Eight years after the smallmouth bass population in the Shenandoah River began dying off in large proportions, Shenandoah Riverkeeper Jeff Kelble says they have “recovered completely” from the mysterious malady that nearly wiped them out.

After less than a year in the position, Mount Jackson Town Manager Clark Draper III submitted a letter of resignation to Town Council last week.

After struggling financially for more than 19 months, the Shenandoah Area Agency on Aging (SAAA) is giving its employees a raise and is ready to hire a permanent leader. The SAAA’s board of directors on Monday voted 8-0 to begin a search for an executive director. The title, Chairman John Hudson said after the meeting, reflects a change from the former president and CEO label to bring the SAAA in line with other similar agencies in Virginia. The SAAA has been without a permanent leader since Helen Cockrell was fired as president and CEO in September 2011. Cockrell, 57, was indicted by a Warren County grand jury on April 1 on four felony counts of embezzling amounts of $200 or more from the nonprofit group.

The honorary grand marshal for the 86th  Shenandoah Apple Blossom will be longtime festival participant,   former  U.S. Sen. Harry F. Byrd Jr. As honorary grand marshal, Byrd, 98, of Winchester will ride  in the Chevrolet Grand Feature Parade, which starts at 1:30 p.m. Saturday, said John H. Rosenberger, executive director of the festival.

Shenandoah County Public Schools Superintendent Keith Rowland was selected as superintendent of the year out of a group that included six Virginia city school divisions and 14 county systems. Rowland, as the Region IV selection, is one of eight regional superintendents who will now be considered for the Virginia Superintendent of the Year spot.