It may  have been windy… and a bit chilly yesterday morning, but that didn’t stop about 50 Faith Christian students from digging in the dirt and planting about 12,000 plants.

Every year, each grade level at Faith Christian School (FCS) conducts some sort of community service project, and this year the 3rd and 4th-graders joined man-power at the Salem VA Medical Center. Together they helped plant about 3,000 pots and 12,000 red, white, and blue flowers in shape of the American Flag to kick of the VAMC’s 75th Anniversary.

The plants came from the VA’s CWT Greenhouse on site, which employs Veterans and sells to the community.

“I’ve been buying from here forever,” Anna Grubb, parent organizer for the service project at FCS said.

Grubb learned about the 75th anniversary coming up and asked if there was any way that they could help. That’s when the plan to plant flowers in the shape of the American Flag was born.

Grubb said that her and Sandra Lane, the Horticulturist and CWT Coordinator at the VA have been planning the since about mid-summer.

“It’s wonderful. There’s no way we could do it without them,” Lane said. “We got really ambitious. The flag is something I’ve wanted to do for a while now.”

The 75th anniversary celebration which be held on the baseball field at the VA on Oct. 19 beginning at 1 p.m.

“They are going to try to recreate the ceremony they had when they opened the VA in the 30′s when President Roosevelt came,” Grubb said.

After the FCS students finished their work for the day, the VA release 200 balloons to represent the start of their 75th anniversary celebration.

Students were hard at work from 9 a.m. to after 1 p.m. and took great pride in helping their community.

“We’re making it better when people pass by,” Emily Kagey, a 4th-grader at FCS said. “When people pass by they will see that we are serving the Lord.”

View photos from the service project above in our slideshow, 0r click here for a more traditional view.

We have video highlights from Tuesday’s debate between Republican Bill Cleaveland and Democrat Gwen Mason, who are running for the House of Delegates seat being vacated by the retirement of Del. William Fralin, R-Roanoke.

That district includes three precincts in Southwest Roanoke County: Clearbrook, Hunting Hills and Ogden.

The rest of Southwest Roanoke County is in the district represented by Del. Morgan Griffith, R-Salem, who faces a challenge from Democrat Carter Turner of Roanoke County.

Last week was homecoming for Cave Spring High School and on Thursday nights, freshman, sophomores, juniors, and seniors got together, separately, and decorated their designated halls. They had the school looking quite different than normal and students were surprised when they showed up for class on Friday morning.

We took some photos of some of their decorating magic. Check them out in the slideshow above, or click here for a more traditional view.

OTHER RECENT COVERAGE OF CAVE SPRING HIGH SCHOOL:
* Sept. 28: Paparazzi photos from Cave Spring homecoming dance
* Sept. 28: Still more photos from the Cave Spring homecoming game — from Garland Gay
* Sept. 26: Even more photos of the Cave Spring homecoming game — from T.J. Witten
* Sept. 26: Photos of Cave Spring homecoming court — from Church of the Holy Spirit Photo Ministry
* Sept. 26: Photos from Cave Spring’s homecoming game — from Church of the Holy Spirit Photo Ministry.
* Sept. 25: Photos from Cave Spring powder puff game
* Sept. 24: Photos from Spirit Week at Cave Spring High School
* Sept. 22: Cave Spring student wins scholarship from Burger King foundation
* Sept. 21: Photos of Cave Spring pep rally
* Sept. 21: T.J. Whitten shares more than 1,500 photos of Cave Spring – PH football
* Sept. 20: Photos of Cave Spring vs. Patrick Henry football
* Aug. 19: Photos of fall sports teams at Cave Spring

The Senior Citizens of Roanoke County will hold their Country Store/Flea Market on Friday, October 9  from 9 AM – 1 PM at the Brambleton Center, 3738 Brambleton Ave. SW (across from Hardees). The public is invited
to shop from the many vendors who sell a variety of household items, baked goods, handmade crafts, antiques, children’s items, jewelry, books and more! Free admission. For more information call the Roanoke County Parks, Recreation and Tourism Department at 772-7529 ext 224!

