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News release: Roanoke County Fire and Rescue responded at about 5:30 a.m., on Wednesday, December 27, 2017 to the 1600 block of Mountain View Road in the Vinton area for the report of a residential fire alarm that was called in by an alarm monitoring company. First arriving crews did find smoke showing from the eaves and rear of the house. Crews from Vinton, Mount Pleasant, and Hollins responded to the fire. There were no injuries. One dog was rescued from the fire, however one cat and another dog died in the fire. The two female occupants, a mother and daughter, will be displaced and the Red Cross is currently assisting the family. The fire was mostly confined to the basement, however there is smoke and water damage throughout the home. The fire marshal’s office has ruled the fire to be accidental with an undetermined cause and the damages to the home are approximately $5000. Roanoke County Fire and Rescue would like to remind everyone to please make sure that you have working smoking alarms in your home. Having a working smoke alarm in your home doubles the chance that you will make it out alive.
From the Virginia Lottery: All 375,000 tickets in Virginia’s New Year’s Millionaire Raffle have now been sold. The final ticket was bought at 8:48 p.m. Sunday, December 24. On New Year’s Day, three tickets will be drawn to win $1 million each; five tickets will each win $100,000; and 500 tickets will win $500 each.
UPDATE from Roanoke County Police: Candace Leah Devendorf, age 31, of Roanoke was being held with a $2,000 bond on charges out of Roanoke County General District Court. Ms. Devendorf was booked into the Roanoke County/Salem Jail on Tuesday, December 19 at approximately 9:00 p.m., following arrest by the Roanoke County Police Department, and was arraigned the next day, December 20 with no change in bond.
In the early morning hours of Thursday, December 21, Ms. Devendorf was found unresponsive in her cell on the third floor of the Roanoke County‐Salem Jail. The deputy notified medical staff and CPR/lifesaving practices were immediately started, including AED application. The Salem Rescue Squad arrived on scene moments later and the subject was pronounced dead at 2:05 a.m. The subject was transported to the Medical Examiner’s Office.
The results of the preliminary autopsy show no signs of trauma or injury; however, the exact cause of death is pending the results of a toxicology screening. The investigation is being handled by the Virginia State Police, per Roanoke County Sheriff’s Office policy.
PREVIOUSLY: A female inmate died overnight at the Roanoke County-Salem Jail. Her name has not yet been released. Officials say the woman was found unresponsive in her cell, and efforts to revive her were not successful. Her body was taken to the Medical Examiner’s office to determine the cause of death.
From Roanoke County: (Roanoke County, VA—December 21, 2017) In the early morning hours of Thursday, December 21, a female inmate was found unresponsive in her cell on the third floor of the Roanoke County ‐ Salem Jail. The deputy notified medical staff and CPR/lifesaving practices were immediately started, including AED application. The Salem Rescue Squad arrived on scene moments later and the subject was pronounced dead at 2:05 a.m. The subject was transported to the Medical Examiner’s Office. Per Sheriff’s Department policy regarding deaths in the Jail, Virginia State Police was notified and is investigating. The cause of death has not been determined, pending review by the Medical Examiner’s Office. The identity of the female has not yet been released, pending notification of next of kin.
Roanoke City Councilman Dave Trinkle says 12 years will be enough, and he will not see re-election next year. Trinkle says he is proud to have served at a time Roanoke went through a dramatic transformation. More from WFIR’s Evan Jones.
From Roanoke City: After 12 years serving the City of Roanoke, Councilman David Trinkle announced today he will not seek re-election in the spring of 2018. “I did not arrive at this decision easily,” said Trinkle. “I have been fortunate to be a part of a fantastic city council for over a decade. I truly love this community and plan to pursue other opportunities where I can remain engaged and continue to contribute to the exciting – and critical — next steps for Roanoke. I am ready for a new challenge and look forward to serving the region and Commonwealth at other levels,” he added. Roanoke has evolved greatly in the 12 years Trinkle has served on Council. The city has seen significant population growth; a diversified and strengthened economy; and new, higher paying jobs. Trinkle took an active role in driving the Elmwood Park and Amphitheater development — arguably one of the city’s greatest accomplishments and a cornerstone of the downtown revitalization. “The thing I am perhaps most proud of is the drastic change in ‘street talk’,” Trinkle said. “People now take pride in Roanoke and talk positively about their city with lots of excitement. They no longer compare us to other communities – in fact, other communities are now looking to Roanoke for ideas and best practices.”
