Congratulations to Stephen Biscotte (Cave Spring High School), Catey Moretz (Oak Grove Elementary School), and Eric Salo (Burton Center for Arts & Technology) on their nomination in the educator category of the 2013 TechNite Awards! View nominees and qualifications for nomination on the Roanoke-Blacksburg Technology Council website.

- Submitted by Avery Eliades, Center for the Arts at Virginia Tech

HomeTown Bank is installing an ATM on its property at 852 W. Main Street in Salem, in advance of building a branch office there.

Here’s a release from the bank:

In an effort to better serve the Salem community, HomeTown Bank has expanded its ATM network with a full-service, drive-thru ATM.

The new, 24-hour ATM is operational on HomeTown Bank’s property at 852 W. Main Street in Salem. The ATM is an envelope-free machine that is capable of accepting stacks of bills and checks. With envelope-free deposits, there’s no need for people to fill out a deposit slip — and like any transaction with a teller, people receive an easy-to-read itemized receipt with the details of the deposit in print.

“As a bank dedicated to serving our customers, we’re delighted to better serve the needs of Salem residents. By having this new, state-of-the-art ATM, HomeTown Bank can offer new and existing customers the convenience of HomeTown Bank a little closer to home or work, said Susan Still, President and CEO.”

HomeTown Bank will be hosting a Community Shred event at the ATM site on May 11 to officially celebrate its new Salem presence. Consumers are invited to bring any sensitive documents they would like to shred. The event is free and will be from 11 am – 2 pm and anyone is welcome to attend.

About HomeTown Bank

HomeTown Bank offers a full range of banking services to small and medium-size businesses, real estate investors and developers, private investors, professionals and individuals. The Bank serves the Roanoke and New River Valleys and Smith Mountain Lake through five branches, seven ATMs and a HomeTown Mortgage office. A high level of responsive and personal service coupled with local decision-making is the hallmark of its banking strategy. For more information, please visit www.hometownbankva.com.

Submitted by Home Town Bank

Come join us at First Christian Church on Friday, April 26 for dinner, dessert and a concert!

A spaghetti dinner will begin at 6 p.m.; a concert provided by Revelation will begin at 7 p.m.; and dessert will follow the concert. The cost is donations to support our camp, conference and general assembly.

First Christian Church is located at 712 Front Ave. in Salem.

– Submitted by Jeanette Maxymiv

The Salem Red Sox opened their home season this past weekend and our paparazzi photo crew was there Friday, Saturday and Sunday as part of the Ultimate Fan contest.

Here are the Salem people who stepped onto the red carpet on Friday:

* Nancy Lynch
* Ryleigh Alleman
* Brooke Rakes
* Benita Coffey
* Eric T., Eric, Aaron, and Adam Gordon
* Melissa Land, Miles Canlas, and Genna Siemon
* John Stover
* Brendan and Sheila Miller
* Savanna Price, Robbie Ferrell, Jr., Robbie Ferrell, Sr., Gabriella Mills, and Stephanie Mills
* Shaun Rambo of Salem and Linda Stanley

But wait, there’s more!

Here are the Salem people who stepped onto the red carpet Saturday:

* Dreama Higgins
* Marie and Emma Fuhrmann
* Bryce Holland
* Olivia Roberts, Kenzie Watkins, Ireland Franklin, and Taylor Suttles
* Brad, Miller, Arch, and Kayleigh Dunn
* Steven Cowling
* Andrew, Jenna, Chris, and Kristen Wilkes
* TJ Taylor and Lindsay Kesler

And here are the Salem people who stepped onto the red carpet Sunday:

* Edward St.Clair
* Jamie and Jason Covery
* Don and Braden Poff
* Jeremy and Brody Chastang
* Ken Schoff
* Thomas Faron
* Andrew, Jennifer, and Sammy Roy
* Alan Clemons and kids
* Carly Francisco and Winsor St.Clair
* James and Margaret Smith
* Debbie Padgett and Richard Padgett

Click through each gallery to see the photos individually or click here to see the photos all at once for Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

William Todd Edgell

Private First Class William Todd Edgell has returned from deployment to Afghanistan.

After graduating from Salem High School, Edgell joined the Army. As an artillery member of the 173rd Airborne Unit, he went to Germany and was deployed to Afghanistan in June of 2012.

Edgell flew home to Salem on Friday, April 5, 2013.  He plans to get married in Tennessee on April 20, and he will return to Germany with his new bride, Kendra Hampton, in May.

He is the son of Kathy and David Edgell.

Submitted by Emily Wilhelm

University Physical Therapy has opened a second location on Apperson Drive in Salem.

Owner of  the Salem and Roanoke University Physical Therapy locations and physical therapist Tyler Bowersock held a grand opening for the second office  Wednesday.

Danielle Dunaway of the Roanoke Times has more on this story.

The Roanoke Roar. Photo courtesy of Al Parulis

The Roanoke Roar 7th-grade girls AAU basketball team recently competed in the Mayberry March Madness basketball tournament in Mt. Airy, N.C. The Roar finished with a 4-1 record, finishing second out of 18 teams from three states in the Division II Gold Bracket.

