JR Shelor sends us this photo of his three-month-old granddaughter, Faith Shelor, from Christmas morning.

She is the daughter of Justin and Beth Shelor and the granddaughter of JR & Linda Shelor and Grady & Nancy Hewitt.

You know you have wide-eyed photos of your little ones next to the Christmas tree! Share your very favorites with us at news@sosalem.com and we’ll post them here on The Notebook.

Here is an update from Chuck Lionberget of Roanoke County Public Schools about the roof collapse at the school:

STUDENTS TO RESUME SCHOOL AT FORT LEWIS ELEMENTARYCafeteria and gym will be closed off

ROANOKE – Students currently attending Fort Lewis Elementary will return to the building when the school year resumes January 4, 2010, following the partial collapse of the roof over the cafeteria at the school.

The cafeteria and gym areas will be closed off to all students and staff. Nutrition services crews will prepare food at nearby schools and will bring breakfast and lunches daily to Fort Lewis. For the first few days, students will be served bag lunches. Students will eat breakfast and lunch in the classroom.

“We want to assure parents, students and staff that the building is completely safe,” said Roanoke County Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Lorraine Lange. “The Roanoke County building commissioner and the fire marshal have reviewed the building and determined it is safe for students and staff,” Lange said.

Construction work to repair the damaged roof over the cafeteria will continue for several months.

Dr. Paul R. “Rand” Dotson was honored today as Mayor Randy Foley proclaimed December 29, 2009  “Rand Dotson Day” in the City of Salem

Dr. Dotson, who is the son of Paul and Carol Dotson of Salem, awoke in the early morning hours of December 11 when he heard a crackling noise at his home in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.  It turned out that noise was the start of a destructive fire that gutted the 91-year-old renovated duplex building in which he lived.

Dr. Dotson’s quick reaction to the emergency saved several lives, as he was able to not only get himself and his pet to safety, but he also saved 5 of his neighbors.

Because of these acts of selflessness and bravery he is celebrated today by having December 29, 2009 named in his honor.

Dr. Dotson is a graduate of Salem High School, Roanoke College, Virginia Tech and L.S.U.  He makes his home in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Photos:

Dr. Paul “Rand” Dotson with Mayor Randy Foley

Paul Dotson, “Rand” Dotson, Mayor Foley, Carol Dotson (Back)

Rand’s nephew Hayden  (Front)

Submitted by Mike Stevens, City of Salem Communications Director.

Emily Paine Carter submitted these photos taken at Mill Mountain Coffee & Tea.

Thanks, Emily!

Ann Harrell, who lives on Creekside Farm near Craig County, sends us this photo from this past weekend (December 26/27) and says:

“We still had a lot of snow on the ground this past weekend! Here’s a photo of little girl taking a ride with her grandfather in his “mule”. This is Jordyn Mirgoli, 5 years of age, daughter of Jennifer & James Mirgoli, of Raleigh, NC. Jordyn was visiting her grandparents, Jerrie & John Frye, at Twin Meadows Farm, on Upper Craigs Creek Road, in Craig County.

Jordyn’s Pop-Pop, John Frye, took her for a ride around his farm in his Kawasaki Mule, quite an adventure for a little girl who seldom sees snow.”

Here is a photo of a Snowman Family of Four made during the big snow storm last week.  Sarah from East Salem Elementary with the help of her mom made them!

Submitted by Lewis Shelor

This new year will be a little less hectic for Wayne Adkins, who will be officially retired from the Salem city school board after December 31,2009. The last month of 1997, Adkins and Neathawk started their first terms together. Cindy Neathawk was reappointed this year, and Michael Chiglinsky was appointed to fill the opening left by business-minded Adkins.

Last year’s appointment of Dave Preston, President and CEO of Country Cookin’ restaurants, insured that there would be a business mind to round out the board’s expertise. Sally Southard and Neathawk are nurses, William Sinkler is a former educator, and new appointee Chiglinsky is a clinical psychologist.

Having a business mind on board has proven to be valuable in the last three years, Adkins said, because of the tough economic times. He’s thankful that the city of Salem funds education the way they do.

“If we tried to run our school system only on the state’s money, we would not have the quality of education,” said Adkins.

“Salem has been a very blessed community from the city and from the residents,” he said. “We spend less money per pupil than in most parts of the state, but I would put our school up against any school system in Virginia.”

O’Reilly’s Autoparts will be moving in across the street from Lowe’s on West Main Street in Salem.

“They’ve been looking for a pretty good while, and this is one of the sites they’ve picked to come into,” said Realtor Steve Mullins.

“I was disappointed initially because we really wanted to see a nice, small family operation,” he said, because of the previous food service setup. Mullins said he doesn’t know when his clients will be able to move in, but he’s glad to have a national tenant fill the spot formerly occupied by the Daily Grind coffeehouse.

According to the website (www.oreillyauto.com), O’Reilly’s has locations in Pulaski, Altavista, Marion, Collinsville, Martinsville, Danville, and South Boston.

Kathy Pellant submitted this photo of her children, Lauren and Colten, with their snowmen.

Thanks, Kathy!

This is a photo of Jessica Tothill, 9th grade Salem High, in her new outfit sitting in front of the family tree.

Submitted by Becky Tothill