Mayor Kawahna Persinger, in an attempt to give residents a straight answer on dead-ending 8th street, made three requests to council to make a motion. However, all three requests went unanswered, leaving the issue dead due to a lack of motion from council.

UPDATED - After Months of Consideration, 8th Street Will Not Be Dead-Ended in Iron Gate By Jennifer Bailey Staff Writer Iron Gate, VA (July 30, 2026)— During the Iron Gate Town Council meeting held on July 30, 2026, at 7:00 p.m. at town hall, it was ultimately determined that 8th Street in Iron Gate will not be dead-ended. This decision comes after extensive discussions and public input from the residents of Iron Gate dating back to May of this year. The proposal to dead-end 8th Street was sent in by a resident a few months ago and has been the topic of several heated discussions at both the May and June meetings. Residents gathered to express their concerns and opinions on the potential closure, with one resident strongly opposing it due to the closure being strictly for one person's benefit. The issue had been previously tabled during a June's meeting, indicating ongoing deliberation over the matter. During tonight's town council meeting, Mayor Kawahna Persinger thrice asked for a motion to proceed with dead-ending the street after reading three letters from residents. One resident opposed, one was favorable, and the third was neutral. Notably, the letter of neutrality came from Pastor David Hanks who, initially, opposed the idea, citing safety concerns for his congregants. However, his recent letter indicated those concerns had been satisfied and that he and his congregationwished to remain neutral on the matter. His letter read: "We the membership of Iron Gate Baptist Church do not oppose the closure of 8th Street, rendering it as a dead-end street. In talking with the mayor and examining the area our concerns were satisfactorily answered. There are multiple other roads to exit the alley from so our congregants that prefer another method of egress other than proceeding from our parking lot to Rte. 220 may do so safely. As well as our neighbors at the Presbyterian Church are able to access their parking lot easily. With these two concerns answered in a satisfactory manner, we have no objection to the vote of council to either make 8th Street a dead-end street or not to as they see fit and will maintain a position of neutrality and wish to dwell peacefully with our neighbors. Sincerely, Pastor David Hanks" During the vote, despite three separate requests from Mayor Persinger to make a motion, no council member moved to initiate the closure process, prompting Iron Gate resident, Chuck Unroe —who formerly served the town as mayor— to point out that the lack of response from the council after three requests effectively meant the proposal was no longer viable. His observation was acknowledged by Mayor Persinger, ultimately leading to the conclusion that the motion was dead due to council's inaction.

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