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Happy August. Wow, where did the summer go? Here at SWoCo, we’re already hard at work on our upcoming back-to-school issues (August 8 and 15) and our football issues (August 22 and 29). And that brings us to a programming note: If you’re an advertiser and wanted to be included -- especially in our football issues -- well, our advertising folks at advertise@swo-co.com will be happy to talk with you. Or, if you’d like to place a classified ad, you can click classifieds@swo-co.com.

We reach more than 90 percent of the households in Southwest Roanoke County. (How do we do that? See below!)

And now back to news, and we have lots of it this week. This may be the first weekend of August, but it's the final weekend for “Guys and Dolls” at Showtimers. We have a photo gallery from the show.

Also, in your Friday issue, you’ll see lots of places where we say “see The Notebook” for more. Well, here’s where to find that “more”:

* Photos from the Roanoke Valley Republican picnic
* Lacy’s Taekwondo America students have won a lot of medals at a competition in North Carolina
* Roanoke County’s emergency communications center wins reacreditation
* Missionaries from Africa to speak at Oak Grove Church of the Brethren August 1 (that’s, um, Friday)
* Southwest Roanoke County students have artwork displayed at P. Buckley Moss museum
* Schedule for the Knights in Training program for freshmen at Cave Spring High School
* Photos of Southwest Roanoke County swimmers at the RVAA championships
* Photos of Cave Spring Little Leaguers in tournament action (That's one of them on this post.)
* More photos of the Divine Dance Center dancers
* Photos of Southwest Roanoke County fans at FloydFest
* Bear sightings in Southwest Roanoke County

And, of course, we’re still taking your vacation photos. Send us yours and we’ll put you on our Swoco Summer ‘08 map.

So how can you get your news and photos in SWoCo if you haven’t been on vacation? Keep reading below!

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Just a friendly reminder: This is your last weekend to catch "Guys and Dolls" at Showtimers community theatre off 419. The show wraps up Sunday afternoon. For details on show times and prices, check the Showtimers website. For photos and info on the show, check our posts from July 7 and June 30.

Left to right :Summer Hayes as Sarah Brown, Matt Hayes as Sky Masterson, Chip Addison as Nathan Detroit, Linsee Lewis as Miss Adelaide

We've just updated our Roanoke Valley crime map with the latest offenses from Roanoke County -- and Roanoke and Salem, as well. The data includes offenses through July 27.

Last week in Southwest Roanoke County, police report six larcenies, two motor vehicle thefts, one burglary and one aggravated assault.

Our data delivery editor, Matt Chittum, has more information how you can use the searchable crime map.

Also on our Datasphere collection of searchable data: A database of the biggest trees in Virginia.

Colonial Avenue Baptist Church has sent us an entire photo gallery from its recent Vacation Bible School. Here's Tucker Coleman (left) and Jeffrey Hawley (right).

Do you have photos from your church's Vacation Bible School? Or, well, anything that deals with Southwest Roanoke County? If so, you can share them at news@swo-co.com

The Salem YMCA hosted the annual RVAA (Roanoke Valley Aquatic Association) swim meet for the first time this year. This photo is of Jack Ballou, Carter Barnes, Colin Gibbons, and Cole Ballou waiting to swim between events.

The meet was a two day long event beginning on Friday, July 25th and ending Saturday, July 26th. Approximately 1,122 swimmers are signed up for different heats over the course of two days.

To see photo's from the event, check out our gallery!

Do you have more photos to share with us? If so, we would love to have them! Send them to us at news@swoco.com!

Photo courtesy of Colleen Gibbons

The developers said in 2006 that Bonefish Grill would be opening a location in Keagy Village. But now, business writer Jenny Boone tells us that's not so. For more on what's happening -- or not happening -- at the retail center under development at the corner of 419 and Keagy Road, click here.

Valley Association Football Club's (AFC) Soccer School for Little Strikers is accepting registration for Fall 2008.

The training is for ages 4-7. It will run on Saturdays, beginning September 6 and lasting until October 11. It will focus on the player and their technical development, and it will also be lots of fun!

To register, visit the Soccer School page at the Valley AFC's website or call 774-7272.

We have another report of a bear sighted in Southwest Roanoke County -- three separate sightings this time.
J. Lambert of Ponds-N-More tells us what he saw:
“The first week of July we were standing in the back of our store/shop (Ponds-N-More on Bent Mountain Rd - just 2 miles from Cave Spring Middle School, and a large black bear walked right in front of us as if we were not even there, it was only about 10 yards away. I said “There’s a bear!” then the bear ran like the wind thru a cow pasture in to the hardwoods nearby.
“Then only 2 days after seeing this bear, I see another (maybe the same one). I see this bear while cooking on the grill my deck (Corntassel Lane). It was right below me. My dogs caught wind of the bear and barked. The bear was then scared off and ran about 30 feet then straight us a tree as fast as a squirrel. This is the first year I have even seen bears around here myself, and the first time I have seen them in the wild. I think they (bears) are moving around a lot.
“My friend watched one dig up a bees nest and eat it on Poage Valley Road Extension just 1-2 weeks ago.. I saw the huge bees nest eaten and paw prints of a small bear at his place. So that is 3 sightings in our area.”

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We posted a blog on Monday with pictures of people around the Roanoke Valley who attended Saturday's Roanoke Valley GOP Barbecue at the C. Darrell Shell Park behind Penn Forest Elementary School on Merriman Road in Southwest Roanoke County. To view the previous article and the photo gallery visit here.

Greg Habeeb, Chair of the Salem Republican Committee send us this link to the Committee's take on the picnic. Check it out here.

We now have a database of ethnic food markets in the Roanoke and New River valley. Among those on the list are two in Southwest Roanoke County. Maybe you know them already. They're Ambika Indian Grocery at 4520 Brambleton Avenue and J&L Oriental Food Mart at 3109 Brambleton. If not, you can search the database to get directions to them and the others in the region.

Food writer Lindsey Nair has a series of stories on ethnic food marts in the region. One of the places she features is the J&L Oriental Food Mart; you can take a video visit to J&L in the accompanying video.

Finally, data delivery editor Matt Chittum chats up the database in this post on how to use it -- and add to it if you know of places we've missed.