Election Day on Tuesday

Voters go to the polls Tuesday, as Virginians decide a number of state and local races throughout the region.

Statewide, all 40 seats in the Senate and all 100 seats in the House of Delegates are up for grabs.

In the 25^th Senate District, Republican Thomas “T.J.” Aldous is challenging the Democratic incumbent, Senator Creigh Deeds. In the 22^nd Senate District, Democrat Bert Dodson is battling Republican Tom Garrett. Dodson is a former member of Lynchburg City Council while Garrett is commonwealth’s attorney of Louisa County. In the 23^rd Senate District, Republican incumbent Steve Newman is taking on Democrat Robert Short Sr.

In the race for the House seat from the 59^th District, Democrat Connie Brennan of Nelson County is squaring off against Republican Matt Fariss of Campbell County. Linda Wall of Appomattox is running as an independent candidate. In the battle for the House seat from the 19^th District, Independent Lacey Putney, the incumbent, is taking on Republican Jerry Johnson and Democrat Lewis Medlin Jr. In the 24^th House District, Republican Ben Cline is running unopposed.
In local races in the Rockbridge area, Bucky Joyce and Josh Elrod are battling for Rockbridge County and Lexington commonwealth's attorney. There are three candidates for Rockbridge County Sheriff, Vernon Reynolds, Roger Clark and Chris Blalock.
In the battle for seats on the Rockbridge County Board of Supervisors, in the South River District, Ronnie Campbell, Gene Tilles and Eric Sheffield are the three candidates, while John Higgins and Janet Mogensen are the two candidates for the seat from the Buffalo District. Jay Lewis is running for the Rockbridge County School Board seat from the Walkers Creek District. In Glasgow, Sam Blackburn and Lynda Mundy-Norris Miller are vying for Mayor while Monica Dock, Ruby Ogden Clark, Sarah Funkhouser and Caleb Keckler are the candidates for three seats on Glasgow Town Council.
In Buena Vista, Frankie Hogan and Tommy Keiser are running for Mayor. City Council candidates include Jane Armstrong, Steven Baldridge, Lisa Clark, William Henry Fitzgerald, Lewis Plogger and Bob Thomas. Candidates for the School Board include Margaret "Sam" Byers, Teresa Ellison and Wayne Flint.

In Campbell County, in the race for the Board of Supervisors seat from the Concord District, the candidates are Gary Stewart, Edward Foster Jr. and Eddie Gunter Jr. In the Sunburst District, the two contenders are Tip Killingsworth and Steven Shockley, while the two contenders for the seat from the Spring Hill District are James Borland and Lorraine Blanks Potter. In the race for Sheriff, the candidates are Steve Hutcherson, Paul Adams and Richard Irvin.

In Bedford County, in the battle for seats on the Board of Supervisors, Dale Wheeler and Bill Thomasson are the candidates in District 1. In District 6, the contenders are Annie Pollard and Martin Leamy while the candidates are Tammy Parker and Kyle Williams in District 7. In the race for seats on the Bedford County School Board, L. Ricky Wilkerson, Julie Bennington are running for the District 5 seat while Kevin Willis and Debbie Steele Hoback are running for the seat from District 7. The contenders for Sheriff include Mike Brown and Chuck Reid.

In Amherst County, in the race for the Board of Supervisors seat from District 3, Robert Curd is challenging Leslie Irvin.

In Appomattox County, the candidates for Sheriff include Butch Bailey III, W. Todd Craft and Barry Letterman. There are two candidates for the Board of Supervisors seat from the Falling River District, Chad Millner and Ronnie Spiggle.

In the race for the Nelson County Board of Supervisors seat from the South District, the candidates include Joe Don Johnson, Johnny Ponton and Larry Saunders. The candidates for Commonwealth’s Attorney include Anthony Martin and Daniel Lee Rutherford. The three candidates for Sheriff include W. David Brooks, Mac Bridgewater Jr. and John Wright.

Winter Storm Warning

The NWS Sterling office has issued a Winter Storm Warning for the following Forecast Area beginning at 8:00 pm and continuing through to 12:00 noon Saturday.

Projected amounts vary for communities within the warning area. The Shenandoah Valley along the Interstate 81 corridor and areas to the west may receive 6 or more inches as indicated in this storm accumulation map.

A mix of rain and snow will begin soon after dark and change over to snow later this evening. The heaviest snow will fall overnight into early Saturday morning and end by mid-day.

The precipitation will likely be a heavy wet snow and with foliage still on many trees may lead to downed trees, broken limbs and possible power outages.

Snow covered roads will create hazardous travel. Some gusty winds are expected with this storm as well.

Marijuana Bust in Nelson County

The Virginia State Police on Tuesday busted marijuana-growing operations in Nelson County, with assistance from ABC agents and local law enforcement officials.
Authorities confiscated approximately 5,400 marijuana plants, including nearly 5,200 plants near Schuyler. The operation is part of the Governor’s Initiative Against Narcotics Trafficking.
The State Police say anyone with information on the plants discovered on Tuesday, or with information on marijuana-growing operations in general, can contact the Virginia State Police Appomattox Division at 1-800-552-0962.