Time Warner Cable Begins Grundy System Update

  Time Warner Cable, the second largest cable company in the U.S., has started an upgrade project of its Grundy cable system.  The upgrade project began in February and is expected to be completed by the end of the year.
  Time Warner contractors are already working to replace cable lines and to install fiber-optic lines on power poles and along easements. 
  The upgrade, when complete, will allow Time Warner to offer its customers advanced products and services including Road Runner High-Speed internet services, High-Definition TV, Video-On-Demand and additional standard channels; Basic and Digital channels.
  The added products and services which will be available include the following:
  • Road Runner High Speed Internet Service with fast speeds of up to 6 Mbps downstream / 768 Kbps upstream, five email accounts, video mail, web mail, chat and personal web pages benefits: pest control anti-spyware, anti-virus software, firewall, anti-spam, ad-blocker, Road Runner Radio, Road Runner Video Channel, CNN quickcast.com, NASCAR TrackPass, Movielink, Audible, as well as additional promotions and contests.
  • High Definition Television (HD): Time Warner Cable gives customers a wide variety of HD channels from networks like TNT HD and The Discovery HD – plus sports channels like ESPNHD, movie channels HBO HD, Showtime HD and other HD channels.  
  • Pay-Per-View via Remote Control:  Time Warner Cable customers will be able to order Pay-Per-View movies and events by a push of a button on their remotes.  To ensure safe viewing, parents will have the ability to set parental locks and controls through the Digital converter.
  • Video-On-Demand:  Video-On-Demand offers a wide library of movies, series and programming that each customer can watch any time they want.  Movie-On-Demand offers a wide variety of new movie releases as well as older movies.  Premium-On-Demand offers HBO, Showtime, Cinemax and The Movie Channel programming that is available whenever the customer is ready to watch their favorite movie or series.  Free On-Demand offers kids and family programming such as Cartoon Network, Boomerang, A&E, BBC, HGTV, DIY, Golf, CNN, Court TV and more.  This is only some of the programming available on Video-On-Demand.
  • Time Warner Cable Business Class, which allows businesses to get the speed they need to streamline their systems and billing, serve their customers faster and get crucial business information online the moment they need it.
  Additional information about the new services will be made available as the company completes the upgrade.

Periodic Closures Begin on Rt. 680

  Periodic road closures on Rt. 680, Bill Young Mountain, took effect this week as Bizzack Construction began some of the more intensive road construction activities involved in the massive  $8 million road reconstruction project.
  The project includes moving sections of the mountainside to fill the valleys below and eliminating steep grades and hairpin curves by adjusting the roadway elevation and straightening the path of the road.  Additionally, a quarter-mile truck climbing lane will be added on the north side of the mountain.
  The road closures will serve to expedite the project, which stretches 1.5 miles from just south of the intersection of Route 629 - Shack Mills Road to about a half-mile south of Route 638 - Dismal River Road. 
  Beginning March 5, the road closing took effect. The road is now closed daily from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and will remain so while school is in session. At night, as necessary, the road will be closed from 7 p.m. until 5:30 a.m. The roadway will be closed around-the-clock during the summer months when school is not in session; and during other periods when school is closed for holidays, according to a news release issued last week by the Virginia Department of Transportation.
  Variable message signs have already been placed at key intersections to update drivers to the status of the road closures. 
  Signs are positioned at Route 460 and 680 at Keen Mountain on the south side of the project, near the mouth of Contrary and at Route 638 and 680, near Pilgrims Knob, on the north side of the project.  On average, detour routes used during the closures will add an extra 30 minutes or more of travel time.  However, VDOT officials said the detour is a better option than being stopped in traffic for indefinite periods following a blast.
  "Routine traffic on the mountain road includes numerous school buses transporting students to and from Twin Valley High School and Twin Valley Elementary School, employees of two large coal companies, a sawmill and gas well and a steady stream of coal, gas and log trucks," said Conrad Hill, VDOT Residency Administrator for Buchanan and Russell counties.      
  "When completed in December 2008, the reconstructed road will greatly enhance safety and reduce travel time across the mountain," Hill added.
  Bizzack Construction, Lexington, Ky., the contractor on the project, has experience in building roads in rough terrain.  In addition to the Route 680 project, the contractor is building the Route 460 Grundy relocation project and the Route 696 prison road project in Tazewell County.
  "The road closures are going to be inconvenient, there's no way around that. However, VDOT and Bizzack are working to minimize the impact on school traffic, area industry work schedules and the general needs of the public." said Rob Griffith, VDOT Area Construction Engineer responsible for oversight of roadway construction in a four-county area, including Buchanan, Tazewell, Russell and Bland counties.
  "When the project is completed, it will have been well worth the wait for the wider, straighter, more direct roadway with reduced elevations and additional truck climbing lanes to enhance traffic flow," Griffith said.   
  In addition to the message boards, the Route 680 closure schedule will be posted on VDOT's website at www.VirginiaDOT.org.

Democrats File for County Offices

by Cathy St. Clair
News Editor
  Fourteen Democrat candidates have made it official, filing their intent with the Buchanan County Democrat Party to seek the party nomination during a June 2 convention.
  According to Buchanan County Democrat Party Chairman Vern Presley, candidates considering election, who wish to be considered for the Democrat Party nomination, still have until Friday (March 9) at 5 p.m. to file with the party.
  Presley said as of press time Tuesday, those who had filed to seek the Democrat nomination were as follows:
  Commonwealth Attorney: Incumbent Sheila Tolliver.
  Treasurer: Incumbent Bill Keene.
  Sheriff: Randy Ashby, Tim Potter and Pat Wolford.
  Commissioner of Revenue: Jay Rife.
  Circuit Court Clerk: Incumbent Beverly (Bev) Tiller and Tony Matney.
  Garden Supervisor: Berlin Viers.
  Hurricane Supervisor: Incumbent William P. Harris.
  Knox Supervisor: Trey Adkins.
  North Grundy Supervisor: Incumbent Carroll Branham.
  Prater Supervisor: Steve O'Quinn.
  Rocklick Supervisor: Incumbent David Ratliff.
  Presley noted the only post for which the Democrats do not have a candidate filed to date is for the post of South Grundy Supervisor.
  Democrat Party candidates will be chosen during a convention June 2 beginning at 10 a.m. at Grundy High School. Candidates selected on that date will see their names appear on the general election ballot November 6, 2007.
  Precinct meetings are set Saturday, March 17 at 10 a.m. throughout the county to name delegates for the June convention. The precinct meetings will be held at the normal polling places for each precinct with the exception of the Hurley precinct which will meet at Hurley Middle School.
  A total of 242 delegates will be named among the 17 precincts, with the allocation based on Democrat votes cast in the 2006 general election.
  Persons taking part in the precinct meetings and convention must provide written certification they are Democrats; that they are registered voters in their respective magisterial districts and voting precincts; that they believe in the principles of the Democrat Party; and that they do not intend to support any candidate opposed to a Democrat nominee in the November election.
  Those who have not yet filed their notice of intent to seek the nomination for a specific office, but who still wish to do so, have until Friday at 5 p.m.  Declarations of candidacy and filing fees must be filed with Presley at his business office on 1200 Plaza Drive, Ste. 2100 in Grundy by the deadline.
  The filing fee for candidates for the board of supervisors is $150. The filing fee for any constitutional officer is one percent of the annual salary of the office the candidate is seeking.