Free Republic

WYTHEVILLE — Wayne and Roger Shaw, of Illinois, pulled into town on Sunday with 19 dead coyotes piled in the back of their truck and blood running down the bumper from their nine-hour drive. It was a good haul, but not enough to win the “most kills” award at the first ever Eastern U.S. Predator Calling Championship. That honor went to Jeremy Brown and Mike Burgess, of Maryland. They rolled in with 31 foxes in a basket on the tailgate. “People are really weirded out by it,” Brown said. “They see this driving down the road, and we get a...

Courtesy of Virginia State Police Leonard Russell Kidd A Santa Claus who posed for pictures with pets and interacted with children and families Saturday at a Wytheville Petco store was a man Virginia designated as a sexually violent predator. Leonard Russell Kidd, 37, of Max Meadows, who was released last year from years of state custody, was supposed to stay away from events where minor children would be present unless he had special permission from his probation officer to attend, according to a conditional release plan filed in Wythe County Circuit Court. Kidd was convicted of sexually assaulting a...

A man suspected of taking hostages in a post office in the US state of Virginia has been arrested after a stand-off lasting several hours, police say. Authorities in Wytheville persuaded Warren Taylor to give himself up and release three people he was holding. Mr Taylor was reported to have entered the post office pushing a wheelchair and claiming to be carrying explosives. He initially fired shots from the building but no-one was reported to have been injured.

WYTHEVILLE, Va., Dec. 23 (UPI) -- A gunman with explosives who had held hostages for about eight hours at the Wytheville, Va., Post Office apparently has surrendered, police said. The man rolled himself onto the street in a wheelchair and was lying on the ground on his stomach as about 20 officers wearing shields approached him, WSLS-TV, Roanoke, Va., reported Wednesday night. State Police Sgt. Mike Conroy said three hostages have emerged from the building and officers were checking to make sure nobody else was inside. Police exercised caution because "we don't know what he had," Conroy said, The Wytheville...

WYTHEVILLE, Va. - Authorities in Wytheville are dealing with a hostage situation at the town's post office. Mayor Trent Crewe says five hostages are inside the building, including three employees and two customers. Shots have been fired, but Crewe says no injuries have been reported. The situation began at about 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday. The suspect has not been identified.

Interstate 77 closed after chemical spill in Va. 3-6-03 News & Record Posted 1:35 p.m. WYTHEVILLE, Va. (AP) -- A tractor-trailer carrying a potentially explosive liquid crashed on Interstate 77 Thursday, spilling part of its load and causing authorities to close a 20-mile stretch of the highway. State Police 1st Sgt. David Shaver said the truck was carrying ammonium nitrate, blasting caps and boosters, which are used by quarries for blasting rock. Authorities closed all the northbound and southbound lanes of I-77 while hazardous materials crews cleaned up the spillage. The truck was traveling from North Carolina to West Virginia...