Government

    A request by developer Bob Conner to rezone a parcel of land in Forest to build apartments got a 6-0 thumbs up from the Planning Commission Monday night.
    The five acre parcel is located off U. S. 221 and is currently part of a larger parcel zoned PID (planned industrial development), across the highway from its intersection with Perrowville Road. Conner needed it rezoned High Density Multifamily Residential in order to build the apartments. Conner proposes to build seven apartment buildings containing 54 units.

    A public hearing on the upcoming Bedford County budget that contains no tax increases drew a sparse response Monday night. The hearing, held at Bedford Science and Technology Center, left the large auditorium nearly empty with only a few dozen people in attendance.
    “Again this board is faced with the difficult task of creating a balanced budget with decreased funding that has surpassed the local ability to meet budget needs and mandates,” said Becky Griffith, speaking from prepared notes.

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.