Richlands and Tazewell players face off.
Richlands and Tazewell players face off.
Tazewell County 4-H Attended 4-H Day at the Capitol in Richmond on January 20-21, 2026, Over 400 4-H members from across the Commonwealth attended 4-H Day at the Capitol. Six 4-H members from Tazewell County attended: This event provides the opportunity for youth to learn more about Virginia governmental procedures and includes a visit to the Capitol and to local Senator, Travis Hackworth’s Office. The Tazewell County 4-H members had the privilege of viewing a legislative session from the Senate gallery and had the opportunity to tour parts of the Virginia State Capitol.
The Tazewell County 4-H members also enjoyed a visit to Jamestown.
For more information on joining Tazewell County 4-H Youth Teen Council, please contact Tammy Sparks or Kathy Dalton at 276-988-0602.
Picture left to right:
Laura Patterson- 4-H Dog Club Leader, Brody Palmer, Bella Lucas, Jaxon Patterson, Senator Travis Hackworth, Kynlee Sheppard, Danny Sparks, Kathy Dalton- 4-H Program Assistant, Tammy Bishop- Sparks- 4-H Extension Agent (not pictured Sophia Robinson)
Tazewell County 4-H Attended 4-H Day at the Capitol in Richmond on January 20-21, 2026, Over 400 4-H members from across the Commonwealth attended 4-H Day at the Capitol. Six 4-H members from Tazewell County attended: This event provides the opportunity for youth to learn more about Virginia governmental procedures and includes a visit to the Capitol and to local Senator, Travis Hackworth’s Office. The Tazewell County 4-H members had the privilege of viewing a legislative session from the Senate gallery and had the opportunity to tour parts of the Virginia State Capitol.
The Tazewell County 4-H members also enjoyed a visit to Jamestown.
For more information on joining Tazewell County 4-H Youth Teen Council, please contact Tammy Sparks or Kathy Dalton at 276-988-0602.
Picture left to right:
Laura Patterson- 4-H Dog Club Leader, Brody Palmer, Bella Lucas, Jaxon Patterson, Senator Travis Hackworth, Kynlee Sheppard, Danny Sparks, Kathy Dalton- 4-H Program Assistant, Tammy Bishop- Sparks- 4-H Extension Agent (not pictured Sophia Robinson)
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Federal money on the way to county
Flood mitigation money is officially on its way.
Congressman Morgan Griffith’s office on Jan. 22 announced that the U.S. House of Representatives acted to pass several appropriations bills. One appropriations bill that the House passed as part of an appropriations package is the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 2026.
Included in that package was $500,000 for Tazewell County.
The money is earmarked to help the County address overflow issues in Richlands and protect the Clinch River from potential exposure to wastewater and raw sewage.
“In flood events leaking manholes and pipes allow flood water into our sewer plants. This can overwhelm them causing a flood from the inside that bypasses treatment. There is a very real danger of wastewater entering the flood waters downstream as a result. Funding to fix this threat is critical to our flood mitigation efforts," County Administrator Eric Young said
Griffith’s office announced Feb. 3 that President Trump signed the appropriations bill into law. The project will replace manholes and repair leaks in the County's aging wastewater collection systems.
Also included in the appropriations bill was $3 million for the coalfield expressway. The expressway committee held a ribbon cutting last October for a section of the highway that this money will go toward.
Appropriations bills approved in this package include the labor, health and human services appropriations bill, defense appropriations bill and transportation, housing and urban development appropriations bill.
Chris Blankenship works on building a custom guitar at his new business, Rhythmic Restorations, LLC. The Richlands area business is a recent recipient of a VCEDA seed capital matching grant.
Chris Blankenship works on building a custom guitar at his new business, Rhythmic Restorations, LLC. The Richlands area business is a recent recipient of a VCEDA seed capital matching grant.
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County looking to Borrow $4 Million
Tazewell County plans to borrow $4 million for landfill and transfer station improvements and fire station construction, the Board of Supervisors decided at its Feb. 3 meeting. Around $2 million will go toward a new leachate tank.
“In a couple weeks, when it rains and the snow melts, we’re going to have a ton of leachate,” County Administrator C. Eric Young said.
Leachate is formed when rainwater percolates through waste materials, leaching chemicals out of the garbage. State law requires leachate to be collected and treated before being discharged into surface water.
“There’s a maximum amount the Tazewell plant can treat,” said Young. “We have to pay our landfill operators to haul it and then pay Bluefield, West Virginia, to treat it.”
The county spent $19,000 hauling leachate in December. Young estimates that in February, the county will spend between $100,000 - $200,000.
Currently, the county budgets $300,000 per year for hauling leachate. Building a new tank would save the county the cost of hauling and allow leachate to be treated at the Tazewell plant for one cent per gallon instead of fifteen cents per gallon at the Bluefield, WV, plant.
