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Da'von Ross is an all round athlete and winner of a Roy Stanley Memorial Scholarship.

Pictured here is Da'Von Ross of James River High School at the dinner for the Roy Stanley scholarship held Dec. 17, 2008.  Ross was Pioneer District Player of the Year on offense. He was one of the seven people who received a $1000 scholarship. The scholarships were awarded at WDBJ 7 Friday Football Extra dinner and Ross attended with family.

Ross also plays basketball and is a state champion 1A high jumper.

Civitan Awareness Day luncheon at noon today with President John Markey officiating the meeting.

The  Civitan Club of Botetourt has earned money from fruit cake sales and bingo games. They have plenty of ideas from non profit groups on how to use the money helping others. What they need are more members in the local branch of Civitan International. For more information on how to join the group, call Lisa Crawford at 537-3601.

President John Markey outlined what Civitan does locally. Do you know?

Last year the Daleville club helped the Blue Ridge Autism Center at Rainbow Forest Baptist Church get $33,000 in donations from the local Civitan clubs in Botetourt and Roanoke and a grant from the Chesapeake Foundation of the Civitan. Now because of the funding, 14 Virginia Tech students work with autistic children in the child's home.

Civitan donated $200 to the Botetourt Buddies at LBHS when the new club began last fall. the botetourt view has had numerous pictures of the Botetourt Buddies club's activities over the fall months.

Civitan is an international civic club formed in 1917 that works with special needs children, Alzheimers in adults and many other quality programs for those with disabilities. The Daleville Civitan meets every other Wednesday at Bellacinos in Daleville.

The mission statement for Civitan states,: " Is to build good citizenship by providing a volunteer organization of clubs dedicated to serving individual and community needs with an emphasis on helping people with developmental disabilities."

The next couple of projects will deal with National Special Education Week and that week is January 18-24. The Civitan is going to take lunch to the special education educators at both high schools. In early February all Botetourt Clergy have been invited to attend a special meal of Lasagna and salad at Bellacinos for Clergy Appreciation Week in memorial of the four WWII chaplains who died in February of 1943 when a Nazi sub sunk the USS Dorchester near Greenland. Civitan pause to remember and to say thank you to clergy of their communities.

For the next few days, we will run the photos from the Reflections contests held through out the county level in November. First place winners have been moved on the the county level. Winners from there will move into the regional competition. Today we have the high school winners.

What is Reflections? Truly it is an opportunity provided by the local PTA to promote the arts, though it is a national PTA program. Students voluntarily participate in the event.The event is separated into categories, Literature, visual arts, film, music, dance choreography and photography. A national theme links the students abilities to create. This year the theme was "Wow!"

Every year the Bank of Botetourt donates money to each PTA or PTSA to help fund the prizes. They also sponsor a play and special evening at the Buchanan Theatre for the participants and family members. This year the play will be Mill Mountain theater players in "Stuart Little" at the Buchanan Theatre on Thursday, March 5.

JRHS winners.

Visual Arts:Emily Kettleson, Kristina Dant, Jessica Perry,Miana Patterson and Rachael Greene. (not pictured David Bordett, Stephen Marion, Amelia Cassell, Martin Burch.)Photography: Wren Hoyt, Stephen Marion, Josh DiPalma, Julie Hensley, Hillary Guilliams, Josh diPalma. Literature: Anthony Garrison, Victoria Bosley, Jennifer Stull, Natalia Donnini

An update on this morning's school bus accident:

Sgt. Ron Carpenteri, spokesman for the Virginia State Police called with the following details of this morning's accident.

The accident took place about 8:30 a.m. Three vehicles were involved in the accident. A Cadillac driven by Vanessa Wright of Daleville was hit from behind in the left lane and forced into the side of the school bus. He said the school bus driven by Elaine Kyle sat in the right hand lane at the Kingston Drive stoplight in front of Botetourt Commons. The Cadillac was hit from the rear by a red Ford Pick-up truck driven by Ralph Charles of Troutville. He has been charged with following to close.  No students were injured.

Wright, the driver of the Cadillac, was transported for non life threatening injuries to Carilion Roanoke Memorial.

