Bronwyn Owen opened Big Blue Art in Bluefield, VA, seeking to make the arts accessible for everyone. Big Blue Art is a recent recipient of a $10,000 VCEDA Seed Capital Matching Grant.
Bronwyn Owen opened Big Blue Art in Bluefield, VA, seeking to make the arts accessible for everyone. Big Blue Art is a recent recipient of a $10,000 VCEDA Seed Capital Matching Grant.
Senator Mark Warner addresses a large crowd in Richlands. Jim Talbert
Richlands Va. – While he brought money to deal with safety issues, U.S. Sen. Mark Warner also dealt with issues on the mind of residents during his visit to Richlands Aug. 27.
“It is always more fun being here than in Washington, so I want to hear what is on your mind," Warner said.Â
The stop in Richlands was part of a swing through Southwest Virginia that included stops in Lee, Scott, Wise and Washington Counties.
Warner said the fate of rural hospitals is one of his major concerns.
“I was a business guy before I got into politics, so I believe in capitalism and our system, but our health care system is too broken," he said.
Warner said he believes it is time for universal health care in this country. He also touched on artificial intelligence.
“It is going to be bigger than the Internet, bigger than cellphones," he said.
“We must move quickly to make sure these AI agents work for a human being. We don’t really know what to train for. I do not think we will see layoffs, but companies are not going to hire people."
Warner said AI companies have stuff they don’t understand.
“It is not science fiction, it is here."
He cited health care as a career that AI will not affect.
“No robot is going to be a good physical therapist in the next 20 years."
Warner said he never thought he would see the amount of graft and grifting that is going on in government now. He expressed hope that Democrats will not continue that pattern if they regain power.
“Some really liberal Democrats get mad at me, but I want to see two strong parties."
He said Mitt Romney had been his partner in bipartisan deals many times. Â
“If Democrats come back, we have to talk less and do more."
 On the issue of data centers, he said there should not be non-disclosure agreement between boards of supervisors and data center companies.
Calling for a federal baseline of regulations and allowing localities to build on them, he said data centers are here to stay.
“You can’t put the genie back in the bottle. In Loudon County taxes are one third cheaper than Fairfax County, so it is not like the community didn’t get something."
The veteran senator expressed hope for the future of Southwest Virginia.
“There are places that are dying, but Southwest Virginia is not one of them. There is no place that has more grit and determination than Southwest Virginia."Â
Following his stop in Richlands he headed to Bland County.
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Along with Honaker Principal David Bostic, Former Coach Doug Hubbard, whose name is on the Tiger field house and Jon Bowerbank, whose company purchased the original turf wait for the coin toss on the newly installed turf. Jim Talbert
Along with Honaker Principal David Bostic, Former Coach Doug Hubbard, whose name is on the Tiger field house and Jon Bowerbank, whose company purchased the original turf wait for the coin toss on the newly installed turf. Jim Talbert
A few of the items on display. Jim Talbert
Tazewell Va. – Most people have things they hold onto and pass down.
Those items and the stories behind them are the subject of the latest exhibit at Haus of Taylor in Tazewell. The exhibit opened to the public, Aug. 29 and will be available for viewing through Nov. 30.
“What We Kept is a community exhibition because it was built by the community. The objects, photographs, stories, memories, music, food, and traditions that fill the Haus of Taylor Gallery come from the people who call this place home,’ the gallery said in a Facebook post.
The exhibit is described as an interactive community memory archive. Each display has its own QR code allowing visitors to scan and learn the significance of what is being displayed.
The exhibit is being presented in conjunction with Visit Tazewell County as part of the America’s 250 celebration. It features items from family collections as well as the Tazewell County Historical Society.Â
Whether it’s the guitar an 89 -year-old uncle still plays, a Crown Royal quilt, a picture, or a knife, they all have a story behind them and special memories for someone. In October the gallery will feature a doll that is part of a collection that is supposedly haunted.
There is a register from Burke’s Garden School in the 1800’s and a 1903 issue of the Clinch Valley News alongside glassware, a marble, a film camera and other unique items.
For viewing hours or other information HausofTaylor on Facebook.
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Emilee Hackney signs a book for Amity Lane.
Tazewell Va. – Emilee Hackney might have been standing at the counter at Subway or the Well instead of at a podium in the Tazewell County Public Library.
Hackney, a best-selling author and Harvard graduate, worked at both while growing up in Tazewell. “I am really happy to see everybody and reconnect. This is a great town,’ she said.
The 2015 THS graduate said she had received a lot of wonderful messages from people in the area. A crowd of about one hundred packed into the library on Saturday afternoon to hear her read an excerpt from the book and get their copy signed.
What started as a thesis turned into “All that’s Unseen: An Appalachian Memoir.’
The book rose to ninth on the New York Times combined E- book and print nonfiction list. Â An eighth-generation southwest Virginian, Hackney deals with the struggles of wanting to leave and being drawn back to the mountains in the book.
She joined the administrative staff of the University of Virginia’s English department in 2025 and she and her husband and their child live in the Charlottesville area. “I haven’t had a lot of time for reading or writing lately,’ she said.
Hackney’s stops since leaving Tazewell include hiking the Appalachian Trail, an adventure she had hoped to undertake with her father before his sudden death. She hinted her time on the trail might be either the subject or woven into her next book.
Hackney encouraged young people to pursue their dreams wherever they are. “You don’t have to leave here to have a good life,’ she said. Her book is available on Amazon and in all major bookstores.
 The library has multiple hard copies and e-books.
