Reynolds announces candidacy for Fincastle Town Council
To: Fincastle neighbors and residents– In 2016, my wife Betty and I decided to move to Fincastle to be closer to our daughter’s family from our home in eastern Roanoke County. This was one of the best decisions we made during our marriage and retirement. We moved to the Santillane subdivision where we enjoy the great neighborhood and the beautiful scenery and historic heritage of Fincastle and Botetourt County.
Since August of 2023, I have served on Fincastle Town Council after being appointed to fill a vacancy. It has been my pleasure to serve on our local government council, the planning commission prior to my appointment as well as representing my friends and neighbors of the Santillane subdivision.
I have been an active volunteer for many years in the Vinton and Fincastle communities and feel that it is our obligation to serve the communities we live in to make them better in any way we can. I was president and owner of Reynolds Grain Co., serving agricultural industries in a five-state area. I have served in leadership positions of the Virginia State Feed Association, Vinton Dogwood Festival, Vinton Chamber of Commerce and the Lions Clubs. I have also volunteered for the Roanoke City Rescue Mission, Historic Fincastle Inc. and Botetourt Food Pantry. Betty and I are active members of Fincastle United Methodist Church.
In the coming years, Fincastle will be experiencing continued growth as our community is becoming a very desirable place to live and raise a family. As a member of council, the local government will have to be involved with this growth to see that the needs of the community are met and to preserve the historic heritage of Fincastle.
On Election Day, November 5, you will be voting for three council members to serve the Fincastle community. We have six qualified and interested citizens who will be running for the three seats. I am asking for your vote so I can continue to serve the Fincastle community for the next four years.
Your support will be appreciated!
James C. Reynolds
Candidate for Fincastle Town Council
Thanks to all for a successful Fincastle Festival
On behalf of Historic Fincastle, Inc. and our Presenting Sponsor, First Bank, we wish to thank the many individuals, businesses, and organizations from throughout the area who contributed to making this Historic Fincastle Festival, a resounding success. Without their attendance, participation, and support, none of it would have been possible.
First and foremost, we thank the many visitors who flocked to Fincastle for the festival. A special thanks is also extended to the townspeople who helped clear the streets of vehicles and who embraced the festival and the visitors coming into our historic town for that one day. This especially applies to the folks on Murray, Main, Roanoke, and Church Streets.
A festival is only as good as its artists, crafters, food, and special offerings, and we were truly blessed to have enjoyed the talents and great foods offered by our many vendors. Our fine artists offered a variety of two- and three-dimensional creations, and the crafters spanned a great many fields and offered true works of art all their own. With food choices from BK Festival Eats’ steak and sausage subs and funnel cakes, the Ferguson Family Provisions’ Food Truck with their amazing seafood and other choices, the delicious croissant sandwiches and pastries from the Hangrcy Ambulance food truck, and the Jamaican & Caribbean food offered by The Countryman Jamaican Food Truck, Fincastle ate well that day! Visitors also had a diverse selection of snacks and desserts: Caldwell Mountain’s Kettle Corn, Sweet Surrender’s ice cream and treats, Gi Gi’s Walking Desserts, and The Local Lemon’s refreshing and delightful lemonade choices. No one should have left the festival hungry!
Special venues also provided experiences for one and all. This year, the Revolutionary War Interpreters camped out at the James Matten Early cabin on Murray Street, and they entertained and educated visitors with their period reproduced clothing, artifacts, and reproduced items from the 18th century. The Little Critters Traveling Petting Zoo and Pony Rides offered the young and young at heart a wonderful time at Wysong Park, and Blacksmith Dewey Baker demonstrated the art of smithing to old and young alike at the Wysong Blacksmith Shop. A big hit, particularly for the men in the crowds, was the Corvette car show where folks could stop and talk with the proud owners. Finally, the ongoing partnership between HFI and the Botetourt County Historic Society enhanced the day with the Historic Museum remaining open to visitors throughout the day. Visitors along that stretch of Main Street were also treated to vocal performances from a number of talented folks.
A special addition to the day was the series of speakers at the Wysong Blacksmith Shop classroom: Weldon Martin, Ed Holt, and “Bo” Trumbo. Unfortunately, due to technical difficulties, the 1984 Slide Show, lovingly prepared by Harry Kessler III, was not shown. It will be shown at another time.
Music rocked both the Court House Square and the corner of Church and Murray throughout the day with musicians, both professionals and students. Specific thanks go to Lori Turner for organizing the adult musicians, to Mike Lee and his talented students, and to Lee Hartman & Sons for providing the sound system, with Tony Holdren for running the sound. Performers included: Rob Chaplain and JRHS Band, David Austin, Henry Downing Trio, Botetourt Ensemble of FUMC, Red Hands Band, Buddy and the Blackjacks, Eric Burton, Grace Lawson, Trey Saunders, Avery Saunders, Austin Myers, Kaeli and Alan Berry, Justin Broughman with the support staff of Mirai Burton, Jules Banka, Teresa Burton, and Kip Burton.
