The charities are Virginia Amateur Sports, Project Lifesaver and the Roanoke Valley Speech and Hearing Center. During a recent planning meeting for the event Tarek Moneir, president of the sponsoring Rotary Club, made the following comments to the membership concerning this year’s benefactors:

“Virginia Amateur Sports of Roanoke develops and promotes amateur athletics throughout the Commonwealth by stressing the benefits of physical fitness and a healthy lifestyle. The various events sponsored by VAS in Virginia include the Coventry Commonwealth Games.

“The Roanoke Speech and Hearing Center provides diagnosis and speech, language and hearing therapy to indigent children in the Roanoke Valley.”

Moneir continued, “Project Lifesaver is an under-funded program of the Roanoke County Police Department that provides wrist locator beacons to handicapped individuals who are prone to wandering. Individuals with beacons can be located in a matter of minutes, rather than hours or days. The funds are specifically identified to provide additional beacons and location electronics."

The 2008 show attracted over 450 entries from the state's 398 VWS members. Only 80 entries were selected for exhibition by nationally known juror, Donna Watson. Watson, a Seattle native who has won numerous national awards and her work has appeared in several national magazines and books. She will award over $10,000 in prizes to the top watermedia artists in Virginia.

The 2008 exhibition will be open to the public beginning Monday, Sept. 22 thru Saturday, Nov.1 at: The Shenandoah Club, 24 Franklin Road, SW, Roanoke, Va 24003. Show hours will be 2:00-5:00, Mon-Sat or by appointment at (540) 345-1576.

A special Welcome Reception for VWS members and guests is planned for Sept.19 at the O. Winston Link Museum. The reception will feature an exhibit of works by VWS Founding Members John Will Creasy, Ernest Johnson, Norris Coleman and Pat Lawson. The Awards Ceremony and Banquet for VWS members and guests, is scheduled for Sept. 20 at the Shenandoah Club.

"It’s always exciting to go back on that field and experience the memories it brings up," says Foley, who also played football at the University of Virginia. "Having participated in sports for so long, it’s still great just to get on any kind of playing surface and feel that sensation that lets you know it’s time to start performing."

This year’s Western Virginia Education Classic will kick off at 2pm on Saturday as Virginia Union takes on Johnson C. Smith on the field turf at Salem Stadium. Tickets for adults are $12 in advance and $15 the day of the game. Student tickets for those ages 6 years to college are $5. Advance tickets can be purchased at the Salem Civic Center box office.

"It’s a pleasure to share our facilities with the rest of the community and the rest of the state and bring people into Salem, so they can see what we’re all about, and show them how much athletics can mean to a community," says Foley. "I’m sure this will be a like a bowl game for many of these players."

Roanoke Vice Mayor Sherman Lea developed this game in 2000 as a way help Total Action Against Poverty (TAP) get high school drop‐outs back into school to finish their educations. Since that first game was played at old Victory Stadium, TAP’s Project Recovery has seen 658 students return to Roanoke City schools or an alternative education program to earn a diploma or a GED.

Submitted by Mike Stevens, Communications Director for the City of Salem

Here's a report on the Andrew Lewis Middle volleyball team's last few games of the season:

Sept. 15: Home game versus Cave Spring: We won the first game 27-25, lost the second 25-17 and lost a nail biter of a third game 15-13. We got beat up by that same team during the first game of the season, and this time we almost got the victory. It was a great game, and if the ball bounced our way, it could have been a victory.

Sept. 11: Yesterday's match was awesome! We played Northside. In the first game we lost 25-20, but came back against them in the second game to win 25-15, and won the third game 15-11. The girls were so excited and played with such pride and heart. I have coached many games in many different sports, and this group of girls is special. They are improving every day, and with every improvement they gain confidence. The confidence turns into motivation, and on top of it all, they are great people. They treat each other great, and the experience has been fantastic.

Sept. 4: Won against Byrd in the first 2 games: 25-10 and 25-16.

Sept. 1: Lost at home against Read Mountain. They were awesome, and the Wolverines almost won, but weren't serving well enought to go ahead in the game. The girls lost 2 games: 18-25 and 22-25.

The girls will play tonight away against Franklin County Middle School at 4:45 p.m., and they’ll play Central Academy at home on Monday, Sept. 22 at 4:45p.m.

