Jack Clem and the Richlands boys Tennis team will be in tournament play this week.
Jack Clem and the Richlands boys Tennis team will be in tournament play this week.
Richland_clinch_valley
Ground broken for Wagner statute
Tazewell Va. – Less than a year after plans were announced for a park honoring Hall of Fame baseball player Billy Wagner, committee members and town officials broke ground for the project May 18.
After several members of the committee planning the project posed for pictures, the heavy equipment fired up, and members of the town’s public works crew started moving dirt and concrete. Circuit Court Clerk Charity Hurst, a member of the planning committee, said the life size statute of Wagner that will anchor the park will be unveiled Oct. 17 at two pm.
Wagner will be in town for the ceremony which will coincide with the THS homecoming weekend and the induction ceremonies for the THS Hall of Fame. Committee Chairman Brad Pyott said the project is right on schedule.  The statute is in Texas being forged and will come from there to South Carolina where it will get the final changes before making its way to Tazewell.
Maria Kirby-Smith is sculpting the statue of Wagner in an Astros uniform. Kirby-Smith erected the Coal Miners Memorial statue in Richlands, the statues in front of the Birthplace of Country Music Museum in Bristol and numerous other statues across the Southeast.Â
The committee has taken on the responsibility of raising the estimated $250,000 to $300,000 needed to pay for the statute and erecting it.
The town put up $25,000 to cover the site work for the park which is owned by its Industrial/Economic Development Authority. The town will also perform routine maintenance for the park.
 The county board of supervisors donated $12,500 from its contingency funds toward the project and will consider additional funding at its June 2 meeting. The committee has raised money through donations, selling pavers, and soliciting donations from private sources.      Â
 Wagner’s 16-year career featured stints with the Astros, the Philadelphia Phillies, New York Mets, Boston Red Sox, and Atlanta Braves between 1995-2010. Wagner is the ninth relief pitcher to be elected to the Hall of Fame. His 422 saves are the eighth most in MLB history and are the second most by a left-handed relief pitcher. Wagner owns the MLB record for strikeouts per nine innings with an average of 11.92. The 1990 Tazewell High School graduate was a seven-time All-Star, including during his final season in 2010, where he posted a career best 1.43 ERA as a member of the Braves. Wagner was elected to the Astros Hall of Fame in 2020.
His professional success came after he was selected 12th overall in the 1993 draft by Houston out of Ferrum College. The Ferrum standout is the first Division III player to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Wagner is a member of the College Baseball Hall of Fame and the Ferrum College Sports Hall of Fame.
Wagner is the sixth Virginian — the first from west of Culpeper and the first modern-day player — to be enshrined into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Alpha Southern's winning team. Photo courtesy of Virginia Energy
Alpha Southern's winning team. Photo courtesy of Virginia Energy
Richland_clinch_valley
Resolution honors life of former school superintendent
Joint resolutions from the house and senate were presented to the Lawson family. Contributed photo
A resolution honoring the life Dr. Brenda Lawson was presented to her family last week.
The House of Delegates unanimously approved the resolution introduced by Delegate Will Morefield in January. Lawson, who died in July 2025 spent more than 40 years working in the Tazewell County School system.
She held several roles including supervisor of special education, director of exceptional children, elementary school principal, high school principal, assistant superintendent and ultimately division superintendent.
After her retirement she was an adjunct professor at SWCC. In addition to her work, Lawson was active in church and community work.  She was a longtime member of the Richlands Presbyterian Church, where she served as a Vacation Bible School teacher, choir member, adult Sunday school teacher, moderator of the Women of the Church group and trustee.
Lawson was a member of Abingdon Presbytery's Committee on Ministry, a moderator of Abingdon Presbytery and Abingdon Presbyterian Women, and a vice-moderator and moderator of the Presbyterian Children's Home of the Highlands.
She also was a supporter of Citizens for the Arts and various youth programs and a member of the Clinch Valley Medical Center Board of Trustees and the Richlands Chapter 104 of the Order of the Eastern Star.
 A similar resolution from the senate was introduced by Sen. Travis Hackworth and presented to the family.
Richland_clinch_valley
School board approves new principals
Some familiar faces will be in new places in Tazewell County schools next year.
At its May 11 meeting the Tazewell County School Board approved a new deputy superintendent and new administrators for Tazewell High School. Thomas Brewster returns to the county as deputy superintendent July 1.
Nathan Cline and Robyn Thurston will move from Tazewell Intermediate to Tazewell High School as principal and assistant principal, respectively. Â
In other action the board
*Approved the second reading of the February VSBA policy updates.
*Approved the printing of school calendars and handbooks by Clinch Valley Printing at a total cost of $16,281.
*Approved continuing contract renewals with various vendors for inspections, products, maintenance and services.
*Approved the contract with Trane for air conditioning units at TCTC computer lab at a cost of $27,088.
*Approved the adoption of social studies textbooks for kindergarten thru fifth grade.
*Approved the contract with Appalachian Officials Association for 2026-28028.
*Heard from Director of Finance Gary Matney that the school system and the county received a clean audit report for the last fiscal year.
*Approved the personnel list as presented.
*Voted to not approve the contract for the bathrooms at THS and to resubmit for bids
*Approved the purchase of a Ford F250 from Friendship Ford for $66,417.
*Approved a budget amendment to add the $13.5 million grant for the new school to be built in the Richlands area.
