Some local lawmakers are working to fundamentally change elections in Virginia. Here's how.

A former VFW Post Commander faces a felony embezzlement charge, accused of taking money from the post and using it for himself.

Baits will be distributed throughout a vaccination area that includes parts of Bland, Giles, Grayson, Smyth, Russell, Washington, Wythe, Tazewell, Bristol, and Abingdon. In total, approximately 216,000 coated sachet baits containing the oral rabies vaccine will be distributed across a 4,280-square-kilometer bait zone in southwestern Virginia.

An acetic acid vapor release at Celanese in Narrows injured six employees, with an emergency response activated and an investigation underway.

The Pearisburg Police Department and the Junior Woman's Club are coming together to host a benefit meal for Pearisburg Police Officer Jacob Gilbert, who is currently battling cancer. The event will take place at the Pearisburg Fire Department on Sunday, March 9, from 1 to 4 p.m.

The Magical Christmas Village & Marketplace opens Saturday, November 23rd at Mountain Lake Lodge. Kicking off the event with its grand illumination at 6pm, the lodge and property will be decked out in holiday lights. Visitors from the community and hotel guests are invited on property to see the sparkling holiday lights, shop at the marketplace and see 2024′s new attractions like Marshmallow Way, the Pinecone Express, and the Holiday Mainstage.

A federal judge has ordered Virginia to restore more than 1,600 voter registrations that she said were illegally purged in the last two months in an effort to stop noncitizens from voting.

A power outage has forced Giles High School to close, according to the school division.

There was a single-vehicle crash that left one dead in Giles County, Virginia State Police said.

FEMA is offering assistance if you live in Giles, Grayson, Tazewell, Washington and Wythe Counties or Galax and you were impacted by Helene.

47 families in Giles County are now without homes after extreme flooding from the New River due to Helene. The New River crested at 24.2 feet making it the second worst flood of the New River in recorded history. Despite the loss, the spirit of Giles is stronger than ever as the community rushes to help those in need.

This marks the second consecutive match-up that was decided by one point.

In Week 4 of the high school football season, Narrows squeezed past Giles County 21-20.

In Week 4 of the high school football season, Giles squeezed past Narrows, 20-14.

In the New River Valley one county saw an increase of 7.7% in just one year according to the Virginia Tourism Corporation.

The Eagles claimed their seventh consecutive region crown in a shutout win over Giles.

The Poe-Trivett family has lived in Giles since the 1980s, and since they have moved there, if a storm comes through, they have the chance of being stranded at, or away, from home.

The Giles County Sheriff’s Office is releasing more information about a woman who authorities said was found dead after falling about 100 feet within a cave in the Staffordsvile Community outside of Pearisburg on Friday.

A Giles County man harvested an animal not seen there since 1958. Lifelong native Wesley Woodyard hunted Giles County’s first elk in decades, an animal up until now not thought to still be in the county.

Forever known as the backdrop for the cult classic movie Dirty Dancing, Mountain Lake Lodge is switching to a new genre this holiday.

The Spartans defeated Eastside 3-0 and will host Auburn in the Class 1 semifinals on Tuesday.

From 80s to snow flurries in a matter of days. Welcome to Virginia weather!

The Auburn Eagles hosted the Giles Spartans in this New River Valley bout where it was all Spartans Friday night.

That back-and-forth battle came down to the very last second

The Patriots took the Mayor’s Cup home on Friday night - 27-19.

Two rival teams going head to head in our Game of the Week clash: Narrows versus Giles.

Giles County Animal Shelter staff said she never passes up an opportunity for belly rubs and is excellent on a leash. She wants nothing more than to lay at your feet and take a nap.

Kane is a two-year-old pitbull/lab mix at the Giles County Animal Shelter, and has been searching for a home to call his own for four months.

A Virginia Tech professor of Geophysics weighs in on the most recent earthquakes in Southwest Virginia.

Flooding in Giles County, from Memorial Day Weekend.

Weather is getting warmer, Giles County Tourism leaders share what people can do in the area.

The Giles Lifesaving and Rescue Squad rescued an injured hiker in Giles County over the weekend.

Chef Loren Hunter shares experience filming with America’s Best Restaurant with WSLS Team.

The defending Class 2 state champion Glenvar Highlanders faced Appomattox County in the 2C Region final. The Highlanders swept Appomattox 3-0 for the Region 2C title.

Giles volleyball beat Eastern Montgomery 3-0 to advance to the Region 1C Volleyball Championship. They will face Auburn, who beat Covington 3-0.

Giles fell to Grayson County 34-14.

The Spartans are re-tooling the single wing after another successful season in Pearisburg.

If you need a ray of sunshine in your life, Jan is your girl.

Have you ever met a dog that’ll actually hug you back? Well, now’s your chance.

911 service is not currently functional for AT&T customers.

Three-seed Parry McCluer beat the Spartans 14-6.

Homefield proved to be quite the advantage for Giles on Friday night.

Tied at the half and after three-quarters, Giles and James River played each other tightly on Friday night.

The Lady Buffs are in the midst of a perfect season. At 17-0, it’s the best record Floyd County volleyball has ever seen.

The ride from Roanoke to Giles County certainly didn’t wear out the North Cross Raiders on Friday night.

The Giles Spartans are now 4-1 on the season, after a Friday night win against Fort Chiswell.

The Spartans hosted the Green Wave on Friday and proved dominant.

Thanks to Mike for sending us today's Picture of the Day from the New River in Giles!

