Damascus News

Overgrown and rundown, the empty Damascus Hosiery Mill on South Shady Avenue was long considered an eyesore.

By CAITLIN SULLIVAN/Staff New Washington County Supervisor Joe Straten said he will not sign an oath of secrecy when he joins the board in January.

Washington County voters threw their support to the Republicans at the top of the state's ticket, giving Gov.-elect Bob McDonnell, Lt.

With a margin of just 17 votes, Republican Joe Straten beat incumbent Democrat Jack McCrady for the Taylor District seat on the Washington County Board of Supervisors, according to unofficial totals late Tuesday.

Politics can be expensive. Especially if you're a newbie. Some candidates in Tuesday's election borrowed hundreds of dollars - in some cases thousands - to get their names and faces in front of voters.

DAMASCUS, Va. - Washington County Board of Supervisors candidates Jack McCrady, the Democratic incumbent, and Joe Straten, the Republican challenger, sparred Tuesday over job growth and economic development during a political forum hosted by the League of Women Voters.

You probably don't notice them or even know they exist but once a week a group of dedicated hiking enthusiasts set out on the Appalachian Trail and take care of it.

Bristol Virginia Police Department Oct. 5 * Police hauled a woman off to jail after she parked her car on the railroad tracks behind Ryan's restaurant on Euclid Avenue and took off on foot.

GLADE SPRING, Va. - These bugs might be small, but they're indicators of something that's a big deal: the quality of the water we drink.

Rick Boucher, D-Abingdon. Jeremiah Heaton, 33, owns and operates his own business in Damascus.

Bristol Virginia Police Department Sept. 11 * A "very intoxicated" Portsmouth Avenue woman called police at 5 a.m. to report that her "husband is volatile," although she didn't specify whether they were fighting.

Just as the C&O Canal towpath has done for towns like Hancock, Md., and the AT for Damascus, Va., the Virginia Capital Trail is almost certain to do for places along its route -- bring in visitors and their money.

Sept. 14 * A Commonwealth Avenue man called police at 12:24 a.m. because the voices in his head wouldn't stop "telling him stuff," according to dispatch logs.

An ambulance and a fire engine were sent to help at 3:30 p.m. The ambulance was turned away while en route.

DAMASCUS ROAD experience typically involves a blinding light, an arresting voice, and a saved life.

DAMASCUS, Va. - The Damascus, Va., police department made news twice this week - and it was all good.

ROXANA - The field for the 2009 Senior League World Series at Lower Sussex Little League is almost complete, after three more teams qualified early this week.

ROXANA - The field for the 2009 Senior League World Series at Lower Sussex Little League is almost complete, after three more teams qualified early this week.

In about three months, several hundred hikers will summit a northern Maine mountain called Katahdin, a 5,000-foot-high peak just south of the border with Canada.

Former Damascus police chief Tony Richardson will spend five years in prison on drug and gun charges.