Joshua Haynes shares these Color Me Rad 5K photos and writes, “Some of these are before race and some are after race. What a good day a for a great cause. The proceeds from this race went to the special Olympics. There were 5,200 in the race.”

Ashley Franklin

Shawna Franklin shares these photos of Paul Franklin and Ashley Franklin of Botetourt, who participated in the Color Me Rad 5K in Blacksburg on Sunday. The race raised money for the Special Olympics. According to Franklin, there were more than 5,000 participants!

Ashley and Paul Franklin

Members of the Buchanan Volunteer Fire Department voted Tuesday night to relinquish the department’s status as an independent corporation. As a result, Botetourt County’s Department of Emergency Services will assume responsibility for managing the Buchanan department’s finances and operations.

Duncan Adams of The Roanoke Times has more on this story.

Fincastle Library received special visitors this morning as preschoolers dropped by for Trick or Treat. Every year Fincastle Preschool Trick or Treats  offices, businesses and the library.

Do you have Halloween photos to share? news@botetourtview.com

Dr. Ann B. Sowers  of Vistar Eye Center has a birthday close to Halloween which is her favorite holiday. Dr. Mac Scothorn her fellow practioner, invited the Botetourt View to the lunch time festivities which were themed around the Wizard of Oz!

The hallways of the center which closed for an hour for the Halloween party featured yellow brick roads and Lollipops. The lobby had an Emerald City and the foyer a house on top of  a witch and a tornado which was also the costume of Kathy Shelton. Vistar Eye Center uses the event to celebrate Halloween, a great team builder and also to wish Dr. Sowers, “Happy Birthday!” They even played a Wizard of Oz trivia game. They made the costumes, too! Scothorn said, “We have been holding the event since 2004 when the center opened.”

The staffed members  pictured in Wizard of Oz costumes: Wizard of Oz: Dr. Mac Scothorn, Flying Monkey: Dr. Ann Sowers, Tinman: Paula Denton, Scarecrow: Sherrie Scott, Lion: Candise Armstrong, Toto: Lindsey Houchin, Dorothy: Kim Bradley, Glenda the good witch: Dawn Cuddy, Auntie Em: Sandra Rigney, Wicked Witch of the West: Cindy Shea, Munchkin: Tracey Sheffey, Tornado: Kathy Shelton.

Halloween pictures? news@botetourtview.com

Debbie Boyd shares these photos of Red Ribbon Week at Greenfield Elementary School.

Kristene Wellings shares photos from Central Academy Middle School’s Red Ribbon Week. She writes,

The wall is “CAMS Wall Against Drugs” — we talked with the students about drugs/alcohol, and explained that people do drugs/alcohol when they are stressed or bored…so we asked them to think about the good/healthy things they do when stressed/bored, and to write about it or illustrate that on a “brick.” Each “brick” was put up on the wall to build “CAMS Wall Against Drugs” to show they do all these healthy activities instead of drugs/alcohol when stressed or bored. The theme was “My Choice My Life.” We choose what we can do with our lives when we are stressed or bored.

Suma talbott, Horsey Marshall, Cowboy Ketron celebrated No More Cold Knights with the JRHS student body!

A huge thank you to all who donated coats to our “No More Cold Knights” coat drive. Our final coat total yielded 232 coats for Native Americans in in South Dakota will be warm this winter because of your generosity.

Mr. Ketron, Mr. Talbott, and Mrs. Marshall looked great as a Sumo wrestler, cowgirl and cowboy on an Ostrich on Friday thanks to all of your coat votes.

–Martha Alphin James River High School

Buchanan Theatre celebrates 10 years of operation!

The Buchanan Theatre will be giving out candy tonight, 6 p.m. till candy runs out?! The SCV will also have their cannon set up & giving out candy as well between the Buchanan Theatre & BB&T Bank.
For the theatre, I wanted to also make mention that this would be a fine time to check out the theatre, in case you haven’t before, and to also take a last chance opportunity to enter our prize drawing. The drawing is in celebration of SRO’s (Standing Room Only) 10th Anniversary!! Cost of chances are donation requested, but not required. Prizes to be given away are 1 nights stay in the Railcar Inn; a trip for two down the James River by Twin River Outfitters; a photography session by Shantilly Lace Photography including a 1hr session, dvd of hi-res images & copyright release; and a theatre package including a Buchanan Theatre shirt, ornament, & passes for two.

