Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

After a bit of a ‘soft opening’, the Dollar General in Kingsville is ready for business. But the company says it’s bringing more than jobs to the area. 

“The addition of the (Kingsville) store opens the opportunity for schools, nonprofit organizations and libraries within a 15-mile radius of the store to apply for Dollar General Literacy Foundation grants,” the company said in a statement. 

Now what does that mean? Since its inception in 1993, the Dollar General Literacy Foundation has awarded more than $238 million in grants to nonprofit organizations, helping more than 19.6 million individuals take their first steps toward literacy or continued education. That opens the door for Prince Edward schools and some local nonprofits to receive funding. 

As for the store itself, located at 4979 Farmville Road, the company says it plans to employ about six to 10 people, depending on the needs of the season. 

Longwood player honored by Big South

Longwood men’s basketball point guard Walyn Napper was named the Big South Men’s Basketball Player of the Week, the conference office announced on Monday afternoon.

Napper helped Longwood go 3-0 during last week and run the team’s win streak to 12 straight games, the longest active winning streak in the country. He also helped Longwood Head Coach Griff Aldrich earn his 100th career win on Sunday.

The senior scored in double figures in all three games, including a season best 24 points at Milwaukee on December 13 in an 80-67 win. It was the first time he had scored at least 20 points as a Lancer, and he added five rebounds, a season-best nine assists, two blocks, and a steal.

He followed it up with a 19 point performance against VMI on Sunday while adding in five steals, four boards and four assists.

For the week, Napper posted 17.7 points per game in addition to 4.3 rebounds, 5.7 assists and 2.3 steals per game. He shot .535 (23-43) from the floor while hitting two triples.

Napper is the first Lancer to earn a weekly honor from the Big South this season.

Game got postponed

If you’re wondering what happened to Wednesday’s Longwood women’s basketball game, it got postponed. As for why? You can blame sickness. The Lancers had been scheduled to take on Mid-Atlantic Christian at noon in the Joan Perry Brock Center, but the Mustangs coaching staff called ahead and requested it get postponed due to illness. 

The game is now scheduled to be made up on Jan. 27 at 2 p.m. Longwood officials say all tickets purchased for Wednesday will be honored for the rescheduled date or can be refunded by calling the Joan Perry Brock Center ticket office. That’s at 434-395-2266 or by emailing jpbinfo@longwood.edu.

Instead, the Lancers (2-8) will be back at home this Friday, playing Georgia Southern (9-2). Game time is set for 1 p.m. at the Joan Perry Brock Center. 

Buckingham sheriff warns of scams 

Be careful what you say over the phone. Over the last few days, the Buckingham County Sheriff’s Office has received multiple calls about scams popping up in the area. Sheriff’s deputies say if you have any concern that you’re being targeted by a scam, call the office at 434-969-1772. 

There’s a number of scams the office has received calls about. One involves a person asking you to buy prepaid cards, either to help him get gas, to help settle a debt or pay an allegedly due power bill. Another involves someone claiming to be part of the federal government or a law enforcement agency. The person says you’ve got a warrant out for your arrest and will need to pay them money to get it dismissed. 

“If the individual is stating they need you to send them money or send them anything with value expecting to get something of greater value in return, do not,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement. “Please make your family and friends aware.”