Music writer Tad Dickens has filed some after-the-fact updates -- and podcasts -- from FloydFest in this section on his cut'n'scratch music blog.
We also have photos from FloydFest in this post on our Southwest Roanoke County community news site.
The town and county of Pulaski's namesake, Count Casimir Pulaski, a Polish citizen who died from wounds sustained while fighting in the American Revolution in 1779, is the subject of a joint resolution conferring honorary citizenship.
If passed by both houses of Congress and signed by the president, Pulaski would be only the sixth person named an honorary American citizen.
Here's the full text of H.J. Res. 26, proclaiming Casimir Pulaski to be an honorary citizen of the United States posthumously, from the Library of Congress.
“Proclaiming Casimir Pulaski to be an honorary citizen of the United States posthumously.
Whereas Casimir Pulaski was a Polish military officer who fought on the side of the American colonists against the British in the American Revolutionary War;
Whereas Benjamin Franklin recommended that General George Washington accept Casimir Pulaski as a volunteer in the American Cavalry and said that Pulaski was `renowned throughout Europe for the courage and bravery he displayed in defense of his country’s freedom’;
Whereas, after arriving in America, Casimir Pulaski wrote to General Washington, `I came here, where freedom is being defended, to serve it, and to live or die for it.’;
Whereas the first military engagement of Casimir Pulaski with the British was on September 11, 1777, at the Battle of Brandywine, and his courageous charge in this engagement averted a disastrous defeat of the American Cavalry and saved the life of George Washington;
Whereas, on September 15, 1777, George Washington elevated Casimir Pulaski to the rank of Brigadier General of the American Cavalry;
Whereas Casimir Pulaski formed the Pulaski Cavalry Legion, and in February 1779, this legion ejected the British occupiers from Charleston, South Carolina;
Whereas, in October 1779, Casimir Pulaski mounted an assault against British forces in Savannah, Georgia;
Whereas, on the morning of October 9, 1779, Casimir Pulaski was mortally wounded and was taken aboard the American ship USS Wasp, where he died at sea on October 11, 1779;
Whereas, before the end of 1779, the Continental Congress resolved that a monument should be erected in honor of Casimir Pulaski;
Whereas, in 1825, General Lafayette laid the cornerstone for the Casimir Pulaski monument in Savannah, Georgia; and
Whereas, in 1929, Congress passed a resolution recognizing October 11 of each year as Pulaski Day in the United States: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
That Casimir Pulaski is proclaimed to be an honorary citizen of the United States posthumously.”
For more, read Saturday's edition of the New River Valley Current.
--Amy Matzke-Fawcett
Folk singer Mike Seeger has cancelled his upcoming show at The Lyric in Blacksburg to enter a hospice. Music writer Tad Dickens has more on Seeger's condition on his cut'n'scratch music blog.
The experts agree: Virginia Tech is the favorite to win the Atlantic Coast Conference football title this fall. But who will the Hokies' top rivals be? Sportswriters Mark Berman and Aaron McFarling helm this week's edition of the Sports TimesCast -- our weekly college sports webcast -- and they chew over the possibilities. Georgia Tech? Miami? Clemson? Florida State?
See what they have to say in the July 30 episode.
Plus, you can take our reader poll -- and vote for who you think the top contenders will be.
New River Valley American Legion Post 68's baseball team was eliminated from the state tournament in Glen Allen today following a 10-1 loss to Norfolk Post 60.
Here is a slideshow of Post 68 in action at the tournament this week.
BLACKSBURG — University City Boulevard and Prices Fork Road will have some lane closures from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m. today while paving occurs.
Paving will be taking place at the intersection of University City and Prices Fork, and there will be single-lane closures.
Also, road improvements to Prices Fork from Huntington Lane to Blacksburg town limits will occur weekdays through Aug. 14 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Intermittent lane closures will occur with a minimum of one travel lane operational in each direction at all times.
Roadway improvements will include milling and resurfacing of the existing roadway and pavement markings to include improved striping for bike lanes and pedestrian crossings.
— Sharla Bardin
Nearly a year after Christiansburg resident Brandy Sachs underwent a ketamine-induced coma to combat a neurological disease, a national magazine will feature part of her story.
People magazine plans to publish at least a paragraph devoted to Sachs in its issue that hits newsstands Friday, the family said. A reporter from the publication spent a couple of days with her recently.
Sachs, 23, suffers from Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy syndrome, which causes intense pain.
In October, Sachs spent five days in a coma that doctors hoped would essentially reboot her nervous system and help to make her pain free.
Sachs now undergoes regular physical therapy and booster injections of the drug, but is relatively pain-free.
— Anna L. Mallory
A bulk oil distributor has agreed to pay a civil charge of $20,420 in connection with a tanker wreck and fuel spill last year in Giles County.
Foster Fuels Inc. of Brookneal owes the money within 30 days of last week’s settlement with the Virginia Department of Environment Quality.
In settling, the company said it neither admits nor denies facts asserted by the DEQ or the DEQ’s conclusion that the company illegally discharged oil into the environment in the incident.
A truck from Foster carrying 7,500 gallons of diesel fuel and kerosene overturned on a curve in the community of White Gate on Feb. 14, 2008. The impact tore open the tanker and most of the fuel escaped into the ground and a spring, according to findings attached to a legal settlement called a consent special order. The document was signed last week by a representative of the DEQ and last month by company vice president Watt Foster.
A cleanup crew pumped 360 gallons of fuel from the damaged tanker and recovered 4,513 gallons from the area. The DEQ said 2,627 gallons “remain in the environment.”
Some of the fuel followed the spring into Big Walker Creek and impacted property downstream.
State police identified the truck driver as Jeffrey Arnold Claytor of Bedford. Police said speed was a factor in the crash. Claytor was found not guilty of reckless driving, according to Giles County General District Court. He still drives for Foster Fuels.
-- Jeff Sturgeon | The Roanoke Times
The Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford Metropolitan Statistical Area had the state’s second highest unemployment rate among Virginia’s 10 MSAs in June at 9.5 percent, according to the Virginia Employment Commission.
A full story will be in Thursday's Roanoke Times.
We've just updated Radford's searchable crime database with the most recent offenses. In all, Radford police reported 25 offenses from July 19-25. Among them were two burglaries and two reports of a Peeping Tom.
You can see a map of where the offenses took place - or you can search the database yourself, by date, by location or by offense.
The Radford crime database is part of our Datasphere site of searchable data. Among other things you can find: A database of the state's top high school football recruits.
