Submitted by David Preston

The Salem Student Art Show was held at the Salem Public Library on Sunday, May 19th, and displayed all different kinds of work from elementary students from each of Salem’s four schools. More than 100 different pieces of art were showcased for students, parents, and anyone for matter to come check out.

Salem City School’s Gifted Coordinator Hunter Routt says this yearly event has become something the students really look forward to.

“Each child that has art in the show receives a personal invite”, she said. “The art teachers gather the strongest art from the entire school year. It’s great when the kids get an invite because it has their name on it and shows something they did”, she said.

The student’s opportunity to bring their parents out is something that is no doubt one of the best parts. But even before that, most of the children enjoy just showing their creativity even before anyone gets to see it.

“The best part is getting to make it fancy and use glitter and stuff,” said Elliana Vidal, 2nd grader at East Salem Elementary.

“I like getting to use all kinds of different colors,” said Caleb Parr, from Mr.Hodges Kindergarten class at Salem South Elementary.

Sarah Meadows is the Art Teacher at both East and South Salem Elementary. She says the annual tradition has become something the students work toward since the beginning of school in the fall.

“We use our projects from all through the school year. You may see pumpkins they did from Halloween. The kids get so excited for this event, they really use it as their moment to shine”, she said.

2013 is the sixth year such an event was held at the Salem Public Library. Routt said the event continues to grow, and the numbers would agree. This year’s art show was the largest turnout of any to date, and a 36 percent increase from the figures they had from last year. In addition, the event also brings in more people to the library as well, something Routt is proud of.

“Last year on the day of the show, it was their busiest traffic day of the year,” she said, proving that the popularity is continuing to rise.

After the show, Routt calculated that over half of the students who had art displayed were in attendance to see it, all with at least one adult of course, and many bringing multiple family members with them.

You can view photos from the reception in the slideshow above, or click through them individually here.

– Photos and story by Chad Parries

The Annual Cultural Arts for Excellence Benefit 5K Walk/Run was held at Kennedy Park in Roanoke over the weekend. Our paparazzi photo crew was there and here are the Salem people who stepped onto the red carpet:

* Tiffany Paige and Lisa Clause
* Suzzette McCoy
* Victoria Prillaman

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

Girl Scout Troop 4 teamed up with First United Methodist Church and Richfield Nursing Center to create a pumpkin patch for the residents on May 18, 2013. This was a part of FUMC Day of Missions titled “Operation InasMuch” and a Take Action Project for the Girl Scouts.

Contributing to project: Bailee Lintner, Cecilia Fraticelli, Sierrah Deel-Morris, Danielle Davis, Samea Brown, Mackenlee Simmons, Abigail Stinnette, Erin Helton, Mackenzie Brodrecht, Emma Painter, Madison Sowder, Serena Fick, Eleni Butzer, Angela Lee, Emma Hamilton, and Emily Harrell. Leaders Tracy Lintner, Judith Painter, Mitzi Simmons and Katrina Brodrecht.

– Submitted by Tracy Lintner

Salem baseball came up short against Cave Spring in the the River Ridge District tournament on Tuesday.

The Roanoke Times has a photo gallery and an account of the game here.

Do you have photos from other tournament games involving Salem or Glenvar? You can share at news@sosalem.com or use the “share” tool to upload 10 at a time.

Girl Scout Troop 909 teamed up with First United Methodist Church and Richfield Nursing Center to create a Memorial Garden for the residents on May 18, 2013. This was a part of FUMC Day of Missions titled “Operation InasMuch” and a Take Action Project for the Girl Scout Breathe journey.

Alex Abbott, Amber Helton, Joy Postmus, Holly Thomas, Ashley Bulaski, Kayla Lintner, Sacha Brown, Azyah Burnett and Rebecca Burton (not pictured), lead by Tracy Lintner and Debra Abbott

– Submitted by Tracy Lintner

Haley and Heather Moore. Photo courtesy of Cynthia Calaway

Haley and Heather Moore, former Salem residents, graduated from The Christian Education Consortium in Louisville, Ky., on May 17.

They have both earned academic scholarships and have been accepted into the Western KY University Honors College. They will be pursuing a BFA in Performing Arts with a concentration in musical theater. They will be teaching drama camps this summer at the Arts Center that they currently take lessons at, as well as going to NYC to dance for a week at the Broadway Dance Center. They will be taking a dance workshop with some of the cast of the Broadway hit “Newsies” and seeing several other Broadway musicals.

Their parents are Richard and Cindi Moore. Grandparents are Mike and Cynthia Calaway and Rick and Sharon Moore, all of Salem.

– Submitted by Cynthia Calaway

– Submitted by Karen Adams, Director of Music

The Roanoke Chapter of the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority hosted the 2013 Jabberwock event at Jefferson Center in Downtown Roanoke, with all funds benefiting scholarships and educational programs in the Roanoke Valley.

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

* Jocarra Vaughn
* Deneen Evans and Charlene Vann
* Kenny and Toni Belton

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

Roanoke Stars U10 Girls. Photo courtesy of Dana Pitts

Roanoke Stars U10 Girls won the Blue Ridge Soccer League! Salem players are Anna Pitts, Sarah Hash, Sydney Byrd, McKenna Habeeb & Mallory LaPrad. Undefeated in the BRSL. Coach: Mark Meyer. Congratulations girls!!!

– Submitted by Dana Pitts