(l to r) Councilwoman Debbie Laudermilk, Councilman Carl "Shorty" Wolfe, Mayor Jeff Irvine, Vice-Mayor Dale Burdette, and Councilman Benjamin Nicely.

'Fridays in the Forge', 'Downtown Market' Will Be Held At Same Time, Says CF Town Manager By Jennifer Bailey Staff Writer Clifton Forge, VA (May 13, 2025)—According to Town Manager Chuck Unroe, "Fridays in the Forge" will soon be held at the same time with the "Downtown Market." As "Downtown Market" goers may recall, in past years, that event had typically been held on Thursday evenings. The reason for the merge is to raise interest and provide more growth for the two events which have always been held separately. Currently, the town is searching for more vendors for the "Downtown Market" who can rent a space for $5 a week or $25 a season. After a vote at Clifton Forge Main Street's request, council unanimously voted to approve their request to allow the "Downtown Market" to be held on Fridays from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. between Commercial Street and the former Primis Bank, as it has been held in prior years. The area will be closed off by 3 p.m. to allow vendors ample time to set up with the event beginning June 6th and ending on September 5th. Additionally, the town manager addressed the water line projects. "They're moving right along. Up on Commercial Street, we've run into some issues up there, especially in the last 24 hours. There's a low-water bridge up there in the work zone that we've had some issues maintaining and it washed away last night in the heavy rain, so we've had to put that back today," Unroe said. However, that project is expected to see an end-of-July completion date. As for the West Ridgway Street water line, the town manager stated, "They are off of Ridgeway Street now. They have made the turn and gone up 5th Street. You saw them up there yesterday and today, they're prepping at the bridge to do their tie-in at the bridge on Friday." Unroe stated that wet taps will have to be done that day, as they are planning to cut the water off for the county for a few hours. With wet-tapping, it should follow that there will be enough of a water supply "to last throughout the day." Other items passed were as follows: the department reports were approved; the conveyance of the Jefferson School from the Alleghany Highlands School Board was approved; the resolution to rezone the old Jefferson School from CF (public) to BG (general business) was approved; the proclamation to declare the month of May as National Speech, Language, and Hearing Month was approved; and the appointment of Jeff Irvine to the Chamber of Commerce Board was approved.

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