More Botetourt nursing grads at DSLCC.

BOTETOURT NURSING GRADUATES — Four of 37 nursing graduates honored during the annual Pinning Ceremony held on the Dabney S. Lancaster Community College Clifton Forge campus were, from left: Patrick Olson of Daleville; Frances Carillo-Kuenzer of Eagle Rock; Diane Ware of Fincastle; and Mary Bryant of Eagle Rock. Each also received an Associate of Applied Science Degree in Nursing during the 46th annual commencement exercises at DSLCC May 10.

Tickets for the raffle are available at Relay for Life on May 17.

These custom made cornhole boards will be raffled off at the Botetourt County Relay for Life event this Friday night (May 17). If you are at the event (which I highly recommend), you can get tickets at Jonathan’s Jedi team tent (lower left side of the track). If you would like to buy tickets, but cannot attend the event, please call Vance Barrett at 588-4991. The set comes with weather resistant cornhole bags (resin beads and heavy duty sail cloth). Peace, Love, Cure!

–submitted by Vance Barrett

Sheriff Ronnie Sprinkle supports “Click It or Ticket,” for public safety. File photo Botetourt View

Botetourt County Sheriff’s Office is joining with other state and local law enforcement officers and highway safety advocates across the country to help save more lives by strongly enforcing all traffic laws, especially seat belt laws around the clock.

Motorists who refuse to wear their seat belts-beware. The 2013 national Click It or Ticket seat belt enforcement mobilization kicks off May 20 to help save lives by cracking down on those who don’t buckle up.

Virginia’s seat belt use rate was 78.43% in 2011 (using a new survey methodology), and there is still much work to be done. According to the DMV Highway Safety Office’s TREDS (Traffic Records Electronic Data System) in preliminary 2012 statistics, there were a total of 774 fatalities-305 of them were unrestrained at the time of the crash. Of the total unrestrained fatalities (305), 77 or 25% of the deaths resulted from crashes that occurred between the hours of Midnight-6:00AM. The highest time period for unrestrained deaths was from crashes between 6:00pm and midnight – 84 killed (28%).

“Seat belt use is just too important to ignore”, said Sheriff R.N. Sprinkle. “We want to stress that regularly buckling up works, and we know of too many cases, largely at night, that all too often ends in tragedy.” Sheriff Sprinkle went on to say, “Our goal is to save more lives, so the Botetourt County Sheriff’s Office will be out enforcing ALL traffic laws including seat belt use around the clock.”

Regular seat belt use saves thousands of lives across Virginia each year. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) statistics show that in 2011 alone, seat belts saved an estimated 272 lives in Virginia. An additional 112 lives could be saved with 100 percent seat belt use.

While this year’s Click It or Ticket enforcement mobilization runs from May 20-June 2, motorists should know that officers are out enforcing traffic laws, including seat belt laws year-round.

Everyone in the vehicle should buckle up every time they go out, both day and night,” said Sheriff Sprinkle “Our Deputies are prepared to ticket anyone who is violating the law and not buckled up…no warnings and no excuses. Click It or Ticket.”

–submitted by Lt. Jeff Stritesky, Crime Prevention Specialist

Kayla Parker with her instructor, Lenora Turner, at the conclusion of her performance. Photo courtesy of Jason Cohen

Kayla Parker of Troutville performed her second piano recital at The Blue Ridge Academy of Music Recital Hall & Theatre on Sunday, April 21. She very competently presented material including Tchaikovsky’s Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy, Leopold Mozart’s Minuet in F, and fun popular songs such as “Cruella DeVil” from Disney’s 101 Dalmations. Her audience was thoroughly entertained. Kayla is pictured here with her instructor, Lenora Turner, at the conclusion of her performance.

– Submitted by Jason Cohen, Blue Ridge Academy of Music

Sarah Smith of Buchanan was one of 11 graduates of the Dabney S. Lancaster Community College Practical Nursing Program honored during a Pinning Ceremony held May 8 at Rockbridge County High School in Lexington. She received a certificate in Practical Nursing during commencement Exercises held on the DSLCC campus in Clifton Forge May 10.

Sarah Smith

School lunch payments have taken a giant leap into the 21st century with a third party vendor called MyLunchMoney.com  It is being used in a pilot program at Colonial Elementary School.

School Superintendent Dr. Tony Brads presented the program to the Botetourt County School Board on May 9, 2013.  He remarked, “A third party ( MyLunchMoney.com) collects money from parents. They open an account  and can add money to the student lunch account via the third party. A $1.95 charge per  transaction fee is taken.” The School Division plans to  implement the system in the fall. Said Brads, “One transaction will be able to handle multiple children in a family as well as  multiple schools.”

