by RODERICK MULLINS

A report released by the consumer advocacy group Public Citizen identifies 10 Virginia hospitals at risk of closure, including two in southwestern Virginia, following recent federal funding adjustments.

The report links the financial strain to the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, a legislative package supported by Republican Reps. John McGuire (5th District), Ben Cline (6th District), and Morgan Griffith (9th District). According to Congressional Budget Office estimates, the legislation is projected to reduce federal spending on Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program by $911 billion over the next decade.

The two local facilities identified in the report include Buchanan General Hospital, in Grundy, and Dickenson Community Hospital, in Clintwood.

Virginia Democratic Sens. Tim Kaine and Mark Warner criticized the legislation in a joint statement, arguing the cuts prioritize tax breaks for high-income earners over rural health care stability.

“Hospitals across the Commonwealth are now at risk of closure because of this bill,” the senators said. “This latest report shows the impact on reliable access to affordable, quality care.”

The financial impact is already being felt in some regions. Centra Southside Community Hospital in Farmville recently ended labor, delivery, and OB-GYN surgical services. Hospital officials stated the facility must adapt to “significant financial and operational challenges, including recently enacted reductions in federal healthcare funding.”

The legislative shift comes as redistricting changes loom for Virginia’s congressional map. Rep. Griffith is set to represent a portion of Augusta County pending the results of an April 21 referendum.

For more information about the potential closures, click here to see the complete article and charts on Public Citizen

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GRUNDY, Va. — Police are investigating after a woman’s body was found in a remote area of Buchanan County on Sunday.

Buchanan County sheriff’s deputies responded to a report of a vehicle abandoned on an ATV trail, about two miles off of Old Wolf Road, at Looney’s Creek. They found a pickup truck that appeared to have become stuck in mud.

Nobody was in or near the vehicle, but deputies did find a small dog which appeared to have been without food for an extended time.

Following a search of the area, a deputy and K-9 unit found the body of a woman later determined to be the truck’s owner, Kimberly Christian. Christian had not been reported as missing. Her body has been sent to the Virginia Medical Examiner’s Office in Roanoke for autopsy.

The dog was placed in the custody of Buchanan County Animal Control.

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ABINGDON, Va. — A former Grundy mail carrier is expected to plead guilty this week to stealing mail.

Norman Vincent Arrington is expected to plead guilty to theft of mail by a postal employee and opening, destroying and detaining mail without authority.

According to a factual basis signed by Arrington and filed in the case, he delivered mail along Rural Route 2, when he opened two pieces of mail on April 15, 2024, and stole two Walmart gift cards that they contained. He also admitted to using one of the cards to make a purchase at the Grundy Walmart. Arrington also admitted to stealing two other pieces of mail the following June.

The theft charge is punishable by up to five years in prison, while the opening mail charge is a misdemeanor carrying a sentence of no more than a year.

Arrington is expected to appear in Abingdon federal court on Friday to formalize his plea.

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HURLEY, Va. — A Pike County wanted since being indicted on arson, attempted murder and kidnapping charges in January, has been arrested in Virginia.

Marty Eugene Hurley, 50, of Stopover, is accused of forcing three people into a trailer, setting it on fire, and locking them inside. The victims were able to escape, but all suffered burns and smoke inhalation. One of the victims had to be intubated due to severe smoke inhalation.

Last month, a grand jury indicted him for three counts of attempted murder, three counts of kidnapping and one count of first-degree arson. The arson charge is the most serious, carrying a potential sentence of 20 years-to-life in prison. Each of the remaining charges is punishable by 10-to-20 years in prison.

On Friday, officers with the Buchanan County Sheriff’s Office and U.S. Marshals Service arrested him in the NAPA Auto Parts parking lot in Hurley.

Hurley is currently being held in Virginia, awaiting extradition to Pike County.

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ABINGDON, Va. — A dozen retired coal miners are suing a Buchanan County mining company, claiming the company broke its promise to provide them with health care for life.

The former miners filed suit against Jewell Smokeless Coal Corporation in Buchanan Circuit Court back in November. Those cases have now been removed to federal court in Abingdon and consolidated.

The miners include:

• George Childress
• George Crigger
• John Crigger
• Willard Hess
• Michael Horne
• James Keen
• Michael Lewis
• Randall Matney
• Steve Newberry
• Michael Prater
• Charles Wayne Pruitt
• Harry Scott

The men all say they were promised lifetime medical benefits for themselves and their dependents if they retired from the company after reaching the age of 55 and 15 years of service. Each of the miners worked for Jewell for at least 20 years, with two-thirds working more than 30 years.

The lawsuits also contain sworn affidavits from the company’s former president, former director of operations, and two former directors of human resources verifying the promise made to the miners.

The former miners say everything went according to plan for several years after they retired, with the company keeping them on employer-sponsored health insurance. Several years later, when the company was going through a corporate transition, Jewell switched from providing insurance to paying the retirees an annual subsidy to cover the cost for them to purchase insurance on the private marketplace. The former miners say that change was acceptable, as it continued guaranteed health coverage at the same level.

But in December of 2024, the company informed the men that the annual subsidy would be cut by more than half. According to the lawsuit, the company rationalized the move by saying it would bring the subsidy in line with market prices. But the miners say that the cuts combined with skyrocketing insurance rates made it impossible for them to obtain equivalent health insurance.

The lawsuits ask that each of the men be awarded $40,000, plus their legal costs and any additional relief the court deems appropriate.

Jewell has not yet filed an answer to the complaints.

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The Community Arts Mainstage, or CAM, is providing the art of theater to Buchanan County with shows such as Stephen King’s Misery.

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VANSANT, Va. — A Buchanan County man has been arrested and charged with abuse and murder in connection with the death of a child earlier this year.

Logan Curtis Boyd, of Vansant, is charged with murder and felony abuse and neglect. He is currently being held without bond.

The charges are related to the July 2 death of a child in Vansant.

In a joint statement, Buchanan County Commonwealth’s Attorney Nikki Stiltner and Sheriff Allen Boyd said no additional details will be released while the case remains under investigation, due to its sensitive nature.

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The Breaks Interstate Park has plenty planned for the fall season.

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PILGRIM’S KNOB, Va. — The Buchanan County Sheriff’s Office is reporting that the bodies of two missing men have been found in an abandoned mine.

Just after midnight on Wednesday, police responded to an abandoned drift mine along Spruce Pine Road, at Pilgrim’s Knob, where the bodies were discovered. Following a search of the mine, authorities located the bodies around 10:30 a.m.

The bodies have been identified as Jerry Chambers Jr., 49, of Jewell Ridge, Va., and Jerry Orville Jenks, 53, of Paynesville, W.Va.

The investigation is continuing, but the sheriff’s office says foul play is not suspected.

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Breaks staff has hopes that EV charging station will increase the number of visitors to the park.

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