Web Staff
From Salem Police: This morning at approximately 7:50 a.m., Salem Police received information from a 13-year-old female that a older male had attempted to coax her into his vehicle while she was headed to her bus stop. The female, who is a student at Andrew Lewis Middle School, was approached at the intersection of Orchard Drive and Riverside Drive. As soon as the student arrived at school, she told school staff and her D.A.R.E. Officer what had happened and an investigation was promptly initiated by the Salem Police Department. The suspect, who remained seated inside of his truck while he spoke to the child and never exited the vehicle, is described as an older white male, with white hair and a white beard. He was wearing a soiled white shirt and may have been under the influence of alcohol at the time. He also was reported to be driving a white older model, standard cab pick-up truck with a great deal of rust on the truck body. The photos photos are representations of the truck body style the subject likely was operating.
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On Saturday, May 30, the Norfolk & Western Class J 611 Steam Passenger Locomotive will return to Roanoke under its own steam power. To welcome the locomotive home, the Virginia Museum of Transportation is planning a celebration. The 611 will arrive in Roanoke between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m., and will stop near the old N&W Passenger Station, now home to the Roanoke Valley Convention and Visitors Bureau and O. Winston Link Museum. No passenger tickets will be sold for the Class J 611 homecoming train. The homecoming celebration will be open to the public and free of charge. The Museum of Transportation will announce additional homecoming celebration weekend details at a later date. After spending some time at home the locomotive will participate in Norfolk Southern 21st Century Steam excursion program throughout June and July. For more information on excursions and the homecoming celebration click here.
The 35th annual Chance Crawford Benefit Softball Tournament will be held this weekend throughout the Roanoke Valley. The tournament is a regional effort put on by the cities of Salem and Roanoke and the counties of Roanoke and Botetourt. For this year’s tournament, there are 133 teams coming from Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Tennessee. Games will be played at the James I. Moyer Sports Complex, the Botetourt Sports Complex and fields at the Salem Civic Center, Arnold R. Burton, Whispering Pines, Wasean Park, Huff Lane and Oakey’s Field. The Chance Crawford Softball Tournament began in the spring of 1981 to help a young Salem High School quarterback, Chance Crawford, who suffered a spinal cord injury during one of his football games. Now, proceeds from the event are used to help those in need in the community with their own medical and education expenses. You can learn more about the tournament by clicking here.
Roanoke Fire-EMS personnel are testing fire hydrants throughout the city. Fire hydrant flushing is necessary to both test the function of the hydrants and to flush sediments that build up naturally over time in waterlines. The maintenance should end in July. During the flushing, many residents may experience temporary water discoloration. A fire spokesperson says this water is ordinarily safe to drink, but it’s best to flush any discolored water from pipes by turning on all cold-water faucets in your home or business at once. You should avoid turning on hot-water faucets so the discolored water is not drawn into hot water heaters. The flushing should remove discoloration in less than five minutes.
Jeb Bush
From Liberty University: Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush will be the keynote speaker for its 42nd Commencement ceremony on Saturday, May 9. Bush served as governor from 1999 to 2007 and was Florida’s first two-term Republican to hold the position. During his tenure, he cut nearly $20 billion in taxes, vetoed more than $2.3 billion in earmarks, and reduced the state government workforce by more than 13,000. His limited government approach helped unleash one of the most robust and dynamic economies in the nation, creating 1.3 million net new jobs and improving the state’s credit ratings, including achieving the first ever triple-A bond rating for Florida. Bush is credited for environmental, health care, and economic improvements in the state and for overhauling its education system.
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Aaron Miller
From the Botetourt County Sheriff’s Office: In the summer of 2014 there were numerous larcenies from vehicles in the Roanoke Valley. 22 of those larcenies occurred in Botetourt County. The 22 victims reported thefts of firearms, loose change and credits cards from their vehicles. All of these vehicles were unlocked. Through the cooperation and assistance of Roanoke County PD, Salem PD and Roanoke City PD, the suspect, 27 year old Aaron Corey Miller of Roanoke, was identified. On April 15, 2015 Miller was sentenced in the Botetourt County Circuit Court to serve 4 years in jail and given 20 years suspended sentence for the Botetourt County larcenies. He has also been sentenced in Lynchburg and Roanoke City for larcenies in those jurisdictions.
President Abraham Lincoln died 150 years ago today, after being fatally wounded by an assassin’s bullet on April 14th, 1865. Virginia Tech’s Center for Civil War Studies hosted a “Lincoln in our Time” symposium over the weekend. One of the speakers was historian William C. “Jack” Davis, who has written more than 50 books mostly on Civil War and southern history. He spoke with WFIR’s Jim Kent about the long-range legacy of Lincoln’s assassination and the immediate impact it had on the South:
Tiffany Rae Wright-Neal
UPATED:
Police have charged a Salem woman with yesterday’s holdup of the Carter Bank and Trust branch on Electric Road. Police arrested 25-year-old Tiffany Rae Wright-Neil at her home yesterday afternoon without incident. Investigators believe Wright-Neil is also the person who robbed the Carter Bank and Trust branch on 9th Street, SE in Roanoke last week. She was being held in the Roanoke County/Salem jail without bond.
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From Salem City Police: This morning at approximately 9 a.m., Salem Police responded to a bank robbery in the 1400 block of Electric Road. Witnesses reported that a female suspect handed a note to a teller at Carter Bank and Trust demanding money. The suspect, who did not display a weapon, then fled the scene on foot with an undisclosed amount of cash. The white, female suspect is described as being 5’5”-5’6” tall with a slender build and a fair or pale complexion. Her age is estimated to be approximately 20-25 years. The suspect was wearing camouflage pants, a black hoodie type sweatshirt, a camouflage bandana and black rimmed eyeglasses. As a precautionary measure, East Salem Elementary School was locked down for approximately an hour during the initial response to this incident. At approximately 10 a.m. the school resumed normal operations. Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to contact the Salem Police Department Detective Division at 375-3084 or Roanoke Valley Crime Line at 344-8500.
As part of the Interstate 581 and Elm Avenue interchange project in Roanoke, there are lane closures scheduled this week for bridge work as concrete is poured. Today, there will be a right lane closure on eastbound Elm Avenue from 8 p.m. in the evening to 11 a.m. Tuesday morning, April 14. On Saturday, April 18, there will be a right lane closure on eastbound Elm Avenue from 4 a.m. in the morning to 4 p.m. Saturday afternoon. During this work, traffic traveling eastbound towards Vinton will use the turn lane onto the I-581 on-ramp as a through lane. Police may assist with traffic control. This work is weather and work schedule permitting. Drivers should expect delays or seek alternate routes. Motorists are encouraged to use caution as they travel through the work zone.
At 11:45 a.m. tomorrow Roanoke Parks and Recreation will cut the ribbon on a new dog park in Thrasher Park. The ceremony will take place adjacent to the tennis courts in the park. The public is invited to bring their dogs and they’ll be able to play after the ribbon cutting. The Thrasher dog park, similar to the one located in Highland Park, is the second of its kind created by the City of Roanoke. Director of Parks and Recreation, Steve Buschor, says the new park will have a mutt-mitt station, a pet fountain, and designated areas for small and large dogs. The park is located at 930 Old Vinton Mill Road, NE Roanoke.