Pot-a-peno is a compact, high-yielding jalapeño pepper variety bred for growing in containers and hanging baskets.
Pot-a-peno is a compact, high-yielding jalapeño pepper variety bred for growing in containers and hanging baskets.
Road work begins on Monroe
Crews are working to re-align Monroe Street and to make the area safer for motorists.
Work began last week on a Virginia Department of Transportation initiative to make West Lee Highway safer.
Traffic changes, including a detour, will be in effect through December, as workers align Monroe Street and reduce troubles with turning into Food City from West Lee Highway.
The project, which got underway on June 11, will realign West Monroe Street north leg to match the south leg on the other side of US Highway 11. Moving the road will increase the distance between the road and the signal light on West Main Street and create a straight path across the highway, reducing the chance of collisions crossing West Lee.
In addition, a raised median will be installed along West Lee Highway, preventing drivers from making left turns into or out of the Food City parking lot. Dedicated left turn lanes from West Lee Highway onto Monroe Street will be added in both directions, cutting back on the chances for rear-end collisions.
Council in 2023 gave its blessing to the VDOT project.
Part of the Virginia Department of Transportation’s Smart Scale program, the intersection of Monroe Street and West Lee Highway became more crowded once the Food City opened.
The VDOT Smart Scale program is a process that helps the state meeting critical transportation needs using limited tax dollars. It evaluates potential transportation projects based on key factors like how they improve safety, reduce congestion, increase accessibility, contribute to economic development, promote efficient land use, and affect the environment.
Town approves contract for manager
Town Council on June 8 approved an amended contract for interim Town Manager Chris Slemp.
Though a previous employment agreement had been approved, revisions were made, requiring a new deal.
The contract comes with a $142,000 annual salary for the interim town manager, who will also continue his role as fire chief for the town. Once a permanent manager is hired, Slemp will return to the fire chief position exclusively, with the salary outlined for that post.
The agreement keeps Slemp as interim until at least Jan. 15, 2027, or until council appoints a new manager.
In other news, the town authorized issuing 50 hunting permits for town-owned property on Sand Mountain, goo through Aug. 31, 2027.
Ron Kime flanks Zach and Emily Cooley in an August 2018 photo at Big Walker Lookout.
Ron Kime flanks Zach and Emily Cooley in an August 2018 photo at Big Walker Lookout.
Council approves $48.3 million budget
Wytheville Town Council on June 8 approved on third and final reading a budget for fiscal year 2027, which begins on July 1.
The budget set the tax rate at 20 cents per $100 value for real estate and mobile homes, 33 cents per $100 value on machinery and tools and 38 cents per $100 value on personal property.
The upcoming budget comes in at $48,326,187, a $6.4 million increase over the current year’s spending plan. The general fund budget is $30,866,471, up $2.6 million over the current fiscal year.
The town will save money in several places year-over-year, with a big chunk coming out of the Town Council line item. The current budget has $4.4 million dedicated, with the upcoming budget set at just under $3 million, a savings of $1.4 million. The town is also seeing $29,669 in savings from the town clerk line item, and nearly $13,000 from the town treasurer’s office. Fire and EMS is set to see a $690,956 reduction in funding from the current year. The public works administration line item is decreasing from $249,348 to $152,578, and recreation administration funding is decreasing $15,488.
The town’s engineering department is increasing funding by $3.4 million, from $1 million to $4.4 million. The police department is also seeing a jump in funding, going from $3.7 million to $4 million.
Real estate taxes are expected to increase $110,902, from $1.9 million to $2 million, while machinery and personal property taxes are expected to stay the same.
The town plans to use $3.5 million of reserve funds in fiscal year 2027, up $605,787 from the $2.9 million used in the current fiscal year.
Man facing intoxication, abduction charges
A Saturday morning call about a disturbance at Northwinds Apartments on North 4th Street ended with an arrest and charges.
The Wytheville Police Department reported that a caller contacted the WPD about what was believed to have been an intoxicated male acting aggressively on the Northwinds playground.
While Officer J.E. Oglesby was searching the area, dispatch reported that a second call had come from the same location, this one regarding an attempted child abduction.
A resident met Oglesby and said a male had approached his 4-year-old daughter on the playground, grabbed her by the hand and started to walk away with her. The father intervened and the male fled toward a nearby tree line after a brief physical and verbal altercation.
Police said the child sustained a minor lip injury during the encounter, but didn’t require a trip to the hospital.
The Wytheville Police Department launched a search of the surrounding area. After a tip that a male matching the suspect’s description was waling up and down driveways on Holston Road, police located the man at a commercial business on Holston Road.
Chad Douglas Spence was charged with public intoxication and felony abduction of a minor. He is being held without bond at the New River Valley Regional Jail facility. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Aug. 18.
