Creigh Deeds, the Democratic candidate for governor, will make the traditional final-weekend stops in Christiasnburg and Pulaski on Saturday. It's been traditional for Democrats to spend the final weekend of the campaign in Southwest Virginia.
Meanwhile, Bob McDonnell, the Republican candidate, is elsewhere in the state. Here are the official schedules for candidates. Read more »
Sgt. Michael T. Conroy of the Virginia State Police sent us some photos from a tractor-trailer fire on Interstate 81 in Pulaski County on Sunday night. Here is the full release from Conroy:
Just before 10PM on 10-18-09 NB 81 at the 94MM a tractor trailer (cab/engine part caught fire) which hauling electrical transformers while NB on I-81. The driver lost control and ran off the road to the left striking the guardrail and came to rest on the NB bridge, where the cab became fully engulfed in flames. The driver Gary King 42, of Gates, TN was not injured. The left lane of NB 81 was blocked for several hours while removing the tractor trailer. Crews from the Draper Volunteer Fire department and Fairlawn Fire Department responded to the fire. No charges were placed against the driver. Please check VA 511 for traffic conditions.
Over on outdoor writer Mark Taylor's Wild Life blog, he has a photo of what he calls a "massive" black bear from Pulaski County.
The bruin weighed in at 468 pounds. Terry Hale Jr. shot it last year, after it ran amok on his land.
For details and the photo, see this post on Mark's blog.
Harry Hudson from Dublin clears mud from his beard after his finish in the 2009 Marine Mud Run held at Green Hill Park in Roanoke County.
For more photos of New River Valley runners at the Mud Run, see this post on our Vignette photo blog.
National best-selling author Cindy Miles will be signing her new book, “Thirteen Chances," in Pulaski on Thursday. For details, see this post on our Back Cover book blog.
Multimedia producer Chris Zaluski has put together some video highlights from Friday's Pulaski-Northside football game.
You can find it on our Varsity Cast center for high school sports.
Do you have photos from any of Friday's games involving New River teams? Or any fall sports photos of any kind from New River? If so, you can share at newriver@roanoke.com.
Alvin Earl Parkes, a 62-year-old nurse anesthetist whose career in Pulaski and Montgomery County spanned decades, was sentenced this morning in U.S. District Court in Roanoke to serve six months in prison.
Reporter Mike Gangloff has more details on the case.
Letters are going out today to Fairlawn residents detailing a proposed sewer rate increase. The letters will be attached to sewer bills, which will come in an envelope instead of thier usual postcard form.
For residential customers, rates will increase from a flat rate of $13 per month to $23 per month. For commercial customers, rates will increase from $13 per month plus $3.27 per 1,000 gallons for usage over 5,000 gallons per month to $21.00 per month plus $4 per thousand gallons.
The rates are anticipated to increase Jan.1, said Ronald Coake, chairman of the Pulaski County Sewerage Authority. A public hearing is scheduled for Nov. 17.
Sewage rates have not been raised since 1987, according to the letter.
"The increased rate is comparable to that [1987] rate in today's money," Coake said.
This year's budget is approximately $300,000, and the projected income is $212,000. Income has dropped over the past few years, and the authority's budget has been subsidized from the authority's surplus funds, Coake said.
The Pulaski County Sewerage Authority has approximately 825 customers in Fairlawn, and only serves the Fairlawn area, not including the New River community or Viscoe Road area, Coake said. The Sewerage Authority was established in 1966 to serve only Fairlawn, and the Pulaski County Public Service Authority was established later to serve the rest of the county, Coake said. The increased rates will not affect Public Service Authority customers, Coake said.
Here's the full text of the letter: Read more »
Crews are scheduled to begin building the first veterans cemetery in Southwest Virginia this fall.
Burial in the facility, near Dublin, will be offered free to Virginia residents who belong to the U.S. Armed Forces and die during active duty, retire from service or are honorably discharged.
Reporter Jeff Sturgeon has more details.
Think you've got what it takes to be a fearless forecaster? Match your predictions against the sports staff of The Roanoke Times -- and anyone else who wants to sign up in this year's edition of Varsity Forecasters.
The roster of games this week includes, of course, these New River Valley contests:
* Pulaski at Radford
* Christiansburg at Floyd
* Blacksburg at Giles
* Bath at Eastern Montgomery
* Craig at Auburn
* James Monroe at Narrows
Click here to sign up and make your picks. The deadline is 4 p.m. on Friday.