Many hands went into bringing about this festival, but special thanks go to Mayor Mary Bess Smith and Town Manager Melanie McFadyen for their hard work especially before the event. Other tireless workers included John Caldwell and David Dickerson, our shuttle bus drivers, (and thanks to Mill Creek Baptist Church for the use of their shuttle), and Jay and Yvonne Saunders for the use of the old Baptist Church sanctuary for the Quilt Show, and those who worked on the Quilt Show: Cathy Henderson, Bonnie Simmons, Carolyn Loop, Teri Walker, Lee Minnix, Dawn Watson, and Marsha Campbell. We also want to extend a big Thank You! to the entire Fincastle Volunteer Fire Dept. for their critical help from planning to setup to take down and trash collection after everyone else had gone home! The Information Booth sitters, parking crews, “set-up” and “takedown crews worked throughout the day to ensure that the festival ran smoothly.
Thanks to these festival heroes. They include Danielle and John Alexander, Kip and Lyn Burton, Jim and Betty Reynolds, Melodye Hollingsworth, Meredith Bowman-Shelton, Karen and Dan Beasley, Kevin and Graylyn Edwards, Debbie Coots, Susan Martin, Kaye Lowe, Sky and Rachel Paderick plus his mother and step-father, Ed and Verna Shuey, Bill Walker, Scott and Susan Critzer, Mark Miller, Mack Neighbors, Billy Simmons, David Dickerson and Keith McMurry. Another thank you goes out to Shawn Ulrich and APX Traffic for their signage on Rt. 220 which helped guide folks to the festival.
The Historic Fincastle, Inc. Board of Directors has been “hard at it” since the start of this year, and thanks can never express how critical their work and support were from start to finish. As always, the publicity, and coverage of the festival, both before and after the event, by The Fincastle Herald and associated papers were a significant help in our success.
Finally, a huge thank you must also go to our generous sponsors, First Bank, Presenting Sponsor, and to John Alderson Insurance, Jay Kilby ReMax Allstars, Lucas Construction, Mutual Assurance Co., Neighbors Electric Co., Old Jail Gifts, and Tom and Kathy Kerkering.
Please accept our apologies for any oversights and omissions as many hands pulled together for this event. Next year, we hope to “do it all again,” so mark your calendars for Saturday, September 27 (the fourth Saturday of the month) next year for another fun event!
Lynne Bolton, Chairman
HFI Festival
Thank you to St. Mark’s Episcopal Church
On behalf of Historic Fincastle, Inc. and the Celebrating Fincastle’s Historic Churches, I would like to thank St. Mark’s Episcopal Church and The Botetourt Music Academy for a wonderful program finishing out our series for 2024. The Rev. Willis Logan, pastor at St. Mark’s, gave a wonderful history lesson of the Episcopal Church that included the Established Church in the 1700s and the polity of the Episcopal Church plus the migration of people in the 1700s that formed the present day St. Mark’s Episcopal Church. Migration of people and church’s polity has been a common thread in all of the histories given at each church during this series.
The Piccoli and Cantabile Choirs, under the capable direction of St. Mark’s Music Director Anna Preston, delighted the audience with several selections of angelic voices singing church songs including one about Noah’s Ark – “tap, tap, tap, stomp, stomp, stomp.” It was a delightful afternoon of history and music.
Patsy Dickerson, President
Historic Fincastle, Inc.
Reader responds to Parish letter
In response to Michael Parish’s Letter to the Editor last week, his library book selections were quite selective. He accurately quotes from “You Know, Sex” about pornography, that it’s “not made for young people.” But he omits the next page where characters are asking questions after watching pornography followed by: “These questions can lead us to learning more about sex and who we are and that’s a good thing.” And regarding addiction to porn, the book calls them “claims” and ends by saying: “For many adults porn is just a part of the way they explore and express their sexuality.” How is that not condoning pornography?
The target audience for this book is 10-12 year-olds. In the Fincastle Library it is in the “Graphic Novels and Anime” section waiting to be discovered.
Mr. Parish also references “Queer, There, and Everywhere: 23 People Who Changed the World.” He neglected to name any of the luminaries showcased in the book such as St. Joan of Arc and President Abraham Lincoln. The recent theory that Lincoln was homosexual has been debunked by serious historians and psychologists such as Charles Strozier and Martin Johnson. And to label Joan of Arc as non-binary because she wore men’s clothes and short hair is laughable. One of the other people in the book is the Roman emperor Elagabalus who was infamous for his sexual perversions and his rejection of traditional religion. He was assassinated at the age of 18. He’s the last person I would want held up as a hero for young readers.
Mr. Parish closes by saying that “we have youth in our community for whom such books are critical” because they are stigmatized and lonely. That may have been true 40 years ago. But as of 2021, 40% of high school females surveyed identified as LGBTQ (CDC Youth Risk Behaviors Survey) which would indicate not only acceptance but encouragement.
And for those parents who think these “banned” books have any value, they’re free to buy them or they can contact the American Library Association who will be happy to send them free copies.
Lucy Ruhl
Fincastle
