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The Roanoke County Board of Supervisors meets at 3 p.m. Here's the agenda.

Del. Morgan Griffith, R-Salem, who represents most of Southwest Roanoke County in the House of Delegates, shares his weekly newsletter from the General Assembly:

The second snow storm in as many weeks has had a quite an effect on Richmond. In an effort to “get ahead of the storm”, the House of Delegates did not meet on Friday. As it turns out, the weather forecasters were again on the money. Not only was our area blanketed with another foot or so, but Northern Virginia experienced record-breaking levels of accumulation, some exceeding three feet.
We had a flurry of excitement on Tuesday when veteran Las Vegas entertainer, Wayne Newton came to the Capitol. He was here to support a resolution giving the Patawomeck Indian Tribe state recognition since he is a member of the tribe. Wayne is originally from Virginia and during the meeting commented that he took music lessons from Ridenhour Music in Salem.
The legislation he was here to support, House Joint Resolution 150, was heard by House Rules Committee, on which I serve as Vice Chairman. Also, I was asked to carry the bill to the floor and it was passed by the House. A consummate entertainer, Mr. Newton was very gracious about having his picture taken with admirers. And judging from the abnormally large turnout at the Rules Committee, there are a lot of those admirers.
On Wednesday, I hosted a news conference to promote measures that would strengthen “Alicia’s Law”. The measures would provide revenue for Virginia’s two Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Forces. Ed Smart, President of the Surviving Parents’ Coalition, attended the news conference. Mr. Smart is best known as the father of Elizabeth Smart, who – at the age of 14 – was abducted and held hostage for nine months.
Alicia Kozakeiwicz, for whom the law is named, also attended the conference. She testified about her horrendous experience of being held hostage and tortured as a thirteen year old. Her testimony was emotional and heart-wrenching.
Supporting Alicia’s Law is part of my continuing legislative work to combat sexually violent predators. The ICAC Task Forces aid in the coordination of vital law enforcement efforts. The Task Forces have increased the identification and interdiction of internet child predators by almost 600%, resulting in the arrest of hundreds of predators. And that directly results in safer children.
The week ahead will be one of the busiest of the session, as we head into crossover. The session days are longer, as committees and the entire House must complete action on legislation filed by delegates.
Our page, Landon Dermott, who is from Hidden Valley Middle School, is very enthusiastic about being down here. He says he has always been interested in government and politics, and that being here “is a great experience”.
We had many delightful visitors in students expressing their appreciation for the Tuition Assistance Grant program including Emmanuelle St. Fleur from Salem, Tina Lowe, Ed Lynch, Marie Bishop and Jennifer Waterhouse all from Roanoke City.We also had a delightful group of students from Emory and Henry College, my alma mater
A group of United Steel Workers Local 1023 was represented by Cliff Carlton of Salem. For Hokie Day we had the student leadership from Blacksburg; Kristina Hartman, Paul Deyerle and Sheel Patel. Larry Bullock was here from Boxley Cement of Roanoke as was Betty Brand of Roanoke on behalf of the Virginia Horse Council.

The February 9th Scrabble Club has been cancelled due to weather.  The next meeting will be March 9th at 7PM at the 419/HQ Library.  Please remember to bring your Scrabble game if you have one.

Submitted by Cory's Courier Service

Deborah Goglia. Courtesy photo

SWoCo resident, Deborah Goglia is proud that her venture to open a space for local artists to display and sell their artwork has been successfully running for almost a year now. The Art Beyond Center became a reality last March when she set out to use a vacant space at the Science Museum in the Center in the Square downtown.

The new art exhibit, located on the first floor of Center in the Square, is in response to a growing need in the Roanoke area, providing an exhibition space for selected artists to cultivate their talents and exhibit their creations.

The space used to be Art Venture, but has since been turned into a gallery of oil painting, photography, and photography created by local artists.

Goglia fell into the art gallery after working as community relations director for Center in the Square for years.

"When the art museum moved out I decided to do something with the space featuring local artists," she said.

Currently about 20 local artists work are on display constantly and Goglia sees to it that the work is refreshed with new artwork every six to eight weeks. Those artists include E. Bruce Barfield, Sr., Brian Sal Corrals, Cheryl Dolby, Meridith Entingh, Al Hubbard, Marie Levin, Stephen Roberson, Richard Stump, Mary Tousman, Elaine Watson, Janet Wimmer, and more.

"I did this to help the local artists get their name out there," she said. "It helps artists build their self-esteem and build a foundation."

