Evan Jones
Local Democrat party leaders say President Obama’s campaign visit here tomorrow evening demonstrates Virginia’s importance as a key battleground state. As they prepare for the campaign rally, Mitt Romney supporters are planning their own nearby. WFIR’s Evan Jones has the story.
Street Closures and Parking Restrictions: Continue reading
The Blue Ridge Parkway is open the full length of Virginia, but removing the storm debris is likely to continue through most of summer. Hundreds of trees came down along and across the parkway in Virginia when the fierce winds moved through 12 days ago. Those trees were moved off the road in fairly short order, but crews will need many more weeks to haul the debris away from the roadside. WFIR’s Evan Jones has the story.
VDOT officials in Richmond are watching an Adopt-a-Highway case in Georgia, one in which the American Civil Liberties Union is defending the Ku Klux Klan. A federal court decision regarding Missouri’s Adopt-a-Highway program also figures into the legal considerations. WFIR’s Evan Jones has the story.
Store surveillance photo from Vinton Police
Vinton Police are hoping a surveillance photo will help lead them to a man wanted for several recent burglaries in the town. Police say the photo was taken June 25th at the Cleveland Mart on Cleveland Avenue, and four more nearby burglaries since then have involved similar patterns. Anyone who has any information or might help identify the suspect is asked to call Vinton Police at (540) 983-0617, extension 169.
(Continue reading for a larger photo of the suspect.)
Roanoke Valley Resource Authority photo
The mountain of debris from downed trees and limbs is creating a growing mulch pile in Roanoke, and for many area residents, it is free for the taking. WFIR’s Evan Jones has the story.
Click here for more information from the Roanoke Valley Resource Authority.
The crews that haul all the storm debris away from your homes have another busy week ahead — Roanoke City and County officials say they expect the removal effort to last into August. They say even with extraordinary amounts of brush already placed out for pickup, there is much more to go. WFIR’s Evan Jones has more.
Roanoke County Police say there’s been little if any increase in crime in the week since the storms blew through. There are a few cases of generators and chain saws taken from backyards or the backs of pickup trucks, but that’s pretty much it. And as WFIR’s Evan Jones reports, police are very grateful to people who helped officers as they directed traffic for days under the hot summer sun.
Roanoke residents have generally been on their best behavior since the storms came through and power went out. Police Chief Chris Perkins says overall crime in the six days since the storms hit went down 14% from the same period one year ago — but larcenies and burglaries are higher, mostly in areas left in the dark. WFIR’s Evan Jones has the story.