Church leaders from across Danville held a prayer rally on the steps of City Hall on Thursday morning, asking God to deliver jobs to Danville, heal broken families and mend broken hearts.

A Gretna man was killed in a traffic accident Thursday morning in Pittsylvania County. State police say 21-year-old Bryant Moran, of 610 S. Main St. in Gretna, was driving on Emory Road when he ran off the pavement and flipped his Chevrolet Blazer.

The fire at Dan River Crossing Senior Apartments that forced the relocation of several residents Wednesday was caused by an overturned lamp in one of the units.

The controversy and debate over a renewed effort to mine uranium in the Coles Hill community of Pittsylvania County remained a hot topic in 2008, after having led the list of top stories for 2007. Clearly, however, no story in 2008 could top the historic election of Barack Obama as the nation’s first black president.

While most Danvillians began celebrating the expected arrival of 2009, several violent incidents includ-ing a stabbing, a home invasion that turned into a gunfight and two shootings marked the New Year holidays for others across the city.

Residents near what is believed to be the nation’s largest uranium deposit will be asked their views on what issues should be addressed in a study of the impact of mining the ore in Virginia.

Water from a sprinkler system caused moderate damage after extinguishing a small fire at Dan River Crossing Apartments.

High winds on Wednesday kept firefighters in Pittsylvania County busy as they responded to brush fires throughout the day. A felled tree caused a power outage in the North Hills area; other outages reported were minor and sporadic.

Mark Stegall, the executive director at Goodwill, was grateful for the contributions, but worried about the level of donations not only for the day but for the year.

A 75-year-old Danville man was hit by a truck as he tried to cross Piney Forest Road on foot Wednesday afternoon.

The fire that destroyed the IDL Market convenience store Sunday in Martinsville has been ruled an accident.

“A lot of small, well-distributed outages instead of one large outage where we can focus our work,“ said utility spokesman Karl Neddenien.

UPDATE: Power outage reported in the North Hills area.

Though nearly every surrounding county is suffering from power outages, Danville and Pittsylvania County are so far in the clear.

Some of the nation’s most sweeping payday lending reforms will take effect in Virginia.

Appalachian Power reports that 781 customers in Roanoke County, City, and Giles County are without power.

Several restaurants and venues in the Dan River Region are offering residents a number of ways to ring in the new year, from live musicians to four-course meals.

On Tuesday morning, Back Yard Burgers manager George Collins loaded leftover supplies into his truck as a hand-written sign on the door of the restaurant proclaimed it had closed.

A piece of equipment used during a pipeline upgrade Tuesday caused Chatham’s second waterline break this month.

Those close to 23-year-old Tyrone Smith of Danville remember him as a kind, quiet person who always had a smile. They say his death still seems surreal.

In a decision handed down Tuesday in General District Court, a Danville man will not regain custody of the 22 dogs seized from his apartment on Dec. 15.

There has been another water line break in Chatham, but City Manager Mike Jones said it is not as bad as the ones earlier this month that left some residents without safe water for three days.

More than 2,000 people flooded Brookville High School on Monday evening to pay their respects and honor longtime principal Jim Whorley.

With Photo: The Danville Police Department is seeking two women in connection with a recent credit card fraud.

State Alcoholic Beverage Control sales figures show it’s just encouraged them to do more drinking at home instead of in bars and restaurants.

Marilyn Hanover is chosen as the 2009 chairwoman

Virgil Goode delivers $2.4 million in federal earmarked money

The Medical Examiner’s Office in Roanoke has identified the body found in Pittsylvania County on Wednesday as Courtney Turpin Servais, and has ruled the cause of death as homicide, according to Pittsylvania County Sheriff Mike Taylor.

The Parent Company announced Sunday that it and nine of its subsidiaries have filed for voluntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection before the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Del.

One of the subsidiaries is eToys, which has a 720,000-square-foot distribution center in Blairs.

Golden Corral is advertising for kitchen and service managers, according to their advertisement on http://www.godanriver.com.

Marilyn Hanover has been elected 2009 chair of the board of directors of the Danville-Pittsylvania County Chamber of Commerce.