United States of America
I am a reporter for the weekly newspaper Amherst New Era-Progress. I cover most of the happenings in both the town and county of Amherst from local government and school meetings to annual festivals and events. I write profiles and feature pieces of local people and programs as well as the occasional court and breaking news story. I also have experience with shooting video and photos while on assignment.
Currently a Lynchburg resident, I am a transplant from a small town in Upstate New York similar to the community I now cover.
Charles Faulconer just celebrated his 90th birthday, but he still remembers being wounded and rescued on the front lines of World War II at 18 years old. It was near the end of the Battle of the Bulge, the largest battle fought on the western front during the war, in February 1945.
For Kathleen Lloyd, the Amherst County School Board's decision to take another vote on the future of Pleasant View Elementary School this week is an opportunity to show her son she is fighting for the school.
Wiping away tears, Leigh Pigg accepted the helmet of her late husband, Tim Pigg, the only firefighter to die in the line of duty in Amherst Fire Department's 100-year history. The Pigg family was honored Saturday during AFD's 100th anniversary celebration, which drew more than 2,000 people and closed South Main Street in downtown Amherst for for several hours Saturday.
Amherst Milling Company, a local mill owned by only two families since its construction around 1900, is up for sale. Dick Wydner, co-owner of the mill, said the Baldock family originally owned it until his father bought it in 1940. After it came into ownership of the Wydner family its name was changed to Amherst Milling Company.
Amherst County residents overwhelmingly voted "yes" in last week's election to elect school board members instead of the current method of appointment by the county board of supervisors. According to unofficial results, 11,042 votes, or 87.36 percent, were in favor of an elected school board while 1,597 votes, or 12.64 percent, opposed.
Less than a year after being diagnosed with brain cancer, Elon Elementary School fifth-grader Gino Piazza is cancer free. Gino was honored during the second annual Colors of Cancer benefit dinner this past weekend.
The Town of Amherst announced the resignation of Amherst Police Chief Robert Kimbrel on Tuesday morning. The town said in a news release Kimbrel's paid leave had "absolutely nothing" to do with wrongdoing or an investigation. "Chief Kimbrel served the community with honor and dignity," the release states.
An Amherst County judge ruled Tuesday to uphold a three-year sentence for a Madison Heights teenager previously found guilty of unlawful wounding in connection with a shooting outside of a Madison Heights convenience store last summer. Nalijah Antonio Herndon, 18, was sentenced Sept.