The Election is just One Week away. November 2nd is coming fast, and it appears there will be a change for Carroll County. Of the 3 seats up for election on the Carroll County Board of Supervisors, there are no contested seats. It appears the three candidates running for those seats will be elected. Understand, nothing is final until the votes are counted on November 2nd, please go vote and make your voice heard.
I am one of those candidates, and I am running for the Fancy Gap District seat. I can only speak for myself, I would like to begin January 2022 by making good changes right out of the gate. With that being said, I need to hear from my constituents in The Fancy Gap District.
What are your Top 5 Priorities or Concerns for Your County?
One of the reasons I chose to run four years ago and again this election cycle is because every person I have come in contact with, in the Fancy Gap District, including myself, have felt as if their voices are not heard and that they are not even considered when it comes to decisions being made by their elected officials. I want to help change that. We are a government of the people, by the people, and for the people.
I have heard many concerns over the past 12 months, since beginning this journey to be your elected Supervisor. I have received phone calls and emails, and I have spoken to many citizens personally. I hear your concerns, I feel your frustration, and I want to help make a difference.
In order to make a difference, I would ask the following of you. Take the time to sit down and write out your concerns. Share your ideas and dreams as well. If we work together as a team, we can accomplish many things over the next 4 years. But, in order to work effectively, I need to hear from you. You can email me at ronnie24317@yahoo.com. I understand, if elected, I am not being elected to carry out my agenda, I am being elected to represent our district as a whole. I look forward to hearing from you.
Ronnie G Collins, Candidate for The Carroll County Board of Supervisors – Fancy Gap District
After much prayer and consideration, I have decided to make another attempt at earning your vote to represent you in The Fancy Gap District of Carroll County Virginia in 2021. This is not a decision that has been made lightly. People from our area have reached out to me and asked me to consider this opportunity, and I’m willing to run once again. I serve our community in various roles already and I believe this office would be an extension of that service. It is an opportunity to serve and help make our district a better place for all of us. No official registrations will be allowed until January 2nd, 2021 but it is my intention to register as a candidate at that time.
If elected, I will represent your needs and your concerns. I will of course represent the entire County, while my primary focus will be the Fancy Gap District. As a member of the Board of Supervisors, I would like to see the board as a whole assess where we are, make a plan to move forward, keep the public informed (whether it be about the financial health of our county or other business that is happening which concerns each and every one of us), and find ways to include you in your local government.
After each public meeting of the Board of Supervisors, I would like to see an information bulletin created and made available through social media and local newspapers that inform you of the business items handled. You should have a voice in your local government and I will be the conduit for that voice. The only way to accomplish this is for our community to be informed.
I have learned in business that often times situations come up where other local leaders have expertise that I do not have. I will find ways to use you and your expertise to make our community a better place. The Fancy Gap District has some very unique opportunities for growth that need to be explored and offered to prospective businesses looking to expand. By working together with the County leadership we should be aggressively promoting these opportunities.
Over the past several years, we’ve lost several recreation facilities once used to promote community events, facilities neglected and abandoned over lack of funds. The Fancy Gap District in the last three years has suffered the loss of our trash convenience center, only to see it partially reopened with astronomical fees. We have been moved to twice a year tax collection at a time when it was very difficult for people to pay and with very little time to prepare for such an impact. Our taxes have been raised significantly, potentially discouraging new businesses desiring to locate to our area, as well as people desiring to buy homes and raise their families here. Rumors of losing some of our voting precincts are ripe for the spreading. When it comes to things like trash centers and voting places, it should not be a matter of making money but rather providing our citizens with resources for their tax dollars.
Our county employees have suffered exponential increases for insurance coverage. The men and women serving in first responder and education roles should not be suffering financial loss in an already underpaid place of service. I will work to correct what I believe is a travesty to the hard working individuals serving in these roles. Finally, I am committed to making sure that everyone is treated with respect. Every citizen has the right to ask questions and deserves to be treated respectfully in return. We are all in this together and together we can accomplish great things.
