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The Salem junior varsity football played Cave Spring on Thursday -- and won. We have a photo gallery of the action.

Photos by Erin Millar

Do you have photos involving teams or players from Salem or western Roanoke County? If so, you can share at news@sosalem.com

OTHER RECENT SALEM COVERAGE

* Oct. 31: NovaNet benefits Salem High students.
* Oct. 29: Webcast says Salem injury situation is "dire"
* Oct. 27: Photos of Salem cheerleaders in competition
* Oct. 27: Salem culinary arts students make apple butter
* Oct. 24: Photos of Salem junior varsity football vs. Hidden Valley
* Oct. 22: Webcast talks up Salem volleyball
* Oct. 21: Photos from Salem's homecoming dance
* Oct. 20: Photo from Salem homecoming game
* Oct. 18: 253 photos from the Salem homecoming dance
* Oct. 18: More photos from the homecoming parade
* Oct. 18: Photos of the homecoming parade and court
* Oct. 18: 244 fan photos from the game.
* Photos of Salem fall sports teams

Farmers Insurance had $5,000 in educational grant money to disperse between the first 10 agents in Virginia who applied. Rich Roberts was the first to apply and to receive $500 to give to Glenvar Middle School. His wife, Ashby, had been at Glenvar Middle School for the “Back to School” night and had learned of the science laboratories to be conducted during the school year in her son, Jake’s, science class. The Roberts decided to apply for the grant to supplement the cost of conducting the various science labs for all students at Glenvar Middle. Principal Julie Myers was grateful to receive the financial assistance and Rich and Ashby hope that all the kids will benefit from the Farmers Insurance grant.

From left to right:Beth Sellers, Science Dept. Chair, Julie Myers, Principal, Rich and Ashby Roberts, Farmers Insurance

Submitted by Glenvar Middle School

We had a previous post from Glenvar Middle School on Oct. 28.

J.J. Wimmer of James River Equipment talks to Brad Asimakopoulos, a senior at Glenvar, about job opportunities.

The automotive department at the Burton Center for Arts and Technology welcomed parents, students, and auto dealers and managers of garages from the area to an open house on Wednesday, Oct. 26. Dominion Dodge, Berglund Chevrolet, Berglund Ford, Virginia Truck Center, and James River Equipment each had representatives to answer questions about the field and to take applications for internships and jobs.

Following a presentation on the Automotive Youth Education Systems-a program that offers ACE certification (specialized and general standardized tests for automotive technicians) to high school juniors and seniors, the gathering ate dinner together, then proceeded to the garage to peruse vehicles from each company that attended.

"Finding and keeping qualified technicians is tough," said Jim Hosey, service manager at Berglund Chevrolet. The program gives high school juniors the opportunity to intern with a shop, and also gives garages the opportunity to recruit employees. The earlier presentation highlighted the growing need for recruiting and retaining auto mechanics and technicians-jobs traditionally stigmatized as low paying and low skill levels. Today's vehicles have complicated wiring systems that require knowledge of computers, electric currents, and endless safety features.

"My job is to help get these guys employed when they leave high school," automotive instructor Joe Moore said. Two recent graduates of the program spoke at the event, Cody Allison and Michael Carder. Both are gainfully employed at local dealerships after attending J. Sargent Reynolds Community College in Richmond. Allison is now one step away from being a senior master technician for Ford vehicles.

Click here to see more pictures of the event.

Haellie and Eric

Haellie and Eric Gordon

Haellie Gordon of the Salem- YMCA Sea Lions, prepares for her next swim event with her biggest little fan and brother, Eric. Later, Haellie is still going strong, while, brother Eric strategically naps awaiting the next event.

Do you have news or photos from Salem to share? You can share at news@sosalem.com

Annie Lin sends us some more pictures of the Palin event, as well as one with her and Roberta McCain.