During his tenure on council, Roanoke has also placed an important focus on marketing initiatives encouraging residents to take advantage of the natural amenities throughout the region as well as fostering the growth of festivals and activities in city. All of these have come together to create a solid vibe, community pride and an authentic sense of place. “There is still much work to be done to ensure all citizens are able to participate in the exciting progress in Roanoke. We must ensure better access to social and mental health services; improve income and other inequalities so present in our city, while still allowing for economic growth and strategized capital investments,” Trinkle said. “We have a great new city manager and I believe we have the right mix of people running for office. With this new team, the city will be in excellent shape to tackle the next several years,” he added.
Trinkle has been a strong advocate for improving transportation opportunities in the city as well as a champion for investing in — and supporting — arts and cultural organizations. He worked tirelessly to improve the community offerings and to assure it remains the Arts & Cultural hub in Southwest Virginia for decades to come. As part of this he helped create the Roanoke Cultural Endowment – a private-public partnership raising a $20 million endowment to sustainably and predictably fund arts organizations in the city of Roanoke. “I am deeply grateful to the many people who have supported my service to Roanoke over the years and who continue to encourage me in my decision to tackle new challenges,” Trinkle said. “We are at a pivotal moment where we don’t want the progress and excitement to stall. I believe new leadership with new thoughts and voices combined with experienced leadership that has shown stability and excellent vision will be critical for the next phase of Roanoke’s journey.”
A geriatric psychiatrist, Dr. David Trinkle, M.D., is the Associate Dean for Community and Culture and Associate Professor of Psychiatric Medicine at the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine (VTCSOM) as well as the Geripsychiatric Consultant to the Geriatric Assessment Clinic at Carilion Clinic Center for Healthy Aging, and to numerous Nursing Homes in the Roanoke Valley. In addition to being a local business owner, he has served on Roanoke City Council since 2006 with three terms as vice-mayor and served on the Roanoke City School Board. He is also very active in policy-making organizations related to his profession.
UPDATE: State Police have identified the robber fatally shot as 57-year-old Robert Morrison of Charlottesville.
PREVIOUSLY: State Police say a Rockbridge County Sheriff’s deputy fatally shot a bank robbery suspect today a short distance from the bank. Police say it started with an armed robbery at the Cornerstone Bank branch just north of Lexington, and when responding deputies confronted the suspect running behind a nearby building, he pointed a gun at them. Police say the deputies then opened fire, striking the man, and efforts that followed to keep him alive failed. The suspect’s name has not been released. The same bank was robbed in September, and investigators are working to determine if the two holdups are related.
Va. Lottery photo
From the Virginia Lottery: Charles Stanley of Roanoke may be the master of understatement. Here’s how he described scratching a $1,000,000 High Rollers Club ticket from the Virginia Lottery: “I thought, ‘Well, I’ve won $100,’ but it turns out I won a little more.” Actually, he won a lot more. He won the $1 million top prize. He bought the winning ticket at Brambleton Station, 3809 Brambleton Avenue in Roanoke, which receives a $10,000 bonus from the Virginia Lottery for selling the winning ticket. He had the choice of taking the full $1 million over 30 years or a cash option of $675,982 before taxes. He chose the cash option.
The $1,000,000 High Rollers Club game is one of dozens of Scratchers offered by the Virginia Lottery. It features prizes ranging from $10 up to $1,000,000. Mr. Stanley is the first player to win the $1 million prize in this game, which means three more remain unclaimed. The odds of winning the top prize in this game are 1 in 1,101,600. The odds of winning any prize in $1,000,000 High Rollers Club are 1 in 3.35.
When asked what he intends to do with his winnings, Mr. Stanley joked, “I might buy myself a Pepsi Cola.”