The Hidden Valley Cheerleaders Junior. League cheer at the Cheer Olympics on Sunday, September 20. The girls showed spirit and proof that practice pays off.

Go Titans Junior League!

Submitted by Cyndi Smith

The following students have finished new cadet week training with the Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets:

the university’s longest standing tradition of leadership development.

Benjamin Wolley of Roanoke County. Wolley is a freshman majoring in general engineering in the College of Engineering.

The first year cadet experience at Virginia Tech is unlike the experience of most first year college students. The corps first year starts in August with new cadet week held the week prior to the start of classes. During new cadet week, incoming students undergo a series of challenges that build character and leadership skills.

For these incoming students, the academic year is broken into three phases: Red, White, and Blue Phase. Red phase opens with the start of new cadet week and goes until October. New cadets are taught the basics of being active and successful members of the corps during this phase. Students fine tune their skill set during the White Phase. Cadets begin formal training as a leader in the Blue Phase. Students are recognized as completing their first year of training in April.

The Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets

has been producing military and corporate leaders since the university was founded in 1872. It is one of just two remaining military corps within a large, primarily civilian university. The corps holds its members to the highest standards of loyalty, honor, integrity, and self-discipline. In return, cadets achieve high academic success and a long-lasting camaraderie with fellow members. Virginia Tech, the most comprehensive university in Virginia, is dedicated to quality, innovation, and results to the commonwealth, the nation, and the world.

Republican Bill Cleaveland and Democrat Gwen Mason are gearing up for the first forum of their 17 District state House race tonight at 7 at the Holiday Inn Tanglewood.

They are seeking the House of Delegates seat now held by Del. William Fralin, R-Roanoke, who is retiring. It includes three precincts in Southwest Roanoke County — Clearbrook, Hunting Hills, and Ogden — along with parts of the city, eastern Roanoke County and two precincts in Botetourt.

The rest of Southwest Roanoke County is represented by Del. Morgan Griffith, R-Salem, who is being challenged by Democrat Carter Turner of Southwest Roanoke County

For more on the upcoming debate, click here.

Chip Grubb of Southwest Roanoke County is one of the latest entrants in the Ultimate Hokie Fan video contest.

Chip tells us: “Chip bleeds orange and maroon! He has been a season ticket holder since 1980 and has attended over 280 Hokie football games, including all Bowl games in the Frank Beamer era. He has a Hokie Edition Ford Explorer that is VT customized and a Hokie Room complete with Hokiestone fireplace, year-round Hokie Christmas tree, VT tiled flloor, Hokie Bird light covers, and so much more. When Chip was at a charity golf outing, he met John Anderson from ESPN who quickly realized Chip’s passion for the Hokies was over the top, and graciously agreed to do this video.”

You can view Chip’s entry here.

Think you can do better? The deadline for entries is Wednesday. Details on our contest page.

After that, the voting starts.

And oh, there’s at least one other Southwest Roanoke County video entered — from David “Awesome” Lawson.

Did we mention that first prize is $1,500 in groceries?

There’s only one candidate on the ballot for the Windsor Hills school board seat — incumbent Drew Barrineau — but you might still be interested in this news:

ROANOKE COUNTY COUNCIL OF PTAs

TO HOLD SCHOOL BOARD CANDIDATES FORUM OCTOBER 5

Forum set for 7 p.m. at the Roanoke County Public Schools Admin. offices

ROANOKE – The public is invited to attend a School Board Candidates Forum held by the Roanoke County Council of PTAs on October 5 at 7 p.m. The event will take place in the school board meeting room at the Roanoke County Public Schools Administrative offices located at 5937 Cove Road.

Candidates from the school board races in the Vinton, Hollins and Windsor Hills districts have been invited to take part in this forum.

“We wanted to hold this event so our PTA members and the public would have an opportunity to hear what each school board candidate has to say about different topics and issues concerning our schools,” said Chuck Lionberger, president of the Roanoke County Council of PTAs. “We hope people will take us up on this opportunity to learn more about the candidates,” Lionberger said.