Calendar 14 Church 11 Classified 12 Family Album 4 Obituaries 10 Sports 13 THE ENTERPRISE Viewpoints 8 Vol. 145 No. 37 Website: www.theenterprise.net STUART, VIRGINIA WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 4, 2021 USPS 523-500 $1.00 VOICE OF THE PEOPLE SINCE 1876 - A PART OF PATRICK COUNTY’S HERITAGE Board sets slate of goals at retreat Simmons By Taylor Boyd Cooper Center for Public it,” he said. Clyde DeLoach, of the to serve The Patrick County Board Service at the University of The goals can be broken Blue Ridge District, said the of Supervisors set nine goals Virginia (UVA), facilitated down into three categories: policy will include a contin- as part of its strategic plan the retreat. finances, board-committee gency plan and will define as Town at a July 23 retreat. The He said the goals can be relationships, and health- what an emergency point goals are to be completed accomplished in six-months care. is and when the emergency Manager before the end of the year. and will help with the Finance funds can be used. Charles Hargrove, di- board’s long-term goals. The board plans to create “We don’t want it to get rector of Virginia Student “Once you get through all a financial policy to prepare as bad as it was,” Crystal Government at the Weldon of this, you’ll be better for for the upcoming fiscal year. (See Board p. 5) County’s broadband plan detailed at meeting Bryce Simmons will be Stuart’s new Town Manager. His final day working for the Patrick County Economic Development Authority will be Aug. 27. By Taylor Boyd Bryce Simmons, direc- tor of Patrick County’s economic development ef- forts, announced that he will step down to assume the Stuart Town Manag- er position. Simmons, who current- ly serves as the county’s economic development director, told members of the Patrick County Eco- nomic Development Au- Several people turned out to hear a presentation from RiverStreet Networks about the county’s broadband plan. thority (EDA), that his By Taylor Boyd working with the county on county and what it would port fiber, or a fiber ring. final day with the county Representatives of River- a wireless build out several take to build fiber through- “The reason we want to will be Aug. 27. Street Networks presented months ago, and consider- out the county,” he said. do a ring is if we go in there Simmons said he is an informational session ing potentially building out RiverStreet was able to and we have someone cut thankful to the EDA for about the county’s broad- fiber through the county. bid on census blocks of the that fiber, then the infor- guiding him through the band plan to the Patrick “What we’ve done is just county during the Rural mation will travel around last two years and the County Board of Supervi- put together a broadband Digital Opportunity Fund the other direction, so you’ll experience he’s gained sors. extension plan that talks (RDOF) reverse auction. have some resilience,” Tay- along the way. Rob Taylor of RiverStreet, about different aspects Taylor said the compa- lor said. “I want you to know I’m said the company began of service throughout the ny won 4,465 of the 5,825 From the fiber ring, Riv- not going far, and I hope available blocks in Patrick erStreet plans to lay out that we can work togeth- County, costing $5,418,447. different strand counts er in the future,” Sim- Other census blocs were based on the Geographical mons said. won by SpaceX and Charter Information System (GIS) Simmons, who along Communications. provided by the county. The with the Broadband Com- Folk Fair mittee, has been at the Based on information pro- strand count for each mini- vided by the 2020 U.S. Cen- ring ranges from 288 to 12 helm of the effort to in- sus, 83 percent of all U.S. strands to ensure that each crease access in the coun- households and 84 percent location and every home in ty, also offered a report to return on the continued effort. of Virginia households have the county are being passed internet subscriptions. by fiber. In addition to the proj- “In Patrick County, “This plan is a total fiber ect presented by River- there’s 68.3 percent. So, we to the home build. It’s not fi- Street Networks on July August 21 have a digital gap there,” he ber to the end of the street, 26 (see related story), Simmons said Patrick The Meadows of Dan well,” said Trinity Goad, said. it’s not fiber to Stuart, it’s Taylor said broadband is fiber to the home,” Taylor County has an oppor- Community Association who helps organize the tunity