Jasmine Franks

4 days ago | swvatoday.com | Jasmine Franks

Three Smyth County dispatchers were recognized last week by the Virginia Sheriff’s Association for their work in the aftermath of the fatal gunfight that killed Deputy Hunter Reedy. Kayleigh Jackson, Tommie Wiles and Jonna Tuell were on duty in the dispatch center when the “most dreaded call” came through. “It was very chaotic,” said Sheriff Chip Shuler, who had been on the phone with one of the dispatchers and could hear the radio traffic coming through.

1 week ago | swvatoday.com | Jasmine Franks

A Honaker woman has been convicted in connection to the embezzlement of money and personal property from the estate of her now deceased stepfather. Rebecca Dawn Burress, 45, stood accused of draining the bank account and taking family heirlooms and personal property from her stepfather, Richard Money’s, estate. A retired Marion-based attorney, Money had been residing in area nursing homes during the time the embezzlement occurred. Burress had been acting as one of Money’s power of attorneys.

1 week ago | swvatoday.com | Jasmine Franks

Retiring Smyth County Schools Superintendent Dennis Carter is going to Emory & Henry—again. Carter, a 1995 E&H graduate, has been tapped as the university’s new vice president of strategic partnerships and innovation. With 30 years in public education under his belt, all of which was served in Smyth County schools, Carter announced his retirement in April. The decision to leave the school system he so long served, he was, was not an easy one to make.

2 weeks ago | swvatoday.com | Jasmine Franks

A teenager convicted in February of the attempted murder of a Chilhowie convenience store clerk has been sentenced to spend 10 years in prison. Charged as an adult, now -17-year-old Jose Emilio Sanchez Rodriguez entered an open guilty plea in February. An open guilty plea is one made without an agreement with or sentencing recommendation from the commonwealth. Rodriguez stood accused of coaxing the clerk from behind the counter last July and attacking him from behind with a fixed-blade knife.

2 weeks ago | swvatoday.com | Jasmine Franks

A couple is being treated at area trauma centers after a tree fell onto their vehicle at Hungry Mother State Park on Saturday. Marion Fire-EMS Chief Rusty Hamm said Marion and Smyth County Fire & Rescue crews were called out to CCC Cabin Road inside the park shortly after 4 p.m., where the tree, about three-feet in diameter at its base, had uprooted and fallen onto the vehicle.