There's now been a second crash -- this one at milemarker 149 on I-81 north -- which has complicated the traffic situation in Botetourt.
The first crash was at milemarker 151, and at last report, the traffic was backed up five miles.
We have more details here. When we know more, we'll post more.
If you're stuck in traffic and viewing this on your Blackberry or other mobile gizmo of choice, let us know what you see. You can leave a comment below or email us at news@botetourtview.com.
Beware if you're in Roanoke and trying to get back into Botetourt County tonight:
Traffic is now backed up about 5 miles on I-81 in Botetourt County because of a wreck involving several vehicles, the Virginia Department of Transportation said.
The wreck happened near mile marker 151 in the northbound lanes. The left shoulder and left lane are closed.
We'll post more updates here and on this breaking news item from the newsroom of The Roanoke Times.
Traffic is backed up about a mile on I-81 in Botetourt County because of a wreck involving several vehicles, the Virginia Department of Transportation said.
The wreck happened near mile marker 151 in the northbound lanes. The left shoulder and left lane are closed.
We'll post updates here and on this breaking news post from the newsroom of The Roanoke Times.
We now have a copy of the actual surveillance video of the suspect in this week's bomb threats to James River High School and Eagle Rock Elementary.
This comes courtesy of the Botetourt County Sheriff's Office.
The two calls -- which warned of a bomb in the elementary school and referenced a nonspecific danger at James River -- came about 11 a.m. from a pay phone at the Unimart on Jamison Avenue in Southeast Roanoke, according to Botetourt County Sheriff Ronnie Sprinkle.
Anyone with information about this incident or the person in the security footage is asked to call the Botetourt County Sheriff's Office at 473-8230.
Thistledown Puppets provided lots of laughter and an entertaining performance to the classes at L'il Scholars Preschool on Thursday morning, November 19. Philip Hatter is both the creator and puppeteer of Thistledown puppets. The preschool is located in Fincastle Baptist Church and Jennifer Aylor is the director.
The children filed into the room excitedly noting the puppet stand in the front which contained a lion, a couple of goats, a one eyed frog, a monkey, a scruffy calico cat, a bull, a pig, a rooster, and Ebenezer Scrooge.
Hatter described how his Bull puppet show has now traveled to England and he is making puppets for people all over the world. "We actually went to Europe this year," he said about the travels with his puppets. He is making 11 more puppet Bull shows to be played in Europe. He has a comic style book published called a "Bunch of Bull." Its all about a bull who wants to be an intellectual in a city and leave the farm far behind. Thus the puppet show follows the travails of the Bull in his quest to be an intellectual.
He did a brief story line with each of his puppets even displaying the foam he formed for a new puppet. The favorites seemed to be Ebenezer Scrooge and the "goat" of Jacob Marley. The children were delighted. The Rooster sang a morning song to the tune of "Ode to Joy" and ended with a big "Cock -A-Doodle Do!'
Each child had the chance to try on a puppet. "The monkey puppet was my first puppet-my brother and I each had one growing up and used to play with them," said Hatter. He also showed the children a book about the late Jim Henson maker of the Muppets, who was an inspiration to him.
Virginia Mountain Vineyards Holiday Open House
Saturday, Dec 4 & Sunday Dec 5; 1-5PM
Live Holiday Music
Hors d'oeuvres
Grape vine wreath making
Great Holiday wine and gift accessories
540-473-2979 www.vmvines.com
Fincastle - Can emergency responders find you? It's much easier if your house numbers are clearly posted.
It has been 10 years since Botetourt County implemented Enhanced 911 service. In addition to installing highly specialized telephone and mapping equipment in the Emergency Communications Center, most County addresses were changed to a more effective, distance-based address system in order to make it easier for Fire, Rescue and Law Enforcement responders to quickly locate the scene of emergencies.
The system continues to work extremely well, but responders are often frustrated by the failure of some residents and businesses to properly post their street addresses.
"The numbering system generally works really well to help get us to the scene", remarked Jason Ferguson, Captain of the County's paid response staff. "You'd be surprised though, at the minutes we can shave off of a response time if numbers are clearly posted". Darryl Johns, Chief of the Eagle Rock Volunteer Fire Department, echoes the concern. "While responses to structure fires are sometimes easy to see from the road, most are not. The point is to put the fire out long before it gets big enough to see. If we are wasting time trying to turn a 32 foot truck around because the numbers weren't clearly posted, that fire has time to grow".
Assistant to the County Administrator, Spencer Suter, who originally helped implement the 911 program reminds residents that the correct posting of numbers is required by County code and offers the following advice:
"First, commit to posting your numbers properly. If they are not posted, you should make the time to do it as soon as possible. Even if your numbers are already posted, inspect them and ensure that they are fulfilling the intended purpose of guiding emergency service responders to your home or business, during both day and night, and in all weather conditions. Residential numbers should be at least 3 inches in height and businesses, 4 to 8 inches. Ideally, the numbers should be reflective and should be
EMERGENCY SERVICES
205 N. Roanoke Street, Suite 1
Fincastle, Virginia 24090
Phone: (540) 473-2098
Fax: (540) 473-8288
www.botetourt.org
posted so that the entrance to the structure can be clearly seen from an approach in either direction".
The applicable County code section can be viewed online at: http://www.botetourt.org/government/documents/mc/ch002.pdf (Municipal Code section 2 - Administration, Article IX, Div. 2)
Reflective numbers are inexpensive and can be purchased at most hardware stores. Chief Johns sums up the behest to residents by saying, "You never know when you'll need assistance from our crews. Please help us help you by posting your numbers properly."
Once again, The Roanoke Times and roanoke.com are offering our readers a searchable map and database of holiday lights displays in the Roanoke and New River Valleys -- and beyond. And we need you folks with the lighting displays to populate it for us.
Data dude Matt Chittum tells you how to do this in this entry on his Datasphere blog.
Speaking of holiday lights, we posted a story earlier this week about the Timmermans moving to Ohio, which means they'll no longer have their big light display on Stony Battery Road in Troutville.
Welcome to The Notebook, the community gathering place for news and tidbits from The Botetourt View, by community journalist Cathy Benson (that's her on the left). You'll be able to find the most up-to-date news, events and stories in Botetourt County here at this blog.
And please join in! You can share your comments, stories, links and ideas here, too. This is your community conversation.
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