Click here for our last post about ALMS volleyball--and to see 96 photos from super volleyball mom Cathy Sargent!

Admission: Adults - $5, Children 12 and under are free. Come join us for delicious German food and drinks and a children’s area with lots of games!!

No coolers, outside food or drinks, rollerblades, skateboards or dogs allowed on the premises. For additional information call Salem Parks and Recreation at 375-3057.

Lords, ladies, jousters, jesters, and highland-game-ers, experience the adventure, pageantry, magic and romance of medieval times at Roanoke County’s Green Hill Park Saturday, Sept. 27 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday, Sept. 28 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Later festivities--a masquerade ball--will be on Saturday at 7 p.m. Revisit history made reality as the living history exhibitors display life as it was in the Middle Ages (and take your school-age kids to learn for SOL testing.)

ousting, sword fighting will awe the crowd, along with activities for the whole family—take a step back into time, bring the whole family and make a little “history of your own”! Admission is $5 for everyone except kids under 5—they get in free.

Each day children of all ages are invited to play imaginative games such as Ratapult, Sheep Toss, Dragon Droppings, Unicorn Ring Toss, Boar Hunt, and Pole Jousting. You may also test your prowess at the archery range and ax throw.

The Highland Games will take place on Saturday—32 athletes competing in seven different categories that each require brute strength and endurance. If you don’t have the strength of ten horses, you can try your strength at the “wee” version of the Highland Games including Caber Toss, Sheaf Toss & Stone-put.

Beginning that day at 7 p.m. a Masquerade Ball will be held at no extra charge, dress for the ball if you so desire and learn the refined art of hand kissing, engage in the wooing contest and learn the dances from days of old charm. Colorful dancers, nobles, ladies, knights, and even greyhounds will be at their finest and on display throughout the festival.

Sponsored by Roanoke County Parks, Recreation &Tourism, WSET 13 and Virginia Prosthetics in cooperation with Medieval Fantasies Company.

For more details about the Green Hill Medieval Faire visit www.RoanokeCountyParks.com or www.medievalfantasiesco.com

The new faculty members include:

• Dr. Sebastian Berger, assistant professor of economics
• Dr. Durell Bouchard, visiting assistant professor of computer science
• Paula Brown, visiting instructor of French
• Dr. Patricio Carrasco, assistant professor of Spanish
• Dr. James Hargrove, visiting assistant professor of art history
• Torrie Hester, visiting assistant professor of history

• Cheryl Hopson, visiting assistant professor of English

Dr. Jack Steehler and Dr. Benjamin Huddle, professors of chemistry at Roanoke College, were recently awarded a three-year grant of nearly $100,000 from the National Science Foundation. Their project, titled “Real-Life Inquiry-Based GC/MS Experiments for General Education Chemistry Courses,” aims at developing new curricular materials that will bring important real-life applications into the laboratory experiences of both first-year science majors and non-majors.

The project, funded by a grant of $99,648, will focus on two topical areas, forensic chemistry and environmental chemistry, and will include the addition of guided inquiry laboratory experiments using Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry (GC/MS). GC/MS is a powerful method of analysis used by chemists and is familiar to the public for its use in detecting drug use by athletes. New experiments will be developed for the environmental chemistry and forensic chemistry courses for non-majors, along with a variety of experiments for science majors, including real-life applications and service learning projects, such as those focused on monitoring pesticides in soil. The project also will include an outreach component, consisting of a series of workshops for area high school teachers. Workshops will provide hands-on experience as well as emphasize inquiry-based experimentation.

Rather than traditional survey courses that compose many general education curricula, Roanoke’s forthcoming “Intellectual Inquiry” curriculum will provide inquiry-based courses and seminars across campus. The new curriculum development project in chemistry reflects the central role of inquiry in the College’s curriculum.

The full release from the McCain campaign is below:

Brian Herndon joined the ranks of the City of Salem Sheriff's Office, sworn in as a deputy by Judge Robert Doherty on Tuesday, September 16.

Along with serving in the Marine Corps' security forces for two years, the '93 graduate of Salem High School worked for six years as a youth director at Salem Baptist Church. He plans on continuing his education with Liberty University's distance learning program.

"It's a little bit different from what I've done with the Marine Corps," Herndon said, but Sheriff Eric Atkins cited that the new deputy not only met the tangible job requirements, but the intangible skills and character that is needed for a job in the court system.

