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Marlene Garten of Troutville sent these five pictures of a double rainbow Dec. 31 at 7:38 a.m. She said, ” At about 7:45 a.m. this morning, God doubled His promise to us by presenting this beautiful double rainbow over Botetourt.”

Happy New Year!

Mical with her Dad, David Mosier, celebrate his life beyond "less than a day to live."

The Botetourt View received a letter that  is very sentimental and special about Christmas and a miracle for a local 6th grade Read Mountain Middle School student. Here it is:

Hi, I’m Mical Mosier. I’m a typical middle school girl that hangs out with her friends more than her parents. Well recently I have learned a lot about my family. My dad kept coughing up blood. I really didn’t think much of it until we took him to the E.R and he  found out that he had stage three lung cancer. He was on a medical induced coma! At first I was scared to death that some day I may not see my father anymore. My mom’s father died when she was a young girl and Dad’s father died when he was seventeen.

This may not be interesting to you but it surely changed my life.  The last words I said to my father were, “I hate you!” Imagine living through that regret.

We spent nights and days in the hospital the doctors said he wouldn’t make it through the night. My family and I didn’t believe it. We didn’t want to. We slept in the hospital waiting room, waited hours. He made it through the night. He had a respirator in so he could breathe during his coma. Because when you’re in a coma you’re paralyzed.  Your body doesn’t know what to do. This process was during Thanksgiving.

On the following Monday after  Thanksgiving they were taking him off of his medical induced coma so we could speak to him and say our last words. I couldn’t talk. I was speechless but most of our family were there. My dad has been through a lot. “He’s a fighter,” my mom said. “This may be his last fight,” the doctor said and that broke us inside. Well, after Dad got off the medication he couldn’t talk he wasn’t strong enough to write or to type. He nodded his head and squeezed my hand. A couple days later they took him off the respirator so he could talk. He was talking up a storm, I’ll say. Well then, he got a portacath put in so he can take shots. Then the doctor said he will never get up and walk out of the hospital. Three days later he was walking!! Then 3 weeks before Christmas he got out of the hospital! Talk about a Christmas miracle!  Please tell this story to the paper. I really want people to know it can happen and  a deadly diagnosis can be conquered!”

Mical and her brother Max are hoping their father will soon be well.  David Mosier is  taking chemotherapy every Monday and radiation five days per week.  Though her parents are divorced, her mother Sandi is  looking after David in her home.

Mical is right, there is more to her story. Her oldest brother,  John Thomas Graham Mosier died at the age of 10 in a car accident on the way back from Kings Dominion in 2005. On this New Year’s Eve he would have turned 17.

Her parents divorced in 2006. The family home burned in 2007. Yet, this family kept moving forward.

It has been rough, but prayer and faith have been their  source of strength. An unexpected blessing happened in 2007 when David discovered that he had a son, Carey Wood, from a high school romance. Carey and his wife Jessica  prayed  for David in the hospital. He was also anointed.

Jessica read Scripture verses over him from a book called “10 Hours to Live” by Brian Wills. David’s mantra became “Walk by faith, not by sight.” As for Mical’s statement, he said, “I didn’t pay attention to her (when she said she hated me). ”

Mical is glad, though, that she got to tell him that was not the case as he got better.  She does love her dad very much. Yes, he is in a struggle to be better, get well, and really to live. He has lost 60 pounds, but is beginning to gain weight again.

The family appreciates any and all prayers for his miracle recovery to continue. They too, are walking in faith every day. As for Mical Mosier,  she is a young girl with wisdom and compassion beyond her years.

Catherine Herlocker and Lisa Moorman of Botetourt County Tourism

Botetourt Tourism
Coordinator Lisa Moorman and events coordinator Catherine Herlocker were  busy working on  events for 2012. ” One thing I would like to develop soon is a Community Events  Calendar,” mentioned Moorman, who came aboard in October.  With her years of experience at the Roanoke Civic Center, she knows that scheduling and overbooking dates can affect turnout for events. Also she believes  the public should have easy access to what’s on tap in the county. She is hoping folks will send in items for her master calendar to travel@botetourt.org. Call 473-1167.

Currently the  duo is looking at the Wine Trail Concert series for 2012.  With the addition of Troutville as an Appalachian Trail Community, more events are on the horizon for Botetourt in 2012.

Herlocker and Moorman recently participated in  a grant writing  workshop as well and have some grants management currently but no grant applications pending. They are also compiling a list of refined craftsmen such as wood workers, furniture makers, craftsmen, jewelry makers and potters for future endeavors.

Basically, said Moorman, “We are following the strategic plan for tourism developed last year.” For more on tourism in Botetourt check out the website.

This story has been edited.

The Prevention Council and The Kirk Family YMCA will offer the Guiding Good Choices® and Staying Connected with Your Teens Parenting Program in January 2012. The sessions target parents of youth in grades 3 through 12 and include information on:

• healthy beliefs and clear standards in the family

• strengthening parenting skills

• strengthening family communication skills

• dealing with peer pressure by learning specific refusal skills

• challenges of adolescence

• building protective factors

• reducing risk factors

• networking with other parents through the middle and high school years

This program is available for Parents, Faith Based Groups, Civic Organizations, Schools, Neighborhood groups, Businesses as a Lunchtime presentation, and Health/Human Service organizations. Please share this information with colleagues, neighbors and friends.

