Briefs: Sheriff hospitalized, Ward II forum, Bob Barr coming to LC

Staff reports
Published: October 9, 2008

Amherst County Sheriff Jimmy Ayers has been hospitalized for chest pains, according to county officials.

Ayers, 45, was transported Wednesday to Lynchburg General Hospital, said Gary Roakes, the county’s director of public safety. He remains hospitalized and is undergoing tests related to cardiac problems, Roakes said. He estimated that Ayers will remain in the hospital for a few more days.

Ayers has been the county’s sheriff since 1996. The Amherst native joined the sheriff’s office in 1985, working his way up to field operations sergeant before running for sheriff.

— Carrie J. Sidener

Second dialogue in Ward II set for Saturday
The Community Dialogue on Race and Racism will hold its second Ward II forum at 2 p.m. on Saturday.

Convening public forums in all four of Lynchburg’s voting wards is a goal of the citywide race dialogue. Forums are being planned for the remaining wards, but are not yet finalized.

An earlier Ward II forum was held in June. Organizers said they were interested in whether an encore event in another part of the district would draw different or similar concerns.

“Before we moved on to (a different ward), we wanted to do another in another section of Ward II and see if different people would come out,” said Shanda Rowe, a member of the dialogue’s communications group.

“The question has always been, in our mind, is there commonality within wards or are there differences among the neighborhoods?” Rowe said. “Now, we’ll get to find out.”

The upcoming forum on Saturday will be held at the Jubilee Family Center, 1512 Florida Ave. Community members are invited to attend and voice their concerns and thoughts about the city.

— Alicia Petska

Libertarian candidate Barr to speak at LC
Bob Barr, the Libertarian Party’s candidate for president, will speak at Lynchburg College from 3 to 5 p.m. Monday, the college announced Thursday.

The event, which will be held in the Sydnor Performance Hall in Schewel Hall, will be free and open to the public.

Barr represented the 7th District of Georgia in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1995 to 2003.

He served as a senior member of the Judiciary Committee, as vice chairman of the Government Reform Committee, and as a member of the Committee on Financial Services.

For more on Barr, see his Web site, http://www.bobbarr2008.com.

— From staff reports