Locally Owned And Operated Census data shows decline in SWVA

Distributed Free Each Friday Since 2009

Locally Owned And Operated

March 23, 2018 www.pcpatriot.com

WEEKEND WEATHERSATURDAY SUNDAY

Snow likely. High near 37.Chance of precipitation is100%. New snow accumulationof 1 to 3 inches.Saturday Night - Rain andsnow. Low around 32. Chanceof precipitation is 90%.

A chance of rain and snow, witha high near 41. Chance of pre-cipitation is 30%.

Sunday Night - Mostly cloudy,with a low around 28.

Inside This Week:Claytor Lake

FestivalHealth

Rankings‘Titans ofthe Cage’

Live MMA action coming toPulaski County High School onApril 7.

Page B2

Health rankings show Pulaski County to be ‘slightlybelow’ average.

Page A3

A special message from theClaytor Lake FestivalCommittee on this year’s event.

Page A5

Census datashows declinein SWVABy RYAN PERSAUDCapital News Service

RICHMOND - Population isbooming in Northern Virginiaand shrinking in many rurallocalities in the southern andsouthwestern parts of the state,according to data releasedThursday by the U.S CensusBureau.

The population of the city ofFalls Church grew 5.2 percentbetween July 1, 2016, and July 1,2017, the data showed. That wasmore than any U.S. county withat least 10,000 residents. (TheCensus Bureau puts Virginia'scities in the same geographic cat-egory as counties.)

Three other Virginia localities

grew more than 3 percent overthe past year: Loudoun Countyand Manassas Park near D.C.,and New Kent County east ofRichmond.

S i n c e2 0 1 0 ,L o u d o u nC o u n t y ' spopulationh a sincreasedmore than

27 percent, to more than 380,000.That percentage increase ranksfourth among all U.S. countieswith at least 200,000 people.

The growth in NorthernVirginia is largely due to large

RV parkproposal

pulledBy MIKE WILLIAMSThe Patriot

A proposal to construct arecreational vehicle park in theDublin Hollow section nearClaytor Lake has been with-drawn.

The action comes less than aweek after the proposal metwith heavy opposition fromresidents of the area, and a 6-1vote by the Pulaski CountyPlanning Commission to rec-ommend denial of a SpecialUse Permit that would havepaved the way for the project.

Commissioners voted 6-1 attheir meeting last Tuesday torecommend denial of a SpecialUse Permit being sought byJeffrey K. Harman that wouldhave allowed for the park tobe constructed on a 30.5-acresite near Blue Sky Lane offWilderness Road near Dublin.

Only Commission ChairmanDoug Warren voted to recom-mend approval of the permit.

The issue would have goneon to the Board of Supervisorsfor their consideration, likelyat the board's March 26 meet-ing. The supervisors couldhave accepted the commis-sion's recommendation to denythe SUP, or they could haveapproved it themselves.

Harman's plan called for thecreation of Blue Sky Lane RVResort, which would have con-tained up to 150 campsites, apool, playground, fire pits,

See PARK, page A3

Pulaski County United Way,Inc., recently elected officers forthe 2018 Board of Directors.PCUW is excited to announcethese officers, some incumbentsand others new to their posts. Allhave a long history of dedicationand service to their community.

Thomas Holsinger of Lowes,Fairlawn, was elected as Presidentof the Board. Mr. Holsinger livesin Fairlawn with his wife andfamily and previously held the

position of Vice-President.Mike Williams, owner and pub-

lisher of The Patriot, is a nativeof Pulaski County. Mr. Williamswas elected as Vice-President. Hepreviously served as Secretary.Mr. Williams and his wife residein Draper.

Brennan Snook, BranchManager of Carter Bank and Trustin Wytheville, was elected to a

Holsinger electedto lead United Way

See UNITED WAY, page A2

See CENSUS, page A12

Pulaski Co.sees decline,whileRadford seesan increase

Page A2 - The Patriot - Friday, March 23, 2018

Linda Williams photo

Winter Holding On As Another Storm Approaches

Tuesday night’s winter storm made for loads of pretty scenery Wednesday morning in the Pulaski County area, such as this scene at the entranceto Little Wytheville in the Draper area. More snow appears to be on the way - possibly a lot more - with a new storm supposedly rolling inSaturday.

third term as Treasurer. Mr.Snook lives in Pulaski with hiswife and daughters.

Mark Buckland, Assistant VicePresident and Managing Officerof Carter Bank and Trust, waselected as Secretary. Mr.Buckland and his wife live inDublin, VA.

"PCUW wishes to congratulateall the incoming Board Officers,"says Susan Dalrymple, ExecutiveDirector. "We know that ourcommunity will be served wellby their leadership."

The outgoing Board Presidentis Randy Jarrells. Mr. Jarrellsserved as president for severalyears. He and his wife Andreaand their two sons make theirhome in Pulaski County where heis very active in the community.Mr. Jarrells is a LogisticsDevelopment Engineer at VolvoProduction Logistics. "We appre-ciate the many contributions thatRandy has made," Dalrymplesaid. "He has left behind a legacyof leadership and service for theremaining PCUW Board ofDirectors Members and Officers.We all benefited greatly from hisdedication and wish him well inhis future endeavors."

Jane Farmer, former HumanResources Director for Renfro,was elected as a member of theBoard of Directors and lives inPulaski.

United WayContinued from page A1

April is Child AbusePrevention Month

The Pulaski County Juvenile and Domestic Relations DistrictCourt and the Pulaski County Best Practices Team announce thefollowing events in honor of Child Abuse Prevention Month:

The public is invited to attend a meeting and reception to be heldat Pulaski County Courthouse, 45 Third St., NW on Thursday,April 5 at 6 p.m. The featured speaker is Guy Smith, Director ofthe Pulaski County Department of Social Services. Light refresh-ments will follow the meeting. Everyone is welcome and there isno charge to attend. Please contact Pulaski County JDR Clerk,Anne Helms, at 540-980-3822 or [email protected] byApril 1 if you plan to attend.

The annual Pinwheel for Prevention Garden will appear on thecourthouse lawn in April.

The Patriot - Friday, March 23, 2018 - Page A3

Virginia healthrankings revealdisparities among regionsBy CAITLIN BARBIERICapital News Service

RICHMOND - The affluentsuburbs of Northern Virginia arethe healthiest communities inthe state, and lower-incomelocalities, especially in thesouthern and western parts ofthe commonwealth, have themost serious health problems,according to a recent study.

The Robert Wood JohnsonFoundation reported that for thethird year in a row, Loudoun,Fairfax and Arlington are thehealthiest counties in Virginia.They share low rates of prema-ture death and a high percentageof adults with education beyondhigh school.

But Petersburg, Emporia andMartinsville ranked lowest inthe foundation's eighth annualcounty health report. Thosethree localities all had highunemployment and high rates ofchild poverty - factors associat-ed with poor health.

The rankings are based onhealth outcomes and health fac-tors. Health outcomes includethe length and quality of life;health factors include behaviorssuch as smoking, access to care,social and economic conditionsand physical environment.

"A lot of it has to do withthings we call social determi-nants of health," said BobHicks, Virginia's deputy com-missioner for community healthservices. "Where there is highunemployment and where thereare schools not performing and

the kids aren't educated to a cer-tain level, we see these trendscontinuing in poor health out-

paved camping pads, beach areaat the lake, picnic shelter, gamecourts for basketball, volleyballand tennis, walking trails, a bathhouse, convenience store, multi-slip dock, dock ramp, fishingpier and other amenities.

The property in question iscurrently vacant and zoned foragriculture, a zoning designationthat allows for an RV park - butonly by a Special Use Permit(SUP).

During the public hearing por-tion of last Tuesday's meeting,the proposal met with heavyopposition from several speakersas well as a slew of letters,emails and names on petitionsasking the planning commissionto reject the idea.

According to one of thoseopposed, Laura Bullard, 535people had signed petitions inopposition to the project. Sheasked for those in attendanceTuesday night to stand if theywere opposed. Nearly everyonein the meeting room stood.

Reasons for opposition cen-tered mainly around concerns

over Blue Sky Lane leading tothe resort being able to handlethe number and size of vehiclesto be attracted to the project -including RVs which can be over8 feet wide and 45 feet long.

It was noted at the end of thepaved, state maintained portionof Blue Sky Lane there is an esti-mated 270-degree turn from thestate maintained portion of theroadway to a gravel portionwhich makes up the rest of BlueSky Lane and leads into the areaplanned for the resort.

Safety for school buses andbicycle riders who frequent thearea was also a concern - notonly on Blue Sky Lane, but alsoon Wilderness Road and HazelHollow leading to the area.

Opponents also pointed to thefact Dublin Hollow is one of themost heavily used areas ofClaytor Lake, and the fear theresort's proposed docks wouldadd to the traffic in the area and.

Opponents also expressed con-cerns over the environmentalimpact of the project on the area.

ParkContinued from page A1

Pulaski Co.‘slightly belowaverage’ inhealth rankings

Pulaski County is one of fivelocalities in the New RiverValley area that are ranked"slightly below average" in thehealth rankings published by theRobert Wood JohnsonFoundation.

Each of Virginia's 133 countiesand cities are ranked in the study.The rankings are based on healthoutcomes and health factors.Health outcomes include thelength and quality of life; healthfactors include behaviors such assmoking, access to care, socialand economic conditions andphysical environment.

Along with Pulaski, Radford,Giles, Wythe and Carroll coun-ties were all ranked as "slightlybelow average."

Floyd County was ranked"slightly above average," whileMontgomery County was ranked"above average."

Pulaski County is ranked 88thout of 133 in health outcomes,91st in health factors and 102 insocial and economic factors.

See HEALTH, page A6


Sharon Lynn Smith MooreSharon Lynn Smith Moore, age 71, of Pulaski, passed away

Tuesday, March 20, 2018. She was the daughter of the late Leslie C.And Margaret Struder Smith. She was preceded in death by herbrother, Neal Smith. Sharon was a loving mother and grandmother.

She is survived by herdaughter and son-in-law,Renee & David Cole ofHiwassee; son and daugh-ter-in-law, Jimmy &Candy Moore of Barren

Springs; sister, Doris E. and Gerald Inscoe of Alexandria, AnnMargaret Deans of Woodstock; grandsons and spouse, Christopher &Yulanda of Wytheville, Hunter Cole of Hiwassee; granddaughter,Stephanie Moore of Wytheville; great grandchildren, NathanielMoore, Natlie Moore, Landon Morales all of Wytheville; nieces andnephews, Kathy Inscoe Gearhart, Gerald Inscoe, Jr., Michael Inscoe,Marjorie Lynn Smith.

Services will be private and at a later date. Expressions of sympa-thy may be sent to the family at www.grubbfuneralhome.com

Grubb Funeral Home is in charge of the arrangements.

Pearl Gallimore Lafon, 80, of Pulaski, VA wentto be with the Lord on Monday, March 19, 2018after a long illness. She was born June 27, 1937 inPulaski, the daughter of the late William M. “Bill”Gallimore and Bessie Anderson Gallimore.Besides her parents, she was preceded in death byher brother, Rev. G. Allen Gallimore of Oak Hill,WV. Pearl was a founding and life-long member ofPulaski Gospel Tabenacle, now Calvary Chapel, inDublin, VA. Her music ministry, pleasant nature,and contagious laughter were a joy and inspirationto many. During the 1950s and 1960s, she and hersister, Gladys G. Hudson, sang together around theregion as the Gallimore Sisters. She is survived byher husband of 52 years, Wilber Wade Lafon ofPulaski, VA; two sons, Charles Wilber Lafon andwife Rachel Corbin Lafon of Bryan, TX, andNelson Lafon and wife Emily Marston of Roanoke;five grandchildren, Annie Lafon (currently atLiberty University in Lynchburg), Carlie Lafon andWill Lafon of Bryan, TX, and Malon Lafon andAsalia Lafon of Roanoke; and one sister, Gladys G.

Hudson of Dublin.

The family will receive friends at Seagle FuneralHome in Pulaski, VA on Friday, March 23, 2018from 6 to 8 pm. The funeral service will be held atthe funeral home at 11 am on Saturday.

Burial will follow at Thornspring Cemetery inPulaski. In lieu of flowers, memorial donationsmay be made to Calvary Chapel, c/o Trudy French,P. O. Box592, Dublin,VA 24084.The familywould like toexpress theirgratitude forthe care pro-vided by staff at both Pulaski and Salem LewisGale hospitals during Pearl’s last days.

Online condolences may be sent to the family byvisiting www.seaglefuneralhome.com

Arrangements by Seagle Funeral Home, Pulaski.

Pearl Gallimore Lafon

James Paul Ratcliffe

James Paul Ratcliffe, 92, of Pulaski, VA passedaway Monday March 19th 2018 in the HighlandRidge Rehab Center, Dublin, VA. He was born inWashington, County VA on August 4th 1925 the

son of the late George HubbleRatcliffe and Verna BecknerRatcliffe.

He was also preceded indeath by a daughter, three sis-ters and four brothers.

Paul is survived by his wifeof 57 years; Ethel Gwendolyn“Sally” Hanks Ratcliffe, ofPulaski.

