The Shadow
LOW MOOR, VA (VR) – During their regularly scheduled meeting Tuesday evening, October 7th, the Alleghany Board of Supervisors discussed and approved two new amendments related to zoning in Alleghany county.
The first amendment will bring Alleghany county’s zoning ordinance up to date with the Virginia State Code and the adoption of “HB655/SB346 (effective July 1, 2026), which now legalizes manufactured homes by-right in all residential zoning districts that allow site-built-single-family houses”.
The second amendment is also in response to new Virginia State law, which took effect earlier this year, giving the Virginia Attorney General’s Office expanded authority to hold vape and tobacco businesses accountable. The new Alleghany county ordinance will “limit the allowable square footage of tobacco/vape stores to 2,500 feet, and prohibit their locations within 1,200 feet of schools, churches, daycares, public parks, residential areas, or existing vape and tobacco retailers”.
Other items on the Board’s agenda Tuesday evening included hearing reports from Alleghany County Sheriff Kyle Moore, VDOT Resident Engineer Shannon Howard, and Alleghany County Administrator Ken McFayden, who all delivered to the supervisors positive news from their respective departments.
Sheriff Kyle Moore mentioned how previous overcrowding issues at the jail had been mitigated thanks to the cooperation from the Department of Corrections. He also praised the newly contracted transport team and the Crisis Receiving Center for “taking a lot of burden” off of the Sheriff’s Department”. Sheriff Moore told the story of how he and Sargeant Jefferson had recently rescued 17 emaciated dogs from a home, and thanks to the Alleghany Highlands Humane Shelter, most of the animals will make a full recovery. Sheriff Moore also praised the Sheriff’s Department for wearing pink badges in support of Breast Cancer Awareness Month through the end of October and continuing to collect donations for Blue Ridge Cancer Center. Lastly, Moore also joined the board in honoring Mickey Craighead, a long-time member of the Alleghany Sheriff’s Department, with a resolution of respect.
VDOT Resident Engineer Shannon Howard presented the board with an update on road maintenance which has included “ditching, shoulder work, cleaning pipes, pothole patching, removing trees and brush” county-wide. Upcoming work includes more ditching, finishing up secondary mowing, starting interstate mowing, and continuing working on the bridge replacement on Route 159 through late fall and/or early spring.
Alleghany County Administrator Ken McFayden also took a turn at the podium, listing off numerous grants Alleghany county has received, totaling $6.8 million over the past year or so. Thanks to county matching, for every $1 allocated by the county, the county is then attracting $2 in grant money. Grants in the past year have been utilized for economic development, public safety, water and wastewater treatment, etc. McFayden also mentioned the recent success of the Mountains of Opportunity Workshop in Lewisburg, WV in which the Roanoke Valley Alleghany Regional Commission worked with counterparts in WV and the neighboring VA counties of Craig, Bath, and Highland. “It was good to see what they were doing in West Virginia and how we can connect and learn”, McFayden said. He closed his report by mentioning an emergency management planning exercise with the State of VA that Department of Public Safety staff planned on attending in Richmond, VA this week.