We've had three previous posts on the accident:
* 10:22 a.m.: Photos and more details on the bus wreck
* 10:04 a.m.: No students hurt in bus wreck
* 9:27 a.m.: Wreck snarls traffic on U.S. 220 in Daleville

Damage to the school bus was on the side right under the red stop sign.

"No kids were hurt," said Morris Gill, Director of Transportation for Botetourt County Public Schools.  A fender bender involving a school bus happened this morning around 8:30 a.m. Two other vehicles were also involved. According to the sheriff's department, a dispatch came in that a bus waiting in traffic near Botetourt Commons and was hit from behind by two vehicles. The school bus was driven by Elaine Kyle, said Gill. She was being interviewed by the state police, but Gill said he didn't expect she was involved in any ticketing because she was sitting in traffic.

Sgt. Bob Carpenteri, public relations spokesman for the  State Police, said he had yet to speak with the trooper about the accident but would be forthcoming with information about the accident as soon as he had more information.

The trooper had another person in his cruiser and a truck with damage to the front sat diagonal to his car. The other vehicle was taken off on a low boy. The vehicles involved were directed into the Kroger parking lot for review by the trooper and two Botetourt deputies had been directing traffic through the stop light were also in the parking lot. Members of the school bus garage team were on site to move the bus and inspect the damage, which was minor to the bus.

Since it was morning rush hour traffic did back up. As in the old saying every gray cloud has a silver lining, for about a half hour, Blue Collar Joe's carried trays of doughnuts out into the traffic to those left stranded due to the back up. So for those late for work at least some had a treat while they waited. "We thought we would help people make the best of a bad situation," said the owner of  Blue Collar Joe's.

Stay tuned for an update. We had previous posts on the accident at 9:27 a.m. and 10:04 a.m.

Another vehicle involved in the bus accident near Botetourt Commons this morning.

Posted 10:03 a.m.: Botetourt school superintendent Tony Brads says there were 27 students on the school bus that was involved in an accident this morning near Kroger on U.S. 220 south,  but no one was injured.

For details, here's an update from the newsroom of The Roanoke Times plus a link to our previous post.

We'll shortly be posting photos from the accident.

Posted 9:22 a.m.: A wreck snarled traffic this morning on U.S. 220 at Daleville. A small car was smashed up; a school bus was at the accident scene but we don't know yet whether it was involved.

The accident happened on 220 southbound in front of Botetourt Commons -- the shopping center with Kroger. I was stuck in the long traffic jam that extended at least as far back as the 779 interchange. A Botetourt County school bus was at the accident scene. I had to pay attention to traffic when I drove by on a detour set up by police but my son said he thought he saw people on the bus -- and a small dent to the bus, which could have been from this accident, or some other incident. A small gold car was in the left lane, smashed up.

State police, Botetourt County deputies and rescue squad personnel were on the scene.

A small crowd had gathered in the Bojangle's parking lot to watch.

We'll have more details as they become available. If you have information to share, you can post a comment below. Or, if you have photos, you can share those at news@botetourtview.com

-- Dwayne Yancey

Sunrise over Apple Orchard Mountain

It's Terrific Tuesday again. How's everything in your neck of the woods? The Monday sunrise and the cloud rising over Apple Orchard Mountain remind me of Atlas holding the sky on his shoulders. Sometimes I think I have the world on my shoulders. Me and every one else, right?

A big "Huzzah" needs to be said once again to Rodney Spickard for his efforts to organize the first annual LBHS basketball Alumni event. Fifty-one former players came to the hospitality room before, during and after the LB-JR basketball game and about 2,000 fans came to watch the game. The alumni were announced at halftime along with Coach Don Meredith and Coach John Shotwell. That was a biggie for Botetourt and I'm glad the BV made it, but wished that the main sheet had as well.

For me it was a trip down memory lane. Carl Johnson and Mike Poole of the Class of '73 were like my brothers. Both of them still called me by my family nickname, "Sis." It was so weird to hear that Saturday night. Other than a few cousins, my brother and Don Booze at church, no one calls me that anymore. Those who knew me by that name have known me longest and most of them are dead now.

The two fellas spent a great deal of time at my house during their high school careers as they were friends of my brother Murky who was a football tackle (and ended his career as honorable mention all state his senior year.) Back then most every one played more than one sport.