Daughter and Son in Law;Lisa and Albert Lunsford

Granddaughter; Laura Lunsford all ofMechanicsville, VA

Nieces and NephewsPaul served as a corporal in the Army and saw

combat from 1943 to 1946 along with four broth-ers during the same time period. Paul retired fromR.A.A.P. with 37 years of service.

Funeral services will be held Sat. March 24th at

11am from the Stevens Funeral Home Chapelwith the Rev. Melissa Smith officiating. Burialwill follow with full military honors conductedby VFW Post 1184, Pulaski, in the HighlandM e m o r yG a r d e n s ,Dublin.

V i s i t a t i o nwill be from 5-8pm Fridayevening at thefuneral home.

Flowers areappreciated however the Family askes thatmemorials be made to the following charities. StJude Children’s Research Hospital P.O. Box1000, Memphis, TN 38101. The Joy Ranch P.O.Box 727 Hillsville, VA 24343. NorthstarAcademy 8055 Shrader Rd. Richmond, VA 23294or the First United Methodist Church 135 4th StNW Pulaski, VA 24301.

Arrangements are by Stevens Funeral Home,Pulaski.

Ratcliffe

Lucille Taylor ThomasLucille Taylor Thomas, 86, of Pulaski, VA died Friday, March 16,

2018 at her home. She was born in Pulaski on October 4, 1931 andwas the daughter of the late Esteland Sarah Wright Taylor. Shewas also preceded in death byher husband, Raymond “Neal”Thomas, by a sister, HazelWalker and by three brothers,Ernest, Garnett and JuniorTaylor. Mrs. Thomas worked at

Jefferson Mills and as a supervisor at Pulaski Furniture.Surviving are:Daughters – Ramona Palmer and Her Husband, JimPam Maxwell and Her Husband, CharlieSon – Raymond ThomasGrandchildren – Sheila ShirahKevin Mottersheard and His Wife, JudyAllen Bullion and His Wife, DonnaTami Bird and Her Husband, DavidNeal ThomasSisters – Mary HallSadie WardenBetty FriddleBrother – Clarence TaylorMultiple Great-Grandchildren, Great-Great-Grandchildren andNieces and NephewsFuneral services were held Tuesday, March 20, 2018, at 2:00 PM

from the Stevens Funeral Home Chapel with Rev Phillip Madisonofficiating. Burial followed in the Hufford Cemetery.

Arrangements by Stevens Funeral Home, Pulaski, VA.

James Edward WebbJames Edward Webb, age 89 of Pulaski, died Thursday, March 15,

2018 at Pulaski Health and Rehabilitation Center. Jim was born inPulaski on October 9, 1928, and was the son of the late Lula Ogle

Webb and Bennie OscarWebb. He was a veteran ofthe U.S. Army. Jim retiredafter 30 years with IBM inRoanoke, and was called backto work much later. The bestwords to describe him wouldbe “Sincere Gentleman.” His

passions in life were many, but he loved flying, skydiving, bowlingand playing cards. In addition to his parents, he was preceded indeath by his wife, Mildred (Millie) Quesenberry Webb; five brothers,and four sisters. He is survived by his daughter; Angela Webb ofGrand Prairie, TX; sisters in law; Naomi Whitaker, and PaulineLyons, brother-in-law Rex Quesenberry, and a multitude of niecesand nephews.

An informal celebration of his life was held at Compadres on Route99 Pulaski, on Sunday, March 18. A burial was held in private atOakwood Cemetery. Online condolences may be sent to the familyby visiting www.seaglefuneralhome.com Arrangements by SeagleFuneral Home, Pulaski.

Robert (Tommy) Poole

Kyong H. Yi

Robert (Tommy) Poole, 67 of Monroe NC, for-merly of Pulaski Co., died Friday, March 16, 2018.

He was born in Pulaski on January 22, 1951, andwas the son of the late Mary Elizabeth Cruff Poole,and Thomas Silas Poole. In addition to his parents,he was preceded in death by a sister; Rena (Bobbi)Griffin. He is survived by a neice; CherylWindham of Waxhaw, NC,: and great nieces andnephews; Brittany Windham, Karlie Windham, andJaxson Andrews of Stanfield, NC.

A graveside funeral service will be held Saturday,March 24, 2018 at 2:00 p.m. at Highland Memory

Gardens in Dublin. There will be no visitation.

O n l i n econdolencesmay be sentto the familyby visitingwww.seagle-f u n e r a l -home.com

Arrangements by Seagle Funeral Home, Pulaski.

Kyong H. Yi, age 72 of Dublin and formerly ofRoanoke passed away Friday, March 16, 2018 athis home.

Born March 26, 1945 in South Korea he was theson of the late Han K. Yi and Chong S. Kim.

He is survived by his Daughter, Suchin Lee &husband, Michael Kim; Sons, Peter Yi and JacobYi; Grandchildren, Jeannie, Chris, Gloria andMichael, Jr.; Brother, Yong H. Yi; Sisters, Sun C.Lee, Young C. Yi & husband, Won Ki Yi, Kyong C.Yun & husband, Charlie Yun; Nieces, Tiffany &husband, Philip Vivas, Hana Yun, Jessica Yi;Nephews, Justin Yun, T.J. Yi and Bobby Yi; GrandNephews, Nathan and Mason Yi.

Funeral services were held Sunday, March 18,

2018 at the Bower Funeral Home-Chapel, Pulaskiwith Rev. Kim Chong Hawk officiating.

The family received friends Sunday, March 18,2018 beforeservice time.

To sign theonline guest-book, pleasev i s i twww.bower-f u n e r a l -home.com

Bower Funeral Homes, Pulaski is handling thearrangements for the family.

Eddie Carter, 88, of Pulaski, passed away Sunday, March 18, 2018. The Carter family is in the care of Mullins Funeral Home &

Crematory in Radford, Virginia. www.mullinsfuneralhome.com

Betty Williams Capaldini, also known as “Nanny”, passed peace-fully into the Eternal Kingdom on March 20th, 2018, surrounded byher family.

The Capaldini family is in the care of Mullins Funeral Home &Crematory in Radford. www.mullinsfuneralhome.com

Death Notices

Visit www.pcpatriot.com Daily For Obituaries

From Area Funeral Homes

Plus News, Sports & Weather Reports


There's already a trade war, and it'sbeing waged by Beijing.

China's ascension to the WorldTrade Organization nearly 20 yearsago has failed in its strategic objec-tives. It hasn't created a liberalizingregime or a free-market economy inChina; in fact, it hasn't even created aChina ready and willing to abide bythe norms of free trade.

The regime of Xi Jinping hasn'tbeen pushed toward democraticreforms by a rising middle class.China still champions state-led, ratherthan market-led, capitalism. And ittakes advantage of the WTO, usingnontariff barriers and industrial poli-cy, to push mercantilist policies.

President Donald Trump's prospec-tive tariffs on steel and aluminumhave put renewed focus on Chinatrade, although the tariffs are a comi-cally inept misfire if their true targetis China. The rubric for the leviescould be: "How to lose a trade warwith China in one easy step."

The tariffs don't really affect China,from which we import only about 3percent of our steel. Meanwhile, theysend the message that the U.S. gov-ernment is lurching toward protec-tionism, and alienate our allies. A bet-ter approach begins with acknowl-edging that China is a unique prob-lem. For all of Trump's complaints,Mexico isn't pursuing a well-honedstrategic agenda of exploiting the

global trade system while it under-takes an aggressive neoimperialistforeign policy. Only China is doingthat.

China isn't the first developingcountry to adopt a policy of maximiz-ing exports. What makes it differentis its sheer ambition and its size,which gives it leverage over foreigncompanies and considerable interna-tional influence.

What's the harm to the U.S.? Thereis no doubt that China's practiceshave harmed U.S. manufacturing.Yes, technology accounts for a largeshare of job losses. Yes, lower-endmanufacturing would have left ourshores regardless. But Beijing worksto block higher-value-added exportsfrom the U.S. and is pursuing a com-prehensive strategy to dominate inadvanced industries.

By no means should we emulateChina. We should continue to pursuefree trade as a policy, not as a theolo-

gy that prevents us from acknowledg-ing that there is such a thing as unfairtrade.

The ITIF report urges using theglobal free-trade regime againstChina. That means bringing moreactions against China in the WTOand working to update the rules tocapture Chinese cheating. It meansjoining, and influencing, a multilater-al agreement like the Trans-PacificPartnership. It means forging bilateralagreements with up-to-date standardsthat reinforce principles that Chinaundermines.

We obviously can't do this alone.We'd have to lead an alliance of inter-national partners to pressure China onspecific practices, with tailored con-sequences if we get nowhere.

Such a broad-based effort to crackChina's mercantilism wouldn't be pro-tectionist, but the opposite. There isobviously no chance of doing this,though, if we are engaged in anabsurd cycle of tit-for-tat tariffs withthe likes of the EU.

Trump can have emotionally satis-fying tariffs to scratch his protection-ist itch, or he can have a strategy tomuster an alliance of truly free-tradepartners to pressure China. He can'thave both -- and you can be sureChina knows which option it prefers.

Rich Lowry is editor of theNational Review.

Why China Trade Has Been A Bust

Summer time in the mountains ofSouthwest Virginia means many differ-ent things to people. To PulaskiCounty residents and the Claytor LakeState Park it means it's time for a cele-bration. And that is exactly what willhappen on Saturday, June 9th, whenClaytor Lake State Park will explodewith vendors, musicians, arts and crafts,antique fire trucks, cars, fishing, fire-works and just plain fun.

The Festival is planned by theClaytor Lake Festival Committee apartnership between Pulaski County,the Claytor Lake State Park and theClaytor Lake State Park Ambassadors.The Committee members include JudyIson, Festival Chair, Steve & VickieMorris, Rebecca Yearout, Debbie &Eddie Quesenberry, Anthony Akers,Karl Ehishlager, Gary Eifried and ChrisDoss, Claytor Lake State ParkManager. The event also, has numer-ous volunteers assisting throughout theday. The festival also receives assis-tance from the Friends of Claytor Lake.The committee thanks all our sponsorsfor helping make the festival possible.

Starting things off this year will bethe Everett Lee Yearout, Jr. Adult/YouthFishing Tournament and Essay Contest,registration begins at 7 a.m. Awards are

in the afternoon. At 9:45 a.m., anantique fire truck drive in by OldDominion Historical Fire Society willcharm young and old. The Annual Car& Motorcycle Show will be exhibitedfrom 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. to showoff the best of the old and new. Radiocontrolled airplanes will be putting onan array of tricks and stunts over thelake.

Arts and crafts vendors will be avail-able throughout the festival show cas-ing, handmade goods, books, a winetasting featuring Virginia Wineries.Claytor Lake Sailing Association willbe on hand encouraging sailing.Flotilla 83, New River Valley's CoastGuard Auxiliary unit will have searchand rescue demonstrations throughoutthe day. The Claytor Lake State ParkAmbassadors are adding to the day'sfestivities with a Boat Parade.

Children's activities throughout theday in various locations these activitieswill give young ones a great day of fun,while surely pleasing mom & dadwhile they relax and listen to thesounds of Beach Music from Up TownTrio and the Part Time Party TimeBands. The Southern Nights band pro-vides sound for the day then takes thestage at 8:00 p.m. playing southern

rock until the fireworks. They willreturn to the stage after the fireworks.The Wohlfahrt Haus Dinner Theatreperforms will kick off the entertainmentat 11:45 am. The day ends with aspectacular fireworks display at dusk.

The festival begins at 10:00 a.m. andends with fireworks at dusk.Entertainment begins at 11:00 am andwill continue until the fireworks andentertainment resumes for about 1 hourafter the fireworks.

Entry to the Festival is free, howeverthere is a $10 parking fee or you maypay $5 and bring 5 cans of food. Thefood is collected by Boy Scout Troup249 and stays locally. A free shuttleservice is available from Wal-Mart inDublin with two pickups one at 6:00PM and at 7:00 PM. The shuttlereturns to Wal-Mart after the fireworks.

The Festival Committee suggests youcome early, stay late and enjoy a greatday at Claytor Lake State Park. Wehope you have a wonderful day at thisyear's festival.

For additional information you maycall 540-643-2500 or email the ClaytorLake Festival Committee at [email protected].

Claytor Lake Festival Committee

A Message From TheClaytor Lake Festival Committee

Saying goodbyeto the old Tax Code

Disclaimer: The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act took effect atthe beginning of 2018, so for your 2017 income taxesdue this April, you will still pay according to the oldtax code and its higher rates. But most should see big-ger paychecks this year because the FederalGovernment will withhold less for 2018 taxes. Readon to learn more.

In the months since President Trump signed the TaxCuts and Jobs Act into law, many Americans havealready enjoyed its benefits. They have noticed thatUncle Sam takes less out of their paychecks, compa-nies are investing here in the United States rather thanoverseas, and bonuses are being awarded.

Still, some people are worried they have been leftbehind by tax reform. I think many of these concernsare the result of misconceptions about the tax law.

For example, in their first paychecks of the year,some Americansdid not notice adifference in theamount theFederalGovernment with-held for incometax. But not allemployers updat-ed their withhold-ing in time for

these first paychecks. Later paychecks should reflectmore accurately withholdings under the new tax code.

Reforming the tax code meant many deductionswere reduced or eliminated to compensate for lowerrates. It's fair for people who have long used some ofthese deductions to wonder if their tax bills would rise.But the standard deduction was roughly doubled,meaning many would still benefit overall from taxreform.