The Internet company describes its services as follows.

“Welcome to the nation’s leading site for updating and managing your child’s school expenses. Access your online account, deposit funds and conveniently and securely maintain your family’s school-time budget and spending.

Convenience: Recurring payment options, E-mail reminders for low balances. View student meal purchases. Set daily and weekly spending limits.

Security: The MOST SECURE online payment system for schools.  All online transactions are handled with industry standard SSL encryption, certified by VeriSign®.” (– MyLunchMoney.com website)

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Cassandra Brandt shares these photos of the James River in Buchanan today.

You can share your photos at news@botetourtview.com or use the “share” button to upload 10 at a time.

OTHER FLOODING COVERAGE:
* Sherri Kent shares photo of high water in a tunnel near Buchanan
* Gary Reed shares photos of flooding on Craig Creek near Eagle Rock
* Teresa Black shares photos of flooding on Catawba Creek near Haymakertown
* Ken Seay shares photos of flooding around Buchanan
* Erin E. Hickock shares flood photos around Buchanan
* Schools suspend bus transportation to James River HS and vocational school
* Flood coverage around the region from The Roanoke Times

And another:

Nathan Yates at the conclusion of his performance with his parents, Mike and Melissa Yates. Photo courtesy of Jason Cohen

Nathan Yates, of Bonsack, performed his second guitar recital at The Blue Ridge Academy of Music Recital Hall & Theatre on Sunday, April 21. He played very comfortably in both the lead and accompaniment roles, and he introduced all of his selections himself. Nathan demonstrated a large vocabulary of chords and played sophisticated material in several different keys. He is shown here at the conclusion of his performance with his parents, Mike and Melissa Yates. (Go UVa!)

– Submitted by Jason Cohen, Blue Ridge Academy of Music

The Botetourt County Chamber of Commerce will hold its 44th Annual Dinner & Auction on Thursday, May 23 at Hollins University in Moody Dining Hall from 6 to 9 p.m. The cost is $60 per person. Tables of eight can be reserved for $480. Special entertainment this year will be the Read Mountain Middle School Chorus.

This is a special event where the chamber awards its annual scholarships to county high school students, in addition to presenting its Business Leadership and Community Service awards.

This year, the chamber will again be holding a silent auction fundraiser in conjunction with the dinner. The purpose of this auction is to raise funds for education-related projects in Botetourt County in addition to the scholarship awards.  The chamber works with the Botetourt County School System to identify projects that qualify for funding. Some of the organizations and programs that have benefited by the auction include the Science Museum, Explore Park, Mill Mountain Zoo, Junior Achievement and the Botetourt Children’s Theatre.

We are asking for your help to make this a successful fundraiser, which in turn will benefit the youth in our community.  Please consider being a sponsor or making a donation of a product or service or cash for the auction. We will recognize all businesses and individuals who support this event.

If you would like to be part of this worthwhile endeavor, simply complete the information on the sponsorship form or the auction donation form and fax or mail it to the chamber office.  If you have any questions, please contact the chamber office at 473-8280.  Thank you for your consideration and support.

Current sponsors for this event are Appalachian Power Company, Roanoke Cement Company, Bank of Botetourt, The Bank of Fincastle, Carmeuse, Oakey’s Funeral Service, Comfort Inn and Lumos Networks.

– Submitted by Dan Naff, Executive Director, Botetourt County Chamber of Commerce

Terry Austin

Zachary Hatcher

Zach Martin

Jim McKelvey

Republicans in Botetourt County — along with Alleghany County, Covington and part of Bedford County — hold a “firehouse primary” Tuesday to pick a candidate for the House of Delegates.

The candidates are:

* Buchanan District Supervisor Terry Austin, owner of Austin Electrical.
* Zachary Hatcher, an Eagle Rock pastor and businessman.
* Zach Martin of Goode, business development manager for Moore’s.
* Jim McKelvey, a Moneta businessman.

The winner will be the GOP nominee for the seat now held by Del. Lacey Putney, I-Bedford, who is retiring. There is no Democratic candidate, so this nomination could be tantamount to the election — although there is talk of a Constitution Party candidate on the ballot in the fall.

A “firehouse primary” is a similar to a regular primary except it’s run by the party, not the registrar’s office, and has fewer voting locations.

In Tuesday’s primary, Botetourt Republicans will vote at a single location — Lord Botetourt High School — from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.

So who should win, and why?

There’s a discussion about this underway over on our politics blog, the Blue Ridge Caucus.