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Local News

  • County supervisors say goodbye to Dr. Blevins

        Dr. James Blevins, Bedford County’s superintendent of schools until July 1, made one final appearance before the Bedford County Board of Supervisors.

        “Your job was to hold all the marbles,” Dr. Blevins told the supervisors. “My job was to get as many of them as I could.”

        This time he wasn’t there to ask for anything. Blevins is retiring after 11 years as the county’s top education official. His last day is June 30.

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  • Classical guitarist performs at Bower Center

        The Bower Center for the Performing Arts hosted Peter Fletcher, a classical guitarist, Saturday night.

        Fletcher’s acoustic performance ranged from baroque to a late 20th century piece by Carlo Domeniconi that borrowed from Turkish music traditions. One of the baroque compositions, a six part lute suite by Johann Sebastian Bach was particularly complex. Fletcher said it took him a year of practice before he was able to perform it in concert. Fletcher does not perform with sheet music in front of him — it’s all by memory.

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  • 72-year-old man convicted of sex offenses against 11-year-old girl

    As the result of a plea agreement, a 72-year-old Bedford County man now stands convicted of making indecent proposals to an 11-year-old girl.

        Charles Langley entered an Alford plea in Bedford County Circuit Court Friday to three felony counts of taking indecent liberties with a minor. An Alford plea means that Langley still maintains that he is innocent, but recognizes that there is enough evidence against him that he may be convicted if the case goes to trial.

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  • Dominion’s Salem dealership closes; sales now focused in Bedford

    Chrysler’s decision to close 789 dealerships nationwide is giving Bob Kaplan the opportunity to focus his sales on the Bedford area.

        Kaplan owns Dominion of Bedford and, up until now, owned a Dodge dealership in Salem. The Salem dealership, which he has owned since 1976, was one of the franchises that got the ax.

        “You deal with changes that are put upon you,” Kaplan commented. “We can focus all our energies and sales work here.”

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  • Dealing with the pain

    Eighteen months ago Katie Vann was an athlete on the Forest Middle School track team. Now she has trouble even walking.

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  • Man pleads guilty in rooster case

    A 63-year-old Coleman Falls man pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting animal fighting, specifically roosters, in Bedford County Circuit Court Tuesday.

        Avery Fitzgerald will serve four months of a 12-month sentence in jail as part of the plea agreement. In addition, he won’t be able to purchase any more companion animals or roosters for two years. He is to report to jail on July 10.

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  • Drill helps prepare responders for an actual emergency

    he accident to which firefighters, rescue squad members and city police responded to Friday morning wasn’t real. It was just a drill.

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  • County water, sewer rates rise

    Bedford County’s water and sewer rates are going up, effective July 1.

        The new water rate will be $5 per 1,000 gallons, an 11 percent increase. Sewage will cost $6 per 1,000 gallons, a 20 percent increase. This follows a 5 percent increase in the water rate and a 14 percent increase in sewage rates last year.

        Why the back-to-back rate hikes?

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  • Breaking: Council to fund Main Street program for six months

    Bedford Main Street, Inc. will receive funding from the city of Bedford for the next six months, but representatives from the organization must appear before city council in July to explain how they plan to reorganize.

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  • Transition begins for new superintendent

    Dr. Douglas Schuch began in earnest last week the transition process to become the new superintendent of Bedford County Public Schools.

        Schuch was in Bedford visiting the county’s schools, meeting with principals and attending the school board meeting Thursday and high school graduations on Saturday. On Friday, he was officially sworn in for the superintendent’s position at the court house by Cathy C. Hogan, Clerk of the Circuit Court.

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