The Shadow
The latest whispers from the Kingdom of Covington paint a picture of anticipation around the enigmatic Project Sparkle, also known as the 410 on Main Street building. We are in the final hours waiting for the City to unveil the secrets requested under the Freedom of Information Act.
In the meantime, the walls of 410 Main St. have begun to echo with the sound of progress once again. Multiple sources murmur that co-owner David Bostic, with a wave of his owner’s hand, claims no need for a contractor’s license to shape his commercial kingdom. And in a twist that normally would pique the interest of any curious inspector or fire marshal, he’s said to be spending more than $300,000 in his vision with the aid of a would-be craftsman, not yet knighted with a contractor’s or trade license, but still chasing the dream through a local entrepreneurial program. In this shadowy dance of construction and ambition, rules are blurring like the lines between day and night.
Recently, the Virginian Review has been receiving phone calls from many concerned subscribers about the disappearance of public advertisements in their paper from the City of Covington and the Town of Clifton Forge. These critical advertisements include notices for available contracts, purchases, hearings, awards, property notices, employment opportunities, and the like. They are mandated by the State and are required to be published in a “Newspaper of Record” that serves the area. However, someone in the City of Covington has decided to no longer publish the majority of these advertisements with the Virginian Review.
Since the Virginian Review has been the main newspaper for Covington since 1914, the staff contacted the Covington City Clerk for the reasons behind this decision. Ms Kyla Crosier, the City Clerk stated, “The Recorder also serves this area as well as the surrounding areas. The local numbers for the Recorder are much better than those of the Virginian Review. If you would like to send current subscription numbers, along with a zoning map of where those numbers lay, I will be happy to reconsider future ad purchases, but at this time, my task is to make the best use of city tax dollars.”
If this is true, then I’m a unicorn dancing in a field of dreams where the laws of gravity do not apply.
I’m sure my better half seeing me as a dancing unicorn would prompt a quick divorce, so let’s talk reality here. The Recorder’s weekly distribution has recently decreased to 3,500, a 23% drop from 4,500 in 2020, covering predominantly Highland and Bath Counties. The Virginian Review had a similar 22% decline from 3,700 subscribers in 2020 to 2,900 in Alleghany and Bath counties.
Ms. Crosier’s claim implies a massive shift in the Recorder’s subscriber base, suggesting a whopping 85% loss in their Highland and Bath subscribers, and then a magical gain of 2,500 Alleghany County only subscribers with over 1,500+ of those subscribers in the 24426 area alone within 3 years. Considering the broader reach of the Virginian Review in Covington, including indirect readers like family members and business patrons, approximately 7,500 readers of the Virginian Review are missing out on seeing the City’s advertisements.
Let’s speculate how Ms Crosier’s claim and decision came to be by ‘Following the money.’ As City Clerk, she is married to the Vice Mayor, who is also the Alleghany County Editor for The Recorder. This situation raises eyebrows under the Virginia Code, which explicitly states that no officer can have a personal interest in any contract involving their government agency, beyond their employment contract.
This appears to be not only a substantial conflict of interest, with a public official potentially influencing city business in favor of an organization he’s associated with, but more importantly, inappropriately controlling the narrative of what is being presented to Covington citizens. For example, imagine the City of Covington seeking to hire local Covington landscape professionals through advertisements primarily distributed only in Highland and Bath Counties. This approach could limit the visibility of the opportunity to a small circle, unfairly benefitting only those ‘in the know.’
So dear Shadowers, please call your City Clerk and express your desire to see the City’s advertisements placed back in the Virginian Review once again.
This week’s poll asked Shadowers what they thought negatively impacts local businesses the most. 21% said tough to find good employees and skilled labor; 15% said can’t compete with big box stores (Walmart), 13% said economic conditions were too unstable; 10% said high taxes, and the remaining said ineffective marketing, customers driving to Roanoke to save $1, bad employee attitudes, unstable business hours, etc. This seems on par with a broader national trend in small communities. There’s no easy answer to these questions, though I am encouraged to see a lot of dialog and action on this front. Stay tuned.
Recently, many Shadowers have reached out by phone, letter, or in the Shadow FB Group to express their frustration over a particular cemetery located near Alleghany High School. When a preacher contacted one of our reporters at the Virginian Review to inform us he was considering uprooting his late wife from her final resting place and having her moved elsewhere, we knew the situation could be dire.
Our reporter then went out to do some research in the field, concluding that some issues had been addressed by the park, but was skeptical about some of the findings.
One complaint was an alleged leak in one of their mausoleums, but photos and the reporter’s observations revealed no leaks. “Overflowing trash,” was another, though not witnessed by our reporter. A third complaint was concerning the roof on another mausoleum, though one employee stated it had been “bandaged.” One complainant reported her parents were laid to rest there and their headstones were beginning to sink into the ground. The cemetery began work on the headstones the same day. However, shadowers are left to wonder if the reason could be that our reporter’s identity and purpose were known by the cemetery by this point. You decide.
Recently there’s been an uptick in several reports of students having issues with their Chromebooks at Alleghany Highlands Public Schools. Seems a reoccurring theme is hardware maintenance issues, latency, and delays in loading apps and homework. These are all common issues schools face all over the nation, so it’s not surprising to hear these reports. The VR research team is reaching out to get more information about the situation. If you have any personal experiences you’d like to share, please join us in the Facebook Shadow group or send your comments to shadow@virginianreview.com
Finally, Shadower Tom S. stated, “This past Saturday I was walking at the Jackson River Sports Complex. Out around the driving range, I saw 15 robins. Two days earlier was Groundhog Day. No shadow means spring just around the corner. Then seeing the Robin I believe the groundhog was right. Buck Rumpf came to mind as he was always wanting to hear from the first Robin spotting. So Mr. Shadow my Robin report in memory of Buck the original Shadow.”
Amen Brother. Everyone is anxiously waiting for Spring.
I’m out of time, out of coffee, but never out of the belief that by this time next week, we will have the 410 on Main Street Sparkle Project clearly defined and all questions answered.
