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Members of the Buckingham County Planning Commission will see higher salaries in the coming fiscal year. As part of their Monday, April 24 meeting, Buckingham supervisors agreed to increase salaries by a unanimous vote. 

Supervisor Jordan Miles made the motion, which will increase planning commission salaries to $6,000 annually, with the chairman of the planning commission making $7,000. 

Supervisors declined to increase their own salaries, saying it just wasn’t the right time. 

“We just went up on taxes by three pennies, we’re having to take $623,461 out of our revenues to fund our schools, (so) the appetite maybe isn’t there for me to increase our salaries,” Miles said. 

Other members of the group agreed. 

Wawa plans move forward

Shifting gears to Prince Edward County, Robert Love, county planner had to debunk a rumor during the last planning commission meeting this month. A member of the audience claimed they had heard Wawa was backing out of their plans here. 

“That’s incorrect,” Love said. “They’ve actually filed their construction plans and we’re in the first review. They’re editing the stormwater, erosion and sediment control sheets right now. It’s absolutely moving forward. They finished design work on that site.”

Love explained that you’re not seeing construction immediately because first, like any group that comes into the county, they have to get all the permits approved. Over the last month, you may have seen land being cleared around the corner of Farmville Road and Commerce Road. That’s where the new Wawa convenience store and gas station will be built. The store itself would be on the west side of Farmville Road, right next to the intersection. North Chesterfield-based Blackwood Capital is the company behind the Wawa project, planning a 6,000-square foot store with eight gas pumps on the property.

When it’s finished, the Wawa will have 50 employees and operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week. 

“They have an aggressive timeframe so they’re working on stormwater right now,” Love said. 

Longwood partners with RealResponse

Turning to Longwood, the university has partnered with RealResponse, Director of Athletics Tim Hall announced Tuesday, April 25.

The partnership is a continuation of Longwood’s focus on the student-athlete experience, and it provides additional student-athlete communication tools to help ensure the best student-athlete experience possible. RealResponse is a partner with more than 100 colleges and universities as well as with the NFLPA, USADA, NWSL and USA Gymnastics.

“The voices and opinions of student-athletes at Longwood University matter!” said Hall. “And by listening to what they have to say, their feedback allows us the opportunity to provide the best experience possible. With Real Response, those opinions are gathered, evaluated and implemented for the sole purpose of enhancing their time spent as a Lancer.”

More than 100,000 athletes are able to use RealResponse to safely and securely report feedback, needs and concerns in real time to administrators regarding things such as team culture, NCAA violations, mental health, social injustice, misconduct, hazing, sexual harassment and gambling. Athletes can also use the system to highlight successes and best practices which might otherwise go unnoticed.

RealResponse is a powerful web-based platform that empowers student-athletes to have a safe and secure method of communication with their administration in real time. The platform offers a trio of solutions: a survey tool for student-athletes to share feedback and rate their schools, a benchmark tool to compare metrics to peer and national averages, and the organization’s Anonymous Real-Time Reporting Tool to allow concerns to be reported in real time. In addition, using the platform’s documentation hub, key personnel can securely track and store sensitive information. 

Stimpson records season-best time 

Senior and Farmville native Justin Stimpson posted a season-best time of 2:05.45 in the 800 meter run to lead Hampden-Sydney College at the WildCat Twilight Meet on Saturday, April 22 in Lynchburg. Stimpson finished 12th of 26 in the 800. Sophomore Kade Minton posted a collegiate-best outdoor time of 2:08.94 in the 800 to place 16th for the Tigers.

Others competing in the 800 were freshman Tommy Bennett with a time of 2:20.10 to place 21st, sophomore Dan Ludovico with a time of 2:33.87 to place 25th and sophomore Zach Eason with a time of 2:46.20 to finish 26th.

Minton also competed in the 5000 meter run and posted a time of 17:00.46 to finish 12th of 23.

H-SC will compete again at the 2023 Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) Outdoor Track & Field Championships hosted by Bridgewater College on April 30-May 1 in Bridgewater.

Town sets date for Spring Cleanup 

Normally, the Town of Farmville holds its annual spring cleanup in April. Things are getting moved back just a bit this time around, with the event now scheduled for Monday, May 8. There are a few rules you need to follow to take part in this.

First, town residents must have all items out to the curb by 7:30 a.m. that morning. This cleanup provides pickup of items not normally grabbed, such as furniture, appliances, carpet, bedding, and building materials. Any loose items must be boxed or bagged to be collected. Also, items must be in a container that is to be thrown away. Basically, town staff said, if you set it out, it will be thrown away. Containers must also be strong enough to handle the weight of their contents. Rocks, cement blocks, brick and loose dirt will not be picked up.

The town staff asked that residents also separate brush from other items such as metal or furniture. Recyclables should also be separate from all other debris. Motor oil needs to be in a capped, labeled container marked “Motor Oil.” Vehicle batteries will not be collected by the Town. No hazardous materials will be picked up. *Old paint must be hardened to be picked up- no liquid paint will be picked up.

Now some recyclable electronics are also ok to set out for pickup. That includes computers and computer equipment, cell phones and telephones, laptops, tvs, vcrs, dvd players, video game consoles, printers and scanners, camcorders, stereos and speakers, along with any microwave ovens. 

Now to be clear, you can’t take it back once it’s been picked up. All items collected during this campaign become the property of the Town of Farmville, who is therefore responsible for its proper disposal. If you have questions or requests for collection, call (434) 392-3331.