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What is The News-Gazette?
The News-Gazette is a weekly, family-owned local newspaper serving Lexington, Buena Vista and Rockbridge County, Virginia, and its site presents itself as carrying that coverage online since 1801. Its homepage is organized like a community paper rather than a national news portal: local news, sports, arts and entertainment, obituaries, a calendar of events, videos and photo galleries.
What you'll find there
- Local news and public safety: stories about nearby incidents and institutions, such as a crash on I-81 near exit 188 and a Rockbridge County school bus involved in a crash.
- Community institutions: coverage of VMI (including the resumption of its evening cannon blast) and visits by state officials.
- High school and local sports: game reports and hall-of-fame inductions.
- Arts, events and obituaries: festival notices, exhibits, bird-club walks, anniversary items, and obituary listings with links to full notices.
- Visual and listed content: photo galleries (school events, storm damage, parades) and a recurring calendar of events.
For a reader deciding whether it's useful, the practical test is geography: if you live in or have ties to Lexington, Buena Vista or Rockbridge County, this is the kind of source that covers school buses, local teams and neighbors' obituaries that larger outlets skip. If you need statewide or national news, it is not the right primary stop.
As a next step, start with the section that matches your reason for visiting—obituaries for family news, the calendar for planning a weekend, or sports for local results—and check how recently items were posted, since a weekly paper's site updates in batches rather than continuously. For comparison, Virginia coverage at a broader level appears in Richmond Times-Dispatch and The Daily Progress.
How do I subscribe to The News-Gazette and what does it cost?
Subscription is handled directly through The News-Gazette's own site rather than a separate storefront: look for the "Subscribe" link in the site header or navigation on The News-Gazette and follow the prompts to set up delivery or digital access. The site accepts PayPal among its payment options, so have that account ready if you prefer it to a card.
The cost is not published in the information available here, and it likely varies by subscription type (print delivery, digital, or a combination) and term length. To get an exact figure, open the Subscribe page and check the listed rates before entering payment details, or contact the paper's office directly to confirm current pricing and any delivery-area restrictions for Lexington, Buena Vista and Rockbridge County.
As a practical step, decide first whether you need print delivery, digital access, or both, then compare the corresponding rates on the Subscribe page. If you are outside the immediate coverage area, confirm delivery eligibility before paying, since weekly community papers often limit print distribution.
Where can I find local obituaries and death notices for Lexington and Rockbridge County?
For Lexington, Buena Vista and Rockbridge County, the most direct source is the local paper itself: The News-Gazette, which carries an Obituaries section on its homepage with entries linking to full obituary pages.
How to use it
- Start on the homepage and open the Obituaries block, then follow "See obituary" for the full notice.
- Because the paper publishes weekly, expect notices to appear in batches rather than minute by minute; check back after each edition.
- For older deaths, the paper's archive is the better bet than the current front page.
Other places worth checking
| Source | Best for | Trade-off |
|---|---|---|
| The News-Gazette | Local notices and funeral details for this exact area | Weekly cadence; limited search on the site |
| Funeral home websites in Lexington and Buena Vista | Full obituaries, service times, guestbooks | Only covers families who used that home |
| Legacy.com | Aggregated newspaper obituaries and memoriams | Coverage depends on which papers participate |
Practical next step
If you are searching for a specific person, try the name plus "obituary" and the town, and check both the paper and the websites of the two or three funeral homes serving Rockbridge County. For genealogy or estate matters, contact the paper directly about archive access rather than relying on the homepage listing, which only shows the most recent notices.
How do I submit a news tip, letter to the editor, or community event to The News-Gazette?
The homepage does not spell out submission instructions, so the reliable route is to contact the newsroom directly and ask which channel it prefers for your item. The site lists an email address on its contact page for general inquiries; use that as your first step and state clearly whether you are sending a news tip, a letter to the editor, or a calendar event.
What to include
- News tip: What happened, where, when, and who was involved. Add names, ages and titles only if you are sure of them. Note whether you have photos or documents and whether you are willing to be quoted.
- Letter to the editor: Your full name, town and a daytime contact. Keep it to one focused point and say whether it has been sent elsewhere. Expect editing for length and clarity.
- Community event: Date, time, venue with street address, cost, a one-line description, and a contact for verification. Send it well ahead of the event week.
Practical notes
A weekly paper works on a longer cycle than a daily, so a tip about a Friday event may be too late if it arrives Thursday. For anything time-sensitive, such as a road closure or a school incident, call rather than email. Letters are usually held to a word limit and a frequency limit per writer, and anonymous letters are rarely printed.
If you are unsure which category fits, describe the item in one sentence and let the editor route it. Keep attachments small and named clearly, and do not send the same item to several staff members.
For comparison, other Virginia community papers such as The Roanoke Times publish formal submission guidelines you can read as a model for tone and length, even though their rules are their own.
What high school sports scores and game coverage does The News-Gazette publish?
The News-Gazette publishes local high school sports results and short game reports for teams around Lexington, Buena Vista and Rockbridge County, Virginia. Its sports section is built around school matchups rather than national coverage, so the useful content is the kind a local reader checks after a Friday night game.
What the coverage looks like
Based on the site's sports listings, coverage includes:
- Football game reports with scores in the headline, such as "Rockets Blast Blues, 45-13," "Gladiators Slay 'Cats, 62-20" and "Blues Batter Wave, 41-12."
- Basketball and other team results, for example "‘Cats Handle Waynesboro" and "Craig Nets Win Over PM."
- Team and school honors, such as "Six Inducted Into PM Hall Of Fame."
- Photo galleries and video tied to local events, which sometimes include school activities like the Lexington students' Dolly Day celebration.
The pattern is short, headline-first reporting: the score and outcome are usually clear from the title, with a brief article beneath. That suits readers who want the result quickly, but it is not a stats-heavy or long-form analysis product.
Who it serves, and the trade-off
This coverage is most useful to parents, students, alumni and local fans following specific schools, especially Parry McCluer ("PM"), Rockbridge County and nearby rivals. The trade-off is depth: a reader wanting box scores, player statistics or statewide rankings will likely need to supplement it. The paper's value is knowing the local teams and publishing promptly; it is not a comprehensive sports data source.
A practical next step
If you follow one school, check the sports section after each game week and use the headline scores to track the season, then read the full article for context on standout plays or players. For broader regional or state-level results, compare with a larger Virginia outlet such as The Roanoke Times.
How can I access The News-Gazette's photo galleries and videos from local events?
Open the homepage and use the Photo Galleries and Videos sections, each with its own Click to see more link, to browse event coverage such as school activities, storm damage and community parades. Individual galleries show a photo count, so you can judge the size before opening one.
For a practical routine: start with Photo Galleries for recent community events, then check Videos for local interviews and remarks, such as the lieutenant governor's comments on local media. If you are looking for a specific event, scan the headline and upload date rather than expecting a searchable media archive.
As general advice, local papers often update galleries after an event rather than during it, so check back a few days later. For broader regional coverage, compare with The Roanoke Times.
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