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Here's a release from Mike Stevens with the City of Salem about the changing of the guard at the Salem Police Department: 

For the first time in 16 years the City of Salem has a new Police Chief. Jeff Dudley, a 32-year veteran of the department, was appointed to the position on August 12 by City Manager Kevin Boggess. This morning Dudley officially assumed his new post after receiving a handshake and a pat on the back from outgoing Chief James Bryant."I appreciate the confidence the City Manager and City Council have shown in me for this position," says Dudley. "The Salem Police Department has very dedicated and qualified individuals working for it and this is a once in a lifetime opportunity to lead them. I cannot express in words how this opportunity feels."

Bryant, Boggess and a number of family members took part in the official badge pinning ceremony that also featured the swearing in of new Deputy Chief Tim Guthrie, who has been an integral part of the Salem PD for 28 years.

In addition to the appointments of Dudley and Guthrie, the following officers also were promoted today:

Sergeant Michael H. Brightwell to Lieutenant
Mike joined the department on August 21, 1989. Mike was promoted to Senior Police Officer in December 1992 and worked in Patrol and in the Detective Division, both in the Special Investigations Unit and as a General Investigator. Mike also serves on the department Emergency Response Team (ERT). Mike was promoted to Sergeant in June 2006 and assigned to a patrol division supervisor where he has worked until this time.Mike graduated from Salem High School and resides in Roanoke County with his wife, Tina, and son, Michael.

SPO Mike Mills to Sergeant
Mike joined the department on November 9, 1998, after spending approximately 2 years with the Martinsville Police Department. Mike was promoted to Senior Police Officer in April 2002 and held assignments as a General Investigator. He is currently assigned to patrol and serves as a field training officer. Mike graduated from Salem High School and received his Bachelor of Science Degree in Criminal Justice from Radford University. Mike resides in Salem.

SPO Derek Weeks to Sergeant
Derek joined the department January 8, 2001, after serving 4 years at the Roanoke City Sheriff's Office.

Derek was promoted to Senior Police Officer March 2005 and has spent the last 3and a half years in the Detective Division as a General Investigator. Derek was selected by his peers as Officer of the Year 2007.

Derek graduated from Glenvar High School and obtained his Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice from Radford University. Derek resides in Salem with his wife, Brenda, and sons, Conner and Dylan.

A rezoning application has been filed to rezone 0.349 acre from R-1, Low Density Residential District to I-1C, Low Intensity Industrial District with Conditions, for the purpose of expanding an existing cabinet shop, located at 8529 Wood Haven Road, Catawba Magisterial District.

The Ronk Rezoning Community Meeting will be held at 7 p.m. on Nov. 19 at the Roanoke County School Board Administrative Board Room. Please visit www.roanokecountyva.gov/pzcommtg for more meeting information. For any other questions, contact Susan Carter at 540-772-2068 or at planning@roanokecountyva.gov.

Del. Morgan Griffith, R-Salem, won re-election Tuesday on what was a big night for Republicans, both in the Roanoke Valley and around the state.

We have video of Griffith at the Republican victory party . We also have this photo gallery of election scenes which includes several shots of Griffith.

We have more election news and analysis here.

Glenvar High senior Evan DeHart got 10 extra credit points in AP Government for spending an hour with a campaign volunteer.

We have details here.

We'll have election results and analysis tonight on our 2009 election site.

Complete election coverage: Posts from precincts around the valley, candidate profiles, results and more.

Here's a release that Nancy Hans of the Roanoke County Prevention Council shares with us from Betty McCrary, Roanoke County director of Social Services:

Yes it's time - get ready to put away the pumpkins and start thinking about that Christmas cheer, shopping, wrapping, snow, decorations, eating (especially eating) etc. The Social Service Department has 119 children in foster care today. This number changes frequently. The children are placed in foster homes, group homes or residential treatment facilities. Many have limited, or no, contact with their families and many families are unable to provide financially for the child's Christmas. Each year, our department depends on the goodness and support of others to help these children receive gifts for Christmas. The department has no funds to provide these gifts.

We are asking departments and/or individuals to "sponsor" a child/children for Christmas. This year we have children ranging in age from 6 months to 18 years ( we also have several in college). We are trying to secure a preferred gift list for each child from their foster parent or person responsible for their care to assist you with purchasing the gifts. If you do not want to shop, purchase and wrap the gifts, but will consider adopting a child by providing financial support, the child's social worker will be glad to do the shopping and wrapping of the gifts.

In order to have sufficient time for gift distribution, we ask the gifts be delivered to our department by Monday, December 7.

We can also accept financial donations in cash or check to Roanoke County Social Services. We often receive children in foster care after the gift deadline and unfortunately, in the past, we have had children sponsored by groups and then the groups did not follow through, leaving the child at the gift deadline date with no Christmas. Donations would be used to supplement in these situations.

Anyone interested in sponsoring a foster care child for Christmas may contact Lise Martin, 387-6087, ext. 210, or send her an e-mail at LMARTIN@ROANOKECOUNTYVA.GOV. If you wish to make a financial donation, please contact me at 387-6237 or BMCCRARY@ROANOKECOUNTYVA.GOV.

www.preventioncouncil4youth.org

Polls across Virginia opened at 6 a.m. today; they close at 7 p.m.

Do you have news (or even photos) to share from your polling place? Long lines? Short lines? No lines at all?

Let us know by posting a comment here or emailing us at news@sosalem.com

We'll have updates through the day; and then tonight, we'll be posting election returns and analysis both here and on roanoke.com's election site.

