Virginia coach Ryan Odom talks to his team in a timeout during the Cavaliers' win over Miami in the ACC tournament on Friday in Charlotte.
Virginia coach Ryan Odom talks to his team in a timeout during the Cavaliers' win over Miami in the ACC tournament on Friday in Charlotte.
Attendees react to the Bedford County School Board’s vote to close Stewartsville Elementary School during its meeting in the School Administration Office in Bedford on Thursday. A Democratic congressional candidate has filed a lawsuit claiming the school board failed to give proper notice before closing Stewartsville Elementary.
Nora Bryan, a sixth grader at Staunton River Middle School, makes a public comment during the Bedford County School Board meeting in the School Administration Office in Bedford, Thursday, March 12, 2026. (Matthew Perschall/The News & Advance)
People listen on a speaker to the Bedford County School Board meeting from outside the School Administration Office in Bedford, Thursday, March 12, 2026. (Matthew Perschall/The News & Advance)
Attendees listen as the board votes to close Stewartsville Elementary School during the Bedford County School Board meeting in the School Administration Office in Bedford on March 12.
The Bedford County School Board meets in the School Administration Office in Bedford on Thursday.
Former Bedford County School Board Chair Marcus Hill makes a public comment during the Bedford County School Board meeting in the School Administration Office in Bedford, Thursday, March 12, 2026. (Matthew Perschall/The News & Advance)
BEDFORD — Just before the Bedford County School Board meeting started on Thursday — the meeting at which the board would decide whether or not to close Stewartsville Elementary School — a sign fell off the wall.
It was one of the signs community members hung in the School Administration Office before the meeting to express their support for Stewartsville.
In hindsight, the sign falling was indicative of how the night would go for Staunton River zone parents who were hoping the board would vote to keep the elementary school open.
A person in the audience holds up a sign reading "Fund Our School" during the Bedford County School Board meeting in the School Administration Office in Bedford on Thursday, March 12, 2026.
About 50 community members, many dressed in green and yellow, attended Thursday’s meeting — either sitting or standing in the boardroom — while others watched the livestream outside.
After hearing concerns from 19 Staunton River community members, the board voted 5-2 to close Stewartsville, with District 2 representative Matthew Holbrook and District 1 representative Jordan Karnes voting against the motion.
The board previously voted against closing Stewartsville in 2024 when it was presented as one of four options to help address the division’s budget shortfall.
“I said it two years ago that I would much rather put the money into our students and our teachers than into bricks when it makes sense,” said Board Chair and District 7 representative Chris Daniels, who introduced the plan. “And this is not an easy decision.”
The board agreed to vote separately on the part of the plan focused on Staunton River zone grade reconfiguration, and approved a motion to begin efforts to obtain mobile units for Goodview Elementary School to increase capacity.
This will allow Staunton River zone fifth-grade students to stay at their elementary schools and eighth-grade students at their middle schools.
“I’m very against closing Stewartsville Elementary School,” said Karnes, who introduced a failed motion to delay the vote until the next school board meeting. “I don't like that idea, but I want to try to find a solution that, if that has to come to pass, that it's still not a burden on my families in my district.”
BCPS Assistant Superintendent of Finance & Operations Randy Hagler said keeping fifth-grade students at Goodview would require three double-wide mobile units.
Based on preliminary inquiries, he said they would cost roughly $810,000 including set-up costs.
Daniels said if the division can’t get the mobile units in time for the start of the 2026-27 school year, it will temporarily proceed with the original reconfiguration plan until the units are complete.
Under that plan, Stewartsville kindergarten through fourth-grade students would attend Goodview, and all fifth-grade students from Stewartsville, Goodview, Huddleston and Moneta Elementary schools would attend Staunton River Middle School. Eighth-grade students would attend Staunton River High School.
Hagler said the positions cut from this decision will be one teacher, two librarians, one principal, one guidance counselor, 2.5 clerical employees, one reading specialist, two paraprofessionals, one nurse and four custodial employees.
