By Taylor Boyd The $300 million project to expand 7.4-miles of U.S. 58 over Lovers Leap Mountain officially began with a groundbreaking ceremony at Fred Clifton Park in Meadows of Dan on Wednesday, Sept. 29. The project, which is expected to be completed by the spring of 2026, is part...

By Taylor Boyd In an unopposed bid for the Dan River District seat on the Patrick County Board of Supervisors, Brandon  Simmons said the most important challenge facing the county is finances.  “The problem is we have so many people still leaving the county, and unfortunately our age group is...

By Taylor Boyd Rob Martin is seeking the Dan River District seat on the Patrick County School Board as a write-in candidate. Because he is a write-in candidate, Martin’s supporters must write his name on the ballot under the Dan River District section. His name must be written as “Rob...

Sign up now to get weekly top stories, eEdition notifications, deals and more from Mountain Messenger right to your inbox.

Plant- and tree-identifying apps can help you avoid stepping in some poison ivy by telling you that it’s just a blackberry bramble. Apps like iNaturalist, LeafSnap, PictureThis® and PlantSnap are handy tools that can help people learn about surrounding flora. They can turn a walk in the park into a...

The Virginia Tech Reynolds Homestead will host its annual Holiday Arts and Crafts Fair in person on Saturday, Nov. 13, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Community Engagement Center in Critz. Vendors are welcome to apply on-line, and physical application forms are also available at the Creative Arts...

Patrick, Henry and Martinsville are among localities to partake in an allocation of more than $7.7 million in Growth and Opportunity for Virginia (GO Virginia) grants to advance community economic recovery efforts. This funding will support 14 projects focused on economic diversification, workforce development, talent pipelines, economic resiliency, and business-ready...

   Youngsters in grades 3 to 12 who live in the Dan River Basin are invited to participate in the Inspire Clean Water Art Contest, sponsored by the Uptown Martinsville Rotary Club. Artwork submitted to the contest should focus on the theme “Protecting our rivers and streams and the wildlife...

Beginning Oct. 1, all Virginia Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) “participants will see an increase in their benefits due to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)’s recent update to the Thrifty Food Plan methodology, the first since 1975. SNAP benefits are based on the Thrifty Food Plan to estimate...

Sign up now to get weekly top stories, eEdition notifications, deals and more from Mountain Messenger right to your inbox.

By Taylor Boyd After weeks of changing data, the Patrick County Public Schools system and neighboring school divisions are seeing a stagnation of COVID-19 cases and quarantines, according to the various schools’ COVID-19 dashboards.  Walter Scott, vice-chairman of the Patrick County School Board and Smith River District representative, said he...

By Taylor Boyd A Penny Drive is set to be held next month to support the purchase of the Penny House in Patrick Springs. The drive-thru event will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 9 at the Stuart Rotary Field. Sue Hall, of the Lord’s...