Cost to parents attending the 4 week program is $40.00 paid by the first session with cash or certified check payable to Prevention Council of Roanoke County. A $10.00 deposit is required one week prior to the first session to secure your space.

Location: Kirk Family YMCA Time: 6:30pm-8:30pm

520 Church Avenue, Roanoke, VA

Class Dates:

January 2012: January 11th, 18th, 25th, and February 1st.

To register:

Brooks Michael

Prevention Council of Roanoke County SBMichael@carilionclinic.org or 540-314-5030

Anne Lavery is a bubbly Zumba instructor and she is looking for more candidates to  make a resolution for a healthier New Year by pursuing an active lifestyle.  Zumba is a dancing way to exercise and burn calories. She’s a certified instructor, too. In January give Zumba a try at Greenfield Education and Training Center! Contact her by clicking here.

Here are the particulars and there maybe additional classes:

“ Zumba classes at the Greenfield Center  continue in the New Year. No need to register, just drop in Mondays and Wednesdays—class is from 6pm-7pm and is $8 per class (cash only). Taught by certified Zumba instructor, Anne Lavery. Zumba fuses Latin and International rhythms with easy-to-follow moves to create an exciting, fun workout program for any fitness level! Call the Greenfield Center for more information: 966-3984 after Jan. 3.”

Marine Corps Pfc. Derek A. Harris, son of Norman R. Harris, of Eagle Rock, Va., recently graduated from the Marine Corps Basic Combat Engineer Course at Marine Corps Engineer School, Marine Corps Base, Camp Lejeune, N. C.
During the five-week course, Harris received instruction in the fundamentals of engineering support for combat units, including the procedures for building and repairing bridges, roads and field fortifications. Harris also received training on demolition concepts, land mine warfare and camouflage techniques.
Harris is a 2010 graduate of Covington High School of Covington, Va. and joined the Marine Corps Reserve in January 2011.

Submitted by Fleet Hometown News Center

A surprise “celebrity” will provide a comical performance for the next meeting of “Sharing God’s Grace” at Wheatland Lutheran Church on Wheatland Road.  The meeting will begin at noon on Tuesday, January 17, with a delicious lunch prepared by the ladies of the church, followed by the appearance of the surprise guest.  The community is invited to attend this gathering for wonderful food, fellowship and a humorous performance by a very talented entertainer.  Call 992-5403 to make a reservation and get directions to the church.

The Roanoke Altruist Club will be holding their 58th Annual Debutante Ball Friday Dec 30, 6pm, at the Roanoke Sheraton Hotel and Conference Center. The Ball is a formal presentation of a young lady into society as she moves into womanhood and pursues a higher education.

That’s right, the Roanoke Altruist Club Debutante Ball is a scholarship program. The Alwyn Hamlar Saunders Debutante Scholarship Program.

For the last several months the debs along with their ladies in waiting, parents, and committees have organized fundraisers, volunteered in their schools and communities to donate money to the scholarship fund. There are in the 11 seniors competing, but only one from Botetourt County.

From Lord Botetourt we have a senior, Jasmine Willis, who for the last 3 months has been diligently fundraising. She has had bake sales, jewelry parties, open houses, raffles, cake bakes,a spaghetti dinner, hot dog sale and Lil Caeser’s pizza night. Not including the many family, friends, and business owners that have supported her efforts.

Some of the money she raised she donated to charitable organizations such as Susan G. Komen, Lilly of the Valley Organization, for domestic violence and now collecting for The Food Pantry. But to be eligible for one of the three scholarships given Friday night, she must be one of the top fundraisers. So in these last few hours between now and 5pm stop by PZAZ Salon where they are accepting donations and selling raffle tickets for various items and gift cards for a drawing to be held tomorrow.

LBHS 2011-12 Girls Varisty basketball team

From our Roanoke.com website CAVE SPRING INVITATIONAL

Lord Botetourt 49, Cave Spring 28

Jade Lewis had 17 points to lead the Cavaliers.

Jordan Markey led the Knights with eight points.

LORD BOTETOURT (5-3)

VanRavestein 7, Wampler 5, Loope 1, Price 6, Martin 4, Wood 7, Duvall 4, Lewis 17.

CAVE SPRING (0-9)

Hal. Sitze 6, Brown-Saunders 7, Markey 8, Han. Sitze 5, Harkey 2.

Lord Botetourt 19 17 10 3-49

Cave Spring 9 7 5 7-28

3s – LB 2 (VanRavenstein, Wampler), CS 3(Markey 2, Han. Sitze).

From Coach Otis Timberlake’s daughter, Kristen.

” I would like to thank everyone for their support through this with my father, but my family has one last request. We know how much his kids meant to him and how much he meant to them we are asking that as many former students and athletes as we can find email me their favorite story/ memory of him to be put together. I would like your name, school and years you attended you can send it to ecusinglemom@yahoo.com.”

“Thank you in advance for your help.”

Kristen Timberlake Englehart

We had a previous post about Coach Timberlake’s passing away in Nov.  Please send a story or two to his family because as with most of our teachers and coaches, they had an impact on our lives and who we have become.