Local news from the New River Valley

Applicants from District F are needed for the advisory board to the Parks and Recreation Department in developing leisure activities and programs for residents in the county.

Employment tests are scheduled to take place at the following locations:

• Noon Thursday at the Christiansburg library, 125 Sheltman St.

• 1 p.m. Friday at the Blacksburg library, 200 Miller St.

For more information, contact the Census Bureau at (866) 861-2010 or 2010.census.gov/2010censusjobs/.

A locality earns "green points" for specific actions taken.

Residents can now log onto the department's Web site at www.dof.virginia.gov and order from more than 40 species of trees, according to a news release from the department.

Representatives from two nonprofits, Valley Interfaith Child Care Center and NRV Cares, will be at the event along with major eyewear manufacturers offering 20 percent to 50 percent discounts on their products. Participants will be encouraged to donate part of the discount they receive to the charities, and Jacobs will match the donation.

A special meeting of the Radford University Faculty Senate with President Penelope Kyle set for 3:30 p.m. today has been moved to a larger site.

The meeting, called by the senate last week to discuss a previous vote of no confidence in Provost Wil Stanton, has been moved from Heth Hall to the Bondurant Auditorium in Preston Hall, senate President Steve Owen wrote in an e-mail.

The Virginia Tech Board of Visitors approved Monday a mandatory $3,500 fee for its Master of Business Administration students.

The fee will help defray extra costs associated with the MBA program, university spokesman Larry Hincker said.

If approved by the South Carolina Commission on Higher Education, the estimated $20 million project could break ground early next year, said Dr. Ronnie Martin, vice dean of development for the branch campus.

With college football's regular season drawing to a close this month, the hometown Hokies unable to fulfill their high expectations and the weather getting cooler, it's time to turn our attention to the hardwood.

Voter turnout in the town soared to 36.3 percent in last week's election -- by far the highest amount in more than a decade -- according to figures released Monday by Montgomery County Registrar Randy Wertz.

Radford

What: School board

When: 6 p.m. today

Where: School Administration Building, 1612 Wadsworth St.

On the agenda: Approve October bills.

Blacksburg

BLACKSBURG -- Military officials dealing with Thursday's Fort Hood shootings have called on Virginia Tech for guidance in coping with the trauma that follows such violence.

It's been more than two years since Tech English major Seung-Hui Cho gunned down 32 students and faculty and injured dozens more in the worst school shooting in U.S. history.

BLACKSBURG -- While some sectors of the economy are bouncing back from deep recession, in the short term Virginia Tech's budget won't, university officials told the board of visitors on Sunday.

Similarly, the university's endowment cannot meet the hoped-for $700 million target set for 2012, university treasurer Ray Smoot said.

| Sharla Bardin

sharla.bardin@roanoke.com, 381-1669

BLACKSBURG -- So, it's been five long months or more of campaigning, meeting residents, answering questions at forums and coffee gatherings and hoping that voters will see you as the best fit for town council.

| Anna L. Mallory and Sharla Bardin

The Roanoke Times

Increased voter turnout during Blacksburg's first November town council election and the overwhelming decision by Christiansburg residents to move their local races to the fall could cause Radford leaders to look harder at a proposal to do the same.

A Virginia Tech student was able to avoid a felony conviction but was sentenced to spend a year in jail for his role in the beating of another student in March.

Warren Joseph McCabe, 25, of Mechanicsburg, Pa., was charged with malicious wounding, a felony, after a 20-year-old man was found lying in the roadway of Ingles Court with severe facial injuries the night of March 17.

Virginia Tech

What: Board of visitors

When: 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday

Where: Inn at Virginia Tech, Blacksburg

On the agenda: Executive Committee meeting, 11 a.m. to noon; general information session for all board members, 2 to 4 p.m.; and the Research Committee from 4:15 to 6 p.m. The information session at 2 p.m. will include discussions of the university strategic plan and severance and retirement options for faculty and staff.

NEWPORT -- In the past several months, Adrian Williams took measures to try to prevent thefts at his business, the Super Val U Grocery.

He installed security cameras, including one that records everything going on at the counter, and, following in the footsteps of many convenience store owners, moved cigarettes behind the counter to make them more difficult to steal.

PULASKI COUNTY

Virginia 609 to close for bridge repairs

A portion of Virginia 609 (Pine Run Road) in Pulaski County will close Nov. 16 to through traffic at its intersection with Virginia 100, so the bridge over Pine Run can be replaced.

Full results from the Region C and Region IV cross country meets ran in Friday's Sports section. This information was incorrect in a Friday story in the Current.