We asked if anyone had seen bears roaming around Salem or western Roanoke County and Sandy Cooper reports in that she has. Here’s what Sandy tells us:

Yes, we have seen bears. We live at the foot of Poor Mountain in west Roanoke County. Bears have at least twice gone into our big RC trash cans. They drag the bags off and then have a picnic. It’s strange they don’t open them but drag them away first. The bear we saw was big and came around at 6pm. Our outside dog tried to herd it but it didn’t run. My husband Jerry drove in field to take a look and it just watched.

We can’t be the only ones that have seen one and they do need to be reported.

You may recall that last year this time we had a lot of bear sightings in and around Salem.

Have you seen a bear lately? Let us know at news@sosalem.com.