After practice, my brother used to pilot our car with me in the middle, Carl riding shotgun, Charlie Burrell, James Kyle and Harry Merchant riding in the back seat. We were the Fincastle gang-- they coming out of football practice and me out of volleyball practice. Sometimes we went directly home and they all ate supper with us or to Fincastle to drop every one off. Never a funnier group of people ever rode ten miles together. Merchant died a couple of years ago I am sorry to say. However, the early 70s were our glory days. Back then we had no worries other than school. My Dad had an old Ford Falcon station wagon for our use and it was a machine, I tell you-- a legend. While everyone else hoped to drive a muscle car we had a Falcon we hoped would run. LOL.

Wheels are wheels.

Mike Poole lived in Daleville with his brother Jay, mother Eunice Weaver and his half siblings and step father Frank Weaver. I fondly recall the hours we spent conspiring to hook Mike up with a girl. Those days were amazing. Johnson, whose daughter Nikki is the LBHS volleyball coach, lives in Shelbyville, Tennessee and Poole in the Charlottesville area. It was great seeing them. For once more, I felt like the person I used to be before time and troubles entered my life.

Don't get too wet-- and a pox on ice!

See ya next week!

Carol and Gary Crawford wait on Natasha Abbott at the Lin-Z-Jack Hot Dog Shack.

"Five hundred hot dogs sold on opening day!" said Gary Crawford proprietor of the latest addition to the fast food list in Daleville. There are five different specials including chips and drink for $5. Also on the menu are a hot dog family pack, chili beans and pintos as well as cake and candy bars for dessert. The hot dog chili is a special recipe from Crawford's late grandfather.

The Hot Dog Shack is located on Roanoke Road in the same plaza as Subway and Papa John's. Crawford and his partners own the strip mall.
Hours of operation are Monday through Friday 10:30-4:30 and Saturdays from 10:30-2:30.

Jackie Corl and Michelle Corl are happy about the wallpaper award.

Michelle Corl of Wall2Wall Design in Daleville has won the National Guild of Professional Paper Hangers Award for excellence for a job she performed last year at a private residence in Roanoke. The award is sponsored by Zinsser wallpaper products. This is her third national award in wallpaper or paint. She won one in 2000 for the restoration of heritage wallpaper at the Spring Opera House in Columbus, Georgia, with antique wallpaper guru Jim Yeatts and another in 2005 for faux finishes in a private home in Salem.

Corl described her care with an imported wallpaper for the Roanoke home. The French manufactured paper is basically printed with tempra paints, so utmost care had to be taken to keep moisture away so it would not smear or bleed colors, she said.

In her winning entry she said this about the wallpaper installation:

"This project was the installation of the equivalent of 32 rolls of imported Mauny handprinted, hand-trimmed wallpaper in an entry foyer, hallways and staircase of a 1920's Tudor style residence. Though this entry foyer is beautiful, the finished look of this project belies the extensive engineering, manipulation and planning that was needed to install a delicate Mauny handprint in a two story staircase and foyer with multiple archways, slopes and curved walls. In addition to consideration of many intricacies inherent in a complex installation (in this case: the pattern balance and symmetry on the main floor with three archways and two doorways; the balance of the pattern at the slope of the stairs.
This Mauny handprint is a large print floral with a leaf scroll in deep reds, yellows and greens on a cream background, all in distemper inks. Upon initial testing of the paper, the red inks and cream background colors were found to be particularly sensitive to all moistures.
Though the extra effort of application of the fixative seemed to make the installed product more stable, the installation still had to proceed with extreme precision and care. The entire foyer, hallway, and stairwell were primed with Zinsser's Sheildz wall covering primer. The same area was then cross lined with acid free liner paper to act as both a buffer and a moisture blotter. As each piece was selected and measured for installation, clean liner paper was placed on the pasting table to ensure no residue paste could contaminate the face of the product. Each piece was hand pasted."

She does not know who nomintated her, but she is very happy to have the opportunity to be asked to enter and very happy she won. At home with her three-year-old daughter Jackie, both were all smiles for the camera.

The award winning stairwell of Mauny wallpaper.