He said the decision will save BCPS $1.1 million in yearly operations, and it will address the county’s impending “reversion cliff,” which is state funding tied to the former city of Bedford’s reversion to a town in 2013 that will go away in the 2028-29 budget year.
Chair Chris Daniels speaks during the Bedford County School Board meeting in the School Administration Office in Bedford on Thursday, March 12, 2026.
“What we are really up against, it is not just, ‘Man, can we make this $1.8 million for next year?’” Daniels said. “It is the $11.7 million shortfall that's going to happen year after year, at a minimum, to our division. If we don't meet that gap, I don't know how we fund 21 schools, I don't know how we fund 20 schools, I don't know how we fund 18 schools, to be honest with you.”
Daniels said this decision wasn’t made in a week.
“It was brought up, but it was brought up two years and a month ago, and we have not stopped talking about it in facility meetings, in other committee meetings and at this board,” he said.
Hagler said the board hasn’t discussed what will happen to Stewartsville, but has three options to consider: keep the building, deem it surplus property, or sell it.
During the public hearing, many community members voiced concerns about the developmental appropriateness of fifth-grade students attending middle school and eighth-grade students attending high school.
Stewartsville teacher Casey Stanley makes a public comment against closing Stewartsville Elementary School during the Bedford County School Board meeting in the School Administration Office on Thursday, March 12.
Stewartsville teacher Casey Stanley said moving students into middle school earlier than their peers removes stability during critical development years.
“At a time when schools everywhere are working to address rising student mental health concerns, we should be protecting stability, not removing it,” Stanley said.
After the hearing, division leaders presented more details and addressed concerns on the reconfiguration plan, some of which came from the division’s previous plan to close Stewartsville.
BCPS Deputy Superintendent Karen Woodford said that, under reconfiguration, fifth-grade students would be kept in grade-level teams, separated into one area of the building. She said bus drivers would also be trained to keep fifth-grade students at the front of secondary buses.
Deputy Superintendent Karen Woodford speaks during the Bedford County School Board meeting in the School Administration Office on Thursday.
Woodford acknowledged families are worried about disruption.
“However, there is research and experience to show that students are highly resilient and capable of adapting successfully when transitions are managed.”
After the board voted, Goodview PTA President Amanda Bryan told The News & Advance that she agrees children are resilient.
“But I don't think they should have to be,” she said. “And I certainly don't think that the adults who are entrusted with their care should be the ones putting them in circumstances where they have to reach for that resilience.”
The community also voiced concern at the unfairness of asking the Staunton River zone to absorb the impact of budget concerns.
“If this change is truly best for our students, then it should be for all students of Bedford County, not just one zone,” Stanley said.
Several community members suggested rezoning the entire division, and Woodford said the board would need at least a year to conduct a rezoning study for the division.
Goodview Elementary School fourth grade student speaks at public hearing against the closure of Stewartsville Elementary School Thursday evening.
Many members of the community expressed frustration that the school board proposed the closure and reconfiguration in the final minutes of its budget work session two weeks ago, and scheduled the public hearing and vote for one week later.
“To gain parental trust, the process must be transparent and well-planned,” Staunton River zone teacher and parent Valerie Staton said. “If you cannot manage the logistics of a meeting, we cannot trust you with the future of our children.”
Parents have been asked to process and respond to the board’s proposal, which Bryan said lacked details, in a matter of days.
Stanley said this is causing families to lose trust in public education.
“When that trust erodes, families begin looking at other options,” she said. “We will likely see more families turning to homeschooling or leaving the system entirely.”
Woodford said the division is not concerned that its Title I funding will be jeopardized, and it will continue its adaptive programs. She said BCPS preschool programs will remain open or be relocated, if needed.
Karnes said the school board has damaged the trust of its constituents.
“And I only hope that we can do whatever we can to repair that trust and move forward as a board,” he said.
