All Four Incumbents Seeking Re-election Win in Town Race

by Scotty Wampler
News Editor  
      Incumbents in both Grundy election races were victorious Tuesday.
      The current town council will remain unchanged as Diann Hagy, Chris Mitchell and Gary Prater were the top three vote-getters among five candidates for the three open council seats.
      Mayor Roger Powers (173 votes) also will return to office, fending off challenger Bob Hale, who managed 90 votes.
      Mitchell (161 votes) received the most votes among the town council candidates, with Prater (153 votes) and Hagy (148 votes) trailing him to round out the winners.
      Other candidates vying for seats on town council were Amanda Blankenship (119 votes) and Jimmy Goff, who received 61 votes.
      Unofficial election results late Tuesday evening revealed approximately 263 voters visited the polls in the town election. No write-in votes were cast in either race.
      The three other town council seats will be up for grabs in 2010.

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

Hawk's Nest Section of CFX Topic of VDOT Public Hearing Tuesday

by Brandon Dye
Staff Reporter
      The Hawk's Nest section of the Coalfields Expressway project will be discussed at Russell Prater Elementary School at a meeting held by the Virginia Department of Transportation on Tuesday.
      The public hearing will focus on the location and public design of the proposed Hawk's Nest section of the roadway.
      According to VDOT, citizens will be given an opportunity to review and discuss preliminary plans for the proposed section, which is located between the proposed Route 460 Connector and Route 614.
      VDOT has encouraged all interested citizens to attend the public hearing in order to give the department more flexibility in its participation in the hearing. For the meeting's plans, there will be no formal presentation. Instead, community members will be able to review maps, drawings, and other materials explaining the proposed project. Plans and tentative construction schedules will also be discussed along with possible impacts on personal property and relocation assistance.
     In addition, residents will have an opportunity to record verbal comments for the official record anytime during the meeting. Written comments will be accepted during the hearing or may be submitted to VDOT by May 23.

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