I hope you enjoy my latest column, a collection of weekly short news updates and future events to look out for, and arriving to your inbox as part of our NRV newsletter on Mondays.
As your New River Valley reporter, I primarily cover Blacksburg, Christiansburg, Montgomery County and Radford, but aim to expand my reach throughout the rest of a bustling valley.
I aim to inform and meet people where they are at, but the valley is vast. So if you have thoughts on a developing story or ideas on how I can get to know your community better, you can reach me at erick@cardinalnews.org.
Crew traveling the length of the New River to share experience in Blacksburg
A five-person expedition crew is paddling the New River’s 320 miles and will share their experience at a meet-and-greet hosted by Rising Silo Brewery in Blacksburg on Wednesday.
The crew left for its annual expedition on June 2, paddling off from Green Valley Community Park in Warrensville, North Carolina, and they plan to reach the confluence of the New River and Gauley River in Gauley Bridge, West Virginia, by August.
Their goal is to experience the vast landscape firsthand, meet with New River communities, and support the growth of the New River Trail by identifying areas in need of recreational access and clean-up support.
The New River Conservancy provides the crew with essentials on their journey and is taking charge of the New River Trail action plan that spans Virginia, North Carolina and West Virginia.
“Our goal is to highlight the incredible communities along the New River, and within the watershed, to show what is possible through the New River Water Trail,” said New River Conservancy Executive Director Andrew Downs in a news release. “I believe the trail will become the crown jewel of outdoor recreation in the Appalachians and the Expedition is the best way for everyone to see what is possible on the river.”
The meet-and-greet is set for 7 p.m. Wednesday. The crew’s last event in the New River Valley will be in Narrows for the July 4 festivities in the Town Park along Wolf Creek.
Willis family gets help from Chris Long Foundation and others
A veteran and his family are getting a new water system through a collaboration of companies and a nonprofit.
Tristan Brown and his wife Merrilyn bought property in Floyd County’s Willis community several years ago with a plan to become self-sufficient — building a homestead and raising animals while homeschooling their three kids, according to a news release from Xylem, one of the companies involved.
But they quickly found out their aging well was a problem — and they had to ration water. That made it difficult on their daily lives, including maintaining their homesteading plan, according to the release, which added that the cost of drilling a new well was out of reach for the Browns.
“We’ve spent years planning our days around water and hoping the well would hold on just a little longer,” Tristan Brown, a Purple Heart recipient, said in the release. “There were times when we’d run out of water in the middle of a shower or wake up during the night just to run a load of laundry. This new well is more than a source of water — it’s a source of stability, relief and hope for our family.”
Volunteers and local professionals will drill a new well and install a pump system to restore dependable water service to the home. Key project partners include local distributor CMC Supply and well driller Rorrer Well Drilling, which is donating drilling services for the project.
Together with Xylem Watermark, the company’s corporate social responsibility program, partners are contributing equipment, materials, technical expertise and services to complete the installation.
Also involved is the Water Well Trust and HometownH2O, a program of the Chris Long Foundations’ Waterboys initiative. Long is a former NFL football player who competed collegiately at the University of Virginia.
The organizations work to address water access challenges in underserved communities.
Pulaski County wins award for its reuse of old school properties
Pulaski County’s reuse of former school properties earned it the Virginia Association of Counties 2026 Achievement Award.
“We are honored to be recognized for our vision, hard work and strategic partnerships to achieve such a monumental feat of comprehensively repurposing ten, and soon to be eleven, discontinued public school facilities throughout the county with varying reuses,” said County Administrator Jonathan Sweet in a news release announcing the award.
The county’s “Vacancy to Vitality” program includes the following 11 projects: Draper Elementary School (The Conery); Pulaski Middle School (Pulaski Lofts, a market-rate apartment project); Claremont Elementary (Claremont School Apartments, a residential affordable and senior housing apartment project); Dublin Elementary School (The Gateway Private School); Dublin Middle School auxiliary building (public safety and emergency management facility): Old Riverlawn School (home to Community Action, a community park, and public trailhead); Newbern Elementary School (headquarters to Trova Commercial Vehicles); Northwood Elementary School (renovated into the Pulaski County School Board and administrative offices); Pulaski County High School (fully renovated and 100% utilized for Pulaski County Administration, the Virginia Department of Health and the Virginia Cooperative Extension and 4-H offices); Dublin Middle School outside classroom unit (relocated during the COVID-19 pandemic, now used as a childcare classroom at the Building Bridges Early Learning Center); Dublin Middle School (to be repurposed into residential apartment units).
One of the keys to the projects is the right public-private or public-public/NGO/nonprofit partnership approach, according to the county news release. It worked with numerous private-sector, public-sector, nonprofit and NGO partners to complete the feat of tackling 10 projects in less than 10 years with the prospect of completing the eleventh within that timeframe, the release states.
The county’s private, public, nonprofit, and NGO partners include: Echelon Resources, Inc., Landmark Property Management Company, Thee Draper Village, Building Bridges, Trova Commercial Vehicles, Pulaski County Economic Development Authority, Pulaski County School Board, Virginia Department of Health, Virginia Cooperative Extension and 4-H, Gateway School, New River Community Action, Locus and the New River Valley HOME Consortium.
More information about the 2026 VACo Achievement Awards can be found here.