CAMPBELL COUNTY, Va. – As Virginia loosens COVID-19 restrictions, parents of high school seniors in our area are organizing proms. Parents of students at Rustburg and Giles high schools are taking it upon themselves to keep the tradition alive. Rustburg High School is a part of Campbell County Public Schools. Campbell County Public Schools is not sponsoring these events. If these events do occur, parents should follow all mitigation strategies and adhere to capacity limitations mandated by the Governor’s executive order #72,” said Clayton Stanley, Campbell County assistant superintendent, in a statement.

BLACKSBURG, Va. – Rather than play in Giles County, Carroll County made the trip to Blacksburg on Friday night and left with a win over Giles. The Cavaliers beat the Spartans, 42-13.

BLACKSBURG, Va. – The game between the Spartans and Buffaloes was neck-and-neck Saturday afternoon with Giles ultimately securing the victory, 20-18.

AEP outages as of 5 p.m.Thousands are without power as Southwest and Central Virginia are experiencing wintry weather. Below are the worst outage areas among the 2,724 Appalachian Power customers in Virginia without power:County/City Customer Outages Pulaski County 1,347 Montgomery County 500 Wythe County 162 Roanoke County 148 Giles County 144 Pittsylvania County 94 Carroll County 28 Smyth County 20 Franklin County 41 Grayson County Fewer than 5Here’s a breakdown of the Dominion Energy customers in our region without power:Charlotte County: 44Halifax County: 169Alleghany County: 36Danville officials say that 1,200 customers on Memorial Drive, Lanier Avenue, Park Avenue, Bishop Road and across the river on Piedmont Drive are without power. Here’s a breakdown of the Mecklenburg Electric customers in our region without power:Halifax County: 608Pittsylvania County: 459Here’s a breakdown of the BARC Electric Cooperative customers in our region without power:AdHighland County: 109Here’s a breakdown of the Southside Electric Cooperative customers in our region without power:

GILES COUNTY, Va. – On Friday, Giles County seniors like Diane Mullis lined up to get their coveted COVID-19 vaccine. “We are very grateful and very relieved,” said Mullis, a 77-year-old from Giles County. “Localities are going to have to step up and try to help I think through this process if we’re really going to get the vaccine out,” said Giles County Administrator Chris McKlarney. Don’t just show up at a vaccine clinic and don’t try to register if you’re not in Phase 1-a or Phase 1-b. That way, they can get the vaccine in as many arms as possible for those who need it most.

GILES COUNTY, Va. This week marks the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II its also a special milestone for a local World War II veteran who just turned 100 years old. Hitting that century mark deserves a massive celebration, especially for someone who served our country, and the Giles County community did not disappoint. June Atkins of Giles County was born on Aug. 23, 1920. Im the reason hes 100 years old, Dora said while laughing. In Giles, June is known as one of the Maybrook Men. He is one of five brothers who all served in World War II at the same time.

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SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA - Twelve counties across Southwest Virginia have issued burn bans due to dangerously dry conditions. Chris Thomsen, with the Virginia Department of Forestry's, said the dry conditions go deeper than the ground's surface, so putting out fires is that much harder. "A bush hog will go out and the blade will strike a rock and it will spark a fire and you don't see that if it's not this dry," Thomsen said. As long as the drought doesn't let up, neither will the burn bans. "Sooner or later we'll be out of this, it just doesn't look like it's going to be anytime soon," Thomsen said.

ROANOKE, Va - The Giles Spartans have made it to the playoffs every single year since 2011 but fell to Appomattox in the first round last season. Giles has an offense that works under head coach Jeff Williams: the single wing. But Williams and his team know in order to get the ball moving, it has to start up front. "We're going to have to get better up on the offensive line this year and on the defensive front, too. Giles opens up its season at home on Aug. 30 against Blacksburg.

ROANOKE, Va. – The National Weather Service in Blacksburg went out to Giles and Pulaski counties on Saturday to survey the damage caused by Friday night's storms. It has been determined that an EF-1 tornado touched down in Bella Vista in Pulaski county from 8:10 to 8:11 p.m. Friday. The tornado was embedded within the storm and was determined to be 50 yards wide and a quarter of a mile long. "It's a pretty chaotic debris field," National Weather Service Blacksburg meteorologist Mike Sporer said while surveying. Most of the damage is up the road a quarter mile, but we got our share of it here as well."

ROANOKE, Va. - The National Weather Service in Blacksburg went out to Giles and Pulaski counties today to survey the damage caused by Friday nights storms. It has been determined that an EF-1 tornado touched down in Bella Vista in Pulaski county from 8:10 to 8:11 PM on Friday night. The winds were estimated to be between 90 to 95 miles per hour. The tornado was embedded within the storm and was determined to be 50 yards wide and a quarter of a mile long. Any damage that occured before that time was caused by a downburst and straightline winds.

GILES COUNTY, Va. - Giles was one of two Virginia counties to earn the USDA 'Turnip the Beet' award. The county was awarded a silver award for improving access to summer meals that featured local, culturally appropriate foods, according to the Department of Education. The division had sites at two schools in the county where it would serve food and even provide transportation for participating students. Giles County also works with the Virginia Cooperative Extension to operate the Giles County Agriculture Land Lab, where students can have hands-on learning experiences. Vegetables and beef from cattle raised on the student-run land are used in school and summer meals.

FERRUM, Va. – At fall football practice, the sun beats down on a Ferrum program that's just warming up. The Panthers went 6-4 a year ago and in his second year at the helm, coach Rob Grande is ready to build off a solid first season. That set a tone I think in the second year," Grande said. There are big moves ahead for Ferrum as it joins the ODAC next season, but the Panthers aren't looking too far ahead. Just aiming to do well in their final season playing in the USA South.