Although many deductions were reduced or elimi-nated in order to streamline the tax code, families cantake advantage of an expanded Child Tax Credit, andboth the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit and theAdoption Tax Credit are preserved.

Even the deduction for state and local taxes isretained. This deduction continues for up to $10,000 intaxes paid in state and local taxes in any given year, sofew Southwest Virginians will be negatively affectedby this change. There have been a lot of complaintsabout scaling down this deduction, but they come fromhigh earners in high-tax states and high-tax areas likeNew York City and San Francisco.

Major, well-known companies have announced theirplans to hire and invest thanks to tax reform, but taxreform also has plenty to offer small businesses. Forthose organized as S corporations, partnerships, LLC,and sole proprietorships, 20% can be deducted fromthe first $315,000 of joint income. For income abovethis level, these businesses generally can deduct up to20% on business profits. These provisions are writtenspecifically to apply to small businesses.

Further, buying equipment can be a major expensefor small businesses, so tax reform will allow them toimmediately write off the full cost of new equipment.

In part because of these improvements to the taxcode, most small business owners feel good abouttheir economic future. According to a February surveyby the National Federation of Independent Business,optimism among small business owners is at recordhigh numbers, and these owners are ready to expresstheir confidence by spending more on wages andgrowing their operations.

One criticism that I think is fair concerns paying2017 income taxes. The code went into effect this year,meaning last year's income will be taxed according tothe old tax code; therefore, the improvements in thetax code won't be reflected in the return you file inApril 2018. I believed it would have been better toapply some of the new tax code retroactively to 2017.This provision was not included in the final billbecause many believed it would "cost" the governmenttoo much of your money.

Our aim in tax reform was creating a system thatwould benefit as many Americans as possible.Unfortunately, it's impossible to create a perfect code.Each person's unique circumstances will determinewhether and to what extent he or she benefits from taxreform.

Nevertheless, I believe the overall effects of taxreform will benefit Americans across the board. Morepeople will have money to spend or save as they seefit. More workers are receiving higher wages andbonuses. More companies are choosing to invest inAmerica.

Tax reform is helping to bring prosperity to MainStreet. That's good news for everyone in our country.To learn more about the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, visitfairandsimple.gop.

If you have questions, concerns, or comments, feelfree to contact my office. You can call my Abingdonoffice at 276-525-1405 or my Christiansburg office at540-381-5671. To reach my office via email, pleasevisit my website at www.morgangriffith.house.gov.Also on my website is the latest material from myoffice, including information on votes recently takenon the floor of the House of Representatives.

Morgan

Griffith

9th DistrictRepresentative

Open Forum


Va. Tech to mark 2018 Day of RemembranceFrom Virginia Tech

To honor the 32 students andfaculty members who lost theirlives 11 years ago, Virginia Techwill hold the 2018 Day ofRemembrance and the 3.2-MileRun in Remembrance.

The Day of Remembrance, tobe held on Monday, April 16, willinclude tributes, exhibits, andopportunities for quiet reflection.

The 3.2-Mile Run inRemembrance in Blacksburg willbe held on Saturday, April 14.The run will begin at 9 a.m. onthe Drillfield following a moment

of silence. Registration is nowopen at the Recreational Sportswebsite.

Also on April 14, the universitywill hold an interfaith service atWar Memorial Chapel that isopen to the public. Seating willbegin at 1:30 p.m. for the 2 p.m.event. No late entries will be per-mitted once the service begins.

The Day of Remembrance willbegin at midnight on April 16with the ceremonial candle light-ing at the April 16 Memoriallocated in front of Burruss Hall.The names of the 32 individualswho lost their lives on April 16,2007, will be read out loud tohonor and remember their vibrantlives. Members of the VirginiaTech Corps of Cadets will standguard for the first 32 minutes ofthe day and the candle willremain lit throughout the day.

At 9:43 a.m., wreaths will belaid at the April 16 Memorial andwill be followed by a campus-wide moment of silence.

The 2018 Day of

Remembrance will concludewhen the ceremonial candle isextinguished at 11:59 p.m. Corpsmembers will stand in watch for32 minutes prior to the extin-guishing, and once the candle isextinguished, a light will be car-ried back into Burruss Hall, rep-resenting the university's commit-ment to never forget.

Expressions of condolencereceived by the university in theweeks that followed the tragedywill be on display on the firstfloor of Newman Library. Thedisplay, organized by the Officeof Special Collections, willinclude a large book of letterssent by faculty and students fromMarjory Stoneman Douglas HighSchool in 2007.

Because several other universi-ty events will be held on April 14in addition to the 3.2 Mile Run inRemembrance, including BlackAlumni Weekend, FamilyWeekend, the spring football

Participants in the 2017 3.2-Mile Run in Remembrancevisit the April 16 Memorialafter completing the run. Thisyear's run will be held onSaturday, April 14.

Virginia Tech photo

HealthContinued from page A3

comes."Hicks and his team at the

Virginia Department of Healthuse the statistics from theRobert Wood JohnsonFoundation to start conversa-tions about communities' healthneeds and to work with resi-dents to best utilize resources.

"We require each of the localhealth directors to be involvedin doing a community healthassessment," Hicks said."Resources are always limitedso the assessment results in aranking by the stakeholders [inthe community] of what theywould like to see addressed."

In Petersburg, the communityhealth assessments have led toefforts to reduce teen pregnan-cy. In 2011, the city's teen preg-nancy rate was 101 pregnanciesper 1,000 females ages 15-19.According to the most recentreport, the rate has dropped to87 pregnancies per 1,000females in that age category.

However, not every locality isshowing progress. In 2016,Hopewell was ranked 118th in

Virginia. But in the most recentreport, Hopewell dropped to126th among the state's 133counties and cities. Among thefactors: Thirty percent ofHopewell residents live inpoverty, and more than half ofthe children there live in single-parent households.

"You'll find those [inequities]all over the place," said ChrisGordon, chief of staff for com-munity and health services."Even if you look at the high-ranking countries like Loudounand Fairfax, you're going to finddisparities in equity."

Seven percent of people liv-ing in Fairfax are in poverty.While that is a small percent-age, more than 1 million peoplelive in Fairfax - and so nearly80,000 of them are living inpoverty.

Hicks said he hopes the datawill lead to improvement inhealth across the state. "That isreally the goal - to give peoplethe opportunity to live in ahealthy community."

See TECH, page A7


Wilderness RoadRegional MuseumOpen For 2018 Season

The Wilderness Road Regional Museumin Newbern has reopened for the 2018Season. Samantha Scott will be one of thevolunteers who greet visitors and providehistorical interpretation about the earlydays of Pulaski County. The museum isopen Tuesday - Saturday, 10:30-4:30, andadmission is free.

game, and the opening and dedi-cation of the new English Field atUnion Park, a special websitewith parking and transportationinformation has been created tohelp those attending any of theseevents. Please visit that websitefor the latest information onparking, road closures, and otherrelated information.

Event logistics for the 2018Day of Remembrance are being

managed by an implementationcommittee composed of universi-ty employees from departmentsacross campus and coordinatedby the Office of AlumniRelations.

Many Virginia Tech alumnichapters will host events or runsin their areas. Information will beposted on the WeRememberwebsite as details areconfirmed.

TechContinued from page A6

Pulaski P.D.announces ‘ColorMe Cameron’street closures

On Saturday April 7, 2018, from approximately 7:30 am till 12:00pm, part of Downtown Pulaski, including a section of Dora Hwy willbe closed to through traffic.

The streets are being closed in support of the "Color Me Cameron5K run and walk".

The color run is a celebration of Cameron Fitzwater's life that trag-ically ended in a single vehicle accident on Interstate 81 in PulaskiCounty, two months shy of his high school graduation.

All proceeds generated from the color run will benefit "TheCameron Fitzwater Memorial Scholarship Fund".

You can find out more about the event and register atwww.active.com Color Me Cameron.

The following streets will be closed during the event;•South Jefferson Ave. from 1st St. South West. to West Main St.•West Main St. at North Jefferson Ave. to East Main St. and

Duncan Ave.•A portion of North Madison Ave. from East Main St. to 5th St.

North East•North Washington Ave. at 3rd St. North East to South Washington

Ave. at 1st St. South West•Dora Hwy from South Washington Ave. to Birch St.•Commerce St. between South Washington Ave. to Valley Rd.•1st St North West to 1st St North East to Duncan AveWest bound traffic on Dora Hwy at Birch St. will be detoured onto

Birch St. to Russell St. to 5th Street South East to South WashingtonAve. South bound traffic on South Washington Ave. will be detouredonto 1st St. South West to South Jefferson Ave to 2nd St. South Westto Valley Rd. to Randolph Ave. All streets will re-open as soon as theevent is concluded.

Please consider this event while planning your Saturday schedule.

Martin’s, LewisGale,Webb Donald honoredby school board, VSBA

Martin’s Pharmacy,LewisGale Hospital - Pulaski,Webb Donald State Farm wererecognized by the PulaskiCounty School Board duringtheir March meeting.

As noted by SchoolSuperintendent Dr. Kevin Siers,local busi-nesses havethe power toshape com-munity atti-tudes aboutp u b l i cschools, andthe VSBAB u s i n e s sHonor Rollis a way forlocal schooldivisions to recognize local busi-nesses for their support, especial-ly as schools face increasingbudget uncertainty.

The Business Honor Rollhelps divisions say "thank you"for their vital contributions, henoted.

Businesses large and small,corporate-owned or family-run,play a key role in supporting ourcommunities and local schools.They contribute to our schooldivisions in many ways, includ-ing helping schools with in-kindor financial contributions, donat-

ing to scholarship programs, sup-porting extracurricular activities,offering internship opportunities,volunteering in the schools, andsponsoring field trips. This typeof support is invaluable.

Later this year, VSBA willpublish the Business Honor Roll

in the asso-c i a t i o nnewsletterand issue an e w sr e l e a s eabout thoseh o n o r e dthrough thisprogram.

V S B Awill mailp e r s o n a l -

ized recognition certificates andletters of congratulations foreach business to division super-intendents in time for boards topresent to them at May schoolboard meetings.

Martin's Pharmacy was themajor business sponsor of PCHSbasketball this year.

Lewis Gale - Pulaski Hospitalfor their athletic training pro-gram, free sports physicals, etc.

Webb Donald, State Farmagent is a regular contributor toCamp Cougar and other schoolactivities.


Claire Davidson (daughter of Ben and Lora Davidson) was a par-ticipant in the Winter Reading Program. She is pictured here atthe Dublin library.

Sixty local children completedthe Pulaski County LibrarySystem's Winter ReadingProgram.

The goal of the annual month-long program is to encourage alove of reading in young chil-dren, especially those from birthto age 5, and to help parents andcaregivers assist in their readingdevelopment.

Completion of the programinvolved reading at least 25books throughout February, or,completing 25 early literacy-themed activities. Those whocompleted the program receiveda certificate, a book and acoupon for a free doughnut,thanks to the generosity ofOlykoek Shoppe in Dublin.

Participants who completedthe program include:

60 Local childrencomplete countylibrary’s WinterReading Program

Cadence Crouch Ava ThompsonIsabella ThompsonLiam McGregorDavis McGregorAva CashNile CashEmersen Bentley

Students in Tiffany Riggins'class in the Head Start programlocated at New RiverCommunity College participatedand completed the programtogether at school. Participantsfrom that class included:

Analeigh HagaAviana SheetsAudrey Mitchell Alexzander PayneAntonio HendricksCayden SnowHunter PerkinsJustice Steele Liam WilsonLillian GibbsLogan McCroskeyPeyton DuncanRyan ChafinRylee MingSerenity JonesTennyson Arkeketa

In addition to the WinterReading Program, the countylibrary system offers programsand special events year-roundfor all ages, including theSummer Reading Program,weekly library story times, bookclubs for adults and more. Tofind out more information aboutupcoming library events, visitwww.pclibs.org or find PulaskiCounty Library System onFacebook. To learn more aboutprograms specifically for chil-dren and teens, contact JenaCoalson, Youth ServicesLibrarian, at 994-2458 or [email protected].

McKinna MillsSasha PhillipsHarley TrailHunter CaldwellHannah CaldwellCameron WilsonMaya WilsonNatalee McMillanMadyson McMillanAdaline PhillipsSebastian PhillipsDara Bucey-CardLevi WaddellCooper PhillipsJames Whitener Colby FarissAnnabelle FarissCora KenleyRylee MingAlex AlleyClara AlleyMerryn ParkerLily CullipAddy CullipHarper CullipCora StephensAvery ThompsonLondon GrahamTyson VaughnTristan VaughnGabrielle Gilbert Angel BowersSamuel TaylorClaire DavidsonRuth DavidsonCamdyn Crouch

On March 14, 2018, at approximately 8:24 AM,the Pulaski Police Department responded to thearea of the 100 block of South Washington Ave. inreference to an assault.

Upon arrival, officers encountered the victimwho had sustained injuries, but was able to give astatement, before being transported to the hospitalby EMS.

The suspect was allegedly driving while heassaulted the victim, a passenger in the vehicle, andthen eventually forced the victim out of the vehicle

while it was still in transport.