I hope you’ll plan to join Team Collins and vote Ronnie G Collins for Fancy Gap District Supervisor in November 2021.
Email me at ronnie24317@yahoo.com and just say: “I want to join the team” and I will keep you updated on ways you can be involved and things you can do to help.
19 And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.
I have lost count of the number of days and weeks that we have now been under “Shelter In Place” orders. Every day pretty much feels the same. not much way to distinguish from one day to the next because of the lack of schedule.
As I talk with people through social media and text messages I am amazed at how positive most people are. As a matter of fact, most of the time when I call or message to check on someone they tell me how blessed they are and they ask how they can help me, the pastor. It is at that moment that I realize my work for God has not been in vain, It is then I realize that the people who aren’t falling apart are those who have spent time and energy building their relationship with Jesus these past many years. That is a pastor’s greatest hope, that his people will grow and become mature.
So, the conversations are more about what we are thankful for and not at all about what we have lost because so far, no one has lost anything that can’t be replaced. Wow…
None of us have lost anyone to death. None of us of course have lost our own lives. We are blessed and taken care of. This doesn’t mean that as Christians we won’t suffer, we will. This doesn’t mean that we will never lose anyone we love to death, we will. What it means is when you have Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, you have everything you need.
I am thankful that we have a roof over our heads, food on the table, and clothes on our back. I am thankful that we have electricity, water, and we even still have internet and cable. To be honest, some of these things aren’t necessary, we are blessed to still have them. We have vehicles to go when we need to and that is very little these days. I have been able to grocery shop for a couple of people, we are creating videos of bible studies to stay in connection with the church, and I have run a couple of errands for our oldest son to have work done on one of his vehicles in Winston Salem. It felt really strange to leave Carroll and Surry Counties after almost 6 weeks. One of the blessings is the fact we are saving all kinds of money since we aren’t buying gas. I think we have filled up 3 times in 6 weeks and typically we will buy at least 2 tanks a week and more on average.
I have my family. My wife, our children, our grandchildren, and my mother who lives with us and we are all healthy and blessed. We have everything under the sun to be thankful for. We would never make light of those who are out of work and struggling to make ends meet. We are praying for the small and big businesses who are struggling. We are praying for the millions who every day are putting their lives on the line to keep all of us safe. We are daily and moment by moment thanking God for the blessings He has blessed us with.
People have asked my thoughts on “Shelter in place” and “Opening the Country back up. So here goes…
I read a lot, I pray a lot, and I have come to the following conclusion. I am more than willing to follow the guidance of the medical professionals who are helping the President’s team right now. If the shelter in place stays, I’m fine with that. If they decide to open the Country back up, I’m fine with that as well. My family and I will make the best of what we have, either way. And by the way, we are believers in Jesus and we know that no matter what comes, we have Jesus, even if we lose everything else.
Either way there is going to be a price to pay.
If we stay shut down we will struggle financially in every aspect. From the individual to the small business, big business, local, state, and national governments, every aspect of our world will suffer loss. And if we open back up the cost will likely be in loss of life. We keep hearing that 98% of those who get COVID19 make it through. 2% of our Country is still a steep loss of life. We also hear that deaths have not been as high as what we were told they would be but I absolutely believe that is because we interrupted our normal way of life. Just think what would have happened if we had continued to eat in crowded restaurants, go to sports arenas, and crowded movie theaters.
Based on what I am reading, this is not going away until we have a vaccine and that is likely to be 12-18 months out. Based on this I believe the following will likely take place.
Because people are getting restless and demanding that we be allowed to go back to “Life as Normal” we will begin to open things back up slowly. It is likely these openings will come and go. One place opens and does well for a while and illnesses begin to rise and stay in place goes back in order. I believe as this happens we will start seeing travel limited to our home area and no one leaving the Country. This way one state can be more restricted while another state can be under different and less restrictions.
I believe this is how life will be for us over the next many months. And if this is the case then life will never be the same. Am I excited about this? Yes, I am excited about life in general. Am I concerned, you better believe it. But I am not afraid.
