It’s a bird! It’s a plane!

No, it’s a hot air balloon — one you may have seen floating over Botetourt recently.

If not, well, you’ll see some photos of it in this week’s print edition of The Botetourt View — and lots more online.

Because, well, that’s what we do. We put things online first — and when it comes to photos, we often put them up in vast quantities.

So for those of you who like extras, well, here’s the guide to finding all of this week’s online extras:

* More on the Youth Risk Behavior Survey
* More on the llama visit to Everything Art
* More photos from Troutville’s Party in the Park
* More photos from the Oriskany Festival
* More photos from the Antiques Roadshow at The Glebe
* Fire damages home in Blue Ridge
* PETA offers to lease Botetourt Correctional Facility to create “Chicken Empathy Museum” — original story and follow-up
* Denise Sprinkle named Educator of the Year
* Paparazzi photos of Botetourt people at Olde Salem Days
* Photo of flying squirrel and other Botetourt wildlife
* Last class at Troutville High School holds reunion
* Business PAC endorses Austin, Clinton for Board of Supervisors
* More photos of Meritha Rucker in Greece
* More of Sheila Terry’s deer photos
* More on Destiny Booze’s second romance novel

AND IN SPORTS . . .
* More photos from Lord Botetourt – Hidden Valley football
* More photos from James River – Altavista football
* More photos from Lord Botetourt vs. Glenvar JV volleyball
* More photos from the North Botetourt Titans vs. Cave Spring Saints
* Photos of Botetourt runners at Knights Crossing cross country meet
* Lord Botetourt cross country results

So how can you get your news and photos in The Botetourt View? Easy! Just share at news@botetourtview.com.

For more information — including how to advertise and reach more than 90 percent of the households in Botetourt County – see below:

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Lord Botetourt Booster Club President Randy Landes mans the grill prior to last Friday night’s game against Salem.

The food on that grill looks pretty tasty, eh?

Speaking of cooking, here are all the online extras we’ve cooked up for you this week:

* Lord Botetourt grad completes basic training at West Point
* Botetourt Correctional Center to close
* More photos related to the Shirley Niday Poker Run
* More photos of bear damage at Wheatland Lutheran
* More photos of Cheryl Lunsford’s guitar students
* More on the concert at The Glebe
* More of Ruth Everhart’s nature photos from Fincastle and Roaring Run

AND IN SPORTS . . .
* Free volleyball seminar at Fincastle Baptist
* More photos of the Roanoke Star u15 Premier team
* More photos of James River-Glenvar football
* More photos of Lord Botetourt-Salem football
* More photos from Lord Botetourt-James River varsity and JV football

So how can you get your news and photos in The Botetourt View? Easy! Just share at news@botetourtview.com.

For more information — including how to advertise and reach more than 90 percent of the households in Botetourt County – see below:

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We can almost hear Hank Jr. singing now: Are you ready for some football?

We hope you are, because we’ve got plenty of it.

In this week’s print edition of The Botetourt View, we have four pages of photos from last Friday’s Lord Botetourt – James River football game. (Five, if you count the cover.)

And yet — we still have more to show you right here online.

Even better, those aren’t the only online extras we have this week. Here’s an easy guide to the rest:

* Attic Productions holds auditions Sept. 5 and 7
* Free Internet safety workshop set for Sept. 10
* Church holds baptism in James River
* VDOT issues advisory on lane paving near Orchard Market Place
* Police seek help identifying purse-snatcher at Bonsack Wal-Mart

AND IN SPORTS . . .

* Photos of Lord Botetourt – James River volleyball — both varsity and JV
* Botetourt Star seeks soccer players
* Botetourt Central All-Stars win sportsmanship trophy

So how can you get your news and photos in The Botetourt View? Easy! Just share at news@botetourtview.com.

For more information — including how to advertise and reach more than 90 percent of the households in Botetourt County – see below:

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Kids are back in school — and so are we!

In this week’s print edition of The Botetourt View, we have photos from the first day of school (and some other days, too.) And, as you might expect, we have even more here online.

The one at left shows students getting off the bus at James River High School. You can find others in this photo gallery.