Jacob Dale Hurst, 21, of Pulaski, was chargedwith the following crimes: abduction, attemptedmalicious wounding, grand larceny, and assault andbattery.

Hurst was located shortly after the event, andtransported to the New River Valley Regional Jail.

By authority of Officer M.R. Jennings

Pulaski man charged withabduction, other crimes following March 14 incident


God’s PromiseThe rainbow reminds us of God’s promise that he will nevere destroy the world again with water. In these photos, taken by Gene Moles ofPulaski, the end of the rainbow rests on the steeple of First Christian Church on Jefferson Avenue.

By SCOTT MALONECapital News Service

RICHMOND - It will be easierfor Virginians who drop out ofhigh school at 16 or 17 to earntheir high school equivalencydiploma if Gov. Ralph Northamsigns a bill approved by theGeneral Assembly by April 9.

House Bill 803, sponsored byDel. Israel O'Quinn, R-Washington, would reduce from18 to 16 the age for taking theGeneral Educational Developmenttests. Supporters say the measurecould save some teenagers timeand money in pursuing a GEDdiploma.

"There's been young peoplewho have dropped out of school inour region at 16 or 17, and they'verealized, 'Hey, shouldn't have donethat. I'd like to get my high schooldiploma so I can go to work,' andthey've had to wait until they were18," said Jacob Holmes, O'Quinn'slegislative director.

"It kind of put them off for ayear or two. [O' Quinn] was tryingto find an avenue to allow those

kids who've made that mistake toget back on the right track."

Under current law, a GED cer-tificate is available only to:

•Adults who did not completehigh school

•Students granted permission bytheir division superintendent

•Students who are home-schooled and have completedhome-school instruction

•Students released from com-pulsory attendance for religious orhealth reasons

•People required by court orderto participate in the testing pro-gram

According to existing law,Virginians as young as 16 can earna GED diploma if they are housedin adult correctional facilities orhave been expelled from schoolfor certain reasons.

If granted permission by theirdivision superintendent, studentsmust complete an IndividualStudent Alternative EducationPlan before they are allowed totake the GED tests.

According to Charles Pyle,director of communications for the

Virginia Department of Education,to complete an alternative educa-tion plan, a student must:

•Receive career counseling•Attend a high school equiva-

lency preparation program•Earn a Career and Technical

Education credential as approvedby the Virginia Board ofEducation

•Complete a course in econom-ics and personal finance

•Receive counseling on thepotential economic impact of fail-ing to complete high school alongwith procedures for re-enrollment

HB 803 would allow an indi-vidual who is at least 16 years oldto take the GED exam withouthaving to complete an alternativeeducation plan.

However, the legislation doesnot mean students can quit highschool the day they turn 16. It"does not amend the common-wealth's compulsory educationstatute, which requires attendancein school up until the 18th birthdayand describes the circumstancesunder which a person under theage of 18 can be excused from

attending school," Pyle said.Holmes added that O'Quinn

"was not intending to have anincentive for people to drop out ofhigh school."

O'Quinn's bill passed both theHouse and Senate unanimously.

New law lowers GED age requirement

Griffithannounces2018 artcompetition

Congressman Morgan Griffith(R-VA) issued the followingstatement announcing the begin-ning of the 2018 CongressionalArt Competition in the NinthDistrict:

"Each year, the U.S. House ofRepresentatives sponsors theCongressional Art Competitionfor high school students. It's agreat opportunity to see theartistic talents of SouthwestVirginia students, one of whomwill have his or her work select-ed for display in the Capitol.Last year, Isaiah Melozzi ofSalem High School won thecompetition with his work'Roaring Run.'

"The theme for this year'scontest is 'Mountains, Music,and Mystery of the NinthDistrict.' I look forward to see-ing how the young artists of theNinth will use their talents inexploration of this theme."

Interested students must sub-mit a photograph of their origi-nal artwork to either theChristiansburg or Abingdon dis-trict office by 5 p.m. on Friday,April 20 for consideration. Eachentry must be accompanied by acompleted student informationrelease form, which is availableby contacting a Ninth Districtoffice or visiting www.morgan-griffith.house.gov.

For more information visitwww.morgangriffith.house.gov.


Tips For Effective BibleTeaching And Preaching

Dublin Church ofGod of Prophecy

100 South Main St., DublinServices:

Sunday School, 10 a.m.Morning Worship, 11 a.m.

Sunday night, 6 p.m.Pastor Rickey Freeman and wife Rose

invites everyone to attend.Phone 750-6533

Part 25. Study God's word in the

Spirit:When developing a bible mes-

sage, we should study in theSpirit. For only in the Spirit, arewe able to discern spiritualthings. Preparing a bible lesson orsermon is a spiritual endeavor. Ifthe lesson or sermon is preparedin the Spirit, there'll be no troublein delivering it in the Spirit.

6. Seek Help from Others:Certain passages of scripture

can be difficult to understand orexplain in laymen's terms. Mostbible teachers and preachersknow other Christians who arebible literate and who may haveeven taught or preached on thesame scripture being laboredover. We can draw from theirknowledge. We should never betoo ashamed or too proud to askfor assistance from others whomwe know to be qualified and fullof godly wisdom.

A peaceful discussion betweenbible teachers and preachers canbe very helpful. I stress the word,peaceful. We should never arguethe bible. We can discuss itpeacefully, but we should neverargue over it.

7. Temper each message withlove:

Even a hard message will usu-

ally be received and welcomed ifit is delivered with love. Thosewho teach or preach the word ofGod effectively are those whoexhibit love for those in the audi-ence. Teachers and preachersmust teach or preach to the stu-dents and not at them. Withoutlove, we become as soundingbrass and tinkling cymbal. Wemust love those we are teachingor preaching to, if we want ourmessage to be received.

To love to teach or preach isgood. However, it's not enough,for one could love to teach orpreach for the wrong reasons.Perhaps they want to be the cen-ter of attention. Perhaps theywant to teach or preach for otherselfish reasons. Effective bibleteachers and preachers love thepeople to whom they are speak-ing.

8. Study the word of God:We should study the text until

we know it well enough to teachor preach on it competently. Wecan't teach or preach a messageproperly, unless we are first thor-oughly familiar with it ourselves.Ezra was such a man. "For Ezrahad prepared his heart to seek thelaw of the LORD, and to do it,and to teach in Israel statutes andjudgments." (Ezra 7:10)

Nothing is more evident, bor-

ing and disappointing than listen-ing to someone speak who does-n't know what he or she is talkingabout.

9. Preparation:Every bible lesson or sermon

should be well prepared inadvance of the presentation.

Preparation helps the teacher orpreacher to stay on the subject. Ithelps them to declare spiritualpoint after spiritual point thatrelates to the text. Anyone whogoes in front of a group to delivera message, should have it wellthought out, planned, organized,and be familiar enough with it tobe able to present it without stum-bling over their words.

10. Keep It Short:Less is more when teaching or

preaching the bible. One of themost interesting preachers I haveever set under, only preached for20 to 25 minutes.

Shorten the text if it is too long,because if the text is lengthy, ittakes more time to deliver it.Bible teachers and preachers, likegospel singers, should alwaysleave the audience wanting tohear more, rather than their beingglad they finally finished.

11. Major Goals:Every bible lesson or sermon

should bring God glory and

See MCCRAW, page A7

Attend The Church Of

Your Choice This Sunday


encourage believers. Any message thatdoesn't do this, is not worth two cents.We must always lift up the Name ofJesus in every bible lesson or sermon.

Every bible lesson or sermon shouldalso include an evangelistic outreach.Even born again believers love to hearabout the power of God to save. If therehappens to be un-regenerated souls in theaudience, it would be a missed opportu-nity not to show them that they need tobe saved and how to be saved. When sin-ners come to Church, they don't want tobe pressured to come to the altar. Thetruth is, we don't have to pressure anyoneto come and be saved, for if and whenthe Holy Spirit gets a hold of their hearts,and convicts them of their sins, they willcome without having to be pressured todo so. Our calling is to plant the seed ofthe word of God, water the seed, andGod will give the increase.

12. Prayer:Effective bible teachers and preachers

must pray for God's help in developing

and presenting the lesson. We must prayfor God's will to be done during the les-son or sermon. We must pray for theanointing. We must pray for the peoplewho will be in the audience that theirhearts will be touched by the message.

Much could and should be said aboutthe awesome power of prayer. Teachersand preachers of the bible must be pray-ing people, if they want and expect theirmessages to be powerful, effective, andblessed of God.

No bible lesson or sermon is ready tobe taught or preached until it has beenprayed over. Prayer should be a vitalpart of the preparation.

McCrawContinued from page A10

Community Good Friday services setfor March 30th. Residents of PulaskiCounty are invited to worship togetheron Good Friday at First PresbyterianChurch at noon and at the Little Theater,Pulaski County High School, at 7 p.m.First Presbyterian Church is located onNorth Jefferson Avenue in Pulaski. Forinfo call Terrie Sternberg at 980-3624.

Community GoodFriday service


employers located there and inWashington, said HamiltonLombard, research specialist atthe University of Virginia'sWeldon Cooper Center for PublicService, which worked with theU.S. Census Bureau on the popu-lation estimates.

"A lot of that is still commutersto D.C., but you have big jobcenters now in Northern Virginiaby itself," Lombard said. "Fairfaxhas more people in it than D.C.does."

Since the census in April 2010,the population of Fairfax Countyhas grown more than 6 percent,to almost 1.15 million, theCensus Bureau's estimates show.The District of Columbia hasabout 694,000 residents; howev-er, its population has increasedmore than 15 percent since 2010.

Like the nation's capital,Virginia's state capital has shownrobust growth after decades ofpopulation decline.

Since 2010, the population ofthe city of Richmond hasincreased more than 11 percent -more than the suburban countiesof Chesterfield (less than 9) per-cent, Henrico (almost 7 percent)and Hanover (6 percent).

Lombard said Richmond'sturnaround reflects a nationaltrend of more investment incities.

"It had a higher vacancy rate, alot of empty homes - it was los-ing population for decades,"Lombard said. "You get aroundto the time of the housing crisis,and a lot of people couldn't buy;they had to rent. That also madeRichmond more attractive,because they had more rentals.It's quite remarkable how it'sturned around and started grow-ing."

Lombard attributed part of thegrowth to the redevelopment ofhistoric properties.

"Virginia has a very generoustax credit system that encouragesredeveloping historical build-ings," Lombard said. "That's cre-ated a lot of new residential unitsand really pristine historic areas."

Of Virginia's 133 counties andcities, 78 gained population overthe past year - and 71 have moreresidents now than in 2010.Fifteen localities have grown bymore than 10 percent since 2010- including Fredericksburg (17percent), Prince William County(15 percent), James City County(12 percent) and Charlottesville(11 percent).

In contrast, 62 of Virginia'slocalities - mostly in the southand southwestern regions of thestate - have seen a decrease inresidents since 2010. The popula-tion has fallen about 9 percent inBath and Tazewell counties andalmost 11 percent in BuchananCounty and the city of Emporia.

August Wallmeyer, author of

"The Extremes of Virginia,"which focuses on the economicdevelopment of the state's ruralareas, said there are many rea-sons for the population decrease,such as a lack of economicopportunity and a decline in "lowtech" industries such as coal min-ing, tobacco farming and textilemanufacturing.

"The principal reasons are lackof jobs and economic opportuni-ty," Wallmeyer said. "The jobspart, I think, is related primarilydue to the poor public educationsystem that has not prepared peo-ple in these areas for modern-day, information-centered, tech-nological-type careers."

Wallmeyer said younger peo-ple are fleeing these areas due towhat he sees as poor public edu-cation systems that lag far behindthe schools in the wealthier areasof the state.

"I quoted in my book the chan-cellor of Virginia's communitycollege system as saying that ifyou looked at the poorer areas ofthe state, and considered thoseareas as a state by themselves, interms of educational attainment,they would be dead last in thenation," Wallmeyer said, "whilethe rest of Virginia - the urbanquarter, the wealthier part ofVirginia - would rank No. 2 in thenation."

Wallmeyer said efforts by fed-eral and state governments andregional coalitions to improvethe economy in these poorer,rural areas have been largelyunsuccessful.

"There are some people I havetalked to in my research, some

public officials, who say, onlyhalf-jokingly, 'In my little county,the last person to leave, pleasecut off the lights, because there'snothing left,'" Wallmeyer said.

According to the latest datafrom the Census Bureau, Virginiaremains the 12th most populousstate with about 8.47 million res-idents. That is an increase of lessthan 6 percent since 2010 andless than 1 percent over the pastyear - about the same as the U.S.

as a whole.Lombard said one big take-

away from the new data is howmuch slower Virginia has grownthis decade.

"We're getting close to eightand a half million, but the growthrate we're hitting annually is real-ly the lowest it's been sincebefore the Great Depression,"Lombard said. "The country'spopulation has been graduallyslowing down a little bit just

because of the population aging,but Virginia has slowed down alot more quickly than the rest ofthe country."

As for predictions, Lombardexpects more people will be liv-ing in Northern Virginia.

"By our projection, by 2040,half of Virginia's populationshould live in Fredericksburg, ornorth of it," Lombard said.