I don’t want anyone to think that I am glad this happened, I’m not. But I am the kind of person who believes that we make lemonade out of lemons. We take what we have and we make the best of it. Life may never look the same, it may be better. We may never go back to life the way it was. The fact is, life for a lot of people in this world wasn’t great before this happened.
Here is the best suggestion that I have. Get a Bible and read it.
Find some good men and women of God to help teach you the meaning of the scripture you don’t understand and dig in. Is this the end of the world we have heard about for all of our lives and people have talked about the past 2000 years?
I don’t know and I am not afraid.
If you have questions just ask. Follow me on facebook and twitter at ronnie24317 and feel free to leave comments and questions here on the blog.
In the end, whenever that is, God wins and if you are a follower of God, you will also.
I am on social media as all of you are or you wouldn’t be reading this. The thoughts on my heart today are of opinions and how we interact with each other regarding those opinions. Everyone has an opinion and everybody’s opinion matters. The difference today is with the internet and social media everyone is able to easily share their opinion. And while everyone is able to share their opinion, everyone else has to make a decision to share their own opinion or not to share while valuing the other person or slamming the other person as dumb, stupid, or insignificant.
I have no respect for those who have the thought that they are smarter than everyone else and that if you share an opinion different from theirs, it makes you a fool. I’m just going to share a few points and not linger.
#1. Everybody’s opinion matters.
#2. You have a right to disagree with another opinion but no right to belittle that person.
#3. If you can’t allow someone else to share their opinion without attacking them, you’re the one with a problem.
#4. There is an unfriend button as well as a button to block people from being able to post to your social media pages, use them when necessary.
#5. Bullying should never be tolerated.
#6. Everybody likes a good debate but no one likes a know it all.
In the past I have worked in the food and lodging industry and we always ordered bulk packages of 96 rolls of toilet paper. So, when COVID19 struck and all the toilet paper started being “wiped” off the shelves, I decided to buy a bulk box to share with people in need. We have gone 5 weeks already and have not needed any and no we aren’t hoarders, we just keep a large pack on hand most times.
I ordered the TP on March 25th and of course there was a three week delay in receiving it but it finally came today. I think the delivery driver must have been searching for some himself because he threw it off the truck into the back of my pickup and sped away. The kids and I all thought we heard someone but we never laid eyes on the truck, maybe it was drone delivery?
When I saw the package I thought it looked and felt like TP but there was no way it was 100 rolls. Boy was I wrong…
The rolls have no cardboard tube and compared to a normal roll of paper we probably have about one third of a normal roll of paper. What that means is, I paid $74.00 for 33 rolls of toilet paper that you can’t put on a dispenser. But then that solves the over or under argument 🙂
We have laughed about it and we will just make the best of it. Judah, our 10 year old has come up with a way we can get by with one sheet per bathroom visit, I will spare you the details and wipe that grin off your face. Just be aware when you order from Amazon to buy direct from Amazon and not one of their third party sellers.
I have contacted Amazon and of course the seller no longer exists and amazon assured me if the seller didn’t make it right that amazon will and I trust them because for years they have always gone above and beyond in matters like this.
The sad thing is that people would do such a thing. There is so much dishonesty in our world. I pray for the people who did it and prayer is powerful. I’m not praying they have anything bad happen (well unless its that the fleas of a thousand camels sleep in their beds tonight) I am praying that God will show them the error of their ways and that they will get so filled with Jesus they will make things right with all the people they have cheated. Help me pray because crap happens. 🙂
I realize from time to time that I have been in the noise too long and I need a break. Before COVID19 my schedule was so full that anytime I got into a vehicle to go from one place to another, I never turned the radio on, it was the only silence I found in the day. Now in the midst of COVID19 I find myself in the very same place, maybe worse. I say worse because as much as I embrace social media in the good times I find myself even more turning to the headlines and the messages coming from around the world. Turn it off…
Not forever, but for a time, at various times, before you drown.
Lamentations 3:22-27 (NLT)
The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease.
Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning.
I say to myself, “The Lord is my inheritance; therefore, I will hope in him!”