Submitted by Shannon Link

We have more on the theatre’s 10th anniversary here. And be sure to share your Halloween photos at news@botetourtview.com or use the “share” tool to upload 10 at a time.

Lewis and Clark dedication is Saturday Nov. 3

On Saturday, November 3, 2012, at 3:00 pm, Botetourt County will officially become a national Meriwether Lewis & William Clark community. This historical distinction is rooted in the many, varied connections the two Expedition-famed explorers had to Botetourt County both before and after their westward venture. Their history and connections to Botetourt County will be signified forever by the placement of an NOAA Lewis & Clark disk on the front lawn of the Botetourt Courthouse.

And, it’s not just any disk; rather, the second one known to be installed in the Commonwealth, the first being at Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello. It is a shared gift, funded 50 % by the national organization, The Lewis & Clark Trust, Inc., and remaining balance equally paid by Botetourt County, Town of Fincastle, Botetourt Historical Society and Historic Fincastle, Inc.

Activities that eventually led to honoring Botetourt County’s distinguished connection to Lewis & Clark began 44 years ago. In 1968, U.S. Congress enacted The National Trails System Act that provided for the development of scenic, historic, and recreational trails. The Act states its purpose is to “…provide for ever-increasing outdoor recreation needs of an expanding population…to promote the preservation of, public access to, travel within, and enjoyment and appreciation of the open-air, outdoor areas and historic resources of the Nation..” This act was amended ten years later with the passage of the1978 National Parks & Recreation Act that “officially” established the Lewis & Clark National Historic Trail. Since then, thousands upon thousands of people world-wide have visited The Expedition Trail, visiting communities along a path that begins in Woods River, Illinois and ends at Cape Disappointment, Oregon.

In 1996, author Stephen Ambrose wrote “Undaunted Courage,” a compelling factual account of the lives and mission of Meriwether Lewis and William Clark. A large part of the story focuses on Lewis’ upbringing in Virginia, and the book, itself, is thought to have spurred a growing interest in the “whole story.” Little by little, from 1996 to 2006, momentum increased for learning more about the two men and their lives before and after the Expedition. In fact, part of the preparations for the 2003 – 2006 Expedition Bicentennial Commemoration involved identifying and documenting possible Lewis & Clark sites of interest located east of the Mississippi River. In 2007, only a year after the Bicentennial celebration, an Eastern Legacy Trail National Historic Landmarks “theme study” was conducted. The movement to continue and complete a coast-to-coast Lewis & Clark National Historic Trail had officially begun! Eastern sites were listed and recommendations regarding the sites were made. Eighteen of these were in Virginia, and three of these are in Botetourt County – Greenfield Plantation, Santillane, and the Fincastle Historic District. A recommendation for the town stated, “… the connection of William Clark to the town and celebration held there in 1807 should be documented; and 2) a historical marker placed in the vicinity of the courthouse would be appropriate.”

Such a marker is now a reality. With expertise provided by Botetourt County, two county employees – David Lalush and AJ Kyle – have installed the NOAA Lewis & Clark disk. Under the leadership of Pete Peters, Director, Parks, Recreation, and Tourism, and Botetourt Lewis & Clark Project volunteers, Kip Burton and George Sydnor, much time was given to installation details to ensure the disk was placed exactly as required by the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration.

All citizens of Botetourt and surrounding counties are invited to attend the dedication ceremony. The ceremony will begin at 3:00 pm on the front lawn of the Botetourt courthouse. Two nationally renowned Lewis & Clark historians will be guest speakers for this historical event – Stephenie Ambrose Tubbs, daughter of author, Stephen Ambrose (referenced above), and Peyton C. (Bud) Clark, 3rd. Great Grandson of General William Clark. The VMI Color Guard and the VMI Pipe Band will also participate as well as Local Boy and Girl Scout Troops, the Botetourt Kiwanis Club, and others. Master of Ceremony will be the Honorable Judge Malfourd (Bo) Trumbo. Following the dedication, there will be an unveiling of the disk, and the Botetourt Historical Society will host a reception for the public at the Botetourt Museum.

– submitted by Peggy Crosson