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In the fall of 1971, Harriett Leigh Grogan expected to start eighth grade at Drewry Mason High. Instead, a letter from the school system sent her to G.W. Carver High in Fieldale. “I guess I’ll be the only white girl there,” she told her grandfather. She wasn’t. As Henry County integrated its schools, students from four high schools came together at Carver, creating the first class to complete all five years in an integrated student body. Nearly 50 of those former eighth-graders returned for a 50th reunion in Martinsville. Their yearbook captured the moment with a motto: “Four divided by one equals one.” Rep. Ben Cline brought his campaign to Winchester weeks before the midterm elections, telling supporters Democrats had wanted to split the 6th Congressional District “five different ways.” The crowd answered his question about whether the Valley would stand for “bright red Republican values” with a resounding yes. Outside, supporters of Democratic challenger Beth Macy held signs criticizing Republicans over grocery prices and voting rights, but were turned away from the venue. Cline urged the crowd to wave to the protesters; later, blinds were lowered and law enforcement escorted them away. The district has long been a Republican stronghold, and Cline won reelection in 2024 by 28.3 percentage points. This time, Macy has outraised him. Beth Macy is challenging Republican Rep. Ben Cline in Virginia’s 6th Congressional District — a race she entered before the fight over Virginia’s congressional map was settled. The proposed new map would have placed her in a competitive district and set up a Democratic primary against former Congressman Tom Perriello. But after the Virginia Supreme Court overturned the redistricting referendum in May, Macy returned to the original 6th, where Cline won by 28 points in 2024. Macy has raised $2.9 million from 4,513 contributions, compared with Cline’s $1.9 million from 1,225, while pledging not to take corporate PAC money. Montgomery County voters will choose between interim Sheriff Robert Page, a Republican, and Tim Brown, a Democrat and Christiansburg police lieutenant, to lead the New River Valley’s largest law enforcement agency. The department has 141 sworn deputies and six civilian staff. Page was appointed in the spring by retiring Sheriff Hank Partin, after 13 years working in the sheriff’s department. Brown brings 26 years in law enforcement and says he would increase transparency and bring the department to a nationally recognized standard. The race will also put Page’s decision to discontinue the county’s Flock Safety license plate cameras in focus. Carroll County supervisors are heading to Bridgeport, Alabama, this week to visit a Google data center as they weigh a proposal for Wildwood Commerce Park. The trip follows a unanimous Oct. 5 vote against giving a regional economic development authority final approval over “Project Lightning.” Grayson County and Galax had backed that change. Carroll officials have cited the project’s potential to bring millions in tax revenue, while residents have pressed for more information and a say in decisions affecting the industrial park near their homes. The proposed site is the final parcel at Wildwood: 75 acres, with a history of abandoned mines that has complicated development.

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