Austinville man Tunstall ends wins $250,000 in Carroll’s Virginia Lottery baseball season Page 9-A Page 1-B THE CARROLL NEWS 90th Year — No. 23 Dedicated To Serving The People of Carroll County www.thecarrollnews.com Wednesday, June 9, 2010 Hillsville, Virginia — 75 cents BRCEDA options Wildwood land By Thomas Lester/Editor On May 27 at Country- [email protected] side Restaurant, BRCEDA authorized chairman Mike Less than a week after Maynard to look into pur- authorizing its chairman to chasing Wildwood land look into the purchase of along with Carroll- land in the Wildwood Com- Grayson-Galax Solid Waste merce Park, the Blue Ridge Authority chairman C.M. Crossroads Economic De- Mitchell. The CGGSWA velopment Authority has an also authorized a similar option in place to buy in. move later that same morn- In an 8 a.m. meeting at ing. the Crossroads Institute in The parcel, which was Galax on June 2, members part of a 720-plus acre pur- of BRCEDA voted unani- chase by Branscome-Tur- mously to option a parcel of man, LLC, includes 50 167 acres — plus or minus acres of graded, shovel- — at the site off Interstate ready land, 117 additional 77 at Exit 19 in Carroll acres of ungraded land, and County. a retention pond. BRCEDA “I think this is another agreed to pay $6.25 million positive step forward for for the property. developing Wildwood Funding for the purchase Commerce Park,” said is expected to come from BRCEDA Regional Direc- the Virginia Tobacco In- tor of Economic & Entre- demnification and Commu- preneurial Development nity Revitalization Com- Ken McFadyen. “I think it’s mission. another excellent example The option to purchase Staff photo by Thomas Lester of the continuation of the the land is for one year, Wyatt Bassett (center) speaks at an expansion announcement at Vaughan-Bassett in Galax. public-private partnership. with the possibility of a Looking on are Doug Bassett (left) and U.S. Representative Rick Boucher. It goes without saying the one-year extension to fur- cooperative effort of the lo- ther secure funding. calities, along with the Sol- Other provisions of the id Waste Authority, which option include shared costs Vaughan-Bassett has the resources to lever- between BRCEDA and age in terms of certain VDOT for industrial road forms of financing for the access, and that project.” See LAND, Page 2-A announces expansion By Thomas Lester/Editor Galax, but also to some extent in layout of equipment, and now a new [email protected] Elkin, N.C.” facility. Burke’s petition Last year, Vaughan-Bassett was “For the last couple of months, and By the end of the year, Vaughan- considering the purchase of a new, $3 on into this July, we’ve been re-laying Bassett Furniture Company will be million rough end system, which out a portion of our factory here. In for appeal denied the largest wooden bedroom furniture would increase the amount of lumber addition to adding more state-of-the- A petition to appeal a manufacturer in the United States of cut in the Galax factory and amp up art equipment, we’ve relocated a lot 2008 murder conviction America. production. Vaughan-Bassett Execu- of existing equipment to make more was denied by the Virginia That declaration, made by U.S. tive Vice President and COO Doug room and improve our efficiency. Supreme Court on May 24. Representative Rick Boucher, came Bassett recalled a conversation with This is all to help us machine more Arguments were heard during a June 1 announcement that Boucher that made the purchase of parts,” said Vaughan-Bassett Presi- for and against the appeal Vaughan-Bassett is undertaking in a the equipment make more sense. dent and CEO Wyatt Bassett. “We’ve on behalf of Clinton Eric four-phase, $1 million expansion “When we started out buying the also relocated and expanded our two Burke, who, in November project that includes a new, 16,000 rough end system, which made all bed lines, which is going to help us 2008, was convicted of two square foot building and the reloca- these expansions possible, we went to assemble and manufacture more fur- counts of first-degree mur- tion of two bed lines. Congressman Rick Boucher and ex- niture every single day. All of this re- der, three counts of the use Boucher praised the hard work of plained what we were thinking location has led to the need for expan- of a firearm during the Vaughan-Bassett’s workforce — about,” Bassett said. “He was able to sion to our warehouse and shipping commission of a felony, which was gathered for the announce- get passed into law, an accelerated de- departments. This new, $1 million, preciation prevention, which gave us 16,000 foot expansion will be com- statutory burglary and mali- Clinton