For the Record – Southern Virginia, August 2013

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Belkis undergoing a $3 million remodeling project that will consolidate all its lines into one retail space atDanville Mall. Work is expected to wrap in late September, and a grand reopening is scheduled Oct. 16. The store will remain open throughout the project. Belk opened its first store in Danville in 1920 under the Belk Leggett name and has operated at Danville Mall since 1984.(WorkItSoVa.com)A groundbreaking ceremony was held in Gretna for the 50,000-square-footCentra Gretna Medical Center, a $23.8 million project. But a big part of the project — a 64-slice CT scanner — must still get approval from the state health commissioner. A decision on that part of the project could be made by November. Officials expect the center to open to patients in December 2014.(Danville Register & Bee)

Monogram Food Solutionsannounced it has secured significant new business for its Martinsville Virginia Meat Snacks Plant that will result in the creation of 100 jobs. The company’s goal was to be fully crewed by the end of July. Products made at the Martinsville plant include meat sticks, beef and chicken jerky, pickled sausage and egg products, and kippered beef snacks.(WorkItSoVa.com)

Saint Paul’s Collegein Lawrenceville closed on June 30. Founded in 1888, the school had been struggling financially, and it was denied accreditation by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools’ Commission on Colleges. Saint Paul’s financial woes had already forced the school to drop its athletic programs. Affiliated with the Episcopal Church, the school had about 600 students.(Richmond Times-Dispatch)

Smart Beginnings Danville Pittsylvaniareceived $258,640 from the Virginia Department of Social Services to go toward the Virginia Star Quality Initiative for the Piedmont Region. The program helps improve participating early development child-care centers and preschool programs across Virginia. Its one-to-five star rating system also makes it easier for parents to choose quality child-care providers.(GoDanRiver.com)

Stone Dynamics Inc.is relocating from Henry County into a larger facility in Martinsville, creating 44 jobs and investing $1 million in new equipment over the next three years. The company expected to be operating in the new facility by July 1. The 44 new jobs are in addition to the company’s 42 current employees. Stone Dynamics, founded in 2000, fabricates marble and granite products for the hospitality, commercial and residential sectors.(Martinsville Bulletin)