Lexington City Council will spend some money to get a clearer idea about exactly how much a new elementary school might cost and where it should be built. At the same time, Council has directed the Lexington School Board to undertake a comprehensive study of consolidating Lexington public schools with neighboring jurisdictions, a decision that might render the need for a new elementary school unnecessary.

If other jurisdictions show interest in consolidation, there should be consideration of hiring an outside consulting firm to study the situation.

A motion to that effect was made by Councilman Frank Friedman at Thursday evening’s meeting of Lexington City Council after numerous citizens addressed Council on the issue of building a new school and the impact that the project would have on the real estate tax rate for city residents. The Lexington School Board had formally requested $500,000 from Council to begin the design phase of the school. This money had already been set aside by Council for that purpose from profits realized from the sale of the Moores Creek property. Last night’s decision allocated $65,000 to the School Board for preliminary design work.

Friedman’s motion that was unanimously approved by Council also required that the School Board report back to Council by Aug. 1 on its findings concerning interest from other localities about working with Lexington on consolidation issues.

All but three of the speakers who addressed Council Thursday urged that Council take “a step back” and gather more specific information about the school such as exact cost and location and to fully consider consolidation as a way to reduce the burden of constructing a new school on the taxpayer.

“There is always the dichotomy between those who can afford to pay increased taxes and those who can’t,” Lexington resident and former Board of Supervisors member Carroll Comstock said. He went on to say that another “whammy” that Lexington faces is its established boundaries which limit the city’s abilities to create additional revenue streams.

“It is time to face the realities,” Comstock said. “Consolidation is our future. Let’s make it work for Rockbridge, Lexington and Buena Vista.”

City Council also approved the city budget for fiscal year 2014 and increases the real estate tax rate 5 cents to 83 cents per $100 of assessed valuation.

Devils Backbone Brewing Company announced plans this week for a $3.25 million expansion at both its Lexington and Nelson County locations.

The outpost production brewery expansion in Rockbridge County, where most of the company's craft beer is produced, increases its indoor work space from 15,000 square feet to 28,000 square feet. The additional space will be used for expanding the packaging hall, tripling the cooler space and adding additional office space.

DBBC will also be adding a new DE filter, four 120 bbl tanks and four 240bbl outdoor silo tanks. These additions will take the annualized production capacity of the brewery from 21,000 bbl. to 40,000 bbl.

“The craft beer industry in the United States has seen tremendous growth over the last few years led by some outstanding craft breweries and it is expected to continue its rapid growth for the foreseeable future,” observed Steven Crandall, DDBC founder and CEO. “We are excited to be a small part of this exciting creative industry and see our business improve along with the personal fulfillment of our treasured employees, and most importantly to continue to creating unique award winning craft beer for our loyal fans.”

The base camp brew pub expansion in Nelson County creates a lager walk-n cooler space and room for additional 20 hectoliter fermenters and a bright tank. It also expands the kegging operational space, allows for significant expansion of the kitchens dry storage and creates more storage space throughout the facility. This space is critical for the base camp's growth of festivals, camping, plays and events on its 100-acre property.

DBBC was recently recognized as the Small Brewpub and Small Brewpub Brewer of the Year in addition to taking home eight medals at the 2012 Great American Beer Festival. The company has won more medals and awards at The Great American Beer Festival and World Beer Cup than any other single brewery in the Mid-Atlantic region, and has done this in three short years.

This recognition, along with the World Beer Cup Champion Brewery win in 2010, has propelled the DBBC brand to a leading position in the craft beer market in Virginia and Washington, D.C. and it is establishing itself into Maryland, according to a company spokesperson. The sales success of DBBC’s craft beer in the market has exceeded the capacity of the current footprint of the production facility in Rockbridge County and led to expansion plans that after just one and a half years of operation, are meeting the 10-year plan that was originally projected.

A new director has been appointed for the Rockbridge Regional Library. Julie Goyette begins her new job on Monday, June 3.

The appointment was announced April 22 by Doug Horan, chairman of the library’s board of trustees. Horan also notified the library staff that day, as well as the local jurisdictions and the library Foundation and Friends.

Goyette is currently chief librarian at the Throckmorton Library in Fort Bragg, N.C. Prior to that, she worked as research services supervisor at the High Point Public Library and technology librarian in the Rowan County Public Library, both in North Carolina. She holds a master of library and information studies degree from the University of North Carolina and a bachelor of arts degree in English from the University of Virginia.

“We feel that Julie Goyette is well qualified to direct library staff and functions and the ideal individual to address the full scope of the library organization’s needs at this particular time,” said Horan.

Horan also sent an earlier e-mailed announcement on April 10:

“We wanted you to know that, at his request, Alan Bobowski’s retirement date as library director has been advanced to May 31. To provide ourselves greater flexibility with regard to new hire search, selection and placement, Alan was asked and he agreed to leave effective April 8. We are still in the interview phase, but this enables us to take full advantage of favorable opportunities that may arise.”

Bobowski was originally slated to step down on June 30.

Horan noted that Sue Milo would meanwhile serve as administrative head “as she typically has during periods of director vacation or business absence.”

He said that the senior staff “will work as a team to keep things operating smoothly.”

Kellie Nicely, a junior at Rockbridge County High School, has been named the state winner for Virginia in the nationwide “Doodle 4 Google” art competition sponsored by the American multinational corporation whose name has become synonymous with Internet products.

This year’s competition invited K-12 students throughout the country to create a Google doodle inspired by the theme, “My Best Day Ever.” This year Google received more than 130,000 entries in Doodle 4 Google 2013.  

A poster-sized version of Kellie’s doodle was unveiled by Google representatives at an assembly Wednesday afternoon at RCHS. A clearly overwhelmed, but nevertheless eloquent Kellie told the assembly that the best day ever for her was the day she learned to read.

The doodle is reminiscent of the world of imagination that is found between the covers of a book.

Kellie is now in the running for the national contest prize, which will be determined by the number of votes each state winner receives in online voting. The national winner will be announced in New York City on May 22. Readers can vote for her vote by visiting the Doodle 4 Google Web site at www.google.com/doodle4google/vote.html.

Kellie is the daughter of Debra Nicely of Lexington.