REGIONAL VIEW southwest virginia
N.C. expansion plan stirs worry in theater’s hometown by Tim Thornton
S
ince 1946, the Barter Theatre in Abingdon has been Virginia’s State
Theatre. So, naturally, talk of a Barter outpost in Mount Airy, N.C., caused consternation in the theater’s hometown. “It is absolutely the main draw to this town,” says Mitzi Smith, owner of The Pepper- mill restaurant in Abingdon. At least 40 percent of her customers are Barter patrons, she says. Putting a Barter Theatre in Mount Airy would “take away a huge chunk of our business” at a time when business already is challenging, she says. “If you leave my restaurant and walk down to the Barter — and it’s two blocks — there are six empty storefronts.” Richard Rose, the the-
ater’s producing artistic direc- tor, thinks Abingdon business owners misunderstand the proposed expansion’s poten- tial effect. “Everybody thinks, ‘If
[patrons] can go there, they’re FOR THE RECORD
Travel and hospitality were the bright spots over the past decade in a down labor market in Southwest Virginia. Even as over- all employment fell 2.3 percent since 2001, jobs in the leisure sector increased by 14 percent, according to a new report from the Southwest Virginia Cultural Heritage Foundation and the Friends of Southwest Virginia. The report outlines growth — travel expenditures increasing by 56 percent from 2004 to 2016 — and promises more to come. Southwest Virginia accounts for more than a fifth of Virginia’s total land area and is home to two national parks, nine state parks and more than a thousand square miles of national and state forests. (
SWVAToday.com)
Photo courtesy The Barter Theatre
called for spending at least $10 million to create a theater in a former textile mill. The money would come through a mixture of tax credits, capital campaigns and contributions from Mount Airy. The city also agreed to provide annual operating subsidies of up to $600,000 that gradually fall to $100,000 for years six through 15. A North Carolina com-
The Bartre Theatre has attracted theater-goers to Abingdon since its founding in 1933.
not going to come here,’” he says. But the theater already does hundreds of shows away from Abingdon every year. Wherever the players go, Rose says, audiences follow them back to their home the- ater. “I think people underes- timate the appeal of coming to Abingdon, and the appeal of coming to the Barter in Abingdon,” he says.
The Sunset-OptiNet transaction is now expected to close in May, the BVU Authority board was told in March. Officials from Duffield-based Sunset Digital Communications outlined steps they’re taking to complete the planned $50 million acquisition of BVU’s telecommunications division in the current fiscal year, which ends June 30. Sunset approached BVU about buying its fiber-optic network in 2015, and the deal was announced Feb. 5, 2016. Since that time, the deal has been consumed with obtaining a series of approvals from partners and funding agen- cies. (Bristol Herald Courier)
The board of the University of Virginia’s College at Wise has taken an initial step toward creating its first graduate degree
With the coalfields’
economy struggling and the region’s population shrinking, Rose argues, audience growth must come from outside the area.
Smith, unconvinced, calls
the expansion, “a win-win for Mount Airy and a win-win for Barter and a lose-lose for Abingdon business owners.” The Mount Airy plan
program. In March, the board approved the creation of a master’s program in teaching. The measure must be approved by the board of visitors, State Council of Higher Education for Virginia, Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges and the Virginia Depart- ment of Education. The earliest the program could start would be August 2019. (News release)
The first microbrewery in Wythe County is set to open this spring in the old Gerta’s House of Music location on East Lee Highway. “But this is not Gerta’s; it is a new operation,” said owner David Blair. Gerta’s closed nearly two years ago. According to Blair, Tim Winsett will brew four craft beers on site. Blair is still contem- plating the hours of operation but
www.VirginiaBusiness.com
mission that oversees local government debt declared that plan too risky, but Mount Airy Mayor David Rowe says the deal isn’t dead yet. “It might be in the funeral parlor,” he says, “but we haven’t loaded it up into the hearse yet.” The mayor thinks the
deal can get state approval if the Barter Theatre takes on more of the costs. “We’re still, I think, some half-heartedly committed to it and some whole-heartedly committed to it,” he says. “So, we’ll just see where it goes.”
said they will probably be open for a few hours each evening on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. He hopes to open the microbrewery around May 1. (
SWVAToday.com)
PEOPLE
Thomas T. Cullen has been sworn in as U.S. attorney for the Western District of Virginia. Cullen is the former deputy criminal chief for the U.S. attorney’s office in Roanoke and a former assistant U.S. attorney in the Western District of North Carolina. He was most recently a partner at Woods Rogers PLC in Roanoke. (News release)
Robyn Lee has been hired as program director of GO Virginia Region One, which serves the cities of Bristol, Galax and Nor-
ton and the counties of Bland, Buchanan, Carroll, Dickenson, Grayson, Lee, Russell, Scott, Smyth, Tazewell, Washington, Wise and Wythe. Lee previ- ously led Opportunity SWVA, a network of small business and entrepreneurship support orga- nizations covering a 19-county area. (Bristol Herald Courier)
Kim Farris-Luke, president and owner of Farris Funeral Service & Crematory in Abingdon, has been named president-elect of the board of directors of Selected Independent Funeral Homes. Farris-Luke will be the first female president since the organization’s inception 100 years ago. She will be installed during the organization’s annual meeting in October. (Bristol Herald Courier)
VIRGINIA BUSINESS 13
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80
