Museum Director John Long shows the Georgianna Saunders Midwife records to board members Connie Stone and Willie Robertson. / Photo courtesy of John Long, the Salem Museum.

John Long of the Salem Museum shares the following information:

Thanks to all those who voted in the Virginia’s Top 10 Endangered Artifacts polling! Because of your impressive mouse clicking, we finished with almost 11,000 votes, putting us in third place statewide in the tally! Our supporters outvoted a lot of much bigger museums from much bigger cities– testimony to how much Salemites value their history!

Now, because the public voting is only one component in determining the Top 10, we won’t know for another few weeks whether our Georgianna Saunders Midwife Records made the list or not. We’re pretty confident, but the program has been a definite boon for us no matter the outcome! Not only did we get a lot of good PR out of it, but we were able to speak with no less than six people who had been delivered by Mrs. Saunders and who shared their stories with us. As a result, we are continuing to collect oral history on Georgianna and to consider the best ways to have the valuable data in her records put into a format that can be used by researchers.

If you knew or knew of Georgianna Saunders, we’d love to hear what you remember! We’d also LOVE to have a photo of her for our collection! Any help is greatly appreciated, and thanks again for what our supporters did to raise awareness of Endangered Artifacts throughout Virginia!

If you have information–or a photo!–to share, you can contact the Salem Museum by calling 540-389-6760 or emailing info@salemmuseum.org.

Parents and students were able to familiarize themselves with G.W. Carver Elementary during the school’s Kindergarten and first-grade orientation on Thursday, Aug. 30.We have photos from orientation here.

School starts back for Salem City students on Tuesday, Sept. 4.

The Patriots at East Salem Elementary checked out their school on Thursday, Aug. 30, during orientation.

Kindergarten and first grade students visited the school during the day on Thursday, while second- through fifth-graders and their parents filled the halls Thursday evening.

School starts back in the City of Salem on Tuesday, Sept. 4.

Do you have back-to-school photos to share? Email news@sosalem.com or upload up to 10 photos at a time using our share tool.

West Salem Elementary, like the other Salem City Schools, is gearing up for students to return on Tuesday, Sept. 4.

In preparation for the return of school, principal Trula Byington and assistant principal Debbie Carroll hosted parents and students at the school for orientation on Thursday, Aug. 30.

Do you have back-to-school photos to share? Email news@sosalem.com or upload up to 10 photos at a time using our share tool.

Principal Margaret Humphrey welcomed parents and students, both new and returning, on Thursday, Aug. 30 during South Salem Elementary School’s orientation.

PTA members encouraged parents to join the association, and poster boards displayed images of what the new South Salem Elementary will look like once construction is complete, hopefully by fall of 2013.

Classes resume in the City of Salem on Tuesday, Sept. 4.

Do you have back-to-school photos you’d like to share? Email news@sosalem.com or upload up to 10 photos at a time using our share tool.

It’s your last chance to visit Splash Valley Water Park this season! We’ll be open on Saturday, Sunday and Monday from 11am to 7pm, with 10am early admission for Roanoke County Residents. Enjoy a day at the beach, without the drive!

Submitted by Roanoke County

The annual Fort Lewis Fire Department chicken barbeque fundraiser is coming up again soon!

Saturday, Sept. 8th, join the firefighters at the station from 4 to 7 p.m. Tickets are $9. For more information, call 540-387-6166.

Submitted by the Fort Lewis Fire Department.

The public is invited to tour the new STEM academy located at the Burton Center for Arts and Technology on Monday, September 17. Tours will begin in the lobby at 7:30 a.m., and prior to the tour we will have refreshments.

Earlier this year, the Virginia Board of Education approved a new Governor’s STEM academy for Roanoke County Public Schools. Governor’s STEM academies offer rigid academic and technical and career education programs in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).

Please RSVP to Jason Suhr at jsuhr@rcs.k12.va.us or by phone at 540-857-5000.

The Burton Center for Arts & Technology is located at 1760 Roanoke Blvd. in Salem.

Submitted by Chuck Lionberger, Roanoke County Public Schools.

All garbage collection routes for the week of September 3 – 7, 2012, will be delayed by one day for the Labor Day Holiday. All offices will be closed on Monday, September 3, 2012, for the Labor Day Holiday. For more information, please call 387-6225.

Submitted by Roanoke County

Wine Festival
August Ticket Special $15 – 1 Ticket; $25 – 2 Tickets
Sunday, October 21, 2012 12:00 PM to 5:00 PM
On The Lawn
Salem Civic Center
1001 Roanoke Boulevard
Salem, VA 24153
Music provided by Stone Canyon
Tickets can be picked up at The Chamber or at Will Call on October 21st. Offer valid until August 31st.
540-387-0267

Submitted by Salem-Roanoke County Chamber of Commerce