Charles Owens

Early voting in Tazewell County was slowed last week by widespread power outages and damage associated with the remnants of Hurricane Helene.

tazewell, va. – Some living in Southwest Virginia are still using private wells, and the Virginia Department of Health is concerned that some of those wells may have been contaminated by flooding from the remnants of Hurricane Helene.

With early voting starting next week in West Virginia, area residents will be deciding local, state and federal races.

Election officials in Mercer County are anticipating a lot of interest in early voting this year.

Construction is expected to begin next spring on a multi-million dollar plant that will utilize locally-mined coal to create a hydrogen-based gas for clean electricity.

Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Bluefield will be celebrating its 100th anniversary next month.

Poll workers in Mercer County are ready for the start of early voting today.

The two candidates vying for the state Senate District 6 seat are Democrat Jeff Disibbio (left) of Bluefield and Republican Craig Hart of Lenore (right). Staff photo by Tara Wyatt

File photo: The Mercer County Courthouse is seen in Princeton in this file photo. With Monday's 1,231 early ballots, the grand total on the fifth day of early voting in Mercer County was 6,025, according to County Clerk Verlin Moye. BDT file photo

Early voting is still going strong in Tazewell County with officials seeing between 450 to 500 people a day.