July 31, 2008Your online guide to the August 1 issue of SWoCo Happy August. Wow, where did the summer go? Here at SWoCo, we’re already hard at work on our upcoming back-to-school issues (August 8 and 15) and our football issues (August 22 and 29). And that brings us to a programming note: If you’re an advertiser and wanted to be included -- especially in our football issues -- well, our advertising folks at advertise@swo-co.com will be happy to talk with you. Or, if you’d like to place a classified ad, you can click classifieds@swo-co.com. We reach more than 90 percent of the households in Southwest Roanoke County. (How do we do that? See below!) And now back to news, and we have lots of it this week. This may be the first weekend of August, but it's the final weekend for “Guys and Dolls” at Showtimers. We have a photo gallery from the show. Also, in your Friday issue, you’ll see lots of places where we say “see The Notebook” for more. Well, here’s where to find that “more”: * Photos from the Roanoke Valley Republican picnic And, of course, we’re still taking your vacation photos. Send us yours and we’ll put you on our Swoco Summer ‘08 map. So how can you get your news and photos in SWoCo if you haven’t been on vacation? Keep reading below!
Continue reading "Your online guide to the August 1 issue of SWoCo" » Last weekend to catch "Guys and Dolls" at Showtimers Just a friendly reminder: This is your last weekend to catch "Guys and Dolls" at Showtimers community theatre off 419. The show wraps up Sunday afternoon. For details on show times and prices, check the Showtimers website. For photos and info on the show, check our posts from July 7 and June 30. Left to right :Summer Hayes as Sarah Brown, Matt Hayes as Sky Masterson, Chip Addison as Nathan Detroit, Linsee Lewis as Miss Adelaide Roanoke County crime map updated through July 27 We've just updated our Roanoke Valley crime map with the latest offenses from Roanoke County -- and Roanoke and Salem, as well. The data includes offenses through July 27. Last week in Southwest Roanoke County, police report six larcenies, two motor vehicle thefts, one burglary and one aggravated assault. Our data delivery editor, Matt Chittum, has more information how you can use the searchable crime map. Also on our Datasphere collection of searchable data: A database of the biggest trees in Virginia. Photos from Vacation Bible School at Colonial Avenue Baptist Church Colonial Avenue Baptist Church has sent us an entire photo gallery from its recent Vacation Bible School. Here's Tucker Coleman (left) and Jeffrey Hawley (right). Do you have photos from your church's Vacation Bible School? Or, well, anything that deals with Southwest Roanoke County? If so, you can share them at news@swo-co.com Another RVAA swim meet photo
The meet was a two day long event beginning on Friday, July 25th and ending Saturday, July 26th. Approximately 1,122 swimmers are signed up for different heats over the course of two days. To see photo's from the event, check out our gallery! Do you have more photos to share with us? If so, we would love to have them! Send them to us at news@swoco.com! Photo courtesy of Colleen Gibbons Bonefish Grill not coming to Keagy VillageThe developers said in 2006 that Bonefish Grill would be opening a location in Keagy Village. But now, business writer Jenny Boone tells us that's not so. For more on what's happening -- or not happening -- at the retail center under development at the corner of 419 and Keagy Road, click here. Soccer School for Little Strikers
The training is for ages 4-7. It will run on Saturdays, beginning September 6 and lasting until October 11. It will focus on the player and their technical development, and it will also be lots of fun! To register, visit the Soccer School page at the Valley AFC's website or call 774-7272. July 30, 2008Bears sighted in Southwest Roanoke County We have another report of a bear sighted in Southwest Roanoke County -- three separate sightings this time. Continue reading "Bears sighted in Southwest Roanoke County" » More on the Roanoke Valley GOP Family Barbecue We posted a blog on Monday with pictures of people around the Roanoke Valley who attended Saturday's Roanoke Valley GOP Barbecue at the C. Darrell Shell Park behind Penn Forest Elementary School on Merriman Road in Southwest Roanoke County. To view the previous article and the photo