CensusContinued from page A1

Pulaski Co.down 1.9%;Radford City up 7.7%Staff Report

According to informationreleased recently by the U.S.Census Bureau, PulaskiCounty's estimated populationfor 2017 shows a 1.9 percentdecline from 2010.

The county's population,according to the last census in2010, stood at 34,859. The2017 estimated population is34,184 - 675 fewer people.

Pulaski County is one of fourlocalities in the greater NewRiver Valley that is estimatedto have seen populationdeclines since 2010.

Census estimates showCarroll County with a 1.2 per-cent decline in 2017, alongwith Giles County (2.6 percent)and Wythe County (1.2 per-cent).

Increases in estimated 2017populations were seen inMontgomery and Floyd coun-ties and Radford City.

Estimates for Radford showthe highest increase at 7.7 per-cent, followed by a 4.4 percentincrease in MontgomeryCounty and a 3 percent hike inFloyd County.

SPORTSwww.pcpatriot.com The Patriot • Friday, March 23, 2018 • Page B1

Just the wayyou picked ‘em

Just when you thought thiswas the year Kentucky wouldnot be a factor the bracket col-lapses. There are always upsetsin the first round, but never inmy memory has an NCAABasketball Tournament seen thelikes of this one.

Go ahead and tell me youthought Kansas State, the 6thplace team in the Big 12 withoutits best player, Syracuse, whomost felt didn't deserve a bid tothe tournament and probablydidn't, Loyola-Chicago, FSU,Clemson, and Nevada would bein the "Sweet 16,'' and by theway, Virginia, Arizona,Tennessee, Xavier, Cincinnati,Ohio State, Carolina, MichiganState, Wichita State, and Miamiwould all be out and most ofthem with loud thumps. Tell meyou expected all that.

In addition to the six men-tioned above, the final 16 teamsalso include Michigan (by virtueof a half court buzzer shot),Texas Tech, the best teamnobody knows anything about,Purdue without its 7-foot center,Texas A&M, after sufferingseven different player suspen-sions during the season, Duke,the most talented team as usual,Gonzaga who could have easilygone home twice already, WestVirginia, Kansas, and to date avery impressive Villanova team.

But consider this. Kentuckywas the 5th seed in the Southbracket. The 1-2-3-4 teams areall gone. UVa suffered theembarrassment of being the firstever top seed to fall to a 16thseed, and it wasn't just that, theCavaliers were the number onetop seed, the top seeded team inthe entire tournament whichmeans they lost to the lowestpossible seed, Loyola-Chicago,and did it by 20. I'll give CoachTony Bennett credit. He told itlike it was. He was embarrassed,his team got whipped by a lesserfoe, and he said so. You cannothide from what happened. Ownit. By the way, Maryland-Baltimore County lost duringthe season by 44 points to

Albany, and were beaten badlytwice by Vermont.

But now you have Kentucky,not that highly regarded at all,did not win a mediocre SEC,and all the Wildcats have to doto reach the Final Four is beat atalent challenged K-State team,and the winner between Loyolaand Nevada!

But this brings back memo-ries for me. First of all I love"Sister Jean,'' the 98-year oldlady who is the chaplain for theLoyola team. What a wonderfullady who still keeps stats andhas a great relationship with theRambler players. Terrific!

But I remain a Loyola fan,just as I was 55 years ago in1963, watching the nationalchampionship on a black andwhite screen at my home inCaretta, West Virginia. I remem-ber it just like it was last week.Loyola was trying to pull off ashocking upset and I waspulling hard for the Ramblers.They had a great jump shootingwing player, a lefty, JerryHarkness. He was my favorite,next to Jerry West of course.

Loyola was playing the mon-ster team at that time,Cincinnati. The Bearcats haddefeated Ohio State, (JerryLucas, John Havlicek) the yearbefore and were going for twotitles in a row. These were theyears just after the great OscarRobertson. The Bearcats wereloaded with Ron Bonham andTom Thacker, both AllAmericans, but Loyola coun-tered with 5-9 point guardJohnny Egan who was quickand a slick player, and LesHunter and Vic Rouse were

Locker

Room

DanCallahan

See CALLAHAN, page B2

Robert Laberge/Getty Images

Martin Truex Jr., driver of the #78 Bass Pro Shops/5-hour ENERGY Toyota, celebrates with aburnout after winning the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Auto Club 400 at Auto ClubSpeedway on March 18, 2018 in Fontana, California.

‘Dominant’ Johnson lookingfor rebound at MartinsvilleFrom NASCAR

Jimmie Johnson was rankedfourth this week by ESPN TheMagazine on their list of sports'"Dominant 20" athletes of thelast two decades, which alsoincluded names like golf's TigerWoods, basketball's LebronJames and the football's PeytonManning. And when it comes tothis week's Martinsville (Va.)Speedway NASCAR venueJohnson has shown himself to beas absolutely dominant as itcomes.

With nine previous wins -including five in a six-racestretch - NASCAR's "paperclip"track, Johnson has led an amaz-ing 20.6 percent of all laps run atthe historic property. His 7.7average finish and 115.8 driverrating are easily tops among hiscompetition this weekend and heleads in six of the seven tradi-tional statistical categories at thetrack.

Rebounding from an unchar-acteristically slow start to theseason, Johnson had his first top-10 showing of the year last week-end at Auto Club Speedway -ninth place in the No. 48Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet- and no doubt has Martinsvillecircled on his calendar.

A win this weekend wouldmake Johnson only the thirddriver in Monster EnergyNASCAR Cup Series history tohave 10 or more wins at multipletracks (he has 11 at Dover) - join-ing NASCAR Hall of FamersRichard Petty and DarrellWaltrip. If Johnson can lead 138laps of Sunday's scheduled 500-lapper, he would top the 3,000laps led mark at Martinsville -one of only five drivers to haveled 3,000 laps or more at multi-ple tracks. He also has 3,000 lapsout front at Dover International

Speedway.

New GroundReigning Monster Energy

NASCAR Cup champion andcurrent points leader MartinTruex Jr. dominated the competi-tion to collect his first trophy ofthe season Sunday in California,snapping an 18-race winlessstreak at the track. But he faces asimilar winless barrier this week-end at tiny MartinsvilleSpeedway (Sunday, March 25 at2 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN andSiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Truex is still looking for hisfirst victory in his No. 78Furniture Row Racing Toyotaafter 24 races at Martinsville,

where he has only three top-fiveand eight top-10 finishes. Hestarted on the outside pole andfinished runner-up in his last racethere in November and has fourtotal top-seven finishes in his lastsix starts there.

Among the top 10 in the stand-ings, only Kyle Larson (73.4)and Aric Almirola (66.1) havelower driver ratings than Truex(76.6) at Martinsville.

Kyle Busch Looking for FirstWin of 2018

Joe Gibbs Racing driver KyleBusch has been oh-so-close to awin in 2018 - finishing runner-up

Next RaceMonster Energy NASCAR Cup Series

Next Race: STP 500The Place: Martinsville SpeedwayThe Date: Sunday, March 25The Time: 2 p.m. ET

TV: FS1, 2 p.m. ETRadio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

Distance: 263 miles(500 laps); Stage 1(Ends on Lap 130),Stage 2 (Ends on Lap260), Final Stage(Ends on Lap 500)

See NASCAR, page B3

Pulaski County High School’sgirls tennis team Monday nightbeat Carroll County, 8-1.

According to head coachBrandon Lawson, the individualscores looked like this:

In singles...#1 Madeleine Hyduke lost 6-8#2 Breanna Lytton won 8-3#3 Allyson Meek won 8-7

(10-3)#4 Sydney Covey won 8-3#5 Brooke Sutherland won 8-

2#6 Ella Hyduke won 8-2

In doubles...#1 Madeleine/Sydney won 8-

5#2 Ella H/Breanna L won 8-0#3 Allyson M./ Brooke S.

won 8-3

PCHS routsCarroll Co.in girls tennis, 8-1

Page B2 - The Patriot - Friday, March 23, 2018

strong inside. I really liked thatteam.

The Ramblers (I like thatname, my father's first car was aNash Rambler) got to overtimeon a Harkness jumper, and withtime running down in overtimeHarkness put up a runner thatrolled off, but Rouse reboundedand put it back in just before thebuzzer and Loyola won thenational championship.Wonderful story.

Who is Loyola? It is a smallprivate Jesuit college located justoff the waterfront outside ofChicago on the banks of theGreat Lakes. It plays in a newlyremodeled gym that seats 4,486fans if you extend all the bleach-ers. I love it, no monster cookiecutter stuff. Loyola is a memberof the Missouri ValleyConference, and its smallestschool. I think things like this arenifty. Why? Because Dukespends more money on shoe-strings that Loyola has in itsentire basketball budget.

And how is the field split up?The ACC has four teams leftalthough I bet you didn't pick thefour still around, Duke, Syracuse,Clemson, and Florida State. FSUis there because top seededXavier blew a 12-point secondhalf lead.

The Big 12 also has fourteams, Kansas, West Virginia, K-State, and Texas Tech. The Big10 has two, Michigan andPurdue. The Big East one, butVillanova is a good one to have,the Mountain West has one,Nevada because Cincy blew a21-point second half lead. Andthen we must not forget about theRamblers. Somebody totally offthe basketball map will make thefield of eight because Loyola andNevada are matched up. TheSEC has two teams, Kentuckyand surprising Texas A&M.Gonzaga is from the West CoastConference.

I will now do what I did not dolast week, pick a winner.Villanova who has a great pointguard that I feel should be playerof the year and outstanding wingplayers. And right now, they areshooting lights out. I think Novawins it for the second time inthree years. Two years ago theybeat Carolina on a buzzer jumper.

However, should 'Nova not bethe winner, which would meanthat just maybe West Virginiaknocked them off, and theMountaineers could be back inthe Final Four for the secondtime in five years. Now thatwould be a story I would love towrite. And regardless of whathappens, WVU will be a toughout. It plays too hard not to be,and Bob Huggins has a greatplayer on the point, and a greatplayer in the paint. That alwaysgives you a chance.

Saban:Politics has unfortunately got

its ugly face involved in sportsfar too much lately. It seems soci-ety today has to allow politics totaint almost everything, butAlabama head football coachNick Saban doesn't see it thatway. In April he will take hisnational championship CrimsonTide team to Washington to meetwith President Trump.

I bet he didn't ask anybody ifthey wanted to go or not, he toldthem they were going. Sabanruns a tight ship. I like it. Askabout the trip Saban simply

replied, "Our President offered usa chance to visit the White Houseso he could honor us for winningthe title. It would be stupid not togo.'' Well said.

What Would You Do?:A player is on scholarship. He

gets a free education, free food,free clothes, free medical care,tree travel, and a lot of otherstuff, plus he gets the opportunityto have a great experience. ThenUSC doesn't get a bid to theNCAA Tournament, but an invi-tation to the NIT. The player sayshe doesn't want to play becausehe doesn't want to take a chancegetting hurt in an NIT game thathe doesn't think it is very impor-tant.

So the Trojans play and therehe sits on the bench and if theteam wins he will accompanythem to New York for the NITsemis and final, but will not play.He's waiting on the NBA Draft.In short, he cares about himself,only himself.

What would you do? First ofall, like very many of today's ath-letes he very much overrateshimself. Would you continue tocater to his every need? Whatwould I do? I would tell him ifhe intended to remain in schoolhe would have to pay for the restof the semester. If not, he waswelcome to leave campus. Hewould no longer be on the team,and certainly not a part of any-thing. In short, he would be gone.Why? Because he said he nolonger wanted to play, and whenyou say that, all the freebiesshould be gone. The fact he stillsits on the bench is evidence ofstupidity in the supposed worldof "academia.''

I have tired of hearing howabused the college athlete istoday. They are not. What hashappened is that too many oftoday's college athletes don't careabout an education, and most ofthe time it discredits the academ-ic community at their school, butyou don't read about that. Youhear all the rhetoric about reeval-uating the system for the futureand how more can be done forthe athlete. I don't think anythingelse needs to be done for the ath-lete. My evaluation would be areturn to how it was done in1970, and if they don't like, gofind somebody else to play. Thereis no shortage in this country ofpeople who like to play gamesthat I'm aware of.

CallahanContinued from page B1

C.J. Burleson (right) of Pulaski, will face Demetrius Dye of Halifax for the TOC cruiserweightbelt.

‘Titans of the Cage’ comes toPulaski County High School

Live MMA action is coming toPulaski County H.S. in Dublin,VA Saturday, April 7th.

Doors will open at 5:00 P.M.and the fight card begins prompt-ly at 6:00 P.M. The fights arebeing sanctioned by the state ofVA and overseen by the UnitedCombat Arts sanctioning bodyand DPOR of Richmond, VA.

One of the headliners for theevent will be C.J. Burleson ofPulaski who will face DemetriusDye of Halifax for the TOCcruiserweight championship belt.Burleson was a standout footballplayer for the Pulaski Co.Cougars and will showcase hisMMA fighting skills inside theoctagon in the Co-Main event ofthe evening. Females will alsobe on the card as TiffaniUnderwood, also of Pulaski willtake on Anne Okes of Flat top,WV in a catch weight bout.Another local fighter, Jody Pylesof Radford will face Austin Coxof Lebanon in a middleweightbout.

