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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Tazewell County glamping retreat receives $10,000 grant

Stoney Ridge Farm and Retreat in Tazewell County has received a $10,000 Virginia Coalfield Economic Development Authority Seed Capital Matching Grant.

The business, owned by Laura Hunt and David Belanger, will begin offering yurt camping this fall. Stoney Ridge is also a working farm and has 200 acres of pasture and mountain trails, according to a news release from VCEDA.

The first yurt arrived on site and was erected last month. It will accommodate up to four adults with room for children in the common area. A second and third yurt will be built within the first three years, with two additional pods of three yurts planned shortly thereafter.

The first yurt is equipped with a full kitchen and bathroom. Additional yurts to be erected will also be equipped similarly. Each rental offers services including pre-arrival grocery stocking, full meals and use of electric bikes.

The business projects up to two full-time and eight part-time employees within five years, according to Jonathan Belcher, VCEDA’s executive director/general counsel.

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Youngkin makes board, council appointments

Gov. Glenn Youngkin has announced additional appointments to state boards and councils, including these residents of Southwest and Southside:

  • Virginia African American Advisory Board: Deventae Mooney of Coeburn, mayor and assistant principal, Central High School, Wise County.
  • Southern Virginia Higher Education Center Board of Trustees: Annie Wimbish of Halifax County, executive facilitator, motivational speaker and author, Leadership Solutions Group LLC; Dennis Witt of Halifax, retired educator.
  • Southwest Virginia Higher Education Center Board of Trustees: Olivia Bailey of Abingdon, marketing director, Friends of Southwest Virginia.
  • Board of Counseling: L. Paul Bernard of Lynchburg, associate professor, Liberty University. 
  • Virginia Board for People with Disabilities: Melanie Rice of Roanoke, parent, self-employed.
  • Apprenticeship Council: William Dunn of Boones Mill, business agent, Local 10 Plumber and Steamfitters.
  • Safety and Health Codes Board: Michael Everett of Christiansburg, scale and instrumentation technician, BAE Systems.
  • Board of Juvenile Justice: Laura O’Quinn of Clintwood, judge, Dickenson County.

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Sweet Briar names Peterson as assistant vice president for admissions

Sweet Briar College has named Cynthia Peterson as the new assistant vice president for admissions.

Peterson has more than 20 years of experience in admissions, recruitment and enrollment, most recently at Piedmont University, a private liberal arts university in Demorest, Georgia, according to a news release from Sweet Briar. Her last post there was vice president for enrollment management for undergraduate and graduate admissions. As associate vice president for undergraduate enrollment at Piedmont, she developed the university’s undergraduate strategic recruitment strategy for first-year, transfer, international and targeted audience students, including effective DEI initiatives.

Peterson holds a master of education from Auburn University and an undergraduate degree from James Madison University, where she was an NCAA Division I basketball player.

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Blacksburg electronics recycling event planned for Saturday

Old electronics, including computers, printers and phones, can be dropped off Saturday at a drive-through recycling event in Blacksburg.

The event will be held from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Carilion Clinic Family Medicine, 901 Plantation Road. It’s sponsored by Carilion Clinic and River acceptance, a local electronics recycler. All funds generated through the revenue of recycled materials will go toward the Carilion Clinic Foundation’s campaign to open a new cancer center.

(Disclosure: Carilion is one of our donors, but donors have no say in news decisions; see our policy.)

Click here for more information, including a list of what can and cannot be accepted.



from:cardinalnews.org

published 2023-08-25 15:00:00