Back row: Breanna Hollins (Radford), Reagan Delp (Cave Spring), Sierra Landsman (Cave Spring), Brionna Hurt (William Byrd), Coach Al Parulis. Front Row – Bailee Cox (Radford), Gabbi Parulis (Cave Spring), Maddie Engl (Hidden Valley), Faith Carleno (Cave Spring)

– Submitted by Al Parulis

Parents at last year’s Great Cloth Diaper Change / So Salem file photo, April 2012

The Great Cloth Diaper Change will return to St. Paul’s Episcopal Church again this year (it’s the second year in the Roanoke/Salem area, third worldwide) on Saturday, April 20. Doors will open and registration will begin at 8:45 a.m.; seminars begin at 9 a.m. and the attempt to break last year’s Guinness World Record will happen precisely at 11 a.m. Folks hoping to participate must be at the church no later than 10:30 a.m.

As of Tuesday morning, March 12, 45 babies had been preregistered for the event, more than double last year’s number at this time. Nicole Mutter, host of the Salem area event, says she expects 200 to 300 attendees total.

Joining Mutter on April 20th will be several local moms, doulas, midwives and more for special seminars, with topics aimed at today’s moms.

Crystal Fink, midwife at Breath of Life Midwifery, says she and a local child birth educator will speak about natural births. Fink says they’ll run through several scenarios during natural births, teach expectant moms about the various stages of labor and discuss different positions to help bring comfort to moms during the process.

Savanah Songer, doula from Earth Mama Birth Services of Virginia, will give a breastfeeding seminar during the Great Cloth Diaper Change. Songer says her seminar will focus on the numerous benefits of breastfeeding for both mom and baby. She’ll also help to clarify several common misconceptions about breastfeeding and teach nursing moms how to avoid what Songer calls common “boobytraps,” or common snags that mothers hit while breastfeeding. She’ll also be available for individual breastfeeding consultations after the seminar.

Other seminars include car seat safety, as well as babywearing, taught by Kelly Olson and Lyle Leake, with examples of carrier safety and different types of carriers–like one shoulder and wrap versions.

The event will feature a raffle (tickets are $1 each or $10 for 15), plus goodie bags for the first 25 baby/mom duos to register (the first five of which will even come away free cloth diapers).

Mutter says that a family can expect to spend about $300 for one child’s cloth diapers from birth to the time they’re potty trained. However, savings for just one child are around $3,000 overall.

“Who can’t afford to save $3,000?” Mutter says. She adds that if you were to stack a lifetime of disposable diapers from just one child (over 5,000 diapers), the diaper tower would reach five stories tall.

For more information about the Great Cloth Diaper Change, visit the local Salem site at gcdcsalemva.blogspot.com; global site is greatclothdiaper.com. Mutter is still accepting sponsors for the local webpage, she says. Email Mutter with questions at xxcoco86xx2003@yahoo.com.

Matt Gentry has this photo gallery of the Salem boys basketball team in the state championship on Saturday.

Click through to see the photos individually or click here to see them all at once as thumbnails.

We also have:

* Photos of the parade for the two victorious teams
* Photos of the teams with their trophies
* Archive of live-tweets from the boys game
* Archive of live-tweets from the girls game
* Photos from Friday’s pep rally for both teams

Do you have photos from the game or the homecoming? You can share at news@sosalem.com or use the “share” button to upload 10 at a time.

The Rehab Center at Richfield will open on Sunday, March 10, 2013, after an 18-month building and renovation period. The Rehab Center is located in the former T. Stuart Payne Center adjacent to the Richfield Recovery & Care Center. Most recently, the building housed the Richfield Memory Care & Enrichment Center.

The newly renovated Rehab Center features 48 guest rooms with private bathrooms as well as a spa, salon, cafe, game and computer room and a seating area overlooking a nearby lake. The Center also features a Wellness Center with state-of-the-art equipment for recovering guests to recondition their muscles.

Pneumatic weight machines, using air for resistance, offer a smoother workout experience, according to Jon Royall, Senior Director of Rehab Services. Royall said he even tested out the equipment during a workout prior to opening. “It felt good,” he said of his trial session, “then my muscle was just done.” The pneumatic equipment “reduces stress on joints and connective tissues,” which allows guests to begin rehabilitation earlier, according to Royall.

Guests will also have access to a salt water pool for stationary exercises, as well as lap and resistance swimming. The Wellness Center will be available to all Richfield campus residents, as well as Richfield employees. Guests who have been discharged may continue to work with their therapists as part of Richfield’s outpatient therapy program.

The Rehab Center at Richfield hosted a ribbon cutting ceremony and VIP open house on Tuesday, March 5, at 3 p.m. The Center will also host a grand opening ceremony on Saturday, March 9, from 1-4 p.m.

For more information, call 540-380-6511 or visit The Rehab Center at Richfield online at www.richfieldrehab.com. The Rehab Center at Richfield is located at 3719 Knollridge Road in Salem.