In-Depth Reporting 2005
Growing pains: An in-depth look at Rockbridge County's future landscape
Growth in Rockbridge has reached a
boiling point.
Faced with several competing visions, local citizens are wondering
whether their county will remain a rural haven centered on tourism or
become a suburban community with booming industry.
People are turning to the county government for a resolution, but
conflicting viewpoints surface in the Board of Supervisors and Planning
Commission, leaving everyone to wonder: What is the future of
Rockbridge County?
A place to call home: A look at affordable housing in the Rockbridge County area
Finding adequate affordable housing in
Rockbridge County is almost like finding green space in midtown Manhattan
— possible but unlikely. No one keeps precise statistics on the number
of affordable housing units in the county. But based on a count of
government-subsidized Section 8 units, public housing, rehabilitated
homes, trailers and low-rent apartments like Willow Springs, there are
probably about 850 units — less than 6 percent of the area’s total
housing stock.
Of almost 8,500 occupied dwellings in Rockbridge County alone, almost
2,500 — one third — are considered substandard, according to county
data.
Beyond Capacity: Rockbridge Regional Jail combats overcrowding
For years the Rockbridge Regional Jail had room to spare, so it took in state and federal prisoners. That generated income for local governments. Now locals are filling the spaces. Prisoners from Rockbridge County, Lexington and Buena Vista make up more than 70 percent of the jail's population, and the numbers are only increasing. The crime rate has actually gone down, so the jail population's growth is being blamed on new mandatory sentencing laws, stricter judges and tougher law enforcement. Even though solutions to the overcrowding problem are disputed, everyone agrees that something needs to be done.
E-911... What's your emergency?
For more than a decade, Rockbridge County struggled to implement an Enhanced 911 System. Years after it was finally adopted, the system still faces problems. Fire and rescue squads are desperate for volunteers. Improved technology is needed to handle calls from cell phones and Internet service providers. Regional maps need to be updated. And radio coverage in Rockbridge County is substandard. As a result, callers might wait 20 minutes or more for emergency crews to show up. Dispatchers and rescue workers agree that something needs to be done, but big solutions call for big dollars.
Stonewall Jackson Hospital in-depth
For hundreds of smaller communities across the country where the choices facing Stonewall Jackson Hospital have already played out, the story of Carilion Health System’s latest proposed acquisition will sound familiar. It is an account of how a rural hospital board saw its options disappearing.
Reporters
For six weeks, Washington and Lee journalism majors researched in-depth stories from the community.
Ligia Abreu
Tyler Archie
Patricia Ballantyne
Ann Stewart Banker
Courtney Berry
Bethany Catron
Liz Clarke
Kim Gunst
Caitlin Hagan
Kaela Harmon
Katie Henderson
Greer Johnson
Christina Kolock
Beau Leitner
Jeremiah McWilliams
Marie Trimble
Rachael Turner
Audrey Walker
Romney Wilson
Megan Zingarelli
Produced by Washington and Lee journalism students.
Lead supervisor: Prof. Claudette Artwick
Reporting supervisor: Prof. Doug Cumming
Editing supervisor: Prof. Pamela Luecke
Technical supervisor: Michael Todd