Holbrook said he received a text from Board of Supervisors District 6 representative Bob Davis that said, “Don’t sell our kids out tonight.”
“Y'all sold them out,” Holbrook said. “So, that's all I got to say.”
District 4 representative Jill Dobson said no one on the board took the decision lightly.
“We have had many conversations, and we want what's in the best interest of all Bedford County students, and that's a fact,” she said.
Vice-Chairman Kurt Hubach speaks during the Bedford County School Board meeting in the School Administration Office in Bedford, Thursday, March 12, 2026. (Matthew Perschall/The News & Advance)
Board Vice Chair Kurt Hubach agreed that it was a difficult decision.
“I want to thank everybody for your emails,” he said. “Your passion, your attachment to the Stewartsville community, is loud and clear, and yet, it doesn't solve the fiscal issues.”
District 5 representative Dora Purvis said she didn’t like the fact the board introduced and voted on the plan in a week.
“I wish we would have had a little more time,” she said.
The community urged the school board throughout the evening to work with the Bedford County Board of Supervisors, and Daniels said the school board would meet with them on Friday.
“We are going to be discussing it, and we're going to go into detail of the financial realities that we have, and we want to hear what their financial realities are too,” he said. “We are absolutely going to make the case.”
Daniels said closing Stewartsville will not be the board's last move.
“I think you need to hear that loud and clear,” he said. “We are going to have to look at things in the Forest zone with capacity issues. We might have to look at rezoning, we may have to look at redistricting, we may have to look at, in the Forest zone, going to year-round school in some buildings.”
After the board came out of closed session, it gave consensus on three actions related to overcrowding in the Forest zone.
One was for the division to conduct a study and submit a plan for redistricting students from Westyn Village Apartments, a new development zoned for Forest Elementary School.
The board also agreed to consider the overflow model for new developments in the Forest elementary zone and for students coming from a subdivision off Va. 811 across from New London golf course.
Bryan said although she is grateful for the board’s decision to keep Staunton River fifth- and eighth-grade students in their current configuration, she does not feel that parents’ concerns were heard on Thursday.
“At the end of the day, I think that the school board has broken public trust in a big way,” she said.
Madi Kirkman, (434) 385-5554
Former Bedford County School Board Chair Marcus Hill addresses the board during a public hearing on the closure of Stewartsville Elementary Sc…
The Tri-County Lakes Administrative Commission will make a decision next month that could have far-reaching ramifications on the future of recreational fishing at Smith Mountain Lake.
Plans are underway to stock as many as 1,300 sterile grass carp into Smith Mountain Lake this spring. The goal is for the carp to devour the fast-spreading invasive hydrilla spreading in several areas of the lake.
The aquatic weed started appearing last year in areas of the Blackwater River arm of the lake. The largest amounts are in the lake's Bull Run and Little Bull Run sections, where hydrilla grew to several acres over the summer, making recreation such as boating or even swimming difficult for people living on the shore.
"We couldn't swim at our dock at all late last summer," said Marshall Prillaman, a lakefront property owner who lives on Little Bull Run. "And you can't run a boat through it."
Hydrilla, an invasive aquatic plant, is quickly making its return at Smith Mountain Lake after more than a decade. The underwater weed is seen at a cove at the lake in Penhook in September.
Prillaman, like many lakefront property owners where the hydrilla growth is worst, want to see TLAC stock sterile grass carp to eat up the plants — their favorite food source.
There's just one problem: sterile grass carp have been introduced into Smith Mountain Lake before, and it didn't go perfeclty.
In 2013, TLAC stocked 6,000 sterile grass carp into the lake. The carp ate all the hydrilla but then quickly moved on to devour every other piece of aquatic vegetation.
Aquatic plants can be a useful tool in fishing. Fish such as bass, which are popular at Smith Mountain Lake, often use vegetation as cover. Anglers know that an underwater patch can often be the best place to reel in a fish.
Local anglers know hydrilla is back, and they see it as a win for recreational fishing that could make the lake even more popular as a fishing destination.
