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And here you thought golf was such a serious sport.

For 18 holes Monday, the action was pretty serious at the River Ridge District golf tournament at Ashley Plantation in Botetourt. Blacksburg took the title over Cave Spring, though both teams will advance to the regional tournament (and Meredith Swanson from Hidden Valley will also advance, as an individual player.) For details on the actual sporting event, see the story from sportswriter Robert Anderson.

After the tournament, though, well, that's when the fun began. Above, Jake Mondy from Blacksburg and Tyler Brookman from Pulaski douse Cole Rosen from Hidden Valley with a cooler filled with water.

Below, James Kasza from Cave Spring protects himself from getting wet by tossing water onto fellow golfers who were attacking him with water. We have a photo gallery from Marcus Yam of The Roanoke Times, with both serious golfing shots -- and some more water play.

UPDATED: For commentary on the "action," see this week's Varsity Cast, our weekly high school sports webcast, with sportswriter Robert Anderson and Aaron McFarling.

As promised, we have a pair of photo galleries from this past weekend's pageants at Cave Spring High School. Photographer Garland Gay took this set of pictures at Saturday night's Miss Roanoke Valley pageant, and this gallery of photos is from Sunday's Miss Teen and Pre-Teen competitions.

The judges deliberate at the Miss Roanoke Valley Pageant on Saturday, Sept. 27. Photos by Garland Gay, special to SWoCo

Monday, we posted a link with the winners, with links to three photo galleries. You can read that post here.

Miss Pre-Teen Roanoke Valley Pageant winner Catherine Turner.

Read more »

The Miss Roanoke Valley pageant was this weekend at Cave Spring High School and the winners were . . . .

* Lindsay Morris (middle, back) was named Miss Roanoke Valley. She's from Maryland and is a student at James Madison University.

* Davanna Law (right) was named Miss Teen Roanoke Valley. She's a student at Benjamin Franklin Middle School in Franklin County.

* Catherine Turner (left) was named Miss Pre-Teen Roanoke Valley. She is also a student at Benjamin Franklin Middle School.

* Normandie Essig (front) was named Little Miss Roanoke Valley. She's a fifth-grader at North Cross School.

We have a photo gallery courtesy of the pageant's Bob Henderson. We also have another photo gallery of scenes at the pageant on the way, so check back for that.

We previously had a photo gallery of all the contestants.

We also had a photo gallery from the Roanoke Valley Princess Program.

A complete list of runners-up and other pageant info is below:
Read more »

There are many events to look forward to this fall at the Roanoke County Parks, Recreation and Tourism. Check them out below and be sure to call and register!

Days: Saturday, October 5

Name: Poor Mountain HillClimb Bike Race

Description: Cheer on bike racers from around the region as they try to be the fastest up Poor Mountain.

Where: Corner of Poor Mtn Rd and Honeysuckle Road

When: 11:00am-12:00pm

Cost: Free!

Contact: 387-6078 x0 www.RoanokeCountyParks.com

Read more »

Young Audiences Arts for Learning: Virginia will host the Atumpan Storytellers in various locations October 16-17 at Roanoke County Public Libraries.

October 16th at 3:30 p.m. - Vinton Branch Library

October 16th at 5:30 p.m. - Holins Branch Library

October 17th at 3:30 p.m. - HQ/419 Library

Funding is by the County of Roanoke.

Tales of the Griot

In their show, Tales of the Griot, Atumpan tells the stories and plays the instruments of West Africa. After one child is crowned as the Chief of the village, the fun really starts. Atumpan teaches the importance of the drum as a means of communication in African villages, as well as the importance of the storyteller in African society. Performing not only as musicians but also as storytellers, children will feel as if they have been swept away to Africa!

Targeted Audience is K-5^th Grade.

New to Young Audiences – Arts for Learning - Virginia?

Everyday, Young Audiences -Arts for Learning engages the imagination and spirit of children through the life-changing power of the arts. A non-profit organization, Young Audiences serves approximately 300,000 children in the state of Virginia annually, bringing artists into schools, libraries and after-school programs through performances, workshops and residencies.

Research proves that the arts encourage and foster academic success. Educational strategies including the arts can transform the way children learn. Young Audiences works to seamlessly integrate the arts into core curriculum, both as a teaching tool for educators and a vehicle for students to increase personal achievement.

The largest arts-in-education organization in the state, Young Audiences is more than 50 years old and firmly believes sound curriculum must include the arts. By working in close partnership with schools and community organizations, Young Audiences offers an equitable and accessible way school administrators and parents can identify and use arts resources within our community.

Want more information? Check out our Web site at www.yav.org

The Roanoke County Prevention Council is offering workshops for parents of children in grades 3 through 8.

The sessions include: healthy beliefs and clear standards in the family strengthening parenting skills strengthening family communication skills dealing with peer pressure challenges of adolescence building protective factors.

A special feature of the Guiding Good Choices® program is peer refusal skills. Refusal skills focus on ways to avoid high-risk activities under peer pressure and still maintain important friendships.  Workshops are available for:

-Parents

-Schools

-Faith Based Groups

-Community Coalitions

-Civic Organizations

-Health/Human Service

-Organizations

Cost to parents attending workshops is $40.00 paid by the first session by cash or certified check payable to Family Service of Roanoke Valley.

Class schedule for October 2008:

Brambleton Center              October 7th, 14th, 21st, 28th            6:30pm – 8:30pm

To register for classes contact:
Brooks Michael
Roanoke County Prevention Council
Smichael@carilion.com or 540-314-5030

The Crafty Ladies at Our Lady of Nazareth Catholic Church have been "green" for 21 years. By recycling materials they have saved the landfill. This year they have made beautiful bags that you can use for shopping.

Pictured is Joanne Brewer adjusting the handcrafted quilt on the rack -- both of which will be raffled off.

Submitted by Annette Schell

If you've read this morning's Roanoke Times, then you know the proposed Clearbrook Wal-Mart is back on the table. If not, here's the link to the front page story.

So what do you think? You can leave a comment below. We also have a poll:

We had a previous post about the proposal on Sept. 9.

Approximately 50 students, faculty and parents participated in the yearly gathering of See You at the Pole (SYATP) at Hidden Valley Middle School.  See You at the Pole is a student-led event which encourages those interested to gather at their school flag pole one time per year to pray for our school, our community and our country.  Christian music and reading of favorite scriptures is also included.  Many schools across the valley participate in See You at the Pole. 

The Hidden Valley Middle School football team defeated Central Academy on Thursday by 7-6.

Do you have photos of the game? Or any game, for that matter, involving teams or players from Southwest Roanoke County? You can share at news@swo-co.com

OTHER RECENT HIDDEN VALLEY MIDDLE SCHOOL COVERAGE:

* Sept. 26: Photos from Hidden Valley Middle School volleyball win over Andrew Lewis
* Sept. 19: Hidden Valley Middle School volleyball wins again
* Sept. 19: Hidden Valley Middle School football loses re-match with Read Mountain
* Sept. 17: Hidden Valley Middle School football team defeats Read Mountain
* Sept. 16: Hidden Valley Middle School volleyball team now 6-0
* Sept. 10: Hidden Valley Middle School volleyball defeats Cave Spring