The Lord is good to those who depend on him, to those who search for him.
So it is good to wait quietly for salvation from the Lord. And it is good for people to submit at an early age to the yoke of his discipline:
God’s mercies begin fresh every morning. After a good nights sleep, when you’re rested, when you’re not carrying the weight of a full day. This is the time when I fuel up, the time when I get prepared for all the stuff that I will surely face this day. And trust me, each new day brings new challenges. There will be lots of stuff you didn’t expect. This is the time when I remind myself God loves me. God is working things for my good. God has promised that He is always with me, no matter what I may walk through this day. When we expect to see God we will see His hand all through our day, yes even in the difficult things of the day. It is in these early morning hours where we search His Word to know Him when we see Him in our day.
Turn off the noise. Start your day in silence. Your day will be better because of it. By the way, this is for me this morning, I hope it helps you too, but it’s for me. I’m going to enjoy the silence today.
We may think of the wilderness as a place to avoid, a place of testing. Yet the wilderness is also a place where we encounter God. Steve Addison
The wilderness is where my thoughts are this morning. So often in America when we hear the word we think of a dense forest with lots of trees and even water in such a place. But my eyes were opened in 2006 when I traveled to Egypt and Israel for 16 days. I learned that when the Bible mentions the wilderness, it is speaking of a place that is barren, waterless, cold at night, hot in the day, a lonely place.
I’m reminded of Jesus being “led” into the wilderness by the Spirit, to be tested for 40 days and 40 nights. As I contemplate this passage it stands out that Jesus was alone as far as anyone could see but the fact is the Spirit who led Him there was always there and sadly Satan was there as well.
Matthew 4:1-11 (NLT)
4 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted there by the devil. 2 For forty days and forty nights he fasted and became very hungry. 3 During that time the devil came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become loaves of bread.” 4 But Jesus told him, “No! The Scriptures say, ‘People do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.” 5 Then the devil took him to the holy city, Jerusalem, to the highest point of the Temple, 6 and said, “If you are the Son of God, jump off! For the Scriptures say, ‘He will order his angels to protect you.
And they will hold you up with their hands so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone.”
7 Jesus responded, “The Scriptures also say, ‘You must not test the Lord your God.”
8 Next the devil took him to the peak of a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9 “I will give it all to you,” he said, “if you will kneel down and worship me.”
10 “Get out of here, Satan,” Jesus told him. “For the Scriptures say,
‘You must worship the Lord your God
and serve only him.”
11 Then the devil went away, and angels came and took care of Jesus.
In this time of pandemic it feels like we are in the wilderness. We are under stay at home orders and that can be a secluded and lonely place. There is a lot of fear among people who wonder when will this pass and even, will this pass. The fact is, it will pass and things will get better. But while we are in the wilderness my hope is that we see and hear everything we can to prepare us to be better when things around us get better. Lets look at just a few things from the passage today.
One, Jesus was led to the place of wilderness by the Spirit. I have learned that anyplace the Spirit leads is a place where God wants to speak to us and make us stronger. When a person knows Jesus we are never ever alone. The Spirit comes to dwell in us and be our constant companion. So go ahead, the next time you feel like you’re alone and have no one to talk to, just start talking to God. You might just hear the still small voice speaking back.
Two, there was temptation in the wilderness. That’s right, we often think it is only when things are going good that we are tempted. What better time for Satan to come along and offer to make our situation better than when we are feeling all alone and without hope. Don’t fall for it. If you have time on your hands spend that time reading Gods Word and praying, talking to God. There is an old saying, “Idle hands are the devils playhouse.” That can sometimes be true, but it doesn’t have to be. When we know we are in a place of testing, that’s all the more reason to be vigilant and not to let our guard down. We are in a time of testing today like no other. When we are being told to shelter in place and we can’t be with our friends, we can’t even go to corporate worship services. Beware of the temptation and don’t give in.
