PittCo Happenings

Noah Robbins, Assistant Fire Marshal with the Public Safety Department, talks about the responsibilities of the Fire Marshals in the community. Some of the services that they provide include annual fire inspections for County businesses, smoke detector installations, and fire investigations. Noah explains local burn laws, provides some safety and fire prevention tips, and highlights how the Office...

Pittsylvania County Finance Director Kim Van Der Hyde joins the show to discuss Pittsylvania County's proposed FY 23 budget. She talks about some of the priorities County leadership had for the budget, highlights some challenges in balancing the budget, and explains important topics like personal property tax relief, local education funding, and much more. The budget includes no tax rate incr...

Pittsylvania County Public Library Director Lisa Tuite joins the show to talk about renovations to the Gretna Branch of the library. This project is the result of approximately $500,000 in contributions from the Board of Supervisors and $450,000 that was fundraised by the Library Foundation. Lisa highlights the different phases of the renovations, talks about future outdoor enhancement projects, a...

Jessie Vernon, Program Manager at the Institute for Advanced Learning and Research, discusses Pittsylvania County's 2022 ExperienceWorks program, which includes a summer internship component. Jessie explains some of the different components of the ExperienceWorks system, highlights the importance of work-based learning and exposure programs like these, and walks through this year's sched...

Pittsylvania County Public Works Director Chris Adcock gives an overview of the operations of the County landfill and talks about the revenue that is generated through contracts and how those funds are utilized. Chris talks about the difference between operating and capital expenses, highlights the County's efforts to improve the landfill's efficiency, and talks about how the landfill an...

Pittsylvania County Interim County Administrator Clarence Monday joins the show to introduce himself. Monday, who served as the full-time County Administrator from 2014 through early 2017, talks about his previous tenure with Pittsylvania County and his interim work for other localities. Monday says that his job is to keep the ball moving up the field on important projects, and right now the two m...

Pittsylvania County Public Safety Director Chris Slemp and EMS Coordinator Kasey Seay talk about recent trends with high 911 call volume, the significant impact of frequent hospital diversions across the region, and the ripple effects those hospital diversions have on Public Safety staff and the County's many volunteer agencies. Despite record-breaking calls for transport service and extended...

Newly appointed Chairman Vic Ingram joins the show to talk about his experience on the Board of Supervisors, the recent termination of County Administrator David Smitherman, and what the goals of the current Board of Supervisors are after the swearing in of three new members. Ingram shares that some of the Board's biggest priorities are fire and rescue, economic development, and solving issue...

Pittsylvania County Administrator David Smitherman joins the show to discuss some of the biggest successes and developments in the County during 2021. He talks about the impact of the County's partnership with RiverStreet Networks, contextualizes the importance of the County's economic development efforts, shares about the County's effective use of federal funds, highlights continue...

Pittsylvania County Economic Development Director Matt Rowe joins the show to discuss the highlights of 2021 for Pittsylvania County's Economic Development efforts. During 2021, there were three announcements of new companies locating in Pittsylvania County (or an industrial park that is jointly-owned with the City of Danville), two companies announced the expansions, and Governor Northam cam...

Pittsylvania County Public Safety Director Chris Slemp joins the show to talk about the progress and improvements made in the County's Public Safety and volunteer fire and rescue agencies during 2021. Some of the topics include improved response rates, increased call volume, Fire and Rescue Commission changes, pay for volunteers, the success of the Pittsylvania County Public Safety EMS staff,...

Assistant county Administrator Dave Arnold joins the show to discuss Pittsylvania County's 2022 reassessment. Pittsylvania County hired Brightminds, LLC, a proven and locally-based appraisal company, in 2020 to complete the reassessment process, which is required to done every four years for localities with more than 50,000 residents. Updated valuations were recently mailed out to property ow...

Carolyn Jarrett, Chief of Brosville Volunteer Fire and Rescue, joins the show to discuss the agency's history, some of the challenges facing volunteer departments across the County, and how Brosville has maintained consistent service. Some of the steps the agency has taken to keep response rates high and response times low is issuing per-call stipends and paying people to man the station from...

