We have this video from this afternoon’s house fire on Skyview Road in Roanoke County, just outside Salem.

Jason Dwayne King

Salem police have released the mugshot of the man charged in today’s groping incidents at Roanoke College and Salem High School. He is Jason Dwayne King, age 23, of western Roanoke County.

We also have statements from both police and the Salem school system, which we reproduce in full below. For more on the story from the newsroom of the Roanoke Times, click here.

First, the statement from Salem police:

On Wednesday morning, Salem Police arrested a 23-year-old male and charged him with two counts of assault and battery and one count of sexual battery as the result of the suspect’s involvement in two separate incidents.
Jason Dwayne King, a resident of the 4300 Block of Ft. Lewis Church Rd. in Roanoke Co., was charged with one count of sexual battery from an incident at Roanoke College on N. Market St that occurred at approximately 6:55am. The victim, a female student at the college, was not injured.
Less than an hour later, the suspect was arrested at Salem High School and charged with two additional counts of assault and battery and trespassing. Six students were approached in the parking lot by the accused and they quickly alerted Salem High School administrators. The school’s Resource Officer was on the scene immediately and detained the suspect. The female students were not injured.
King is being held in the Roanoke County-Salem Jail on a total of $2,500 secured bond.
($1,500 for the Roanoke College incident and $1,000 for Salem High School incident)

And here’s the statement from Salem schools superintendent Alan Seibert:

On Wednesday, September 30, 2009, a trespassing incident took place at Salem High School before the start of school. Six students were approached in the parking lot by an adult male who was driving through the lot in his car. The students quickly alerted Salem High School administrators and the school’s Resource Officer was on the scene immediately. The man was taken into custody by Salem Police and he now faces multiple charges.
The students who were approached, school administrators, the Salem High School Resource Officer and the Salem Police Department all acted swiftly and appropriately, and the incident was resolved before the start of the school day.
Parents of the involved students were promptly and personally contacted and the Salem Police Department is continuing its investigation. Any further information will be released through the Salem PD.
“I am very thankful that out students were so alert and that our school staff and the Salem Police Department responded in such a rapid fashion,” says Alan Seibert, Salem School Superintendent. “I really want to thank our students for once again acting as responsible members of the community.”

Fire crews from Roanoke County and Salem are at the scene of a house fire in the 1100 block of Skyview Road.

We have more details from the newsroom of the Roanoke Times.

Here’s a statement from the Roanoke County Fire & Rescue:

Late Afternoon Fire Damages Roanoke County Home
September 30, 2009 (ROANOKE COUNTY) –Roanoke County Fire & Rescue was
dispatched to the 1300 block of Skyview Road just before 3 p.m. for a reported structure fire.
When firefighters arrived they found flames coming through the roof of a single story wood
framed home. Upon further investigation, firefighters reported flames showing from three
sides of the home.
It took fire crews from the Fort Lewis station about an hour to get the fire under control.
Salem assisted with fire suppression efforts.
No injuries have been reported.
Fire investigators are on scene trying to determine what caused the fire.

A West Roanoke County man was arrested early Wednesday morning after police allege he approached and tried to grope female students on the campuses of Roanoke College and Salem High School.

To read more on this breaking news item, click here.

Looking for a great deal on designer jeans? Then check out the Charity Denim sale going on at Roanoke College on Thursday. Charity Denim is a non-profit organization that partners with different groups to sell inexpensive pairs of jeans and raise money for various charities, and on this sale it’s working with Delta Gamma, a sorority at Roanoke College. Business writer Jenny Boone has details on her retail blog, The Storefront.

Wonder no more. Music writer Tad Dickens has the October line-up in this post on his cut’n'scratch music blog.

The Salem varsity volleyball team played Cave Spring Tuesday night and we have a photo gallery of the action, courtesy of Cathy Sargent.

Thanks, Cathy!

You can view her photos in the slideshow above or in this gallery format.

She also has photos of the JV game.

