Sarah Painter enjoy a quick popcorn break with her mom, Kimberly, at last year's Ft. Lewis Spring Fling.

It’s that time of year again! Fort Lewis Elementary School’s PTA is hosting its annual Spring Fling 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, April 25.

Attractions include fun carnival games, a mouth-watering bake sale, a beautiful plant sale, and delicious food! The silent auction will have over $5,000 worth of merchandise – raffle tickets will also be sold for a P. Buckley Moss Print!

Submitted by Deidre Wilkes.

And So Salem has photos from last year’s Spring Fling (like the one at the left)! Click here to go back to April 2008.

What’s your spring school or community event? So Salem will try to make it to take some photos, but at the very least we can get it online to let other folks know so they can come!

Send it to news@sosalem.com and we’ll put it up here.

Salem City School Board. Courtesy of Mike Stevens.

Check out this press release from Mike Stevens detailing the honors Salem City Schools received from the state:

When the Salem School Division created a Personal Finance class, it did so because School Board members shared the same vision as many administrators and teachers did for the city’s high school students. They all wanted Salem’s graduates to not only be prepared for an ever-changing global economy, but to also know how to balance a check book and responsibly use a credit card.”We touch on a lot of topics that the students deal with on a personal level once they get out on their own,” says Curtis Hicks, Salem’s Director of Secondary Education. “We try to give them the practical knowledge needed to function and be successful members of society.”

Salem was the first school division in the state of Virginia to make the course a graduation requirement and recently, the American School Board Journal recognized the importance of that move and the Personal Finance program as a whole by selecting Salem as an honorable mention recipient of one of its prestigious National Magna Awards.

“It’s always nice to be recognized for what your school division does, but the real satisfaction is that our young people who already have taken this course have come back to us asking for another one on a higher level,” says Salem School Board member, C. Wayne Adkins.

Adkins’ passion for this type of coursework began back in 1982 when he volunteered in area classrooms on behalf of Junior Achievement. His own personal and business experiences over the years inspired him to be the driving force behind this program in Salem.

“Before this there wasn’t a course that dealt with personal financial management, and the truth is you can go all the way through college and not have the tools needed to manage money,” says Adkins. “I’m extremely proud that we’re one of just five school divisions in the state out of 132 that have this type of program.”

Salem’s Personal Finance course provides information regarding investing, saving, banking, credit, insurance, taxes, budgeting, and basic consumer skills. Teachers use a variety of print and Web resources as well as volunteers from local businesses to promote an understanding of basic financial principles.

The Magna Award recognizes school divisions and districts across the country for outstanding programs that advance student learning and encourage community involvement in schools. Besides Salem, Hanover Co., Manassas City and Prince William Co. are the only other Virginia-based school systems to earn this distinction. Washington State’s Bridgeport School District earned grand prize honors.

Today’s the day. Or, more accurately, tonight’s the tonight.

The voting for “The Best of Salem” ends at midnight.

After that, we’ll compile the votes and announce the winners in our anniversary issue of April 24.

So just what’s in our “Best of Salem” survey?

Lots of things. Who’s the best teacher? The best rec league coach? The best church outreach program?

Who’s the best hair salon? The best plumber? The best place to get your car fixed?

Where’s the best coffee? The best iced tea?

And our favorite: What’s the best thing about living in Salem?

We’ve got details on our Best of Salem contest — including a link to the official online ballot — right here.

Here are some photos from the Andrew Lewis-Glenvar Middle school soccer game, courtesy of Mark Shampine. For more photos, click here.

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

With spring cleaning underway in many households, citizens of the City of Roanoke, counties of Botetourt and Roanoke, and the Town of Vinton can take advantage of the Regional Household Hazardous Waste Collection Day, set for Sunday, May 3 from noon to 3 p.m. at the Roanoke Valley Resource Authority (RVRA) Transfer Station located at 1020 Hollins Road. This is the last regional event of this type in which residents can dispose of household items considered to be too hazardous for safe recycling or regular disposal. A new hazardous waste program will begin July 1.

As in the past, registration is required for the May 3 event to reduce the amount of time residents wait. Each participant will be given a 30-minute window to arrive at the RVRA Transfer Station to deposit their waste. There are a limited number of slots, so residents are encouraged to call 387-6225 soon to avoid waiting until the new system is implemented in July to dispose of their hazardous material.