In the Main Event of theevening it will be Antwon Curtisof Roanoke going to battle withChristian Bradberry ofKnoxville, TN (formerly ofWytheville) for the TOC mid-dleweight title. In an interestingtwist, teammates will face eachother when undefeated (10-0)Austin Cooper takes on his team-mate Micah Sheffey in a 160 lb.

super fight bout. Both Sheffeyand Cooper have reached the pin-nacle in the region. Both mentrain out of Ring-Combat Sportsin Wytheville. Having beentraining partners for over 5 yearsnow, both men are very familiarwith each other's style andSheffey looks to hand Cooper hisfirst loss, while Cooper hopes toremain undefeated.

The current TOC ban-tamweight champ, Ray RayHolston of Ring-Combat Sportsin Wytheville will put his title onthe line as he faces the talentedup and coming fighter, A.J.Sanchez out of Chicago, IL.Also, TOC lightweight champ,K.C. Cockran out of Hybrid mar-tial arts in Roanoke puts his belton the line against Dylan Smithof Elite Grappling out ofLebanon in another exciting titlefight. Jeromy Mitchell is the cur-rent bantamweight champion andrepresents Advantage MartialArts in Princeton, WV and hewill face Doug Williams of Ring-Combat Sports, of Wytheville ina much anticipated super fightbout. Closing out the title fightsit will be TOC welterweightchampion Joey DeSanto ofIndiana putting his title on theline against Brandon Williams ofGreensboro, NC.

This fight card is stacked heav-ily with great match-ups from topto bottom. Other local and

regional fighters who will beshowcasing their talents on thiscard will be; Jaylee Long(Wytheville) vs. Will Holtzclaw(Norfolk), Clay Anders(Wytheville) vs. Jake Lineberry(Hillsville), Christopher Spencer(Wytheville) vs. ChristopherOliver (Pulaski), Stacy Dalton(Austinville) vs. Robert Niday(Roanoke), Josh Cook (Halifax)vs. Daniel Parsons (Big StoneGap), Micah Dando (Knoxville,TN) vs. Zion Tomlinson(Roanoke), Dee Venable(Martinsville) vs. Jacob Coller(Greensboro, NC) and TylerCarrico (Wytheville) vs. CharlieConner (Halifax).

The event will also feature ateen expo kickboxing boutbetween Elijah Caviness ofHillsville and Addison Hendry ofGreensboro, NC. There will alsobe two of our crowd pleasingyouth grappling bouts. In thefirst youth bout featuring 4 yearolds, it will be Riley Grubb vs.Joey Larkin. Riley is the daugh-ter of Danielle Reeves ofWytheville and Joey is the son ofJoe and Ashley Larkin of RockyGap. In the next youth grapplingbout it will be 7 year olds, whenBrady Sark takes on DaltonWalters. Brady is the son ofGreg and Tonya Sark, whileDalton is the son of Wayne and

Live MMA action April 7

See CAGE, page B3

Tech moves to No. 7in LearfieldDirectors' Cupstandings

BLACKSBURG – In the firstset of winter Division I LearfieldDirectors’ Cup standingsannounced Thursday, VirginiaTech moved up to No. 7 in thenation behind strong winter per-formances from its indoor trackand field, wrestling andwomen’s swimming and divingteams.

Tech is the second-highestranked school hailing from theACC, with NC State coming inat No. 6. The Hokies haveracked up 430.50 points thus far,outdueling last year’s mark of364.50 at the winter update.

Last weekend at the NCAAWrestling Championships, theHokies finished eighth in theteam standings.

The Patriot - Friday, March 23, 2018 - Page B3

Denise Walters, all of FortChiswell. All four of the youthbout participants are members ofthe "tiny titans" martial arts pro-gram at Ring-Combat sports inWytheville.

The event is sponsored by andwill benefit the Pulaski CountyHigh School Fellowship ofChristian Athletes.

Ring girls for the event will beTiffany Barr of Abingdon andKeyona Miller of Roanoke.Advanced tickets are availableonline atwww.titansofthecage.com.

Tickets can also be purchasedfrom select fighters or at theearly weigh-ins event which will

be held on Friday, April 6th atItalian Garden Restaurant inWytheville from 5:00 to 8:00P.M.

Tickets will also be availableat the door of the event begin-ning at 5:00 P.M. on Saturday,April 7th. Titans of the Cagepromotions, is a family friendlyevent and we encourage the pub-lic to come out and bring theentire family for a great eveningof entertainment.

Don't miss any of the actionand be sure to search for us onfacebook at TOC Fights to keepup with all the MMA action,past, present and future.

CageContinued from page B2

Long time teammates will clash inside the cage when MicahSheffey (left) takes on Austin Cooper (right).

NASCARContinued from page B1

in consecutive races at Las Vegasand ISM Raceway and finishingthird last week at California'sAuto Club Speedway. Thisweek's season-opening shorttrack race may well be just whatthe doctor ordered.

The driver of the No. 18 JoeGibbs Racing Toyota has twowins and five consecutive top-five showings in the last fiveraces at Martinsville Speedway,including a victory the last timethe Monster Energy Series racedthere in November, 2017. He hastop-10 finishes in seven of thelast 10 races.

Denny Hopes to Deliver atHome

Denny Hamlin, who grew upin Chesterfield, Virginia, has cer-tainly turned his good home statevibes into a success story inMartinsville. His driver rating of105.8 is second only to thetrack's winningest active driver,Jimmie Johnson. Five ofHamlin's 31 career MonsterEnergy NASCAR Cup Serieswins have come there, includingfour in a seven-race spanbetween 2008-2010. His mark of18 top-10 finishes in second onlyto Johnson's 24 top 10s.

Hamlin, who drives the No. 11Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, hashad mixed success on the tracksince his last win in 2015, how-ever. He has alternated between atop 10 and 30th-place or worse inthe last fives races here - finish-ing 30th in the spring race in2017 and seventh in the fall race.

Hamlin arrives in his homestate boasting one of the bestoverall 2018 season efforts - withfour top-six finishes in five races.

On the VergePenske Racing hasn't hoisted a

trophy yet in 2018, but its threeMonster Energy NASCAR CupSeries drivers have certainlymade strong cases that a win isimminent. They are ranked third(Joey Logano), fourth (BradKeselowski) and fifth (RyanBlaney) in the points standingscoming to Martinsville, a venuethat offers a lot of promise for theteam.

Keselowski is the defendingwinner of the STP 500 and boastsfour consecutive top-five finish-es at Martinsville - five in the lastsix races. He's fourth in thepoints standings, despite crash-ing out of the Daytona 500, byvirtue of three top-six runsthrough the season's opening fiveraces.

Logano, who led the MonsterEnergy Series driver standingsfor two weeks following Atlantaand Las Vegas, is looking for his

first Martinsville victory. His No.22 Team Penske Ford has cer-tainly shown speed at the track.He was on the pole for the FallMartinsville race and has wonthe Busch Pole Award for four ofthe last six races at the half-miler.

The team's newest addition,popular 24-year old Blaney, ishoping to turn his strong seasonstart into some Martinsville suc-cess. His 2018 season includesthree top-10 finishes and he wonthe pole position at Las Vegas.His only top 10 (eighth-place) infour Martinsville races came inhis last start there.

Strength in Numbers forStewart-Haas Racing

Stewart-Haas Racing celebrat-ed its first ever placement of allfour drivers in the top 10 twoweeks ago in Phoenix and theorganization also has a historicmark in the points standingsheading to MartinsvilleSpeedway this weekend (Sunday,March 25 at 2 p.m. ET on FS1,MRN and SiriusXM NASCARRadio).

All four of its drivers are firm-ly ranked consecutively in thetop-12 portion of the champi-onship standings - a first for SHRat this point in the season. Three-time race winner and 2014Monster Energy NASCAR CupSeries champion Kevin Harvickleads his teammates in eighthplace.

Second-year SHR driver ClintBowyer is ninth, followed by theteam's newest addition, AricAlmirola, and 2004 MonsterEnergy Series champ KurtBusch.

It's Go Time for Kyle LarsonKyle Larson's runner-up finish

at Auto Club Speedway last weekwas a firm reminder that the 25-year old Chip Ganassi Racingdriver is championship-caliber.

He has three top-10 finishessince a rough Daytona 500 sea-son opener, including a third-place at Las Vegas along with hissecond-place in California. Andhe sits seventh in the MonsterEnergy NASCAR Cup Seriespoints standings, 42 behind theleader Martin Truex Jr.

Larson is hoping to turn theearly season success story into aMartinsville break-through. Thepopular Californian won the poleposition for the STP 500 last yearbut has only one top-10 (third-place in 2016) in eight raceshere.

Monster Energy NASCARCup Series Etc.

Martinsville Speedway Quick

Stats: Kurt Busch has the bestrating for Fastest Laps atMartinsville (179) - the only sta-tistic that Johnson isn't tops.…Ryan Newman has won here,has eight top-five finishes andthree pole positions atMartinsville, making him a driv-er to watch Sunday. …Johnson isthe last driver to win consecutiveraces (Fall, 2012- Spring, 2013)and both times it was from thepole position. …The last manu-facturer to score back-to-backwins at Martinsville wasChevrolet. Kurt Busch and DaleEarnhardt Jr. swept the 2014races. … Kurt Busch's two winsat the track came from startingpositions closer to the rear of thestarting grid. He won in 2002from the 36th position (a trackrecord) and his win in 2014 was22nd. Earnhardt won in 2014from the 23rd starting spot on thegrid. … Six drivers have wonthree races-in-a-row here:Richard Petty (1968-69), CaleYarborough (1976-77), DarrellWaltrip (1988-89), RustyWallace (1994-95) and JimmieJohnson (2006-07). FredLorenzen won four straightMartinsville races between 1963-65.

Winners Announced In OK Barber Shop’sBeard & Mustache Contest

Thanks to the 87 brave competitors and the 60 who stood proud of their masculinity and competed in thisyear’s innagural OK Barber Shop Beard and Mustache Contest. Winners were announced this past week-end. From left to right: Bill White, honorable mention for Best Beard; Ron Pruitt, Best Partial Beard; ChipClark, Best Freestyle Full Beard; Bryan Fowler, owner of the OK Barber Shop; Stuart Mitchell, BestMustache, and Peter Tyrus Scott, Best Full Beard. Fowler said, “We are already looking forward to nextyear's competition!”

[email protected]


POSITION WANTED

Will sit or live in with the elder-ly, Mon. - Fri. Have years ofexperience and references andwill travel to any location, pleasecall 276-920-4177.

WANT TO BUY:

Want to buy 2 plots in the oldersection of Oakwood Cemetery inPulaski, call 276-200-7409 askfor Donna or Timmy.

FOR SALE: Miscellaneous Items

One cemetery plot for sale inHighland Memory Gardens inDublin. The plot is located in the"Garden of the Good Shepherd"section, asking $1,300. Pleaseleave a message at 540-320-9214.

DeWalt Saw with table, $125;Frigidaire 13.7 cubic ft. upright

freezer, $200, all like new, call577-5282.

Black Walnut kernels, great forcooking, 4 lbs. $25, 1 ½ lbs. bag$10; two boxes of knitting yarn,$50;Large boxes of books- Love,inspired, romantic and suspense,$100 for all, call 639-4160.

Solid 36 x 80 exterior door, doorknocker, kick panel and doorknob. $30; Hotpoint 21 cubictwo-door refrigerator freezer.Like new, clean. $160; Self-cleaning Hot Point electric range.Like new, very clean. $160; 30-inch older electric range, works,clean. $50; Lowes wood burningstove. Door glass needs to bereplaced, new brick with stovepipe, $190, call 540-553-1554.

55 gal. Energy Saver Hot WaterHeater $100; infrared quartzheater, $40; brand new VCR-DVD player combo, never been

used, $75.If interested, pleasecall 320-9214 if no answer leavea message.

Seasoned wood, $72, call 639-0924.

Hay 4x4 round bales of hay, $20-$30, call 639-0924.

FAIR HOUSING NOTICE:

We are pledged to the letter and spiritof Virginia's policy for achievingequal housing opportunity throughoutthe Commonwealth.We encourage and support advertisingand marketing programs in whichthere are no barriers to obtaining hous-ing because of race, color, religion,national origin, sex, elderliness, famil-ial status or handicap.For more information or to file a hous-ing complaint, call the VirginiaHousing Office at (804) 367-8530;toll-free call (888) 551-3247.For hearing-impaired, call (804) 367-9753. E-mail [email protected].

FARM EQUIPMENT

GOT LAND? Our Hunters willPay Top $$$ to hunt your land.Call for a FREE info packet &Quote. 1-866-309-1507www.BaseCampLeasing.com

HELP WANTED / SALES

EARN $500 A DAY: LincolnHeritage Life Insurance WantsInsurance Agents * Leads, NoCold Calls * Commissions PaidDaily * Agency Training * LifeLicense Required. Call 1-888-713-6020.

