Evan Jones
Submitted photo
Lynchburg officials say yesterday’s train derailment involved 15 CSX tanker cars, each carrying 30,000 gallons of crude oil. It happened near the intersection of 9th and Jefferson streets along the James River. Four cars caught fire. Three ended up in the river, with one spilling all of its contents and another losing about two-thirds. There’s no word on how much oil burned off and how much seeped into the river . Authorities are still assessing the environmental impact. There were no reports of injuries.
Yesterday’s train derailment and fire took place right in front of many surprised people who live, work, or visit the Lower Basin area along the James River. Countless people got their cellphones and cameras out — and dramatic images of the derailment and fire quickly spread around Lynchburg. WFIR’s Evan Jones has the story.
Mark Herring
Attorney General Mark Herring says Virginia colleges can grant in-state tuition to thousands of students who are listed as illegal immigrants, and state higher education officials say they will work to follow Herring’s legal opinion. House Republicans says the attorney general’s finding is a direct violation of Virginia law. WFIR’s Evan Jones has the story.
Carvins Cove
Springtime rains are often crucial for Roanoke Valley main water supplies, but Carvin’s Cove and Spring Hollow reservoirs are already in good shape for the year. That means no water worries for the Roanoke area this summer, even if hot, dry weather becomes the rule. WFIR’s Evan Jones has the story.
An on-line camera is up and running once again that lets you watch a pair of ospreys raise a new family on Smith Mountain Lake — but it won’t always be always pretty. The couple is tending to four eggs — more than normal — and while ospreys are very good at catching fish, if all four eggs hatch, there will be lots of competition for all the food the parents bring in. WFIR’s Evan Jones has the story.
Click here to see the Smith Mountain Lake osprey cam.
The latest prescription drug take-back day is set for tomorrow, and the numbers show it keeps tons of drugs in our region out of landfills and water supplies. In the Roanoke Valley alone, the two events each year each collection about 1,400 pounds of outdated or unneeded medicines.WFIR’s Evan Jones has the story.
Click here to find the your nearest prescription drug takeback location.
Many older boaters will not have to take a safety course after all — one result of yesterday’s veto session in Richmond. It overturns part of a law that had its start with a fatal accident on Smith Mountain Lake in the summer of 2005 that killed two people and a dog. And as WFIR’s Evan Jones reports, delegates representing the lake are unhappy with yesterday’s outcome.
Roanoke County Supervisors appear ready to limit how much time any one of them can speak on any single topic at any one meeting to 20 minutes. A proposed set of changes that includes that limit received first approval yesterday 3-2. The two “no” votes came from supervisors who believe the proposal is an attempt to stifle a minority. WFIR’s Evan Jones has the story.
vamoneysearch.org
Virginia is getting ready to auction off hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of items that have gone unclaimed and ended up in state-managed storage. The state Treasury Department tries to find the items’ rightful owners, but storage space is not unlimited, so some of the jewelry, furniture, coins and other items eventually go on sale. The proceeds go to a fund to support Virginia public schools. WFIR’s Evan Jones has the story.
Click here for full auction information.
Click here to check for unclaimed property for yourself, your business or your organization.
Charlotte Moore
Roanoke County Supervisor Charlotte Moore says she is taking it upon herself to keep providing the county software designed to track and reduce carbon emissions in the county. Her colleagues recently voted to discontinue county membership in “ICLEI”, an organization that provided that software, but Moore says the environmental benefits are too important to lose.
So Moore has personally joined “Resilient Communities for America”, which is an arm of “ICLEI”. How this might go over with other supervisors is unclear, but it seems sure to come up at a supervisors’ environment-related work session next Tuesday