Evan Jones
The National Weather Service in Blacksburg has issued a Flood Warning until 1:30 pm for an area stretching from Shawsville in southwest Roanoke County to the City of Radford. Other impacted areas include Blacksburg, Christiansburg and Pilot. The Weather Service says Doppler radar indicated heavy rain that will cause flooding; up to three inches of rain have already fallen since 8:00 pm Monday. Excessive runoff from heavy rainfall will cause flooding of small creeks and streams, highways and underpasses in urban areas. Additionally, country roads and farmlands along the banks of creeks, streams and other low lying areas are subject to flooding. Do not drive your vehicle into areas where the water covers the roadway; the water depth may be too great to allow your car to cross safely. Move to higher ground.
An earlier flood warning covered parts of Franklin, Floyd and Patrick Counties, including Floyd, Copper Hill and Ferrum.
Mark Obenshain
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ An aide to Virginia Republican state Sen. Mark Obenshain says Obenshain will not be running for governor in 2017. Nick Collette, a political director for Obenshain, said Monday that his boss has made a decision not to run for statewide office in 2017. Obenshain narrowly lost the state attorney general election in 2013 and was widely viewed as a possible GOP gubernatorial candidate. Collette said Obenshain had made the decision not to run for personal reasons. Other potential GOP candidates for governor include former Republican National Committee Chairman Ed Gillespie, U.S. Rep. Rob Wittman and former Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli.
Duke Carter (WSLS10 photo)
A local TV reporter sought a protective order — and he got it — against a Franklin County man who told him “You’re dead” not far from the spot where Alison Parker and Adam Ward were fatally shot during a live broadcast. It happened earlier this month as WSLS10’s Duke Carter was covering a fund-raising event near Smith Mountain Lake — an event for Vicki Gardner, who survived the televised shootings. The Roanoke Times reports Carter told a judge yesterday that 28-year-old Donald Visel yelled at him from a nearby truck: “You’re dead” and then made a shooting motion with his hands directly at Carter. Carter told the judge he was frozen in fear, coming as this did shortly after the Smith Mountain Lake shootings not far away. He asked for a protective order that would keep Visel away from him, and the Times reports the judge granted one. Visel must avoid contact with the reporter for two years, and he cannot own a gun during that time. Visel has not been criminally charged in the case.
Virginia Tech news relase: The Virginia Tech Board of Visitors recently approved the proposed design for the second phase of the new Dairy Science Complex. Phase II builds upon the new state-of-the-art research facilities and provides additional space for world-class research, teaching, and Virginia Cooperative Extension (http://www.ext.vt.edu/) initiatives in dairy and animal sciences. The $7.6 million facility will include an applied reproductive physiology facility adjacent to the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine, an intensive metabolic research facility at the Kentland Farm complex, and a bovine extension, teaching and research facility on Plantation Road.
(Continue reading for the rest of the news release.)
The public observances mourning the loss of two WDBJ7 journalists neared an end this morning as James Madison University — Alison Parker’s alma mater — held a vigil on campus. It started at 6:45, the time one week ago that Parker and Adam Ward were fatally shot during a live broadcast. And as WFIR’s Evan Jones reports, Liberty University joins Virginia Tech in honoring both this weekend on the field.
Vester Flanagan
The former WDBJ-7 News Director who hired — and fired — the man who fatally shot reporter Alison Parker and videojournalist Adam Ward says Vester Flanagan was a “professional victim” with a history of personal conflicts. Flanagan was better known by his on-air name of Bryce Williams. Dan Dennison says Flanagan never understood he was the source of those conflicts. WFIR’s Evan Jones has the story.
(Associated Press contributed the Dan Dennison audio to this report)