gallery visit here. Greg Habeeb, Chair of the Salem Republican Committee send us this link to the Committee's take on the picnic. Check it out here. July 29, 2008Looking for an ethnic food market?We now have a database of ethnic food markets in the Roanoke and New River valley. Among those on the list are two in Southwest Roanoke County. Maybe you know them already. They're Ambika Indian Grocery at 4520 Brambleton Avenue and J&L Oriental Food Mart at 3109 Brambleton. If not, you can search the database to get directions to them and the others in the region. Food writer Lindsey Nair has a series of stories on ethnic food marts in the region. One of the places she features is the J&L Oriental Food Mart; you can take a video visit to J&L in the accompanying video. Finally, data delivery editor Matt Chittum chats up the database in this post on how to use it -- and add to it if you know of places we've missed. Why was there a helicopter over Tanglewood Mall? If you saw a helicopter hovering over Tanglewood Mall on Sunday and wondered what was going on, well, we found out for you. Rebecca Spaid, the marketing manager at the mall, tells us the choppers were involved in upgrading Tanglewood's chiller system. Photo by Kevin Myatt Pizzazz Star City Twirlers open registration for fall classesThe award winning Pizzazz Star City Twirlers of Roanoke is opening registration for fall classes which begin on September 8 for Girls ages four and up. All levels of instruction are offered at Cave Spring Baptist Church. Need based scholarships are available. The Pizzazz Star City Twirlers were the 2008 National Beginner Tiny Tot and Juvenile Twirl Team winners. For more information contact Joan Duus at 537-2960 or DUUS@COX.NET. Check out our past articles and submissions about the Pizzazz Star City Twirlers here on May 7, June 24, and June 26. Our last post on the Pizzazz Star City Twirlers was June 26. Photos of Swoco people at FloydFest 2008 Many people from Southwest Roanoke could be found at the FloydFest this past Sunday. Black Dog Salvage owners, Mike and Susie Whiteside, (on the left) attended the event. To see more photos of Southwest Roanokers, check out our gallery! Did you attend this year's FloydFest? We would love to have your photos! Send them to us at news@swo-co.com! For more on FloydFest, music writer Tad Dickens blogged the whole weekend on our music blog, cut'n'scratch. Photo by Garland Gay July 28, 2008New office park on 419 If you drive down Virginia 419 often, you may be wondering what all the construction is about. Well, one of those construction sites is the Wentworth Office Park. According to Thomas Fellers, marketing and Operations Liaison for HouseSmart Construction, Inc., the building of the office park began in early 2007. Building A, which is still under construction will house Good Samaritan Hospice and is 10,000 square feet. It is estimated that they will move in by November 2007. Fellers said that building A is 100 percent occupied at this time. Building B is already complete and the first floor houses the Bullington Law Firm and is 6,000 square feet. The top floor is currently occupied by HouseSmart Construction Inc.. and Fralin Commercial, HouseSmart’s sister company, recently charted by the Virginia State Corporation Commission (SCC). Half of the top of Building B is still vacant. The Wentworth Office Park is being built by Fralin Commercial. Fralin Commercial and HouseSmart were formerly located in Christiansburg. Fellers said they decided to move their operations to Roanoke. Top photo: Building B, which is partially vacant. The Bullington Law Firm occupies the entire bottom floor. Fralin Construction and HouseSmart Construction Inc. occupies the top. More photos from the Cave Spring Little LeagueMore photos and reports from the 12-year-old tournament have come in! We've gathered the photos in this gallery. Cave Spring American (district 12) lost to Central Accomack (district 8) on July 20. Mark Brittain, the proud father of Chad Brittain had this to say about the final tournament: "A “never give up” team effort was put forth by the Cave Spring American little league all-stars in their third and final game of the state tournament. The loss resulted in the elimination from advancement play. Despite solid pitching from Blake Butterworth, Hayes Nelson, and Chad Brittain, the team was unable to produce runs to match the