The Lynchburg City School board voted unanimously to rescind its previous motion to ban Danny McCain, a longtime LCS advocate, from speaking at future school board meetings during its work session Tuesday. Before voting, board members asked for reassurance from McCain that he would respect the board’s policies in the future. “Yes, I’m willing to — five minutes or whatever — but we have to sit down somewhere at a time and a place so that we can further discuss what’s going on with our students and our children,” McCain said to the board before its vote.

Franklin City Public Schools (FCPS) shared the documentation Thursday, June 5, confirming that At-Large Board Member Dr. Reid Harrison had taken his oath of office on June 28, 2024. FCPS School Board Clerk and Notary Almeta Davis sent out an email June 5 to Circuit Court Clerk Richard L. Francis, school leaders and The Tidewater News, speaking on behalf of Board Chair Robert Holt. “Upon review of our records, we would like to bring to your attention that Dr. Harrison’s oath of office was duly executed and is on file in our office,” Davis continued. “The document, signed by you on June 28, 2024, confirms that Dr. Harrison personally appeared before you and subscribed to his oath of office.” “Obviously, it should be on file in my office, and I have only an apology to you and Mr. Reid as to why it is not among our other oaths (which I will promptly rectify),” Francis added, requesting his apology run in the next edition of The Tidewater News as a correction on the matter.

A Pittsylvania County man was found guilty Monday of misdemeanor assault and battery of a member of the county’s Board of Supervisors. The incident happened last November at Sam’s Club in Danville. Surveillance video showed Westover District resident Jim Scearce hitting Tunstall District Supervisor Vic Ingram with a shopping cart. Ingram says the impact caused a bruise, but he did not require medical attention. A special judge from Southwest Virginia was called in to preside over the case. The three General District court judges in the 22nd Circuit recused themselves because of their previous dealings with one or both of the principals in the case. The feud between the two has been simmering for several years. Last year, Scearce won a lawsuit against Ingram and the Board of Supervisors—but damages were set at only one dollar. Scearce claimed Ingram violated his First Amendment rights and falsely imprisoned him at a public meeting in November 2022.

Former Roanoke city manager Bob Cowell on Monday blasted whistleblower lawsuits against him as “nothing more than a self-serving smear campaign,” court records say. The lawsuits allege a toxic workplace environment around events that happened in the spring of 2024. Former finance official Amelia Merchant and former budget analyst Yen Ha claim then-city officials retaliated against them for reporting alleged abuse. Both seek $5 million in damages.