Eric Burke ment — as well as the foresight dis- cious wounding. played by its leadership. the incentive to buy that $3 million pleted by the end of this year.” The convictions “The excellence that Vaughan- piece of equipment. That led to the 60 The expansion is four-tiered, with stemmed from an incident Amanda Bond was injured. Bassett is demonstrating arises from jobs in Galax; it led to us reopening many steps already complete. Relo- on Nov. 12, 2007, in which During a two-day trial, the company’s farsighted leadership the plant in Elkin (in September cating the two bed lines from the ma- George Adam Fulton, Burke was convicted of the and from the strategic vision the Bas- 2009) and it’s leading to the 16,000 chine room to the pack room, and re- Dustin Ryan Bond and charges after evidence and setts have long demonstrated in man- square foot building we’re putting up. locating two administrative offices Amanda Bond were shot at testimony by Randy Martin aging this facility,” Boucher said. “The American furniture industry and a bathroom to open a forklift aisle Fulton’s Fancy Gap resi- and Amanda Payne linked “The excellence of Vaughan-Bassett has no better friend in Washington to be able to move parts from the ma- dence. Fulton and Dustin him to the crimes. Both wit- also arises from the quality of the than Congressman Rick Boucher.” chine room to the pack room were Bond died as a result of nesses confirmed Burke di- workforce. Approximately 700 em- The rough end system was in- completed in May. In July, machinery their gunshot injuries and ployees — largely centered here in stalled in July, which created the need See BURKE, Page 2-A for more workers, a more efficient See EXPANSION, Page 2-A Building Trades students work with alternative energy By Thomas Lester/Editor Warren. “I see sustainable up; each photocell was sol- [email protected] energy is on the rise right dered and attached to the now and if we can give panel individually. When Their athletic teams are them a background on what you apply this to the home known for wearing navy it’s all about as far as home market, you have more blue and silver, but for usage and consumption, cells and more batteries but some Carroll County High that’s better preparing them you have the energy protec- School students in the for the construction indus- tors, the inverters, the Building Trades classes, a try and the future as a whole system is there. On a dash of green might not whole.” small scale, they can see it look out of place. Warren said to that end, and understand it, see how Before school ended last he talked to his students it works and we can talk month, many of the Build- about alternative sources of about it.” ing Trades students were energy and instructed them The students also built a working on harnessing dif- in the construction of two passive energy unit and ran ferent forms of alternative working solar panels. The air and water through it, energy to help in their electronics department had and using the solar panel, schoolwork. In a collabora- a hand in the construction got the water in the unit up tive effort with the elec- as well. above 200 degrees. tronics department, the stu- “We built a complete so- Warren said his students dents built a solar panel to lar energy electrical sys- enjoyed exploring alterna- use as an energy source, as tem,” Warren said. “We’re tive energy sources. well as a passive energy producing electricity we “They see something unit. can use here in the shop. unique and get into putting “We’re trying to show It’s a small model of what the project together,” he them more nontraditional you would have in a home said. “When I take the class things; what’s coming; get- system. I can go through out as a whole and talk Staff photo by Thomas Lester ting them thinking environ- and show them each of the about implications, there’s Megan Whitaker (left) cuts a board with a circular saw powered by so- mentally,” said Building components. I had them a lot of interest. I hear a lot lar panels (background). Trades instructor Rusty build this from the ground See ENERGY, Page 2-A Carroll saves positions of four constitutional officers By Allen Worrell/News Writer million. An advertised county “We could have been real sembly. “We tried to see if there positions go, Hurst said. [email protected] budget with no tax increase hard-nosed and said, ‘You have to was some way we could come up After public comments from meant the board could not fund cut the people and they have to with that money and take care of the Carroll County Senior Citi- With an advertised county the four positions — two each in go, two in each office.’ But those those positions.