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After 888 days, Smyth Animal Rescue dog finds her home
Nikki first came into the Smyth shelter on Sept. 30, 2023. She was adopted last month.
Nikki loves to run and now has a place where she can.
At her new home where she can run and play outdoors, Nikki is said to be having the time of her life now.
The Smyth County Humane Society is hosting Spay-Ghetti No Balls Dinner & Music event on Saturday, April 18, at Marion’s First United Methodist Church.
Acoustic duo Morrison & Perkins will perform for Spay-Ghetti No Balls Dinner & Music.
This week, Smyth Animal Rescue is celebrating the successful adoption of Nikki, who spent 888 days in shelters.
She is one of many success stories that local animal rescue supporters are celebrating. Last year, Smyth County’s animal shelter, now operated by SAR, had its highest live release ever.
Nikki first came to the Smyth shelter on Sept. 30, 2023. Early the next year, the non-profit SAR transferred her to a rescue partner in Northern Virginia, where because of the larger population more pets are adopted.
However, Nikki isn’t a city girl. According to SAR, she “is a dog who very much needs room to run.”
She needed an adopter who could give her abundant physical activity. So, Nikki was transferred back to SAR on June 16, 2024.
Shelter staff and volunteers “loved her and rooted for her happy ending every step of the way. She went on many adventures such as walks at the lake, overnight camping trips, and to many of our community outreach/fundraiser events. Many people showed interest but unfortunately, she was passed over time and time again for one reason or another,” said a SAR spokesperson.
Then, came a potential adopter from Hillsville. (SAR adopts nationwide.)
The connection clicked and on March 6, Nikki was adopted.
The adopter’s granddaughter recently told SAR, "Papa said that he’s so happy that he got her! She is having the time of her life outside. She gets so happy when she sees me. I think she remembers me from the rescue!! Papa said she will be visiting next time they come to Marion!”
Many More Dogs and Cats
Nikki is one of many dogs and cats that SAR strives to care for and get into homes.
Dave and Susie Fields, founders and leaders of SAR, recently updated the Smyth County Board of Supervisors on their work operating the Smyth County Animal Shelter.
In September 2024, Smyth County entered a contract with SAR to operate the shelter.
With 2025 being their first full year overseeing shelter operations, Susie Fields said that they’ve worked on best practices to better care for the animals, including vaccinating the animals to prevent disease spread and spaying/neutering and microchipping them before adoption.
She also said they’ve worked to upgrade the 30-year-old facility that is showing its age.
A 2025 grant helped SAR buy a back-up generator that Susie Fields said was lifesaving during this past winter’s snow and ice storm.
Additionally, she said they added a fenced-in concrete pad for dog exercise and play. Before this change, the dogs were kept in inside kennels and had no time outdoors.
An additional grant for 2026, Susie Fields said will allow the overhaul of the isolation room, add a dog washing station, and get elevated beds for cat cages, all at no cost to taxpayers.
The Virginia Federation of Humane Societies provided the grants.
As SAR strives to provide the “absolute best care” to the animals, Susie Fields told supervisors that at 90.7% Smyth County’s shelter had its highest live release percentage in its history. That contrasts to 60.7% in 2022, she said.
Susie Fields credited the success to multiple organizations, including SAR, its sister organization Smyth County Humane Society, Animal Control, and local veterinarians along with the community. The public, she said, plays an instrumental role.
For dogs, Susie Fields said 25% are reclaimed by their owners, 25% are adopted locally, and 40% are transferred to rescue partners.
For cats, few are reclaimed and few are adopted. About 70% are transferred to a partner rescue.
Challenges do still exist.
Susie Fields said that the rescue partners can’t take larger dogs. Nationally, adoptions of larger dogs are declining and, she said, that trend also seems to be happening locally.
Problems with overpopulation in the community also continue.
“Communities can’t continue producing more puppies and kittens than they can care for,” Susie Fields said.
While there’s still work to be done, she said, the community should be proud of what’s been accomplished.
Spay-Ghetti No Balls Dinner & Music
One way to help is supporting fundraisers hosted by Smyth’s animal rescue organizations.
The Smyth County Humane Society is hosting Spay-Ghetti No Balls Dinner & Music event on Saturday, April 18, at Marion’s First United Methodist Church. This night will include a Italian spaghetti dinner along with music from the acoustic duo, Morrison & Perkins.
Drive-thru pick-up will be from 5-6 p.m. Dine-in seating and music from 6-8 p.m. Presale tickets are available online at the Smyth County Humane Society website --www.smythanimalrescue.org -- or via the Facebook event: $18 for adults, $5 for kids under 12.
All proceeds go to the Smyth County Humane Society’s spay/neuter program. Sponsors are Custom Air Heating & Cooling, Roger’s Towing, Bradley’s Funeral Home, Davis Valley Distillery & Winery, and Davenport Investments.
Purple magic broccoli adds color and interest to gardens and meals.
Purple magic broccoli adds color and interest to gardens and meals.
