www.newrivervalley.com

Four juveniles are facing felony charges after police say they fired a BB gun at passing cars in Blacksburg last month.

The incidents occurred Jan. 3 in the 1400 block of Glade Road, Blacksburg police Lt. Joe Davis said in a news release Friday.

Each of the four has been charged with two counts of shooting at an occupied vehicle, Davis said.

Police didn't release their names because of their ages. They range in age from 12 to 14, he said.

-- Shawna Morrison

Encore Artful Gifts in downtown Radford will close it's doors Saturday, Feb. 21.

The shop has been for sale since early December, but without a buyer, owner Stacey Price will close for good.

In order to move merchandise, the store is offering specials and markdowns on everything in the store, including furniture, fixtures and paint, according to an email from Price.

The store was opened in 1990 by Bondurant, who owned the building -- called the Norwood Center at the time -- with her late husband, Ken Bondurant. The couple donated the building to Radford University in 1997. The building is now called the Bondurant Center for the Arts. Price started working at store as a graduate student. When former owner Carolee Bondurant decided to sell the store six years ago, Price quit her job in public relations and bought it.

--Amy Matzke-Fawcett

Crumb & Get It, a specialty store offering freshly baked made-to-order cookies in Blacksburg, is currently closed.

On Wednesday, signs on the door of the store, which is located in Kent Square, stated the store was temporarily closed because of a change in ownership and the store would reopen soon.

Calls to the store were not returned Wednesday, and the store’s Web site appears to have been taken down.

The store in Kent Square opened in September 2007 under the ownership of Blacksburg residents Chris and Kelly McMurray.

Visitors to the shop at 202 S. Main St. chose from one of four doughs, including sugar shortbread, oatmeal, peanut butter and chocolate. Then they picked mix-ins, and the cookies were baked as customers waited. The first mix-in was free, and each additional choice was 50 cents.

-Amy Matzke-Fawcett

The environmental story getting the most notice today will likely be about a ground hog in Pennsylvania or the mess that remains after a winter storm. But there are other stories out there.

For instance, a quick check of the internet looking for updates on the big coal ash sludge disaster in Tennesee didn't turn up much. But the Tennessean, Nashville's newspaper, is still on the case. Not surprisingly, some folks are turning to the courts for satisfaction. The Tennessee Valley Authority is telling people that if they hire a lawyer, the TVA won't be able to even talk to them. At least one woman said she's talked with the TVA. The utility's representatives said they'd get back with her within five days. That was two weeks ago.

"I've not gotten an attorney yet because I hear once you get an attorney TVA won't talk to you," the Tennessean quoted the woman. "At the same time, I'm not getting any communication from them now."

Meanwhile, tests conducted by Duke University researchers working with an environmental group, show elevated levels of toxins, even though the TVA is reportedly spending $1 million a day on the clean up.

Speaking of money, two Tennessee congressman are trying to get $25 million from the economic stimulus package working its way through Congress to go toward cleaning up the TVA's mess.

As always, you can find our previous blogging here and here.

Reporting on the Giles County coal ash project is here.

-- Tim Thornton