Who says Southwest Virginia isn’t the home place of celebrities? You may be surprised to hear that a few of your neighbors in Giles County are big names in the way of the Internet industry. According to the April issue of Valley Business FRONT, Giles resident Bernie Cosell is the man who “turned on” the Internet and Ray Tomlinson is the man who launched e-mail.
“Celebrate, Remember, Fight Back,” states the motto for the American Cancer Society’s 25th annual Relay for Life fundraiser. As a region of the South Atlantic Division, Southwest Virginia has multiple teams you can join to participate in this year’s Relay for Life events.
Famous for painting landscapes and portraits on rocks, Jill Skidmore is known for more than just her job at the Pearisburg Library. According to The Roanoke Times, the helpful library clerk enjoys painting mouse pads, rocking chairs, and t-shirts - but rocks are her specialty.
Recently, Appalachian Power Company has been in the works of planning a new area in Narrows (Giles County) to deposit coal ash. They have found a suitable site and when dumping ends, they plan to sell the land and donate their profits to county schools to benefit vocational learning. The only problem is that their coal ash “dump site” is located adjacent to the New River. This close proximity has created much protests from local community groups who are concerned about the coal ash (which contains arsenic) polluting the New River.
Though the threat of arsenic is an occurrence that community officials should be concerned about, residents need to understand that Appalachian Power has taken all the necessary measures to prevent this from occurring. The land and ash dimensions meet all state regulations (and then some) and a $90,000 irrigation system has been installed as a means of preventing run-off. Not to mention, after the final coal ash has been deposited, the land will be used to construct a building which will generate more jobs for the area. So…this sight will be benefiting county schools, creating jobs, and saving the county of Giles money. What’s the problem again?
–Lucinda McDermott Piro
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