HELP WANTED / TRUCKDRIVERS

CDL TRAINING FORLOCAL/OTR DRIVERS! $700-$1200 a week! 4-wks or 10Weekends for CDL. Veterans inD e m a n d !Richmond/Fredericksburg 877-CDS-4CDL;Lynchburg/Roanoke 855-CDS-4CDL; Front Royal/Winchester844-CDS-4CDL

MEDICAL SUPPLIES

SAY GOODBYE TO OXYGENTANKS AND HELLO TO

EASYPULSE PORTABLEOXYGEN CONCENTRA-TORS. 3 UNITS TO CHOOSEFROM. LIGHT WEIGHT/SET-TINGS 1-5. RICHMOND RES-PIRATORY & MEDICALSUPPY 804-745-9677/800-831-4620

MISCELLANEOUS

SAWMILLS from only$4397.00? MAKE & SAVEMONEY with your own band-mill? Cut lumber any dimension.In stock ready to ship! FREEI n f o / D V D :www.NorwoodSawmills.com800 567-0404 Ext.300N

SERVICES

D I V O R C E - U n c o n t e s t e d ,$395+$86 court cost. No courtappearance. Estimated comple-tion time twenty-one days.Telephone inquiries welcome-noobligation. Hilton Oliver,Attorney. 757-490-0126. SeHabla Español. BBB Member.

The Patriot808-3949

www.pcpatriot.com

StatewideClassifieds

The Patriot • Friday, March 23, 2018 - Page B5

Photo submitted by the Radford Heritage Foundation

William Jennings Bryan addresses Radford in 1900 during his bid for president. The festivities took place at the Radford Fairgroundslocated at Eighth and Wadsworth streets.

Radford ‘Meet the Candidates’ event setThe Radford Heritage

Foundation invites the voters ofRadford to meet the candidatesfor Mayor and City Council onThursday, March 29, from 5:30to 7:30 pm. The event will takeplace at the Glencoe Mansion,Museum and Gallery located at600 Unruh Drive in Radford.

The mayoral candidates are

David Horton and KeithMarshall.

The candidates for CityCouncil are Ted "T.W." Bess,Jessie Critterton, NaomiHuntington, Michael "Mick"Turk and Jason Vaughn. All can-didates will be present to meetwith the public and answer ques-tions about the candidates' vision

for Radford.The General Registrar and

Director of Elections TracyHoward will be at the event withvoter registration and absenteeballot applications and sampleballots. He will also answer ques-tions about voting, the electionand the ballots.

This event is sponsored by the

Radford Heritage Foundation,which seeks to preserve and pro-mote awareness of the heritageand culture of Radford. While atthe event, attendees are encour-aged to explore the history andculture of Radford. The RadfordHeritage Foundation motto is:"The key to the future is throughunlocking the past."

Jean EvansScholarshipavailable fromGOP Women

The Jean Evans MemorialScholarship for Pulaski CountySeniors is sponsored by PulaskiCounty Republican Women'sGroup.

The Pulaski CountyRepublican Women'sScholarship Essay Competitionis available to all PulaskiCounty Seniors in PulaskiCounty who plan to attend anaccredited institution. It is ourgoal to assist a student financial-ly who has exhibited good studyskills, school and communityinvolvement, good school atten-dance, and who completes awell written essay that addressesthe topic with thoughtfulnessand knowledge.

Topic: "The Constitution ofthe United States can be amend-ed, but it is not an easy task.Describe how this process takesplace, and make a case for thewisdom of its structure."

The applicant must meet thefollowing criteria and mail anessay with the completed appli-cant form attached by May 1,2018.

- Completed form and wellwritten essay.

- Evidence of a minimum 3.0GPA.

- Evidence of good schoolattendance. For homeschoolers,your teacher's writer statementto this effect will be accepted.

Applications are available atPulaski County High School,Pulaski County Library andDublin Library.

Like Us On Facebook at

Pulaski County-Patriot

Visit our website at www.pcpatriot.com

The Patriot - www.pcpatriot.com

808-3949


BUSINESS AND

SERVICEDIRECTORY

TO ADVERTISE HERE • CALL 540-808-3949

Dear Dave,I'm about to graduate from

college, and while I've been inschool my mom has been han-dling most of my finances.Recently, I discovered she's beentaking my student loan moneyand spending it on herself. Sofar, it looks like she's takenaround $12,000, and I have atotal of $25,000 in student loandebt. Since I realized this washappening, I've been readingyour books and learning how tomanage my own money. I don'tknow how to deal with this situ-ation with her, though. Sheadmits she did wrong, but saysshe can't pay it back. Can youhelp?

AlanDear Alan,I hate hearing this. There's no

easy way to deal with thesekinds of situations.

The first thing you need to dois take over complete and totalcontrol of all your finances. Shutdown any accounts that have hername on them, and anything elsefinancially-related that she canaccess. I know this sounds harsh,but she has proven she's just nottrustworthy. It's a hard thing tohear about a parent, but at thispoint you've got to take steps toprotect yourself. What she hasbeen doing is theft, and financialchild abuse.

One extreme is to press crimi-nal charges. The other extreme isto just forget it, and pay it. Inbetween is a promise from her torepay everything she has taken,but she's already out of control.That's a promise that wouldn't bekept. The problem with prose-cuting someone criminally forthis type of action - other thanthe emotional toll, because she'syour mom - is the money'salready gone. It's doesn't makethem magically have the moneyto repay you. On top of all this,you'd have a really hard timelegally getting the student loansremoved from your name due totheft.

Honestly, under the circum-stances I think you're probablygoing to end up eating this. Butsit down, and try to have a calm,clear discussion about what hashappened, and why it happened.Let her know first, without adoubt, that you will criminallyprosecute her if she ever usesyour name to put money into herown pocket again. Second, tellher you're prepared to forgiveher and forget about it - and shepays you back at some point, ifshe can - if she agrees to getsome financial and emotionalcounseling.

Try to get her some help, andget her under control, Alan. Ifyou don't, I'm afraid things areonly going downhill from here.

-Dave

* Dave Ramsey is CEO ofRamsey Solutions. He hasauthored seven best-sellingbooks, including The TotalMoney Makeover. The DaveRamsey Show is heard bymore than 13 million listenerseach week on 585 radio sta-tions and multiple digital plat-forms. Follow Dave on the webat daveramsey.com and onTwitter at @DaveRamsey.

TwoExtremes

Ask About Our SeniorCitizen Discount!

To Advertise CallThe Patriot - 808-3949

808-3949

Recently, my little two-year-old friend and I were playingwith his train.

He would push the button onthe top of the train once tomake it travel forward aroundthe track, and push it twice tomake the train reverse.

He was having a ball, andwhat was really cool is that hethen wanted me to experiencethe excitement, too.

He instructed me on how tomake the train move forwardand backward with so much

gusto that I couldn't help butget caught up in his enthusi-asm.

His zest reminded me of theexcitement an entrepreneuroften feels when promoting anewly discovered product orservice.

At some point, as we age, welose that simple excitement,and it becomes muddled withhidden agendas, skepticism andlost opportunities. It's that feel-ing of pure, genuine, excite-ment that drives entrepreneurs

to success. Ah, to be able tohold on to that feeling that weheld before becoming encum-bered with the issues of life.

As I look around at the mostsuccessful small businesses, I

see entrepreneurs who havelearned to weather the storm,and who have been able holdon to their original enthusiasm.They still want to share thatawesomeness that they havediscovered with the world.

Learning to reconnect withthat excitement can be as sim-ple as playing with a child whoshows us how to be excited allover again.

Work hard, be productive,and above all else stay positive.

Getting Back That Simple ExcitementDown To

Business

Peggy WhitePulaski County

Chamber ofCommerce

March 23

First Annual Denny BryantOpen MicThe First Annual Denny BryantOpen Mic Night will be March23, 6:30 p.m. Woodlawn P.H. Youare invited to Sing, Play or JustListen. This fun event is FREE!Refreshments will be served! Thechurch is located at 3874 OakGrove Rd. To Reserve Your Spot,call 276-266-4464.

March 24

Dinner, Basket , Baked GoodsAuction to be held at RockfordUMCHot Dog Dinner/Basket & BakedGoods Auction at RockfordUnited Methodist Church will beheld March 24. The church islocated at 6867 Viscoe Road inFairlawn. The hot dog dinnerbegins at 5 p.m. and will featurehomemade chili. Basket/BakedGoods Auction will begin at 6p.m. All proceeds will go to theYouth Group and the BuildingFund.

First Church of the Brethrenannounces Easter schedule First Church of the Brethren willserve Communion Saturday,March 24, 6 p.m.; on Friday,March 30, Good Friday Servicewill be held at 6 p.m.; Saturday,March 31, a Children's EasterEgg Hunt is planned at 1 p.m.; onEaster Sunday, April 1, EasterSon-Rise Service at 7 a.m.,Breakfast at 8 a.m. and EasterService at 11 a.m. Regular sched-uled services are Sunday Schoolat 9:45 a.m.; Worship at 11 a.m.;Wednesday, Youth Group 6 p.m.;Wednesday, Prayer meeting/BibleStudy at 7 p.m. Frank Peters,Pastor. The church is located at1749 Newbern Rd., Pulaski.

Easter Bunny Pics With Kids,PetsThe Relay for Life Team---Cancer Busters -- will be havingsponsoring pictures with theEaster Bunny for Pets andChildren for $5 at the DublinUnited Methodist Church onSaturday --March 24 , 2018 from1pm to 4 pm. All proceeds willgo to the American CancerSociety. For more informationcontact Tereba Bott at 540-577-2122.

March 25

Thornspring United Methodistannounce Easter schedule ofeventsHoly Week & Easter Services atThornspring United MethodistChurch are as follows:Sunday, March 25 - Palm/PassionService at 11 a.m. ;Thursday,March 29 - Holy ThursdayService at 7 p.m.; Friday, March30 - Good Friday Service at 2:30p.m.; Sunday, April 1- EasterSunrise Service at the cemeterycross at 7 a.m.; Sunday, April 1 -Easter Morning Worship Serviceat 11 a.m. The church is locatedat 5670 Thornspring Church Rd.For more information call 980-2927.

River of Life youth to presentdramaThe River of Life youth dramateam will present their Easterdrama on March 25, at the DublinChurch of God of Prophecy at 6p.m. The church is located at 100S. Main St. Dublin. Pastor RickeyFreeman invites everyone to

attend.

March 24

Belspring Community to holdannual Easter Egg HuntThe Belspring Community willhold their annual Easter Egg Hunton Saturday, March 24 at 2 p.m.at the Belspring MethodistChurch. There will be games,prizes, refreshments, and fun forall. The church is located onDepot Street. Everyone welcome.

March 26

Good Neighbor Club to resumemeetingsThe Good Neighbor Club willresume its meetings on March 26at 5 p.m. at the Anderson memo-rial Presbyterian Church for apotluck dinner and meeting.Everyone is invited.

March 30

Abundant Life Ministries topresent yearly outdoor drama Abundant Life Ministries will bepresenting "Journey to the Cross,"on Good Friday March 30 at 6:30p.m. This outdoor drama allowsyou to walk along with Jesus andHis twelve disciplines from theLast Supper to the Garden ofGethsemane, and then up the hillGolgotha, to the Crucifixionscene. There will be times ofsinging, prayer, and worshipalong the journey, as we contem-plate the sufferings of Jesus, andthe price He paid for our sins.The journey will begin at the pic-nic shelter with the Last Supperscene. This is the seventh year thechurch has presented this dramato the public. Pastor RandallLawrence once again extends aspecial invitation to everyone tomake this a part of your Eastercommemoration and celebration.The church is located on 3050Lee Hwy., a quarter mile pastLewisGale Hospital - Pulaski onthe right on Rt. 11 N. For moreinformation call the church officeat 980-5506.

Good Friday CommunityService plannedGood Friday Community Servicewill be held noon on March 30 atFirst Presbyterian Church locatedat 408 N. Jefferson Ave., Pulaski.

April 12

Delton Church of God ofProphecy to hold revival Delton Church of God ofProphecy Revival will be lifechanging, anointed and powerful.The revival will begin Thursday,April 12, - Sunday, April 15, 6:30p.m. nightly. On Sunday, April 15Evangelist Shirley Quesenberrywill be speaking. Then nationallyrecorded artists "Chosen" fromNorth Wilkesboro, N.C. will be inconcert on Saturday, April 14 at6:30 p.m. ministering in song andthe Word! Everyone is welcome!Come as you are! The church islocated at 4570 Boyd Rd., Draper.Directions take exit #92 off I-81then turn on Greenbriar Rd., gopast Draper Mercantile andBryson's store to end of the road.Turn left on Delton Rd. and go4.2 miles to the church. For moreinformation, contact Pastor VickieL. Viars at

[email protected]

April 1

Bread of Life to present EasterprogramBread of Life (Assembly of God )on Robinson Tract Rd in Pulaski,Va. will present their Easter pro-gram "Jerusalem's Galilean" onEaster Sunday, April 1, at 3 p.m.The public is invited.

Highland Memory Gardens tohave Sunrise ServiceHighland Memory Gardens inDublin will have a SunriseService at the mausoleum at 7a.m. on April 1, 2018. For moreinformation call 674-5231.

April 14

Boating Safety Course to beheldBoating Safety Course forOperators of Boats and PersonalWatercraft will be held onSaturday, April 14, 2018 from 8a.m. to 5 p.m. at WythevilleMeeting Center, Meeting Room3, 333 Community Boulevard,Wytheville. The course is taughtby United States Coast GuardAuxiliary Flotilla 83 and theVirginia Department of Game andInland Fisheries (DGIF).Materials and instruction are freeof charge. Bring a pencil, high-lighter, lunch and drink. Eachgraduate earns a wallet cardshowing successful completion ofthe class. This course is approvedby the National Association ofState Boating Law Administratorsand recognized by the UnitedStates Coast Guard. Pre-Registration is required. Children12 and under must be accompa-nied by an adult. OnlineRegistration at http://www.regis-ter-ed.com/events/view/117082.For further information contactMendy Harman at [email protected] or 540-494-3569.

