Local news from the New River Valley

The university's alumni association plans tailgates prior to road football games this season.

BLACKSBURG -- Driving down Interstate 81, they'll honk their horns and wave their hands as passing onlookers turn to the nearest window to catch a glimpse of cars filled with Virginia Tech fans decked out in orange and maroon.

The National Committee for the New River is leading its second expedition down the 320-mile not-so-new river.

RADFORD -- Three hundred million years later, and the New River continues to age gracefully.

Considered possibly the second-oldest river in the world -- the Nile being the oldest -- the river has seen a lot of history on its 320-mile trek through gorges and rocky mountain passes of North Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia.

A Christiansburg man died Wednesday night after he was struck by a van, police said.

James David Scott, 41, was crossing Roanoke Street near the Hunan House restaurant when he was struck about 9:15 p.m., Christiansburg police Chief Mark Sisson said Friday.

LumenHaus is Virginia Tech's newest solar-powered home and the university's entry in the 2009 U.S. Department of Energy's Solar Decathlon.
BLACKSBURG -- Imagine the house of the future.

If it gets too hot outside, the house reduces the need for air conditioning by drawing its shade panels.

When temperatures drop in winter, high-efficiency insulation panels slide in place to conserve heat.

A parade at 11 a.m. today in Pearisburg will begin a daylong celebration of the 100th anniversary of the confederate monument there.

The parade will begin at the Andrew Johnston House and continue to the courthouse lawn.

The new Blacksburg Town Hall annex is set to open today, but critics have concerns about its environmental safety.

BLACKSBURG -- From the ground up, the new town hall annex appears to be all that Blacksburg officials say it is: a historic building restored in a way that is energy efficient and environmentally friendly.

The grand opening is today for Blacksburg Motor Co. building that will house some town offices.
BLACKSBURG -- Robert Heavener valued his customers and wanted those who visited his business, the Blacksburg Motor Co., to leave satisfied.

The building that was once home to Heavener's automotive business and dealership is now devoted to town business and the service focus remains the same.

Pancake lovers can indulge and help local schools in the process this weekend.

On Saturday, the annual Pack the Bus event for needy children's school supplies kicks off with a fundraiser at the Applebee's restaurants in Christiansburg and Radford.

Gene Deisinger is currently associate director of public safety and the deputy police chief at Iowa State.
A law enforcement officer and psychologist from Iowa State University will become the Virginia Tech Police Department's deputy chief of police as well as its first director of threat management services.

Gene Deisinger, 44, is currently the associate director of public safety and deputy chief of police at Iowa State. He will join Virginia Tech on Aug. 17.

Argle Lee Hall pleaded guilty to the crime in April, two days before his case was to be heard by a jury.
CHRISTIANSBURG -- A man who attacked an elderly woman in her home twice in two years will spend 24 years in prison for what a Montgomery County judge called one of the most vile cases he'd seen.

Argle Lee Hall, 44, was friends with the woman whose Christiansburg home he broke into in 1994 and 1996 while she was in bed at night. She was in her 70s at the time.

Safe Haven offers parents a place in Pulaski County to exchange their children without having to see each other. The program is planning to expand to Montgomery County later this year.
PULASKI -- Before Safe Haven opened its doors last year, parents who didn't live together were exchanging their children on any neutral ground they could find: inside fast-food restaurants, in parking lots, in the lobby of the county sheriff's office.

In each case, there was a reason the parents didn't meet at each other's homes. Some had drug or alcohol problems. Some were abusive. Some would start fights, often in front of the children.

Employees costs would have risen if the school system joined the group.
The New River Valley Insurance Consortium lost one of its customers on Tuesday.

The Montgomery County School Board decided against joining the consortium after it found out that employees' out-of-pocket costs would rise starting in October.

Board members are expected to decide Aug. 18 whether to stop giving teachers the extra money.
Montgomery County teachers used to earning a contractual supplement because they teach six classes won't know until school begins if they'll get the additional dollars again.

On Aug. 18, the Montgomery County School Board is expected to hear its second round of details about the supplements, including how awarding them this year could affect the budget. Then its members are likely to decide how to proceed.

Terry Lyon, whose studio is in Roanoke, has a show on display at Art Pannonia.
BLACKSBURG -- Through the years, Terry Lyon has realized that the details aren't important.

"I used to be a much tighter painter, doing every leaf and every wrinkle," Lyon said. "Now I'm thinking it's less is more, and it's more appealing if it doesn't include everything."

ROAD CONSTRUCTION

PORTION OF VA. 629 TO CLOSE NEXT WEEK

A 0.1-MILE STRETCH OF VIRGINIA 629 (BRADSHAW ROAD) WILL BE CLOSED TO THROUGH-TRAFFIC FOR A WEEK BEGINNING MONDAY, ACCORDING TO THE VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION.

Joshua Hairston faces 40 years in prison for a drug-related shooting last year.

FLOYD -- After fatally shooting a man last year, Joshua Hairston fled to Martinsville, near his hometown, because he thought his trial would be held wherever he was arrested, he told a judge Tuesday.

About 120 young workers are earning a tax-free paycheck through the Summer Youth Employment Program.
RADFORD -- The federal government helped Katelynn Cowan pay a few household bills this summer with the money she received to ready McHarg Elementary School for the coming school year.

But first, of course, the 17-year-old had to buy a new cellphone and get a haircut. She's heading into her junior year at Christiansburg High School and has to look good, too.

Tim Reynolds devoted his life to his wife, Pam. His actions on a South Carolina beach saved her life.
Tim and Pam Reynolds enjoyed life's pleasures together. They rode their horses, they tended to their vegetable garden and they drove from their Floyd County farm to separate jobs in the city -- together.

In early October every year, they celebrated their wedding anniversary by spending a week in Ocean City, Md. And every summer for the past 15 years, they traveled to Myrtle Beach, S.C., and stayed at a friend's condo.

Anyone who attended or worked at a town school is invited to Christiansburg Alumni Return.
Do you have a hankering for a 15 cent hot dog from Stone's Restaurant or nostalgia for the old May Day celebrations in Christiansburg?

Anyone who ever attended or worked at a school in Christiansburg is asked to bring those memories to the Christiansburg Alumni Return social Saturday.

Stimulus funds salaries for young workers

The federal government helped Katelynn Cowan pay a few household bills this summer with the money she received to ready McHarg Elementary School for the coming school year.