News From Roanoke.com

A Bedford County man was arrested Saturday in the shooting of another man during an argument, authorities said in a release.

The victim, William Spangler, sought treatment at Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital for a gunshot wound to his foot.

A Roanoke house fire early Saturday morning left nine displaced and one injured, Roanoke Fire-EMS spokeswoman Tiffany Bradbury said.

Bradbury said dispatchers received a call at 2:57 a.m. about a fire at a house in the 1500 block of Chapman Avenue Southwest. By 3:15 a.m., crews were on the scene and had the fire under control.

About 85 soldiers, including 20 from Western Virginia, are scheduled to return home this week after spending most of the year in Afghanistan.

The Richmond-based 276th Engineer Battalion of the Virginia National Guard was dispatched to Afghanistan in February and will begin returning home today.

A fire in the Valley View PetSmart on Saturday afternoon caused two stores to be evacuated and altered shopping traffic as many scrambled to save the animals.

Roanoke Fire-EMS spokeswoman Tiffany Bradbury said the fire started inside PetSmart in the 4700 block of Valley View Boulevard Northwest a little after 1 p.m. The store's sprinkler system contained the fire, and crews arrived to heavy smoke coming from the building. Both PetSmart and neighboring Target were evacuated.

Lucy Addison Middle School Principal Robert Johnson fulfilled a promise Saturday afternoon. He paraded in front of the Northwest Roanoke school in a long skirt and a wig rolled with pink curlers, occasionally hiking up the garment to show off knee-high nylon stockings.

Highway and airport crews intend to help keep traffic moving on area roads and runways this winter by the usual chemical and mechanical means.

At the Virginia Department of Transportation, crews have stockpiled salt, a powerful agent against winter precipitation.

Thick clouds of smoke and a burning stench swept through downtown Roanoke on Saturday night because of a photo shoot at the Virginia Museum of Transportation.

More than 20 photographers were set up in a fenced area behind the museum getting shots of old trains that are no longer produced as smoke billowed from them. The museum's Facebook page identified the trains as the Norfolk & Western's 611 and 1218 locomotives from the 1940s and '50s, and said some photographers came from out of state to participate.

Franklin County's finest virtual rockers squared off in a battle of shredding and button-mashing Saturday, as about 30 people played for trophies and glory in a Guitar Hero III tournament.

The sounds of Slayer, Metallica, Foghat and Kiss rolled through The Franklin Center in downtown Rocky Mount as three age groups competed in the event, which was sponsored by the county's park and recreation department.

Megastar comedian Jerry Seinfeld will be returning once again to entertain audiences at the Roanoke Performing Arts Theatre and lighten their wallets by $65 or $78 depending on where they choose to sit. Tickets go on sale Friday. The performance happens March 12.

Someone who witnessed the house fire in the 3500 block of Garden City Boulevard called the Roanoke County Fire Marshal's Office on Wednesday with information about the blaze. That person did not leave a name or phone number.

The Friday deadline to apply for fuel assistance for the winter heating season has been extended because of this week's flooding problems around the state.

The deadline for applicants is now Monday .

Fire forced 13 people from their apartments in Southwest Roanoke on Friday morning, officials said. No one was injured.

Firefighters were called to a house in the 1200 block of Wasena Terrace just before 5 a.m., Roanoke Fire-EMS spokeswoman Tiffany Bradbury said. The house was split into five apartments.

Almost all of us find some noises annoying.

The thumping bass from the car at the stoplight, the neighbor's dogs who bark all night, the rumble from the manufacturing plant a few blocks away, the rock band at the bar down the street.

Roanoke police released surveillance photos of a man suspected of robbing a Walgreens drugstore on Nov. 7.

The suspect took "an undisclosed amount of items" from the pharmacy counter of the Walgreens at the corner of Williamson and Hershberger roads about 2:20 a.m. and fled, said Aisha Johnson, a police spokeswoman. No injuries were reported.

Courtesy Virginia State Police

A Roanoke man was hospitalized Wednesday after being shot.

Officers were called about 5 p.m. to the Nu Deli Mart in the 3400 block of Shenandoah Avenue for a report of a man who had been shot, police spokeswoman Aisha Johnson said.

According to police spokeswoman Aisha Johnson, a male entered the Dollar General in the 2900 block of Hershberger Road about 8:40 p.m. He showed a gun, demanded money and fled with some cash.

Roanoke police are investigating an aggravated assault that occurred Thursday afternoon, spokeswoman Aisha Johnson said.

Police responded to the 1000 block of 35th Street Northwest at 2:43 p.m. and found that a man was shot while in a vehicle.

Franklin County Sheriff Ewell Hunt said the incident occurred about 11:30 a.m. at the Franklin Community Bank in the 30 block of Shepherd Drive.

Fueled by days of unrelenting rain, rivers and streams across the region rolled out of their beds and ran amok Thursday, barreling over bridges and blocking roads but doing no major harm.