When Ilene Compton Wolfe and her husband, Charles, made treks down to the Pigeon Forge, Tenn., area on vacation, Ilene always noticed the beautiful quilt designs displayed on Tennessee barns which took part in the Quilt Trail in that state.
        And as she looked, marveling at the designs and the detail found on the side of a barn, Wolfe reasoned, if it worked in Tennessee, then why not in Virginia?
        Add to it an endpoint destination of the Breaks Interstate Park and Wolfe thinks the success of a Quilt Trail in Virginia could be just as beneficial as it is in neighboring Tennessee.
          To that end, she’s started the project in Virginia, displaying quilt patterns on her family’s barn at Council on Rt. 83. Now, she says, she would like to see others get involved in the project.
        She’s in the process of attempting to contact the Buchanan County Extension Office to discuss the project and what the extension office might do to help promote it.
         "I think using old and weathered tobacco barns or out buildings would be an excellent way for local artists to paint traditional quilt squares on their barns," Wolfe says.
         She first became interested in the quilts in making the trip from Council to Pigeon Forge. "I kept noting the decorative art work on the barns in Tennessee," Wolfe says. Her interest sparked, the now retired Council Elementary school librarian began researching barn quilts on the internet. She looked for them in Virginia and could find none and in searching a quilt trail website only found they exited in Tennessee, Ohio and Iowa. "The beautiful state of Virginia with so many agricultural areas is lagging behind in this unique type of art," Wolfe says.
         In designing the quilt square for display on her Council area barn, Wolfe says, it became a real family project.
         Her daughter-in-law, Sally, is an avid quilter and Wolfe says Sally helped her to research and design the quilt squares they chose for their barn project. They chose a carpenter’s wheel pattern, a tribute to Wolfe’s husband Charles, who may constantly be found in his wood shop out back designing and making furniture and other wood crafted items. It also serves as a tribute to the many talented carpenters throughout the area, Wolfe says.
        "We have so many wonderfully skilled carpenters in this area and they needed to be acknowledged -- including my husband -- for their work," Wolfe says. "That’s why I chose that pattern.
         The second pattern chosen for display was "Grandmother’s Fan." "I’m a grandmother and I’m acknowledging the many grand-mothers who take care of their grandchildren," she says.
 

          Town residents interested in seeking office in the coming May election have until March 7 at 7 p.m. to file for office.
         Buchanan County Voter Registrar Vicki Clevinger said incumbent Bob Hale is the only candidate so far who has filed to seek election to one of three council seats and the mayor’s post which are up for grabs, May 2.
       Grundy Town Council members serve staggered terms so as to allow for experienced members of council to be members of that public body at all times.
       Council posts available in the May 2 election include those currently occupied by Hale, Rebecca Shortridge-Elkins and Bill Stokes. Neither Shortridge-Elkins, nor Stokes have announced publicly whether they will see re-election.
        Incumbent Mayor Roger Powers has also not announced whether he will seek re-election to that post.
        Clevinger noted several dates, in addition to the filing deadline, have already been set in relation to the town election.
        The last day to register to vote and be eligible to vote in the May 2 election is April 3 at 5 p.m.
        The last date to vote absentee in person is April 29; and the last date to vote absentee by mail is April 27.
        For additional information, interested persons may call the registrar’s office at 276-935-6534.

       Bids have been opened on the Rt. 460 project planned through Grundy, VDOT Resident Engineer Conrad Hill told members of the Buchanan County Board of Supervisors last week.
        Hill told board members they could expect a Notice to Proceed on the project to be issued by April 1 and he advised them that once the project starts, some harsh road conditions will exist with construction traffic delays (see related story on Grundy Flood Control project, this issue).
        In other business Hill said he had spoken with the traffic division regarding a request by the board to see the right turn only lane at the Grundy Plaza to be changed to allow it to also be used as a through lane.
        Hill said the traffic division had looked at the project, but felt it important to keep the right lane as a turn only lane for traffic flow reasons.
        Hill noted he had also done some checking on the Rt. 680 project status on Bill Young Mountain.
        He said VDOT is working now on right of way issues and hopes to get the project back on schedule.
         "It looks good at this point," he added.
         Knox Supervisor Pat Justus asked about several road concerns in the Knox District to include a sunken drain pipe on the left fork of Guesses Fork; a road slide on Guesses Fork; the need for guardrail at Home Creek; and a sunken drain pipe below Roseann. Hill agreed to check into each project concern.
         In answer to questions from supervisors, Hill updated board members on a variety of projects including:
          • Rt. 630: work should start in the spring and be finished by fall;
          • Red light at Vansant Food City: a resolution is still needed from the board of supervisors to formally initiate the request. To date, one has not been adopted; and
        • Striping of Rt. 460, near the coke ovens: an overlay of the route is planned in the spring and the striping will not be done until the overlay has been completed.
        County Road Engineer Marcus Stiltner asked board members to amend the county Coal Haul Road Plan to reflect a quantity increase on a project in the North Grundy District. The plan was amended by increasing it $2,280 to reflect the change.
         Road invoices were also approved for payment on nine contracts with Mac Const., Inc. and one with Vandyke Construction for work on projects in the Hurricane and North Grundy districts.

For more of the story, see the print edition of the Mountaineer, on sale at newsstands now. For more information on how to subscribe to the Mountaineer, call 276-935-2123 today!