Those aren’t the only online extras this week. Here’s an easy way to find the rest:
* Wright Kids to perform at Heritage Days in Fincastle
* Troutville’s Party in the Park will be Sept. 12
* Lord Botetourt freshman serves as judge for hand-held devices
*Greenfield Elementary seeks artists and crafters for fall festival
* Reader photos from the Food Lion opening
* More photos of Bob McDonnell at Blue Ridge Vineyard
* More photos from the Fincastle Baptist Car Show
* More on the controversy over whether bear hunters with “kill” permits can keep the meat
* More bear sightings, in general
* More photos from the Food Expo

AND IN SPORTS . . .
* Photos from James River-Narrows benefit game
* More photos of Botetourt American Legion team

So how can you get your news and photos in The Botetourt View? Easy! Just share at news@botetourtview.com.

For more information — including how to advertise and reach more than 90 percent of the households in Botetourt County – see below:

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It’s a big week in Botetourt.

Schools went back into session.

The new Food Lion opened.

And we tied our record for the biggest section ever — once again weighing in at 40 pages.

And still, we have more!

Here’s this week’s guide to all our online extras:

* Photos from Cheryl Lunsford’s summer jam
* More photos from the Food Expo
* More photos from Central Academy schedule day.
* We also have photos from Read Mountain schedule day.
* More photos from the RAYSAC pool party at Limestone Park (such as the one above).
* More photos of wild critters out in the woods
* More photos from the Runway to Recovery fashion show
* More photos from the Bank of Fincastle Customer Appreciation Day

AND IN SPORTS . .
* Photos of two Botetourt softball players in Atlanta
* JV football schedules listed
* Lord Botetourt grad plays on winning baseball team in Cape Cod league
* More photos from the Salem Distance Run

So how can you get your news and photos in The Botetourt View? Easy! Just share at news@botetourtview.com.

For more information — including how to advertise and reach more than 90 percent of the households in Botetourt County – see below:

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Yearbook staffers at Lord Botetourt on schedule pick-up day.

It’s back to school time.

In this week’s print edition of The Botetourt View, we have the second of our two back-to-school issues. Last week we focused on elementary and middle schools. This week, it’s the high schools.

Naturally, we have online extras for you — including photo galleries from schedule pick-up days at Lord Botetourt and James River.

But wait, there’s more! We also have these online extras:

* Photos from RAYSAC Middle School Pool Party
* Oriskany Strings play Saturday in Clifton Forge
* More photos from Bank of Fincastle Customer Appreciation Day
* More photos from the Farm Tour
* More photos from the Standing Rock Mission
* More photos from Pete McKnight
* More photos from “Nunsense,” which plays Friday (sold out) and Saturday at Attic Productions
* More wildlife photos by Ben Schrader’s trail cam
* More bear sightings around Botetourt
* More photos from Kevin Jones Performing Arts Studio
* More photos of a snake up a tree near Cloverdale
* More photos from Blue Ridge Farm Center Customer Appreciation Day
* Cathy Benson’s Terrific Tuesday column

Gus Brannan and Micheal Lancenese at James River

AND IN SPORTS . .
* Botetourt Star holds soccer clinics Aug. 17 and 19
* Maroon Crush softball team holds try-outs Aug. 15-16
* More photos from Lord Botetourt football practice
* More photos from James River football practice
* More photos from swim meet at Ashley Plantation
* More sports schedules not included in our back-to-school calendar

So how can you get your news and photos in The Botetourt View? Easy! Just share at news@botetourtview.com.

For more information — including how to advertise and reach more than 90 percent of the households in Botetourt County – see below:

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Pictured here last June, this summer has been much better for Allyson McClellan since she has been treatment free and enjoying her life!

Here’s an update about Allyson McClellan the Cloverdale girl who has battled cancer in the past year and remains cancer free since completing her treatment. Her mother has written about the Blizzard event on Thursday August 12 at the Dairy Queen on Orange Avenue US 460 west from 2 p.m.-6 p.m. Funds will go to the Children’s Miracle Network.

“Allyson has truly had a wonderful summer…. It has warmed my heart to watch her swim, eat tons of ice cream, make smores, have slumber parties, and do everything 8 year olds are suppose to do. She starts school next week and we are not ready for the early mornings and homework. Her BFF is in her class so she is happy!”

“This Thursday is “Miracle Treat Day” at Dairy Queens everywhere. All blizzards are $2 and all of the money goes to Childrens Miracle Network-all the money in our area will go to our hospital-Carilion Childrens Clinic Hospital. Allyson will be working at Dairy Queen on Orange Avenue from 12pm-2pm-come out for lunch and enjoy a blizzard made by Allyson. Enjoy the rest of your summer and we hope to see you Thursday!” said McClellan.

