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From a change in the annual Holiday Train World plans to a ceremony designed to honor Longwood’s Buddy Bolding, there’s a lot going on around the region.

The second Holiday Train Display won’t take place as scheduled this weekend. Every year, Jim and Susan Kimbrough open the doors of their Farmville home, inviting the community to come see Jim’s holiday train world he has set up. The train world, which takes up a room in their home, located at 900 Fourth Avenue in Farmville, includes a town with buildings and residents handcrafted by Jim. You can read more about his work on the project by clicking here. 

This year, the couple expanded things a bit, holding two Display Days instead of one. Unfortunately, that second event, scheduled for this Sunday, Dec. 17, won’t take place. 

“Due to a death in the family, the 12/17 Holiday Train Display has been canceled,” the couple wrote on the event’s Facebook page. “We will be back next year.” 

Numbers add up for Animal Control 

It’s been a good year for the Prince Edward County Animal Control. It’s also been a busy one. As of Tuesday, Dec. 12, the group has responded to 1,634 calls for service and helped 348 dogs and cats find a home. 

Chief Animal Control Officer Adam Mumma gave that update this week to county supervisors, saying how much he appreciated their decision to add another person to his staff. 

“I cannot express how much that’s going to help us,” Mumma said. “We can hopefully go from being reactive to proactive.” 

Another thing the extra member will help with is cutting down on after hours calls, because they’ll have more people to respond during the day. To date this year, Prince Edward Animal Control officers have responded to 342 after hours calls. 

Beyond that, Mumma also told supervisors that in 2024, Animal Control will be restarting a pet food pantry, offering help for those struggling to afford food for the furry members of the family. 

Buddy Bolding named to Hall of Fame

Legendary Longwood baseball coach Charles “Buddy” Bolding will be inducted into the Virginia Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame on Friday, December 15.

Bolding, who was inducted as a member of the Longwood Athletics Hall of Fame in 2018, built the Lancer program from the ground up. He coached Longwood from 1978-2013, and the team’s field is named after him.

During his time at the helm of the Lancers, he amassed a 953-544-4 record. He led the team to the Division II College World Series in both 1982 and 1991 and six Division II regionals.

Buddy Bolding coached five All-Americans, nine Major League Baseball Draft Picks and six Virginia College Players of the Year during his 35-year tenure. From 1978-2004, he guided the team to a winning record, a streak of 26 straight winning seasons.

Dukes compete in Polar Bear Meet

The Cumberland High Dukes took part in a Polar Bear Track Meet this week, competing against Brunswick, Nottoway and Prince Edward. The event included running, hurdling, vaulting and team spirit competitions. In the pole vault, Cumberland’s Jazmine Petty claimed first, with her teammate Kayla Watson finishing close behind in second. Petty also took fourth in the 55 meter hurdles, as well as the high jump. She also placed third in the 500 meters. 

On the boys side of things, it was Cumberland’s Erick Smith taking first in pole vault, with his teammate Early Layne placing second. Kameron Brown placed first in the high jump, with DeMacieo Lewis finishing second. In the long jump, it was Kameron Brown finishing fourth. He also took third in the triple jump. In the 55 meter hurdles, it was Cumberland’s DeMacieo Lewis in third, his teammate Brown finishing fourth and Alexander Gonzalez finishing fifth. In the 1000 meters, it was Alexander Gonzalez placing fifth and in the 1600 meters, Victor Cruz-Araujo placed fourth, with Early Layne right behind him in fifth. Finally, Cruz-Araujo also finished second in the 3,200 meter race. 

Longwood asks for help

For the next two basketball games at the Joan Perry Brock Center, Longwood athletics is hosting a canned food drive for FACES Food Pantry.

Fans can bring three canned food items in exchange for a ticket when the Longwood men host VMI on Sunday, Dec. 17 at 2 p.m. and when the Longwood women host Mid-Atlantic Christian on We, Dec. 20.

FACES Food Pantry is a local “Tier 1” Food Agency that provides food to households in need throughout the greater Farmville community. FACES distributes more than 522 tons of food annually throughout the community and provides food to more than 1,670 individuals on a weekly basis.

The Lancer men will play their final home game prior to the holidays when they host VMI on Sunday. For the women, their matchup against Mid-Atlantic Christian starts a four-game homestand following seven straight road contests.