Evan Jones
Roanoke City officials say a small business that recently opened is making history, but the owner says it’s just a natural progression. City officials say Betsy Whitaker is the first female mechanic to open an auto repair business in Roanoke. They helped her cut the ribbon today at Crew Auto Repair at Franklin Road and Brandon Avenue. WFIR’s Evan Jones has the story.
Jeannemarie Davis
Candidates for statewide offices are off and running for next year. One of the candidates for Lieutenant Governor embarked on campaign kickoff tour this week. Republican Jeannemarie Davis is a former Delegate and State Senator from Fairfax County. She says her ability to win in that heavily-Democratic area makes her a highly-electable candidate statewide. WFIR’s Evan Jones has the story.
The Virginia Museum of Transportation is set to open its new aviation gallery Saturday. The previous gallery was essentially destroyed in 2006, when a summer storm blew the roof off. Many special events are planned for the grand opening. WFIR’s Evan Jones has the story.
Click here for more Aviation Gallery information.
Click here for full grand opening information.
UPDATED 3:40 PM — State Police have identified the two Staunton River High School students killed this morning when a pickup truck broadsided their car on State Route 24 in Bedford County. Here is the full news release:
The Virginia State Police are continuing their investigation into a motor vehicle crash that claimed two lives on Wednesday morning around 8:30 am on Route 24 at intersection of Route 653 in Bedford County. The preliminary investigation revealed that a 2000 Ford Mustang was traveling on Route 653 when the driver attempted to make a left turn onto Route 24 when he pulled out into the path of a 2000 Ford F-250 pick up truck that was traveling westbound on Route 24. The driver of the mustang Jacob Henry Baird, age 17, of Thaxton, Virginia was wearing a safety belt at the time of the crash but was pronounced dead at the scene. Katie Thurston, age 16, of Vinton, Va. a rear seat passenger in the mustang was not wearing a safety belt at the time of the crash and she was also pronounced dead at the scene. Two other passengers in the mustang Shawn Hall, age 19, of Vinton, Va and Gradon Lewis Graybill, age 18, of Blue Ridge, Va. both were transported to Roanoke Memorial Hospital. It is unknown at this time if they were wearing safety belts prior to the crash. The driver of the F-250 pick up truck William Orr, age 49, of Vinton, Va. was wearing a safety belt at the time of the crash. He was treated at the scene for minor injuries. The Virginia State Police accident reconstruction team is also assiting in the crash investigation.
A new Virginia poll is already out, one looking at next year’s race for governor. The Quinnipiac University Poll finds Senator Mark Warner with close to 20-point leads right now over Republicans Bill Bolling and Ken Cuccinelli. Warner has not indicated whether he will run, unlike fellow Democrat Terry McAuliffe. The poll shows McAuliffe with small leads over the two Republicans. More from WFIR’s Evan Jones.
Click here for full Quinnipiac University Poll results and methodology.
The Interstate 81 climbing lane project takes another step forward Wednesday night, but it will mean an all-night detour for anyone heading up to Christiansburg. Southbound traffic will be detoured onto Route 11/460 between Dixie Caverns and Christiansburg from 9:00 pm to 6:00 am. WFIR’s Evan Jones has the story.
Roanoke Police hope surveillance photos and video they’ve posted will help lead them to the men involved in multiple shootings outside a convenience store eight days ago.
Click here to watch surveillance video #1.
Click here to watch surveillance video #2
(Continue reading for the full Roanoke Police news release and larger surveillance photos.
UPDATED: 4:15 pm — Supervisors gave unanimous first reading approval today with little comment from supervisors or the pubic.
Roanoke County Supervisors are scheduled to once again consider an invocation policy today, one designed to avoid legal challenges. Earlier attempts to create a policy led to strident objections in some quarters, so the County Attorney went back to the drawing board. This version places much of the burden for complying with court rulings on those who deliver the invocations. WFIR’s Evan Jones has the story.
Click here to read the entire resolution. As presented to supervisors, it runs 12 pages. As reformatted here, it is seven pages long.
Anyone who drives through the construction area on Bent Mountain Road — US 221 — may encounter some midday delays into early December. Starting this week, crews are delivering 32 really big bridge beams. and each time that happens, they’ll have to stop traffic for 10 to 15 minutes as cranes put those beams in place. WFIR’s Evan Jones has the story.