Cardinal News: Then & Now takes a look back at the stories we brought you over the last 12 months. Through the end of the year, we’ll share updates on some of the people and issues that made news in 2023.
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Bedford metal workforce center plan continues despite delays
Then: Bedford officials had a vision for a former steel mill: turn it into a regional training center for the metal-industry workforce, perhaps even with a foundry inside to complement the 60,000-square-foot facility’s three high bays and central mezzanine area.
The idea was to create a hub for training machinists, welders and other metalworkers, collaborating with private businesses and area schools.
Now: The plan remains underway, but it’s taken longer than expected to acquire the old Winoa USA property at 1 Abrasives Ave. in the town, said Jonathan Buttram, chair of the Bedford Economic Development Authority.
A lagoon on the property has been cleaned up to meet state environmental standards, but a privately owned road and a sewer pump station shared with another business still need to be conveyed to the town government, Buttram said. Negotiations on those matters, including technical upgrades to get the sewer system to meet Bedford Regional Water Authority’s requirements, remain ongoing.
“It’s things that are really out of our control,” Buttram said.
Acquiring the former steel mill, which shut down in mid-2020, originally was planned for this past spring. Buttram said he now anticipates the EDA closing on the sale in the first quarter of 2024, after which officials can proceed with hiring a grant-funded consultant to develop a master plan for the Bedford Regional Metal Workforce Retention Center.
“It’s been a lesson in patience,” Buttram said.
— Matt Busse
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Alleghany County cannabis facility plans further growth next year
Then: This past summer, Chicago-based Green Thumb Industries was putting the finishing touches on a new cannabis-growing facility in Alleghany County to serve Virginia’s medical marijuana market.
The company produces botanical cannabis — the plant’s flower form — and cannabis-based items such as tinctures and edibles. Cannabis cultivated at the Alleghany site will be sent to the company’s Abingdon manufacturing facility to be processed into products. Green Thumb also runs the RISE Dispensary medical marijuana locations in Abingdon, Bristol, Christiansburg, Danville, Lynchburg and Salem.
Regional officials hailed the new facility for bringing jobs to the area and noted that the company would be well-positioned to take advantage of any further marijuana legalization at the state or federal levels.
Now: The company received its official state approval to open and operate the cultivation facility in Low Moor at the end of July. Since then, it’s grown to have more than 20 employees and plans to expand further in 2024.
“We are grateful for the warm welcome and support we’ve received since opening our doors, and we are honored to be part of the Alleghany County community,” Jack Page, GTI’s market leader in Virginia, said via email.
— Matt Busse
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Uranium mining moratorium still stands
Then: A little over a year ago, a Canadian mining company purchased the 3,000-acre Coles Hill site in Pittsylvania County that is home to the largest uranium deposit in the United States. But a 1982 moratorium on uranium mining prevented the company, called Consolidated Uranium, from developing the site.
When Consolidated Uranium bought the site in November 2022, spokesperson Marty Tunney said there were no formal plans to push to overturn the moratorium. Rather, the company would focus on educational efforts to inform Virginians about how uranium mining can be done in a safe and environmentally friendly way, Tunney said.
But Southside legislators and residents remained wary of the health, safety and environmental risks of uranium mining.
Now: Not much has changed. Tunney said that the company’s educational efforts have not begun, and Southside legislators say it’s unlikely that overturning the moratorium will be discussed seriously during the upcoming General Assembly session.
When asked if there has been any change in perspective on uranium mining among Southside residents or legislators, Sen. Frank Ruff, R-Mecklenburg County, said there has been “none whatsoever.”
Ruff announced Dec. 15 that he is retiring for health reasons; a special election on Jan. 9 will determine his successor in the 9th Senate District. After this year’s elections, the 9th District now includes Pittsylvania County.
Del. Danny Marshall, R-Danville, said that he remains opposed to overturning the moratorium because of concerns around radioactive tailings and watershed contamination. He said he thinks most legislators who have discussed this topic before feel the same way, although he mentioned the turnover in the General Assembly (there will be more than 50 new members when the body convenes next month).
“There are a lot of new faces,” Marshall said. “But I think we can make a compelling argument [to them] that it shouldn’t be done.”
— Grace Mamon