April 20

Save the date for the "ThoseRiver Women's Conference"

Those River Women's Conferencewill be held April 20 - 22 at theRandolph Ave. United MethodistChurch. Design Team membersinclude Rev. Karen Black, Pastorof Randolph Ave. UMC, MarvaHickman 540-250-1203 (Contactperson for the conference);Jacinth Henry, Janet Johnson,Cynthia Gladden, YolandaHunter-Bulls, Pamela Olverson.The church is located at 1607Randolph Ave., Pulaski, 540-980-

8775. With joy you will drawwater from the wells of SalvationIsaiah 12:3

June 9

Claytor Lake Beach Festivalplanned for JuneClaytor Lake Beach Festival willbe Saturday, June 9, 2018 10a.m.- 10 p.m. Claytor Lake StatePark, 6620 Ben Bolen Drive,Dublin, VA 24084. Arts, Crafts,Food Vendors, Old DominionHistorical Fire Truck Drive In,Car/Motorcycle Show, EverettLee Yearout, Jr. Adult/YouthFishing Tournament/EssayContest, Coast Guard AuxiliarySearch & Rescue, Claytor LakeSailing Association, RemoteControl Airplanes, CumulusBroadcasting Live Remote, WineTasting & Entertainment withBeach Music & a mini perform-ance by the Wohlfahrt Haus. TheGrand Finale is Fireworks byGrucci at Dusk. There will be aparking fee of $10.00 or $5.00 &5 cans of food. A free shuttleservice is provided from the park-ing lot at Wal-Mart in Dublinbeginning at 6:00 pm. For moreinformation email the ClaytorLake Festival Committee at [email protected]

June 23

Relay for Life to be held inFairlawn planned Pulaski County and Radford CityRelay for Life will be held June23, 2018 at Motor MileSpeedway located at 6749 LeeHighway Fairlawn, Va. 24141Relay for Life is the signaturefundraiser for the AmericanCancer Society. Relay for Life isvolunteer driven in thousands ofcommunities and 27 countriesand around the world. Volunteersgive of their time and effortbecause they believe it's time totake action against cancer. Joinus June 23 at Motor MileSpeedway for the Relay For Lifeof Pulaski County and Radford

City from 11am - 11pm as weremember loved ones lost, honorsurvivors of all cancers, and raisemoney to help the AmericanCancer. Society make a globalimpact on cancer. Register todayat www.relayforlife.org/pulaskiva

On-going communitybased activities:

Group sets aside day eachmonth to pray for CountyA group of citizens of PulaskiCounty has set aside the 15th ofeach month to fast and pray forthe county. The group asks thatcitizens who are of a like mindplease join them in their effort.

Solomon's Closet ClothingBankNew and used clothing for chil-dren and adults. Requested dona-tion of $1 for 10 items. Clothingdonations, also accepted and wel-come. The Clothing Bank is openthe second and third Tuesdays 10a.m. - 12 noon. New Life Churchof the Nazarene is located at 45S.Jefferson Ave., Pulaski.

Feeding AmericaDistribution of fresh produce andbaked goods at New Life Churchof the Nazarene each Saturdayfrom 2:30 p.m. - 3:30 p.m. (nocharge) on a first-come-first-served basis. The church is locat-ed 45 S. Jefferson Ave., Pulaski.

Ruth's Harvest Food pantry and boxes preparedfor qualified recipients twicemonthly. Applications available atthe church office. New LifeChurch of the Nazarene is locatedat 45 S. Jefferson Ave., Pulaski.

Adult Day Care and FallPrevention Center hosts month-ly BINGOAdult Day Service and FallPrevention Center hosts BINGOon the 4th Saturday of eachmonth from 11 a.m. - 2 p.m. at

www.pcpatriot.com


The Patriot808-3949

See PULSE, page B9


Photos courtesy of Pulaski County Schools

Employee of the Month

Presented by: Adam Joyce, Principal of Dublin Middle SchoolTristan Long has been selected as Employee of the Month for Dublin Middle School. She currently servesas a Para Professional. She has served Pulaski County schools for the past 6 years. She is caring and treatseach child as if they are special. Ms. Long is professional, works well with her colleagues, dependable andpunctual. Colleagues who nominated her say: "Tristan is knowledgeable in whatever subject matter is being taught.She is reliable and goes above and beyond her job description. Her rapport with the students is excellent!She also contributes by coaching track for our students.""Mrs. Long is always professional and respectful with the students. She works hard to help students who

are struggling to better understand the material."

Teacher of the Month

Presented by; Adam Joyce, Principal of Dublin Middle School"Chuck" Shelton has been selected as the Dublin Middle School Teacher of the Month. Chuck has been employedwith Pulaski County Public Schools as a Math teacher for 20 years. He has great rapport with his students and col-leagues alike. Colleagues that nominated him say:"Mr. Shelton deserves this honor because he is a teacher that truly makes a difference. Chucks SOL scores are someof the best in the county (his algebra students always have high scores). More importantly, he is an example to allDMS students that you can overcome the setbacks and tragedy that life can and will give you. For his commitmentto his students' success, he deserves this recognition and honor.""Chuck goes above and beyond for his students to help them be successful in math, often coming in early or stay-

ing late tutoring them. He has a true heart for special education students and wants to see all of his students succeed.Chuck is a leader to the other 8th grade math teachers.""Mr. Shelton has made incredible strides with at-risk students. He treats every student and co-worker with the utmostrespect. He goes out of this way to make sure other teachers in math 8 have everything they need. He genuinely caresabout others."

Pledge of Allegiance

Peyton Routh is a 5th grade student at Dublin Elementary School.He was nominated by his teacher and principal to represent DES atthe school board meeting for many reasons. He is part of our safetypatrol, helping with the raising and lowering of the flag of the UnitedStates every day, doing the job with reverence and respect. He assistsyounger students at lunch and is an excellent role model. He is adependable young man who can be counted on to do anything he isasked with a smile. We are proud of all he has accomplished thus far,and we are thankful for all he does to make our school community awonderful place to be.

Senior of the Month

Presented by: Michael Grim, Principal of Pulaski County High School

Our Senior of Month for February is Emilee Pizano-Macias. Emileeis the granddaughter of Wanda Walters and daughter of DavidPizano-Macias of Pulaski. Emilee was described by her nominatingteachers as one of the most interesting students she has ever had thepleasure of teaching. She went on to describe her as having the mostbeautiful heart, a theme among all three of her nominating teachers.She was also described as a very hard worker and a joy to watch learnconcepts. Emilee has really come out of her shell in the last fouryears and she is kind to everyone she meets. She is very passionateabout art, music and dinosaurs. During her free time, Emilee is anavid reader. She loves to read about YouTube bloggers and hopes oneday to become one. Emilee's love of learning, her desire to be kindand her heart make her an excellent example of what it means to bea Cougar with PRIDE.

The Board of Directors ofSouthwest Virginia Legal AidSociety will meet on March 27,2018. The meeting will begin at6:30 p.m.

The meeting will be held atthe Marion Legal Aid Officelocated at 227 West CherryStreet, Marion, Virginia,

The public is welcome to par-ticipate.

Legal AidSociety Boardto meet March27 in Marion

Call Us At808-3949

[email protected]@pcpatriot.com

The Patriotwww.pcpatriot.com


the Ruritan building on 4th and Jefferson St in Pulaski. The building islocated near Seagle's Funeral Home. Everyone welcome!

AmVets Post #50 meets every FridayAmVets Post #50 meets each Friday from 6 p.m. - 7 p.m. Dinners soldat post. The post is located at 1018 East Main St., Pulaski. For moreinformation 540-994-6006.

Pulaski Old Time JamboreeA Bluegrass Jam session for players of all ages is held every Thursdayevening 6 p.m. - 8 p.m. at the Pulaski Senior Center. Join the jam byplaying an instrument or singing or just come by and enjoy the music.Call Dee Dean at 540-392-3555 for more information. The center islocated across the street from the post office.

Cowboy Church new ministryOn the third and fourth week of each month Cowboy Church offersfood bags to the elderly and shut -ins. On these weeks, interested par-ticipants may come by the church at 12 noon for pick up if able.Delivery is available if necessary. Call Mike and Pat Thompson at540-577-4923. Cowboy Church is located at 520 E. Main St., Pulaski(across from Downtown Exxon).

Pulaski Daily Bread in need of volunteersDaily Bread is in need of servers on several different days, so if youcan spare a few hours a week you may contact Debbi Harrell(Director) at 980-2131 between the hours of 8:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.Monday through Friday.

Celebrate Recovery Support group at VHMValley Harvest Ministries in Dublin is now sponsoring a supportgroup for people who are working through hurts, habits and hang- ups.The group meets each Thursday at 6:30 p.m.Food will be served at 6:30 p.m. followed at 7 p.m. with a large groupmeeting and then everyone will divide into smaller groups at 8 p.m.The church is located at 1 Harvest Place in Dublin.

Narcotics Anonymous The NA group HOW meets each Sunday 6 p.m. at the ChristEpiscopal Church located at 144 Washington Ave., in Pulaski. Themeeting is open to everyone.

N.A. Principles before Personalities

N.A. Principles before Personalities meets Thursday at 7 p.m.; Fridayand Saturday at 6 p.m. at the First Presbyterian Church Annex locatedat 4th and Jefferson St., Pulaski, Va. For more information, go towww.newrivervalleyna.org

AA:

Alcoholics Anonymous meet Monday at 8 p.m. (closed meeting);Wednesday (noon); and Thursday at 8 p.m. (open meetings) at PulaskiPresbyterian Church of America across from Magic Mart. For moreinformation call 980-5233.

Al-Anon - Pulaski:

Pulaski Al-Anon Family Group (a support group for friends and fami-lies of alcoholics) meet every Monday night at 8 p.m. at the PulaskiPresbyterian Church of America across from Magic Mart. Contactnumber: 540-980-5233.

PulseContinued from page B7

4-H Selects County Dramatic Reading Winners

5th Grade 4-H County Dramatic Reading Winners (left to right) Noa Dobbins and Kendra Trailalong with Runner-up Skyla Morgan.

4th Grade Dramatic Reading Winner (left to right) Matthias Wright, Runner-up Erin Burchett andWinner Wyatt Tolbert.The winners now move onto the 4-H Area Contest in May 2018 to compete against 4-Her's fromFloyd, Giles, Montgomery and Patrick County.

Courtesy of Chris Lichty, Pulaski County 4H

The Patriot - [email protected]

www.pcpatriot.com


Like Us AtPulaski

County-Patriot


Photos by Lisa Webb

Ratcliffe Lessons and Legacies Series

Local author Jerry Haynes (left) recently presented the story of the Carroll County Courthouse shootoutthrough the eyes of his grandfather, Jeff Haynes 50 years after the shooting. About 30 people attended thepresentation of “Mountain Justice,” including the great-granddaughter, Judy Gettys, of Judge ThortonMassie who was killed in the shootout, and Victor Allen, the grandson of Garland Allen, brother to Floydand Sidna Allen. For more on the author, and for some of his other writings, he invites you to his websitewww.BringingHopeAndHappiness.com

An exhibit featuring art by vet-erans of all ages and abilities willbe presented at the New RiverValley Disability Resource Center(NRV DRC) beginning Tuesday,April 17 and running thruSaturday, May 19, 2018.

Seeking to connect those withdisabilities--both physical andmental--into the local communityin a meaningful and visual way,as well as to inspire thoughtfulcommunication, military veteranswith disabilities were invited toparticipate in an art show locatedat the New River ValleyDisability Resource Center, 53 W.Main Street, Christiansburg,Virginia.

The exhibit will be open forviewing during NRV DRC busi-ness hours, Monday throughFriday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The public is invited an open-ing reception on Tuesday, April17 from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. tosocialize, enjoy the art, meet theartists, and connect with the NRVDRC.

Participants of all ability levelswere encouraged to submit art.The themes are not limited to mil-itary subjects.

"We are interested in the strug-gles, highlights, issues, or every

day beauty of life as experiencedby veterans with disabilities," saidFelta Virginia, local artist whoserves as the exhibit curator.

The NRV DRC's mission is toassist individuals with disabilitiesto live independently. The Centerserves the community at large byadvocating for and creating anenvironment accessible to all. Asa Center for Independent Living(CIL), we are community-based,focused on helping people withdisabilities live as independentlyas possible. CILs operate under astrict philosophy of consumercontrol; people of all ages with alltypes of disabilities directly gov-ern and staff our organization. Weserve the New River Valley,which consists of Floyd, Giles,Montgomery, and Pulaski coun-ties and the towns within and thecity of Radford. More info aboutthe NRV DRC can be found atwww.nrvdrc.org

NRV Disability ResourceCenter to feature veterans’ art exhibition

808-3949

Locally Owned And Operated Census data shows decline in SWVA

Documents

Transcript of Locally Owned And Operated Census data shows decline in SWVA