In August, Patricia Giovannini and her husband, Marco, brought a new branch of her family's business to Salem.

While going to school in Italy for English, French, and Italian translating, Patricia found herself managing a disco--a place where restaurant, music, and club merged and could bring in close to 16,000 people a night. Marco has been in the restaurant business since age 15, when Italian students choose what they'd like to study, and the two hit a natural progression of owning their own business since moving to the Roanoke Valley two years ago.

"At first we were worried about parking," she said, until they spoke to George Barker, owner of Barker Realty across the street. He showed them the free space around downtown Salem, and the building that most recently housed a Surf and Turf grill became the newest Frank's Pizza. They worked for Patricia's father, Frank Corigliano, at the Hunting Hills location until they found the site on West Main for their own venture. Corigliano hails from Rocca Di Neto, Calabria, in Italy --he came to the States at age 19. Now seven parlors with his name grace the Roanoke Valley, and there's even one in North Carolina.

-- Miranda Adkins

The Salem Historical Society and friends gathered at the Brown house Monday, Sept. 15 to present detailed plans for the 9,600 sq. foot remodeling of the historic home and, of course, to help with fundraising efforts.

"Things have gone up since we began this process," John Long, the museum's director. The historical society has helped to raise and pledge the original price tag of $2.2 million, but the current bid that's up from G&H Contracting in Salem estimates the cost around $2.8 to $2.9 million.

Additions will still include a patio with a planted roof, a reception room, an art gallery and office space for the Salem Fine Arts Commission, as well as various "green" features that will pay back throughout the life of the museum.

"Not only is it a neat space, but it's also going to draw people into the museum," the project's architect, Jennifer Smith Lewis, co-owner of SmithLewis Architecture, said of the reception area. She assured the group that even though minor changes were going to be made to the original plans, they could still almost on a gold Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification. The firm designed the Claude Moore Education Complex in Northwest Roanoke, which is currently up for gold LEED certification.

-- Miranda Adkins

If you've seen the sports pages of The Roanoke Times today, you've already seen the story on Glenvar's undefeated varsity volleyball team -- with special emphasis on senior hitter Liz Tinchere.

Here's another photo that didn't make it into the daily -- a photo of the team warming up.

Photo by Marcus Yam

If you want to see Liz in action, we have an interview with her -- plus some video from a practice -- on this week's Varsity Cast, our weekly high school sports webcast.

OTHER RECENT GLENVAR COVERAGE:

* Sept. 17: Glenvar volleyball JVs defeat George Wythe
* Sept. 16: Webcast at Glenvar features Liz Tinchere
* Sept. 14: More on Megan Marsico at Knights Crossing
* Sept. 13: Glenvar's Megan Marsico fares well in Knights Crossing
* Sept. 12: Glenvar wins big at Rural Retreat
* Sept. 12: Obenshain ties for first in River Ridge in golf
* Sept. 11: Glenvar holds BBQ tailgate Sept. 19
* Photos of Glenvar’s fall sports teams

"We live on Poor Mountain on Hidden Falls Drive (off of Dry Hollow Road near Camp Roanoke - Salem/Roanoke County). We had a bear in our trash can this summer on July 12th @ 1:30 a.m. We have since moved our trash can inside and have only seen him once more (a couple of weeks later). My 3 year old daughter and I saw him walking through the woods one afternoon @ 12! We were in our car and he didn't seem a bit afraid of us. We stopped to watch him & he just sauntered across the road and off into the woods. Now I never leave home without my camera!"

We've added Ellen's sighting to our online map of bear sightings throughout Western Virginia. So have you seen a bear in or around Salem? If so, let us know at news@sosalem.com

Here are the other bear sightings we've heard about:

The highest percentage belongs to Craig County, where 100 percent of the restaurants are smoke-free. The lowest is Petersburg, where only 4 percent of the restaurants are smoke-free.

Statewide, the figure is 67 percent, so Salem is just a silly millimeter under the average. If anyone remembers the old Benson & Hedge's ads, you'll get the reference.

For the state's website, click here. Once you get there, look under "information and resources" on the right hand side of the page.

For more on this from business writer Jenny Boone, see her retail blog, The Storefront.

Want to comment on smoke-free restaurants in Salem? Click "comment" below.