Government

Ever wonder what that old tank that sat near the railroad crossing at Grove Street, in Bedford, was for?

    According to D. W. Lawhorne, the city’s director of public works, the abandoned building behind it used to be home to the city’s department of public works. The tank was salvaged from a railroad tank car half a century ago in order to serve as a holding tank for liquid asphalt to treat roads.

    Two Democrats are seeking their party’s nod to challenge Congressman Robert Hurt for the 5th Congressional District seat in November. One of them, General John Douglass, made a stop in Bedford last week for a meet and greet.

    Douglass earned a commission in the United States Air Force at the University of Florida and served for 28 years, retiring as a brigadier general in 1992.

    With budget discussions up and running, Bedford City Council heard last Tuesday from three groups asking for the city’s continued financial support of their organizations.
    The announcement was also made that the city had officially filed the required paperwork to the Virginia Commission on Local Government stating its case for approval of voluntary reversion of the city to a town.

    Bedford County’s budget adoption process is still on schedule.
    Monday night, the supervisors voted to approve the legal notices for the budget and tax rates and a public hearing on April 9. The hearing will be held at the Bedford Science and Technology Center on Edmond Street in Bedford at 7 p.m.
    The advertised tax rates will be the same as the current rates. This means that, while the supervisors could still lower the rates, they will no longer be able to raise them above what they have advertised.