Football’s in the air — and you know what that means. Back-to-school isn’t far behind.

This week, we kick off the first of our two back-to-school issues, to be followed by, well, our two fall sports issues.

And, as always, we have lots of online extras. We have more photos from the parks and rec football camp. We also have info on this week’s tax holiday on back-to-school supplies – a list of what’s tax free and tips on how to shop to your best advantage.

And we also have all these:

* James River students and teacher spend week at Green Bank observatory
* Photos from customer appreciation event at Blue Ridge Farm Center
* More photos from Botetourt Chamber of Commerce dinner and auction
* More photos from “Nunsense,” which continues this weekend at Attic Productions
* More wildlife photos from Ben Schrader
* More photos from Touch-A-Truck
* More photos from the open house at The Glebe
* More photos from Boy Scout Troop 211 in New Mexico
* More photos of Jake DuVall’s veggies. You can share your vegetable photos, too!

AND IN SPORTS . . .
* Football practices start at Lord Botetourt and James River
* More photos from Botetourt soccer players in Europe
* More photos of Botetourt American Legion baseball players
* More photos of the Virginia Attack baseball team
* More on the Roanoke Valley Senior Golf Tournament
* Video from the city-county swim meet

So how can you get your news and photos in The Botetourt View? Easy! Just share at news@botetourtview.com.

For more information — including how to advertise and reach more than 90 percent of the households in Botetourt County – see below:

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How does your garden grow?

Jake DuVall’s is growing quite well, thank you. The rising fifth grader at Greenfield Elementary has quite a thriving produce business on his hands. He not only grows vegetables, he also delivers — such as to regular customer Theo Evans.

We deliver, too. Each week, we deliver The Botetourt View to more than 90 percent of the households in Botetourt — and we deliver a whole lot more right here online.

Want more photos from Jake’s garden? We’ve got an entire gallery you can check out.

Each day, we post upwards of a dozen new items about Botetourt here online. Here are some of the other online extras we have this week:

* Sheriff’s Office releases photos of Blue Ridge break-in suspect
* Bear breaks into home near Buchanan — and other bear sightings
* Camp Bethel still has spots open for campers
* Fincastle Preschool has fall openings
* More photos of the first home at Daleville Town Center
* More photos from “Nunsense,” which opens this weekend at Attic Productions
* More photos from Jazz in July
* More paparazzi photos from First Fridays
* More on the band Five Minutes Later
* More photos from the garden party at The Glebe
* More photos from Cow Appreciation Day

AND IN SPORTS . . .
* Blue Ridge Lax Club holds try-outs this weekend
* Botetourt Bobcats 13u baseball try-outs this weekend
* More photos from sports camp at Limestone Park
* More photos of Botetourt swimmers in the city/count meet
* More photos of the Botetourt American Legion baseball team
* More photos of Limestone Park swimmers at Stonegate meet
* More photos of the Virginia Attack baseball team

So how can you get your news and photos in The Botetourt View? Easy! Just share at news@botetourtview.com.

For more information — including how to advertise and reach more than 90 percent of the households in Botetourt County – see below:

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It’s summer camp time, and in this week’s print edition of The Botetourt View we have photos from the sports camps recently held at Fincastle Baptist Church. In fact, we have even more photos from those camps, which we share online in this gallery.

Those aren’t the only online extras we have this week, of course. Here are the others:

* Lord Botetourt and James River schedule pick-up is Aug. 6 and 10
* “Nunsense” opens at Attic Productions July 30
* Photos: Botetourt band Five Minutes Later plays Salem Fair
* More paparazzi photos from Salem Red Sox game
* More on the Pizzazz Star City Twirlers
* Cathy Benson’s Terrific Tuesday column
* Another photo of a bear sighted near James River High School
* More photos of the baby raccoons waddling down Lees Gap Road

AND IN SPORTS . . .

* Photos of Botetourt American Legion baseball team
* Botetourt parks and rec holds football camp July 27-28
* More photos of Botetourt Americans in Dixie Angels tournament
* More photos of Ashley Plantation swimmers

So how can you get your news and photos in The Botetourt View? Easy! Just share at news@botetourtview.com.

For more information — including how to advertise and reach more than 90 percent of the households in Botetourt County – see below:
Read more »