For the Record – Southern Virginia, February 2013

D.H. Griffin has begun demolition of the former Burlington Industries textile plant in Halifax. Demolition is expected to be complete by spring. The Town of Halifax anticipates partnering with the Halifax County Industrial Development Authority to market the property to potential businesses. After 47 years of operation, the plant closed its doors in 2002 and has not been used since. (WorkItSoVa.com)

Centra has bought two parcels of land in Gretna where the Lynchburg health-care provider plans to build a 50,000-square-foot medical facility. The proposed facility would be an expansion of Gretna Medical Center. Centra’s $23.8 million project would include an emergency department with a helipad, on-site ambulance, wellness center, a 64-slice CT scanner, cardiac rehab and expanded X-ray services. Callands-Gretna Supervisor Jerry Hagerman has been behind the push to bring an emergency care facility to Gretna. (Danville Register & Bee)

Interstate 73 has passed another hurdle. The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration on Dec. 21 issued a “Finding of No Significant Impact” on the environment with the Henry County alternate route for the interstate. The alternate route was proposed by the Henry County Board of Supervisors to move the interstate closer to industrial parks and Martinsville to promote economic development and to cut costs by using some existing highway.  (Martinsville Bulletin)

Patrick Henry Community College ranked seventh nationally among small colleges in the 2012 Digital Community College Survey conducted by e.Republic’s Center for Digital Education. According to survey literature, a top-10 ranking signifies that a college reflects a comprehensive implementation of technology supporting the educational institution’s operations, as well as serving students, faculty and administrators. Colleges from 26 states participated in the survey.  (WorkItSoVa.com)

The Martinsville City Council and the Martinsville-Henry County Economic Development Corp. announced that Taxing Authority Consulting Services, a Virginia law firm concentrating on tax collection and consulting services, will open an operations center in Martinsville, creating 17 new jobs during the next three years. The company will be located on the third floor of the BB&T Bank Building in Uptown Martinsville. It plans to begin operations by the end of this year. (WorkItSoVa.com)

Pittsylvania County will no longer pay dues to the National Association of Counties. Membership in the organization cost the county about $1,200 a year and came with benefits including an option to offer county citizens a prescription-drug discount card, said County Administrator Dan Sleeper. Most of Virginia’s 95 counties are members of NACO, with more than half participating in the prescription drug card plan. Pittsylvania County is the third Virginia county — along with Tazewell and Goochland — to drop out in 2013. (Danville Register & Bee)

Southern Virginia Higher Education Center and James Madison University announced a partnership in which JMU will offer noncredit online work-force-based programs through the SVHEC. Course offerings will include health care, paralegal, computer technician, human resource management, financial planning and certified manager. Students successfully completing the courses will earn certificates of completion from JMU. In addition, certifications will be available through JMU in five healthcare fields. (WorkItSoVa.com)