UPDATE from the Bedford County Sheriff’s Office: The missing 6 year old boy has be located by a search team. He appears to in shape with no injuries.
Previously: At 12:53 p.m. today, Bedford County 911 dispatchers received a report of a missing 6-year- old boy from his home on Dowdy Rock Road. The caller said the boy had been missing since around 10:00 a.m. this morning and was last seen with his black and white border collie named Muffin. The boy’s name is Samuel Welch and he has blonde hair. He is wearing long pants and a blue hoodie. Anyone with information on Samuel is asked to call 586-7827 or 911.
From the office of Congressman Bob Goodlatte: WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) announced today during Computer Science Education Week that a team from Hidden Valley High School in Roanoke is the Sixth Congressional District of Virginia’s winner of the 2017 Congressional App Challenge. Yesterday, Congressman Goodlatte notified the students by Skype of their achievement.
Congressman Goodlatte released the following statement congratulating the team:
“These students from Hidden Valley High School took a real world problem – one they have personally experienced – and created a solution. They saw their idea transform from a ‘brainstorming board’ in the classroom to a tool that can be used to help quickly and accurately tally Quizbowl results.
“I am extremely impressed by the ingenuity and skill of these students and students throughout the Sixth Congressional District who submitted entries. Each of these participants is to be commended for their hard work. I encourage them to take what they have learned from this process and continue to grow their knowledge of computer coding. I thank all of the students who participated as well as the educators who helped them along the way. These young men and women are the next generation of American innovators.”
Quizbowl Scores: Hidden Valley High School – Roanoke, Va.
- David Arnold
- Shreyas Gullapalli
- Mengyun (Mavis) Lee
- Yifei Zhao
Teacher/Advisor: Mrs. Phifer Herrala
Link to app demonstration: https://youtu.be/c8ZFjElPiD8
Description: “Less than a month ago we assisted our Quizbowl team in hosting a Quizbowl tournament. During it, we noticed that oftentimes certain scorekeepers couldn’t do math quickly as others, or kept messing up the calculations, which led to their rooms being behind. This app aims to solve that by simplifying the scorekeeping process.”
Additional Information: In 2014, Congressman Goodlatte co-chaired the first Congressional App Challenge along with Congresswoman Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.). Through the Congressional App Challenge, students from across the country are tasked with creating and exhibiting an original app. The winning apps are eligible to be featured in the U.S. Capitol Building and on House.gov. Each winner will also receive $250 in Amazon Web Services Credits and will be invited to the #HouseOfCode Reception in April 2018. More information about the Congressional App Challenge can be found at www.congressionalappchallenge.us.
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UPDATE: State Police have identified the man shot and killed by a Henry County sheriff’s deputy after he fired into a home, then at law enforcement vehicles. Police say 24-year-old Johnnie Carter of Henry County had tried to force his way into a home before deputies arrived.
PREVIOUSLY: SALEM, Va. – At the request of Henry County Sheriff Lane Perry, the Virginia State Police is investigating a fatal, officer-involved shooting that occurred early Tuesday morning (Dec. 5, 2017) in the community of Bassett. The incident began around 4 a.m. Tuesday when the Henry County Sheriff’s Office received a 911 call about a male subject trying to force his way into a residence in the 3300 block of Philpott Drive. When the male subject was unable to make entry, he began firing a handgun outside the residence. As soon as the Henry County Sheriff’s Deputies pulled up to the scene, the male suspect began firing at their vehicles. One of the sheriff’s deputies returned fire and the male suspect was wounded. The male subject was transported to Sovah Health in Martinsville, where he succumbed to his injuries.
No residents or sheriff’s deputies were injured during the incident. The Virginia State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation’s Salem Division is at the scene conducting its investigation into the incident. State police are also in the process of confirming the identity of the male subject and will then notify his next of kin.
From Roanoke County Police: – On Saturday, December 2, 2017, Roanoke County Police responded to the Chuck E. Cheese’s located in the 4000 Block of Electric Road for an attempted abduction involving a child. At this time no further information is being released as it is too early in the investigation. As further information is able to be released an updated press release will be sent out. If anyone has information about this incident they should contact the Roanoke County Police at (540) 562-3265.