Here’s a roundup of news briefs from around Southwest and Southside. Send yours for possible inclusion to news@cardinalnews.org.
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Roaring Run to close for maintenance in June
The Roaring Run Recreation Area in Botetourt County will be closed to the public for most of June for maintenance and repair work.
Work will include replacing the deteriorating timber bridge superstructure that serves as the access road to the area, which is part of the George Washington and Jefferson National Forest. The new bridge superstructure will be concrete pre-cast beams. Funding for the bridge came from the Great American Outdoors Act, according to a news release announcing the closure.
The recreation area will be closed June 3-27.
For more information about the George Washington and Jefferson National Forest, visit https://www.fs.usda.gov/gwj,https://twitter.com/GWJNForhttps://www.facebook.com/GWJNF.
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State opioid authority announces $22.7 million in grants
The Virginia Opioid Abatement Authority has approved another $22.7 million in grants to fund opioid abatement and remediation projects across the state.
“These grants will help communities across the commonwealth develop and expand programs to prevent opioid addiction, to provide treatment, and to support people in recovery,” state Sen. Todd Pillion, R-Washington County and chair of the authority’s board of directors, said in a news release.
The authority was created by the General Assembly in 2021 to administer the Opioid Abatement Fund, which collects settlement payments from manufacturers and distributors of prescription opioids.
The payments from the various settling companies are expected to continue for at least 15 more years and will exceed $1 billion in total funding; 55% of it, about $550 million, will be controlled by the authority.
This is the second round of grants awarded by the authority. The first set of grants was announced in June 2023 and delivered more than $23 million to 76 cities and counties. It was followed by awards to state agencies totaling almost $11 million.
Some of the grants announced this week are new, while others are continuations of grants awarded during last year’s round.
Here’s a list of the awards made to projects in Southwest and Southside:
- Bedford County: $45,000 planning grant to develop opioid abatement strategies.
- Franklin County: $11,505 for renovations of a recovery residence to increase capacity for pregnant/parenting women with substance use disorder.
- Roanoke: Continuation of adverse childhood experiences training; year 1 funding of $97,000 carried over to year 2.
- Roanoke: Continuation of Certified Peer Recovery Specialist program; year 1 funding of $61,000 carried over to year 2.
- Roanoke: Continuation of xylazine testing and spectrometer for testing substances; year 1 funding of $48,000 carried over to year 2.
- Roanoke: Continuation of public outreach and warm line; year 1 funding of $25,000 carried over to year 2.
- Roanoke: Year 1 funding of $21,867 opioid-related EMS supplies carried over to year 2.
- Roanoke County: $146,275 to support the Partnership for Community Wellness.
- Roanoke County: $40,000 to Family Services of Roanoke Valley for mental health and substance use disorder support.
- Smyth County: $63,207 for year 2 of peer support/recovery court; year 1 funding of $7,147 carried over to year 2.
- Alleghany and Covington: $1.1 million for substance use disorder prevention, treatment, recovery.
- Buena Vista, Lexington and Rockbridge County: $536,121 for year 2 of Hope House, a recovery residence program.
- Dickenson, Scott and Lee counties: $1.7 million to build and begin operating the Wildwood Wellness Health and Recovery Center.
- Grayson and Carroll counties and Galax: $82,281 for year 2 of recovery court enhancement; year 1 funding of $153,421 carried over to year 2.
- Lynchburg and Campbell County: One-time capital for crisis receiving center and treatment initiation facility; $1.7 million carried over from Fiscal Year 2024.
- Montgomery, Giles, Floyd and Pulaski counties and Radford: $2.3 million for year 2 of the New River Valley Recovery Ecosystem; year 1 funding of $938,684 carried over to year 2.
- Roanoke and Roanoke County: Year 2 of Roanoke Collective Response (regional coordination of abatement efforts); year 1 funding of $349,741 carried over to year 2.
- Roanoke and Roanoke County: $225,472 to restore recovery housing for pregnant and parenting women.
- Russell and Tazewell counties: $1.9 million to fund Secor, a community residential 90-day step-down program for recently released non-violent inmates from the state prison system.
- Russell and Dickenson counties: $250,000 for recovery housing.
- Smyth, Russell, Lee, Dickenson, Tazewell, Wythe and Wise counties: $305,040 for Project Pathfinder, which provides legal aid for people in recovery.