She writes of the Palin event:

"We wore winter jackets but felt cold. "I love the weather because it reminds me of home." the Alaska governor said.  That was a long day event, but I enjoyed it even only was a half-hour speech because it was totally different than you see on TV.
I made a poster "AS A MOM OF SON WITH DOWN SYNDROME I WILL VOTE FOR SARAH PALIN". The host of the event asked me to sign my name, address & phone number. He said he would like to bring it to Sarah Palin as a gift. That was a surprise to me. Jerry and I stayed all day in the Salem Stadium. We were very, very tired, but it was a good learning experience, don't you think?"

Do you have news or pictures from around Salem? We'd still love to have your Palin or Obama rally pictures from Salem or Roanoke! Send them to us at news@sosalem.com and we'll post them up here!!!

Photo from left, in the kindergarten session: Dennis Robarge, Emma Robarge, Noah Oldham, and Amy Oldham

Check this out! This picture and article were submitted by Kristen Wilkes, a teacher at East Salem Elementary. If you'd like to submit something or try to set something up so that I can come out to an event beforehand-send us an email at news@sosalem.com!

Or if it's too late but you still have a photo, you can send us a photo and let me know what happened at 981.3342 or email at miranda.adkins@sosalem.com!

On Thursday, October 16th, East Salem Elementary sponsored a Family Reading Night. Attending families were treated to a dinner of pizza, salad, and homemade cookies. Following dinner, participants headed to grade level sessions. During those sessions, students and their parents made games and other materials to take home that would help improve reading skills and provide fun and challenging ways for parents to help with homework.

Several students from Debbie Stratton's Early Childhood class at Salem High School provided child care for younger siblings so parents could attend sessions with their school-age children.

Read more »

Authorities have identified the man who died in the house fire on Wildwood Road.

For more on this story, click here.

Here is the full statement from the Roanoke County Police Department:

Update to Body Found in Fire Debris; Body Identified

• The body that was recovered in the debris of the fire in the 1600 block of Wildwood Road on Wednesday, October 29, 2008 has now been positively identified. The remains have been identifed as those of 58 year old Jack Gordon Burdette the resident of the home. The Medical Examiner found nothing suspicious with the death of Mr. Burdette.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation by the Roanoke County Fire Marshall's office.

Victory in Virginia

Palin's people called local Graphic Artist Norman Smith Saturday morning asking for some art at the Salem Stadium. He then refered them to his friend and co-worker Eric Noble who created the Victory-In-Virginia art that was on the hill at the stadium. Eric, his wife Debbie, daughter and Son-In-Law Erica and John worked on the huge project inside the Civic Center. It took all day Sunday to design, paint and execute the final project. On Monday morning of the rally , Eric and his family along with Palin staff secured the design to the hill using 700 landscape stakes. The design had to be cut & rotated to follow the flow of the hill.

What happens to students who get caught in the tangle of getting a passing grade in a course, but not on the SOL test that accompanies it? Or vice-versa? Or what about kids with too many unexcused absences, for whatever reason? What about kids who just fail a class? How do they graduate on time?

This year at Salem High, students in any of those predicaments can make up for lost time or grades with NovaNET, a comprehensive courseware system that provides a self-paced, interactive and individualized curriculum for kids in danger of falling behind or for those who want to get ahead.

They also found a more-than-suitable teacher to go along with the program. Teresa Grey, a librarian and former pre-school teacher, has extensive tutoring experience in every subject. She leads SAT and PSAT study sessions in the fall and the spring-all separate from school. She has a degree in education and library science, an educational media specialist, but she constantly takes classes-whether its UVA courses at the Higher Educational Center or at Virginia Western. "If you don't use it all the time, you lose it," she said.

Read more »

Weather journalist Kevin Myatt says tonight's weather for trick-or-treating and football will be, well, let's let him say it: "PERFECT! Clear skies, dry, temperatures falling from the 60s through the 50s. Maybe a little chillier than that at game's end."

For details, see his latest post on his Weather Journal blog.

While we're at it, let's use this occasion to make a shout-out for Halloween photos. You can share at news@sosalem.com and we'll post them here in our Halloween gallery -- so check back through the weekend to see what we've got.

We've already posted photos from Salem's Pumpkinfest and would love to add more.

As for footbal, Salem tonight plays at Cave Spring, Glenvar is on the road against Radford. If you have photos from those games, you can share at news@sosalem.com