The proposal will boost pay for skilled workers to make the county more competitive for its open roles.
Jeff Lester
Jeff Lester served for five years as editor of The Coalfield Progress in Norton, The Post in Big Stone Gap and the Dickenson Star in Clintwood. He has worked in rural community journalism in Southwest Virginia for nearly 35 years, beginning as a Coalfield Progress staff writer in early 1990. Lester grew up in Marion and in the Glade Spring area and is a proud graduate of Virginia Intermont College and Virginia Highlands Community College. He has won numerous Virginia Press Association awards, including the 2002 statewide best in show writing award for nondaily newspapers. Under his guidance, Coalfield Progress reporters won the same award in 2008. He can be reached at jeff.c.lester819@gmail.com.
Posted inSports
Big Stone Gap focuses on its undefeated team, not its fugitive coach
News media from as far away as Great Britain descended on the Wise County town, but local fans just wanted to talk about the team.
Posted inLocal
Montgomery County supervisors again will consider expansion of Christiansburg dump site
When the board of supervisors meets Monday, it also will consider a proposal to conduct more frequent real estate assessments and will look at reauthorizing an agricultural zoning district.
Posted inHealth Care
Avian flu is killing vultures in Southwest Virginia. This is a ‘new phenomenon,’ Tech expert says, but may not represent wider spread
Avian flu has been confirmed in dead vultures in Tazewell, Washington and Wythe counties. The state is awaiting tests on other vultures elsewhere in Southwest Virginia.
Posted inLocal
After questions, Montgomery supervisors take on construction waste dump site expansion again
The proposal would allow for disposal of 2 million cubic yards of debris over a 40-year period, including soil, brick, concrete block and broken concrete.
Posted inLocal
Suspension policy could change in Montgomery County schools
The goals, according to meeting documents, are to ensure academic continuity, address the root causes of behavioral problems and reduce the frequency of repeated suspensions.
Posted inPolitics
Razor-thin margins in Radford mean absentee ballots may determine winners
Angel Turpin and Joy Morrison hold leads going into absentee ballot counting.
Posted inPolitics
At Lee County hospital that once closed and then reopened, Spanberger warns about federal impacts on rural health care
President Donald Trump’s so-called “One Big Beautiful Bill” budget legislation will remove $26 billion from health care in Virginia, Spanberger said following a tour of the Lee County hospital. “The harm hasn’t hit yet.”
Posted inLocal
Dumpsite proposal reaches Montgomery supervisors for vote
The board will also vote on various appropriations including money for a Marcus Alert system and school nutrition programs.
Posted inPolitics
Earle-Sears backs a small nuclear reactor in Wise County
Utilities haven’t shown interest in a nuclear reactor in Southwest Virginia, but some officials have pursued one anyway. The Republican candidate for governor backed their efforts during a relatively rare roundtable in Marion on Thursday.