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Smyth officials urge US Forest Service to reopen Grindstone Campground
With Grindstone Campground now having been closed five years, a county resident asked the Board of Supervisors to help push for its reopening. Last month, the supervisors acted and plan to continue their work on the matter this week.
Joey Cook shared his frustration with the supervisors about the loss of tourism dollars as well as missed recreation opportunities.
After the campground was cited by the Department of Environmental Quality for failures of its more than 50-year-old wastewater system, the campground was closed by the spring season of 2021.
The U.S. Forest Service first reported a leak to the DEQ in 2018. The situation only grew worse. A consent order to resolve the situation was signed in October 2020 when the campground had already been closed for the COVID-19 pandemic.
Sitting at 3,800 feet, Grindstone had long been a popular campground. It offered easy access to hiking, wildlife viewing and trout fishing. It offered 90 single and seven double campsites.
Cook, who said he often camps in Tennessee and around the area, talked about the great people he’d met at Grindstone, noting that many people would come in for Marion festivals but stay in the Mount Rogers National Recreation campground.
Since all this started, Cook said only the Opossum Loop of the campground has been available. It reopened in 2024.
Speaking to the supervisors in early 2024, Ed Wright, Mount Rogers NRA Area Ranger, estimated that work on the then about $5 million project would get underway in 2025.
A 2024 Forest Service news release said the work would be a multi-year project that had then moved through the planning stage and “is in the final steps of the design phase in preparation to move to the third and final phase of construction.”
The work was being funded by the Great American Outdoors Act.
Currently, bids are being accepted through April 24 to replace the wastewater treatment plant. Once a bid is awarded, the project is expected to take a year.
Cook urged the supervisors and U.S. Rep. Morgan Griffith to act. He expressed the fear that the money now allocated for the campground could be shifted to another project.
Supervisors’ Vice Chair Mike Sturgill told Cook that he’d been in touch with Griffith’s office multiple times. He also said that he completely agreed about the need to get the campground reopened.
At their meeting last week, the supervisors also unanimously adopted a resolution in support of Grindstone Campground’s reopening.
In part, the resolution said, “…the Smyth County Board of Supervisors recognizes the importance of Grindstone Campground as a cornerstone of local tourism, outdoor recreation, and community well-being, and urges all efforts to prioritize its return to public use….”
In the document, the Board of Supervisor also encourage “continued collaboration between federal, state, and local partners to ensure the campground’s successful reopening and long-term sustainability.”
County Administrator Shawn Utt noted that Wright has been invited to the April 9 meeting to share updates about the proposed construction and other upgrades. They plan to present the resolution to him.
Last week, a major restructuring of the Forest Service was announced.
The plans call for the closure of all the agency’s regional offices and 57 of 77 of the agency’s research facilities, including one in Blacksburg. The Blacksburg center has been involved in researching Hurricane Helene’s environmental impacts to the Southern Appalachians.
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Smyth supervisors expected to take up junkyard permit request
Zane Kite is asking the county for a special use permit.
After delaying their decision by a month, Smyth County’s planners were unable to reach a recommendation on a request to transform a former auto graveyard into a junkyard.
After hearing diverse opinions over two months, on March 26, the Smyth County Planning Commission took up Zane Kite’s request for a special use permit to develop the 169 Old Prater Road, Marion, property into a junkyard.
One commissioner moved to recommend to the Board of Supervisors that the permit be granted with conditions. That action failed when no one else supported it.
Then, a motion was made to recommend that the supervisors deny the permit. That action failed when the vote tied, 3-3.
Ultimately, the commission decided to send the tie vote to the supervisors and inform them that they couldn’t make a recommendation.
The commission had heard numerous citizen comments with many adamantly opposed and others equally in support of the junkyard.
Those opposed cited concerns about the impact to property values and the potential environmental impact, particularly the risk of liquids from vehicles being prepared for compaction or held for parts, entering the ground or water system.
Those in support lauded the potential opportunity to buy vehicle parts less expensively as well as the environmental plus of recycling car parts.
Kite told a joint hearing of the supervisors and commission that he’s been a hunter and fisherman his entire life and cares about the environment. He promised to take extreme measures to protect the land and a nearby stream.
Kite also noted that the property is still home to dozens of cars. “It’s still a junkyard,” he said, contending that it’s a bigger risk to leave the site unmanaged.
Working in the low valley of the property will keep vehicles out of sight, Kite said, who added a promise to build a fence or create another barrier to protect views.
Safety and professionalism will be maintained, Kite said.
While his VPDES Industrial Stormwater General Permit allows him to operate on 6.5 acres, Kite estimated he’ll initially use two to three acres.
He projected that five to six vehicles would be brought in a day. Most of the vehicles will be crushed by a professional service, he said, adding that only a small percentage would be saved for part sales.
Jack Billings owns the property. He expressed the belief that Kite will be an asset and will operate the junkyard more professionally than it was in the past. Billings also said that if fluid leak, Kite could face $10,000 DEQ fines.
The request for the special use permit will now go to the Board of Supervisors who are expected to take up the matter Thursday evening.
