Thursday, June 25, 2020

Agenda for the July 1, 2020 Town Council Meeting





Vulture Removal in Green Spring Road Area



Abingdon Police Department
                                               

For Immediate Release

Vulture Removal in Green Spring Road Area

The Abingdon Police Department has received several complaints in the area of Green Spring Road regarding numerous vultures. These vultures can cause damage to houses, vehicles, and other property, as well as to livestock and pets. Other concerns include the accumulation of droppings and the odor on and near the homes.

After consulting with the USDA, the best option for removal of the vultures from the area is through the use of pyrotechnics (screamers and bird bombs) during their roosting and loafing times. Officers will be launching the pyrotechnics during the evening hours and occasionally morning hours depending upon the need for removal. The USDA recommends this process continue for up to two weeks.

If you have questions or concerns about this removal process, call the Abingdon Police Department at 276-628-3111.







HPRB agenda for the July 1, 2020 Meeting



Monday, June 8, 2020

Washington County to collect Household Hazardous Waste


Washington County to collect Household Hazardous Waste

Doing spring or summer cleaning and need to get rid of some things? Then you may be interested in the annual Household Hazardous Waste Collection Day for Washington County, which is set for July 18, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at MXI Environmental, 26319 Old Trail Road, Abingdon.

Items to be accepted that day include electronics, paints, turpentine, aerosol cans, adhesives, motor oil, antifreeze, fuel additives, household cleaners, pesticides, insecticides, herbicides, gasoline, batteries (automotive and small batteries), mercury, transmission fluid, pool chemicals, fluorescent light bulbs.

Hearing aids and eyeglasses will be accepted, too. Tires with no rims will be accepted with a limit of 10 per household.

For more information contact Allen Morris, director of the Solid Waste Department, 276- 623-1044, or visit https://www.washcova.com/solid-waste/

Saturday, June 6, 2020

Update on COVID-19 Incident at Town Hall



Update on COVID-19 Incident at Town Hall

The Town of Abingdon has learned that an individual who tested positive for COVID-19 was recently at Town Hall. After an investigation and consultation with the Mount Rogers Health District, it has been determined that one Town employee may have been exposed. This employee will be quarantined for 14 days from the contact date. As a precautionary measure, the Town has scheduled a cleaning of Town Hall on Monday, June 8, 2020, which is why the facility will be closed on that day. We will provide further updates if necessary.

Jimmy Morani
Town Manager

Town Hall CLOSED Monday, June 8, 2020


Please Share!

Town Hall will be closed on Monday, June 8, 2020, due to a possible COVID-19 incident. We apologize for the inconvenience.

Thursday, June 4, 2020

Notice of Meeting - Infrastructure Advisory Committee:


Coomes Recreation Center Update 6-4-2020


TOWN OF ABINGDON
133 WEST MAIN STREET · P. O. BOX 789 · ABINGDON, VIRGINIA · 24212

Coomes Recreation Center Update

Through Executive Order 65, Governor Northam presented guidelines for businesses and public places as we enter Phase 2 on Friday, June 5, 2020. According to the Governor’s guidelines, fitness and exercise facilities in the Commonwealth of Virginia must meet certain requirements to open under this phase, which include the following.
·       Social distancing at least ten (10) feet apart during all activities.
·       30% of the minimum occupancy or 50 patrons or less.
·       Lap swimming only, while maintaining ten (10) feet social distance, with no hot tubs or spas.
·       Employer responsibility for cleaning and disinfecting all shared equipment after each use, prohibiting use of all equipment that cannot be cleaned between each use.
Any facility that cannot adhere to the above requirements must remain closed. Based on these directives, the Coomes Recreation Center will remain closed during Phase 2 as we are unable to meet the criteria to open. We recognize that our center is an asset to our community; however, opening the facility too soon is a disservice to our customers who will be unable to utilize all of the services and amenities that is included in a paid membership.
The budget for the Coomes Recreation Center is supported by the Town’s General Fund, which has experienced a decrease in revenues during the pandemic. With the facility closure and all memberships placed on hold, revenues generated from the center have also been reduced.
The Coomes Recreation Center will open its doors when we are able to provide a basic level of service. Extensions will be provided for all memberships and fitness pass holders. The center has a financial statement posted in regards to how these specific accounts will be handled. Once the doors open, there will be a phasing in of programs, services, and amenities.
As always, the health, safety, and financial wellness of our community remains our number one priority. We appreciate your patience and understanding.

James Morani
Town Manager

The Gallery @ Barr Photographics announces the summer installment of the Corner Gallery’s 2020 exhibition series


The Gallery @ Barr Photographics announces the summer installment of the Corner Gallery’s 2020 exhibition series with a collection of oil or watercolor paintings entitled “Etcetera!” by award winning, Rogersville, Tennessee artist, Carol Thomason.

            In her biographical sketch Carol states, “I was born and raised in Jackson, Mississippi, where I lived, for 57 years, until my husband Bill and I moved to Rogersville Tennessee seven years ago. Both Bill and I worked for the State of Mississippi Wildlife Department, after retirement I opened a gift shop in Mississippi, where I sold gift merchandise and hand painted ceramics and taught classes for ceramic painting. The retail gift shop segued into a wholesale business of providing my hand painted ceramics to other gift stores. At one time I employed seven people and sold ceramic creations to over two hundred and twenty five stores nationally. I did trunk shows for high end hotels and casinos in and around Mississippi, where I would sell ceramics and personalize the works for individual customers. After five years I realized that we were running out selves ragged and decided to get out of the wholesale ceramic business. Shortly thereafter we moved to Rogersville, where I began concentrate more on image production via painting 2-d images. I paint in various media, pastel, oil, acrylic and watercolor. Recently most of my production has been watercolor and oil, which is reflected in “Etcetera!” Now we enjoy retirement, sitting back with a cool glass of tea and I paint on my own schedule.”

            Mrs. Thomason reveals in her artist’s statement, “Everyone needs to take at least one hour of their day to do what they love to do, "I call this ME" time, whether it is painting, gardening, working on models, clay, stained glass, etc., I can usually find the time to play.  I've always seemed to be drawn to my paints and brushes even though I've tried a million different crafts.  It was not until I moved to Tennessee that a whole new world opened up with new beautiful subjects to paint.  The only problem is my ME time has turned into a lot longer than one hour on certain days!  I've always heard "love what you do and do what you love" and I've found out that painting is my passion, which seems to be okay with my husband, so I paint away.  He told me that a clean house doesn't make memories, so I paint…a lot! Now, all I seem to want to do is travel and take pictures so I can get started on my next painting.  GOD has given us an endless supply of subjects to paint and I'm certainly going to take advantage of it.  Even though GOD is the master painter and I will never be able to match the colors he uses, the joy of painting is in my heart.”

 “Etcetera!” will be celebrated with a reception, gallery talk and demonstration of technique by Carol Thomason, to which the public is cordially invited, on Friday, 12 June from 7 - 9:00 PM in The Gallery @ Barr Photographics, 152 E. Main Street, Abingdon, Virginia. Masks and Social Distancing REQUIRED!  “Etcetera!” will hang, and be offered for sale, through 31, May.   The Gallery @ Barr Photographics is housed in the Greenway Trigg Building, located in the heart of Abingdon’s main street historic district.  Please call 276- 628-1486 or visit http://barrphotographics.com/CornerGalleryFeatureArtist.aspx?cms=9386 for further information.