Three, it lasted for 40 days and it was over. This too shall pass. It may seem like an eternity but I promise you this will pass and sadly most won’t even remember it a year from now. Learn everything that you can and determine to never forget it. Make a plan for things to be different when things return to some form of normalcy. Know that God has something for us to learn during this time that is valuable and don’t let this time of being alone with Him go to waste. Don’t waste your time wishing it away, spend your time looking for the blessing that is here. And I promise there is a blessing someplace in this midst of this.
Four, Jesus stuck with the truth. Every time Satan came and offered something to Jesus that would seem to make life better, Jesus said, NO! It doesn’t appear that Jesus even once hesitated to stand with the Word. If we will follow Jesus in staying with God’s Word during our times of wilderness, it will end a lot sooner and be better for everyone. Don’t even open the door to consider anything Satan has to offer. He is a liar and the father of lies, there is no truth in him. He comes only to steal, kill, and destroy. Remember that.
Five, Jesus told Satan to leave. Satan wasn’t wanted and he wasn’t welcome. And when Jesus took such a bold stand, angels came and tended to His needs.
If we will follow the leading of Holy Spirit, understand that there will be temptation, realize this time will pass, stick with the truth, and command Satan to leave us alone, we will come out of our wilderness better, stronger, and more on fire for God than when we began.
In the wilderness we are given the opportunity to surrender and trust God before there are any answers.
I had hoped that due to the craziness and uncertainty in our Nation right now with COVID19 that our County Leaders would make the decision to not have the Public Hearing at such a time when the citizens of Carroll County cannot attend in person.
This is a time like no other in our history and it seems our County Budget Shortfall is more important than a government for the people and by the people. The citizens of Carroll County do not feel like their calls for explanation have been heard. Members of the Board of Supervisors have stated that they were misled by someone in our County Government in relation to funding, revenues, and budget. The people want to know who misled them while one of the duties of the board is oversight of the budget. The people want to know what has been done about the people who did the misleading. The people want to know why the County Administrator and the Finance Director both left at the same time.
These are honest questions that have the citizens of Carroll County feeling as if our questions and concerns don’t matter. No one is accusing our leaders of doing anything wrong we are asking honest questions.
With that being said, the public hearing for the purpose of discussion of raising our Property taxes and for the purpose of discussion of our current Land Use tax for farmers is taking place Monday evening April 13th at 6pm.
We need to be part of the process and we can be by calling, emailing, and writing letters to our County Leaders. Then we can all watch the discussion on YouTube Live at 6pm that evening.
Someone in our community has provided a simple way for your voice to be heard. There is an online form that takes 2 minutes to fill out and then electronically send that to each supervisor and everyone listed in this statement by the County.
It’s simple, click the link below and in less than 2 minutes, let your voice be heard.
We could throw our hands up and say there is no use or we could speak up and make a difference. We can make an attempt to impact our future in Carroll County.
Below is the notice of the meeting posted today April 10th, 2014 to social media.
While attempting to answer a question asked last night on the post from last week regarding the April 13th Board of Supervisor’s Meeting with scheduled public hearings, the entire post was accidentally deleted. I sincerely apologize.
To answer the question that was posted last night, the Board of Supervisors are meeting on Monday, April 13th, and the agenda for the meeting can be found on the County’s website at: http://www.carrollcountyva.gov/gove…/bos_meeting_agendas.php.
As a reminder, those who wish to make comments at either Public Hearing should do one of the following:
(1) E-mail comments to: crystal.adams@carrollcountyva.gov
(2) Mail comments to the County Administrator’s Office at 605-1 Pine Street, Hillsville, VA. 24343, or
(3) Call the County Administrator’s Office at 276-730-3001 and leave your phone number to be called during the Public Hearing.
All comments/phone numbers should be received by 4:00 p.m.
This meeting will be live-streamed on the County’s YouTube channel at: https://www.youtube.com/user/CarrollVA
It’s Friday and Easter Sunday is coming. This year is going to be different. as a matter of fact it will be the most different Easter ever for the Church since that day more than 2000 years ago when Jesus had died, been buried, in the tomb for three days and then on Easter Sunday Morning, Jesus rose from the grave.
