existing homes. This indeed is very disturbing.

By comparison, Smyth County counted 50 new single-family homes last year, while Washington County weighed in with 241. Wythe County recorded 81 new homes in the same period.

I find in particularly interesting that Smyth fell behind Wythe in this category. Without a doubt, the lack of employment and good paying jobs in Smyth have led to this. Further, if this trend isn’t fixed the tax base in Smyth will be smaller and thus result in higher taxes on real estate. Further, there is a lack of housing available in Smyth County for those employed in Smyth. This results in many living in either Washington, Wythe, or other surrounding counties.

Another alarming fact is the aging existing homes in Smyth County:

Smyth County’s housing stock is aging quickly. More than 50 percent of single family homes here are at least 30 years old. A large chunk, 35 percent, is more than 50 years old.

This indeed is very troublesome. As time goes by, these houses will become even more aged and substandard. The lack of development and replacement by new homes will lead to an even further decline in available good housing.

This lack of housing also leads to a loss of professionals and those who desire upscale housing close to their employment. Case in point—medical doctors.

“The lack of housing definitely affects our ability to bring in new physicians,” said Robbie Colley, director of physician and business development for Smyth County Community Hospital. “We lost an OB-GYN recently because they had five kids and we simply couldn’t find them something close enough to the hospital. At best it causes our searches to go on much longer than they should. And as a county, we lose business and tax money to neighboring counties.”

It is very disturbing if Smyth County cannot recruit and retain quality physicians due to something like housing. Some good news is on the horizon though. According to the article, a subdivision is in the works in the St. Clairs Bottom community of the county with about 33 lots.

I often think we need a total change in leadership of Smyth County. The status-quo has been maintained too long. Maybe the elections in 2007 will be a good place to start.

Here is a post at RedState sent to me by a friend. I think the subject of it is quite hilarious and serious at the same time.

Rep. Sue Myrick (R-NC) sent a letter to President Bush today expressing her disdain for the plan to sell certain American ports to a company in the UAE. She pretty much is bold and courageous in the one sentence letter.

Here is a copy of the letter from her Congressional web site (PDF format). I also think it’s ironic that a picture of her and President Bush appears on the homepage of her site here near the link to the letter.

I think this is telling it like it is and I agree with the Congresswoman’s letter. President Bush and the administration need to start looking at what they do more closely in some respects. Nothing good can become of this port situation I think.

Here is something I’ve been meaning to saw a word about for awhile now.

Recently the Saltville community has been abuzz about the proposed “rails to trails” project. This is compounded by the fact that contractors have recently begun removing the 8 to 9 miles of railroad from Saltville to Glade Spring and selling the rails for scrap for a grand price of around $300,000. The railway path would then become the trail being proposed similar to what the Virginia Creeper Trail is in Washington County.

Many property owners who live along the abandoned rail line, which has been abandoned for more than 30 years, do not like the removal of the tracks and the proposed trail project. In particular, those in the Clinchburg area outside of Saltville have been the most vocal. They fear loss of their privacy and criminal activity if the trail was to be developed. They also contend Saltville has no legal right to the railway. The Saltville attorney states that all the deeds were granted to the Town of Saltville after the railway was abandoned. Residents have even blocked work on the railway removal resulting in the police responding several times. Residents also argue the first they heard about the proposed trail was the newspaper and not from town officials directly. In fact, after the rails have started to be removed the Town of Saltville has begun holding meetings in and around Saltville. Here is a report from the BHC on the meeting held Saturday in Glade Spring. According to the report, of the 70 persons attending, the trail idea was almost unanimously opposed.

Additionally, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security is involved. That’s right! Homeland Security is part of this squabble according to media reports. Federal authorities were reportedly notified after someone stated they had a great deal of knowledge about explosives in the audience of a meeting about the subject at the town hall. I think Saltville is overreacting with calling up the Feds on this, which further compounds the situation.

It is further argued that Saltville is making a huge mistake by ripping up the rail line. Some claim that it could be useful and beneficial for any industry in the future. I agree. If it isn’t bothering anything, why not leave it in place?

I think the residents along the proposed trail have valid points. If you have grown accustomed to a quite, tranquil, and private living area I could see why you would be upset at it being disturbed and open to just about everyone. I further agree that Saltville pretty much sprang the proposition without public input first. It seems like Saltville has a habit of doing that. Further, I think Saltville should be more concerned about industry and employment. Tourism is nice, but it cannot sustain you forever. You need good quality jobs for residents and stop the outpouring of young-people moving away from Saltville and Smyth County to find decent jobs.

Here the BHC has a story about a church fire in the Konnarock section of Smyth County. Lately in neighboring Washington County and around the whole U.S. there have been a rash of church arsons. I just don’t know what would possess these sick individuals to burn a church that people have put their lives into maintaining. I hope they are all caught and locked up for a good long time.

In this incident, damage was minimal and Smyth investigators have a suspect in this church fire according to the report.

According to Thursday’s Saltville Progress, the Saltville Labor Day Celebration will indeed go on. Here is my previous post about its cancellation being announced. This is after Labor Day Celebration founder and organizer Fred Singleton announced its cancellation due to several reasons and disagreements. A group of volunteers (including two town council members) has stated they will organize the event. Labor Day founder Fred Singleton states he will have nothing to do with the group and makes note about the town council now getting involved.

I hope the celebration will be up to par with the past events. Only time will tell but it is good that this event will be held at least–albeit without Fred Singleton’s endorsement and support.

Curtis Michael Keith, the fugitive who has been on the run from Smyth and surrounding counties for the past couple weeks, has been captured in Georgia. Keith fled with his live-in girlfriend and one of the children (her daughter) who he is accused of abusing. Here is a very brief article from the BHC on the capture. Keith was indicted in September in Smyth County on 104 charges of child rape, allegedly of the two children of his girlfriend. Smyth and other counties also wanted him on construction fraud and scam charges.

This is good news that this predator is off the streets. According to a WCYB-TV report, his live-in girlfriend was also arrested and the child is in safe custody. Let’s hope that Smyth authorities are quick to extradite this fugitive back for a trial, and if found guilty, he receives what he deserves.

Still I cannot figure out why Smyth County’s sheriff and Commonwealth’s attorney didn’t bring this to the attention of the community back in September instead of 2 weeks ago. In fact, as I stated in this earlier post, it was the Washington County Sheriff (not Smyth) who put out the word on this to the media even though the serious charges occurred in Smyth. Were the Smyth County authorities asleep at the wheel so to speak?

25 new jobs will be located in Saltville it was announced Friday. Reline America, Inc. which specializes in repairing sewer and utility lines will locate in Saltville’s first shell building which has been vacant since 1998. $4.9 Million will be invested in its operations.

This is good news, albeit only 25 jobs and not a bigger number. The jobs will pay on average $38,000 a Here is the article in the Roanoke Times.

(Link via Jerry)