Despite the chilliness and misting rain, we were pleased with the turnout for this 1st time event. We had 68 children to stop by along with several adults that donated candy and took time to sign Christmas cards for the troops. We collected almost 300 lbs of candy. The feedback we received from the parents and the community was very positive. Dr. Wallace has indicated that we will make this a yearly event. We had a brownie Girl Scout troop stop by to donate their candy to help with earning one of their required merit badges. The average candy donated was 3-4 lbs per child with 8 lbs being the largest amt collected by a single child and ¼ lbs being the smallest amt collected.Dr. Wallace spent the afternoon talking to the children and parents and doing interviews with the media.

The "Tooth Fairy" aka Martina Slusser a 10th grade student at Glenvar High School spent the afternoon greeting/talking to the children and passing out goodie bags to each child that donated the candy. (There are a couple of pics of the tooth fairy with Snookums and one of the tooth fairy and her mom, Melanie who works for Dr. Wallace)

Snookums the Clown aka Lorain Myer spent the afternoon entertaining the children, passing out clown stickers and working the Christmas card table encouraging all the children to sign a card for our troops.

We would like to thank the following businesses that made monetary contributions or by donating prizes: Elderberry's, Lee Hi Lanes,McDonalds,Henry BBQ,Salem Donut Shop, Salem Ice Cream Parlor, Skate Center, Salon Capelli,Salem Police Department, Papa Johns in Salem, Salem Red Sox, Salem YMCA,DJ's Dental Lab, Blue Ridge Orthodontic Lab. Snookums for providing entertainment and Salem Printing Company for printing our flyers and posters.

Submitted by Melanie Slusser at Dr. Caroline Wallace DDS's dentistry office

In the 1960s, young men were facing a dire possibility of being drafted to serve in the military with the probability of going to Vietnam. Two Andrew Lewis graduates of 1961, Bill Metzler and Joe Grant Jr., were exempt at the time because of their education, but with so many troops being called up, they didn't know how long that would last.About a year after high school, Joe was going to Southern Business College and working at Sears, and Bill had just finished his first semester at Virginia Western.

Knowing that he'd probably be better off if he called Uncle Sam before Sam called him, Bill went to the Air Force recruiter to find out what possible incentives there were if they went ahead and enlisted before being called up for the draft.

"You either got drafted and did two years and got the worst jobs ... or you enlisted and got three years with a better job," Joe said.

"I did not dilly-dally around, but called Joe Grant, one of my closest friends and told him that if we enlisted together that we could spend our entire tenure of duty in the Air Force together, absent some undefined national crisis," Bill wrote in a short description of their experience. "Youth is blind."

They soon found themselves on the way to San Antonio, Texas, completely unaware that after they got off their flight and received their bunk assignments in basic training that it would be nearly 45 years before they saw or spoke to one another again.

Joe was assigned as squad leader of the 4th squad in the lower level of the basic training barracks, and Bill was upstairs in the same building. Although Joe spent 9 weeks and Bill spent 12 weeks there, the rules prevented them from being buddies once they got split up.

The exercise and drills were just as intense as anybody, veteran, soldier or avid-military-movie watcher will tell you. Even while resting, they couldn't cross their arms, lean against the wall, stick their hands in their pockets, and about 20 other orders they had to learn or face being written up.

"I understand why they call them fatigues - because I was tired as soon as I put ‘em on," said Joe, as he and Bill laughed about their nearly shared experience.

They may have seen one another briefly during a "patio break" where recruits from several squads took a short break from marching drills, but other than that, they never heard from one another until September 19, 2009.

Joe was a mechanic during his service, and he remembered the days their ground support members were "mortar magnets" in the hangars. Bill ended up working as an engineer, and both served tours in Vietnam.

After the war, Joe worked for Piedmont Airlines (not as a pilot) for 39 years, and Bill continued his career as an engineer. Meeting with the two at a coffeeshop on a sunny afternoon, no one would ever guess they hadn't seen each other in so long.

"Of course, I am thankful we are both alive to see each other again, but it would take very few words to articulate, in fact, what I think of the infamous recruitment tool called the "Buddy Plan." This tidbit of my life is in no way intended as a negative; rather a reminder of promises made and forgotten in this immense design of life and what our dedicated men and women of the armed forces did at that time and presently face today. Inherent in all of this is a moment to pause, reflect and laugh," Bill wrote.

Krista Boettcher of Salem enters this photo of "Dr. Logan, mad scientist" in The Roanoke Times Halloween Photo contest.

You, too, can enter the contest.

The main rules: Your little trick-or-treater has to be 12 or under. The deadline to enter is Nov. 1. After that, there's a round of voting, with first prize being a $400 visa gift card. There are some other prizes, too.

Read all the rules here and take a look at all the contestants so far here.

OTHER ENTRIES FROM SALEM:
* A young Charlie Chaplin
* Carson Tucker as Spider-Man
* Wizard of Oz in Salem
* Addison Snead is a skunk!
* "My little goblin"
* Marina Munsey
* Andrea Morehead

Whether you enter the contest or not, you can always share your Halloween photos at news@sosalem.com.

We have more photos of the helicopter that moved the AC units onto the new Lowe's store under construction on West Main Street this morning.

These photos come from Laura Tucker.

Thanks, Laura!

You can view her photos in the slideshow above or in this gallery format.

We posted other photos -- including a photo of Laura with her camera -- plus video from the AC unit move-in earlier today in this post.