Virginians invited to take part in statewide bell-ringing on July 4; more …

Virginians are invited to join in a statewide bell-ringing ceremony this Fourth of July as America gears up to celebrate its 250th birthday in 2026.

On July 4 at 5 p.m., the Virginia American Revolution 250 Commission will kick off the bell-ringing at the Bell Tower at the State Capitol in Richmond. The bell will toll 13 times, symbolizing the original 13 Colonies.

The commission invites others across the state to join in bell-ringing and to livestream, and tag their bell-ringing using #VA250. (If you’d like us to consider your video or photos for possible use in Cardinal, please send it to us @CardinalNewsVA , as well.)

In 1963, President John F. Kennedy officially established National Bell Ringing Day through U.S. Congressional Resolution No. 25 .

The bell-ringing is part of VA250’s Fourth of July celebration at the State Capitol. Visit the VA250 website for details and to RSVP.

The year 2026 marks the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. To mark that, Cardinal News has embarked on a three-year project — partially funded with a grant from the Virginia American Revolution 250 Commission — to tell the little-known stories of Virginia’s role leading up to independence. You can fnd those stories on our Cardinal 250 page. You can also sign up for our free monthly newsletter that features our latest stories from that project:

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Appalachian Power to host open house in Buchanan County about transmission project

Appalachian Power will host an open house next month in Buchanan County to provide information about a planned transmission upgrade.

The Conaway Transmission Improvements Project calls for building six miles of new 69-kilovolt line and a new Conaway substation, retiring six miles of transmission line and the Big Rock and Thomas substations and upgrading the Looney Creek substation. The utility expects construction to begin in fall 2027 and finish by late 2028.

Appalachian Power will hold an open house from 5 to 7 p.m. July 17 at Riverview Elementary/Middle School in Grundy. No formal presentation is planned and attendees can come and go at any time, Appalachian Power said in a news release.

“These upgrades improve the resilience of the local electrical grid, leading to fewer and shorter power outages for customers in the area,” Appalachian spokesperson George Porter said in the release. “This project also allows crews to locate the new transmission line in a more accessible location, which will aid in future maintenance.”

More information is available on the project website .

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New College Institute hosts teen entrepreneurship boot camp

The New College Institute in Martinsville will host an entrepreneurship boot camp for high school students next week.

The event is part of Patrick & Henry Community College’s Summer Discovery Institute.

Students will work in teams to develop business ideas for a vacant commercial space in Uptown Martinsville and will pitch their ideas to a panel of judges. The top three teams will win cash prizes.

The pitch event is open to the public. It will be held from 10 a.m. to noon Wednesday in the Martin-Lacy Lecture Hall at NCI’s Baldwin Building, 191 Fayette St.

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