Virginia Tech's Tobi Lawal was chosen by Dallas in the second round of the NBA Draft.
Virginia Tech's Tobi Lawal was chosen by Dallas in the second round of the NBA Draft.
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Carp return to Smith Mountain Lake to solve invasive hydrilla problem
The Tri-County Lakes Administrative Commission stocked 200 sterile grass carp into Smith Mountain Lake on Wednesday in an effort to control the fast-spreading regrowth of hydrilla, an invasive underwater plant.
The stocking comes after more than a year of debate on whether the fish should be reintroduced into the lake. Lakefront property owners with coves and docks cut off by patches of hydrilla see the carp as necessary, while fishing enthusiasts fear the carp will remove native plants that are popular hiding spots for bass and other fish.
Two hundered sterile grass carp ranging in size from 12 to 14 inches were stocked into Smith Mountain Lake on Wednesday to combat the spread of hydrilla.
Sterile grass carp were first introduced into Smith Mountain Lake in 2013 to eat the hydrilla that was first discovered there in 2007. When those 6,000 carp were introduced, they soon eliminated the hydrilla but then ate all other native vegetation in the lake.Â
As the carp reached the end of their lives in recent years with no way of reproducing, hydrilla has slowly returned. TLAC has said there is currently more than 50 acres of hydrilla found in small- to medium-sized patches around the lake, with the largest being found in the Bull Run and Little Bull Run areas.
Native plants have also been making a return at Smith Mountain Lake. Anglers have pushed to keep the carp out to allow this vegetation to thrive.
Tommy Goodbar with Keo Fish Farms looks over some of the 200 sterile grass carp they were employed to stock into Smith Mountain Lake on Wednesday.
TLAC has agreed in recent meetings that 6,000 carp was a heavy-handed response to the hydrilla's spread in 2013. They proposed a maximum of 1,300 carp for the new stocking.Â
After months of debate, the TLAC board voted in April to stock 700 carp in the lake. When applying for a stocking permit from the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources, it pared down the request to only 200 carp.Â
The 200 carp stocked on Wednesday ranged in size from 12 to 14 inches. They were supplied by Keo Fish Farms, which placed the fish directly into the lake, according to a news release from TLAC.Â
"The fish were released near areas where hydrilla has been identified in recent years," said Kristina Sage, TLAC executive director, in the release. "Hydrilla is the preferred diet of sterile grass carp. TLAC is 'cautiously optimistic' the fish will begin helping control invasive aquatic vegetation in the lake this summer."
A total of 200 sterile grass carp ranging in size from 12 to 14 inches were stocked into Smith Mountain Lake on Wednesday to combat the spread of hydrilla.
TLAC has started an Aquatic Vegetation Monitoring Program with the help of volunteers that will monitor and document the presence of hydrilla and other invasive aquatic plants. A primary objective of the program will be to evaluate the effectiveness of the carp in removing the hydrilla over the next few months, the news release said.
Data collected from the program will be shared with Appalachian Power and the Smith Mountain Lake Association to support aquatic vegetation surveys planned for this fall.
If the surveys discover hydrilla continuing to spread, TLAC has said it may consider stocking additional carp next year.Â
Jason Dunovant (540) 981-3324
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Hydrilla surges back to life at Smith Mountain Lake (Sept. 2025)
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Rocky Mount Community Park adds education to perspiration
Improvements were unveiled at Rocky Mount's newest park Wednesday, including some new signs and a couple of new features at its dog park.Â
The Rocky Mount Community Park officially opened in 2024 featuring a wooded walking trail and dog park on 17 acres behind the Franklin County YMCA. The town took over the property in 2023 when the YMCA ended its lease and allowed the property to revert back to the town.Â
Announced Wednesday is the addition of more than 30 nature-themed educational signs along the park's paved three-quarter-mile walking trail, plus new tunnels and agility ramps at the dog park. The improvements were paid for through a $30,000 grant from the United Way.
More than 30 educational signs can be found along the three-quarter-mile trail inside the Rocky Mount Community Park.
"These new signs are a great addition to the trail because they encourage us to look a little closer at the natural world around us," Rocky Mount Mayor Holland Perdue said at the unveiling ceremony. "They help tell a story of the wildlife, habitats and ecosystems that are part of our everyday surroundings and provide great opportunities for learning at any age."
Signs along the path include information on oak trees, gray squirrels and other plants and animals that can be found within the park property.
Members of the Town of Rocky Mount and the United Way came together for the unveiling of new additions to the Rocky Mount Community Park on Wednesday.
Daniel Pinard, cultural and economic development director for Rocky Mount, said Wednesday's unveiling was just the start of upgrades to the park. The dog park area will get a shade structure and more benches in the coming months.
Some additional signs may also be installed along the trail, Pinard added. The town is partnering with Ferrum College to create some more hyper-local signage on plants and animals only found nearby, such as the rare Piedmont fameflower.Â
Daniel Pinard, cultural and economic development director for Rocky Mount, discusses the new additions to the Rocky Mount Community Park during an unveiling on Wednesday.
The signs currently in place along the trail were installed last month, Pinard said. The low height of the signs allow both children and adults to read them.
"Since schools have been out in the last couple of weeks, there have been multiple occasions where I have seen families using the trail and kids reading the signs," Pinard said. "So the signs are already serving their purpose."