The Art Beyond Center also hold events for adult and children where they can take classes like watercolors, weaving, penciling, and the list goes on. The first Thursday of every month, Art by Night is held at the center and other local galleries around town. Art by Night showcases Roanoke's arts community while giving demonstrations, refreshment, live music and fun. The event is free and a map with which to use for a walking tour, or if you choose, to take a limo to various galleries.

During the summer Goglia said they would have about 180 people show up for the Art by Night events.

And on the last Saturday of every month there is a workshop at the center where people can watch artists hard at work.

"It cultivates the community," Goglia said. "We've done fabulous so far."

Goglia is originally from Long Island, New York and moved to the area to give her daughter a better life and a safer place to grow up she said. Goglia said she used to visit her sister in the Roanoke area during her summer vacation.

Prior to working at Center in the Square she worked for the blind and deaf, as Goglia was deaf until she was 8-years-old. She also worked the food and beverage occupation at Roanoke Country Club and Hunting Hills County Club.

Goglia loves photography and even has some of her own work on display at the center.

"I love looking into the lens. It's like looking into the eyes of God. I just do it for fun and to share the beauty of the world with others."

A friend describes Goglia as "timeless peace" and says "Her pictures reflect how deep her soul runs. She shows you the beauty in a dragonfly that an ordinary person may not notice. The captivating details in a butterfly's wings that some would overlook. Deborah will bring to life the radiance of the waterfalls that spill down the Blue Ridge Mountains. Deborah Goglia is a lady that believes in appreciating the simple things that surround us."

She particularly enjoys photographing flowers, humming birds, and insects- and focusing on detail.

Goglia not only runs the Art Beyond Center as art director but is also in charge of the Center's Gift Shop, also located in Center in the Square.

Those interested can visit the Art Beyond Center Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. for free. Artists are available for individual tours and discussion. Twenty percent of the proceeds from buying the local artwork at the center goes to Center in the Square and the other 80 percent goes directly to the artist.

For more information visit the Art Beyond Center at www.centerinthesquare.org/art_beyond.php

Nigel Huckle, made the Dean's List for Fall 2009 at the Conservatory of Shenandoah University in Winchester VA.  He's a graduate of Hidden Valley High School and was an Ensemble member of the Kevin Jones Performing Arts Studio for the four years of high school.  He sang at HVHS's 2009 Commencement and also held the lead role in the school's annual drama programs notably Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde, and previously Godspell.

Huckle is a Musical Theatre major in the Shenandoah Conservatory at Shenandoah University. He is the son of  Elize Magruther of Roanoke.

Submitted by Elize Magruther

The Burchetts built not just one snowman during the weekend's snow fall but an entire family!

In these photos are Claudia Jarema, a Penn Forest Elementary student, and Kelsey Burchett and Morgan Todd, both whom are Cave Spring Middle School students.

Kelsey Burchett sent us these photos of their snowman family, as well as,

Send us your 'fun in the snow' photos. Email them to us at news@swo-co.com.

Elena DeRosa sent us these snow photos taken on Friday, Feb. 5. In one photo, Marie Elena Aprile walks  through the backyard enjoying the snow along the way.

Have a favorite winter wonderland photo from our recent snow storms? Share it with us by emailing us at news@swo-co.com.

Stacey Cotter shares this photo of an igloo that some enterprising folks in Southwest Roanoke County built.

Pictured are: Lexie Neal, Kathryn Cotter, Becca Cotter and Annabel Bryson

Do you have snow photos from Southwest Roanoke County? If so, you can share at news@swo-co.com.

Sarah Klick of Southwest Roanoke County shares the following:

"This afternoon, while visiting my mom's quiet neighborhood in SW County, I was amazed to see a bulldozer going up and down the street pushing snow into the freshly cleared driveways and mailboxes. We implored the man to stop, but he was a real jerk and told us he was "doing his job as a sub-contractor of VDOT." We called the VDOT office and they sent someone out to stop him. He explained that they were trying to clear as much snow as possible since we are anticipating more on Tuesday. I understand the roads must be cleared, but this was a lazy, suburban neighborhood which already had 2 lanes worth of space cleared. I want to know how VDOT cut their budget & laid off many workers, only to turn around an hire subcontractors? The guy was a big jerk and would not tell us what company he worked for, and I was very upset to see my tax dollars used in such an inept way."

What experiences have you had? You can share at news@swo-co.com or leave comments below.

We've got news that someone has found a Volkswagon car key at intersection of Monet & Sheffield Drive in the Groves.

If you it's yours, call 598-3670 and leave a message.