Anglers are pushing TLAC to hold off on any decisions to stock more carp. Many of them question if the move is necessary, fearing it could remove all aquatic vegetation in the lake for another decade.
"It's in a small area right now," said Chad Gilmore, president of the Smith Mountain Striper Club. "Why would we put in grass carp that are gonna go anywhere and everywhere? They are going to eat not only the hydrilla, but all the other vegetation."
Sterile grass carp were first stocked at SML in 2013 after years of TLAC trying unsuccessfully to stop hydrilla from spreading. The weed was first discovered in the lake in 2007 — just the latest body of water at the time to be infected after hydrilla began spreading through the U.S. in the 1950s.
Hydrilla, originating in Asia, is believed to have first been dumped from an aquarium into waterways in Florida.
Crews stocked 6,000 sterile grass carp into Smith Mountain Lake in 2013. The carp were delivered by truck and drained into the lake.
By 2012, hydrilla was found in 10 locations on the Blackwater River arm of the lake with concerns it could spread to more. The vegetation is known for easily spreading, taking root anywhere and being nearly impossible to completely eradicate.
TLAC first tried using herbicide. The treatment was costly and only killed the hydrilla for a short time. The weeds would always return the next year and continue spreading.
Herbicide treatments for hydrilla and other invasive vegetation cost TLAC more than $400,000 between 2002 and 2013, with each year getting more expensive than the last as the hydrilla grew. In 2012 alone, the commission spent $150,000 to treat 189 acres.
TLAC stocked 6,000 sterile grass carp in the lake in 2013 to eliminate the fast-spreading hydrilla. The cost to stock the carp was $32,000.
Those 6,000 carp successfully eliminated every trace of hydrilla in only a few months, but the fish were still hungry. Along with the hydrilla, the carp ate every bit of native aquatic vegetation in Smith Mountain Lake and have prevented any from returning.
Now, after more than a decade, the sterile grass carp are slowing down. At 13 years, the fish are nearing the end of their lifespan and are starting to die off. Hydrilla is back, and so are native plants.
Hydrilla, an invasive aquatic vegetation, is seen underwater in large patches at a cove in Penhook in September.
TLAC is looking to curb hydrilla's growth before it continues to spread into other areas of Smith Mountain Lake. Late last year, the commission board started planning to introduce as many as 1,300 sterile grass carp back into the lake this May as hydrilla grows back.
The plant dies out in the late fall only to return again in the summer.
TLAC Chairman Edgar Tuck agrees that 6,000 was far too many carp in 2013. 1,300 is the maximum this time, with hopes of maintaining some of the lake's native vegetation that is slowly returning to benefit anglers.
The commission board is expected to make a final decision on the number of carp at its April meeting. Tuck expects some amount of carp will be introduced.
"I can assuredly say it will not be zero," he said.
TLAC's goal, according to Tuck, is to stock a limited amount of carp this year. A survey of the lake will be conducted in the fall to see how effective the carp were, with plans to stock more carp next year if needed.
Gilmore said the latest estimate from TLAC is that a total of 15 acres of hydrilla have been discovered so far. At 1,300 carp proposed, that would be 86 fish per acre — an amount he considers overkill.
Jon Anderson, vice president of the Smith Mountain Striper Club, questions how officials came up with the 1,300 number. He believes the TLAC board decided on an arbitrary amount after some conversations between members.
"Where is the science?" Anderson asked. "There was no math put forward."
Bass anglers during an 2017 fishing tournament at Smith Mountain Lake.
There are also other concerns that removing the aquatic vegetation could decrease the lake's fish population. Young fish often use plants to hide from predators. Removing them could give young fish less cover and possibly reduce the overall population.
Billy Kohls, a local fishing guide, said efforts have been ongoing for more than a decade between local anglers and the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources to stock a special breed of bass known as F1 tiger bass. They grow faster and larger than other bass and make SML even more attractive to anglers.