Pittsylvania County Administrator David Smitherman joins the show to discuss the events leading up to the Blue Ridge Rock Festival and what really happened during the four-day event. Below is a summary:  The plans for the Blue Ridge Rock Festival were good, but they were not administered correctly. There were serious public safety risks Wednesday and Thursday due to failures in traffic management,...

911 Manager Ronnie Fowler, who oversees the Pittsylvania County Dispatch Center, talks about the role of dispatchers and his experience over the past 30 years in the Dispatch Center. With many regional hospitals and emergency rooms frequently going on diversion due to short-staffing, the dispatch center is constantly adjusting where they direct transport agencies to take patients, which can have a...

Pittsylvania County and Pittsylvania County Schools recently announced a partnership with RiverStreet Networks to expand internet access across the county. RiverStreet President & CEO Eric Cramer joins the show to discuss the company's unique business model and success leveraging outside funds to expand in rural areas like Pittsylvania County. He also highlights some of the history of ele...

Assistant County Administrator Dave Arnold talks about the recent announcement that Pittsylvania County, Pittsylvania County Schools, and RiverStreet Networks are partnering together to bring reliable internet to county residents. To start, this will feature a $75 million fiber-to-the-home network to reach 12,000 unserved locations. Dave talks about why so many county residents don't already...

Pittsylvania County Schools Superintendent Dr. Mark Jones talks about the 1% sales tax increase that is on the ballot for all Pittsylvania County voters in this election. If approved, the proceeds from that 1% sales tax increase, which would generate approximately $3.3 annually, would be used exclusively to fund school capital projects and renovations. In this episode, Dr. Jones speaks more about...

Chief of Callands Volunteer Fire and Rescue Damian Maurakis talks about the difficulties facing the agency, particularly when responding to EMS calls. After responding to just 30% of EMS calls in FY 2020, they were able to increase that number to 50% in FY 21, and 67% so far in FY 22. The key has been paying part-time staff to man the station during the busiest hours of the day, and his goal is to...

Pittsylvania Pet Center Brent Weinkauf joins PittCo Happenings again to discuss several upcoming fundraisers in September and October and highlight how the Pet Center is adopting out and transferring many animals to reduce the animal population. Brent also talks about the importance of fundraising to bolster the emergency medical fund and explains the need for more people to foster and adopt anima...

Jonathan Slye, CEO of Purpose Driven Events, joins PittCo Happenings to discuss three upcoming music festivals in Pittsylvania County at the Blue Ridge Ampitheater. Worship at the Mountain will take place September 3-5, the Blue Ridge Rock Festival will happen September 9-12, and the Blue Ridge Country Festival will happen October 1-3. Jonathan talks about Purpose Driven Events as a company, expla...

John Harris, Executive Director of the Olde Dominion Agricultural Foundation, talks about tourism and agrotourism in Pittsylvania County. John discusses what agrotourism is and how it's evolving in Pittsylvania County. He talks about the role of the Agricultural Complex in furthering tourism in the county, and he highlights how the County is becoming more of a tourist destination. 

Eric Clark, Chief of Cascade Volunteer Fire and Rescue, joins PittCo Happenings today to discuss the department's history and dramatic turnaround in the past few years. Cascade Volunteer Fire Department had reached a point a few years ago where volunteers weren't responding to calls, and it seemed as if the department would shut down. New leadership and focus as well as focused recruitme...

Pittsylvania County Human Resources Manager Holly Stanfield discusses some of the open positions in Pittsylvania County government, as well as the creative means that are being taken to fill them. The Board of Supervisors recently created a $1,000 sign on bonus and a $1,000 referral bonus in an effort to attract qualified employees. Additionally, Pittsylvania County is looking to find talented, pa...

Hear from Pittsylvania County Board of Supervisors Chairman Bob Warren about a whole variety of different topics, including:  The rationale behind increasing the meals tax from 4% to 6% and enacting a new transient occupancy tax: to reduce the burden on property owners Some of the biggest accomplishments this Board of Supervisors has made in the past few years: economic development success, increa...