Constructing a new leachate tank would cost an estimated $2 million and take about a year. Although the county has applied for a $400,000 state grant, Young encouraged the board to borrow funds and get started, saying “we need to go ahead and build that tank.”
If the county receives the state grant, the money will help offset the price, but in the meantime the county can begin work on a new tank.
The county’s proposed loan will also help pay for a tire shredder, which Young estimates will cost about $500,000 including installation. Currently, the county pays to take tires to Bland.
The Department of Environmental Quality, which regulates Virginia’s landfills, only allows the county to have 1,500 tires at the landfill at a time. In total, the county spends about $57,000 each year transporting and shredding tires. Young said that purchasing a tire shredder would “pay for itself.”
Supervisor Kyle Cruey said that “not only does it save us money, but that tire shredder is needed,” adding that “the important thing is that it saves us money in the long run.”
Young also suggested using the shredded tires to mulch hiking trails and playgrounds, and to cover the landfill trash at night.
“Right now we do that with dirt,” Young explained. “And dirt seeps into the ground in a way that the rubber won’t. We’re losing airspace over time from the dirt.”
Another $500,000 of the proposed loan money will go toward redesigning the Cedar Bluff Transfer Station and purchasing two new trailers. The facility’s current compacting trailers reached their end of life in 2022.
“When you haul them to the landfill,” Young said, “you are carrying the weight of the built-in compacting mechanism every time. We decided to redesign the facility so we could use more ordinary trailers which are much cheaper and cost less to transport.”
Another $1 million is intended for fire station construction at Springville and renovating the B&W Auto building. The county was awarded federal funds to construct a fire station at Springville but bids came in too high and the project stalled.
“Since using federal grant money would involve special requirements such as decontamination facilities and special insulation for the building to qualify as a fire station, Young suggested using borrowed money to build a fire station similar to the one in Burke’s Garden.
“When we think fire station, we think of building the base that you park trucks in,” Young said.
The remaining federal grant money would fund renovations to the B&W Auto building in North Tazewell. The county purchased the B&W building on Riverside Drive late last year and the town approved zoning changes to allow it to house the paid department the county is forming.
Currently, the county pays about $2 million annually in debt service. Young proposed two scenarios for obtaining $4 million: In the first, the county simply borrows the money, pushing total annual debt payments to just under $2.5 million. The second scenario involves refinancing existing debt and borrowing $4 million.
“We’ll pay more in interest over time, but we’re improving our cash flow because our payments are smaller,” Young said. “And if it helps us get this leachate tank built, the savings on that should make up the difference.”
If the county refinances existing debt, they can borrow $4 million and still pay about $200,000 less in annual debt payments because the debt is being spread out over time. Young recommended refinancing “so we don’t have to come up with more money in the budget.”
At Young’s suggestion, the board authorized a Request for Proposals (RFP) from banks for a $4 million bond issue. The banks will offer bids on both scenarios, allowing the board to see what interest rates will be and make a decision. The board will review the banks’ recommendations at their March meeting.
Bethany Estoll is a student at Bluefield University
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Supervisors dissolve Tazewell County Volunteer Fire Department
Tazewell County fire department is officially out of business.
Following a closed session at the Feb. 3 meeting the board of supervisors voted 5-0 to dissolve the department, which was stationed at the Tazewell Fairgrounds.
The department had been closed since early November 2025, when the board accepted the resignation of its chief and suspended operations.
The volunteer agency was one of 11 volunteer departments operating in Tazewell County with approval from the Board of Supervisors.
The board enacted a restructuring of fire protection in Tazewell County in December 2025 that created a new central Fire Company for Tazewell County and a part time, paid department as a division of county government to become operational later this year.
“The Board anticipates the volunteers from the dissolved department will join the new central Fire Company or take part-time positions with the new Fire Department depending on their qualifications and interest in service," County Administrator Eric Young said in a press release.
“The Tazewell County Volunteer Department’s service area will be covered by other Departments in the area including Baptist Valley, Thompson Valley, Clear Fork and others as needed. No one is going to be without fire coverage between now and when the new Fire Company is organized later this spring. We are hopeful these volunteers will find a home with our Fire Company working in the other stations that cover the same area. Once we open the application period for our paid Department, with the first station located in the same service area, they are welcome to apply," he said.
The Board purchased the former B&W Auto Building in North Tazewell at its January meeting to house the new paid Department inside the former Tazewell County Volunteer Fire Department’s service area. At their meeting Tuesday, the Board also approved borrowing up to $1 million for renovations to the B&W building and a Fire Apparatus for the new paid department.
Young continued, “These moves are more steps forward in developing modern fire protection service for our residents.”
The equipment from the Tazewell County Department will be disbursed to other departments.
