FINCASTLE – The Lord Botetourt and James River baseball teams warmed up for district play by playing each other last week in the second game of a home-and-home series. This one was at LB and the Cavaliers won a pitchers’ duel, 2-0, to sweep the season series. Botetourt’s Michael Mnich and River’s Brandon Welch both [...]

CAVE SPRING – A roaring fire that displaced 18 residents and their pets and damaged or destroyed a dozen apartments April 3 at Cedar Point Apartments in Cave Spring started from a discarded cigarette, fire officials determined. Career and volunteer firefighters from Cave Spring, Back Creek, Clearbrook and Vinton stations responded to the fire, along [...]

RADFORD – Ten Virginia hospitals, including one in the New River Valley, are being recognized for exceptional performances with the Virginia Paternity Establishment Program (PEP) by the Virginia Department of Social Services (VDSS). VDSS’ Division of Child Support Enforcement sponsors PEP, which is operated by the Center for the Support of Families. The program offers [...]

By Marty Gordon RADFORD – Lurking below the depths of Claytor Lake is a fast-moving aquarium plant, and a biologist with the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries is worried about how much of the lake is being swallowed up by the “water kudzu”–commonly known as Hydrilla. The plant hampers swimming, and tangles props [...]

By Pat Brown Correspondent When a large room at the YMCA Thrift Shop in Blacksburg opened for this week, it had been transformed into a glamorous boutique full of formal gowns and glamorous accessories. It is called the Cinderella Project, and it has been donating free prom outfits to local high school girls for the [...]

The Board of Supervisors budget committee met again Wednesday morning where it digested comments from the previous night’s public meeting at Lord Botetourt High School. By the end of the 3-1/2 hour committee meeting, the supervisors had asked the county administration to provide several budget scenarios that included real estate and personal property tax increases, [...]

BOTETOURT – If the Board of Supervisors did not know that citizens love their schools, their libraries, and the parks and recreation programs, they know it now. More than 500 people of all ages turned out at the public input meeting Tuesday night, and the vast majority wanted to save Botetourt County. Students pleaded for [...]

Blue Ridge Literacy, formerly Literacy Volunteers of Roanoke Valley, held its seventh annual Scrabble Tournament on March 22. For the first time, a daytime tourney was added to the event. Team Three-Letter-Words, aka the girls from Montgomery Publishing (The Salem Times Register, et al) participated in the lunchtime games. We were paired up to compete [...]

By David J. Bisset Say the name Coach Frank Beamer and the first thing one thinks about is Virginia Tech football and the success the program has had since Beamer arrived on the Virginia Tech campus in 1987. Under Beamer’s leadership, Virginia Tech has had many winning football seasons and many bowl game appearances. The [...]