Central Accomack team. After the game, the coaching staff from Central Accomack stated to Cave Spring American Manager Ricky Gregg and coaching staff that they had never seen a group of players, coaches, and parents with such great sportsmanship as the Cave Spring American team had exhibited." Our previous posts about the Cave Spring American All-Star teams' tournament play were July 21, July 20, July 17 and July 16. Photo courtesy of Mark Brittain. Bent Mountain Library recieves grant The Bent Mountain Library may be small, but it has a lot to offer and recently was approved the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Grant. The purpose of the online grates was to help public libraries improve the quality of free computer access used by Americans. The program has helped generate more than $4 million in local funds for technology services. The online grants will help upgrade computer hardware in public libraries serving communities with hgih concentrations of poverty that are at risk of having outdated technology. "The Board of Supervisors voted in April to provide the funds," Diana Rosapepe, Director of Library Services with Roanoke County Library said. "We had our commitment so we could apply for the grant, and we've been approved for it. We don;'t have the money from the Gates Foundation yet, because it is a staged process." But Rosapepe says they will receive the money is two separate checks, the first of which will arrive after November. As receivers of the grant, the Roanoke County Library System will be required to attend the advocacy group workshop in Greensboro, North Carolina and conduct an online audit of equipment to provide documentation that the funds are in place. Roanoke Valley GOP holds Family Barbecue Roanoke Valley Republicans gathered together this past weekend to enjoy in some of Henry's Memphis BBQ and live music by Marie Miller at the Roanoke Valley GOP Family Barbecue. Those who attended had the opportunity to meet their local elected officials, eat BBQ, listen to music, kid's games at the C. Darrell Shell Park behind Penn Forest Elementary School on Merriman Road in Southwest Roanoke County. "It's a good way to bring awareness of the parties and hope they (members of the community) join," Greg Habeeb said. The event was held on Saturday, July 26 from 5 - 8 p.m. According to Greg Habeeb, about 200 people showed up for the picnic to mingle with each other and meet elected officials such as, Congressman Bob Goodlatte, State Senator Ralph Smith, House Majority Leader Morgan Griffith, Delegate William Fralin, Roanoke City Sheriff Octavia Johnson and more. Check out our photo gallery of Saturday's picnic here. Photo: Debbie and Brandon Bell picnic at the Republican Event Picnic on Saturday with their daughter, Sarah Bell. 12U Scrappers take Gold in the Commonwealth Games This photo of the 12U Scrappers Girls' Softball team was sent in to us this morning. Congratulations to the team for a job well done. The 12U Scrappers took home the gold medal during the Coventry Commonwealth Games of Virginia held July 18 - 20. We had a previous post about the Scrappers on July 16. Do you have sports photos involving teams or players from Southwest Roanoke County? If so, you can share them at news@swo-co.com
Swoco priest completes training as U.S. Naval Academy Information Officer Here's some news from the Naval Academy about Quigg Lawrence from Church of the Holy Spirit on Merriman Road (and a frequent photo contributor to SWoCo.): ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- Dr. R. Quigg Lawrence just completed certification training at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, MD as a Naval Academy Information (“Blue and Gold”) Officer. As one of 2,100 nationwide Blue and Gold Officers, Lawrence’s role is to assist young men and women interested in the academy through the extensive application process and counsel prospective Midshipmen on all aspects of the Naval Academy. Lawrence, an ordained Anglican priest and father of a midshipman, is one of a select group of non-military, non-Naval Academy graduates to serve in this role. Continue reading "Swoco priest completes training as U.S. Naval Academy Information Officer" » Roanoke Parks and Rec announces more events, beginning Aug. 1Roanoke County Parks, Recreation, and Tourism announces events beginning the week of August 1. Check them out!