Wow, just typing this gave me holy ghost goose bumps…
I’ve gone back and read the account again this morning with fresh eyes. Judas has agreed to betray Jesus for thirty pieces of silver, really just a few worthless coins in the scheme of things. Jesus has had supper with the disciples and there He institutes the Lord’s Supper, the element of worship that we often mimic with the bread and the wine. When we celebrate this meal together the broken bread is to remind us of Jesus body that was broken for us and the wine represents His blood that was shed for us. I think for the most part after 2000 years we have lost the significance of this. And now one of the most meaningful rituals we have used in the Church, the common cup will likely never be again. Because of COVID19 the common cup is probably now a part of our history.
Peter is told that he will deny even knowing Jesus and of course Peter denies that will ever happen. He did though and I wonder as I read those words, how often have I denied Jesus? How many times have I decided to remain silent so that I could be with the popular crowd? It has happened more times than I would care to remember, certainly more than three times.
Jesus goes to the garden to pray because His heart is heavy, He knew what is about to happen and in His humanity He needs to hear from the Father. A lot of us are there now, we need to hear from the Father. We need to know that He is walking with us in the midst of this fire, this virus that has overtaken us. Jesus needs to know that He isn’t walking alone. Wow, if Jesus needs to know then we definitely need to know. Have we cried out to God all night asking that this pandemic should go away, asking if there is another possible way, to let it be? But, in the midst of Jesus going to pray, His disciples are sleeping. That’s right, their savior is preparing for the biggest event in the history of mankind since the creation of the universe and the disciples are asleep at the post. I think about how well I slept last night.
Jesus is then arrested and put on trial in a mock court. The people ultimately choose to set a criminal free so that Jesus can be crucified. Just a short time before they had been shouting Hosanna, God save us, and now they are shouting, hang Him on the cross. Hmm, fickle humans…. How many times have we sang the praises of God one minute and went out the next minute and did something totally contrary to our worship?
Jesus is stripped of his meager clothing, mocked, beaten, spit upon, and ultimately hung on a cross for the world to see His humiliation. It would seem to the world that everything Jesus said was a lie. It would seem that He really had no power at all. There Jesus is hanging on a cross in the town garbage heap with two criminals on either side of Him. How in the world could this happen? How could everything the disciples had staked their lives upon end like this? I think I know how they felt, I have staked the last 30 odd years of my life on this same Jesus. I have walked away from jobs that I liked in order to pursue the Call that I believe God has on my life. I have gone to school and spent lots of money that I didn’t even have to learn everything I can so that I can teach others. I have lived different, much different that I would have had I not been trusting that Jesus said what He meant and meant what He said. Jesus said that He was God. Jesus said that He would save the world. Jesus said that one day He would set the record straight. But here He is hanging on a cross, helpless to save Himself, or so it seems. How could it end this way?
Jesus is buried in a borrowed tomb. Borrowed, the creator of the universe, the savior of the world didn’t even own any property. The man more books have been written about than any other owned the clothes on His back and that is it. He didn’t own any houses, no large bank accounts, nothing to remember Him by other than the few miracles He had done and who He said He was. He is gone…
But wait, Jesus had said if you tear down this temple. in three days it will be rebuilt. In other words, if you kill me, I will rise again. In other words, you can’t keep a good man down. You can’t kill the savior. You can deny Him, and many of us have followed in Peter’s footsteps and done just that. You can say that He never existed, yet the evidence is overwhelming, more than any other historical figure, that Jesus actually walked the earth. History records with many witnesses that Jesus really was here, He really did die, and then three days later, He got up out of the grave.
That’s right, that’s what Easter is all about. Jesus isn’t dead, He’s ALIVE! Jesus got up out of that grave, God the Father who was with Him in the garden when He was praying, who was with Him during the denial, the trial, and the beatings, that God raised Jesus from the dead, and He lives forevermore. Yeah, I know what some of you are thinking, did this actually take place?
I’ve staked my life on it.
Jesus later told His disciples He was going to prepare a place for them and when that place was ready, He would be back to get them and us.