"The reputation of this lake is on a massive upswing," Kohls said, and removing vegetation could stunt that program's growth.
Smith Mountain Lake hosted a Major League Fishing tournament last year. It was the first time professional anglers have fished at the lake since 2010.
Hosting those types of events helps promote Smith Mountain Lake as a fishing destination. Anglers visit the lake, shop at its stores, eat at its restaurants and sometimes hire fishing guides like Kohls.
Tennessee angler Nick Hatfield lands a fish in May during the Championship Round of the B&W Trailer Hitches Heavy Hitters All-Star Tournament at Smith Mountain Lake.
Kevin Tosh, director of tourism for Franklin County, said the Major League Fishing tournament brought nationwide attention to the lake. The online broadcast drew more than 1 million live views and 27 million minutes watched, the second most in Major League Fishing history, Tosh said.
The event also had more than 12 million social media impressions and was featured in six, two-hour television specials on the Discovery Channel. A highlight show of the tournament was also featured on CBS this past December.
Major League Fishing was the biggest of multiple of fishing tournaments held at SML in recent years from a variety of local and regional leagues.
Kohls said removing vegetation will not only impact fish populations but will make fishing less enjoyable for visitors. Aquatic vegetation is often a surefire way to catch a fish. Without vegetation, locating a large bass can be more difficult, which could result in fewer people visiting Smith Mountain Lake to fish.
Prillaman doubts adding additional sterile grass carp later this year will have any significant impacts on fishing at Smith Mountain Lake. He said anglers' concerns are overblown.
"Those 6,000 carp lasted 12 years and I didn't see anyone complaining that they were not catching enough fish," said Prillaman, who has lived on the lake for 40 years.
An angler casts bait into Smith Mountain Lake shortly after sunset at Bernard's Landing in July 2018.
He also questioned why anglers should have any say in this debate, as it is the lakefront property owners who are the most impacted. He also claims that lakefront property owners pay much more into the surrounding counties than anglers do.
"I don't think fisherman who aren't paying property taxes should have any say in this," Prillaman said.
Dan Wilson, a fisheries biologist with the DWR, agrees that removing vegetation could make fishing more difficult, but he doesn't see the removal of aquatic vegetation as having a major impact on fish populations. He also admits that hydrilla is not harmful to Smith Mountain Lake other than impacting recreation such as swimming and boating.
The biggest concern is how quickly it can spread. Wilson said that, if left unchecked, it could eventually spread into large patches on shorelines all over the lake.
Wilson said the hydrilla can grow in the lakebed as far as 20 feet deep; more if the water is clear enough to allow sunlight in the deeper water. Eventually, the lake's entire shoreline would be at risk.
"If nothing is done at all, no grass carp, no herbicides, no nothing, the lake is just left alone, it will continue to expand," Wilson said, adding that the hydrilla could eventually reach all corners of the lake if left unchecked for several years.
Dan Wilson, right, a fisheries biologist with the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources, speaks to local anglers during a stakeholders meeting held by the Tri-County Lakes Administrative Commission in January to discuss plans to introduce sterile grass carp into the lake to combat the spread of hydrilla.
TLAC is required to get approval from the DWR to stock the sterile grass carp. Once the board decides on a number next month, TLAC must apply for a permit from DWR to purchase and stock the fish.
Anderson said TLAC should consider moving back to using herbicide to control the hydrilla. He questioned why carp should be used to treat hydrilla, which is only present in the lake a few months out of the year.
"We know the hydrilla is not present year round, why are we using carp that eat year round?" Anderson asked, adding that the carp would quickly move to eating other vegetation in the lake.
Anglers are asking TLAC not to add any sterile grass carp into Smith Mountain Lake. Gilmore said the carp are a solution that can't be taken back once stocked in the water.
Once stocked, carp could potentially have serious negative impacts on fishing at Smith Mountain Lake for the next decade, anglers warn. That could mean fewer fishing tournaments, fewer visitors and less revenue for surrounding counties.
