AP

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LYNCHBURG, Va. (AP) _ A lawsuit that accused Lynchburg City Schools of discriminating against a former employee has been dismissed. Ralph L. Hayes’ lawsuit alleged that the city School Board eliminated Hayes’ position in 2012 and refused to offer him alternate employment because he is black.

U.S. District Judge Norman Moon ruled on Friday that there was no credible evidence in the case’s record of discrimination against Hayes because of his race. The school board’s attorney, John C. Johnson, tells The News & Advance that Hayes’ position was eliminated because of budget constraints.

Winter-Weather-WFIRRICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ If potholes are any measure, it’s been a hard winter in Virginia. AAA reports that it responded to nearly 9,000 tire-related calls in January and February, up 10 percent from those two months in 2013.

AAA Mid-Atlantic says the snow and cold have created vehicle-jarring potholes on road surfaces around Virginia. In February alone, the auto club fielded nearly 4,000 calls from drivers who blew a tire or reported other damage because of potholes.

AAA advises motorists to slow down so they can detect and avoid potholes.

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SALEM, Va. (AP) _ The Virginia Department of Transportation says a mix of snow, sleet and freezing rain is creating slick roads in part of western Virginia. Officials said early Friday that snow plow operators have been responding overnight in affected counties in the department’s Salem district. Crews are currently focusing efforts on primary roads.

The 12-county district includes the counties of Bedford, Botetourt, Carroll, Craig, Franklin, Floyd, Giles, Henry, Montgomery, Patrick, Pulaski and Roanoke.

VDOT is encouraging drivers to delay travel until the winter weather has passed and crews have had time to treat roads. Real-time road condition information is available at www.511Virginia.org.

Robert Schmitt

Robert Schmitt

FLOYD, Va. (AP) _ Police say a body found in Franklin County is believed to be that of a 92-year-old Floyd County man who has been missing since last November. The Floyd County Sheriff’s Office tells media outlets that an individual reported finding the body and a vehicle shortly before 5 p.m. Wednesday.

The sheriff’s office says deputies from both counties went to the scene near the county line. They found the body near a vehicle matching the description of Robert Schmitt’s vehicle. The body has been sent to the Medical Examiner’s Office in Roanoke for identification.

Schmitt was last seen on Nov. 16, 2013. Police believe Schmitt opened a gate and drove into a field. The car then went about 100 yards down a ravine, hit several trees and landed near a creek.

Wintergreen

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) _ Wintergreen Resort is getting recognition for a project that more than doubled the Nelson County ski resort’s snowmaking capability. The Daily Progress reports that Wintergreen received the Honor Award for Engineering Excellence from the American Council of Engineering Companies of Virginia.

The council described the resort’s recently completed installation of a new 5 million gallon water storage tank and upgrades to its computerized snowmaking equipment as “a decade of improvements in 120 days.”

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Health-News

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ Virginia mental health workers have a new tool to find psychiatric beds for people being held for treatment under emergency custody orders. The Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Development Services says an online statewide psychiatric bed registry went live on Monday.

The Virginia Acute Psychiatric and CSB Bed Registry lists available psychiatric beds at private psychiatric hospitals, state facilities and crisis stabilization units.

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VA Film Festival

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) _ Organizers are seeking entries for the 2014 Virginia Film Festival. The festival will be held Nov. 6 through Nov. 9 in Charlottesville. Festival organizers on Wednesday invited Virginia filmmakers and those across the world to submit feature films, documentaries, shorts, animation and experimental works.

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State-News

WISE, Va. (AP) _ Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe is barnstorming the state to make his pitch to expand Medicaid eligibility to about 400,000 residents.

The Democratic governor flew to Wise County on Tuesday to meet with doctors, hospital officials and low-income residents who don’t have health insurance.

McAuliffe asked them to press their state lawmakers into supporting a plan proposed by the Virginia Senate to accept federal Medicaid dollars and expand eligibility for the publicity financed health insurance program.

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Creigh Deeds

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ Citing interference, the lead investigator of the events that led to an attack on a Virginia state senator by his son has resigned.

The resignation involves G. Douglas Bevelacqua, the director of the inspector general program for behavioral health in Virginia. In a letter to Gov. Terry McAuliffe, he writes that revisions by his boss would “diminish the report’s” value as the state reviews the Nov. 19 attack on Sen. Creigh Deeds.

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George Huguely

George Huguely
(Photo credit: abcnews.go.com)

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ An appeals court has affirmed the second-degree murder conviction of a former University of Virginia lacrosse player who fatally beat his ex-girlfriend.

The Court of Appeals of Virginia on Tuesday rejected George W. Huguely V’s appeal in the May 2010 slaying of Yeardley Love. Attorneys for the Chevy Chase, Md., man argued that Huguely was denied his 6th Amendment right to counsel when one of his lawyers fell ill during his February 2012 trial in Charlottesville.

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