November 22, 2023
Volume 3, Number 40
Razor-thin results in election
The ballots are all counted, but at least one race in Wythe County may have to be counted again. In the four-person School Board at-large race, Julia Tomiak, as of a week past Election Day, holds a four-vote lead with 2,049 votes to Mack
Pruett’s 2,045. The Voter Registrar’s office certified the election on Tuesday; however, Preutt could request a recount. He has 10 days to make the request and if one is triggered, the tally could take up to another 10 days.
In another close race, the official count shows incumbent Treasurer Lori Guynn beating Lisa Shelton by 282 votes. Guynn had trailed earlier on Election Night counts, but appears to have been put over the top by early voting. The rest of the races were
much less hotly contested and sometimes not at all. A case in point is the open School Board seat that had no one running. Write-in votes put Chalmer Frye back on the board for another term. Incumbent Moe Musser re-
ceived 98 percent vote in the Circuit Court Clerk race. Incumbent Mike Jones received 98 percent, too, in the commonwealth’s attorney’s race, and Sheriff Charles Foster got 98 percent in his uncon-
See ELECTION, Page 3
Localities receive grant funding
WCC enrollment up
Wytheville Community College is pleased to announce an increase in student enrollment for the Fall 2023 semester. Since Fall 2022, WCC’s Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) enrollment has increased by 10 plus percent, indicating significant growth. WCC President Dean Sprinkle attributes the increase to a variety of rea-
See WCC, Page 3
The Virginia Department of Emergency Management announced the awarding of more than $2.6 million in grant funding for the Emergency Management Performance Grant Program. The EMPG program is a federally funded, state distributed, grant program. The grant focuses on funding planning, operations, equipment acquisitions, trainings, exercises, and construction and renovation efforts at the local government level. The EMPG program provides resources to assist local governments in preparing for all hazards. Through the grant program, the Federal government provides coordination, guidance, and assistance to support a comprehensive emergency preparedness system. Grant funding for the program is available to cities, counties and those towns recognized as emergency management jurisdictions under Title 44 of the Code of Virginia. Bland County received a $7,500 allocation, while Bristol, Virginia, netted the second-highest amount in the region at $15,500. Carroll County, Grayson County and the city of Galax all received
See FUNDING, Page 3
United Way named Community Star
United Way of Southwest Virginia has been named Virginia’s 2023 “Community Star” by the National Organi-
zation of State Offices of Rural Health (NOSORH). On the third Thursday of November, NOSORH leads
National Rural Health Day (NRHD), an annual celebration that shines a light on those who serve the vital
health needs of the nearly 61 million people living in rural America. United Way of Southwest Virginia will be
featured prominently on the official NRHD website, PowerOfRural.org, on November See STAR, Page 3