Days: August 9 Days: August 16 Days: August 30 Continue reading "Roanoke Parks and Rec announces more events, beginning Aug. 1" » July 26, 2008Swimmers converge on City/County meet
We have a photo gallery of the scene Friday. And here's a link to a story by Doug Doughty about young swimmers' quest to learn proper ways to dive in for their swim. That will take you to a gallery of more photos. The story notes that Hunting Hills is in the lead, and includes this information on records: "Noah Bowers of Elks Club and Keith Myburgh of Spring Run each broke two records, respectively, in the 6-and-under boys' and 7-8 boys' divisions. In addition, Alex Vance of Castle Rock broke the record for the 100-yard individual medley in the 13-14 boys' division and Chris John broke his 1-year-old 50 backstroke record in the 25-39 men's division." Above, a swimmer on the Hunting Hills Houndogs compete in the short freestyle event. Erin Millar, special to SWoCo July 25, 2008Lacy's Taekwondo America students bring home medals Robby Lacy of Lacy's Taekwondo America sent us the results from a competition his students recently participated in Raleigh. Check it out and congrats to those who did well. Top photo: Bottom Left: Legend Howard, Cole Eller, Jonna Stauffer, Isabelle Deveaux, Samuel Delaney, Sebastian Schnurman-Cook Middle Row: Evan Hannah, Sarah Raines, Alex Smith, Luke Lacy Top Row: Amanda Ferrari-Souza, Jonathan Eary, Bobby Lacy Students' artwork displayed at P. Buckley Moss MuseumTwelve different pieces of artwork by Roanoke County Public School students have been selected to be on display at the P. Buckley Moss Museum in Waynesboro, August 6 – 10. The following student works will be on display: • Bent Mountain Elementary • Glenvar Elementary • Mason’s Cove Elementary • Penn Forest Elementary
(collage artwork) • Hidden Valley High School • Northside High School For more information about the P. Buckley Moss Museum, visit their Web Calling All Freshmen: “Knights In Training”Cave Spring High School will host the second annual “Knights In Training” event for all upcoming ninth graders on Friday, August 1, 2008 from 2:00 p.m. to 5:30 pm., followed by a cook-out from 5:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. The purpose of the event is to introduce the new ninth graders to the high school prior to Two new events will be added this year. There will be a laptop orientation session to “We received so much positive feedback from ninth graders and parents about last year’s event that we decided to repeat it as an annual tradition. Last year, over 50% of the freshmen attended. This year, we expect even more students and parents to participate”, said Diane Herchenrider, Assistant Principal. For more information, please call Cave Spring High School at (540) 562-3900, 20003. Knights in Training 2:00pm – 2:25pm Registration 2:25pm – 4:30pm Team Activity Rotations - “Dr. Phil” Show 4:30pm – 4:45pm Break 4:45pm. – 5:05pm. Dress Code Do’s And Don’ts 5:05pm – 5:30pm Laptop Orientation - Auditorium 5:30pm – 6:00pm Cook-out - Cafeteria. Your online guide to the July 25 SWoCoHaving a week at the beach? Or doing something fun in the mountains? Or somewhere else? If you'd like to share your photos of summertime fun, send an e-mail to news@swo-co.com or visit swo-co.com and click the "Share" button. In the meantime, here are some online extras from this week's edition: SWoCo's print edition comes out Friday to reach more than 90 percent of the households in Southwest Roanoke County. (If you’d like to find out how you can advertise in SWoCo to reach all those households, click here for retail advertising or click here for classifieds.) Have a great weekend! July 24, 2008Roanoke County Emergency Communications Center Earns Re-AccreditationRoanoke County’s Emergency Communications Center this week learned it earned reaccreditation through the Virginia Office of Emergency Medical Services. The communications center was first accredited in June 2005. To earn accreditation, 25 percent of all communications officers in the department must be certified as an emergency medical dispatcher. Roanoke County’s Emergency Communications Center is staffed with 35 personnel and the county requires all of its communications officers to obtain and maintain certification. To be accredited, the communications center must also have staff certified as emergency medical dispatch instructors. The Roanoke County center has three certified instructors. The Communications Center utilizes a quality assurance and quality improvement program to ensure Emergency Medical Dispatch (EMD) system compliance. The program consists of call review and call monitoring. Several members of the County’s Emergency Communications Center work to provide this component of the program. An annual report is submitted to the OEMS which documents compliance with all guidelines set by OEMS for accreditation and includes program implementation and training documentation. Each EMD program must be accepted by a currently endorsed EMS Physician. August events at the HQ/419 Library The Roanoke County Library has many events to offer: book clubs, computer classes, a