"I really think the brakes need to be pumped on this," Gilmore said.
Jason Dunovant (540) 981-3324
Hydrilla surges back to life at Smith Mountain Lake (Sept. 2025)
DALEVILLE — Protecting the rural vote was the focus for Republican leaders on Saturday during a rally against a proposed redistricting amendment that would give Democratic candidates an advantage in the midterms.
More than a hundred people gathered in the Lord Botetourt High School auditorium to hear Republican politicians speak on the amendment, which would allow the General Assembly to temporarily redraw congressional districts this year.
The proposed redistricting map would give Democrats an advantage in 10 out of 11 districts, up from the current 6-5 advantage.
A proposed map shows redrawn districts for U.S. House of Representatives in Virginia. The map would give Democrats a 10-to-1 advantage over Republicans.
On the new map, the only district that would stay Republican-leaning is the 9th, held by Rep. Morgan Griffith, R-Salem. The neighboring 6th District, held by Rep. Ben Cline, R-Botetourt, would switch to leaning Democratic.
“They want to take away your voice, as a rural citizen, as a citizen of the rural part of Virginia,” Cline told the crowd Saturday. “Your voice to be heard on agriculture issues, your voice to be heard on transportation issues affecting [Insterstate] 81, your voice to be heard on issues affecting parental rights, your voice to be heard on issues affecting property rights, your voice to be heard on tax rates.”
Rep. Ben Cline, R-Botetourt, speaks during a rally on Saturday against Virginia Democrats' proposed redistricting amendment.
In their speeches, both Cline and John Massoud, chairman for the 6th Congressional District Republican Party, quoted an X post Gov. Abigail Spanberger made in 2019, which called gerrymandering “detrimental to our democracy” and deserving of bipartisan opposition.
Massoud told attendees Spanberger was a “lying hypocrite” and that the Democratic Party was trying to destroy Virginia.
“All they care about is power. They do not care about rural Virginia,” Massoud said. “All they care about is themselves. These districts were drawn by politicians so they could put themselves in office. Is that fair?”
Virginia Democrats say the revised congressional map is a response to redistricting in several other states — including Texas — that aim to gain more congressional seats for Republicans in November.
Griffith said Saturday that Democrats had been gerrymandering states prior to Texas and that redistricting in other states didn’t make it acceptable to do it in Virginia.
“So the Democrats think Texas was bad,” Griffith said. “Does that mean Virginia should be worse and do even worse than Texas? I don’t think so.”
People gathered at Lord Botetourt High School on Saturday for a rally against Virginia Democrats' proposed redistricting amendment.
Whether the amendment goes into effect depends on a court review, but early voting on the amendment has already begun. Election Day is Tuesday, April 21.
Several speakers Saturday called on attendees to take action by knocking on doors or making sure their friends and neighbors voted.
Griffith told the crowd he believed they could defeat the amendment by connecting with Independent and Democratic voters on the issue of fairness.
“We've got to rally the Republicans, but we also need to be talking to our Independent friends and our Democrat friends, because we cannot win this if we just make it us versus them,” Griffith said.
A sign urging people to vote against the redistricting amendment is propped up in the entryway of Lord Botetourt High School on Saturday during a rally.
Maynard Keller, who ran for the House of Delegates as an Independent last year, said he attended the rally to get more information on the amendment. He thought the redistricting was unfair and shouldn’t be a partisan issue.
“The citizens should be choosing their politicians, not the politicians choosing their citizens,” Keller said.
Darryl Pugh, a member of the Botetourt County Republican Committee, said the redistricting effort would still be wrong even if it was led by Republicans. He believes the amendment is bad for voters and will lead to fewer and fewer people showing up to the polls.
“If we don't get out and vote it down, we've lost as a community, as a state,” Pugh said.
Signs expressing support and opposition to the congressional redistricting referendum sit across the street from the Lynchburg registrar's off…