Jason Dunovant (540) 981-3324
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Daniel Pinard, cultural and economic development director for Rocky Mount, unveils new educational signs along the walking trail of Rocky Moun…
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Franklin County woman admits to stealing thousands from Vietnam veteran
A Franklin County woman, contracted with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to be a personal care attendant for a Vietnam War vet, has pleaded guilty to forgery of government checks.
The U.S. Attorney's Office in Roanoke announced the plea Tuesday of Melissa Diana Simmons, 50. She and co-defendant James Patrick Brown, her boyfriend, were indicted last year.
Simmons met the victim in May 2022, the U.S. Attorney's Office said, when she was assigned as his in-home care provider through the VA. Beginning around that December, Tuesday's news release said, the victim began withdrawing significantly more money than normal from his bank account, sometimes through checks made out to Simmons and Brown.
Simmons was fired in June 2023 but persuaded the victim to move into her and Brown's house in Boones Mill.
"Beginning in July 2023, staff at the victim's bank became suspicious as Simmons and Brown brought the victim to the bank drive-through for frequent and increasingly large withdrawals," the U.S. Attorney's Office said. "Court records claim staff observed the victim's condition deteriorate over time, from upbeat to hunched over, confused, and fearful."
Simmons had the victim add her as a signatory to his bank in August 2023, the U.S. Attorney's Office said. Within 30 days, the veteran allegedly lost around $30,000 from withdrawals.
The next month, during a drive-thru visit to the bank with Simmons, staff reported the victim as being confused and smelling of urine and feces. He could not remember when he last bathed, ate or visited the VA Medical Center. When bank staff privately questioned him, Simmons became belligerent.
Per court records, Brown later arrived at the bank with the veteran looking to withdraw more money, and he appeared to be in even worse physical condition than before.
Soon after that incident, Franklin County Adult Protective Services opened an investigation, the U.S. Attorney's Office said. An staff member's mental status exam on the veteran showed he had dementia.
In November 2023, the veteran was admitted to Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital with respiratory failure and critically low oxygen. Medical records showed methamphetamine in his system despite him having no history of using meth and not being able to independently travel.
While the veteran recovered from January to April 2024, the indictment claims, Simmons forged his signatures on VA benefits checks — totaling close to $8,000 — and spent thousands with his debit card at a casino.
Simmons admitted to VA investigators in October 2024 of forging the veteran's checks, and she admitted that she and Brown used his debit card while he was in the hospital.
The VA Office of the Inspector General, with assistance from the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office, continues to investigate the case.
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Unemployment rates drop in Southside Virginia, Franklin County
Unemployment rates fell across Southside Virginia and the Martinsville-Henry County area in April, according to data released by the Virginia Employment Commission.
This graph illustrates the unemployment rates in the cities of Martinsville and Danville, and the counties of Henry, Franklin, Patrick and Pittsylvania, as of April.
The combined unemployment rate for the Martinsville Micropolitan Statistical Area, which includes Martinsville and Henry County, stood at 5% in April, down from 5.4%. The Danville Micropolitan Statistical Area, which includes Danville and Pittsylvania County, recorded a 4.7% unemployment rate, down from 5% in March.
Martinsville’s unemployment rate dropped from 5.7% in March to 5.1% in April. Henry County’s rate declined from 5.4% to 5%.
Elsewhere in the region, Danville improved from 6.1% to 5.7%, Patrick County fell from 4.8% to 3.8%, Pittsylvania County decreased from 4.3% to 4%, and Franklin County dropped from 3.8% to 3.4%.
Virginia’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 3.4% in April, compared with the national rate of 4.3%.
Labor force data showed Henry County had a workforce of 20,329 people in April, with 19,312 employed and 1,017 unemployed. Martinsville’s labor force totaled 5,816, with 5,515 employed and 299 unemployed.
Patrick County reported a labor force of 7,436, including 7,151 employed residents and 285 unemployed workers.
AeroFarms employees line up for a picture following a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the facility in 2022.
A layoff notice that could have affected local employment figures was withdrawn this month. AeroFarms Inc. filed a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification, or WARN notice, on April 29, indicating that 133 employees at its Ringgold facility would be affected. The notice was rescinded on June 21, according to state workforce records.
Statewide, Bath County posted Virginia’s lowest unemployment rate in April at 2.6%. The city of Charlottesville and the counties of Augusta, Cumberland, Fauquier, Greene and Rockingham followed at 2.7%.
The highest unemployment rate in Virginia was recorded in Emporia at 7.3%, followed by Buchanan County at 6.9%, Northumberland County at 6.3%, and Danville at 5.7%. Martinsville and Petersburg each posted rates of 5.1%, while Henry County posted a rate of 5%.
The April figures come as Virginia’s labor market remains relatively stable. Virginia Works reported that 2,701 initial unemployment insurance claims were filed statewide during the week ending June 13, down 8.1% from the previous week and 32% below the same week a year earlier. Continued claims totaled 19,831, a 1.8% increase from the prior week but 1.5% lower than the comparable period in 2025.
Virginia Works officials said weekly unemployment claims remain an important measure of labor market conditions, with continued claims serving as a gauge of the number of insured workers who remain unemployed and continue to receive benefits.