picnic to celebrate the end of the summer, movies, games. The list goes on. The Library is open every day of the week, Monday through Thursday 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., Friday 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday (September-May) 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. It is located at 3131 Electric Road, SW. Here are the events coming up in August: Open House for New Synergy Cheer of Virginia GymSynergy Cheer of Virginia will hold an Open House and Carnival Day on Saturday, July 26, to celebrate the unveiling of new cheerleading facilities. The event will be held outside the gym, now located at 3473 Brandon Avenue, in the former CMT Building. Synergy Cheer serves all ages wanting to improve their tumbling and cheerleading skills. There will be a blow-up bouncing tent and games, and hot dogs and drinks will be be available from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Inside the gym from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., Synergy Cheer teams will showcase some of their routines. Tumbling classes run from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. for visitors to observe. Call (540) 725-1285 or visit www.synergycheer.net for more information. July 23, 2008The Yard offers professional baseball, softball training Though they can’t agree on who first came up with the idea for The Yard—each giving credit to the other—partners Rick Gregg and George Canale do agree that the best way to teach baseball and softball to young people is to surround them with professional players. That’s just what they set out to do last November when they opened the 5,000 square-foot facility on Starkey Road dedicated to helping Southwest County ballplayers develop the skills they need to get ahead in the game. “Baseball is big in this area…We just wanted to give them [the players] somewhere to get qualified instruction if they want it,” said Gregg, who also sells masonry products and coaches Cave Spring Little League. The Yard houses a maze of mesh batting “cages” with enough room for two pitching machines and a pitchers’ mound. The cages also roll back to provide space for fielding practice on the AstroTurf-covered floor. “It’s a good place to work out and not be in the heat during the summer and vice versa [in the winter] so they can learn the game the way it’s supposed to be played,” said Canale. To staff The Yard, Gregg and Canale chose to hire only those instructors with several years of professional experience under their cleats. Canale himself boasts a 14-year professional career, including a four-year stint with the Milwaukee Brewers. He is also a graduate of Cave Spring High School. Continue reading "The Yard offers professional baseball, softball training" » July 22, 2008The Stars Soccer Team of 2008!
Missionary Family from Africa to speak about Children and HIV/AIDSThere will be a missionary family from southern Africa to speak at Oak Grove Church of the Brethren on Friday, August 1st at 7:00pm. Ray and Sue Haakonsen have been life-long missionaries who have served most recently as the directors of an orphanage and care center for children affected by the HIV/AIDS crisis in the country of Lesotho. They are joined in their travel by their daughters Maleteka and Lineo. All are welcome to join for an interesting discussion and ice cream sundaes. The church is located at 2138 McVitty Rd., just off Virginia 419 behind the BB&T bank and across 419 from the Allstate building. July 21, 2008More Cave Spring American Little League photos
Kathy Innacelli sent photos and reports for the Juniors team. Her report noted that the CSALL Juniors lost their game against Coles, District 10, for their last game in the tournament. Meanwhile, Bette Brand let us know that the 10-year-old team had advanced to championship play. Bradford Durham pitched the entire second game that the Juniors played, only giving up 6 hits. Courtesy of Kathy Innacelli Continue reading "More Cave Spring American Little League photos" » Waterline Project is underway The Western Virginia Water Authority began a waterline project at the end of June, and travelers up and down the U.S. 220 corridor may have seen the work underway. Workers have been digging and inserting water lines for the project for a few weeks now. The work began at where an existing line stops in Clearbrook and will eventually be completed at Wirtz Plateau Plaza in Franklin County. The waterline is being installed in VDOT's right of way, parallel to the road for 65,000 feet. The project was brought to Western Virginia Water Authority because Franklin County was in need of reliable water for its residents. Sarah Baumgardner with the Wester Virginia Water Authority said that A.J. Conner General Contractor Inc. of Roanoke is working on the waterlines and will also conduct the maintenance of the waterlines. Both Roanoke and Franklin Counties are working in a joint effort to serve their customers better with reliable public drinking water and fire protection. In the future work may be done at night and drivers should expect possible lane closures throughout the project's progress. |