- Smyth, Wythe, Bland, Carroll, Grayson and Washington counties, Galax and Bristol: $1.1 million for mobile delivery of substance use and primary care services across eight localities using two bus-type vehicles.
- Smyth, Wythe, Bland, Carroll and Grayson counties and Galax: $939,990 for year 2 of Mt. Rogers Regional Opioid Abatement Partnership; year 1 funding of $60,010 carried over to year 2.
- Smyth, Wythe, Grayson and Carroll counties and Galax: $1.5 million for the Appalachian Center for Hope substance use treatment center.
- Wise, Lee and Scott counties and Norton: $162,171 for a Gate City recovery house.
- Wise, Lee and Scott counties and Norton: $294,034 for year 2 of intensive outpatient treatment program; year 1 funding of $118,348 carried over to year 2.
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River District Association awards IGNITE grants
The River District Association has awarded more than $52,000 in RDA IGNITE Pitch Grants to four Danville businesses.
The four winners completed a multi-phase entrepreneurship program before pitching for grant funding. The grants will help them expand or open in the River District.
The winners are:
- Links Coffee House (Wendy Brim): $13,000
- Social Circle Content Marketing (Jameel Austin): $8,000 plus a $2,500 Community Investment Collaborative grant
- Nancy Parrish Interiors (Nancy Parrish): $10,000
- Valkyrie Aerial Acrobatics (Liz Straub): $19,000
Additionally, Beauty and Wellness Center received a $250 grant from Movement Bank.
The 2025 RDA Dream Launch Bootcamp will open for registration this fall.
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Bedford chamber seeks business award nominations
The Bedford Area Chamber of Commerce is accepting nominations for the 85th annual Excellence in Business Awards.
Awards will be presented at the chamber’s annual gala Sept. 12.
Award categories are:
Large Business of the Year: A company with 51 or more employees that has made a significant contribution to the growth of Bedford, is recognized for the integrity of its business operations and has demonstrated an active interest in civic and benevolent activities in the area.Previous recipient: BWX Technologies.
Small Business of the Year:A company of 50 or fewer employees that has made a significant contribution to the growth of Bedford, is recognized for the integrity of its business operations and has demonstrated an active interest in civic and benevolent activities in the area. Previous recipient: Wicked Diesel.
Agri-Business of the Year:A business primarily involved in agricultural input, production or output that has contributed significantly to the advancement of agriculture in the Bedford area. Examples include wineries, orchards, farms and stables.Previous recipient: Bedford Farmers Market.
Nonprofit Organization of the Year: A nonprofit as defined by the IRS that displays a commitment to good and ethical business practices and provides outstanding programs/services that directly impact the Bedford area.Previous recipient: Bower Center for the Arts.
Citizen of the Year: A person who has contributed time, money or resources to the Bedford area through involvement in civic organizations or improvements, service in government or any outstanding effort made for the betterment of the community over the last two years.Previous recipient: Holley Scheffel, Bedford County Office of Economic Development.
Rising Star:An emerging business started in the last two years whose record reflects ongoing and exceptional growth and increased levels of leadership, responsibility and sphere of impact.Previous recipient: Frosted Ridge Confections.
Lifetime Achievement: Given every other year, this award honors an outstanding individual who has substantially provided for the improvement and advancement of the Bedford area. The award is heavily weighted upon a record of voluntary community involvement and giving back to Bedford.Previous recipient: Nancy Johnson, Johnson’s Orchards/Peaks of Otter Winery.
To submit a nomination, visitwww.BedfordAreaChamber.com/Awardsand complete the form by June 10. Nominations can also be mailed or dropped off at 305 E. Main St., Bedford, VA 24523.Anyone can nominate a company or individual. A company can be nominated for more than one award category. Multiple nominations do not influence the selection of finalists.
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Cabin renovations complete at Douthat, Fairy Stone state parks
Cabin renovations at Douthat and Fairy Stone state parks have been completed, the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreationannounced.
The renovations, led byPMA Architecture, began in 2021 and were part of a comprehensive plan to address infrastructure needs and modernize the log cabins, which were built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s, and the cinder block cabins constructed in the 1950s, according to a release from the state.
Phase one wrapped up in the spring of 2023 and included 29 cabins. The remaining 26 cabins received upgrades in the second phase, which was completed this month May 2024.
The work included upgrading bathrooms and kitchens, replacing windows and furniture, updating plumbing and electrical systems, and rehabbing the log cabin walls.
To learn more about the cabins, visitvirginiastateparks.gov.
