Save Our Towns: Marion’s murals, railroad history up for grabs, and Danville’s dapper downtown
In Southside Virginia, the departure of the tobacco and textile industries devastated communities, including Danville. There, city leaders decided to take drastic action. They aggressively invested in workforce training and found ways to make the Dan River a key part of a reimagined downtown.
The latest episode of the web series Save Our Towns chronicles Danville’s renaissance.
The episode’s Small Town Big Number segment explores a perennial favorite – railroads in Appalachia – followed by an expert tip focused on other assets that attract people to small towns. In Marion, Virginia, the latest update shows how the idea of big splashy murals is taking wing.
Save Our Towns is produced by Outreach and International Affairs and distributed to mayors and town managers throughout Appalachian Virginia and beyond. Save Our Towns airs on two cable stations in the region.
Lynchburg-based Alive TV on the Shentel cable network, covering portions of Virginia and West Virginia, airs Save Our Towns on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday evenings; Wednesday and Friday afternoons; and Saturday mornings.
Appalachian Regional Community Television also airs the series on its stations in Lebanon and Wise in Virginia and Jenkins, Kentucky. Airtime is 1 p.m. Thursdays, with episodes repeated on weekends. ARC TV is carried on Comcast, Shentel, Overmountain Cable, and Cable Plus.
This is the final episode of Save Our Towns Season 5. A new season will launch in the fall. Earlier episodes this year covered Glen Lyn, Virginia; Lewisburg, West Virginia; Christiansburg, Virginia; Bedford, Virginia; and White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia.
