PEARISBURG, Virginia – Giles County is well-known as an outdoor recreation hotspot, but when winter arrives, things change.
“In the wintertime, the options are a little bit more limited in terms of indoor opportunities,” said Susan Bradley, a Giles County parent.
For years, many people have had to leave the county to exercise, swim, or attend team events.
Right now, in the heart of Giles County, in the town of Pearisburg, if someone needs to go to a recreation center, they have the Wellness Center in Narrows, but if that is full, the next one is a 30-minute drive away.
To address this issue, leaders from the Giles County Board of Supervisors are developing a plan to construct an indoor recreation center.
“This is the culmination of requests that we have had for a number of years,” said county administrator Chris McKlarney.
McKlarney stated that they are in the early stages of planning and need community input on what they want to see.
“The board of supervisors has said let’s go out and talk to the community, get their input, and see how interested they are,” she said.
Susan Bradley is one person who supports the recreation center. She has children who enjoy swimming and expressed her desire for a pool in Giles.
“We are driving to Montgomery County 4-5 times a week for access to the pool,” Bradley informed me. “There are days I have done that for weeks, two trips a day to Blacksburg to come back for practice.”
Camden Shaver stated that she is constantly on the road, driving her children to neighboring communities so they can participate in team sports.
“I currently drive my daughter to Radford three times per week for travel basketball. We don’t have a travel team for her age yet, and if we did or tried to pursue one, we’d have very limited options for where to practice. “Where would we go?” Shaver said.
According to McKlarney, the most pressing question right now is how much this will cost. He stated that the total price will be determined by the type of facility requested.