Acceptable household hazardous wastes include oil-based paints, varnishes, thinners, fluorescent bulbs, household cleaners, bleach, polishes, kerosene, etc. No commercial waste, tires, explosives, medical waste, or radioactive materials, including smoke detectors, will be accepted. Material must be in five-gallon containers or smaller; no 55-gallon drums will be accepted.

Currently, private residents of Roanoke City, Roanoke County, and the Town of Vinton may take lead acid automobile batteries, latex-based paints, used motor oil, and used antifreeze to the Transfer Station anytime during normal operating hours. No commercial materials are allowed. This program will continue after the new hazardous waste program is implemented on July 1. Visit www.rvra.net for more information.

On July 1, 2009 a permanent Household Hazardous Waste facility will be available at the Roanoke Valley Resource Authority. This new facility will be open on the third Saturday of each month, giving citizens opportunities to dispose of their hazardous materials year ‘round rather than during the three regional collection events offered in the past. At the outset, this once-per-month event will be limited to 100 residents per Saturday and will also require registration. More information about this new program will be announced soon.

For more information or to register for the May 3 Household Hazardous Waste Collection Day, call 387-6225.

Submitted by Nancy Duval

John Allison. Courtesy of SRCC.

Photo of the dinner. Courtesy of the SRCC.

Here’s a press release submitted by the SRCC along with 2 more photos. We had a previous post on the dinner here.

The Salem-Roanoke County Chamber of Commerce hosted 250 Members and guests at its 75th Annual Awards Dinner on March 24, 2009 at the Holiday Inn Tanglewood. The evening included a wonderful dinner, insightful speeches, and a video biography of the 75 years the Chamber has been in operation.

Read more »

There’s a national champion among the students at Glenvar High School.

Jacob Tyree, a junior at Salem High School, made two free throws to win the championship game for his team, the Charlotte Rollin’ Bobcats in the national junior varsity wheelchair basketball association in Denver, Colorado. They defeated the Windy City Warriors of Chicago 51-47 on March 21.

Click here to read more about their championship!

Jacob’s dad, Jerry, sent us photos, too. The rest of them are in this flickr gallery.

We wrote a story about Jacob back in November. Click here to see it.

Do you know a local athlete that hasn’t been recognized for their awesome achievements? Send them to us at news@sosalem.com and we’ll post ‘em up here.

Here’s the Carroll family of Salem at this past weekend’s Puppy Love Ball, a fund-raiser for the SPCA.

Also there, and stepping onto the red carpet for the full paparazzi treatment, were Jack and Kathleen Wood of Catawba (below.)

Want to see more? We have an entire photo gallery. Read more »

Not be confused, of course, with “Dancing With the Stars.”

This was the event sponsored last week by the Presbyterian Community Center — and here’s Vicki Akers of Salem at left, with Neil and Karen McNally of Roanoke.

To see the entire photo gallery, click here.

VA attorney general Bill Mims and local lawyers tour the SWVA 2nd Harvest food bank. Courtesy of Jeremy Butterfield.

Virginia’s attorney general, Bill Mims, visited six regional food pantries last week, including the Southwest Virginia Second Harvest Food Bank in Salem on Wednesday, March 25, to kick off a two-week-food drive involving lawyer’s offices in the whole state. It starts (today) Monday, March 30 and will run through Friday, April 10.

This is the third year of the “Legal Food Frenzy” and 2009′s goal is to raise 1.5 million pounds of food in two weeks. Last year’s drive raised 1.3 million pounds, and in its first year, the drive raised more than half a million pounds. The attorney general’s office’s goal is to raise 75,000 pounds.

“I think that it engages the law community in with our efforts and gives us a venue to connect the attorneys and the law firms with the troubles that people in Southwest Virginia are having,” said Pam Irvin, president and CEO of the food bank. Local offices will have the chance to compete for the Virginia Peanut Award – the award given to each local winner within the state.

“The economy is really hitting people hard and we have seen that with an increase in awareness and that has,” said Jeremy Butterfield, public relations for the food bank. He said that their bank has moved nearly one million more pounds of food to the food pantries, rescue missions, and soup kitchens that they serve.

Folks that don’t get a chance to contribute to the legal food frenzy via their friendly neighborhood lawyers’ offices, never fear! If you can’t get out to volunteer or don’t have anything organized with your workplace or church, the annual Letter Carrier’s “Stamp Out Hunger” food drive is coming up on Saturday, May 9.

Visit the SWVA Second Harvest Food Bank’s website at www.swvafoodbank.org or call the Salem Food Pantry at 389-6938.