Serving Scott County for
More Than 104 Years!

Community Leaders Seeking Funds for New Roof at Center

From staff reports

A local group of concerned citizens are seeking funds to renovate a former school into a community center.

The Fairview Citizens Corporation, Inc. is asking current and former residents to help them in their quest to replace the roof on the Fairview Community Center and they are holding a special get-together Tuesday at 1 p.m. on the site.

The project received some state funding during last year’s General Assembly that gives a jumpstart on their fund-raising efforts but they fall a little short.

According to Rusty Hensley, vice-president of the Fairview Citizens Corporation, Inc., $25,000 was appropriated through the Virginia budget but $65,850 is the amount needed to put on a new roof.

“The Fairview Community Center has the potential for so much more!” explained Hensley. “It could be a possible meeting place for the Ruritan Club. It could be a site for an emergency shelter due to storms, etc.

“It could also be a site for organized community activities such as bingo, a senior citizens group, crafts, classes, etc. But the center is in dire need of a roof!”

The group was given the building after the school system closed down Fairview Elementary School after enrollment at the school had dwindled. The Fairview Citizens Corporation, Inc. received a deed of gift June 18, 1991 from the Scott County School Board and took over operation of the building.

The group organized to promote a community center for meetings, programs, clubs, public functions, civic and community activities and enterprises for the recreational, social, literacy and educational use.

Hensley said the center, which serves as a voting precinct during elections, can also be rented for reunions, yard sales, birthday parties, benefit singings and much more.

Because of its former use as a school, the Fairview Community center is equipped with a kitchen and cafeteria area. It is also a convenient place to host a community-wide yard sale.

The site also serves as a storehouse for used furniture and bedding available to victims of fire and/or floods.

Organizers also have a Clothes Closet room with a wide variety of clothing sized from infants to adults for those who have lost belongings due to disaster or for those who are needy.

A community Thanksgiving dinner is served at the center each year. For those unable to travel, the delicious turkey dinner is delivered to shut-ins.

The Quilting Room is a special place where community residents can work together on a project to benefit the center. They offer a quilting service for a fee or make quilts to be raffled off to help defray the center’s expenses. The location is ideal to host quilt shows in the building.

Scott County deputies have also used the center for specialized training with dogs.

Each month, the Fairview Citizens Corporation hosts its dinner meetings.

The group formed a building committee headed by President G. Wayne Salling and Vice-president Hensley. The committee is working with Paul Paul Kuczko of the Lonesome Pine Office on Youth, Ed Carter, business liaison with the Flatwoods Job Corps, Mountain Empire Older Citizens and RADA.

An open meeting is planned by the group on Tuesday, Oct. 24 at 1 p.m. at the Fairview Community Center. The site is located on Route 600 (Fairview Road), off of Highway 23. Donations will be accepted during the event.

Any and all donations are appreciated and are tax-deductible. Contributions should be made payable to Fairview Citizens Corporation, Inc and sent to G. Wayne Salling, 509 Anderson Circle, Gate City, Va. 24251 or Rusty Hensley, P.O. Box 384, Duffield, Va. 24244.

Business Directory

Vacation Guide