LightningRound! (6/4/15)

We often have a lot of news, opinions, thoughts, photos and miscellaneous things that just aren’t big enough to rate their own 400-word article. That’s why we’re adding the new “LightningRound” category. We’ll be able to keep RandomThoughts to mostly Random Thoughts now. Or maybe this will be RandomThoughts! with a lot more content and details. Ah hell, let’s see how it works out.

The storm clouds are brewing… it’s time for the first LightningRound!

The LightningRound may be new, but it belongs on a old-style Big Board.

• The Pittsylvania County Sheriff’s Office has made arrests in that school “mystery drug” case and they finally confirmed that a person died from the drug. The person was dead before they were asking for information from the public and warning people about the drug. If they had actually came out and said “WE HAVE REASON TO BELIEVE ONE PERSON HAS ALREADY DIED FROM THIS DRUG”, I have a strong feeling that more information would have been forthcoming a lot quicker. Sheriff Mike Taylor does a good job, but his media relations people could use a lot of remediation.
• The Danville Pittsylvania Chamber of Commerce has put together a great Business Appreciation Week and the fun continues tomorrow night in Downtown Danville with the 2nd Annual River District Scavenger Hunt”. Join us at the JTI Fountain or the old Downtowner site and pick up your game card. Find the item locations in the downtown stores, get your stamps, then meet at the fountain before 7 PM. Somebody will win $500, and it could be you.
• On Monday, Secretary of Commerce & Trade Maurice Jones kicked off Business Appreciation Week with a luncheon at the Institute sponsored by the Danville Pittsylvania Chamber of Commerce. He talked about the workforce and said that college degrees weren’t always needed with today’s job market. I still find that refreshing to hear after so many years of “college or you’re nothing”. Maurice Jones is a very smart man and he is an excellent speaker. He’s from Southside and knows the area well.

Virginia Secretary of Commerce & Trade Maurice Jones (and a microphone that really isn’t that large. I had a bad camera angle. Ugh.)

• If you go to Greensboro often, the News & Record’s Daily Deal website is offering an excellent bargain for pizza lovers. Pizzas from six different restaurants for $25. The punch card is mailed to you.
• If you’re in the Downtown Danville area at night, be sure to go by the Bridge St. electric substation. The LED lighting on it is beautiful.

It’s strangely beautiful and the lighting changes colors continuously.

• Since tonight is Thursday night, I’ll also be at Danville’s Texas Steakhouse for the weekly “Tunes at the Saloon” from 6 to 9 PM. This week’s musical artist is Ted Dalton of “Homie’s Heroes” and his bass player. We’ll have a feature photo and video article from that later in the week. Come out for a great meal and be sure to print out the coupon for a free appetizer with your dinner.
• Also be sure to follow SouthsideCentral on Facebook, Twitter & Instagram to see things before we update the website. We’ve also got a Tumblr set up, but I’m still learning what to do with that. Lastly, feel free to send me a friend request or follow me on Facebook. Let’s get to know each other.

And the LightningRound storm is over. Looking back, I like this type of article feedback. I don’t know if we’ll have enough for a daily version of this, but it could be an interesting way to keep things updated on more constant basis. We’ll play around with it.

We’ve got more coming up on SouthsideCentral!