to join a regional announced that the an- event. “The Communi- defined by the Federal Com- said. munications Commission The project is expensive project proposed by Riv- nual Folk Fair will return ty Association hopes you erStreet. this summer, better than will come out and sup- (FCC) as being 25 megabits because the plan is based on per second (mbps) for down- putting the fiber lines in the Currently Franklin, ever. port the Folk Fair. It is Pittsylvania, Charlotte, The festival will be held a FREE event. There is a load, and three mbps for ground to help prevent pow- upload. Based on a map pro- er outages caused by storm and Campbell counties on August 21, from 10 lot going on that day.” are included in the proj- a.m. to 4 p.m., with activ- The day kicks off at vided by the FCC, he said damage, he said. no provider in the county “The number of lines to ect. ities continuing after the Mayberry Presbyterian Simmons said River- official end time at some Church, located South on is doing what RiverStreet put in the ground is 1,426.5 considers to be “true broad- miles of fiber that would Street plans to use mon- locations. the Blue Ridge Parkway. ey from the Rural Digital The Folk Fair will be Pastor Jeff Garrison will band, which is 100/100. I need to be installed. That think you might have some would pass 12,587 homes,” Opportunity (RDOF) as held throughout Mead- discuss the Scottish dias- leverage for a 2022 Vir- ows of Dan, beginning at pora and its influence on out there at Primland, but he said. not really anywhere else,” To get all the fiber lines ginia Telecommunication the Baptist Church, and our region at Mayberry Initiative (VATI) grant extending to the Commu- Presbyterian he said. to all of the fiber passes will For the project, River- cost $45 million, he said. To application. nity Center. Church. Mayberry is “That’s basically to be “We even have great one of the six historic rock Street divided the county connect to all the homes in into seven service districts; the county will cost around a part of the regional ap- things going on outside churches founded early in plication, they provided th each will have its own elec- $72 million. If the plan ex- of town, that we hope the 20 Century by the a level of local match to you will participate in as (See Fair p. 5) tronics. The districts also cludes Stuart, a high-densi- will be connected on a trans- (See Broadband p. 5) complete the project for the RDOF blocs that were received in Patrick Coun- ty along with the SpaceX blocs,” he said. Kendrick to seek post in November The state currently pre- Cindy D. Kendrick will seek to fill the “Every taxpayer who calls or comes in fers big projects and are unexpired remainder of retired Com- our office deserves to receive exception- weighing regional proj- missioner of the Revenue Janet Rorrer’s al customer service and be treated re- ects much more favorably term in a Nov. 2 special election. spectfully and fairly,” she said. “I would than individual county Rorrer retired from the post on June be honored to be the next Commission- projects. 30. er of the Revenue and would appreciate “It’s because they are Kendrick, who currently is the inter- the support of the citizens of Patrick able to do more and al- im Commissioner of the Revenue, be- County.” locate more funding gan working in the office as a Deputy Kendrick, a Patrick County native, is to these regional proj- Commissioner in February 2004. She a 1990 graduate of Patrick County High ects then they are sort was promoted to Chief Deputy Commis- School. She obtained an associate de- of piecemeal county by sioner in 2012. Kendrick later obtained gree in business management from the county,” he said. her certification as a Master Deputy former Patrick Henry Community Col- Simmons said with the Commissioner of the Revenue in 2015 lege, now Patrick & Henry Community level of funding available through the Weldon Cooper Center for College. at the state and federal Public Service and a program by the Kendrick lives in Patrick Springs levels, anywhere between University of Virginia. with her husband Rodney. They attend 80 and 85 percent of proj- Kendrick said she feels her experience the Mountain View Church of God of Cindy D. Kendrick is seeking the Commissioner ects costs could be cov- of more than 17 years has prepared her Prophecy, where she has served as trea- of the Revenue position in the November ered by those funds. for the opportunity. surer for more than 10 years. election. (See Simmons p.