Embezzlement, welfare fraud and drug possession were among the criminal indictments returned last week in Wythe County Circuit Court.

State police are investigating a single-vehicle crash that took place Monday, July 26, involving a Virginia Department of Transportation vehicle in which two workers, including one from Ivanhoe, were injured, according to a Virginia State Police press release.

The Rural Retreat-Wythe County Community Fair is returning to an August date this year.

The late Gene Ball loved the outdoors and spent much of his time there. As a tribute to him, there will be a Gene Ball Memorial Youth Day this Saturday, July 31, beginning at 7:15 a.m. at the Cove Mountain Plantation and Lodge in Wytheville, owned by his widow, Sharon Ball.

An anonymous tip Wednesday evening led Wythe County law enforcement officers to a marijuana growing operation in the Gunton Park community. As a result, 45 plants were seized, some as tall as nine feet.

Since Concert amp; Dessert debuted eight years ago, the annual fundraiser for the Agape Food Pantry Inc. has featured some of the area’s best talent. This year’s event promises more of the same. The ninth annual Concert amp; Dessert will be held Monday, Aug. 2, at 7 p.m. at the Wohlfahrt Haus Dinner Theatre in Wytheville. It will be co-sponsored by BBamp;T Bank and Wal-Mart. Ticket donations are $25 per person. They are available from Agape Food Pantry Inc. board members and at Wytheville Office Supply.

Confederate Railroad is expected to draw 3,000 people to next Saturday’s Rural Retreat Heritage Day. The Grammy-nominated country rock band will headline the free July 31 event in downtown Rural Retreat. “This will be our biggest undertaking yet,” noted Dale Yontz, chairman of the sixth annual celebration. “We expect 3,000 people for the Confederate Railroad concert. We’ve seen Heritage Day grow every year and this year is expected to be bigger than ever.”

Got milk? Most of us would answer yes to that question. So maybe the real question should be, “Got fresh milk?”

The next race is set. After completing the 12-week Fit for Life program and her first 5K, Wytheville Enterprise photographer Jean Farley has her sights set on another 5K in August. She will also continue in her Fit for Life graduate program.

Flames were shooting a hundred feet into the air when Ray Richardson Jr. arrived at Fairview Road around 2:16 a.m. Sunday, Jan. 2, 1999. Maneuvering the Wytheville Fire Department pumper truck through the snow to the natural gas substation, which had just exploded, he braced against the freezing cold for a major battle with fire and ice. “That was the worst fire I ever worked,” noted Richardson, who is retiring at the end of July after 30 years as a paid firefighter with the town of Wytheville. “That and anytime there was a fatality. We’re fortunate there’s not been a fire-related death since I guess back in the late 90s.”