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

OTHER RECENT SALEM HIGH SCHOOL COVERAGE:
* Sept. 30: Photos from Salem JV volleyball vs. Cave Spring
* Sept. 28: A look back at Salem’s 2008 homecoming
* Sept. 26: Photos from Salem – Northside football game
* Sept. 25: Salem teacher named regional teacher of the year
* Sept. 25: Photos of Salem varsity volleyball vs. Patrick Henry
* Sept. 25: Photos from Salem JV volleyball win over Patrick Henry
* Sept. 24: Even more photos from Salem-William Byrd football
* Sept. 23: Photos of Salem varsity volleyball win over William Fleming
* Sept. 23: Photos of Salem JV volleyball win over William Fleming
* Sept. 22: More photos of Salem runners at Knights Crossing

The Salem JV volleyball team defeated Cave Spring Tuesday night and we have a photo gallery of the action, courtesy of Cathy Sargent.

Thanks, Cathy!

You can view her photos in the slideshow above or in this gallery format.

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

OTHER RECENT SALEM HIGH SCHOOL COVERAGE:
* Sept. 28: A look back at Salem’s 2008 homecoming
* Sept. 26: Photos from Salem – Northside football game
* Sept. 25: Salem teacher named regional teacher of the year
* Sept. 25: Photos of Salem varsity volleyball vs. Patrick Henry
* Sept. 25: Photos from Salem JV volleyball win over Patrick Henry
* Sept. 24: Even more photos from Salem-William Byrd football
* Sept. 23: Photos of Salem varsity volleyball win over William Fleming
* Sept. 23: Photos of Salem JV volleyball win over William Fleming
* Sept. 22: More photos of Salem runners at Knights Crossing

Thomas Barber of Salem is one of the latest to enter the Ultimate Hokie Fan video contest. He describes his video as: “Two ultimate Hokie fans who created an ultimate Hokie basement and an ultimate tailgating vehicle.”

You can see his video here.

The deadline to enter is, um, well, today. After that, the voting starts. First prize: $1,500 in groceries from Kroger.

You can find out more about the contest, and see all the entries here.

Robert Alls sent this message into us describing his bear sighting experience: “I live in Karen Hills in Salem.  On June 9,around 12:15 p.m. about 90 degrees and very humid.  I had just finished watering my tomato plants.  I got a can of soda pop from the refrigerator and took a seat on our screened-in back porch to cool off.  Suddenly Ellie, our Miniature Schnauzer started barking frantically.  Schnauzers are famous for their barking, so I paid little attention at first.  When her barking became even more intense, I casually turned to see what had her in such a lather.  To say the least, I was surprised to see a black bear just on the other side of the screen from Ellie and me.  Knowing the dog’s bark would irritate the bear, I quickly scooped Ellie into my arms and put her in the house, out of harm’s way.  When I turned back to the porch, the bear was still there and sniffing around the screen.  Being the brave soul that I am, I said “Shoo.”  The bear just looked at me.  The second time, more loudly, I said “Shoo, shoo!”  This seemed to frighten the bear.  He (or she) turned, put his foot right smack in the middle of my wife’s flowerpot, and pulled himself across our neighbor’s fence.  He then disappeared into some shrubs on the far side of our neighbor’s lawn.  The bear’s appearance that day did explain the suspicious muddy paw prints we had been seeing on our driveway for some time and why the gate on our fence appeared to be sprung from time to time.”

Have you seen a bear lately? If so, tell us about it at news@sosalem.com.

OTHER BEAR SIGHTINGS AROUND SALEM:
* Sept 28: Sherry sees bear near Creekside Drive
* Sept. 14: Susan Shotts reports more bears around Poor Mountain
* Sept. 14: Patrick Buck reports increase in bear sightings on Harborwood Road
* Sept. 9: Pam Means shares photos of a bear in her backyard
* Sept. 4: Donna Page reports seeing bear near Poor Mountain
* Aug. 21: Sandy Cooper reports bears rooting through trash cans at foot of Poor Mountain.