Category: Harrisonburg Issues
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Dedication will honor railway worker who sought to ‘go out with his boots on’
Walter P. “Tinky” Bryan’s life was nourished by his work and his dedication to the railroad. In some ways, he delayed death by delaying retirement from an industry that has always had an age limit of 65.But Bryan, the very epitome of the lunchpail-toting everyman, was, in the end, mortal.
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SRO task force meeting gets a little testy
Representatives from the Harrisonburg Police Department provided their perspective Wednesday night to the Harrisonburg City Public Schools’ task force that’s evaluating the role of school resource officers and were met with a mixture of appreciation, skepticism, support — and some pushback.
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City news roundup: New school’s cost expected to go up; HEC to end electric rate discounts
Because of building materials’ rising costs, Harrisonburg’s second high school could cost an additional $7.7 million, according to an estimate presented to city and school district leaders Tuesday.
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Just how much did last year set the city’s budget back?
Larry Propst, by his own admission, is not an economist. His job, as city director of finance, is to help set the city budget — he calls it “entirely different” from the work of an economist. And on March 14, 2020 — a Saturday — Propst watched as the city of Harrisonburg declared a state of emergency as COVID-19 spread nationwide. Over the next several months, Harrisonburg administrators — Propst’s office included — would watch the city’s finances plummet as tax revenue from restaurants, hotels and other businesses shriveled. Within weeks, millions of city tax dollars vanished.
Partnership offers a path to homeownership and sustainable energy
Charly Ngeleka spent his Friday afternoon on a scaffold, lifting solar panels up to the installation team on the roof. He and another half-dozen volunteers were working on a partially-finished duplex in Harrisonburg, one being built by the Central Valley Habitat for Humanity. When completed, it’ll become Ngeleka’s home.
With national recognition, Harrisonburg author NoNieqa Ramos extends her literary activism
Being the author of a book that the Library of Congress will showcase might sound like the ultimate honor, but that’s not how Harrisonburg writer NoNieqa Ramos defines success. Ramos views her job as something much more important: “inventing young people.”
Area groups work to help vulnerable populations get vaccinated
While COVID-19 vaccinations have become widely available, several Harrisonburg organizations have stepped up efforts to help people in vulnerable communities — including immigrants and refugees, as well as those experiencing homelessness — overcome hurdles to get vaccinated.
City schools to update U.S. history lessons to more clearly spell out slavery’s role
The city schools will update textbooks and curriculum this fall to more directly acknowledge slavery and white supremacy in U.S. history — changes that a state commission had recommended last year.
