Mr. and Mrs. Vall Dino, the former Andreanna Meek, on their wedding day, Oct. 10.
Mr. and Mrs. Vall Dino, the former Andreanna Meek, on their wedding day, Oct. 10.
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Bland's Hitachi Energy to honor people impacted by breast cancer with dinner
Hitachi Energy's Bland facility held its first Breast Cancer Survivor & Warrior Dinner last year.
The dinner honors survivors of breast cancer, those in treatment, and those who support them.
Attendees are encouraged to dress in pink.
Pink will be the favored color at Hitachi Energy's Bland facility this Sunday evening.
The plant is doing its part to recognize community members impacted by breast cancer during this Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
According to Brittany Aldawood, Hitachi Energy’s external communications and media relations manager, the plant at 171 Industry Drive will host its second Breast Cancer Survivor & Warrior Dinner on Sunday, Oct. 25, at 5 p.m.
Aldawood noted that the dinner will honor “survivors, those currently in treatment, and the family and friends who've walked alongside them”.
Local government officials and community leaders are expected to join employees in honoring attendees over dinner. Guests are encouraged to dress formally in their favorite shade of pink.
Aldawood also noted that the occasion is free and open to the community.
She noted that no fundraising will take place. “… This is purely about recognition and support for people in our area who have been affected by breast cancer.”
Seats are still available, and anyone interested can RSVP by emailing LeRae Merritt at lerae.merritt@hitachienergy.com or Kim Hernandez at kim.hernandez@hitachienergy.com.
Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women in the U.S. besides skin cancers. It accounts for about 1 in 3 new cancers in women each year.
For 2026, the American Cancer Society's estimates for breast cancer in the U.S. are:
∙ About 321,910 new cases of invasive breast cancer will be diagnosed in women.
∙ About 60,730 new cases of ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) will be diagnosed.
∙ About 42,140 women will die from breast cancer.
WCC theatre staging ‘Boys Next Door’
Wytheville Community College Theatre invites the community to experience The Boys Next Door, a humorous and heartwarming production written by Tom Griffin, directed by Robert “Joe” Burnett.
The Boys Next Door centers on four men with intellectual disabilities living together in a communal apartment under the supervision of an earnest, but increasingly burned-out social worker named Jack. The play follows their daily lives, showing how ordinary moments often become momentous and deeply funny. Above all, it serves as a poignant reminder that everyone, regardless of ability, seeks love, laughter, and a sense of purpose in life.
"This is a story that will make you laugh, make you reflect, and ultimately leave you moved," said director Joe Burnett. "Our cast and crew have worked tirelessly to bring these beautiful, complex characters to life, and we cannot wait to share their story with our community."
Performances will take place on Oct. 30 and 31 and Nov. 6, and 7 at 7 p.m., with doors opening at 6:30 p.m. All shows will be held in the Snyder Auditorium of Grayson Hall on WCC’s Wytheville campus, located at 1000 East Main Street in Wytheville.
Performances are open to the public. Tickets are $8 for general admission, $7 for senior citizens (60+) and students (any age, any school), and free for WCC students with ID. Cash or check will be accepted (no credit or debit cards). Tickets may be purchased at the box office in the Johnson Lobby, adjacent to Snyder Auditorium, beginning 30 minutes prior to each performance. Note, this show contains adult language. It is not recommended for children or people who would be offended.
To reserve tickets in advance, accommodations, or general details about the production, please email wcctheatre@wcc.vccs.edu or call (276) 223-4795. The Boys Next Door by Tom Griffin is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals on behalf of Dramatists Play Service.
“Fireworks” Goldenrod (Solidago rugosa) brightens up the garden.
“Fireworks” Goldenrod (Solidago rugosa) brightens up the garden.
On the Trail: Powers lays out case for congressional election
Democrat Joy Powers talks about data centers during a candidates forum held in Wytheville on Monday.
Incumbent U.S. Rep. Morgan Griffith was a no-show at the Monday night candidates forum held in the Wytheville Meeting Center, but Democratic challenger Joy Powers answered questions ranging from data centers and Flock cameras to education and agriculture.
A fourth generation Bedford cattle farmer, Powers relayed to a crowd of around 50 how she grew up in a bipartisan household, with a Democrat-voting father and a Rush Limbaugh-listening mother.
If elected, Powers said that she would work to roll back cuts to Medicaid and rebuild the system, ensuring that rural Americans aren’t a sacrificial lamb. She pointed out that even in the best of times, Medicaid reimbursements favor urban and suburban areas, with places like the 9th District suffering. She added that because of the high Medicaid usage in the 9th, entire hospitals here are at risk.
Powers also addressed what is commonly called the brain drain impacting the region, with young people leaving to find work and better lives elsewhere. She said in Congress that she would focus on bringing industry to the people her, adding that a lack of jobs in the region is a bipartisan issue.
Powers said she would work to ensure affordable health care and child care, including infancy care, for working families.
Specifically, Powers noted that tax funding is generally only available to bigger companies, those with north of 700 employees. She wants to change that, pointing out that helping hands to local, smaller companies scales more and rolls over in the economy more, helping to boost the investment.
She also called data centers lazy economic development, with proposed and in-progress centers taking up space where industry should be. Powers said Virginia currently has more data centers than are in the entirety of China, adding that thy are destructively built. She noted that Google, which has proposed a center just outside of the 9th in the Roanoke area, has a similar one in Finland that is a completely closed loop system, built on clean energy and recycled water. She said tech companies need to be forced to build in that same way in the United States, calling for a temporary moratorium to get the oversight part in place.
“They won’t meet standards till we make them,” Powers said.
Powers pointed to Kentucky as a model for transitioning existing work forces and infrastructure toward new industry. She said Kentucky is successfully transitioning coal communities to energy hubs, building transformers, solar and more. She noted that upgrades to Southwest Virginia’s robust rail system would help manufacturers take advantage of what the region has, including a planned inland port coming to Washington County.
Powers also politicked for getting corporate energy money out of politics, warning that as power bills go higher “we’re going to lose people in this district this winter.”
The challenger also proposed a USDA program that would pour funding into revitalizing existing homes, saying that the region has a large stock of older homes on the cusp of not being habitable.
Powers also argued that the Farm Bill doesn’t do enough and has lost its bipartisanship in the current political climate. She said the country needs a plan to feed itself in the future, including bolstering the domestic food supply and protecting American producers. She noted that the beef cattle herd is now at its lowest since 1951. She also promised to back mandatory country of origin labeling for agriculture products.
